Chapter 15 A Complicated Situation

Woma saw how enthusiastic the two of us were and quickly poured cold water on us. "You'd better not have too much hope. Even if you can really build an aircraft, it probably won't be controllable by ordinary people."

Rose standing nearby asked: "Don't we have an air turbine? If it can be miniaturized, how about using it to build an airplane?"

Woma shook his head. "It is difficult to reduce the size of the air turbine itself, and the size of the magic crystal power extractor is also very large. Even if it uses a single propeller, it will not be much smaller."

"That means it's okay to build a huge flying fortress, but you can't build a small aircraft, right?"

"Roughly the same!"

I said to Woma: "For now, don't worry about it. Just focus on research by your technical department. Success is the best, and it doesn't matter if it fails. By the way, the most urgent thing now is to study the problem of energy extractor."

"What energy extractor?" Ashford alertly discovered the key issue.

"It's useless for you to know this, because this technology involves a rare mineral, and there are only so many of these minerals. Even if we develop this technology, we can only use it ourselves, so don't ask. By the way, you're big Did you come all the way to Essinger just to see my new city?"

Ashford smiled and said: "Of course not. I have some very important news to tell you."

"What news?"

"News from East Timor."

When I heard the news from East Timor, I immediately became energetic. Last time, East Timor was bought by the Japanese, and I planned to seize it, but I heard Ashford said that the Americans were also going to take action, so I didn't take action. Then the Four Divine Beasts incident happened to happen, which delayed a lot in the process. It took a long time, and it has been almost half a month since I finally did it. Don't know what happened. I asked Ashford: "That land is now occupied by Americans?"

Ashford immediately shook his head: "If it was occupied by the Americans, why would I come to you?"

"Huh? Didn't the Americans grab that land?"

Ashford nodded: "No, they failed."

"So the Japanese occupied that place? How could this happen? Are the Japanese so powerful?"

Ashford said: "You do underestimate the power of the Japanese, but that land is not in the hands of the Japanese as you think."

"I'm confused by you. What's going on?"

"Things are very complicated." Ashford explained: "On the final day, the Japanese sent a large number of warships to the area and concentrated a lot of force to defend the city. There were also many Americans who took action. But something went wrong. The Americans who participated in the war did not discuss it with each other in advance. They all wanted to monopolize that land. As a result, they themselves had already lost both sides before engaging in firefights with the Japanese."

"And after that?"

"It will be more interesting after that." Ashford said with a smile: "Hey, does your observation ship only report here?"

This guy Ashford is really good at telling people off. In fact, before the fighting in East Timor began, I had dispatched an observation ship to monitor the scene. Ordinarily I can know what happened, but God is not as good as God. At that time, there was heavy fog in the waters near East Timor. Three of my observation ships ran aground on the rocks, and one washed up on the coast. One of the last two remaining ships had a mechanical failure and was forced to return, while the other one was observing the battle. Unfortunately, I was hit by a stray bullet fired by the Americans, so my information only ended here. Later, our own side was also very busy. We can't take care of anything that happens to the community.

I have no choice but to drag Ashford to the luxurious reception room on top of Essinger to serve tea and water while gathering information. Ashford spent a long time admiring the artwork in my luxurious reception room and put on airs for a while before he said, "Actually, it's not just you, but I was also confused by what happened next."

"how to say?"

"At that time, the Americans were mainly divided into three groups participating in the battle for East Timor. Your surveillance ship saw all three forces, and they even accidentally sank your observation ship during the melee. I'm right, right? ?”

"Yeah." I nodded. "What happened next?"

"It got lively after that." Ashford said with a smile: "After the melee between the American and Japanese fleets, all three parties realized that they were no longer capable of snatching East Timor from the Japanese, so they wisely chose to retreat. I thought at the time The matter ended like this, who knew that another fleet appeared, and this fleet was still an acquaintance of mine."

"An acquaintance of yours?"

