Chapter 93: Population Registration
Gray skipped ahead with Hawk, August, and Manning following. To get from the castle area to the Dwarven village, they had to take a long mountain path surrounded by dense forest.
Suddenly, a loud bear roar echoed through the trees. Instinctively, August reached for his waist, only to remember that his sword had been confiscated.
A massive white bear charged out of the forest.
Hawk’s legs went weak with fear, and Manning froze.
Without hesitation, Gray pulled a pistol from his waist and fired several shots. “Bang! Bang!” The bear collapsed with a thud.
Gray calmly holstered the weapon and said, “No idea where that blind bear came from.”
“You… you killed a bear,” Manning said in awe.
“Yeah,” Gray replied nonchalantly.
August stared at the gun in disbelief. Gray’s just a kid… yet he took down a bear with that weapon. What kind of terrifying tech is this? Was it made by the Dwarves? Are they planning to overthrow the world or something?
“What do we do with the bear?” Hawk finally asked after calming down. It’s a shame to leave it here, but there’s no way we can carry it.
“Hold on.” Gray lit a signal flare from his belt, sending a firework high into the sky.
Manning looked up in wonder. “What’s that…?”
Gray smiled proudly. “One signal arrow, and reinforcements will arrive.”
Chu Feng had brought these flares—when launched in the village, everyone from one end to the other could see them. As the de facto leader of the village kids, Gray often used them to summon others.
Illya had scolded him before, saying it was too flashy and would attract attention from other tribes, and had banned him from using them carelessly.
August frowned. He recognized the flare type—nobles in the imperial capital used similar ones to send messages. They were typically tightly controlled by the royal family. And yet… they have them here too?
He gave a bitter smile. Is there anything this place doesn’t have? I thought I’d seen the world, but clearly… I knew nothing.
Not long after the firework was launched, a Fei Ying swooped down from the sky.
“Gray, what’s going on?” the eagle asked casually.
Gray said proudly, “I caught a bear.”
The eagle checked the bear and commented, “So you got your hands on a gun.”
Gray nodded. “Yup.”
The eagle frowned. “There aren’t many of those around. Why does a kid like you have one? You should give it to me.”
“To you? Keep dreaming,” Gray snorted.
August felt a wave of relief hearing this. So these guns are rare… If they ever become widespread, the world could descend into chaos.
The eagle smirked. “Didn’t the boss say we should make the most of every tool? Your marksmanship sucks, and that thing is dangerous. What are you doing with it?”
Gray crossed his arms. “Don’t underestimate me. Didn’t you see how I took down this huge bear?”
The eagle rolled his eyes. “I could’ve done it in one shot.”
“Bragger!”
Staring longingly at Gray’s pistol, the eagle muttered, “Must be nice having a brother who’s marrying Chu Feng… I want one too.”
Gray rolled his eyes. “Even if you had a brother, he wouldn’t marry Chu Feng.”
Unfazed, the eagle said, “You never know. We eagles can fly. Marrying into our clan means you can go anywhere. You half-elves just look good but aren’t practical.”
“Who are you calling useless…” Gray glared.
The eagle chuckled awkwardly, covering his mouth. Gray sighed. Everyone in the village wants to get close to my brother. Exhausting.
Gray said, “Do me a favor and take this bear to the Highlander base. Brother Feng’s there. You could probably trade it for a bunch of work points.”
The eagle nodded. “Got it. I’m on it.”
With that, he grabbed the bear and soared into the sky, heading toward the castle district. Gray watched him go, then turned to the group and said, “Alright, let’s keep moving.”
August took a deep breath. That firework actually summoned someone in an instant. The number of strange things I’ve seen in just a few days… Is this all because of Chu Feng? If so, that man is truly remarkable.
He thought, Chu Feng must be an ability user, though I still don’t know what his ability is.
*
Back at the castle, Chu Feng was showing some interior design plans to Karan.
