Warhammer: Starting with Industrial Revolution

"Father, what brings you here?" Luo Ning stood up and went to greet him.

Viktor's mechanical eyes remained as cold as ever, scanning Ronin up and down.

After a long while, he finally uttered that rusty voice: "The ore that was just delivered is of very high quality. The machine is overjoyed and production efficiency has doubled. But I found something surprising in the ore."

Ronin frowned, but then saw Viktor slowly pull a box out of his pocket.

"What's this?" Luo Ning took the box, gently opened it, and found that there was only a stone inside.

This pure black ore looks much like ordinary iron ore, but its surface has a greasy sheen, making it appear less hard than ordinary ore.

Luo Ning tried touching it, and the texture was very strange. It had a hard yet soft feel, a slightly moist and sticky feel, and a peculiar pungent smell.

"What is this?" He couldn't help but look at Viktor in front of him, and for the first time, he felt a hint of excitement on the other's perpetually expressionless face.

Viktor used the mechanical arm on his shoulder to take the ore out of the box. Under the light, the ore emitted a dim iridescent glow.

"This is a piece of titanium ore."

Upon hearing the word "titanium," Luo Ning's memories from his previous life were instantly awakened.

Tetroxide!

This is the lifeblood of the human empire. Whether it's starship fuel, laser weapon charging, ritual enchanting, or the production of anti-demonic ammunition, all rely on this rare resource.

High-purity military-grade ferrite is a hard currency that money can't buy; it's truly priceless!

Governor Karl excitedly grabbed Ronin's shoulder; fueled by alcohol, he was clearly unable to contain his excitement.

"Ronin! We're going to be rich! In this godforsaken place, we've found such amazing stuff in our mines! Orders from the Empire will be pouring in!"

"Wait a minute," Ronin said earnestly to Victor after escaping from Governor Karl's clutches. "Your Excellency, how much chromium ore have we discovered?"

Upon discovering that Ronin remained calm, even Victor couldn't help but look at him with newfound respect. "We may have discovered an entire vein of ore. I had already ordered the workers to stop work before we arrived."

An entire mineral vein! The fate of this planet is truly about to be changed!

The three of them immediately headed to the mines in the lower level of the hive city and entered the mining area. This place was completely different from where Ronin had met Baron Hark before.

The enormous mine pit, hundreds of meters deep, stretched as far as the eye could see. Countless workers moved in and out of the pits, while the overseers constantly brandished whips and cursed any worker who was even slightly slow. There were rotting corpses everywhere, but no one seemed to care.

The entire mining area employed extremely barbaric and backward production methods.

A priest greeted them as they arrived. He was a high-ranking priest in charge of the mine, and it was he who discovered the chromium ore and personally delivered it to Victor.

Viktor calmly introduced, "This is Father Lucizer. He is in charge of the supervision of the mine's mechanical spirits and all mining matters."

When he spoke, his tone was strangely stiff, and even contained a hint of sarcasm.

But Luo Ning immediately realized that this person was not clean.

As the de facto supervisor of the mine, Baron Harker's long-standing practice of substituting inferior goods for superior ones and embezzling mine resources could not possibly have escaped Lucizer's notice.

The fact that the other party has remained silent all along means that they have long been in cahoots with Haq and have taken a large share of the benefits.

However, the affairs of the Mechanicus are none of his business as a mortal assistant governor.

The group quickly entered the mine, which was strictly sealed off, prohibiting any workers or overseers from entering. The entrance was controlled by the Guardians of the Church, and only junior priests and apprentices of the Mechanical Church were going in and out.

When they reached the deepest part, even though they were mentally prepared, the scene before them still shocked Luo Ning.

At the end of the rock, the entire wall was made of that pitch-black stone, and several priests were performing some kind of ritual.

Governor Karl shook Ronin's arm, staring blankly at the dark wall, overwhelmed with joy.

Without a doubt, a complete mineral vein hidden deep underground has been discovered. The quality of the ore vein found this time is significantly higher than that of the industrial-grade ore mined on a regular basis, but lower than that of the semi-fluid military-grade ore that is similar to asphalt. Even so, the wealth that it can bring is immeasurable!

"Father, how much do the Mechanicus need from us?" Ronin quickly calmed down amidst his excitement. He knew that no good thing could be done without the Mechanicus.

Viktor looked at Ronin with a hint of approval in his mechanical eyes. "According to tradition, 30% of the iron found should be offered to the Cult of Mechanics."

"Sir, we are willing to donate 40% of the output from this newly discovered titanium vein to our local church, and you will be in charge of all arrangements." After a quick calculation in his mind, Luo Ning said without hesitation.

Governor Karl, standing nearby, looked completely bewildered, but a second later he was kicked hard by Ronin and then nodded in agreement.

Viktor's prosthetic eye lit up instantly. "I don't understand. What does Lord Ronin mean by 40%?"

Luo Ning bowed respectfully and said slowly, "For a marginal planet like ours, Lord Victor has made great contributions. We rely on you for the maintenance of the sacred machine tools on a daily basis. I don't think 40% is a lot."

"So, what do you want?" Victor said slowly, clearly understanding Ronin's implication.

"Although we have discovered a new ore vein, its purity is far from meeting military-grade standards. I don't think it needs to be reported further. What do you think?"

Luo Ning forced himself to remain calm as he spoke, though he was also uneasy; he could only offer these tentative words.

Upon hearing this, Governor Karl almost instantly covered his mouth to prevent himself from screaming.

But he knew that Luo Ning always had his reasons for speaking and acting, so even though he was almost scared to death, he chose to endure it.

What Luo Ning said was extremely dangerous.

Victor could easily accuse him of hoarding imperial resources and being a heretic, and hand him over to the Inquisition to be burned at the stake along with Karl.

The imperial tax collectors were right in front of them. At the current rate of production, they simply couldn't fill the hole left by the arrears in tithes. This chromium mine was their only way out.

As the planet's chief priest, Victor could only receive a maximum of 2% of the output from this mine if he reported it; the rest would have to be handed over to the Martian and sector governments.

By concealing the fact, he could reliably obtain 40%, a profit that would drive any priest on a marginal planet mad.

According to the rules of the Empire and the Mechanicus, once this mine is reported, under the pressure of the Mechanicus and the Empire's tithes, the resources that can be kept by the Mechanicus can only be up to 30%, and under extreme conditions, it may be as low as 10%.

However, if they could keep this high-purity mineral vein in their own hands, the production rate would increase significantly, and the benefits to their own planet would be self-evident.

So this time, he has to take the gamble.

Viktor's metal prosthetic eye scrutinized Ronin from head to toe, and at that moment, even the air seemed to freeze.

Luo Ning could clearly hear the sound of his heart beating and the sweat constantly dripping from his forehead.

"I think you have a point." Finally, Victor spoke, his electronic voice, which sounded like a rusty machine, sounded as sweet as heavenly music to Ronin's ears.

Hearing Viktor's words, Ronin finally breathed a sigh of relief, while Governor Karl beside him could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.