"A river sand resource point? It produces river sand?"
Wang Yi furrowed his brow.
Before his very eyes, the riverbank began to glow and rapidly transform. The gravel vanished, the weeds were cleared away, and the ground flattened...
In the span of just a few breaths, the area before Wang Yi had turned into a flat, sandy beach about the size of two soccer fields. Fine, yellowish-brown sand, like ground-up nutshells, covered the ground.
The fifty Sand River Giant Crab carcasses were still there as well.
"This is a resource point?"
Wang Yi rubbed his chin.
He now had a river sand resource point, but it seemed the sand still had to be gathered by hand!
'I don't have a use for river sand right now, so I'll just leave this resource point be for a while. When the conditions are right, I can set up a sand quarry here. On the other hand, these fifty Sand River Giant Crabs are a nice gift from the system...'
Curious, Wang Yi immediately took Man Datou to examine the Sand River Giant Crab carcasses.
He had never seen crabs this big. Logically speaking, they were basically monsters!
However, the fifty Sand River Giant Crab carcasses weren't all intact. Some had their carapaces smashed to bits, while others were riddled with holes. Without exception, all of their claws had fallen off upon death.
Soon, Wang Yi discovered something interesting about the claws. They were actually dropped items with Attribute Information.
[Sand River Giant Crab Left Claw: 68% biological carapace + 32% unknown alloy. Can withstand 500°C without deforming. High abrasion resistance. Used by the Sand River Giant Crab to dig sand and burrow. Inner cavity has been processed.]
[Sand River Giant Crab Right Claw: 62% biological carapace + 38% unknown alloy. Can withstand 500°C without deforming. Solid, sharp, and corrosion-resistant. Used by the Sand River Giant Crab for combat, capable of piercing rock strata. Inner cavity has been processed.]
"Holy crap, is this bio-metallurgy?"
Wang Yi was pleasantly surprised. The Sand River Giant Crab's left claw was the size of a human head, wide and flat like a shovel. He figured it could be made into tools like spades or shovels.
The right claw, meanwhile, was sharp and as long as an adult's forearm. It was a natural spearhead! All he needed to do was attach a shaft to make a high-quality spear that could be used as a weapon.
Beaming with delight, Wang Yi had Man Datou help him collect all fifty pairs of crab claws.
As for the torsos of the Sand River Giant Crabs, they weren't recognized by the system as loot and had no Attribute Information. Most were badly damaged, but Wang Yi wasn't about to let them go to waste. Crabs this large were definitely a top-tier ingredient. If he dug out the crab meat and threw it into the Gourmet Processing Plant, it would surely be turned into food.
However, the Crossbow Machine Carriage didn't have a cargo bed. It was already a struggle just to load the fifty pairs of claws, so transporting the crab meat would have to wait for the next trip.
By the time Wang Yi returned to his ten-meter-radius territory with the fifty pairs of crab claws, it was already noon.
In the warehouse courtyard, seven units of stone and three units of wood had been collected.
Wang Yi temporarily stored the fifty pairs of claws in the Chaos Warehouse. Just then, he saw Zhang Xiaohu approaching with a basket on his back. The boy bowed and said, "Lord, I'm the Vegetable Squad Leader! I've returned from gathering wild vegetables!"
"Vegetable Squad Leader?"
"Yeah, my dad appointed me. All the kids in the village are under my command. I have three subordinates, and I led them to gather a basket of wild vegetables."
As he spoke, Zhang Xiaohu showed Wang Yi the fruits of his labor. Wang Yi took a look and saw that it was indeed a full basket of wild vegetables.
"Not bad. If this basket of wild vegetables is sent to the Gourmet Processing Plant, it can probably produce at least a hundred cups of Vegetable Soup!"
Wang Yi nodded, gave his personal bodyguard Man Datou a meaningful look, and said, "Take this to be processed!"
"Yes, sir!"
Man Datou picked up the basket and left the courtyard.
Wang Yi glanced at the sun, then said to Zhang Xiaohu, "Go tell your father that it's time to eat. Have him come get the roasted chickens!"
He planned to distribute fifty Golden Roasted Chickens to the people of Stone Village!
At that very moment, five li to the east, two figures in ragged clothes with bruised and swollen faces walked into Stone Village.
One of them had salt-and-pepper hair and looked to be in his fifties or sixties. He wore a long robe that, while old and worn, was still reasonably clean.
The other, a tall man in his thirties, wore a short jacket and was barefoot.
