บท 16: Chapter 16, I accept even if it costs my life
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Alloy plastic steel, within the entire empire civilization, is the most basic and widely applied multifunctional material. It can be used in construction, the manufacture of machinery and weapons, and also for repairing and reinforcing facilities and vehicles. Its high strength and corrosion resistance allow it to be used in extremely harsh environments, capable of handling work needs in a variety of distinctly different settings.
And this was especially important on the harsh environment of Rage Owl Star.
As far as Gu Hang knew, Rage Owl Star did not possess the technological capability for mass production of alloy plastic steel. The entire planet was still using relatively basic and primitive ordinary steel.
In comparison, alloy plastic steel was far superior in performance.
Obviously, if they could master the ability to produce alloy plastic steel in large quantities, the Abandoned Cave Society stood to make a substantial profit.
The scarcity and widespread demand for alloy plastic steel made its price high. With the black box, Gu Hang was able to keep production costs very low— even more so than other planets' manufacturers specializing in this industry.
Moreover, the benefits that came from alloy plastic steel were not just limited to profits.
However, if they were to produce on a large scale, Gu Hang was worried that the Abandoned Cave Society's ore output might not be sufficient.
The Abandoned Cave Society was short on labor, and Gu Hang had not acquired the equipment to mine ore; moreover, the quality of the Abandoned Cave's ore veins was average at best...
For now, it was still sufficient, but as more and more smelting furnaces were being created by the black box, there was bound to be a shortfall in the future.
But by that time, there should be a stable output. Finding a market wouldn't be a concern, since they wouldn't have to worry about sales; large-scale raw material imports were also an option, and the Abandoned Cave Society's pillar industry would definitely shift from resource extraction to metal smelting.
"These parts that have already been produced should be enough to assemble a smelting furnace. Send them over to the Abandoned Cave Society, production can already begin."
…
Patel never doubted that the governor would keep his promise.
If he said he would build a production line, then it would certainly be built.
But he never dreamed that it would come this quickly.
He saw a group of slaves— or rather, workers— from Governor's Camp, escorted by mechanized soldiers, pushing carts and delivering all the production parts.
Having already received the news in advance, Patel, along with the able-bodied members of the Abandoned Cave Society, helped unload the cargo.
The instruction manual was already prepared, and a technical worker from Governor's Camp would instruct them on how to assemble the smelting furnace.
At first, Patel was worried that he and his illiterate men would not understand the process. But when they actually began the work, they found it to be much simpler than they had imagined.
The instruction manual contained text, but more importantly, there were various diagrams that were not difficult to understand.
First, they installed the furnace body vertically, then carefully aligned each connection point. Next, they used fasteners to securely fix each part of the body together, to ensure the robustness and stability of the furnace.
Then came the furnace lid, observation window, exhaust pipe...
Last, he personally installed the furnace door.
The entire assembly process was very simple yet extremely precise; just follow the steps one by one, the only requirement being meticulous care to ensure that every detail was repeatedly checked and confirmed.
The installation took them half a day.
They placed the energy crystals that arrived with the transport team into the smelting furnace's energy module and started the heating system.
The entire body of the furnace gradually heated up, with the temperature rising steadily.
A batch of ore, already prepared, was fed into it.
The workers of the Abandoned Cave Society quickly became soaked with sweat in the heat wave, yet they still stood by their posts until the alloy plastic steel smelting furnace finally began operating, emitting a roaring sound.
Several hours later, night fell.
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The alloy metal liquid produced has cooled into ingots within the molds, neatly stacked.
Patel didn't realize that the batch of alloy plastic steel he produced was far inferior in quality compared to the top-grade plastic steel coming out of the Governor's Camp's black box.
But even if he knew, it didn't matter.
As long as it was qualified plastic steel, that would do; on Rage Owl Star, this was already a very superior industrial product.
Butch, who had originally overseen the construction of the Abandoned Cave Society's ground camp, couldn't help but come over to see the finished products.
The current and former leaders of the Abandoned Cave Society looked at the batch of alloy plastic steel ingots and laughed foolishly together.
A tremendous sense of satisfaction filled their hearts.
No one could feel the power of industry more intimately than they did.
From today on, the Abandoned Cave Society would no longer be the place that could only rely on manpower to mine low-grade ore and sell it at cheap prices for meager food supplies. They had industrial capacity now; they could directly produce alloy plastic steel and sell it at a higher price.
They would no longer have to endure hunger and cold; they would live the good life as the Governor had said, as long as they were diligent and hardworking.
Butch exclaimed, "Even if the Governor demanded our lives, I would accept it."
Patel laughed and patted his uncle's shoulder, "The Governor won't take our lives, He wants us to live better and better!"
...
Soon, the second smelting furnace was also delivered to the Abandoned Cave Society.
The production capacity of alloy plastic steel was further strengthened.
But the problem that Gu Hang had previously worried about did indeed arise—just two smelting furnaces nearly devoured all the ore produced by the Abandoned Cave Society.
To continue expanding production capacity, more raw materials were inevitably needed.
Energy was also a problem.
The smelting furnace used energy crystals, which was also a sort of black technology under the empire's system.
According to Gu Hang's understanding, this was essentially a battery—albeit much more powerful than any he remembered.
High-density energy was bound and concentrated within a solid crystal, safely releasable when needed. These energy crystals could be directly mined in certain worlds; in many others, energy-industrial planets generated power through various methods and compressed it into energy crystals through special processes.
Without a doubt, Rage Owl Star itself lacked such production capabilities. The energy crystals Gu Hang was using now were pilfered from the Quintet.
But he couldn't always keep pilfering.
There was also good news, however.
First, Gu Hang still had enough energy crystals on hand.
Second, apart from using energy crystals, the smelting furnace could also be powered by electricity.
Gu Hang still had time to set up an electricity supply for his territory.
This too was a headache. High-end solutions were not worth considering for now; the primitive approach to power generation was just boiling water, but he needed fuel to burn.
"Fuel... raw materials... Rubbish Town?"
Gu Hang muttered to himself.
The Rubbish Town he referred to was a survivor settlement located a hundred kilometers north of the Abandoned Cave Society, where Gu Hang could find the output he needed.
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