Industry began in 1937

After the Red Spear Society's envoy left, Gouzi Village temporarily returned to a state of superficial peace. However, the fluttering red flag at the village entrance was like a thorn stuck in the hearts of Chen Yuan and Wen Shizhou, constantly reminding Third Master and Zhao Dachui how difficult it was to remain untainted in this chaotic world.

Chen Yuan talked to Mr. Wen about the Red Spear Society.

Mr. Wen was not very optimistic about these secret societies.

They were a force, but this force was in the hands of people with ulterior motives, which was not a good thing for the resistance against Japan.

Chen Yuan felt that the Red Spear Society was similar to the Boxers, but considering that although some people called the Boxers rioters, the mainstream perception was that they were peasants resisting oppression.

The Red Spear Society is the same now, but it's clear that some people's minds aren't on resisting Japan.

Therefore, Chen Yuan must move the "Flint" platform to a safer and more concealed location as soon as possible.

That abandoned mine is his only option at the moment.

However, mobile platforms require at least 5% of their energy, while their current energy reserves are only 0.86%, leaving a huge gap.

There is no other way but to continue acting as a "human battery".

Over the next few days, Chen Yuan spent almost all his time, except for necessary rest and meals, working on the human-powered generator.

The optimized gear transmission and the weighted flywheel made pedaling much easier than before, but the long-term, high-intensity repetitive exercise was still a test of both willpower and physical strength.

His thigh muscles ached terribly, and the old injury in his foot was also throbbing from the continuous exertion.

But he dared not stop. Whenever he was exhausted to the limit, he would think of the red flag, the tragic state of Liujia Taizi Village, and the cold bullet in his arms, and then he would grit his teeth and continue to pedal.

With continuous "power generation" day and night, coupled with the platform's negligible standby consumption, Chen Yuan finally accumulated 5.1% of the "Flint" platform's energy after five days.

This already meets the minimum energy consumption required for mobility.

He chose a foggy morning with extremely low visibility, which would make it easier to operate covertly.

After communicating with the platform again, the movement path and destination were confirmed—deep in the abandoned mine shaft where he had briefly explored and confirmed that the main tunnel was relatively stable.

"Initiate autonomous short-range movement program. Target: inside the mine, specified coordinates. Energy consumption limit 5.0%." Chen Yuan's palms were slightly sweaty as he issued the command.

This was the first time the "Flint" platform had made a substantial movement in front of him; success or failure hinged on this moment.

[Command confirmed. Short-range hovering traction mode activated. Energy consumption pre-deducted 5.0%.]

As a deep, distinct hum from its manufacturing process arose, a soft blue glow emanated from several inconspicuous gaps on the bottom and sides of the "Flint" platform. Then, this colossal object, 5 meters long and 2 meters wide, resembling a shipping container, slowly and steadily detached from the ground, hovering about half a foot high!

There was no earth-shattering sound, only a low, resonant sound of energy flowing.

Then, the platform seemed to float above the ground, silently gliding toward the mine entrance three hundred meters away.

This was the first time Chen Yuan had seen its full appearance; it was pitch black and wouldn't stand out at all in modern times.

But it could be a dark factory, Chen Yuan felt, and its internal production must hold many secrets.

It might not be a secret, but rather that Chen Yuan had never asked.

This really is futuristic technology.

Chen Yuan held his breath and followed behind, observing nervously.

The platform moves slowly but very smoothly. When it encounters large rocks or ditches, the blue light at the bottom will adjust slightly to ensure that the platform passes over them smoothly.

This groundbreaking mode of transportation once again amazed Chen Yuan with the technological sophistication embodied in "Suihuo".

Upon reaching the cave entrance, Chen Yuan realized that its width seemed insufficient for passage, a fact he had overlooked.

He only considered the energy of the flint platform and didn't take the width of the opening into account at all.

However, the flint platform transformed very flexibly, allowing it to enter directly from the cave entrance.

