Chapter 202: Chapter 146: Dawn Steel Plant

Even in the cold winter, the workers in the steel factory remained shirtless, their foreheads covered in sweat.

The Sunlight Flame roared fiercely in the furnace, with waves of heat rolling in the air, as if people were in the center of a steamer.

They had long since moved out of the factory camp in Seagull City. Now, that camp had turned into a commercial street, crowded with shops of all sizes, quite popular with the locals.

Manager Abel patrolled beside the workers, gazing at the enormous furnaces for smelting minerals, a hint of worry in his eyes.

The iron and copper mines on Ark Island were already depleted.

Even before the establishment of the Ark Kingdom, the Lion Heart nobles had squandered the island’s resources, with large quantities of mineral resources being shipped away by the Alliance merchants’ cargo ships, leaving only some ridiculous Lion Heart coins behind.

Whenever he thought of this, Abel would feel a surge of anger.

"Pay attention during the finishing process!"

Abel patted the shoulder of a dull-looking young man and shouted loudly to everyone, "Our Dawn Steel Plant only produces top-quality goods; we must not sully Seagull City’s reputation with defective products!"

"Understood!" The workers perked up, responding one after another.

Originally an inconspicuous, quiet, and stuttering blacksmith, Abel now spoke with full confidence, his eyes brimming with an upward-looking belief.

The Ark Kingdom has a million people; now, the commoners across the country need a large number of tools to rebuild their homes. Relying on blacksmiths to forge iron by traditional methods is simply unrealistic.

Fortunately, those white-haired, white-eyed mechanical servant girls were outstanding from the very beginning of the factory; it was they who personally designed a large number of high-precision, high-quality blueprint molds, laying the groundwork for the factory’s operations.

The only drawback of the mechanical servant girls was their overly rigid style of working, causing their smiles to be a bit creepy...

"One! Two!"

The workers pulled the chains.

With synchronized shouts, molten iron was poured into prepared molds from the furnace.

The molten iron, smelted by the Sunlight Flame, resembled liquid gold.

Forged into shape, rapidly quenched, then finely finished, the workers clearly defined their roles, busily operating around the production line.

Durable and practical entrenching tools were thus mass-produced, promptly shipped to various parts of the island.

Under Lord Lin Lan’s instruction, nearly all of Ark’s iron products have now incorporated Sun Ash Soil; ordinary people holding Ash Soil tools can maintain body temperature even in the cold wind, preventing them from freezing to death.

Of course, the solar resources applied in ordinary farming tools are far less than those in Ash Soil weapons and Sun Armor.

Currently, only a small portion of the Sun Ash Soil is used for making tools, while the vast majority of sunlight resources are dedicated to minting Ark currency.

Abel has devoted himself to currency production, almost to the utmost, with only those who have been stationed in the town since the founding of Ark considered eligible to participate in the production of Ark coins.

Recently, those old cronies frequently complained to him that the collection efficiency of Sun Ash Soil could not keep up with demand.

Currently, Ark Kingdom’s currency production barely covers scholars’ and workers’ salaries; once these coins flow into the market, they are instantly snatched up by visiting sailors.

To obtain Ark coins, some scoundrels even risk hanging from the mast, resorting to deceitful means in front of the Sun Warriors to swindle commoners.

Some sailors even abandoned their ships, attempting to disguise themselves as locals to sneak into the steel factory and steal sunlight resources, acts that were simply laughable. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Fortunately, the dock registration was exceedingly strict, and with Ed strengthening patrols, those with ill intentions have temporarily held off.

"Mr. Abel!"

A voice called out from afar.

Abel quickened his pace, arriving at another open area within the steel factory.

Furry ears and tails immediately came into view as several Feis youths surrounded a nicely shaped, streamlined vehicle, seemingly in a debate.

The ’Light-Seeking,’ personally improved by Scholar Wendy, had already produced a prototype sample in the steel factory.

This exquisite mechanical creation, over five meters long and three meters high, seemed out of place with its surroundings; it had no wheels, resembling a horizontal water drop.

Looking at the young scholars with strange ears, a kind smile appeared on Abel’s face.

Don’t be fooled by these young people’s youthful appearances, thin arms, and legs; in fact, they skillfully used various basic tools, more agile than many workers.

Scholar Yifeng told Abel that the Feis had long been accustomed to doing odd jobs in Alliance factories to earn tuition fees.

And they really worked themselves to the bone...

Heaven knows what kind of hard days these kids experienced before; as long as there were a few small dried fish added to their meals, these young people would work from dawn till dusk, without a word of complaint.

Initially, the local workers had some objections to the Feis’ arrival, doubting their ability to handle heavy labor until they witnessed the young people’s desperate efforts, convincing the workers into admiration.

"Did you encounter any problems?"

Abel knocked on the vehicle’s shell.

"There are no issues with the blueprints, Mr. Abel. Senior Sister Lucia asked us to quickly produce a finished product, but..."