Astral Gods

Chapter 73 Completion of the Hydropower Station

After being allocated an additional five square kilometers of land, the three brothers became even busier. In the mornings, they went to Daqing Peak to attend classes, learning about various plant hybridization techniques and practicing the manipulation of the Force.

When I returned in the afternoon, I managed the territory, clearing away all the weeds and shrubs from the previously barren woodland and cultivating the land to plant mulberry trees.

According to the master of Zehui Mountain, the mulberry tree has great development potential and deserves to be vigorously promoted.

Occasionally, during class, some Mountain Lord-level and Lord-level Rhinoceros Tortoise Warriors would listen in from outside, and they would learn some knowledge as well.

Originally, most warriors simply planted the plants they liked. For example, the Green Fruit Lord possessed a mutated jujube tree called the Green Fruit Jujube Tree Divine Seed, and he planted jujube trees throughout his territory.

Lord Purple Plum's territory is planted with purple plum trees, and similar situations are commonplace.

However, after learning that expanding the same tree species would greatly increase the probability of creating mutant strains and divinely bestowed seeds, the tribe reached a consensus and decided to focus on planting pine, jujube, and mulberry trees in their territory on the Thousand Star Islands.

Their selection of these three plants was carefully considered. Pine trees are large trees with great cultivation value. However, according to the Lord of Zehui Mountain, insectoid warriors have been cultivating pine trees, and various species have given birth to divine gifts of law. Therefore, the probability of obtaining a divine gift of law is not high.

However, as long as one obtains a divinely bestowed seed, which is the most top-tier divinely bestowed seed in the astral realm, and as long as the cultivated forest is vast enough, it can always be born with a probability.

The reason for choosing the green fruit tree is that the green fruit tree itself is a mutant strain, and the probability of cultivating a mutant strain from the mutant strain is greater.

The mulberry tree was chosen because it has been cultivated for many years and has already yielded two divinely bestowed seeds. Combined with the mulberry seed from the yew tree, the total number exceeds five divinely bestowed seeds, which will bring even greater benefits when more divinely bestowed seeds are born.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. Zishan advanced to the fifth-aged intermediate warrior stage and planted the fragrant wood seed, which nurtured a water cloud persimmon seed as its life seed.

After the seeds of the fragrant wood were sown, they sprouted and grew normally, taking about a month to begin to open up.

Meanwhile, the annual trading event has also begun.

In early October, King Qingzhujia led the warriors of his tribe to welcome the caravan of a hundred tribes.

On the southern terminal coast of Xiangjiao Island, many warriors of the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe stood on the pier solidified by earth and stone powers, propping themselves up and looking at the surging ocean with anticipation.

In previous years, the caravan of a hundred tribes would arrive at the Rhinoceros Tortoise Tribe in mid-October, but this year is different. Because of the construction of a hydroelectric power station, they had agreed last year to come earlier to help with the construction.

So they waited here early on, and the Green Bamboo Armor King kept sending Rhinoceros Golden Turtle Warriors to fly back and forth along the coastline of Elephant Banana Island, trying to see where the ship was.

This year, in order to build the hydropower station, King Qingzhu Jia even turned down tasks at the trading plaza, losing a large portion of the trading plaza's revenue, all so that he could focus on building the hydropower station.

After waiting for two days, the Rhinoceros Tortoise warriors stationed on the shore finally saw a line of sails breaking through the horizon.

A massive ship cut through the waves, crashing against the surging sea, and steadily sailed toward the southern tip of Xiangjiao Island.

The ship's hull was covered entirely with dark brown, hard crustacean wood, and a huge, menacing fire spider was painted on the towering mainsail, its powerful legs bearing flame patterns.

The Zerg warriors passing by saw the iconic pattern from afar and immediately became agitated, all knowing that the Flame Spider Merchants' fleet had arrived.

Upon seeing the giant ship dock, the Azure Bamboo Armor King immediately flapped its wings and took flight. Its heavy elytra created gusts of wind as it landed steadily in front of the dock. With a joyful expression, it stepped forward to greet the ship, saying, "Chiefs of the Hundred Tribes, you must be tired from your journey. The sea is treacherous, and it is truly kind of you to come ahead of time."

The leader of the hundred tribes slowly walked out of the cabin. It was more robust than the ordinary flame spiders. Its eight legs stood firmly on the solidified earthen dock. Behind it followed three or four mountain lord-level flame spiders. It seemed that the caravan's goods and most of its members had not followed.

Upon hearing King Qingzhujia's words, the leader of the Hundred Tribes smiled and stroked his beard: "Fortunately, fortunately. Although we encountered several storms along the way, we made it through thanks to the sturdiness of our fleet. Since we agreed to help you build a hydroelectric power station, we naturally cannot delay the construction schedule."

After exchanging polite greetings, King Qingzhujia, unable to contain his anticipation, kept glancing around the cabin and asked directly, "Chief of the Hundred Tribes, where is that thing you mentioned for building the hydroelectric power station? Is it all on the ship?"

