Kala Village had regained its former prosperity.
Li Fan inventoried the four-star and above monsters he possessed.
Puff, Little Fool, Ye Ye, Big Mouth, Zhan Zhan.
He was still two four-star monsters short of the requirement to unlock seven.
Besides the snowy mountains and icy plains, there were currently no extreme environments that the team could not handle.
After some research, Li Fan decided to craft the Zinogre armor and weapons first.
Although the corpse had already been sent ahead, the entire crafting process would take at least another month.
As for why it was sent to Kamura Village, it wasn't that Li Fan didn't support the development of Kala Village.
It was simply that the village's processing capabilities were insufficient to craft Zinogre materials.
Getting material area certification would also incur a terrifying revenue share fee.
Selling it directly to the merchant guild would yield a substantial profit, but that money wouldn't be enough to purchase a complete five-star monster corpse from a village with processing capabilities.
Thus, secretly transporting the materials to another region was the best option.
Regarding the choice of region, he had originally intended to send it to the Dragonator Institute headquarters in Barnara Village.
However, considering that he wouldn't have much to do there while waiting for the crafting, he set his sights on Kamura Village.
The reason was simple: Wirebugs.
Li Fan was still unsure why Wirebugs hadn't been widely promoted, but given their capabilities, they could definitely bring about a major revolution in hunters' combat styles.
Two days later, the team, having completed their preparations, was ready to depart.
Although they still only had the map, Li Fan remained confident in his airship route tracking method.
Eudora and Dilu looked at Little Fool in the woods with a sense of resignation.
"Don't be like that. The travel experience isn't great, but it's much faster than traveling by land," Li Fan said reassuringly.
"That's true... but if the travel time exceeds two days, my whole body feels weak, and I don't want to move once we land," Eudora said as she began loading supplies.
"Roar..."
Little Fool sighed in agreement, as if to say that such non-stop flying was also very stressful for him.
"I saw a small private airship at the Dragonator Institute's headquarters airport. Some hunting teams use those for long-distance travel..."
"There are such airships, meow?" Dilu exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, but the lowest configuration version costs 350,000 z."
Everyone sighed in unison.
Clearly, this price was beyond the team's current means.
Having gained considerable navigation experience, this trip only took them two and a half days to reach the vicinity of Kamura Village.
To defend against the Rampage, Kamura Village was equipped with multiple walls and defensive facilities like heavy cannons and artillery.
From high above, Kamura Village resembled a heavily fortified position nestled within the mountains and forests.
"If Kala Village had this setup, even if a five-star monster approached, they could repel it," Eudora said enviously, holding her binoculars.
"I wonder if the Felynes here are friendly, meow?" Dilu was also very interested in Kamura Village.
After landing at a distance, Li Fan put away Little Fool and began walking.
As they walked, an owl with orange-yellow feathers circled overhead for a moment before landing on Li Fan's shoulder.
"Isn't that a mini version of Ye Ye?" Eudora said, stepping forward to stroke the owl's head.
"This is a Felyne, a bird species unique to the Kamura Village area," Li Fan explained.
"It seems to recognize you, meow?" Dilu inquired.
"It's probably used to being close to humans," Li Fan said. Li Fan took a nut from his waist pouch and offered it to the Felyne.
As the Felyne poked its head out and opened its mouth, Li Fan quickly popped the nut into his own mouth.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
The Felyne's round eyes darkened, and it let out two slightly resentful calls before flying away in a huff.
"Whoosh~ Hoo~ Whoosh~ Hoo~"
As they drew closer, a rhythmic sound, like breathing, could be heard.
Li Fan explained that it was the large bellows used by Kamura Village for smelting metal, which basically operated year-round to ensure production.
Before long, they entered the main road leading to the village, and hunting teams and merchant caravans began to appear frequently on the road.
Li Fan observed the hunters' right wrists but found no device for storing and releasing Wirebugs.
No way, could it be that the timeline was off, and the application of Wirebugs hadn't been developed yet?
With a hint of doubt, he walked onto the wooden bridge leading to the village when a voice asked, "You three look a bit unfamiliar. Are you a newly arrived team?"
Li Fan turned his head and saw a middle-aged man leaning against a bridge pillar, with a full beard and dual swords on his back.
Judging by his attire, the man was similar to a hunter, but the throwing knives in the pouches on his waist armor and the ninja dog crawling at his feet were not typical Guild Hunter equipment.
"Yes," Li Fan replied.
"Haha, I am Hyoma, the village chief of Kamura Village. Welcome to our village," the man said with a hearty laugh and introduced himself.
