The abandoned boiler room had now become the temporary headquarters of the secret group, the "Fire Worshipers."
Jin Wanzhao looked around.
Old Zhong was holding a piece of chalk, sketching a simple map of the Smelting Zone on a discarded steel plate. The lines were crooked, yet exceptionally clear. Little A Xing sat on the ground, carefully wiping a rusty wrench. A Huo leaned against the boiler, his eyes bright and focused, holding a steam valve he had disassembled and reassembled, his fingertips moving nimbly as if it were an extension of his own body.
Besides them, there were seven or eight new faces in the boiler room.
These were the most docile and long-suffering workers from the Smelting Zone. Some had children taken to the Nursery Factory, some had wives taken for "physical examinations," and others were simply stunned by the earth-shattering scene of Jin Wanzhao's "awakening" at the furnace's edge.
Now they were all crowded here, their expressions either fervent or uneasy, but every single one of them carried a certain ignited flame within.
"Wanzhao Ge," A Huo put down the valve, his voice laced with barely contained excitement, "Like you said, I modified that old exhaust fan in the north zone of the Smelting Zone and added a reverse valve. Now the ventilation efficiency there has increased by thirty percent, but the noise is reduced by a third."
As he spoke, his face beamed with pride, as if he had just invented some groundbreaking technology.
Jin Wanzhao nodded.
He looked at A Huo and could clearly "see" that the flame within him had grown strong, a full two sizes larger than when he first awakened.
"Anyone else have machinery problems that the foreman won't let you report for repair?" Jin Wanzhao's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.
A middle-aged worker raised his hand, speaking timidly, "Wanzhao Ge, there's a tablet press at my station that keeps jamming. The foreman says it's an old problem and won't authorize repairs. But I always felt something was off with the bearings in its power arm."
Jin Wanzhao walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Close your eyes. Feel it," Jin Wanzhao said.
The middle-aged worker obeyed, closing his eyes. Jin Wanzhao channeled a wisp of his own "flame," letting it flow slowly and steadily into the man's body.
In an instant, the middle-aged worker's eyes snapped open, filled with shock.
He "saw" it!
That tablet press which had troubled him for so long was no longer a cold hunk of iron, but a clear energy map bearing subtle flaws. He could even "hear" the quiet, resentful murmurs of the worn ball bearings deep within the power arm's mechanism.
"I get it! I get it now!" the middle-aged worker stammered excitedly. "It's not the bearings themselves, it's the lubricant ratio inside! Over time, the oil film breaks down, causing increased wear!"
He abruptly knelt down, prostrating himself before Jin Wanzhao in utter reverence.
Jin Wanzhao felt the warm current flowing within him and noticed that each time he "awakened" someone, that warmth became more active and clearer. He could even perceive the "emotions" of the surrounding machines with greater precision—which ones were running "happily" and which were groaning in "pain."
Old Zhong watched this scene, his eyes filled with fervor.
"Flame Bearer! This is a true Flame Bearer!" he murmured softly, his voice carrying a pilgrim-like piety.
As more people were "awakened," subtle changes began to spread throughout the Smelting Zone.
Certain inefficient machines had their parameters "adjusted" secretly and quietly, running more smoothly. Some seemingly unsolvable malfunctions would, in some casual moment, be fixed by an "unremarkable" worker.
No one noticed anything unusual.
Because these changes were too minute, too inconspicuous.
It was just some abandoned piping being repurposed, some old gears being re-polished, some seemingly impossible efficiency gains quietly materializing.
Even the foremen vaguely sensed that work had become somewhat easier in recent days, machine failure rates had noticeably dropped, and the workers seemed more "compliant."
Only Butcher, this sharp-nosed foreman, sensed something amiss.
His "Inferior Product Monitoring Protocol" had been active for three days. Every day he checked Jin Wanzhao's movements, but aside from occasionally spending time in the abandoned boiler room, Jin Wanzhao's behavior was more "well-behaved" than ever.
He worked overtime, he endured hardship without complaint, he even proactively helped other workers fix minor problems.
This made Butcher increasingly uneasy.
"Hmph, the more well-behaved the dog, the harder it bites," Butcher sneered, intensifying his surveillance on Jin Wanzhao.
Meanwhile, back in the boiler room, Jin Wanzhao looked at the simple map of the Smelting Zone on the steel plate and pointed to a location near the central steam hub.
"Three days from now, high-ranking officials from the Black Steel Council will come for an inspection. They'll arrive by airship, entering from this direction," Jin Wanzhao's voice was steady and forceful. "We'll choose to create a 'controlled accident' right here."
Old Zhong's head shot up, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"That's... the main steam pipeline hub!"
"Exactly," Jin Wanzhao said. "It connects to all branch lines throughout the Smelting Zone. If something goes wrong there, it could paralyze the entire zone."
"But... that place is heavily guarded. Even maintenance technicians need layers of approval to enter normally!" A Huo frowned.
Jin Wanzhao smiled, a cold smile.
"High-level inspections by the Black Steel Council usually mean maximum security. At that time, all guards will be concentrated on the main thoroughfares. No one will notice some normally overlooked 'blind spots.'"
"Besides, we're not going to destroy it. We're just going to make it have 'a little problem.' Make it spray some high-pressure steam at a critical moment, create a startling noise, cause some chaos."
"Remember, it must be precise and controlled. Our goal is to cover the first group's escape with supplies and tools. No one must get hurt."
Jin Wanzhao's gaze swept across everyone present. Every worker his eyes touched felt a powerful conviction.
"Old Zhong, you need to prepare food, water, and some suitable tools to pry open those sealed exits." Jin Wanzhao pointed to several red marks on the steel plate map. "Little A Xing, you're responsible for guarding the boiler room, keeping foremen away."
"A Huo, you and two others will handle the main steam pipeline setup. We need to perform a 'tweak' at that spot less than ten meters from the hub. Detonate it when the Council's airship arrives over the factory."
A Huo's eyes blazed with intense fire. He stood abruptly, his voice ringing out: "Guaranteed to complete the mission!"
Jin Wanzhao took a deep breath.
He could clearly feel that with this plan taking shape, the flame within him had become more stable and even stronger.
He knew this wasn't his strength alone.
It was the conviction of all the "awakened" workers, the unwillingness and hope deep in their hearts, converging into a raging inferno that ignited him.
And as the plan proceeded methodically, a notice about the Council's high-level inspection was posted in the most conspicuous spot in the Smelting Zone.
Inspection date: Three days from now.