Chapter 4

Compared to the ghostly area in front, this place seemed like another world, with dazzling lights and a steady flow of people. This street, though not large, was the only commercial street for miles around. To the left was the slave district, and to the right was the slum. Compared to the slaves who had nothing, the purchasing power of the slum dwellers was clearly a notch higher.

The formation of the commercial street depended on purchasing power.

Cookies, canned food, buns, steamed buns, sausages... These things, which were once considered snacks before the End War, had now become staple foods, and even luxury items. Due to radiation issues, there were almost no places on Mars suitable for farming or animal husbandry. All the food available now was produced in greenhouses and indoor facilities. Any edible item, even a single peanut, had become a rare commodity.

Liu Weian had always been below the poverty line. Today, he unexpectedly obtained 255 copper coins, adding to the 6 copper coins he had saved, making a total of 261 copper coins. This was the most he had in three months, but it was far from enough to splurge.

He bought 10 buns at 10 copper coins each, 10 compressed cookies at 8 copper coins each, and used the remaining money to buy energy bars, which cost 5 copper coins each, totaling 16 bars. When he returned, he had only one copper coin left in his pocket.

He had to thank the "Plunder" game, where the money was interchangeable with the real world. It's worth noting that the onset of the End War also triggered a credit crisis. After the establishment of the three empires, the currency was unified, and paper money, which relied on credit, was abolished. The currency in circulation now was mainly gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins, but copper coins and silver coins were the most common, with gold coins being relatively rare.

Walking through the dimly lit streets, the environment in the slave district was far worse than in the slum. Although most people chose to hibernate at night due to the cold, there were still those who were so hungry that they roamed the dark streets. Every night, countless crimes occurred. Someone like Liu Weian, who didn't even have an ID, would be ignored if something happened to him.

Although the society was technologically advanced and civilized, here it was like a chaotic world. Fortunately, nothing happened on his way back. Liu Weian thought it was because it was still early. After 10 PM, anyone wandering outside would likely encounter some trouble.

Returning to the basement, as expected, the room was dark. Liu Weian turned on the light, and Zhao Xin immediately saw the food he was carrying. The buns were still steaming, and her eyes lit up.

"Eat," Liu Weian said, grabbing a bun and eating it himself. The long-lost taste, though not as good as on Earth, was a supreme delicacy for someone who had been drinking energy bars for three months.

Zhao Nan Nan looked at Liu Weian but didn't move. She knew the difference between buns and energy bars. However, she couldn't resist the hope in Zhao Xin's eyes, feeling a pang of sadness, she silently grabbed a bun. Zhao Xin cheered softly when she saw her mother take a bun, quickly grabbing one and eating it with a happy smile.

The energy bars provided enough energy to keep a person alive but lacked many essential trace elements. The price determined the quality, and long-term consumption of energy bars would make a person weak. It was necessary to supplement with real food from time to time.

Zhao Nan Nan stopped after eating one bun. When Zhao Xin saw her mother stop, she also stopped. Liu Weian had already finished his second bun and looked at Zhao Nan Nan, saying softly, "Eat. I'm on the right path in the game now, and I won't go hungry anymore."

Zhao Nan Nan hesitated for a moment, then grabbed another bun. She knew her daughter well; if she didn't eat, her daughter wouldn't either. She felt both moved and sad, lowering her head to hide her red eyes. Zhao Xin was very happy and quickly grabbed another bun.

After eating three buns, Liu Weian returned to bed, pondered for a while, and then put on his helmet to enter the "Plunder" game. Zhao Nan Nan looked at him in surprise but didn't say anything. Usually, Liu Weian would be fast asleep by this time, exhausted. Today seemed different.

The bed was an old iron-framed bunk bed. Liu Weian slept on the bottom bunk, and Zhao Nan Nan and her daughter slept on the top bunk. After Zhao Xin finished eating, Zhao Nan Nan tidied up the remaining food and pulled Zhao Xin to bed. The 1.2-meter-wide bed was a bit narrow for two people, but Zhao Nan Nan felt an unprecedented warmth.

In the game, it was also night. The time in the Monster World seemed to be synchronized with the Human World. The sky was also sunny during the day, and a day was 24 hours long. The only difference was that the moon in the Monster World was red, looking quite eerie.

Due to his physical condition, Liu Weian had always been online during the day and rested at night. His stamina could only support six hours, with seven hours being the limit. This was the first time he had gone online at night.

The city of Stone was much quieter at night, with the number of people halved. Many shops were closed, and many people held torches to enter or leave the city. Liu Weian didn't have much time to pay attention to these and hurried out of the city. Under the moonlight, although the light was dim, he could barely make out the road. He had been to the cemetery many times and wouldn't get lost.

