Chapter 385 - 191: Shotguns

’Black Knights and Skeleton Knights... I’ll start by summoning 100 of each to see how they do!’

Li Ziyu waved his hand and gave the order with a flourish. He had the Cancerous Tumor Alliance Army to thank for the Soul Energy. Otherwise, he really couldn’t have afforded to summon Black Knights and Skeleton Knights. A hundred of each cost a whopping 2.5 million units of Soul Energy.

He stood up, walked to the window, and gazed toward the Wraith Mountain Range. ’The Soul Base Station isn’t finished yet, huh? Construction is a bit slow.’

After rubbing the bridge of his nose to relax his eye muscles, Li Ziyu returned to his desk, opened the system, and started researching firearms.

Within the Weapon Research Room, firearms had their own separate technology tree. There were three types of basic firearms, and the system provided images for them.

The first type resembled a three-barreled musket. Its long barrel was polished from bone, and it had a wooden stock at the back. The construction was simple, and it didn’t look very powerful—it seemed even weaker than the guns used by the Jackal Wolfman Long Spear Team.

The second was the Biochemical Short Gun. It was covered in fleshy buds, muscles, and vein-like tissues, giving it a grotesque, flesh-punk aesthetic.

The last one looked much more normal. It was a fantasy-style weapon, a Magic Long Spear. Its barrel was formed from linked sections of bone, inlaid with Gemstones. The back end was a sphere, making it look like a Magic Wand turned on its side.

How should I put it? These basic firearms were just... ugly. Each design was worse than the last. There was absolutely no sense of aesthetics; they were downright awful.

To research firearms, he had to unlock one of three technology trees. The three-barreled musket belonged to the Mechanical Technology Tree, the Biochemical Short Gun to the Biotechnology Tree, and the Magic Long Spear to the Spiritual Technology Tree.

Li Ziyu checked the Spiritual Research Room and discovered that the Spiritual Technology Tree was the most orthodox form of Undead Technology. The Undead Race still leaned toward Magic and had even developed things like the Spiritual Core. The materials needed for research were primarily Magic Materials—it was obviously going to be a massive money sink.

The Mechanical Technology Tree was the most "economical." It was similar to the mechanics of his previous life but with more of a punk aesthetic. It primarily required various types of ores. Although it was cheaper, the Mechanical Technology Tree had far more branches than the other two. In the system, it was displayed as a massively sprawling tree.

The Biotechnology Tree was rather bizarre. The technologies within it looked quite creepy. Li Ziyu scrolled further and saw that the research materials required were almost all things he had never seen before, the kind that would be very difficult to obtain.

All three technology trees seemed pretty good, and he wanted them all. But pursuing all of them would be too resource-intensive. He could only afford to climb one. ’Sigh... what a tough choice!’

Li Ziyu’s analysis paralysis was kicking in. He scratched his head, completely torn.

At times like this, you needed a friend to talk things through. Li Ziyu sent a message to Zhang Peng, explaining his dilemma and asking for his opinion on which technology tree would be best to choose.

[Private Chat]

Conscience Merchant: So, there are three technologies, and you don’t know which one to pick?

Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Yup.

Conscience Merchant: Does it say you can’t climb all three at once?

Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Ummm... climbing just one requires tons of resources. I can’t handle climbing all three at once.

Conscience Merchant: What if you stagger them?

Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: What do you mean?

Conscience Merchant: Just pick the easy one first and start researching it while you accumulate resources for the others. Take them one by one. It’s not like it says you can *only* climb one tech tree. What are you even agonizing over?

Don’t Want to Get a Driver’s License: Holy crap... you’ve got a damn good point.

Li Ziyu slapped himself on the head. ’My thinking has gotten so rigid.’ No one ever said he had to research all three technology trees at the same time. He could start with mechanics, gather resources for Spiritual Technology, and once he had enough, develop the Spiritual Technology Tree. As for the Biotechnology Tree, he could just save that for last.

’This brain of mine is so inflexible.’ If Zhang Peng hadn’t pointed it out, he really would have been stuck.

With his mind clear, Li Ziyu thanked Zhang Peng, closed the chat, and began studying the Mechanical Technology Tree.

As a Transmigrator, his understanding of mechanics far surpassed his knowledge of Magic. With Mechanical Technology, the foundation was paramount. A tiny deviation at the start could lead to a massive error down the line; if the foundation wasn’t solid, the path would only get more distorted.

The system’s explanation for the Mechanical Technology Tree was that the Skeleton Undead had forged their own path, crafting metal into various tools and fusing them with their bodies to create a technology unique to them.

The first item on the Mechanical Technology Tree: Smelting.

’Nothing wrong with that, my man. This tech is good.’ Li Ziyu immediately clicked to unlock it.

[Smelting Technology unlocked. Congratulations, you have acquired the new building: Smelting Workshop.]

[Smelting Workshop]

[Introduction: Are you half-asleep? You don’t know what a Smelting Workshop is? This is where metals like copper, iron, and steel come from. You didn’t actually think you could make equipment straight from ore, did you?]

[Construction Requirements: Skeleton*100 units, Stone*100 units, Copper Ore*100 units, Iron Ore*100 units]

[Area Occupied: 50 units]

’What’s there to think about? Build it.’

As the Smelting Workshop entered the construction phase, Li Ziyu continued to study the technology. Above Smelting were some basic materials, such as composite material Gears and composite material pipes. These basic materials were needed for the primary firearms. Of course, he also had to research gunpowder.

Li Ziyu went ahead and unlocked gunpowder as well. He actually had all the necessary materials in the Warehouse. They were most likely spoils of war from the battle with the Jackal Wolfmen, just gathering dust in the Warehouse. Now, they could finally be put to use.

The Smelting Workshop was built quickly. The next step was to smelt various metals. Li Ziyu didn’t need to manage this part; as long as there was enough ore, they could be mass-produced. And Li Ziyu currently had ores in spades. The resource extraction in the Wraith Mountain Range had never stopped, leading to a massive surplus of basic materials piling up in the Warehouse.