How to Forge a Charlatan from Steel

[Steel Queen x Master Con Artist]

Question: I just got transported here and was abducted by a scam gang to do forced labor. What should I do?

Su Ye: What about my friends and family? Can they save me?

Question: Seems like you have a husband. Wait... he became a Daoist priest...

Su Ye: ...No matter. I have one more plan: flip the table!

Question: How?

Su Ye: Rally the people at the grassroots and unleash the power of the masses!

Question: Who are the masses?

Su Ye: Convicts, death-row inmates, murderers... Never mind, we're all friends when we gather together!

So Su Ye unleashed the intelligence cheat she'd honed over twenty-eight years of graduate study in her previous life.

"The blast furnace exploded?" "Add a flux!"

"The bellows are losing steam?" "Harness water power!"

"The clay molds are cracking?" "Use iron ones!"

Those who set the trap eventually fall into it, and those who bind others are eventually bound themselves.

No one expected Su Ye to turn the tables, kick the black-kiln boss to the ground, and lead the laborers to freedom as they sang!

But turning a business into a profitable venture wasn't easy, and the team soon faced a cash shortage. So:

Everyone: "We're out of money?"

Su Ye: "Go beg!"

Everyone: "?????"

Su Ye: "I'm serious."

And so, for the grand begging plan, Su Ye joined the biggest evil cult of the era... No, not a cult, a workers' association: the Rice Jar.

As the name suggests, the Rice Jar Sect doesn't cultivate immortality or abstain from food. It is dedicated to making sure every member has enough to eat, which perfectly aligns with Su Ye's practical spirit.

Then one day at noon, while she was focused on her meal, she glanced up and spotted a familiar face.

There she was, cheeks stuffed with rice, facing her long-tonsured con-artist "husband," whose cheeks were just as full. Their eyes met, and then they both spat out their food.

Meeting at the summit, indeed.

Later, the steel magnate and her con-artist husband began a road to riches that combined science and mysticism.

Then one day, Su Ye suddenly realized this con artist was no ordinary man.

Su Ye: "Who are you?"

Cult leader: "I'm your husband."

Su Ye: "Who did you say you were?"

Cult leader: "The person you saved."

Su Ye: "..."

Cult leader: "Actually, I could say it again."

Su Ye: "Who are you?"

Cult leader: "Your... publicity director (now behaving himself)."

Later, as the factory grew and the silver piled up, someone told her, "A blast furnace can't forge you power. Are you really going to spend your whole life as a blacksmith?"

At the time, Su Ye was tinkering with her new hydraulic bellows. As the horizontal water wheel spun, she smiled and said to the man:

"What does power look like? What's its handle like?"

The man: "..."

Su Ye: "You can't see it, can you?" She pointed to the splashing water striking the wheel below. "But this, you can."

"A thousand years, two thousand years... Everything else will be gone, but this will keep turning."

In that era, creators were trapped, profiteers grew rich, and artisans and blacksmiths earned less than their labor was worth, their lives as insignificant as weeds.

So Su Ye took up her hundred-times-forged steel sword and climbed, step by step. At the end, she said to those people:

"I swear to break the suffering of all artisans, free them from hardship, and restore the light of day."

Content notes:

1. One true pairing; happy ending.

2. New chapter every day, whether or not I'm on the rankings!

3. The leads have secret identities, but they aren't privileged elites! They aren't privileged elites! They're both little bitter melons, and their relationship is one of mutual support. The female lead's career progression and challenges are always overcome through her own abilities.

4. The early chapters focus on the female lead's career, interspersed with romance.

5. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments!

Theme: Persevere and strive for self-improvement