The preparations for making the medicine were nearly complete, and most of the materials had been gathered. The biggest challenge now was collecting sulfuric acid.
But Senku had been busy lately forcing those modern people into one-sided agreements... Besides, collecting sulfuric acid was extremely dangerous, so the task naturally fell to Li Xiang.
Fate, you absolute bastard...
Fate, you piece of crap...
There was nothing she could do... Li Xiang stepped up without shirking Senku's orders and ultimately accepted the task, but there was something more important to deal with first.
Construction in the village was in full swing, work on the generator was progressing steadily, and Ruri was getting better by the day.
Who was the best at construction? Look no further than Senku of Ishigami Village.
After finishing sorting the herbs, Li Xiang immediately remembered her earlier agreement with Senku.
Little Watermelon's nearsightedness had been on her mind all along.
Being born severely nearsighted and seeing nothing but a blur throughout childhood was genuinely miserable.
Senku had readily agreed to make him a custom pair of glasses. With so many days having passed, they should have been finished long ago.
Li Xiang strode straight over to Senku, who was tinkering with his chemistry equipment, and casually asked him.
"Senku, have you finished the glasses you promised Little Watermelon?"
Senku didn't even look up. His fingers continued precisely adjusting the finely polished lenses in his hands, and he answered with a careless curl of his lips, "Finished them ages ago."
They were merely a pair of polished resin lenses.
For someone with a complete grasp of science, they were a trivial matter he could handle effortlessly.
With that, he set down his tools and walked over to Little Watermelon, who was obediently crouching nearby, helping sort odds and ends.
The lenses had been fitted into his headgear, which Senku gently placed on Little Watermelon's head.
The frames fit his little face perfectly, and the lenses were clean, transparent, and polished without a single flaw.
Little Watermelon, who had always lived in a blurry, indistinct world, suddenly saw everything with perfect clarity.
The sunlight everywhere, the lush green mountains and woods, the bustling village, the busy people around him, Li Xiang's gentle features, Senku's bright eyes...
Every blurred, hazy outline became vivid, distinct, and three-dimensional in an instant.
For the first time in his life, he could clearly see the faces of everyone around him. For the first time, he saw the world in its entirety.
The overwhelming surprise and emotion instantly broke through the little boy's composure.
Warm tears welled up without warning and rolled down his round cheeks, refusing to stop.
Watermelon stood rooted to the spot, blinking his wet eyes as he drank in every person and every bit of scenery before him, his eyes brimming with pure emotion.
The sight of the adorable little boy crying instantly melted Li Xiang's heart, and she stepped forward to gently rub his head.
"Don't cry, Little Watermelon. You won't look so cute if your eyes get all puffy."
Soothed by her gentle words, Little Watermelon hurriedly raised his hands to wipe away his tears and nodded hard, an especially bright, innocent smile blossoming on his round face.
He looked up at Li Xiang and said in a soft voice, "Thank you, big sister Li Xiang!"
"Thank Senku instead," Li Xiang said gently. "He's the one who made those glasses just for you. Now you'll be able to see everything clearly."
Little Watermelon turned and thanked Senku with complete sincerity. Watching the child's pure joy, everyone felt the camp's atmosphere grow warm and comforting.
Once Little Watermelon had been soothed, everyone returned to their respective tasks.
Remembering that they needed sulfuric acid, a crucial ingredient, to move forward with making antibiotics, Li Xiang left the camp alone to search the mountains for natural ores from which it could be extracted.
The wind rustled through the mountain forest, plants swayed, and sunlight filtered through the leaves in dappled patches.
Just as she was concentrating on her journey and examining the patterns in the rocks along the way, two unfamiliar, strange figures abruptly appeared at the end of the forest path.
Li Xiang halted, her gaze sharpening slightly as she instinctively stopped in place.
They weren't villagers.
The person in front wore a mask that covered most of his face, making his features impossible to discern. A dark black cloak concealed his entire figure.
The most unusual part was his outfit: what looked like a long skirt on his lower half was actually a pair of oddly shaped, wide-legged trousers.
Was he a flasher? Or some other kind of pervert...? Li Xiang silently marveled.
Beside him stood a slender girl who remained silent the entire time.
Both of them seemed completely out of place here.
A trace of amusement flashed in Li Xiang's eyes. She raised an eyebrow as she studied them, suddenly tempted to tease them a little.
But just as she was about to step forward, a familiar, clear voice rang out behind her.
"Li Xiang? Why are you standing here spacing out?"
Kohaku approached from behind with a bamboo basket. Looking puzzled, she followed Li Xiang's gaze and spotted the two unfamiliar figures in the woods.
"Who are they? Are they from outside the village?"
