Divine Puppet Craftsmen

"Boss, good news!" Wang Sheng said excitedly.

"What good news?"

“The assistant to the project manager at Nancy Building Project called today to ask about Dream Glass. Looks like our plan is working.”

"It damn well better be. We poured hundreds of thousands into it. If it didn't work, I'd have to jump off a building," Shen Bing grumbled.

Wang Sheng said nothing. He knew his boss was still sore about it. After all, the first order of Dream Glass from Illusion Immortal Glass Factory had been free.

"What did they say?"

"They probably got our contact information from the Sanitation Bureau. Since we built the public restroom on Financial Street for free, they don't know our prices yet. They don't even have the detailed product specifications. That's what they called to ask about."

"Then send them our test report."

"And the price?"

"Raise it by ten yuan per square meter."

"Uh... why ten yuan?" Wang Sheng looked baffled, though Shen Bing couldn't see him.

"Did that restroom build itself?"

"Uh... but not for that much. The whole restroom only cost a little over four hundred thousand." Wang Sheng knew the company's expenses well.

"Interest!" Shen Bing said, then hung up.

He couldn't exactly say that two people connected to Nancy Group had rubbed him the wrong way. Besides, a ten-yuan increase was merciful. He could have raised it by a hundred and told them to take it or leave it.

Who was he kidding? Mercy had nothing to do with it. He was afraid that asking too much would ruin his first sale.

Shen Bing didn't need to worry about the negotiations. Once both sides reached an agreement, all he had to do was sign the contract.

It was a project worth over a hundred million, after all. Given Phantom Immortal Technology's size, Shen Bing had to sign a deal like this himself.

As the saying went, good news lifted the spirits. He had barely finished hearing this piece of good news when a system notification popped up on his phone.

"Exalted One, wake up! How did you fall asleep?"

What the hell? Shen Bing stared at it, baffled. Was his mobile carrier playing a prank?

A moment later, he realized it was no prank. It was a push notification from the Gate to the Immortal Realm.

Shen Bing felt like ten thousand damn horses had just stampeded across his forehead.

He had spent nearly four days staring at the screen, afraid he might miss Lu Ban, only to find out the game sent push notifications.

It was like staying up all night manually grinding monsters, then learning the game had an auto-play mode. That really stung.

Shen Bing had no time to dwell on it. He opened the Gate to the Immortal Realm and, sure enough, found Lu Ban calling out beside him.

"Exalted One, you're finally awake. Were you cultivating just now?"

Cultivating, my ass! Could I tell you I'd logged off?

This game was ridiculous. Even when he logged off, his character stayed put.

One-star review.

Shen Bing had no intention of answering. Instead, he asked, "Fellow Immortal Ban Shu, have you finished the Immortal Carriage?"

"That's why I came to find you, Exalted One. It's finished, and I couldn't have done it without you. Would you like to come see it?" Lu Ban's face was full of admiration.

"Let's take a look, then!" Shen Bing said, putting on the air of an expert.

He guided his character after Lu Ban and soon reached the foot of a mountain. Before him, a sheer cliff hundreds of meters high rose into the clouds. It was a magnificent sight.

A section of the cliff face opened on its own, revealing a splendid Cave Abode within.

"Damn, an automatic door!" Shen Bing muttered, following Lu Ban inside.

The sight stopped him in his tracks.

"What's going on here?"

From outside, the mountain had looked only a few hundred meters tall. Inside, the space soared thousands of meters high and stretched nearly as far as the entire island.

Pavilions and towers dotted the vast space, with little bridges and streams winding between them.

Mists drifted among the buildings while Immortal Birds wheeled overhead. It was a scene fit for immortals.

This had to be one of those legendary Immortal arts, something like creating a world within a tiny space.

A world in a flower, enlightenment in a leaf.

Of course, this space fell far short of an entire world in a flower. At most, it had expanded the space a hundredfold.

Shen Bing's fake God couldn't walk very fast, so Lu Ban had to patiently match his pace.

