Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

The tall city gate was covered with iron sheets and had a round arch at the top. On the granite wall above, a steel plaque was embedded with the three large characters "Mushroom Fortress".

A woman stood in front of the door.

Her face was cold and pale.

She wore a long black dress, with three brass hairpins securing her beautiful hair.

She was like a noble lady imprisoned in an ancient castle, surveying the world with a distant and detached gaze.

Her gaze was fixed on the man in front of her.

Liu Xingmo adjusted the camera, letting the mechanical spring automatically press the shutter after half a minute. He quickly went to the door and stood side by side with his wife.

A gentle breeze swept through the mountains, carrying the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers, and caressed people's clothes.

The two stared at the camera, simultaneously smiling and saying, "Cheese!"

"Click!" The camera made a soft sound.

The image of a man and a woman holding hands is transformed into tiny rays of light, passing through the lens and landing on the film.

A moment in life becomes eternal in this instant. This is roughly the meaning of taking photos.

That night, Liu Xingmo worked through the night to develop the film, resulting in a photograph with dull colors.

Frame the photo and hang it on the bedroom wall.

The room, filled with various small items, now seemed to come alive.

Liu Xingmo lay on the bed, looking at the photo, and couldn't help but smile.

……

the next day.

Still in front of the Mushroom Castle gate, this time the person taking photos was a young man with menacing eyes.

Liu Yizhu held a small bamboo bottle in his left hand and a glass jar in his right.

On the door behind them, there was a conspicuous banner: Mushroom Brand Blood Qi Potion, even those with innate constitutions say it's great!

Liu Xingmo lay in the darkroom, confirmed the image through the viewfinder, and then pressed the shutter.

Soon, the sensitive film captured the subtle differences in light, revealing a pattern.

That evening, Liu Xingmo planned to develop the film in another way.

The room was pitch black. On the table sat a copper coin, above which was a film, and above that, a light bulb provided illumination.

Soon, under the influence of light, the special coating on the surface of the copper plate changes, and then a corrosive acid solution is applied to it.

As fine bubbles and an unpleasant odor rose, patterns appeared on the copper plate, outlining the image of a fierce-looking young man holding a potion.

"Great! With this coin, we can print photos in the newspapers now!" Liu Xingmo excitedly packed away all the equipment.

From now on, the amount of text in the Heilong Weekly will be greatly reduced... I mean, it will present a different story with pictures and text.

A few days later, it was time to go to work at the newspaper office again.

Early in the morning, the young newspaper editor, carrying a wad of copper coins, walked briskly down the hillside and slipped into the Midtown library.

"Good morning, Director!" Liu Xingmo greeted him and rushed into the office.

"Little Mo, listen to me..." The big macaque had just pushed up its glasses when it saw the young man's figure disappear into the dark corridor. "This kid, for the first time in years, is actually working hard!"

Paper and ink have been prepared in the office.

Liu Xingmo brushed ink onto the copper plate, then grabbed a blank newspaper, stuck it on, pressed it down with a wooden board, and then peeled it off.

The varying shades of ink outlined Liu Yizhu's appearance. The banner behind him and the plaque above his head were quite eye-catching in the newspaper.

Mushroom, that's the brand name.

Soon, five employees arrived.

Liu Huimin remained the same, her gaze darting away as she looked at her boss, with an expression that suggested she wanted to speak but didn't know what to say.

Jiang Youcai, with his sharp eyes, spotted the dried newspaper: "Photos! Boss, you got new equipment?"

Liu Xingmo said smugly, "That's right, everything from cameras to copperplate printing is available."

"Great! My section desperately needs these kinds of photos!" Jiang Youcai exclaimed. "Boss, from now on, leave all the tool maintenance to me!"

"Go away! How many photos do we need for a science section?" Liu Xingmo rolled his eyes, then laughed, "It's better to show off pretty neighborly wives in the relationship advice section; that would definitely boost sales!"

"Hehehe, boss, you know a lot!" Jiang Youcai winked.

"Enough!" Liu Huimin shouted unhappily, "My relationship advice column doesn't need any married women!"

Jiang Youcai's older sister, Jiang Yourong, crossed her arms and said, "In that case, Huimin, my column will rightfully claim the right to display the photos."

"Hey you guys, stop thinking about slacking off and not writing any more articles!" Liu Xingmo said sternly. "I've already decided, all the photos will be given to the GG sponsor. No objections, right?"

"That's settled then." "No objections." "It's reasonable to be indebted to someone who takes a bribe." The employees responded one after another.

Xu Wenting noticed the man in the black and white photo and asked in surprise, "Isn't that Liu Yizhu? What is he doing? He looks so stupid!"

"What? Liu Yizhu? That top genius of Black Dragon Village?" Liu Zhili leaned closer, staring intently at the somewhat blurry black-and-white photo. "So this is what he looks like. Pretty ordinary. By the way, whose guy is this? Mushroom Castle..."

"Ah, that's my home," Liu Xingmo said calmly. "My wife is a second-tier alchemist, and she's currently mass-producing potions."

"Oh," the others responded, and after realizing what was happening, they instantly lost their composure.

"President! Your home? Your wife?" Liu Zhili was so surprised that her eyes bulged out like a toad's.

"What's wrong? Is it strange?" Liu Xingmo asked frankly.

Jiang Youcai chimed in, "Not surprising, right? Who is the boss? He's a big shot in the story writing world. Men like that have already been snapped up internally, how could they end up on the market? Hahaha!"

Liu Huimin remained silent, her face flushed with anger.

Xu Wenting reached out and gently patted her shoulder.

The atmosphere in the office was a bit strange this weekend, but all the work was still completed on time and in full.

The photos in the newspaper indeed received a great response during the sales process on the second day. To the simple and honest residents of the mountain village, it was unbelievable that the painting was done like that.

The densely packed square characters, rendered in simple black and white, vividly depict the number one genius of Black Dragon Village.

A legendary figure with an innate bloodline body—how could such a person not inspire imagination?

Many people in Heilongzhai harbor their own idealized image of Liu Yizhu. But the young man in the photo, stripped of his mysterious aura, appears ordinary and unremarkable.

Most importantly, his comical appearance while holding the medicine left a deep impression.

And there's that banner with the big words: Mushroom Brand Blood and Qi Potion, even those with innate constitutions say it's great!

Liu Xingmo was halfway through selling newspapers when he saw a dense crowd of people on the street.

Men, women, and children gathered together, shoulder to shoulder, whispering among themselves.

"Where is Liu San Niang's Grey Wolf Tavern? It was here an hour ago!"

"The shopkeeper makes two rounds a day; he's probably gone to the south of the city now. Let's hurry and catch up!"

"Is her the only place that sells Blood Qi Potion? Where else can I buy it?"

"I know that both the White Horse Caravan and the Wild Goose Caravan have goods. There seems to be another one, but I can't remember which one it was?"

"The Mushroom Fortress in the east of the city definitely has some; let's try our luck there!"

……

Liu Xingmo couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Are you guys going to go this far? It's just a simple little thing, and you're making it sound like a war.

Judging from this, the inventory accumulated over the past few days will probably be sold out completely.