Upon hearing the news of the "Pirate Conference," the "Hermit" Odis became very interested: "Who is in charge of the specific fundraising? What is the fundraising process like?"
"The person who specifically organized this gathering is 'Black Hand' Alva," said "Priestess" Cattleya. "It is said that he secretly serves 'King of the Five Seas' Nast."
"Most of the 'pirate conventions' were initiated by Alva. The process involved inviting three to five 'pirate generals' and a dozen or so 'great pirates' to the gathering."
"The news will only be released after the meeting place is determined, in order to attract more pirates to participate."
"Justice" Audrey asked, "Priestess, don't the 'Pirate Kings' attend such gatherings?"
Remember the original website domain 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞
Caldelia replied, "'Pirate King' would not easily reveal his whereabouts, much less attend a gathering whose location has been announced in advance."
Because doing so might attract the attention of the demigods among the official extraordinary beings, harming both themselves and others.
Cattleya paused for a moment and then said, "However, they will definitely send pirate crews that obey their orders to the conference. For example, the 'Kings of the Five Seas' will send Alva to the conference."
Odis pondered for a moment: "I also hope to participate in this pirate tournament. I wonder if I will receive an invitation?"
"You can take the initiative to find 'Black Hand' Alva," Cattleya said. "With your current strength as the 'Pirate General,' he should be happy to invite you to participate."
So Odis asked, "Where can I find him?"
Caldelia smiled and said, "I don't know about that."
Odis nodded, deciding to see if there was any news about the other party at the next intelligence exchange meeting.
That concluded that topic, and after discussing a few other topics, Klein announced the end of the tarot session.
...
Odis returned to the real world. As usual, he stared blankly for a while before offering the extraordinary weapon he had prepared for "Little Sun" as a sacrifice to Mr. "Fool".
After waiting for more than ten minutes, the "Fool" informed him to perform a "gifting ceremony," and soon he received £2,700 in cash, as well as 12 extraordinary items.
After placing the cash and materials in the "wilderness of knowledge," Odis, as usual, sat in front of his workbench and pondered his recent plans.
First, after Bazel escaped from Bayam, he was sent to patrol the central channel in the "Argo". If he encountered any lone warships of the Feneport Navy, he was to destroy them. If he encountered any naval fleets, he was to go around them.
Alternatively, a combat captain or boatswain could be dispatched, leading dozens of "extraordinary puppets" to rob merchant or cargo ships on the central route aboard the "Ghost".
Ideally, we should seize the people, goods, and ships along with them. Odis is currently lacking both excellent crew members and ships.
And quickly refit the large cruiser that was just captured. Its mission is temporarily to garrison Cruz Island and prevent a surprise attack by the Fenneport Navy.
The second important thing is to keep in frequent contact with "Lieutenant General Iceberg" to complete the joint exploration mission as soon as possible, and also to get to know her as much as possible before discussing the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.
The third thing is to build Cruz Island as soon as possible. In fact, Odis not only wants to participate in the "Pirate Conference", but also hopes that this year's "Pirate Conference" will be held on Cruz Island.
This could greatly enhance the reputation of Cruz Island, and such a gathering could also make a lot of money. Ideally, pirates would habitually come here to sell their loot, thus vigorously developing pirate-related industries.
Odis smiled slightly. There wasn't anything too urgent lately, but it was all things that required persistence and sustained effort.
Finally, he glanced at the exquisite crystal ball Bernadette had given him, and decided to purchase a batch of ordinary crystal balls with spiritual properties. After establishing a sufficient connection with this crystal ball, he would send one to each of his main subordinates for convenient and timely communication.
After making some plans, Odis went to Mandy's place to learn about the current situation in Backlund. He planned to take some time to scout out Backlund after reaching an agreement with the "Twilight Hermits".
Around 7 p.m., Odis used her "travel" ability to return to the Olavi Hotel.
It was peak dinner time, and Odis waited for more than ten minutes before a seat was available.
Not long after he sat down, his intuition seemed to sense something, and he saw the old man Kent, smoking a cigar, suddenly appear in the seat opposite him.
