Chapter 49: This Question Is Beyond the Syllabus

After a simple one-on-one test, Zhou Xu began trying all sorts of things.

For instance, he tried having the skeleton soldiers use slings.

By his reasoning, they would become skeleton slingers in no time at all.

Reality quickly taught him not to take things for granted.

Having a skeleton soldier hold a sling? No problem. It could do that.

Having one hold a stone projectile? No problem there either.

A sling in one hand and a stone in the other? Still no problem.

But having the skeleton soldier place the stone in the sling, whirl it around, and throw it?

Sorry, it simply could not do it.

The skeleton soldiers clearly considered that question beyond the scope of the lesson.

This also allowed Zhou Xu to confirm once and for all that these skeleton soldiers were restricted to melee combat.

As for whether ranged units could be unlocked, he estimated that he would need more True Words—something like “Skeleton Slinger,” perhaps.

With the True Word characters currently at his disposal, however, he obviously could not form such a phrase successfully.

During this period, Zhou Xu naturally tried various combinations of the True Words he possessed. In the process, he vaguely discovered that the combinations of these characters seemed to follow certain rules—or, more precisely, had to make a certain amount of sense.

Simply put, randomly assembled or forced combinations of True Words could not produce any effect.

Aside from the most reasonable combination, “Skeleton Soldier Control,” he had tried quite a few other assorted phrases, but unfortunately, none of them had worked.

Incidentally, experimenting in this way also consumed his strength.

Zhou Xu therefore knew when to stop. He had work to do every day and could not exhaust himself.

As dusk fell, Zhou Xu returned to his tent and lay down. As was his habit, he began pondering various matters before sleep.

If True Words are powered by some special force within my body, does that mean I can actually cultivate it? But the question is, how?

He was completely at a loss over the matter.

He could only sense that a force was being drawn out from within him when he invoked a True Word. Under ordinary circumstances, he could not glimpse the slightest clue about how to cultivate it. This was a genuine source of worry.

After all, only by finding a method of cultivation could he improve more quickly and make his True Words stronger.

There was also the possibility that this power simply could not be cultivated.

Or perhaps the answer was even more straightforward: True Word power grew stronger through the repeated cycle of expenditure and recovery.

That was certainly possible as well.

In fact, compared with the beginning, Zhou Xu did feel that the True Word power within him had grown stronger.

Perhaps improving True Word power really does amount to repeatedly exhausting and restoring it. It is like physical training, which consists of a cycle of exercise and recovery. True Word power may likewise increase through constant daily practice.

Even so, I cannot exhaust myself every day in the name of training. Once my strength is completely depleted, it cannot recover quickly. Besides, in this world, I must preserve enough power to deal with battles that may erupt at any moment.

In ordinary circumstances, it would be best to limit my expenditure to around thirty percent, ensuring that I always retain seventy percent of my strength to handle unforeseen situations.

As he continued thinking, the fatigue he had accumulated throughout the day gradually overwhelmed his consciousness. With the sound of snoring rising, Zhou Xu sank into deep sleep.

The following morning, Zhou Xu slowly opened his eyes while sprawled inside his tent.

Over this period, he had developed a fairly reliable biological clock. Even when he had not fully awakened, he would more or less wake around this time.

After all, in this era, he had no time to lie in bed if he wanted to survive as well as possible.

Perhaps because he had spent the previous day researching and repeatedly consuming his True Word power, his head felt unusually heavy.

He stepped outside the tent and took several breaths of fresh air, which helped clear his mind somewhat.

Just as he had done at the Salt Lake Tribe, Zhou Xu had assigned the various teams and departments their duties as soon as the camp was established.

Thus, every morning, he did not need to repeat his instructions. The tribe members naturally began their work for the new day, saving him considerable effort.

Only the hunting team needed to wait for him before setting out today.

Starting today, the hunting team’s methods would change as well. With the introduction of snare traps, the number of people required would be reduced even further.

Zhou Xu estimated that three people should be able to cover the wild rabbits’ territory with ease.

As for the manpower that had been freed up, Zhou Xu naturally intended to use it to form an exploration team and gradually begin exploring the surrounding area.

For now, the priority was to find some crops—especially crops that could serve as staple foods—so that he could usher in the agricultural era and resolve the food shortage more thoroughly.

“Jinghong, I’ll leave the exploration team in your hands.”

Ye Jinghong’s Command rating had now risen from one star to two. Advancing from one to two stars was still relatively easy.

Besides, his Command limit was ultimately four stars, so Zhou Xu did not mind giving him more opportunities to train and grow.

More importantly, Ye Jinghong’s “Execution Expert” talent could also prove useful here, improving the team’s exploration efficiency.

That was precisely what Zhou Xu needed at present.

Upon receiving the order, Ye Jinghong immediately displayed his decisive and efficient nature. He assembled the necessary personnel, took the map, and set off at once.

On the first day, the exploration range would remain close to Black Moon Camp. They could return before dark, so there was no need for excessive concern.

The real issue would come later. If the exploration team wanted to travel far enough, they would inevitably have to spend nights outside.

To that end, he had to solve the problem of carrying food and fresh water.

Food was relatively easy to deal with. Back at Salt Lake Camp, he had already taught Ye Jinghong and the others how to preserve meat with salt.

Salted food could be stored for longer and was also convenient to carry.

Fresh water was a more troublesome matter.

The camp’s main storage containers were clay jars. However, clay jars were heavy, and they could easily shatter if dropped. They were not suitable for carrying under such circumstances.

Setting clay jars aside, the only solution Zhou Xu could think of was sewing water bags from animal hide.

They had animal hide, bone needles, and thin cord made from bark. The materials were all available, and the process was not particularly complicated. Animal hide was naturally thick and elastic; as long as it was stitched tightly enough, it could hold water.

Zhuang Mengdie soon learned how to make them, and her department gained another task.

That was right. As the number of projects continued to increase, the original handicrafts team had now expanded into an equipment department.

At present, all kinds of tools and equipment needed by the tribe were produced by the equipment department.

Naturally, Zhuang Mengdie took charge of it.

After arranging for the production of the animal-hide water bags, Zhou Xu still found no time to rest in Black Moon Camp. He turned around and headed straight for the rabbit pen.

The rabbit pen had been built only a few days earlier, but it already held eight or nine wild rabbits.

With their limited intelligence, the rabbits clearly had no idea how to deal with the hunting traps. In the end, they had fallen into them with ease...