Chapter 29: A Sudden Surprise
Lin Fan looked at the two men before him with a hint of perplexity.
After all, how precious were steel resources? And this was twenty billion tons!
Moreover, at this critical juncture with the gods about to descend, steel resources were all the more invaluable.
At such a time, steel resources meant life or death for a country!
In his past life, although Lin Fan did not know what method Shang Weitian had used to gather enough steel resources, he could roughly guess.
Because the high-rise buildings that the people of Daxia had built with such toil were knocked down one by one. The shelves in supermarkets, the pots, pans, and bowls on those shelves, chairs, and even iron mugs and thermoses had vanished completely!
Even private cars belonging ordinary citizens became exceptionally rare.
And those were vital tools for escaping danger and evacuating quickly!
In the end, even kitchen knives, iron basins, and the screws from tables in ordinary households disappeared. Several families would share a single iron wok, and they had to queue up just to cook a meal.
Back then, many people cursed Shang Weitian.
Yet one could not deny Shang Weitian's achievements. Under his harsh methods, the twenty billion tons of steel were ultimately gathered, enabling the emergency construction of the Steel Great Wall.
Subsequently, this steel was recycled and built into various facilities.
The Underground Furnaces, with core temperatures reaching tens of thousands of degrees, allowed the people of Daxia to endure the bitter cold of the God of Winter.
The thirteen underground survival areas carved out by steel allowed hundreds of millions of Daxia citizens to escape the iron falcons that ranged across the skies.
And so on.
Looking back, Shang Weitian's harsh methods could not really be blamed on him.
It was simply a matter of Daxia having no other choice.
Sacrificing the living standards of the Daxia people was done for one sole purpose: to survive!
Lin Fan still remembered the moment when winter had already arrived, when Daxia citizens huddled in underground survival shelters, swallowing mouthfuls of dry, ice-cold parched rice.
Shang Weitian's measures were born of absolute desperation. Even if Lin Fan himself were in that position, he still would have done the exact same thing.
Even Shang Weitian's seemingly arbitrary and harsh methods had actually been thoroughly discussed and ultimately given secret authorization by Daxia National Chairman Zhang Maocai.
Yet the only one cursed by the citizens of Daxia was Shang Weitian.
In that history Lin Fan had personally experienced, Shang Weitian was a deeply controversial figure. On the one hand, his methods were harsh and compressed the quality of life for the populace. But on the other hand, one had to admit that those very methods indeed kept the people of Daxia alive.
Of course, compared to other countries, Daxia had already done exceptionally well.
At the very least, they survived.
Even at the cost of the Daxia people's standard of life, they made it to the very end.
Though the common people said little, those scenes of citizens swallowing parched rice pierced Lin Fan's heart.
This time, upon his return, Lin Fan was going to change history!
He was not only going to change Daxia's ending, but the entire process as well!
He wanted the people of Daxia to calmly gaze at the towering waves, to eat hot pot and sing songs in warm rooms during the dead of winter, and to enjoy the falling snow outside their windows!
Why was Lin Fan in such a rush to gather twenty billion tons of steel?
Because once the gods descended, steel would become extraordinarily scarce!
Other countries strictly regulated their steel resources.
At that time, Daxia would have no choice but to beg for steel from the hands of its citizens!
Lin Fan was resolved never to witness that scene again.
He would change history!
He would ensure the living standards of the Daxia people did not plummet!
They would not merely survive; they would live comfortably!
Lin Fan looked at the two men, whose faces radiated joy, and said expressionlessly, "Have you come up with a solution?"
"We have, we have!" Chen Yan laughed, "As expected of the General Commander, you guessed it right away... And here I was wanting to build some suspense!"
"Hmph." Lin Fan's expression turned gloomy. "I can guess your methods, but I won't allow it."
"The lives of the Daxia people must not be dragged down!"
"Vast as Daxia is, twenty billion tons of steel is a huge amount, but if everyone pitches in, it can somehow be scraped together. You must have thought of the private cars owned by the citizens, the steel bars inside apartment buildings, the steel in bridges, kitchen knives, pots, and pans..."
"But I absolutely forbid this!"
"I told you to find a way, not to prey on the citizens of Daxia. Otherwise, what do I need the two of you for?"
"I want you to think of other ways to acquire steel!"
Lin Fan's words carried the weight of falling stone.
Elder Chen and Shang Weitian were stunned.
