Chapter 440 - 8: The True Celestial God (Part 2)
In fact, they do not need followers, nor do they need offerings, not even a priest to speak for them.
From some perspectives, the gods here are closely connected to mortals, yet still separated, as if living in another world.
Having heard the mythic stories told on Saturday, every native can deeply sense this.
Although all are called gods, the gods here fundamentally differ from their gods.
Moreover, the gods here do not interfere in the lives of mortals.
The sorrow of the gods, the anger of the gods, the joy of the gods happened long, long ago and have little to do with them.
They only need to listen to stories of the gods; they don't even need to think about whether those gods truly existed.
Even the gods worshipped in rituals seem eternally shrouded in a mysterious mist, without intersecting their lives.
...
It can be said that the "new education" on the island is basically an atheism built on materialism.
Worship seems more like a festive ritual rather than an activity born of faith and reverence.
But every matter has exceptions.
In this "atheistic" atmosphere, many things puzzled the natives.
For example, weapons that could kill with a loud bang, mysterious objects in the interrogation room emitting light like the sun, and those neat, strangely-shaped metal products...
Of course, the most shocking and even terrifying to the natives is the cut section on the beach and the mysterious rewards that appear every 15 days.
Chen Zhou's compiled textbook explained many problems.
But concerning the matter of how the cross-time cuts and mysterious rewards appear on the beach, he neither explained nor planned to explain.
...
So the natives would see wood and stone cut neatly every 15 days—
Be it the hardest stone or metal, it would be cut into incredibly smooth two halves.
Also items that appeared out of nowhere on the beach—
Only "Leader" recognized the beast confined in the iron cage;
Giant metal box tremendously flat;
And various strange objects that appeared on the beach today, smashing the walls of wood and stone;
They even heard that the black armor worn by the Leader during worship suddenly appeared from the sky on the beach without warning.
If there were no gods or if gods were unreachable in the Celestial Realm, unwilling to communicate with humans.
Then, where did these things come from?
Why do they specifically target this island?
Any native couldn't help but ponder this question.
...
Compared to the elusive tales of gods, witnessing divine miracles clearly shocks more and confirms the existence of gods.
And a miracle occurring consistently every 15 days can only mean one thing—
Even if the Leader is not a god, he is certainly the favored child of the gods.
...
Fearing punishment for speaking recklessly, natives never dare openly discuss this question.
Only in the deep of night, before falling asleep, would they secretly discuss this matter.
Actually, in their hearts the origin and identity of the Leader is not hard to guess, as many clues lie right before their eyes.
For instance, the Leader is kind-hearted, extraordinary in appearance, tall and unlike a mortal, and possesses a vast and complete language with matching script, understanding much knowledge that they have never even heard of.
Before Saturday and Sunday were rescued, the Leader seemed to have lived alone on the island.
Since his arrival, the legendary monster capable of spewing black smoke and devouring everything has disappeared from the island.
Moreover, gifts from gods will appear regularly on the beach for the Leader.
The truth is already self-evident—
The Leader must be a "God," or a half-human, half-god creature from the Celestial Realm in legend.
With "background" from above, the Leader naturally possesses a physique and vision different from mortals, allowing him to continuously receive gifts from the Celestial Realm.
They even bear a bolder idea—
"The god the Leader leads them to worship might be the Leader's father.
Otherwise how to explain the existence of so many gods in myths, yet the Leader only worships this one?"
...
Of course, these speculations are just a consensus among natives privately; they wouldn't dare say them openly.
Therefore, when they see building materials covering half the beach, these seemingly honest folks only dare to whisper silently such as, "The Leader received support from the Celestial Realm again."
In reality, they go about their tasks, obediently following orders, transporting materials.
"Miracles," after seeing them often, become less novel.
Given that the Leader is suspected to be the Celestial God himself, all of this is quite reasonable.
...
To protect the "aging" machine tool, Chen Zhou spared no effort and forged long nails, personally constructing a simple wood and stone structure canopy to shelter it from rain.
Fortunately, it's late September, and the rainy season is nearly over; precipitation is no longer frequent.
Taking advantage of the rare cloudy weather on the 30th, without rain invasion, Chen Zhou and the equally unrested natives rallied their spirits, working tirelessly from dawn till dusk, busy for an entire day.
...
To accelerate transport, all carts, including broken doors without wheels pulled by hemp ropes, were brought to the beach area for everyone to use.
The bare woods near the coast, some of the trenches blocking transport, were filled to aid the conveyance of building materials.
...
During work, observing the bulk of steel materials stacked on the ground reflecting sunlight, Chen Zhou couldn't help contemplating how to better utilize them.
First, hauling all building materials to the mountain to continue constructing his kiln is undoubtedly the worst option.
Initially choosing the shadowed place was to avoid discovery by natives and prevent unnecessary conflict.
Now with disputes against the Great Tribe and even Spaniards, hiding like a turtle is no longer feasible.
Chen Zhou believes the best place for these materials is obviously in building industrial buildings like blast furnaces or chemical refining plants—
Many devices in the simple production method for explosive materials need to be made of concrete.
Originally, Chen Zhou planned to use white clay and brick, but that would definitely reduce the quality of produced gunpowder. Now with ample cement, production equipment should take priority.
Moreover, large processing plants themselves are excellent fortifications.
Facing cannons from the 17th century, a factory's reinforced concrete exterior could provide protection.
...
But what's troubling for Chen Zhou is that he has plenty of materials yet lacks the corresponding technology.
His university major was mechanical engineering, not architecture, and his understanding of engineering is limited to online forums' talk of "slapping cement" and "running with pails," plus brief observations at construction sites where his parents worked during his middle school years.
Such knowledge is insufficient to support building a factory.
Reinforced concrete construction differs from rural brick-mixed buildings; from the initial design stage, engineer involvement is necessary.
Even if the building is low and has no strict requirements on geological conditions, at least acceptable aggregates like gravel and medium coarse sand must be prepared.
Until formal commencement, digging foundation pits, binding rebar, connecting couplings, installing formwork, casting columns, later maintenance, removing formwork...
These processes require only a few words, but when truly carried out, he doesn't understand how to proceed.
For him, a modern person from the 21st century who cannot grasp these matters, the natives certainly won't understand them.
If they boldly mess around, it not only wastes materials but might result in a shoddy project.
...
"So many building materials were sent, yet nothing about the must-read handbook for architectural folks?"
Scratching his head, Chen Zhou sighed deeply.
If there's really no guidance, then he can only revert to old methods, using experiments to repeatedly validate ideas and then applying learned lessons.
Anyway, he doesn't plan to construct high-rise buildings.
One or two-story reinforced concrete buildings or even brick-mixed structures, built with this cement, won't be an issue.
At worst, the foundation is dug deeper, progress slower, and work done more meticulously.
Even if it can't be built like modern buildings, quality cement here ensures it won't become a hazardous building liable to sudden collapse.