At last, they reached an enormous square, where the scene was entirely different from the rest of the cave dwelling.

More than a dozen Divine Puppets moved about the square. Some carried materials, some hammered at various objects, and others measured things with rulers.

“These are some Divine Puppet Artisans I made,” Lu Ban said with pride. “Every one of them is highly skilled. They can even inscribe complex Immortal Arrays. They can also change their shape and size, making them suited to crafting components of any dimensions.” In the entire Immortal Realm, only he, Craftsman God Lu Ban, could make such things.

In the real world, Shen Bing was practically drooling.

After browsing missions for the past few days, Shen Bing was no longer completely ignorant of the Immortal Realm. One mission description had taught him that inscribing Immortal Arrays demanded precision beyond belief.

On Earth, companies that could achieve nanometer-level precision were among the best in the world.

But what level did the most complex Immortal Arrays reach? Shen Bing had seen a unit in that mission description: the yoctometer.

He had looked it up online.

After reading about it, he had only one thing to say.

What the hell kind of unit is that...?

The gap between a meter and a light-year was enormous, right? The gap between a yoctometer and a nanometer was roughly the same.

These unassuming Divine Puppets could inscribe complex Immortal Arrays. Their precision left Earth's machining technology thousands of light-years behind.

Shen Bing watched a carving blade spring from one puppet's arm. It sliced a piece of metal in two, then its hands moved in a blur, shaping a millstone-sized chunk of metal into a specific form.

Damn, it's a humanoid machine tool!

I'm not asking for much. Just give me one of those Divine Puppet Artisans.

If one's too few, I'll take a dozen.

I won't complain...

If it had been anything else, Shen Bing could have pretended to be an aloof immortal above worldly desires. Faced with something this valuable, though, how could he stay calm?

"Immortal Friend Ban Shu, that's fascinating. Might you be willing to part with one and give it to me?" Shen Bing felt his face heat up, though his game character's face probably hadn't changed color.

Lu Ban looked troubled. "Please don't take offense, Exalted One. Given how much you've helped me, giving you a Divine Puppet Artisan would only be fair. But I have just twelve of them. By the Jade Emperor's decree, I must make ten thousand Self-Propelled Immortal Carriages within six months. A month has already passed. Without even one of these artisans, I won't finish on time."

"That's a shame." Shen Bing had no choice. He couldn't exactly take one by force, especially when he wasn't strong enough to.

Then Lu Ban changed tack. "If you truly want one, Exalted One, I could make another for you. But there is one material you would have to obtain."

"What material?" Shen Bing asked at once, looking as though a Divine Puppet Artisan were already within his grasp.

Lu Ban answered calmly, "The most important reason these artisans are so capable is that each has an Unclaimed Immortal Soul in its head—the soul of a Great Golden Immortal. When a Great Golden Immortal dies, its soul must be confined without a vessel for dozens of epochs. Its consciousness then fades, leaving an unclaimed soul. My twelve artisans used up nearly all such souls in the Immortal Realm. If you can find another, Exalted One, I will make a Divine Puppet Artisan for you."

Calmly, my ass! What are you even talking about? A Great Golden Immortal? You might as well ask me to fly to the Heaven Realm!

Well, Lu Ban was already up in the Heaven Realm.

Surely the Great Golden Immortals in the entire Immortal Realm could be counted on one hand?

It was impossible, especially since the soul had to have been confined for dozens of epochs after its owner died.

And an epoch didn't mean ten yuan. It was a unit of time: one hundred and twenty-nine thousand, six hundred years.

"Immortal Friend Ban Shu, do you know where I could find an Unclaimed Immortal Soul like that?"

Lu Ban gave Shen Bing a look reserved for idiots. His expression said it all: if he knew, why would he be waiting for Shen Bing to get one?

Shen Bing abandoned the idea. Getting one of Lu Ban's existing Divine Puppet Artisans seemed far more realistic.

Just then, a pop-up appeared on his phone screen.

System notification: Random Quest available. Accept?

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