Ashford said: "Actually, you have met him before. I don't know if you still remember. His name is Silo Padrick. He is the heir of the German Padrick family. You guys met once before. That guy is here Germany is my main competitor. After the Americans left, Silo Padrick's fleet arrived, and quickly took over the American position and began to approach East Timor. The number of this fleet was terrifying, and I was No one in the German intelligence told me that Padrick has so many battleships. Fortunately, he exposed his strength for this battle, otherwise I might have been plotted by him."

"What was the result of their fight with the Japanese?"

Ashford immediately said: "They are not at war with Japan at all."

"Ah? How come there was no exchange of fire? Are they going to help the Japanese defend?"

"no."

"Then why not exchange fire."

"Because a new fleet has arrived."

"Who showed up again? This battle really attracted the attention of the world!"

Ashford said: "That's why I said this battle was particularly chaotic! When Padrick's fleet was about to come into contact with the Japanese, a new fleet suddenly appeared. This was a fleet from Australia. Previously I didn’t even know there was a fleet like this.”

"Is it special?"

"Special, very special. Although Padrick's fleet is not a super battleship like yours, their strength cannot be underestimated. At least their numbers cannot be easily eliminated. But this Australian fleet won, The number of warships in their fleet was only half that of Padrick's fleet. But they easily solved the battle."

"They shouldn't have missiles, right?"

"Is that so?" Ashford's words reassured me a little, but what he said next made me worry again. Ashford said: "All the warships in this Australian fleet are equipped with a kind of super fast cannon. The firepower of this cannon is not outstanding. My people said that the power of the cannonballs is far inferior to the cannonballs made by your guild." It's powerful. But the rate of fire of the artillery is simply crazy. The artillery on those battleships is like a semi-automatic rifle, almost two rounds every three seconds. Although the power of a single shell is not good, but such a dense barrage hits No one can resist it! Padrick's fleet only had time to complete two salvos of artillery fire before it was all over."

"Isn't this too fierce?"

"In my opinion, this kind of cannon wins by quantity. If the same battleship is hit by too many bullets at the same time, the shock waves generated by the explosion will interfere with each other. The battleship is not penetrated by the shells, but is dispersed by the cross-interference of the shock waves. Even if your battleship is equipped with super armor, as long as it cannot resist the attack of high-frequency shock waves, it will still be shattered. The thicker the armor, the easier it is to break, so your large battleship is not as reliable as a small battleship when encountering them."

I shook my head: "No, my battleship has a mirage system. They can't see us, and my firing range is definitely higher than theirs. Even if they rush near us and discover our specific location. I also have an anti-air sound barrier system that can easily intercept barrage attacks such as shrapnel. Super battleships are not called super battleships because they are big. All the equipment of a super battleship is super. Don’t think that my battleship can Easily sunk."

Ashford said: "Padrick also said that his fleet was invincible. Wasn't it sunk in the end?"

"This is different. We can't be sure if we don't fight together. Let's not discuss this now. Tell me what happened next? What happened after Padrick's fleet sank? Did this fleet get involved with the Japanese?"

Ashford shook his head again: "After the Australian fleet wiped out Padrick's fleet, it really wanted to fight the Japanese, but at this time another fleet from the American guild appeared. Because it arrived late, They just escaped the melee between the three major American guilds. But instead they encountered the Australian fleet."

"Padrick's fleet cannot defeat the Australian fleet. Isn't this new fleet akin to death?"

"The result is just the opposite." Ashford said with a smile: "What happened this time is really dramatic. The cannons of the Australian fleet are indeed very powerful, but the speed at which they consume ammunition is Their power is equally terrifying. After killing Padrick's fleet, the Australian fleet has almost used up all its artillery shells. The remaining artillery shells are not enough to form a barrage, and their artillery shells are too weak, and firing a single shot is meaningless. .”

"You mean they were wiped out without shells?"

"The Australians knew that their artillery wasted shells, so they brought a lot of supply ships behind their fleet, but they arrived just after fighting Padrick's fleet against the Americans. They didn't have time to transport the shells from the supply ships, and they were Americans have it all in one pot.”

"How tragic!"

