Steel torrents pioneering a different world

Chapter 231 We possess astonishing wisdom and an iron will! You can't fool us! (Bonus Chapter)

Another world, the outer area of ​​the space-time gate command center.

The biting wind whipped up the frost-covered ground, but it couldn't stop the construction workers from getting busy!

Su Mingjin adjusted her collar and looked at the construction site in front of her.

The small trenching machine roared as it turned over chunks of hard frozen soil. After the engineering equipment behind it piled up and compacted the trenches neatly, the engineering soldiers carefully buried the sintered posts with wires wrapped around them.

These jade pillars are covered with intricate and mysterious patterns, and under the dim sunlight of this other world, they emit a faint glow, like breathing.

"President Su! How are you feeling?" Consultant Chen approached unnoticed, his slightly graying beard trembling in the wind, but his face couldn't hide his smugness.

Wang Ye and the others standing nearby looked utterly helpless!
Su Mingjin looked around and shook her head: "I don't understand it at all!"

"President Su, this is our new protective equipment for the future! It's made from otherworldly jade, expensive metals, and energetic materials, engraved with biomimetic dragon scale patterns. Once assembled, the special energy shielding field will be activated!"

This is a rough replica of the energy-absorbing and energy-isolating patterns on the dragon scales, created by Deng Dakang's ingenious idea. Once combined, these patterns will continuously absorb and isolate the surrounding free energy particles.

The latest design has been optimized and its functions have been further improved. It can now actively gather and enrich energy particles, shut them down, and conduct them to the desired location!
Although the method was rather primitive and crude, with it, the precious electronic equipment in the command center could finally operate stably.

Looking at these things, Su Mingjin's face also showed a look of emotion.

When researchers first discovered that dragon scales could absorb energy particles, it caused quite a stir.

Although the specific absorption principle is a mystery, the pioneering team has never lacked meticulous and insightful scientific research talents.

It wasn't until the biology professor conducted various investigations and analyses on the dragon egg that the elves used as a magical anchor, and subsequently obtained the living baby dragon Ironhead, that the analysis and research were accelerated, confirming that there were ingenious energy circuit switches similar to biological circuits in the dragon's scales!
These energy particles mostly exist silently in the air.

However, when activated in a specific way, it can produce many amazing and intense reactions with previously known basic physical particles and chemical synthesis.

Although instability occurred during certain related experiments, through research and analysis, humans have summarized many chemical synthesis methods that can be used by humans.

Moreover, thanks to the help of special energy particles, some of humanity's weapons have become even more powerful.

Although humanity has not yet fully understood the properties of special energy particles, it has already begun to utilize them in some areas.

For example, special consultants previously researched drawing special energy patterns brought from Earth onto the body, which the body can absorb to activate cell activity, strengthen the body, and also recharge and activate the plaques carved with special energy patterns.

Through special equipment made by humans, the replica of the dragon scale energy-absorbing room has evolved from the initial version of pure energy absorption to one that can be controlled by humans to open and close, and now it can transfer and conduct energy after being built and assembled. Human scientific progress is tremendous!

Su Mingjin nodded slightly: "Advisor Chen, thank you for your hard work and that of the team members from the Special Research Institute. How is the performance of this thing? Is it reliable?"

Consultant Chen stroked his beard, waved his whisk, and confidently replied with a smile, "Don't worry, President Su. We may lack experience and can't guarantee 100% isolation of all unknown energy particles. But significantly reducing the impact and achieving a low-interference environment for our equipment that's almost identical to Earth's own environment is absolutely no problem!"

"Moreover, we also combined several defensive patterns passed down from our ancestors and incorporated them into the design. The test results were surprisingly good! This thing can not only defend against energy particles and mental interference, but if some foolish mage were to launch an attack containing energy particles at us or try to damage our electronic devices, these newly constructed devices might be able to absorb it!"

Hearing what Consultant Chen said, Su Mingjin's sense of unease about the unknown dissipated somewhat.

