Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 192: Chapter 29 Harvest and Departure

“`

“Oh? Take me to see it.”

“`

Li Yan looked up.

“Big Taro, bring out those things you fished out from the sea for Tianbao to have a look.”

“Oh~ I’m on it.”

A few pirates responded and brought out something quite heavy, requiring two people to lift it. There were three in total, all of the same make.

About one meter in size and shaped like a conch, tapping it with a finger produced a clinking sound. Uncle Hu said it was made of iron, but Li Yan wasn’t so sure.

[Magic Motion Technology: Living Seawater Turbine]

Quality: Rare

Condition: Intact

Origin: Pasteur Molecular Laboratory

Increases a ship’s travel speed by up to 30% or adds up to 6 meters per second to the top speed, depending on the size of the ship. It can be installed on any vessel. The same piece of Magic Motion Technology can only be equipped once per ship.

Activation Requirements:

Forty-minute prep time

Twenty kilograms of seawater (77% sodium chloride, 11% magnesium chloride, 12% other materials, error margin no more than 30%)

3 milliliters of Pasteur mother culture solution per minute.

Remaining Volume of Mother Culture: 1.26 liters

Operation Requirements: 30% specialization in Magic Motion Studies or 60% in Microbiology

Note: Yishi Zhufen spent a fortune to purchase this special device from the Red Haired Devils.

After receiving the information from A Fleeting Glimpse, Li Yan heard another voice by his ear.

“You have reached over 70% exploration level for the worldview of this Yan Fu event!”

It was the same juvenile voice from before, namely Earth Endurance.

“You’ve unlocked a deep-sea chart. You can use it to better explore this world.”

You have obtained the Mage (Macau) – Europa Deep-Sea Chart. Available for consultation at any time.

Mage (Macau) – Europa Deep-Sea Chart:

The 18th century was an explosive era. It was also a time when science and God wrestled with each other.

Every moment, new ideas burst forth. New opportunities were unearthed. New theorems were discovered, new machines were invented, rational yet filled with romance, rigorous and vibrant, the imagination and creativity of scholars illuminating the night, weaving into a brilliant galaxy.

Yan Fu moves, if interested, why not come here and see, the heart of the 18th-century leap, the pride of the era’s stage, Europa.

Li Yan shrugged noncommittally.

Last time in Renchen, when the exploration level reached 60%, Li Yan unlocked all the ancestral exploration notes, but since arriving in Ten Cities, he had the privilege to consult autonomously and to ask Earth Endurance, so there was no prompt after reaching 60% this time.

However, now at 70%, Yan Fu presented Li Yan with a deep-sea chart, clearly a new opportunity of the unripe fruit. Yet, it would obviously require Li Yan to settle the Southern Seas matters before he could plan for it. At least, it seemed unlikely for this Yan Fu event.

While reviewing the exploration record of this fruit, Li Yan had seen a message left by another explorer who also received a deep-sea chart, but it was from Guangzhou to North America. The original words of that traveler were complaints about needing a very good rating to re-enter, questioning the use of the deep-sea chart.

For Li Yan, who was determined to establish a logistical base here, this chart was certainly useful.

“Besides these three, the rest are badly damaged and probably unusable.”

“`

“`

Dashengshu Chong said to Li Yan.

“Good stuff, keep it safe. Which of you found this? Two string of cash per person.”

The pirates beamed with joy. Two string of cash was not a small amount; it could cover the expenses of an ordinary family for half a year.

After inspecting it for a while, Cha Xiaodao said, “The assembly and operation of this thing require expertise, surely needing a foreigner’s hand, or at least their teaching. No one in the Red Flag Gang has that capability.”

“Didn’t we rescue a foreigner who hasn’t turned into a sea monster? Ask him if he knows anything?”

…

Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao stood shoulder to shoulder. Before them stood a foreign man in a suit, sporting a small mustache, his face filled with terror and his pupils adorned with unusual patterns.

Name: Washington

Status: Mage Curse (permanently fixed) (tireless, no pain sensation, eternally vigorous, and slowly losing emotions of sorrow, anger, and joy)

Note: Born into poverty, he worked in a logging camp from a young age. To please the priest who sponsored his education, he ambitiously recited the Latin “New Testament” fluently at fourteen and became the home tutor for the local mayor’s daughter, which he used as a stepping stone to enter high society.

Unfortunately, his affair with the daughter, twelve years his junior, was exposed, forcing him to flee to the East in search of opportunities.

He was also the youngest steward of the East India Company, who ingested an immature Longevity Seed during Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea and was afflicted with the Mage Curse.

Expertise: Magic Motion Studies 82% Swordsmanship 75%@@novelbin@@

Skills: ???

