Blessed by Abundance, A Scourge of Terra

Lamian's heart was filled with anticipation. During breakfast, Huang Cao had told her about the future he envisioned.

Everyone could talk to their loved ones from hundreds of miles away, and even travel thousands of kilometers in just a day…

These marvelous things would soon become reality in the not-too-distant future…

The following days were uneventful…

Although Huang Cao was in Eden, he could quickly learn about all the major events happening in Victoria through the seeds he had planted within Shi Huaiya.

For instance, King Aslan decided to completely lift the restrictions on Originium in his bid to become the future overlord of Terra.

As soon as this decree was issued, both nobles and commoners alike were consumed by a fervent desire to purchase Originium.

Thanks to this law, even the not-so-efficient Originium engines could be officially put into use with the approval of the Victorian Parliament.

As for how many Infected would be created by these engines in the future, that remained unknown.

However, this did not stop Huang Cao from continuing to enjoy the conveniences Victoria offered him.

Although Victoria would be somewhat lackluster in the future, it was still an old empire. A starving camel is still bigger than a horse, and moreover, it hadn't starved yet.

Let the nobles of Victoria climb the basic tech tree; he would just pick the fruits in his territory and play with Abundance Technology.

After some time, Huang Cao officially posted a recruitment notice for instructors and soldiers in Eden.

The number of applicants reached a staggering three thousand. While this number might seem small, it was actually the entire population of the territory, including children in their early teens.

This was normal, as the town residents who followed Huang Cao over ten years ago numbered only a few hundred.

This was already a very impressive birth rate. It would be better to wait until the second generation of Sarkaz came of age before selecting the best candidates.

There was still a long time before the future Four Emperors' Battle, and his territory's population capacity had not yet reached its limit.

There was no rush to expand his territory.

Waiting was the best fuel for development.

Over the next few months, Huang Cao fully integrated the cells he had created into the framework of the High-speed Battleship and perfected the engine using data from the Originium Database.

This was not a difficult task; with sufficient raw materials and the technology in place, the rest was a natural progression.

After all, as long as the High-speed Battleship he was building could function, that was enough.

No other country had such a thing at the moment, so no matter how crude his warship was, it would still be advanced!

If even the remote and impoverished Siergrag could cobble something like this together, surely his Eden could too?

In an era where mobile cities roamed freely, this small mountain kingdom would not even be as good as the current Kazdel.

After all, Theresia already had initial ideas for progress, while Siergrag would still be thinking of hiding in its shell hundreds of years later.

…Meanwhile, in Victoria.

Shi Huaiya held a patent document and stood on a high platform, delivering his speech.

"Esteemed guests, the invention of this telephone will greatly change Victoria's communication limitations. Can you imagine the feeling of someone hundreds of miles away simply dialing a number and having their words reach your ears in just one second?"

"This is not some noble Originium Arts, this is the power of technology! It's something even a child can use!"

"Now, our esteemed Speaker, Mr. Huang Cao, the highest authority of the Abundance Group, has released this technology to help us thoroughly crush those old nobles."

"Therefore, this esteemed gentleman is willing to offer 30% of the shares in this technology and invite everyone to partner with him. Esteemed colleagues, the opportunity to grasp the future is here today."

It had to be said that Shi Huaiya's eloquence was quite remarkable. In just a few sentences, he significantly improved Huang Cao's standing in the eyes of Victoria's new nobles.

Everyone knew the strategic significance of the telephone, let alone these noble elites.

The new nobles knew that the existence of the telephone could not be kept secret, so it was better to use it themselves rather than hide it.

As long as they were fast enough, the old nobles wouldn't be able to catch up!

In the past, almost all new technologies were controlled by the old nobles, including countless Steam Knights and the like.

The advent of the telephone undoubtedly strengthened the new nobles' control over various regions, reducing information transmission costs and manpower.

The efficiency of future commercial operations would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.

Previously, almost everyone had to rely on the magic circles of Originium Arts masters for long-distance communication.

But now, just as Shi Huaiya said, anyone, even a newborn child, could speak into a telephone and have their voice reach their family hundreds of kilometers away in a few seconds.

However, there was one thing that Shi Huaiya was well aware of.

When Huang Cao handed him the patent a few days prior, he had pointed out that the current so-called telephone was merely a stripped-down version.

It worked, but only to a limited extent.

The main idea was to have these nobles build the corresponding production lines, and then his side would produce more advanced versions.

Keeping the advanced technology in his own hands was the only way to always stay one step ahead.

The telephone was an advantage for the new nobles, and a more advanced telephone was also an advantage for Huang Cao.

Discarding all his trump cards was not the act of a wise person, and this technology would be invented by others in a few years anyway.

Rather than letting others profit from it, it was better for him to earn the money!

Faced with this brand-new technology, almost all the new nobles went all out, doing their utmost to set up the first telephone line according to the principles and manufacturing methods provided by Huang Cao.

It only took one year to produce many corresponding production lines and equipment.

With the help of this equipment, Shi Huaiya easily produced more advanced communication devices and secretly sent them to Eden through trade routes.

Seeking all kinds of votes, thank you all for your support!

Chapter 64: Another Flaw

Due to the obstruction of natural disasters on Terra.

The development of wireless communication became extremely difficult, with most of it only supporting communication between people within mobile cities.

Huang Cao's wired telephones solved this problem. Theoretically, as long as the telephone lines were long enough, communication between countries would not be impossible.

