Tang Wen blinked, everything that had just happened felt like an illusion.
But the scene before him had become completely unfamiliar, as if he had time-traveled.
The small shack he was originally in was simple and fragile, and the floor inside wasn't even paved with cement.
However, he was now clearly in a newly completed office. The flat, wide walls were painted snow white, and the incandescent light bulbs overhead had been replaced by more powerful and exquisite chandeliers.
The dilapidated desk in front of him had also turned into a thick solid wood office desk, covered with various stationery, paper, and pens. The chair beneath him was also solid wood with soft upholstery, and the patterns on the armrests looked quite exquisite.
A window that hadn't been there before appeared on the side wall. Looking through the glass, he could see the Shipyard illuminated by internal street lamps, as well as that tall gantry crane.
Tang Wen stood up, then was surprised to find that the light switch was an old pull-cord switch, although it was in very new condition.
He quickly pushed open the door and walked out of the office, seeing an unfamiliar corridor. The floor beneath his feet and the blue paint on the walls looked somewhat old-fashioned and lagging behind, even for this era.
Looking up overhead, there were still incandescent lamps.
Breathing the air that still seemed to carry the smell of paint, Tang Wen walked down the stairs, only then getting a clear view of the entire Shipyard.
The dilapidated shack had become a three-story brick building. The semi-open shed area was now a much larger, two-ringed machining center. Further back were the Warehouse and a separate small building of considerable size. Next to it was a Dry Dock extending 100 meters long.
The lock gate at the head of the Dry Dock separated it from the Seawater, and the Draft Depth was about ten meters.
The architectural style of the entire Shipyard resembled that of the 1950s or 60s, interspersed with sparse greenery. The light from the incandescent Light Bulbs of the Street Lamps was quite good, illuminating the area brightly.
Several forklifts and Trucks were parked by the roadside, also of very outdated models.
If the hills in the distance were not still there, Tang Wen would hardly recognize this as the same piece of land.
One second he was a flexible employment Talent guarding a broken Small Workshop, and the next he was in possession of a substantial Shipyard.
Tang Wen guessed that the Technology Level of a Level 1 Shipyard might only be equivalent to the 1940s or 50s, because the Trucks he saw looked very similar to those from the World War II Era, and various machinery also seemed quite retro.
Just as he was thinking, the surrounding lights suddenly dimmed all at once. Street Lamps turned off one by one, and most of the lights inside the buildings quickly disappeared.
【Insufficient Power】
【Consume Coal, Petroleum, or other Resources to provide Power】
【1 Coal = 5 Silver Coins, 1 Petroleum = 50 Silver Coins】
The sudden darkness almost scared Tang Wen to death. He quickly used Silver Coins to purchase 1 Coal, and the surrounding lights gradually brightened again.
Through the Panel, he learned that the Shipyard constantly required Power consumption, which varied greatly depending on the operational status. Even doing nothing, necessary illumination alone required 10 Kilowatt of Power, consuming 350g of Standard Coal per kilowatt-hour.
And the System's Coal and Petroleum were based on tons as the basic unit, meaning the price was actually very high.
Petroleum and other Resources were also converted to Coal for power generation. Tang Wen then noticed a Chimney by the wall smoking—he hadn't noticed it while it was Concealed in the darkness.
It even came with its own power plant...
However, spending Silver Coins was too much of a loss. Since the System's Silver Coins could be cashed out, Tang Wen had looked into the Silver price as soon as he arrived in this era.
The current International rate was about 5 Silver Coins to 230 Yuan, enough to buy several tons of Coal, but here at the System, it could only buy one ton. The minimum electricity bill was 20 Yuan per day, which was frighteningly expensive.
It was a good thing that only the lighting System was using Electricity right now, otherwise, he would be losing a fortune.
Thinking of this, Tang Wen felt an intense sting of pain. Just as he was contemplating how to save Silver Coins, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from a distance.
