"Thank you."
"For my fallen comrades."
Ling Tong's somewhat lonely figure lingered in Wang Jixuan's mind for a long time. She must have many stories to tell.
Wang Daolong struck down with a hammer, breaking apart all the distracting thoughts and the scene before him, skillfully finishing the third section of the "steel pipe."
He moved quickly, bringing his sword fingers together. With no one around, he wrapped the steel pipe in energy and made it float in front of him. His fingertips moved rapidly, continuously pouring spiritual energy into it, creating pathways of spiritual power inside.
His dantian energy surged, and Wang Jixuan puffed out his cheeks, his eyes shining brightly as he released a fierce breath.
Buzz!
The "steel pipe" trembled violently!
He worked skillfully, refining it alone. The surface of the metal pipe revealed many patterns.
Uncle Tai and the others had long since gone to sleep.
Wang Jixuan's energy sea kept spinning, slowly drawing in the spiritual energy from the air through his pores. After entering the Gathering Spirit Realm, he not only condensed his spiritual awareness but could also maintain the circulation of energy in his body through his dantian, allowing him to cultivate at about sixty to seventy percent of the speed he had while sitting, even when standing or lying down.
He was busy until noon when Sister Wan came to call him for lunch. A bronze-colored long spear had already taken shape.
The spear was divided into three sections, connected by threads.
From the perspective of a magical tool, this spear was already complete. The back, middle, and tip of the spear each had a diamond-shaped groove, where any crystal core that fit could be embedded.
But Wang Daolong felt that his first magical tool in this world shouldn’t just be a simple weapon.
He was pondering whether he could turn the spear into a small electromagnetic cannon, something that could be used as a sniper rifle, or perhaps make it into an electromagnetic pulse launcher to release electromagnetic pulses.
This way, he could effectively deal damage to the Blade Beasts using technology; when the technology failed, he could use the power of the Blade Beast crystal cores; and when the crystal core power was nearly exhausted, he could rely on his own energy.
To make up for his current cultivation disadvantage, Daolong was putting in a lot of effort.
Why was his first magical tool a spear instead of a sword?
It was simple. Wang Jixuan considered the length of the Blade Beasts' limbs. A sword might be easier to swing at people, but it wouldn’t be very effective against Blade Beasts.
Wang Jixuan actually preferred the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
However, at this stage, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade consumed too much spiritual energy for chopping enemies, while the spear was more efficient for piercing.
"From what Ling Tong said, the Blade Beasts will attack in three days. We need to finish this quickly and make some more talismans."
A thin little hand waved in front of him.
"Little Wang... Teacher, are you okay?"
Wan Xiao Qi asked softly, "You haven’t slept since last night. Do you want to take a break? You can’t push yourself like this while improving your techniques."
Sister Wan also expressed her concern, "Yes, Little Wang, don’t wear yourself out."
Uncle Tai came out of the men's restroom, yawning and mumbling, "Young people have better bodies."
Wang Jixuan asked, "Where’s our commander?"
"She went to the fortress," Sister Wan brought a bowl of meat porridge to Wang Jixuan. "She saw you forging and didn’t want to disturb you. She said she was going to talk to Zhou Zhengde about this dagger."
Wang Jixuan blinked, "Didn’t she say not to reveal it for now? I haven’t finished adjusting it... Why is my meal so good?"
"This is the treatment you deserve."
Uncle Tai patted Wang Jixuan’s shoulder with a smile, "Don’t you realize what you’ve accomplished? A spiritual energy weapon, the first spiritual energy weapon, and it even has energy recovery!"
Wang Jixuan leaned back slightly, "And then?"
"This achievement is enough to be written in textbooks! If you can develop a complete mass production process, your name will definitely be in the textbook index!"
Uncle Tai said passionately.
Wang Jixuan smiled lightly.
None of this compared to the joy of becoming an immortal.
He picked up the bowl and took a sip of porridge, savoring the delicious taste, which was indeed much better than canned food.
