Chapter 156

She said to the guards who had come with Liu Huli, "Help me carry them to the backyard."

Right now, everyone in the village is hiding at home, and no one is coming out to watch—not even the most curious children dare to come out.

However, what Song Xiaozhu was about to do was too bloody, so she had to avoid crowds to avoid leaving the villagers with psychological trauma.

Liu Huli didn't ask any more questions and called on everyone to move the corpse of the Polluted Beast to the backyard of the shop.

After finishing these tasks, Liu Huli said, "Miss Song, we'll head back now; we're short-staffed up ahead."

Song Xiaozhu: "Wait a minute."

Liu Huli didn't ask any more questions and patiently stood there, though his anxiety was hard to hide.

The front lines are fraught with danger; once all of the lady's traps are triggered, it will be a desperate, bloody battle for them.

Right now, there are only seriously injured people; soon, lives will be lost one after another...

Thinking of this, how could Liu Huli not be anxious!

Song Xiaozhu didn't waste any time. She took out a skinning knife she had prepared beforehand from her storage box and called out to everyone, "Come on, let's help skin this animal."

Those present included Qiu Shuyu, Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, and Liu Huli had come with him as part of his Guard Team.

They were all stunned for a moment.

Qiu Shuyu, Tian Man, and Luo Liuzi reacted the fastest. After using the skinning knife, they began to peel the skin. Tian Man and Luo Liuzi frowned and said with a wry smile, "That's really disgusting."

Qiu Shuyu looked at them.

Tian Man quickly said, "It's not that we're being delicate, it's... it's a 'professional' aversion."

Qiu Shuyu: "Oh."

She cleaved it open with a single stroke, as easily as tearing open a piece of silk.

This is a skinning knife that Song Xiaozhu carefully selected; she made ample preparations to process the animal hides as quickly as possible.

These professional peeling knives are all top-notch quality. If placed in the Little Axe's sales system, they would be ranked as "legendary," just one step away from "god-level."

Liu Huli also quickly stepped in to help. He had never skinned a wild animal before and had no experience in it. However, the moment he picked up the knife, he felt a unique sense of lightness and comfort.

He imitated Qiu Shuyu's movements and easily separated the skin and flesh, tearing off a large piece.

Qiu Shuyu asked Song Xiaozhu, "How big of a piece do you need? Can it be cut?"

Song Xiaozhu thought for a moment and said, "Each piece should be at least 20 square centimeters." She estimated it based on the area of one side of the [Raw Wood Material].

Even if it's cut into small pieces, it's fine. I believe the Synthesizer will calculate the quantity itself; she just needs to put it on.

Qiu Shuyu: "Okay."

With her leadership, everyone worked together efficiently, dividing tasks among themselves.

Song Xiaozhu also took the peeling knife and tried it out. The knife was really good; with its 90% sharpness enhancement, it could cut through iron like mud.

Honestly, this knife could also be used as a dagger; it's a real weapon.

However, Song Xiaozhu has difficulty mass-producing such a high-specification peeling knife, so for now, she'll just use it for peeling.

In no time, a whole black pigskin was peeled off. Because it had been cut into different sizes, it was piled up like a small mound, a thick, solid stack.

Liu Huli was extremely anxious. "Miss Song, if there's nothing else here, I..."

Song Xiaozhu emptied a pile of steel knives from the storage box and said, "Help me butcher this black pig... um, this Polluted Beast that was just skinned. Remember to protect the internal organs and bones."

She also wanted to find yellow [Medicinal Raw Material].

Liu Huli: "... Okay."

Qiu Shuyu's focus was on. "Black Pig Beast?"

Tian Man and Luo Liuzi were also very curious. "Xiao Qiu, is this Polluted Beast called a black pig?"

Qiu Shuyu shook her head and said, "Let's go skin that Polluted Beast too; Xiaozhu needs its hides."

They were almost crying, "Okay... okay."

My God, is this the pain of the Awakened?

They weren't being dramatic; it was just that the Awakening Stone of their own hearts was throwing a tantrum, screaming, "I won't do this!"

Song Xiaozhu summoned the Workbench, clicked on the recipe for "Leather Helmet," and placed 5 portions of [Crude Oil] and 1 portion of animal hide on it.

Logically, the recipe says it needs 5 portions, but Song Xiaozhu isn't sure how the Synthesizer determines the number of portions. One portion isn't small, and what if it's actually 5 portions? She can't afford to waste it.

Notification: "Insufficient animal hides."

Song Xiaozhu: "..." Okay.

She then stingily placed another piece on top.

Notification: "Insufficient animal hides."

Song Xiaozhu rolled her eyes and continued to stingily place a piece on top.

Prompt: "Craft a 'Leather Helmet'?"

Song Xiaozhu's eyes lit up, and she immediately replied, "Yes!"

The white mist enveloped the materials, Song Xiaozhu was delighted. In this way, according to the Synthesizer's standards, one piece of animal hide would be about 10 centimeters square. Not bad, not bad. One big black boar could make quite a lot of armor!

As the saying goes, excessive joy leads to sorrow. Before Song Xiaozhu's smile could even fade, she heard the notification sound, "Synthesis failed."

A mouthful of blood welled up in Song Xiaozhu's mouth, and she nearly slammed her fist onto the Workbench.

She suspected the notification tone was retaliatory. "You cheapskate!"

Prompt tone. "..."

Song Xiaozhu immediately added three more pieces of animal hide and four [crude oil]. Fortunately, she had stockpiled enough [crude oil]. As long as she had enough animal hide, she could synthesize a large amount of armor to protect all the villagers of Liu Family Village.

Of course, the priority right now is to Guard Team and equip them with a set of armor, which will greatly improve their survival rate.

The white mist dissipated, and a notification sound rang:

Synthesis successful, obtained 'Leather Helmet'*1;

"Review: A helmet with a wild, beastly feel;"

"Effect: Increases the wearer's defense by 10% and grants 1% immunity to fatal damage."

The effect of this product surprised Song Xiaozhu. She had expected the first half of the sentence, but the second half was a pleasant surprise.