"Okay, Teacher Luo. Tell the convoy not to leave through the main gate. Have them come directly to me." After giving the instructions, Qin Ziwen returned to his Home.

He used a Recruitment Card for a senior Human Race shipwright.

When the light faded, an old man of about sixty appeared. He had a lean, wiry frame, a slightly hunched back, and a long, salt-and-pepper braided pigtail.

The old man’s exposed skin was the bronze of someone long exposed to the wind and sun. His eyes were calm and focused, and his knuckles were large and covered with calluses.

"I am Tao Fu, my lord!"

The old man cupped his fists, his voice resonant and clear.

Qin Ziwen wasted no time, concisely explaining their current situation and the need for ships for the upcoming Island map.

"Based on our Home’s current capabilities, I need you to build the most suitable ships possible."

"My lord," Tao Fu said, his eyes calm, "shipbuilding rests on three pillars: materials, skill, and manpower. Even with the aid of a building’s special effects, this is not something that can be rushed.

A seafaring vessel’s keel is key. The hull’s mortise-and-tenon joinery and watertight compartments involve a multitude of complex steps. Our priority shouldn’t be a large ship, but rather small boats. For one, they can meet our immediate needs for coastal fishing and hunting. For another, they’ll allow our people to quickly learn how to handle a boat and its sails."

Qin Ziwen said, "I remember hearing that the keel is the most important part of a ship."

Tao Fu replied, "You are correct, my lord. A ship’s keel is typically made from massive timbers. The best choices are nanmu, teak, or oak."

"That might be difficult. We can barely find any trees in this Gobi Desert, let alone massive timbers. It’s practically impossible."

Qin Ziwen then asked, "What about animal bones? I seem to recall people building ships from whale bones."

"It works for small boats, but not for large ships," Tao Fu said, shaking his head.

Qin Ziwen’s expression shifted. "Then what about metal? Master Tao, do you have any techniques for metal forging?"

"Metal? Impossible. It’s heavy, corrodes easily, and is prone to fracture. My lord, metal may be hard, but it’s a terrible choice for a keel. Against the surging waves of the sea, a metal keel wouldn’t last long before snapping.

Besides, wouldn’t it be a better use of metal to forge weapons and Armor? To use it on a ship would be a complete waste." That was Tao Fu’s professional opinion.

Qin Ziwen mulled it over. ’After industrialization, virtually all modern ships are made of metal, which means it is feasible.’

’The only question is whether the Yanwu Military Equipment Supervisor is capable of forging an iron ship.’

’Of course, I’m no expert in this field and don’t really know how modern ships are made. But with two thousand people in the Gated Community, surely someone knows a thing or two.’

Qin Ziwen gave his instructions. "Alright, Master Tao. We’ll do as you suggest. For now, just build some boats for coastal travel. Make sure to reinforce the bottoms as much as possible. There are probably all kinds of Sea Beasts on the seabed."

"Yes, my lord."

Then, Qin Ziwen led Tao Fu to the edge of the Yanwu Military Equipment Supervisor. On its periphery, he used a Building Card for a Level 1 Dock.

When the light faded, a wood-and-stone structure appeared. It was a dock, measuring 20 by 60 meters, half-embedded in the earth and half-exposed.

Its main feature was a 30 by 10-meter dry dock in the center, the floor of which was lined with impermeable clay.

A five-meter slipway extended from the front, leading right to the edge of the Home—a hazy, gray boundary wall of mist.

At the rear was a wooden hut. Inside, handsaws, shipwright’s planes, and wood saws hung on the walls. In the corners were coils of palm rope, cans filled to the brim with tung oil, and a large tin can full of rivets.

Tao Fu looked around and said with some difficulty, "My lord, these are certainly the right tools for shipbuilding, but... with this, we can only build small boats for rivers and lakes. Anything larger would be a real challenge."

"Don’t worry," Qin Ziwen said. "See the Military Equipment Supervisor back there? You’ll have access to its Research and Development Workshop and Divine Machine Workshop. You can use their resources in conjunction with this dock."

Tao Fu turned to look at the Yanwu Military Equipment Supervisor. Judging by appearance alone, the Military Equipment Supervisor was far more impressive than the dock.

It was the difference between a royal manufactory in the Capital City and a tiny shipyard in some small coastal town.

"Master Tao," Qin Ziwen reminded him, "for this first batch of ships, besides a reinforced hull and a thickened bottom, their main purpose will be for fishing and hunting Sea Beasts."

Tao Fu thought for a moment before replying, "In that case, let’s start with a batch of flat-bottomed, sharp-bowed sampans. My lord, even though they’re flat-bottomed and can’t handle the deep sea or large waves, they’re perfect for shallow waters. They can navigate through reefs and be beached directly on the shore. They’re ideal for our initial phase. Once we’ve found a suitable harbor, it won’t be too late to build bigger ships."

Qin Ziwen laughed heartily. "Sounds good! We’ll do it your way, Master Tao. To each their own specialty. I’ll defer to the expert."

He then called Li Tieshan over, gave him his instructions, and prepared to set out.

Tao Fu called out to stop him. "My lord, I’ve heard there’s an Oasis in the Gobi Desert. May I come along and see if there are any suitable shipbuilding materials there?"

Qin Ziwen agreed and told Tao Fu to get ready to leave with them shortly.

The transport team had been waiting downstairs for a long time.

"Leader!"

"Leader!"

The shouts came one after another from the crowd.

Most of the people here were now members of the Qin Alliance, with the remainder being students from the Student Union.

As for the original members of the Alliance Association, after seeing how the two groups compared, nearly all of them had gradually left their old allegiance to join the Qin Alliance.

"Follow me upstairs," Qin Ziwen said. "And bring the carts with you."

The crowd exchanged glances. The carts weren’t light, and carrying them up the stairwell would take a lot of effort.

But trusting in Qin Ziwen’s authority, a few of the men squatted down and started hauling them up.

Seeing this, the others followed suit, and the group formed a long line up the stairs.

From a distance, some onlooking residents pointed and muttered, "Why are they hauling all those carts upstairs?"

"They’ll just have to carry them back down again. What a waste of effort."

The residents waited outside for a long time, but the group never came back out after going up. They had vanished.

Far away, Zou Jianghe’s expression grew grim. He’d long heard rumors that Qin Ziwen’s group possessed something akin to a Teleportation Gate.

Now, it seemed those rumors were true.

A flicker of deep apprehension crossed his eyes.

’I understand him less and less.’

’His growth rate... it’s so fast it’s like he’s cheating.’

"Holy shit, Leader! We’re already at the Oasis!"

"That was so fast! We just saved a whole day’s travel!"

The crowd buzzed with excitement. Many stared in shock at their new surroundings, though some were a little more mentally prepared, having previously seen the Car-Mounted Crossbows transported via the Node.

Still, being mentally prepared and experiencing it firsthand were two completely different things.

"Leader, does this mean we can go straight back to the Gated Community from here?"

"No, we can’t. We’ll have to walk back. This is a one-way passage," Qin Ziwen said, shaking his head.

"Still, that’s pretty great! It saves us half the travel time," someone said with a laugh.

"We’ve got the Leader to thank for this."

Tao Fu, who had come along to the Oasis, was filled with wonder at his surroundings, especially the enormous dinosaurs in the distance that roamed the Oasis like living Giant Beasts.

He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, "No wonder the lord asked if animal bones could be used for shipbuilding."

’A creature that large must have incredibly hard bones. It wasn’t just the lord; now even he was eager to give it a try.’

...

...