The Creators: From Night City

Although there is a clear division of responsibilities among the members of the investigation team, there is no very obvious superior-subordinate relationship. Everyone gets along with each other on an equal footing. This is why Ta Tan spoke frankly in front of the commander-in-chief.

After all, those who can come to the New World all come with lofty ideals. Those who seek power, fame and fortune would never think of coming to this isolated and dangerous new world. Apart from danger, it is boring and death is always around. Except for some supplies that can be replenished by the fleet between the New and Old Worlds, everything else has to be obtained from local materials and be self-sufficient, which is very difficult.

Of course, this also cultivated a pragmatic style for the entire team.

The camp adheres to the simple principle of "the more you work, the more you earn". This principle is reflected in all aspects, even the distribution of housing. The hunters who hunt outside all day and face monsters are allocated the most luxurious houses in the entire Star Stronghold.

They take the greatest risks and naturally need the best environment to rest and recuperate.

Of course, thanks to the abundant food sources in the New World, everyone does not need to spend extra money on food. However, if you want to enjoy the delicious dishes made by the chef using various precious raw materials, you will need to spend extra money, and sometimes even spend points from the Hunter's Guild.

After all, the ingredients for these precious dishes require a lot of manpower and material resources to obtain, and only by using these precious ingredients can hunter meals with special amplification effects like potions be made.

To be honest, due to its size and environment, the economic ecology of the Star Stronghold is very primitive. Although the giant Hunter Guild regularly pays a considerable amount of salary to all members of the investigation team, there are no consumption points for everyone to spend money in the isolated new continent.

When the first investigation team first landed in the New World, there was no money circulating in the Star Stronghold. Everyone used what they needed or bartered. But soon, everyone found that this primitive financial system did not work, and they had to re-adopt the monetary system of the Old World.

The biggest money-spending den in the entire stronghold is the foundry. Hunters really spend money like water on equipment. In addition, ammunition, antidotes, healing potions and other supplies, trap consumables, etc. are usually distributed in excess by the guild, and the stronghold will also bear a considerable part of it, making the hunters in the New World spend much less on logistics than the hunters in the Old World.

In a sense, the situation of the members of the investigation team supporting the New World is very similar to the labor dispatch coordinated by the state to go abroad to Africa and the Belt and Road Initiative. Food, clothing, housing and transportation are all included. The environment is dangerous and backward, there is basically no money to spend, and the expatriate salary and subsidies are also very high.

In fact, these were indeed one of the reasons why some members of the investigation team boarded the ship.

Jiang Bing learned all of the above from his investigator partner at Ta Tan while waiting for his meal.

Understanding the economic system of a social group that one has never come into contact with is undoubtedly a good way to understand the other party's entire ecology in a short period of time. At least in the ten minutes before Ta Tan arrived, Jiang Bing had already established a preliminary understanding of the New and Old Worlds, the investigation team, the Hunter's Guild and the hunters.

By the time Ta Tan arrived at the open-air restaurant, Jiang Bing was enjoying the welcome feast prepared by the chef - a large plate of barbecued meat with sauce.

A big plate!

The plate is so big that it can almost be used as a small table.

This piece of steak is almost as big as a whole roasted lamb.

I don’t know whether it’s because Chef Felyne, who is all muscle and has one eye blind, has really great cooking skills, or the steak itself is just excellent, or maybe it’s a combination of both, but Jiang Bing, who has seen and eaten it before, couldn’t help but be impressed by the deliciousness.

The beer in the wooden glass next to him, which was as big as his head, also tasted very refreshing and delicious.

As he was enjoying his meal, Tatan relayed the commander-in-chief's request.

In general, the other party's proposal was very fair and their attitude was enthusiastic. After all, the stranger had already taken care of Jiang Bing's food, and it looked like he would continue to take care of his living expenses. Naturally, Boss Jiang had no objection.

After all, he is the kind of person who treats people with respect and sincerity, and the Starry Stronghold treats people with such sincerity that he feels embarrassed to eat for free.

So it was natural for him to go back to his old job.

In principle, outsiders are not allowed to enter the foundry workshop of the stronghold. After hearing Jiang Bing's idea of ​​helping him repair the hammer, Ta Tan repeatedly emphasized this.

