Four-Player Dou Dizhu?

The "Iron Boots Scavenger Group" was originally a large Scavenger Gang with tens of thousands of hunters in the territory of Omar.

The team that came to the Plague Base this time was a very strong squad from their group, led by the vice-captain, the Fourth Tier [Demon Hunter Master] Burgos.

These large Scavenger Gang, with their strong capabilities, sophisticated equipment, and advanced machinery, are always able to seize "opportunities" with their exceptionally keen sense of smell.

This time, they wiped out an entire Barbarian Tribe and plundered so many treasures. It was also the most exhilarating achievement for the hunters of this "Plague Base" during their two months of clearing the swampy ruins.

At this very moment, in the open space inside the "Plague Base," piles of monster pelts have accumulated into mountains.

This is the best raw material for making Magic Scroll, robes, and leather equipment.

The Barbarian Tribe were still in the Stone Age, yet they possessed advanced skinning techniques. Because they lived in the wild year-round, constantly hunting monsters, their tribes had accumulated a large stockpile of monster pelts.

The batch of animal hides plundered by the "Iron Boots Scavenger Group" was of very high quality, and the skinning technique was impeccable.

It would be a hot commodity in any chamber of commerce.

"1,300 First Tier monster hides, 500 Second Tier 2 hides, and Third Tier..."

"1,500 kilograms of gold nuggets."

"Nine hundred and fifty- First Tier magical beast cores, Second Tier magical crystals..."

"Thirty high-grade gemstones of various colors, and medium-grade gemstones."

"Three high-grade potion ingredients: Snakehead Flower, nineteen Ghost Skull Mushroom, and one Fifth-tier Magical Beast skeleton."

"."

The manager of the "Sunflower Merchant Guild" is counting the value of the goods, taking notes as he does so.

Each time a number was announced, it drew enthusiastic cheers from the onlookers.

The hunters sell their goods to the merchant guild here, which will save them the trouble of transporting them back to the city themselves, even though the price will be lower.

Moreover, after monetizing their earnings, the hunters can continue hunting, maximizing the benefits of this expedition.

Rein had no interest in watching the spectacle.

Even from a great distance, he could see the dark-skinned heads with totems painted on them hanging in the Mechanical City.

This is also one of the main missions issued by "City of Radiance": hunting barbarians.

Every kill is a merit, which can be exchanged for at least ten Contribution Points.

There were four or five hundred bloody human heads hanging there, just the size of a small tribe, young and old alike.

It was also customary to hang human heads on the Mechanical City, both to demonstrate military achievements, to intimidate the barbarians, and to provoke them into attacking the Mechanical City, so that they could wait for the enemy to attack.

This "luring the enemy" tactic had already been used in other bases and it worked quite well.

Skulls hang Mechanical City. The remaining barbarian tribes nearby, armed with spears, bows, arrows, and stone weapons, will launch a frenzied assault on the steel-forged Mechanical City, trying to reclaim the heads of their people.

This is much easier than fighting guerrilla warfare with them in the wilderness, and it's also much easier to reap the rewards of victory.

Perhaps it was because he had met Wudo, but in Rein's eyes, those Kolman Tribe people were no longer the uncivilized "savages" who looked like apes to others.

They also have their own civilization, and they are reasonable.

But resource plunder is destined to be bloody.

Rein wasn't that saintly; he didn't think he could change anything, nor did he intend to change anything.

He would not hesitate to kill anyone who threatened his life.

But all I can do is not find pleasure in it.

The "Plague Base" now has three "Ghoul-class" Mechanical City. They are arranged in a triangle, and engineering vehicles have built a steel wall around the three sides, enclosing a hunting camp of tens of thousands of square meters.

The upper class stayed in the Mechanical City, while ordinary hunters set up their own tents in the designated camps.

Meanwhile, Rein and his "Soy Sauce Scavenger Group" were allocated a small campsite of a few square meters in a corner of the camp, where they set up their outdoor marching tents using a sausage truck.

Rein's laboratory and Karl's Mechanical Workshop are both located here.

When they returned to the barracks, Tuster was fiddling with a mechanical doll with a complex clockwork mechanism using his octopus-shaped Mechanical Arm.

Meanwhile, little Karl was lying on the small wooden table, holding a ruler, and diligently drawing mechanical blueprints.

Hearing the noise, he looked up and greeted happily, "Brother Rein, you're back?"

"Um."

Rein nodded, then glanced at the drawings in his hand and casually asked, "Karl, what are you drawing?"