"It was that guy Deng Dakang who mentioned that dragon scales could be used as a magic early warning device," Advisor Chen remarked. "Who would have thought that by following this path, we would directly develop a large-scale energy transfer and absorption network? From now on, this command center will be our formidable fortress in this other world!"

As he spoke, a technician not far away appeared to have completed the commissioning of an energy node supply.

hum-

After a barely audible sound, Su Mingjin keenly noticed that the previously chilly wind seemed to have lessened considerably.

The temperature has also changed.

I inexplicably got goosebumps.

She stopped talking and silently sensed the subtle change.

She could sense that the air around her seemed much quieter, and that some of the impurities in the air had been cleared away.

Most importantly, the subtle, bone-chilling coldness was greatly reduced.

She was incredibly surprised and looked at the composite material pillars buried in the ground in the distance, noticing that the luster on the surface texture was gradually fading.

It looks quite stable and reliable!
These words flashed through Su Mingjin's mind, and then she looked at her assistant Liu Chang beside her.

Liu Chang nodded and quickly ran towards the data processing center and electromagnetic interference detection center, which were a few hundred meters away.

A short while later, Liu Chang ran back with a smile and stood at attention to report.

"Reporting to General Su, after the device was successfully installed and started, the electromagnetic interference detected in our vicinity has decreased again."

“Good, very good!” Su Mingjin nodded, very satisfied with the new equipment. “Although the production cost is a bit high, once the verification is completed, these protection systems will be deployed to the command centers of various bases and important defense network nodes.”

"Yes!"

As the number of pioneers continued to increase, a massive computing center was built near the command center, storing a vast amount of experimental data related to the entire pioneering progress.

Although the University of Tokyo has been researching and developing countermeasures against strong electromagnetic interference from other worlds, it has also implemented a lot of scientific data storage and electromagnetic protection measures in recent months.

But ultimately, these are not electronic products that have undergone a complete upgrade.

If numerous electronic devices are damaged due to electromagnetic interference, resulting in information loss, it will cause incalculable losses.

Scientists combined previous plasma protection technology with energy interference and stabilization systems discovered during tests in another world to create the Dragon Scale Protective Equipment, which finally proved its worth.

Now, this special energy-based scientific protection network has given her peace of mind.

The omnipresent interference of mind magic in this world means that if elf assassins, invisible magical beasts, or similar creatures from another world were to try and infiltrate and cause trouble, they would likely be disrupted by this invisible net before even getting close, triggering an alarm.

What awaited them was undoubtedly the fury unleashed by the human warriors.

The feeling of being protected by multiple layers of protection made her feel incredibly at ease.

Just then, a communications officer quickly walked over and handed over an encrypted file.

"President Su, this is the latest news from President Li in the modern world."

Su Mingjin took the document and opened it to read.

The file has been organized and compressed, and most of the content titles and core information have been extracted.

There were logistical support documents, as well as suggestions and advice for the dwarves' actions.

There is also consideration of the initiative in passive defense.

Of course, Su Mingjin read the suggestion to commend those who had made contributions again and again.

"...To ensure the mental health of some hardworking and meritorious comrades and to allow them to receive their due recognition, your department should discuss and consider whether to devise a channel that allows them to release psychological pressure and gain recognition..."

"...It is essential to ensure voluntary cooperation, fairness, and impartiality..."

After reading the document, Su Mingjin looked up at the soldiers and researchers who were fighting silently in the cold wind in the distance, and then looked down at the words "relieving psychological pressure" and "gaining honor" on the document.

Mr. Li is really thoughtful!
It was my oversight!
Let these heroes who have kept secrets for years and made great contributions have an opportunity to change their appearance and show off.
Su Mingjin's lips curled up slightly, and a hint of interest flashed in her eyes.

Decades ago, when everyone was poor and had no good life, we gritted our teeth and worked hard to build our country so that the next generation would not suffer.

At that time, we had nothing. After the establishment of the National Revolution, the University of Tokyo really paid a lot in the following ten years to acquire technology.

Whether it's food, light industry, or the large quantities of gold and other resources sold, everything was accumulated little by little.

