Chapter 3: Cheat Key From Modern Times

“Chief Spirit, did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” Kiwoo nodded. “Upright Tree slept well, too?”

Tree’s full name was Upright Tree.

“Of course! You must be a bit hungry. I’ll prepare food fast.”

“Yes,” Kiwoo smiled, “I’ll ask for your help today as well.”

Upright Tree’s figure left and went out to prepare food. 

The temperature’s slowly rising, huh…

Eight months had passed since he came to this place, experiencing both the fall and wintry season. Now the downpour of springtime was beginning to sprout.

During those times, Kiwoo wholly mastered the language that was used in the river creek tribe. Because he learned the language too quickly, he spent most of his time here in the tribe.

It’s unique.

There was no common name here.

The village aborigines were given based on their individual characteristic traits. But before that, death rates were high… thus names weren’t given to them. He wasn’t sure if it was the same for other tribes, but here… having a name meant that you’d been blessed by the fortune of the spirits that you had survived long enough through adulthood.

Upright Tree had an upright behavior, just like a tree. It was his given name. Aside from him, there were also Clear Lake, Black Mud, Broad Leaves, and more. It was refreshing and a unique culture and Kiwoo was glad to be able to experience the culture of this time long before Euopeans colonized them to the point of extinction.

Compared to them, Kiwoo was called Wakan Tanka or Chief Spirit. It meant holy spirit… a supreme being. Yes… he had been relegated as a supreme being…

Now, let’s start properly.

There were many facts and truths Kiwoo discovered up till now. He had been staying silent all throughout because mastering the language was his first and foremost priority. He needed to assimilate.

Now, spring has come and it was time for him to make a move.

Among the many things he researched, the most significant result was finding out the exact, accurate location of the place. The place was located near the southern border of Alabama and bordered Georgia called the Chattahoochee River, the cotton belt in the lowland of the lower parts of North America. It was a plain that would become the main focus of raw cotton production in the future when slavery became a normay day-to-day sight.

But… how did Kiwoo know this?

Because he had a world map inside his bag. 

Though due to the limited capacity his bag could carry, Kiwoo brought a big map with him full of volumes of information. In the map, essential resources of iron, coal, oil, and other natural resources were highlighted; its location and how the rivers were connected were shown in great details.

Comparing the landscape and scenery with the map, Kiwoo was able to pinpoint his exact location.

The location isn’t bad.

No, it was excellent. Alabama was one of the few iron industrial zones in modern America. Big iron ores, coals, and limestones were distributed in the nearby area of Birmingham, the southernmost part of the Appalachian mountain.

For civilization’s development, those are necessary resources.

Moreover, the plains were suitable for food production.

It was enough for Kiwoo to kickstart the plan to advance the human race.

Thinking about it, North America was blessed land of fertile soils and numerous natural resources. Many rivers flew all throughout the North American continent as if they were the human body’s blood vessels. Thanks to this, water traffic works could be developed quickly; and through the vast plains, food production would be effortless.

The United States indeed had its reasons why they were able to rise as a superpower in the modern world. But this came at a price at the expense of the aborigines and the backs of the many black men and women who had experienced a cruel fate. 

But… knowing the future and how it would develop and its future demise, Kiwoo was willing to take risks to further advance and develop the human race to avoid future annihilation.

And to do that, Kiwoo would change the trajectory of the American roots that many are aware of in history. If he was to succeed, United States won’t be a superpower where caucasian’s were ruling power… it would be a country ran by natives.

“Please have a meal, Chief Spirit.”

While in the midst of his thoughts, Upright Tree came to serve food. It was food gained from hunting, and god the taste was terrible.

It was obviously impossible for Kiwoo who was used to eating extravagant delicacies in modern times to be satisfied with how food was made and prepared. However, Kiwoo didn’t frown nor show his dissatisfaction.

He knew he was privileged enough to eat and he was thankful for that. There were others that were miserable and lacking proper nutrition. There wasn’t always an overabundance of food available. 

But that can all be solved within a couple of years with some proper work.

No… based on his expression, Kiwoo was sure that it’d be solved at some point and maybe sooner than he thought. He possessed some important material in his bag, after all.

“The chicks hatched from the eggs have grown up,” he remarked, having brought five modified eggs in his bag. Although they took up a considerable amount of space, it was a wise choice in hindsight.

Livestock in North America was almost nonexistent, but thanks to the eggs, he was able to raise chickens there. The five chicks eventually grew into adults, and their eggs continued to hatch, increasing their numbers. Soon, they would have chicken meat to eat.

The modern way of selectively breeding chickens was a success. When it was time to eat them regularly, the tribespeople’s perspectives, who had previously suppressed their dissatisfaction due to the sacred spirit and spiritual leader’s work, changed by 180 degrees.

Despite still struggling to accept the livestock system, they recognized the birth of an animal they had never seen before. Perhaps they should increase the food supply to accommodate them?