Karan’s eyes sparkled as she looked through the different styles. “These are so beautiful!”
Chu Feng nodded. “Not bad, right? You handle the layout. Let’s start by setting up a meeting room.”
He thought, The work’s piling up. We’ll need regular meetings to coordinate things and make development plans.
Karan nodded. “Understood.”
Chu Feng added, “Have the furniture made by people from Crescent Village.”
He thought, A lot of them used to be woodcarving masters. Now they’ve shifted to furniture making. It’s slightly easier than carving intricate sculptures.
Karan nodded again. “Alright.”
Just then, a commotion arose outside.
“What’s going on?” Chu Feng asked, puzzled.
He stepped out and saw the eagle arriving—with a bear in tow.
“Boss, you’re back!” Fei Ying greeted enthusiastically.
Chu Feng, hands behind his back, asked, “What’s this?”
“This is the bear Gray shot. He asked me to bring it to you.”
Chu Feng was silent for a moment. Gray gave me a bear? That kid’s maturing… He suddenly felt a little moved.
Noticing the bullet holes, Chu Feng frowned. “Gray used a gun to kill it?”
Fei Ying nodded. “Yup! That weapon is amazing. Boss, when are you going to give me one too?”
Chu Feng: … So the dwarves gave Gray a gun? He’s just a kid!
Illya walked out and said, “A bear? I want to eat honey-glazed bear paw!”
He’d seen it in food magazines back in the modern world, but Chu Feng told him bear meat was from a protected species and illegal. He’d been disappointed.
“Gray took it down,” Chu Feng replied.
“He’s already that skilled with the gun?” Illya said proudly.
Chu Feng looked at him, noticing his smug little smile. Is it really okay for a kid to be that good with a gun?
Fei Ying noticed no one was paying attention to him anymore and grew anxious.
“That bear was heavy! Carrying it all the way here nearly killed me, boss,” he said pitifully.
Chu Feng glanced at him. “I’ll give you 20 work points.”
Eyes sparkling, Fei Ying replied, “Deal!”
Some nearby Highlanders looked on enviously. They had to work all day to earn 10 points—this guy flew in and earned double.
Still, since he could fly, they couldn’t really complain.
Chu Feng began to worry. Will Gray run into danger at the Dwarven village? He hadn’t expected him to encounter a bear, and now he felt uneasy.
Illya waved it off. “He’s been running around the forest since he was little. Now he’s got a pistol—he’ll be fine.”
Chu Feng nodded slowly. I hope so.
*
After a long trek, Gray and the others arrived at the Dwarven village.
The dwarves were busy, hammering and working in an orderly flurry. A few glanced at them, but quickly turned back to their tasks.
“Gray, you’re here!” Hughes greeted him warmly.
Gray nodded. “I brought them over to conduct a population census.”
“Population census? What’s that?”
“You dwarves joined Brother Feng, didn’t you? He wants to know how many of you there are, your ages, and your abilities,” Gray explained.
“I see. I’ll get someone to call them over, but a lot of lazy bums probably won’t budge even if we shout,” Hughes said, scratching his head.
Gray added, “Tell them anyone who registers gets a free bottle of beer.”
Hughes froze, then lit up. “In that case, this will be easy!”
August glanced at Gray and thought, So that’s why he brought the beer—how clever!
Sure enough, once word got out, a crowd of dwarves rushed to register.
“Young Master Gray, is it true? Just register and we get beer?”
“I’m registering first!”
The scene became chaotic, and Gray had to keep calling for order.
Hawk and August worked fast to record the dwarves’ info while Manning observed their interactions. Gray noticed someone carrying a toddler and said, “Why bring such a small kid? Children under three don’t need to be present—just report them.”
Hughes awkwardly replied, “But if they don’t show up, do they still get beer?”
Gray shook his head. “No.” If they did, people would likely give false reports.
“Don’t worry about the brats. They’re tough,” Hughes shrugged.