Looking up, two fierce-looking big men dressed in black, with batons hanging from their waists, walked towards him with Covetous looks. As they got closer, subtitles appeared above their foreheads:
【Tang Twelve: Worker Factory Protection Team Member （Forklift Operator ）】
【Tang Thirteen: Worker Factory Protection Team Member （Electrician ）】
“Greetings, Factory Director!”
The voices of the two big men were loud. They also wore "Factory Protection Team" armbands. After greeting him, they resumed their patrol.
Data for the Shipyard's Personnel appeared in Tang Wen's mind, showing a total of 22 various Employees, few in number but complete in variety, ranging from Cook to Welder.
The building he didn't recognize was actually the Dormitory and Cafeteria. Maintaining the Workers also required consuming Silver Coins and Supplies.
Although the Gaijin Shipyard used Magic Shipbuilding, it still had basic requirements for Resource input. Food, drink, waste disposal, and raw material input all needed management, unless everything was settled with Silver Coins.
Power, Resources, Food, Drinking Water, Salary—the list of demands in his mind flooded in, and Tang Wen nearly fainted from the shock.
He originally thought Void Shipbuilding was meant for him to engage in Slacking Off, but it turned out he actually had to be the Shipyard Master?
This wasn't a Game. Just considering Power, even a small Shipyard would require the Power Bureau to specially Install industrial Lines. If they connected to residential power, the Transformer could destroy half the town the moment it started up.
The Shipyard's various needs were summarized in the System, finally showing that even maintaining minimum Operation required 15 Silver Coins daily, totaling 450 Silver Coins a month!
If the machinery started running, it would be even worse; the electricity cost would double.
This figure almost made Tang Wen choke, and he cursed the System as a shameless profiteer, saying it would have been better not to Upgrade.
With the Shipyard built in this desolate place called Big Bay Village, where would any Orders come from? Moreover, there wasn't much local fishery demand nearby to support a Shipyard.
Sell Diesel Engines?
The Profit was quite high, but the Market was limited, and due to the logistics system being nearly negative in this era, spreading them out was difficult.
Tang Wen felt like Third Brother buying an Aircraft Carrier—he had been lured by the System's bait.
1000 Silver Coins was indeed equivalent to a giveaway price for a Shipyard, but the maintenance costs were outrageously high, with the bulk coming later.
This was worse than his original small, broken workshop; it was much easier back then.
After Upgrading to LV1, the original Novice Mission reappeared, and this time he could finally start Research and Development:
【Select I-Class Warship "Hashidate", select Shipyard: Gaijin Shipyard （LV1）】
【Ship Parameters:
Dimensions: Length 80.5 meters, Beam 9.7 meters, Draft Depth 2.5 meters, Standard displacement 993 tons, Full load displacement 1350 tons.
Weapons: One Twin-mounted Type 10 Model E 120mm/45 caliber Anti-aircraft gun （Semi-enclosed Turret ） at the Bow, one Single-mounted Type 10 Model E 120mm/45 caliber Anti-aircraft gun （Semi-enclosed Turret ） at the Stern, 4 Twin-mounted Type 96 25mm machine guns, 3 Type 92 7.7mm machine guns.
Power: 2 Ship-standard Type Steam Turbine, 3383 Horsepower, 2 Shaft Propulsion, Speed 19.5 knots, Range 2500 Nautical Miles at 14 knots.】
【Required Research: 0 Research experience （All Level 1 Ship Data is in the R&D Center, no Research experience required ）】
【Required Manufacturing:
Direct Manufacturing: 22500 Silver Coins/unit （Cycle 45 days ）
Processing with Provided Materials: Steel 950 tons, Petroleum 1.5 tons, Aluminum 100 tons, Copper 15 tons...
6750 Silver Coins/unit （Cycle 27 days ）】
【Please complete the introductory prerequisite Mission as soon as possible: Select the construction of an I-Class Warship from the Technology tree Branch （100 days remaining ）】