Astral Cockroach

Baba was giving the other members of the mountain a checkup, just scanning them and doing a simple comparative analysis based on inventory data.

If she were to deeply analyze every single gene segment, the amount of computation required would expand infinitely. The photoelectric effect gained from basking in the sun simply wouldn't keep up with the energy consumption demands.

The changes that occurred in Tata were even more incredible than those in Banbu.

Baba insisted on figuring out what was going on.

Banbu was equally curious about this and organized a large-scale mining operation overnight to extract limonite and build a power station.

… …

It was now spring, and there were many tasks on the mountain, with each member having their own things to do.

The mid-level warrior Long Bamboo was being pressed by Du Bamboo to wake up early and work late, cultivating the nursery together.

Hongdao and Hongmi had started rice paddies covering more than two square kilometers on the north and south sides of the mountain, often so busy that they didn't even have time to sleep and rest.

Even the lazy Firethorn was now busy taking care of its direct descendants.

There were also various bamboos to plant on the mountain, and the expansion of the bamboo forest couldn't be stopped.

For the time being, the available labor force was limited.

Banbu left Baba in Firethorn's care and took the Rat King and Bai Zhu to mine and smelt iron.

Time flew by quickly.

It was now early March again.

Late at night, Du Bamboo found Banbu: "The trade caravan has arrived and needs you to return to preside over the transaction."

The materials weren't ready yet, the iron smelting furnace hadn't had time to be lit, and there were more things to deal with. He was simply swamped.

Banbu rushed back to Lizhu Peak overnight.

Two mighty trade caravans, with over 20 high-level warriors fully loaded with goods, almost couldn't fit in the trading square.

Fengluan and Du Bamboo were busy moving the various goods prepared for sale down the mountain.

"Mountain Lord Banbu!"

From afar, Princess Xianghun greeted him, stirring up her mental power.

"Princess Xianghun!" Landing, Banbu greeted her and then looked at the princess-level Phantom Flame Spider next to her, asking, "May I ask, who is this…"

"My name is Zijing. Greetings, Mountain Lord Banbu. A young and wealthy mountain lord, capable of standing alone, is a rare sight even across the continent!"

"Haha, Princess Zijing overpraises me." Banbu laughed and said, "Princess Zijing, this is your first time visiting Lizhu Peak, you must be very curious, right? Please wait a moment while I complete the transaction, and then I'll take you up the mountain for a tour."

"That won't be necessary." Princess Xianghun was a little wary and helped explain, "Mountain Lord Banbu, last year I heard that Lizhu Peak needed to purchase primal force foods in large quantities. I figured that the three trade caravans of mine, Chonglou, and Yuzhu were sufficient in number, but not in variety, so I specially invited Princess Zijing to make a detour."

Princess Xianghun quickly added after speaking, "Mountain Lord Banbu, you're planning to have the mountain members advance to Mountain Lord level as soon as possible, right? This will probably take five or six years. During these years, the profits from the transaction will be enough, and Princess Zijing will come to Lizhu Peak once a year without complaint."

Princess Xianghun emphasized in the end, "Only selling, not purchasing."

Lizhu Peak had long become a sweet pastry. After Banbu advanced to Mountain Lord, he divided the huge profits among the three trade caravans of Chonglou, Yuzhu, and Xianghun, and they earned a fortune every year.

With only three trade caravans, the cargo they could carry was limited. They couldn't come up with enough of the goods that Banbu needed, so they pulled in an outside helper.

Obviously, they didn't want this fellow clan member to snatch their procurement share.

However, this was a matter between the trade caravans, and Banbu was too lazy to worry about it. Let them compete however they wanted, as long as it didn't affect his consumption experience.

"Understood!" Banbu asked strangely, "Where are those two guys, Chonglou and Yuzhu? Why didn't they come?"

Princess Xianghun said, "I heard that a large-scale trading market has sprung up in the Orchid Mountains of the Knife Mantis Kingdom, where everything is sold, and many insectoids travel thousands of miles to purchase goods, making it extremely prosperous."

