Chapter 368: The Initial Formation of the Divine Kingdom and the Son of the Plane

The massive strike currently erupting in Grimland is the result of the Pine Coal Mine explosion, the Sloan Textile Factory incident, and the accumulation of many previous labor movements.

The momentum of this strike is incredibly fierce, so violent that it has paralyzed more than half of Grimland.

Even if Prime Minister Luo En were still alive, he would find a strike of this scale a headache, let alone Acting Prime Minister Glad.

Faced with this strike, the approach Glad chose was to throw out a red herring.

The red herring effect refers to how, over a hundred years ago, Stilan nobles training hounds to track foxes would place smoked, red-colored herring meat to divert the hounds' attention, thereby training them to resist external interference during a hunt.

This metaphor has been applied to various situations, meaning to use irrelevant matters to shift focus and influence a target's judgment.

Among these, the fields of politics and public relations are the most suitable places to place a red herring.

To quell a major public opinion crisis, the best method is not to address the problem head-on, but to manufacture another explosive news story to divert the public's gaze.

For example, whenever a shocking scandal breaks, celebrities from all walks of life scramble to jump out and contribute bizarre gossip, attracting fire for the big shots.

Due to the lack of the internet in the Steam Phantom plane, information spreads slowly, making high-end maneuvers like "sacrificing a pawn to save the knight" impossible, but "sacrificing the rook to save the king" is still achievable.

The red herring Glad threw out is the Anti-Corn Law.

One of the important reasons why workers live in poverty and go hungry is the high grain prices caused by the Corn Law.

The dissatisfaction of the lower classes with the Corn Law is long-standing; protests against the Corn Law far predate the Charter movement.

If there is anything more important than workers fighting for political rights, it is the right to fight for a full stomach.

The Anti-Corn Law is both a hot topic and capable of attracting the workers' attention; more importantly, as the current leader of the Liberal Party, Prime Minister Glad supports the Anti-Corn Law more than Prime Minister Luo En did.

Now is the perfect time to borrow a knife to kill, using the workers' anger to force the landed nobility to compromise.

If the landed nobility compromises, the advancement of the Anti-Corn Law can, to a great extent, appease the workers' anger and show them that Acting Prime Minister Glad cares about their living conditions and stands with them.

At that time, using the Anti-Corn Law as an entry point to give a few speeches will make it not difficult to soothe the workers.

At the same time, the implementation of the Anti-Corn Law can severely damage the landed nobility and greatly reduce their influence in Stilan.

If the landed nobility is unwilling to compromise, that is even better.

Glad can take advantage of the situation to shift the conflict from one between factories and workers to one between the landed nobility and the lower classes.

You are already suffering so much, yet these corrupt landed nobles remain indifferent, wanting to watch you starve to death!

If operated correctly, he will use the workers' fury to ruthlessly chop off one, or perhaps two, of the landed nobility's arms.

As a pure-blood new noble, Glad is disgusted by the faces of the old-guard nobles, and he also covets the legislative power of the House of Lords, wanting to bring it into the Cabinet, though he had never found the opportunity.

If the landed nobility blocks the Anti-Corn Law, then the reshaping of the House of Lords will happen today.

From the moment he played the "Corn Law Repeal Agreement" card, the result was destined to be a win-win, with Glad winning twice.

It is just that while the plan was grand, when it came to actual implementation, he did not feel like he had won big at all.

Regarding the "Corn Law Repeal Agreement," the House of Commons passed it with 427 votes in favor and 129 against.

On the day of the vote, the House of Lords also passed the proposal with an overwhelming majority; Queen Olivia had no objections and signed the bill immediately after the vote, declaring the "Corn Law" completely repealed.

With this card Glad played, both the conservatives and the House of Lords appeared exceptionally cooperative—so cooperative that they seized the initiative, eager to jump up and do it themselves.

This anomaly made Glad very uneasy, but things had reached this point, and he had no other choice.

Just like that, the Anti-Corn Law movement, which had been pushed for years without result, was easily passed in a very anticlimactic way, as if the resistance from all sides before had been a misunderstanding.

