Otherworld Girl Development Guide

Formal talks will not begin until tomorrow. Today was a chance for the Shangqiu diplomatic corps to relax and prepare for the talks in the coming days. After all, once you get to the negotiating table, it's a battlefield without gunfire. Even though Shangqiu and the Kingdom have a good relationship, both sides will still fight for their own interests.

Of course, those were the diplomatic corps' tasks; Zhou Mingrui only needed to snap his fingers after the negotiations were completed.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time..."

Zhou Mingrui climbed onto the haystack, put his hands behind his head, and lay down on it. He looked up at the brilliant starry sky, where the Milky Way seemed within reach, which reminded him of his life on the island.

A gentle breeze blew by, bringing the scent of the countryside. Zhou Mingrui was most pleased that no mosquitoes had been found on Mingrui Star so far... especially the spotted Aedes mosquitoes with black spots and white markings.

Many people have developed a psychological aversion to mosquito bites, experiencing localized redness, swelling, itching, and pain after being bitten (I myself have been punished by this type of mosquito)... Although eradicating a species is somewhat inhumane, Zhou Mingrui believes that 90% of humanity would want to exterminate mosquitoes.

Time flies... Compared to his previous solitary existence, Zhou Mingrui now has a large group of like-minded rabbits by his side, and he has even adopted two little girls at home. All he needs is a wife to complete his life.

Just as Zhou Mingrui was contemplating life, he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from under the haystack. He turned his head and immediately met the eyes of amber-colored eyes. The two kittens in the house were trying to climb onto the haystack.

"Yeah~"

Startled by Zhou Mingrui's sudden turn of his head, Lingdang slipped and fell backward. At that moment, Zhou Mingrui reached out and hooked Lingdang's clothes at the back, lifted her onto the haystack, and protected her with his right hand to prevent her from falling. Then, he pulled Tio up and placed him on his left.

What are you doing?

"Lingdang can't sleep," Lingdang said, tilting her head.

"The same goes for Tio."

Zhou Mingrui looked at the two kittens whose heads were covered with dry grass, removed the grass from their heads, and said with a smile, "If you can't sleep, look at the stars."

Theo blinked his amber eyes, then lay down on Zhou Mingrui's left. Bell, seeing Theo's actions, puffed up her cheeks and lay down on Zhou Mingrui's right.

The three of them lay on the haystack, quietly watching the stars.

Soon, Zhou Mingrui heard even breathing sounds beside him; the two kittens had curled up and fallen asleep.

With a helpless smile, Zhou Mingrui then took off his coat and covered the two kittens with it. Luckily, he was wearing casual clothes today, and the coat was enough to cover the two little girls.

Sigh... He's already experiencing what it's like to be a stay-at-home dad before even getting married. Is this considered an early internship?

Seeing that the two kittens wouldn't catch a cold, Zhou Mingrui started thinking about another problem: how to solve Krobel's troubles and successfully build a road into Krobel's interior.

After much thought, the simplest solution is to first deal with the forces behind Krobel—the Rebonian Empire and the Kaval Republic.

These two major powers dominate the political factions within Krobel, much like America behind the neon lights. Once you get them under control, everything else will fall into place.

Now that the Rebonian Empire's representatives have arrived, the Karva Republic should also be taking action, or perhaps they have already arrived in Shangqiu during their visit.

"Miss Wuxiang, welcome to Shangqiu."

At the Shangqiu State Guesthouse, the Diplomatic Rabbit received Ms. Wuxiang, who had completed a large-scale shopping spree in Shangqiu. In fact, any foreigner who had visited Shangqiu once and whose identity had been exposed would be immediately recognized upon returning, regardless of their disguise.

"I am only here in Shangqiu on my own behalf."

The diplomat in charge of receiving Kirika adjusted his glasses and flashed his signature rabbit-like smile.

“Ms. Kirika, we were just having a private conversation.”

Afterwards, in a quiet meeting room, the two began to chat tacitly.

“Mr. Zhao, Shangqiu’s development is evident to all. The Kalva Navy often sees huge cargo ships from Shangqiu sailing at sea. I must say, your country’s shipbuilding industry is very impressive…” Wuxiang said softly, swirling the coffee in her cup.

