Chapter 150: The Idea of Building a Waterworks

After Randy left with excitement, Li De took another tour of the livestock farm. While observing the workers, he suddenly noticed a significant issue. All the water for the farm had to be carried by workers from a stream 300 blades away—a process that was highly inefficient. At that moment, several workers returned with full buckets of water, ready to continue cleaning the pigpens. Under Li De’s watchful eye, two buckets of water barely cleaned half a pen before running out. The workers, unfazed, continued to fetch more water. This scene made Li De frown. Accustomed to modern production efficiency, he couldn’t tolerate such low productivity. It was a huge waste of time. How much time was being spent just fetching water every day? "Harrison, is this how they work now?" Hearing Li De's question, Harrison glanced at the workers cleaning the pens and nodded, puzzled. "Of course. Does the Lord have a better solution?" Having interacted with Li De for a while, Harrison knew his abilities well—his unrestrained thinking was far beyond what Harrison could imagine. Take the livestock farm blueprints, for example. Those designs, which impressed even experienced craftsmen in the Construction Department, were beyond his comprehension. Li De nodded, unable to tolerate such inefficiency due to his perfectionist tendencies. "Have you heard of tap water?" "Tap water? Is it edible?" Seeing Harrison’s confused expression, Li De smiled. Snap~ He snapped his fingers, summoning Mage Hand. In front of everyone, the translucent Mage Hand picked up a wooden bucket filled with water. Pop~ The bucket leaked. Water gushed out from the small hole at the bottom of the bucket. "See?" The group looked at Li De blankly. What was this? Just a leaking bucket? Nothing special. Li De chuckled. "Although magic exists in Glory, physical properties still apply. For reasons unknown to you, water always flows downward. The principle of tap water comes from this." Pointing to the nearby mountain, he spoke confidently. "If we create a reservoir halfway down where the spring flows and connect it with pipes, what do you think will happen?" Harrison nodded in realization. "The spring water will flow down through the pipes, saving us the trouble of fetching water." Excited, he turned to the nearby Vampire. "Quickly send someone to prepare bamboo pipes." Li De waved his hand to stop Harrison. "Water has weight. The more water and the higher it is, the greater the pressure. Ordinary bamboo pipes can’t withstand such pressure. Even if they could, bamboo isn’t durable—it would break within months. Let’s do it right the first time. Call the blacksmiths to custom-make iron pipes." Tap water was undoubtedly a great invention. Its manufacturing cost was low; simply pump water to a high point and use gravity to pressurize it for use. This simple yet effective invention greatly improved productivity and daily life. The farm was close to the water source—a spring flowing down the mountain. With favorable conditions, they only needed to dig a reservoir halfway up the mountain to complete the tap water system. On Earth, building a reservoir on a mountainside would be a massive project. But this was a magical world. Difficult tasks on Earth were trivial here. As natural spellcasters, Vampires wouldn’t hesitate to use magic to blast out a reservoir. Li De, an avid magic enthusiast, was naturally excited about this. "Call the Construction Department. Let’s discuss how to build the reservoir." The Construction Department staff were present, having supervised the completion of the farm design today. Though the idea of tap water was spontaneous, no one dared question Li De’s suggestion. In Dawn City, he was the ultimate boss. His will was the direction for the entire city. The group quickly gathered to discuss. Since it wasn’t a complex project, the Construction Department reached a conclusion in less than a sun-hour. "Lord, the Construction Department suggests making the reservoir larger to accommodate future farm expansions. Also, consider the mountain’s load-bearing capacity and avoid fractured areas." Li De grew eager. Blasting out a reservoir halfway up the mountain sounded exactly like something he’d enjoy. "I’ll handle this personally. Can’t let this trip go to waste." "Send for Golddig and see how long the blacksmiths need to forge the water pipes." The advent of tap water was undoubtedly a major leap forward in human civilization. Countless hours were saved daily, and life became infinitely more convenient. The farm was Li De’s first experiment. Once stable, he planned to extend tap water throughout