Her sudden question interrupted Li Xiang's attempt to test them and alerted the strangers in the distance.
The two figures were extremely vigilant. Realizing they had been spotted, they slipped into the dense woods beside the path before either woman could approach, vanishing in an instant.
Li Xiang looked at the now-empty path, then reluctantly withdrew her gaze and shook her head.
"I don't know them."
"They looked like outsiders who'd gotten lost. Who knows?"
She didn't dwell on it. There was no need to chase them down and investigate when the village was the priority.
"Come on, Kohaku. Let's go back to the village."
The two turned around side by side and retraced their steps to camp.
On the way back, Li Xiang already understood what was happening.
There was no need to think twice. Those were definitely people sent by Tsukasa Shishio.
Tsukasa had always coveted the village's strength and resources. After previously feigning defeat and lying low, he had finally lost patience and sent people to infiltrate the area and gather intelligence.
As soon as she returned to camp, Li Xiang spoke directly to Senku, who was adjusting his equipment.
"Senku, Tsukasa sent people over. I ran into them on the Back Mountain just now."
Senku merely picked at his ear, showing no surprise at all. His casual tone carried a hint of irritation. "Man, what a pain."
It was to be expected. Tsukasa would never behave himself for long.
He turned toward Gen Asagiri, who was slacking off nearby and enjoying the spectacle, and fixed his gaze squarely on him.
"Your turn to take the stage, Mentalist."
Being called out so suddenly made Gen Asagiri freeze. He pointed at himself in alarm. "M-me?"
Alarm bells instantly rang in his head. Filled with an ominous premonition, he had a feeling he was about to be dragged into more hard labor.
Seeing his anxiety, Li Xiang smiled and twisted the knife, deliberately trying to scare him.
"You haven't gone back to Tsukasa in so long that they probably already suspect you've switched sides. In that case, you might as well stay here and help us put on a show."
Gen Asagiri's mind raced as he frantically imagined all sorts of ridiculous scenarios.
Then, a second later, Senku decisively pulled out a coarse hemp rope he had prepared in advance and strode toward him.
"Wait! Little Senku! What are you doing?!" Gen panicked and backed away repeatedly.
Senku remained unruffled. "What am I doing? Tying you up. Can't you tell?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he went straight to work in one smooth motion.
Li Xiang stepped forward and patted Gen's shoulder. "Thanks for your help, Gen. You're just putting on a little show with us."
As she spoke, she took out a clean piece of cotton cloth and gently stuffed it into his mouth to keep him from making any noise that might give them away.
"Don't worry. The cloth is clean. It won't hurt."
Working in perfect coordination, the two swiftly tied Gen Asagiri up tight, then took special care to arrange his appearance so he looked utterly bedraggled.
They perfectly created the miserable image of a traitor who had been caught and subjected to harsh punishment, without giving Gen any chance to resist.
Once everything was ready, Li Xiang turned to Kohaku, who was staring dumbfounded beside them, and instructed her, "Kohaku, help tie him to the post at the village entrance."
Though utterly bewildered, Kohaku obediently did as she was told.
Bound so tightly he couldn't move, Gen Asagiri looked at the two of them with aggrieved, tearful eyes.
Li Xiang leaned closer and earnestly reassured him with a grand promise.
"Gen, once this is over, I'll give you a big reward. I definitely won't shortchange you."
"For now, cooperate and make it convincing. Don't give us away, understood?"
At this point, resistance was futile. Gen Asagiri could only accept his fate and nod pitifully, forced into service as a bound prop.
Looking at the bedraggled Gen tied to the post, Senku and Li Xiang exchanged a glance, both smiling at the success of their scheme.
"Mission accomplished."
"Now we just wait for those idiots Tsukasa sent to take the bait."
Li Xiang suddenly remembered the latest news circulating through the village. She turned to Senku beside her and casually changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, Senku, have you given anything else some thought?"
"The village has been holding an internal tournament lately. Whoever wins gets to become the Village Chief and take control of the whole village."
"It's such a good opportunity. Don't you want to give it a shot?"
Senku raised an eyebrow, looking utterly indifferent. "Not interested."
But Li Xiang went straight to the heart of the matter.
"But if you become the Village Chief, all the village's manpower, supplies, and resources will be yours to allocate."
"When you're working on scientific development, you'll have the entire workforce at your disposal. Wouldn't that make things so much easier?" Li Xiang said, gazing at him with her dark eyes.
Power wasn't important. Resources were what mattered most.
Senku's eyes lit up, and an excited smile spread across his face.
He flicked his fingers, his tone cocky. "When you put it that way, it does get the blood pumping."
"All right."
"I'll take that position as Village Chief."
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