Chapter 67

The time-traveler's golden finger, which represents various knowledge from the future, will become a powerful advantage in this era!

During the original timeline's World War II, Axis and Allied forces engaged in a back-and-forth struggle in the North African desert. Countless tanks rolled over the gravel of Libya, and it was there that Rommel's forces, the "Desert Fox," ultimately perished due to a lack of fuel. Fate had it that when the fuel gauge on the German tanks showed zero, they were unaware that less than 100 miles away from the battlefield lay abundant oil reserves.

In the post-World War II years, Libya, a land lacking everything but sand, could only export two things: Eragrostis tef, the fine-grained grass needed to produce banknote paper, and the wreckages of military vehicles destroyed during the British-German confrontations in Libya, sold as scrap iron. In the pocket of the elderly King Idris I of Libya, there were often less than 5 dollars in pocket money. He was reluctant to be a monarch, and he had written letters several times, wanting to abdicate, but he was always prevented by the ulterior motives of tribal chieftains. Internationally, only the Wheeler Air Force Base in Libya, established by the United States, could barely remind the world that such a country existed.

By the mid-1950s, more and more geologists speculated that Libya had oil. In 1955, the Kingdom of Libya enacted the "Petroleum Law," offering several small concessions for exploration. In 1957, the first round of bidding for exploration was conducted, with 17 American and European companies winning the rights to 84 concessions. However, the exploration work was difficult because Libya was so backward that whoever needed to make a call to the American company headquarters had to fly to Italy to do so. Geologists also faced unprecedented challenges. During World War II, the German army had buried over three million landmines in the Libyan desert. Engineers and drillers were often killed or injured by explosions, so each company had to equip their exploration teams with demining units and even paid a hefty sum to recruit former German veterans who had fought there to help with demining.

For a long time, Libya's oil search was disappointing, and many major companies, including BP, were ready to give up. However, in April 1959, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (SONJ) finally struck a highly productive oil well in an almost abandoned test area in Libya. The engineer on duty wrote in a letter to the company headquarters, "This time Libya hit the jackpot."

From then on, by 1961, Libya had developed ten highly productive oil fields, transforming from a poor country to a sought-after destination for Western powers to woo. Moreover, Libya produced "sweet" low-sulfur crude oil, which was ideal for the increasingly numerous European car users just a stone's throw away.

By 1965, Libya had become the sixth-largest oil-exporting country in the world, producing over 3 million barrels of crude oil per day, accounting for 10% of the world's oil output. The sharp increase in Libyan oil exports significantly affected world oil prices.

Even more importantly, Libya's strategic location allowed oil to be transported to Europe without passing through the Suez Canal or rounding the Cape of Good Hope, saving considerable time!

Wilhelm knew all the oil extraction sites in Libya by heart. He didn't even need to send someone to confirm; he could directly construct the oil production and refining bases and wait for the oil to gush out from underground.

Although the China oil was continuously being transported to Germany, during wartime, no one could guarantee the absolute safety of this transportation line. Even with Romania, Wilhelm still felt it was not secure enough. Only Libya's oil fields, which seemed to have an inexhaustible supply, could bring some peace of mind.

Ribbentrop, however, was puzzled. As far as he knew, that place was just a barren desert. "Then, Your Highness, if they inquire about the purpose…"

"That's even simpler. Just tell them I want to build a desert city for fun. When the lease period is over, I'll hand this desert city over to them intact, without taking a penny. The only condition is that all resources found there will belong to us. When you go back, find Miss Annie and have her transfer ten million US dollars to you. In case the negotiations in Italy don't go well, you'll have to use the money to get the job done for me."

"..." Build a desert city for fun? If anyone else heard this, they would certainly find it absurd and consider Wilhelm a prodigal among prodigals. But Ribbentrop was no fool. Based on His Highness's actions over the years, things definitely wouldn't be that simple.

However, he didn't dare to delve deeper and just obediently agreed, "Understood, Your Highness."

The next morning, after breakfast, Wilhelm arrived at Cambridge University.

Cambridge University has produced a group of scientific giants who have led the era, such as Newton and Darwin; outstanding scholars in humanities and history, like Bacon and Keynes; and artistic masters who have pioneered new eras, like Milton and Byron. It has also nurtured eight British Prime Ministers and 92 Nobel Prize laureates, solidifying Cambridge's position as a center of modern academic and cultural excellence.

"Welcome to Cambridge, esteemed Wilhelm! Your visit has brought great honor to our university!" greeted the current headmaster at the entrance, leading a group of people.

"The honor is mine, Mr. Headmaster. I've long wanted to visit this ancient institution." Ah, why didn't I think of coming here for studying during the original timeline? My destiny might have been completely different.

After exchanging pleasantries, they entered a lecture hall with at least a thousand seats.

"Today, I'm here to discuss the methods of detective and reasoning writing in the genre of mystery fiction." Wilhelm paused for a moment and chuckled, "I seem to have chosen the wrong topic, discussing detective fiction in the homeland of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it's the same thing as teaching an old driver to drive. I hope the great author won't hold it against this junior for babbling about it."

The audience below responded with warm laughter. In recent years, Wilhelm had published several classic novels in succession and, coupled with his modesty, he had won the favor of many people.

After a brief introduction, Wilhelm turned and wrote three short lines on the blackboard:

The incomprehensibility at the beginning.

The suspense in the middle.

The unexpectedness at the end.

"In my view, meeting these three criteria constitutes an excellent detective fiction. For those of you interested in writing mystery novels, it might be worthwhile to focus on these aspects."

"....."

"Some may think that writing an unexpected ending is challenging. Readers have become accustomed to various endings, so crafting an extraordinary one requires writing a captivating narrative that leaves them reluctant or too engrossed to guess the ending. However, true masterpieces are born from continuously breaking existing patterns! Although there have already been various astonishing endings, we also encounter a constant stream of themes in our lives—such as social phenomena and new technologies."

"....."

After over an hour of speech, Wilhelm was quite satisfied with his performance. The audience below was fully engaged, with many earnestly taking notes in their notebooks without any distractions. When he signaled that he had finished, the audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.