Steel torrents pioneering a different world

Chapter 129 Rule Infiltration! Holy crap, oil!!? (10,000 words, please subscribe)
Human beings live in this world for nothing more than food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

Ah, so satisfying! So satisfying!

Jinhe patted his round belly, let out a burp full of meaty aroma, and didn't even bother to wipe the grease from the corners of his mouth.

He watched as his wives and children carefully savored the remaining meat in the bowl, and he felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

This feeling is even more exhilarating than catching a big fish in a frozen lake.

Just then, a clean and tidy divine messenger walked over, with a kind smile on his face.

Jinhe naturally recognized him; these past few days, it was this young divine messenger named Yu Qiwen who had been dealing with him.

Their communication went from being difficult at first, to the point where the other person, relying on some magical artifacts, could communicate with them almost without any obstacles.

"Chief Jinhe, is this meal to your liking?" Yu Qiwen asked with a smile.

"Hiccup... Satisfied, extremely satisfied!" Jinhe quickly stood up, rubbing his hands together, his attitude even more respectful than when facing the village shaman.

Yu Qiwen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the Ice River tribesmen who were still drinking soup, before returning to Jinhe.

“We’ve had a very pleasant collaboration these past few days. I see that your tribe is quite hardworking, so we’re preparing to launch a super amazing project to help everyone live a better life.”

"An incredibly demanding job?" Jin He's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "Respected Divine Envoy, what do you need us to do? Please give your orders!"

He now understands very well that the greater the task commanded by the divine messengers, the greater the reward.

"We want to build a cluster of stone houses here."

Yu Qiwen pointed to an open space outside the camp, his tone calm, yet it seemed as if he were describing a miracle.

"A shelter that can protect us from the wind and rain, keep us warm in winter, and keep wild animals out. Chief Jinhe, would you be willing to bring your people and work with us?"

Stone houses!

"Like the kind of house I just visited?"

Yu Qiwen nodded with a smile: "Yes, the houses are ready and everyone can be allocated them!"

Jinhe's mind went blank, as if struck by a thunderbolt from the sky.

Their glacial tribe has lived in igloos and animal-skin tents for generations.

Every winter, elderly people and children freeze to death silently in the cold wind, leaving them to die at the hands of the cold god.

If they build a stone house that can withstand wind and snow, it means the tribe will have a greater chance of survival.

"Yes! We are willing!"

Jinhe agreed without hesitation, as if afraid the other party would change their mind.

"Honorable divine messenger, noble wizard, we are willing to accept any task you assign us!"

He didn't care at all what the task was or how to do it.

All he knew was that these divine messengers could really turn stones into houses! And then turn them into their houses!
"Haha, good!" Yu Qiwen was very satisfied with his reaction and patted him on the shoulder. "Chief Jinhe, you're a smart man. Once the stone house is built, we'll give it to you first. We guarantee it will be the biggest, the most beautiful, and the warmest!"

Upon hearing this, Jinhe grinned, revealing his yellow teeth.

He could almost see himself and his family living in a warm stone house, while outside, snow was falling heavily, and they were eating roasted meat inside.

Over the past few days, he has watched as the divine messengers, with the help of divine artifacts, built the stone house from scratch.

Clean, tidy, warm, and with a view of the outside light and even an interior light, it's infinitely better than their icy houses.

They can live longer in such a warm house.

Most importantly, living in such a house makes them feel happier.

Jinhe would naturally not refuse the cooperation of the divine messengers.

As the saying goes, after a good meal, most normal people think about their wife, children, and a warm bed!
In the modern century, after ensuring sufficient material resources, satisfying people's spiritual pursuits is a very systematic issue.

In a more primitive world, there weren't so many tricks up one's sleeve.

With no worries about food and clothing, all that's left is a wife, children, and a warm bed!
Although the people in Jinhe are all from another world and the tribes are very primitive, the savage group also has emotions and desires, and has the most basic needs.

We are all human beings with extremely high genetic similarity, so there will be no issues such as reproductive isolation.

