A New Ability

After hearing the news about Miss Fortune, Sarah, Jiang Chuan went to Novia's Tavern to ask Novia about her.

"Get me a beer."

Jiang Chuan took the beer from Novia and asked, "Any new news about Miss Fortune?"

Novia looked at Jiang Chuan with a smile. "Oh, darling, she's the hottest bounty hunter around right now. Yesterday, she tore down a whole stack of wanted posters. She's probably dealing with those people as we speak."

Jiang Chuan knew he had to make contact with Sarah before Ryze and find out where the World Rune was in Bilgewater. Both depended on Sarah.

Jiang Chuan smiled. "She tore down those wanted posters?"

Novia recalled for a moment, then smiled. "All I know is that she tore down the Slut Ripper's poster. The bounty was certainly enough to tempt people into action."

Jiang Chuan frowned. "Who put up those wanted posters?"

Novia smiled. "Bilgewater's four big gangs: the Crows, Old Blow, Hack, and Gangplank. They put up those posters because they don't want anyone they can't control showing up—or they're putting them up for someone else. It's not much different from your Dark Sea Throne."

Jiang Chuan gave a disdainful smile. "They're all small fry. Do they know you're a member of the Black Rose?"

Novia shook her head. "Aside from the other members of the Black Rose, no one in all of Bilgewater knows I belong to it."

Jiang Chuan drained his beer and smiled. "Bilgewater's going to look very different soon!"

Novia watched the light flickering in Jiang Chuan's eyes and said nothing. In that glimmer, she saw powerful, fervent confidence!

After learning about Sarah, Jiang Chuan came up with a new plan. In the official backstory, the Crows, Old Blow, and Hack were all despicable people. Jiang Chuan absolutely wouldn't allow people like them to remain when he eventually unified Bilgewater!

After saying goodbye to Novia, Jiang Chuan returned to the island. Construction had already begun, and the walls were being built longer than planned so they could enclose the entire base. The Fortress Cannon Noah was building was also mostly complete. The steel mill was now fully staffed and produced a good amount of steel every day. The houses on the island were being built with steel reinforcement, too.

Jiang Chuan went to the steel mill and said to Noah, "We need to develop some new weapons. I'll give you the blueprints."

Noah put down his work. "Artillery again?"

Jiang Chuan shook his head. "This time, they're infantry weapons. I call them grenades and machine guns."

Noah looked puzzled. "What exactly are they?"

Jiang Chuan nodded. "Bombs people can throw, and guns that can fire in bursts."

Noah nodded. "I've heard they have things like that in Piltover and Zaun, but those people would never leak the blueprints for those guns. How do you know how to make them?"

Jiang Chuan smiled. "You don't need to worry about that. These are manufacturing methods from my hometown."

Piltover did have weapons like those. Jinx and Bomb Man, the expert demolition duo, were highly skilled with them. However, Jiang Chuan planned to equip the First Army using Earth's manufacturing methods. Every five men would form a squad, each squad would get one machine gun, and every man would carry several grenades. They'd all be issued Mauser Guns. They'd be just like soldiers from World War II.

Jiang Chuan thought to himself with a grin, Standard Earth manufacturing.

Jiang Chuan brought the blueprints from his office to Noah. After examining them carefully, Noah said, "Neither of these will be too difficult. But from the way your plans look, this machine gun needs special ammunition. What are we going to do about that?"

Jiang Chuan pulled out another blueprint with a broad smile. "Master, this is a Machine Tool for making bullets. Take a look."

Noah took the blueprint and stared at him with a dark expression. "You set me up, you little rascal."

Jiang Chuan grinned cheekily. "Come on, Master Noah, what are you talking about? You can have the people at the steel mill cast the base for the Machine Tool, then get others to forge the remaining parts. All you have to do is give the orders and put it together."

Noah replied sourly, "That's more like it. Also, we've built five Steam Engines. They're much more stable and refined than the original, and easier to transport."

Jiang Chuan nodded. "Good, got it. From now on, we'll make three Steam Engines a month. Everyone else will work on developing weapons and ammunition."

Noah waved a hand. "Understood. Go take care of your own business."

Jiang Chuan returned to his office, hoping to take a nap. Laurie knocked and came in. "President, a letter came from Demacia. Please have a look."