As the Minister of Secret Security, Wu Chang also participated in the promotion of the "Corn Law Repeal Agreement." After casting his vote in the House of Commons, he hurried away and boarded the carriage of the Secret Security Department.

Because this was not an external investigation but an official outing, Bu Ke snatched the role of coachman from Lei Wendun.

Lei Wendun, waiting in the carriage, saw Wu Chang board and asked, "How did it go?"

Wu Chang said, "Passed with a large majority."

Lei Wendun wore a thoughtful expression and said, "Those old guys seem to be plotting some big move."

Ice three feet thick is not formed in a single day, but even a layman could see there was a mastermind behind the strike developing to its current scale.

The compromise of the landed nobility was foreseeable, but no one expected them to compromise so quickly, without any struggle.

Where there is an anomaly, there must be a demon; the landed nobility must have an ulterior motive.

Wu Chang said indifferently, "Let them toss and turn. Compared to these things, I am more concerned about the dismantling results of the self-detonating cyborgs at Grimland University."

He knocked on the carriage and said to Bu Ke:

"Take us to Grimland University."

On the day of the vote, three days had passed since the Soul Loom was discovered.

During these three days, Grimland became exceptionally "quiet." Whether it was the Steam Council or the Serene Sect, everyone went into hiding, as if everyone were watching this strike performance.

The pace of the walkthrough, which had been accelerating since entering the Steam Phantom dungeon, was abruptly interrupted by this strike.

Protesting and striking workers could be seen everywhere in Grimland, making further investigation into the assassination of Prime Minister Luo En exceptionally difficult.

Waiting time is boring, but it was not entirely without progress.

During the final battle for the invitation, Wu Chang stopped the self-detonation of a Steam Council cyborg.

That cyborg had been modified by Franken-class extraordinary machine tools and its body was exceptionally precise. Wu Chang could destroy it under the guidance of the Omniscient Crystal, but he could not dismantle it with his bare hands.

To dismantle the cyborg and carefully study the clues within, he still needed the professionals at Grimland University to take action.

They only finished dismantling the various parts of the cyborg and preliminarily researched the relevant clues just before the House of Commons vote today.

Grimland University is very close to the Parliament Building; ten minutes later, Wu Chang quickly arrived at this young university.

Grimland University was established only four years ago, pushed by Queen Olivia and Prime Minister Luo En to promote teaching diversity, weaken the influence of the Holy Church, and research extraordinary steam engines.

Before the Holy Enlightenment Sect replaced the Holy Church, religion held huge discourse power in Stilan, the most critical part of which was education.

The vast majority of old-guard universities had strict restrictions on religion; only those who believed in the Holy Church could enroll or teach.

It was not until Stilan broke away from the Holy See and the Queen replaced the Pope as the religious spiritual leader that universities gradually relaxed their restrictions on religion.

The most famous of these is Grimland University.

As a representative of progress, inclusion, and openness, Grimland University is full of vitality and gathers the world's top talent.

Wu Chang and Lei Wendun went all the way to the Steam Machinery Academy, where Zhu Li was already waiting for them.

Under Zhu Li's guidance, they came to a research institute. Besides the three of them, the Dean of the Steam Machinery Academy, Collins, the President of the Alchemy Association, Lu Ka, and Glad's secretary were present.

On the test bench in the center of the room, Wu Chang saw the anomaly that had attempted to self-detonate that day—or to be precise, the mechanical part of the anomaly's body.

Judging from the dismantled parts, the internal structure of the mechanical cyborg was not complex. The mechanical part of the body did not contain precise parts similar to the core of an extraordinary steam engine.

If viewed as a tool, its existence was a human bomb. Its mechanical body parts, except for the detonator destroyed by Wu Chang, were all filled with transparent particles like black crystals.

Wu Chang grabbed a few grains in his palm, and a prompt popped up before his eyes.

"Item Name: Steam Explosive" (Unlocked by King's Badge)

"Item Type: Consumable"

"Skill Description: Manufactured using various extraordinary items through extraordinary industrial chemical processes, mixed with the power of the Steam Source. It causes massive damage to extraordinary beings who have not mastered the power of the Source. This effect can only be used by plane natives."