The waiter not far away, and the guests at the surrounding tables, seemed not to have noticed that the old man had appeared suddenly; it was as if he had been sitting there all along.
Odis paused for a moment before saying, "This ability is quite powerful!"
This is a demigod-level "psychological invisibility." Odis's spirituality might sense something was amiss, but it would be impossible for him to perceive the other party's presence.
Kent smiled and said, "You seem to admire this ability more than you praise it."
"Who wouldn't envy that?" Odis said. "You can sit in a crowd for half a day and no one will notice you. And it seems like you're even more suited to assassination missions than an assassin."
"The two approaches have different focuses," Kent said. "Generally, when an 'assassin' ends his stealth state, he will follow up with the ability to deliver a 'fatal blow,' but a 'spectator' does not have that ability."
The two of them were chatting idly, seemingly deliberately avoiding getting to the main topic.
Odis flipped through the menu and said, "What would you like to eat? It's on me."
Kent took a puff of his cigar: "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
After the two ordered their food, and were halfway through the meal, Odis said, "Now you can tell me what kind of clues you can provide regarding the materials."
Kent said, "You're very patient!"
This is something that neither of the previous two assassins possessed, or rather, neither of them did as well as Odis in this respect.
Patience is essential for such high-level assassination missions.
Kent finally finished his cigar, extinguished it in the ashtray, and then said, "What I can offer is a clue about 'psychedelic red coral'."
Odis nodded: "Then there's no conflict."
He then said, "I mentioned at noon that I wanted to know the specific location information first."
At this point, Odis shrugged: "I think you should be able to find me. Don't worry about me reneging on my promise."
"As long as you don't actively hide," Kent said seriously, "we can definitely find you at any time."
Odis understood that the reason the other party was so serious at this point was to indicate that he had discovered something unusual about him.
If Odis deliberately hides, he is "favored by the night," and Kent will have a hard time finding him.
Odis hummed in agreement: "I have a lot to do and I won't hide."
Kent then said, "At the end of the Sunia Sea, from the northern entrance, sail along a relatively safe route for about three days, and you will come to an island with towering trees."
"What you're looking for is near that island."
Odis paused for a moment, not expecting that "Psychedelic Red Coral" was in "Ruins of the Gods War". He nodded first, then asked, "If I complete the assassination mission, where should I go to collect the remaining reward?"
The old man, Kent, wiped his mouth with a napkin and said, "I will come to find you when the time comes."
Odis hummed in agreement, believing that the Twilight Hermits would not renege on their promises in such a matter.
After finishing their meal together, the two said goodbye like old friends. Odis paid the bill and returned to the Argo.
After thinking it over, he decided to go to the "Ruins of the Gods War" first, get the "Psychedelic Red Coral" and then deal with it later.
However, this was, after all, an extraordinary creature with a slight divine quality, and one that came from the same lineage. It exerted a certain degree of pressure on Odis, and he considered whether he should ask Bernadette for help.
But then Odis remembered that when he explored the church of the "Ancient Sun God" with "General Iceberg" before, "General Iceberg" still owed him a big favor, and could ask Edwina to go to the "War of the Gods" together.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. If they could go on another adventure together, they could maintain a close working relationship.
However, this operation cannot be carried out in the near future; Odis needs to observe the reaction of the Fenneport Navy before proceeding.
After pondering these questions, Odis went to the deck of the "Argo" and stared blankly at the brilliant starry sky.
...
April has arrived in the blink of an eye.
Even after more than a month has passed on the turbulent tropical seas, there are no obvious changes in the seasons.
That morning, Odis dressed in formal attire early and even shaved his face.
After everything was ready, they waited on the dock, gazing at the huge construction site in front of them.
Around eight o'clock, a virtual green space suddenly appeared on the dock, followed by a virtual swing.
Odis paused for a moment, then realized that the person she was waiting for had arrived.
There was no one on the swing, and it started swinging on its own even without any wind.
There was no one there when the swing swung away towards Odis, but the moment it swung back, Bernadette was already on it.