To accomplish what the Russians had entrusted to them, that generation practically lived on a tight budget.

The first thirty years were an era of laying the foundation for industry. Countless predecessors shed sweat, tears, and even their lives to complete industrial construction.

Thanks to the blood, sweat, and hard work of previous generations, people were able to achieve a better life after the 1990s.

Human nature is fickle; as living conditions improve, people have more aspirations.

Material pursuits, spiritual pursuits... Although many people still have lofty pursuits, sometimes, if the rewards they deserve are insufficient, wouldn't that chill their hearts?

It's not like the old days of hardship anymore, so why shouldn't those who have worked hard and made great contributions receive more spiritual rewards?
The interesting internal report about the oil industry from a while back also flashed through her mind.

In the early stages of that matter, everyone was having a headache about how to make so much oil appear in another world in a reasonable way.

After discussion, everyone finally decided to come up with a plan to "emerge from the ground".

Later, everyone joked about how oil was discovered in the barren land, followed by gold ore and various other rare minerals. Everyone treated it as a joke among the pioneering team.

Anyway, it was quite a lot of fun.

To facilitate the grand plan of "growing oil in the ground" in the modern world, the reclamation team specially arranged for several young oil exploration engineers, including Peng Daqing and Han Linchuan, who were on vacation, to return to the modern world to "participate in a play."

A moving drama unfolded after countless hardships, culminating in the discovery of a massive oil field with reserves exceeding 100 million tons for Southeast University.

The pioneering team originally wanted to announce that the amount was 200 billion tons, but considering that doing so would easily attract too much attention, cause turmoil in the international oil market, and create a lot of messy financial problems, it was not feasible.

That's why the amount of oil discovered is kept within a reasonable range.

Su Mingjin still remembers the scene of herself and some commanders watching the thirty-minute news broadcast.

Yes, to ensure the purity of thought and mind within the pioneering team, various current affairs news are sent over daily for everyone to read.

Su Mingjin remembered the scene from the news.

Peng Daqing, an engineer who has worked with oil drilling rigs for several years, managed to hold back a few tears when facing the camera of a CCTV reporter, his voice choked as he recited the lines he had memorized in advance...

However, within the pioneering team, it was a completely different story.

Even when they heard funny stories from the interview, everyone seemed incredibly happy...

"Director, this thing is so tiring! It makes me tremble with excitement just looking at a rock. It's even more uncomfortable than conducting field research in minus forty degrees Celsius!"

"And that word, 'ecstasy,' what is ecstasy? When I saw the oil gushing out, my first reaction was to measure the pressure and composition. I didn't have time to be ecstatic!"

These amusing complaints made Su Mingjin, who was reading the report at the time, find these young oil workers adorably funny.

However, after Peng Daqing and his team finished their "performance" and returned from their vacation, things took a more delicate turn.

Several briefings from different departments mentioned a common phenomenon: Peng Daqing's popularity in the canteen had skyrocketed.

He was always surrounded by a group of young technicians in the cafeteria, who would vividly recount his filming experience.

"You guys didn't see it! That military reporter insisted that I look shocked! I've been doing exploration for two whole years, what haven't I seen as an old oilman? I wanted to tell him right then and there, 'Young man, your request is unscientific!'"

As he said this, he put down his chopsticks and mimicked his "shocked" expression on camera, making faces and making everyone around him laugh.

After saying that, he waved his hand dismissively and said, "Sigh, it's better here. We deal with machines and data, it's down-to-earth, and we don't do any of that fancy stuff."

But the next day, someone approached him again, and Peng Daqing jokingly complained to the director about how he had asked him to give a tearful performance.

I initially thought it was just for fun and to share the humor.

Looking back now, it wasn't about sharing fun at all; it was practically Versailles!
I subconsciously ignored that smug feeling of "I was forced to work, it was annoying, but everyone saw my heroic spirit"!
These STEM guys, just like the girls... they say no, but their actions tell a different story.

If leaders don't understand them, they'll probably get scolded by them!

Su Mingjin rubbed her temples.

