Blast Furnace

Jiang Chuan was at a loss because of Annie. He had never imagined that Annie was the reason he had come to this world.

Jiang Chuan collected himself and asked, "Annie, do you remember how you got to Earth?"

Annie hugged Tibbers tightly and said, "I was playing in the forest when a purple hole suddenly appeared. I went inside, and then I was on Earth. How do you know about Earth?"

Jiang Chuan decided to go and see the purple hole Annie had mentioned.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Jiang Chuan smiled at Annie and said, "Because I'm from Earth. I'm the person who took you to the police station that night."

Annie's mouth fell open in surprise. "You're that big brother! Weren't you dead? Grandpa and Grandma both thought you had died. They were so sad."

Jiang Chuan lowered his head helplessly and said quietly, "After living on Earth for so long, you should know the word 'transmigration.' I used to think I'd simply arrived in a game world, but now I'm afraid things aren't as simple as I thought. Since I came to this world, everything has been more or less the way I knew it would be. But sometimes I feel like things aren't what they seem."

Annie looked at Jiang Chuan and asked, "So where are we now?"

Jiang Chuan stood up and said to Annie, "Bilgewater, a city far from Noxus."

Annie lowered her head and hugged Tibbers. "Big brother, I want to go home. I don't like it here."

Jiang Chuan asked in confusion, "You want to go back to Noxus?"

Annie shook her head. "I want to go back to Grandpa and Grandma. I don't have any friends to play with in this world. On Earth, there were lots of kids who played with me."

Jiang Chuan frowned. "They didn't try to take Tibbers from you?"

Annie shook her head. "No. They said Tibbers was too ugly. My magic seemed to stop working on Earth. I couldn't use it at all."

Jiang Chuan crouched down and said to Annie, "After you go back to Earth, learn how to use a computer. I'll summon you here often, and you'll be able to help me solve a lot of problems. I'll send you back now. We can't let Grandpa and Grandma worry."

Annie waved her little hand at Jiang Chuan and returned to Earth in a beam of light.

After sending Annie back to Earth, Jiang Chuan stared at the sky, unable to calm down for a long time. According to Annie, she'd entered a purple hole in the forest and ended up on Earth. That hole was probably a passage through the Void. The fact that Annie had made it through unharmed and arrived on Earth was unbelievably lucky! If Jiang Chuan had gone through it, he would probably have run into some unknown Void creature along the way and been done for.

"The Void? The Void must be connected to a way home, but it's vast and boundless, filled with countless dangers. And that passage might not even lead through the Void. Looks like I need to speed up my plans!"

Jiang Chuan found Laurie and said, "Starting tomorrow, you'll manage the island and the casino. I want to see the walls and fortress completed within two months. Put more workers on the construction site. If we don't have enough, recruit more from outside. Also, offer a high price to bring Bilgewater's blacksmiths here. I have an important use for them. I'll leave all of this to you. And pick a hundred loyal people from the eight hundred and give me a list when you're done. Sorry for the trouble these next few days. Starting next month, your salary will go up to two Gold Coins a month."

After thinking it over, Laurie said, "President, we won't have a problem finding workers, but the blacksmiths may be difficult. Blacksmithing is a rare trade in Bilgewater. This place is full of thugs and outlaws. It'd be easier to find a lunatic than a blacksmith."

Jiang Chuan thought for a moment and said, "I only need them to be able to swing a hammer and carry out my orders."

Laurie smiled. "That makes things much easier. I'll get it done, President!"

Jiang Chuan patted Laurie on the shoulder, then went to Master Nuo's smithy. He said to Master Nuo, "There's been a problem with the mages. We'll have to put the large-scale steel production plan on hold for now."

Master Nuo shook his head with a smile. "Actually, we don't need mages to reach those temperatures."

Jiang Chuan asked in confusion, "What can we use?"

Master Nuo said, "I once knew an alchemist who said you could make ore burn. It would burn hot enough to destroy anything. I can't remember the details, but I can take you to find him."

Jiang Chuan lowered his head, thinking aloud. "Burning ore... Ore?"

A word flashed through Jiang Chuan's mind: "Sulfur!"

Sulfur and minerals like phosphorus underwent chemical reactions when oxidized, generating intense heat. Those temperatures would be hot enough to smelt pig iron and ore into molten steel.

Jiang Chuan slapped his forehead. "My teacher was right. Learn math, physics, and chemistry, and you can go anywhere without fear."

After finding a solution, Jiang Chuan went to the Blast Furnace. Following the method he remembered, he gathered the materials and put them into the furnace. Once the chemical reaction began, he could clearly feel the temperature inside rising. Before long, the scrap iron and ore had melted into molten steel. Jiang Chuan operated the machinery to pour it into another furnace for another round of smelting. After filtering out the impurities, he poured the steel into a mold.

Looking at the towering Blast Furnace and feeling the scorching heat, Master Nuo was convinced by Jiang Chuan's words. One batch of steel from this furnace would keep them hammering away for months!

Jiang Chuan cooled the mold and took out the steel ingot. It gleamed with a dark luster, displaying the beauty of industrial craftsmanship. Master Nuo took it and examined it closely.

"Not bad. This steel is already as good as the pieces we hammer out by hand. The furnace's daily output is astonishing!"

Jiang Chuan smiled. "With this, we can build faster ships and more precise machines!"

Master Nuo asked, "When will we start building the kind of ship you mentioned?"

Jiang Chuan said calmly, "Building a ship isn't easy. What we need right now is a factory to build Steam Engines, not ships. We can't put Steam Engines on ships until our manufacturing techniques are mature. Besides, we still have a lot of Steam Engine orders in Demacia."

Master Nuo frowned. "Aren't you worried that once they learn your technology, you'll have no business left?"

Jiang Chuan smiled. "It's just a little Steam Engine. If they want to steal the design, let them. To me, this is already obsolete technology."

Master Nuo frowned. "Obsolete? We only just built it!"

Jiang Chuan said calmly, "I don't mean it's obsolete now, but that it will be one day. To the scientists in Piltover, this machine is nothing more than a child's toy. What we need isn't the Steam Engine itself, but the money we can earn from it."

Jiang Chuan's only goal was to go home. He didn't consider these things all that important.

Jiang Chuan patted Master Nuo on the shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry. You'll be working for me from now on. You'll get the same as Laurie—two Gold Coins a month. The machine is finished, too, so you should get some rest."

After sending Master Nuo off to rest, Jiang Chuan began thinking about his plans for the future. Bilgewater was now crowded with gangs, the biggest of which was Gangplank's. Jiang Chuan needed to deal with him before Miss Fortune did. He planned to use those hundred men to form an elite squad equipped not with the weapons they had now, but with modern weapons!

After explaining how to operate the Blast Furnace to Edmund, Jiang Chuan returned to his office. He still had to teach Kelly and the others that evening!