They both groaned in pain as they walked, their bodies injured and their appearances wretched. They looked as if they had just been beaten up.
The two were none other than the village chief of Stone Village, Yang Wanli, and his eldest son, Yang Qingniu.
"Everyone in Stone Village, get out here! Our grain's been stolen! Grab your tools and come with me to fight!"
Yang Wanli started shouting the moment he entered the village.
But after shouting, he froze.
There was a haystack at the village entrance, a popular spot where a crowd of villagers usually gathered to bask in the sun and doze off.
But now, despite the sun being high in the sky, there was only one person there.
The man had his hands tucked into his sleeves and his face covered by a tattered cloth hat. He was leaning against the haystack, fast asleep.
Yang Wanli didn't even need to see his face to recognize him as Pang Damao.
Pang Damao was only twenty-five, but he was the most famous lazybones in Stone Village. He was always listless and droopy-eyed, looking as if he could never get enough sleep.
But now, startled awake by Yang Wanli's shouting, he immediately scrambled up and yelled, "The chief is back! What did you say? Our grain was stolen?! Son of a bitch, who stole it?"
Yang Qingniu said, "Who else but those bastards from Huangni Village! Those guys have completely turned into bandits!"
Pang Damao was aghast. "Stealing our grain? Aren't they trying to starve us out? Chief, what are we going to do? My family is completely out of food. Can I come to your place for dinner tonight? If I don't eat soon, I'm going to starve to death!"
"Get lost!"
Yang Wanli kicked Pang Damao aside, then looked around in confusion and bellowed, "Where is everyone? Did they all die?"
Pang Damao raised his hand. "I know! They all went to the river valley to the west. Someone said an Immortal appeared there. If you move some stones and gather some firewood for him, you get roasted chicken to eat!"
"Roasted chicken?"
Yang Qingniu subconsciously licked his lips.
Yang Wanli barked, "Then why didn't you go?"
"I'm not an idiot!"
Pang Damao chuckled slyly. "Where are you going to find an Immortal in this world? And even if you did, would an Immortal be a fool? Giving out roasted chicken just for moving some stones and gathering some firewood?"
Yang Qingniu grunted in agreement. "Right. If an Immortal had roasted chicken, he'd definitely hide it and eat it all himself. Why would he share it with anyone else? Right, Dad?"
Yang Wanli glared at his eldest son and yelled, "Cut the damn crap, both of you! Hurry up and get everyone from the river valley! If we don't, those bastards from Huangni Village are going to devour all our grain!"
When Yang Wanli and the other two reached the river valley, it was right when the villagers were having their meal.
Each person had half a roasted chicken and a cup of Vegetable Soup. They were squatting or sitting, all eating with great relish.
Yang Qingniu's eyes widened in shock. "Holy mother," he cried out, "there really is an Immortal!"
After shouting, he charged directly toward Yang Qingxiu, staring eagerly at the large chicken leg in her hand. It had only one bite taken out of it.
"Gimme a bite!"
The fragrant aroma assaulted his nostrils, and Yang Qingniu couldn't hold back any longer. He reached out to snatch it, but Yang Qingxiu quickly ran away.
Pang Damao, who was right behind him, had a similar reaction. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head as he lunged directly at the children, including Zhang Xiaohu and Yang Xiaobao.
"Hey kids, let me have a taste of your roasted chicken!"
Pang Damao was clearly also trying to snatch some food, but before he could even get close to Zhang Xiaohu and the others, he was sent flying by a kick.
"Who dares cause trouble here!"
The one who had kicked Pang Damao was none other than Man Datou.
The burly man, who stood over two meters tall, then turned and kicked Yang Qingniu in the rear, sending him stumbling forward with a yelp.
"Don't hit him, he's one of us!"
Zhang Dashan quickly stepped forward to intervene.
Yang Wanli, however, was quite calm. He looked at the small courtyard in the distance, then at the Rubik's Cube-like Gourmet Processing Plant, his eyes narrowed in thought.
Zhang Dashan's wife, Yang Qinggu, was Yang Wanli's eldest daughter. She hurried over to him and said, "Dad, you're back! We were just talking about you! What happened to your face? Who hit you? Do you want some roasted chicken? Let me tell you, if you want to eat, you have to work. You can even earn dinner tonight!"
Yang Wanli looked at his eldest daughter, her mouth glistening with grease, and said, "What's all this about? Is there really an Immortal? Impossible. Absolutely impossible. There are no Immortals in this world!"