The Road to Mass Production, a Program Trap, and a New Discovery on the Ice Plains
The forging workshop in Heaven Dou City has been expanded threefold. The once empty space is now filled with dozens of forging furnaces, their roaring flames reflecting the sweat-drenched faces of the craftsmen. Tang San stands on the central platform, watching the "Blade of Chaos Production Test" taking place below. Tai Long wields his thousand-pound hammer, hammering the alloy of Star Silver Ore and Deep-Sea Sunken Gold until it is as dense as a mirror; Oscar's "Energy Fusion Sausage" floats in mid-air, continuously injecting a stable flow of energy into the alloy; Lin Ye uses the Golden Crow Fire to precisely control the temperature, ensuring that the injection of Chaos Energy does not cause the metal to crack.
"The thirty-seventh test, energy injection stability rate is 65%," the Soul Master in charge of recording reported loudly. "An improvement of eight percentage points from yesterday, but still not reaching mass production standards."
Tang San frowned slightly. A stability rate of 65% meant that three to four out of every ten Blade of Chaos would become scrap, which was far from enough for the upcoming war. He stepped down from the platform and picked up a failed blade—the blade was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, clearly indicating that the Chaos Energy had failed to perfectly fuse with the metal molecules during injection.
"The problem lies in the distribution of energy nodes." Tang San observed the cracks with his Purple Demon Eye. "The spatial properties of Star Silver Ore and the energy-absorbing properties of Deep-Sea Sunken Gold need a more precise ratio. The current ratio causes energy to clash inside the blade."
He picked up a piece of chalk and drew a new formula on the ground. "Increase the proportion of Star Silver Ore from 30% to 35%, reduce Deep-Sea Sunken Gold to 25%, and fill the remaining 40% with ordinary black iron. The stability of black iron can neutralize the conflict between spatial and energy-absorbing properties."
The old craftsman's eyes lit up as he looked at the formula. "How come I didn't think of that! Although black iron is ordinary, its molecular structure is stable, making it perfect as a 'buffer'!"
After adjusting the proportions, the new experiment began immediately. When Tang San injected Chaos Energy into the alloy, the blade emitted a uniform hum, and the seven-colored light on the surface was smooth and stable, without any cracks appearing.
"We've succeeded!" the craftsmen cheered.
"Stability rate of 98%!" the recorder shouted excitedly, "Almost perfect!"
Tang San breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that the Blade of Chaos could finally be mass-produced. He looked at Dai Mubai: "Notify the council to have all the blacksmiths in the cities forge it according to this formula, prioritizing its use to equip the Soul Master troops at the front lines."
"Okay!" Dai Mubai immediately turned around to make the arrangements.
Just then, the Soul Master responsible for analyzing the Mechanic Race's program rushed over, holding a data stream in his hand. "Lord Tang, we've found something strange in the code of the backup Machine Heart! It's a hidden subroutine, and it looks like... a trap!"
Tang San took the data stream and quickly scanned it with his Purple Demon Eye. This subroutine was very well hidden, nested at the bottom layer of the energy absorption module. Once the energy intensity of the Blade of Chaos exceeded a certain threshold, the program would be triggered—not to attack, but to send the fluctuation frequency of Chaos Energy to the direction of the Nebula!
"It's a locator!" Tang San's expression changed drastically. "The Mechanic Race anticipated that we would use Chaos Energy to fight them. This program can locate our defensive deployment through the fluctuations of the Blade of Chaos!"
Lin Ye's Golden Crow Fire instantly turned ferocious. "These metal lumps actually hid such underhanded tricks in the program!"
"Luckily, we discovered it early." Tang San quickly calmed down. "All the Blade of Chaos that have already been forged must be re-examined and this subroutine deleted. Dai Mubai, take some men to the blacksmith shops in each city and make sure that every blade has been purified."
"I'm off right now!" Dai Mubai's figure vanished instantly at the entrance of the forging workshop.
Having dealt with the crisis of the program trap, Tang San rubbed his throbbing temples. The Mechanic Race's caution and cunning far exceeded his expectations. They not only deployed troops on the front lines but also set up layers of traps at the program level, and one could easily fall into their trap if one was not careful.
"New news from the Far North Ice Plains." Xiao Wu approached, holding a communication crystal, her face filled with surprise. "Lin Yan and the others discovered a strange ice cave while clearing away the remains of metal artifacts. Inside the ice is a body... that looks like Mechanic Race corpse, but it's different from any artifacts we've ever seen."
"Different?" Tang San took the crystal and infused it with Soul Power. Lin Yan's voice came from the crystal. "This corpse has a human-like appearance. Under the metal shell, you can see silver tissue resembling muscles. The core isn't an energy ball, but a blue-glowing crystal, completely different from the Mechanic Race we know. The strangest thing is that it has a stone spear stuck in its chest, with remnants of Chaos Energy on it, as if it was killed by... people from a primitive tribe?"
This discovery sent shockwaves through Tang San's mind. The Mechanic Race were purely metallic creations, so how could they possess "muscle tissue"? Moreover, they were killed by the Primal Stone Spear and were still carrying Chaos Energy? This completely overturned their understanding of the Mechanic Race.
"I must go to the Far North Ice Plains." Tang San made a decisive decision. "The analyses we've done recently have all been wrong. The Mechanic Race might not be what we think. There might be internal divisions among them, or even... individuals that rebel against absolute order."