Many management principles can be applied to primitive humans.

In response to this need, management professionals with expertise in human psychology developed a tiered advancement plan.

For example, eating different dishes in the same room, or having different dishes in the same house.

A combination of kindness and severity, with force always on display!
All of this is the charm of management science, and it's all about artificially creating a sense of superiority and expectation.

The overwhelming force subdued the savage primal instincts of the Ice River tribe.

Strict laws and abundant resources made the Ice River Wildman tribe both fearful and respectful of humans.

As authority and power seeped into the hearts of the Ice River tribe, as long as the humans didn't do anything that would anger both heaven and man, they could basically carry out their plans.

Jinhe, who was originally unruly, gradually became their supporter.

They had no choice but to support him. Jinhe was a smart man with a magical talent for prophecy and dream-based abilities. Relying on his ancestral talent, he became the leader of the Ice River tribe.

But the eldest son's life wasn't easy either.

Do you think being the boss of a powerful dog-owning family will give you the same treatment as being the boss of a world superpower?

Moreover, for primitive tribes that struggle daily to solve their survival crisis, the daily survival issues of their members are even more severe.

When Jinhe discovered that he could easily live a good life by following modern humans, and that he could get a lot of food, clothing, and candy by completing certain tasks, Jinhe, who was not stupid, naturally tried to get closer to humans!
In his view, none of the tasks assigned to them by humans were as dangerous or complicated as fishing; they were all common tasks that they completed easily.

Both Yu Qiwen and Zhao Chong breathed a sigh of relief at the smooth communication with Chief Jinhe.

Once the upper echelons of the Ice River tribe are dealt with, the subordinates will be easier to manage.

That afternoon, the reconnaissance mission proceeded as usual, but Jin Heduo, who accompanied the team, was exceptionally attentive.

Jinhe practically clung to Yu Qiwen and Zhao Chong, describing in detail where there were pits, where the wind was strong, and what wild animals were hiding on the snowfield.

His footprints were small, but he had survived in the far north for decades and could easily identify many of the environments.

Jin He's efforts saved Zhao Chong's troops a lot of trouble.

In the evening, Jinhe and his family once again enjoyed their privileges.

Subsequently, he took the lead and became the first to move into the newly built stone house.

He wanted to let his people experience the warmth brought by the divine messengers in advance!
As soon as you step inside, the heavy wooden door instantly shuts out the wind and snow behind you.

A dry, warm current rushed towards him, making him shiver comfortably.

"Those fireplaces are so beautiful!"

Is this... this what a warm stone house in the South looks like?

There was no pungent smell of smoke, no biting cold wind, only a warmth that made your bones feel soft.

Jinhe reached out and touched the wall. It was smooth, hard, and slightly cool, yet it kept out all the cold.

"Press here."

Yu Qiwen pointed to a protrusion on the wall.

Jinhe followed his example and carefully pressed down.

"Clap."

The "luminous pearl" on the roof, made of an unknown material, suddenly shone brightly, illuminating the entire room as if it were daytime.

Jinhe was so frightened that he let out a scream and almost jumped up, his hand instinctively reaching for the stone axe at his waist.

Upon realizing it wasn't a witchcraft attack, his face first showed astonishment, then turned to ecstatic joy. He tried pressing it again, and the light disappeared. He pressed it again, and the light reappeared.

Amazing!

This is brighter than the brightest campfire in the tribe!

"This is a wind-powered light, which can be lit most of the time," Yu Qiwen introduced with a smile.

Because Jinhe came here without stopping the others, the other savages peeked out from the crack in the door. When they saw this scene, their eyes shone brighter than a light bulb.

In their view, this was a means that only gods possessed.

It's only natural that the clan leader gets to enjoy all of this!

He is the tribe's strongest, most cunning, and most intelligent warrior, and a bridge to communicate with the divine messenger!

The next morning, Jinhe went out to investigate again with Zhao Chong and the others.

After he left, his wife, a tall and strong woman, walked with her chest out to the center of the tribe.

