Chapter 145: Section 146: One of Us
“An earthquake actually happened!” Zhenjin hurried back from the wild.
At the time of the earthquake, he was still training in his Crocodile Head Hammer Tail Boa form.
To Zhenjin’s relief, as he rushed back to the small valley, he didn’t witness a scene of chaos.
Although he wasn’t present, Cang Xu, Zi Di, and Zong Ge had joined forces to quickly stabilize the situation and began to clean up the campsite.
The scale of the earthquake wasn’t large, and it came and went quickly.
Zhenjin was particularly concerned about the valley clearing, where the dragon bone and masts were intact without any damage. The wooden plank canopy above the worksite was the biggest contributor this time, as it firmly blocked the falling debris and protected everyone’s hard work.
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After the inspection, there were many debris piled on the wooden plank canopy, many places were smashed into holes, and even more planks were covered with cracks.
With a grave expression, Mu Ban reported to Zhenjin, “Sir, the wooden plank canopy not only needs to be refurbished but also reinforced.”
Zong Ge frowned tightly, “We have been on this island for so long and have never experienced an earthquake.”
Even the Half-Beasts felt utterly powerless in the face of such a natural disaster.
Zi Di then said, “Was that the only earthquake? To be honest, I have a bad feeling. If earthquakes continue to happen, our current residence is very dangerous.”
Everyone was living in rock caves, and should a more intense earthquake occur causing a mountain collapse, those sleeping in the caves would most likely be crushed to death or buried alive.
Shipbuilding also became a major problem.
Originally, setting up the worksite in the small valley was to take advantage of the terrain to build a shipyard, saving a lot of labor, materials, and time.
But now, if earthquakes continue to occur, the small valley becomes a dangerous place, far less safe than open or gentle ground.
This time, only small rocks fell from the mountain, but if the earthquake were stronger, large boulders could roll down, potentially causing massive damage to the ships.
Zhenjin sighed and then decisively said, “This is Big guy going mad, warning us.”
Cang Xu beside him was momentarily stunned, then nodded in complete agreement, “Indeed, it seems Big guy plays a pivotal role. His madness is a great thing for us!”
Zhenjin looked at Cang Xu appreciatively, and then continued, “Let’s not stay in the caves tonight. Everyone should use tents to reside in the wilderness for the time being.”
“Starting tomorrow, we’ll cut down the trees around the valley and clear a large open area. We need to make slide rails, at least extending a section from the clearing in the valley. If the earthquake happens again, we should be able to quickly move the important ship components.”
After finishing, Zhenjin’s gaze circled around and then settled on Xi Suo.
Xi Suo’s face changed slightly, then quickly grasped Zhenjin’s intention for him to continue the propaganda, nodded slightly, saluted Zhenjin, and then quietly withdrew.
Zhenjin knew very well that just based on this one time, to say Big guy’s madness could serve as a warning was actually unreliable.
It was an excuse, but it could change people’s perceptions of Big guy significantly.
Zhenjin needed Big guy back at work, needed such an important labor force.
Others might have complaints, but in the current situation, Zhenjin could no longer care about that.
The most basic responsibility of a leader is to prioritize what is important and urgent.
“To tell the truth, my feeling is similar to Chairman Zi Di’s. Earthquakes have never happened here before, and suddenly there is one, which seems like some drastic change is happening somewhere we don’t know. Everything is starting to go wrong.”
“Next, we have to work with all our might to build a seafaring ship at the fastest speed.”
Saying this, Zhenjin looked at the shipwright with a sharp gaze.
“Whatever method you use, you must shorten the construction period.”
“If you can cut corners, then cut corners!”
“We first need a ship that can sail. Any work that can be done on the ship, leave it until we’re underway.”
The shipwright quickly bowed to accept the command, “I understand, Sir.”
Without rest through the night, the shipwright worked on the new shipbuilding sketches.
Unlike the original sketches, the size of the new ship was reduced by a fifth, and many cabins were cancelled.
