Chapter 2004 - 541: No Matter Who's the Loser, It Definitely Won't Be the Demon King (4)

Thanks to the Iris Flower Theater Troupe sharing the limelight, Erin and Luo Yan disembarking quietly did not cause a stir on the platform and were soon led by the staff into the VIP passageway.

The triumphant ceremony for the Northern Relief Army will be held in three days; at this moment, those fifty thousand young men are still resting in the barracks at Glanton Castle.

For the duchy railway, which has been in operation for less than two weeks, transporting these fifty thousand men back to Thunder City in a short time will undoubtedly be an immense test of railway transport and scheduling capabilities.

Standing at the entrance of the train station, Erin slightly opened her mouth, her face full of disbelief at the sight before her.

The originally narrow, muddy streets mixed with the smell of horse manure were gone, replaced by a wide and smooth black road.

On either side of the road, the once disordered wooden sheds had also disappeared, replaced by rows of orderly red-brick buildings.

And what surprised Erin most was the cast iron lamp posts standing along the road!

"Are those… street lamps?"

On the Aus Continent in 1054, street lamps were not meant to be tools for lighting but rather symbols of the kingdom's authority.

Even in a place like Thunder City, street lamps were luxuries exclusive to Queen Street.

In Erin's memory, the Parliament of Thunder City used to argue endlessly about which street was worthy of being lit.

Yet now, those posts symbolizing order have been extended to the suburbs!

This is so extravagant!

Standing beside Erin, Luo Yan thought she was amazed by the straight black road beneath her, so he smiled and acted as the explainer.

"Our engineers discovered a by-product called coal tar during the process of refining coal gas."

Actually, it wasn't much of a surprise.

Players have long known about this stuff, and Beifeng City's roads have been using coal tar to save costs for a long time.

"Coal gas?" Erin repeated the unfamiliar term with confusion, and Luo Yan instantly understood that she was surprised by the street lamps.

He glanced ahead and said with a smile.

"Ah, that's a… more convenient and cleaner fuel than directly burning coal blocks. We connected them to the street lamps using pipelines, eliminating the need for workers to go up and down each night to change coal blocks or add whale oil."

"The pipeline is…"

"Underneath us." Luo Yan pointed to their feet and said with a smile, "The construction workers laid the pipeline before building this road. But I've heard that only this area of Thunder City has coal gas pipes so far; maybe it'll be expanded in the future."

Erin nodded half-understandingly, and her gaze returned to the strange road beneath her.

"Then… what is coal tar?"

"That's a by-product of the gas plant, a sticky waste. Previously, Thunder City's factories would have discarded this stuff, but later workers found that mixing it with gravel and laying it on the ground, it dries into this."

Luo Yan stomped lightly on the road surface with his shoe, producing a deep solid sound.

Seeing Erin's surprised face, he continued jokingly.

"As you can see, it can firmly bind the stones to the ground; and most importantly, it's waterproof. Hence, even in the rainy season, the roads in the suburbs of Thunder City won't turn into swampy grounds that swallow carriages. Plus, most importantly, it's much cheaper than laying whole slabs of bluestone, making it suitable for expanding the suburban road network."

Erin looked around, and her heart was overwhelmed with astonishment.

The land price on Queen Street is too high; those old nobles and tycoons are less willing to let the already settled streets be dug up beyond recognition.

On the contrary, this once wildly growing New Industrial Zone just caught the wave of construction and Thunder City's infrastructure investment.

The scale of laying and widening sewers, building road drainage channels, raising sidewalks, and distinguishing between car and pedestrian lanes… these advanced urban planning concepts have actually taken root here first.

Though the atmosphere is intensely rustic here, with many Priests even criticizing it as the "epitome of demon corruption," she felt that the noisy clamor was full of vitality, nurturing vibrant energy.

The people on the streets have utterly changed.

Not only the gentlemen in bowler hats but even the common people in plain clothing have faces brimming with a confidence she had never seen before.

People stood by the street reading newspapers or gathered in threes and fives on benches outside coffee shops chatting enthusiastically, discussing parliamentary proposals, distant wars, or even just aired plays.

No one fretted about where to eat next; being fed seemed to have become a matter of course. They were comparing more about how to make their homes "newer" than yesterday.

"Is this really Thunder City? Colin… did we really not get off at the wrong station?"

Erin murmured to herself.

She looked at the massive train station behind her, then at the unfamiliar streets in the distance, and a strong sense of alienation surged in her heart.

She felt as if she were a countryside girl lost in this city that should belong to her…

People apparently no longer needed the porridge she had given.

Nor did they need the Light of Praise she offered.

Seeing Erin hesitating to move forward, Luo Yan smiled, walked behind her, and teased lightly.

"Without a doubt, Princess, if you don't believe me, you could greet anyone; I'm sure the people here all know you."