In the past, mornings in Kamar-Taj were awakened by the melodious chimes of bells, but now they are awakened by the "thump-thump-thump... zzzzzz..." sound of electric drills.
Wang clutched his head, the damned sound of the electric drill starting up again at the end of the corridor. He sat cross-legged on the futon and silently recited the calming mantra three times, but the drill didn't stop, and the loud roar of a transport plane landing came from outside.
Wang finally couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up, pushed open the door, and walked straight to the mountain gate. Just then, he saw two construction workers in yellow vests carrying several bundles of PVC pipes past him. Those pipes were transported from the town at the foot of the mountain; he heard they were for connecting to the hot spring water pipes. A few days ago, Ms. Mei brought the blueprints to the monk, saying that there was no harm in not using the natural hot spring source on the back mountain. In the winter, it was so cold that the monks' legs would freeze from meditating every day. Digging a hot spring pool would allow everyone to soak and relax.
The monk was holding a cup of Longjing tea that Betty had just brewed. Hearing this, he simply smiled and said that as long as the temple wasn't demolished, it would be fine.
Wang, standing nearby, nearly dropped his jaw. They're only worried about not demolishing the temple? Master, look at this! Are they planning to build a giant amusement park in front of the temple next?
Thinking back to when these women first arrived a month ago, Wang thought Lin Xiao had called them over to lay low. Peter and Ned were alright, having already spent time on the mountain, but Gwen, Betty, May, and Jane were women after all, and he worried they wouldn't adapt. But he miscalculated. These women not only adapted incredibly well, but they also visited the Ancient One every day, which startled him. Seeing that the sorcerer tacitly approved, he didn't say anything. Who knew that just a few days later, they would seek out the Ancient One.
"Godmother, the house up in the mountain is too cold and has too much yin energy. Let's install an air conditioner." Mei pointed to the drafty windows with a serious expression.
"Godmother, this wooden bed frame is as hard as a stone slab. I feel sorry for your back. Let's get a Simmons mattress instead," Betty added.
"Godmother, I've been organizing data lately, and the signal in Kamar-Taj is really bad. Can I get a few wired internet connections and WiFi over here?" Jane pushed up her glasses, her eyes full of expectation, while Gwen Stacy next to her nodded frantically.
Wang listened, his heart pounding. This was Kamar-Taj! Since ancient times, the Sorcerer Supreme had protected Earth from extradimensional magic here! Every brick was engraved with defensive magic arrays! The people here even ate their meals using chopsticks to pick up wild vegetables from the mountains! What were they trying to do? Destroy it?
But the Ancient One actually smiled and nodded. Not only did she nod, but her gaze towards the girls also held a kind of kindness that Wang couldn't understand. Seeing that the Ancient One had agreed, Mei beamed and whispered, "The winters here are truly bone-chilling. Then I'll take the liberty of asking the construction team from down the mountain to come up and add a few sets of underfloor heating to the temple."
The Ancient One didn't refute him; she even smiled and nodded. Wang felt like the sky had fallen. He really didn't know what kind of spell they had cast on the sorcerer, that he would let them do whatever they wanted.
With the statement, "As long as the temple isn't demolished," the women completely let loose.
The art style of Kamar-Taj has completely changed since then.
Now, heading to the meditation room in the side hall, a wave of warm air hits you as soon as you open the door. Double-glazed windows hang on the windowsill, and a silent standing air conditioner stands in the corner, its vents blowing a comforting warmth. The wooden plank bed, which used to be so hard it could cure a herniated disc, has been replaced with a Simmons mattress so soft it feels like you could sink into it. Not only that, Wang also saw several fully automatic washing machines in the laundry room that day.
He studied the machine for a long time, watching the drum spin rapidly inside, thinking that this thing didn't require hand washing. Was there any magic that could be more labor-saving than this? It seemed there really was. But washing machines don't consume mental energy.
Wang looked helpless and strolled over to the kitchen. He found that everything had changed; the potatoes in the large freezers had been replaced with lobsters, Kobe beef, and several large boxes of Chilean cherries. The monk in charge of the meals was cooking on the newly installed gas stove. When he saw Wang, he smiled and handed him a plate of freshly stir-fried clams.
"Wang, come and try this! It's a new dish Miss Mei taught me, stir-fried with hot pot broth. She said Mr. Lin likes it."
Mr. Lin? Wang frowned. He hadn't expected that these people, who used to think of Lin Xiao as an oddball, would suddenly become so well taken care of after Mei and the others arrived, even changing how they addressed Lin Xiao.
Wang shook his head, ate a piece, and coughed from the spiciness, but the taste? It was actually quite good. After coughing, he wanted to reach for it again, but he held back.