Today she wore a fitted long dress that showed off her great figure. Her chestnut hair fell naturally to her waist, and she still had a heroic air about her. However, she seemed more relaxed at the moment.
Odis smiled and said, "Welcome, Your Majesty the Queen, to Cruz Island."
Bernadette looked at Odis, who had a cheerful demeanor, and said, "Just call me 'Your Highness'."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Bernadette smiled helplessly, wondering why Odis was so fixated on "Your Majesty." Whenever they met, he would call her "Your Majesty" and liked to say things like "Yes, Your Majesty."
However, her attention was soon drawn to the large construction site in front of the dock.
The entire seawater in "Moon Bay" has been drained, and thousands of workers are digging at the bottom of "Moon Bay".
"This is a port expansion project," Odis explained. "After the renovation, not only can a dock be set up in the middle of Moon Bay, but also around the perimeter."
"After the renovation is completed, not only will it be able to dock large ships, but the number of ships that can dock will also increase significantly."
Bernadette nodded as she gazed thoughtfully at the densely packed construction site.
Odis had told her before that he was working hard to build Cruz Island, but she never expected that there would be such a large construction project.
Densely packed workers dug sand and used strange tools to knock on rocks, while others shouted instructions. Horse-drawn carts weaved through the crowd, transporting sand and stones from the steep road.
Bernadette suddenly realized, "Such a large construction site, and there's no supervisor?"
"Yes, those guys who were yelling and giving orders were the foremen," Odis replied.
Bernadette was taken aback: "Why didn't they bring whips? And why are the workers so obedient to them?"
"Because I pay the workers," Odis said. "About eight sous a week."
This weekly wage isn't very high in Backland, or even in Bayam.
However, on a remote island like Cruz Island, the salary is already quite high, so there's no need for whips, and everyone is very motivated.
Odis continued, "Of course, there also needs to be a mature assessment system, otherwise many people will definitely slack off."
Looking at the huge construction site before her, Bernadette suddenly felt that she should have come to see it sooner.
In fact, Bernadette had always felt that Odis's idea of transforming Cruz Island was simply to build a few villas and repair some roads.
Unexpectedly, I immediately saw that the port renovation project required thousands of people, and that such a large number of people had a very mature organizational system, with almost no one slacking off.
Thinking of this, she casually asked, "What kind of assessment system?"
"We'll assess performance based on workload," Odis said with a hint of pride. "Ten people will form a group."
"Each group has one person in charge of digging and another person in charge of loading. After a truck is full, the team leader will receive a wooden stick. At the end of the day, the number of wooden sticks in the team leader's hand will be counted to evaluate them."
"If the mission is completed, each member of the team will receive 1 soule and 2 pence as wages for the day, but it will be paid out weekly, otherwise it would be too cumbersome to pay every day."
"If the task is exceeded, each member of the team will receive an extra 2 to 3 pence."
"If the task is not completed, wages will be reduced accordingly, but as long as it is not a collective slacking off, each person can get at least 1 soule per day."
"There are also specialized quarrying teams, whose wages are relatively higher."
"In addition, one supervisor is assigned to every 15 groups. Their main role is to coordinate and tell each group which areas can be dug and which areas cannot be dug."
These systems, which were commonplace in the Common Era, were remarkably advanced assessment and management systems in this era of mysterious forces.
In the colonies of that era, the progress of projects was generally ensured by the whips of the overseers.
Even in the factory in Backlund, there was no concept of "shifts". All workers did their own work and needed supervision from managers and supervisors, rather than supervision from each other.
Bernadette laughed and said, "You really know how to spend money."
She paused for a moment and then said, "But the effect is also very obvious."
If such a project were to be carried out on Blue Mountains Island, the first thing the Governor's Office would do is to arrest a large number of locals on various charges to serve as laborers.
Workers are paid wages, but no more than 3 pence per week, and most of it is deducted later under various pretexts.
"Yes, the effect is quite good." Odis smiled helplessly, "It's just a bit expensive."
