Boer drew his gaze back from the distant slums and turned toward the entourage behind him, their expressions varied. He did not bother deciphering the awe and greed mingled on the nobles' faces. His voice was calm, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly:
"From now on, I'll be staying here."
A simple statement, but an unquestionable decision.
"Roland," he said, looking at the agent he had appointed, "bring in every craftsman you can find in the kingdom, whether he makes farming tools or repairs ships. They'll form the backbone of the factory."
"Yes, my lord!" Roland immediately bowed. Though his face was weary, a new fire suddenly blazed in his eyes. This would no longer be scheming over ledgers, but tangible authority and responsibility.
Boer's gaze swept over the nobles representing the Commonwealth, finally settling on Baron Caffia, whom his companions had cautiously pushed to the front. Fine beads of sweat dotted the forehead of this baron renowned for his smooth manners.
"You," Boer said evenly, "each send bright young people who can read and write. They need to learn recordkeeping and how to operate machinery. The goal is to get the first production line running in the shortest time possible."
He paused briefly, offering a lure that made every noble's heart stop for an instant, then race with fervor. "Imagine an assembly line producing around the clock without stopping... how staggering would the profits be? Far beyond what I make manufacturing arms alone now."
Baron Caffia bowed almost without thinking, his voice carrying a faint tremor and a flattering tone. "Of course! Lord Boer, rest assured! Not just manpower-we'll cover all the food, drinking water, and supplies for the construction site! We absolutely won't let anyone working for you labor on an empty stomach!"
Boer gave a slight nod of approval. Finally, he looked at Roland. "Keep increasing the Commonwealth's purchases of raw ore. Don't worry about stockpiling. Once things here are on track,"
His gaze returned to the faint outlines of the distant mountains, his tone cold and decisive. "I'll personally go 'take a look' at the northern mining district, and build a road there while I'm at it."
With the arrangements complete, he paid the others no further attention and went aside to quickly finish a simple lunch. The coarse food did not suit his current status at all, but his thoughts were already wholly absorbed in the newly leveled land.
Soon, he joined the impatient Copperhammer Augustine. A huge sheet of cowhide plans lay spread out, bearing designs drawn by Hunter Winster, their lines precise and full of imagination.
Hunter himself stood a little behind them, leaning on a cane. His sharp gaze swept over every detail, and his age-spotted fingers occasionally pointed out key sections as he exchanged obscure technical terms with Copperhammer in a low voice.
Construction began.
Boer stood in the center of the site, closing his eyes in concentration. To his extraordinary senses, the mountains of metal ingots piled around him were no longer cold. They were extensions of his will, "clay" he could shape however he pleased.
Like a giant humanoid metal printer. A thought from his previous life flashed through his mind, but the stronger feeling was that he was playing with an immense, incredibly intricate metal construction set, and he was its sole designer and worker.
Driven by his thoughts, the metal ingots floated up one after another, as though seized by invisible hands. They softened and changed shape in the air, beginning to mold themselves in strict accordance with the dimensions and structures on the plans.
Sturdy underground foundations and load-bearing columns were "printed" into the foundation first, fusing seamlessly with the composite metal layer Boer had laid earlier.
Next, the enormous framework of a roofed warehouse rose from the ground at a speed visible to the naked eye. Metal beams and columns interlocked, producing teeth-grating sounds of scraping and meshing. Finally, invisible force pressed large sheets of uniformly thick iron into place, covering the roof and walls without a gap.
Rails for transporting ore and finished products extended out from the warehouse, connecting to the main passage. Huge weighing platforms, sturdy loading docks... everything took shape at a speed that defied common sense.
In just one afternoon, a fully functional, solidly built raw materials and logistics area, capable of handling thousands of tons of supplies, stood imposingly at one end of the site. This efficiency left the nobles watching from afar and the craftsmen arriving one after another dumbstruck, almost forgetting to breathe.
Yet this was only the beginning. The core smelting and refining area that came next was the real challenge, putting Boer's mental power and precision of control to an extreme test.