The farther he went from the city, the fewer people he saw. After walking about ten kilometers, there was no one on the road. The wilderness was pitch black, with only the shadows of trees and the cheerful chirping of insects in the grass. Occasionally, the shrill cries of birds were quite frightening.

When he passed through a forest, Liu Weian stopped and began chopping trees. This forest was made of iron poplar, with only about a hundred trees. Iron poplar was hard and elastic, making it an excellent material for making bows.

Ancient books say: A bow is made primarily of wood, horn, tendon, glue, silk, and lacquer, also known as the "six materials." Wood is for distance, horn is for speed, tendon is for depth, glue is for cohesion, silk is for strength, and lacquer is for protection from frost and dew.

Wood includes various types of wood and bamboo, used to make the main body of the bow, often in multiple layers. The quality of the wood determines the performance of the bow. The best wood is from the Chinese cork tree, followed by the elm and oak, with bamboo being the worst. Horn is animal horn, cut into thin sheets and attached to the inner side (belly) of the bow. The best horns are from cows, with white, green, and unripe horns being the best. A horn that is 25 inches long (about 50 cm) and has three colors is the best (the price of one horn is equivalent to a cow, hence the term "cow on a cow"). Tendon is animal tendon, attached to the outer side (back) of the bow. The purpose of tendon and horn is to enhance the elasticity of the bow, making the arrow more powerful and penetrating. The best tendons are long and uniform. Glue is animal glue, used to bond the wood and tendon. The "Record of Crafts" recommends six types of glue: deer glue, horse glue, cow glue, rat glue, fish glue, and rhinoceros glue. The preparation method is generally to boil animal skin and other tissues (especially muscle) in water, sometimes adding a small amount of lime, then filtering and concentrating. According to later bow-making experience, fish glue, especially from the palate and fish fat, is the best. Modern Chinese bow makers use fish glue for the critical parts of the bow, while using animal skin glue for less important parts, such as covering the surface. Silk is used to tightly wrap the bow, making it more secure. The best silk is bright and shiny, like in water. Lacquer is applied to the finished bow to protect it from frost and dew, and the best lacquer is clear.

To make a good bow, the process is complex and time-consuming. Clearly, Liu Weian didn't have the time, so he made the simplest type of bow. He used a torch to bend the iron poplar into a curve and then tied it with cow tendon.

This was the second time he made a bow, and it only took him an hour, unlike the first time, which took two days. With the bow done, the next step was to make arrows. The process of making a good arrow is not much simpler than making a bow, but Liu Weian needed disposable arrows, so he didn't need to be too strict.

However, even for disposable arrows, the materials couldn't be careless. Liu Weian knew bamboo was good, but there was no bamboo in this area, so he had to choose wooden shafts.

The hardness of iron poplar was sufficient, but its elasticity would affect accuracy. Liu Weian, familiar with the area, walked about three miles northeast into a dense forest, which was quite eerie. If he hadn't been there multiple times, he wouldn't have dared to enter alone.

After a careful look, his eyes lit up, and he stepped forward, drawing his knife and chopping. He quickly cut down five or six finger-sized saplings and ran back. The darkness was terrifying, and the flapping of startled birds seemed to be right behind him. Liu Weian didn't look back until he reached the main road, where he caught his breath and began making arrows.

This was iron birch, as hard as iron and as straight as a spear, but it was difficult to grow large. If not for his sharp dagger, it would have been hard to cut them down. One sapling could be cut into four arrow shafts, making exactly 24 arrows. He peeled and polished them, removing all unnecessary parts, and finally attached the nail clippers from the corpse's hand to the tips, completing the arrows.

Twenty arrows had tips made from the corpse's nails, one had a tip made from animal bone, and three had no tips, so he sharpened them. The feathers from the pheasants he had hunted were just enough to complete the 24 arrows.

With the bow and arrows ready, the next step was to kill monsters. Liu Weian hesitated for a moment and then headed for the cemetery. It was truly eerie to go to a cemetery alone at night.

The monsters at night were clearly more numerous than during the day, scurrying about. Liu Weian didn't have the confidence to hit them, so he carefully avoided them. After about an hour and forty minutes, he entered the cemetery area, where the moonlight was noticeably dimmer, and everything was silent.

It seemed that due to the pervasive corpse smell, few creatures liked to live there. There were no monsters running around, and no insects chirping. Liu Weian was unaccustomed to the silence, but he gritted his teeth and walked in.