Chapter 302: The Rules of the Book Tower |
Upon hearing Zhou Xian's judgment, the two of them instantly became frantic.
"Where did we act privately? What kind of bullshit rule is this!" The man's neck flushed red.
"Exactly! You think you're so clean, do you dare say everyone else's asses are all clean?!" the woman cursed angrily. "I saw someone picking fruit, and halfway through, they secretly ate two themselves. Others were slacking off, lazing around while everyone else was busy. You're just targeting us!"
Hearing these words, the expressions of many in the surrounding crowd that had gathered changed slightly, and they began to denounce them.
"Don't just fling mud around. Dirty-minded people see dirt everywhere."
"You left the team on your own and still think you're in the right. If everyone acted like you, how could the team stay united?"
The people around them spoke up one after another.
Zhou Xian's face remained expressionless. He walked over and, amidst the man's roars and the woman's screams, retrieved two more bags filled with mushrooms from their clothing pockets.
"The evidence is conclusive. What more is there to quibble about? Our Team Twenty-Six didn't collect any mushrooms today."
But what greeted her were the cold, indifferent stares from the crowd.
She struggled on the ground for a long time, but not a single person came to "uphold justice."
Her movements grew slower and slower, increasingly flustered.
"Sisters, help me." She searched among the female onlookers for allies.
"Who's your sister? Don't disgust me," the woman she called out to said with a look of annoyance. "It's scum like you that ruins the reputation of us women."
The couple left under the pointing fingers and whispers of the crowd.
Actually, the impact on them wasn't limited to just this.
In the current environment, it's difficult for ordinary people to survive alone,
so many choose to band together. Joining the Qin Alliance was based on this same logic.
Because the Qin Alliance's forces were too large, they were divided into small teams for operations.
Normally, team members were fixed.
The way teams were generally formed depended on the closeness of relationships and the proximity of residences.
In this situation, reputation was especially important.
Once your reputation was ruined, not only would your original team likely expel you, but other teams would also be unwilling to accept someone with a bad reputation.
The performance of your other teammates genuinely affected whether your whole family would go hungry tomorrow.
"Captain, I was wrong. We're willing to accept punishment. We'll hand over all these mushrooms to the team," the man finally came to his senses and hurriedly said.
"You don't know you were wrong; you just know you're going to be punished," Zhou Xian shook his head. "Since there are rules, they must be enforced according to the rules."
Hearing this, the man's body trembled, and his face turned ashen.
Watching the retreating backs of the young couple, many people present felt a chill in their hearts.
This incident served as a wake-up call for them.
If you broke the rules, the Qin Alliance would truly punish you.
.....
In the evening, Qin Ziwen closed the passageway.
He summoned Zhao Pu. "How is the material collection going?"
Zhao Pu said, "This time, we harvested over 2,500 jin of fresh vegetables and fruits. We also felled many large trees. The trees on the island are generally not very large, mostly wind-resistant and salt-tolerant types like coconut palms, casuarina trees, and banyan trees. None are particularly good shipbuilding timber."
"Mmm," Qin Ziwen was relatively satisfied. Having any harvest was fine.
Qin Ziwen said, "Distribute the finished vegetables and fruits based on contributions. Keep the seeds and seedlings for planting."
"Understood, Guild Leader."
"Oh, there's one more thing I need you to notify everyone about." Qin Ziwen explained the effects of the new building, the Hundred Schools Book Tower.
Although Zhao Pu was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, he quickly adapted.
After all, he had seen so many peculiar buildings already. One more building that could condense knowledge into books didn't seem like such an unacceptable novelty.
Zhao Pu was just a bit curious about what level his own surgical medical skills would roughly reach.
Ten minutes later, Zhao Pu looked at the "Intermediate Surgical Medicine" in his hand, his eyes flickering slightly.
His own level could actually reach Intermediate Surgical Medicine?
Zhao Pu smiled. Was this a kind of affirmation for his twenty-year medical career?
The next day, when news of the Hundred Schools Book Tower spread, this six-story book tower instantly became a popular hotspot within the Qin Alliance.
Many people initially thought their certain skills met the standard, only to discover after practical testing that most of the knowledge they had mastered couldn't actually be transformed into books.
"How is this possible? My marksmanship didn't even reach the beginner level," Jiang Shan's expression was complicated.
"You must have been slacking off. I was lucky; my marksmanship condensed into a book. It seems the Book Tower acknowledges me," Cao Biansheng laughed heartily, holding a deep blue book in his hand.
Because too many people wanted to enter the tower, the entrance was congested, forming a long queue.
In the distance, watching such a lively scene, Jia Liangcai straightened his clothes and bowed deeply. "Congratulations, Master, on obtaining this Rare Treasure. This tower is profound and mysterious, capable of transforming people's expertise into canonical texts. It can even help readers achieve mastery, saving them a decade of arduous study. This is a divine tool for nurturing talent, a foundation for establishing one's legacy.
In the long run, Master's subordinates will naturally be filled with capable individuals." After a brief pause, Jia Liangcai continued, "However, although the divine tool is wonderful, it absolutely must not be set up as a public school, allowing anyone to enter and exit freely. I humbly request establishing a 'Merit Reward and Talent Exchange System.'"
"Go on."
"First, use merit to exchange for the opportunity to enter the tower. For all those loyal to you, Master, who have achieved merits and accomplishments, grant them entry time based on the size of their contributions, allowing them to peruse corresponding grade-level texts.
Second, exchange knowledge for books. If there are capable individuals or those with unique skills willing to condense their own techniques into new collections for the Book Tower—whether it's craftsmanship secrets, medical insights, or even martial arts comprehension—as long as they can produce one book, permit them to freely read one book of the same level from the collection. This is called 'exchanging skill for skill, using wisdom to inspire wisdom.' In this way, the collection within the tower will grow increasingly abundant, and people's hearts will also be completely under your control, Master."
"I think Old Jia makes a good point," Qin Ziwu, standing nearby, expressed agreement. "Big Brother, it was fine for you to open the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery and the Martial Training Ground before, since we really needed to boost our combat power at the time.
Now, this tower can help people quickly learn knowledge. If the treatment is the same for both the loyal and the disloyal, then what do the loyal ones gain? I think they should either exchange it with merit or exchange it with knowledge. They definitely shouldn't be allowed to read for free. And I don't think this requirement is difficult either.
They can go to the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery and the Martial Training Ground to hone their skills. Once their skills are polished to a certain level, they can exchange those skills for knowledge of the same level. Moreover, this can also indirectly monitor their skill level."
Qin Ziwen nodded. "Good. Liangcai, go announce this rule later. Register everyone who entered the tower today and condensed a book. Hmm... Today is the first day. Everyone can read books for free today. The rule will be officially implemented starting tomorrow."
One day isn't enough time to learn too much. Although these books can speed up the learning process, they aren't as exaggerated as skill books in games, where you just clap your hands and *ding*—you instantly learn it.
Letting them experience the temptation of the Book Tower will give them more motivation.
As for whether the books might be secretly taken away, there's no need to worry at all. Because the books inside the tower can only be read within the tower. Once you leave the range of the Hundred Schools Book Tower, the books automatically disappear and return to the shelves.