The limitation of resources has always been a headache for Qin Song. Luna's ability solves the problem of eating, but the real development still depends on industry, and industry needs food - coal and steel.

There is no need to worry about coal for the time being. With the advent of the coal washing method, it is now able to support the continuous operation of the brick factory.

The main thing is the steel problem, what Qin Song knows about mining and smelting is only scratching the surface, and the Black Stone Collar does not have the talent in this area. At present, the source of steel for all weapons is basically orcs.

But now...... The orcs were scared away by the minefield......

Gone is the free steel, and although Harald has been harassing Daotan Town with the Spider Demon Artillery Team, he has no way to clean up the battlefield and collect loot.

And the reason why Qin Song took the time to let the anglerfish look for the wreck was to prepare for the purchase of a large amount of steel. In the final analysis, creating is more reliable than buying, so as not to be stuck.

All dangerous factors must be taken into account, for example, if the sea monster controls the route, then no amount of gold can be exchanged for urgently needed resources.

The development prospects of technology, industry, and trade routes are far broader than those of trade, industry, and technology.

"Alice, how much black iron is there?"

"Well, I'll see. ”

Alice flipped out a small notebook from the table and turned to the last page, with worry on her face: "I just finished equipping the weapons of the recruits, and the two new steam engines in the brickyard. There are less than 40 black ingots left, each weighing around 20 pounds. ”

"So it's only 800 pounds?"

800 pounds is almost more than 700 pounds, not even half a ton. Combined with the planned Luna's scepter, it would cost about two or three hundred pounds of black iron ingots. Not to mention, the ironclad steamship conceived by Qin Song is currently only in the design stage, and there are simply not enough resources to implement it.

"Qin, don't worry. Negotiations between Leah and Captain Mason have made great progress, and the Pierre Chamber of Commerce is willing to do everything we need and is eager to establish a strategic partnership. ”

"Far water can't quench your thirst. A wry smile appeared at the corner of Qin Song's mouth: "Do you remember that cardinal? I'm afraid he was ready when he came, maybe the Holy Spirit Church has already determined our identity and is intensively formulating a crusade plan." ”

"Huh?" Luna was a little nervous, "Qin, then we should have ...... him in the first place." No, it would be more solid to put him back. Alas, this Church of the Holy Spirit is really insidious enough. ”

"Steel is an extremely important strategic resource for us. Qin Song furrowed his brows, "This determines whether we can achieve the final victory. This conundrum must be solved. ”

"Qin, I heard that there is a workshop specializing in iron-making in Arabe City. Why don't we spend a lot of money to hire some to work in our Blackstone Collar, what do you think?"

"It's a good idea, but the difficulty lies in the raw materials used to make iron. The current Blackstone Collar has Blackstone Mine, which can be used as fuel, but cannot be used as raw materials. There are no veins, just no rice to cook. ”

"Mineral ......" Alice frowned tightly, obviously there was no good way.

"Qin, I believe in you, there will definitely be a way. Luna clenched her little fists and cheered for Qin Song, she was an optimist and confident in Qin Song.

"There is indeed a way...... Qin Song nodded lightly: "But it's not very mature, Alice, the black stone collar has indeed not found a vein." However, as far as I know, among the gifts of the ocean, there are a large number of naturally occurring mineral deposits. ”

That's right, in order to solve the steel problem, Qin Song has been thinking about it, for him, the nearest vein is the seabed hydrothermal deposit he has discovered, which is rich in various mineral resources and has considerable reserves.

But the biggest problem is mining.

"But how do you mine it?" Alice thought of the problem: "It's a vast ocean, and I don't know how deep it is." ”

"yes. Qin Song nodded: "But don't forget, our great gods have wisdom that cannot be underestimated. His divine power spans the universe, and the vastness of the ocean, which was home to the Children of the Stars centuries ago. ”

Mining the submarine mine is not completely impossible, the worst case is nothing more than Qin Song using the spirit of the dreamwalker to transform some sea creatures and mine minerals instead of manpower.

Don't forget, there's also the ghost ship that can sink to the bottom of the sea, which can be temporarily used as a transshipment vehicle.

"Alice, Luna, we're going to set foot in the ocean. Whether it is to carry out trade, or to develop fisheries, or even to exploit mineral deposits, it is extremely important for us. ”

"So, I have an idea. It's time for us to take the initiative to get out of the Blackstone Collar. ”

"Do you mean fighting against the Holy Spirit?"