Kiwoo finished his meal and slung his bag over his shoulder. As planned, he went to the land where the tribespeople were farming, albeit crudely. The upright tree always followed him, and today, about ten other tribespeople did too.

Wherever Kiwoo went, the tall trees followed. Today was no exception. The only difference was that ten other tribespeople followed him, besides the Upright Tree.

Normally, women worked in the fields, but Kiwoo brought only men. This was because he needed men to farm the way he intended.

In the future agricultural society, male farmers would be the mainstay.

“Do you know why I came here?”

“Isn’t it to farm?” Upright Tree reacted as if it was an obvious question. 

Kiwoo chuckled as he gazed at the vast plain stretching out after crossing the Chatta Hoochee River. “Farming is farming. But what we’re going to do from now on will change our lives.”

Upright Tree’s eyes sparkled. “What do you mean by ‘our lives’?”

This guy is quite smart. Should we say that he’s sharp-witted for a man of the Stone Age civilization?

While other tribespeople were not keen on raising livestock, Upright Tree had already thought about the ripple effects that chickens would bring.

It’s quite impressive that humans during this period could think to this extent.

“Is it because of these hoes?”

“Well, that’s one of the reasons, but it’s not what I want to talk about now.”

He had painstakingly made about ten hoes. Although they couldn’t make plows without cattle or horses, the hoes would make their work much more comfortable.

Of course, they had to use wood since they didn’t have iron yet. Whenever he looked at the hoes, the thought of making iron quickly came to his mind.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“What’s that?” Upright Tree asked as Kiwoo lifted a barrel from his bag.

“Have you ever heard of genetically modified seeds?”

“Seeds…”

The solid sensation that rises up through your forearms. Anyone who becomes the subject of this feeling will feel the same way – it’s incredibly lovely.

“Hehehe.” A sinister laugh burst out of Kiwoo’s mouth. “This will change the world.”

A small murmur. The sound wave naturally disappeared into the air without lasting long. However, the lingering feeling stayed with Kiwoo for quite a while.

***

Before recklessly executing the time machine from modern times to the past, each of the ten subjects was given a bag, but the weight and types of items they put in varied depending on their weight. The heavier the weight, the lower the success rate of the time machine, so they excluded electronic devices as they didn’t know what kind of interference would occur.

Fortunately, Kiwoo weighed around 62kg, so he was able to fill his bag quite generously.

Five of the subjects brought small guns and dozens of bullets, but the others, including Kiwoo, did not bring any modern weapons. Instead, they brought various items that could significantly advance civilization in the past, such as eggs, modernized grains and plant seeds, and blueprints of innovative items and modern maps.

It was difficult to fill the bags with those items alone, let alone guns and bullets.

And now, Kiwoo was convinced that his choice was excellent.

“Hehehehe.”

He couldn’t stop laughing. Kiwoo tried to suppress his laughter as much as possible, realizing that his laughter sounded ominous, but it was uncontrollable.

“S-s-so, are we finally harvesting today?” Upright Tree’s voice trembled thinly. Even from his voice, it was clear how he felt.

Of course, he felt that way. They had been watching the new types of crops grow beyond their imagination, from spring to summer and finally to autumn.

“Yes, we are harvesting wheat today.”

Wheat?! They didn’t even have Europeans in North America, and yet they could harvest wheat!

Kiwoo felt a sense of wonder.

But this was only the beginning. Corn, cotton, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, barley, and various other crops would be harvested one after another. And they would be improved to produce thick and plump produce.

In the future, a variety of modern crops would spread across the North American continent, starting from Kiwoo’s farmland.

“Don’t get your hopes up yet.”

“What?”

“I understand your desire to taste them, but for now, we’ll use the rest except for chicken feed as much as possible for seed. You know what I mean, right?”

“…I will mention it in the meeting.”

“As expected, Upright Tree knows my mind the best.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

As mentioned, food was scarce. Naturally, the majority of the tribespeople would want to eat food instead of using them as seeds. They had to prevent this.

Upright Tree scratched the back of its head awkwardly. Then, dandruff fell off its head. Kiwoo briefly thought as he watched the scene.

“I need to make soap quickly.”

Of course, that was still a distant goal.

***

As expected, as soon as wheat was cultivated, the tribespeople clung to it like ghosts because they couldn’t eat it and ended up dying.

However, Kiwoo, Upright Tree, and the growing followers between them, shouted out their opposition and managed to protect most of the seeds.

Still, within a few years, they would be able to achieve self-sufficiency in food through farming alone. Particularly, staple crops such as potatoes and sweet potatoes would play the biggest role. By then, the number of chickens would explode, and there would be plenty of boiled eggs to eat.

Harvesting the modern crops through the first year’s seeds wasn’t too difficult due to a shortage of seeds. Nevertheless, even without eating the inflated seeds, they felt full.

But what Kiwoo was thinking about now wasn’t food. He was holding the one he was putting the most effort into these days in one hand, lost in thought.