Chapter 2251: Day by Day Changes

A Fantasy Novel

Blue skies and white clouds, with gulls and egrets soaring together.

A large ship sailed across the calm distant ocean, heading towards a deep-water, excellent harbor.

“We’re in port! We’re in port!” the clattering sound of a wooden clapper echoed on the ship. “Giant Deer Harbor is the final stop. Those disembarking, hurry up!”

Soon, the deck was crowded with people.

Upon hearing the clapper, ripples spread across the water near the large ship, and several massive fins emerged, clearly indicating an intimidating presence.

The sailors quickly brought out several large barrels of beef and mutton, pouring them all into the sea with a splash.

Instantly, waves of blood churned in the sea, and four or five gaping maws took turns snatching food, each large enough to easily swallow two sheep—

These were great white sharks, over 10 meters long.

Everyone crowded at the ship’s rail, watching with great interest, not forgetting to comment on which maw was the largest.

Seven or eight barrels of meat were just small snacks for these colossal sharks. After they finished eating, the sailors stood at the bow, bowing deeply to them and shouting, “Many thanks for your protection!”

The giant sharks then flicked their tails, turned their heads, and swam towards the deep sea.

In today’s distant oceans, sea monsters run rampant, and ships cannot travel without escorts. These giant sharks were hired for long-distance protection; their payment had already been received. The dozen or so barrels of beef and mutton were merely a token of gratitude for their escort along the journey. This was an unwritten custom for sea travel, as the escorts preferred terrestrial meat.

With the ship in port, their mission was successfully completed, and they departed.

Everyone gazed at Giant Deer Harbor, which was growing larger and closer in their view, expressing sounds of admiration.

“How, how magnificent!”

Giant Deer Harbor had eleven jetties, arranged in pairs to form ‘H’ shapes. Ships of all sizes docked there, resembling an ant colony sucking around a drop of honey.

Giant Deer Harbor was actually composed of three interconnected ports. The houses on shore were densely packed, one after another, even covering the small hills. All of them were solidly built and square-shaped. Occasionally, there were a few unconventional structures, such as a tall tower on a nearby island built to resemble a bumblebee; these were landmark buildings, some used for guiding ships.

The large ocean-going ship they were on was five stories high and fearless of open sea storms, but upon entering Giant Deer Harbor, it became like a prodigal son returning home, orderly and compliant.

Giant Deer Harbor was the largest port east of Mu Nation, and the final destination for many large ships, where people disembarked.

Two guests walked onto the pier with the crowd. One of them cupped his hand over his eyes, looking out at the sea. “Lord Pu, is that Dragon God Island?”

In the center of the harbor lay a small island, uninhabited, but featuring a colossal coiling dragon statue.

The dragon’s head faced the sky, proud and unyielding.

“Indeed. On the day Great Demon Lord Miaozhantian fell, the Dragon God manifested here.” Lord Pu bowed respectfully towards the statue from afar. “Locals raised funds to construct this statue as a memorial. Now, with ships constantly coming and going, everyone looks upon this place of the rising dragon.”

He continued, “After such a long journey by sea, Mr. Sun must be tired, too, right? Let’s first find a place to change, eat, and rest, then we can transfer and continue our journey. We might reach Tongyue Mountain before evening, and you can get a good, solid night’s sleep tonight.”

After more than half a month at sea, sleeping had been a constant sway. Now, smelling himself, he found he reeked of the sea.

“Good,” Mr. Sun replied.

The two started walking towards the nearest inn. Lord Pu specifically cautioned, “Be careful of the blue lines on the ground; don’t get hit by a vehicle.”

“Huh? A vehicle?”

Mr. Sun had already noticed the light blue dashed lines painted on the ground, which sometimes suddenly lit up, flashing on and off.

About ten moments later, a vehicle approached.

Unlike a regular horse-drawn carriage, this vehicle resembled a square, open-topped box, filled to overflowing with goods, and equipped with four wheels underneath.