"Note: Steam Explosives are manufactured by stable atomizing centrifuges. The birth of this machine allowed Stilan to make a breakthrough in the field of gunpowder; it is a shining pearl on the crown of industry."

The result before him was the worst of all foreseeable situations, bar none.

The appearance of Steam Explosives means that as long as the raw materials are sufficient, the Steam Council can mass-produce this explosive.

They want to replicate the explosion of that day at a very low cost. If they hadn't taken such a conspicuous approach but instead snuck cyborgs near players to self-detonate, I'm afraid few players could withstand it.

If the amount of gunpowder is sufficient, even Wu Chang would feel threatened.

These guys from the Steam Council are not reassuring at all.

The President of the Alchemy Association, Lu Ka, took out a list and handed it to Wu Chang, saying:

"We have analyzed the composition of this new type of explosive and cracked several of its main ingredients."

"The good news is that many of the raw materials involved are strictly controlled by the Empire. Even if they are careful, they will leave traces."

"Moreover, the production process of this explosive requires a large consumption of coal essence. The output of coal essence is scarce, and mining is extremely limited, so they won't be able to make too many of these new explosives."

Hearing Lu Ka's statement, Wu Chang frowned and looked at Zhu Li. Zhu Li knew what Wu Chang wanted to say and gave him an affirmative look in return.

It seems that Zhu Li did not disclose the fact that the extraordinary refiner under the Pine Coal Mine could mass-produce coal essence.

If the only constraint on the production of Steam Explosives is coal essence, then it is basically equivalent to no constraint.

After all, the output of coal essence at the Pine Coal Mine is so large that, besides supplying the Steam Council, they can even take a portion to resell on the black market.

Watching Lu Ka's expression as he persuaded others not to worry, Wu Chang really wanted to know if this guy would still be so calm if he knew the truth.

Lu Ka did not notice the eye contact between Wu Chang and Zhu Li; he continued:

"Sir Xiao En, if nothing goes wrong, this matter likely involves extraordinary steam engines. The Police Department is difficult to involve; it requires your Secret Security Department and the secret police controlled by Archbishop Zhu Li to conduct the investigation."

Wu Chang put away the list handed over by Lu Ka and said, "We will find out the mastermind as soon as possible."

While Wu Chang's main body and Lei Wendun were discussing with Zhu Li and others how to investigate the Steam Explosives, Wu Chang's true self took a carriage all the way to the Gray Church slums.

From far away from the slums, he could see the tens-of-meters-high Tree of Miracles, its canopy like an umbrella, shrouding the slums within.

During the three days of the strike, most activities in the city came to a standstill, but some things made rapid progress during this strike.

For example, the construction of the Gray Church slums.

This strike was massive and could turn into violent conflict at any time. To be safe, most factories in Grimland temporarily stopped production.

The slum residents who lost their jobs, seeing that there was money to be made in renovating the slums, threw themselves wholeheartedly into the renovation.

With a large amount of manpower joining, it only took two days to give the slums a brand-new look.

Environmental sanitation management, combined with Ailin's treatment, caused malaria to disappear completely from the Gray Church slums, making it one of the few pure lands in Grimland.

Seeing the changes in the Gray Church slums, Zhu Li kept her previous promise and gave the poorhouse to Wu Chang, letting him change it into the Church of Eternal Light.

It is no exaggeration to say that the changes in the Gray Church slums were earth-shaking. Not only were other slums envious of this change, but even ordinary families living in the nearby worker districts had the intention to move here.

When they learned that all the changes stemmed from the Church of Eternal Light brought by Ailin, the lower-class people in the surrounding areas converted to the Church of Eternal Light on a large scale in an instant.

In just three days, the faith power accumulated by the Church of Eternal Light was enough to allow the Pillar of the Divine Kingdom to take initial shape.

Within a two-kilometer radius of the Gray Church, it has now become Ailin's Divine Kingdom; even the rules of the Steam Phantom plane cannot affect the interior of the Divine Kingdom.

Wu Chang entered the Gray Church slums and felt his whole body relax significantly; the suppression of the steam rules on him was instantly isolated by the Tree of Miracles.

