Chapter 28: Gambling Duel

Howard said this as he walked to the scorched workshop near the steel mill's feed area, and spoke loudly.

"Each work cycle is divided into two shifts, with a working duration of sixteen hours."

"In each work cycle, there is one hour of maintenance time, and a shift rotation system is implemented."

He walked to the No. 2 coke oven and continued.

"The first stage of steelmaking is coking, where coking coal is mixed, crushed, and then added to the coke oven, producing hot coke and crude coke oven gas through a dry distillation process."

"The No. 1 coke oven has 53 holes, the No. 2 coke oven has 53 holes, and the No. 3 coke oven has 31 holes, totaling 137 holes; the coke pushing sequence standard is to be executed according to 5-4."

"The coal charging time is sixteen minutes, and the single coke pushing time is eleven minutes."

The coke pushing sequence is the order in which coal is charged and coke is discharged from the various carbonization chambers of a set of coke ovens.

The skilled workers of the Finde Family improved upon this after research, reducing wait times and drastically shortening the work time from twenty-six minutes to eleven minutes; they performed a demonstration under Howard's instruction.

"The coking time for each oven is fifteen hours, and the coke quenching and screening time is thirty-four minutes."

"The total operation time for the oven is sixteen hours; each of the two shifts per cycle should complete one round, with a yield of 137 ovens each, and the standard coke production for each shift per work cycle is two thousand and thirteen tons."

The workers looked in unison at a foreman who had once served as a scorched workshop foreman at the nearby Katowice Dome steel mill.

The bald foreman scratched his head and nodded slightly.

Although the time was tight, a well-coordinated shift team going all out could indeed complete it.

Subsequently, Howard introduced the standards for each process one by one, and the workers realized that although the standards were difficult, they were indeed achievable, and they gradually began to believe his words.

The blonde noble returned to the high platform and continued.

"This production cycle is the first production cycle for the Magnito Steel Mill to resume production; I will give you time, and as long as you can finish before the next Yekai Shift arrives, you can obtain a ration of Corpse Starch."

"The first shift team to finish will receive tuna, bread, and water."

"My meals consist of such food, which eighty percent of the people in the Upper Hive cannot eat."

"Those who get to eat it can say in the future that they have eaten food better than the people of the Upper Hive."

The bald foreman was the first to react and slapped his head hard.

"What are we waiting for? Whether it's true or false, we'll know once we try."

"What was that fish called again?"

Howard said with a smile: "Tuna."

"Those who want to eat tuna, get moving with the old man."

"You, you, and you, you three look the strongest; you are the coal charging and coke pushing team, get moving for me immediately."

"Remember, it must be filled full, leveled, packed tight, and distributed evenly."

With four hours left until the Yekai Shift, the bald foreman shouted.

"It's done!"

He let go of the cart and walked quickly toward the high platform; all the workers stopped their work and looked toward the high platform.

Howard signaled the HuoweiDuiZhang to let the soot-covered foreman of the scorched workshop come up.

"Don't be anxious, what's yours won't run away; I'll have the cook heat it up for you."

"No need," the foreman said hurriedly, "it's fine to eat cold."

Amidst the envious gazes of all the workers, he took the lunch box and water canteen.

"Thank you, my lord, praise be to my lord..."

He said incessantly, held the reward firmly, and turned to walk down.

At the same moment, workers from other factories widened their eyes; they saw the foreman distribute the food to his subordinates, and when they swallowed it, their jaws nearly dropped; a thought could not help but arise in their minds.

【So what that noble said was true.】

Howard shook his head; since he had promised, he would not go back on his word.

The reputation of the Finde Family was worth far more than tuna and pure water; he pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down.

He discovered that everyone's aura presented as red enthusiasm and white positivity.

After the blonde noble turned off his Spirit Vision, he stood on the high platform observing the crowd and found that, despite their exhaustion, they were all like people injected with stimulants, their movements powerful and fast.

【Is this what my master meant by mobilizing the workers' enthusiasm?】

He nodded with satisfaction and said to the HuoweiDuiZhang.

"You stay behind to distribute the Corpse Starch; remember to follow the standard."

Subsequently, Howard walked toward the lounge where Ninglu had once stayed, which had just finished expansion.

After closing the door, the blonde noble yawned; he was not a "Sleepless" like Bukayo, and having not rested for nearly two work cycles made him feel tired.

Just as Howard was making a breakthrough at the Hantemanxi Dome, Ninglu met Thierry Viera in the shantytown outside the Lukebo Hive City.

Thierry was about twenty-three or twenty-four years old; his figure was tall and well-proportioned, his muscle lines were smooth, and his short blonde hair set off his chiseled face.

His eyes were deep and bright, and he looked with astonishment at the giant holding a Heavy Halberd before him.

Thierry subconsciously gripped the family heirloom longsword at his waist and asked in a deep voice.

"You are the new king of Teziwoke, Ninglu."

"I will be the king of Vostonia, and you should submit to me."

Ninglu stepped forward, and Thierry felt heavy pressure; he heard undeniable confidence in the giant's words, as if what he said was the truth.

"For thousands of years, hundreds of kings have wanted to conquer Vostonia, and no one has ever succeeded."

"How will you do it? With just the fewer than three thousand people behind you, you can't even take Lukebo."

"You are wrong," Ninglu said in a deep voice, "my confidence stems from my strength; I heard you are hailed as the number one swordsman of Vostonia, I would like to see how much skill you have."

Thierry smiled confidently, "Combat does not depend on body size."

"If I win, will you, this so-called king of Vostonia, submit to me?"

"Since you are so confident, how about the loser serves the winner for eternity?"

Hearing Ninglu's words of a high-stakes gamble, Thierry thought to himself.

【I have killed over a dozen Ogryns; Ninglu is merely a bit taller, I will certainly be able to defeat him.】

If I can truly control Teziwoke, then there is hope for my revenge; I will not be as reckless and arrogant as him, I will continue to harass with guerrilla tactics, and by building up an army, I will definitely be able to defeat Puhachi.

If he can truly defeat me, then he might be able to kill Puhachi, in which case it would not be unacceptable for me to serve him, but that is absolutely impossible.】

"My King, please allow me to fight him first."

Luoersiliefu stared intently at Thierry and said, brimming with fighting spirit.

Thierry glanced at the dark-skinned burly man; his skin had been darkened by long-term labor.

【A worker by origin?】

Thierry frowned slightly; the giant Ninglu at least looked formidable, but this man could only be considered a burly man, yet he actually dared to challenge him.

"Does he represent you?"

"No one can represent my King."

Luoersiliefu said loudly, and he drew a Laser Pistol from his waist.

"This pistol is a master-crafted product of the Boleslaw Family; if you win against me, it will be yours."

"It is indeed a good gun," Thierry nodded slightly, "I will fight you first."

He drew his Power Sword and pressed the control device on the hilt, activating the Disruption Field.

Luoersiliefu activated his Chainsword at the same time, and the two walked toward each other.

A cold glint flashed in Thierry's eyes as he suddenly stepped forward; the simplest first thrust of the "Osberch-Waya" was like a shining fire snake, lunging toward Luoersiliefu's chest.

If you calculate the output of this chapter, please note that if you calculate according to the parameters I set, the resulting coke output will be roughly correct. I once went to a steel mill for research and know that the current coke pushing sequences used are 9-2, 5-2, and 2-1; there is no 5-4, and the coking time is also much shorter than the current ones. The data is a reasonable improvement based on actual production capacity.

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(End of this chapter)