This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Like Tang Wenquan, whom they had previously rescued from the clutches of the Dead Tree Gang, this veteran technician is now one of the key technical personnel in the Laguge Industrial Zone, leading his apprentices in their efforts to mass-produce rickshaws. Dick has given him generous wages and the respect he rarely experienced as a slave (his former master merely didn't mistreat him), and Old Tang is grateful for this, working exceptionally hard.

It's worth mentioning that Old Pigeon recently got married. He hit it off with the canteen lady from the factory. The hale and hearty bachelor met a charming widow, and they're living a pretty good life.

The suspicious target who was being closely watched by intelligence personnel was initially a useful talent on the "recruitment list." Although he had forged a false identity, he showed off his veterinary skills in order to make a living, and was therefore placed as a veterinarian at the prefectural ranch.

This is a very respectable job in the local area, with an upper-middle-class income.

However, this person did not settle down after arriving at the ranch. In less than half a month, he escaped three times in a row, and each time he ran north. When he was found, he lied that he was lost.

This unusual behavior aroused suspicion among the recruiters who had originally intended to contact him.

Because it faces the wasteland on the other side of the fjord, in order to prevent small groups of orc troops from infiltrating, the northern part of Lagug has long been designated as a military restricted area by Dick, and signs have been erected at the edge of the forest to prohibit civilians from entering.

On the first day the target was settled on the ranch, he and the other refugees were told never to enter the forest to the north, as there might be terrifying orcs lurking there, and it was very dangerous.

However, this person ignored the warning and "strayed" into the forest.

Three times, three times!

He also carried enough dry food to last for several days. He said he was born with a terrible sense of direction and couldn't tell east from west, which really made him think others were stupid.

However, in order not to alert the enemy, the ranch manager, under the instructions of the intelligence personnel, could only pretend to be ignorant. The intelligence personnel also quickly reported their findings, and the report was soon delivered to Dick.

Intelligence analysts believe that the target likely deliberately ventured into the forest after hearing about orc activity there, and that he was actively seeking out the orcs.

After understanding the general situation, Tia asked Dick whether to carry out the arrest immediately.

Based on her judgment, this person was probably not a spy who had intentionally infiltrated the area, but rather a "traitor" who had been accidentally taken hostage and rescued during a previous special military operation. Therefore, using him as bait would most likely yield little result and would only result in nothing.

During the interrogation of the orc prisoners, Forget-Me-Not used the Great Memory Restoration spell to extract a lot of information related to the Beast King Ramon, among which the part about the "Black Robe Advisor" attracted special attention.

These black-robed advisors were Ramon's confidants. Although they always wore long robes and covered their faces, dressing themselves like Arab women, many orcs guessed their true identities as humans just by their "bean sprout-like physique" and smell.

The Black Robe Advisors are Ramon's trusted think tank, contributing greatly to both military and domestic affairs. They also imparted advanced knowledge to the orcs, helping them improve their productivity.

At first, Dick thought these "traitors" were supporters sent by the southern kingdoms to cause trouble for the empire's northern border. They had long ago made contact with the orcs, using pirates as intermediaries to send weapons, food, and other things that the orcs desperately needed to the wasteland.

Now it seems that the identities of these black-robed advisors are quite different from his previous assumptions. They are not from the southern countries, or rather, not entirely. There are even some Earthlings among them.

After a moment's thought, Dick agreed to Tia's suggestion to immediately close in and arrest the people, but to make a big show of it when they did so.

Tia was slightly taken aback, but quickly understood what Dick meant.

"Understood. I'll have someone make the gong sound louder then."

"Go do it."

That evening, Ruan Xiaoge, using the alias "Musk," was packing his things at his residence, preparing for his fourth escape.

He felt he was on the verge of being exposed. Even if the fat, pig-like ranch manager was stupid, he should have realized that he was deliberately running away. So he had very little time and opportunity left. He planned to set off in the middle of the night, this time stealing a horse directly from the ranch and trying to run as far north as possible into the forest.

If he were captured by the local lord's men, he certainly wouldn't be able to withstand the interrogation given his small stature. However, if he confessed everything he had done, the local lord would be more than lenient if he were allowed to die a natural death.

Although the hope is slim, he has to give it his all. Only if he can escape back to the wasteland and return to the orcs will he have a chance of survival.

However, just as he was getting up to grab something from the table, he heard a loud crash behind him. His door shattered into a shower of wood chips in an extremely dramatic way, and about two-thirds of the wall was also destroyed along with it.