Karl said, "The blueprints for the Mechanical City!"

Designing your own Mechanical City independently is every mechanic's lifelong dream, and it is also one of the necessary conditions for Senior Mechanic to advance to the "Mechanical Grandmaster".

The colossal Steam Machinery City is a technological product that embodies the wisdom of mechanics. Designing a complete Mechanical City requires an incredibly deep knowledge base.

Power boilers, steel structure mechanics, enchanting, weapon systems—it's impossible to succeed without decades of immersion in these areas.

"Oh? You've already started designing Mechanical City?"

Having spent time together, Rein had come to realize that although Karl was young, his mechanical talent was absolutely top-notch. Many of his imaginative designs even impressed Rein, a transmigrator.

He assumed this was just Karl practicing his design, so he casually asked, "What kind of Mechanical City are you planning to design?"

Karl picked up the sketch he was drawing and said, "I'm going to design a flying Mechanical City!"

"Huh? It can fly?"

Rein didn't pay any attention at first, because he didn't know anything about mechanics.

But upon hearing Karl's idea of "wanting to go to heaven," he was stunned for a moment.

Upon hearing this, Tuster put down the clockwork puppet he was holding.

The old man chuckled, then turned to Karl, but more as if explaining something to Rein, and said, "Imagination is a mechanic's most valuable talent. Theoretically speaking, given enough power, the Mechanical City could indeed fly into the sky."

He paused, glanced at his grandson, and then said, "But little Karl, with the current level of global technology, there are still many technical hurdles to overcome before the Mechanical City can fly. It will take at least several decades."

That was a very clever way of putting it, probably meant to help Rein, an outsider, understand what the mechanic's creativity and imagination meant.

It also carries an encouraging meaning and will not extinguish Karl's "sincere heart" for mechanical technology.

No, no, no

Rein shook his head and said sincerely, "I think Karl's idea is very good. Maybe it will be implemented soon!"

Far from thinking Karl was "out of the ordinary," he wholeheartedly agreed with him.

In the past, humans had already landed manned spaceships on Mars, so what's so surprising about a lump of iron flying into the sky? This is simply an inevitable path for the future development of machinery.

What shocked him was that Karl's "imagination" had reached such a high level under the current level of technology.

In the field of science, there are often some pioneering geniuses who emerge out of nowhere and leave a significant mark on history.

Their ideas often clashed with the prevailing views of the masses, were considered shocking, and were even condemned as "heretics" by the mainstream. But many years later, people would realize that those pioneers represented the truth.

Like Copernicus in Rein's previous life

Karl's face lit up with excitement when he heard Rein praise him, and he shared his sketches. "Wow, Brother Rein, you also think my 'Flying Mechanical City' is feasible? All the other mechanics said I was just daydreaming!"

"Of course it's feasible."

Rein nodded, his tone full of encouragement.

As he spoke, he carefully examined the blueprints in Karl's hand and asked, "So, Karl, what kind of Flying Mechanical City are you planning to design?"

The secret of that mechanical wreckage no longer belongs to him alone, but also to His Ymir.

He had no right to disclose it in advance.

But thinking that once he got the technology from the Mechanical City, he would definitely show Karl and his grandfather if they could create something new.

Karl exclaimed excitedly, "This is my drawing of the 'Flying Crab,' which can travel on land, fly, and swim in water!"

"."

Upon hearing this, Rein's face twitched.

Besides dachshunds, there are crabs.

Couldn't they have designed something a little more imposing?

For example, a giant dragon?

There are two types of geniuses: ordinary geniuses and "pioneer" geniuses.

Karl was probably a pioneer in the field of mechanics.

However, the technology itself is fine; it's just that the aesthetics seem a bit immature.

Rein felt he needed to guide Karl's aesthetic sense appropriately.

He said, "Karl, haven't you ever thought about designing an even more powerful shape, the kind that can fly?"

Karl blinked. "Even more powerful?"

Rein prompted, "Karl, have you ever heard of the most powerful magical beast that can fly?"

You mean a griffin?

Karl thought for a moment and said, "The griffin on the coat of arms of the Omar royal family? I've heard it's a mythical creature combining a lion and an eagle."

Rein thought the griffin didn't look imposing at all; in fact, it looked a bit strange. So he said directly, "Have you ever thought of it as a dragon?"

Karl's understanding was somewhat vague. "A dragon? A dragon from mythology?"

"Yes!"

