Industrial Cthulhu? It's Cthulhu Industrial!!

Chapter 40: Reality Punch (Please Read!)
'System prompt: Your wonder blueprint has been completed!'

'Great Lighthouse (Error)

A lighthouse is a guidepost, a guiding light for ships sailing in the darkness. A fire burns atop this massive lighthouse day and night, its delicate optical structure reflecting the flames' light, illuminating the surrounding sea and guiding ships in the darkness.

In this endless darkness, people can only rely on experienced helmsmen and captains to cross the boundless black ocean and successfully stake their ideals and hopes on the ship that will lead them to the new world. However, without a lighthouse, even if they have reached the dock of their dreams, they still cannot recognize their location and can only sink forever in the darkness.

However, today's great beacon has been tainted and distorted by the twisted core. Is the will it conveys the true homeland?

characteristic:
Empty Sailing: Within the visible lighthouse area, all allied ships enter ghost mode, accelerating. Sailing speed in the area is unconditionally increased by 25%, treating it as natural movement speed. This acceleration is unaffected by other factors and has a chance to ignore any physical attacks.

Distorted Guidance: Anyone who witnesses the Great Lighthouse's light will experience a mental image of its coordinates and location. This trait cannot be disabled due to the distortion, and even within images or uncommon props, this guidance persists. Any drawing, description, or suggestion of a structure identified as a Great Lighthouse will trigger a paranormal surge, mapping the lighthouse's location within their mind.

Supernatural Light: The guiding light of the Great Lighthouse is immune to interference and diffusion from the natural environment, increasing its maximum range by 300%. Even during the day, it can still emit supernatural light for guidance. Furthermore, by gazing at this light and offering a certain amount of soul as a sacrifice, a portion of matter can be transported into the light, performing a unique form of teleportation. This skill can only be used within the Misty Islands. Both parties must offer a sacrifice in order for this special supernatural ability to be activated.

"Advancement conditions: Three, ten, or even one hundred or more Distortion Cores are required to further evolve!"

Li Ang didn't know how to describe this lighthouse. It looked ordinary, but in fact, he had no idea how to describe its powerful effect.

The first effect, which seemed to be the most useful, was actually the most useless. However, even so, it combined with Leon's Exit Valley Gate defense system had a strange effect similar to that of ancient legends.

In the endless fog, ghostly ships loomed, guided by lights, and even the cargo carried within their translucent cabins could be seen. Silently yet swiftly, they entered the interior of the Misty Islands, sending a chill down one's spine. Just the thought of this unfolding scene made Le Ang nod repeatedly in satisfaction.

Not to mention the last two.

The absolute guidance has made the sea compass and various directional guides a joke. In the divine realm of the ocean, they can start their adventures and explorations with the lighthouse as the coordinate core without any sacrifices or exploration.

Another feature was the ability to transport supplies within the island. While Leon suspected the device wouldn't be able to carry a large amount of cargo, and its effectiveness wouldn't be particularly good, it could be used for the internal rotation of supplies. In the future, when the population grows and can be dispersed, the living conditions of the people on these islands will become more standardized thanks to this wonder, preventing any future chaos.

This is the terrifying thing about the wrong version of the Great Lighthouse being able to modify reality. It goes without saying that this wrong wonder will bring huge benefits to the city.

However, today was a holiday, and these people had already worked hard to conquer the last large island for themselves and successfully killed those monsters. Leon had no intention of interfering with the lives of these warriors, and simply sat in the communication sanctuary with the blueprint in his arms, pondering it.

The spirit of nature continued to open its cognitive tentacles, constantly observing and learning the various smells emanating from Leon.

The Spirit of Nature has always maintained an extremely great curiosity about this strange thing, and even kept asking Leon questions and inquiries one after another.

"If you really want to give these dangerous things to your pets, remember that they are fragile creatures that can easily die. Humans are not particularly strong life forms, and these things are likely to cause great harm to humans, and they may die in a short time."

'...Isn't that what I've always done? Haven't I always asked them to work eight hours a day in exchange for freedom the rest of the time?'

"In human terms, it's probably because you haven't been clear-headed."

'Is this an attack or a statement?'

"Wasn't that human queen trying to freeze the sky forever, so that she would never see the horror of the night sky again?"

"Is that what was said seventy years ago? I understand. After witnessing the vastness of the universe, their understanding of themselves was destroyed and they went crazy, so they wanted to curl up. But it's really not something that humans can do. It's too petty."

'So what's wrong with you?'

Scattered and chaotic conversations continued to echo in the communication sanctuary.

If you insist, neither side can really understand the other's thoughts and words. Leon has no idea why this nature spirit keeps pestering him with his words and thoughts, but the nature spirit also seems to have no idea why Leon always speaks from a human perspective.

To some extent, the two sides exchanged views and opinions, with a constant stream of brilliant ideas and comments. However, for humans, their brilliant arguments and various voices were essentially fleeting. The nature spirit ultimately stated that while it didn't understand Leon's words and actions, it truly respected his ideas and offered a small favor.

Building a lighthouse often requires a suitable foundation, and the spirit of nature has already chosen this foundation for him.

