Chapter 23 Otherworld Firepower
Time passed quickly. In the early evening, Nightshade returned and saw Lan Chi sitting at the stall, writing and drawing. He didn't ask any questions.
"Back? Did you get what you needed?" Lan Chi looked up at the cloth bag Nightshade was carrying and asked.
"Yes." Nightshade nodded, sweeping his gaze over the items on the stall. Just as expected, not a single thing had sold. He pointed to the large bag beside Lan Chi and asked, "What's this?"
"Flash Bottles. Good stuff. I bought them from the guy at the next stall." Lan Chi covered his mouth and snickered. Thinking about his plan, he could barely wait to get back inside the hut and start making them.
Nightshade glanced at him. It seemed Lan Chi hadn't really listened to his advice. Young people were curious—if he got cheated, consider it a lesson. "Pack up. Let's go to the nearby tavern and eat."
"Huh? Okay." Lan Chi's eyes lit up. A tavern in another world! After being here for over a month, he could finally eat a decent meal.
The two quickly packed up the items at the stall and headed toward the nearby tavern.
Lan Chi followed behind Nightshade. Before they even got close, he could hear singing and noise coming from the tavern. Looking up, he saw a sign carved with a leaf emblem glowing faintly, swaying gently in the wind.
They pushed open the door and entered. The interior furnishings were much more elegant than Lan Chi had imagined. Light-colored wooden walls were covered with glowing fluorescent vines, their soft light illuminating the entire tavern. On a central stage, a dancer spun lightly to the rhythmic drumming. Surrounding diners raised their glasses and tapped the tables, responding in clear rhythm.
By the bar, several aloof Elves were quietly conversing. The air carried the warm fragrance of roasted meat mingled with spices.
Nightshade discreetly scanned the room, then led Lan Chi to a corner to sit down. He casually beckoned to an Elf waitress.
"What would you like to order?" The waitress stepped forward slowly, her expression indifferent, her gaze carrying undisguised detachment, her tone cool.
"Do you have meat?" Lan Chi asked, unconsciously swallowing as he smelled the aroma in the air. "Roasted meat or meat soup? Any recommendations?"
The waitress glanced sidelong at him, her mouth curling almost imperceptibly. Her words carried a hint of casual arrogance: "Yes. Today we have Silver Leaf Chicken Soup. The roast is Star Moss Smoked Hoof. And seasonal vegetable salad."
"Sounds good. I'll take one of each." Lan Chi said with a smile.
Hearing this, the waitress looked at him, a flicker of surprise quickly flashing in her eyes. "Drinks?"
"No." Lan Chi shook his head. He had things to do tonight.
The waitress turned to Nightshade: "And you?"
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"The same as him." Nightshade replied briefly.
The waitress nodded, a hint of suspicion and scrutiny in her gaze. "Thirty Phosphorus Crystals. Pay first."
Nightshade didn't waste words and paid promptly. The waitress pocketed the money, gave them both another suspicious once-over, then turned and walked toward the kitchen.
The food arrived quickly. Lan Chi devoured his meal ravenously, then slumped back in his chair without any regard for appearances. "This is the best meal I've had in a month. Finally, no more chewing on fruit and saltless roasted meat."
Nightshade glanced at him, elegantly wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Tomorrow I'll buy some seasonings and food. Then we can set out."
"No need to stay three days?" Lan Chi asked curiously.
"No need. I got everything I needed today. Supplies here are quite abundant." Nightshade replied.
"Good. Let's head back. I have some things to do tonight." Lan Chi thought about the fireworks he had bought today and couldn't wait to get back to the hut's shelter.
At the bar of another tavern, the short figure was drinking, surrounded by a group of green-skinned people who were flattering him.
"Barak, did the sun rise from the west? You actually have money to drink?" A green-skinned person put his hand on the short figure's shoulder and asked.
Barak slapped the green-skinned hand away. "Get lost. I do business. What's wrong with having money to drink?"
"You? Make money? With those toys you sell? Who would buy them?" Hearing Barak's words, the group of green-skinned people immediately burst into laughter.
"Pah, what do you know? Today I met a benefactor. Sold all my goods." Barak's face was flushed, his chin held high, a look of pride on his face.
The green-skinned people suddenly became curious. "Which fool did you trick?"
"What kind of talk is that? How can you speak like that?" Barak spat. "I'm an honest merchant. The young master valued my goods and wanted to buy them. How can you call that tricking?"
The green-skinned people grew interested. "Oh? A young master? How much did this young master spend on that pile of junk of yours?"
Hmph, hmph. Barak grunted a few times and held up three fingers.
"Three Phosphorus Crystals?" the green-skinned person asked. In his opinion, Barak's junk was only worth that much.
"Pah, what three? Thirty." Barak replied proudly.
The green-skinned person's eyes widened. "Damn, not bad, Barak. Who's this fool? Tomorrow I'll go sell to him too."
"Tch, you don't have the skill." Barak turned and called out to the bartender: "Another Silver Moon Glow."
....
After finishing their meal, the two returned to the wagon. Lan Chi couldn't wait to have the hut open the door so he could enter the space. Nightshade stayed outside to keep watch.
"Little Hut, create a testing space. Put a few wooden stakes in the room." Lan Chi took the materials he had bought today and rushed into the workshop, picking up a pen and writing and drawing on paper.
"Lan Chi, what are you trying to do?" the hut asked curiously.
"Otherworld version of a shotgun. I found a substitute for gunpowder. As long as I can make the ammunition and pair it with a crossbow, it'll work." Lan Chi handed the drawn picture to the hut. "Help me create these structures. Also, make a few bone-structured casings."
The hut glanced at Lan Chi's picture and quickly spat out a few casings.
Lan Chi took out the items from the cloth bag, found the materials for the Flash Bottles, and followed the formula to prepare the materials. Then he carefully poured them into the bottom of the casing and filled the front part of the casing with some stone particles as ammunition.
"Come on, let's go test it." Lan Chi carefully carried the ammunition. He didn't want to accidentally set it off.
He took down the crossbow from the shelf, walked into the newly created space, placed the ammunition on the firing mechanism, and shot. The ammunition ejected and hit the wooden stake. The violent impact caused the casing to vibrate intensely.
"Bang!"
After the muffled sound, the ammunition exploded. The stone particles loaded inside flew out in all directions. The tremendous force embedded the particles into several nearby wooden stakes.
Lan Chi put down the crossbow and walked over to examine the results. "The impact force is decent. It seems making it into a shotgun would really make it effective. A crossbow works, but it's just barely acceptable."
"Little Hut, those structural drawings I gave you earlier—can you create them?"
"Yes, I can create them right away."