"They're all on the ship, each one a carefully selected, high-quality item, extremely valuable. We'll need the help of the Rhinoceros Tortoise warriors to dismantle and move them later," the leader of the Hundred Tribes replied, his tone somewhat solemn.

King Qingzhujia immediately chuckled and agreed, "Of course, of course! Our warriors are born with superhuman strength; this weight is nothing to them!"

After saying that, the cabin door slowly opened, and the insects could finally see what was inside—the equipment for building the hydroelectric power station was truly astonishing, and each piece exuded a heavy metallic feel.

Even the smallest parts weigh several tons, and the core engine and base components are even more enormous, often weighing ten or twenty tons, densely packed throughout the ship's hold.

The Rhinoceros Tortoise Warriors are born with superhuman strength, and their shells are as hard as refined iron. After advancing to the Mountain Lord level, they further solidify and awaken their strength-type talents, while also possessing earth or metal-type talents.

They could steadily withstand loads hundreds or thousands of times greater than their own bodies. Seeing this, they were all eager to get started, just waiting for the order to move their claws.

Under the meticulous command of the hundred leaders, the Rhinoceros Tortoise warriors performed their duties. Some carried heavy objects alone, while others worked in groups of three or five to lift the enormous parts. They were orderly and efficient, like ants moving house, making trip after trip towards Ziling.

Qingzhu Jiawang was no exception. He personally bent down and carried a core turbine component weighing more than ten tons. He slightly vibrated his elytra to stabilize his center of gravity and followed the main force toward Ziling. His steps were steady and he did not seem to be struggling at all.

The caravan leader and the tribal leaders naturally accompanied the entire journey. The construction of the hydroelectric power station was related to the subsequent installation and commissioning, and they had to personally oversee it to feel at ease.

The giant ship that had come specifically to deliver parts for the hydroelectric power station turned around and returned to the northern part of Xiangjiao Island after unloading all the equipment. There, a number of Flame Spider Merchant fleets were still moored on the coast, with all kinds of goods on display and transactions in full swing. The ship had to go back to assist in handling the follow-up transactions.

It took a whole day, with hundreds of high-level Rhinoceros Tortoise warriors taking turns to move all the thousands of parts, large and small, needed to build the hydroelectric power station to the flat area below the Ziling Reservoir, where they were neatly arranged by category.

After a short rest, construction began immediately. Under the on-site guidance of the leaders of the Hundred Tribes and the Lord of Zehui Mountain, who were proficient in construction skills, the Rhinoceros Tortoise Warriors used all their earth and metal talents. The earth element used their abilities to shape and build foundations, level the ground, and dig ditches, while the metal element used their abilities to polish parts and fix interfaces. The two elements complemented each other perfectly.

The construction of a hydroelectric power station is inherently complicated and cannot be accomplished overnight. Even with the professional guidance of the Flame Spider Merchant and the talent assistance of the Rhinoceros Tortoise Warriors, the overall progress is still very slow.

Fortunately, the main construction went smoothly. The core equipment was of precise dimensions. Thanks to the soldiers' immense strength and dual-system talents, even the engine base weighing tens of tons could be precisely lifted to the designated position and securely fixed with a tight fit by the combined efforts of the insects.

The real trouble was the various supporting infrastructure projects. After the hydroelectric power station was started, it needed to transmit electricity, so the soldiers had to pull coils of sturdy power cables from the power station's engine room all the way to the various mountain territories of the Rhinoceros Tortoise tribe.

Along the way, they also need to use soil-based techniques to carve out grooves of appropriate depth, securely embed the wires, and then seal them tightly with layers of rock and soil mixed with gold and stone powder, leaving no gaps, so as to completely prevent water from seeping in and avoid damage to the wires from moisture.

Hundreds of rhinoceros tortoise warriors worked together, toiling away during the day and taking turns at night, striving to finish the hydroelectric power station before the Flame Spider Merchant left, without daring to slack off in the slightest.

Working day and night for more than half a month, the hydroelectric power station under the Ziling Reservoir was finally completed.

The generator room is humming and operational, the power lines are crisscrossing the mountains, and all kinds of supporting protection have been completed. The entire hydropower station and its auxiliary equipment have finally been thoroughly debugged and are ready to be started at any time.

The moment the gate was closed, the heavy gate sank down, and the water in the reservoir surged out. The rushing water violently impacted the turbine, and the roar shook the Ziling Mountain cliffs, causing rocks to fall and dust to rise and be dispersed by the airflow.

The metal components in the machine room hummed and resonated, and the current surged wildly along the cables, continuously flowing into the storage motor. At the same time, the current also spread along the wires to the surrounding mountains, extending all the way to the territory of each mountain.

It was nighttime, and as the power lines stretched out to their end, one incandescent light after another lit up, as if stars had fallen from the sky and scattered silver light across the entire forest.

The Green Bamboo Armor King hovered atop the power station, its elytra fluttering slightly to steady itself. It looked down at the running turbines and the starlight covering the mountains, its eyes shining brightly.

The tribal chief smiled and nodded: "It's done. This power station is operating at a stable voltage, enough to supply all the territories of the Rhinoceros Tortoise Tribe!"