Chapter Twenty-Two: Is There a Problem?

With the successful demonstration at the oak lumber mill, Mo Fangyuan gained immense confidence in promoting collectivization. Farmland, blacksmith shops, wood processing... Yet, after repeated inspections and experiments, he discovered that many tasks could not be adapted to the lumber mill model.

Take the blacksmith shop for instance. Gathering all the blacksmiths in a single workspace would create numerous troubles. Blacksmiths are professionals, and their occupational traits demand different environments, the most common requirement being—quiet. That's right! Blacksmiths need silence to work. After all, crafting tools relies on workbenches, not the hammering and banging of his previous life. Producing tools is half a technical job—it takes time and cannot be done in a rush like the lumber workers.

Then there are the fields and pastures... None of these can be reformed in the same way as the lumber mill.

"These things are really messing with my mindset!"

Sitting on a small hill at the edge of the Black Forest, Mo Fangyuan pondered strategies while fishing for monsters.

"Roar!"

The hook Mo Fangyuan threw struck a zombie, which flew toward him, howling in rage, only to be decapitated. He kicked aside the burning corpse and continued thinking.

Whenever he lacked inspiration or was in a poor mood, Mo Fangyuan would spend the morning fishing for monsters by the Black Forest, seeking inspiration. This time, no matter how many monsters he caught or how long he lingered, the fact remained: he simply couldn't come up with any new ideas.

The goal of collectivization was too vast, its difficulty beyond imagination, and the time required far more than Mo Fangyuan alone could handle.

Transforming the system to suit the Block World was a daunting task.

"A central committee, hundreds of local branches..."

He neither possessed Zhuge Liang's tireless spirit nor the teacher's boundless talent...

"So I'll set it aside for now and deal with other matters."

Mo Fangyuan decided to tackle other issues first, such as... recruiting a few people?

Over the course of half a month, the immigrants gradually adapted to life in the Block Kingdom, establishing work and families. The Block Kingdom now had ample food and housing, more than capable of accepting new immigrants.

Looking westward, there lay mysterious lands Mo Fangyuan had yet to explore...

"Better not."

He recalled tricking the Skeleton King over there; surely the Skeleton King would not let it go, and might still be lurking. Besides, exploration west of the Block Kingdom was sparse, and the maps showed few villages—not worth prioritizing.

"Recruitment comes first!"

The eastern river region of the Block Kingdom, however, boasted many villages, making it an ideal target. River valleys have always been fertile grounds for civilization; though the Block World lacks climate and humidity, each terrain has its own bonuses.

For example, buildings in hilly areas are slightly more fortified. In maritime regions, fisheries thrive...

Yes, that is civilization.

In the river valley, crops grow faster, achieving "eight harvests a week," which is crucial for the block people now.

According to previous statistics, riverside villages number at least in the double digits.

An estimated population of no less than five hundred!

That’s more than twice the Block Kingdom’s own population—how could Mo Fangyuan not covet it?

"I'm helping them escape suffering, rescuing them from monster attacks—how could this be called kidnapping?"

With confidence, Mo Fangyuan set off, accompanied by two hand-picked warriors. One of them was named Lin Ye.

"The Block Kingdom is stable now, so I can venture out longer and slay more monsters..."

Mo Fangyuan had been stuck at Level Seven for over a month. True, kingdom affairs left him little time to hunt, but mainly, the experience bar was just too long.

Even if he worked day and night for a week, it wouldn’t be enough.

"Luckily I killed an elite monster, otherwise it wouldn’t have been so quick..."

The red-eyed giant zombie had provided nearly two bars of experience.

Mo Fangyuan’s experience bar was now just a hair's breadth from leveling up!

"It's only a little more—surely I'll level up this time!"

He hadn’t felt the warm current of leveling up in ages.

The great river wasn’t far from the Block Kingdom. Setting out in the morning, Mo Fangyuan and his companions arrived on the riverbank by afternoon.

"The river flows east... no, south! Its surging waves roar like stormy dragons..."

Well, Mo Fangyuan couldn’t keep up the poetic pretense.

"This river... yes, it’s a fine place to settle—safe, no monsters..."

He suppressed his laughter.

"Your Majesty, there’s a water ghost..."

Zhang San, one of the accompanying warriors, pointed at a drowned corpse protruding from the water.

Mo Fangyuan: "..."

Using the east map preserved by the Block Kingdom, Mo Fangyuan located a village before nightfall.

But all that remained were ruins; the village and its residents had vanished into history...

"Set up camp."

After a silent pause, Mo Fangyuan gave the order.

Zhang San and Lin Ye were also unsettled—a block people village’s destruction was no good for any of them.

"Why is there so much water in these ruins?"

Zhang San hefted his axe, puzzled.

"So much water!"

Lin Ye crouched and plunged his hand into a small pool; the assassin’s intuition told him something was wrong.

"Is this strange? The river is nearby, so of course there’s water," Mo Fangyuan replied, unconcerned, viewing it through the lens of his previous world. Unbeknownst to him, in the Block World, every block has its own limited range—blocks outside that range cannot exist. This pool was clearly created intentionally by some creature!

"Surely not—no one would think monsters are hiding here. If there are, I’ll eat..."

"Bang!"

A deep blue shadow flashed past Mo Fangyuan’s right hand, struck an oak tree, and the sound of wood splintering echoed!

"...Damn..."

Mo Fangyuan wanted to sweat nervously, but block people cannot sweat.

"...Damn!"

He couldn’t help but curse—he’d made the same mistake as his first visit to the fields.

His eyes locked in hatred on the spot from which the attack had come.

It was a well, a common structure in every village, so Mo Fangyuan hadn’t paid it any mind—never expecting danger to lurk there!

"Hiss... Roar!"

Under their vigilant gazes, a blue, mud-and-weed-covered monstrous arm emerged from the well, as if...

"Trying to show off in front of me? I saw through your disguise long ago, fiend!"

Mo Fangyuan roared, hurling several iron axes into the well, hacking the drowned corpse to death before it could even make its entrance.

Drowned corpses are common ocean monsters, equivalent to land zombies, all part of the zombie family.

Ordinary drowned are easy to deal with, dropping rotten flesh and seaweed, but those wielding tridents are different—they can launch powerful trident attacks... Yet still cannon fodder!

The one Mo Fangyuan encountered was a trident-bearing drowned.

"Hmph! Showing off your axe skills before a master!"

Mo Fangyuan grabbed the drowned corpse from the well and burned it to ashes.

"Not even your ashes will remain!"

Zhang San and Lin Ye exchanged glances, swallowing nervously, clearly stunned by Mo Fangyuan’s ferocity.

"Truly worthy of our king—gentle as a spring breeze to his subjects, fierce as a storm to monsters... He is the hero of the block people!"

Zhang San was full of admiration.

"Oh, so that's it!"

Lin Ye suddenly understood and joined in the admiration.

Indeed, the aura of a true king!