Liu Siyao's fate was already decided, but the current batch of silkworms was still in the middle of their cycle. It would probably take another day or two before they spun cocoons, so the matter of imparting her techniques had to be temporarily postponed.
But the boat-building Chuck promised her could proceed first.
For a woman from the Tang Dynasty, chopping trees and splitting wood on a deserted island to build a small boat capable of going to sea might be as difficult as ascending to heaven. But for Chuck, who had built a whole settlement here from scratch, it was nothing more than half a day to a day's work.
But things must be done in order. The most important thing right now was still to finish making the sniper crossbow first, so Valentina could start training as soon as possible.
[Detected that the host's physical attributes have received a minor improvement through exercise. Base value +0.01]
[Current base physical attribute value: 1.41!]
Early the next morning, the familiar light screen appeared again. Chuck got out of bed from amidst the horizontally scattered, female-scented jade bodies, starting another fulfilling day as a deserted island harem man.
After finishing his morning workout as usual, Chuck had breakfast with the women, then stepped into the storage room. He took out the materials prepared in advance one by one and placed them into the workbench.
Hardwood branches, animal sinews, metal iron plates, metal nails, resin, a wooden lens barrel, and most importantly—glass lenses.
Although it was a "sniper" crossbow, Chuck could only make a monocular telescope akin to a scope. Although the transparency of the glass could be purified as much as possible, there was no way to create accurate scales and crosshairs on the lenses like the sniper rifles in modern society before.
However, regarding this, Valentina said it wasn't a big deal; she could completely overcome it after training and getting used to it. Therefore, the most important thing was still the quality of the crossbow body and the bolts.
The first time facing the tiger, what was needed was the longest possible range. The second time facing the giant bird, what was needed was the most powerful possible force.
But this time, the sniper crossbow Valentina would use, because its purpose was long-range harassment, had a different objective than the previous two times making and improving the ballista.
What was needed this time was pure rate of fire, as well as the efficiency of drawing the string.
After all, the production standards of all weapons must ultimately consider their purpose in actual combat. Valentina's role in subsequent BOSS battles would be to find opportunities to harass and consume the fierce beasts with crossbow bolts while Chuck engaged them head-on.
Although in actual combat, whether she could avoid Chuck and accurately hit the target during a dogfight, and whether she could hit vital spots as much as possible to cause effective damage, largely depended on Valentina's own shooting skills, the rate of fire of the crossbow itself was also a crucial factor.
Similarly, during a battle where time might be compressed to an extremely short duration and every second counts, if every shot required half a day to fetch a bolt and draw the string like when facing the tiger before, then it would probably be less convenient than using throwing spears.
For this reason, Chuck minimized the length and size of the crossbow bolts this time, sacrificing some power. For the crossbow string, he abandoned the thick but overly taut black bear sinew, using only the more elastic leopard hind leg sinew...
At the same time, most crucially, under the strategic planning of the Gu family mother and daughter, Chuck's brain-racking, and the automatic optimization of the workbench cheat's DIY design, the crossbow was finally designed with a lever-action repeating mechanism!
Fast rate of fire, capable of continuous fire, equipped with a scope.
These were the three requirements Valentina proposed to Chuck after careful consideration, which also perfectly matched his own thoughts.
So, all the materials were placed into the workbench, and the synthesize button lit up accordingly. Chuck pressed it without hesitation, and a ball of light subsequently emerged. He then used the idle time stored by Jiang Qi's exclusive bonus "Eternal Love" to accelerate it. As the light dissipated...
A repeating sniper crossbow weighing about 4 kilograms rested in Chuck's hands.
Chuck looked down, curiously examining the repeating sniper crossbow in his hands. Although the overall appearance was quite different from the "Zhuge Repeating Crossbow" he had seen on the internet in the past, being easy to use was king.
The overall structure of the crossbow body was compact and sturdy. The surface was evenly coated with a layer of camphor resin, which was not only waterproof and durable but also enhanced the grip feel. The animal sinew crossbow string spanned the bow limbs, firmly fixed with iron plates and nails. On top, a wooden monocular scope was installed according to Valentina's requirements. Of course, there was also the most crucial part—the lever-action repeating mechanism...
A manual lever made of hardwood was installed on the right side of the crossbow body. Through a simple yet ingenious internal connecting rod and push-block structure, pulling it would drive the push-block to pull the string fully back. At the same time, a short bolt from the magazine above would automatically drop into the string groove. When the crossbow bolt was fired and the lever was manually returned, the entire mechanism would naturally reset.