"Um... you misunderstood," Shang Weitian said blankly. "That was indeed my worst-case scenario, but... things have changed now."
"Oh?" Lin Fan was taken aback, then let out a loud laugh. "Sorry, my apologies. I misunderstood just now."
"Quickly tell me, what is the plan?"
Shang Weitian was left speechless, yet his respect for Lin Fan deepened. Without further ado, he said straightforwardly, "Just now, I tentatively sent emails in the name of the Daxia Ministry of Commerce to other countries, hoping to purchase their steel resources at international market prices."
"I didn't hold out much hope, considering how crucial steel resources are at this critical juncture."
"But... to my absolute surprise, they all agreed!"
"What?!" Hearing this, Lin Fan wore an incredulous expression. He frowned and asked, "They agreed?"
"That's right!" Recalling it now, Shang Weitian still wore a look of disbelief as he scratched his head. "If it were the Bear Country, given our good relations, I could understand them agreeing."
"But I never expected that even countries with which we once had tense relations and subtle hostility—like Freedom Country and Kameda Country—would agree."
"They didn't even raise any objections to the quantities we proposed. You must understand, this was a conservative estimate of their national treasury's stockpiles... Even if there's a discrepancy, it won't be by much!"
"It's equivalent to them emptying out their entire reserves of steel resources and giving them to us!"
"And at a time like this! Just as the gods are about to descend!"
By this point, Shang Weitian's expression was complicated.
Such behavior was simply too hard to fathom.
Even Daxia, at this moment, would find it impossible to sell its steel resources to other countries.
After all, with the gods about to descend, the importance of steel resources at this time went without saying.
And those countries... were actually helping Daxia so selflessly?
That must be a bond forged in blood!!
Not even sworn brothers could do better than that.
"I never imagined those countries could be so kind-hearted," Elder Chen said with a complex expression. "It's unbelievable. It turns out they were all good people after all!"
Lin Fan scratched his head, still finding it hard to believe. "Is the news true?"
"It's true," Shang Weitian said in a deep voice. "From Freedom Country's side, our people just replied that they are already at the ports tallying the inventory for export."
"Kameda Country is the same."
"Other nations have also started dispatching goods, and our stationed personnel over there are currently conducting the inventory."
***
Chapter 30: Eat Well and Drink Up, Kid
"Hiss..." Lin Fan drew a sharp breath.
"Could these fellows have really turned over a new leaf?"
For a moment, the stone hanging in Lin Fan's heart dropped. No matter what, Daxia's required steel resources were secured.
Yet this immense joy did not cloud Lin Fan's judgment.
He had a lingering feeling that something was wrong.
"No..." Lin Fan suddenly shook his head.
He still remembered.
In his previous life, after the first descent of the gods.
Although Daxia had barely managed to fend them off, it had also paid a heavy price because an Ocean God had chosen it as a landing site.
At that time, not only did other countries have no intention of resisting the next invasion of the gods, nor did they plan to support Daxia.
Instead, they cast covetous glances and dispatched troops, constantly staging so-called military exercises right along Daxia's borders while Daxia was overwhelmed with internal reconstruction!
If not for the sudden visit of the next batch of gods plunging all nations into crisis,
Daxia would likely have been carved up by them!
Those fellows saw only profits in their eyes.
How could they possibly sell precious steel resources to him just as the gods were about to descend?
"There must be an ulterior motive behind this." Lin Fan suddenly looked at Shang Weitian. "Did they have any demands?"
"Demands?" Shang Weitian thought about it. "They didn't have any specific demands. However, every reply included a single clause: they require us to pay on the spot at international market prices when the steel resources clear customs, or else provide military products of equivalent value."
"Oh?"
Lin Fan frowned.
This sounded perfectly normal.
Yet.
Why emphasize it so much?
"Heh, I get it now." Lin Fan suddenly smiled. "These fellows still harbor malicious intentions."
"With such a massive amount of steel, even if Daxia can purchase it, it will likely drain our national strength."
"And once Daxia cannot afford to pay, they will use this as an excuse to jointly wage war against us."
"Or, even if Daxia can afford it, we will fall into a temporary period of weakness, because steel resources take time to be put into production."
"And they will seize that opportunity to wage war against Daxia!"
Lin Fan understood their true intention.
They simply wanted to see if Daxia could chew through this massive batch of steel resources!
