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Chapter 17 – Lunatic
On Ark Continent, it wasn’t as if no one studied Black Wastelands in the past. More than 1000 years ago, a famous high-class wood mage joined with several water mages and alchemists, with elves who had the most knowledge about plants, studied the Black Wastelands in an attempt to revert the state of the soil and turn it into the continent’s largest food source.
Yet after 20 whole years of research, they had not been able to make Black Wastelands grow a single blade of grass. They could do nothing but give up quietly.
No one had ever studied Black Wastelands from that point onwards. People thought that there was no longer any value in doing so. It would be a waste of time.
This actually had a big relation to Ark Continent’s basic circumstances. The headcount on Ark Continent wasn’t small, but the area sizes were even larger. There were many plantable lands, so there were no food shortages, and that was why agriculture didn’t have a huge attention from people of the continent.
But because of how relatively peaceful it had become in these years and there weren’t a lot of large scale wars, population increase got quick, so some smaller countries now had food shortages. Yet the continent’s 5 large empires were having stable seasons, which hadn’t developed this situation yet. No widespread attention was raised as a result.
Don’t forget that there were slaves on Ark Continent. It was nothing if food prices were rising. Just decrease the food that slaves eat. As long as they wouldn’t starve to death.
Of course, the slave owners wouldn’t say that their slaves had food cuts. In fact, the slave owners wouldn’t even talk about their slaves. They would rather talk about women and moonlight. Just not slaves. That’s why no one on the continent realized that food crisis was getting closer and closer to them.
The continent was peaceful now and various countries’ economies were developing nicely, and that was the reason goods’ prices were climbing up. But the ones in power didn’t realize that while the economy was hiking, the living standards of most citizens had not increased. In fact, the quality of their lives had lowered a lot, not to mention the slaves’.
When a country’s economy booms, the goods’ prices go up naturally. But when prices go up and the civilians’ incomes weren’t increased, it naturally makes a lot of civilians unable to support themselves. Not being able to eat meant that more people would become slaves, and social contradiction would intensify.
Of course, Maylin didn’t know these things. She only knew that food was expensive on the continent. If Zhao Hai could really turn the unbearing Black Wastelands into fertile pastures, then it wouldn’t be impossible for Buda family to develop.
Zhao Hai looked at Maylin’s excited look. He simply smiled, “Yes, granny Maylin. This is an ability which I got, but I can only change 10 acres of soil every day, so you have to organize them at the afternoon to measure as much land as possible. First, we’ll set 1000 acres as the standard. We can’t do more if we exceed that, so stop after 1000 acres.”
Maylin nodded in excitement, “Alright, young master. I will arrange it immediately.” Maylin attempted to walk out after that.
Zhao Hai blocked her in a hurry, “Hold it, granny Maylin, don’t rush yourself. You can do it after lunch. Oh yeah, we must not measure too much, and not too far from the castle. Don’t let other people discover this ability of mine. Otherwise, with our current power, we can never defend ourselves against ‘those fellows’. “
Maylin was also someone who saw how the world works. Once she heard Zhao Hai’s words, she calmed down immediately and nodded, “Alright, I understand, young master. Leave this to me.”
Neither Zhao Hai nor Maylin realized that Meg who was standing behind Maylin was now looking at Zhao Hai with eyes full of infatuation.
Whenever Zhao Hai appeared before, Meg would keep her head down. But now she had raised her head and looked at Zhao Hai clearly. There was no longer the look of hiding around whenever Zhao Hai was near.
Meg grew up with Adam when they were little. Because Adam was 2 years older than her, when they played, Meg would be Adam’s tail. Wherever Adam went, Meg would be there. If Meg was bullied by other kids, Adam would fight for her, so she felt affectionate towards this ‘young master brother’ of hers since little.
But as they grew up, they slowly became knowledgeable. Meg knew Adam was her young master. She could no longer call him her ‘big brother’, because she’s a girl. Adam also stopped playing with her from that point on, so she was very sad.
A little older, Adam knew a lot of other young masters as friends. It was also during that time that Adam started going bad, and it seemed that he forgot about his childhood playmate.
