The night deepened, and the evening wind grew colder.
As snowflakes started drifting from the sky, the people gathered around the fire hastily sped up their eating pace. In a matter of monts, they finished the remaining pumpkin soup, returned their spoons and bowls, and hurried back to the snow-blocking, windproof shelters.
With the extinguishing of the bonfire in the clearing, the wisps of cooking smoke drifting above Beifeng City gradually vanished.
Having worked all day, the people carried their hopes for tomorrow and fell into slumber amidst the rise and fall of snores.
A stark contrast to those deep in sleep were the skeleton soldiers in the Great Graveyard, who had no inclination for rest.
Not only that.
As natural "Night Cats," they beca even more spirited at night, showing not the slightest interest in even pausing for a mont's rest.
At the very sa ti the scattered campfires went out, fierce flas roared to life in the red brick high furnace, replacing the previous dim glow with sothing more blazing and brilliant.
Driven by Netherworld Language technology, gases outside the furnace were continuously compressed inward, fully mingling with the high-temperature coal.
With each shovel of coal tossed into the input port, the soaring flas grew even fiercer, lting iron ore into molten iron.
Sparks flew out of the furnace, rising with the scalding sll of rust, like fireflies defying the wind. For a brief mont, they even outshone the snow suddenly falling from the sky.
Watching the molten iron flow as though it were lava, the skeleton soldiers gathered around the furnace erupted into excited cheers, the Soul Fire flickering fervently within their skulls.
"Holy crap, amazing!"
"Whoooaaaa!!!"
This was the second steelmaking high furnace in Beifeng City!
With the experience gained from the first furnace, they had integrated even more Netherworld Technology into this one, installing lifting devices above the furnace to carry freshly produced molten iron directly to molds for casting!
Though just a few minor adjustnts, they had drastically improved the steel billet production efficiency of these Life Professional Players!
And that wasn't even the extent of the Life Professional Players' capabilities.
Centered around the steelmaking furnace and workshops for firing bricks and cent, more and more workshops sprung up in creative and diverse forms thanks to the brainstorms of these Life Professional Players.
Through their relentless trial-and-error and efforts, the southern downwind area of Beifeng City had gradually ford the beginnings of a heavy industrial zone.
Though this early form was a bit rough and unrecognizable at first glance, who's born knowing how to walk?
One must rember that just a month ago, there had been nothing under their feet.
NPCs and players from the Great Graveyard were still exploring how to combine Netherworld Technology with Earth-based industrial knowledge...
At the entrance of the North Peak Mine, Luo Yan stood in the shadows overlooking the scattered lights below the mountain, a satisfied smile gracing his face.
Initially, he hadn't held much hope for this experintal settlent, but its current developnt exceeded expectations.
With the arrival of refugees from Twilight Province, not only had the once-empty houses filled with occupants, but the resources piled up in warehouses finally found use.
Not only that.
What gratified Luo Yan most was that these Life Professional Players seed to have figured out how to get along with the newly arrived NPCs.
Beyond rely completing the tasks he assigned, even without the guidance of the quest system, both sides managed to develop a beneficial and positive cycle driven by mutual interests.
As the population migrating to Beifeng City grew, so too could the settlent's scale expand, enabling it to generate even greater value!
While Luo Yan admired Beifeng City's nightscape, a sudden elegant voice arose from the shadows nearby.
"It seems everything is unfolding according to your plan."
The speaker was Qianqian, Queen of the Land of Nightmare.
With her red-bordered white dress, she floated beside Luo Yan, legs crossed, as though seated on an invisible chair.
Though airborne, she didn't hover too high, choosing to keep her height tactfully just below the Demon King's by one head.
Luo Yan glanced sideways at Qianqian, catching a trace of complexity on her delicate and charming face, difficult to express in words.
He could roughly deduce her thoughts.
Emotionally, she didn't like the humans on the surface. After all, the previous Nightmare Queen of the Land of Nightmare had died at the hands of surface humans... and rumor had it, in an exceptionally cruel manner.
Yet, as a rational leader, she wasn't one to let emotions dictate her thoughts. Even if she felt uneasy, she maturely acknowledged the necessity of the Great Graveyard winning over these marginalized figures abandoned by human mainstream society.
It was a strategic need.
And a practical consideration.
After a brief contemplation, Luo Yan suddenly chuckled and replied casually, picking up on her remark.
"You may find this hard to believe, but I actually didn't plan for everything you see here, nor did I expect them to perform this well."
"Oh?" Qianqian looked at him sideways with mild surprise, her crimson lips parting slightly in astonishnt. "Even sothing beyond your expectations?"
The tone wasn't entirely teasing; it carried more weight as admiration.
After all, from the nurous events prior, the Demon King always left her with the impression of being almost omniscient—calmly navigating even the fearso Chaos, flawlessly strategizing with no visible slip-ups.
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