Chapter Twenty-Six, New Ability

Jiang Chuan came to Novia's tavern after learning news of Miss Fortune Sarah, asking Novia for information about Sarah.

"A mug of beer for me."

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

Novia looked at Jiang Chuan and smiled, "Oh, dearie, she's a hot bounty hunter right now. She took down a bunch of bounty posters yesterday, and now she's probably dealing with those people."

Jiang Chuan knew he had to contact Sarah before Ryze and find out where the World Rune was in Bilgewater. All of this was related to Sarah.

Jiang Chuan chuckled, "She took down those bounty posters?"

Novia recalled for a moment and smiled, "I only know she took down the Slut Ripper's bounty poster. The reward price was certainly motivating."

Jiang Chuan frowned, "Who posted these bounty orders?"

Novia smiled, "It's the four major gangs of Bilgewater: Crow, Old Blow, Huck, and Gangplank. The reason they post these bounty orders is either because they don't want anyone they can't control to appear, or they're posting them for others. It's similar to your Dark Sea Throne."

Jiang Chuan sneered, "They're just small fry. Do they know you're a member of the Black Rose?"

Novia shook her head, "In all of Bilgewater, besides other Black Rose members, no one knows I'm with the Black Rose."

Jiang Chuan downed the beer in his mug and smiled, "Bilgewater will be a completely different scene soon!"

Novia watched the light flickering in Jiang Chuan's eyes and said nothing. She saw powerful and intense confidence in that light!

After learning Sarah's whereabouts, Jiang Chuan had a new plan. In the official background story, Crow, Old Blow, and Huck were all despicable characters. Jiang Chuan absolutely would not allow such people to exist when he unified Bilgewater in the future!

Jiang Chuan bid farewell to Novia and returned to the island. Construction on the island had already begun. The city walls were longer than originally planned, and the decision was made to enclose the entire base. The Fortress Cannons crafted by Noah were also more than half complete. The steel mill now had sufficient personnel and could produce a considerable amount of steel daily. The construction of houses on the island also utilized reinforced concrete structures.

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

Noah put down his work and asked, "Are these still cannons this time?"

Jiang Chuan shook his head, "This time it's for individual combat weapons. I call them grenades and machine guns."

Noah was confused, "What exactly are they?"

Jiang Chuan nodded, "Bombs to be thrown by hand, and guns that can fire continuously."

Noah nodded, "I've heard that such things exist in Piltover and Zaun, but those people wouldn't leak the blueprints for such firearms. How did you know?"

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

In Piltover, such things did exist. Jinx and Bomb Man, that explosive duo, were quite skilled with these items. However, Jiang Chuan decided to adopt Earth's manufacturing processes to equip the First Army. Every five people would form a squad, with one machine gun per squad. Each person would carry several grenades and be uniformly equipped with Mauser guns, just like soldiers during World War II.

Jiang Chuan thought to himself, "Standard Earth manufacturing."

Jiang Chuan brought the blueprints from his office to Noah. After carefully examining them, Noah said, "The difficulty of these two items isn't high, but judging by your blueprints, this type of machine gun requires specialized bullets. What about these bullets?"

Jiang Chuan, a smile plastered on his face, pulled out another blueprint and chuckled, "Master, this is a machine tool for manufacturing bullets. Take a look."

Master Noah took the blueprint, his face darkening. "You're setting a trap for me, aren't you?"

Jiang Chuan smirked, "Oh, what are you talking about, Master Noah? You can have the steel mill cast the base for this machine tool, and have others forge the remaining parts. You just need to oversee the orders and assembly."

Noah said grumpily, "That's more like it. Also, we've made five Steam Engines. They're more stable and refined than the old ones, making them easier to transport."

Jiang Chuan nodded. "Good, I understand. From now on, the Steam Engine production will be fixed at three units per month. All other personnel will be dedicated to developing weapons and ammunition."

Noah waved his hand. "Got it. Go on and busy yourself."

Jiang Chuan returned to his office, intending to take a nap. Laurie knocked and entered. "Guild Master, a letter arrived from Demacia. Please take a look."