Ashford said excitedly: "The tragedy is yet to come! After the Americans wiped out the Australian fleet, they also lost some warships. After all, this American guild is not a super guild. As a result, their warships were injured even though they were injured. We were going to defend the Japanese who were attacking East Timor first. But after watching the show for a long time, the Japanese couldn't bear it anymore and decided to participate in the show themselves."

"Then the American guild is finished?"

Ashford nodded. "The guild's fleet was beaten hard by the Japanese fleet without even setting up a formation. In the end, not even a single ship escaped."

"So the Japanese should have succeeded in defending? Why do you say the Japanese didn't catch it?"

"The Japanese have the same idea as you. They think they have finally succeeded in defending. Originally, they had stored a large amount of manpower and ammunition to prepare for this attack. Unexpectedly, the attackers started fighting each other, and finally let them Got a ready bargain. Before the Japanese could celebrate their victory, another new fleet appeared."

"Is there anyone new showing up?"

Ashford laughed: "This fleet is very famous. You have even met them."

"Meet me? Is it the Korean fleet?"

"Let me remind you, it is a silver-white battleship."

"Silver-white...? Is it the imperial fleet? The British are also involved?"

"Haha! Who said the wood in East Timor is so valuable? Who wouldn't be greedy after seeing it? The British imperial fleet never left European waters before, but this time it rushed all the way from Europe to Asia. The Japanese There is indeed a large fleet, but it is still not enough to meet an established naval power. In a total of twenty minutes, the British sent all the Japanese warships to the bottom of the sea."

"So East Timor is controlled by the British?"

"No!" Ashford's answer shocked me.

"Isn't there a new fleet showing up?"

"There is indeed a new fleet, but this fleet is not very good. This new fleet belongs to the French, and its number is not large. Their battle with the British ended quickly, and the French lost one-third of their fleet. Battleships. The rest ran back. The British lost a third of their battleships from the time they appeared to the time they defeated these battleships. However, the remaining battleships cooperated with the ground forces to capture cities on land and robbed East Timor. "

"Then why do you say the British didn't get the city?"

"They grabbed it, but they couldn't hold it. The American forces appeared again, and this time they attacked from land. The Americans and the British fought in a melee in the forest, and the British fleet could not see the target. It was difficult to support, so we had to rely on people to fight. The British fought too hard with the Japanese at the beginning. At this time, there were not many people left, and they were defeated quickly. However, the British relied on their superior firepower to fight The Americans were blocked in the forest. They finally saved the easternmost city - Tutuala. The British suppressed it with fleet artillery and saved this small village-like city. The Americans felt that if they fought again, the losses would be too great. They did not continue the attack. But the French fleet suddenly came back. The British fleet suffered heavy losses from the sneak attack. Although the French did not gain much benefit, they completely defeated the British. Tutuala was occupied by the French . But the French fleet only had three ships left, and they were stranded on the shoals."

"So the Americans control most of the area?"

"Originally, the Americans did take over most of the area, but the Indonesians suddenly appeared and started to fight back."

“You mean the Indonesians in exile?”

"Well. They happened to be on the day of the siege, so they concentrated their efforts to catch the Americans by surprise. The American guilds had already suffered serious losses. Now they were attacked from behind and finally couldn't withstand it. Fortunately, the Indonesians are not very strong either. In this way, the Americans were divided. The piece of land in East Timor that was not connected to the mainland and the nearby Indonesian city of Ketamunanu were all taken over by the Indonesians, and now Indonesia has regained its independence."

"What?"

"Isn't it funny? I find it incredible that they restored the country so quickly. But the two cities are not big, so it doesn't matter."

I asked: "What about the large forest in the middle of East Timor? Is it occupied by the Americans?"

"Some problems also occurred on that land. The Japanese actually established a new small village in the forest. No one knew it, so the Japanese controlled a small area there. Then the exiles in East Timor also launched In order to fight back, they took back the capital Dili from the Americans."

"So East Timor has also regained its independence?"

