Neither Kou Zhong nor Wanwan had paid much attention to Shi Feixuan, whom they had encountered that morning. After all, neither of them knew what she was really after. Besides, they would soon reach Jiujiang, so there was nothing they could do but continue downstream, hurry to Jiujiang, and then follow the river east toward Yuhang.
Back at the Twin Dragons Army's base in Yuhang, with their commander Kou Zhong away, Xu Ziling and their strategist, Lu Miaozi, had invited their little master Annie to join them on a visit to the Divine Mechanism Army's camp. It lay in a secluded valley outside Yuhang City.
The place had originally been a workshop where the Twin Dragons Army forged weapons and crossbow bolts. The Dongming Sect had continued to supply the army with quality weapons at fair prices, but those weapons were still goods for sale, and relatively expensive. So, after establishing the Twin Dragons Army and taking control of Yuhang Commandery, they had set up a workshop here.
A few days earlier, Xu Ziling had returned with the dismantled planes and ordered the workshop expanded. He had renamed it the "Divine Mechanism Flying Battalion," then stationed three thousand elite Twin Dragons Army troops from Yuhang outside the valley to defend it and ensure the camp's safety.
Of course, none of that was important. What mattered was that after a round of actual combat and several test flights, Xu Ziling and Lu Miaozi had discovered that the wooden planes Annie had brought them had quite a few flaws and limitations.
For example:
First, there was the wear and tear on the wooden gears, iron-rimmed cogs, and transmission chains.
After all, the planes were made of wood and powered entirely by people pedaling. Even with timber of suitable toughness, hardness, and strength,