But under the other party's gaze, Jiang Bing walked into the workshop alone, chatted briefly with the casting team leader, and then came out with a smile on his face.

"Remember to send the hammer over. It will probably be fixed soon."

This change almost made Ta Tan drop his jaw in shock.

As expected, most of the power generated by the waterwheel was used in the foundry. Part of it was used to drive a large push-type bellows to supply oxygen to a furnace that was six or seven meters high. The rest of the power was used to drive various hooks, automatic hammering devices, mechanical devices for turning the fuel in the furnace, metal assembly lines and other equipment.

Although the components of this entire mechanical system are somewhat simple and the overall shape is wild, the conception is very ingenious. Under such conditions, it is enough to make the "craftsman" praise it.

As for how Jiang Bing persuaded the casting team leader, it was very simple. He only needed to tell the other party that his package of improvement plans for the defense team's sledgehammer was enough.

As the saying goes, true transmission can be conveyed in one sentence, while false transmission can be conveyed in a thousand words. In the eyes of people in the industry, whether one is a master of this art or not can be determined by just one sentence.

Under Ta Tan's astonished gaze, Jiang Bing carried the almost broken hammer into the workshop and did not come out until after dinner when it was getting dark.

At this time, the stronghold has become lively again.

Some of the hunters who were sent inland returned to their base, and with them came the leader of the investigation team who had been acting alone all day and was elusive.

They gathered in the open-air combat command room next to the dock.

Chapter 439 The Grand Leader's Discovery

The meeting had already started for a long time before the foundry team leader finally arrived.

Fortunately, everyone was busy discussing and no one cared.

"So, you found traces of Nergigante's activities in the northeast of the continent?" the commander-in-chief asked everyone.

"To be precise, it is deep in the earth corridor, on the outskirts of a land full of crystals." The great leader with thick golden hair emphasized.

As the elder and leader of the first investigation team, he is theoretically the highest leader of the Star Base.

However, like Jiang Bing, he was tall and strong, and had no intention of being bogged down in paperwork all day and burying himself in numerous government affairs. So he took on the title of commander-in-chief, but handed over the command to the commander-in-chief, and then personally went to the front line and went deep into the interior of the New World to conduct investigations.

Because he always stayed in the wild and rarely returned to the Star Base, he was nicknamed the "Wandering Captain" by everyone.

As the veteran hunter who had traveled the deepest into the New World, he was the first to discover the traces of the Nergigante.

"The Land of Crystallization?" The commander-in-chief chewed over the term in the commander's words, with doubt in his words.

The captain was well prepared for this. He took off a small cloth bag from his waist, untied the tie and poured the contents onto the spacious table.

Several clusters of silvery-white prismatic crystals of varying sizes were scattered on the table.

A female investigator wearing windproof glasses with telescopic devices and yellow leather armor looked at the pile of crystal clear crystals, and couldn't help but reach out to pick up a piece and put it in front of her to examine it carefully.

"You can sense the immense power contained within it."

"This thing is everywhere in that crystal land." The commander laughed heartily and explained.

"But this isn't the most important thing. I saw the black monster on the outskirts of the Crystal Land that previously prevented everyone from investigating the Ancient Dragon Ferry and guided the Molten Mountain Dragon."

"Nergigante, or you can call it Nergigante, Grand Captain, we have officially submitted the information of this new ancient dragon to the Hunter Guild level, and its name has been determined." The dragon director of the Ecological Research Institute quickly emphasized.

"Nergigante? What a vivid image, it fits its appearance and temperament very well, haha." Just by listening to the captain's words for a few minutes, you can be sure without a doubt that he is a tough and bold person.

Ancient dragons, or ancient dragon species, are beings with powerful bodies and extraordinary strength that can rival natural disasters. They are at the pinnacle of all biological races that have appeared in this world. Many of them have survived since a period even longer than the ancient times. They are rare existences that have been separated from the basic ecosystem.

Without exception, the ancient dragons all possessed the "power to rival natural disasters", and some were even natural disasters and nature itself.

Each Ancient Dragon identified and included by the Hunter Guild can be regarded as a "manifestation of natural phenomena and disasters," and is also regarded by the Hunter Guild as "the greatest threat to the world."

One of the main reasons why the investigation team came to the New World was to investigate the mystery of the ancient dragon migration.