"Well. East Timor has recovered like Indonesia, but its land area has shrunk a lot. After that, new forces appeared, and a Canadian fleet came over. Although they were not strong enough, after all, the people here couldn't fight. Who can There was no extra force to fight back against them. The Americans knew that it was impossible to defend such a large area, so they voluntarily abandoned two cities and took control of a larger village in the south. After the Canadians came, they occupied a seaside village. The remaining one It was occupied by the Italians who arrived later."

"Such a big place has the power of so many countries packed into it!"

"That's why I say this time is particularly interesting!"

"Fortunately, I didn't get involved in this muddy water. Otherwise, I would have been the unlucky one!"

Ashford said: "It is said that this land has been divided up by everyone, but in fact no one is better off. Everyone has invested a lot in the land. What's worse is that it is not certain who will get it in the end. I think the final layout there will be It may need to change.”

"No matter whose hands it falls into, I won't 'meddle' in it anymore. That damn place is simply a bottomless pit!"

"Haha! I wonder who was calling for a 'penetration' back then?"

"Didn't I know the situation was so complicated at that time?" I suddenly remembered that there must be a reason why Ashford told me this. "Ashford, what you told me isn't just to let me know the current situation, is it?"

"Of course." Ashford said immediately: "To put it bluntly, everyone is robbing the land there just because of those trees."

"Then why are you looking for me?"

Ashford said: "Your guild has a large diving dock, right?"

"How did you know?" I don't remember telling Ashford! Are there spies in our guild?

Ashford said disapprovingly: "The last time you attacked the Japanese islands in the storm belt, you were captured and photographed by the Japanese. That guy is quite big, isn't he? Can you tell me how big the earth is?"

"It's almost as big as six aircraft carriers put together."

Ashford thought about it for a moment and then suddenly said: "Yes, it's big enough. Shall we cooperate? Use that thing for smuggling?"

"smuggling?"

Ashford said: "My guild has a large logger, and you happen to have a large diving dock. How about we go to East Timor to steal wood? You help me transport the logger to East Timor, and then we start cutting down trees. You The golem is just suitable for carrying cut trees. At the speed of my machines, I think it will take three or four hours to fill your large diving dock. As long as we can do it more than ten times, we will be equivalent to occupying East Timor. It’s almost the same as a city. Anyway, after deducting the operation and maintenance costs and war costs, the remaining net profit from the value of those trees is about 10 ships. If we steal it, it will be a costless business, right?"

"People say that Germans are as rigid as wood. Why do I think you look like a loach?"

“My grandmother is Jewish!”

"No wonder!" I patted my forehead and said, "With the speed and carrying capacity of the Great White Shark, you can really make a big profit if you really do this, but...!"

"What's the matter?"

"How to calculate dividends?"

Ashford replied readily: "Thirty-seven accounts, seven for you and three for me."

"Deal. But I'm only responsible for transportation. Your people will be responsible for tree felling and security issues."

"No problem." Ashford said with a smile: "As long as we can transport one ship back, we will have a net profit of 1 million crystal coins, and I can also get 300,000 in 37 cents. It's very profitable!"

"The speed of the great white shark is not very fast. If it is transported from East Timor and then to Aixingla, isn't it too far?"

Ashford smiled and said, "Am I unprepared?" He looked around and asked, "Is there a chart?"

"There isn't one here. Let's go to the conference room. There is one over there."

After arriving in the conference room, Ashford quickly found the corresponding position on the map of the world drawn on the floor. "This is the blank area between the cities in East Timor. Our locals found a cave here, with an underground river inside that connects to the depths of the forest. Your diving dock can wait outside the cave, and we will make some modifications to the woodcutter. Let it move forward underwater, and then we follow the underground river into the forest to cut wood. Your people only need to put the cut trees into the underground river, and the current will naturally wash the wood into the sea, and you can load it. Turn full After one boat, we walked from here. There is an unnamed island here that we bought. A city was built there some time ago, and it is now German territory. There are many teleportation arrays in the city, which can directly teleport wood To our city in Germany. How about it? Is it convenient?"

"I don't know if Fang is inconvenient, but you are bad enough anyway!"