Rein continued, "Haven't you heard the legend of a black dragon living in a cave in the 'Alkolon Mountain Range'? It's said to be the absolute overlord standing at the top of the monster food chain. If the flying Mechanical City you designed had a steel dragon, wouldn't it be the most powerful one in the Mechanical City?"

"Huh?"

Karl thought seriously for a moment, then his large, star-like eyes suddenly lit up, gleaming with increasing inspiration. "Ah! Brother Rein, I've got it! A design for a super flying Mechanical City has suddenly appeared in my mind."

He could barely contain his excitement, as if he could already see a gigantic mechanical dragon before him. He exclaimed, "Oh my god! It's so beautiful, so perfect! I must design it right now! It's the ultimate dream I must fulfill in my life!"

Then, the little brat seemed to forget about Rein in the blink of an eye, tore up his original draft, and buried himself in drawing blueprints with complete concentration.

Rein didn't care; that's just how enthusiastic researchers are.

Once he gets into research, he immediately forgets to eat and sleep.

His teacher Ilubeck was, Karl was, Tuster was too.

He felt that he was about to catch the same problem himself.

Tuster looked at his grandson, who was engrossed in his work, shook his head and smiled, his eyes full of satisfaction. Turning to Rein, he said, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Rein chuckled dismissively and casually remarked, "Haha. I also wish little Karl could design a super Mechanical City. If I ever become a lord, wouldn't that come in handy?"

Tuster glanced at him and chuckled, replying, "If you really become a lord someday, how about I design one for you? I'm just afraid you don't have the ambition."

"Okay! It's a deal!"

Regardless of the possibility, Rein agreed first.

A lord? Those things cost hundreds of billions or trillions, they need tons and tons of money.

Tuster smiled and skipped the topic.

He glanced at the injuries on Rein's face and asked with a smile, "Rein, did you get beaten up again in your sparring today? It looks like you're more badly injured than usual. Did you meet a formidable opponent?"

"Yes, I met a noble lady from the capital."

Rein responded with a smile, and then took out his very cool white boxing gloves again, "But luckily I won, and I also won a nice pair of boxing gloves."

"Heh, a noble lady going to a fighting arena? That's quite unusual."

Tuster wasn't awake for long, and after a few words, he got sleepy. "The old man is sleepy and has gone to bed."

With that, he turned and crawled into the tent to sleep.

"Okay, Grandpa Tuster."

Rein nodded.

After thinking for a moment, he took out another monster corpse and, as usual, practiced his daily required course—surgical anatomy.

Unexpectedly, as they were chopping, two uninvited guests walked towards the tent.

Upon closer inspection, he recognized one of them.

It turned out to be that bearded librarian from the "City of Radiance" Central Library who looked like Mark!

This All-out War Conscription has even brought out civilian personnel to participate in the mission?

That's what Rein thought.

Upon seeing an acquaintance, he greeted him casually, just like in a library, "Hey! Librarian, what brings you here?"

Just as Rein waved in greeting, a strong gust of wind swept by.

A burly man appeared beside him.

Aside from the assassination attempt last time, Bazel, who had never shown himself before, suddenly appeared beside him, his expression extremely solemn.

"."

Rein's eyelids twitched suddenly, and his greeting froze on the spot.

He knew things were probably going to get serious.

Before Bazel could speak, the cloaked man took off his cloak and greeted him with a smile, "Hey, Mr. Bazel, don't be nervous, I mean no harm."

It was a rather handsome face, and apart from his slightly squinty eyes when he smiled, he didn't look like a bad person.

Rein also remembered that this guy was the one who played cards with the bearded man in the library last time.

Bazel didn't speak, but instead looked at the bearded administrator.

"I don't know what this guy is trying to do, but he certainly doesn't seem to have any malicious intent."

The bearded administrator responded with a single sentence, then added meaningfully, "Perhaps he just wants to play cards with this young friend next to you?"

Upon hearing this, Bazel squinted and remained silent.

Rein then realized that the three of them seemed to know each other.

Playing cards?

Is this guy so free?

Unexpectedly, the cloaked youth actually pulled out a deck of cards, grinned, and asked, "Mr. Rein, would you like to play a game?"

Can you avoid it by pretending to be a coward?

Obviously not.

"OK!"

With a smile on his face, Rein readily agreed.

He then suggested, "Do you know how to play Four-Player Dou Dizhu?"

Please vote for me! I don't know if it will be available for purchase tomorrow; I'm still waiting for notification. If there's a launch message this afternoon, it will be available; otherwise, it'll probably be next Friday. Ugh, I've never been on Sanjiang before, I don't know the rules, this is a headache.