Wang Jixuan began to think about how to step back if he had gone too far this time.
Creak—
There was a sudden screeching sound outside the supply station, followed by an electronic female voice from the control panel: "Battle Sister returning to the cabin."
The passage above the workshop opened, and Ling Tong, wearing a flying backpack, slowly descended. Wan Xiao Qi quickly ran over to help her take off the backpack.
Outside, there were hurried footsteps, and soon two men and a woman rushed in.
Wang Jixuan recognized the man in front immediately; it was Zhou Yanei, his most trusted comrade.
The other two were a middle-aged man in military uniform and a woman in a small suit, looking to be in her thirties or forties.
Wang Jixuan quickly realized that this woman was Zhou Zhengde's mother, Zhou Meiying, the internal affairs minister of the fortress.
Zhou Zhengde gasped for breath and asked, "What cold weapon?!"
"This!"
Uncle Tai proudly held up the magic dagger.
Zhou Zhengde rushed forward, watching as Uncle Tai demonstrated the dagger piercing through a metal plate, his eyes nearly popping out.
Captain Zhou carefully examined the dagger, poking at the metal plate a few times, then looked up at Wang Jixuan, who was bringing over the bowl.
"Can it be mass-produced?"
"Not yet, but I’m working on it."
"Awesome!"
Zhou Zhengde suddenly rushed over, and before Wang Jixuan could decide whether to dodge, Zhou Zhengde hugged him tightly, spinning him around twice before bursting into laughter.
If Wang Daolong hadn’t reacted quickly, the meat porridge would have spilled all over them.
Dongfang Zhenghong and Zhou Meiying approached seriously, repeatedly stabbing the metal plate with the dagger, listening carefully as Uncle Tai explained the twelve-second rule, feeling the dagger absorb spiritual energy from the air.
The workshop was filled with continuous gasps of admiration.
Zhou Meiying exclaimed, "This is a secret! It’s top secret! Everyone present must wear a confidentiality wristband!"
Dongfang Zhenghong quickly said, "Incredible! Is this an alloy we didn’t know about? No, wait, it’s not just a breakthrough in materials; the strength of the material itself isn’t too high, but it seems like there’s some structure inside, with these patterns on the outside."
"Spiritual energy weapon! The first spiritual energy weapon!"
Zhou Zhengde was still laughing, "Mu, Wang Zheng, you’re amazing! Hahaha!"
Wang Jixuan:...
The scene before him made him a bit suspicious.
Did he reveal too much at once?
However, this magical tool only had simple restrictions, relying on spiritual energy to enhance sharpness, and it had significant limitations; it could only charge once every twelve seconds and couldn’t actively inject its own energy. Its only advantage was its low threshold, making it usable by ordinary people. It was indeed the simplest magical tool he could create.
His spear was a hundred times better than this thing.
Once he completed his foundation and entered the Dan Formation realm, even if he made the most inferior sword pill with ordinary materials, he could nurture a flying sword and forge a heart sword, taking down Blade Beast crystal cores from three to four kilometers away.
Zhou Zhengde finally calmed down after being excited for over ten minutes.
They briefly discussed things, and then Zhou Zhengde would personally take the dagger to meet his grandfather in secret.
Before leaving, Zhou Zhengde noted down the ores Wang Jixuan wanted, watched him forge, and then gave him a big hug.
"Brother, thank you so much... this technology is so important... thank you!"
Little Zhou was actually choked up.
Wang Jixuan smiled, "No need to be so polite; you can consider this a return for being a guest."
Dongfang Zhenghong reminded him, "Next, we need to evacuate non-combat personnel from Area C. We’ll start tomorrow at noon.
"The Blade Beast groups marked around the outskirts of the Middle Basin defense line have already begun to show movement. It’s highly likely that the young king bug Ling Tong reported is coordinating the surrounding Blade Beast groups.
"This Wang Zheng, Teacher Wang.