She cleared her throat and shouted with all her might:
"Listen up!"

"The divine messengers said! As long as we are willing to work, helping with planting and hunting, everyone can earn... points... Yes, points. Every family can exchange points for a stone house!"

The entire tribe fell silent instantly; you could hear a pin drop.

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted in chaos!

"What? We can stay here too?"

"Trade it with hunting points? What are points? Is this for real?"

"It's true. Points are based on the number of prey you catch. Once you reach a certain number, you can exchange them for a house."

A burly man with a scar on his face asked suspiciously, "Where in the world is there such a good thing? They're not planning to sell us into slavery, are they? I've heard that some lords in the Green Lands like to do that, making people kneel down and become slaves!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a young man next to him slapped him on the back of the head.

"Fool! Didn't you see how happy the clan leader was last night? Didn't you see the power of those divine messengers? Do they need to lie to us?"

"How about we go and rob it? We'll do it according to the rules of the Ice River."

"Are you out of your mind? Have you forgotten what happened to the big fish? Just for stealing a little something, he was locked up in a dark room for three days. When he came out, his legs were like jelly! Do you want to try that?"

The mention of a big fish sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

The divine messengers are powerful and mysterious, and no one dares to easily violate the rules they set.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Jinhe's wife raised her voice in satisfaction:

"The clan leader has already secured the best opportunity for us! Do you still want your children to freeze to death in the winter? Do you still want to abandon your sick elders to the God of Cold?"

"In no mood!"

"Of course not!"

The cheers of the crowd merged into a wave of heat that almost blew away the clouds in the sky.

Stone houses!

A warm, draft-free house that can keep the elderly and children safe and sound through the winter!

The thought of that wonderful life made all the savages breathe heavily, and their eyes were filled with longing for the future.

No matter what the South or what lush green lands may be, nothing compares to the real stone houses right before our eyes!
Moreover, heading south, one might encounter either those savage, bloodthirsty cave-dwelling half-humans, or even more ferocious members of their own kind, or be attacked by unpredictable long-eared creatures.

Staying here and working for the divine messenger is the only way to survive!
Looking at the tribe that had been completely mobilized, Wang Kang in the distance smiled slightly.

The plan is proceeding perfectly.

The infiltration and assimilation of the rules of the savage tribes is progressing steadily.

Once the other party begins to reap the rewards of their labor and understands the strictness of the law, they will naturally adapt to the pace of modern life.
-

Modern world, pioneer headquarters.

Before eight o'clock in the morning, Li Weiguo rubbed his throbbing temples, picked up the cup of strong tea on the table that was almost black, and gulped down a large mouthful.

The bitter liquid slid down my throat, forcibly dispelling the drowsiness that had been lingering in my brain.

Assistant Xiao Wang tiptoed in and placed a freshly printed document on his desk.

"Minister Li, this is the latest report from the expeditionary force in the other world."

"Hmm," Li Weiguo responded, his gaze already fixed on the documents.

It all started with good news.

The land reclamation proceeded smoothly and in an orderly manner.

Li Donglai's agricultural team brought good news: the first batch of trial-planted vegetables has already produced a small-scale output.

The warriors no longer have to worry about eating canned food due to supply shortages in the other world, and they can finally find some modern dishes on the dining table.

Upon seeing this news, Li Weiguo's tense expression relaxed, a rare occurrence.

He continued to look down.

The mining work has yielded remarkable results.

In just a few days, tens of thousands of tons of ore rich in unknown elements have been secretly transported through a time portal to the nearby Bayan Obo mining area, where they are smelted by a specialized team.

The new alloy materials extracted from the ore were immediately sent to top research institutes.

Laser weapon research institute, critical super-engine research institute, ship propulsion research institute, new armored system research institute... almost all departments representing the nation's top combat power are going crazy for these strange artifacts from another world.

Li Weiguo tapped lightly on the words "critical transcendent engine" with his fingers.

With this, the problem of super-large engines that has plagued the country for decades may see a breakthrough within three years, no, within one year!