You want steel resources? Fine, we'll give them to you.
But if you can't digest them, don't blame us!
This so-called delivery of charcoal in snowy weather was actually fraught with hidden murderous intent!
The value of twenty billion tons of steel was simply too astronomical.
If paid in military products, it would likely drain half of Daxia's existing military stockpiles!
At that time, would Daxia soldiers, left without firearms and heavy weapons, be expected to use knives to fight for their lives against the enemy?
And this was the move those nations had hidden behind their "benevolent gesture"!
Indeed.
Wolves were always wolves.
Some things changed, but some people never changed.
"This..." Hearing Lin Fan's explanation, even Chen Yan, who was solely focused on scientific research, reacted: "Can we afford to pay?"
"We can... but if we do that, the national treasury will be completely emptied," Shang Weitian said with a complicated expression. "When we build the Steel Great Wall later on, we can't have the worker brothers working for free."
With that, Shang Weitian rubbed his chin. "I was thinking we could pay half in cash and half in military products..."
"Or we could print more currency, but that would deal a blow to our monetary system."
"No need!" Lin Fan suddenly shook his head. "In the upcoming battles against the gods, military products will be just as important as steel."
"Daxia cannot afford to lose a single gun!"
"With the massive conscription underway right now, military production is already running over capacity. How can we send our own weapons away? How are we going to fight the subsequent battles?"
"As for printing more currency."
"I can tell you right now: in the future, Daxia's currency will become the only stable and globally circulating currency!"
"If you start printing money to pay them off now, wouldn't you be undermining yourself first?"
Shang Weitian's expression instantly turned troubled. "Then..."
"Don't worry, I have a way." Saying this, Lin Fan leaned close to Shang Weitian's ear and whispered a few words.
Shang Weitian froze in place, his pupils violently contracting. "Can... can this really be done?"
"Why not? Don't they just want Daxia to pay?" Lin Fan sneered. "Isn't that money?"
"They thought Daxia couldn't digest this batch of steel."
"They thought Daxia was still that impoverished country where even households with ten-thousand-yuan savings were a rarity."
"Hmph."
"Now it's time to let them know whether Daxia can digest this batch of steel or not!"
"It's time to flex the foundations Daxia has accumulated over these past few years!"
Hearing this, a spark of brilliance lit up in Shang Weitian's eyes.
Those countries always assumed Daxia was still what it used to be.
Even the ones that understood Daxia a bit better only figured that Daxia was growing stronger, just not strong enough yet.
Yet in reality,
Daxia had already quietly risen to prominence over the years.
And the speed of its rise far exceeded anything they could imagine!
The foundation forged jointly by 1.3 billion people was something those nations could never fathom!
Yet, a moment later, Shang Weitian still felt a trace of worry. "But once this move is played, Daxia's foreign exchange reserves won't be enough. Those Western countries will likely attack us financially... If things go poorly, they might impose a collective commercial blockade against us."
"Hmph." Lin Fan sneered. "Let them blockade us. We used to pay a heavy price just to be their processing factory."
"And now."
"Even without them, the people of Daxia can live quite well!"
"Daxia has a vast territory and abundant resources; what can a commercial blockade affect? Grain? Minerals? If they really blockade us, would they be willing to cut off us, their sugar daddies who buy their products?"
Daxia was no longer the world's processing factory of the past.
It had become the world's largest consumer nation!
A blockade?
Hmph, if worst came to worst, they would practice self-reliance and self-consumption.
Most importantly,
Lin Fan patted Shang Weitian's shoulder and smiled, "Three months from now, it's hard to say who will even be alive. We won't have the bandwidth to play these internal political games with them then. By that time, they might be crying and begging us."
"Just go ahead and do it."
"Leave the rest to the 1.3 billion people of Daxia to shoulder for you!"
Backed by 1.3 billion people!
This was Lin Fan's source of confidence!
Shang Weitian took a deep breath, straightened his back, and an unprecedented surge of strength welled up within him.
Standing behind him
were 1.3 billion diverse people of Daxia!
"Alright," Lin Fan smiled. "Now that the steel resources have been gathered, the national treasury has already transferred a portion of the steel to Ludong, and the state-owned engineering teams are also moving toward Ludong."
"Elder Chen."
"Accompany me on a trip to Ludong."
"We will have to trouble you to personally direct the construction of the Steel Great Wall there."