Relying on this divine kingdom, he was already in an invincible position for this Steam Phantom dungeon run.

No matter how much the steam rules affected the plane, as long as he sensed trouble, he would dive into the slums; if the dungeon boss dared to pursue him inside, he and Yu Ailin would ensure the opponent never returned.

If Zhu Li were a bit more generous and gifted them the St. George’s Cathedral for Yu Ailin to transform into the Eternal Light Church.

It probably wouldn't take two days for the smog over Grimlund to clear up and the sky to turn bright and sunny.

By then, influenced by the plane's rules, it would no longer be the players who had to roll out of this plane, but the Son of the Plane of the Steam Phantom.

It was a pity that the Abyss Game did not allow him to do so, otherwise, Yu Ailin’s divine kingdom would not have been suppressed to a mere two-kilometer radius.

Entering the slums, he, like other believers who had come for the reputation, headed straight for the Gray Church.

He sat on the last pew of the Gray Church, casually cast a sound-insulation barrier, and asked the person beside him: "How have you been lately?"

Sitting beside him, Xiang Jianxing, who had been keeping his head down in prayer, looked up and said:

"Everything is going smoothly. Leng Shan and I have successfully joined the Steam Council, and yesterday, we successfully entered one of the Steam Council's strongholds."

"It’s just that they are too cautious; the carriage that took us to the stronghold was a fully enclosed, specialized one capable of blocking our perception."

During the great strike, Wu Chang followed the plan and kept having the Arcane Knights attempt to make contact with Henry, the editor-in-chief of the Bright Lamp Newspaper.

Because of the Sloan Textile Mill, Henry did not refuse contact, but he remained hesitant about deep cooperation and gave no definite answer.

Although they didn't manage to probe anything out of Henry, the contact between the Arcane Knights and Henry did allow Xiang Jianxing and Leng Shan to complete their mission and successfully join the Steam Council.

Xiang Jianxing paused for a moment, leaned his head slightly toward Wu Chang, and even though they were inside the sound-insulation barrier, he subconsciously lowered his voice and said:

"We just joined the Steam Council and couldn't obtain clearance related to the stronghold, but based on the layout inside the stronghold and the concentration of the Steam Source Power, Leng Shan has been able to confirm that the Son of the Plane is indeed in the Steam Council."

"There is one more thing: the guy who received us claims to be a Steam Council member. He said they chose us because, like them, we possess the power of rules."

"He also said that the current influence of the Steam Source Power on the plane's rules is no coincidence; it is the result of them pushing it from behind."

"He said that every time an extraordinary steam machine is discovered by outsiders and exposed to the public eye, the influence of the steam rules on the world deepens by one layer."

Wu Chang frowned after hearing this, pondering the intelligence mentioned by Xiang Jianxing.

First, what he hadn't expected was that this organization, which didn't look like the final villain, actually had the Son of the Plane inside.

Second, that Son of the Plane’s control over the Steam Source Power far exceeded his and Lei Wendun’s estimates.

Not only did he master the Source Power himself, but he even mastered the method to make the Steam Source Power affect the plane's rules.

Perhaps the timing of the extraordinary steam machines being discovered differed from what the Steam Council expected, but macroscopically, it had not deviated from their plan.

In other words, the clues regarding the extraordinary refiner and the soul loom left at the bottom of the Pine Tree Coal Mine were all their deliberate doing.

Wu Chang narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself that things were getting troublesome.

After Xiang Jianxing finished reporting the intelligence they had gathered, his gaze turned toward the interior of the Gray Church, and he couldn't help but ask:

"How did you find this place? I can feel that this church possesses a special power capable of isolating the steam rules."

"If it weren't for the existence of this place, I would have been worried about the Steam Council monitoring us with rule power and wouldn't have dared to meet you so easily."

Wu Chang said: "The power to isolate the steam rules does not come from this church, but from the wife of Sir Xiao En."

"Sir Xiao En asked me to tell you that if your identities are discovered by the Steam Council and you are hunted by them, try your best to find a way to escape into these slums."

"No matter who is hunting you, as long as you enter the slums, Lady Xiao En can guarantee your safety."

(End of this chapter)