"So it's you..." Li Fan immediately thought of the Kamura Village chief from the game, but he hadn't expected him to be so young.
"Have we met before?" Hyoma asked curiously.
"No, I've heard your name from afar."
"Oh! I didn't realize I, Hyoma, was so famous..." Hyoma said, stroking his chin.
"May I ask, Village Chief, where are Wirebugs most abundant near the village?"
"There are many in the Shrine Ruins, but the current environment is a bit unstable, so be careful if you go there. By the way... what are you looking for Wirebugs for?" Hyoma asked curiously.
Li Fan found an ecological book from his backpack, opened a page, and showed it to Hyoma, explaining, "Our team is from an investigation agency in Kala Village. Due to insufficient qualifications, we haven't been approved to establish yet. After reading this ecological report on Wirebugs, we became extremely interested in these insects, which is why we made a special visit."
"Hmm... commendable spirit, but unfortunately, Kamura Village's greatest focus isn't Wirebugs, but rather the Hellfire Birds," Hyoma felt that the team's research direction was slightly off.
"Hellfire Birds? You mean the birds that absorb pollen accumulated in their abdomen to strengthen themselves?" Li Fan asked tentatively.
"That's right. Since you're a hunting team researching the surrounding areas, please take these three Flower Charm Bracelets," Hyoma said, taking out two large and one small bracelet with fresh flowers from his waist pouch.
"Hellfire Birds are attracted by the scent of the bracelets and will approach you. However, it's best to wear them when traveling during the day," Hyoma explained.
Eudora put one on her wrist and sniffed it, finding the floral scent refreshing and not at all uncomfortable. She then asked doubtfully, "Village Chief Hyoma, why do you only recommend wearing them during the day?"
"They attract mosquitoes at night. Also, if the flowers on the bracelet wither, you can check the Guild's catalog for suitable flowers to replace them. If you can't find any, you can also buy them at the general store. I hope these bracelets will be helpful for your research," Hyoma explained. After the team thanked him, they entered the village.
In terms of street scale, Kamura Village was much more prosperous than Kala Village.
While looking for an inn, Li Fan's attention was drawn to two twin dragon-human girls in red shrine maiden outfits sitting on a stone bench by the roadside.
Why were Mizuha and Hinata still children? Li Fan walked over curiously to observe.
"Big brother, do you want some too?" Hinata raised her small face, met Li Fan's gaze for a moment, and offered him a skewer of rabbit dumplings.
"Thank you, you can eat it yourself."
After finding an inn and settling in, Li Fan opened his notebook in the room.
He made further notes on the timeline information.
The currently confirmed information was that Kamura Village had not yet developed a method for using Wirebugs.
Hellfire Birds, because they only inhabited specific areas, couldn't be promoted externally at all.
Compared to the timeline of the game's protagonist's visit, it was estimated to be at least 10 years earlier.
The application of ninja dogs was already very mature, but their combat capabilities seemed to be significantly different from those in the game.
Furthermore, the training methods were quite elaborate, so generally only resident hunters chose to raise them.
Li Fan felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity with Kamura Village, where things had changed.
After resting for a night, Li Fan went to the processing merchant the next day.
Upon hearing that there was a complete Zinogre corpse to be processed, the owner, Daido, met the team in the reception room.
"Two sets of new Zinogre armor, one new Zinogre Great Sword, one new Zinogre Great Sword, one set of Zinogre Felyne armor and weapon, one barrel-shaped armor set. Hmm... what is the condition of the corpse?" Daido asked, looking at the team's list of requests.
"This Zinogre died fighting another Zinogre, so its condition is a bit tragic. However, the large pieces of carapace shed during the fight have been collected and will be transported along with the corpse," Li Fan explained.
"The armor should be fine, but if you want to craft both a Great Sword and a Long Sword from a single broken tail, you'll have to use an incomplete casting process, meaning using metal additives to compensate for the lack of Zinogre material," Daido explained.
Li Fan was surprised to learn that there was such a manufacturing method for weapons that reduced material usage.
"Will it have any negative effects on the weapon?"
"The overall quality will be slightly reduced, mainly in terms of the maximum accumulated fire attribute, as well as strength and toughness. The blades themselves will be made from pure Zinogre material, so there's no need to worry about sharpness."
Daido explained.
"Then let's use two broken tails to craft the Great Sword and the Long Sword separately."
Daido's expressionless face showed a flicker of surprise.
"Don't worry about the materials. Once the Zinogre corpse arrives, the broken tail will arrive shortly after."
"Alright, the remaining materials will offset the processing fees. If there are any changes to the details, feel free to visit anytime."