Every ten years, the ancient dragons would cross the ocean and set foot on the distant new continent. This strange phenomenon was called "Ancient Dragon Crossing". This abnormal phenomenon aroused the curiosity and desire to explore of the Hunter Guild. In order to deeply investigate the reasons behind this phenomenon, the Hunter Guild specially formed the "New Continent Ancient Dragon Investigation Team" and sent teams to the New Continent many times. So far, five investigation teams have arrived in the New Continent.

The first survey team, the first explorers of the New World, were the pioneers who first set foot on the New World following the ancient dragon's ferry. Their core members were all outstanding hunters. They overcame many difficulties and set off a long way to gain a foothold in this new land, establishing the survey base called "Xingchen" before them.

With the establishment of the base, the second survey team, mainly composed of technicians, was dispatched to the New World by the guild.

These craftsmen and technicians are the important logistical pillars of the survey team in the New World, providing solid backing for the hunters in the New World to fight in harsh environments.

As the investigation team gradually deepened its exploration of the New World, the need for scientific research, research, scholars and other writers increased. Therefore, the third investigation team sent by the guild came into being.

The core members of the third investigation team are all knowledgeable scholars and researchers.

As the exploration of the New World deepened, the survey team's scope of work on the New World became larger and larger. As the number of personnel increased, the pressure on the logistics supply lines became more and more severe.

In order to solve this problem, the guild organized the fourth investigation team, carrying a large amount of materials and supplies, and embarked on a journey to the New World.

Most of the members of this period are professional logistics experts. Their core task is to be responsible for logistics production management and to ensure the supply of materials for the survey team in the New World. To this end, the Hunter's Guild is also specially equipped with a fixed fleet that travels back and forth between the two continents to replenish materials and exchange information.

The fifth investigation team was the military assistance that the New World Investigation Team specifically requested from the Hunter Guild. Its core members were mainly elite hunters, who were responsible for the military force responsible for the investigation team's next mission of solving the "Ancient Dragon Ferry" investigation.

However, they did not expect that when they were fighting to capture the ancient dragon 'Molten Dragon' some time ago, Nergigante suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing the investigation team's long-prepared plan to fail.

In the end, Molten Dragon naturally aged and died in the sea, and Nergigante naturally became the new target of the investigation team.

Researchers believe that the fact that Nergigante repeatedly interfered and prevented the investigation team from capturing Molteni during the "Ancient Dragon Crossing" may be related to the reasons behind the "Ancient Dragon Crossing" phenomenon.

If it weren't for the recent sudden emergence of "ecological transgression", all the energy of the entire investigation team would be focused on this.

However, unexpectedly, when everyone was investigating the ecological boundary violation, the leader accidentally brought up the trace of the Nergigante.

"So its habitat is in the crystal land?" The commander-in-chief asked the key question.

"This~hahahaha" the captain scratched his head in distress.

“There’s really no way to be sure about that.”

"When I first spotted it, it was actually on the Coral Plateau, and it was frantically hunting and feeding."

As the Grand Commander said this, the Director of the Ecological Research Institute and the Commander-in-Chief looked at each other in tacit understanding.

"Could it be the culprit behind the recent large-scale ecological transgressions?"

The Grand Commander had been running around outside all day and had just learned that an ecological boundary violation had occurred in the New World. Facing the commander-in-chief's question, he thought for a moment and came to his own conclusion.

"It's very likely that this Nergigante's hunting behavior can be described as crazy."

Chapter 440 Target Crystallization Land

Commander-in-Chief: "This situation is clearly abnormal. The Survey Corps has been rooted in the New World for decades, and this is the first time an ecological transgression of this scale has occurred."

"We discovered a large number of monsters from the Miasma Valley and the Coral Plateau between the Great Ant Mound Wasteland and the research base of the Third Investigation Team. They seem to be desperately migrating from inland to the southwest." The leader of the investigation team added.

Commander-in-Chief: "They are escaping. The Crystal Land is located northeast of these places. They must be trying to avoid being hunted by the Nergigante."

"But why is this?" asked the director of the Institute of Ecology.

Faced with this question, the Grand Commander couldn't help but frown deeply, "I think it should be for healing."

"Healing?!" Everyone was shocked.

