Chapter 550
Beside them, the crew from the television station was also glued to the screen, continuously filming.
"Third test..."
...
"Third item: drilling experiment!"
At the Mining Research Institute in Shan Nan Province, Huang Yi and his colleagues gathered around, watching the news about "Nezha."
"Is this... something we created?"
Di Zhong Hai murmured to himself, but no one answered.
The proposal they submitted was quite straightforward; who would have guessed the results would be... so visually stunning?
On the screen, Nezha held the "Red Whip" in one hand, its tip spinning rapidly downward, emitting a blinding white light.
The shaft seemed to grow without wind, piercing toward a small hill below.
The rocks on the hill crumbled like tofu at a mere touch, turning to dust...
Soon, the tip of the Red Whip drilled into the ground.
It delved deep into the earth's crust, to an unknown depth.
"Fourth item... mining experiment!"
The Red Whip retracted, transforming into a shovel, its cold iron teeth clawing fiercely at the ground like a giant's talon!
"This is our design!"
"It worked!"
Beside them, the old director's voice rang out, his face glowing with excitement.
A buzz of discussion filled the research institute, smiles lighting up everyone's faces; their proposal had finally been adopted by Zheng Fa!
This represented more than just honor.
Perhaps honor still meant something to the old director.
But for the younger generation, it didn’t hold as much motivation, after all, times had changed.
But Zheng Fa was so generous with the funding!
Just a few days ago, he had sent more money, saying he was preparing to support their research on new projects.
Huang Yi smiled too; the power structure of this shovel was designed by him.
At that moment, he couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride.
But the news wasn’t over yet.
It seemed they skipped a few tests, and a large portion of the broadcast was dedicated to the final test.
"...Testing, cloaking mode."
"Cloaking?"
Everyone suddenly turned to the television, where the massive mechanical giant abruptly vanished before their eyes.
The crowd watching on TV gasped in astonishment.
The narrator's voice was accompanied by various reports:
"Radar lost target..."
"Satellite lost target..."
"…"
The researchers were dumbfounded.
"This... is this for mining?"
They struggled to understand why there was a need for a cloaking mode.
This was a requirement from Zheng Fa, primarily because the Xuan Wei Realm was not peaceful.
In the future, the mining machines of the Jiu Shan Sect would not only need to be cloaked but also harness the combat power of the Shen Xiao External Elixir.
Cloaking was relatively simple; they could use the Shen Xiao External Elixir to cast a cloaking spell.
In simple terms... it was armed mining!
The old director was silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "I'm not an expert, but you young folks have good memories. Aren't cloaking aircraft only able to evade radar? They can't avoid the eyes and satellites?"
Huang Yi nodded, "Yes, I've never heard of a truly cloaked aircraft."
"…So isn't this it?"
The old director pointed at the television.
Huang Yi was momentarily stunned.
That made sense... Although detection aircraft relied on radar, cloaking was practically a cheat in the modern world.
It felt odd to apply it to mining machines.
Putting it on a fighter jet... that was also strange, mainly because it was terrifying.
At that moment, the news concluded, and the female host on screen said naturally, "This is the newly developed mining robot from Hong Shan Nursing Home..."
A mining robot? You spent half the news time introducing it?
The female anchor's expression twisted slightly, "It will absolutely not be used for military purposes."
Yeah, right...
The old director straightened his back slowly, "So, does this mean we’re becoming a military-industrial enterprise?"
"…"
...
Zheng Fa didn’t care how modern news subtly used "Nezha" to instill fear.
Upon returning to the Jiu Shan Realm, he startled Madam Xuan Hua with the blueprints in hand.
"What is this?"
"A modification plan for the Shen Xiao battleship!"
The humanoid forms that modern youth played with didn’t quite meet real-world needs; they were merely for testing various functions, and Zheng Fa didn’t mind.
But the Jiu Shan Realm was different.
In practical terms, a battleship form was far more suitable for transporting people and minerals, as well as for flying.
"Modification plan?"
Madam Xuan Hua flipped through the blueprints.
She fell into silence.
As she turned the pages, her movements slowed, as if she were becoming entranced.
"Xuan Hua?"
"I just didn’t expect that pure mechanical structures could have so many functions..."
Zheng Fa nodded gently.
