Further Improvement, Power Greatly Increased

Chen Wuya's fingers paused at the edge of the mysterious iron sample, its rough texture grating against his fingertips. He stared at the cross-section, where patterns crisscrossed like a spiderweb, carrying a cold, rigid flow that belonged to no smelting technique of the Central Plains.

"This isn't from our side," he said quietly.

Bai Zhi stood beside him, her gaze falling on the iron chunk in his hand. "Are you sure?"

"The furnace temperature was too high, and the forging rhythm was wrong." Chen Wuya turned the iron plate over. "Ordinary refined steel can't withstand high-frequency vibration—it cracks after three shocks. But this thing underwent seven Misaligned Force resonance tests last night and only bore indentations."

The old craftsman leaned in for a look, his brows knitting together. "Those chariot wrecks in the western camp's scrap yard... they did come from the north."

Chen Wuya looked up. "Inventory them. All seized parts from the foreign chariots, especially load-bearing structures like blade spines and axles."

The soldier accepted the order and left. Without waiting for the results, Chen Wuya turned and entered the workshop. He lifted the cloth cover to reveal the device they had just dismantled. The main vibration plate had been removed; the bamboo ribs had snapped into several pieces, the thin bronze sheets curled and warped. Only the sections connected to the mysterious iron had retained their curve.

He crouched down and took a bronze magnifying mirror from his robes, comparing the direction of each crack piece by piece. Bai Zhi silently handed him a charcoal pencil and sheets of paper, recording the failure points of every material.

"The bamboo ribs can't endure a second charge-up, and bronze disperses the waves too quickly." Chen Wuya set down the bronze mirror. "Only mysterious iron can withstand the Misaligned Force