Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 135 - 42 No-Cost Business_2

Chapter 135: Chapter 42 No-Cost Business_2

"Anqing City was built on such a foundation, quite cruel, right?"

"But the most ironic thing is, this method of operation, though cruel, is quite efficient."

"With such means, the Mechanical God Sect developed into the world’s largest organization in a very short time, even surpassing the once-dominant Holy Blood Temple."

"No one can escape this curse... Perhaps Yellow Stone City will become like this in the future too."

"We won’t."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"We have our own method to end this cycle."

"What method?"

Ji Xing curiously asked.

"As long as the efficiency gained from technology growth exceeds the efficiency loss from labor attrition, all lost labor can be transformed into driving force for expansion."

"They need 2,000 people to cast 100 cannons in a year, but what if we only need 200 people?"

"The remaining 1,800 people can do other things."

"This is called... technological liberation of productivity."

"...But what you’re talking about, no one has ever been able to do."

After Ji Xing finished speaking, Chen Jian smiled.

"If it were in our world, I really wouldn’t dare to conclude whether it’s achievable."

"At least before achieving this, we indeed have to go through a rather painful and long struggle."

"But in this world... I’m very confident."

"Where does your confidence come from?"

Ji Xing pursued further.

Her tone was no longer entirely skeptical, but exploratory.

From Chen Jian’s words, she indeed sensed that extreme confidence, almost bold to the point of madness.

He genuinely believed he could do it, and not just "believed", as if he really had evidence to prove it...

Chen Jian didn’t answer her question, simply said:

"Anyway, if you want to watch, just keep watching."

"We’ll give you a satisfactory result."

"Understood..."

Ji Xing nodded thoughtfully, then, after a moment of silence, asked:

"So, you have already designed a set of higher-level rules to manage the residents under your rule?"

"Do you think such advanced rules can exist in this world?"

"They can’t exist long-term, but in the short-term, they can unleash great power—actually, I can use a simpler example to help you understand this."

Chen Jian paused, then said:

"For example, when you only have 100 grams of gold, you can only purchase weapons worth 100 grams of gold."

"But if you borrow a treasure of 1,000 grams of gold from somewhere, you can buy items worth 1,000 grams of gold."

"We’re the same, only we’re borrowing productivity instead of gold."

"...Seems like I understand."

Ji Xing first nodded, then shook her head and said:

"The things you borrow must be repaid eventually, what do you plan to do when it’s time to repay the cost?"

"What a joke, when I already have so many weapons, why would I need to repay your money?"

Ji Xing was dumbfounded.

She looked at Chen Jian, amused and helpless, suddenly thinking that he might not be as serious and rigid as she initially imagined.

After all, they are human too.

Ji Xing let out a long sigh, speaking with a sense of wonder:

"This is the first time I’ve heard someone explain their plan like this... To be honest, it’s quite interesting."

"Perhaps after finding a way into the Mountain City, we can continue to cooperate."

"Because I truly want to see how far you can go."

"You should first look ahead—Anqing is here."

Chen Jian pointed to the buildings emerging in front, then said:

"Since you are all familiar with Anqing, you’ll take the lead this time."

"First find a place to settle, then carry out our plan."

"Led by Zeng Yi, with assistance from Ji Xing."

"Understood—but what is the plan?"

Zeng Yi asked.

"Reconnaissance, assessment, spreading information, testing feedback."

"Specific details will be determined once we’re settled."

"Understood."

Zeng Yi asked no further questions, and the group entered the city smoothly as merchants, then followed Zeng Yi to a lodge specially prepared for merchants.

Chen Jian and He Shuo quietly walked behind two Holy Blood members, carefully observing the surrounding environment and collecting all the information they could.

After some observation, Chen Jian said:

"Anqing City’s armed forces should be much stronger than Han Shui City."

"Although Han Shui City can muster a force of nearly a thousand, most of them are logistics personnel or those they call Fire Cannon Priests and Mechanical Servants."

"Those roles aren’t full-time combat personnel and are more like ’militias’."

"But Anqing is different, the number of patrolling city defense personnel alone is much higher than that of Han Shui City."

"These people must be full-time... Their weapons are also significantly stronger than the Han Shui City’s defensive team."

"Thus calculated, Anqing City should be able to mobilize a combat force of over a thousand people."

"Although in direct confrontation they may not hold against 4,000 Terror Demons, as support, they are definitely enough... "

"But the premise is that they are willing to fight."

He Shuo said while observing the residents passing by in the city, their skin generally smeared with black ash:

"The Mechanical God Sect may not have the initiative to engage, 1,000 combat personnel in the field can’t defeat 4,000 Terror Demons, but for a defensive battle, it’s more than sufficient."

"Instead of actively seeking an annihilation battle, they’d better stay put."

"What’s that term again? Deterrence?"

"In short, to make them participate, there must be a strong enough motive."

"And now... It seems we don’t have that."

"So we need to first spread information about Huadu to test their reaction."

Chen Jian, following Zeng Yi, walked into the lodge where the owner promptly arranged rooms after simply recording their information.

The conditions here, although not as good as the standalone house they had in Han Shui City, are much better than Xia Ma Town.

Next to the lobby of the lodge, there’s even a room specifically equipped with a wireless radio for traveling merchants to use.

However, this device is quite expensive, with a startup fee of 10 grams of gold, and charged per minute, 10 grams of gold per minute. Unless the situation is extremely urgent, probably no one would want to use it.

—Of course, Chen Jian wouldn’t use it. The power of their own radio is only 50 watts, but it’s entirely sufficient.

The radio signals in this world are scarce, the ionosphere is clean as a whistle. It’s said that with good luck, a 10-watt transmitter can send signals over 1,000 kilometers.

It’s likely why radio equipment has been preserved in this world.

Because this thing is genuinely useful.

After briefly putting down their equipment and luggage, Chen Jian let out a long breath, turned on the radio to contact Shen Yue and others who stayed behind, then switched to the frequency used by Wang Lizhi of the Ring Chamber of Commerce, intending to provide the latest information about Anqing Ruins and possibly raise the stakes a bit.

But just as the channel connected, he received a call from Wang Lizhi.

Evidently, they had long been trying to establish contact with his side.

Chen Jian’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and at that moment, he suddenly had an intuitive premonition.

These ring merchants... perhaps they already knew about the situation in Anqing.

Chen Jian had no evidence to prove this guess, and perhaps his logic hadn’t reacted while his intuition had already sounded the alarm.

But he didn’t disclose this, instead calmly exchanging information with the other party and informing them of the progress.

As expected by Chen Jian, after receiving his message, the ring merchants immediately arranged a meeting.

"Our people will arrive in Anqing City in two hours, we will contact you then."

"We will discuss more detailed issues at that time."

"If the situation is as severe as you say... we can consider deepening our cooperation."

"Understood."

Chen Jian replied briefly, cutting off the frequency.

He then let out a light breath and said to the waiting few beside him:

"These ring merchants don’t have simple intentions."

"No matter what they’re planning, we must be prepared."

"We need to cooperate with them... but we absolutely cannot let them exploit us!"