Some of these blueprints were beyond his comprehension, especially the complex mechanics; he wasn’t an expert in that field, and they made his head spin.
Suddenly, Madam Xuan Hua looked up, her eyes ablaze with passion as she gazed at Zheng Fa, "I feel like I’ve glimpsed another path in artifact refinement."
"These machines don’t require spiritual energy... yet they seem more powerful than many magical treasures!"
"I..." Madam Xuan Hua's voice trembled slightly, revealing a hint of insecurity, "I feel like I’ve forgotten how to refine artifacts; everything I learned before..."
Zheng Fa felt an inexplicable pride swell within him. After all, the greatest advantage of modern technology lay in what was known as the path of artifact refinement.
Yet, Madam Xuan Hua was encountering the results of centuries of modern scientific research.
These blueprints were the product of the most powerful industrial capabilities of a nation, a collective effort of the entire country.
To be honest, in his view, when it came to artifact refinement, aside from some miraculous characteristics inherent to spiritual energy, the artifact refiners of the Xuan Wei Realm simply couldn’t hold a candle to modern industry in terms of systematic and comprehensive approaches.
At that moment, Madam Xuan Hua seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown, which was entirely understandable.
"Master..."
"Yes?"
"I want to resign from my position as the head of the Tiangong Pavilion."
Zheng Fa was taken aback. What was going on?
Just a couple of days ago, she was enthusiastically helping him research the Golden Elixir project.
Now she suddenly wanted to quit?
Madam Xuan Hua's eyes burned with determination, "I feel like I’ve found my own path! I want to retreat and comprehend this path of machinery."
"…"
"And my abilities no longer warrant me leading the Tiangong Pavilion..."
Zheng Fa was at a loss for words.
Good news: the modern experiment was a success.
Bad news: the experiment was so successful that it delivered a dimensional blow, shaking the confidence of his own capable people.
They wanted to abandon the mundane world and focus solely on enlightenment!
Looking at Madam Xuan Hua's expression, she was serious!
Sister Zhang stood nearby, and seeing Madam Xuan Hua like this, she curiously looked over.
She gazed at the blueprints and suddenly pointed to one, "Spiritual Energy Scanner?"
"Oh right, that’s the most important component."
The spiritual energy scanner was crucial.
Not only could it scan for minerals, but it could also be installed on the Shen Xiao battleship as a radar.
This device had a high technical content among the blueprints.
Within the Jiu Shan Realm, it could detect fluctuations in spiritual energy, providing everyone with a power assessment.
As she looked at the introduction of the spiritual energy measuring device, Sister Zhang's eyes sparkled.
She suddenly turned to Madam Xuan Hua, her expression serious, "You can’t retreat."
"…"
"If you want to retreat, you first need to help me manufacture this spiritual energy measuring device."
"…"
Zheng Fa had long anticipated that Sister Zhang would be fond of this spiritual energy measuring device—if anyone in the Jiu Shan Realm loved data, it was Sister Zhang, not Zheng Fa.
This spiritual energy measuring device was practically Sister Zhang's joy-bringer.
"I..."
"Just cooperate well, and I’ll bring the Grand Elder of the Chong Xuan Sect to you!"
"What Grand Elder..." Madam Xuan Hua was momentarily confused before she realized, "Oh."
At this point, Zheng Fa was certain that after seeing these blueprints, Madam Xuan Hua had truly forgotten her late husband...
Sister Zhang noticed this too and thought for a moment, "Raise your salary! I’ll add twenty percent to your monthly salary as the head of the Tiangong Pavilion!"
The frugal Madam Xuan Hua was now wavering.
But after a moment, she still stared at the mechanical structures on the screen, seemingly unable to tear her gaze away, and shook her head.
Sister Zhang's expression grew serious as she looked at the blueprints.
To make a Nascent Soul artifact-refining master abandon their hatred, even go against their nature, and undergo a significant personality change...
The value of these blueprints was evident.
Finally, Zheng Fa spoke up, clearing his throat, "Do you want to learn?"
Madam Xuan Hua paused, looking at Zheng Fa, and nodded vigorously, "Are there more?"
"I have some other materials; you just need to accumulate good deeds to access them..."
Standing nearby, Xiao Yu Ying felt a sense of déjà vu, and after a moment, she suddenly realized—
She had been similarly persuaded by Zheng Fa back in the day!
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