He now understands what it means to "spend money like water." He previously had over 80,000 pounds in hand and thought that would be enough, but now he estimates that if the renovation were to be carried out entirely according to Odis's intentions, the money would not be sufficient.
Actually, if the construction had been done carelessly, the money would have been more than enough. But Odis intended to build it well, not like those messy pirate cities.
Bernadette then pointed to the tools in the quarry workers' hands and said, "What are those tools? I've never seen them before."
She had just seen that the quarry worker had a rectangular tool about a meter tall with a thick metal handle.
They gripped the metal handles tightly, pressed down hard, and moved the tools away. The area the tools had covered turned into rubble, which the workers behind could easily dig out with wide iron picks.
"That's a 'rock-breaking machine' that I designed myself," Odis said with a smile. "It can break rocks relatively easily with just a little pressure."
Bernadette was taken aback: "This is an extraordinary tool, isn't it?"
Odis looked around to make sure no one was watching before whispering, "Yes."
"But one thing no one knows is that I told the people here that it was a state-of-the-art quarrying tool that I had someone buy from Backlund."
Bernadette was taken aback again, then glanced at the machine and said, "There are at least dozens of 'rock-breaking machines'!"
But then she realized: "This is like the 'Extraordinary Puppet,' it can be mass-produced?"
Odis chuckled: "That's right."
All of this was created by the two "intelligent puppets" in the "Knowledge Wilderness" that he had. With those two guys, Odis was completely "free of his hands". He only needed to provide them with materials and then pick up the finished products.
Bernadette exclaimed, "What a waste, what a waste!"
"It's alright," Odis said. "If these tools are made in batches, the cost of each one is only about 53 pounds."
If this is a tool used by workers, then it is indeed too expensive; but if this is an extraordinary tool, then it is unbelievably cheap!
Bernadette then pointed to the horses pulling the carriages: "If I'm not mistaken, these horses are also extraordinary tools you've created."
From the outside, the horses pulling the carriage looked no different from normal horses, but Bernadette noticed that the spiritual flow in them was quite unusual.
"That's right," Odis said. "This slope is too steep; ordinary horses simply cannot withstand such strenuous labor."
"So I designed spirit-driven horses, and there's no need to use overly advanced 'smart cubes' on them; they just need to understand some simple commands."
"Yes, not only here, but also in many other places where horse-drawn carriages are used. I buy the carriages and then build the horses myself."
He paused for a moment and then said, "However, these horses consume too much spiritual energy, so we need to replenish their spiritual energy every night."
"Yes, the 'stable' for replenishing spiritual energy is right there. There's a magic array I designed underground there. The surrounding vegetation has been cleared away, otherwise it will quickly turn yellow and attract attention."
For the past month or so, the two "intelligent puppets" have been working non-stop, constantly mass-producing various tools that Odis needs.
Bernadette finally realized what was wrong: Odis was using his research to build a completely new engineering system!
The "rock breaker" and "extraordinary horses" may not seem much different from other construction sites, but if you look closely, you'll find that the "rock breaker" can easily break up huge rocks without hammering or using explosives.
The carriages pulled by these "extraordinary horses" were a size larger than normal carriages, yet they moved with incredible speed, climbing steep hills without slowing down at all.
Time was saved through the repeated crushing of stones by the "stone crusher" and the transportation of waste by the "extraordinary horses".
These things may seem unimportant, but if statistics are compiled daily or weekly, their efficiency can be far superior to that of ordinary construction sites.
Bernadette stared at it for several minutes before suddenly smiling and saying, "That dam was your work too, wasn't it?"
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
The dike that prevents seawater from flowing into "Moon Bay" was actually pieced together from wooden planks.
However, it can be seen that there are magic circles on the wooden planks, and no matter how fierce the waves are, the wooden dike remains unmoved.
"Yes," Odis said. "Designing such a dam saved a lot of time; otherwise, just building the dam might have taken one or two months."
Bernadette glanced at the construction sites over "Lighthouse Hill," as well as the construction sites in Port Town and the road construction sites, and asked again, "There are four construction sites operating at the same time, which must employ at least tens of thousands of people. Where did you get so many people?"
