Qi Fenglei was remarkably efficient.
A Star Patrol Envoy arrived at the Main Star Department.
Zhang Luu looked at the man who held a position equivalent to his in the Star Patrol Department, his eyebrows knitted with dissatisfaction, "Tang Qing, isn’t your Star Patrol Department reaching too far? Do you have to forcefully intervene even in the appointment of the garrison commander by Minister Su?"
"Don’t be in a hurry, Brother Zhang. Sit down and listen to me explain slowly,"
Tang Qing said cheerfully, "Brother, you are unaware of some hidden details. Surely, I don’t need to elaborate on Gu Jinlai’s background, do I?"
"Are you referring to his status as a Purgatory Demon Sect Elder? Didn’t he already betray the Purgatory Demon Sect and ceased practicing the Purgatory Demon Sect Technique, instead converting to become a Heavenly Master? Although the Star Patrol Department’s main duty is patrolling, it shouldn’t overly focus on such trivial matters."
"Brother only knows one part but not the other. Betray the Purgatory Demon Sect? It’s not that simple. If Gu Jinlai truly betrayed the Purgatory Demon Sect, would the Law Enforcement Hall of the Purgatory Sect remain indifferent?"
Tang Qing said, "Think about it. From a young age, Gu Jinlai was picked by the Purgatory Demon Sect, everything he ate and used was provided by the Purgatory Sect, and his becoming a Refining God was also due to the Sect’s substantial cultivation. Now he wants to leave just like that? Would the Purgatory Sect let him go easily?"
He chuckled lightly, "Given the Purgatory Sect’s ruthlessness towards traitors, the lightest punishment is stripping of cultivation, but what have you seen? Has he received even the slightest punishment in the past six months?"
"After betraying the Purgatory Demon Sect, Gu Jinlai joined the Meteor Star Guard right away. Naturally, the Law Enforcement Hall of the Purgatory Demon Sect is cautious in this regard; what’s wrong with that?"
His acceptance of the Treasure Armor blueprint offered by Gu Jinlai naturally compelled him to speak in his favor.
"Brother Zhang might not know this yet,"
Tang Qing handed over an intelligence report, "My latest information, three days ago, the Sect Master of the Purgatory Demon Sect ordered Lingxiao City to be set up as a transit station for the Purgatory Demon Sect, promoting Gu Jinlai to a Golden Robed Elder under the jurisdiction of the Red Robed Elder Xue Wuqing, to manage the grand plan of the Purgatory Demon Sect taking over Star State."
He said with a smile, "How we came to know this secret is not your concern, Star Master Zhang. Perhaps it’s an internal power struggle within the Purgatory Demon Sect or some other reason, but the information is absolutely reliable."
"Promoted to Golden Robed Elder, managing Star State..."
Zhang Luu’s expression changed, but he still said, "As you said, this is an internal power struggle within the Purgatory Demon Sect. Perhaps this is their scheme against Gu Jinlai for betraying the Purgatory Demon Sect, using us to act against Gu Jinlai. If we abandon such a capable person, how would other garrison commanders view us, Meteor Star Guard? How could those who defected to us dare to serve us with all their heart?"
"I understand Brother Zhang’s concerns, but who said that we are going to act against Gu Jinlai, doing something that would hurt our own and please our enemies? We are only going to hold off on this matter for a bit."
Tang Qing said, "He has made great achievements; it doesn’t mean he must be promoted to garrison commander. We could reward him with some money, treasures."
After a moment, he came up with an idea, "Hasn’t he switched to practicing as a Heavenly Master? Heavenly Masters are proficient in Artifact Refining and Beast Taming. I remember there is a cultivation method in Meteor Star Guard for elevating a Swift Dragon to a T-Rex and further into a Mechanical Tyrannosaurus. Why not reward him with this as a prize?"
Zhang Luu was silent for a moment.
Seeing this, Tang Qing continued, "Gu Jinlai has too many issues. He definitely can’t withstand an investigation by the Star Patrol Department. Besides, he has only been the Vice Garrison Commander in Lingxiao City for a few months. It’s too soon for him to be promoted to Garrison Commander."
"Have you ever considered that Su Tong simply lacks the capability to hold the position of Lingxiao Town Guardian?"
He knew her very well.
She thought herself clever and capable, esteemed herself highly, yet all her plots and strategies were petty smarts, minor tactics, but everyone looked the other way for Minister Su’s sake.
This was also why Minister Su had entrusted her to him for the past half year, and he still didn’t know how to arrange things for Su Tong.
In their Main Star Department, promotions were rapid, but so were the dangers, which were the highest among the three departments.
"Do you think Minister Su is willing to let his precious daughter stay in Lingxiao City for a long time? At most half a year, or at a stretch a year, and she will surely be transferred."
