Chapter 246 - 149: Mortal Realm’s New Creation, "High-speed Rail," Want to Try?
Soon—
Once everyone had boarded the High-speed Rail, the long, dragon-like train shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. Levitating above the ground and empowered by the Clear Wind Array, it rocketed along the Copper Pipe deep into the Wilderness!
The speed was incredible.
The moment it started, it drew gasps of shock from the crowd at the city gate who hadn’t boarded.
They had never seen such speed.
The Skeleton Horse was already considered a relatively High Level Vehicle, but... its speed was nothing compared to this thing called the "High-speed Rail."
"Go on."
Chen Fan stood in place, murmuring softly as he watched the High-speed Rail hurtle toward the far end of the Wilderness.
He wasn’t just seeing a departing High-speed Rail.
He was seeing...
...the imminent, rapid development of the Mortal Realm!
With the High-speed Rail in place,
the development of the Mortal Realm would be unstoppable. Transactions that used to take a week could now be completed in a single day.
Deals that were once impossible due to short shelf lives could now be made.
Under his High-speed Rail, the Four Areas Jiangbei would be completely connected.
If you want to get rich, first build roads.
This was more than just a slogan.
"Young Master."
Lame Monkey asked in a low, worried voice, "If we roll out the High-speed Rail on a large scale, will it affect our Skeleton Horse business?"
"It won’t."
Chen Fan shook his head lightly, offering no further explanation.
’They are two different modes of transportation.’
’In my previous life, high-speed rail never completely replaced cars.’
’My High-speed Rail also requires tracks to be laid.’
’It has its limitations.’
’Unlike a Skeleton Horse, it can’t just go anywhere it wants. It doesn’t have that freedom of movement.’
「...」
Aboard the High-speed Rail, in the first car.
The Pavilion Master of the World Pavilion stood at the very front, his hands gripping the edge as he stared at the Wilderness rushing past on both sides. His eyes were filled with shock. ’If... if the High-speed Rail can be rolled out on a large scale, it will completely change the balance of power for all factions within the Four Areas Jiangbei.’
’With this kind of speed...’
’...there are so many things that can be done.’
’For example...’
’The cost for on-site services from an Architect would definitely go down. After all, travel costs would be lower, but the number of jobs would increase. Places that were once too far to travel to are now accessible.’
The World Pavilion was the largest Architect influence in Jiangnan.
But they had been having a tough time lately, mainly due to a lack of jobs.
But...
if he could take jobs in Jiangdong or Jiangxi, things would be completely different. Before, it was impossible—they were simply too far. With the High-speed Rail, however, everything changed.
Just then—
the High-speed Rail suddenly came to a stop.
The speed dropped abruptly.
But inside the car, he didn’t feel the slightest jolt.
He looked up at the Jiangbei City Wall outside, stepped out of the car, and felt the solid ground beneath his feet. He took a deep breath, a determined glint in his eyes. ’This is a huge opportunity.’
He had finally figured out the difference between the Mortal Realm and other factions.
For days now,
he had felt that the Mortal Realm was different from other factions, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.
Now he knew.
Other factions only sought to change themselves.
But the Mortal Realm was changing the entire landscape of the Four Areas Jiangbei!
’The Mortal Realm is changing the entire world.’
The Four Areas Jiangbei were undergoing earth-shattering changes because of the Mortal Realm.
The Guanxi Plain was more prosperous than Jiangnan, but the people of the Guanxi Plain never came to Jiangnan, let alone Jiangbei. In their eyes, this place was just a poor, remote backwater. And that wasn’t just a prejudice; it was the truth.
But—
give the Mortal Realm a few years.
The entire Four Areas Jiangbei would undergo a complete transformation.
By then, if the people of the Guanxi Plain were to visit Jiangbei and Jiangnan, they would probably look like they’d seen a ghost.
Just thinking about that scene
made the Pavilion Master of the World Pavilion shake his head and laugh.
He looked forward to seeing their expressions.
At this moment,
everyone had disembarked from the train. They stared up at the gates of Jiangbei City, standing in stunned, expressionless silence for a long time. Some even went up to touch the City Wall with their own hands, worried it was some kind of illusion.
’This kind of speed...’
Unless they had seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it!
It was completely irrational.
They had a vague premonition that the skies over the Four Areas Jiangbei were about to change.
In the coming years, whoever could seize the opportunity presented by the High-speed Rail, whoever’s business was best suited for it, and whoever had a better relationship with the Mortal Realm—their faction would rise with the wind. Conversely, those who couldn’t would be gradually eliminated.
Not eliminated by the Ghost Objects of the rainy season.
But by a kind of... intangible competition.
The value of this was even greater than that of the Skeleton Horse!
「...」
Soon,
the High-speed Rail returned to Mortal City. The group disembarked, their faces silent and grim. They were all still trying to process what had happened. A larger crowd of people who hadn’t made it onto the first trip swarmed them, eager to find out if it was really possible to reach Jiangbei City in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
"Domain Lord Chen."
The Pavilion Master of the World Pavilion immediately went to Chen Fan and asked with a serious expression, "Does the Mortal Realm have plans to expand the High-speed Rail on a larger scale? For instance... could it be extended to the three areas of Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Jiangdong?"
Immediately,
several others reacted, including the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley. They all gathered around, looking at Chen Fan with anxious and uneasy eyes.
Wherever the High-speed Rail went, prosperity would follow.
If the High-speed Rail reached their Medicine King Valley, they could sell their Elixirs throughout the Four Areas Jiangbei. Transportation costs and time would be drastically reduced, which meant a massive number of orders and a huge influx of Ghost Stones.
They had never imagined
that Chen Fan would use such a method to grasp their economic lifelines.
They hadn’t even done anything, let alone anything wrong, yet they could find themselves on the verge of bankruptcy for no reason.
For example—
if the High-speed Rail was built to the gates of Medicine King Valley, but not to the gates of other Alchemy Influences, then on the second day after its completion, the business of every other Alchemy Influence in the Four Areas Jiangbei would plummet. What would they have done wrong?