Back in Mao Valley Town, Ajin first sought out Cao Dayuan, the town's best mushroom farr.
He outright refused.
"Ajin, if I can grow mushrooms in Mao Valley Town, why should I go sowhere else to farm? As long as Mao Valley Town exists, I'm staying here. My family has been here for three generations, and I'm not going anywhere."
Cao Dayuan also reminded him, "This chairman you speak of is just an outsider. How long have you known him? How much do you really know about him? His intentions for coming here, are they really as he says?"
Ajin told him that the wounds left by the raiders were healed by the chairman, and he rolled up his trouser leg to show his scarred calf.
But the town's top mushroom farr thought, "Such a wound might heal on its own without treatnt."
"You're still too young, thinking too simply and trusting an unknown outsider too much. Be careful not to be tricked into becoming bait for monsters."
"Young man, just focus on growing mushrooms and don't overthink things. Life will get better. If you go out, you might just lose your life. Do you understand?"
Ajin really wanted to argue.
Cao Dayuan had never seen the company's luxurious underground caves, nor did he know how powerful the hired samurai crabs were, and he certainly hadn't tasted monster barbecue.
If Uncle Cao experienced these things, he'd understand that with the chairman's wealth, there was no need for such sches.
But no matter what Ajin said, Cao Dayuan just shook his head.
"It's better to trust in oneself. I believe in my own mushrooms."
...
Ajin then approached Feng.
Feng lived beside the worm pits of the Mao Valley Worms, always looking as if he'd just woken up.
"To think there's such a good place, master-level Scavenger… I'm a bit tempted."
He seed very interested.
Yet, in the end, Feng refused too.
His reason was, "I promised the farming team in Chicken Head Town. Brother Bo over there got to breed a two-arm-length Mao Valley Worm. Bring the worm to him, and I can join the team and settle down there. One must keep their word."
"My worms are already very close to that length."
Feng happily showed Ajin a particularly long and fat Mao Valley Worm, which impressed Ajin greatly.
In the end, Ajin could only go to Mr. Gong.
Unexpectedly, he nodded in agreent upon hearing the proposal.
This ti, Ajin was surprised, "Aren't you going to ask if it's a scam or if there are dangers?"
Mr. Gong smiled and said, "Your description contains a lot of detailed and concrete information. If it were a scam, there would be no need to fabricate so many details that could easily be exposed, including the thod of treating wounds, dication, and the underground cavern."
"This chairman has made such stubborn creatures as samurai crabs learn to use weapons and tools and fight skillfully.... Ajin, you don't understand, this is quite an astonishing feat."
"A person capable of this doesn't care about a small place like Mao Valley Town, nor do they need to go through such elaborate tricks to create a scam. If he wanted, he could easily destroy the township and do whatever he wished with the townspeople."
Indeed being literate made his words very compelling to Ajin.
If only he understood as much.
"But give a little ti."
Mr. Gong added, "Since we're going to et this important figure, I should also prepare sothing to display my skills. Give three days, and I will go with you after that."
...
After the Wasteland Developnt Company's sign went up, Zhou Yi painted a crab on a shipping container with oil-based paint.
His rise had been based on samurai crabs.
They were most apt as the company's logo.
The first project of Wasteland Developnt Company was to clear land nearby for farming.
Zhou Yi hadn't expected that even when he offered highly competitive wages, he couldn't recruit even two mushroom farrs.
Ajin said he tried to find a few more people, but seeing Cao Dayuan's refusal, others were reluctant to join as well. Another issue was a missing townsman with a missing front tooth—a usual sign that the person was dead, which made everyone a bit nervous.
Mao Valley Town was inherently insular, and the locals had a weak capacity for accepting new things. They dared venture into the places where monsters road to collect branches and dung, carry water, and find carrion because these were familiar grounds to them.
The unfamiliar Wasteland Developnt Company, offering substantial benefits, only made them wary and cautious.
