blogombal Chapter 51 The Blum
Chapter 51 The Blum
Unlike the disorientation one feels when traveling to a foreign land.
The teleportation devices set up by the Explorers Headquarters felt even more magical.
After being sucked into the telephone receiver, Yu Jing felt as if he were being rolled and flattened by a rolling pin before falling into a rushing, colorful, turbulent river. His perception of time and space became extremely dull, as if he were completely drunk.
Fortunately, this state did not last long, and Yu Jing soon fell out of the receiver.
Pushing open the glass door, the scene before me was no longer the room inside the convenience store, but a teleportation room just like the one I had stayed in during the previous assessment, with walls covered with brass pipes and dials.
However, instead of the astronomical teleportation device hanging overhead, there was a simple gas lamp.
As previously mentioned, no electronic devices will function within the border area.
Therefore, the Explorers' Headquarters used a different energy system when building Storm Village: coal and steam engines!
To put it bluntly, with the support of cutting-edge information technology in the modern world, Fengbozhai follows the steampunk route, which is more common in fantasy novels, that is, a technology route with steam power as its core.
This was not a rash decision made on someone's whim, but rather a deliberate plan made in advance, taking into account the practical needs of exploring foreign lands and potential future colonization operations.
In fact, the relevant technologies have been used efficiently in exploration of foreign lands.
It has long been proven that equipment made by combining resources from other regions will not be rejected.
Stepping out of the room where the phone booth was located, unsurprisingly, one finds a passageway leading to the outside world.
Even through the door, Yu Jing could already hear the commotion outside. According to the newcomer's guide, the slums and taverns were the liveliest places in the entire Fengbo Village, and you could see a lot of people no matter when you came.
Admittedly, the number of explorers was so small compared to the vast general population of the world that it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as scarce.
But who can blame them when Fengbo Village faces the southwestern region of the United States Federation, which has a total population of nearly 2 million?
Even if it's one in ten thousand, there are still twenty thousand people!
"Fragrant grilled sausages from Wuxian Supermarket, three yuan each, three for ten yuan, you won't regret it!"
"My family has been blacksmiths for generations. This Silver Scale Breastplate is my father's masterpiece, made with painstaking effort. It costs 5 and can easily withstand attacks from alien monsters below the Leopard level. First come, first served!"
"I dug this stone out of a grave in the zombie cemetery, hmm... I suspect it's a relic of some powerful being. Ten thousand dollars for a celestial inheritance, does that sound plausible?"
Standing behind the gate leading to the slum, Yu Jing listened to the increasingly outrageous hawking cries outside and was speechless for a moment.
He reached out and touched the bone sacrificial dagger resting on his lower back, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to go out.
Grayish-white steam billowed from the pipes on either side of the threshold. Yu Jing strode across and stepped into the bustling street.
As the steam that had been obstructing his view dissipated, the bustling market that greeted him made Yu Jing's eyes widen in surprise.
Although I had already learned about it from the text in the newcomer's handbook, actually being in it was a completely different experience.
Looking around, the smooth bluestone pavement gleamed from the footsteps of passersby, and gas-powered streetlights provided illumination at intervals along both sides of the street. Between the streetlights, there were densely packed stalls rented by explorers, and occasionally you could see many small shops on the side of the street, which seemed to be run by amateur exploration teams.
The offices and flagship stores of those large corporations are usually located in commercial districts.
Despite its name, The Scoundrels, the Explorers Headquarters clearly maintains strict control over this area.
Most stalls are fixed in their original locations, with uniform regulations for iron shelves, wooden crates for holding goods, and signs.
The few mobile stalls were also modified steam carts, selling things commonly found in night markets, such as barbecue, noodles, and jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes), as well as drinks. Judging from the owners' attire, they seemed to be explorers as well.
Yu Jing leaned over and glanced at the food on the steam carts and realized that, without exception, all the food was "exotic".
To put it simply, it's made with exotic ingredients.
Some of the more unusual-looking items are quite expensive, and the vendors claim they have special effects.
Wearing hunting attire and a neck-wrap mask, Yu Jing might seem a bit odd in the real world, but here he blends in perfectly.
The surrounding area was filled with weary explorers. Some wore military monoculars around their necks, camouflage tactical uniforms, short knives at their waists, and anti-materiel sniper rifles on their backs; others were wrapped in thick cloaks and carried bulging backpacks full of supplies, as if they were making the final purchases for their upcoming exotic adventure; and there were also small groups of explorers, moving between the stalls, picking through items, haggling with the stall owners, and occasionally huddling together to discuss their options.
The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, swords clashing, and explorers laughing and talking loudly filled the air.
The bustling atmosphere was filled with an immersive, lively charm.
If you look up at the sky at this time...
What you see is not stars and moon or dark clouds, but layers of clouds surging like waves on the horizon.
This is probably the origin of the name Fengbo Village.
Suddenly, I heard the clicking sound of gears meshing.
Turning around, I saw a robot patrolling the streets behind several people wearing Explorers' Headquarters uniforms. Its steam engine emitted a deep hum, and its thick right arm had been replaced with a multi-barreled machine gun, making it look quite intimidating.
"Hey, that's more like it, interesting...really interesting!"
Yu Jing watched the steam robot disappear into the distance with shining eyes, gaining a completely new understanding of the prosperity of Fengbo Village.
It's no wonder that this border area has been developed for decades; everything is in top condition. This completely aroused Yu Jing's desire to explore. Instead of rushing to the branch to complete the identity registration, he strolled around the slums.
Then he realized a very serious problem.
I didn't bring any cash!
Electronic devices are not allowed inside Fengbo Village, so there is no such thing as QR code payment.
I quickly took out the new employee handbook to see if there was a solution.
It turned out that there were indeed places to exchange money in Fengbo Village, provided that he had items to sell.
In places like the slums, there are several shops that specialize in buying exotic items such as ores, herbs, and monster materials.
There was a counter in the exploration hall where you could exchange exploration points for cash, but Yu Jing had just passed the assessment and hadn't completed a single task, so naturally he didn't have any points to exchange...
Wait, there seem to be new employee benefits?
Turning to the newcomer's handbook, Yu Jing saw that newcomers who officially join the Explorers' Headquarters can receive a benefit, which includes some exploration points as start-up capital.