A seabed full of coral reefs not far away was gradually rising, which was called by the spirit of nature as his little after-sales service and expression of respect for Leon, and then there was no sound after that.

If he hadn't seen from the system that the Soul Crystals in the forest were still being produced, Li Ang would have thought that the other party simply didn't understand the greatness of humanity and had simply logged off and run away. However, none of this prevented Li Ang from studying the data and techniques to understand and reproduce them.

Clearly, based on his contemplation during this time, as well as the various fantastic dreams and thoughts provided by humans after their rest, looking at the distorted core, Leon finally understood why the display distortion problem occurred whenever these things were placed inside. This was because these cores themselves were, in a sense, interfering with the operation of reality's logic, and with careful study, they might become the key node to breaking the cracks in the Earth.

Of course, Leon himself had no interest in this. Humanity's dreams and obsessions should be in the great and romantic starry sky, not standing here blankly, acting as a completely meaningless background.

As Leon delved into these things, time seemed to pass incredibly quickly. The warriors who had returned from overseas expeditions—strictly speaking, overseas—expressed their gratitude to the people around them and began to record their hunting experiences in books.

This wasn't Leon's request, but it was part of humanity's own choice. The people of the Silver Gate began to abandon their traditional writing system. Through minor modifications and changes in meaning, they gradually developed a language that was effective, but with more academic terms, they began to struggle with the possibility of language.

With the advent of language, these things naturally became the record books of these people.

While Leon and the warriors were resting, the people of Silver Gate clearly used great enthusiasm to demonstrate their understanding of the gods and their satisfaction with their own lives.

But it didn't matter to Leon. He didn't care whether these people liked him, respected him, or feared him. Because Leon knew very well that the next step was the second round of screening and the construction of the lighthouse.

By the next day, Li Ang's voice rang in everyone's mind.

"All of you will be working with me to create a spectacle. If you have any hesitations, there's no need to hesitate during the installation. Speak up now."

The crowd who were chewing tropical fruits on their tree stump benches seemed unaware of these problems and continued to support Li Ang unconditionally.

Leon naturally wouldn't let them off, and layer upon layer of foundation began to appear again on the construction site given by God.

He even used the distortion core to conduct some small experiments.

For example, they successfully transferred these things to the workplace, or used these things to find another batch of well-hidden remains of the Nameless Sect.

The Misty Islands have a natural harbor. Although as a human living island, the Misty Islands are not particularly livable, but if it is a specialty production base, then it is absolutely impeccable and beautiful.

Around the natural harbor, the foundations of the Nameless Cult had rotted away, making it impossible for the Nature Spirits to use the contents. They rapidly dismantled and dismantled them, extracting from them a magical, inextinguishable prop that burned forever as long as there was fuel. These items were essentially what the Nameless Cult had left over from their attempt to build a lighthouse.

However, the nameless sect still chose to die, leaving only a large box of fine supplies for Leon and others to enjoy.

Why is it a gift? Because after cleaning up all the recyclable props, these rotten lamps collapsed into the ocean, forming a faint path that led to the site where the real great lighthouse was built.

From any natural perspective, building a lighthouse here would be a disaster. However, judging by the after-sales performance of the Nature Spirit, it was indeed quite effective. The power of nature poured into the foundation, gradually forming a path. And this path seemed to extend indefinitely, as long as Leon wished, to the end of the Misty Islands.

'I am very trustworthy and I believe that helping each other will lead to the best results.'

This is how the spirit of nature explains it.

Of course, Li Ang would not have any objection. He was taking the initiative to create a spectacle for himself.

In the final month of the six-month construction, the Great Lighthouse, the final construction site, began its intensive work. Porcelain from the Lianshan Kiln was continuously delivered to the lighthouse, where it was moved left and right by the people above, laying the foundation for the deep piles.

However, just as Leon had always said and demonstrated, this world was actually quite passable. The inherent magical properties of wonders could actually catalyze the entire building to perfection. As for the foundation issues, as long as these wonders were integrated with the local nature, this was something Leon would later learn through communication.

'System prompt: Your Great Lighthouse of Wonder has begun construction!'

"System prompt: Your great project contains a meaningless and potentially catastrophic distortion core! Please destroy it using normal methods!"

How could this possibly destroy himself?
Each of those forged designs and drawings is the result of Li Ang's hard work.

In particular, the Britannia fleet may have entered the final stage of acceleration. Leon looked at the green mist surrounding him. Although he did not urge the workers, the producers of the Silver Gate had already realized that something was wrong, so they stepped up the filling and reinforcement work.

Layer after layer of white tile began to be laid, and bits of ceramsite began to transform into a veneer of immortality. In the spirit of making do with a makeshift construction, the enormous lighthouse began to loom in the mist. Because this erroneous wonder, even if it were to be marked, was inherently antimemetic, making it impossible to record. If an outsider witnessed this scene, it would likely become a lifelong nightmare.

However, Leon never had any great insights or ideas. He just quietly watched the huge wonder being continuously constructed, and then listened to the call of the local gods.

Finally, he witnessed the myth appear before him.

'System prompt: Your Great Lighthouse Wonder has been completed! You have been given a chance to distort reality! You have chosen the Great Lighthouse as the carrier of distorted reality!'

(End of this chapter)