Chapter 119: Melting.
The headless Slaying Dragon trembled and crashed to the ground with a mighty BOOM!
The investigators hiding in the forest cheered, celebrating their first victory on the New Continent.
Most of the investigators descended to the area below, beginning to assign tasks for what came next.
Disassembling an entire Slaying Dragon was no small task, but the rewards would be crucial for building up the investigation team.
“Red Flame Sac! We need the Red Flame Sac for technical purposes. The magma inside is essential for our forge!”
A little old Dragon Person technician approached the commander, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
“Hmm, let’s wait until the scholars finish registering it. I’m just not sure how we’ll transport these materials up there.”
Our base on the twin peaks is secure, but moving supplies up and down is quite inconvenient.
“We can use ropes. Drag it up with ropes first. Let’s start by constructing the basic forge. In the future, we could consider setting up a cable car on the mountain for transportation.”
“That will become our most important infrastructure.”
“Great suggestion. Can the two of you handle the forge work?”
The commander turned around, gazing at the base and the mountain it rested upon, imagining the cable cars going up and down, and smiled – a rare sight indeed.
“But don’t we have strong hunters? Though technical work should be left to technicians, they can help drag the Red Flame Sac up.”
The technician looked toward the hunters who were gesturing with their weapons near the Slaying Dragon corpse.
While only the Team Leader and Master Swordsman actually fought, quite a few hunters were ready to provide support.
Still, the Master Swordsman didn’t need any help.
Hunters make great construction workers too, don’t they?
Once the ecological researchers finished registering the surface data, the dissection began, along with the extraction of materials.
Shell, Sword Spine, steel teeth, claws.
Chunks of meat, internal liver, Red Flame Sac, and its contained magma.
The hunters among the investigative team worked busily, extracting piece after piece of material.
Sailcloth from the ship’s mast was brought down and spread out on the damp ground, where the extracted materials were placed.
Edible meat and livers were packed away by the Ailu Cats for processing into reserve ingredients.
The massive Red Flame Sac, which radiated intense heat like a furnace, was secured with iron chains from the ship’s anchor and hauled up the mountain by the burly Master Swordsman and Team Leader, transported into the cave via a makeshift hoist.
The technician couldn’t wait to open the Red Flame Sac, transferring the magma into the body of a rudimentary forge and sealing it, then immediately began modifying the sac.
The Red Flame Sac of a Slaying Dragon is also known as a Furnace Bag, which with slight modifications can function as a forge.
You can never have too many furnaces.
By the end of the day, Jié Jié had seen the destination of every single material, and the ecological researcher had analyzed each one before it left.
“This Slaying Dragon has undergone some kind of enhancement.”
That was the result he reported.
“Oh?”
“With so few cases currently available, many hypotheses cannot yet be confirmed, but I believe such individuals may be widely present on the New Continent.”
“Some form of energy, beneficial to both flora and fauna, exists here on the New Continent.”
“I feel it too.”
The Dragon People hunter agreed, rubbing a crystalline fragment of shell in his hand, watching as if flowing light escaped from within the sediment.
“It’s worth investigating. Could this be the reason the Ancient Dragons migrated here?”
The Team Leader muttered, met with silence from everyone else.
The question hung in the air, unresolved. It was already evening, and the happy glow from the caves halfway up the mountain beckoned them all.
After dragging the last of the materials down to storage, all the investigators gathered in the cave, sharing in tonight’s rare feast.
Meat and fish, and a bit of hard-to-come-by vegetables and wine.
“The little guy was a big hero in this induction operation, not only finding the Slaying Dragon, but also sprinkling the powder used for induction!”
The Grand Team Leader held up a particularly beautiful and fragrant large rib cut of meat, placing it on a plate in front of the Smoky Snow Weasel amidst cheers from the crowd.
Feeling the gazes around him, Jié Jié pushed at the sunglasses that weren’t even on his face with his little paw.
Looks like he’s pretty popular! Perfect infiltration into the investigative team!
Everyone else has to sit on chairs, but he’s up on the table! High status!
“Meow~”
The Chef Lady Ailu Cat gave the Team Leader a reproachful look and raised her knife to finely slice the rib meat.
After all, it’s Wyvern meat, rich in muscle protein, and once roasted, it’s quite hard.
And to fully cook the fire-attribute Wyvern meat, the technicians’ unused forge was pressed into service first to roast the meat.
“A well-roasted forge makes work easier!”
That’s what the little old Dragon Person said, holding a charred plant stem in his hand.
Even during the banquet, everyone remained quite frugal, with roasted meat still being the main dish, and each person only receiving a single cup of wine.
But Jié Jié ate his fill, savoring the deliciously seasoned barbecue!
There wasn’t enough extravagance to warrant a luxurious breakfast the next morning. By the late night, everyone returned to their dorms on the Starship to rest.
Only two technicians continued tinkering with the forge deep in the sweltering cave.
The Ailu Cats, having cleaned the dishes, also retired. Only Jié Jié ran out to watch the two technicians operate.
“Add the magma.”
The little old Dragon Person mumbled.
What they called a forge was essentially the ship’s large cannons disassembled, the barrels stood upright on stone stoves, with windows cut into the base.
The shape of the cannon barrel resembled a blast furnace, making modifications quite convenient.
“Little guy, why are you over here? Be careful not to get your fur burned.”
The technician handling the magma by the Slaying Dragon’s Red Flame Sac noticed the Smoky Snow Weasel and reached out to push Jié Jié further away.
Jié Jié nimbly dodged his hand, keeping his distance to avoid interfering with him.
Magma was poured into the forge, followed by charcoal and fire.
The two technicians crowded around the tiny window, staring intently at the changes in the flames, drenched in sweat.
Their eyesight became slightly impaired, and when they shifted their gaze elsewhere, the afterimage of the flames lingered in their vision, blinding them temporarily.
“Estimated temperature has exceeded 1000℃. Add iron ore and observe the reaction.”
Next, a crucible containing crushed iron ore was added.
After adding the iron ore, the two didn’t close the window, continuing to closely monitor the reaction of the iron ore.
Lime and coke had already been added. The temperature was sufficient. But due to the rudimentary equipment, they had to keep a close eye on it.
This directly affected whether the investigative team could securely nail nails into wooden planks. Nail themselves onto the New Continent.
Jié Jié climbed onto the Dragon Person’s shoulder and watched alongside them.
Even with the added weight on his shoulder, the Dragon Person technician remained completely steady.
The iron ore began to wobble, glowing faintly under the scorching heat, its jagged edges gradually becoming smoother.
This indicated the melting of the iron ore.
It melted! Successfully melted!
Even after witnessing the phenomenon of melting countless times, his joy and excitement remained as if it were the very first time.
The frail body of the elderly Dragon Person shook, his dizzy eyes and sore muscles nearly causing him to collapse.
With insufficient additional equipment, the quality of the smelted iron might not be high, but it would suffice for tool maintenance and the daily needs of the investigative team!