They stopped in a relatively open area, about 20 meters inside the cave entrance, where the ground was relatively flat.

Should we reposition ourselves?

"Can."

This is the new hiding place Chen Yuan found for it.

If we simply seal the side passages here with rocks, we can hide it.

While it's not completely hidden, it's still much better than the previous place.

The movement lasted for nearly 10 minutes.

Chen Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.

The energy level dropped to 0.1% instantly, but the platform successfully took position.

After carefully inspecting the platform and confirming that everything was normal, they immediately began to clear away any traces of movement. They then cleverly used the existing rubble and rotten wood inside the cave to disguise and isolate the entrance and the area where the platform was located. From the outside, it looked like just the end of an abandoned alleyway blocked by a landslide.

After doing all this, Chen Yuan finally had time to carefully examine the mine that would become his new base.

The cave was cold and damp with poor air circulation, but it was spacious enough.

He held up the newly made iron-cased oil lamp and looked around. When the light swept across the cave wall, a patch of jet-black, shiny color caught his attention.

He scraped it with his machete, and black shavings fell down, shimmering with an oily sheen under the light.

"This is...coal? And it's very good coal!" Chen Yuan's spirits lifted.

He knew beforehand that this might be a coal mine, but he didn't expect the vein to be so shallow and the texture to look so good.

This is a godsend!

With a stable fuel source, heating, cooking, and even potential future metal heating processes are all guaranteed.

He immediately tried mining some with the pickaxe he had brought with him. The coal was hard, but not too difficult to mine, and he quickly dug up a small pile.

With coal in hand, a plan quickly took shape in his mind.

He cannot expose the "Flint" platform to the public, but he can set up a "blacksmith shop" here as an excellent disguise.

Firstly, this would explain why he could continuously supply ironware, and secondly, it would allow him to actually manufacture some things using "flint," while outwardly concealing it with his own "craftsmanship."

He began to move his few belongings over and built himself a new dwelling right at the entrance of the cave.

Then, Chen Yuanxian used the remaining iron to make a sturdy cast iron furnace, a metal part for a hand-operated bellows, a set of basic blacksmithing tools such as an anvil, hammers of various sizes, and pliers on the "Flint" platform, and also made a simple worktable out of wood.

This process consumed the last bit of energy, and the platform once again entered a deep energy-saving state.

Next, he began to "build" his blacksmith shop.

Not far from the platform's hiding place, and in a better-ventilated area closer to the cave entrance, he built a simple stove out of stones and fitted it with a cast iron furnace.

The anvil was fixed to a large tree root.

The worktable was set up, and the tools were hung up.

A blacksmith shop deep in the mountains, which looks quite professional, is beginning to take shape.

But Chen Yuan didn't intend to rely entirely on manually operating the bellows and swinging a sledgehammer to forge iron—that was too inefficient and too tiring.

His gaze fell upon the human-powered generator that had temporarily fallen silent.

A brilliant idea came to mind: why not make use of the generator?

The generator's power output is connected to the blower using a belt drive.

In this way, as long as the generator is turned on, it can continuously provide strong air to the furnace, saving the effort of manually pulling the bellows, and the blowing efficiency is higher, making it easier to raise the furnace temperature!

He immediately began making the modifications.

The drive wheel on the generator output shaft was reused, and the original engine belt was connected.

Then, he charged the flint platform with some electricity, which allowed the flint platform to create a simple centrifugal blower impeller and casing, which he installed at the air inlet of the furnace bellows. The impeller shaft was connected to the generator drive wheel via a belt.

Renovation complete!

He tried to press the generator pedal.

The flywheel spins, driving the blower impeller to rotate at high speed via the belt. A powerful airflow immediately rushes into the furnace, blowing the coal dust inside into the air! The effect is surprisingly good!

"Perfect!" Chen Yuan exclaimed with delight.

In this way, he can use the generator "openly and legitimately".

