Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“Updates from Zoe’s side are published daily in the newspaper. Although we haven’t received any new reports yet, they should arrive soon.”

The newspaper office was already prepared. Printing newspapers wasn’t high-tech—Rhine had had newspaper distribution for some time now, though the print quality was rather mediocre.

Aside from news from Zoe, Hughes also planned to include important island affairs in the newspaper to help the islanders stay informed about policies.

Since that alone wouldn’t fill up the newspaper pages, Hughes intended to add some fun popular science tidbits—short stories like *Pan Jinlian × Ximen Qing × Universal Gravitation*.

After all, judging by the fatal experiments of his previous life, people still loved reading this kind of stuff.

In a world where cognitive interference was so dangerous, it was always helpful for people to learn more, even needing to keep learning throughout their lives. Those who stubbornly refused to accept new things were, in and of themselves, dangerous sources of pollution.

“Oh right, there’s something else.” Hughes suddenly slapped his forehead, stood up, and walked around the desk to where Monica and Gaia were.

Monica was still fast asleep.

Hughes patted her, then shook her for a bit. Monica only murmured a few things but didn’t wake up.

“Do Banshees sleep this deeply?”Hughes muttered to himself and began recalling Nini’s techniques.

A moment later, Monica suddenly opened her eyes and sat up with a start, looking around with a dazed expression.

“Who pulled my tail?”

“Ahem, Monica, there’s something I need to tell you,” Hughes took a few steps back. “Come attend the completion ceremony tomorrow?”

“Completion ceremony? What completion?”

“It’s for the giant furnace beneath our feet—we’re holding its completion ceremony.”

Nearby, Kenn widened his eyes and spoke with surprise, “When we came up just now, we saw the furnace was already lit—how is it not completed?”

Hughes turned around a bit awkwardly. “Well... there was a bit of an accident. We actually wanted to wait until everything was finished before lighting it up, but the furnace didn’t feel like waiting.”

“.”

“.”

The room fell into silence.

“Anyway, even though the furnace lit itself, the surrounding construction isn’t actually complete. Only the furnace section is done... and even that’s a stretch. When it was lit, the top cover plate hadn’t been fixed yet. The furnace just melted it into a single piece.”

“Huh? Then how are you going to do maintenance later?” Kenn asked instinctively.

“Well... we’ll have to negotiate with the furnace when the time comes.”

“.”

Hughes shrugged. “That’s just how it is. If I had even a sliver of a solution, I wouldn’t be this helpless. The ignition ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Come watch if you’re free—especially you.”

Hughes looked at Monica. “You haven’t seen the furnace since waking up, right? After all, it was summoned using the Sea God’s soul from within you. Maybe this Machine Soul will be especially fond of you.”

Monica’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Of course not. None of the Machine Souls you’ve summoned before recognized you—whether it was Anou or the others, none of them even paid you any mind. Hughes thought silently.

“Very likely,” Hughes said with a solemn expression.

Monica happily wagged her tail.

On the other side, Kenn and Jeremiah exchanged a glance. After being away for so long, this was a great chance to integrate into Castel.

Besides, they were both somewhat interested in machinery. Such a massive furnace was practically a miracle of industry.

Jeremiah was thinking even further ahead. He had heard that this furnace burned contamination. The newly built ones did too. But all the steam engine knowledge Kenn had taught him used coal or wood as fuel.

He had to be thorough—his *Black Pearl* might get a steam engine upgrade someday. He couldn’t just slap on an outdated machine.

That was his beloved *Black Pearl*—it deserved only the best!

“Miss Zoe, that over there is Blood Harbor.” A Holy Guard pointed toward the distant sea surface.

“So... that’s it?” Zoe’s face showed a trace of confusion and nervousness. These past two days, she hadn’t entered that strange mental link again, and she didn’t know what had been happening outside.

But thinking it through, the others in the link weren’t at Blood Harbor either, so even if she connected again, she likely wouldn’t learn much more.

She was just feeling overly anxious.

Zoe patted her face to psyche herself up.

“Everything will be fine. Don’t overthink it.”

“Don’t worry, Zoe. If you run into trouble, I’ll help you,” came Ash’s voice from the sea. Zoe leaned over the ship’s rail. The silver-haired siren poked her head up from the water. “If anything happens, just call for me. I’m always here.”

Her gaze swept past Zoe and landed on a slightly hunched figure nearby.

【Latest novel update on 69shu first release!】

Zoe quickly turned her head. “Granny, I’ll be counting on you.”

That was a transcendent from the *Moths Chasing Fire* group, sent by Hughes to accompany Zoe.

Her real name was Bazena, but everyone preferred to call her “Granny.” Zoe hadn’t had much contact with her before, only hearing that she was a kindly person.

Granny smiled gently without speaking. She turned to look toward Blood Harbor not far away, her eyes showing a hint of nostalgia as the sea breeze lifted the white strands of hair at her temples.

Suddenly, Ash frowned. “A ship is coming.”

With a splash, she dove underwater. Zoe quickly looked over and indeed saw a vessel gradually approaching from the distance.

“Is that a Blood Harbor ship?”

“Could be. Boys, get the Gatling set up.”

Zoe turned her head to find it was Erwin, the squad captain of the Holy Guard for this mission.

Erwin had joined during the first round of conscription, back when the *Church of Imperial Truth* hadn’t even been founded yet. He later distinguished himself during the Deep Sea War and now served as Alexei’s right-hand man. His presence on this trip with the Holy Guard added a layer of authority.

Hughes had assigned Zoe to lead just because she could enter the link—not because he intended to dump everything on this little maid.

Granny and Erwin were both seasoned veterans, and Ash in the water was the strongest fighter among the sirens. Hughes had high hopes for this mission.

“E-Erwin, sir, isn’t this a bit excessive? Maybe they’re just coming to check things out?”

Erwin squinted at the distant ship for a while, then shook his head. “No one watches you the moment you approach a port unless something’s up. Blood Harbor is a major hub. Look at how many ships are docked there now.”

Zoe was taken aback. She carefully looked toward the distant harbor, her expression growing puzzled. “It seems... most of it is empty?”

“I’m a citizen of Castel. I’ve been to Blood Harbor a few times, and every time it’s packed to the brim with ships. Now there are just a few?”

Erwin shook his head. “Those greedy merchants never let a business opportunity pass by. Not even pirates can stop them. And yet... they’re nowhere to be seen now.”