Fortunately, people with science and engineering backgrounds are relatively easy to get along with.

As long as they receive honors, give them the opportunity to subtly flaunt their success.

Otherwise, that repressed, brooding energy could suffocate him!
Su Mingjin sighed softly and turned to Liu Chang beside her, saying, "It seems I've been neglecting everyone's mental health."

Liu Chang was basking in the joy of the success of the new equipment built by Consultant Chen and his team when he heard this and was taken aback: "President Su? You have done a very thorough job. The logistical support and shift system are all of the highest standard."

Su Mingjin didn't explain further and handed over the documents in her hand.

"Take a look at General Manager Li's instructions, and then think about Peng Daqing."

Perhaps thinking that Liu Chang was reading too slowly, she started talking herself, briefly recounting what Li Weiguo had said before about strengthening the psychological well-being of the pioneer team, and what Peng Daqing had said when someone pulled him aside in the canteen to tell him his story.

Liu Chang took the document, listening to Su Mingjin's words while glancing at the beginning. His face first showed confusion, then sudden understanding, and finally a blush of shame appeared.

He slapped his forehead, his voice lowering several decibels: "President Su, it's my fault! I was only thinking about confidentiality, compiling everyone's achievements into cold data and reports, and locking them in the archives. I... I forgot that behind the data are living, breathing people who need a sense of honor and need to be seen!"

“It’s not too late to find out now.” Su Mingjin gave Liu Chang a deep look.

The other party is very smart and can easily realize that these things are actually due to the leader's dereliction of duty.

Su Mingjin said calmly, "Liu Chang, there's no need to bring up the past. Start making amends immediately! Times have changed. Since the record of merits can't just be locked away in a safe to gather dust, let's find some suitable reasons to let the meritorious people bask in the sun and enjoy the sunshine and glory."

"Yes!" Liu Chang straightened his back abruptly, his whole body energized. "I'll immediately prepare the publicity plan and coordinate with the relevant departments in the modern world. I'll strive to come up with a plan tonight! I guarantee that our meritorious people on leave will have a shining stage to release their stress!"

After letting Liu Chang handle the commendation matters, Su Mingjin returned to the command center.

As more members of the land reclamation team moved in, the command center became more and more complete, with more and more functions, and naturally, the area it occupied also became larger and larger.

With the completion of various construction projects, electricity, which had previously been relatively scarce, is now being supplied in abundance.

The University of Tokyo is a construction powerhouse. For something as important as energy infrastructure, they started planning and constructing it before any safety hazards at the base were cleared.

With the geothermal power plant at the new site of the Dongxuan project going into operation, oil is being transported by vehicles, revitalizing the chemical industry and ensuring that the land reclamation team no longer lacks energy.

Even human mining teams have discovered large quantities of coal ore nearby.

If needed, it can even quickly set up a thermal power plant to supply a city's population of millions.

Because of the abundant power supply, small metal smelting plants such as mines have started to operate. Although it is extremely cold outside, the command center is kept warm and spring-like inside by recovering heat energy from various factories.

Su Mingjin walked through the heavy alloy door and into the spacious, bright corridor, preparing to return to her office, when a burst of suppressed cheers suddenly came from the monitoring room not far away.

It's the research center for intelligent races from another world.

Su Mingjin paused and followed the sound.

Before even entering, one could see a group of dwarves in shackles feasting around a long table on the largest electronic screen in the center of the hall.

The dwarves on the screen all had greasy mouths, one hand holding a piece of golden-fried fish, while the other hand kept shoveling mushroom and meat soup into their mouths with a spoon.

In the corner, several dwarves had even picked up wooden barrels and were gulping down the amber-colored liquid inside.

This scene is completely different from the "silent, vigilant, and hostile" image described in the report a few days ago.

"So these shorty guys finally figured it out? Looks like starving is the most effective way!"

A smile appeared on Su Mingjin's face, and a weight was lifted from her heart.

These dwarven captives, transferred from the Mithril Clan, were far more disciplined than the group of dwarves previously led by Belegas.

The elves said it was true that the dwarf clans had different personalities and ways of doing things.