If someone comes, he says it's a "foot-operated blower" he designed specifically to blow air into the blacksmith's furnace.

He could even use the excuse of "needing to blow air" to ask the able-bodied men in the village who came to help transport iron or pick up goods to take turns going up to pedal, which would save his own energy and allow the generator to run in full view of everyone to charge the "Flint" platform!

He only needed to pretend to strike the red-hot iron in front of the furnace, making a show of it, while the crucial manufacturing was naturally completed by the hidden "flint".

To make it more realistic, he also used the remaining iron to handcraft several simple iron tools, such as fire tongs, a shovel, and a small spatula. Although they were rough, they were usable.

He also deliberately scattered some coal ash and iron slag inside and outside the blacksmith shop, making it look very smoky.

Everything is ready.

A few days later, when Zhao Dachui, accompanied by two young men, arrived to collect the farm tools he had ordered, carrying some newly collected scrap iron, he was stunned by the sudden appearance of a well-established mine blacksmith shop.

"Brother Chen? You've... moved the shop into the mine?" Zhao Dachui stared wide-eyed at the furnace, anvil, bellows, and the "foot-operated device" with the strange belt attached.

Chen Yuan wiped the coal dust off his face and laughed, "Yes, Brother Zhao. It's not safe outside. This cave is secluded, and there's coal readily available, making it easy to start a fire. Look, this is the 'foot-operated blower' I came up with. It's less strenuous than pulling it by hand, and the wind is stronger!" As he spoke, he sat on the "blower" and stepped on the pedal.

The blower immediately roared to life, and the fire in the furnace leaped high into the air.

"Hey! This thing is amazing!" a young man exclaimed curiously. "Brother Chen, can I try it out?"

"Of course, you can try. Keep stepping on it, and the fire will burn brighter." Chen Yuan stepped aside.

The young man excitedly sat on it and started pedaling. Sure enough, the fire roared, much better than when he was manually operating the bellows.

Zhao Dachui also clicked his tongue in amazement: "Brother Chen, you're really smart! This cave is warm, there's coal, and you have such useful tools. Your blacksmith shop is probably no worse than the one in town! It's just that it's dark in this cave, so you'll need to light a few more lamps."

"There's plenty of coal, no worries." Chen Yuan pointed to the cave wall. "There's coal here, we can dig it out and burn it. Lamp oil is precious, so lighting a few more coal stoves will keep things just as bright."

Zhao Dachui and the two young men took turns operating the "blower," while Chen Yuan pretended to use pliers to hold a piece of iron and heat it in the furnace, occasionally tapping it a few times. In reality, he was processing the leftover scraps.

During the conversation, he casually mentioned that although operating the "blower" saved him the trouble of pulling the bellows, his legs were quite tired. He suggested that if anyone came to deliver iron or pick up goods, they could help him operate the blower for a while as payment.

Zhao Dachui patted his chest and assured him, "This is nothing! Whoever comes from now on, they'll help you with the blower! This thing is interesting, and it can even train your legs! Brother Chen, you just focus on your blacksmithing; the young men of our village will take care of the blowing power!"

From then on, Chen Yuan's "mine blacksmith shop" officially opened for business.

The able-bodied men of Gouzi Village often come and go, transporting scrap iron and taking away finished farm tools, knives, and even some simple small parts.

Everyone who comes here is curious and tries out the "foot-operated blower." Under Chen Yuan's "guidance," they pedal hard for a while to blow air into the furnace and silently supply precious electricity to the hidden "flint" platform.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuan was quietly carrying out the actual manufacturing and planning amidst the clanging of metal and the whooshing of the air blowers.

There was coal in the cave, and the furnace fire never went out.

With feet on the "wind turbine," electricity was secretly accumulating. A secret accumulation, carried out under the enemy's nose and with the unintentional help of the villagers, quietly unfolded deep in the Taihang Mountain mine in the deep winter of 1937.