Chapter 666, The Predicament of Information Transmission

Translator: Silavin

 

*Clang clang…*

*Splash…*

 

Pieces of crushed ice were placed into cups, and a pot of cooled tea was poured in.

 

Instantly, the ice was covered with countless tiny water droplets, with bubbles gurgling up to the surface.

 

“Shaman, is this correct?” Yu Ying widened her pink eyes.

 

Yu Ying brought her face very close, examining the iced tea carefully, utterly curious.

 

“Yeah, give it a try. I suppose this counts as cold-brewed tea.” Su Bai smiled.

 

He also picked up a cup of tea with ice and began drinking, feeling quite satisfied overall.

 

Drinking it brought a refreshing coolness, along with a faint tea fragrance, rather reminiscent of cold-brewed tea.

 

“It tastes really wonderful, so refreshingly cool and comfortable.” Yu Ying was so happy she kept wagging her fox tail.

 

This was her first time drinking something cold on such a hot day, especially tea. The sensation was simply marvellous, making one intoxicated after just a single sip.

 

“It has such a rich tea flavour.” Yan Hua shivered.

 

Though it was a bit teeth-chattering cold, the taste was great, and she could drink several more mouthfuls.

 

“These are ice blocks made from those stones? Amazing.” Sha Lan found it particularly miraculous.

 

Sha Lan drank several large gulps in succession, feeling satisfied with each one.

 

“See, to make it is simple, right? You can make it yourselves too.” Su Bai said gently.

 

In such hot weather, having ice blocks was undoubtedly a ‘life-saving item, as many things became different with ice. Not only could tea have ice added to it, but fruit could also be chilled.

 

“I’ll make this every day from now on.” Yu Ying responded without hesitation, her heart already eager to try.

 

“Hahaha.” Su Bai put down his teacup and said, “There’s no need to make it every day. As long as the environment is suitable, it can be stored for quite a long time.”

 

“Shaman, would it be stored in the underground cellar?” Sha Lan immediately thought of the cellar.

 

“Yeah, once the cellar is built, we can make more ice blocks and store them all there. When we want to use them, we can just take them out.”

 

Su Bai took another sip of iced tea and continued, “This way we won’t need to make ice blocks every day, and we won’t waste much saltpetre as well.”

 

Though there was plenty of saltpetre in the cave, it couldn’t be squandered carelessly; it was always best to prepare for unexpected needs.

 

“I understand. I’ll have them finish building the cellar quickly, so we can store lots of ice.” Sha Lan said immediately.

 

Sha Lan still hadn’t recovered from her shock at the ice blocks, her expression remaining curious as she watched them.

 

“Shaman, if I remember correctly, weren’t these stones used to make explosive packages before?” Yan Hua always felt these stones looked familiar.

 

“You’re correct. Explosives also contain saltpetre as a component.” Su Bai smiled.

 

He had thought only Sha Lan would remember. So, he had not expected Yan Hua to notice as well.

 

“Amazing, truly amazing. It can be both a weapon and used for food.” Yan Hua was utterly astonished.

 

She was beginning not to underestimate these stones, feeling they were even more powerful than Shaman Techniques.

 

“This is the power of chemistry; many things can be utilised.” Su Bai said warmly.

 

Often, when one substance was combined with various other different substances, it could produce different reactions.

 

Each reaction was not entirely similar; rather, some could be vastly different, just like saltpetre.

 

If prepared well, it could even serve as a small firework, achieving ornamental effects.

 

“Co Co would definitely love this. I don’t think I will get the hang of it.” Yan Hua pouted.

 

It was not that she did not want to learn, but no matter how much she studied recently, she remained stuck in place.

 

She was not learning as quickly as Co Co; once Co Co began researching something, she easily produced results.

 

Though some results were not necessarily correct, at least she was trying, and gradually figuring out the right approach.

 

“I wonder how she’s managing the Sea Fish Tribe.” Su Bai thought of that coastal Tribe.

 

“It’s been quite a few days now. Nothing bad should have happened, right?” Yan Hua was also somewhat worried.

 

“Shaman, shall we send someone to check? That way we could feel more at ease.” Sha Lan suggested.

 

“All the Tribe’s hot air balloons are already in use. Ask Shu Feng or Ai’er, who’s available, and have them go take a look.” Su Bai instructed.

 

At this moment, he felt the inconvenience brought by poor information flow, having no idea what was happening on the other side.  Even if that side were suddenly attacked, the Flame Dragon Tribe would be completely unaware, let alone able to send reinforcements.

 

Relying solely on the Tribe’s winged Totem Warrior was inadequate; transmitting messages was truly inconvenient.

 

“I’ll go ask in a moment. Whoever is available, I’ll have them go check on the Sea Fish Tribe.” Sha Lan nodded.

 

Indeed, the Tribe’s people had been at the Sea Fish Tribe for some time now, and still no news of returning.

 

This inevitably made them feel anxious, even though Totem Warrior had been left there.

 

Now was the period after the eternal night’s end, when all the major Tribes were hungrily eyeing other Tribes. Or those wandering Tribes might launch another attack on the Sea Fish Tribe.

 

“It seems we need to prepare for carrier pigeons.” Su Bai said.

 

Actually, in ancient times on Earth, using pigeons to deliver messages was the most common method of information transmission.

 

Using pigeons to relay information was faster than having people ride at full speed to deliver messages, so it took less time.

 

carrier pigeon message delivery mainly relied on people utilising the homing instinct of carrier pigeon to carry letters.

 

They could only carry messages back to the nest from outside, meaning taking pigeons away and releasing them when messages needed sending, with the pigeons returning home while carrying messages.

 

Rather than pigeons returning home for the purpose of delivering messages. One simply needed to raise a flock of pigeons in one place, taking some away when leaving.

 

Actually, there were many theories about carrier pigeon navigation: magnetic fields, vision, smell, with most believing it being magnetic field positioning.

 

Great pigeons generally would not linger long in unfamiliar places. Generally, pigeons provided only one-way communication. Taking pigeons out and having them carry messages back home.

 

There was also two-way communication, such as resting and nesting at point A while feeding at point B. When they went to eat, that was one direction; returning home was another direction.

 

This distance could not be very far; long distances only allowed one-way communication, meaning they could only return home while carrying messages.

 

One could not make them go wherever desired. To send messages in multiple directions required raising pigeons in multiple locations, each with their own routes, rather than one pigeon having multiple routes.

 

“Shaman, what are carrier pigeons?” Sha Lan asked in confusion.