While the Mithril Clan dwarves don't exhibit the same ferocious behavior as clans like Balrogath, their silent resistance is far more troublesome.

Upon seeing Su Mingjin, one of the researchers in the hall immediately stood up like a spring and saluted.

"Mr. Su!"

Su Mingjin waved her hand to signal him to relax, her gaze still fixed on the screen, and asked with interest, "What's going on? This morning when I saw the dwarves' news, they seemed quite well-behaved. Why the sudden change in behavior today?"

The researcher, his face beaming with excitement and even a hint of admiration, said, "President Su, it's Team Leader Gong Pengfei! Didn't President Li approve the attempt to have dwarves and elves undergo labor reform together?"

"Team Leader Gong told us to spread rumors to provoke those dwarves, saying that if they continued to starve and become as thin as bamboo poles, they would lose all face when they saw the elves. We even accidentally let slip that the elves had a plentiful diet and readily accepted our food..."

The researcher couldn't help but laugh as he recounted the story: "And guess what? These tough guys, who had only been on the bare minimum of nutrition and barely ate anything else, suddenly started clamoring for food, and even meat, the best of everything!"

"..."

Su Mingjin's smile slowly faded.

She looked again at the group of dwarves wolfing down their food on the screen, her eyes becoming deep.

I thought it was just a simple physiological need that overwhelmed his will, but I never imagined it was because of his damned racial pride.

These guys are even more awkward than Peng Daqing and his group of repressed engineering students!
She glanced around but didn't see Gong Pengfei, so she turned and walked out of the hall to call his internal communication.

The call was answered quickly, but a clear female voice came through.

"Hello, Mr. Su, I am Tang Huanzhu."

"Is Xiao Gong busy?"

"Team Leader Gong is currently organizing the data on the dwarves' emotional fluctuations that he just collected. He will soon have another formal exchange with the dwarves and needs to maintain absolute mental focus."

"Okay, I see."

Su Mingjin hung up the call and glanced at the time. She confirmed that there were no more urgent matters at the command center at the moment.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to change direction and head directly towards the isolation observation room of the Center for the Study of Intelligent Races.

Data reports are ultimately cold and impersonal.

She wanted to see for herself how this Gong Pengfei planned to communicate with a group of dwarves who only ate to compete with the elves.

On the large screen, the scene inside the interrogation room is being recorded at this moment.

At this moment, the lights are blindingly white.

On the cold metal walls, several inconspicuous cameras are transmitting images of the interior from different angles back to the monitoring hall in real time.

Gong Pengfei and Attila, the dwarf centurion, sat at opposite ends of the long interrogation table.

The distance between the two was so great that almost ten more dwarves could fit inside.

This scene is very similar to a famous Russian painting.

Attila, shackled and unable to move much, was picking at his steel-like teeth with a toothpick provided by a human.

It's hard to imagine that a dwarf who looks clumsy and stout could have such dexterous hands.

The other person's cloudy eyes were looking at a somewhat frail-looking human in the distance.

“Human, there’s no need to be so tense. I just like your head, not your body!” he said in a muffled voice, as if his voice was squeezed out from a crack in a rock.

Gong Pengfei smiled, but his body did not relax at all. He remained leaning back in his chair, maintaining a posture that seemed ready to spring away at any moment.

“We can’t afford to be careless, Centurion Attila.” He spread his hands, his tone relaxed. “I’ve seen your file; you’re far too aggressive. You’ve been captured for so long and still tried to attack human guards! I’m still young, and I don’t want my happy life for the rest of my days to be shattered by your punch.”

"Hey……"

Attila let out a low chuckle, flicked away a small piece of meat he'd picked off a toothpick, and stared sharply at Gong Pengfei: "Speak. We've achieved our goal of provoking us with those Long-Eared guys. I've also let my men eat their fill. Now, tell me what you're really up to."

He paused, picked up a glass of beer that had been poured earlier from the table; it was a transparent plastic cup with the Snowflake logo printed on it.

Perhaps this is the last glass of wine I will ever drink.