Several beams of intense light shone through the hole in the wall, blinding Ruan Xiaoge as if he had been hit by a flashbang. Immediately afterward, a dozen burly men in full plate armor rushed in from outside, roaring at the blind Ruan Xiaoge in deafening voices.

"Lagug Security Bureau, you're under arrest!"

Chapter 210: The Industrial Race

Ruan Xiaoge was arrested. To capture this Earthling who was neither a demon nor a martial artist, the Laguge Security Bureau mobilized more than twenty people and borrowed a ten-man squad from the private army to carry out a forced demolition-style arrest. As a result, not long after a bewildered Ruan Xiaoge was dragged out of the wooden house like a chick, the small wooden house he lived in collapsed into ruins.

The unsuspecting residents of Ranch Village, after being startled awake, speculated that this "Musk" was probably some kind of vicious bandit, otherwise the lord's mansion wouldn't have made such a fuss.

The agents of Forget-Me-Not conducted a surprise interrogation of Ruan Xiao Ge overnight. He was not a tough guy with a strong will. Before the agents could even use the "Great Memory Restoration Technique," he confessed everything.

"You confessed so easily?"

"To prevent him from talking, we used a tactic of repeated questioning to exhaust him. I personally conducted the last round of questioning, and I am quite certain that he did not lie."

Tia is a psychology expert with "mind-reading" abilities, able to see through a person's true thoughts from the most subtle changes in facial expressions. Lying to her without being detected is not something an ordinary person can easily do.

And indeed, some interesting things were gleaned from Ruan Xiaoge's words.

First, there's the Black Robe Staff, a small group that assists Ramon. All of them are Earthlings who have broken free from the bondage of slavery. They hate the otherworldly beings who kidnapped and forcibly enslaved them, so they choose to join the orcs in order to take revenge on the brutal empire.

As luck would have it, they encountered Ramon, a hero who could be called the "chosen one of the orcs." Unlike the other orcs, he did not treat them like shrimp to be eaten, but instead treated them as honored guests.

However, even with the assistance of the Black Robe Advisors, the Orcs were inherently too weak. Although Ramon unified the Wasteland Orcs and established a kingdom through force, their backwardness was not a problem that could be solved in a short time. Therefore, the development of the country was difficult from the very beginning.

It's important to understand that the reason the human race was able to trigger a technological explosion by summoning Earthlings is because they already possessed a magical civilization inherited from the elves. This, combined with the knowledge brought by Earthlings, resulted in the incredible yet bizarre achievements we see today.

So, on the advice of his staff, Ramon launched a southward invasion with the aim of plundering people from the northern border of the empire, using humans as labor to develop the country, and at the same time, introducing orc genes to improve them. These plans were all devised by the black-robed staff for Ramon.

Furthermore, it's true that the elves of the Dead Tree Party have allied with the orcs. Dick had only speculated before and didn't know the actual situation in the wasteland, but now he's confirmed it with Ruan Xiao Ge's words. Ruan Xiao Ge also revealed all the inside information he had, including military projects like metallurgy and forging that could truly improve the orcs' military capabilities.

With nearly 200,000 human slaves, the Earthlings in the Black Robe Staff, and the hundreds of elven artisans, the orcs under Ramon's leadership now truly possess the industrial capacity to mass-produce ironware. Although their technology is still in its infancy and the products they produce are still very crude, the progress is undeniable.

Unfortunately, Ruan Xiaoge was not in charge of the orcs' military industry, so he did not know the exact locations of the mines and metallurgical workshops. Otherwise, Dick would definitely have left to launch the third expedition and thoroughly demilitarize the orcs.

Incidentally, during the later stages of interrogation, Nguyen Sieu, on the verge of a mental breakdown, revealed his dark past on Earth. He was originally from Hue, Vietnam, and worked as a veterinarian at a pet hospital. He was fired for sexually assaulting a patient, which made headlines in Hue's local entertainment news, leading to his complete social ostracization. This is likely the main reason he answered the call to duty.

Such a bizarre experience definitely makes one want to live on a different planet!

Considering that Ruan Xiaoge might still be useful, Dick did not order his execution, even though, based on the crimes he confessed to, killing him a thousand times would not be an exaggeration.

Using his medical knowledge, this guy not only provided medical services to orcs, but also guided them to establish multiple "human ranches" to mass-produce half-orcs.

So this guy is definitely going to get the death penalty. Even if Dick doesn't need a doctor right now, or even if there isn't a single doctor in the entire Lagug, he still wouldn't want this kind of beast as his subordinate.

So Ruan Xiao was transferred to the castle dungeon. Wasn't he thinking of escaping to find the orcs? There were several orcs locked up there, so they were put in the same cell and they could get to know each other better.

