The Land-Breaking Divine Machine

Lin Yi, utterly unaware of the storm brewing, was checking his newly upgraded panel.

Every one of his stats had gained an extra zero. Of course, the more abstract entries like critical rate and critical damage did not simply get another zero tacked on; they only increased moderately.

Otherwise, if Lin Yi could deal 999 damage with a single slash, or even score a critical hit with the slightest touch, that would completely wreck the balance of Genshin Impact.

"If I reach the level 20 ascension stage, my strength should rival a level 40 opponent's. I might even hold my own against a level 50 powerhouse, and that's without counting weapons, Artifacts, and the like."

His pistol was badass, but it was still an external tool.

Perhaps one day, the pistol would suddenly stop working. Having formidable strength of his own could never be a bad thing.

"I've finished ascending. Everyone can stand down."

Only after Lin Yi gave the order did the others turn around curiously.

Xiangling and Xingqiu, in particular, practically wanted to climb all over him to check his condition.

Because the system had locked his panel, Lin Yi's strength appeared to have only tripled to outside observers, rather than displaying its outrageous tenfold increase.

Even so, that was still astonishing enough for everyone present.

"I remember that when I ascended at level 10, it only strengthened my foundation. My stats and abilities barely improved. As expected of the Geo Archon-you actually tripled your strength."

Hearing Xiao's praise and approval, Lin Yi could not help feeling rather pleased with himself.

"Well, I am the Geo Archon. My talents might focus on infrastructure, but I've still got strength covered!"

Despite his words, Lin Yi remained worried.

What ridiculous materials would he need when he ascended at level 20?

My first ascension took five kisses from my wife Ningguang. The second might take ten... By level 90, I might have to father an entire soccer team.

At that thought, Lin Yi actually found himself looking forward to it.

"All right, enough chatter. It's time to start creating the machine."

In that world, too, there was a custom of giving major construction projects an auspicious, festive name before breaking ground.

Following the local custom, Lin Yi named the Land Reclamation Device-the Land-Breaking Divine Machine.

As for the name Heaven-Opening Divine Machine, Lin Yi reserved that for an aerospace fighter he might build in the future...

Lin Yi stood on slightly elevated ground, his hands clasped behind his back.

With a tap in midair, the blueprint appeared out of nowhere and floated before him.

"System, we can start this time, right?"

"Ding! All conditions verified. The system will now construct the machine automatically..."

Construction in progress...

"Wow, look at those materials!"

"Oh my god, they're all flying!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Lin Yi swept out his hand and released some Geo energy for show.

After all, standing rooted to the spot without moving at all would make him look rather silly.

Countless materials crowded the air, almost blotting out this little patch of sky.

For an instant, Xiao and the others actually saw the phantom outline of a structure on the flat ground before them.

In the blink of an eye, that outline vanished.

In its place, materials piled together, undergoing a series of assembly processes-and even outright creation-that defied all common sense.

Keqing and the others gaped so widely that an apple could have fit straight into their mouths.

"How is this even possible? Materials whose elemental properties repel each other, which could even cause explosive disasters, are being fused together perfectly..."

"What, never seen anything like it?"

Lin Yi walked over to Keqing, thoroughly satisfied with her astonished expression.

This was merely the construction of a machine. When he laid down high-speed railways and built the Cross-Sea Bridge in the future, that would be truly magnificent-and absolutely badass.

Before long, the machine's appearance began to look strangely familiar to Lin Yi.

When the system announced that construction had reached eighty percent, he realized why.

Lin Yi immediately cried out!

"Isn't this damn thing just a combination of a loader and a cement mixer truck?!"

Rumble!

A wondrous blaze of golden light shot into the sky.

The glare forced everyone's eyes shut, though they could still feel the imposing aura radiating from the machine before them.

Once the radiance faded, Lin Yi stared at the upgraded loader-cement mixer hybrid before him, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"It looked like some giant mechanical beast in the blueprint. Why does the finished thing look like this?"

Even the system's products pulled that damned "images are for reference only; actual product may vary" nonsense?

Still, the good news was that this Land-Building Vehicle, named the Land-Breaking Divine Machine, could turn a sufficient supply of Geo energy into an endless stream of mixed concrete.

It was also equipped with an unmanned control module. Lin Yi only needed to supply enough elemental energy and control it with his mental power for it to operate automatically.

Since this was Lin Yi's first technological creation, the system's achievement reward granted the Land-Building Vehicle an excavation and exploration capability. However, it could only be used three times, with each use excavating a stretch roughly two kilometers long.

The system had even made a rough estimate: filling in and leveling the land across the Guili Plains would take no more than a week, or as little as five days.

"This efficiency is incredible. If I don't need it myself in the future, I can rent it out to other nations for a hefty price."

Inazuma, for instance, had little land, scattered across separate islands, making contact between its major clans a real hassle.

With this Land-Building Vehicle, expanding Inazuma's landmass would only be a matter of time.

Of course, with such an absurdly powerful thing in Lin Yi's hands, anyone wanting to rent it would have to pay a considerable price.

The sky was dim.

All the teams sent out returned, but none had managed to find Venti.

They had, however, discovered unusual traces of battle in several places.

Looking at the Three-Star Shield in his hands, sliced in two by a wind blade, Lin Yi frowned slightly.

Among Anemo users, aside from Xiao, probably only Venti, who concealed his true strength, could have done this.

"Is it possible that Venti has already left the Guili Plains?"

Madame Ping, who had just returned, asked in puzzlement.

Lin Yi shook his head.

"Mr. Zhongli specifically emphasized the Guili Plains, so it's very likely that Venti and that evil spirit haven't left yet. Since they're not aboveground, the most likely place left is underground."

Lin Yi also briefly considered whether it was worth expending one precious use of this technological capability for Venti.

But then he remembered that Liyue and Mondstadt had always maintained good relations, and that Venti had genuinely been a great guy during their private conversations.

"I'll count this as Mondstadt owing me one. This is definitely going on your tab!"

With that, Lin Yi mobilized the Land-Building Vehicle.

The sight of this enormous machine moving on its own startled everyone. They nearly thought the remnants of Khaenri'ah had risen again.

"Everyone, stand back! The Land-Breaking Divine Machine is about to use its ability!"

Through a system command in Lin Yi's mind, the Land-Building Vehicle's module activated.

A drill formed from elemental energy spun at high speed and bored through the ground.