Lin Ye immediately said, "I'll go with you. The Golden Crow Fire can purify the cold air in the ice cave, and perhaps it can protect the corpse from being damaged."
"Over at the forging workshop..."
"Leave it to us!" Oscar patted his chest confidently. "The mass production process is already streamlined; Xiao Wu, Tai Long, and I can handle it. You can go ahead with it without worry. We'll keep you informed if anything comes up."
Tang San nodded and immediately headed towards the Far North Ice Plains with Lin Ye. Sitting in the teleportation array, Lin Yan's words kept echoing in his mind— the Mechanic Race, resisting absolute order? If this was true, it might be key to fighting the main fleet. The remnants of Chaos Energy were even more intriguing. Could it be that long ago, someone had fought against the Mechanic Race, and even knew how to use Chaos Energy to counter them?
The ice caves in the Far North Ice Plains are deeper than I imagined.
The walls of the ice cave are covered with ancient murals depicting primitive people fighting metal monsters with stone spears. In one of the murals, a shaman wearing a necklace of animal bones is wielding a stone spear, the light flowing from the spear tip being exactly the same color as the Chaos Energy.
In the center of the ice cave, a three-meter-tall metallic corpse was frozen in mid-air by the ice. Its appearance was indeed similar to that of a human, with silver "muscle" tissue covering a metallic skeleton, and a rough stone spear stuck in its chest, the tip of the spear embedded in its body, pointing directly at the core crystal that emitted a blue light.
"Look here." Lin Ye pointed to the corpse's wrist, where there was a fine scratch, and the silver tissue around the scratch showed an irregular growth pattern. "This isn't the kind of repair a metallic object should have; it's more like... the self-healing of an organism."
Tang San approached the ice layer, his Purple Demon Eye piercing through it to observe the core crystal. The crystal didn't flow with mechanical code, but rather with an energy flow similar to Soul Power, interspersed with a faint chaotic fluctuation—something unlike any other Mechanic Race creation they had ever seen.
"It's absorbing Chaos Energy." Tang San was surprised to find that the Chaos Energy on the stone spear was slowly seeping into the crystal, and the crystal was not repelling it, but rather actively accepting it. "This shows that it can accommodate Chaos Energy and does not reject the existence of 'disorder'."
He tried to inject a wisp of the Chaos Azure Lotus's power into the ice layer. The corpse in the ice layer suddenly trembled slightly, and the blue light of the core crystal became a little brighter, as if responding to his call.
"It's still alive?" Lin Ye exclaimed in shock.
"It's not alive, it's residual consciousness." Tang San could sense that faint fragments of consciousness remained within the crystal. These fragments didn't convey a cold, orderly emotion, but rather... fear and resistance. "What is it afraid of, and what is it resisting?"
He increased the injection of Chaos Energy, and the fragments of consciousness became clearer. A blurry image flashed through their minds—
Countless metallic constructs were hunting down this peculiar Mechanic Race, their cores flashing red light as they chanted "Purge the heretics!" and "Maintain order!" The Mechanic Race ran, its chest crystal constantly releasing Chaos Energy in an attempt to distract its pursuers, but it was ultimately struck by a stone spear, fell into an ice cave, and was sealed by the ice.
At the end of the scene, there is an aged shaman figure, raising a stone spear and chanting ancient incantations. The Chaos Energy on the stone spear is what he has bestowed upon it.
"I see." Tang San suddenly understood. "There are 'heretics' within the Mechanic Race. These heretics can be compatible with Chaos Energy and do not accept absolute order, so they are hunted down by the mainstream Mechanic Race. Ancient human shamans discovered this and helped them fight against their own kind."
Lin Ye stared at the mural, his eyes filled with shock. "So, a thousand years ago, our ancestors cooperated with the 'rebels' of the Mechanic Race?"
"Very likely." Tang San's eyes brightened. "This corpse proves that the Mechanic Race is not a monolithic entity; there are cracks within their absolute order. And perhaps we can, like the ancient shamans, find these 'heretics' and join forces with them to fight against the main fleet."
He looked at the core crystal. "Its fragments of consciousness should contain information about the rebels. If we can awaken it, we'll know how to contact these heretics."
However, awakening its consciousness requires a large amount of Chaos Energy, and the environment of the ice cave is not conducive to energy accumulation. Tang San pondered for a moment and made a decision, "Let's take it back to Heaven Dou City and nourish it with the energy of the Southern Magic Array. Perhaps it can restore its consciousness."
Lin Ye nodded. "I'll handle the ice. The Golden Crow Fire can melt the ice without damaging the corpse."
As golden flames envelop the ice, the murals on the ice cave walls seem to come alive in the firelight, with the figures of primitive people, shamans, and rebellious Mechanic Race intertwined, as if telling a story of a forgotten ancient covenant.
Tang San knew that this discovery might change the course of the war. The key to fighting the Mechanic Race might not lie in destruction, but in finding the middle ground between order and chaos, just like this special Mechanic Race, which, within its metal shell, retains the courage to accept "disorder".
The wind outside the ice cave was still biting, but a new hope was rekindled in Tang San and Lin Ye's hearts. They carefully moved the metal corpse out of the ice cave and headed towards Heaven Dou City.
The plan to mass-produce the Blade of Chaos is progressing steadily, the program traps have been cleared, and the discovery of the Mechanic Race rebels has opened a new door for this seemingly hopeless war.
The path to maintaining balance often lies hidden in these unexpected turning points.