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

Jiang Chuan chuckled wryly. "Are they ever going to let me rest?"

Jiang Chuan went to the factory and ordered the five Steam Engines to be packed and crated, then moved to the warehouse. This was a good opportunity for Jiang Chuan to test out a new ability he had acquired a few days prior.

Jiang Chuan went to the warehouse, closed the door, and summoned Lux. A flash of white light appeared, and Lux materialized before him. Lux looked groggy, her golden hair messily draped over her shoulders, wearing a cute bunny pajama set.

Seeing Lux on the verge of a tantrum, Jiang Chuan quickly said, "I'll summon you again in ten minutes. Get dressed." With that, he ended the summoning.

Due to the time difference, Bilgewater's sunrise was earlier than Demacia's. When it was noon in Bilgewater, Demacia was likely just waking up. Coincidentally, when Jiang Chuan summoned Lux, she had just woken up and was sitting on her bed, lost in thought.

Jiang Chuan went to the kitchen and made a simple breakfast: a glass of milk, a piece of bread, eggs, and bacon. After preparing Lux's breakfast, Jiang Chuan brought it to his office and summoned Lux.

By now, Lux had changed her clothes. She glared fiercely at Jiang Chuan, looking like an angry kitten whose threat was ineffective and only made her look cute. Jiang Chuan said, "There's breakfast on the table. I just made it."

Lux picked up the milk and took a sip. "You're sensible. You even know to prepare milk for my breakfast."

Jiang Chuan replied, "No, I prepared milk for you because milk can make your chest bigger. I'm thinking of your well-being."

"Slap!"

The cup of milk landed at Jiang Chuan's feet. Lux couldn't hurt Jiang Chuan, but she managed to splash milk all over his face. Jiang Chuan grabbed a towel and wiped the milk from his face and clothes. "I was just joking. Are you less angry now? Are you full?"

Lux finished the bread and bacon. "Yeah, I'm mostly over it. Now, what did you call me here for?"

Jiang Chuan led Lux to the warehouse. "Five Steam Engines have been made. You can set the price, as long as it's not less than forty thousand Gold Coins."

Lux looked at the five neatly arranged Steam Engines. "How are we going to transport these to Demacia? It would take three months by ship, which is too long."

Jiang Chuan chuckled. "I'll release the summoning between us now. You go to a place large enough to hold five Steam Engines, and then I'll summon you again."

Lux looked at Jiang Chuan and smiled. "Then summon me in half an hour. If you ever summon me again while I'm sleeping or just waking up, I'll kill you."

Jiang Chuan scoffed. "You can't hit me anyway, teehee."

Lux smiled and said, "There's a type of tree in Demacia whose sap is particularly difficult to clean. Ordinary cleaning methods can't remove it at all, and the smell is quite unpleasant. Conveniently, there's a tree like that in my garden. Getting its sap isn't too troublesome; I can get it in a few minutes. Do you want to try?"

Jiang Chuan immediately grinned slyly and said, "Oh, dear Miss Lux, you have to believe it was an accident. I promise I won't summon you at night anymore."

Lux's face turned red. "You scoundrel, what do you want to summon me for at night?"

Jiang Chuan immediately dragged over a chair for Lux to sit on and began to massage her shoulders. He said, "How would I dare to have any ill intentions?"

Lux smiled triumphantly. "That's more like it. Alright, I'm leaving now. Summon me again in half an hour."

Jiang Chuan put on a fawning smile. "You got it."

After breaking the summon, Jiang Chuan sat on the chair and waited quietly. Half an hour later, Jiang Chuan summoned Lux.

Lux smiled and said, "Alright, I was just in my garden. It's big enough there."

Jiang Chuan tied up the five Steam Engines, handed the rope to Lux to hold, and then lifted Lux onto a box for her to sit on. Jiang Chuan touched the slap mark on his face and chuckled, "Alright, now as soon as I break the summon, you can take these Steam Engines back to the original place."

Lux's face was flushed red. "Hmph, if you dare to take advantage of me again, it won't be so easy to talk about."

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