"Will it fail?"

Li Meng frowned slightly as he looked at the blast furnace in front of him, radiating intense heat.

The larger the blast furnace, the easier it is to store heat, and the higher the pressure will be.

Higher pressure can lower the melting point of iron.

If the blast furnace is too small, the heat will quickly dissipate through the furnace walls.

If the wind power is insufficient, it's also difficult to quickly raise the furnace's temperature to 1300 degrees.

"Boss, is it ready?"

The goblin pulling the bellows was drenched in sweat.

Not only were they hot, but their hands were also sore and painful.

"Keep going!"

The goblins grimaced but had to continue pulling.

"Boss, my hands are going to be useless!"

"Don't stop!"

As the goblin minions wailed, time slowly passed.

Five hours later, at the underground riverbank in the cave.

The blast furnace on the bank emitted astonishing heat.

Even five meters away, one could feel the rolling heat waves.

Standing beside the blast furnace, Li Meng used his hand to feel the temperature without touching it.

An hour ago, the temperature inside the blast furnace had stopped rising.

Li Meng knew the temperature inside the furnace had reached its limit.

"Then let's open the furnace!"

Looking at the blast furnace in front of him, Li Meng thought to himself.

Whether it succeeds is important, but not crucial.

This was just an initial experiment, and Li Meng wasn't afraid of failure.

Even if it failed, he would gain experience and wouldn't fail next time.

Li Meng took a few steps back, bent down, and picked up the mold placed beside him.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Then he placed the mold at the iron outlet.

He used a stick to poke open the stone blocking the iron outlet.

As the stone was moved aside, the scorching molten iron flowed out.

This scene made Li Meng's eyes light up.

He hadn't expected the first attempt at smelting iron in the blast furnace to succeed.

The molten iron, like lava, continuously flowed into the mold.

With pig iron, there was the possibility of making steel.

Placing pig iron in a damp place to react with air and water would produce a large amount of rust.

Refining rust with pig iron could yield low-carbon steel.

Steelmaking isn't limited to just one method.

Pig iron can also be broken into pieces for secondary smelting, and stirring the molten pig iron to increase contact with oxygen can oxidize the carbon in the iron.

By controlling the carbon content through experimentation and stopping the refining process, medium-carbon steel and high-carbon steel can be obtained.

Direct refining to oxidize carbon completely can yield low-carbon wrought iron.

Pouring molten pig iron onto red-hot wrought iron can produce high-carbon steel.

"Strange, such a small blast furnace shouldn't reach the melting point of iron."

Watching the molten iron flowing out of the outlet, Li Meng muttered to himself.

Could it be that the oxygen content in this world is different from Earth's?

Higher oxygen content means a more vigorous fire.

A more vigorous fire naturally results in higher temperatures.

He didn't think much more about it; success was success, and the result was what mattered most.

With the success of the first experiment, it marked a good beginning.

In the following days, Li Meng focused on one thing.

Teaching the goblin minions to familiarize themselves with the iron smelting process.

And how to make iron, temper, quench, forge, and other iron-making knowledge.

Although goblins aren't very smart, they have strong imitation abilities.

Li Meng didn't need the goblin minions to understand the principles of iron smelting.

He just needed them to follow the steps and complete each part of the iron-making process.

Half a month later, at the underground riverbank in the cave.

"This is an hourglass. When the sand inside runs out, it's time to open the furnace. Understand?"

On the riverbank, Li Meng held a simple hourglass made of bamboo.

Goblins had no concept of time.

To be precise, they had no way to measure time.

The goblin minions on the riverbank nodded.

"Good, from today onwards, you will build the blast furnace yourselves and smelt iron. If you can produce molten iron, it's a success. If you succeed, each of you will earn a day's mating rights. If you fail, you'll never think about reproducing for the rest of your lives."

Hearing that success would earn them mating rights, the goblins on the riverbank brightened up.

They looked eagerly at their boss.

Drool almost dripped from the corners of their mouths.

Because the goblins on the riverbank had eaten the cave ogre's meat.

In just over half a month, seven goblins had evolved into big goblins.

Facing the eager goblin minions, Li Meng waved his hand.

"Go, you have five sunsets!"

Upon hearing this, the goblin minions on the riverbank quickly turned and ran towards the cave entrance.

They had to start from scratch, selecting iron ore with high iron content.

They also needed to find clay to make the blast furnace and wood for charcoal.

Watching the goblin minions run towards the cave entrance, Li Meng grinned.

Li Meng intended to train these seven goblin minions into blacksmiths.

Once they became blacksmiths, their descendants would inherit their craft.

By then, the tribe would have a large team of blacksmiths.

"System, start the simulated life!"

Unknowingly, a month's cooldown had passed again.

Li Meng was filled with anticipation for the future development of his life.

[Starting simulated life]

[You began your blacksmith career, and your efforts paid off as the tribe entered the Iron Age]

[You crafted your first long spear]

[You crafted your first crossbow]

[You began arming your tribe, and your tribe thrived]

[One of your hunting parties was ambushed and wiped out by lizardmen while retrieving spider silk from the Ghost Spider Forest]

[Pigmen tribe traces were discovered in the east, and a Pigmen tribe entered your territory]

[Due to the rapid population growth of the tribe, the food pressure led you to decide to wage war externally]

[Please make the following choice]

[1. Seek revenge on the lizardmen]

[2. Annihilate the Pigmen tribe that entered your territory]

[3. Cross the river to advance to the south bank and expand the hunting territory]

Li Meng sat down on a large rock by the riverbank.

Which of the three options should he choose?

Sitting on the rock, Li Meng stared at the water in a daze.

The lizardmen had survived in the swamp for countless years.

They were a tough nut to crack, and attacking them wasn't wise.

But the Ghost Spider Forest was near the swamp.

Without eliminating the lizardmen, obtaining spider silk would become a major issue.

The second option was a big pitfall.

Li Meng hadn't forgotten the future predicted by the last simulated life.

In that future, the Pigmen tribe thrived and gave birth to the Golden Pigman King because of the blast furnace he built.

This indicated that the Pigmen tribe was a large, social group.

Annihilating the migrating Pigmen tribe might attract the attention of the larger group behind them.

As for the third option, it could trigger an internal war.

Crossing the river would enter Gobu Ba's territory.

Li Meng wasn't confident enough to defeat Gobu Ba yet.

If he lost in a leadership duel, he would lose everything.

For him now, the third option was also a big pitfall.

"Choose to seek revenge on the lizardmen!"

In the end, Li Meng chose to seek revenge on the lizardmen.