Initially, everyone had hammocks to sleep in, but now in the place of hammocks, there were only some straw bed schematics left.
A complete mast was originally continuous. Now, all the masts were reduced by at least half. To extend the masts in the future, they would have to be joined while en route.
The original drawings had cannons and more than ten Crossbow Carts, but now the number of cannons remained at three, and Crossbow Carts were cut in half.
The cannons were salvaged from the wreckage of the Pig Kiss, and the original plan was to build more than ten Crossbow Carts to replace the cannons to some extent.
A long-distance voyage without firepower was unacceptable.
Whether it was Fishmen, Sea Monsters, or pirates, they posed a huge threat to seafaring ships.
But now they were no longer increasing the number of Crossbow Carts, and the ones in the blueprints were all that the camp had.
“We don’t need to make so many sails. We can have people contribute their own clothing, join these clothes together to form a makeshift sail. Actually, it’s also okay for men to go shirtless.” To shorten the construction period as much as possible, the shipwright was all in.
Zhenjin’s orders were quickly issued, and the people, frightened by the earthquake, became more proactive about shipbuilding.
During the day, Zhenjin even began to guard the valley clearing, personally supervising everyone’s labor.
With Zhenjin present, everyone felt at ease, no longer fearing Big guy’s madness again.
A strong pressure in everyone’s heart increased the efficiency of the new ship’s construction considerably.
In the following week, Big guy didn’t fall ill again.
Nor did another earthquake occur.
But the consumption of food was great.
People truly worked as if their lives depended on it, many volunteered to continue working at night, feeling that their sleeping and resting time was too excessive!
After all, the construction of the new ship was crucial for everyone’s life and property.
Zhenjin personally supervised the site during the day.
The masts were inserted onto the dragon bone.
The crossbeams were erected, and with the frames, the outline of the new ship could be seen.
The sails were built at a fast pace, largely because there was a large reserve of spider silk, and just as the shipwright had estimated before, the Blade Spider’s webs were very suitable as one of the main materials for the sails.
When the third sail was constructed, the earthquake hit again.
But Big guy didn’t fall ill.
Everyone overlooked this and, in fact, as directed by Xi Suo, it had already been pointed out that the prediction of madness was not accurate.
The island was becoming increasingly dangerous, and what people cared about most was whether they could escape from it.
Everyone prayed that no more earthquakes would occur, but reality was at odds with people’s hopes.
In the time that followed, the earthquakes not only became more frequent but also increased in scale with each occurrence.
The wooden ceiling had to be reinforced many times, but ultimately, it could no longer hold up.
Zhenjin had no choice but to order everyone to move the new ship’s nascent form out into the valley.
The outside forest was completely cleared, then burned, to form a new worksite.
The new site was completely open-air, there was no time to construct a shipbuilding shed. In fact, due to the earthquakes, even if a shed was built, it would collapse and fall onto the new ship’s nascent form.
Aside from the earthquakes, there was the difficulty of the incessant rain.
Humidity is the archenemy of shipbuilding.
The body of the ship particularly needs to be dry, requiring the removal of moisture from the wood.
Zi Di’s potions played a significant role and, apart from that, people disassembled tents to create an integrated setup, constructing a giant tent in rainy weather to work inside of.
When it was sunny, they would take down the tents, allowing the new ship’s nascent form to bask in the sunlight, doing everything possible to eliminate the moisture within.
When the eighth earthquake struck, amidst the shaking ground and trembling mountains, people were horrified to witness a column of molten lava shooting straight up into the sky.
According to Cang Xu’s estimates, Zhenjin and others were located at the edge of the island, while the volcanic terrain was at the heart of the island, even right in the central area.
From Zhenjin’s position, one could observe the spectacular sight of the volcanic eruption, which meant the reality of the volcanic region was certainly even more terrifying.
“It’s like the apocalypse has arrived!”
“Can we really escape from here?”
