167: Chapter 167 Mech Performance Enhancement, Everyone Amazed

At dawn the next day, the unsealed interface on the mecha's shoulder was still emitting faint energy fluctuations.

Chen Tiezhu stood beside the machine, his fingers hovering over the control panel; his fingertips were hot, but his palms were icy cold.

He took a deep breath and pressed the start button.

"Level-three power supply sequence, begin."

The moment Chen Tiezhu pressed the start button, the nano-rune rings spread like wildfire, the azure Spiritual Qi grew like wild vines, and silver electric arcs struck like sudden thunder—three energies that should have repelled each other wove into a web of light within the resonance layer.

The air vibrated slightly, as if an invisible drum was beating against people's hearts.

Everyone held their breath.

First second: no explosion.

Second second: the light patterns continued to flow.

Third second: the three-layered structure pulsed in synchronization, its rhythm as steady as breathing.

"It's stabilized..." Chen Tiezhu whispered, his throat feeling as if it had been seared by a branding iron.

He pulled up the projection panel, and data began to scroll:

[Basic Load-Bearing Test]—Original mecha limit was 80 tons; now it has reached 210 tons with no structural deformation.

[Psionic Conduction Efficiency]—Traditional conduction channel loss rate was 17%; the new three-layer structure is only 3.2%.

[Response Latency]—From command input to limb movement, shortened from 0.4 seconds to 0.07 seconds.

The moment the last digit popped up, a young artisan in the back row jerked his head up, his hand shaking so much he nearly dropped his recorder on the ground.

"Zero point zero seven?!"

His voice suddenly rose, causing several people around him to turn their heads in unison.

"You didn't misread it." Chen Tiezhu didn't look back, his gaze still locked on the screen. "It's not a measurement error; it really has dropped to zero point zero seven."

The testing grounds erupted in a tsunami of sound.

"With this reaction speed, even a Golden Core Cultivator dodging a Lightning Tribulation might not be this fast!"

"Before, it took half a breath for the mecha to turn around; now it can do it three times in the blink of an eye!"

"This isn't an upgrade; it's practically a different species!"

Discussions rose and fell. At that moment, an elderly technician with graying hair walked slowly down the steps leaning on a cane. He was one of the assemblymen of the first-generation mecha, having retired to the second line last year due to old age; he had come specifically today after hearing the commotion.

He walked to the mecha's calf and reached out to gently stroke the armor seams.

The instant his fingertips touched it, he froze.

"It's... moving," he murmured. "It's not the vibration of electric power. It's a rhythm. Inhaling and exhaling, like it's alive."

No one laughed at his nonsense.

Because everyone saw it—the layer of light patterns covering the entire body was indeed flickering in a certain pattern, like a heartbeat or a breath.

In a corner, a woman responsible for psionic battery maintenance suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes instantly reddening.

Her husband had been thrown and seriously injured in a mecha overload explosion a year ago and remained bedridden to this day.

Back then, the System had crashed, the energy storage module had melted down directly, and even the emergency shunt couldn't be activated.

But now, this structure could not only bear higher pressure but also automatically regulate energy flow.

She didn't speak, only silently took out a cloth she carried and wiped the corners of her eyes.

Chen Tiezhu glanced at her, said nothing more, and simply pulled up the next test module: "Next, demonstrating instantaneous overload protection."

As soon as he finished speaking, he abruptly cut the main power line.

The humming stopped abruptly, and the light patterns on the mecha's surface instantly dimmed by half.

But—it didn't fall.

The nano-rune ring in the middle layer lit up rapidly, and ripples of golden light spread out, taking over the energy supply to maintain its posture.

The machine swayed slightly, then stabilized, its legs still standing straight.

"Backup energy storage support time—fifteen seconds," Chen Tiezhu reported the data. "Enough for the pilot to escape danger or wait for rescue."

"Hiss—" someone gasped.

"What does this mean?" a boy asked with wide eyes. "Does it mean that even if the furnace explodes in the future, the mecha won't fall apart on the spot?"