In addition, a specially designed aircraft engine, tailored to the unique high-altitude environment of this other world, is about to enter the flight test phase.

Everything is better than I imagined.

This report was the best news he had received in months.

Li Weiguo was in a good mood, almost humming a tune. He turned to the last page of the report, ready to sign and file it.

However, just as his gaze swept over the "Remarks" section at the end, he suddenly stopped.

His gaze was fixed on a line of small print.

[Abnormal signal: Signal detected from a friendly armored vehicle at coordinates (734, 219), approximately 187 kilometers from the main base. Confirmed to be the 'Snow Cat Vehicle No. 66,' which mysteriously lost contact during the transport of supplies via the Time-Space Gate.]

Snow Cat Car No. 66?

Li Weiguo's pupils contracted instantly.

Lin Lishun's old car?

He carefully read the report.

The report indicates that shortly after receiving the strange location signal from the armored vehicle, in the southern part of the alternate world, the clear boundary between the white snow and green land suddenly shifted dramatically within the past two hours, with the green land advancing significantly northward.

The green had swallowed up a large portion of the white borders that originally belonged to the undead.

A crazy idea suddenly popped into Li Weiguo's mind without warning.

Absolutely standing tall!
Was it because he did something in the far north that caused the problem?
Li Weiguo couldn't figure it out, but his intuition told him that the two things must be related.

He picked up the encrypted phone on the table and dialed Zhong Mengyao directly.

The call connected, and the background noise was incredibly loud, mixed with the clanging of metal and dull thuds.

"Hello, Uncle." Zhong Mengyao's voice was thick with a nasal tone and sounded somewhat tired.

"Is he next to you?" Li Weiguo asked bluntly.

"Yes, wait a minute, I'll go outside and talk!"

A few minutes later.

Li Weiguo inquired about Lin Li's matter!

“We’re at the gym. He was fine staying in the hotel a few days ago, but yesterday he started coming here like a madman.” Zhong Mengyao lowered her voice. “He’s not exercising, he’s practically taking the equipment apart. He’s making no attempt to hide his strength!”

"Did the other side pull some outrageous moves?"

"He's incredibly strong, absolutely outrageous! Li Bu, you didn't see it! He punched the force gauge and the number jumped straight to 1000 pounds! And his kick reached 2000 pounds! Everyone in the club was stunned. The boxing coach was chasing after him, crying and begging to become his apprentice, saying that he would give him all the prize money if he was willing to fight!"

"This is too abnormal!" Li Weiguo frowned even more deeply.

Zhong Mengyao sighed: "Yes, Lin Li acted as if he had suffered some kind of huge shock. The key is that this is his explosive power without any professional training."

Li Weiguo's eyelids twitched.

The 1000-pound punching power figure was actually untrained data.

What is this concept?
Even the world's top heavyweight boxing champions, when fighting with all their might, only reach around 800 pounds.

Lin Li's punch was truly deadly. Not to mention the 2000-pound kick, which was no different from being hit by a car at high speed; bones and internal organs would be shattered.

If the opponent trains well, the increase could be many times greater!
This guy can no longer be considered a normal person.

"Why did he suddenly start practicing boxing? Wasn't he only interested in firearms?"

“I don’t know,” Zhong Mengyao said with a hint of helplessness. “He just seemed to be in a really low mood. He didn’t say a word, and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot, like someone owed him millions.”

After hanging up the phone, Li Weiguo looked at the two reports on the table, and a flash of inspiration struck him.

The far north... the missing cat-shaped car... the southward advancing ice and snow boundary... towering... frenzied close-combat training...

All the clues instantly connected into a complete logical chain. Lin Li went to the far north to carry out a secret mission. During the mission, he encountered huge trouble and might even lose the "Snow Cat Car No. 66".

He encountered an enemy that he couldn't defeat with guns!
Of course, perhaps the enemy was defeated, but the mission was not completed.

Finally, he returned like a wounded beast, frantically sharpening his claws and teeth!
Li Weiguo leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

What else exists in the far north besides the undead scourge?
He recalled the scattered pieces of information about the undead race.

