Craftsman

  Leaving the tavern, Old Dmitry led Li Aozhi and Qiu Ran through the plex alleys and tainers of the Sikkim settlement, opened a manhole cover, and took them down.

  "Is this... a sunken ship?"

  Qiu Ran brushed her fingers over the alloy ptes on both sides of the corridor, surprised, and said:

  "The entire Sikkim settlement is actually built on a ship... It's unimaginable. How big is this ship?"

  "A small freighter under a million tons. In the old days, this was small, not even equipped with a nuclear reactor. The warships and aircraft carriers of the old days were often five or six hundred meters long."

  Dmitry said with some longing:

  "There used to be a lot of water outside, f os. But after that war, the red and bck clouds of the apocalypse swept across the world. The os either froze into ice, were buried by snow and sand, or turned into perma snow and bleith the wind."

  "The old world seems like everything was big." Qiu Ran looked enviously at the spacious corridor. "Even Frost-Pted doesn't seem to have such a big ship."

  "Yes, the old world's productivity was excessive. The clothes they produced in a year could clothe billions of people for a thousand years," Dmitry said.

  "That's amazing... They must have been very wealthy then, with big wardrobes to hold hundreds of clothes."

  "Not really. Acc to the sgers' excavations, most clothes were discarded after being worn only a few times." Li Aozhi shrugged, dispelling Qiu Ran's fantasy. "Iy, the old times were no different from now. The poor remained poor, and the rich remained rich. Just the quality of life was much better."

  "Uh..."

  Qiu Ran opened her mouth and finally said:

  "Even so, it's better than now."

  pared to above ground, the underground wasn't much warmer. Homeless wanderers were everywhere in the corridors, but pared to those living in iron tainers above ground, they had some assets, at least a b, a vessel that might be a pot or a skull, some ons, and that's all.

  Almost everyone slept on their boxes. Unlike above ground, there were few fights here, giving a bit of a unity feel. Some pces had scattered campfires, around which dozens of people crowded to sleep. With the ship's inal ventition ducts, no one should die from onoxide poisoning.

  It was much er here than above ground, perhaps because there were more toilets on the ship. The filth and excrement above ground were only temporary, often disgusting at first but blown away or buried by snow by midnight.

  In fact, Li Aozhi khat outside, even excrement was fought over. Without fertilizers, the soil's nutrient yer had long beeroyed by wind and sand, leaving little material to grow crops. In such pces, public toilets often had armed guards to prevent the theft of this important resource.

  Everythied to humans recious outside, except for human lives.

  Old Dmitry walked to the end of the stairs, used a key to open a door to a sailor's dormitory:

  "I live here."

  As soon as the door opened, a warm breath rushed out. Qiu Ran smelled water vapor, a woman, and a faint st of milk. She curiously peeked ihe e dlelight was especially precious in the darkness. A middle-aged woman with a sallow face but a kind expression y on wooden boards, surrounded by a bed made of furs, quilts, and even chi feathers.

  The room's yout was luxurious, with a rge bed, a carpet, a workbench, a et, and a coal stove. Except for g a private bathroom, this was a wealthy home by Sikkim settlement standards.

  "This is Kaa and Sirich, my daughter and grandson." Dmitry brought over two iron buckets and raised his hand: "Let's sit and talk—I've just had a drink, so I won't offer you tea—though I don't have any tea. You don't mind, do you, sger?"

  "No problem."

  Li Aozhi noticed the woman on the bed, or rather, the swaddled bundle she held.

  The baby noticed the strangers, got scared, closed its eyes, and immediately started g.

  "Shh! Shh!" Dmitry's daughter Kaa quickly rocked the baby, whispering, "Don't fuss, Sirich—Grandpa is eaining guests."

  "We mean no harm." Qiu Ran also tried to soothe, "Don't be afraid, little one. We're all good people... well, at least I am."

  However, Qiu Ran's gentleness didn't stop the baby fr. He tio whimper.

  "It doesn't seem to work," Qiu Ran said helplessly.

  "Sorry for making you see this." Dmitry scratched his half-bald head awkwardly. "Kaya, you quiet Sirich a bit? At least calm him down..."

  "Oh, sure! If Dad never brings strangers in again, Sirich will be as quiet and calm as a snow fox." Kaa retorted angrily.

  "Wahh..."

  The baby cried anxiously, kig and squirming, no matter how his mother tried to soothe him.

  Li Aozhi's gaze shifted. He stood up and approached Kaa.

  This mother instinctively shrank back, still wary of the sger's reputation.

  Qiu Ran quickly grabbed Li Aozhi, thinking of his previous as of killing three people and his decisiveness in fag Russian roulette.

  She quickly whispered, "Li Aozhi, this is a child, you 't—"

  "Let me try."

  But Li Aozhi only said calmly. He bent down, removed his hood and mask, revealing a young and handsome face. His gray eyes were full of a kind feeling trasting with his outfit, which made Kaa rex her guard unsciously.

  She hesitated for a moment, theended her hand, handing the swaddled baby to Li Aozhi. He gently and steadily cradled the baby in his arms.

