Feng Mengyue was very smart.

She used the villagers’ unwillingness to leave as an excuse to refuse the proposal.

With her answer, Su Mo had no reason to question her further, so he leaned back and relaxed in his chair.

This was a rejection.

At the same time, it was not a complete rejection.

‘Feng Mengyue sure is ambitious and doesn’t want to subservient to another person, including me. Those under her would never leave her behind if she was unwilling to leave,’ Su Mo thought to himself.

Not everyone was willing to join another person’s territory.

In Mountain Moon Village, Feng Mengyue and the other three had supreme adjudication power and were given full authority to handle all matters.

They were basically all-ruling emperors in the village.

Surely, Su Mo believed that the reason they wanted to stay was not that they were greedy for power.

‘It’s because they understand I have plenty of capable talents under me, so even if they were to join me, they were afraid of being unable to achieve a high rank in my territory.’

“We shall wait till Guan Shan is rescued if that’s the case. We don’t have to rush this matter!”

Su Mo waved his hands slightly, stood up, and walked out with a smile as if nothing had happened.

Seeing his casual attitude, Feng Mengyue was obviously relieved but a hint of disappointment also flashed across her eyes.

These were the results that she had hoped to achieve.

However, it worried her even more now that she really got it. It was like she had lost a great opportunity.

Since it had already happened, it was no use regretting anymore. Feng Menyue quickly changed her mindset and left it behind her.

…

Time passed by quickly.

The expedition team who had decided to rest in the village also could rest after their meal.

The soldiers entered the prepared accommodation and began to rest.

The village gradually turned deserted.

At six in the evening, inside Great Mountain was equivalent to the night as they had no electricity and a shortage of torches to light up the place.

Su Mo toured the surrounding area and remembered the terrain inside his mind.

He returned to the village, opened the previous stone house’s door, and walked inside.

Different from the gloomy atmosphere in the afternoon, three small oil lamps were lit in the house, making the interior warm and bright.

Feng Mengyue sat at her table with her head lowered and focused on the work on her desk, seemingly writing and drawing something.

The woman Feng Menyue mentioned, Xiao Yu, who was in charge of weapon and equipment development, also sat on her bed, fiddling with something.

Meanwhile, Guan Yuan was lying mischievously on the sofa, holding a thick book in her hand and happily flipping through it.

Seeing Su Mo return, Feng Mengyue raised her head to greet him and immediately turned her focus back to her work.

On the contrary, the other two were excited to see him and rushed over to surround him as if they were fangirls who saw their favorite celebrity.

“You’re finally back! I’ve been waiting for you for a while!”

Guan Yuan dashed over and greeted him intimately, completely different from the dashing demeanor of the mysterious woman she had previously.

She was not ashamed as she held Su Mo’s hand and dragged him inside the house.

“Guan Yu really likes you a lot! One night, she chanted your name in her sleep!”

“I didn’t!”

The chubby Xiao Yu jumped out of bed angrily, with her face flushed red after being exposed.

The sight of them seemed like children bickering, making Su Mo laugh.

“I heard that you were the one who developed all the weapons in the territory. Not bad. You’re capable of making such powerful weapons at such a young age.

“You are incredibly talented!

Ordinary mines, defense traps, low-quality hand-made riffles.

The technicality of these items was average, slightly inefficient, and of little value.

However, the thunderbolt crossbows were extremely fatal.

A single shot could obliterate a large group of people if the handler were incredibly accurate.

“Hmm? Do you mean the thunderbolt crossbow?

Xiao Yu was slightly younger than the other two ladies and probably only in her early twenties.

Her small figure and youthful appearance made her look like a little girl about 15 years old.

Haring that Su Mo was interested, Xiao Yu was immediately livened and immediately led the two inside the room. She lit an oil lamp and pulled many models from underneath the bed.

The first one she took out among them was the thunderbolt crossbow he had experienced in the previous battle!

“The thunderbolt crossbow is not as simple as tying an explosive to an arrow and launching it at the enemy.

“My initial thought for the design was intended to work against an enemy that used a shield to defend against us. I could use the explosives to blow apart his shield!

“Thus, I filled the first half of the arrow shaft and arrowhead with explosives and added a trigger detonating device.

“Unfortunately, such a design required very precise and high craftsmanship. It would easily lead to the arrows exploding as soon as it was launched if there was a slight deviation during the production process.

“After an extended period, I only made about three shots.”

“Since I used one last night, we only have two shots left!” Following Xiao Yu’s words, Guan Yuan stuck out her tongue and added.

Fantastic ideas did not mean that they could manufacture a large number of weapons.

The reason high-tech weapons could be developed rapidly in modern times on Earth was inseparable from the assistance of high-precision manufacturing industries.

In Mountain Moon Village, there were also no suitable workers and incomplete instruments to produce the weapons, so even if the design blueprints and production process worked, it was hard for them to achieve mass production.

However, this was entirely doable for Su Mo and within Hope Village.

Su Mo continued to glance at the remaining models that she had made.

He was highly attracted by another item he saw and bent over to look at it carefully.

…