“If this island sinks tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.”
Everyone was panic-stricken.
Sensing this, not long after, Zhenjin hosted a bonfire banquet.
During his public speech, as a Divine Favored Knight, he used discourse on the Empire, glory, and contribution to boost everyone’s morale.
The speech was clearly effective.
People, seeing Zhenjin, realized once again that they had such a reliable leader beside them. Zhenjin was not only powerful, but he was also of high moral character; he assured them he wouldn’t abandon a single person, and everyone believed him.
The aroma of the roasted meat was overpowering, and over ten bottles of rum were also provided. People got very little alcohol, but the marvelous taste left them intoxicated.
The tight nerves that had been stretched thin over this period of time were now relieved; furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and the sound of laughter grew increasingly loud.
Carrying a large piece of roast, Zhenjin approached the bonfire in the corner.
This was where the Big guy and the shipwrights were.
Zhenjin handed the roast to the Big guy.
The Big guy didn’t dare to take it, and only after being scolded strongly by a shipwright did he hesitantly accept it. sea??h thё N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
“You’ve done well these days; without you, the ship wouldn’t have been built so quickly. Keep it up.” Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Zhenjin encouraged the Big guy.
The Big guy, shrinking in his seat, looked up to see Zhenjin smiling at him, and then quickly looked down again at the roast in his hands, not knowing what to say.
Zhenjin didn’t linger long, and soon after, he turned and left.
As the shipwrights respectfully saw him off, they sincerely lamented, “Sir, you are truly different from the others! I’ve never seen someone as noble as you.”
This old father’s thanks were extremely sincere; his voice choked up, and his eyes were faintly red.
Zhenjin patted his shoulder and looked around to see that the attention of everyone was on him.
He raised his voice slightly, “Every person has a place on this ship, and no one will be left behind.”
“In other words, we’re all in the same boat.”
“I know that differences exist between us.”
“Differences in status, bloodline, appearance, personality.”
“But these differences should not be the reasons for us to doubt, oppose, or weaken each other from within. We need to unite tightly, only then can we maximize our chances of survival.”
“We are all… one of us!”
Zhenjin’s last words were spoken with particular emphasis.
As expected, his impromptu speech once again won the cheers of the crowd.
Many found that they had fallen in love with Zhenjin’s speeches, very willing to listen to him speak a little more.
Zhenjin’s words comforted their frantic hearts, calmed them down, and filled them with hope and motivation once again.
Zi Di stared intently at the young leader.
Cang Xu wore a smile of approval.
Bai Ya’s fervent eyes seemed to blaze, while Lan Zao remained silent and restrained.
Hei Juan quietly clenched his fist.
Even the usually composed Sanda showed a trace of distraction.
“One of us?” Zong Ge looked at the bonfire in front of him, the phrase causing a past incident to reemerge before his eyes.
He lay on the cold floor tiles, his head pinned down hard by a foot.
“One of us?” the sneering voice of the youth stepping on Zong Ge was sharp, “Ha! You’re actually saying you’re one of us?”
The young Zong Ge struggled, but could not resist the power of the youth before him; he could just muster, “Don’t we all share the same blood, have the same father, aren’t we brothers and sisters, aren’t we all one of us?”
As soon as he spoke, Zong Ge felt the force of the foot on his head suddenly intensify.
That ornate boot even ground vigorously against his temple.
“Shut up, you bastard!” yelled the youth stepping on him.
The other onlooking youths also raised their voices.
“Who’s your brother or sister?”
“You were born in the filth of the mud; what makes you worthy to stand shoulder to shoulder with us? Indeed, you carry noble blood, but that’s precisely your tragedy. Because it only highlights your inferiority and incompetence.”
“You’re a disgrace to our family!”
“A stain on our family’s reputation!”
“Bastard!”
“Look in the mirror, see your ugly face, your body covered in fur. A mere Half-Beast, you actually think you can stand side by side with us!”
“Wishful thinking!!”