Tang Qing said with a smile, "During this period, Brother Zhang can clearly see Gu Jinlai’s true nature. If he is capable and useful, Brother Zhang gains a great general; if he harbors sinister intentions, Brother Zhang need not bear the criticism of poor judgment."
"Half a year to a year..."
Hearing this, Zhang Luu finally didn’t persist any longer.
Just as Tang Qing said, half a year to a year wasn’t a long time.
And he indeed needed this period to carefully observe Gu Jinlai, to see if he could be effectively used.
Of course, there was another crucial factor.
Offending Gu Jinlai, a devil martial artist reliant on the Heavenly Master’s strange objects, wasn’t a big issue.
But offending Minister Su...
"Since Minister Su has said as much, if I don’t agree, it would be rather discourteous,"
Zhang Luu said in a low voice.
Since he had to owe a favor to Su Wen, he might as well make it a big one.
"Let the reward for Gu Jinlai be the Beast Taming Technique of the Heavenly Master. Su Tong will go to Lingxiao City to take up the position of garrison commander, and to ensure she has support when she gets there, I’ll add the position of Vice Garrison Commander."
"Brother Zhang is generous. Minister Cheng, Cheng Wanli, is advancing in years, and his successor will likely be selected in the coming years. We in the Star Patrol Department think Brother Zhang has a good chance."
"Then I’ll take your auspicious words,"
Zhang Luu showed a faint smile.
One month ago, the performance during the siege against the Red Blood Sect’s Short Range Defense Cannons ignited an unparalleled passion in Gu Junxiu and others.
Additionally, compared to the hundred craftsmen who had just arrived in Lingxiao City, the workshop now, with support from Starlight City, Lingxiao City, and a new batch from the Gu family, saw the number of craftsmen increase to six hundred.
Besides, Gu Jinlai had improved the stamping equipment, significantly boosting the production efficiency of bullets.
The production of bullets was no longer constrained by the efficiency of the Military Workshop, but by gunpowder.
Gu Jinlai’s True Spirit Possession had led to the depletion of spiritual essence. This month, the efficiency of Co-spirit had significantly decreased, the production of gunpowder could not keep up, and despite having six hundred craftsmen, the stock of bullets had not yet reached ten thousand.
And they were 7.62 mm Gatling bullets.
To save on propellant.
Gu Jinlai rubbed his forehead.
The time it took for an ordinary object to evolve into a Spiritual Artifact was too long.
Ten years was considered fast.
Perhaps, only after he completely cultivated his True Spirit and underwent True Spirit Possession ten or eight times, could he compress the transformation time of the Spiritual Artifact to one or two years.
There was another way.
"Patriarch, please look."
Gu Junxiu pointed to two "Thunder God" Gatlings in front of them and said with a hint of seeking credit, "These are the war weapons newly produced this month by two hundred craftsmen skilled in metal forging, who worked day and night, finely sculpting according to your description, Patriarch."
Gu Jinlai took a look...
It could now reach the level of movie props.
He estimated that unless there was a technological breakthrough, this level was probably the limit.
"Then follow this standard and make ten more to start."
Any more would be too much for him to handle.
In fact, even one "Thunder God" Gatling...
Even this finely sculpted, mold-like "Thunder God" Gatling would take about half a year through Co-spirit to make internal changes that reached a usable standard.
You should know, merely the internal changes were still far from turning it into a true Spiritual Artifact through Summoning.
Even so, it would still take half a year, which shows the difficulty of production.
If he hadn’t exhausted all the information in his mind without finding the complete production process for the "Thunder God" Gatling, he would have focused solely on climbing the technology tree.
"I regret not studying more back in the day."
The knowledge base was not enough.
But then again, no normal person would go out of their way to learn how to make Gatlings.
Gu Jinlai inspected the Military Workshop for a moment, then went to another casting site.
This place was managed by Gu Junlei.
And the items they produced...
Resembled a large pot.
A massively upsized large pot.
Gu Jinlai learned about the progress here and then inquired from Nian Buwang, who had just returned from the Chi Feng Ancient Family and was following him closely.
"Gu Junlei has said the mold manufacturing can be completed in six months, how is the Qiushan project coming along?"
"You need to clear a kilometer in diameter... and repair a road that leads directly to the depths of Qiushan. The amount of work is substantial, even though we’ve recruited a hundred thousand laborers, paying a hefty sum to boost Lingxiao City’s economy, completing the preparatory work will still take three months," Nian Buwang said.
This world, although antiquated, had a production capacity that was not low.
At least, a Martial Artist who had formed a demon body was more efficient than most machinery on Blue Star.
"Please rest assured, Patriarch, we will strive to complete the infrastructure within six months," Nian Buwang promised earnestly.
Just then, Gu Chaoyang hurried over, looking grave: "Patriarch, someone from the Purgatory Sect has arrived."
"The Purgatory Sect."
Gu Jinlai showed no great surprise, "It was about time."
He then stopped inspecting the two factories, "Let’s go meet them."