Global Mining.

Chapter 918 Changing the Approach: Inviting the Wise Prince to Visit
The guardian spirit emerged from the crew and reformed into human form.

Then, led by Qifenda and Xiaocui, they didn't go to the ground, but to the place right next to the Crystal Warehouse.

A burst of firelight rushed towards him, and Da Chun suddenly realized that this was the real underground smelter! The molten iron flowing in the pool was like lava from hell.

The old man explained, "The main reason is that the weather here isn't very good, and also to avoid potential enemy attacks, so the main structures are all built underground, with the surface mainly used for smelting and smoke extraction..."

Then Lao Tie pointed to a machine extending down from the ground: "This is our metal cutting machine, which was modified from the anchor winch of a cargo ship."

Da Chun looked at the machine, somewhat bewildered: "This looks like a section of a ship's hull?"

Old Tie chuckled, "Yes, but that's not important. What's important is its hinged structure modified into a rope saw, which can be extended to the ground, allowing nearly a thousand evil spirits on the island to pull the rope and exert force..."

A human-powered chainsaw, huh? Okay, none of that matters.

Da Chun asked, showing interest, "What about the diamond saw head?"

Da Chun found it hard to imagine how such a large creature as the Heart of the Ocean could be tied to a wire saw. This was the Siren's lifeblood; how could they bear to use it for such rough work?

The old man said, "Let's go look from the ground!"

Da Chun then discovered that there was a staircase on the cutting machine that had been converted from a ship's hull, and the staircase indeed led directly to the factory building on the ground.

Daenerys Targaryen was lying beside the machinery, a section of her chain stuck inside. A long rope stretched out of the factory.

The old man pointed to the rotating wheel inside the machine: "This is it!"

Da Chun thought it didn't look like it, and it wasn't that big: "This?"

Xiao Cui said, "Actually, the guardian deity asked me to use divine stone crystal ore to imitate it. Although it can't imitate the original, it can be used as a diamond! Moreover, the process of imitation has greatly improved my jewelry skills. After Lao Tie's research on the composition of alloy steel, we need to use a No. 6 diamond drill bit."

Ah, it's a fake! It even has a serial number, that's so reliable.

Daenerys said, "I can't wait!"

Lao Tie laughed and said, "Then let's get started!"

Hundreds of evil spirits gathered on the street outside the factory and grabbed the rope like in a tug-of-war.

At Lao Tie's command, the evil spirits dragged the rope and moved away. The rope caused the rotating diamond drill to burst into sparks like electric welding. At the same time, another pipe on the machine sprayed out a stream of cold air that froze the iron chain.

Da Chun's alt account had witnessed this chilling air aboard a Void Empire warship: "Liquid nitrogen?"

Old Tie laughed and said, "Yes, we didn't steal many of those high-end warships used for firefighting. But they're enough to saw through these chains."

Then, in just a few minutes, the thick chain was sawed open; it was incredibly strong.

The old man didn't wait around. He asked the guardian, "Honored guest, let me take a look at the design and prepare the mold in advance."

The guardian deity directly displayed: "Please look! The composition of each component is as follows..."

The guy was genuinely astonished: "Is this the structure of the Machine Soul? I feel..."

Da Chun hurriedly asked, "How is it?"

Lao Tie laughed: "I don't know much about machinery, and I'm most afraid of making precision parts. This is different. It feels very rugged, which is perfect for me to manufacture! I can probably make a few in two or three days."

Da Chun got excited: "How many do you want?"

Chifenda said, "Actually, two are enough. They mainly help the old tortoise speed up its turns. Four are optimal; any more and we won't have enough energy."

Lao Tie laughed and said, "We still need to produce more. Just because we don't have an energy supply now doesn't mean we won't have one in the future."

Da Chun was filled with emotion. I didn't have to do anything. In just one month, the island's technology—no, it's as if I traveled a hundred years and gave the island a hundred years' worth of technological reserves!

The key point is that everyone on the island is working feverishly, seemingly without any regard for wages. Production is entirely driven by the idealistic passion of evil spirits.

Just then, the Sirens returned: "Distinguished guests, rest assured, we have successfully driven away the nearby Radiant Demons, and a fresh dinner is ready. Guests are welcome to dine at any time."

Tifa couldn't help but ask, "Are all these seafood from the seaweed sea?"

Siren laughed and said, "Of course not, it's near the old turtle. Because of the seaweed, many sea fish gather in this area near the old turtle, which has inadvertently created a relatively clean fishing ground."

Tifa was relieved: "I see!"

Da Chun said, "Let's wait until the Dragon Mother's chains are broken before we eat."