"Actually, there are six construction sites operating simultaneously, and one site is already completed," Odis smiled. "How about we go up to the top of the mountain to see the whole picture?"
Bernadette nodded: "Okay."
So she grabbed Odis, and the two figures instantly became illusory, disappearing in the next second.
Almost instantly, they appeared on the high mountaintop, one of the highest peaks on the inner side of the island, with a panoramic view of Lighthouse Mountain, the southern plains, and even the two villages in the north.
Bernadette indeed saw another construction site on the plain, and another on the coast where the southwestern plains meet the mountains.
Seeing so many construction sites on the same island at the same time was quite a shock, even to Bernadette.
This is because it indicates that the island has an extremely high mobilization capacity and a very strong organizational ability.
Odis said, "I have mobilized almost all the able-bodied men on this island, and two thousand women to prepare food for the construction site. In total, I have gathered about seventeen thousand people."
Not only residents of Gangkou Town and Pingyuan Town, but also some young and middle-aged people from the mountains have come out to work.
At this point, Odis couldn't help but sigh, "The wages of this group of people alone are a huge expense. When we first started, it didn't cost much a day, but as various projects started one by one, the cost gradually increased."
"I'm spending around £3,000 a day now, and my savings are about to run out."
So far, he has spent more than £60,000, and fortunately the wages here are relatively cheap. If it were according to the wage level in Backlund, Odis's previous savings would have been exhausted.
Bernadette then asked, "Do you need me to invest?"
"I don't think so. Not only do I spend money, but I've also been sending people to make money," Odis said. "First, we opened a pharmacy in Bayam that specializes in selling effective medicine for treating malaria. It's already quite well-known and earns over a hundred pounds a day."
"I also sent my first mate to attack Fenneport's naval ships. If I sank one, I would get a bounty, which, apart from bonuses for the crew, was used to build Cruz Island."
"The second mate went to plunder merchant ships, sell the goods and the ships, and the income was not bad."
The reason why the effective drug for treating malaria can make so much money is mainly because of its low cost. Odis sells for 15 sols per dose, while the cost is less than 1 sol.
First mate Barzel and second mate Rupert were making money at a rate similar to that of a pharmacy, since they didn't encounter suitable targets for attack or looting every day.
This is a very fast rate of earning money, and it's sufficient for the construction project at this time.
Bernadette suddenly asked, "I heard that last month you met with Emilius of the Loen Navy on the island of Tirineus?"
"Yes," Odis smiled. "At the time, I received intelligence that there was a disagreement within the Fenneport Navy about how to deal with me."
"Some people think that we should try to bribe me, while others think that we should mobilize several large fleets to besiege Cruz Island."
"So through my efforts, I arranged a semi-public meeting with Admiral Emilius on the island of Tirineus, and the results were remarkable."
After falling out with the Navy of Fenneport, Odis began to establish his own intelligence network at Midway, which was already quite large by then.
According to the latest information he received, the Fenneport Navy has decided not to send a large fleet into the Rothschild Islands.
After all, legally speaking, the Roside Islands are currently a colony of the Kingdom of Rune. Taking advantage of the fact that the Rune Navy is too busy to attend to the waters near Cruz Island, sending a fleet to circle around and demonstrate their power is something the Rune Navy can simply ignore.
However, sending multiple fleets to fight, especially to attack the pirates who had just met with Admiral Emilius, was a different story and could very likely lead to conflict.
The Fenneport Navy is currently not keen on engaging in conflict with the Rune Navy.
Of course, this meeting was also tantamount to an open admission that "Dawn Sword" has the background of the Rune Navy.
Odis didn't care about this at all, since many people would have guessed this even without this meeting.
Then Odis introduced, "Look, the construction of that small town on the plain is nearing completion, and the renovation of the old town of Port Town won't cost much either."
"The remaining projects, except for the construction of Lighthouse Hill, will be completed within half a month."
Bernadette asked, "What project did you just say was finished?"
"It's the breeding base in the north," Odis said. "In order to ensure the supply of meat on the island, many livestock and poultry farms were built there."