Threat Level: Deep Blue (white, blue, red, black, moreover, when someone shows hostility, Earth Endurance will mark with a red light, which is distinct from threat level.)

As Washington was falling into the sea, he watched helplessly as Martin’s face became covered with blue scales, his mouth filled with seven or eight rows of sharp teeth, and he was stuffed into a barrel by a demon made of fish bones. His once proud demeanor collapsed in an instant, leaving only the most pure will to survive.

“no! no! Don’t kill me. I would like to be a devil’s servant for life.”

As soon as he spoke, everyone on the ship looked at me, and I looked at you; none could respond.

“I’m saying~” Li Yan asked Cha Xiaodao, “Did you go to university?”

“New Oriental.”

“Oh, so went to that school and ended up marrying a chef?”

“Stop talking nonsense, what about you?”

Cha Xiaodao rolled her eyes.

“When I was running a video store, I used to watch a lot of American TV series, but unfortunately, I didn’t remember much. I only know one sentence: ‘Mazel tov’.”

The two from Yan Fu looked at each other, bewildered, but in unison, they said, “There’s a language pack in the auction house; don’t you know to buy one?”

The other pirates didn’t quite understand, taking it as some high-level secret talk.

Just then, Li Yan heard an old man coughing.

Zhang Dong helped Lin Yuanfu walk over, the old man’s lips were black, clearly not resting well. He looked at Li Yan, and Li Yan looked back at him.

After a long while, Li Yan gestured for him to come over.

The old man approached, making the sign of the cross on his chest: “No one will harm you, sir.”

Washington’s eyes flickered, and he began to murmur with Lin Yuanfu.

Lin Yuanfu’s expression never changed, but Washington’s did. At first, he was adamant, but after the old man spoke a few words and pointed at Zhang Dong, he changed his tune, causing a commotion.

The old man got spit on his face and sighed. He shook his head at Li Yan, turned to leave, but was voluntarily stopped by Washington.

The two had another whispered discussion, and this time, Washington’s tone was much softer.

“`

The old man still wore a deadpan expression, even showing a hint of impatience, followed by another bout of bickering. Washington pleaded desperately.

After a long time, the old man reluctantly nodded, to which Washington expressed his profound gratitude, bowing repeatedly.

Lin Yuanfu turned his head, “His name is Washington, he manages affairs for the British East India Company. He says that if you let him go, he can give you a big gift, the heart of their massive warship, oh, roughly that’s what he means.”

“Where is this ‘heart’ he speaks of?”

Li Yan remained impassive, as if not too concerned.

The old man chuckled, twirling his beard, not exposing the truth. Just as casually, he asked, “Who made the soy-braised shark last time?”

…

“How about it, elder, the dish is ready, so tell us about it.”

Li Yan had set a table full of dishes, hosting a banquet for Lin Yuanfu.

The old man slowly picked at his food. After listening to Li Yan, he swallowed his bite and called over Cha Xiaodao, “Young man, what dish is this?”

Cha Xiaodao sitting on the side finished his cup of yellow wine, “Yam and duck liver mud.”

“Tsk,” Lin Yuanfu shook his head, “Why didn’t you use sweet rice wine?”

This manner of his actually amused Li Yan.

“Elder Lin, no, Lord Lin, Governor Lin. I can tell you have composure and aren’t afraid of death. But you must also understand, whether or not you make it back in one piece isn’t important to me. I’ve attacked Humen; I don’t mind killing another Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. You’ve weathered much of your life, close to ascending, ready to rectify the land, it would be a shame to die at the hands of a headstrong Qinghai pirate like me.”

Lin Yuanfu’s face turned red after a few cups of wine.

“Headstrong youth? The headstrong youth with tens of thousands of fierce soldiers? You ‘headstrong youth’ manage to bring out a fleet of battle-hardened warships, but the great officialdom can’t even produce a cannon that doesn’t burst, commanding a navy of seventy or eighty fishing boats, those three or four meters long, that you blasted into disarray with a single salvo. If you are headstrong youths, then the officialdom is blind and deaf.”

The old man sighed as he spoke, having witnessed the journey’s trials; Zhang Dong had also mentioned a thing or two.

He didn’t believe in supernatural beings and restless spirits, yet, he couldn’t help but worry about the East India Company’s “Wrath” and the scale of a few pirate ships.

It was horrifying beyond belief.

What truly chilled Governor Lin’s heart more than the pirates was the foreigners’ ships and cannons. After all, the pirates’ large ships and cannons also came from the foreigners, typically a notch lower in quality, but even so, they have already forced the Humen navy into a scattered retreat.

Li Yan clenched his fist, then spoke, “I must return to Lantau Island by tomorrow at the latest; this has already been a delay. I’m very interested in what that Red Haired Devil mentioned, but I’m out of time. In a word, once I get what he spoke of, I guarantee both of you fine food and drink. Even if in the end, the negotiations between the Red Flag Gang and the officials fall through, I will absolutely not harm your lives, nor will I use you as shields against official blades. My word is my bond.”

