Chapter 34: Salt and the Unexpected

When Adam returned to the surface with the soul, the sun was already setting.

The city ahead was surrounded and fused by trees forming a circle, indicating that Jacob and the others not only hadn’t slacked off but had also worked overtime to complete the compensation work.

What surprised Adam was his enhanced vision allowed him to see tiny white crystals exuding from the bark.

That wasn’t part of the planned design.

But there were more pressing matters at hand.

He hurried into the city, and in the crowded square, Jeanne d’Arc Alter and Drake had maintained a clearing as part of the evacuation management. Jacob was squatting in front of a tree with hands and feet, mumbling as if praying to Gaia.

“It looks like I arrived just in time.”

Adam didn’t dawdle; he carefully placed the glowing soul orb into the tree body Jacob had crafted.

After a few seconds of waiting, the plant, originally without wisdom or soul, shakily stood up, its carved features rapidly becoming lifelike.

The first thing the old man’s soul did upon adapting to the new body and seeing his surroundings was to confirm,

“Is everyone alright? I can’t remember what happened. This isn’t Kur, has the goddess Ishtar changed her mind? Or did you refuse to accept me bearing the wrath of the gods… I’ve told you so many times, you’re all still young, with a long life ahead, the best outcome for someone like me is to make such a contribution.”

The old man’s first reaction to being revived wasn’t joy but concern that others were as “agreed upon” safe and sound.

It was only after his granddaughter hugged him crying that he showed a somewhat serene and kind expression.

Then, the neighbors he had taken care of also gathered around, bombarding him with everything that had happened.

Adam, watching this scene, didn’t forget another matter.

“Speaking of which, why are there white crystals on the city’s trees? If I’m not mistaken, that’s salt, right?”

He turned to ask Jacob and the Edenites, but the one who answered first was Leonardo da Vinci.
The petite genius tilted her head cutely and placed her hand in front of her face as if to signify her sighting.

“Ehehe. That was my suggestion. Ah, but you can also praise Jacob. After you left, he asked me if there was any way to offer more compensation.”

Jacob was probably the Edenite who thought most outside the box, yet without losing his noble character.

He believed that merely erecting walls and establishing trade would, in a sense, forcefully bind the city-state of Larlag to the Edenites. In other words, it would just replace the gods with the Edenites, depriving them of the right to choose independently.

Therefore, he wondered if there was a way to compensate them so they could survive even if they chose not to engage in trade with the Edenites afterward.

Jeanne d’Arc Alter, who was just a country girl in her previous life, and Drake, who had never considered such matters, left the practical solution to Leonardo da Vinci.

She started from the aspect of the Kabbalah tree seeds improving the surrounding land quality, then associated it with Mesopotamia’s severe soil salinization problem, suggesting to Jacob the idea of using the Great Art to absorb the soil’s salt and convert it into directly consumable form.

“This way, the city-state of Larlag could choose to exchange its unique ‘tree salt’ with other city-states. Indeed, a good idea, but Jeanne and Drake, you two should have noticed the problem here, right?”

“What, what? Something even this genius missed?”

Leonardo da Vinci, excitedly waving her arms, turned her gaze to the two mentioned by Adam, seemingly urging them to provide an answer immediately.

And Jacob prepared himself to listen to the lesson.

Drake, who often teased Jeanne d’Arc Alter, patted her on the shoulder.

“It’s your time to shine.”

“I couldn’t care less—Anyway, you all didn’t consider that Larlag is now a city abandoned by the gods. If they possess such precious resources without finding a new patron, they will quickly become targets for conquest and plunder by other city-states. It could be even more dangerous than their original state of poverty.”

Despite never receiving formal education, the “Maid of Orléans” who played a role in saving her country during war, especially in her Alter state, was very aware of the darker sides of human nature.

This was something Jacob from the Edenite society, where crimes were rare over centuries, and the youthful and academically focused Leonardo da Vinci hadn’t considered.

“How could this be? Did this genius actually do something wrong?”

Leonardo da Vinci looked somewhat dejected.

In contrast, Jacob, who never placed himself too highly, appeared quite calm: he had learned a lesson.

“But it’s fine. It’s closest to El-Neim and destined to become a key trading location. They will receive protection from the Edenites and gradually join the correct path through interaction. Plus, your accidental success reminded me of something I almost forgot.”

Adam patted Leonardo da Vinci’s head for comfort (Jeanne d’Arc Alter was envious).

Because his body was increasingly inclined not to need food or water, surviving solely on the planet’s life force, and the civilization he led was entirely different from normal humans, he hadn’t thought about salt.

Now it seems, even if Edenites don’t need to derive nutrition from it, salt itself, easily obtainable for them but precious elsewhere, is suitable for trade.

Moreover, at least the taste buds of Edenites haven’t changed, meaning they still harbor a pursuit for culinary delights.

“Night is falling today, and the residents there need to properly reunite and relax, so let’s formally start the trade activities tomorrow. Just in time, I have some ideas to practice. Jeanne, Captain Drake, Leonardo da Vinci, please accompany me.”

When the dinosaurs went extinct on the surface, the Edenites hid in their paradise.

They didn’t participate in the subsequent ecological succession, meaning the current world’s rules are still shaped around other humans.

What does that imply?

It means the knowledge in Adam’s mind might become applicable.

This novel was translated on ShanghaiFantasy, https://shanghaifantasy.com/novel/type-moons-civilization-game-at-the-start-of-the-cretaceous-period/. If you are not reading on this website, it was stolen and aggregated

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