Chapter 29
**Description: How to Craft the Weapon 'Energy Crossbow' @ Infinite Good Literature, all in Jinjiang Literature City**
**Required Building: Blacksmith Shop**
**Crafting Restrictions: [Blacksmith] profession, personal level ≥ 5**
**Materials Needed: Refined Iron x3, Refined Copper x1, Branch Wood x1**
Which lord wouldn’t love ranged troops?
The crossbow is a more advanced ranged weapon than the bow and arrow, boasting greater lethality, attack range, and accuracy that far surpasses that of traditional bows.
Especially since this is an energy crossbow, a form of magical technology that doesn’t require additional arrowheads or quivers. As long as you provide energy, it can generate energy arrows—calling it a laser weapon wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Not to mention, the Ye Bai territory is home to an energy crystal mine, so energy is in no short supply!
Equipping this to the territory’s guards? It’s not just a divine artifact for the early game; it could last well into the late game without needing upgrades.
Unfortunately, its price matches its effectiveness. Just the blueprint alone costs a staggering 50 gold coins. Given that Ye Bai territory currently collects only 54 copper coins in taxes each month, it would take over 70 years to afford such a blueprint.
“Hehe... My lord, I’ve brought some real treasures this time. If you miss this chance, who knows when you’ll see them again?” The traveling merchant flashed a proud smile at Ye Bai, subtly hinting that the goods this time were rare.
When a traveling merchant first visits a player’s territory, they bring the most comprehensive selection of goods, including some rare items. Subsequent visits will likely feature more of the same type of goods based on the lord’s purchasing preferences.
Merchants chase profits; they know what sells well in a given place, so they’ll keep restocking those items.
If it were any other lord welcoming a traveling merchant for the first time, having exhausted their territory’s resources, they might only be able to buy one or two items, left to lament the rest. But since Ye Bai had used a precious policy slot to summon the [Traveling Merchant], she naturally had enough confidence.
“Can we trade items instead?”
“Of course.” The traveling merchant stroked his beard. “Nothing is off the table for trading; it’s all about whether the values match.”
This principle is one of the guidelines of the [Merchant Guild], a loose alliance formed by merchants, where nearly all professional traders belong.
At the same time, the ‘shelf grid’ in front of Ye Bai transformed into a trading interface.
At the center of the page was a balance scale. On the left were the various goods the merchant had brought, while the right displayed the resources from the territory’s warehouse, food from the cellar, and Ye Bai’s personal backpack.
**[Cured Meat] x400**
**[Herbs] x200**
**[Honey] x50**
**[Saplings] x20**
**[Pottery] x50**
**[Gold Ore] x100**
**[Branch Wood] x20**
…
**[Light Feather Boots] x1**
**[Light Feather Hat] x1**
**[Energy Crossbow Blueprint] x1**
Seeing Ye Bai place everything from her shelf onto the trading scale without missing a single item, the traveling merchant’s initially relaxed expression gradually shifted, culminating in a look of astonishment as he stared at Ye Bai, his face saying, “Are you kidding me?”
The scale representing value tilted heavily in Ye Bai’s favor, while the merchant’s side sank to the bottom.
In the next moment, Ye Bai placed her trading items on the right side of the scale.
**[Energy Crystal (Rough)] x24**
Instantly, the merchant’s side of the scale began to rise, slowly lifting from the lowest point.
Prioritizing the rough energy crystals from her territory, Ye Bai then began to add higher-quality **[Energy Crystals (Normal)]**, one by one.
Under the astonished gaze of the traveling merchant, when the normal energy crystals reached 31, the scale finally balanced, indicating that the value of the trading items was sufficient.
**[Confirm Trade]**
In an instant, the merchant’s backpack was emptied.
“It’s been a while since I’ve encountered such a big client!” The merchant snapped back to reality, and his expression towards Ye Bai transformed, becoming much warmer.
Energy crystals are the highest-grade energy source, more valuable than gold in the myriad realms. From Ye Bai’s bold move, it was clear to him that this lord likely owned an energy crystal mine.