Mr. Zhao paused for two seconds, pondering the implication in Wu Xiang's words, and immediately realized that the Republic of Karva was somewhat worried about the maritime disputes between the two sides after Shangqiu's development.

“Miss Kirika, these are all just business transactions. Moreover, our route uses a route that the Kingdom of Bel has used since ancient times. There may be some disputes with your country, but they are all negotiable.”

Let's set aside our disputes (let's not talk about whose sheep it is, let's talk about how to divide the wool), and cooperate for mutual benefit.

“I heard from the councilors that the Kalva local government often receives complaints from fishermen.”

Recently, fishermen in the Kingdom of Bel have started using small metal fishing boats, frequently engaging in fights with fishermen from the Republic of Calva, and even playing bumper boat games at sea. This has caused great suffering for the fishermen of the Republic of Calva, who still use wooden fishing boats... The Empire is in the same boat.

"Miss Wuxiang, this is a business transaction."

In response, Rabbit stated that the fishing boat business between Shangqiu and the Kingdom of Bel was merely a private commercial activity. Rabbit simply sold some ordinary fishing boats made from scrap metal from steelmaking and provided training to the fishermen. These fishermen purchased fishing boats through loans and registered them with the Shangqiu Fisheries Administration until they repaid their loans.

“Mr. Zhao, your actions will exacerbate the conflict between the Kingdom of Bel and the Republic of Kalva,” Wuxiang said earnestly to the rabbit diplomat.

Fishermen in the Republic of Kalva are currently in a very frustrating situation; they can neither fight back nor escape...

"Please rest assured, Miss Kirika, the second batch of professionally trained fishermen from the Kingdom of Bell are ready to embark on deep-sea fishing..."

The rabbit does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including the actions of free individuals, and implicitly indicates that the fishermen of the Bel Kingdom have recently been considering reinforcing their fishing boats, especially the bow, in order to cope with deep-sea fishing.

Shangqiu and the Republic of Kalva exchanged views fully (they had a heated argument, but no one threw a glass), and both sides gained a better understanding of each other (we acknowledged that there were significant differences, but we exercised restraint). We regret that we did not reach a consensus on some issues (we were very dissatisfied, but there was nothing we could do).

However, the talks were beneficial (we were able to sit down and talk, and we can do it again next time). At least Shangqiu and the Republic of Kalva have made contact and had exchanges. Hopefully, we can have a cordial and friendly meeting, sign some agreements, and resolve the disputes between the two sides.

Chapter 27 I have a little knowledge of steelmaking.

Clang! Clang! The massive power-guided machine swung its hammer, striking the metal ingots, sparks flying everywhere!

The deafening noise made Zhou Mingrui feel numb all over, as if he were watching a 155mm artillery shell being fired from a 155mm artillery position. This was even with earplugs on. At the same time, he was glad that he hadn't brought his two kittens with him, otherwise, with their keen senses, it would have been torture.

Technology is interconnected; Earth uses forging presses, while the Kingdom of Bel uses orthogonal machines that produce the same effect.

More than a dozen workers in brown overalls were busy at the power guiding machine, forging huge steel ingots into cylindrical shapes.

"This is the largest steel plant in Rice, and also the most advanced orthogonal steelmaking plant on the entire continent!"

The head of the Orient Steelworks proudly introduced the plant to Queen Estée and the rabbit's diplomatic envoy.

The team leader listened humbly to the person in charge's introduction, nodding repeatedly and occasionally asking some professional questions, which surprised the person in charge. He didn't expect that this seemingly refined man from Shangqiu would also know about technology.

"I wonder how many tons of steel this power factory produces annually?"

The person in charge looked at Queen Estée, and with a barely perceptible nod from her, reported the steel mill's annual output.

"284 million tons, which can basically meet 40% of the kingdom's steel needs."

"A good result."

Upon hearing the number, the team leader nodded in affirmation, while the entire team of rabbit experts remained calm and composed, showing no surprise whatsoever.

"What is the steel production volume in Shangqiu?"

Looking at the rabbit's calm demeanor, the person in charge asked with some curiosity, "You know, although its steel production is not comparable to the Rebonia Empire and the Karva Republic, it is still the third largest on the continent!"

"The results are not bad. As of December last year, the total output was 7815.3 million tons," the team leader said after a moment's thought, in a monotone tone.

7815.3 million tons?!