The siren asked with a smile, "Oh? What does Mr. Raven eat?"

what……

Da Chunhan said, "I am a machine, so I should be charged."

To be honest, it took a lot of energy to get here, especially when we were docking with Ditis.

Xiao Cui said, "My crystal warehouse has enough energy, but I can't guarantee the conversion rate. It will probably be quite slow. Why don't you go and recharge it first, Mr. Raven?"

Da Chun thought for a moment and said, "Okay. If I recharge slowly, everyone eat first."

Actually, only Tifa, being a normal human, could eat it normally.

So Xiao Cui led the way, and Da Chun followed, and they returned to the crystal warehouse.

At this moment, only Da Chun and Xiao Cui remained. Xiao Cui, too lazy to pretend anymore, spoke with a slightly displeased tone: "Lord City Lord!"

Da Chunhan asked, "What?"

Xiao Cui sighed, "Can we keep this secret if we send this guardian deity named Metatron over?"

Da Chun sighed, "Once the Sirens stole the Crown Prince's airship, this place could no longer be kept secret. The Empire should have airship tracking capabilities, and they will find us sooner or later. We might as well try our best to win over this guardian deity."

Xiao Cui said, "Actually, we only decided to take the risk and rob a little when we had almost finished mining the divine stone mine. We had also planned our escape route, which was to escape from the alternate dimension beneath this crystal mine. This imitation power is less about helping the old turtle speed up and more about the void propulsion. Some dark sea spaces can be defined as voids themselves."

Void, you have a grand strategy. I encountered Void Lightning Spikes in the Dark Sea before. But this robbery is clearly orchestrated by the Mermaids taking advantage of the chaos during the Gem City siege!
Da Chun suddenly realized something serious: "It's not a big deal that we escaped, but the mermaid has accepted a mission from the Empire. If she doesn't complete it, she might lose her position as the guardian of the three cities." Xiao Cui said, "We should discuss this with the guardian. Contact her through the merchant channel."

what! !

I got so caught up in the drama that I completely forgot I could chat in the guild channel! No, mainly it's been so long… I'd completely forgotten about the Black Flag Guild. I even used the Black Flag channel to contact Aziza and Nancy when I was imprisoned in Oak City…

Black Flag Chamber of Commerce Channel [Da Chun]: "Siren!"

Ha! I thought a raven would pop up.

[Siren, the Guardian of the Merchant Guild]: "Lord, it's been so long! You've become quite famous! Don't you notice the difference? This is all thanks to my hard work! I've stolen so many ships!"

I'm ashamed! How about I hand over the city lordship to you? The problem is, I can't.

Da Chun started by praising her: "You've really worked hard. The island has developed so well, far exceeding my expectations. Now, let's talk about Helen the mermaid..."

The Siren laughed, "So we didn't plan to destroy the warship. We'll just put the machinery back and leave the warship here for her to pick up. Besides, the Empire won't trust alien gods anyway, so she can just quit."

Not doing it? She'll stick with you? The point is, can this little bit of credit for salvaging the ship even be considered credit? The Empire can tell at a glance that the ship was dismantled, secrets were leaked, and she was incompetent; they still won't let her off the hook!
Da Chun was anxious: "She's the guardian deity of the three cities, how can we refuse?"

The siren said in a deep voice, "Didn't the Three Cities ruin her? Now is the best chance for her to break free from control and gain her freedom."

Da Chun was somewhat speechless: "I just feel..."

The siren sighed, "Are you unwilling? Hmm, I understand. I would be unwilling too. So, what does the city lord intend to do?"

What other arrangements can I make?

The crucial point is that Da Chun also thought of the Bronze Guardian. He helped replicate the machine, which, from the Empire's perspective, is treason, right? What will happen to him now? I brought him here precisely to win him over; I'm after him because he's a powerful figure. Besides, he impersonated one of the Ten Elders. Even with the Ten Elders backing him and the massive faith-based support of Black Iron City, it would be a great pity to see him rendered useless!

Just because of my Evil Spirit Island, two of my top guardian deities were crippled?
That was a terrible defeat, and I was extremely unwilling to accept it!

Why not try a different approach?

Suddenly, Da Chun thought of the Ten Elders! Since I could visit the island as a guest, could the Ten Elders, accompanied by the mermaid, and even the princes, also come? If the Ten Elders saw the island, they would definitely think they'd discovered a hidden power, and according to player logic, they would protect it at all costs. And what about the princes…?

