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Chapter 4 - Light in the Village

That afternoon, the wolf village was attacked by armored soldiers from another kingdom. However, that night they held a feast to welcome their saviors —Gideon and the camo team.

Gideon was more than welcomed in the wolfkin village. Thanks to his help, they didn't have to start everything from zero. They could stay in the village and repair what had been broken.

Luke looked relaxed with the other wolves, drinking their local liquor and eating rabbit and deer meat they had hunted earlier that day. Gideon gave a small smile. At least they can rest for a while.

Lyra and Lena were also sitting at the feast, eating whatever the villagers had served. One of the wolf girls came to Lena and handed her a flower as a thank-you gift for saving her father from a serious arrow wound.

Lena felt touched. She accepted the flower and gently patted the girl's furry head. Seeing the bravery, honor, kindness, and responsibility of the camo team softened the wolves' opinion of humans.

They began to open up and accept the camo team's warmth.

As the night grew late, the crescent moon hung directly above. One by one, the villagers returned to their homes to rest.

Gideon and his team were given a wooden house. It had not been lived in for five years. It used to belong to the village elder.

As a thank-you, they let Gideon and his team stay there as long as they wanted. Gideon felt glad and relieved.

There were four rooms inside, one for each of them. Luke was already fast asleep from the strong liquor. Lena and Lyra were out too. Gideon was the only one still awake.

He opened a book that the girl had given him, trying to read it even though he didn't know how to pronounce the letters.

'I should ask someone to help me pronounce these words.'

Gideon got out of bed and stepped outside, holding the book. He wore only a green T-shirt and long pants.

He turned and saw several male wolves working together to bury their fallen comrades.

There were five wolves who died —four males and one female. They had died in different ways during the battle.

Gideon grew curious. He started walking toward them, but his steps were blocked by Bian.

Bian came over and shook his head, as if to say that a human like Gideon should not witness the wolf burial ritual.

Gideon didn't understand what Bian meant, but not wanting to break their traditions, he chose to go back and rest. He would ask for help another time.

***

Three days later.

Wolf Village.

All their logistics and military equipment had been moved from the camp to the village. Lena was learning some helpful words to assist the SOF team, especially when asking the wolfkin men to carry the supply boxes.

It didn't take long. The SOF supply crates were moved and stored at their new home. The wolf children were curious —they had never seen what was inside such boxes.

Lyra stayed focused on her goal, with Luke helping her. Luke was skilled with engineering. Even if he acted easygoing, that didn't mean he lacked ability.

For Luke, building a water wheel power generator felt like a college project. As long as the materials were available, he could make it quickly and easily.

With Lena's growing understanding of the wolfkin language, she spoke to one of the young wolves to help Gideon.

Gideon gathered them and showed a simple sketch of the device he wanted to build, using the strong river current. 

Bian and the others nodded in understanding, especially when Gideon demonstrated it using a small model.

Lena helped explain, even though she only knew a few phrases. An old wolf man clapped his hands. It was an interesting idea that might bring real change to their village.

"This is interesting," said the men.

"Right. As long as it doesn't destroy our village, we should try it."

"Bian, you know that camo man. You'll be our guide."

Bian nodded. He turned and said something in English. Gideon and Lena gasped in surprise when Bian said it.

"All right," Bian said clearly.

Gideon smiled. He started assigning tasks to the wolfkin men. Before electricity could flow, they had to build the water wheel first, and that required wood.

"I'll teach you how to use our tools."

Lena smiled. She turned and nodded. Using her broken language, she explained that Gideon would begin. The men nodded in response, understanding Lena's short words.

Gideon brought out a toolbox —a full set of carpentry equipment. These tools were essential for SOF teams to build shelters and more in the field.

It wasn't standard gear for tactical teams, but Gideon always carried it due to habit and foresight. He didn't want to struggle later from lacking the right equipment.

From what Gideon had seen, they were still primitive. No nails, just rope and bamboo. It worked, but it wouldn't last long.

Gideon introduced hammers, nails, axes, measuring tape, and saws. All of these would be needed for the water wheel.

Based on the blueprint Lyra had drawn on paper, Gideon figured out how many meters of wood were needed and how to build it.

The wolfkin village became a busy place. The wolf women went into the forest to find food, while the men worked together to cut trees and follow Gideon's instructions.

Slowly, Gideon started understanding their language because of the frequent interaction. Tree trunks were cut carefully and precisely, and the wolf men followed his orders well.

They worked with a cheerful and helpful attitude. Even when Gideon grew tired, they stepped in to help him. He felt truly glad.

Several days have passed since construction began. The water wheel structure was finally complete. It satisfied Gideon.

He and the wolf men helped place the water wheel at the riverbank, allowing the current to flow through it and spin the wheel.

The wolf children stared in awe, their eyes sparkling as they watched wood pieces turn into something that kept spinning in the river. Gideon and Lena smiled. It was a natural reaction, they thought.

"Now, we just need to install the magnet on the axle."

"I'll go call them," said Lena. Gideon turned and nodded.

Soon, Lyra and Luke arrived carrying a box filled with magnets and thick copper wire coiled around a wooden block. Luke smiled.

"Behold the masterpiece I'll create. This is magic," said Luke, shouting as he lifted the box.

Everyone's attention turned to Luke and Lyra. Gideon and Lena helped them. The magnet was attached to the spinning axle of the water wheel, close to the copper coil on the wooden block —but not touching it.

"Will this work?" asked Gideon.

Luke cleared his throat, slung an arm around Gideon's shoulder, and patted his chest proudly.

"Of course. We're using two magnets on that axle. When they spin with the water wheel, the magnetic field creates electromagnetic induction in the copper coil."

"With a current this strong, I'm sure it'll produce a good amount of electricity," said Luke.

"But if it spins too fast, and the electricity gets too strong, won't the voltage be too high and damage the copper coil?" asked Gideon.

"No need to worry, Captain. That's what this lever is for," said Luke, pointing to a lever that moved forward and backward.

Gideon looked at it. He had built that lever based on the blueprint. Now he understood its use.

"So, it's a brake?" asked Gideon. Luke nodded and snapped his fingers.

"Exactly, Captain!"

Lyra finished her task. Now it was Luke's turn to connect the copper wires to two different rods in the ground —one made of copper, the other regular iron.

Luke buried the copper wire, connecting the copper rod to the iron one. He called this method a soil battery.

Luckily, the ground was wet, and the river water was clear and full of minerals. He even sprinkled salt to speed up the chemical reaction. Luke made five of them in a series to match the electricity being produced.

The ends of the copper wire were wrapped around two metal stakes on a wooden board. That's where the simple outlet was built.

With that, electricity could be generated.

"It's done."

Luke finished the final step —connecting the outlet wires, separating the positive and negative lines. Finally, Lyra and the others could use electricity easily, powered by the river's current.

Gideon placed the water wheel over the stream, locking it tightly to the wooden axle. He let go, and the wheel started spinning fast. Gideon pulled the lever back to slow it down.

Luke let the wheel spin. He and the others waited for the electromagnetic induction to happen.

"How's it going?" asked Gideon.

"This will be our test," said Luke, holding up a light bulb.

He plugged the bulb into the outlet. Gideon and the others waited anxiously.

The light bulb turned on.

They did it. Electricity had come to the wolf village.

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