In fact, Mr. Sun had seen similar vehicles before—mine carts.

The strangest thing was, it wasn’t pulled by any animals!

There was a person sitting on the vehicle, but they seemed to be merely guarding the goods, not driving.

“Huh? No horse pulling it?” Mr. Sun exclaimed, reaching out and waving his hand a few times in front of the vehicle, thinking something might be invisible there. But there was nothing; his hand only met air. “This vehicle can move by itself?”

And it followed the blue lines on the ground meticulously.

The person on the vehicle rolled their eyes and said impatiently, “Don’t touch it indiscriminately, or I’ll report you to the authorities!”

Mr. Sun quickly withdrew his hand, and the vehicle swiftly moved away.

“Yes, it can,” Lord Pu explained to him. “These vehicles, specially designed for transporting goods, are called automated transport carts. Together with these blue lines on the road surface, they form a complete set of magical formations. Dockworkers simply unload goods from the pier or move them from the warehouse onto an automated cart, and it will automatically proceed to its designated location.”

“Designated location?”

“Each transport cart has a set of tags corresponding to various locations in the port. For example, if we’re going to Qingyun Inn, you just insert the tag marked ‘Qingyun Inn’ into the front of the cart, and the cart will deliver the goods directly there,” Lord Pu explained. “Ultimately, this is the operation of a magical formation.”

So, when the blue lines on the ground lit up, it meant an automated transport cart was about to pass.

Mr. Sun was surprised. “How large is this formation?”

“It’s drawn across the entire cargo area of Giant Deer Harbor, covering about a thousand mu (approximately 165 acres),” Lord Pu answered, quite knowledgeable. “It’s actually three formations linked together, with the last one completed just last year. Giant Deer Harbor is the largest port by cargo throughput in the Blazing Gold Plains, and in recent years, they’ve even reclaimed land from the sea to expand. Its cargo area was simply too vast; using ox or horse-drawn carts was incredibly inefficient, which is why this self-operating grand formation was developed.”

“How convenient, truly remarkable. Even my former sect didn’t have a formation this large,” Mr. Sun exclaimed admiringly. “It’s truly ingenious! But wouldn’t it consume a lot of profound crystals?”

Compared to ox or horse-drawn carts, the automated transport carts were highly efficient and very clean. However, such a high-end contraption clearly looked like a major energy consumer.

“It has undergone several optimizations. Currently, the operating cost is roughly five catties of mid-grade profound crystals per day—of course, that also depends on the port’s activity; it can multiply several times during peak seasons,” Lord Pu said. “Most importantly, the magical artifacts serving as the formation’s core also automatically absorb the free spiritual energy from the air, so it’s not as energy-intensive as one might imagine.”

Mr. Sun sighed with emotion, “Five years ago, this was simply unimaginable.”

“Exactly. Five years ago, the spiritual energy concentration was insufficient to sustain the consumption of such a grand formation.”

Mr. Sun looked at the path beneath his feet. “It would be great if guests could also ride these transport carts.”

After leaving the cargo area, he noticed that passenger transport still relied on regular horse-drawn and sheep-drawn carriages.

“Transport carts are only suitable for moving within designated areas and along specific routes; they cannot offer flexible transportation. However, guests’ destinations are numerous, varied, and scattered, with some even requiring direct travel out of the port and onto the road. Therefore, guests cannot currently ride them.”

As they spoke, a plump but stealthy grey shadow darted past the side of a cargo container ahead.

Mr. Sun chuckled in surprise, “Oh my, even the rats in your port are this plump!”

Many thanks to xwzz for the generous tip; we’ve gained another new Grand Supporter.

Thanks to zerothCat, Juanjuan’s Good Assistant, Book Friend 20220111021212930, Su Chen in, Who Doesn’t Plant a Lord, and Apollo Yangyang for their tips.