Chapter 2：Planning the Heist

Allen discovered that although his body was weak, it possessed a formidable vitality.

This might be an innate talent.

Or perhaps it was a special ability brought about by his transmigration.

Of course, this formidable vitality had its limits; it only allowed his heavily injured body to recover faster.

After ten days of recuperation, Allen felt that he had fully recovered.

He even had better control over his body than before.

His once weak body had also grown stronger under Peter's tireless care.

The only regret was that the two hundred copper coins had been almost entirely consumed.

Although Allen lived in a remote area where no one paid attention to a lowly commoner, it was always good to be cautious.

For this reason, Peter had to purchase more expensive but more discreet medicines and food.

Only thirty-six copper coins were left from the original two hundred.

This money was just enough to buy a sharp axe.

"Relying on just this won't be enough..." Allen took down the hunting bow from the wall, swiftly drew it, and then slowly relaxed it.

He used this to train his arm strength while murmuring to himself, planning his next move.

Essential tools, reliable manpower, a reasonable plan, and sales channels—these were all indispensable.

As a former squad leader of the ranger team, Allen was very familiar with the rainforest area.

Having often fought against poaching gangs, Allen remembered almost every important spot in the estuary rainforest.

In this world, many things could be called magical treasures: magical plants, magical fungi, beautiful and magically infused mineral stones...

The quality of magical treasures was divided from level one to level nine, with level one being the lowest and level nine the highest. Beyond these levels, there were rare and mysterious magical treasures that couldn't be graded.

Even the lowest level one magical treasure had a guardian beast of matching quality.

The strength of guardian beasts, like that of human warriors, ranged from level one to level nine.

Both magical treasures and guardian beasts were rare.

Allen had an unknown secret location in his mind, which very likely contained a level one magical treasure.

The only trouble was that, facing a possible guardian beast, even ten Allens together wouldn't be a match.

However, Allen quickly shifted his focus.

The Redwood Nation, where he was, was known as the nation of tropical rainforests.

The capital, Markland, was an overseas island and the stronghold of wealthy nobles, while the mainland was extremely impoverished.

In this world ruled by nobles wielding mysterious magical powers, the technological level was both deformed and unique. Some technologies, like livestock breeding, could reach or even surpass the mid-19th century level of Earth.

But overall productivity was abysmal, with the tech tree heavily skewed towards mysterious magical technologies, and the world was still dominated by cold weapons.

The nobles' main force was heavily armored cavalry led by beast knights, powerful to the extreme.

One of the specialties of the Redwood Nation was the precious redwood, which had always been a sought-after material by nobles on another continent.

Whether as materials for mysticism or for making exquisite furniture, a single redwood tree was worth a fortune.

The estuary rainforest Allen guarded was located in the tropical rainforest area along the Bakken River, one of the two major rivers in the Redwood Nation.

The entire Bakken River basin was covered with dense rainforest, and redwood trees were mixed in among them.

"Last time, I stopped an illegal logging team whose target was a precious redwood tree." Allen put down the hunting bow, rubbing his chin, his eyes gleaming with greed.

According to Allen's knowledge, a tree core as thick as an adult man's thigh and two meters long could sell for six thousand copper coins on the black market in the Redwood Nation.

(1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 10,000 copper coins)

The price was even higher in overseas markets.

It was said that in the Eastern Golden Dragon Empire, it could sell for as much as two hundred to five hundred silver coins.

With this in mind, Allen made his decision to go for it.

Ironically, the former ranger squad leader was now going to become an illegal logger.

What a twist of fate!

Allen was well-acquainted with the terrain of the estuary rainforest.

He had also bought weapons from the unregulated black market.

The planning of the operation and the sales channels were already in place.

Now, he just needed to consider building a team and procuring equipment.

Building a team was particularly important, and the core principle was three words—reliable, reliable, and reliable!

Having common interests and common enemies was a truth Allen had learned in his smuggling career for building a gang.

In a poor country, hunger would drive desperate people to take risks for money and food.

The value of a precious redwood tree was enough to make dozens of young poor men risk their lives for it.

But Allen knew one thing well: recruiting members by force would backfire sooner or later.

Volunteers and those recruited by force were completely different.

So, Allen needed to do something first to attract his targets and make them come to him voluntarily.

Since he had recovered today, Allen decided to stretch his muscles.

He planned to venture into the dangerous uninhabited area of the rainforest for a hunt.

This would help him integrate with the muscle memory of this body and absorb its unique talents.

...

Allen did not avoid the village.

In fact, this remote village had few inhabitants.

The men had all entered the rainforest during the day, leaving only frail women who watched Allen's figure.

Although they were surprised that this boy had recovered so quickly from such severe injuries, they didn't pay much attention.

No one wanted to cause trouble.

Walking through the narrow, winding, and rocky dirt road surrounded by wild roses, the terrain gradually rose, and the vegetation became denser.

In the ubiquitous rainforest, the trees grew exceptionally tall.

The forest was filled with sprawling branches and climbing vines.

The scorching sunlight made the humid jungle even more stifling.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the slight breeze from the moving air brought a hint of coolness to Allen.

As he walked, Allen observed his surroundings and the sides of the road.

This place was so remote that Allen often worried about a wild beast suddenly leaping out from the dense forest on either side of the road.

In fact, this concern was not an exaggeration.

A few years ago, people occasionally found human bones gnawed by large carnivores in the nearby woods.

However, today Allen was determined to head towards danger.

With a hunting bow in his left hand and a knife at his waist in his right hand, this was an old but still sharp knife.

During his smuggling career, Allen had learned to use throwing knives and needles, and was proficient with bows and crossbows.

He was even skilled in making bows, crossbows, and homemade hunting rifles.

Allen had accepted the muscle memory of this body, further enhancing his hunting and survival skills.

So, Allen was planning a big move!

Allen walked a long distance and then darted into the dense forest formed by green plants in a place where the road was almost invisible.

After about two hours, enduring mosquito bites and high temperatures, Allen reached his destination: River Wolf Dam!