After reading Tia's report, Dick fell into deep thought in his office.

It's already late October, deep autumn, and the increasingly low temperatures indicate that Lagug is about to enter winter. Even without the extreme cold of the past, a normal winter will still negatively impact production and construction within the territory.

Having to shut down for a third of the year is not what Dick wants.

Fortunately, the basic framework of the factory area in the Laguge Industrial Zone has been basically completed. Although they do not have advanced engineering machinery, they have civil engineering magicians with a magical style. After the industrial zone starts construction, the industrialized assembly line production will not only improve production efficiency and provide centralized heating for the workshops, but also allow workers to continue working normally in the snowy winter.

In fact, the workers were quite happy when they heard the news, because being able to work meant they would still get paid.

In the past, whether farmers or craftsmen, they could only stop working and stay at home in winter. If they didn't have enough food and savings at home, it was common for them to starve to death.

In addition to heavy industries such as metallurgy and forging, which have both military and civilian applications, the industrial zone also leverages existing resources to develop light industries with higher economic value.

The project that Dick values ​​most is the "Bio-Powered Ultralight Wheeled Vehicle Unit" led by veteran technician Tang Wenquan, codenamed "Dodge Donkey".

To put it simply, it's a three-wheeled bicycle.

The first phase of the road network in Lagog is now largely complete. This is the result of seven months of hard work by 110,000 new immigrants, connecting all the major towns in the territory.

But having roads alone isn't enough; suitable transportation is also essential. Laguge's livestock industry was just starting out, and the expensively imported horses were prioritized for the army. Not everyone could afford to raise donkeys or other pack animals, so the tricycle project was launched. Fortunately, Tang Wenquan had been a bicycle factory technician on Earth, a job he'd done for most of his life.

The Hessian Empire isn't without bicycles, but Dick isn't willing to waste money ordering them from the capital. So, he'd rather be self-reliant than not use them himself. In the future, he can not only use them but also sell them to other allies in the Northern Alliance. Everyone is currently building roads, so he believes these things will be very popular.

Chapter 211: Prone to Unhealthy Physique

The first batch of one hundred tricycles produced in Lagug rolled off the production line before the snowfall and were prioritized for allocation to the Chamber of Commerce and the post office, two sectors with high demand for freight transport. With livestock still insufficient, they had no choice but to use the men as livestock for the time being.

In addition to bicycles, other daily necessities from the industrial zone have also been introduced into the local market, boosting the economy of Lagugge and effectively improving the quality of life for residents.

Dick knew that the happiness of the people was directly linked to their loyalty to their lord. Simple rule could indeed be achieved through violence, but to truly lead them and get them to do great things willingly, they had to receive tangible benefits.

Dick values ​​public opinion within his territory. After awakening his succubus transformation ability, he would occasionally change his form and appearance to leave the castle incognito, listen to the voices of the lower and middle classes, understand their demands, and how they viewed themselves.

Thanks to his diligent efforts over the past few years, Dick's reputation in the area is generally positive, but different groups also have their own complaints, so he's not entirely without dissatisfaction. Dick usually notes down the valuable points and then convenes a meeting with his advisors to discuss them when he returns to the castle.

Generally speaking, Dick doesn't mind listening to criticism if it's just emotional venting. But occasionally, when he encounters those malicious trolls who slander his personal image, he'll make a note of it in his notebook and notify the intelligence agency's agents to "handle it urgently."

On the last day of October, Dick received the financial report for the third quarter of the year. After three consecutive quarters of deficits, nearly a year later, the territory finally turned a profit this autumn thanks to a bumper harvest. Although the surplus was not enough to fill the hole left by the first three quarters, it at least showed that the territory had basically passed the most difficult period and was beginning to recover.

Despite the fact that Ragug has been thriving under Dick's rule, each of the three projects—infrastructure construction, industrial development, and the war with the orcs—is a money-guzzling behemoth.

Especially during the refugee crisis of last winter war, if Lagug hadn't received a large amount of supplies from the Best family, even if Dick went out to sell hooks and borrow money, he wouldn't have been able to raise enough relief food to feed 300,000 refugees.

Fortunately, the arduous march finally came to an end, and their efforts and forbearance were not in vain.

To celebrate this milestone victory, Dick decided to do a card draw after a long time!

Thinking back, Dick's last summoning was over half a year ago, when he summoned the two rather unconventional nuns, Vengeance and Chigante. The reason he held back for so long was twofold: firstly, there was no particularly urgent need for talent within the territory that couldn't be recruited locally; secondly, the high-level magic stones and many materials needed for summoning would also be useful for developing the magic industry, and they were the territory's last reserves.