Just then, a series of buzzing sounds came from the direction of the back mountain. It seemed that the workers installing the wind turbines had arrived. Wang frowned, sighed softly, and said, "I'll go take a look." He then headed towards the back mountain. It turned out that the back mountain was open and cold winds blew in all year round. Betty realized that if wind power equipment could be installed in this place, the entire Kamar-Taj would have no problem with electricity. So she found May and Jane to discuss installing wind power equipment. The three women immediately made a decision, saying that relying solely on cables from the foot of the mountain was not safe, and generating their own electricity was the only way.
Wang felt that his bottom line had been gradually trampled down by these women, and now it was shattered into pieces, ready to be scattered by the wind.
Just as Wang was deciding which construction team to supervise today, a commotion came from in front of the mountain gate.
Two distinguished young men dressed in Zhongshan suits walked up the stone steps. Tao Yuhan was walking in front, carrying two boxes of gifts, while Tao Yusun, behind him, looked up at the transport plane circling overhead like a curious child.
As soon as they reached the square, the two were stunned by the sight before them. Workers wearing yellow hard hats were digging the foundation with great enthusiasm, the sound of cement mixers was deafening, and several monks in robes stood by to supervise the work.
"That pit over there, dig it half a foot deeper to the left, be careful not to touch the core of the magic array." A mage said with his hands behind his back, speaking eloquently.
Tao Yuhan swallowed hard, grabbed one of the monks, and asked, "Master, what are you doing?"
The monk clasped his hands together and respectfully returned the greeting. "Madam Lin, we need to dig a hot spring so that the monks can relieve their fatigue during meditation."
"Madam Lin?" Tao Yuhan's lips twitched. He turned to look at his brother, Tao Yusun, who was also dumbfounded. The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
Tao Yuhan patted Tao Yusun on the back of the head, "Hurry up, don't just stand here in a daze."
They then told the monk the purpose of their visit: to pay respects to distinguished guests from New York. The monk then led them to a small courtyard, and after waiting for a few minutes, they entered the courtyard.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, walked through the corridor to a house, Mei pushed open the door, looked up and saw Tao Yuhan, and smiled, "You must be Tao Yuhan, right? Lin Xiao mentioned you."
"Yes, I am. I apologize for disturbing you," Tao Yuhan nodded, somewhat awkwardly putting down the gift. "I heard from Lin Xiao that you would be coming, so I planned to pay you a visit. Please forgive my unauthorized visit."
Mei nodded, exchanged a glance with Betty and Jane in the room, then turned around and took out a thick stack of blueprints from the drawer.
" Lin Xiao said that if you come, he'll give this to you; it's no use keeping it here."
Tao Yuhan took it, and after flipping through only two pages, his hands began to tremble. It contained complete design blueprints for the Mark Armor from generation one to generation five, with every part and every circuit clearly marked, and even suggestions for improvement.
Tao Yuhan's breathing quickened instantly, and he looked up abruptly. "This... this was given to us by Mr. Lin Xiao?"
He had originally heard from Lin Xiao that his family would be visiting Kamar-Taj, so he thought he would come to visit Lin Xiao's family and offer some help if he could. He never expected Lin Xiao to bring him such a big surprise. His mind was working very fast. Since the Mark Armor was given by Lin Xiao, then the design blueprint of the Helicarrier that shocked him to the point of losing his composure, as well as so many cutting-edge technologies, were probably also leaked by Lin Xiao through some channel.
Tao Yuhan suppressed his surging emotions, chatted briefly with Mei, and then hurriedly took his leave. Along the way, Tao Yusun noticed Tao Yuhan's puzzled expression. Once they reached the gate, Tao Yuhan immediately dialed the encrypted channel of the S.P.E.A.R.. After listening to the report, Director Zheng Xian remained silent for a full ten seconds before letting out a deep breath. "Send more manpower and arrange for the top-tier professional construction team to go to Tibet. Make sure to provide the Lin Xiao family with the greatest possible convenience. I order you and Yusun to stay behind with a few capable agents to ensure the absolute safety of the Lin family. Also, all expenses incurred by the Lin family there will be covered by the S.P.E.A.R.."
After hanging up the phone, Tao Yuhan looked at the bustling construction site in the square and felt that his mission level had jumped directly from "field investigation" to "royal bodyguard".
Inside the main hall, the king was still worried about the afternoon's construction progress. But for some reason, when he saw the Tao Yuhan, joining the team to help move supplies, watching the standing air conditioner blowing out gentle warm air, and seeing the monks sitting together, soaking their feet in hot water, eating cherries, and occasionally discussing whether to have mild or medium spicy hot pot for tonight, he felt a surge of joy.
Wang suddenly realized that this might not be so bad after all.