The Boss King actually disguised himself as a novice village chief?!-Chapter 39 - Beacon Fires

39: Chapter 39: Beacon Fires?

Burn Cement!

39 -39: Beacon Fires?

Burn Cement!

Hydroponics had completely captivated Lind’s interest.

It had been only three or four days, yet the Undead had brought him an unexpected harvest, truly a delightful surprise.

But he was also well aware that even with the support of Earth’s data and knowledge, leaping from a post-apocalyptic medieval society to a modern one, regardless of shortcuts, was not something that could be achieved overnight.

Faraway water cannot put out a nearby fire; by the time the technological tree had grown, perhaps he and the players would have already reached a higher position.

On the contrary, what Ace Aimu suggested about planting mutant plants was most suited to the current situation.

It could be planted and solve the food shortage, with only two complications.

First, one might mutate after eating too much, but it wasn’t significant because for most people of this world, being able to eat until one mutates was a good thing.

Second, farming in the Calamity Shadow region wasn’t as simple as imagined; the Calamity Shadow would keep spawning things.

Put plainly, farming in enemy territory was somewhat humiliating.

By afternoon, no Undead had come to submit tasks; searching for food was evidently harder than imagined.

Lind could only hope that his ‘traveling frogs’ would think to return after departing and not be lured away by something or someone else.

The Carrion Queen’s Broken Sword was now strapped to his back, signifying that Lind’s strength had improved, and it would also have an unexpected effect in the players’ eyes.

Having Light Martial meant having prestige.

Appearance and adornments were also part of the service industry’s job.

Suddenly, billowing smoke came rolling in, carried by the icy wind that stung the eyes.

His first thought was that something had gone wrong!

“What’s going on?” Lind hastened over and found the Undead gathered around a breach in the city walls, burning something; they were the source of the thick smoke.

However, these Undead, wearing only white shorts, were not faring well, each of them holding their heads and squatting on the ground.

One particularly experienced Undead placed his wrists together and pointed with his index finger toward a nearby firepit.

Lind subconsciously looked at his wrists; there were no silver bracelets.

It could only be muscle memory.

The soldiers were on edge, swords drawn and crossbows cocked, ready to rush forward and strike at any moment.

“It’s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!” The situation was not going as the Undead had anticipated.

“How dare you start a fire within the outpost!” The soldiers were dutiful and strict, impartial and unyielding.

“Damn, am I going to get marked as an outlaw?”

The color drained from the faces of the Undead.

“No one said setting a fire meant jail time.”

“Wait!” came Lind’s voice at the crucial moment, “What’s going on?”

Although he didn’t mind getting physical with players, the premise was that they were the unsavory type.

For players with not so malicious intent, guidance, and tolerance were key.

Reward systems and moral reinforcement would steer them towards good deeds.

He didn’t discount the possibility that some would engage in destructive acts for sheer malice rather than benefit, relishing in malevolence and murder, but fortunately, Star Dragon Ridge outposts did not have this type of Undead player.

When Lind approached, the soldiers stepped forward to narrate the process.

According to the soldiers, it all started with a few Undead discussing how to repair the breach in the wall.

Then, inexplicably, more and more Undead started to arrive… more and more!

This group of people said some inexplicable things, then started digging stones, digging holes, burning fires.

By the time the soldiers noticed the billowing smoke and came to intervene, the ‘wolf smoke’ had already soared into the skies.

“Undead, what are you planning to do?”

Lind waved the soldiers back.

He preferred to avoid confrontation if possible; after all, he considered himself to be civilized.

He still believed that most players were reliable.

But releasing ‘wolf smoke’ was indeed excessive.

Even in this post-apocalyptic era, suddenly releasing thick smoke could attract the attention of surrounding settlements.

Even though the existence of Star Dragon Ridge might not be a secret to those nearby, a large fire might attract not just humans, but other things as well.

The mere act of emitting ‘wolf smoke’ was enough justification for Lind to cut them down.

You’d think they were waiting for an airdrop.

No wonder the soldiers were angry.

“My lord, we were preparing to make cement,” said an Undead squatting with his head in his hands, “to repair the wall breach with cement.

If we just use stones to fill the gap, it won’t be durable enough.”

