Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 133: Subway

Josh jumped up from his seat in excitement.

Making money?

That was important, but Ken knew he wasn’t good at it, he was only good at dealing with machines.

"It’s getting late, I need to go finalize the details with the others. I’ll come find you again tomorrow. We’re setting sail in the next few days, so get ready."

The two had a close relationship, so Josh didn’t bother with pleasantries.

As he spoke, he turned to open the door and jogged off.

"Wait for my good news!"

Ken stuffed a piece of fried fish into his mouth and stood at the door, waving to his friend.

•••••••

The sunset cast long shadows on their smiling faces.

"Dig an underground passage from the manor to the eastern test site?"

Hughes blinked as he looked at Una across from him.

"Does this... have any purpose? Can’t we just go there from the surface?"

The two were currently standing at the entrance of the underground cave beneath the manor.

Over the past few days, the renovation of the underground palace had gradually come to a halt.

The Sirens, who loved tinkering with buildings, had started studying Hughes’ plans instead.

His plan for a passage leading directly to the Abyssal Trench had already sparked several days of heated discussions among the Sirens.

"There is a purpose, my Lord."

As soon as Una started talking about construction, she became visibly excited.

She no longer had her usual timid demeanor and instead appeared... almost fanatical.

"The biggest problem with your Abyssal Trench passage is how to ensure we don’t dig off course. All of our construction is underground, with no directional calibration. A passage that long could easily end up going somewhere completely unexpected."

Hughes nodded.

Indeed, this was a technical challenge even on Earth, let alone here, where modern surveying tools were unavailable.

"That’s why we decided to dig an underground passage as a trial. If it goes well, we can proceed with constructing the passage to the Abyssal Trench."

"So you chose the route from the manor to the eastern test site?"

"Yes. Since we’re digging anyway, we might as well make use of the tunnel. I think a passage to the test site would be quite useful."

Useful?

It certainly was.

The area beneath the manor was where the Sirens lived, and the test site was a place they frequently visited.

Until now, they had always traveled there by sea.

Technically, traveling by sea was much faster.

The Sirens moved terrifyingly fast in the water.

But there was one downside—

They had trouble carrying things.

Whether it was materials, daily supplies, or finished products, bringing them back through the sea was inconvenient.

Most things couldn’t be soaked in water, especially various documents.

This often led to situations where the Sirens would arrive, but their cargo wouldn’t make it in time, forcing them to wait.

The people on the island were already working efficiently, but things could still improve.

"So you’re planning to dig a tunnel so the Sirens can push carts to transport goods?"

"Yes."

"Hmm..."

Hughes stroked his chin.

Why did this feel like a subway?

A manually operated subway, at that, it felt kind of odd.

The Sirens did have this transportation need.

Hughes thought about it.

Since they were digging a subway anyway, why not bring in steam locomotives directly?

This could serve as an experiment.

The underground environment was relatively stable, with no concerns about people sabotaging the tracks.

Even if something went wrong with the steam locomotive, there wouldn’t be casualties—

A boiler explosion would only cause minor injuries to the Sirens, thanks to the Symbiotic Contract and Flesh Magic.

This could actually work.

After weighing his options, Hughes quickly made a decision.

"Hold off on construction for now. I’ll draw up a blueprint. Let’s make the project bigger and build a section of subway as a test."

If this subway experiment succeeded, then planning a railway network on the island would be much more convenient in the future.

In fact, Hughes could even establish a full-fledged underground subway system.

The subway wouldn’t just be for transportation, some types of cargo could be transported via subway as well.

For instance, Pollution.

Once it was extracted from the Abyssal Trench, it could be transported via the subway network to a factory for incineration.

This would prevent pollution leaks while also making it easier to monitor.

Moreover, subway construction wasn’t that difficult.

The first functional subway on Earth had been built during the 19th century.

If they could do it back then, there was no reason he couldn’t do it now.

Besides, steam locomotives were one of the most stable applications of steam engines.

Even before Hughes had transmigrated, there were still operational steam locomotives on Earth.

Una looked slightly puzzled by all this.

But the Sirens were already accustomed to their Lord’s wild ideas.

He always came up with technologies that no one else could imagine.

Even Monica found some of his ideas astonishing.

"Speaking of which, the steel mill is almost finished. The trade convoy will set sail tomorrow, which means Beatrice can finally leave. Once she’s gone, those workers can start working at the factory."

Hughes had previously reached an agreement with Chloe to have those workers employed under him—

But first, he had to get rid of Beatrice.

Beatrice was sent by the Candlelight Church to monitor him.

If she saw the polluted workers laboring in the factory, she might misunderstand and think Hughes was running some sort of cult, which would be a problem.

Now that the steel mill was nearly complete, Hughes was in a hurry to form a trade convoy to set sail, partly for this reason.

Castel was simply too remote.

No merchant ships ever passed by.

Beatrice had been sent here on a ship arranged by the Candlelight Church, so in theory, she could request a ship to take her back.

As an Investigator, she had that right.

But who knew how long that would take?

"Speaking of those workers, they’re actually old acquaintances of mine. I should find an opportunity to visit them.

They’re probably already bored out of their minds by now."

The Candlelight Church’s exile didn’t mean these workers were being taken care of.

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They still had to participate in numerous rituals and prayers, along with a complex process of atonement.

It was a painful ordeal.

If Hughes could offer them jobs where they could actually earn wages, they’d probably be overjoyed.