"In addition, there are many reefs in the northern part of the island, so some fish farming facilities have been built using those reefs."
"However, those farmed pigs, cattle, chickens, ducks, etc., can only be consumed after a period of time."
"Oh, right, a small salt field was also built in the northeast, and a brick and tile factory was built in the eastern part of the port town. They are now in use."
These were not major projects, so Odis concentrated his manpower and completed them in about half a month.
Bernadette was taken aback: "This island has quite a complete range of industries, including livestock farming."
She glanced at the two villages to the north and did see some brand-new buildings: "But those two villages are not very big, and they are surrounded by rainforest. How can they graze livestock?"
At that time, people believed that developing animal husbandry required large areas of grassland or a huge space, and the area of those two villages was obviously not large enough.
"I have bred new breeds of piglets and chickens," Odis said. "To be precise, this is animal husbandry, not livestock farming."
"The characteristics of those new breeds of piglets and chicks are that they require little living space and can be sold quickly!"
"I once estimated that the farms currently being built are enough to meet the meat needs of the entire island."
The main problem is that the island's residents are not wealthy, and few can afford to regularly consume non-staple foods.
Bernadette was somewhat surprised: "What kind of magic circle did you use to make them grow faster?"
"I used my extraordinary abilities to cultivate new varieties," Odis explained. "Then I let them grow on their own."
"Oh, right. The reason it grows so fast is because of the feed I developed using sealed artifacts. Most of the feed consists of plant branches and leaves that can be found in the rainforest, and the rest is grain."
This feed is formulated according to local conditions, which can save a lot of costs.
The cultivation of new varieties and the research on feed were all research tasks that Odis had the "intelligent puppets" wear with the "biological waist rings" obtained from Silver City.
Upon hearing Odis's explanation, Bernadette realized that this was yet another industry she wasn't entirely familiar with.
She understood the use of extraordinary abilities, but she didn't quite understand the results achieved by using extraordinary abilities.
Bernadette was too embarrassed to ask any further questions, so she pointed to the construction project on the beach in front of the plain and asked, "What are they building over there?"
"Build a shipyard." Odis took a deep breath and said, "We need a place to repair ships. The key is that the ships that the second mate stole can't be sold off quickly. We can't just leave those ships there to go to waste."
"So I thought of converting these merchant ships into spiritually driven vessels and using them for some transactions."
In critical moments, they can be quickly equipped with weapons and transformed into armed ships.
Bernadette nodded slowly, then asked, "Where do the workers spend their wages?"
She had just thought of this problem herself. If the money earned has nowhere to go, it's just like waste paper, and the workers won't be very motivated.
"Before I answer your question, look over there." Odis pointed to a mountain peak not far away.
On that mountain peak, there was a wooden house.
This wooden house doesn't look particularly remarkable because there are other wooden houses built on other mountaintops, most of which were built before Odis arrived.
The view here is excellent, making it a great spot for a picnic or a short stay to enjoy the scenery.
Those wooden houses were built by the mayor, members of the council, and others. After Odis came here, he also built a wooden house on the mountaintop, and now he spends most of his time living in the wooden house on the mountaintop.
After being reminded by Odis, Bernadette noticed that the spiritual flow inside the wooden house was somewhat unusual: "Is there some extraordinary arrangement there?"
"It's the first 'land-based Lingbo Cannon'," Odis said with a smile. "To be honest, if I weren't worried about provoking the Feneport Navy, I would have preferred them to send a large fleet to attack Cruz Island."
"The shooting angle there is excellent, and the entire island is completely protected from the east, north, and south."
"Moreover, the 'land-based Lingbo Cannon' is more powerful than the one on the ship; an enemy's first-class battleship would definitely not be able to withstand two shots from it."
Unless there are demigods on the ship.
Bernadette pondered for a moment: "But this will create a problem; at least one Sequence 6 will be needed to guard this cannon."
Otherwise, if this "land-based Lingbo Cannon" falls into enemy hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"No need," Odis smiled. "I already have a solution for this. First of all, the angle at which this cannon fires will not hit any target on this island."
