Chapter 265. Submarine
When Charles was brought before Swann, he found the corpulent man rapidly typing away on a typewriter.
"You're here?" Swann asked without even looking up to spare Charles a glance.
Charles was slightly taken aback by his indifferent attitude. It was a stark contrast to that when they last met. Since Swann displayed no intention of making small talk, Charles was more than happy to get straight to the point as well.
"I need to commission a special vessel, and I may require the use of your naval shipyard."
A dark object flew toward Charles. He reacted swiftly and lifted a hand to catch it. Opening up his palm, he realized it was a disk made of various flat gears.
"Take this token to the shipyard; they will attend to you. You still have to pay, though. If there's nothing else, you can leave. I'm now managing twelve islands, and not just some minor governor like you,” Swann said with evident disdain in his voice.
Charles' rows furrowed together. He cast a last glance at Swann's somewhat balding head and turned to leave.
He hadn't expected his second encounter with Swann to play out like this. This time, Swann showed a clear lack of desire for conversation from his end.
But no matter what, he had achieved his purpose and felt no need to associate with the arrogant man that much. He boarded the car and instructed the driver to head to the largest shipyard.
The shipyards on Albion Isles are located at the island's rear. Due to the large landmass, the car even had to make a stop for refueling before Charles finally arrived at his destination.
Upon reaching the so-called shipyard, Charles was astounded to see an additional island in the distance. He stared at it closely and realized it was the crouching form of Ronker.
This was his first time seeing the legendary colossal metal construct.
Seeing it in person was entirely different from the photographs in newspapers. Even from such a distance, the oppressive presence of the steel behemoth was palpable.
It was hard to imagine the magnificent spectacle if that gigantic machine stood upright.
A massive thing that large can actually move. How did they even achieve it? Charles wondered. A burning curiosity sprouted in him; he wanted to explore its interior to know more.
However, seeing the heavily guarded facility, with sentries every few steps, the inquisitiveness in him was quelled.
Ronker was very important to Swann, and he certainly wouldn't allow any outsiders near it. If Charles were in his shoes, he would have done the same.
Charles entered the shipyard and showed the token he had received from Swann.
Learning that the man before them was the governor of Hope Island and he had traveled a great distance to commission a vessel, the shipyard staff became exceedingly cooperative.
Eventually, three senior ship designers were assigned to handle Charles' order.
"I want to build this; are you able to do it?" Charles said as he fished out a sketch he had prepared from within his inner coat.
The sketch detailed a submarine. Though he had never seen a real one, he had gathered enough from television to draft a rough design.
The three gray-haired elderly men received the drawing and scrutinized it. Confused expressions appeared on their countenances.
"Sir Governor, may I know if this vessel is to be used for exploring a unique sea area? Why are there no windows? I've been building ships for most of my life, but I’ve never come across such an odd design," one of the designers commented. He looked very much experienced and was wearing rimless glasses.
"It's not a unique sea area. It's a vessel designed for underwater exploration. Can you build it? It's important to note that the submarine must have an independent oxygen supply," Charles explained.
A corner of the bespectacled designer's lips twitched, but he eventually managed to hold back his retort out of respect. After all, the man before him was a highly respected governor and not his student.
Regardless of how unreasonable the conditions the governor proposed were, he had to restrain his fury and not lash out.
"I'm sorry, but we've never encountered or constructed such a vessel. Also, I strongly advise against exploring the ocean's depths. That place doesn't belong to humanity.
"If you're insistent on going, I can recommend you a device called the Diving Bell. Some daredevils who had no fear of death would use them to plunder sunken ships."
At this, the designer next to the bespectacled one nudged him discreetly with a foot.
Charles outrightly ignored the slight offense underlying the designer's words. He shook his head and said, "That won't work; that thing is too small. The place I intend to explore is very deep, probably over three hundred meters or more. And there are creatures down there, so I need a submarine equipped with weapons."
"Three hundred meters below the water!?" All staff in the shipyard turned their gazes onto Charles, their eyes widening in disbelief as though they were looking at a madman.
Rumors had been circulating about a governor who couldn't sit still after finding a habitable island. He continued to embark on exploration voyages far and wide. They had been skeptical of such a rumor at first, but now, as they beheld the man before them, they believed it. This fellow was a bonafide madman.
"Three hundred meters?! Are you planning to seek out God Fhtagn?!" the bespectacled designer's voice rose in incredulity, and his eyes burned with fury as he glared at Charles.
The colleague behind him tried to discreetly pull him back, but he shook the hand off angrily.
"Just tell me if it can be done or not. Since you can even build Ronker, a small submarine shouldn't pose a problem to you, does it?"
"Don't you compare this with Ronker! Shipbuilding is an art involving fluid dynamics, material science, electrics, and various other disciplines! You can't just hand us a random sketch and expect us to build it. Do you lay people really think ships are like clay molded by hands?"
Just as the bespectacled designer was about to ignore whatever hierarchy and unleash the frustrations in his heart, the young man with a prosthetic left arm next to him whispered something into his ears.
Fortunately, Charles' sharp hearing allowed him to pick up snippets of their conversation.
“What? When did this happen? Impossible...! Maybe... Wait a moment."
After a brief discussion among themselves, the bespectacled designer turned back to face Charles with a serious expression on his countenance.
"I apologize for my earlier rashness. About your request for an underwater ship, we would need to consult with all the designers of Shipyard 3 before we can propose a solution."
Charles nodded. "Please get it done as soon as possible. As long as you can build it, money is not an issue."
With that, Charles turned and left the shipyard while he pondered over the muffled conversation he had overheard. He felt that they might have come across a submarine.
Who else would want to build a submarine apart from me? No matter who it was and what its purpose was, a finished product would be the most ideal situation.
Charles was aware that constructing such a vessel would normally take four to five years. Even if the Albion Isles had their "cheat code," they would still require a significant amount of time.
Standing at the port and looking at the bustling crowd before him, he was suddenly unsure of his next move."
"Lily, do you want to..." Charles turned around, only to find that Lily and her horde of mice had disappeared.
However, Charles was unperturbed. He knew that her mice friends would protect her; ordinary humans wouldn't be able to lay a finger on her.
After pondering for a few moments, Charles raised an arm to flag down a taxi.
"Please take me to the University of Steam Engineering," he requested as he boarded the vehicle.
1. Ngl. I kinda miss Richard. If he was here, I'm pretty sure he would satisfy his curiosity, and it would be a hell of a drama.
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