Basic Smelting Backpack

Kerry found himself in a difficult situation. This matter was neither a big deal nor a small one. It wasn't a life-or-death conflict, but it was akin to being blockaded. South Australia Island's development relied heavily on Little Nose Bay Port City, and with that route now closed, Kerry had only two options.

First, he could take gifts and Gold Coins to the Lord of Little Nose Bay Port City, Jim Green, and apologize.

Second, he could find another way out.

Apologizing was out of the question for Kerry; he'd never do it. His only path forward was to find an alternative route to sustain himself.

Currently, the only tradeable resource in Kerry's territory was the recently discovered copper mine. Since trade with Little Nose Bay Port City to the north was impossible, he would head to the Jili Merchant Alliance Islands to the south.

Kerry believed that a nation composed of merchant alliances like this wouldn't lack construction teams to help with his development.

After arranging for his old Butler, Carson, to return and rest, Kerry went to the docks. Members of the capture team were always there to receive the captured jellyfish, and Kerry visited daily to collect them into the Alchemy Preservation Bottle.

"Hey, you there," Kerry casually instructed a fisherman, "go find Mike and tell him to come to the castle for dinner tonight."

"Apologies, my Lord, but I heard from Old Bach that Captain Mike went back to Little Nose Bay Port City today to buy new fishing gear. He probably won't be back until tomorrow."

Mike had already been appointed captain of the capture team by Kerry. Hearing that Mike was in Little Nose Bay Port City to make purchases immediately made Kerry anticipate the captain's gloomy arrival.

Since Little Nose Bay Port City had imposed a trade embargo on South Australia Island, nothing could be bought. Kerry didn't say anything further and decided to wait for Mike to return.

Speaking of which, Unit 001 was supposed to bring back a small boat loaded with copper ore tonight, and he'd need to wait for it at the southern dock. The lack of instant communication was troublesome. He'd have to see if he could buy a radio or something when the market opened next time; it would be much more convenient.

This world had magic crystal phones, officially known as Resonant Magic Crystal Communicators. They were phones invented by mages. Because mages required a vast amount of money, senior mages had invented these communicator crystals that produced resonance when infused with magic power.

After infusing them with magic, they generated resonant energy, enabling instant communication. It was as if mages were running the world's telecommunications company.

However, magic crystal phones were too expensive for Kerry to afford right now. He estimated that the money needed for a magic crystal phone could buy several radios at the exchange.

The crucial point was that both parties needed to possess one of these communicators. If Kerry wanted to contact the fisherman Mike, having a magic crystal phone wouldn't be enough; he'd also need to get one for Mike. The problem was that Mike's net worth was less than 10 Gold Coins, while the cheapest magic crystal phone cost 1000 Gold Coins.

Unit 001, pulling a small boat laden with cargo, arrived precisely on time that evening. Kerry had expected Unit 001 to arrive a bit later. Later, based on Unit 001's report, Kerry learned that the small boat had actually been fully loaded 12 hours earlier.

Unit 001's orders were to return in 24 hours, so it arrived exactly at the 24-hour mark. Kerry really wanted to find the half-human, half-machine vendor from that day and ask him if this was the extent of high AI.

In reality, Kerry had misunderstood. While the robot's AI was advanced, it rigidly followed explicit commands.

Regardless, the first shipment of copper ore had safely reached the territory. Kerry hadn't yet tested the effectiveness of the Basic Smelting Backpack. Since it was already evening and no one was at the southern dock, he decided to have Unit 001 smelt it right there to see how it worked.

Unit 001 removed a large, turtle shell-like backpack from its back and placed it on the ground like a large pot, with the flat surface facing up and the curved part facing down. Support legs automatically extended, transforming the shell into a large pot.

What happened next left Kerry stunned.

Unit 001 grabbed a massive piece of ore and tossed it into the pot. A glowing energy shield, resembling an insulating cover, appeared over the pot's opening.

It likely served for heat and sound insulation. The ore's volume exceeded the pot's opening, even the entire Basic Smelting Backpack, but this energy shield, like a soap bubble, completely enveloped the large ore. Once the energy shield stabilized, its brightness gradually dimmed, while the ore inside turned redder, clearly indicating the start of copper smelting.

A hyper-sci-fi scene unfolded in this world of swords and magic. Kerry felt no dissonance, as he hadn't experienced such things in his previous life; he treated it like a sci-fi movie.

After about twenty minutes, the energy shield began to shrink slowly. An outlet at the bottom of the large pot started releasing cooled, steaming copper ingots. The ingots emerged section by section, like excrement, and were automatically stacked. Every ten ingots, an auxiliary mechanical arm would appear and push the stack aside.

Unit 001 took the stacks of ingots pushed out and placed them on an open area nearby. Soon, hundreds of copper ingots were neatly stacked on the open ground. There were also several smaller piles, which were the other non-ferrous metals from the ore.

This Basic Smelting Backpack could not only smelt but also sort and smelt. These smaller piles consisted mainly of iron and lead, with trace amounts of gold.

When Kerry discovered the presence of gold, he jumped for joy. "Haha, I knew there would be gold!"

Kerry had originally planned to sell these copper ores directly to the Jili Merchant Alliance, but he changed his mind. It seemed smelting them into ingots would maximize profits.

Generally, ore prices varied based on their content.

For Kerry, this was a complex matter, but it could save a lot of effort and time. Now that he could directly smelt copper ingots, although smelting was time-consuming, he could sell them at market price, avoiding being cheated. He wouldn't gain an advantage but wouldn't suffer a loss either.

At the time, Kerry had only seen this Basic Smelting Backpack without any specific details. After buying it from Unit 001, he had felt a bit uneasy. Now, seeing its excellent performance, he immediately decided he had to buy several more individually when the market opened to increase productivity.

Just then, Unit 001 suddenly spoke, "Report: Backpack energy consumption 0.0038%. At the same energy consumption rate, the backpack can operate for another 385 days." Unit 001's sudden report pulled Kerry back to reality. He didn't know the exact price of the backpack, but the fact that it could only operate for a little over a year on its energy source was far less than he had expected. Kerry had assumed a backpack with such micro-nuclear power could last for decades.

He wondered who the long-term customer would be for that half-human, half-machine fellow. Kerry didn't particularly like that guy; his eyes were cold.

"Unit 001, smelt all the copper ore tonight and guard it here so no one steals it. I'll come to collect it tomorrow." It was around 8 PM, but on this island with no nightlife, it felt very late. After instructing Unit 001, Kerry returned to the castle to rest. He had already decided to set off for the Jili Merchant Alliance tomorrow. He wondered how much money he could make from a day and night of mining and smelting.

Apologies, I was just finishing up some contracts, so I'm a bit late. You can all read with confidence now.