"Then when can your shipyard set off?" Ashford looked anxious.

"Why are you so anxious?"

Ashford said: "Those guys have just carved up the land in East Timor. At this time, they must be busy preparing the city to accumulate strength. When we go into the smuggling timber land, we can cut it with confidence and boldness, so I think the sooner the better." "

"I asked you why you are so impatient. The Great White Shark is now in the port of Tianmen Island and can set off immediately if necessary."

"That's great." Ashford said with a smile: "I'm going to prepare the wood chipper. Let's meet at the Unnamed Island, shall we?"

"The Great White Shark is relatively slow. It won't arrive until tomorrow night at the earliest, so you don't have to be in such a hurry."

Ashford stood up and ran outside while waving his hands: "I also need to modify the wood chipper. It won't work if I don't hurry up! Anyway, we will just meet there tomorrow night."

"OK."

After Ashford left the transnational teleportation array, our city finally returned to the shore. Essinger did not fly when he came back. We drove all the way back from the water. Since the seabed became shallower when we reached the shore, we had to put down the crawler system and drive directly up from the seabed. Before the city was completely ashore, I saw a figure floating over.

"Erlang Zhenjun?" I was surprised to see Erlang Shen.

Erlangshen immediately floated over when he saw me. "Where have you gone? It's hard to find me for a while."

"Going out for a walk. What? What do you want from me?"

"Of course there is something." Erlang said, "Part of it is business and part of it is private."

"Then let's go to the reception room?"

"lead the way."

After arriving at the reception room, I asked everyone to go about their own business and then closed the door. "Is Zhenjun going to use Suzaku as a reference this time?" I guess this is the personal matter Erlang Shen talked about.

Erlang Shen immediately said: "This is a private matter. We will talk about it later. Let's talk about semi-official matters first. First of all, the issue about your Spirit Gathering Tower has been resolved."

"Oh? How does the Jade Emperor plan to compensate me?"

Erlangshen didn't answer and asked instead: "You know the black unicorn, right?"

"Yes. I have a mission for Black Qilin here, and I have heard about him before. What? Is this compensation related to Black Qilin?"

Erlang Shen nodded: "When Black Qilin was born, there was an uproar in heaven...!"

"Pause!" I quickly shouted when Erlangshen was about to start telling a story. It would take three to five hours to talk about all the nonsense about Heaven. I just want to know the key issues. "I have heard about Black Qilin's life experience. Just tell me about compensation."

"Since you know, let me put it simply. Although Black Kirin is now in the Eighteenth Level of Hell, initially everyone did not want to send Black Kirin to guard the Eighteenth Level of Hell. After discussion, Heavenly Court united with some secluded people. The gods jointly built a tower. This sacred tower, named Qilin Pagoda, was originally used to suppress the ominous aura of the black unicorn, and it was indeed effective at first. However, as the black unicorn's mana increased, the tower blocked it. Can’t stand anymore.”

"Then what?"

"Then Black Qilin ran out of the tower, and the Nine Heavens Gods and Buddhas jointly opened the entrance to the eighteenth level of hell. Everyone disguised the entrance and placed it under the Qilin Pagoda. Finally, the elder Qilin came forward to trick Black Qilin into In the tower. The ignorant Black Qilin realized something was wrong as soon as he entered, and then he wanted to run away, but the Nine Heavens Gods and Buddhas took action and forced him into the gate of hell."

"It's strange, why is the version I heard different?"

Erlangshen looked at me strangely: "What are you listening to?"

"I heard that the black unicorn knew that he was an ominous creature, so he was willing to guard the passage to the eighteenth level of hell, so he entered the eighteenth level of hell on his own. Why did you say he was beaten in?"

Erlang Shen immediately whispered: "The one you heard was a superficial statement announced to the outside world. You don't know where the Eighteenth Level of Hell is, right? How could anyone go in voluntarily? But if the news spreads, Heaven will unite with the gods from all walks of life. Joining forces to kill Black Qilin has a bad reputation. So later on, he said he went in by himself."

