Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 72: The Utilization of Pollution

These pollution squirmed like worms, sometimes merging together and sometimes separating, but they showed no tendency to form larger entities, maintaining an overall length roughly that of a finger.

Hughes reached out and touched a piece of solidified pollution.

In an instant, it rapidly dissipated.

Meanwhile, the remaining pollution in Ash’s hands trembled violently before frantically wriggling away in all directions.

"As expected, although the pollution can be purified by the Symbiotic Contract, as long as Flesh Magic is activated, they can interact with the pollution normally again."

The true function of Flesh Magic was isolation, maintaining the physical state so that pollution could not truly contact the body.

Previously, it prevented pollution from invading.

After acquiring purification abilities, it instead ensured that the pollution would not be automatically purified by the Sirens.

It was somewhat like a blanket: in winter, it could be wrapped around oneself for warmth, while in summer, it could cover ice cream to prevent melting.

It was strange to think about, scientific knowledge from Hughes’ past life always seemed to find a counterpart in this world, giving him the impression that this world was like Earth but patched with numerous modifications.

No matter how flashy things seemed on the surface, the underlying logic had not changed.

Ash extended her other four hands and grabbed the scattered pollution one by one.

Hughes stepped back, making space for a stove behind him.

It was an ordinary water-boiling stove, with a compartment in the middle for adding fuel, a vent below, and a few embers burning inside.

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Ash picked up a piece of solidified pollution and tossed it in.

The pollution seemed somewhat afraid of fire, rolling and twisting inside like a leech that had fallen into a bucket of medicated oil.

Very quickly, it struggled out of the stove.

Then Ash grabbed it and threw it back in.

It jumped out again, and Ash caught it and tossed it back.

Jump, throw, jump, throw.

Hughes’ eye twitched.

"...Stop throwing it like that. Ash, just hold onto it."

Hughes held onto Ash’s hand and then.

He shoved her entire hand into the stove.

"That should do it."

The solidified pollution in Ash’s grip struggled, but no matter how hard it tried, it could not escape her grasp.

Ash maintained her Flesh Magic barrier, which perfectly blocked the fire’s damage. She only felt a comfortable warmth in her hand.

She nodded, this was indeed a good method.

Only Hughes had a peculiar expression. Ash was a deep-sea Siren, and now she was sticking her hand into a fire.

Was he...grilling fish?

The stove’s flames flickered, and the pollution within twisted grotesquely.

"It seems to have shrunk a little? The fire does seem to be burning more vigorously."

Hughes observed carefully for a long time but still couldn’t be sure if the pollution was actually combustible.

It looked like they would have to burn it for a longer period to test it properly.

The problem was that this solidified pollution tended to escape.

Even if it could be used as fuel, what if it ran wild inside the stove?

The worst part was that it had surprisingly strong vitality and wouldn’t burn to death easily.

Damn it, what kind of ridiculous world was this? Even fuel had learned to struggle.

He wondered what the energy content of this solidified pollution was.

If it could actually be used as fuel, then it would be a great discovery.

Castel currently had no reliable fuel sources.

No coal mines had been discovered yet, at least no surface coal mines.

Deeper mineral layers would require organized exploration efforts.

As for petroleum, which was even harder to extract, there was no sign of it either.

While petroleum wouldn’t serve as a primary fuel, it was one of the most critical raw materials in the chemical industry.

Hughes turned to look at the writhing solidified pollution in the pit.

There was so much of it that it almost resembled liquid.

This eerie substance looked quite similar to petroleum. If only it could be utilized.

Hughes ignored the ocean full of pollution, but if the sea were full of petroleum, he would immediately turn into an environmentalist.

Cleaning up marine pollution, Castel would take on the responsibility without hesitation.

"Lord, it does seem to be shrinking, but at an extremely slow rate," Ash reported after sensing the pollution in her grasp.

Could it really burn?

Unfortunately, this stuff was too difficult to control. A combustion chamber needed an air intake, but if they designed a cage to contain it, they would have to consider the materials of the cage and how to add fuel.

A bit troublesome.

"Boss, I have an idea," Monica suddenly chimed in, looking excitedly at the stove.

Shouldn’t you be calling him ‘Lord’?

Hughes thought blankly.

Expressionless, he said, "Speak."

"These black worms are afraid of you, right? Why don’t you just draw a circle with your blood around the stove’s air vents?"

Hughes: "...Ash, take it out first. I’ll give it a try."

He cut his hand and smeared his blood around both air vents of the stove. Then he relit the fire and signaled for Ash to throw the solidified pollution back in.

This time, the pollution still twisted violently in the flames, but no matter what, it did not dare to approach the two air vents.

It actually worked!

"Let’s burn it for a while and see. Ash, find someone to record the fire’s intensity and duration. Although this solidified pollution is hard to control, if it can be used as fuel, that’s a different matter."

Hughes thought for a moment and added, "Move it farther away for the next test. Give it to Nini and let her experiment with it."

If this stuff triggered cognitive interference, causing pollution to appear in midair and fall into the furnace to burn...

Perpetual motion machine?

Hughes covered his face. "Tell Nini to be careful."

"Understood, I’ll call someone to move it now." Ash nodded, opened the Mind Link work group, and tagged two idling clansmen.

Hughes and Ash left. Monica stared at the continuously burning stove, deep in thought.

Hard to control? She glanced at the wild wolf hanging in the air, and a new idea gradually took shape in her mind.

Hughes and Ash arrived at the other side of the cave, where a sturdy iron cage stood. Inside, a withered monstrous wolf lay sprawled.

Ash had assigned tasks to the other Sirens through the work group and had also tagged two Sirens who were slacking off through the Mind Link, she had learned many new ways to use the Mind Link from Hughes.

It was strange. The Mind Link was supposed to be a Siren’s innate magic, yet Hughes used it more skillfully than she did.

It seemed she still had much to learn. She needed to work harder.

Hughes approached the cage and was about to open it when Ash stopped him.

"Let me do it, Lord. These polluted creatures are extremely ferocious. We suffered losses in the Abyss before. Be careful."

She opened the cage and lifted the wolf out with her hand.

This polluted wolf wasn’t small, almost as big as a large dog, much larger than the wolves Hughes remembered.

It looked extremely weak, its spirit drained. Since Ash maintained her Flesh Magic, the pollution on the wolf remained unaffected.

"What does it eat?"

Ash froze.

She had always treated this wolf as a monster and had never considered that question.

"All living things need a way to obtain energy, even creatures you see as monsters. It must have a method of feeding, it doesn’t necessarily use its mouth."

Hughes pondered. "Even though it’s controlled by solidified pollution, let’s temporarily treat it as a living being. If it’s alive, we should start by observing its habits."

Ash’s expression grew strange. To her, monsters were simply monsters, meant to be eliminated, not studied.

She had always followed the Lord’s orders as if they were divine will, never questioning them.

She simply carried them out as a warrior, a sword in Hughes’ hand, cutting a path forward for him.

Today’s task should have been the same.

But this time, she found herself staring at the feeble wild wolf in her hands, suddenly intrigued.

Perhaps... it wouldn’t hurt to explore?

"Understood, Lord."

She nodded as always, but this time, she didn’t tag anyone else in the group.

She wanted to try it herself.