Laurie placed the letter on the desk and left the office. Jiang Chuan opened it and read it carefully. The Merchant Guild had been established in Demacia, and the first Steam Engine was working very well. In the letter, Lux urged Jiang Chuan to ship the second batch of Steam Engines as soon as possible.

Jiang Chuan smiled ruefully. "Will they even let me rest?"

Jiang Chuan went to the factory and ordered the five Steam Engines to be packed into crates and moved into the warehouse. He could use the chance to test the new ability he'd gained a few days earlier.

Jiang Chuan went to the warehouse and closed the door. Then he summoned Lux. A flash of white light appeared, and Lux materialized in front of him. She looked sleepy, her golden hair tousled over her shoulders, and she wore a cute bunny-print nightgown.

Seeing that Lux was on the verge of losing her temper, Jiang Chuan hurriedly said, "I'll summon you again in ten minutes. Get dressed." Then he ended the summon.

Because of the time difference, the sun rose earlier in Bilgewater than in Demacia. By noon in Bilgewater, it was probably only just time to wake up in Demacia. When Jiang Chuan summoned Lux, she had just gotten out of bed and was sitting there in a daze.

Jiang Chuan went to the kitchen and quickly prepared breakfast: a glass of milk, a slice of bread, an egg, and some bacon. After getting Lux's breakfast ready, he carried it to his office and summoned her.

Lux had changed her clothes by then. She glared at Jiang Chuan fiercely, like an angry kitten that couldn't frighten anyone but still looked adorable. Jiang Chuan said, "There's breakfast on the table. I just made it."

Lux picked up the milk and took a sip. "At least you have the sense to make me breakfast and get me some milk."

Jiang Chuan said, "No, I got you milk because it makes your breasts bigger. I was thinking of your best interests."

"Smack!"

The glass of milk landed at Jiang Chuan's feet. Lux couldn't hurt him, but the milk still splashed all over his face. Jiang Chuan grabbed a towel and wiped the milk off his face and clothes. "I was only joking. Feeling a little less angry now? Have you eaten enough?"

Lux finished the bread and bacon. "Yeah, more or less. So, what did you summon me for?"

Jiang Chuan brought Lux to the warehouse. "We've built five Steam Engines. You can set the price yourself, as long as it's no less than forty thousand Gold Coins."

Lux looked at the five Steam Engines lined up neatly. "How are we supposed to get these to Demacia? It'll take three months by ship. That's too long."

Jiang Chuan smiled. "I'll end the summon between us now. Go somewhere with enough room for five Steam Engines, then I'll summon you again."

Lux smiled at Jiang Chuan. "Then summon me in half an hour. If you summon me again while I'm asleep or just after I've woken up, I'll kill you."

Jiang Chuan smirked disdainfully. "It's not like you can hit me anyway. Nyaa-nyaa!"

Lux smiled. "There's a tree in Demacia whose sap is incredibly hard to wash off. Ordinary cleaning methods won't get rid of it, and it smells awful. There's one in my garden, and it'd only take a few minutes to get some. Want to try it?"

Jiang Chuan immediately put on a fawning smile. "Oh, dear Miss Lux, you have to believe that was an accident. From now on, I promise I'll summon you at night."

Lux's face turned red. "You idiot! Why do you want to summon me at night?"

Jiang Chuan quickly pulled over a chair for Lux, sat her down, and massaged her shoulders. "I wouldn't dare have any bad intentions."

Lux smiled smugly. "That's more like it. All right, I'm leaving. Summon me in half an hour."

Jiang Chuan beamed ingratiatingly. "You got it."

Jiang Chuan ended the summon, sat in a chair, and waited quietly. Half an hour later, he summoned Lux.

Lux smiled. "All set. I'm in my garden, and there's plenty of room here."

Jiang Chuan tied up the five Steam Engines and handed Lux the ropes to hold. Then he lifted her onto the crates to sit. Touching the handprint on his face, he smiled. "All right. Now, once I end the summon, you can take these Steam Engines back to where you came from."

Lux's face was red. "Hmph. Try taking advantage of me again, and you won't get off so easily next time."

Jiang Chuan ended the summon, and Lux returned to her own garden.