Blue eyes, withered skin, able to summon wind and snow, control corpses...

Li Weiguo picked up his pen and wrote two words in the approval section of Su Mingjin's report on continuing the sweeps in the far north: "Agreed."

He then added a note—

During our cleanup operation against the necromancers in the north, we need to learn more about the patterns of the boundary changes. If killing more undead will cause the boundary to recede northward, we wouldn't mind playing the role of undead executioners and having a thorough "match-3" game in the far north!
With a clear understanding in mind, Li Weiguo then reviewed the elf interrogation and the latest information gathered from the investigation in the other world...
-

Another world, a zone of extinct volcanoes.

A faint smell of sulfur permeated the air, and the dark reddish-brown earth reflected a monotonous light under the pale sunlight.

"Rumble--"

The military excavator's engine roared, and the massive robotic arm, under Ming Yufei's control, moved with perfect precision, dumping a full bucket of gravel into the depression in front of it.

The movements were fluid and seamless, without any unnecessary actions.

Ming Yufei felt a little uneasy.

If it weren't for the greenhorn sitting next to him, he would have had to sing "Piggy Hero" to perk himself up.

But now, in order to maintain the dignified image of the class monitor, he had no choice but to swallow back the "GG Bond" that was on the tip of his tongue.

I feel so suffocated.

In the passenger seat, recruit Jiang Ruixuan's head bobbed up and down, as if he could fall asleep at any moment. He looked out the window at the monotonous scenery and yawned boredly.

"Squad leader, can't we go out on a mission with Battalion Commander Li and the others?" Jiang Ruixuan's voice was full of longing. "I heard they wiped out hundreds of undead yesterday and seized a lot of specimens."

Ming Yufei gave him a disgruntled look, his hands moving non-stop as he operated the excavator to compact and smooth the newly filled road surface.

“We are engineers, and we’re on a mission right now!” he emphasized.

This road is the only access to the mineral veins high up on the extinct volcano. The engineering department has given a strict order that the entire road must be completed within two days, as the heavy mining trucks that follow are all waiting.

"Ugh, this is so boring," Jiang Ruixuan muttered to himself. "All we do every day is dig and fill holes, and we don't even see a single living thing."

Ming Yufei brought the excavator to a stop and turned off the engine. The cab fell silent instantly, with only the sound of the wind breaking the silence.

He turned his head, looked at Jiang Ruixuan, and a strange smile suddenly appeared on his face.

"boring?"

"Hmm..." Jiang Ruixuan looked at the smile on the class monitor's face and his heart skipped a beat, with a sense of foreboding.

“Come on, if you’re bored, you drive.” Ming Yufei pointed to the driver’s seat. “I’ll show you what it means to not be bored.”

"Huh?" Jiang Ruixuan's face fell instantly. "No, class monitor! I... my mediocre skills will slow things down!"

"Stop talking nonsense and come here!" Ming Yufei stood up abruptly and pulled him out of the passenger seat. "I'm giving you a chance. Pave that road ahead for me. If you don't do it right, you can forget about dinner tonight."

Amid Jiang Ruixuan's heart-wrenching screams, the two switched places.

Ming Yufei jumped out of the car, crossed his arms, and watched with a leisurely air as Jiang Ruixuan frantically operated the excavator.

His clumsy manner made Ming Yufei shake his head.

However, seeing the new recruits sweating profusely from being tormented by the "not boring" tasks, Ming Yufei was in a great mood and finally couldn't help but hum a tune that he had been suppressing for a long time.

"GG ​​Bond, GG Bond..."

Yes, singing is definitely more stress-relieving than disciplining new recruits.

……

Two kilometers away from the extinct volcano.

Li Jingze put down his binoculars, the lenses reflecting the light of the dark reddish-brown earth.

In the distant basin, large quantities of animal bones covered the ground, resembling a vast graveyard abandoned by the gods.

