Steel steam and flame

The road conditions going forward were not very good, and potholes appeared more and more frequently on the ground. The light of the car lights was not as powerful as Cassia and the others imagined, and many situations on the road were hidden in the dim shadows. After the surroundings of the car became completely dark, the vibrations became more severe, making both of them feel the physical discomfort caused by the shaking.

Moreover, the off-road vehicle could only move slower and slower, allowing them to drive slowly forward in the middle of the dark mountainside as the darkness continued to deepen.

"It seems that the plan has completely failed. The actual situation is too different from what was expected." The driver's face showed a tired look, but his arms were still coiled on the steering wheel like the roots of an old tree, and he accurately controlled the vehicle to avoid collisions. Into a large, seemingly peaceful hole in the road.

"I think I should be able to walk out of this mountain road and reach the flat place by early morning, right?" Cassia looked at the map under the light of the off-road vehicle and compared the general environment around them to find their current location.

"I think so. Once you get on that good road, you can go up the speed all at once, and you don't have to waste much time." The driver replied, staring closely at the place illuminated by the lights in front of him, "At that time It’s much closer to the destination of your trip, and you may be able to reach Brino by the time the sun just rises in the early morning.”

"You can take a good rest there then. Uncle, you don't have to go back to school immediately, right?" Cassia asked as she moved her body in the limited space.

"My bones are almost falling apart. I can't do it without rest. I am still an uncle who cherishes life, and my spirit is no longer strong." The driver said slowly, "Although there are still great hidden dangers in terms of safety and management in Brino. , but I think it shouldn’t be a problem to take a short rest there. And the time we went there happened to be during the day, and in some cases, people there would also want to avoid the light in the sky.”

There was obvious hesitation in his words, and his speed was very slow. Every word he spoke seemed to have to be thought through in his brain, carrying an uncomfortable weight.

"The empire's control there is very weak? Uncle, you don't seem to have a good impression of the place." Cassia asked next.

“I’ve only been there once, and it was more than ten years ago. I can’t say I have a good or bad impression now. But I did have an unpleasant feeling when I went to Brino at that time. It was still a small town at that time. But now it is an almost isolated city, and its scale is many times larger than before. I originally thought that the empire would strengthen supervision and control there. But not long ago, I saw the giant truck of the Three Primary Color Group If it crashes, I won’t have any big expectations for the management of the empire.”

The driver uncle sighed, and the sigh was the majority of it.

"I should have mentioned to you that the Three Primary Colors Group is tied to another giant company. They are like twin sisters." The uncle driver asked Cassia.

"As I said, you said that if you want to shake the Three Primary Colors Group, you must be prepared to face two giant companies at the same time."

"Yes, that's what it means. The sister company of the Three Primary Colors Group is the Imperial Mining Company, which is also one of the seven giant companies. In the early days, the Imperial Mining Company originally mined coal, but later switched to mining minerals. Otherwise, in the energy sector, The two of them are definitely the biggest competitors. But now because of the different development directions, the two companies can be considered to be in a relationship of mutual growth and common development. Three Primary Colors provides energy and steam furnace technology to help Imperial Mineral Resources create more powerful mining equipment. Mining machinery, while Imperial Mining Company helps the Three Primary Color Group mine main coal mines and limestone mines. They complement each other. Now no one can do without the other. So many times when talking about them, they will be regarded as As one entity, that is, one company. And the two companies seem to have the momentum to merge together recently, and it has been written about in major newspapers."

"Then this has nothing to do with the Brino area..."

"Is there any connection?" the middle-aged uncle replied nonchalantly, "Of course there is a connection. We are now in a huge mountain range. Let me tell you, in this entire mountain, nearly two-thirds of The area is in such a desolate state, with no grown trees, let alone forests. There are no special plant medicines on the mountain, and there is no unique animal ecosystem, etc. So the giant of the Three Primary Colors Group Why do trucks have to run inside? You also know that trucks of that size are rare in the world of ordinary people, and they mostly serve special projects."

"Then shouldn't the Imperial Mining Company be taken into consideration here, and then why?" Cassia looked at the driver's face and said.

"You young people are still very smart. It's exactly what you think. There is nothing in such a large mountainous area. There are no trees, no flowers, only grass. Even some common animals in the mountains are rare, including various minerals. A lot. The empire consumes countless resources every year, especially ordinary steel materials. You shouldn’t be able to estimate a specific value in your mind, right? That’s too much. And the Empire Mining Company It is the main provider of these substances. And it is just like the Webley Company whose main business is arms and also takes care of the steam automobile industry, or the Golden Bank, which also takes care of postal services. Although the Imperial Mining Company is mainly engaged in mineral business , but they are also developing other projects, a project that matches their characteristics.”

"The characteristics are consistent, digging mountains, digging holes?" A shocking scene of a huge steel drill drilling through mountains and then integrating them into flat land appeared in Cassia's head. But it was a bit unrealistic. He shook his head and listened to the driver's last words.

"It's not so exaggerated as to dig out a mountain. But if that mountain is made of minerals, I think they would be happy to do it." The uncle nodded in agreement with his words, "Their side job is to drill tunnels. , specially built a wide and smooth road in this harsh geographical environment. If the benefits of minerals are huge, special railway lines will be laid in the middle and later stages. The main forces for transporting minerals are steam locomotives, heavy trains, and airships It is very convenient, but the cost is too high. And the positioning of the airship is different. Its positioning is not a transportation, or its main function is not a transportation. The airship is developed and used as a war machine, and it is also useful in Transportation airships are like those numerous merchant ships. However, because of their different functions, the structures on the two airships are also different. I won’t go into too much detail here, and I can’t explain it clearly. I’ll just have to wait until you reach the military battleship level in the future. On the airship, you can have a deep understanding of it. Now let’s talk about the relationship between that truck and Blino, after all, it is related to your next mission. "