As soon as Xu Yi entered the Magic Machine Tool Research and Development Center, he saw a group of dwarves and several human researchers gathered in a large circle in the broad open space at its center. Every one of them held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on the middle of the circle.
From inside the circle came a steady, rhythmic humming that instantly filled Xu Yi with a powerful sense of familiarity.
Hearing that sound, Xu Yi froze for a moment, then immediately ran over. Without ceremony, he pushed aside several dwarves on the outside and craned his head to look into the circle.
Inside stood an iron plate supported by four wide tires. A strange-looking lump of metal sat on top, and the humming came from within it.
As the lump of metal continued to hum, all four tires rolled together as though driven by some force, carrying the iron plate and its metal load steadily forward.
A circular track had also been laid out on the ground. The tires followed its edge, circling it again and again without showing any sign of stopping.
The track and the tire-mounted iron plate could hardly have been more primitive, but Xu Yi looked at them as though he had found a treasure. His eyes shone with excitement, and he slapped Canby, who had come up beside him at some point, hard on the shoulder. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Canby, tell me, have you finished developing it?"
Canby exchanged glances with the other dwarves and human researchers, puzzled by Xu Yi's excitement.
Whenever they had developed magic machinery before, Xu Yi had always remained calm and offered all sorts of suggestions for improving their latest creations.
"Well... we can't say it's completely finished yet. There are still plenty of things that need