In short, the premise is that the mineral crystals must be mined out first, and they absolutely must not know the secret of the divine stone mineral crystals. Therefore, we still need to use the Ten Elders. My relationship with the Ten Elders is destined to be one of using them while stabbing them in the back, except that I am in the shadows, which is my greatest advantage.

Da Chun cleared his mind: "How about we invite the prince who is hunting us and the other two sages to visit the island as well?"

The sirens were stunned: "They're visiting? They'll stop hunting us after they visit?"

Da Chun sighed, "If we don't visit, they'll definitely pursue us. But if we do visit, there might be some interesting developments. If we can stall the situation, Helen's position can be stabilized. If all else fails, we'll just stick to our original worst-case scenario plan."

The siren was taken aback: "How can we let them visit?"

Da Chun said, "After Metatron finishes replicating the machine, let him go back and contact the prince. Of course, the prerequisite is that all the mines are mined out first, and all underground secrets must not be shown to them."

The prince might not dare to come, but the Ten Elders will definitely come!
The siren chuckled, "That's interesting. Okay, let's do it that way. The divine stone mine is almost completely mined out; it'll only take a day or two."

Are you so sure?

Da Chun asked, "Are you sure the underwater mine has been completely mined out?"

Siren said, "I went underwater to investigate. The seabed minerals have long been devoured by various sea monsters, and there are obvious signs of large-scale mining. That means they were eaten by shrimp and crabs. These sea monsters were most likely wiped out by the pirate king back then."

Da Chun was relieved, then remembered something else: "I ran into Pinocchio in Oak City last time. Do you know what state he was in?"

Siren laughed, "I know, his century-old obsession with top-grade oak has been satisfied by the city lord. Old foreman Piandt even asked him to go to Black Iron City to check on the debts from back then. Pinocchio should be in Black Iron City now, right?"

Holy crap, I almost forgot about the 20 billion yuan debt! It's unacceptable that the creditor has no sense of responsibility whatsoever.

Da Chun then asked, "Was it Aziza or Nancy who brought him to Black Iron City?"

Siren said, "These past two days, Nancy has been staying with that Raven Master on Plague Island, and Aziza has also been staying in the Thousand Islands for some business."

So the only way it could have been that Tata, who was controlled by Pinocchio's threads, led them there?
Da Chun suddenly remembered that Curry had attacked the Earl's mansion again yesterday, so it was highly likely that Pinocchio had also infiltrated the mansion. With its strange abilities, it was hard to say whether it could uncover the debt, but finding the teleportation space behind Eileen's dressing mirror was entirely possible!
This is something I've always had a mission to accomplish, but I've never had the chance to come back and finish it. I really hope it will help me get it done.

The siren added, "I'll assist with sawing the chains first, then we'll talk later."

"it is good."

Da Chun breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the charging equipment in the crystal warehouse, it was indeed too rudimentary—just two metal wires piercing my body. Oh well, slow is slow, I can take this opportunity to rest. Anyway, I only pointed out the general direction; I don't need to worry about the details.

Da Chun then picked up his phone again to watch the Black Iron City animal protection livestream, which was still incredibly popular. With this kind of support, they absolutely had to protect the Bronze Guardian!

After watching for a while, Da Chun suddenly felt sleepy, so he decided to take a nap...

……

Black Iron City, the stronghold of the Black Hand organization.

Alpha has recovered considerably from its weakened state, and the screen is finally back to normal.

Although the emergency tail-severing just now depleted a lot of the guardian demon's divine power, and I was no longer confident of stopping it, my main task was to investigate. So I sent a victory investigation report to the guardian demon through the mirror.

"Your Majesty, after investigation, it has been discovered that the nun's powerful spiritual energy extends into the sewers. I engaged her in a fierce battle, forcing her to retreat only by fully supporting the hero's team's pets. Please instruct me on my next move."

Although it's a bit illogical, it fits the logic of the quest dialogue. After all, the announcement that Feng Xing had consecutively acquired 5 pets triggered an event, which can be used as evidence for investigation.

Then the guardian demon replied: "Although the disparity between us and the enemy is great, thank you for your valiant fight. Now, let's move on to the next step. You are authorized to select members of your organization to infiltrate her animal protection team."

Report successful!

Alpha breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Demon God hadn't commented on the nun's pet incident, that wasn't important; what mattered was that the mission had jumped directly to the next step.

This "authorization" from the guardian demon god should be used wisely. If used well, it could mean directly recruiting the organization's strongest Shadow Demon NPCs as your subordinates.

Then let's take all the organization's strongest Shadow Fiends. Although it might create security risks for the Mirror Space teleportation, the potential loss to the organization is negligible compared to cultivating our own subordinates.

(End of this chapter)