Therefore, even though there were dozens of high-level magic stones in the vault, Dick didn't dare to use a single one recklessly; he was truly terrified of being poor!

However, even though I've decided to "reward" myself with two shots, I can't just randomly draw them.

Dick planned to pull a "ship girl" first, because Belfast had previously mentioned that the coastal defenses of the fjord were still under considerable pressure. Since the end of the second expedition, although the orcs on the other side had not shown any signs of launching a large-scale military invasion, their small-scale infiltration operations had increased significantly.

Over the past two weeks, the ship girls and the coastal defense forces have intercepted more than a dozen orc infiltration teams. They use small boats to sneak ashore at night, and once they manage to reach the land, they become difficult to capture once they disappear into the forest.

So since the navy needs to expand, it's natural to continue summoning ship girls.

However, after learning of Dick's plan, Belfast suggested that Dick not use both summons to summon ship girls, because judging from the previous dozen or so summons, Dick clearly had a "prone-to-mishap" constitution, and he could always summon powerful ship girls by mistake when he didn't need to summon them.

Belfast came from the maid troupe, while Vengeance came from the nun troupe.

Upon hearing this, Dick immediately became displeased and immediately raised his hand to unleash a summoning attack.

When the light faded, Dick frowned as he saw the two figures in the magic circle, while Belfast looked at him silently, his expression seemingly saying something.

"See, I saw that right!"

The two summoned ship girls belong to the Vichy Church faction and are named Kelsa and Tartu.

They are the second and fourth ships of the Vauquelin-class large destroyers, and therefore can be considered as sister ships.

It's worth mentioning that both of these can be considered "outliers" among destroyers, possessing a robust build comparable to battleships.

front armor

"This made Dick exclaim in surprise.

"That's a destroyer?!"

However, although the two girls seemed to be very "strong", they were actually not very strong in combat.

Dick could only stubbornly insist that destroyers and frigates were more in line with their need to strengthen coastal defenses. Belfast did not argue with him, while Rita said sarcastically.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

After handing the two new ship girls over to Belfast, Dick quickly set up the second summoning circle, but hesitated...

豫

The project in Henan did not start immediately.

Despite his stubbornness, Dick was still willing to listen to advice. Summoning is essentially a no-pity draw, and the fact that Dick could choose the attribute modifiers himself was already a huge advantage. The rest was up to probability and luck.

So Dick changed his approach. This time, he wasn't thinking about what kind of talent the territory needed, but rather what kind of woman he liked. He repeatedly reinforced the concept of "what I want" in his mind, instead of simply focusing on a particular attribute, and trusted "Yun Chang's" judgment.

"Go away!"

As the summoning was activated, Dick indeed felt an unusual fluctuation this time, and his heart couldn't help but pound. Soon, two rather tall figures appeared in the center of the magic circle, both mature women with long black hair.

The woman on the left

Of

Standing at approximately 1.8 meters tall, he wore a black military uniform with a high slit, resembling a cheongsam, paired with high-heeled boots. His expression was calm and composed as he surveyed his surroundings with alert eyes before finally looking at Dick. As if sensing something, his brows furrowed slightly.

The woman on the right was even more strikingly tall, estimated to be nearly two meters, dressed in a black and red military uniform, and holding a conductor's baton. But unlike the other woman, the moment she was summoned, her gaze immediately locked onto Dick, her dark golden eyes filled with tenderness and affection, like a mother looking at her favorite child.

Dick recognized the man's identity at a glance and couldn't help but exclaim in his heart that Belfast was right. As long as he didn't think about summoning ship girls, he really could summon powerful ship girls!

Chapter 212: Ah~ This person is Mother?!

The H39-class battleship "Frederick the Great" is the most famous "mother ship" of the Iron Blood faction in Azur Lane. She is a dark saint who treats players like children and gives them endless tenderness and pampering!

At this moment, the Great Emperor's mother was gazing at Dick with eyes full of love. The "bond" formed by the contract made her instantly recognize Dick as her commander, her destined lover, and her child. His tender body and his delicate, adorable, boyish face completely captivated the Great Emperor's mother's heart. If there weren't other people present, she probably would have rushed over and picked up her precious baby, lifting him high in the air.

Another mature woman summoned at the same time is "Dongfeng Wuxi", a popular character from "Shanghai Elite Soldier's Slave" (also known as "Shanghai Corporate Slave"), who is also known as "Dong Ma" who is loved by many Cao thieves.