**[Traveling Merchant ‘Kazmai’’s Favorability +20]**
**[You gained ‘Merchant Guild’ Reputation +5]**
Surprised by the favorability notification, Ye Bai took a deep look at the merchant named Kazmai, realizing she had stumbled upon a phenomenon in this world that differed from her previous understanding.
For a lord who makes a high-value one-time purchase, the traveling merchant would indeed gain favor. However, in the beta version, unlike the favorability with ordinary NPCs, a merchant’s favor is directed towards the entire territory, reflected in discounts on future sales, rather than being specific to the individual merchant NPC.
In other words, the merchant role functions more as a vehicle for trade rather than an NPC with personal needs.
Yet, the way Kazmai was acting now was similar to other NPCs, showing his own likes and dislikes.
However, after days of interaction, Ye Bai had gained a certain understanding of the intelligence level of NPCs in this world. Not to mention high-level professionals like Ka Li, even the ordinary villagers exhibited a level of intelligence that made Ye Bai feel they were not much different from real people.
If it weren’t for the influence of loyalty and satisfaction levels, which seemed to exist like rules, Ye Bai might have doubted whether this was a real world.
Perhaps she could try to explore the ‘boundaries’ of the NPCs?
So, Ye Bai said to the traveling merchant Kazmai, “I hope you can continue to come to our territory for trade in the future.”
“Absolutely!” Kazmai readily agreed, clearly pleased with the suggestion.
Ye Bai nodded, thinking that if the next time a merchant came to trade was still this Kazmai, she would be able to determine whether she could perform some actions outside the familiar ‘game rules.’
…
After purchasing a large batch of supplies, carts in the territory were busily transporting goods between the market, warehouse, and cellar.
With the traveling merchant’s visit, Ye Bai had struck gold, converting the energy crystals that were temporarily useless for the territory into a wealth of resources beneficial for its development—enough to even support upgrading to a level 3 territory.
The villagers of the territory looked at the newly added supplies with expressions of surprise and satisfaction.
Most notably, as the cellar filled up, the territory’s satisfaction directly increased by 10 points, rising from 84 to 94, while loyalty also increased by 5 points, from 62 to 67.
Given the current population, the food stored in the territory was enough to feed the entire village for four months. Meanwhile, the hunter’s lodge was busy processing the remains of the beasts they had previously hunted, and new crops were being planted in the four new fields, promising fresh food soon.
For the villagers of the level 1 territory, Bai Ye Village, a lord who could fill their bellies was a worthy lord to support, especially since the lord only collected such low taxes and had a herbalist working in the territory…
Receiving the system notification, Ye Bai smiled slightly. Loyalty and satisfaction directly influenced the territory’s work efficiency and would accelerate productivity growth.
She watched as the second point of productivity was filled, then allocated it to the newly unlocked technology branch for level 1 territory: **Processing and Refining**.
Unlocking this technology was different from others, consuming 2 points of productivity.
**[Processing and Refining] unlocks level 2 production buildings: [Mill], [Oven], [Smoking Room], [Pottery Workshop], [Brick Factory], [Sawmill], [Smelting Workshop];**
This is the most crucial technology for the level 1 territory phase. With Processing and Refining, the industrial area could truly be called an industrial zone.
The refined iron and refined copper needed for crafting the energy crossbow are not available in the blacksmith shop; they must be produced in the [Smelting Workshop] using iron ore and copper ore.
The food processing buildings included are also vital. Compared to rough food, higher-level processed food can improve the health of the territory’s residents and will slowly increase their personal experience points. The higher the quality of the food, the faster the increase.
In five game days, it would be the twentieth day since the territory was established, and a new batch of refugees would join. This group would be the armed forces Ye Bai planned to train for the territory.
Ye Bai’s original development plan had accelerated with the emergence of the energy crossbow. She felt that once she equipped all the militia villagers with energy crossbows, she could lead them to open up trade routes to the outside world.
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