Monster Hunter: Wild Pointer

At first glance, it sounds a bit like a charlatan, but judging from the elder's previous words and deeds, he should not be the kind of fanatical believer.

"It might be difficult to explain it in words, so I'll take you to see it for yourself."

As he spoke, the elder led the group out of the cave where they fetched water, took the elevator, and arrived at the top of the bedrock.

Before they could even step out of the elevator, they felt a wave of heat coming towards them, and the bright light was so bright that they couldn't open their eyes.

"What?" Muti covered his eyes with the back of his hands.

The professor hurriedly took out a pair of multifunctional eyepieces from his bag, put them on his head, and then pulled down the filtering lens.

"This is this?!"

It is difficult to see from the bottom of the platform or from a distance, but the top of the entire bedrock is a huge bowl-shaped pit with a diameter of more than 100 meters and an almost perfect semicircle.

It is unlikely that the manpower of Chongri Town alone could have dug out a huge pit of this scale from scratch. It is more likely that this semicircular pit was formed naturally, and it took generations of repeated regularization by the people of Chongri Town to form its current appearance.

On the inner wall of the semicircular pit, there were countless brightly polished metal plates. It was the sunlight reflected by these metal plates that made them unable to open their eyes.

"Solar furnace?" Squinting his eyes, Orlan couldn't help but exclaimed, "Such a large solar furnace?!"

"You know this?" Eric looked at him in surprise.

The elder couldn't help but look at him in surprise.

"Well, in the past, when we couldn't find fuel, the elders of the Dragon Tribe would use curved bronze mirrors to prop up a solar furnace and cook food. But the adults said it was very dangerous and usually didn't let us children get close to it."

"Are you a nomad from the Sand Sea?" The elder's eyes showed realization after taking a look at Aolang's light brown skin and gray hair.

"No wonder then. Solar furnaces are nothing new to the nomads of the Sand Sea. This giant solar furnace was built at the suggestion of several nomads."

"I see," the professor muttered to himself. "That's why it's not about fuel. Using the heat of the solar furnace to smelt metals, of course no fuel is needed."

The elder's face was filled with undisguised pride, "This is the 'Gift of the Sun'. The topmost tooth among the eight teeth of the sun emblem symbolizes 'light'.

The light from the sun, the light that can melt even the most heat-resistant metal!"

Having said this, the elder looked up at the sky.

It was morning, and the sun had not yet reached its highest point, but it was already generously spreading endless light and heat in the cloudless sky of the desert.

"It's just right, it's time to open the furnace. If you don't mind, you can come here to visit." As the elder spoke, he took down a few pairs of goggles from the rack next to him and handed them to a few people.

"But please be careful. Even if you wear goggles with light filters, try not to look directly at the crucible. It can hurt your eyes."

As they put on the goggles, they also saw several craftsmen wearing heat-resistant metal protective armor entering the huge pit.

One by one, he carefully adjusted the angles of the metal plates, focusing the sunlight reflected by the metal plates little by little on the center of the solar furnace, and then on the large crucible suspended in the air by a mechanical crane.

As the heat continued to concentrate, the originally pitch-black crucible gradually emitted a blazing light that was difficult to look at directly.

P.S. The setting collection doesn't directly describe the existence of a solar furnace, but it mentions that Chongri Town relies entirely on the sun's heat to power the furnace. Since it needs to smelt heat-resistant metals and also needs the sun to provide heat, I can't think of anything other than a solar furnace (similar to the picture below).

Also, the setting book mentions "living processing armor" made of heat-resistant metal. What the hell is that? It can't be power armor, right? (Tactical backpedaling). For now, I'll just describe it as heat-insulating protective clothing.

Chapter 90 The Hidden Queen?

Although it uses no fuel, the temperature at the core of this solar furnace is higher than any industrial furnace currently in use on the Old World.

Unlike conventional furnaces, which require long periods of blowing to allow the fuel to burn fully and gradually reach the temperature required to melt steel, this furnace has a very fast heating efficiency.

In less than half an hour, the ore in the large crucible had melted into liquid.

The craftsmen, wearing protective work armor made of heat-resistant metal, turned away the reflective metal plates one by one and extinguished the furnace.

The crucible hanging in the air was also lowered by a sling, and the craftsmen approached it with special tools to scoop out the impurities floating on the surface of the liquefied metal.

At the edge of the solar furnace, the elder explained, "This step needs to be repeated many times. After the impurities are gradually refined out, a relatively pure heat-resistant metal alloy can be obtained.

After the final casting, the metal ingots that can be sold as commodities are completed.

This is the general process. Could the infestation of giant bees be related to the Solar Furnace?"