Elder Chen nodded.
Lin Fan turned around, walked back into the conference room, looked at the ancient martial arts inheritors still deep in cultivation, and clapped his hands. "Alright, let's pause for now. You can continue cultivating on the vehicle."
"Now, everyone, head downstairs immediately."
Wang Hu, exiting his state of cultivation, stretched his arms. As he felt the surging power within his body, he asked in confusion, "Commander, what are we doing now?"
Lin Fan pointed to the map behind him. "We are heading to the eastern coastline!"
"We're going to build the Steel Great Wall there!"
"Huh?" Wang Hu became even more puzzled. "Constructing things like that... that's the job of the construction crews. What does it have to do with us?"
"Heh." Lin Fan smiled.
If he remembered correctly, amidst this unprecedented construction project, certain things slumbering deep underground were also about to awaken.
"Eat well and drink up lately, kid. We've got a bitter battle ahead of us," Lin Fan said, pointing at Wang Hu.
***
Chapter 31: Gentlemen, Please Turn Back
A modified military jeep roared out of Kyoto, driving all the way toward Jiaodong.
It wasn't that they couldn't take a plane.
Given Lin Fan's current status, if he made a request, let alone a civil airliner, even a military fighter jet could be arranged.
It was simply that Lin Fan wanted to take in more of Daxia's land and scenery, while also observing how the current situation was developing.
The first batch of God-Slaying Army members was currently cultivating inside the military jeep.
They knew that Lin Fan was not taking them along simply to help move bricks.
A battle was undoubtedly coming up next.
And it was certainly no ordinary battle.
Right now, every single moment of cultivation time was exceptionally precious!
Meanwhile, Lin Fan sat quietly in the front passenger seat of the lead military jeep, gazing out the window.
Outside, a continuous stream of massive engineering vehicles and military jeeps rushed past them.
"These are the state-owned engineering teams requisitioned by the construction department," Elder Jin explained rapidly from the side. "Daxia has temporarily suspended all other project construction and dispatched every state-owned engineering team to Ludong."
"The steel resources requisitioned from the national treasury have also been shipped to Ludong."
"Construction has already begun over there."
"Conscription is also proceeding very smoothly. In just two days, twenty million troops have been enlisted, and the recruitment rate is accelerating as time goes on."
"Many people call the current generation of youth the 'ruined generation,' but when things really happen... it truly makes one look at them in a new light."
Lin Fan looked at the engineering vehicles roaring like fierce beasts outside the window, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Could those gods have ever imagined that this time, Daxia would be fully prepared before they even descended?
These surging iron beasts were Daxia's current strength!
For a hundred miles along the road, the torrent of iron beasts never ceased once!
This was Daxia's attitude toward the invading gods!
However.
At that very moment, the look in Lin Fan's eyes as he gazed out the window suddenly faltered.
A convoy of engineering vehicles without state-owned enterprise markings suddenly appeared on the highway.
Even more fully loaded minibuses were roaring wildly in the direction of Jiaodong.
Various banners were plastered across them.
"Jingzhou brothers rush to aid Ludong!"
"Hang in there, Ludong! Heizhou brothers engineering team rushes to aid Ludong!"
Lin Fan frowned slightly. "This is..."
Elder Jin beside him chuckled. "These are private engineering teams that heard about the danger Daxia is facing and spontaneously went to Ludong to help."
Yet,
Lin Fan's expression held not a trace of joy; instead, it instantly darkened.
"Elder Jin, did you approve this?" Lin Fan asked in a low voice.
Elder Jin nodded. "Mn, I approved it. The construction department said manpower was running a bit short, so..."
"What on earth are they doing?" Lin Fan let out a cold snort, gritting his teeth. "Driver, pull over and intercept these private engineering teams for me!"
The Daxia Supreme Command Center personnel acting as the driver immediately stepped on the accelerator, overtaking the dozen or so engineering vehicles and minibuses. Then, while stepping on the brakes to slow down, he pulled out the intercom horn.
From the military loudspeaker atop the jeep came a crisp, authoritative voice.
"Vehicles behind, please pull over to the side and submit to an inspection."
"I repeat, vehicles behind, please cooperate by pulling over to the side and submitting to an inspection."
Guided by the military loudspeaker, the civilian engineering teams in the rear slowly pulled over to the shoulder and came to a halt.
Inside the vehicles...