Chapter 349 - 150: Losing Face All on My Own
Solid materials greatly increased the weight of the armor.
When it was still in Alek’s packaging, Chen Zhou thought it was the thick acrylic panels that added weight to the entire reward.
Not until he pushed the cart back to the camp at the foot of the mountain, opened the packaging in the central big house, unloaded the armor from the armor rack, and held it in his hand, did he realize this thing was much heavier than he imagined.
The entire set of armor, from helmet to shin guard, has two layers of wear-resistant leather lining, while the exterior armor plates are made of stainless steel. The edging fur seems like natural animal fur, but Chen Zhou couldn’t tell which animal it belonged to.
Holding all the components in his hand and weighing them, he felt this set of armor weighed at least 40 pounds, possibly close to 50 pounds.
The aesthetic design of the armor could be considered very striking, but this kind of weight couldn’t be easily borne by just anyone.
Considering that the Iron Massacre are cavalry, most of the armor’s weight should be borne by the warhorse; understanding the designer’s intent, Chen Zhou basically gave up the idea of wearing this armor to confront the indigenous people.
Not to mention that he was just a slightly stronger ordinary person, even a seasoned general wearing this armor would find it difficult to fight for long periods.
Furthermore, the indigenous people’s wooden arrows and wooden sabers could be blocked by leather armor, so there’s no point in wearing this metal armor; it’s like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
More importantly, putting this set of armor on is particularly challenging.
As someone who has personally woven armor with rattan and is reasonably knowledgeable about armor, Chen Zhou found it extremely arduous to put on this armor alone, spending over half an hour to get fully armored.
Once the armor was on, he looked quite intimidating.
Standing at 1.84 meters tall, after donning the armor, his visual effect could reach over 1.9 meters, completely black from top to bottom, exuding a chilling aura.
The faceguard nearly covered his entire face, below the fierce eyes were layers of shoulder guards resembling a pagoda, broad chest, and heavy shoulder pads.
Further down, there were the black waist guards, groin protection, thigh guards, and shin guards protecting the calves.
The exterior was filled with stainless steel armor plates maximizing the defense attributes, while the interior was lined with two layers of leather, making Chen Zhou only able to describe wearing it as—stifling!
The island during the dry season was already hot, and wearing armor, Chen Zhou felt like he was trapped inside an iron cage.
The helmet had only two long, narrow openings for viewing, and while bearing the weight, his vision was compressed to the extreme, only allowing him to see directly ahead and a small portion of the sides.
This psychological stuffiness, combined with the non-breathable leather, created a double stuffiness of body and mind, and within minutes of putting it on, he broke into a sweat.
"Didn’t expect this thing also has cold and warm retention effects; in my hometown’s winter, it would be considered a nice piece of clothing.
Here, it’s better to take it off early!"
After taking a few steps to feel the weight of the "Iron Massacre," Chen Zhou immediately removed the helmet and began unarming the armor.
...
The two indigenous people in the same room watched in disbelief as Chen Zhou transformed from a giant into a black-armored monster, then watched the monster change back into their familiar Celestial God.
"Are the things on us and the things on the Celestial God the same?"
Duo Duo Lu glanced at his sleeve, pondering silently.
He recalled the scene yesterday when the Celestial God defeated the warriors of the enemy tribe, and after returning to the Celestial God’s residence, the outfit on the Celestial God disappeared. He gradually understood these things work similarly.
"Why doesn’t our tribe make some of these things? Then we can always win the battles."
Duo Duo Lu thought.
He felt he made an amazing discovery, but being under the Celestial God’s watchful eye, out of respect and fear for Chen Zhou, he didn’t dare speak up, just secretly tugged Ah Tun’s arm and then smiled.
"When I go back tonight, I must tell Ah Tun about this..."
...
Chen Zhou was unaware of the indigenous boy’s hidden thoughts, nor did he understand why Robinson’s rescued Friday was talkative with an overflowing desire for expression, while the two indigenous people he rescued were taciturn.
All he knew was that vanity comes at a cost.
In less than ten minutes, wearing the armor, he broke into a sweat, and only when he took off the armor and was brushed by the wind at the door did he feel somewhat cooled.
"Without specific training focused on this armor or providing me with a horse, I fear I would struggle wearing it to the battlefield."
"Hmm... probably only wearable to intimidate people."
Chen Zhou quickly clarified the position of the Iron Massacre, hanging all components back to the armor rack, he pulled out the fishing kit, summoned the two indigenous people, preparing to take them to the riverside for a picnic.
...
Led by Chen Zhou, the trio and a dog soon arrived by a small lake.
In the hot climate, only by the water could one feel cool.
Picking up the fishing box to the old spot, opening the backrest, Chen Zhou didn’t rush to fish—he still lacked bait.
He casually caught a few bugs from the nearby grass, hooked them onto the fishing hook, then adeptly cast the hook, before casually sitting on the fishing box and waited.
