In the northeast, at Liao River Heavy Industries.
Several county government vehicles drove through the snowstorm toward the enormous factory complex on the outskirts.
Inside the vehicles, several county leaders wore grave expressions.
"County Magistrate Wang, the call from the central authorities in the capital came straight to the secretary's office. Their tone was harsher than ever before."
"They told us to make sure Liao River Heavy Industries immediately cooperates in modifying its production lines to produce a batch of steel components to special specifications, at any cost," the secretary said quietly.
County Magistrate Wang rubbed the spot between his brows.
"I know Old Liu's factory. The deep-sea pressure-resistant keels they make are top-of-the-line products that even European and American military contractors want to buy."
"Their orders are booked three years out. Asking them to change their production lines now won't be easy."
The county's top and second-in-command had mixed feelings. Recalling the mysterious phone call half an hour ago made them even more uneasy.
They couldn't understand what could possibly have prompted the central authorities in the capital to issue an order directly.
The convoy entered Liao River Heavy Industries.
Heavy machine tools roared inside a workshop as vast as an aircraft hangar.
Workers were machining a batch of special steel that gleamed coldly.
"County Magistrate Wang, it's not that I don't want to support your work."
Liu Jianguo, the man in charge of the factory complex and a weather-beaten northeastern man, shook his head as soon as he heard the request.
"Look at these orders. They're from Norway and Germany, and every one of them is bound by an ironclad contract."
"Liao River Heavy Industries established itself internationally on two things: delivering on time and uncompromising quality."
"If we change the lines now, the penalties for breach of contract are a small matter. Ruining our reputation is the real problem."
"Even if you offered me twice the price, I couldn't do it..."
For a moment, the situation reached a stalemate.
Liu Jianguo pointed at the enormous component being machined in the workshop.
"That's a core support for a Russian Arctic drilling platform. It won't deform at minus sixty degrees, and only three factories in the world can make it!"
"County Magistrate Wang, it's not that I won't do you a favor, but it really is..."
Just as Liu Jianguo was about to pour out more of his grievances,
"Woooo! Woooo!"
A piercing military bugle call suddenly sounded, drawing closer from the distance!
Three green military vehicles burst through the snowstorm and drove straight through the workshop entrance.
An officer wearing the rank of major on his shoulders sprang out, strode up to Liu Jianguo, and saluted:
"Comrade Liu Jianguo! By order of the headquarters of the national 'special' plan, Liao River Heavy Industries is designated a top-class war-readiness unit effective immediately!"
"All production orders at your factory are to be suspended. Priority will be given to producing strategic supplies!"
Everyone was stunned by the show of force.
Even the county leaders were dumbfounded.
How had the military gotten involved?
What major event lay behind all this?
Liu Jianguo froze.
He clearly hadn't expected even the military to step in.
As he stood there in a daze, the major's gaze burned like a torch, and he lowered his voice further.
"Comrade Liu, if this were wartime, do you think there would still be any need to honor your commitments to the enemy?"
At those words, Liu Jianguo shuddered, his pupils contracting sharply.
A shocking thought suddenly sprang into his mind.
"Sir, has a war really broken out?!"
The major fell silent for a moment, then nodded heavily.
That single nod was like a thunderclap exploding through the workshop.
The workers stopped what they were doing, and the county leaders held their breath.
The daze on Liu Jianguo's face instantly gave way to resolve!
The northeastern man barely hesitated. He spun around and roared at the whole workshop:
"Everyone, listen up! Stop production! Change the lines!"
"Old Wang! Clear out that German automated production line! Xiao Zhang! Take the technical team and start reprogramming it immediately!"
"Damn it! Cancel every order and pay all the penalties!"
He turned back, his eyes reddened and his breathing heavy, and looked at the major.
"Sir, Liao River Heavy Industries laid down a rule on the very first day this factory was built... earn foreign currency in peacetime, forge the backbone in wartime!"
"Whatever specifications you need, just tell us. Even if we have to sell our pots for scrap, we absolutely won't let the country down!"
The workshop erupted into activity.
Without another word, the workers began dismantling the molds. No one asked why, and no one mentioned the losses.
The major watched the fervent scene before him and silently thought:
Yes, this really is a war.
A war across worlds, one that concerns the survival of our compatriots in another world and the future of our Great Xia civilization.
His thoughts stirring, the major faced Liu Jianguo and gradually straightened to attention.
He gave an exceedingly solemn military salute, then turned and left.
Several soldiers who looked like clerks immediately stepped forward and briefed Liu Jianguo on the specific production tasks.
They also took over the matter of compensation for the breached contracts.
Since the state had requisitioned the factory, it naturally couldn't leave them to bear the losses.
"Gulp!"
"County Magistrate Wang, don't you think we should do something?"
The county magistrate's secretary, standing nearby, swallowed.
Still unable to recover even now, the secretary's voice trembled.
"Do what? We haven't received any orders."
"No! We can't just sit here doing nothing!"
"Come on! Back to the county. Send word that the entire county's water supply, electricity, and logistics must guarantee Liao River Heavy Industries' production!"
"Nothing can be allowed to affect their production schedule!"
"Go, go, go!"
The group hurried into their official vehicles and rushed back to the county seat to make arrangements to support production.
And at that moment, this same scene was playing out across the whole of Great Xia.
At present, Group 749 had only two specific research projects.
First, cultivation method research; second, spirit ore purification.
But the resources required behind them were enormous.
Leaving manpower aside for the moment,
The equipment needed to purify spirit ore simply wasn't available on the market, nor could it possibly be.
They could only modify and manufacture it piece by piece, machine by machine, according to the researchers' designs.
Whether it would work remained to be seen. First, they had to build it and test it.
If the test failed, they would build again, improve it, and test it again...
Which materials were more suitable and which adapted better all had to be tried one by one.
Its special nature meant that it couldn't be accomplished by a single factory in a single place.
Only by pooling the strength of Great Xia could it be carried out!
And Group 749, at the heart of it all, was racing against every second.
"Director Li, some of the equipment is in place, but can we really build 'that'?"
The young engineer looked at the blueprints, his voice a little uncertain.
Li Yuanchao slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the busy figures in the underground base.
They were top experts and engineers who had just been called in from all over the country.
He picked up a walkie-talkie, and his voice carried throughout the underground base:
"Comrades."
"More than a hundred years ago, our predecessors used abacuses to calculate their way to the atomic bomb."
"Today, we will use these machines to forge hope for a compatriot fighting alone in another world, and for the future of Great Xia!"
"Remember, what we're building isn't just a machine."
"It is Great Xia's flag in another world."
The entire base fell silent for a moment.
Then it erupted in a roar like mountains crashing and seas surging:
"We guarantee we'll complete the mission!"
Hundreds of voices joined in the same oath, thundering a hundred meters beneath the ground.