"Secondly, I can destroy this cannon remotely if I want to, and at the moment of destruction, there will be an explosion equivalent to being hit by a 'land-based Lingbo cannon'."
"Even a Sequence 5 would be seriously injured if it came out of nowhere."
Bernadette nodded: "That's a good idea."
At least there's no need to worry about the technology of the "Lingbo Cannon" being leaked, and there's no need to send someone to guard it here.
Then, guided by Odis, the two quickly arrived at the construction site in Plains Town.
Several large buildings have been erected here. They are all two-story brick and tile houses, which look out of place in the surrounding environment of thatched houses.
In addition to several large buildings, two rows of houses were also built, also brick and tile houses, which were prepared for the first residents of the town.
Odis led Bernadette to a two-story building. Bernadette saw that the word "shop" was written on the gate of the courtyard, and there were some goods covered with tarpaulins inside the courtyard.
At this time, people were already buying daily necessities in the store, but they were mostly elderly people and children.
Because most of the young and middle-aged people are on construction sites, even the young and middle-aged women are either cooking for the workers on the construction site or working in the fields.
The reason they were so enthusiastic about farming was because Odis was constantly buying up grain and sending people to teach them how to farm, and they could also make money by selling the grain.
Odis explained, "There are three such shops on the island, one in the port town and one in the mountains."
"There is also a small shop in two villages in the north."
The shop in the mountains was negotiated after several rounds of talks. It not only sells goods but also buys local specialties from the mountains. All transactions between the two parties are settled in gold pounds.
So it can also be considered a trading shop.
Bernadette glanced around and saw that the shop mainly sold daily necessities, but these were all industrial products that the island could not produce.
She suddenly realized: "You can make another profit from this, right?"
Odis smiled and said, "Otherwise, how come the construction of Cruz Island only cost 60,000 pounds?"
Such a large-scale construction project was like a bottomless pit. Odis spent £60,000 of his savings in two months, which was already the result of trying to increase his income as much as possible.
He then explained, "The goods in the store are actually not too expensive, only about 10% more expensive than those in Bayam's store. However, for me, the transportation costs are low, and they are all wholesale prices, so the profit is still acceptable."
At that moment, Bernadette heard people collectively reading words and phrases aloud.
She looked toward the sound of the reading and saw the word "school" written on the gate of the building, and the flag of the "Dawn Sword" pirate crew hanging in the courtyard.
Odis smiled and said, "I have begun to use the 'Wisdom Helmet' extensively on this island to instill the natives with the Rune script and Rune language, as well as some basic mathematical knowledge."
"However, they still need teachers to guide them so that they can master the Rune language and its corresponding script."
"For knowledge like mathematics that requires understanding, there is more guidance needed. Apart from formulas and addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, it requires normal learning. The 'smart helmet' can only speed up the learning process."
Bernadette glanced at the flags in the yard: "So you plan to teach all the natives here grammar and basic mathematics?"
Odis nodded: "This means that the cost of education has become very low, and now it is mainly young adults who go to school, so I may not even have to charge them tuition."
"Because they only need three days to learn to read and write Rune and a week to learn basic mathematics."
"Then they can find jobs with higher pay and less physical labor."
Bernadette paused for a few seconds before saying, "Your invention will change the world!"
Odis's appearance on this island will bring about tremendous changes.
He smiled and said, "This is just the beginning."
Odis paused, then took a deep breath and said, "My power is still too weak, so I can only use so many research results for now."
If his research findings can be fully implemented, it could truly create a new world.
Bernadette nodded slowly, she was absolutely certain of this.
She even thought that if she could be promoted to an angel, she could provide Odis with more protection.
Odis didn't continue on that topic, but instead went on to introduce the place: "That's the town government over there, and that's the 'Mysticism Training Center,' also known as the 'Extraordinary Training Base.'"
Bernadette immediately understood: "You're training extraordinary individuals?"
Odis hummed in agreement: "I have some properties and I know the corresponding formulas. It would be a waste to leave those properties unused."