The entire process of drawing the string, shooting, and reloading could be easily completed with just a pull, a press, and a push. The line of sight wouldn't need to leave the scope the entire time, allowing Valentina's attention to remain continuously focused on the battlefield!
And the magazine could hold 8 crossbow bolts at a time. By the time Valentina aimed and fired all of them, Chuck's battle with the BOSS would also be about wrapping up.
The more Chuck looked at it, the more satisfied he felt.
But his satisfaction was useless. The final effectiveness would still have to be judged by the actual user.
...
"Phew~"
On a sunny afternoon, below the stone slope platform, a large mare with her blonde hair wrapped in a linen towel carefully planted the last rice seedling into the paddy field she had meticulously tended to. Then she straightened her waist, wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with her wrist, her soft, bouncy breasts slowly rising and falling with her breathing.
After the farm shed expansion and the planting of mulberry seedlings and other crops were completed, the main work of Julia and the farming group she led shifted to planting several types of new crops that had been put on hold for a long time. The most important among them were the rice seedlings Chuck recently gave her, and the kapok tree seeds.
Planting rice requires a large amount of fresh water. But now that the house had an endless water source, the salt pans Chuck previously built using frames and crude glass could be used exactly as they were, converted into paddy fields after digging out the deposited sea salt and flushing away the seawater with fresh water. The glass originally used for light transmission could also play a protective role similar to a farm shed, which could be said to be extremely convenient.
Currently, there were only five rice seedlings given by Chuck. But Julia knew that with the blessing of this deserted island's inconceivable growth speed, these rice seedlings would soon expand at a terrifying rate, until the rice produced could feed everyone in the house and still have a surplus.
Kapok trees, however, were different. There was a considerable number of tree seeds, but even with the deserted island's blessing, going from seeds to saplings and then to kapok trees capable of flowering and bearing fruit would require a quite long time. A conservative estimate was that it would probably take three or four months, or even half a year. Therefore, after sowing, they only needed regular care and fertilization, making them relatively worry-free instead.
All in all...
"Where did Darling go..."
Julia shook the mud off her hands, looking left and right, wanting to report the progress to Chuck and ask for credit and cuddles along the way. Unfortunately, Chuck's figure was nowhere to be seen.
Even after craning her neck and looking around, she ultimately couldn't find him. Julia had no choice but to give up. Walking out of the paddy field covered by the glass frame, bare feet covered in mud, she picked up her woven straw sandals lying on the ground with her fingertips, and slowly stepped onto the stone slope platform just like that.
After washing clean by the water tower, she untied the linen wrapping her hair. Stretching her hot body, she slowly stepped into the artificial cave, which had doubled in size after expansion. After very familiarly greeting Nicole, Sofia, and the others who were taking a nap...
She came to sit by Wang Xinrui's bed.
"Hey, I've finished with the rice seedlings. I'll leave the afternoon tasks to you, I'm going to take a nap after lunch~"
"...Ah?"
However, facing the blonde mare's enthusiastic conversation, Wang Xinrui, who was sitting on her bed hugging her knees with both hands, subconsciously turned her head, bearing a clear look of astonishment on her face. She stared blankly at Julia with wide eyes, only snapping back to reality after a few seconds.
"Ah! Alrighty, I... I got it, Sister Lia."
"..."
Looking at Wang Xinrui's suddenly reddening face and evasive gaze due to embarrassment, her boss Julia, who was seemingly careless but actually perceptive at heart, quietly curled the corners of her lips into a highly interested arc. She narrowed her beautiful azure eyes, sizing up this hardworking and enduring Chinese girl. After a long while, she slowly leaned closer, probing in a low voice beside her.
"Could it be you're thinking about that matter?"
"What matter? I wasn't thinking about anything..."
"Playing dumb isn't good, little sister."
Julia suddenly reached out a hand, rather forcefully pinching the Henan girl's cheek, revealing a meaningful smile amidst the latter's surprised and embarrassed expression.
"Besides you and that woman said to be from ancient times, the other women all seem to have already done it with Darling... Aren't you nervous?"
"!!"
Wang Xinrui didn't expect her worries to be exposed so bluntly, and by Julia, who had taken care of her the most during this time. Her face instantly turned a bit pale.
Based on her understanding during this period, Julia, who had been leading her in charge of the farming work over the past few days, seemed to be the very first person to follow by Chuck's side among the group of stunning beauties around him.
That is, a so-called founding member.
Then needless to say, in many situations, what she said could basically represent Chuck's will and attitude.