When they got even older, Adam had gone worse from there, while Meg had become more and more beautiful and knowledgeable. She even displayed great magical talent. She and Adam were on two completely different paths, but Meg was less and less happy over time. She tried to stop Adam when she saw him fooling around every day, but it was useless. Even her grandfather’s words wouldn’t phase Adam, not to mention her. She hoped with all her heart that the time would return. Back to when they were little. To when her ‘young master brother’ would fight for her and play with her every day, so that he would return to her side.
People always say that a maiden’s love is like poetry. Meg was just like that. She always hoped that Adam could go back his original self one day, but reality had shattered her dreams mercilessly. Adam actually tried to rape her.
When Adam walked towards her with lewd chuckling, she felt that her own world had crumbled. Those once beautiful memories had left her far away. Although she escaped her fate, she seemed to have lost her soul. Her world lost all colors since then. Everyday was passed in a dull and lifeless manner.
It was then that disaster struck. Buda family was at the moment of life or death. She watched with her own eyes at the people who lived with her since she was little, leave Buda family one by one, and the place she lived at since little was taken away by the king. She watched Adam being force fed the Water Of Void, who then went into a coma. She watched her own home vanish in such a short time.
And then they arrived at Black Wastelands, this barren land, yet Adam hadn’t woken up. She watched her own grandparents getting busy each day in order to let Buda family continue on. They worked ceaselessly, like a drowning person making one final struggle.
Meg was just a hapless girl. She couldn’t bear the sudden continuous impacts in her life. If it weren’t for her grandparents being at her side, she probably would’ve broken down and committed suicide.
But not long after their arrival in Black Wastelands, Zhao Hai came. Meg knew that her young master changed. He was no longer that ignorant young master who only knew about fooling around day in and day out. He also became mature and knew how to work hard for the family.
First, it was magic radishes, and then blue-eyed rabbits, and now black soil improvement. She suddenly discovered that her young master had become a stranger, yet he slowly became merged with that perfect young master image in her heart.
Meg realized that Adam now had something that was attracting her. His disposition was no longer that foolish and scary one that she was afraid of. It had now become a kind of grounded and natural disposition, making people want to approach him.
She liked seeing Adam being full of confidence, and she also liked seeing his warm smile. She also liked how Adam had an unnatural, remorseful expression when he saw her. Without being aware of it, her maiden’s heart had once again attached itself to Adam.
Maylin didn’t notice Meg’s changes. After talking to Zhao Hai, she immediately walked towards the kitchen. This let Meg snap out of it. She immediately lowered her head and followed Maylin into the kitchen with a red face before bringing the food out.
They were still eating together, but Maylin and other were eating very quickly. They finished their food in only a few mouthfuls, and then Maylin and Meg went outside, who seemed to get ready to organize people to measure the land.
Zhao Hai looked at Maylin and could only smile at her look. He understood Maylin’s feelings. Maylin always assumed that Black Wastelands was a land of death. Someone suddenly said to her now that he could turn a land of death into a land of life. This was like someone telling another who got a terminal illness that ‘Your disease can be cured’. How could they not get excited?
Zhao Hai finished up his lunch slowly and then led Blockhead and Rockhead out of the castle. Once outside, they saw that Maylin and others had already led the slaves to measure the land.
The slaves didn’t have special skills, but they had planted things before. It wouldn’t be good to let them do something else, but measuring land and planting? They were completely up to the task.
10 acres of land were measured immediately while Maylin and others weren’t doing anything. They just looked at Zhao Hai idly and see if he could really change the soil.
Zhao Hai looked at the 10 acres of soil. He was frozen in place. He had seen how large 10 acres of soil was in the space, but he didn’t need to care about planting and harvesting in there. Now that he had to improve this 10 acre soil, he really didn’t know what to do. Could he still control the space soil and water once away from the space?
Just now when in the space, he forgot about this matter when he was preoccupied with calculating the ratio. Now what could he do? Bring out the space soil and water bit by bit and spread them onto the soil?
Just when Zhao Hai was getting impatient, the notification from space suddenly came, <Do you wish to improve the soil in front of you? YES / NO > With the voice, a projected screen appeared in front of him, and on it were two buttons. One YES, and one NO.
Zhao Hai was very delighted. He immediately pressed YES, but he realized that his hand passed through the projected screen while touching nothing. The screen and the buttons were locked in place, and he instead became like a dancing lunatic.
Thanks for the chapter
fiuu. Imagine doing that all by hand.