Lin Yue did not have the so-called ability of mind reading.
He wasn’t from a profession that was good at prediction either. The reason he could guess that Fei Yue was seeking the crossbow design was actually quite predictable.
When Levik led an army to attack his shelter, Fei Yue, Xing Lingfeng, and the leaders of other surrounding refugee villages each led a team to reinforce this side. Lin Yue thanked them afterward.
At that time, he carefully observed the attire and weaponry of these people.
Overall, these people didn’t wear armor, but they didn’t lack in weapons and defenses. Xing Lingfeng was holding a shield in one hand and an alloy gun in the other. His team members were each holding steel bows, looking very fierce.
The other shelters were not to be outdone, mainly equipped with medium to long-range weapons.
Lin Yue remembered the sense of discord when Fei Yue and his men were holding wooden shields in one hand and swords in the other.
To fight enemies with swords...
In this Otherworld, even a tiny wound could easily lead to death due to infection or tetanus.
Choosing close-range attacks, these survivors who were just ordinary people a few dozens of days ago, were truly fearless.
Lin Yue estimated that after that, Fei Yue and his people probably learned how to use spears for throwing, shields for defense, and archery combat skills from other refugee villages, especially from Xing Lingfeng.
But now, these combat skills might have encountered a bottleneck or a difficult obstacle.
Such as the issues of attack power and accuracy.
Archery is not that simple. The arrows have an arc, and their attack power is not high. The bows and arrows made in Otherworld aren’t like the tactical bows on Earth; just drawing the bow is laborious, requiring long training sessions, not to mention continuous tuning for accuracy. Enemies often appear suddenly and nearby, not at long distances.
Moreover, even if trained, setting aside the matter of distancing oneself from the enemy on the battlefield, the attack power of the bow and arrows remains an issue.
In the era of cold weapons, for a comprehensive weapon, neither swords, spears nor bows and arrows are perfect; they each have drawbacks.
However, a crossbow, almost minimizes the various drawbacks of cold weapons.
At medium to short distances, the crossbow has tremendous advantages.
It’s lightweight, fast-firing, easy to manufacture crossbow arrows, and very maneuverable.
Even if it doesn’t hit the enemy the first time, a second wave of attack can instantly follow.
Whether for harassment, support, or even main attack, the crossbow can handle it, and it can maximize the avoidance of injury to the survivors.
If there is a crossbow team, it can practically overpower the vast majority in this Otherworld.
Fei Yue must have fully realized in battles in the Secret Realm, or during hunting or underground ruin exploration, that their combat power was increasingly insufficient.
Previously they got an iron armor design blueprint from him, significantly boosting their defensive capabilities. As long as they’re not careless or encounter tricky enemies, they shouldn’t be easily depleted.
And now, Fei Yue needs more weapons.
This is an inevitable trend. Maybe if it’s not said now, it will be said in the future.
Sooner or later, it has to be said. After all, it is an obstacle to their development, and without a crossbow design from the Secret Realm, it is impossible to overcome it.
At this moment, Lin Yue was contemplating.
Should he give the crossbow design to Fei Yue?
He just clarified the issue of the so-called domineering people with them, and now these people are pushing further.
They seem to still think, deep down, that he and they have a superior-subordinate governing relationship, which is why they use a component he is extremely short of and difficult to find to exchange for what is considered the strongest cold weapon design drawing.
Lin Yue interrupted his thinking.
It was time to make a decision.
He looked at the chat panel and typed: "300 units of alloy, 300 units of acrylic glass, 200 units of asphalt pavement, plus that throttle valve. The vegetables and fruits previously traded are not included. If you agree, I’ll give you the crossbow design."
There was a pause from Fei Yue’s side.
Hesitation was inevitable.
A design blueprint doesn’t usually fetch that much, normally speaking.
But this time was different.
Yet, if they can own the king of cold weapons, the crossbow, Fei Yue and his people can accomplish many, many things.
Mutated creatures, Lizardmen, beggars, and various monsters in the Secret Realm, nearly none would be a problem.
If a small crossbow team could be built, the lethality and intimidation would be quite terrifying.
Combined with the original iron armor, or if adding a shield...
The combat strength could leap into the first echelon of combat power in this Otherworld!
Lin Yue put himself in Fei Yue’s shoes, if he were Fei Yue, with over a hundred men, each armed with a crossbow...
Perhaps they could start on the path to conquer other refugee villages?
But if Fei Yue refused, it would also show that as Third Master said, Fei Yue really wasn’t suited to be a leader.
"I just discussed it with others. Lin Yue, we accept your request."
It didn’t take long for Fei Yue to respond.
As expected, Fei Yue was a smart person.
How lacking in confidence must this guy have been to think he couldn’t lead this refugee village.
Even Lin Yue couldn’t help but tease.
"Alright, when you have gathered the materials, you can exchange with me anytime. I’ve already sent the exclusive transaction for vegetables and fruits; check it out."
Lin Yue said, moving to the warehouse area, and soon enough, Fei Yue agreed to the trade. His storage space filled with a large quantity of materials!
[You have received Hard Aluminum Alloy X88, Stainless Steel X34, Zinc Alloy X42, Brass X9, 282 pieces of Acrylic Glass]
Seems like it won’t take much longer now to build the glass greenhouse. The alloy was short by a bit, and the acrylic glass wasn’t off by much either.
Lin Yue glanced at his Storage Space.
Unknowingly, it had grown to such a terrifying number!
The rapid accumulation was indeed largely due to killing numerous beggars who recently attacked the shelter, and also from those in the nitrate ore quarry.
This massive space was quite suitable for a trip around the Secret Realm, collecting a large amount of supplies.
Lin Yue put all the materials into each warehouse, checked whether several doors were locked, and satisfied, returned to his bed. Just as he turned off the lights and lay down, closing his eyes, he suddenly opened them, thinking of an extremely important matter!
"Fei Yue! What did you do with the beggar you captured?"
Fei Yue had just finished distributing the vegetables and fruits when Lin Yue’s message came, unaware of what had happened.
"The beggar? Oh, we locked him up, planning to deal with him tomorrow since we just got back and it’s already late."