This was a horde of beasts that the troops had killed with cluster bombs. Because the enemy had used plague magic that spawned mosquitoes, the flesh and blood of these beasts were worn away, turning into pale white skeletons.

Only a few animals did not turn completely into bones.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying with it the smell of sulfur, mixed with an indescribable, rotten, and dried stench.

"Battalion Commander!" Signalman Long Boxuan ran up to him, instinctively standing at attention with a crisp salute. "Drone reconnaissance complete. No hidden targets detected!"

Li Jingze shifted his gaze from the distant skeleton to the man's straight arm, his eyes instantly turning cold.

"Long Boxuan".

"To!"

"After the mission, five hundred push-ups. You can eat whenever you finish them." Li Jingze's voice wasn't loud, but it hit Long Boxuan's heart like ice shards.

"Huh?" Long Boxuan looked blank, completely unable to react.

Li Jing pointed at his saluting hand: "Saluting me on the battlefield? Are you cursing me? Do you think you've lived too long? Have you wasted all your training?"

Long Boxuan's face turned pale instantly, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He then realized the grave taboo he had committed: it was forbidden to salute superiors during wartime.

If there were snipers nearby, his actions would have thrown the entire command team into chaos.

"I was wrong, Battalion Commander!" He lowered his head abruptly, his voice trembling slightly.

Li Jing ignored him and turned to the artillery commander beside him: "Coordinates X1 to X5 area, three rounds of incendiary bombs. Burn all those non-high-value targets, along with the bugs on them!"

"Yes!"

This vast graveyard of animal bones is both a significant hidden danger and a treasure trove.

Reconnaissance revealed that there were a large number of corpses of rare alien species here.

Although the flesh and blood of the corpses here had long been devoured by carrion-eating mosquitoes spawned by magic, their fur and bones were priceless treasures to the single-life research team at the rear.

This is why Li Jingze personally led the team on this trip.

"Boo-boo-boo-"

A piercing whistling sound rang out as several incendiary bombs, trailing contrails, precisely struck the area with the highest concentration of skeletons.

"boom!"

Orange-red flames shot into the sky, instantly transforming into greedy fire dragons that swept across the entire basin.

The bones crackled and popped in the flames, and countless unseen, tiny threats, along with the nauseating stench, were purified by the intense heat.

Only after confirming that the flames were extinguished and there was no further danger did Li Jingze wave his hand.

"action!"

Squads of fully armed soldiers immediately rushed into the scorched basin and began carefully collecting the remains of large wild animals.

"Commander, here is a complete griffin skeleton!"

"Over here! There's a unicorn over here! Holy crap, the horn is so intact, and it's actually quite warm to the touch!"

A young soldier held a spiral-shaped animal horn that shimmered with a warm luster, his voice distorted with excitement.

Li Jing walked over, kicked aside a piece of charred bone, and looked at the half-meter-long horn. A rare smile appeared on his tense face.

"Put everything away. I wonder if the research team will be able to sleep with this for a week after we take it back."

"Ha ha……"

"The unicorn's skin is really tough; it didn't even break."

Just as everyone was excited about the huge harvest, a soldier in charge of clearing the edge area suddenly let out a surprised shout.

"Commander! We've found treasure! Come and see this!"

Li Jingze walked over quickly.

The soldier was grinning as he raised a Western-style, ornately hilted one-and-a-half-sword.

"Battalion Commander, this should be a human weapon. We just found it over at the pile of griffin bones."
-

Another world, 173 kilometers from the headquarters of the Time Gate.

After several days of contact, Zhao Chong's troops and Yu Qiwen's group successfully gained the initial trust of Jin He and the Ice River tribe behind him.

The troops then entered the Ice River tribe settlement under the pretext of helping to build sturdier stone houses to discuss how to construct them.

Most of the conversation was between Yu Qiwen and Zhao Chong, while Chief Jinhe listened with a wide grin.

The savage tribe was very close to the army's temporary camp, but the environment was completely different.

As soon as Yu Qiwen approached, a strong stench mixed with body odor, rotting matter, and feces hit him.