However, the mobility of mobile cities made this impossible to achieve in the future.

After all, when facing natural disasters, communication or life was the priority, and most people knew the difference.

Therefore, not many people were willing to lay cross-border telephone lines, and what if a natural disaster destroyed the telephone lines along the way?

But these were not problems for Huang Cao at all.

Why not lay the telephone lines underground? At the same time, use the grown plants for protection. Even if an earthquake occurred, it would not be easy to pull the telephone lines apart.

Other countries did not have children of earth and stone, and they would not spend so much effort just to lay a line for chatting.

"So this is the benefit of plants, no, it should be the setting of Grass-eating Demons. They can't control the soil, but digging holes is world-class."

Huang Cao arrived at an open space, preparing to set up a telephone station here. After choosing the location, he snapped his fingers.

After the sound, a vine grew from the sole of his foot and effortlessly pierced the hard soil, spreading downwards.

It quickly split into two branches, one leading to Banshee River Valley, and the other to the even more distant Victoria.

After clearing the soil with plant roots, Huang Cao only took a few days to clear a pipeline channel leading to Victoria and Banshee River Valley.

The pipeline was not wide, nor too narrow, and it was sufficient for placing telephone lines.

In fact, if he didn't consider the terrain, Huang Cao wouldn't have been able to clear this pipeline in just a few days.

The main reason was that there were many ruins underground in this area, and the pipelines could not be buried in the ruins. What if they collapsed?

Moreover, during the digging process, one ruin was very strange.

As soon as Huang Cao's vines entered the vicinity of this ruin, they instantly lost contact and could only be physically pulled back.

This feeling was very strange, as if his palm suddenly lost contact with a finger.

However, as long as they were far apart, the impact was not that great.

Huang Cao dug a large cavity in a place far from the ruins.

If you go in blind, you don't come out blind, right? It's the same when viewed from a distance.

He dug a hole and observed it carefully, finding that this ruin was located in the border area between Victoria and Kazdel, and its appearance was very much like a large ancient altar.

On the altar were six triangular spires with a sci-fi appearance, and in the center of the spires was a book.

A strange symbol was carved on the spires, neither the rhombus of Originium nor the origin symbol of other countries.

Strange...

Huang Cao explored the surroundings carefully and found that the other decorations on the altar looked quite high-tech, at least not something that could be made in this era.

The key was that its existence could shield the perception of Abundance!

Could this also be the method of the Pre-Civilization? As expected, this world was not as simple as he imagined.

To prevent any accidents, Huang Cao used the Power of Abundance to create a barrier for this ruin, wrapping the ruin into a sphere with a large flower bud.

Fortunately, the influence range of the ruin was limited. As long as Huang Cao wrapped the surrounding rock layers and did not touch the central area, he could still perceive the flow of his own power.

The purpose of wrapping it was to mark it so that he wouldn't forget it in the future.

He would try to explore this damned place when he was strong enough and everything was foolproof in the future.

He would explore this area later!

However, he still had to ask the Cyber Ghost when he got back if this was their research project?

Bypassing the strange ruin, Huang Cao successfully extended the plant pipeline he created to Victoria.

And on the other end in Victoria, Shi Huaiya had been waiting with various equipment for a long time.

He beckoned his subordinates to push the thousand-kilometer-long telephone line through the pipeline.

There was no other way, at this time, only brute force could create miracles. In this era, where could they find so much wireless communication?

They could only use the most primitive method, and this was the result of Huang Cao's advanced technology. They couldn't create anything more advanced.

Although several thousand kilometers was long, because the telephone line was relatively thin, it did not take up much space.

Although the cost of telephone lines was very high, compared to the future profits, this cost was nothing.

There was no need to doubt whether Victoria could produce these things; mortals knew nothing about the power of industry.

A few days later, after Huang Cao delivered the communication equipment to Banshee River Valley, Lamian also connected the phone.

From then on, Warfarin chatted with the sisters in Banshee River Valley every day, whether she had something to do or not.

The most frequently discussed topic was the amusing anecdotes that happened daily between her and Huang Cao. It was just that, for some reason, Lamian on the other end of the phone always fell silent upon hearing anything about Huang Cao.

And every night, she would proactively call to check on Huang Cao.

Warfarin was usually by her side. After all, if she wasn't working overtime in the evening, what else could the two of them do besides sleep together?

Lamian also made small talk, and there were no signs of Warfarin feeling jealous.

It was just that sometimes she might make several phone calls at night, seemingly choosing moments when a certain vampire wasn't present.

Regarding this, Warfarin thought Lamian was just playing around with her, especially since the telephone was such a novel invention.

She often played like this too!

Aside from the slight distortion in the voice, there were absolutely no other drawbacks!

While the two of them were chatting, Huang Cao decided to confront that woman again.

"Presis! It's time to wake up and answer my questions!"

After a bout of shaking, the Cyber Ghost finally revealed herself within the water tank.

"What is it?"

Presis asked, seemingly annoyed by the man in front of her.

"Is this altar one of your research projects?" Huang Cao took out a piece of paper from his pocket and pointed to the altar depicted on it.

"This altar is a project overseen by the Doctor, and it can be used to enhance the physical fitness of new humans."

"Why is the interference so significant?"

It could actually block the perception of Abundance. Could there be another expert?

Presis, on the surface of the water, frowned, seemingly not understanding what the other party meant by interference.

"I don't know the specific reason. When this altar is in defensive mode, it clears all Originium in the vicinity."