Arthur was standing at the top of the cliff pulling a rope, hoisting a basket full of succulent sea fish up the cliff with a pulley system. After the fish basket was hauled up, Harell, who was waiting by, took it and began preparing the fish.
The scales were scraped off, the innards were completely removed, once the fish were cleaned, they cut open from the belly, spread out before then rubbing them repeatedly with salt got earlier. Finally, they were hung to dry on the newly set up drying rack.
The four-row rack was already full with salted fish, salted meat, the semi-dried fiber hemp rope, and some fabric materials. It was slightly swaying in the dust wind on the island.
Standing on the plateau, Shiller looked up and saw Hal looking down from where he was adjusting the pulleys. When Hal saw Shiller was awake, he waved his hand and said: "Hey, Professor, good morning."
Just as Shiller was about to speak, he heard a buzzing sound. Turning his head, he saw Bruce sitting in a basket that looked like a cable car, arriving onto the platform from a lower point.
Shiller looked at Bruce in wonder, asking, "What have you done? How did we become an agricultural society overnight?"
"No, we haven't started growing anything yet, but I did find some crop seeds over there. According to my observation, the fruits from the shrubs represented by these seeds are edible. There are also some that can extract a white, glue-like substance. If we start growing them now, we might find them useful in the future."
Shiller glanced at the cable car Bruce came in on, the direction he came from was lower, using gravity seemed to not be the case, so Shiller asked: "Where did you get your power?"
Bruce answered casually, "If you go forward from here and turn a corner, there's a small waterfall on the cliff side, ideal for setting up waterwheels. The power provided by the waterwheel is limited, but it is enough for a person to move between the cableways."
Shiller crossed his arms, sighed, and looked into the distance from the platform. The savage, simple view of the wilderness was no longer so simple. At least from the cluttered pulley lines, it was apparent that they had already progressed from primitive Stone Age living to the era of peasant economy.
"Oh yeah, last night we made a glider. You can try it if you want. We also finished setting up the salt pans and crystallization pools, and made some more large pots specifically for salt-boiling."
"In the first half of the night, we took all the fish out of the trap. We harvested about 6 kilograms of sea fish in total, plus some shellfish and crabs. Hal turned them into a sauce overnight and stored it."
"In the second half of the night, we made a pulley system. It uses the power of the waterwheel to transport goods across uneven terrain. Although the line and mounting need to be changed each time, it saves manpower."
"This morning, we have prepared the salted meat and fish for drying. Also, I plan to extract oil from fish fat, to use as a lubricant for tools."
"I've already made half of a cargo cart that uses pedal power. Next steps are leveling the base and then starting to build the track."
Bruce pulled out another basket of fish from the cart he was riding and then said, "Next, I plan to fully automate the food acquisition process. From fishing to refining and then to classification and storage, everything can be automated using the power generated from the waterwheel."
"It might be a bit wasteful of the wood since a simple wooden transmission structure might require many complex parts. But that's okay, I found traces of possible mineral deposits in the rocks on the east side of the island. If things go well, we will be able to start smelting iron soon…"
Shiller covered his forehead with his hand, took a deep breath, and looked at the pulley lines stretching through the trees and the large area of tropical rainforest that Bruce had already cleared. He took a heavy sigh.
Shiller intended to evoke some emotional inspiration from Bruce by utilizing nature, not for him to climb the technology tree or become the King of scrolls.
People always say that Batman and Green Arrow are similar, but there's another characteristic of Batman that Green Arrow doesn't possess. Regardless of how barren the environment is, Batman can always start from scratch, and somehow create implausible high-tech equipment.
In this aspect, wouldn't you say Batman is more similar to Iron Man, using outdated equipment to piece together a futuristic armor, isn't that just a basic skill for a genius?
Just as Shiller thought of this, he heard Bruce say,
"Oh yes, Arthur told me you were attacked by Mexican drug dealers. If so, I think it's necessary to set up some defenses on the island…"
"Hold on, don't…"
"This morning, I went exploring the whole island and found a plane crash site. I used the parts there to make a defense robot. It should be operational by now. If enemies were to attack…"
At that moment, Arthur's shout came from above, "Damn! I heard from Orca that a boat is heading this way. They look menacing and probably come to cause trouble…"
Hearing the news, Oliver, who looked a bit pale, came running. He said with a serious expression, "It might be the drug dealers who attacked me. They're extremely ruthless. They had wiped out an entire village on this island a long time ago..."