stonecrandall Chapter 103 Productive Forces and Relations of Production
Chapter 103 Productive Forces and Relations of Production
The holographic projection screen flickered, and a woman in a white lab coat with a cold demeanor appeared in the center of the image.
She looked to be in her early thirties, but her eyes held a composure and sharpness beyond her years. Her long black hair was neatly styled in a bun, revealing a smooth forehead and a sharply defined face. Her features weren't particularly striking, but together they created an indescribable aura that made people hesitant to look directly at her.
She pushed up her rimless glasses, the data flashing across the lenses even colder than her gaze. The data rolled rapidly across the lens surface like snakes, each representing a complex analytical model.
Zhou Zhibai.
The head of the staff group, the "brain" of the Seventh Base, and the only person who can make a cunning businessman like Li Fulan obedient.
At the base, her nickname was "Iceberg Staff Officer." It's said she was the kind of "model student" from a young age: entering university at fourteen, graduating with a doctorate at eighteen, and becoming the chief analyst at a think tank at twenty-two. Her brain was like a supercomputer, capable of processing massive amounts of information in seconds and then providing the optimal solution.
The only problem is that her computer doesn't seem to have the "emotion module" installed.
"Comrade Li, please wipe the drool from your mouth and get back to reality."
Zhou Zhibai's voice was completely flat, as if he were reading a death sentence. Every word landed precisely where it should, without any unnecessary embellishment, so clean and crisp that it sent chills down one's spine.
Li Fulan subconsciously touched the corner of her mouth and found it clean, only then realizing that she had been sexually assaulted.
"Team Leader Zhou, your tongue is getting sharper and sharper," he said with an awkward laugh. "I was just looking at the future, what's the problem?"
"This is a big problem."
Zhou Zhibai's fingers lightly swiped across the virtual keyboard, and the image on the holographic projection immediately switched to a densely packed data table. The numbers and curves were dazzling to the eye, but to her they were crystal clear.
"Based on our intelligence gathering and multi-dimensional analysis, your current identity in Douluo Continent is merely that of a junior alchemist, with your soul power level just breaking through level 30."
She paused, then looked directly at Li Fulan through her glasses.
"In the martial arts system of that plane, a level 30 Soul Master is only considered a beginner. Titled Douluo are monsters above level 90, and the leaders of the top forces in Douluo Continent are basically at this level. The gap between you and them is roughly equivalent to that between an ant and an elephant."
"Well... level 30 is quite a lot of potential." Li Fulan chuckled twice. "Given time, I can become a Title Douluo too."
"Given time?"
Zhou Zhibai coldly repeated the four words, a sarcastic smile curving his lips.
"At a normal cultivation speed, it would take at least a hundred years to go from level 30 to level 90. Moreover, it becomes more and more difficult as you go on. Many exceptionally talented Soul Masters spend their entire lives without being able to break through the level 80 threshold."
She pulled up another chart, which showed a steep curve.
"This is the difficulty curve of soul power improvement. You see, it takes about five years to go from level 30 to level 40, ten years to go from level 40 to level 50, twenty years to go from level 50 to level 60... I won't read out the numbers, but in short, if you expect to reach the title of Douluo through normal cultivation, we'll have already collected all our retirement pensions and you'll still be hovering around level 40."
Li Fulan's expression was somewhat unpleasant, but he knew that what Zhou Zhibai said was true.
"Therefore, we need the power of technology to bridge the gap," he argued. "An automated alchemy furnace would be a great breakthrough. As long as I can mass-produce pills, I can quickly accumulate wealth and connections, and then—"
"Then you will die."
Zhou Zhibai interrupted him, his tone as indifferent as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.
Potential cannot be a shield, nor can ambition be armor.
She adjusted the projector again, and an even more complex analysis chart appeared on the screen. The dense red lines on it were chilling; each red line represented a potential threat.
"What does a fully automated alchemy furnace represent? It represents revolutionary productivity."
Zhou Zhibai stood up, walked to the projector, and pointed at the model of the automatic alchemy machine with his finger.
"Have you ever thought about what the current alchemy system in Douluo Continent is like?"