  Qiu Ran's worried look gradually turo surprise.

  Li Aozhi did nothing, and the baby miraculously stopped g, instead widening his eyes to curiously observe Li Aozhi.

  "Eh-hey!"

  The moment, the baby ughed and reached out to touch Li Aozhi.

  "Shh... Sirich, quiet."

  Li Aozhi raised his index finger aly rocked the swaddled baby, softly saying:

  "Don't tire yourself out fr, too exhausted. You o sleep, slowly sleep..."

  Little Sirich gradually became drowsy in his arms and humming, rexing his body, stretg his limbs, resting his head on Li Aozhi's arm, and falling into a peaceful sleep.

  Li Aozhi hahe baby back to Kaa. Her expression was plex, but she still said:

  "Thank you."

  Dmitry, holding his knees, pondered:

  "It seems little Sirich really likes you."

  "Babies have always liked me," Li Aozhi shrugged, "since a long time ago. Babies and toddlers feel close to me—ohey grow older, not so much."

  "Children are always simple. They like whoever treats them well." Dmitry g him meaningfully, "Sger, what should I call you?"

  "Li Aozhi."

  He casually said, sitting down.

  "I am Dmitry Oslovovich Moskov. As you see, I am a craftsman, skilled in a bit of everything."

  He poio his bright yellow eyes:

  "This is my Are ability, I call it 【Eye of Destiny】, it lets me see the length of a person's life."

  "Cool." Li Aozhi said, "Being able to see death, you must have endured far more than the weight of death."

  "You are right." Dmitry g his daughter, "It also e my son-in-w, Kaa's lover, Sirich's father, Xiao."

  He shook his head, saying: "A person's lifespan is predetermined, but we still record something in our lifetime, allowing the deceased to tinue in another way."

  "Like?" Li Aozhi's mind moved, knowing the crucial part was ing.

  "Like this."

  Dmitry took a small box from the bedside et, ope in front of Li Aozhi, revealing a finely crafted ir with a unique allure.

  On close iion, a special white ceramic coating could be seen on the ring's surface.

  "Xiao." Dmitry said, "He ground his own rib into powder and attached it to the ring. In the final stage of his life, he poured all his heart and love into creating it."

  The ring's attributes appeared before Li Aozhi:

  【Item Name】: Xiao's Masterpiece

  【Category】: Jewelry/Ring

  【Quality】: Fwless Treasure

  【Attributes】: Charisma +7

  Permanence: Reduces the user's probability of being hit by bullets by 50% if the user is a retive of the maker.

  【Description】:

  "Regretfully, I ot be with you, but I will alrotect you. Death ot stop me from proteg my loved ones."

  A masterpiece imbued with the undying will of a dying man.

  ————————————

  To say the least, in the early stages, this was a true artifact.

  In the early stages of a level cap of 30, even without the permanence effect, the additional 7 points of Charisma could cause a qualitative transformation in an ordinary 【Mutant】.

  For Li Aozhi, with a base 【Charisma】 of 21 points, adding 7 points plus the 30% be from the 【Permanence?Love Hunter】 specialty equated to 36.4 points of 【Charisma】!

  This was not just Alpha-tier, but close to Beta-tier.

  But iy, this fwless treasure-grade jewelry was not Li Aozhi's goal.

  Dmitry put the ring away and took out a thick stack of notes and materials from the table, handing them to Li Aozhi.

  "You have already seen the power of that thing."

  Dmitry said solemnly:

  "This is a masterpiece that only the dying create. You possess such a camity, but it's also an opportunity—even if your death es as expected. Your existence, your soul, will still persist in the world."

  "This is the secret of the Death Craftsman."

  【You have obtaihe "Ented Manufacturing Manual"】

  【Tip: Dmitry has shared with you the life professioage—"Craftsman".】

  【You must master the required professional knowledge within a month. Otherwise, this career mission will be sidered a failure, and you ot reselect this type of life profession for 24 months.】

  【Do you accept?】

  "I accept."

  Li Aozhi took the heavy manual, quickly flipping through it, his mind instantly flooded with various teiques on handling materials, designing drawings...

  The vast knowledge slightly stunned Li Aozhi until Dmitry spoke, bringing him back to his senses.

  "I will always be here. If you have any questions, you e to me anytime."

  Dmitry said, sitting at the workbench:

  "Of course, I also have some good things here. Ented jewelry is my specialty. I have a lot of stuff that even a sger would appreciate—but it costs money."

  Li Aozhi nodded. He saw Dmitry's favorability dispyed, currently at 65 points, which was det.

  As favorability increased, Dmitry would ter sell some excellent equipment. Of course, Li Aozhi's goal was to get the old man pletely on his side.

  Iure, when pyers arrive, they will surely struggle to find jewelry equipment. Li Aozhi pns to first bulk-buy from Dmitry and resell to pyers for a profit.

  When favorability increases, he will i directly in Dmitry to have him sell under his name, or when his life profession training is plete, he will directly make ao pyers, which would be a signifit ine.

  FAL