The professor took off his goggles and pondered, "At first, I thought you were using some special fuel, and the exhaust gas from the combustion attracted giant bees or something, but now it seems that's not the reason.

But giant bees, like many insects, have a light-attracting instinct and are also thermophilic. From this perspective, it's not surprising that they're attracted to the light and heat from the solar furnace."

"Professor, if this is the reason, ordinary smelting workshops and processing houses may also attract giant bees, but there seems to be no such statement?" Eric asked from the side.

"Well, so I think this is just a superficial factor. There must be deeper reasons. Currently, the information is limited, so I can't draw a conclusion yet."

While the scholars were discussing, Muti was curiously observing the work of the craftsmen.

They pulled open a metal cover, and a large hole with a diameter of several meters appeared at the bottom of the solar furnace. The craftsmen skillfully poured the slag that had just been fished out and was still red-hot into the hole.

After the pouring was completed, the big hole was closed with a cover, and the crucible was lifted back into the air by heavy metal slings. The craftsmen gradually adjusted the angle of the reflector and started the solar furnace again.

The following smelting steps were similar to the previous ones, so the few of them did not stay outside the furnace for a long time.

This place was too hot. Even though they had not entered the solar furnace and were dozens of meters away from the core, they could still feel the rolling heat waves coming towards them.

Their underwear had already been soaked with sweat as they were not equipped with heat-insulating protective armor. If they continued to stay there, they would suffer from heatstroke.

Take the elevator, leave the top floor where the solar furnace is located, and return to the residential area on the mountainside.

The professor suddenly turned to the elder and said, "For the next few days, we can freely investigate and confirm in advance that there shouldn't be any so-called restricted areas in Chongri Town or the entire bedrock."

The elder was stunned when he heard this, then shook his head and said, "No, there is nothing shameful about our Chongri Town.

I will give you a token later, so that even if you want to enter the warehouse for inspection, you can show it to the guards and they will not stop you.

However, there are a few points I hope you will pay attention to when conducting your investigation."

"Please go ahead." The professor nodded. He was not surprised by the elder's reaction.

If Chongri Town really was hiding something shameful, the elders would not have directly asked for help from the guild headquarters.

Ao Lang also took out the memo and prepared to record it to avoid any taboos in his and others' future investigations.

"Actually, these are all things we've mentioned before. One is to avoid fighting in the caves where we draw water, so as not to contaminate the water source. This is very important to us."

"It's natural."

"Also, the solar furnace is very dangerous. Be careful when investigating. The metal plates that reflect sunlight are concave mirrors. Even the sunlight focused by just one reflector is enough to burn someone instantly.

It is best to conduct the investigation at night after sunset, so there is no risk.

If you must enter the Solar Furnace during the day to investigate, please let me know in advance so I can have someone prepare heat-insulating protective armor for you."

Olang wrote this down carefully. The professor glanced at him and nodded imperceptibly.

His gaze turned to his disciple, but he saw Eric staring blankly at the insect net in his hand, as if he had not heard anything. His old face suddenly darkened.

"One last thing. Some of the older buildings and facilities in this town have old sun emblems. Try not to touch them.

To the elders in the town, I mean those dragon people who are older than me, those emblems have sacred meanings, and touching them casually may anger those elders."

"I see. Is that all?" The professor calmed down and confirmed with the elder.

"Well, that's it."

"We'll keep an eye out."

"Then I'll leave it to you all. If you need any help, please feel free to come to me."

After a few polite words, the elder took them to the accommodation that had been prepared and then left.

After taking Eric to check carefully and confirming that all the luggage and research equipment had been transferred from the long-haired camel to the room without any omissions, the professor called Orlan and Muti together.

The old scholar said without beating around the bush, "Let's prepare to start the crusade."

Olangmuti looked at each other after hearing this.

Eric was puzzled. "Are we going to start the crusade now? Didn't we say we'd wait until the investigation was complete before deciding whether the crusade was necessary?"

"The infestation of giant bees here is more serious than we expected." The professor adjusted his glasses, his expression serious. "From the time we went up the mountain until now, in just a few hours, we've encountered more than ten giant bees.

According to conservative estimates, the number of giant bees hidden in Chongri Town and the caves is at least five times higher, which means the total number is more than fifty.

This is no longer a case of 'wandering giant bees attracted by something and gathering here'; the giant bees here have formed a 'swarm'."

Eric became visibly excited. "You mean, there's a queen?"

"It's very likely, otherwise it would be unlikely for a swarm of this size to form." The professor nodded.

"Queen," Orlan repeated the word. "Is it something like the queen ant in an ant nest? Giant bees are also highly social insects?"