Zhou Yi was sowhat at a loss.
Luckily, there was still one person who ca for the interview.
Mr. Gong was dressed in worn clothes, his feet shod in long socks, supported by a wooden-handled cane. He appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with heavy bags under his eyes, looking sowhat haggard.
Zhou Yi waved his hand and said, "Sit."
After receiving permission, Mr. Gong staggered to the table and cautiously sat on the edge of the chair.
Zhou Yi, smiling, asked, "Is there anything you would like to know about our Wasteland Developnt Company?"
Mr. Gong paused for a mont before speaking sowhat cautiously, "I just hope to have a place to settle. Ajin ntioned that you would ensure the safety of your employees, right?"
Zhou Yi nodded, "As long as it's within the company's premises— right here, safety is guaranteed."
"That's enough for , I'll do whatever you ask."
The other man seed relieved.
Zhou Yi asked, "What happened to you?"
"I dare not hide it from you."
Mr. Gong began, "My na is Gong Zheng. I originally lived in a distant city to the west called 'Little Smoke Ridge,' a city known for producing tobacco. At the age of ten, I beca an Alchemist Apprentice and was assigned to work under the Alchemist Wu Chen at the Alchemist Association. Since my talent was diocre, I was tasked with miscellaneous chores."
"When I was fifteen, during a routine inspection by the Alchemist Association, it was discovered that Wu Chen was researching forbidden drugs. Afterwards, I was made the scapegoat. Wu Chen broke one of my legs, and the Alchemist Association issued a notice prohibiting from engaging in any work related to alchemy for life, and I was banned from entering Little Smoke Ridge."
"Afterward, I could only follow a rchant caravan and move from place to place, but the surrounding cities and towns all knew about the incident. I couldn't find work, and my applications for settlent were always rejected. Eventually, I settled in Mao Valley Town, far from there."
"I've been here for 10 years and am grateful that the townspeople don't despise . Although my right leg is not good, the rest of my body is still healthy. I try to help everyone as much as I can within my capabilities."
"Unfortunately, my ability is limited, and my misjudgnt of Ajin's injury almost killed him. Thankfully, you corrected it, and thinking about it now, I'm truly ashad..."
He spoke at a steady pace, very thodically.
Zhou Yi asked further, "You were once an Alchemist Apprentice, what was your field of research?"
Gong Zheng paused briefly before replying, "Wu Chen specialized in producing smoke pills, a potent dicine made by mixing tobacco with other special drugs, which is also one of the specialties of Little Smoke Ridge."
"The smoke pills are generally used for pain relief and treatnt of severe injuries. It is also a dicine that can be easily abused, as it produces significant comfort and relaxation after ingestion. The forbidden smoke pills Wu Chen researched could addict and even control both humans and monsters... Many people, including so quite influential ones, ca to him for those pills."
"In my work under him, besides doing chores, I also helped with drug trials on various animals and even monsters. I have a good mory, recognize so drugs, and understand so physiological aspects of monsters."
Zhou Yi understood.
The forbidden smoke pills were an addictive, potent psychoactive drug, implicating several stakeholders.
"The other day I recalled so things and marked and mapped out the monsters in the vicinity of Mao Valley Town."
Gong Zheng handed over a stack of sowhat yellowed papers.
The first page depicted a clawed pig covered in tough hair, with a short snout and sharp teeth, its limbs ending in curved hooks.
The text below was unintelligible.
The Red Kestrel translated it.
...
[Clawed Pig]
Strength: E
Skills: F
Vitality: E
Rating: E
Habit: Social, possessing a certain intelligence, high endurance and resistance to impacts, good at encircling prey and charging, close-range hook claw lethality relatively high.
Value: Claws, fur, at.
...
Zhou Yi's gaze sharpened.
He recognized many of the sea floor's Guangna Species, but had little contact with land monsters.
Gong Zheng had even created profile portraits for the monsters.
This was very valuable to him.
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