Chapter 26: Chapter 21: Stepping into the River
In the Divine Hall, a new item appeared in the [Sacrificial Offering] slot.
...
[Magical Fish Spear]: Faith +1/hour, 1/3 uses (Charging)
Guaranteed to spear a fish.
...
Luh Yao looked at the new Sacrificial Offering in his hand.
The fish spear was about 1.5 meters long, with an iron, three-pronged fork attached to the top of a wooden staff. It looked like a crude, handmade piece of fishing equipment.
Holding the [Magical Fish Spear], Luh Yao felt that if he just had a cigarette, he’d be the spitting image of the Little Fishman, Yuan Hua.
This Sacrificial Offering wasn’t completely useless.
If an angler went out fishing and couldn’t get a single bite, he could secretly pull out the fish spear, nab a few fish, and toss them in his creel. It would guarantee he wouldn’t go home empty-handed, saving him from the ridicule of other anglers.
However, the [Magical Fish Spear]’s special ability was useless to Luh Yao. It could only serve as a good luck charm.
At least it provided 1 Faith per hour, making it more useful than the [Golden Dice] that had been tossed into the bonfire.
Luh Yao accepted the Sacrificial Offering, and the East River Tribe in the Pixel World breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"The God has accepted the Sacrificial Offering."
"We offered the tribe’s most important treasure. That should appease the God, right?"
"May the local God protect us."
[The East River Tribe’s attitude has changed to Friendly.]
With this, relations between the East River Tribe and the Garlic Tribe eased further. With the support of their leaders, the two tribes began official Trade.
The Garlic Tribe traded their wheat, potatoes, garlic, and meat for the East River Tribe’s fish, shrimp, crabs, and shells. Since they bypassed the Salt Pool Tribe as middlemen, both tribes were able to get more goods in return.
During this period of peace, Luh Yao put on his shoes and headed out.
Following the street from memory, he rounded a corner and found a small fishing tackle shop.
"Hey there, what can I get for you?" the middle-aged shopkeeper asked, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"A fishing net."
"Right now, all I’ve got are dragnets. What length you need? I’ve got 2-by-5-meter, 2-by-10, and 2-by-20. All of ’em are 12-ply twine—sturdy and reliable."
"The 2-by-5-meter one."
"That’ll be 68."
Luh Yao paid, took the fishing net in a plastic bag, and hurried home.
Now that the bow and arrow had been fully integrated into their world, he’d spent the last few days considering what to give the Garlic Tribe next. After dealing with the East River Tribe situation, he had made his decision.
A fishing net.
’The East River connects to the East Sea, and both are rich with resources that need to be exploited sooner rather than later. Developing shipbuilding and the Navigation Technique all rests on the foundation of fishing.’
Luh Yao had noticed that the East River Tribe also lacked fishing nets, relying instead on Sea Monsters and fish spears to catch fish.
’Maybe because fishing is so easy for them, they have no incentive to develop better tools. That’s why both their canoes and fish spears are still in a relatively primitive stage.’
’In the Garlic Tribe, the Hunters make traps and leather clothing. They learned how to make rope long ago, and with rope, they have the material needed for fishing nets.’
Luh Yao placed the fishing net on his mouse.
A prompt appeared on the screen.
—Do you wish to bestow the [Fishing Net] upon your Believers?
[Yes]
As the fishing net was sent down to the Garlic Tribe, its little people grew excited.
"A fishing net! We can catch fish, catch fish!"
"With a fishing net, we can go to the river and catch fish!"
"Make fishing nets! Make lots and lots of fishing nets!"
"No fish can escape the net! The whole river is filled with food!"
The pixel people began weaving fishing nets, while others took the new nets to the river to catch fish.
The appearance of the fishing nets also drew the attention of the East River Tribe.
"Those fishing nets look so cumbersome."
"They don’t look useful at all. A fish spear is best—one stab, one fish."
"Fish aren’t stupid. Why would they swim right into a net?"
"Those foolish land-dwellers. They have no idea how nimble fish are in the water."
Before long, the smiling faces above their heads turned into exclamation points, which then became confused question marks.
Initially, the Garlic Tribe was clumsy in their use of the fishing nets. The little people just kept scooping at the water—a futile effort, like trying to carry water in a wicker basket—exhausting themselves without catching a single fish.
The Shaman and Hunters adjusted their fishing method, waiting for fish to swim into the net’s range before pulling it in. From then on, they began to catch the occasional stray fish.
Later on, the Garlic Tribe refined their technique even further. They learned to tie stones to the edges of the net before casting it.
The weighted edges sank quickly, trapping the fish in the center under the net before they could escape. Pulling on the rope cinched the edges of the net shut like a pouch, catching many fish at once.
The sight of dozens of fish being caught in a single cast of the net shocked the East Sea Tribe.
Many of the East River Tribe’s little people gathered around the nets, chattering away as their opinions changed in a flash.
"As expected of a God’s Blessing. This is truly a remarkable thing."
"Why do the fish swim into it? There isn’t even any bait inside. It’s so strange."
"A treasure! This is a treasure! And it’s one we can make ourselves!"
While some of the little people were still marveling, others had already sprung into action.
The [Grandmother] came by boat again to visit the Prophet and the Shaman.
The two tribes negotiated for a short while and reached an agreement.
[The Garlic Tribe has taught the making and use of fishing nets. The East River Tribe’s attitude has changed to Intimate.]
[The East River Tribe has taught the Garlic Tribe the making and use of canoes.]
Luh Yao rubbed his shoulders.
’That’s what I’m talkin’ about.’
’A technology exchange.’
’If the Garlic Tribe wants to develop quickly, they can’t just shut themselves off from the world. They have to increase their communication and learn from other tribes to acquire more technology and culture.’
’In that respect, the Salt Pool Tribe was incredibly sly.’
’As the Garlic Tribe’s partner, the Salt Pool Tribe’s attitude was also Intimate, but they never allowed any of their technology to make its way over.’
’From the very beginning, the Salt Pool Tribe had viewed the Garlic Tribe as nothing more than a commodity producer—just another group to be fleeced within their trade network.’
’They never built connecting roads or revealed their own tribe’s true location, keeping a stranglehold on all outside access and maps, secretly stifling the Garlic Tribe’s growth.’
’Even the Sacrificial Offering they’d presented to him as a God, the [Golden Dice], had been utterly insincere—a purely perfunctory gesture.’
’That was precisely why Luh Yao was so actively searching for a connection to the outside world—he wanted to break free from the Salt Pool Tribe’s chokehold and find another corridor to the outside.’
The [Grandmother] knelt on the ground outside the Divine Hall in worship.
But a question mark appeared above her head.
Luh Yao clicked on it.
"Great Yao God, please forgive our impudence. We of the East River Tribe are Believers of the Prayer God and should be seeking His protection and aid. But we are just a small, weak tribe, and our voices cannot reach our God..."
"The East River Tribe would never dare offend or doubt Your Wisdom and majesty."
"The Prophet and the Shaman say that You always protect those who believe in You. Now, we, a group of humble outsiders, beseech You, begging for Your mercy."
"The East River Tribe is tasked with raising Sea Monsters; they are our most important assets. But starting last year, the Sea Monsters fell gravely ill. Three have already died, and now only seven remain."
"If the women of our tribe can no longer give birth to Sea Monsters and provide the Divine Hall with their molted skins, then our tribe will be completely abandoned by the East Sea Clan, and none of us will be able to survive here."
"We must birth more Sea Monsters to make up for the loss."
Luh Yao was stunned into silence.
’The Sea Monsters were actually born from the women of the East River Tribe.’
’Isn’t that a little...’
