Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 748 Old Vance's Choice
Old Vance looked at the sea in front of him, his face pale.

He suddenly regretted it, wondering why he had been so foolish as to move his whole family to Blood Harbor.
He was injured at the construction site of the Missionaries of Christendom and was brought to Bloodharbor for treatment.

It seems that everything has been different since then.

At first, the story spread throughout the city, and people listened with skepticism.

It wasn't that they didn't want to believe it, but rather that these people's accounts were too bizarre.

The towering steel forest, the rumbling, square houses, the endless stream of people, and the boundless city of Blood Harbor all exceeded the limits of the city's residents' imagination.

But old Vance didn't go alone; he was accompanied by so many of his coworkers that the residents of the city began to have doubts, especially since they all swore it was true.

But regardless of whether Blood Harbor actually exists, the injuries on Old Vance's body cannot be faked.

His gruesome wounds, his clean and tidy bandages, and his rosy complexion after days of freeloading meals—these were what truly moved the residents.

Working for these expeditionary forces meant that at least the wounded could receive medical treatment, and that alone was enough to tempt many people.

What truly changed people's minds was the end-of-month settlement.

On the expeditionary force's construction site, there were two types of wages: daily and monthly. Everyone unanimously chose the daily wage, but who knew how long this job would last?

But Old Vance was injured and unable to work, so naturally he wouldn't collect his wages. He didn't think he would get paid anyway; he was content to get free meals.

But just because he didn't want it doesn't mean it wasn't available.

The expeditionary force calculated his work injury and recorded a sum of money for him according to the pre-established regulations. This money was only the minimum basic salary, but it was unimaginable in this era.

So at the end of the month, old Vance was shocked to receive a money bag containing Leo's money.

"This...this is for me? I mean, I haven't been to work either; I've been recovering from my injury."

The expeditionary soldier in charge of counting the money had no patience to listen to his grumbling, shoved the money bag into his arms, and left.

Old Vance, holding a bag of cold Rio wine, felt a lump in his throat.

In his entire life, even if he worked hard, he might not be able to earn his hard-earned money. This was the first time someone had forced money into his pocket.

The news quickly spread throughout the city.

People flocked to Old Vance to confirm, and after seeing the bag of Leo with their own eyes, everything subtly changed.

The first to notice were the expeditionary force responsible for recruiting workers.

They were initially puzzled because, despite not increasing wages, more and more people were signing up.

He was somewhat surprised, then looked at the surging crowd, his face filled with shock.

From the shortage of manpower to the long queues for registration, it didn't take long at all.

Old Vance wasn't having an easy time either; he felt like he'd spent the whole day explaining to others that it was true, that he really had received Leo's gift.

"Is this for real?" "They really sent you money?" "Are they crazy?" I'm tired of hearing these kinds of questions.

Until one day, the lord of the city also stepped into his carpenter's shop.

The lord, with his protruding belly, listened as old Vance recounted the entire story with trepidation. He then took the money bag from old Vance and stared intently at Leo inside.

"This is real?"

"It's true, sir."

"Did they really send you money?"

“Yes, sir.” “Are they insane?”

"."

Old Vance, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly felt that his legs had stopped trembling.

He blinked, looking at the noble lord's robe trimmed with gold, and for some reason, he felt less afraid.

In front of the expeditionary force, he seemed no different from the civilians, even his expression was so similar.

Old Vance had seen an incredulous look on everyone's face these past few days.

Old Vance straightened his back instinctively: "I don't know, maybe he really is crazy, sir."

The lord clutched the money pouch in silence for a long, long time, then left without saying a word.

Old Vance only found out later that the lord had personally gone to the expeditionary force's camp that afternoon, and the expeditionary force stayed at the city lord's mansion that night.

This was what the doctor who treated him told him, and the doctor said it with gritted teeth, just like those hired workers whose jobs had been taken away.

Not only him, but the entire expeditionary force was stunned. They were supposed to be able to start the war and earn military merits once the railway was completed, but who knew that building a railway would cause the enemy to collapse.

Many people don't understand how an accidental workplace injury could make the enemy surrender when airships and heavy machine guns failed to do so.

Old Vance didn't understand either.

But he knew one thing—following this expeditionary force was never a bad idea.

Therefore, when the doctor asked him if he wanted to work in the south, he agreed without hesitation.

Convincing his family wasn't difficult; his wife was still somewhat hesitant, but his daughter Rebecca cheered with shining eyes.

Finally, persuaded by their daughter, the family boarded the train to Blood Harbor.

Blood Harbor arranged temporary accommodation for their family and promised that they would be allocated a house after working for a certain number of years, a time limit that could be combined with Rebecca's and Old Vance's.

Rebecca was still young, and Old Vance's carpentry shop had some savings from his many years of work, so he didn't plan to let her work for the time being. Old Vance himself was assigned to a place "related to his major"—a construction site.

Old Vance was initially worried about this. Although he had built houses as a carpenter, the cement houses in Bloodharbor were definitely made with a completely different technique than wooden houses. What use would he be?

But when he arrived at the construction site, he realized that he had worried too much.

These people don't want to build houses; their workplace isn't even inland, but by the sea.

"The tsunami is coming in fifteen minutes, let's go to the safe house!"

The safety officer in charge of monitoring looked up at the airship in the sky and shouted at the construction site.

People put down their work and followed the safety officer's directions toward a lighthouse in the distance.

They will take shelter here from the tsunami.

Tsunami, tsunami.
Old Vance shook his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The North has a sea, and although it's some distance away, I've heard of tsunamis.

Legend has it that the tsunami can easily submerge a city, causing countless deaths and injuries, and even superhumans would find it difficult to resist this power of nature.

How could these Castel people control tsunamis?
Old Vance suddenly remembered the noble lord's question, and now he might have a new answer.

"I don't know if those people are crazy or not, but I'm about to go crazy myself."

(End of this chapter)