Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 698 Isn't that Castel? I've met him before.
Beatrice was somewhat surprised. She looked down at the prosperous city below and couldn't reconcile it with the refugee Gaia had mentioned.

“I practically witnessed the Blood Harbor being built. I’ve been here many times, and each time I see a new Blood Harbor. Sometimes I can’t even recognize it.”

After saying that, she turned to look at Zoe beside her.

“You can ask Zoe. She followed the entire reconstruction of Bloodharbor from beginning to end. When we arrived here, Bloodharbor was just a ruin, but now, just looking at it from afar, you can feel its grandeur.”

Beatrice stammered, unsure of what to say.

She was a noblewoman who had neither experienced famine nor built a city with her own hands.

She lived in the Rhine, a place known as the City of Miracles, but she couldn't feel any miracles there; she was trapped there.

Today, she felt a miracle. Blood Harbor was just an unknown little town, but listening to Gaia's words, she couldn't suppress the excitement in her heart.

She really wanted to see the city for herself.

She didn't want to just watch from afar on an airship; she wanted to step into the city, to stroll through it, to talk to people, to feed the cats in the alleyways, and to chat with the seagulls about life and ideals.

She couldn't think of anything more; she was like a canary in a cage, only able to imagine the small patch of sky she had seen in books.

"Can I come and take a look here?"

Gaia and Zoe exchanged a glance and sighed helplessly.

"Well, not right now. You need to go to Castel for treatment."

Beatrice's body was on the verge of collapse. Although there were extra rooms in the crew cabin, she had to live in the steam engine.
Although she actually quite liked the steel hut.

"Can Castel cure me?"

"It's hard to say, Castel's treatment level is quite unstable, but..."

Zoe's vision flashed past Chloe, past the two Noras, past Gwen and her more than one hundred patients.
"But you shouldn't be dead."

Beatrice frowned, feeling that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Shouldn't we say "cannot die" here? Why is it "cannot die"?
The literal meaning is that someone wanted to die but failed. Does anyone really want to die?
It's a good thing he didn't die, right?
Beatrice is still young; she doesn't want to die.

However, I've heard that Castel is very close to the Silent Sanctuary, which is known for its undead. Perhaps Zoe was referring to this?
Beatrice was lost in thought when, in that short time, the city below swept past the porthole. She realized she had almost missed it and hurriedly leaned against the window, gazing longingly into the distance.

The airship passed Blood Harbor and headed towards Castells.

"You don't have to be disappointed. Castells is also great. Although it may not be as large as Blood Harbor, it is still very beautiful."

Beatrice nodded, but inwardly she was somewhat unconvinced.

Castells, well, it's not like she hasn't been there before.

When she first saw Castel, she was actually quite disappointed. The desolation of the island left a deep impression on her. Although Count Hughes had built many workshops, they were still far inferior to those in the Rhine.

And today she has to go there again.

Zoe said Castells was no worse than Bloodharbor, but she didn't believe it.

Even if Castells expanded those factories tenfold, they still wouldn't be half as good as the Rhine, let alone Blood Harbor, which we just saw.

Beatrice took Zoe's words as comforting, and though she felt deeply disappointed, she didn't say anything. Perhaps she could be healed in Castel and then see Bloodharbor again.

That's a really beautiful city.
Beatrice gazed at the azure sea below, sighed inwardly, and was about to look away when she suddenly froze.

"Ka... Castel?"

“???” Gaia and Zoe, who were standing next to her, were stunned for a moment before shaking their heads in unison: “Impossible, how could they get here so quickly? Castel is still a long way off.”

"But, but, an island, how can there be an island below?!" Beatrice's voice stammered, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked down.

"That's a mountain, no, it's an island, an island of steel, a mountain of steel."

Seeing Beatrice's incoherent speech, Gaia peeked over with some confusion, then suddenly realized what she meant.

"Oh, this is the Steel Ark."

Zoe came over when she heard this, looking as if she was used to it.

"Why is it back? Wasn't it supposed to be remodeled in Gem Bay? I heard Tata was considering putting a deck on it, and the ship spirits there almost cursed them to death."

"Maybe the renovation is finished? To be honest, I'm not sure. Those design institutes in Gem Bay were a bit too radical."

"really."

Beatrice watched the two of them talking back and forth, somewhat confused: "What, what are you talking about? Ship spirit? Isn't this an island, but a ship?"

"Of course it's a ship. Look closely, there are traces of a ship. Although it looks a bit strange, it is indeed a ship. And you should have noticed that it is made of steel."

"Steel."

Beatrice felt a little dizzy. This thing was as big as an island and it was made of steel!

Beatrice always felt that the churches in the Upper Rhine were breathtaking enough, exquisite and elegant, yet also incredibly magnificent.

But today, she witnessed a different kind of shock.

There are no carvings, no shapes, and no elaborate designs.

All that exists is a massive, boundless scale.

It's no exaggeration to say that this steel ark could cover the Rhine—literally, by melting it down to make a steel lid to cover the Rhine.
Or to put it another way, if you put it on the Upper Rhine, its weight alone would be enough to crush the entire city of the Rhine.

This highly impactful approach left a deep impression on Beatrice, and she vaguely felt that some of her beliefs seemed to have shifted slightly.

Right now, she only has some vague ideas, which haven't yet been summarized into a complete concept. Once she fully understands this, she will probably comprehend this popular idea in Castel:
Bigger is better, more is more beautiful.

Beatrice's eyes flickered, and she suddenly looked up into the distance. There was nothing special there, just ordinary seawater.

Ordinary, uneventful, without any ripples, this would be commonplace elsewhere, but here it is the Storm Ocean.

It is well known that there are no storms near Castel.

Beatrice gazed into the distance, and suddenly felt a surge of anticipation for Castel.

Is Castel no longer just an ordinary desert island?
(End of this chapter)