Chapter Sixty: The Iron Puppet's Scheme

“Sir, after all this time studying, you must have a clear idea of the remaining flaws in the Iron Golem, don’t you?”
Upon returning to the Kingdom of Blocks, Mo Fangyuan spoke directly, inquiring about Fang Zhi’s progress with the Iron Golem.
On the road earlier, Mo Fangyuan hadn’t asked in detail for fear of distraction, but now that they were back in the safety of the kingdom, he began a formal examination of the Iron Golem’s data.

In the original “Minecraft,” Iron Golems were among the most formidable, a veritable ceiling of combat power; multiple Iron Golems working together could even challenge the Wither, one of the major bosses.
Their existence is like the “king of war”—a tank—in the game: high damage, robust health.
But every “tank” has its fatal flaw, and for Iron Golems, it’s their simplicity—they just charge straight ahead, easily kited and worn down by clever foes.
“I wonder how the Iron Golem will be altered in this world?”
Since all the monsters here have been enhanced, there’s no reason the Iron Golem would lag behind, is there?
Mo Fangyuan eagerly pictured the Iron Golem rampaging through the battlefield, imagining the monsters’ expressions in response.
The very thought was amusing.

“Your Majesty, the Iron Golem still has many deficiencies. Its construction is only theoretical at present; without experimental reports for reference, there are bound to be many shortcomings...”
“But for now, I can confirm that the Iron Golem’s movement is rather slow. No matter how I modify the parts or change its mechanical structure, I can’t solve this problem...”
“Furthermore, some internal components are still incomplete. After assembly, there’s a risk it might be a total failure... Ah, I am ashamed!”

“Don’t worry, sir! You’re free to experiment as you wish! The Kingdom of Blocks will always be your home, your steadfast support!”
“As long as it aids your research on the Iron Golem, we’ll do everything we can to help!”
Mo Fangyuan, fully aware of the Iron Golem’s importance, would never give up on developing this “tank.”
If they succeeded, it would revolutionize the way the kingdom fought.
This was crucial—worth any cost, no matter how many resources it consumed.

“Your Majesty, why say such things? My life was saved by you and Miss Zhang. Contributing to the kingdom is my duty and honor!”
Fang Zhi was deeply moved, his tone sincere and earnest.
“Goodness, he’s just like Old Fu now!”
Mo Fangyuan thought to himself.
Taking Fang Zhi’s calloused hands in his own, Mo Fangyuan spoke gravely,
“No time to lose! I’ll arrange your residence and workspace at once—food, clothing, shelter, and transport will all be provided. All you need to do is focus on your work!”
“As for the iron and redstone needed for the Iron Golem, everyone will prepare them for you! Experiment as you see fit! As long as it helps advance the research, that’s what matters!”
During this period, the Kingdom of Blocks had acquired some low-quality loot bags from monsters, obtaining a modest amount of redstone, just enough for Fang Zhi to begin his research.

“Ah, I’d planned to save it for automation equipment later... but this is worth it!”
Having received nine years of compulsory education, Mo Fangyuan deeply understood the importance of practice.
Marx once said: “Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.”
Theory alone, without hands-on experimentation, will never bring success.
It’s like listening to a teacher explain a lesson and learning the theory—this doesn’t mean you’ve mastered it. To truly do so, you must practice, make mistakes, reflect, and summarize, then you will grasp it.
Of course, Mo Fangyuan knew theory was also important, but Fang Zhi had been immersed in it for thirty years—surely he had enough by now?
Only by combining theory and practice could results be doubled for half the effort.
Mo Fangyuan didn’t want to spend too much time on the Iron Golem. He couldn’t afford to wait, nor could the kingdom, so this was the only way to improve efficiency.

“Alright, Old Fang, let Zhang Lingyun take you to your quarters! I’ll arrange your work shortly...”
As he mentioned work, Mo Fangyuan’s smile turned wicked.
Where there is work, there will always be overtime—that is an eternal law.
And overtime...
“No one understands overtime better than I do!”
With long experience, Mo Fangyuan had become an expert in getting others to work extra hours.
Not only that, he could even make them do it willingly.

After Fang Zhi left, Mo Fangyuan marked off an open area in the southern part of the kingdom map, intending to build the Iron Golem Research Laboratory and Factory there.
“First, the factory must be large, since we’ll eventually need an assembly line for Iron Golems; then there must be separate research and work areas; and finally, secure defenses to protect the researchers and workers...”
After a spree of apartment construction, the large, freestanding “matchbox” houses inside the city walls were dismantled, leaving ample space.
However, Mo Fangyuan didn’t plan to use all of it, reserving it for future residential expansion.
Other factories would be set on the flat land outside the southern wall.
A central residential area, an industrial zone to the south, agricultural zones to the north and west, and a production zone to the east—
This was Mo Fangyuan’s plan for the capital’s future development.

“No wonder the Iron Golem blueprints are so dizzying to look at...”
Picking up the copy of the Iron Golem design from the table, Mo Fangyuan couldn’t help but feel admiration.
The old design from the previous world—four iron blocks and a pumpkin head—seemed laughable by comparison.
Based on the damaged blueprint found in the ruins, Fang Zhi divided the Iron Golem into five major parts:
Left arm, right arm, torso, legs, and head.

The first four represented the four iron blocks needed in the original game,
while the head symbolized the pumpkin that brought it to life.
“Hmm, it’s complex, but at least there’s a faint echo of the game’s design...”
According to Fang Zhi, crafting each part of the Iron Golem required at least five steps at the workbench.
Take the right arm, for example:
First, arrange nine small, pre-made components in precise positions, then the mechanic would combine them into a larger piece.
Next, arrange the large parts in order, and have the mechanic combine them into the right arm’s sub-assembly.
After that, combine the sub-assemblies at the workbench, again under the mechanic’s hand; once successful, this forms one of the main arm parts.
Finally, once all the arm parts are ready and properly positioned, they can be assembled into the Golem’s right arm.
Add in the synthesis of all the small components, and that’s five steps in total.
And that’s just the description—actually doing it would be even more complicated.
“To think these block people, still in the classical era, could build such a thing—it really is fantastical!”
With all these parts and procedures, even in an industrial society from the previous world, building one would have been a challenge.
“Fortunately, we have the workbench!”
In the game, the workbench is all-powerful—from TNT, iron swords, and flint in vanilla survival, to guns, nukes, and rockets in modded play, nothing is possible without it.
No workbench, no advanced construction or redstone contraptions.
The creation of the workbench was the “first technological revolution” for the block people of this world.
It is the “source of all evil” in “Minecraft.”
Thankfully, in this world, though its “evil” features haven’t vanished entirely, they have been greatly restricted.
No longer can a workbench craft anything and everything at will; block people can only make items relevant to their profession, and even then, only if they’re qualified.
Low-level workers cannot craft high-level items.
Whether this is a blessing or a curse is hard to say.
But in this world without players, for the block people, it is certainly a curse.