The two indigenous people were witnessing something so novel for the first time, not understanding the purpose of the submerged hook and the long fishing rod, squatted by the lakeside, observing.
...
Having fished at least dozens of times, Chen Zhou had developed a blind confidence in his fishing skills—
He considered himself somewhat a fishing expert, believing in this resource-rich waters, he would never return empty-handed.
Before setting off, he thought about showing off to the two inexperienced locals, quickly catching a few fish to impress them, then lighting a fire and impressively displaying his culinary skills, letting them taste what salt, pepper, onions, and garlic are all about.
But when it came to the actual battle, unexpected situations always led to embarrassment.
Fish that would usually bite within minutes didn’t react after nearly half an hour today.
Watching the "never sinking" float on the water, Chen Zhou rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he was hallucinating.
He glanced at the two tired and hungry local boys by the lake, squatting by the water with their heads bobbing like chickens pecking rice, about to fall asleep as their upper and lower eyelids were almost touching.
...
"So young, and they have no patience at all."
Although he knew it was a problem with his technique, Chen Zhou was always stubborn, and he muttered a complaint, just about to blame the fish for being uncooperative today, when the float that had been drifting on the surface suddenly plunged down.
"Got one!"
As if showing off his fishing skills, Chen Zhou’s shout almost startled Duoduo Lu and Ah Tun, who were dozing by the lake, into the water.
Panicked, they stood up, just in time to see Chen Zhou lift the fishing rod.
On the tip of that slender rod, on the end of the barely visible fine line, hung a very tiny creature.
...
"What is that?"
Duoduo Lu squinted, not yet understanding what the Celestial God sitting there was doing, watching as Chen Zhou quickly reeled in the line, grabbed the creature on the end, and threw it back into the water.
...
Honestly, after seeing that the fish he caught after half an hour was less than four centimeters long, Chen Zhou almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
Even if the two locals didn’t understand the significance of fishing at all, he himself had no face to skewer this barely tooth-filling little thing on a stick and roast it.
To cover up his failure in fishing, he could only quickly yank the fish off the line and toss it back into the water to "destroy the evidence."
"Damn it, the Space-Time Administration Bureau gave me face today, and I lost it all by myself."
With a resentful complaint in his heart, Chen Zhou consoled himself—
"This doesn’t count; the next one will definitely be a big catch!"
...
With this determination, Chen Zhou was gathering all his strength to regain his dignity, while one of the locals by the lake finally saw what was thrown into the lake.
Ah Tun quietly took a step back, mustered up the courage, tugged at Duoduo Lu’s sleeve, and whispered in his ear.
"Does the Celestial God want fish from the water?"
Duoduo Lu was surprised that Ah Tun spoke, turned to look at Chen Zhou fishing, and then at his companion, hesitatingly nodded.
Although he didn’t clearly see what Chen Zhou pulled up and then threw back, based on his understanding of water, it should be about catching fish.
"Duoduo Lu, do you think I can help?"
Ah Tun pointed to his own chest.
He had been diving since he was young in the tribe, responsible for catching some fish near the shore and collecting shellfish to feed the tribe.
Under the pressure of survival, his skill in catching fish with bare hands was honed very well, so catching a fish in a few minutes was nothing difficult at all.
Moreover, he had great talent in fishing, with diving times longer than the average person; some adult men in the tribe couldn’t catch as many fish as him.
After the morning’s labor, Ah Tun knew what help he could offer now; he could only watch when it came to technical tasks like building the wooden-stone walls, but catching fish was no problem.
Guessing Chen Zhou’s intention, Ah Tun dared not help on his own, fearing he might upset the Celestial God by doing something wrong, so he sought Duoduo Lu’s opinion, or rather, hoped Duoduo Lu would give him courage.
Duoduo Lu couldn’t make up his mind either; he reviewed his interactions with Chen Zhou since the day before and finally thought the Celestial God was kind and wouldn’t be angry over such a thing—
In the tribe, Ah Tun, who caught the most fish, was often praised by the Leader or Priest; sometimes he caught so many that the Leader would generously give Ah Tun a fish, exempting him from eating wild fruits for a meal.
Helping the Celestial God seemed beneficial; even if there was no reward, there should be no punishment either.
Thinking this way, Duoduo Lu lowered his voice and softly replied.
"Ah Tun can try."
After saying that, he suddenly remembered that Ah Tun always fished naked in the past, so he pointed at Ah Tun’s clothes.
"These belong to the Celestial God; you should take them off."
Ah Tun nodded, stood up slowly, and began unbuttoning and removing his clothes.
Throughout the process, he kept his attention on Chen Zhou’s actions.
However, Chen Zhou was fully focused on fishing, his eyes stuck on the float, with no time to care what the local wanted to do.
This nonchalant attitude was seen by Ah Tun as approval.
So, he deftly removed his clothes and shoes, walked a few steps to the other side of the lake barefoot, and slipped into the water like a slender black fish.