Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 714 Oh no, the one who's gone mad is the evil god.
"A stellar furnace? Too much output?" Hughes was taken aback, but quickly realized, "It's a minor issue. Increase the steel mill's daily planned capacity to 80%."

Castells no longer needs so much steel; the steel mills have a serious overcapacity. But with war looming, these factories cannot be shut down, so they can only reduce production to keep things afloat.

Factory managers are ecstatic to hear that production capacity can be increased.

At that moment, Hughes suddenly felt a strange sensation.

The feeling was hard to describe; it was as if something was watching you, a sticky, cold gaze fixed on you, as if it could see right through you.

Able to see through oneself
Hughes felt as if he was not being watched physically, but rather through his body, looking directly at his more fundamental being, rising higher and higher along his soul.
"Ok?"

Before Hughes could react, the gaze fled as if escaping, and the chilling feeling vanished instantly.

Hughes scratched his head.

"You just looked at me?"

"I saw it." The succubus nodded, her eyes filled with a clear innocence.

"It shouldn't be, it might just be my imagination." Houston paused. "Where was I?"

"They said they'd increase the steel mill's planned output curve for today, but the Stellar Furnace reports that the output has dropped back down." The banshee in front of her sensed the message transmitted through the mental link.

"It's gone down? That's good, no need to mention it."

"But I just distributed them, and the factory is thrilled."

"It's alright. Let's tell the factory again and share the good news that the stellar furnace has resumed stable operation."

Beatrice stood blankly in the elevator.

Theoretically, she is now dead, or more accurately, insane. Her body should have become a vessel for the arrival of an evil god, spreading destruction and disaster throughout the world.

But what's going on now?

She clearly felt the evil god's touch, and even saw the evil god looking outwards, but why did the evil god in the furnace glance outwards and then leave?
And
Beatrice felt a sense of absurdity. For some reason, she felt that the figure of the evil god leaving was not so composed, but more like an escape.

He is unimaginably powerful, incomparable, and unmatched; His very existence can make the world tremble. What could such a being have seen that would frighten him into running away?

Beatrice looked at the observation hole in confusion. There were no more eyes there, only a ball of orange-red fire. The terrifying and distorted scene just now seemed to be just an illusion.

"Did the reactor just tremble?" Zoe asked.

"It's probably due to an adjustment, it's normal." Gaia said nonchalantly.

Beatrice looked at the two people beside her and suddenly felt a sense of unreality.

No, her very existence is unreal. She clearly remembers that her sanity had completely collapsed and she had fallen into permanent madness, but now, why is she alright again?

No one has ever recovered from perpetual madness. After completely losing one's mind, one is no longer human, but a twisted monster. So why didn't she get lost in the sea of ​​ignorance?

Beatrice was filled with confusion.

She placed her hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat.

It's amazing. Her body had clearly collapsed at that moment, and she should be a monster standing here now. How did she recover? The pollution inside her body also seemed to have become incredibly docile, without any of the turbulent feeling it had before.

Was all of this just an illusion?

Beatrice felt the anchor in the Sea of ​​Unconsciousness, and found it incredibly stable. The high walls of reality here were far more solid than elsewhere. It was strange, considering that there was an evil god imprisoned in the Stellar Furnace here, and that pollution was constantly surging within the furnace.

just
Why does she feel that her "anchor" seems to be not far from here?

The absence of the concept of distance in the Sea of ​​Ignorance must be an illusion caused by her recent mental trauma.

"You mean, the evil god in the stellar reactor suddenly became active?!" Hughes's eyes widened.

He was still in his office, but now there was not only a fully armed female banshee on duty, but also another person standing there—Tata.

Tata was sweating profusely, frantically flipping through the design drawings.

He designed the Stellar Furnace himself, and he's the one who's most panicked right now.

I don't know why, but the sea god that's been burning in the furnace has always been quite peaceful. Why did it suddenly become unruly today?
"Is there any risk? Does it need to be reinforced?"

"Theoretically, it's not necessary. The evil god's struggles haven't exceeded the design limits, but this anomaly is a bit strange."

Hughes's expression turned serious. The stellar reactor was one of the most important parts of Castel, supplying energy to almost the entire island. What if it exploded?
Castells might be able to fly.

"What's going on?"

"The evil god's activity suddenly stopped. I quickly checked the data records and the stokers on duty. They all said that the evil god suddenly calmed down after glancing at a certain observation window."

Tata took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly: "That observation window is the one Miss Beatrice passed by in the elevator!"

Hughes stood up, his eyes wide: "You mean, the evil god glanced at Beatrice and then suddenly calmed down?!"

"Yes, even the timing matches up. I calculated the elevator's ascent rate, and it was exactly when I saw Beatrice that I calmed down!!"

Hughes gasped.

No, is the Pope of the Candlelight Vigil really that powerful?

The evil god glanced at her and was so frightened that he dared not move.
So scary, so scary!
Hughes calmed himself down a bit and looked at Tata, who was still standing there: "Very good, very important information. You've always been unreliable before, but I didn't expect you to find something so important this time. You can go back now, I'll keep an eye on this."

"Yes, my lord, but I still suggest you keep Beatrice. If she can appease the evil god, she could be of unimaginable value, especially since our project in Bloodharbor is nearing completion."

Castells has a stellar furnace, but Bloodharbor does not. Their steam engines mainly burn wood and coal, which are far less stable and powerful, and also cause several levels of pollution.

However, transporting contaminants is quite difficult and carries significant risks, so it can only be supplied on a small scale.

Later, the capture of Count Barzel from the North gave Bloodharbor a new source of power.
However, Bazel seems to have some connection with the White Calamity in the North. It seems that it will be difficult for Bazel to shine before Gwen has fully mastered the mist.

However, if a method to suppress him is found
Hughes waved his hand, and Tata nodded in farewell. As he pushed open the door and walked out of the room, he passed by Beatrice and her two companions.

The three of them entered Hughes' office.

(End of this chapter)