Copperhammer and Hunter had exceedingly high standards. Listening to them explain the blast furnace's composite vortex hot-blast system, the steelmaking furnace's vacuum degassing and refining chamber, and the electrolytic cells' multilayer polarity-reversal arrays... Boer felt a strange sense of dissonance.
The precision and advanced nature of these designs, with their air of "black technology," were completely at odds with this world's generally medieval level.
Just how many secrets are these two old fellows hiding? He suppressed his astonishment. Now was not the time to investigate. Nor was he the only one astonished. The two masters likewise marveled at Boer and even feared him. They had undergone training from their families and decades of continuous practice, yet the young man before them repeatedly kept up with their thinking, and could even construct and understand all manner of mechanical and electronic structures with ease. This, too, stirred towering waves and hurricanes in their hearts...
Boer concentrated fully, fine beads of sweat seeping from his temples. He no longer worked in broad strokes. Instead, like the most precise micro-sculptor, he turned his mental power into countless invisible carving knives, reaching into the metal at the molecular level to adjust its arrangement and density, shaping those extraordinarily complex internal structures and conduits.
Under his control, the metal was sometimes as pliant as flowing water, filling every corner of the design; sometimes as hard as diamond, forming barriers that could withstand temperatures of a thousand degrees; and sometimes endowed with strange properties, simulating the heat insulation or electrical insulation of nonmetals.
Only when the last enormous blast furnace, nearly thirty meters tall, and its vast supporting systems finally cast their towering shadows in the sunset did Boer let out a long breath, a trace of fatigue showing unmistakably on his face.
I really have stumbled upon a treasure, he thought as he rested, watching Copperhammer and Hunter debate heatedly. Initially, he had thought more highly of Copperhammer because he might know about Uranus. Now, however, he understood that Hunter Winster, the frail mechanic, was the priceless treasure.
Hunter could always break complex machinery down into its smallest details, explaining the data, forces, and routing of pipes and cables with perfect clarity. When he pondered, the light of wisdom that flickered in his eyes carried an air of mystery.
Boer had once made some indirect inquiries and learned that both their families originated in the New World. Coupled with their disappointment in the World Government and the nobles, this led a guess to form in his mind: Descendants of victims of the Void Century? Naturally, he would not be foolish enough to reopen old wounds.
Once the core area was complete, the processing and forming area, though equally vast, seemed easy by comparison. The enormous rolling-mill rollers required extremely high hardness and surface smoothness; the wire-drawing machines needed micron-scale dies; the stamping presses needed immensely powerful punches and sturdy bases... to Boer, this was more a combination of strength and precision. One by one, he awakened these industrial behemoths from concepts, giving them bodies of steel.
The most secret energy center was placed underground. With solemn care, Hunter had an assistant bring over an ancient sealed metal cabinet, then carefully took out a roll of plans made from tanned animal hide. The patterns resembled etched energy circuits, with faint light flowing through them. The structure depicted was far more complex than the era could comprehend-a giant capacitor matrix.
Boer was secretly startled, but his expression did not change. Following the plans, he exerted himself fully. He constructed a vast matrix from special metal units, with their magnetic fields precisely confining the electrolyte inside. Its operating principle resembled that of a supercapacitor far ahead of its time.
The electrical energy he generated himself would be stored steadily here, then delivered to every corner of the factory as a powerful, stable supply through thick cables embedded with superconducting metal.
From machines dozens of meters across to a single screw or electrical switch, everything took shape under Boer's will.
Thanks to the various craftsmen and scholars whom Copperhammer and Hunter had recruited through their connections, arriving in succession from the kingdom and even across the West Blue, Boer's workload was greatly shared. With these specialists' assistance, the precision internal structures that required tiny gear drives and complex threads could be completed more efficiently and accurately.
The entire construction site was like a grand symphony. Boer was both conductor and principal musician, sounding a movement of metal; Copperhammer was the stirring timpani, governing the strength of the overall structure; Hunter was the elegant, precise violin, crafting the exquisite details; and the growing ranks of craftsmen and apprentices formed a vast orchestra, filling every part of the industrial symphony.
A steel behemoth symbolizing a new era was opening its eyes of electric light and steel on this once-barren land at an unprecedented speed.
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