After reaching an agreement, the team purchased some supplies and took a van to explore the wilderness.
After passing through several checkpoints located in mountain passes, the van arrived at an area near the Shrine Ruins after about half a day.
Kamura Village had established multiple defensive walls to resist the Rampage, covering a very wide surrounding area, so the branch did not place much emphasis on establishing outdoor outposts.
Their regional surveys were considered mediocre.
Most of the basic markings were present on the map, but since the village itself didn't need to pay much attention to monster movements, the tracking information was not only outdated but also vaguely marked.
"Only Bishaten and Great Izuchi appear? Are they ignoring Magnamalo completely?" Li Fan said with some helplessness, looking at the map while sitting by the river.
Magnamalo had been sighted in the Shrine Ruins area long ago, but it had maintained a peaceful coexistence with Kamura Village.
Therefore, besides those specializing in ecological research, not many people were interested in Magnamalo.
"I've been strengthened, meow! I've been strengthened, meow!" Dilu, riding on a sunny day, galloped along the river.
With a flip and a jump, Dilu landed in front of Li Fan and showed off the Flower Charm Bracelet on his wrist.
"You absolutely won't believe it, meow! A bird flew towards me! Then it scattered some powder... and after that, I felt full of strength."
"Was that powder red?" Li Fan asked calmly, staring at the fishing float on the river.
"Yes, meow!"
"That's a Crimson Hellfire Bird."
"Is this a new ecological discovery, meow?" Dilu asked expectantly.
"Uh... no."
"I thought luck was on my side, meow..." Dilu sounded a bit disappointed.
"By the way, weren't you supposed to be collecting small Wirebug samples?"
"Ah! I got too excited seeing the Hellfire Bird, meow! I'm off!" Dilu said, jumping onto Sunny's back and quickly disappearing from sight.
"Yoohoo!"
On the distant hillside, Eudora was swinging through the air, holding onto the Wirebug Silk released by a Great Wirebug.
"Yah!"
"Heh oh!"
"Wow..."
*Thwack!* Eudora, swinging back and forth like a pendulum in the mountains, her shouts abruptly cut off by a dull thud.
"Something happened, didn't it?" Li Fan was not surprised at all.
He put down his fishing rod and rode Can-Can to meet her.
Finally, in a bamboo forest, they found Eudora, who was chasing a Hellfire Bird with a bug net.
"Eudora, stop!"
"Uh... what's wrong?"
"Hellfire Birds can't be tamed, and the production of their buffing pollen is also limited by the natural environment. There's no point in catching them." Li Fan explained.
"I see." Eudora seemed to understand.
"You just crashed into a mountain... are you alright?" Although he saw her jumping around, Li Fan felt it was better to ask.
"I'm fine. And during the fall... during the descent, I even came up with an idea." Eudora patted her chest forcefully, and her Shell-Met armor made a dull sound.
"An idea?"
"Yes, I was wondering if a charged attack could start accumulating in mid-air, and then be unleashed with full power upon landing, using the force of the descent."
"The aerial combat style of the Dragonator Institute?"
"No, I want to jump higher." Eudora pointed to the sky.
"This still depends on the development of Wirebugs. If they are developed to a practical level, theoretically, it could achieve a similar effect," Li Fan speculated.
"Isn't that a fully developed Wirebug?" Eudora pointed to the Great Wirebug below the cliff.
"Great Wirebugs are too large and slow-flying, only suitable for deployment at fixed points. Their application here is more like a tool for traversing terrain, rather than a helper that can assist hunters in agile leaps," Li Fan explained.
"No wonder the landing points for traversal are fixed. I crashed into the mountain when I changed the angle slightly." Eudora quickly understood the difference between large and small Wirebugs.
The two returned to the riverbank, where Dilu was admiring a transparent bottle.
Li Fan noticed a faintly glowing insect inside, and his eyes immediately lit up. The three of them, two humans and one Felyne, gathered around to watch.
Comparing it with his palm, the Wirebug was about the size of his hand.
Li Fan took it out and held it in his hand. At the bottom of its faintly glowing abdomen, from an organ resembling a spider's spinneret, a finger-thick, glowing green silk thread was hanging down.
He grabbed the end of the thread and pulled it outwards, and a long Iron Silk thread was rapidly released.
Li Fan then released the Wirebug and firmly grasped the Iron Silk thread.
The Wirebug shot rapidly towards the sky.
"Buzz! Buzz!"
When the Iron Silk thread reached its maximum extension of about six meters, the Wirebug flapped its wings vigorously, but it couldn't break free at all.