Li Fulan shook her head.
"Let me tell you." Zhou Zhibai's finger swept across the virtual screen, bringing up a series of data. "The alchemy industry in Douluo Continent is a closed and monopolistic one. It takes at least twenty years to train a qualified alchemist, and the success rate is less than ten percent. In other words, behind every person who can independently refine medicine are dozens of failed apprentices and a massive investment of resources."
"These alchemists have formed a powerful interest group. They control the acquisition channels for medicinal herbs, the sales network for elixirs, and, more importantly, the transmission of alchemy techniques. Anyone who tries to disrupt this system will be jointly crushed by them."
Her finger pointed at the automatic alchemy machine, and her tone became more serious.
"Now, you plan to bring over a user-friendly, high-yield device. A machine that can concoct elixirs with just the push of a button, a machine that can turn any ordinary person into an 'alchemist'."
Do you know what this means?
Zhou Zhibai turned around and looked directly into Li Fulan's eyes.
"This means you will instantly destroy the already fragile local alchemist system. Those who have spent decades learning alchemy techniques will find their life's work worthless. Those families and forces that control the alchemy industry will find their foundations shaken."
"You will be regarded as a heretic and resisted by alchemists across the continent. Even worse, you will attract the forceful plunder of giants like the Spirit Hall."
She paused, her eyes sharp as knives.
"If you were a Title Douluo, possessing sufficient military power to deter others, that would be called a 'technological revolution'—others wouldn't dare touch you and could only obediently accept the new order. But you're just a Soul Master, a Soul Master that any Soul King could easily crush."
"What's this called?"
Zhou Zhibai coldly uttered eight words.
"A child carrying gold through a bustling marketplace is courting death."
A brief silence fell over the laboratory.
Li Fulan's expression changed repeatedly. He had to admit that Zhou Zhibai's analysis was incisive, and every word hit his weak spot.
He was indeed too hasty.
When he saw that automatic alchemy machine, all he could think about was monopolizing the market and making a fortune every day, forgetting that he currently had no ability to protect this wealth.
"So... what suggestions do you have?" His tone had softened considerably, no longer displaying the smugness he had just displayed.
Zhou Zhibai nodded, seemingly satisfied with his change in attitude.
"Productive forces must be matched with relations of production."
She adjusted the projector again, and a comparison image of the two plans appeared on the screen.
"The best solution is this: the core automated production line will remain at the base as our strategic reserve. This line can continuously produce elixirs and accumulate inventory, but it will not be displayed to the public. You will only bring a simplified version of the alchemy furnace and the elixir-making furnace."
She pointed to the two bronze furnace models and continued.
"These devices have obvious technological advantages, enough to give you a foothold in the Douluo Continent. But more importantly, they all require 'soul power to drive'—meaning that the user must be a Soul Master and must personally invest soul power to make the device work."
"This limitation is crucial." A glint flashed on Zhou Zhibai's glasses. "It makes your equipment irreplaceable, yet it cannot completely escape your control. Those Soul Masters who use your equipment will gradually develop a dependence, but they will never truly possess your technology."
"Like... a maintenance engineer?" Li Fulan said thoughtfully.
"That's one way to understand it," Zhou Zhibai nodded. "But a more accurate way to put it is 'technology binding.' You provide the equipment and maintenance services, and they provide the soul power and raw materials, forming a stable cooperative relationship. Once your strength is sufficient and your network is large enough, then you can consider releasing more advanced technologies."
"Like boiling a frog in lukewarm water." Li Fulan suddenly realized, slapping her thigh. "It all came down to you, Team Leader Zhou! That was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
He gave a thumbs up, and the worry on his face vanished.
"If we really take the fully automated ones over, I'm afraid Bibi Dong will make me a full-time factory manager. Let's do it your way, a steady and sustainable way to make money!"
Engineer Gu, who had remained silent the whole time, nodded slightly, his fingers moving rapidly across the control panel as he adjusted the parameters on the projector.
"The automation module is locked," he said in a low, hoarse voice. "Increase the feedback for manual operation."
He paused, then added.
"I made the indigenous people feel very involved, and I learned how to make changes."