"It's a matter of time. Qin Song nodded: "But we don't need to directly extend the battle line to Daotan Town, there is also an extremely important facility there - the port, we will establish the first military stronghold at the pass of the Black Rock Canyon and the central location of the port, which can not only hold the Black Rock Canyon, but also control the port and strengthen maritime trade." ”

'It's a step we have to take and I think it's time now. ”

"In other words, our current strategic goal has shifted from defense to offense?" Alice nodded thoughtfully: "Indeed, the limitations of the Blackstone Collar are too great. If we want to achieve long-term development, we must go out bravely. The port is the best entry point, and our trade with the Pierre family is bound to become more frequent, and the port is too important. Moreover, our advance will also make it easier for Sergeant Harald's guerrilla troops to be resupplied. ”

"That's right, from guarding to gong! Daotan Town will be the place where we will fight the orcs and the Holy Spirit!"

Qin Song raised his head, his eyes jumped, and he looked at Alice with a smile.

"I understand! Qin, I support you!"

Looking at Qin Song, who was high-spirited and deep-eyed, Alice's eyes were full of tenderness and admiration. Yes, he looks strange, but he is full of special masculine charm.

Eyes meet, making people look at each other and smile.

Luna glanced at Alice, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, and then at Qin Song, always feeling that something strange was happening, but she didn't know it......

......

The plan to switch from defense to offense was unanimously agreed upon in a brief meeting in the evening, and the next step was intense and hectic planning. The current pressure on the defense of the Blackstone Territory has been reduced, and Leah is in charge of the overall situation, commanding the newly trained recruits, and is responsible for the day-to-day defense of the minefield defense line.

The quest for the Luna statue and the Scepter falls on Veronica and Alice's shoulders.

The Blackstone Construction Team, which Sir Weimar is in charge of, has built more than 40 red brick houses in Blackstone, which basically meets the daily needs of brickyard workers and coal quarry workers.

Therefore, the focus of construction began to shift from civilian to military. Nearly two-thirds of the Blackstone Construction Team, as well as two Rock Eaters, under the leadership of Sir Weimar, strategically moved forward and began the early construction of the forward base.

Because it is for military use, red bricks are not used, and at Qin Song's suggestion, local materials are used, a steady stream of cement is used, and rubble self-weight walls are used as the main structure to build fortress-type front-line defense facilities. And the veterans were led by Sergeant Majors Huon and Monkoh to assist them in the construction.

As for Master Chief Ralph, he has a special task - using ghost ships to trap pirates.

Ralph's partner, Sir Weimar's son, Royce, also began to take on the role, leading his sniper team to board the former Principality of Vendon Navy to cooperate with Ralph in the trapping operation.

The collapse of the Fractured Stones Islands has led to pirates frantically raiding the seas to survive. As a rough estimate, there were at least a thousand pirates.

Population is an important resource, even if their quality is low - but the curse of the ghost ship is enough to control them.

In this way, not only did the shipping lanes be cleared, ensuring the safety of future trade, but also the rapid accumulation of population. Anyway, they are all homeless pirates, and it would be a shame not to use them as coolies.

As for Qin Song, he started his most important work so far - studying the crystals collected in the underwater cavern and monitoring the activities of the transparent tentacle monster.

Only God is His real enemy.

The so-called crystal cluster is actually a cluster-like geometry composed of mineral single crystals, usually clustered on the same substrate, one end facing free space, and formed by natural development.

There are many types of crystal clusters, such as quartz crystal clusters, calcite crystal clusters, calcium oxalate crystal clusters, and almost all minerals may develop into mineral crystals or crystal clusters under the appropriate geological background.

Through the basic concept of crystal clusters, Qin Song can conclude that this purple crystal cluster should be crystallized by a single crystal of a special mineral.

As for what is a single crystal, it actually refers to the solid state in which the molecules contained in the sample are arranged regularly and periodically in three-dimensional space.

For example, the wafer that makes the CPU is made of refined monocrystalline silicon.

Well, that is, the mineral purity of the crystal cluster is extremely high!

Now, the biggest problem is to figure out what kind of mineral it is. Qin Song's intuition told him that this was by no means an ordinary mineral, and it was most likely some kind of magic mineral.