the city. In the future, if possible, he also intended to use tap water for agriculture—like modern farms where turning on a faucet automatically waters crops. For agriculture, this was akin to evolving from the Stone Age to the Electric Age—a revolutionary advancement. If his plans succeeded, Dawn City would lead Glory by an entire era. Perfect. Of course, this was the ideal scenario. Achieving it wouldn’t be easy. Even something as simple as water pipes gave him headaches. Dawn City’s current iron output barely met daily needs—it was far from abundant. The tap water project would consume vast amounts of iron. By his estimate, connecting the entire city within six months was impossible. Thus, focusing on the farm’s tap water was the priority. Other ideas would wait until iron resources were more plentiful. Li De now truly understood the challenges of leadership. Though Dawn City appeared prosperous, its various shortcomings were evident. Rapid large-scale construction was unrealistic—it had to be done step by step. "One day, I’ll make the sky not block my vision, and the earth not bury my heart." After some quiet complaints, Li De called all the Vampires at the farm—he was getting to the main task. Creating the reservoir by force. Magic worlds were indeed unreasonable. On Earth, building a reservoir halfway up a mountain would require countless brain cells. But here, they had the simplest, most direct, and brutally unscientific tool—magic. The sun had set, and the sky was dimming. The Vampires gradually regained their strength. "Move out." With a single command, over a hundred Vampires spread their bat wings. The sight of Vampires ascending was spectacular, especially in large numbers. From the ground, the already dim light darkened instantly. Whoosh whoosh whoosh~ Demon-like bat wings flapped, creating gusts of wind. One by one, the Vampires ascended, their massive wings blocking the light. This scene resembled a doomsday legend come to life. Li De led the way, his bat wings larger and more majestic than the others, gently flapping as he flew toward the mountain peak. The other Vampires quickly followed. The crowd below, accustomed to seeing Vampires spread their wings during work, wasn’t scared by this demon-like spectacle. They stopped at 200 blades high, 50 blades away from the rock face—the predetermined location. A clear, crisp sound of gurgling water flowed from a fissure higher up the mountain. Li De waved his hand, signaling all Vampires to halt. "Everyone listen to my command. Thirty people per group." Swiftly, the nearest thirty Vampires formed a group, creating four clusters in the air. One group had a few fewer members, but Li De didn’t mind and continued. "Each group casts spells for one minute, using Small Fireball spells. Each fireball interval is 0.5 seconds, but ensure there’s no interruption. When the first group finishes, the second group immediately follows, and so on." "No need for Large Fireballs or other attack spells. We’re building a reservoir, so avoid excessive magical impact to prevent cracks." "Now, follow my command. First group, start casting." After speaking, Li De began casting. The improved Small Fireball appeared in his hand. Bang bang bang~ The first fireball appeared in less than 0.2 seconds. Within seconds, a continuous line of fireballs connected from the rock face to his hand. The surrounding temperature instantly soared. Behind him, the thirty Vampires also began casting. The improved Small Fireball was a must-learn spell for all Vampires, so no one faltered. Bang bang bang~ The dense barrage of fireballs from dozens of Vampires was infinitely more spectacular than when Li De cast alone. Within a hundred-blade radius, the area heated up rapidly. The already dim sky was overshadowed by the explosive glow of the fireballs, as if a new sun had risen. At the farm, 500 blades away, the crowd erupted upon seeing this. It was breathtaking. Dozens of fireballs struck the rock face every second. The originally solid rock quickly reddened and melted under the intense heat. Boiling magma dripped. A cavity rapidly expanded inward from the rock face. The continuous barrage of fireballs acted like the most terrifying heater, relentlessly scorching the rock. The hard rock melted like foam meeting fire, visibly disintegrating. The molten magma flowed downward due to gravity, making the rock face resemble a demon’s gaping maw, constantly spewing deadly flames. "Goddess above, Lord Kachar is too great—this is a miracle!!" "Praise the Saintlight Vampires. Only the powerful Saintlight Vampires could achieve such a grand spectacle!!" "Why do I suddenly feel like crying?"