Yu Qiwen, who was walking at the front, was almost sent away on the spot.

Garbage and excrement were everywhere on the ground, and Yu Qiwen frowned deeply.

The engineering team members who followed also looked troubled.

“It seems that the modernization of the savage tribe must begin with teaching them how to use the toilet,” Yu Qiwen said in a low voice to his assistant.

Led by their tribal chief Jinhe, they traversed the chaotic settlement.

While gesturing, Yu Qiwen communicated with Jin He through a translator about the planning of the building complex, trying to explain to him what zoning and sewage systems were.

Jinhe only vaguely understood what he was hearing, nodding repeatedly, clearly clueless about these modern concepts.

The engineering team members dispersed into small groups to survey and record data throughout the tribe, preparing for the upcoming comprehensive transformation.

Bian Zhuang, who rarely gets a half-day off, also volunteered to join the surveying work.

He felt that instead of just sitting around in the camp, he should go out and see more of this strange world.

Suddenly, Bian Zhuang stopped in a corner.

There were several earthenware jars there, filled with a black, viscous liquid. A savage was dipping a stick into it and smearing it on another piece of wood that was to be used as a torch.

Bian Zhuang's heart skipped a beat; this thing looked somewhat familiar.

He stepped forward, turned on his portable translator, pointed to the pottery jar, and asked the busy savage, "Hello, where did you get this black thing from?"

The savage looked up at him, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and replied nonchalantly, "Blackwater? It's in the north. There's plenty of it back home. It just sprouts up from the ground. It burns really big, and it's best used for burning human bones."

Bian Zhuang's breath hitched.

Black water... gushing from the ground... and burning fiercely?

These keywords exploded in his mind in an instant, combining into a word that made his heart pound—oil!
He suppressed his excitement, trying to keep his voice steady, and continued to ask, "Are you far from here? Is there a lot of this black water?"

The savage stuck a torch covered in black oil into the ground, thought for a moment, and pointed north.

"It's not far, you can get there in three suns if you walk fast. These things are everywhere there, and in some places they even form rivers, black rivers."

Boundless and vast, even capable of converging into a river?

Bian Zhuang felt his blood was about to boil.

The surveying instrument in his hand felt incredibly heavy. His mind was no longer focused on housing planning; only the black river flowing quietly in that other world remained.

This is a tremendous discovery that could change the entire strategic landscape of the expeditionary force!
Bian Zhuang practically ran back to the construction team's temporary work site, his heart pounding in his chest as if it were about to shatter his ribs.

He spotted Zhao Chong comparing blueprints with Yu Qiwen at a glance and rushed over in three steps. He was so fast that he stammered a bit when he spoke.

"team leader!"

Zhao Chong looked up and saw that Bian Zhuang was covered in sweat and his face was flushed. He frowned and asked, "Bian Zhuang? You're acting so recklessly. What happened?"

"A major discovery! A tremendous discovery!" Bian Zhuang lowered his voice, but he couldn't hide his excitement. He pulled Zhao Chong aside.

Yu Qiwen followed curiously, adjusting his glasses: "Xiao Bian, what's wrong? Did you find something even rarer than a unicorn?"

Bian Zhuang took a deep breath, trying to straighten his tongue, and said slowly and deliberately, "Oil, Captain, it's oil!"

"What?" Zhao Chong's voice rose instantly, then fell back down abruptly. He grabbed Bian Zhuang's arm with a grip as strong as an iron clamp. "Say that again?!"

"Oil!" Bian Zhuang's eyes lit up as he quickly recounted his conversation with the savage.

"The savages call that black water, saying it comes from the ground and burns like a huge fire. They also say that in the north, in the area where their Ice River tribe used to live, that stuff is everywhere, and in the summer it often flows, sometimes even forming rivers!"

"A...a river of water?" Even the usually composed engineer Yu Qiwen couldn't hold back this time. His hand, which was adjusting his glasses, trembled slightly. "A surface-emerging oil field? And with huge reserves?"

Zhao Chong's breathing also became heavy.

