Not only had the success rate increased, there were even "critical hits."
Having obtained two pieces of [raw wood material] at once, Song Xiaozhu could not hide the delight in her eyes.
Qiu Shuyu leaned closer curiously. "What's this?"
Song Xiaozhu picked up the [raw wood material]. She also wanted to know what this block, which looked like a bug to her, looked like to Qiu Shuyu.
"Um... Sister Shuyu, what does it look like to you?"
The question was a little strange, but Qiu Shuyu did not ask further and answered seriously. "A perfectly regular wooden cube. Its dimensions are very precise, as if someone carved it against a ruler. The cut surfaces are very clean, and the wood grain is beautiful too..."
Wood grain...
Song Xiaozhu looked at the [raw wood material] in her hand. To her, it was just a brown wooden cube, with no visible grain.
So there was a difference after all.
What she saw was more abstract, while what Qiu Shuyu saw was relatively concrete.
Why was there such a difference?
Which of them was seeing the true appearance of the [raw wood material]?
But...
Song Xiaozhu pondered...
Did this thing really have a so-called true appearance?
With two pieces of [raw wood material] all at once, Song Xiaozhu felt much more reassured. She picked up another piece of wood and placed it on the Workbench. Before long, the notification sounded-
"Synthesis successful. Obtained [raw wood material] ×1." "Evaluation: one of the basic raw materials." "Use effect: none."
There was only one this time, but it was still far more efficient than Song Xiaozhu's efforts during the day...
When she synthesized with scrap wood, she had only gotten one for every sixty pieces on average!
Song Xiaozhu kept up her efforts and continued synthesizing...
Qiu Shuyu's voice reached her. "...Amazing. Xiaozhu, you're amazing!"
Aside from looking a little nice, the things Xiaozhu made did not seem to have any other use. Afraid Song Xiaozhu would feel upset, she seized the opportunity to offer encouragement first.
Song Xiaozhu paused, then looked at Qiu Shuyu and said seriously, "Sister Shuyu, I should mention this in advance. We need to hide our abilities."
Qiu Shuyu froze.
Hide... hide what?
Had she gone overboard with the praise and given Xiaozhu the wrong idea?!
Chapter 15
Song Xiaozhu continued, "I went to the recycling station to sell things during the day. Stationmaster Xia said things were very serious over at Liu Family Village. Master Bai won't be back for at least five or six days..."
At this, Qiu Shuyu's expression grew grave, and she murmured, "It's actually that serious..."
In the end, Song Xiaozhu could not suppress her curiosity and asked, "Sister Shuyu, do you know what happened over at Liu Family Village? The people there... um, they're all good fighters, aren't they? What other stronghold around here could beat them up that badly? Stationmaster Xia told me half the village was injured."
Qiu Shuyu paused, then said gravely, "I'm afraid it wasn't a brawl between bandits."
Song Xiaozhu's expression sharpened. "What do you mean?"
Qiu Shuyu sighed softly and said, "I don't know the details either, but five li farther out from Liu Family Village, there's an 'isolation zone.'"
"An isolation zone? What does it isolate?"
Qiu Shuyu looked at her and shook her head. "I don't know."
Song Xiaozhu's heart tightened as she realized this world was even more dangerous than she had imagined.
"But," Qiu Shuyu added, "there's no need to worry too much. Around this time every year, the isolation zone gets restless, and some things occasionally escape. Liu Family Village is just too close... um, those things won't come over to Garbage Mountain. I reckon the big shots in the Fortress have already gone to investigate. Don't worry!"
Song Xiaozhu's heart kept lurching, and she could hardly stop worrying.
After all, she was an "outsider," and one who had grown up in peaceful times. It was perfectly normal for her to panic over unknown things like this.
Qiu Shuyu mused, "To think Master Bai will take that long to come back..."
Song Xiaozhu reined in her emotions and turned her thoughts to the present.
Whatever had happened at the isolation zone was still relatively far away from them. Besides, the matter there was too big. No matter how much Song Xiaozhu worried, she could do nothing about it. What was right in front of them, on the other hand...
They could not keep what had happened to Shang Bao hidden for long.
Before Bai Jing returned, the Shang family would come knocking. That would be real trouble.
Neither said a word about it, but the same thought ran through both their minds.
Qiu Shuyu gritted her teeth. "Don't be scared. I did this. I..."
How could Song Xiaozhu let her take the blame?
Although Qiu Shuyu had swung that final blow with the axe, the entire incident had involved Song Xiaozhu. Strictly speaking, that piece of paralyzing "milk candy" had been the truly lethal thing.
Song Xiaozhu interrupted her. "Nothing happened."
Qiu Shuyu froze.
Song Xiaozhu looked into her eyes. "Sister Shuyu, no one came here. Nothing happened. We don't know anything."
Her eyes were firm, calm, and convincing.
Qiu Shuyu nodded without realizing it.
Song Xiaozhu's expression softened, and she smiled at her again. "It's fine. At worst, we can hide on Garbage Mountain for a few days until Master Bai returns."
Qiu Shuyu was about to say that Garbage Mountain was dangerous at night when something else occurred to her. "True. I can take you to stay at the logging camp for a few days..."
To Song Xiaozhu, the logging camp was not even as good as Garbage Mountain...
After all, the "ingredients" covering the mountain were enough to feed them until the end of time.
Of course, the logging camp was good too. It had the wood she needed.
It was not much of a problem. The logging camp was not far from Garbage Mountain anyway.
Seeing that Qiu Shuyu was getting a little anxious, Song Xiaozhu added, "I reckon we still have two days. Let's head to the logging camp first thing tomorrow morning. There's no rush tonight."
Qiu Shuyu thought for a moment and understood what she meant.
She knew Shang Bao's temperament well. He would probably have to stay away from home for three or four days before the Shang family started asking around.
Around Garbage Mountain, traveling at night was unsafe.
Qiu Shuyu settled down to wait for daybreak.
After all that, Qiu Shuyu presumably understood too.