“Indeed, it is that Aiden.” Qian Ye nodded.
Song Zining retracted the illusionary domain and said solemnly, “Before I came to the Neutral Grounds, I heard that Aiden had risen in the family rankings due to his battle achievements and was now considered a contender for the next head of the family. Such a genius would not come to the Neutral Grounds alone, so we might be facing a mobile unit from the Abyss of Darkness.”
Qian Ye nodded. After fighting with Aiden for so long, he was well aware of his opponent’s potential and tenacity.
Song Zining pondered, “However, if the mobile unit from the Abyss of Darkness comes to the Neutral Grounds, their combat power will likely be greatly reduced, making them perhaps not as difficult to handle.”
As he spoke, he shook his head, “No, during the previous battle where Eternight almost captured the Neutral Grounds, the Abyss of Darkness was involved and has some understanding of the Neutral Grounds. This time, they must have come prepared, with equipment specially tuned, and their combat power will not be significantly affected. We cannot take this lightly.”
Qian Ye nodded, recalling countless battles, both large and small, in which the involvement of the demon race made things exceptionally difficult.
Song Zining closed his fan and mused, “But why would Aiden come here instead of going to the Vortex? Could something have happened there?”
Qian Ye, who knew nothing about the Vortex, asked, “Has the Vortex already opened?”
Song Zining nodded, “Yes, the passage has been opened. However, the initial passage is usually unstable and points to the periphery. Therefore, some geniuses who think highly of themselves do not enter early but wait until the passage leads deeper into the Vortex, abandoning the resources on the edge to focus on the inner areas. Additionally, during this period, some families need to transport the products from secret resource sites, requiring strong teams to escort them.”
Qian Ye found this odd. Although Aiden was formidable, he was not one of the rarest geniuses in the two camps. His growth was more due to his relentless effort and indomitable will rather than extraordinary talent. It was indeed strange for him to come to the Neutral Grounds at this time.
After a moment of thought, Song Zining seemed to have made a decision, saying gravely, “In the coming days, something major is likely to happen in the Eastern Sea. Our task is to tighten our defenses, clear the area around Nanqing and Chaocheng, and drive out all forces with ulterior motives, ensuring that the resources of Guanlan City can be used by us. After securing this area, I will transport the six engines and four main cannons stored at Ningyuan Heavy Industries to the Hall of Heroes. These were originally intended for the Empire’s latest batch of destroyers.”
“Your Ningyuan Heavy Industries has developed to this extent?” Qian Ye was quite surprised. Being able to build main cannons and engines meant that constructing a complete warship was just a step away, as these were the most critical and challenging parts. By normal logic, even given three decades, it would be hard to achieve what Ningyuan Heavy Industries had done in just a few years.
Song Zining smiled, “I did a favor for a high-ranking official, and these are a little reward.”
Qian Ye was speechless. This “little reward” was nearly equivalent to 20% of the Empire’s overall shipbuilding technology. Even an ordinary high-ranking official, let alone the Emperor, would find it difficult to provide such a reward.
However, Qian Ye never pressed Song Zining on matters he did not wish to discuss. He spread out the map, confirmed the hostile forces that needed to be cleared, and set the plan for the next steps.
With the plan in place, Qian Ye retrieved the suitcase containing the rare metals from Andurja’s mysterious space and placed it in the courtyard. The suitcase was extremely heavy, and Qian Ye had to set up a layer of origin power to support it before carefully placing it down. If it were placed directly on the ground, it would likely sink into it.
Song Zining opened the suitcase, inspected the metal ingots, and tapped the internal metal support structure, saying approvingly, “Good, there is a considerable amount of obsidian, though a bit less than expected, it is still sufficient. This obsidian will last us three years of full-scale operations. Haha, the seller must not have imagined that we already possess the Empire’s top shipbuilding technology, greatly increasing the efficiency of using obsidian.”
“Look at this, I have never seen such an engine,” Qian Ye said, releasing the engine.
Seeing the barrel-like object wrapped in fine tubes, Song Zining was also taken aback. It was different from any engine he was familiar with. After inspecting it from all angles, Song Zining said with a wry smile, “I am not a craftsman, just knowledgeable in general. We will need the chief artisan from Ningyuan Heavy Industries to understand this.”
Qian Ye said, “It is indeed not simple. I sensed the aura of a void beast on it.”
