Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 75: The Long-Awaited Steam Engine

Hughes paced excitedly in the study, occasionally glancing at the desk.

On the table sat an ugly metal barrel.

It was crooked, asymmetrical, and covered in messy fingerprints.

This was the final product that Nini had created using that iron plate.

Nini had spent several days experimenting before she finally succeeded in melting steel with Fossil to Mud.

After anxiously waiting for a day, the Sirens were overjoyed to find that this had not triggered cognitive interference.

This meant that Hughes’ hypothesis was correct, Fossil to Mud indeed allowed substances to become fluid at room temperature.

This spell had immense potential for development, but at the moment, Hughes was focused on something else.

“Success! Success! We’ve finally reached this step!”

Being able to process metal at room temperature meant that he could use simple molds for casting.

In other words, there were no longer any obstacles to manually crafting a steam engine.

Steel, which was previously difficult to melt, was now as pliable as clay, completely at his disposal.

“After all these days of effort, I’ve finally created the most crucial element of industrial manufacturing!”

The steam engine was undoubtedly one of the most significant milestones in human industrial history.

It was from this point onward that industry truly demonstrated its incredible power, completely surpassing small-scale workshops.

Since his Descent, Hughes had been thinking about how to create a steam engine.

He had even tried approaching a blacksmith to see if he could manually craft each component.

Theoretically, it was possible.

In fact, Rhine’s factory operated this way.

However, it required the cooperation of a large number of skilled craftsmen and a great deal of luck.

In a world without an industrial foundation, the defect rate of handmade components was absurdly high.

This method might be feasible in the Empire’s capital, but on Castel Island, it was nearly impossible.

He had originally planned to give up and had even considered finding a way to order some key components from Rhine, then assembling the rest himself.

As a result, Hughes had no choice but to establish factories that didn’t rely as much on mechanical equipment, which consumed a lot of manpower.

Now, as long as he could successfully build a steam engine, the olive oil factory could free up more than eighty percent of its labor force and operate around the clock.

“Quick! Go find the island’s blacksmith, as well as the potter and carpenter!”

Hughes called for Connor and instructed, “I’ll give you some blueprints. Have them make molds. The molds don’t need to be extremely strong, but their precision must be as high as possible!”

With the Siren’s magic, as long as they made a simple mold out of wood or clay, they could cast the steam engine parts.

Even if they failed, it would be easy and quick to try again.

Moreover, the energy consumption was low, melting a hundred kilograms of material only cost two fried fish, making it quite environmentally friendly.

Hmm, Nini deserved a raise.

Hughes didn’t have time to rest and repeatedly drew several copies of the blueprints so that multiple craftsmen could start work simultaneously.

He wasn’t worried about cognitive interference from the blueprints.

Previously, he had ordered many odd components from the blacksmith shop, most of which were used in blast furnaces.

As long as these parts weren’t assembled into a functional machine, cognitive interference wouldn’t occur.

After handing the blueprints to Connor and emphasizing their importance, Connor took them and went to find the craftsmen.

Although the steam engine had many parts, creating the molds wasn’t difficult.

Soon, they could be handed over to Nini so she could use Fossil to Mud for the next step.

Hughes flipped open his notebook, he needed to carefully consider the next phase.

With the steam engine coming soon, something that was previously unimportant suddenly became a major issue, Castel Island had no coal mines.

The island had rich mineral resources, but that was mainly due to volcanic activity.

Volcanic eruptions often brought mineral deposits, and over the years, Castel had become a resource-rich island.

But coal mines were different.

Their formation required vast forests, which most islands didn’t have.

Most coal deposits were located inland.

Due to tectonic movements, there might be coal or oil under the seabed, but extracting it was far too difficult.

Even with the Sirens’ Fearless Water Pressure, it was impossible.

Hughes needed coal mines that could be mined on a large scale, where workers could carry loads manually.

Fortunately, coal wasn’t a rare resource, if he had money, he could buy it.

Castel Island also had some forests for now.

Steam engines weren’t picky, they just needed something that could boil water.

Wood could work as a substitute.

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However, as industrialization progressed, fuel would become a bigger problem.

If Pollution could be burned as fuel, that would be a huge help.

But Hughes couldn’t pin all his hopes on that—he had to consider where to import coal from.

Another issue was the training of engineers.

On Earth, if engineers weren’t well-trained, it would just lead to more accidents and lower reliability.

Even an underdeveloped country still managed to build up its industry despite its shortcomings.

But here, his engineers needed to have an extremely precise understanding of their work.

A single misinterpretation of a principle could trigger cognitive interference, causing pollution to descend from the sky.

And that was with Hughes’ ability to purify pollution.

If he expanded his factories to the other side of the ocean, the standards for engineers and workers would have to be even stricter.

He needed to start training engineers now.

The literacy classes at the school had been running for a while—it was time to introduce more subjects.

He planned to open courses in basic physics, chemistry, and mechanical principles.

These were all aimed at training the engineers he would soon need.

The steam engine would likely be built soon, and its use and maintenance would depend on these engineers.

But there was one major problem with opening these courses—

“There’s no one else to teach them.”

Hughes sighed.

He had no choice but to teach the classes himself.

There was simply no one else qualified.

Rhine had factories, but since cognitive interference existed in this world, technical knowledge had to be highly protected.

Finding someone to teach was nearly impossible.

Besides, Hughes wouldn’t feel safe relying on someone else.

The knowledge in his mind had been repeatedly verified by generations of people from his past life.

He stood on the shoulders of giants.

If he let someone else teach and they taught the wrong concepts, the consequences would be disastrous.

“Come to think of it, Chloe once told me that the Candlelight Church was sending a group of workers. I didn’t pay much attention at the time, but now I realize, they might be exactly what I need right now.”

Factories must have ways to avoid cognitive pollution.

In his past life, Hughes hadn’t spent much time in a factory before he was killed.

As a low-level apprentice, he had very little exposure to the industry.

These workers had real experience in factories.

They knew far more than he did about industrial operations and probably understood many of the taboos and safety rules.

Even if their jobs weren’t exactly the same, many principles were universal.

More importantly, they were skilled workers who could start working immediately.

For Castel, which was in desperate need of qualified labor, this was invaluable.

Their arrival might just be enough to support a factory.

Hughes thought expectantly.

“Maybe I’ll even see some familiar faces again.”