Muti also opened his mouth. "This is the first time I've heard of this either. I always thought giant bees were like mosquitoes and didn't swarm."

"The Queen Bee is a very rare large monster, with very few sightings." The professor explained, "I've said before that research on the ecology of giant bees has been inconclusive.

At first, beginners also thought that giant bees were independent breeding insects similar to ordinary insects, until one day, giant bees appeared in an area of ​​the dense forest.

After the guild dispatched a large number of hunters to subjugate it, they accidentally led out the Queen Bee, which was hiding deep in the jungle. That was when the guild first confirmed the existence of this large monster.

"How big?" Muti asked tentatively.

"If I remember correctly, the first queen bee we found was 691 centimeters long."

"Ah!" Muti whimpered, "A seven-meter-long mosquito, how disgusting it is."

The professor ignored Muti's wailing, "The mainstream academic view today is that giant bees are capable of independent reproduction, but under suitable environmental conditions, some individuals have a very small chance of mutating into queen bees.

The queen bee has a strong reproductive capacity and can produce a large number of giant bees in a short period of time. At the same time, nearby giant bees, influenced by factors such as hormones, will consciously surround the queen bee, forming a 'swarm'.

At this point, the professor paused and said, "On the way here, we dissected several giant bees, partly to confirm whether there was a queen bee.

The giant bees affected by the queen will have certain changes in their internal organs. We did not find such changes, which is normal. After all, they are too far apart.

If it were the giant bee here, it would have discovered something."

Aolan understood what he said, "That's why you asked us to launch an expedition immediately to obtain new anatomical samples.

Shouldn't we be more careful not to break up the body?"

The professor raised his eyelids and glanced at him, "Be careful now. It's enough to leave one or two bodies that can be dissected. The rest you can do as efficiently as you can.

I asked you to start the crusade immediately, not just to obtain anatomical samples. The appearance of swarms of insects and even queen bees in human settlements is an emergency that must be resolved.

Killing dozens of giant bees is no easy task, and it is necessary to eliminate as many as possible before discovering their nest."

As he spoke, the professor took out the task form with many parts not filled out completely.

With a stroke of the pen, he hand-painted a star behind the original "★★" logo, turning it into "★★★".

In the "Mission Objective" column, it was written "Subjugate thirty giant bees", and in the "Possible Monsters" column, "Queen Bee" was added.

"Let's write down the number of the subjugation as thirty for now. We'll change it for you when the number exceeds that. Don't worry, the corresponding reward will also increase accordingly." The professor handed the document forward.

Looking at the task document with many scratches and corrections, the corners of Ao Lang's mouth twitched twice.

President Sophia said that this old man has a high position and has the authority. This should be reliable, right?

ps. Queen Bee, also directly translated into Chinese as "Queen Bug", is a hidden monster in MH2G. I remember that it will only appear after killing 20 or so giant bees in a row?

Another note: There is an official bug here. In the early setting collection, the Queen Bee's body length was set to 227cm, but in the 15th anniversary monster size collection, the body length was set to 691cm, a difference of 3 times.

The latter is used here. How can a mosquito that is more than one meter tall be as powerful as a seven-meter long one?

Chapter 91 Shooting Mosquitoes

After resting for two hours at the residence, when it was almost time for dinner, the elder arranged for someone to deliver dinner.

Since the professor had informed them in advance, the elders did not prepare any exquisite or luxurious meal, but the food was very substantial.

Large pieces of fried meat steak, thick soup made from plant roots and meatballs, flatbreads baked on a bedrock, and side dishes such as onions, cheese, and pickles. Each item was very large in portion, obviously taking into full consideration the problem that there were two hunters among them.

The professor was old and ate very little. A small bowl of thick soup with half a piece of scone was his entire dinner.

As a teenager in the growth spurt, Eric naturally eats more than the professor, but only to a limited extent. From his slender figure like a little girl, it can be seen that he is not a big eater.

Orlan ate a lot. There was still a battle to come, so accumulating calories was necessary. He ate almost one-third of the food delivered to him, and the rest all went into Muti's stomach.

Compared to the two of them, what the professor and Eric ate ​​was not even a fraction, basically just a couple of licks from the big bowl.

After eating and drinking, the sky gradually darkened.

Orlan and Muti exchanged glances and both stood up from the table.

"Let's see if we can get a few intact ones first," Orlan said. "There are giant bees roaming around town, so we shouldn't have to go far."

"Yeah," replied the professor, who was using a microscope he carried with him to examine a water sample he had collected from the cave. "The giant bees are slightly less active at night, making it easier for them to move."

"I want to go too!" Eric dropped the rock samples he was sorting, grabbed the insect net beside him, and jumped up.