As an ancient dragon species standing at the top of the ecology, and having fought against it some time ago, people who knew its combat power clearly found it hard to imagine what opponent could seriously injure it.

Not to mention its brute physical strength, its super-fast regeneration ability alone impressed all hunters who participated in the "Molten Dragon" campaign.

"This is troublesome. The only one who can seriously injure an ancient dragon is another ancient dragon." The commander-in-chief expressed his guess.

"But even if they have to eat a lot to recuperate, the ecological boundary crossing should not last for such a long time." A middle-aged male dragon researcher expressed his opinion.

"That's the problem." The commander-in-chief explained the fundamental reason for his return to the base.

"I've been tracking this Nergigante for a long time and discovered that it's been battling some kind of monster lately. It's been repeating the cycle of getting injured, eating to store energy, healing, fighting, and getting injured again."

"This doesn't make sense." The director of the Institute of Ecology immediately questioned it.

"Even ancient dragons rarely persevere in fighting powerful opponents. After losing a battle for territory, they often choose to migrate to a new territory, rather than being like this Nergigante, who is madly trying to defeat the opponent."

"Most ancient dragons are not mindless beasts. On the contrary, they all possess remarkable wisdom, which is obviously contrary to common sense."

"Where did the battle take place, Grand Commander?" The commander-in-chief unraveled the discussion and found the core issue.

The Grand Commander pointed lightly at the crystals on the table. "The structure of the leyline corridors is far too complex, but I can confirm that the battle took place deep within the area where these crystals were discovered."

"Perhaps that place hides the reason why it has to be like this." The commander-in-chief boldly put forward the hypothesis.

"Gulongdu?" The casting team leader also proposed a possibility.

"Could it be that there are Nergigante eggs deep within the Crystal Land?" Another more mature female investigator from the fifth investigation team's recommendation group also gave her opinion.

"Currently, there is no direct evidence to prove that Nergigantes reproduces by laying eggs." The director of the Ecological Research Institute immediately added his opinion rigorously.

"Everyone!" The commander-in-chief slammed the table, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"There will be no results if we continue discussing this here. The only way to uncover the truth is to go to the crystallization site and search for it on the ground."

Everyone agreed.

After the commander-in-chief made the decision, he arranged the next work in an orderly manner.

"Investigation team, immediately notify the hunters still outside. Have those who can return to their base to rest and prepare for the next battle with the ancient dragon."

The investigation team leader, who was the commander-in-chief's grandson, immediately nodded in agreement.

"Supply Team, you've been working hard lately to replenish the supplies consumed during the Molten Dragon battle a while ago. Please replenish the missing supplies as soon as possible. The hunters will be returning soon. I'll have the guild secretary issue missions to assist you in gathering resources."

The logistics team leader with dreadlocks nodded in response.

"I'll get ready and return as soon as possible to get another batch of supplies from the guild." The captain of the ocean-going fleet took the initiative to arrange the plan without waiting for the commander-in-chief to inquire about the preparations for the voyage.

"Researchers, please look through the materials again to see if you can find any relevant clues or records."

"Grand Captain, I will dispatch the White Winds of the New World to accompany you to explore the area near the Leyline Corridor and establish an outpost camp in advance. (The Fifth Regiment's flag symbolizes the White Wind, so the outstanding hunters of the Fifth Regiment are known as the White Winds of the New World.)"

"Also, if conditions permit, you can take our 'Blue Star' and go deep into the interior of the Crystal Land to check out the specific situation. (This title is similar to the North Star, and is a fragment recorded in the widely circulated mythological story "The Legend of the Five Dragons" in this world - "And the last one (the ancestor dragon) flew into the sky and turned into the Blue Star, hanging high above the island, guiding people's direction").

The existence called Blue Star by the commander-in-chief is a very young hunter with short hair. He is wearing a scarlet devil-like claw dragon armor, looking heroic. He stood quietly by the table, silent throughout the meeting, and looked very calm.

"So you're the most energetic hunter in the fifth phase. Come, let me talk to you about the things you need to pay attention to next. If nothing goes wrong, we'll be fighting side by side." The captain patted Blue Star's shoulder enthusiastically and dragged him towards the dining area.

Even after walking a long way, you can still hear his hearty and hearty laughter.