∑( °△°|||)︴？ ！

The person in charge stood there dumbfounded, staring at the team leader in disbelief, his eyes saying: Are you kidding me?!

"Sorry, he got a little agitated."

Queen Estelle tried to smooth things over, but her mood wasn't as calm as she appeared. The annual output was 7815.3 million tons, more than ten times the annual steel output of the entire Bel Kingdom!

"I wonder if we could cooperate on steel technology?"

"Of course, we do have some knowledge of how to increase steel production," the team leader said gently.

When it comes to steelmaking, no one knows more about it than a rabbit. Moreover, the iron content here in Les is 64%, which is a rich ore with good reserves and very few harmful impurities such as P, S, Pb, Zn, K, and Na.

After visiting the Les Orthogonal Steel Plant, Queen Estée seemed to feel that conventional industries were no longer enough to command respect, so she directly led her diplomatic team to the state-of-the-art Les Orthogonal Workshop.

This is the most advanced research and development site for guiding force technology on the mainland.

The moment Zhou Mingrui entered the Orientation Research Institute, he immediately noticed the difference; it was exceptionally clean and tidy.

That's pretty good!

"This is Dr. Russell, the head of the entire Rice Workshop..."

Zhou Mingrui looked on curiously, and what impressed him most was Dr. Russell's hairstyle. Truly, one cannot live without being mad!

"Welcome, welcome!"

Dr. Russell stepped forward and shook hands with the team leader, Rabbit, then said earnestly, "I have studied your glasses, and the technology inside is astonishing!"

Oh? Zhou Mingrui glanced at Dr. Russell in surprise. Was it Dr. Russell who had taken apart the AR glasses that he gave to Princess Corliss?

"You flatter us. I wonder if we could take a look at the power technology of the Bell Kingdom? We are very curious about it."

"Of course, this way please."

Russell led the rabbits into the Rice Workshop, and Zhou Mingrui was immediately surprised to see an automated production line.

How can Guide Force Technology achieve full automation? Zhou Mingrui couldn't help but wonder.

"This is the automated production line that I designed. After visiting Shangqiu, I learned a lot of experience and am now working on the next production line."

"We can learn from each other. There are things we can learn from your production line, especially the complex mechanical design..."

An expert commented approvingly, noting that while the technology hadn't yet reached the level of manufacturing modern production lines, Dr. Russell was very clever, using mechanical transmission in many of his designs, demonstrating exceptional mechanical talent.

After exchanging pleasantries, Dr. Russell led the Diplomatic Rabbits toward the heart of Rice Workshop.

We soon arrived at the Shining Crystal production line, where the mined Shining Crystal was placed into a high-temperature furnace for purification.

"Oh?"

Looking at the gleaming, high-temperature furnace, Tech Rabbit couldn't help but ask curiously, "This furnace gets very hot. How did you manage to make the refining furnace heat-resistant?"

"Well, that's not exactly a secret..." Dr. Russell smiled and said, "...After the crystal is refined, it leaves behind crystals. After solidification, it forms a crystalline coating. This crystal has excellent heat insulation and wear resistance, and can isolate temperatures up to 1700°C."

However, it reacts with a special chemical to liquefy. We liquefy the crystals, then coat them inside the refining furnace and wait for them to crystallize naturally.

!!!

The technical charts were exchanged glances, a hint of shock flashing in their eyes!

The leader, Rabbit, asked discreetly, "Your Majesty Queen Estée, we are very curious about this crystal. May we take a look?"

Just take a look!

"Of course," Queen Estée said with a smile. "This kind of thing is worthless here. On the contrary, we are still worried about how to deal with the excess crystals. As for chemical reagents, they are openly sold on the mainland."

It's like a dream come true: the thrust of an aircraft engine is limited by the temperature of the combustion chamber, and high-temperature resistant insulation materials have always been an unavoidable problem.

The alloy blades of domestically produced engines have always been a major concern, mainly due to material issues. If this high-performance material could be used in the blades, it would solve a major problem immediately!

It's unclear whether this material can be used in aircraft engines. Even if it can't, this type of thermal insulation material will likely be widely used in the civilian sector.

The rabbit leader became even more amiable: "Your Majesty Queen Estelle, we in Shangqiu are very interested in this kind of thing. If you find it difficult to handle, we are willing to help you solve your problems!"