When the whole group returned in force to the West Mining Area's research center, the atmosphere was completely different from before they had left. Even the Duergar, usually quick to wear their hearts on their sleeves and prone to laughing, cursing, and bickering at the drop of a hat, now acted meek and deferential around Li Wei.
The reason was simple. After Li Wei had manifested his "prototype," transformed into a Half-Dragon Gnoll, and demonstrated his overwhelming strength by instantly killing a Drow assassin, this change in attitude had been inevitable.
Fortunately, Li Wei had been mentally prepared for this. He had none of the melodramatic complaints found in biographies, like, Why is everyone distancing themselves from me? He simply dropped into the seat of honor amid everyone's silence and respect, pondered for a moment, then cleared the room without preamble.
"Huozi, Tiger, Fischer, and Igg, stay behind. Everyone else, leave."
Everyone silently exchanged glances, realizing at the same time that something extremely important was about to be announced.
And whatever it was, it had to be momentous. It might directly affect Zelandia's future development, the suspected Abyss Invasion Incident mentioned by the Drow, or even the power struggle in upper Gershon City.
The Abyss Invasion Incident seemed far removed from them, especially with Gershon City standing as a buffer. So Li Wei's sudden involvement in Gershon City's power struggle through Dishana was what concerned them more.
Though intensely curious, no one dared disobey Li Wei's order. As they left, however, some looked at Fischer and Igg with envy.
Even these two Arcanists were surprised that they had been allowed to stay for such an important meeting. They exchanged a glance, each seeing relief and delight in the other's eyes.
A jumble of footsteps echoed through the cavern. Soon, only five people remained in the vast mine chamber.
Actually, including the "Koutao Fishman" Remlu standing beside Li Wei, there were six. But everyone, Li Wei included, ignored her presence. The others knew she seemed to be the Boss's pet, and didn't dare object.
Li Wei glanced around at the four of them, then couldn't help wondering how three of them—including his Gnoll alias—had names containing the syllable "ge." This world's naming conventions are so unimaginative. If I didn't have a good memory, I'd probably mix their names up.
But this was clearly no time for jokes. He got straight to the point. "Everyone, my father, Tibilus, is about to enter a period of frequent hibernation. During that time, I'll also have to fulfill my duty of guarding the Dragon's Lair. So before I leave, I have a few things to make clear to you."
Everyone except Hogg, who knew Li Wei's true identity, changed expression slightly.
They had expected this day to come once Li Wei revealed who he was, but hadn't thought it would come so soon! They had only just formed an alliance with the Drow of the Jadiel Family, and hadn't even worked out the details. The other side hadn't even left yet, and he was already going? What kind of Boss did that?
"Pardon me for asking, but how long will you be away?" the Old Dwarf asked before anyone else could. "The situation in Zelandia is very delicate right now, so everything you do could have far-reaching consequences for it."
Li Wei furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. "At least five months to two years. If nothing urgent comes up, this phase could last as long as three to five years."
"Phew." Tiger couldn't help exclaiming at the length of time, but ultimately kept himself from saying, That's a long time.
He had heard that dragons hibernated for a long time, but learning that such a long period was merely a nap for one of them still left him somewhat shaken. He couldn't help feeling worried, too.
Tiger had his own troubles. Of the people present, Hogg, a fellow Gnoll, was Li Wei's absolute confidant. Fischer and Igg, meanwhile, were just a pair of surface Mages who had ended up as escaped slaves in Gershon City. They had no ties to hold them back; even if they went to war with Gershon City, they had nothing to fear.
But Tiger had once been the most prominent member of the Huangjing Miner Brotherhood in all of Zelandia. He had a large family and a great deal of property, and he still had to find a way to feed over a thousand Duergar kinsmen.
If some great upheaval happened later—if, say, they lost a war against Gershon City—the others could all run off whenever they wanted. But he'd be stuck hauling his whole family around. Damn it.
Li Wei seemed to see the Old Dwarf's concerns at a glance, but didn't try to reassure him right away. Instead, he proceeded with his arrangements in order.
Li Wei nodded slightly, then looked at the two former Mages, now Arcanists. "Fischer. Igg."
"Boss! What are your orders?" the two burly Arcanists—who looked more like warriors than Mages—asked with a bow.
Li Wei took a stack of stone tablets from the pack behind him and handed them over. "My father, Tibilus, found these weapon blueprints in some ruins. They seem to use a form of energy similar to lightning. Study them for now and see if you can reverse-engineer them by replacing the power source. As for the High-Energy Particle Oscillation Technology mentioned for the blades, don't bother with that part yet. Just making a similar chainsaw should be enough to help us deal with future battlefields."
What he had brought out was the Chainsword manufacturing blueprint, Imperial Edition DR3029, copied by hand from the image in his Soul Space.
At first, he had wondered whether he should keep it to himself and wait until he had a trustworthy team before beginning research and production. But the news Dishana had brought from the Drow had forced him to consider arming his Retainers and troops ahead of time. In the future, they might not only have to fend off an attack from Drow of Gershon City, but could also have to face the threat from what seemed to be an Abyssal portal underground.
Besides, he had spent the past few days thinking it over. This world was full of powerful, unfamiliar alchemy and all kinds of creations even more mysterious and outrageous than those from the Technology Side. The existing order wouldn't be shaken just because he introduced one or two pieces of Black Technology that didn't fit in.
More importantly, his Soul Space contained countless things like this, piled up like a mountain of junk. Rather than let them gather dust, he might as well find a few that could give his faction a temporary boost and put them to use.
Red-Robed Wu Ke Fischer took the stone tablets. He had barely glanced at them when his pupils shrank, and a curse slipped from his mouth. "Damn! A chainsword? What a brutally powerful weapon! If this so-called High-Energy Particle Oscillation Technology can really be made to work, even a Legendary would think twice before taking a direct hit. It's hard to believe that according to the documents, a weapon like this is only standard issue for basic infantry!"
Igg, a little more refined, took the tablets and couldn't help widening his eyes. He opened his mouth, then finally said what was on his mind. "Particles? So everything in the world is made up of these tiniest particles? Forgive me for saying so, but this Knowledge System doesn't seem to appear even in Netherese texts. It may well come from another plane, and some principles don't carry over from one plane to another. But the idea of making a blade cut millions of times per second by causing particles to oscillate is truly brilliant. Perhaps we could use Arcane Enchantment to achieve a similar effect. Of course, it might not come close to the original's power, but it should still be able to cut through most unenchanted armor instantly."
Seeing the two Arcanists praise the weapon blueprints Li Wei had brought out so highly, even Tiger couldn't resist his curiosity. He rose onto his toes and craned his neck toward them.
"Let me see! Let me see! Dinggelian's hammer, a chainsword? Damn! If you swing that thing, it'll probably spray menstrual blood all over the poor bastard's face!"
"..."
I must first solemnly announce to all the shareholders of Hogg Mining: with everyone's enthusiastic support, Silver Dragon ranked second among the 24 books in its category last week and successfully advanced. A new week of climbing the rankings has begun, and this time we're competing against eighteen popular Arhats. I'm asking all the shareholders to focus their fire once more—give us your favorites, Recommendation Tickets, investments (the free kind is fine~), and hearts on the characters' APP Page! You can tap once every day~ I'm counting on you all!
Lastly, thanks to [xiaotang246] for the two hundred rewards! Boss, with that kind of momentum, are you planning to make a daily fixed investment of two shares? (Having to type this at the end every day is exhausting ˇωˇ)
Before you continue