Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 160 Cement
"Hey, Kyle, do you remember that guy?"

"I forgot about it a long time ago."

"I haven't said who it is yet."

Kyle stopped what he was doing, glared at the smaller man fiercely, and then said, "Don't make trouble for yourself, Hodge. We finally got out of the Candlelight Club, and I don't want to go back in."

"No, no, I just suddenly thought of him again." Hodge smiled awkwardly. "He always has so many interesting stories. To be honest, I don't even know where they come from. Those words are also very interesting, such as the law of gravity and so on. It's a pity that I will never hear such interesting stories again."

Kyle also fell silent. After a long while, he replied in a low voice, "He's dead."

Indeed, the worker Hughes was dead, and everyone knew it.

The Candlelight Society declared him a cultist and that the stories he told were blasphemous. Kyle didn't understand what blasphemy was, he just knew that the last person who was willing to tell them stories had disappeared.

Sometimes he even felt indignant. Does one become a cultist just for telling stories? There is nothing wrong with cults. At least after listening to those messy things, the days of being tired and wanting to die are not so unbearable.

It's a pity that nothing can go back.

Neither of them spoke anymore, quietly greased the machine.

"Speaking of which, the factory here is so strange. The steam engine looks nothing like the one in the Rhine. I don't know what that thing over there is used for."

"That's a blast furnace. It can calcine pyrite ore and produce sulfuric acid and steel at the same time. The slag can also be used to make concrete." A female voice sounded faintly in the ears of the two men.

It took Kyle and Hodge two seconds to realize what had happened. They felt a chill on their backs and slowly turned their heads.

"Hello, Sister Chloe."

Kyle, who was as strong as a bear, and Hodge, who was thin and thin, straightened their bodies instantly, and exchanged glances with stiff and crazy expressions.

When did she come? How much did she hear?
Hodge was now full of regret. Why was he so mean and insisted on mentioning Hughes's matter? Now he was doomed. He could only hope that the nun came late and didn't hear the conversation between the two.

Unfortunately, Chloe tilted her head and spoke with curiosity, "I answered your questions. Now it's your turn. You are talking about that cultist, right? What did he say?"

The two looked at each other in horror and hurriedly said in defense: "Sister, we didn't say anything. We don't remember those things anymore. We have already told you everything we know!"

"Really? Including the law of gravity?"

Hodge's face turned bitter. It turned out that she heard everything. What should he do?
Kyle subconsciously looked around. There was no one else in the factory. The nun was thin and short, like a bug that he could crush to death with one hand. If he took action here, no one would see it. He couldn't help but tighten the wrench in his hand.

Then he dropped his hands and threw the tools on the ground.

He was just an honest worker. Even if some terrible ideas happened to pop up in his mind, his kind nature would prevent him from doing so.

After a mental struggle, Hodge next to him finally spoke: "Sister, we actually talked about all this during the interrogation. I, I didn't deliberately remember these stories, I just think they are really interesting." "Then tell me about it."

"Yes, sir," Hodge stammered, "I only remember the general idea. It is said that there was a businessman."

"So? What's the reason for the overflowing water in the pool? Water pressure? Buoyancy?" Chloe asked curiously. "Go on, what's next?"

"There's nothing down there. Hughes was then called away by his supervisor and never returned."

"Tsk, such an interesting story, why did it stop halfway? It's boring." The nun looked dissatisfied. "But gravity and the fastest speed in the universe are interesting."

Kyle and Hodge looked at each other, both of them with a hint of confusion in their eyes. The attitude of this nun seemed to be different from what they imagined.

"Okay, I get it. It's a good story indeed. Do you have any other questions?"

"Uh, we don't need to repent or anything?"

"Want to repent? Not impossible."

"No, no, no, I was just saying it casually, just saying it casually." Hodge quickly waved his hands and took a step back, his face full of surprise. He was actually let off like that?!
"You've already honestly explained all this stuff, and you two haven't done anything against the rules, so why should I punish you?" Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "On the contrary, you two can ask anything you want to know. I know everything about the factory construction and production line processes here, so feel free to ask me if you don't understand anything."

The two looked at each other. Kyle scratched his head and asked hesitantly, "Sister, I'm actually a little curious. What kind of factory is this?"

"The ironworks and the blast furnace next to it were built to smelt steel, but they also produce a lot of byproducts, like sulfuric acid, which can be used to make nitroglycerin. You should have learned about nitroglycerin a few days ago. The molten iron will be processed here, and the slag will be used in making concrete. In fact, a considerable portion of the steel here will also be turned into rebar for building construction."

"Concrete? Construction?"

The more they listened, the more confused they became. How could steel be associated with architecture? Shouldn't those things be made of bricks and stone?
"Yes, about construction. You should know that we're being targeted by a group of monsters. In the future, Castel will build many fortresses along the coast. These will all be made of concrete—you can think of it as a kind of meltable stone with steel as the skeleton."

"Stone melting from steel skeleton"

Hotch and Kyle looked at each other in shock. They couldn't imagine what this would be like.

"Someone from the advanced class will be here soon. We don't have much time left. The Lord has already decided to convert all of Castel's factories to steam power, allowing workers who have learned basic mechanical knowledge to participate in production. By then, I'm sure some of you will be assigned to the cement factory; the production line there is also short on manpower."

"cement."

"Calcining limestone, then grinding it into powder, and adding water to it releases heat and solidifies it into the most primitive cement. Have you ever seen this?"

Kyle shook his head, but Hodge nodded and said with some confusion:
"I heard about it when I was in Rhineland. It was said to be very troublesome and ineffective."

(End of this chapter)