“Then I’ll be kept as a valuable commodity for a lifetime, just costing a few extra pounds of rice, just in case I become useful.”

“Haha, then there’s nothing left to discuss. You two just stay put. We’re setting out.”

“Get the best medicine for Zhang Dong’s wounds; that boy can be saved in a day, there’s no reason my pupil’s arm can’t be healed. Get us another cabin, the current one is too damp and musty. There are people snoring next door. Also, we want three meals a day with four dishes and a soup, plus morning tea.”

“No problem. But you agree so readily? Not even going to mention letting you go, not even asking for your pupil to leave?”

“Leave?”

Lin Yuanfu kept shaking his head, “Now, even if you let me go, I wouldn’t leave.”

…

Washington was wiping sweat, assembling something. The deck was piled with various strange remnants and several sealed wooden boxes filled with oil-soaked spare parts.

He mumbled to himself, directing the pirates to help, occasionally blurting out some Chinese. According to Lin Yuanfu, the “heart” of the “Wrath” lay within these remnants.

“That conch-like oddity, once the foreigner installs it, hey, it really works like a charm.”

Mr. Hu wiped his sweat.

“Mr. Hu, did you get how he did it when he was working?”

Li Yan asked.

Mr. Hu bowed his head, deep in thought for a while, and then shook his head, “It’s a bit complicated. Now that you’ve reminded me, the foreigner was intentionally or unintentionally blocking me, and I wasn’t paying attention.”

“There’s no hurry, the skills will eventually be ours. Find a few who learn quickly to assist him; he’ll know what’s important in his heart.”

Li Yan, with his arms folded, stared at Washington. He had been busy with several dozen pirates for more than three hours, and the Red Flag Gang’s ship had also been delayed here for most of the day.

Washington wiped the sweat off the tip of his nose again; the gaze of the tall and thin man with the buzz cut behind him gave him the feeling of being pricked by a needle. When he tightened the last screw, he excitedly waved his hands behind him.

“Tian Bao Ge~ Tian Bao Ge~”

Li Yan didn’t bother to respond and quickly walked over.

What he had assembled was a ten-meter-wide machine tool, gleaming with a silvery luster, crafted with precision.

It was equipped with wrenches, pliers, and many more parts whose names escaped recall, alongside a joystick and a covered tube.

At a conspicuous spot was a fist with the middle finger raised.

[Magic Motion Technology: Heavy Cannon Regeneration Machine]

Quality: Legendary (Unique)

Place of origin: Helun Shipyard

Status: Ordinary

Effect One: Cannonball modification—the solid cannonballs modified by the Regeneration Machine will have a “fragmentation” special effect. Gunpowder-filled cannonballs will have a “secondary explosion” special effect, without consumption.

You can also insert special materials into the tube to endow the cannonballs with special effects.

Current recipe: Eagle Eye pearls, dried frog powder, ink—these will endow cannonballs with the “black fog” special effect.

Please explore more recipes on your own.

The modified cannonballs reduce the strain on the cannon barrel by 50%.

Effect Two: Cannon maintenance—placing a damaged cannon on the machine tool will restore it to optimal condition within two days. It can also perform emergency maintenance in one minute, but after twenty shots, it will be completely ruined, and there is a possibility of bursting during firing.

Effect Three: Cannon production—the time depends on the specifications of the cannon; it can be made without any materials, but inputting materials will shorten the production time.

Effect Four: Cannonball production—the time depends on the specifications of the cannonballs; they can be made without any materials, but inputting materials will shorten the production time.

The cannon ammunition made by the Regeneration Machine does not enjoy the modification effects.

Effect Five: Miniaturization of cannon ammunition—the volume can be compressed by up to 70%, and the mass by 50%.

Note: The debate over the perpetual motion machine can stop now, my dear Ponds.

—???

Operation requirement: 50% specialization in Magic Motion studies.

“Governor Lin, would you please ask Mr. Washington how much the Red Flag wishes to pay him to work as a shipwright?”

Lin Yuanfu relayed the message verbatim.

Washington seemed to have anticipated the question, his answer made even the old man Lin Yuanfu take a second glance at him.

“He says he doesn’t need a salary; he wants a teacher who can teach him Chinese. He says he’s capable of doing more than just a shipwright.”

Li Yan stared at Washington for a while. The foreigner, nervous, licked his lips but still insisted.

“Good, couldn’t be better. Mr. Yulian from England. I also think that seducing someone’s daughter poses far less risk than trying to seduce their wife.”

Li Yan ended with a joke that the listener didn’t understand.