Attila looked at the beer, lost in thought. Then, his gaze toward Gong Pengfei was once again filled with disdain and coldness: "Humans, stirring up conflict between us and the elves? Making us fight amongst ourselves so you can reap the benefits?"

Gong Pengfei listened to the Elvish language transmitted synchronously through the translator, and then glanced at the "semantic confirmation" message sent by Professor Yu Qiwen on the communication device. He felt reassured.

He shook his head: "I'm not interested in your two clans' old, trivial matters."

"We are just curious why both you and the elves harbor such hostility and suspicion towards us? Do you really think that we humans are worth no trust at all?"

Attila did not answer immediately.

He tilted his head back and gulped down half of the large glass of beer. The icy liquid dripped down his rough beard, but he didn't care and let out a satisfied burp.

"Two more drinks, please!"

A guard standing at a distance handed the other person a plastic container filled with draft beer.

Attila took another sip before putting down the cup.

Then, his narrow eyes, which had previously held a hint of satisfaction, turned to Gong Pengfei with an undisguised coldness.

"You expect me to trust you?"

Attila's voice was like ice, "The last race that trusted you, you scattered their ashes as fertilizer for the fields!"

"..."

The interrogation room was deathly silent.

Gong Pengfei's relaxed expression vanished instantly. He then took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "We are different from the humans of this world! We are civilized people!"

"Haha...hahahaha!"

Attila first chuckled softly, then burst into unrestrained laughter, his entire burly body trembling.

The way he looked at Gong Pengfei was undisguised, as if he were looking at a hopelessly naive fool.

“Human monstrosities…you human bastards, your lies and tricks are all the same! You can’t be trusted.”

Attila wiped the wine foam from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Don't think that by pretending to be harmless and pulling out some powerful magical equipment to capture us with almost no casualties, you can intimidate everyone. We see right through your little schemes!"

He took another big gulp of beer and slammed the bottom of the glass against the table.

"Don't mistake our noble half-humans for fools! We possess extraordinary wisdom!"

"We have never considered you fools; we only desire peace! We have no other interests besides farming!"

"You idiot, you still say that you think I'm a fool? Do you think I'm a fool?" Attila hunched his neck and stared intently at Gong Pengfei.

He was only a little over a meter tall, with a ferocious face, a stubble beard, and a loud voice like that of an enraged lion.

But his shouts from afar, while he was in shackles, sounded somewhat comical.

Gong Pengfei rubbed his throbbing temples. The dwarf's words contained a lot of information, but were also full of serious misunderstandings about humans from Earth.

“Centurion Attila, if we were truly hostile to you, perhaps you would have been beheaded by us when we defeated you.”

"It would be better if they cut off our heads. We have an iron will and are never afraid of sacrifice!"

Gong Pengfei felt that the dwarf in front of him was just a stubborn rock, and during the conversation, the other party did not follow his way of thinking at all.

"Centurion Attila, can you tell me what cruel things your human race, similar to us, has done in your world? If our human kin in this world are cruel and cunning, perhaps we can take action to set things right and rectify the situation!"

"Nothing to say!" Attila chuckled and waved his hand, looking like he couldn't be bothered to explain. "Your people are masters at twisting the truth, calling their own cruelty righteous and others evil. If you really want to know, go and find out for yourself! And don't try to fool me; my unparalleled wisdom tells me you're trying to trick me into revealing anything!"

Gong Pengfei: "..."

Gong Pengfei sighed inwardly, knowing he wouldn't get any more information from that, and immediately changed the subject.

"We find your relationship with the elves strange?" he pressed. "Why is your relationship with the elves so... contradictory?"

"Long ears?"

When the elves were mentioned, a complex emotion flashed across Attila's face, a mixture of disdain, disgust, disappointment, and some other inexplicable connection.

"Those guys are nothing but a bunch of allies who would turn into idiots if they left the Sacred Tree!" Attila paused, then snorted. "If it weren't for some ridiculous reasons, who would want to cooperate with them!"

Gong Pengfei blinked slightly...

(End of this chapter)