“Void beast? That doesn’t make sense,” Song Zining examined it again, even reaching into the engine’s opening and feeling around, but found no trace of a void beast.
He stood up and pondered, “It seems we can only uncover the truth by disassembling it. We should wait for the chief artisan. He can handle it without damaging the engine’s structure. I initially thought it was a trap, but if it involves the remains of a void beast, it seems a bit too costly.”
Qian Ye agreed. Any part of a void beast was priceless, let alone a piece that still retained its living essence. Such a relic’s value could be comparable to a new large engine. To harm someone at such a cost would be more like a gift than a trap.
Song Zining set up an origin power array to isolate the engine’s aura and said, “The chief artisan will know tomorrow. Whatever it is, we have no loss since we didn’t pay for it.”
Qian Ye snorted, “My reputation is the one taking the hit.”
Song Zining laughed, “Since the day you fought your way out of the Empire, your reputation doesn’t matter much. Anyway, reputation is not worth much in the Neutral Grounds.”
Qian Ye shrugged, admitting that Song Zining was right. This was originally a trap, with Aiden set up to ambush and kill Qian Ye in Guanlan City. However, Qian Ye’s strength had surged unexpectedly, surpassing Aiden, and with Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan, two powerful allies, Aiden was forced to retreat injured, leaving all the bait taken by Qian Ye.
Qian Ye had no qualms about taking things from the opposing camp.
Leaving the suitcase and engine behind, Qian Ye returned to his cultivation. Though the battle with Aiden was brief, there was still much to digest.
The next noon, a gentle bell roused Qian Ye from his cultivation.
“Qian Ye, come and take a look; this thing is peculiar.”
Qian Ye gathered his origin power, got dressed, and went to Song Zining’s courtyard. Several white-robed craftsmen were busy around the engine, having already dismantled half of it. The parts were neatly arranged, and each removed part was marked and noted on a diagram.
The external parts of the mysterious engine were mostly removed, revealing the inner wall. An old man with white hair gently tapped the inner wall, listened carefully, and then looked up, saying, “Seventh Young Master, this inner wall is quite extraordinary. If my old eyes serve me correctly, the properties of this strange metal are likely no less than the formula you obtained. Moreover, it seems to have other characteristics, which we will need to analyze further once the experimental workshop is built.”
Song Zining bowed, “Thank you, Old Hu.”
Besides the artisans from Ningyuan Heavy Industries, Li Kuanglan stood in a corner, watching closely, while Ji Tianqing leaned against a tree, seemingly bored, looking at the sky, lost in thought. Their presence was also to prevent any unforeseen events. The demon race, like the blood race, produced many assassins.
The chief artisan continued tapping the inner wall, pausing at the front end, striking it repeatedly with varying force, and closing his eyes to listen to the echoes.
This was a special technique, using the force and nature of the strikes to probe the interior based on the echoes. With enough skill, one could examine the internal structure of large components without deep origin power.
Qian Ye closed his eyes, moving his ears slightly, trying to catch the echo vibrations. Gradually, a picture formed in his mind, revealing the engine’s inner wall. But as he listened, Qian Ye frowned, noticing the front end was very strange, much thicker than the tail end, yet surprisingly loose and not tightly packed. Its density seemed to be slowly changing.
Qian Ye, with his keen senses, knew this was no illusion. The density of the front end was indeed changing.
The chief artisan also noticed the anomaly and, after examining it for a long time, found a barely noticeable fine seam. Following the seam, he discovered it was a cover, camouflaged over time by accumulated grease and grime, appearing as a single piece.
The cover had no mechanism or locking device, and it was unclear how to open it. After a long inspection, the chief artisan sighed, “This craftsmanship is truly remarkable. This engine is at least several hundred years old, and the precision is astonishing. If I am not mistaken, this cover has no locking mechanism and is held in place by its precise fit and natural suction. To open it, it should be like this.”
He placed his hand on the cover, channeled his origin power, and pulled. But the cover remained immobile, as if it were nailed in place.
Flushing red, the chief artisan tried multiple times with all his strength, but the cover did not budge.
He had to give up, saying, “My strength is too weak. You need to find someone stronger to open it. The secret of this engine is likely hidden beneath this cover.”
Song Zining looked around and finally bowed to Ji Tianqing, smiling, “Please, Miss, help us.”
Ji Tianqing chuckled, “No problem, I like it when you’re polite.”
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