"Are you really dark enough?"

"It's not us, it's them." Erlang Shen defended: "I was not a god at that time! The gods who participated when Black Kirin was imprisoned are basically gone now, and not many people really know the truth."

"Then how do you know?"

"Because I have this." He pointed to the third eye on the top of his head. "The third eye connects the spirits of heaven and earth, and can see the past and the future. But you only need to know this matter yourself. But don't go out and talk nonsense, or offend the bosses, and you and I will get nothing!"

"I know, I know. Let's talk about compensation first."

"Oh, yes." Erlang Shen continued: "Of course the black unicorn was very unwilling after being thrown into the eighteenth level of hell, and then slammed into the entrance. The eighteenth level of hell originally had no entrance. The seventeenth level of hell in the underworld There is an artifact below that connects various spaces. It is equivalent to a one-way portal. It is the only thing that connects the eighteen levels of hell. But at that time, the gods teamed up to open a new passage under the Qilin Pagoda. This passage was to connect ten The eight levels of hell. Its power is definitely not ordinary. It took a long time to close the door after the Nine Heavens God and Buddha locked the black unicorn in. But when the black unicorn hit it, the door cracked again. "

"Then the black unicorn can come out from there?"

"No. The name of the door of space is a door. In fact, it is very different from a door. The black unicorn is so powerful that it broke the door across space. That's because it still had the coordinates of this space at that time, but the coordinates will change after the door is completely closed. As time changes, he can no longer find his position. The remaining crack is not enough for him to pass through, so it is meaningless to him."

“What does this have to do with my compensation?”

"Of course it does matter. Because the compensation is the Qilin Pagoda."

"Is this tower powerful?"

Erlang Shen whispered: "Actually, it should be said that it is very dangerous."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The crack has never been able to be completely closed since it was opened. It is still suppressed by the divine power of the pagoda in the pagoda. The black unicorn cannot get through that crack. But those demons and ghosts that are smaller than the black unicorn can come through. . After such a long time, the divine power seal on the tower has gradually loosened, and now from time to time, some unjust ghosts and ghosts will appear. "

"If you don't want to pay, don't give me a haunted tower!"

Erlangshen said indifferently: "Didn't your original Earth Tower attract ghosts? Now this one is just more direct. It directly sends the strongest ghosts up from the bottom of hell. It is guaranteed to be more effective than your original one."

"The problem is that ghosts can be controlled. What if you create something that is difficult to control and even kill us?"

Erlangshen suddenly took out a Bagua Mirror and gave it to me. "So we are still giving this thing away."

"What is this?" I took the Bagua mirror and looked at it. The shape is very simple, with wood on the outside, gold in the center, and a large number of strange symbols on both the front and back.

Erlang Shen explained: "This is the soul-binding mirror. It is a superior artifact. Heavenly Court wouldn't give you this thing if I didn't expect you to expand the territory in the future."

"What is this thing for?"

"This mirror can forcibly seal the ghosts of wronged souls into a living being for 24 hours, and it can work continuously. When the time comes to open the tower door and let the ghosts escape, this mirror will automatically seal the ghosts passing near it into the bodies of nearby creatures."

"Doesn't that mean a ghost possesses you? Is this an advanced artifact? What the hell if you are controlled by a ghost? It's better not to have it!"

Erlang Shen immediately said: "Of course, being controlled by a ghost cannot be considered a superior artifact, but this is indeed a superior artifact, because after the seal, you are not controlled by a ghost, but you will gain part of the ghost's power. Until it is lifted, the ghost will become Your source of energy is at your disposal.”

"Then what if it's lifted?"

"As long as you don't take the initiative to separate yourself, it usually won't be lifted before time passes. When it's about to be lifted, go back to the Qilin Pagoda. There is a soul-absorbing array on the back of the tower. If you separate the ghost in front of the array, it will be sucked as soon as it comes out. There will be no danger when you return to the tower. But be sure not to exceed the time limit, otherwise once the time is up and the two of you are separated, it will take over you again and it will control you."