Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

Night fell.

In the camp's room, the members of Demolition Team Twenty-Four had already gone to sleep.

The burly man Ulus slowly opened his eyes and sat up from bed.

"Rustle, rustle..."

He quietly put on his clothes and shoes, trying to avoid making any noise, and slipped out like a ghost, leaving the camp.

Twenty minutes later.

He appeared near the factory area at the foot of a distant mountain.

The factory area was continuously expanding, its area growing larger and larger; even at night, it was brightly lit. It looked like a giant beast lying on the ground, deeply shocking anyone seeing it for the first time.

The burly man Ulus hid beside a protruding rock, lying on the cold ground, concealing himself, and watched the entrance of the ore processing plant ahead, trying to get in.

Just as he was about to take action, a sudden sound of footsteps arose, coming closer from afar.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

It was the security team formed at the mining site a few days ago, responsible for maintaining order and preventing illegal activities like theft.

The burly man Ulus heard the footsteps, quickly curling his body to hide behind the rock, waiting until the footsteps faded away and disappeared before stepping out, crouched down.

Then he quickly ran towards the factory wall, preparing to climb over it.

Reaching the wall, his legs bent, just about to push off, Ulus's movement suddenly stopped, his eyes showing a cautious look as he glanced inside the wall.

Just now, he felt a very noticeable mana wave forming inside the wall.

Apparently, someone with extraordinary ability was guarding inside.

However, he wasn't afraid, confident that he could overpower the opponent with his strength.

But, his goal was to sneak into the factory to uncover the truth about the mining area. In his current state, he only had one chance; if he failed, he wouldn't get another chance, so he had to be cautious. Facing a place guarded by someone with extraordinary ability, he absolutely couldn't break in by force.

So...

Ulus's eyes slowly shifted, and after a moment of thought, he turned and walked into the night, leaving the factory area.

...

The night passed without incident.

The second morning, just as dawn broke, a piercing brass bell rang outside the door.

The sleeping members of Demolition Team Twenty-Four were awakened by the noise, cursing as they groggily got up, dressed, and walked out.

A few minutes later, the group appeared in the new canteen that had just been set up at the mining site.

Meat porridge, bread smeared with butter, and salted beans were served one by one, and everyone began eating breakfast.

To be honest, the taste of breakfast was nothing special; the bread with butter was still dry, the salted beans were extremely salty, and the meat porridge barely had any meat — if one looked hard enough, they might even find some small creatures like vegetable worms or snails.

Nevertheless, everyone devoured the food with gusto, simply because the breakfast was free.

"Slurp, slurp..."

"Gulp, gulp..."

"Chomp, chomp..."

The group continuously stuffed bread into their mouths, watching each other's pace warily, constantly calculating whether they could snag the remaining buttered bread on the plate. If they couldn't fit any more in, they'd gulp down a mouthful of meat porridge and continue stuffing.

In just a few minutes, breakfast ended in a tense and exciting atmosphere.

After a brief rest, the group left the canteen and headed towards the work area in the distance just as the first red light of dawn appeared in the east.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The team walked in groups of two or three, with the burly Ulus towards the rear. After a few steps, he casually turned his head, glanced at a companion beside him, and asked, "Tum... Tumanto, I remember you said your uncle also works at this mining site, right?"

The man called Tumanto stood about 1.7 meters tall and looked fairly ordinary. The only distinguishing feature was a small braided pigtail about twenty centimeters long, intricately plaited and tied with a red string at the end, following some unknown custom.

Upon hearing Ulus's question, the pigtail-wearing Tumanto glanced at him, surprised, then replied without denial, "Yes, I indeed have an uncle working at the mining site."

"Is he also part of a demolition team? Why have I never seen him?"

"He was part of the demolition team before, but once, while working, a loaded fire bomb malfunctioned, and a rock broke his leg. Although it was reattached, he became unable to run smoothly, so he had to leave the demolition team.

Fortunately, the mine's owner, Mr. Waltz, was kind enough not to just dismiss him but arranged for him to work at the factory below the mountain. So, it's normal not to see him now," Tumanto explained.

Upon hearing this, Ulus nodded and softly said, "So, as long as you're injured, you can go to the factory?"

"It depends," Tumanto replied. "If your injury is too severe, you might end up in a grave. If it's just a minor superficial wound and doesn't affect work after healing, you'll definitely stay in your current position. Only if the injury is moderate — curable but affecting your current job — will you be assigned to the factory for easier work."

"I see." Ulus nodded thoughtfully.

By this time, the group had reached the worksite, where their leader Didak was already present. They promptly stopped talking and got busy.

Having done it many times, everyone worked quickly.

First, they checked the previously loaded fire bombs several times to ensure there were no problems, then began distributing fire sticks.

Afterwards, upon hearing Didak's command, they rushed to light the fire bombs in unison and then sprinted back to the shelter.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

A series of explosive blasts rang out, almost merging into one, causing a large section of the stone wall to collapse amid flying debris.

Didak waved his hand, leading the entire team to quickly withdraw from the site and took a sigh of relief.

"Well done, very well done. You've become more proficient," Didak told the team, expressing his satisfaction, "In just three more days, you'll be qualified. Then, you can work independently without my supervision or guidance. Alright, rest here for now; I'll hand over to the next Danger Removal Team, then take you to today's second demolition site."

"Yes." The group nodded, finding any place to sit down.

At that moment, the crimson edge of the sun appeared in the east, gradually brightening. The Danger Removal Team trudged up the mountain path with heavy "puff, puff" steps.

Wearing thick Iron Armor and holding massive Iron Shields, the Danger Removal Team walked up to Didak, ready to hand over. Upon hearing Didak mention "there might be an unexploded fire bomb," a noticeable shudder went through the Danger Removal Team members, and their faces turned a bit pale.

However, the members of the Danger Removal Team said nothing, silently heading into the rubble to start the danger removal process.