Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 183 Let’s Escape from Castel Together

Banshees excel at frontal combat, but sea urchin monsters are difficult to confront head-on, so the nymphs' abilities of perception and concealment may be more useful.

Hughes planned to have a good chat with Chloe later. He turned to look at Oona and said, "I think your workload will be heavier. Besides the emergency response team, the Banshees should prioritize the construction. The underground section will take three days to complete. I've already informed the islanders of your presence, and you can make public appearances on the island by then."

The banshees were silent for a moment. They were still quite nervous about this. No one knew whether the banshees, as an alien race, could be accepted by humans, and how to deal with friction if there was any. These were all unknowns.

Compared to that, the Banshee would rather fight the sea urchin monster.

"Don't worry, this has been underway for a long time. Your interactions with the advanced students have been going smoothly, haven't they? The feedback from Nini's statue exhibition the other day was also very positive. You'll get along well with the islanders."

In the crowd, Erwin scratched his head unconsciously. He felt a little scared when he first saw the banshees. After all, they were a non-human alien race and so tall. But after more contact, he found that these banshees were actually very similar to humans.

No, to be precise, they are very similar to Lord Zeus. He did not have much contact with Zeus, but Zeus's unique way of thinking left a deep impression on him, and these banshees gave him the same feeling.

Everything will go smoothly, he couldn't help but pray in his heart. These powerful and interesting banshees had won his favor unknowingly. He liked working with these banshees when he was a student in the advanced class, so he sincerely hoped that they could get along well with the islanders.

"Alright, let's all go back. The battle has begun. Castel's fate depends on us."

People nodded silently and dispersed.

The enemy arrived earlier than expected, and they were not prepared, but they were not completely powerless to fight back.

Castel is no longer the remote island with nothing.

Chloe stayed, waiting quietly by the side, watching Xius slowly rubbing his forehead.

"Actually, I have a way to leave here and even take someone with me." She suddenly said.

Xius's hand paused, and he looked up at her.

"In the Sea of Ignorance, the more knowledge one possesses, the harder it is to navigate. However, the Fire-Chasing Moth possesses a secret method that allows one to forcibly navigate within it at a great cost—in other words, to stay away from this place."

"You mean"

"Yes, I can take you away from Castel, to the Empire, or anywhere else, but I can only take you alone, and the cost is too heavy."

Xius was silent for a moment, then said softly, "What's the price?"

"I will die and sink forever in the sea of unconsciousness, but my consciousness will be attached to you. If you can find a new body in the future, you can separate me out."

Hughes pursed his lips, his eyes full of surprise.

"Why would you want to do this?" Chloe took a few slow steps inside the room, leaning against the wall. She folded her arms over her chest and lowered her head. "I'm the leader of the Fire Moths. I always have to consider the survival of the sect. You're very important to us."

Hughes raised his eyebrows.

"We have traveled to many places and met many lords and countries, but only your Castel gives us the most hope."

"So I'm more important than you? Most of the Fire Moth's power is here, right? Can they really do without you? If you didn't take me with you, you wouldn't have to die, right?"

"I'm not really dead even though I took you with me," Chloe muttered. "I just lost this body. In the future, maybe I'll meet a new one and emerge as a moth again, but you're dead."

Zeus seemed to suddenly understand something. Chloe was actually very similar to himself. The flesh and blood in front of him were just shells. He could always come back to another place.

But if the two sides switched positions, would he be willing to give up Lord Xius's body to save the other party?

He didn't know either. Maybe only when this moment really came would he have the answer in his heart.

"Okay, don't worry. We're not really pushed to that point yet. I have a lot of knowledge in my head, and I'm just sharing a little bit now. Castel is just beginning to industrialize, and soon its production capacity will surprise you."

Chloe was silent, which was uncharacteristic of her. She was usually noisy, but now she just nodded quietly.

The steel plant is very close to the eastern test site, so she is responsible for its management. The gradually increasing production capacity of the steel plant even makes her feel a little scared.

The roaring noise day and night, the physical pollution poured into the boiler, the complete set of modern production processes designed by Hughes, and the efficient management system, all of these combined seemed to produce a chemical reaction, turning the steel plant into a huge monster that swallowed raw materials and spit out steel.

It carried out the lord's will coldly and ruthlessly, and the warehouses were filled with piles of iron ingots. She was originally worried that the production capacity would not be enough for the entire island, but she soon found that she was overthinking it.

The efficiency of modern factories far exceeded Chloe's wildest imagination. It was not that she had never seen a factory before. She had also sneaked into those dirty and chaotic factories in the Rhine. She had wanted to see if there were any new technologies worth learning, but in the end she walked out disappointed.

She used to think that those factories were representatives of advancement, and that chaotic management and machine injuries were inevitable, but it was here in Castel that she truly witnessed the power of industry.

The terrifying production capacity alone shocked her. After a deeper understanding, she realized how far-sighted Hughes was. As the factory operated, those seemingly inexplicable systems suddenly came into play, avoiding accidents time and time again.

Chloe looked at Hughes with a more determined look. Whether for the Fire Moth or for her own selfish reasons, she had to ensure that Hughes survived. He was the hope of this era.

Hughes was rummaging through the cabinets, pulling out a few blueprints. "Look, this is a rifle. It should be easy to make, even hand-made by a craftsman. We don't need a large quantity. The smokeless powder preparation process is also here. Arrange for someone to prepare the nitrocellulose first, Chloe?"

Chloe finally came back to her senses. She nodded quickly and said, "No problem. I'll arrange for someone right away."

"One more thing." Zeus pointed to the murloc corpses on the table. "Let's dissect them. I always feel like something's not right. These murlocs might be hiding some secrets."

(End of this chapter)