Now that she exposed her worries right to her face, she was probably truly expressing a stance on Chuck's behalf, or perhaps she was even specifically instructed by Chuck to come remind her!
"I... I..."
Looking at Julia's half-smile that gave her goosebumps all over her back, Wang Xinrui's eyes actually turned red on the spot. Her lips trembled, unable to say a word for a long time, but ultimately still managed to speak with difficulty, like popping beans.
"I understand... tonight I'll wash myself clean, and go find Big Brother Chuck..."
"Pfft—"
Julia ultimately couldn't hold it in, covering her mouth and bursting into laughter. Then, amidst Wang Xinrui's even more astonished expression, she rubbed her soft shoulders.
"Alright, what are you overthinking by yourself over there? If you're unwilling, could Darling possibly force you?"
"Sister Lia means... if I keep not going to find Big Brother Chuck, Big Brother Chuck won't mind??"
"Mmh... that probably won't be the case either. After all, Darling is really very horny. Xinrui, you're quite cute too. I don't think he would give up so easily."
Wang Xinrui was completely dumbfounded.
She remained silent for a good while, finally slowly turning around, solemnly grasping Julia's soft hands.
"Sister Lia, my brain is very slow. If you're going to speak... can you speak more clearly, I can't understand..."
Julia's comfort indeed lightened her mood a bit, at least making Wang Xinrui feel that this senior was sincerely helping her come up with ideas. But unfortunately, her style during idle chatter and her style at work were simply vastly different—she was a pure riddler.
Looking at Wang Xinrui's expression, Julia scratched her head, blinking her large azure eyes, and carefully weighed her words in her heart. Only then did she summarize her thoughts into one short and direct sentence.
"Alright, you know, Darling is a good man. If you treat him well, he will absolutely never do anything to hurt you. So in this situation right now, the one who will be troubled is actually Darling, not you."
Amidst Wang Xinrui's increasingly widening eyes, Julia handed over the incantation just as lightly and deftly. At the end, she didn't forget to raise a finger to her lips, blinking carefully at her.
"Shh—don't tell anyone I said this. After all, Darling hasn't discussed this matter with you all this time, he definitely has his reasons. But I think, rather than letting you be fearful like this and eventually having no choice but to go to bed with him, if you can calm your mind and spend more time interacting with Darling, you'll be able to understand where his charm lies~"
As Julia spoke, a faint blush couldn't help but rise on her exquisite face, peach hearts faintly surfacing in those azure eyes.
"By then, what you'll need to consider won't be when to go to him, but how to make him spend more time with you. After all, this whole family of women are all completely captivated by him, yet every night they have to obediently line up to be fucked by him~~"
After speaking, Julia smiled and rubbed Wang Xinrui's hair, getting up from the bedside of this capable subordinate. Twisting her hot, perky buttocks and swaying her blonde hair, she lazily walked out of the cave.
And Wang Xinrui, continuing to sit on her bed alone, silently digested these words Julia left behind. During this time, her expression changed several times, ultimately returning to calmness.
She looked down at her knees, and the worn-out Xtep sneakers on her feet that she had worn from high school to college, and then from college to the deserted island...
A self-deprecating smile gradually surfaced on her delicate face.
Big Brother Chuck would be troubled because of her?
Even if these words came out of Julia's mouth, she still found it hard to believe.
But after hearing Julia's words, there was one thing she had figured out.
Just as Julia had just said, she didn't actually dislike Chuck. It was just because of that series of events before, she was slightly fearful of him, plus the fact that she had a traditional personality.
So rather than continuing to be fearful and unable to make up her mind alone like this, it would be better to find an opportunity and talk this matter out with him openly.
If he insisted on having it by then, she wouldn't have a choice either.
But if they could take it slow and give her a little time...
Thinking and thinking like this, a trace of flush surfaced on Wang Xinrui's face again. But this time, it wasn't shame and embarrassment.
And after just a moment, she suddenly clenched her fists and stood straight up from the bedside. As if carrying some kind of resolve, amidst the surprised gazes of her companions in the cave, she walked out without looking back.
"Where is she going, looking so aggressive?"
He Xiaoyu, who was using the needle, thread, and silk fabric Yitong gave her to sew a patch onto her torn short sleeves, looked up at the sound. After seeing Wang Xinrui's back, she couldn't help but speak in astonishment.
Nicole, who was lying on her bed nearby with her legs crossed humming a song, slightly raised herself to take a glance, then lay back down as if nothing happened.
"I don't know, maybe she can't hold her shit in?"