"So the giant bird has now recognized you as its master and become your pet?" Jing Rou asked.

Zhao Ya nodded, "Yes!"

"Impressive!"

Looking at the free-loading bird leader that nearly occupied the whole backyard, Jing Rou couldn’t help but exclaim.

Zhao Ya smiled and then, as if remembering something, asked, "Did Senior Brother Jing rush over here because you also made a discovery?"

This question hit right at Jing Rou’s itch, and he excitedly said, "That’s right, look at this."

Saying this, Jing Rou took out a small notebook from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya took a look and saw all sorts of strange patterns recorded inside, feeling puzzled.

Jing Rou said, "These are the patterns I’ve collected over the years from Miracle Creations. Flip to the last page."

Zhao Ya followed his words and turned to the last page, seeing a very new drawing.

"This is the pattern from the Miracle Creation you brought back from the giant bird’s nest," Jing Rou said, eyes shining as he pointed to a certain spot.

"Look here, isn’t it very similar to that on page fifteen?"

Zhao Ya couldn’t recognize them, but since Jing Rou was so excited, it surely meant it was significant.

"So what does this resemblance mean?" Zhao Ya asked.

"It means something extraordinary. You know, since I started collecting these materials, I’ve never seen identical patterns. And do you know what the pattern on page fifteen is from?"

"What’s it from?" Zhao Ya asked tirelessly because he knew that Jing Rou needed this the most at the moment.

"It’s from a firearm!" Jing Rou was so excited that he was about to jump up.

"Combining this with the form of this Miracle Creation, I made a bold hypothesis that it’s likely related to that firearm, specifically a mold made for crafting bullets for it."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but be moved.

Because if Jing Rou’s hypothesis was correct, it indeed was a tremendously significant discovery.

"I just want to return to the Mechanical Sect as soon as possible to verify whether this hypothesis is right or not, so when do we leave?"

At this point, Jing Rou was already somewhat anxious, almost eager to fly back to the Mechanical Sect right away.

"Let’s wait three to five days until Kong Xiangdong and I have sorted out the remaining things, then we’ll leave," Zhao Ya said.

Although feeling anxious, upon hearing Zhao Ya’s words, Jing Rou had to suppress his urge and nodded.

"Okay, as soon as possible. Actually, at most in another ten days, these Sea Gatherers should all withdraw. Otherwise, once the polar night sets in, it would be hard to leave the Northern Realm."

What Jing Rou said was indeed true.

Every year, Wuyang Sea allows survival more or less only during these two months in summer. Once this window passes, even the native Snow Wolves have to migrate southward for some distance, not daring to stay by the sea.

Consequently, the environment was harsh.

And now, time was running short, making the town’s atmosphere tense.

Even the most hedonistic Sea Gatherers had to perk up and run to the shore each day.

After all, it’s just these few days. If they can’t earn enough for the coming year, they might not even have a chance to return next year.

Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong hurried their own tidying processes.

To know that what was brought back from the free-loading bird’s nest was not just octopus suckers.

And after successfully taming the free-loading bird leader, Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong again went to the nest with it for a thorough scavenging.

But the result somewhat disappointed Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong.

Because the remaining items lacked the fascinating toxicity like octopus suckers.

Only a few had some hallucinatory effects, barely usable; the rest were just trash.

However, Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong quickly adjusted their mindset.

This much gain from this venture was already quite an achievement; one shouldn’t be too greedy.

Plus, as the departure date drew near, Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong promptly set aside all other affairs and focused on extracting the medicinal properties from these octopus suckers.

With previous experience, this time was naturally more efficient.

In just one day, the essence inside the octopus suckers was entirely extracted.

Later, Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong also decided to prepare all these shells into medicinal powder.

In the end, the yields were split evenly between the two.

After completing these, five days had passed, and Jing Rou had long been impatient.

But he dared not rush them, so he could only patiently wait on the side.

Only after Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong had divided all the medicinal powders did he couldn’t help but ask, "Ya, are we done? When are we leaving?"

Zhao Ya smiled.

"Don’t worry, Leader Kong said we would leave together tomorrow."

"Hmm? Are you guys evacuating, too?" Jing Rou looked at Kong Xiangdong. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Kong Xiangdong nodded, "Yes, this year’s harvest was good. The delay of a day or two doesn’t matter; leaving early also avoids haste on the road."

Jing Rou didn’t object.

Leaving together would indeed be more convenient on the road.

At this point, Kong Xiangdong laughed, "I’ve already ordered my men to prepare a feast. Tonight let’s have a good drink, consider it a farewell party for ourselves."

But just as the feast was being set, chaotic footsteps suddenly sounded from outside, and then someone burst in sweating heavily, collapsing on the floor upon entering, clearly exhausted.