"Chonglou and Yuzhu went to check out the situation. However, I am handling their trade routes on their behalf, and our trade caravan is helping to transport the raw stones for procurement and the goods for sale."

Princess Xianghun finished speaking and added, "Next year, I also plan to visit the market to join in the fun and broaden my horizons. I will entrust the Chonglou and Yuzhu trade caravans to help me. Mountain Lord Banbu, I hope you can understand."

"Understood, understood! The Orchid Mountains market gathers almost all the insectoids of the Eastern Continent, selling all kinds of strange and unprecedented goods. It's indeed worth seeing. I've been busy recently, but after I'm done, I'll have to go there too."

Princess Xianghun lamented, "Mountain Lord Banbu, I heard that you made a fortune in the Orchid Mountains with your metal ability and the two bamboo rat warriors who can freely enter and exit the Phantom Mist Barrier. You'll have to take care of our trade caravan more in the future."

"Haha, a small fortune, a small fortune." Banbu waved his antennae and said, "However, I really need to spend a lot of money now. I want one of every type of primal force food that enhances metal abilities, fire abilities, and physique. I'll taste them all, and I'll increase the amount I purchase next year."

Princess Xianghun said, "Mountain Lord Banbu, then let's trade first!"

… …

The total price of the goods sold was 311,000 primal stones.

Desperate spending and purchasing goods only cost 300,000 primal stones, leaving a surplus of 11,000.

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There was no way around it. Lizhu Peak did have a large number of members, but their strength was basically below the Mountain Lord level, and they didn't have the ability to consume more primal stones.

He was too lazy to collect the remaining 11,000 primal stones, so he simply purchased six more python-patterned honeydew melons, stored them at the top of Lizhu Peak for refrigeration, and took them out to enjoy after a while when summer arrived and the busiest season had passed and the weather was hot enough.

With over 20 million in savings hidden in the big-headed ant nest, he now had the capital to enjoy life.

… …

After sending off the trade caravan, Banbu continued to mine and smelt iron with the Rat King and Datou.

As usual, the refined pure iron (containing carbon) was made into iron pillars, which were carried back to Lizhu Peak by Big Bear.

Banbu was planning to build wind power stations.

The best choice should have been the top of Lizhu Peak, where the altitude was high and the wind was strong.

However, too much primal force food was stored on the mountain, and even a slight electromagnetic pulse released by electronic equipment would seriously damage the quality of the primal force food, and in severe cases, it could directly lead to deterioration.

Therefore, the power station not only couldn't be built on Lizhu Peak, but also had to be a certain distance away.

The northwest side of the mountain was not bad, with three warehouses, each 30 meters high.

Banbu planned to build three wind power stations side by side on each warehouse.

The iron was mainly used to synthesize steel, making steel pipe frames with a planned erection height of 30 meters.

The blades extracted aluminum elements from the soil, using lightweight aluminum alloy material.

The motor's shell, coils, and rubidium magnets could only use the metal conversion ability, consuming a large amount of primal force to forcibly synthesize rubidium, rhenium, titanium, cobalt, gold, copper, and other metal elements.

After a month of hard work, the first wind power station was completed.

A substation was specially built for Baba using a steel structure. The most important electrical box and source crystal were embedded inside the metal wall to prevent damage.

The wind power station was not large enough, the power was not high enough, and the mountains sometimes had wind and sometimes didn't. Sometimes it turned, and sometimes it didn't.

Banbu estimated that a single power station might not be able to fill the electrical box in 10 years, and it would probably be difficult to fully charge Baba's built-in battery in 50 years.

All nine planned stations would be built, which would probably be barely enough for Baba's daily use, provided that she didn't run around and waste energy as much as before.

Firethorn had a new task: while taking care of the young warriors, he had to stay next to the substation every day to protect Baba's safety.

The busy farming season was over, and Banbu brought seven bamboo rat warriors, as well as Hongdao and Du Bamboo, to speed up the mining and iron smelting.