"On behalf of the garrison of Fortress 76, I thank you for sharing your alien technology! Please make sure to follow military orders and enter a safe area to protect yourself!
"I know you might want to hunt Blade Beasts.
"But technological breakthroughs have greater significance! The course of war cannot be influenced by individuals! Even the terrifying mecha piloted by the Commander reflects human industrial strength. I hope you understand this, Teacher Wang! Please protect yourself!"
"Okay, I will definitely protect my life."
Wang Jixuan nodded without hesitation.
Even though these guys were overreacting, he had achieved his goals beyond expectations.
The military was more determined to protect him, and he had given Zhou Zhengde some returns, which should also help humanity on the front lines.
As long as he figured out a route for mass-producing the magic dagger, maturing the technology, and handing it over to the human civilization of this world, he could "leave everything behind and focus on cultivating" without worries.
Not bad.
Plus, with his successful breakthrough, it was a double blessing.
"Let’s go!"
Zhou Meiying urged, "Support from the front line is arriving soon, and we have a lot of work to do... Teacher Wang, once the crisis is resolved, please be sure to come to my house with Zhengde for dinner. Mom will cook for you."
"Sure, sure, you’re too kind, Auntie."
"Uh," Zhou Zhengde seemed hesitant, but in the end, he chose to save face for his mom in front of his friends.
As Zhou Zhengde was leaving, he suddenly seemed to remember something and took a room card from his jacket pocket.
"This is a safe house. If there’s trouble later, you can hide here, on the seventh floor of the fortress."
"Okay."
"If any Blade Beasts appear around us, the new biological minister, Qin Qin, will be arrested. You don’t need to worry about anything else; we’ll handle it."
"No problem."
"Good luck! We’re counting on you! Good brother, one blanket!"
Zhou Zhengde waved his fists excitedly, turning back three times as he left the supply station.
Wang Jixuan finished the last bite of meat porridge in his bowl and turned to look at Ling Tong, who had been watching.
"Weren’t you supposed to report back later?"
"I just wanted them to see your true value," Ling Tong said softly. "The military has been asking Zhou Zhengde to hand over your information. He has taken on a lot of pressure for you, and this dagger is enough to make all that pressure disappear. It will also help your brother."
Brother.
A somewhat unfamiliar term.
Wang Daolong glanced at Uncle Tai, "Can I borrow Uncle Tai for a few days? I want to make myself a weapon too."
"Sure, but he needs to finish his own work first," Ling Tong replied. "A small-scale war is expected to break out in three days, and I will pilot the mecha to fight."
Wang Jixuan's eyes lit up, "Can I get some crystal cores through official channels?"
"That might be very difficult at this stage," Ling Tong explained, "According to the Commander’s orders, I intentionally left Qin Qin’s communicator. She’s probably discussing with the headquarters of the Spiritual Energy Capital right now.
"We need to find a reason to take action against the Spiritual Energy Capital, not just against a researcher.
"The spiritual practitioners and the researchers from the Thirteen Institutes are gathering Blade Beasts to attack the fortress and the Battle Sisters. This is a very good political leverage.
"Next, our focus is to prepare for this war, striving for minimal casualties while eliminating the most Blade Beasts... Wang Zheng, do you have time?"
Wang Jixuan was pondering various ways to gather crystal cores when Ling Tong’s question caught him off guard, and he nodded directly.
"I have time; the main body of my weapon is already done. Now I just need to add some extra functions."
"Then give me three hours; just a simple waste of time, okay?"
Ling Tong’s voice had a hint of softness.
Wang Jixuan initially wanted to refuse. He felt that spending time on meditation, refining tools, and learning mechanical knowledge was more meaningful.
After all, he still had the complex project of mass-producing the magic dagger waiting for him.
But when he saw the look in Ling Tong’s eyes, showing a rare vulnerability and anxiety, Wang Daolong smiled gently and nodded.
"Of course, six hours is fine."
And then...
(End of this chapter)