He wasn't a researcher and didn't understand any complicated chemical terms, but he was a soldier, and he knew better than anyone what those words meant.

Surface-spillage oil fields indicate areas with high extraction difficulty, while oil fields that converge into rivers represent large oil fields.

Oil is incredibly important!
Fuel! Power! Plastics! Fertilizer!
That is the surging black blood of modern industrial civilization!
With it, the armored vehicles, tanks, and engineering machinery parked in the camp no longer need to transport supplies from the modern world bit by bit, nor do they need to consume reserve fuel. They can move around by relying on the resources of the other world.

With it, their power supply, computing power supply, and various energy problems will be solved.

They were even able to establish a real industrial base on this wild land!
"Where is that savage? Take me to him!" Zhao Chong's voice carried an unquestionable command.

He needs to confirm again.

With the confirmation of the savage man, who reeked of a foul odor and had yellow teeth, Zhao Chong's last trace of doubt vanished.

How long will it take to get there?

The savage pointed north and said nonchalantly, "If we walk fast, we can get there in three sunrises and sunsets. That's the territory of the Black Water God, where black river water flows silently across the land."

Three solar days, converted according to the speed of the wild man, is about 140 kilometers.

A shallow oil field with amazing reserves and easy extraction was less than 150 kilometers away from them!

Zhao Chong felt a surge of heat rush from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

“This news is very important!” He turned to Bian Zhuang and Yu Qiwen and ordered, “Prepare all the crude oil samples before the command plane arrives. We need them to confirm the quality of the crude oil.”

After saying that, he immediately turned on his communicator and connected directly to the expeditionary force's front-line command.

"Reporting to command! This is Zhao Chong! I have urgent intelligence! I have urgent intelligence!"

The message was relayed back to command center as quickly as possible.

Su Mingjin was staring at the vast jungle representing the south on the electronic sand table, pondering the next step in the development plan.

The messenger delivered the latest urgent message to her, and her gaze froze upon reading it.

She read those few lines three times, each word feeling like a branding iron was being burned onto her retina.

"We were having a headache over the energy problem, but we didn't expect that the first team to discover that there was energy was Zhao Chong's squadron."

"Have you confirmed the reserves?" Su Mingjin looked up, her voice a little hoarse.

"Battalion Commander Zhao Chong judged that the crude oil reserves in the far north were extremely astonishing, and the extraction difficulty was very low! According to Binghe, the chief of the Jinbinghe tribe, and some other tribesmen, in their ancestral lands in the north, the oil that oozed from the ground could even form rivers!"

"Does the surface overflow type sometimes converge into rivers?"

Su Mingjin slowly stood up, walked to the huge strategic map, and traced the area representing the southern rainforest and swamp with her finger.

Finally, her hand landed heavily on the area at the northern end of the map that represented the unknown frozen ground.

A huge smile slowly spread across her tense face.

"Pass down the notice: the plan to expand southward is to be suspended and adjusted."

She turned around, her eyes sparkling with an unprecedented light.

"Our strategic focus also needs to be adjusted!"

Su Mingjin's finger, like a steel nail, was firmly driven into the north.

"We need to learn more about this land that flows with black gold!"

"Also, we need to tell President Li about this good news as soon as possible! No, let's wait until the samples arrive and we confirm the quality before we say anything."
-

Forty-five minutes later, in the modern world.

Looking at the oil sample in his hand and the analysis report that Su Mingjin and the others had just written, Li Weiguo couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Either we find nothing, or we find a large quantity of goods."

"If there really are shallow oil seas there, then why would we need to import crude oil from the modern world at all!"

Tokyo is not an oil-rich country.

But oil is also very important.

In the 1970s and 80s, the University of Tokyo even exported oil multiple times to earn valuable foreign exchange.

If the oil fields in this other world are indeed very large and located in shallow areas, the difficulty of extraction would probably be very low.

If Tokyo University gains control of the oil fields in another world, then it can completely disregard the issue of rising or falling overseas oil prices.

(End of this chapter)