Cement?

Lind hadn’t expected them to be so efficient.

But what does making cement have to do with sending up smoke signals?

It’s clear they used green wood for the fire.

Don’t tell me…

these Undead are all talk, no action.

Living in a civilized society, not many people truly understand daily life and cooking—it’s mostly armchair theorizing.

Even those who are good at armchair theorizing are considered to have some understanding of life.

The more exaggerated ones can’t even tell crops from weeds in the field.

What can you do, these are the ones you’ve managed to coax into staying with difficulty.

Just spoil them.

“Cement can also be used for building houses!” an Undead immediately added.

“I’ve also discovered a very hard type of mutated bamboo.

We could directly use reinforced bamboo concrete, theoretically speaking…”

“If you ask me, we should just go for steelmaking.

Primitive steelmaking—I’ve crammed a lot of short videos on it.

We have the materials, and there’s also primitive cannon making.

Aren’t you guys interested in Dwarf Alchemy cannons?

They’d knock people flying.”

“You’d better be talking about Dwarf cannons.”

Though they were like fish on the chopping block, resigned to their fate with sincere attitudes, it didn’t mean the Undead were afraid.

But Lind felt that, while the group was excited in their discussion, their practical skills were probably…

yet to be developed.

Even so, he definitely needed to support them.

Players who enjoy farming, players who love infrastructure, and those who love exploring—all of them were talents.

They had the knowledge of the real world to back them up.

What they lacked was only skills and experience, and even life-threatening risks were no longer a problem.

With continuous experimentation, they were bound to succeed eventually.

The social type was the most troublesome, pure idlers who couldn’t create the slightest value.

After internally complaining that social players were useless, Lind nodded, “The territory needs stronger walls and more houses.

I’ve felt your enthusiasm, and I will assign you an area for construction and renovation.”

Cement wasn’t that difficult a technology, but reinforced concrete, laying foundations, and building houses were all beyond Lind’s knowledge, and he didn’t have the time to study them.

If they truly mastered building techniques, he and his Soldiers, as well as the women and children, could live in new houses that were better at keeping out the cold and had higher defensive power.

Not to mention the more distant benefits that could stem from researching the building materials technology tree, simply getting a group of Undead to work earnestly as construction workers and stay put without wandering off was a task well worth it.

Keeping themselves busy with anything was good—just don’t wander off.

Of course, he wouldn’t outright say he wanted the Undead to study reinforced concrete, but instead he said, “The sturdier the houses you build and the better the environment, the higher the rewards I’ll give.”

Worried that the Undead might not take it seriously, Lind added, “As long as it’s up to standard, I will offer 200 Rand Gold Coins as a reward, and the better the job, the higher the reward.”

The Undead breathed quickly.

200 Rand Gold Coins, how long would it take to gather that much food, to kill monsters for that kind of money?

“Long live Lord Lind!”

“Don’t worry, my Lord, I will build you a fine house.”

“What style should we go for, European, Chinese, Nordic, or Japanese?”

Watching the lively discussion among the Undead, Lind thought he needed to take precautions, “Research on materials and architectural planning should be done outside Star Dragon Ridge, so as not to disrupt the normal operations of the territory.”

Not disrupting the normal operations means, in plain language: Don’t accidentally burn down my home.

After giving his orders, Lind left with his Soldiers.

The smoke signals might attract some trouble.

It’s well known that players don’t have a static field of vision, so relying on players to patrol and catch anyone with ulterior motives is very unrealistic.

Excessive time consumption also means players don’t have the patience for such tasks.

Only Lind and his subordinate Soldiers could perform this kind of work.

It’s also why Lind was very keen on recruiting some more indigenous NPCs to serve him.

“There shouldn’t be any problems, right?” Lind stood atop the wall, peering into the distance, and then a thick plume of smoke, as if it had eyes, rushed towards him borne by the wind.

If one were to use a scientific explanation, the air pressure is lower when a person is moving, creating an imbalance of pressure inside and out, so the surrounding air would naturally move closer to the person, causing smoke to gravitate towards them.

But right now, Lind didn’t have any scientific knowledge in his mind, just an unreliable feeling.

These Undead, they really shouldn’t cause any problems, right?