Chapter 1282: Chapter 1282
1282: Chapter 1268: Salt Capital 1282: Chapter 1268: Salt Capital Aceiroa, known as the City of Salt among the locals, is a famous salt-producing area in this world…
as well as a well-known hub for Magic Potion and alchemy among professionals.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh, seeing is indeed believing, I want to run away…”
But when he truly entered the city, having just moved from the dock area to the city zone, Lu Ping’an felt the urge to turn around and flee.
Originally, from the “chat bar”, Lu Ping’an knew the route of his Club’s Large Ship, and all that was left was to find a suitable place to ambush them.
And now that they had truly arrived at the location on the map labeled “Magic Potion City,” “Industrial City”, Lu Ping’an and his group could hardly bear it…
“This is way too industrial…”
The sea here was a pale green, and Lu Ping’an initially thought it was some sort of green seaweed, but upon seeing the large pipes and chimneys in the city’s industrial district, he instantly understood everything.
Environmental purification requires large finances and is slow to show effects, taking at least a decade to begin to show significant results, but destroying a blue sea and green mountains might only need a few months of heavy industrial waste discharge.
And judging from the smell in the air, the color of the sea, and the “Poison Fog” engulfing the city, Lu Ping’an suspected that this place had been recklessly contaminated for over a decade.
“Cough, cough, cough…
This place is beyond saving, isn’t it?”
Even Lu Ping’an, having just entered the city, couldn’t stop coughing.
It wasn’t that he feared the toxins; rather, he constantly felt as if something were sticking to his throat, eyes, and skin, making him incredibly uncomfortable.
The visibly large particles of waste in the air show that “industrial contamination” isn’t just empty talk here.
Wearing one will make you feel a bit better…”
Near the city gate, people were peddling “Anti-Poison Masks” and “face masks”, leaving Lu Ping’an speechless.
Even having lived through two Earth eras and experienced the worst pollution phases in the history of Eastern Country, Lu Ping’an still couldn’t endure such an environment.
“Cough, isn’t anybody going to do something about this?”
Looking at the people on the streets, some were carrying oxygen tanks directly, while others held fog lights…
It seems that today was a lucky day, not the worst case of super thick fog.
In the sky, there was a faint fall of “Black Snow,” the collective output of countless chimneys…
It feels sticky and burning when it touches the skin, clearly not something harmless.
“Who would interfere?
Anyone who hinders everyone’s fortunes becomes a public enemy…
In fact, most local powers own their factories and warehouses.”
Alright, everyone is prospering together, but no one is willing to manage the environment even a little.
“It’s uncontrollable…
Some Big Shot tried before, but after finding out that forcibly suppressing it showed no change in three months, and their own factory setting an example by reducing production resulted in serious losses, and they were secretly retaliated against and targeted, they stopped.”
This fully illustrates what happens when an area completely lacks responsible figures, and everyone is left to “do as they please.”
However, the local situation was still a bit unique.
Along the way, what Lu Ping’an saw most were various chemical plants.
Chemical plants are actually the culmination of “development”…
The local alchemists, Magic Potion professionals, physicists, and chemists have cleaned up, developed, and studied the elements, compounds, and minerals of this world, turning their outcomes into various best-selling products manufactured right here in these factories.
The best-selling product that Lu Ping’an noticed was “rubber.”
In this world, it’s unlikely that natural rubber trees exist; this must be a chemical product, slightly different from real rubber to the touch, noticeably sticky, and with a faint fruity scent…
“Don’t sniff it; it’s poisonous.”
The guide he had paid, promptly stopped Lu Ping’an’s action.
This level of toxin had no effect on Lu Ping’an, but he casually put it aside nonetheless.
“Rubber” itself was nothing special, but it was one of the crucial materials for many industrial products, and the ability to synthetically create this “rubber-like” substance indicated that the local alchemists and chemists had developed quite a high proficiency in exploiting the native “Elements.”
In the midst of this foggy city, Lu Ping’an had already caught sight of “automobiles,” although they looked more like oversized ox carts; nonetheless, every metal component functioned correctly—it obviously was a result of localization.
“It seems I underestimated them,” he murmured.
Ten years had not only offered young sprouts their growth period but also provided developers and miners with a relatively stable decade of development.
In that time, a “new science” fitting the local physical, chemical, and elemental laws had already taken shape.
“Though the cost was quite severe, from a global perspective, it seems to have been worth it,” he pondered.
Looking out to sea, Lu Ping’an saw rows of steam armored ships, indicating that both human and Long Hand Clan shipbuilding technologies had advanced a notch.
Cannons, automobiles, iron skin ships—these few things alone implied that so much had already changed.
However, the peculiar fact was that other cities in this world remained quite primitive.
“It’s quite normal; this is a product of ‘foreign civilization’ intervention.
Those researchers develop in clusters, with no reason or motivation to interfere in other cities.
And even if other cities proactively seek their knowledge…
not to mention the distance, the locals have no reason to give away their wealth-generating machinery,” he reasoned.
The local city was akin to a “modern metropolis” in a primitive society in many aspects; it appeared very advanced, yet there was always an eerie sense of “falseness”…
When slaves chained by iron and convertible car-riding masters appeared together, this sense of discomfort became even more apparent.
“Textiles, chemicals, magic potions, machinery…
Uh, isn’t that our ‘little boat’?
There are even replicas here…”
Lu Ping’an sighed, fearing that the local advancements in technology might soon impact the “ship” business back home.
As Lu Ping’an walked and observed, some members of his group silently appeared and then quietly dispersed, moving into various streets and alleys.
Gathering local intelligence and data had become a habit for them.
“Meow, there’s a mark, meow!
It’s from the Chamber of Commerce.”
This seemed to be a good thing; it looked like in this city, at least the Rebirth Commerce had a branch or a base.
Originally planning to go to a local inn, Lu Ping’an took a turn and headed directly towards the indicated marker.
But upon arriving, he discovered the problem…
“Excuse me, this shop here…”
Beneath the familiar signboard, there was nothing but ruins, with several shops on this street clearly showing signs of vandalism and fire.
Lu Ping’an asked the neighboring shop, receiving only cautious and uneasy looks from the staff.
He smiled, then continued.
“I just landed, my first time in this city; I don’t know anyone here.
I heard the supplies here were good, and I wanted to check out what goods and what prices they have…”
First pretending I had no connections with this shop facilitated communication.
The immediate relaxed demeanor of the staff undoubtedly proved this tactic was incredibly effective.
“What else could it be, they offended someone…”
Well, a city without order is invariably such a “pleasure” to deal with.
“Interesting, go on, I’m listening…”