"More than that," another repairman chimed in. "It means we can actively cut power to save our lives in battle and then restart! Who dared to play like that before? One cut and you're paralyzed!"

"Now we dare." Chen Tiezhu finally grinned, a real smile appearing on his face for the first time in three days. "Not only do we dare to cut it, we even dare to overclock."

After speaking, he pulled up the maneuver simulation deduction interface.

[Maximum Movement Speed]—Originally 90 meters per second, now breaking through to 230 meters per second!

"What?!"

"Three times faster?!"

"This isn't running; it's practically flying close to the ground!"

Exclamations came in wave after wave, like the tide crashing against the rocks.

Several boys squeezed into the front row, their eyes glued to the changing data, unconsciously counting: "Two hundred ten... two hundred twenty... two hundred thirty... My god, it really broke through!"

"Do you know what this means?" an old artisan suddenly spoke up, his voice not loud but drowning out all the clamor. "The mechas we built before were 'moving lumps of iron.' This one... is a 'breathing war beast'."

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

The applause started like sparse raindrops, instantly turning into thunder.

It began sporadically, then grew more and more until the entire Artifact Refining Workshop was filled with the sound of clapping. Some clapped vigorously, some shook their heads with a smile, and some had red eyes as they clenched their fists.

This wasn't just a simple performance boost.

This was a turnaround battle they had endured with blood and sweat.

It was the fingertips scorched red by welding torches at night, the scrap metal they refused to throw away after seven failures, the fire starters left by wives, the doodles drawn by children on the corners of blueprints, and the obsession passed down by generations of artisans guarding the furnace fires.

Now, it had all melted into this mecha's Bloodline.

At this moment, Chen Wuwang, who had been standing silently, finally moved.

He walked slowly down the high platform, the soles of his boots making clear echoes on the metal floor.

The blue light of his prosthetic eye flared up, data streams projecting energy trajectories onto his retina. Three energy flows were clearly visible in his field of vision: azure Spiritual Qi rushing like a river, silver electric arcs moving like thunder snakes, and the pale gold resonance layer in the middle acting like a spiraling bond, locking the two together and advancing steadily.

Perfect synergy.

He stopped, looked up at the mecha standing quietly, and suddenly smiled.

It wasn't a crazed laugh or a mocking sneer, but a very soft, very deep "Heh."

He knew that from today on, the Chen Family would no longer be just a "cultivation Family that can build mechas."

They were redefining—what power is.

"Tiezhu," he spoke, his voice not loud but silencing the entire room.

"Hmm?"

"This mecha needs a name."

Chen Tiezhu was stunned, then looked down at the fire starter by his feet that could no longer be lit. The scratches on the copper shell had been rubbed shiny, like palm lines left by time.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the still-pulsing interface on the mecha's shoulder, and said slowly, "It breathes, it can withstand pressure, and it doesn't fall even when the power is cut. It doesn't seem like a dead object, but rather a... living warrior."

He paused, his voice deepening: "Let's call it 'po xu type-2.' It's not a replacement; it's an evolution."

"Good," Chen Wuwang nodded. "po xu type-2, bridging the past and the future."

He raised his hand and pressed it gently against the mecha's chest plate.

The metal was cool, yet he seemed to feel the power flowing inside.

He knew this was only the beginning.

Ahead lay the Fusion of the control System, adaptation to actual combat environments, the refinement of mass production processes... but at least for now, the door had been pushed open.

The path was now there.

"Pass down the order," he said to a clansman behind him. "Extra rations tonight, the entire Artifact Refining Workshop takes a day of rest, and the wine will be plentiful."

"Long live the Family Head!" someone shouted.

Amidst the laughter, someone whistled, people high-fived, and even the usually serious old technician shook his head with a smile.

Chen Tiezhu sat on the edge of a toolbox, holding the fire starter, his face showing the exhaustion of having survived the long night, but his eyes burning with a long-lost light.

Watching the light patterns flowing on the mecha's surface, he gripped his carving knife and murmured, "po xu type-2... it's time it had a Soul."