274: Chapter 274 New System Instructions After the Victory Celebration Banquet

The night wind was still blowing, the torches were crackling, and embers floated in the air like fireflies.

The people in the plaza dispersed in twos and threes; some carried their tools back to the workshops, some put their arms around their brothers to go drinking, and children chased after the fluorescent spores Bai Ling had scattered, their laughter bursting out in strings.

Chen Wuwang still stood on the high platform, motionless.

He still clutched the wine cup in his hand, his knuckles white.

He gazed at the starry sky, but his eyes didn't look like they were watching the stars; it was more like he was staring at something others couldn't see.

His fingers began to tap, one by one, against the edge of the table. The rhythm was not fast, but extremely steady—da, da, da—like typing code, mechanical and precise.

Suddenly, he stopped.

His pupils contracted, and the Mechanical Prosthetic Eye in his right eye flashed with a ghostly blue light, scanning the surroundings.

No one noticed anything unusual; the patrolling mechs crossed the sky along their predetermined routes, the shield net of the distant Medicinal Field shimmered with a faint light, and everything was as usual.

But he heard it.

A voice, not high-pitched, not shrill, and emotionless, just like a whisper drifting from the horizon, dropped directly into his mind:

"A Genius craftsman has appeared in the Technology Workshop."

The corners of Chen Wuwang's mouth curled up, and he smiled.

It wasn't a loud laugh, nor was it a cold sneer; it was that kind of... wicked smile a hunter has when they see a fat rabbit step into their trap.

He looked down at the empty wine cup in his hand and tossed it behind him. The cup hit the stone steps and shattered with a 'clang'.

He turned around and strode down the high platform, his cape sweeping an arc, his steps crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Over in the western industrial zone, Chen Tiezhu was squatting on the ground, dismantling a scrapped spirit-energy welding torch, a piece of wire hanging from his mouth as he hummed a tuneless song.

His Disciple handed him a pot of freshly brewed spirit rice wine, but he waved him off: "Stop messing around, the spring position on this thing is off by 0.3 millimeters; if I don't fix it tonight, I won't be able to sleep."

Before he could finish speaking, he caught a glimpse of someone coming down from the high platform out of the corner of his eye.

He looked up and saw Chen Wuwang walking this way, his pace getting faster and faster, heading straight for the Technology Workshop.

"Huh?" Chen Tiezhu frowned and spat out the wire. "What's going on in the middle of the night?"

But the person had already gone far away.

He hesitated for a second, then stood up abruptly and put the welding torch on the ground:

"Oh no, oh no. I know this pace of the Family Head's; there's probably work to be done again."

He grabbed his outer robe and gave chase.

On the other side, Chen Xiaodao had just finished patrolling and was leading the Sword Cultivator Team to dismiss the formation.

The Mechanical Prosthetic limb on his left arm was still emitting a faint heat; the previous round of alert scanning had consumed quite a bit of energy.

A Disciple came up and asked: "Young Lord, can we rest now?"

Chen Xiaodao didn't answer, his gaze falling on that figure in the distance—silver hair in a high ponytail, shoulder armor gleaming with a cold light, his steps as firm as a path carved by a blade.

His eyes tightened, and he immediately raised his hand: "Stay where you are."

After saying that, he took off running.

Bai Ling hadn't gone far.

She landed by the flagpole, a little fluorescence still remaining on her fingertips. She looked down at her palm and rubbed it gently, the light spots scattering into fine dust.

Suddenly, she looked up, gazing toward the Technology Workshop, her brows twitching slightly.

"What is he looking for?" she murmured, her toes lightly touching the ground as she floated up, her skirt fluttering in the wind like a fallen leaf chasing the breeze.

The three of them arrived at the exit of the Main Hall almost simultaneously and happened to bump into each other.

Chen Tiezhu panted and stared: "You two came too?"

Chen Xiaodao crossed his arms: "The Family Head left; shouldn't I follow?"

Bai Ling floated in mid-air, tilted her head, and smiled: "Don't you think... he smiled very strangely just now?"

"I don't know if it's strange or not," Chen Tiezhu scratched his head, "but I only know one thing—ever since he arrived, whenever he smiles, we have to work overtime."

The three of them exchanged glances, said nothing more, and followed in step.

The night road wasn't long, but the atmosphere had changed.

The plaza, which had been bustling with noise just a moment ago, now had only scattered lights.

The wind blew across the empty tables, making a wailing sound.

The flight paths of the patrolling mechs in the distance were like shooting stars, and occasionally a 'creak' of metal friction could be heard.

Chen Tiezhu muttered as he walked: "Tell me, is something really happening? Can a 'Genius' really pop out of the Technology Workshop at this time? Our place only has a few apprentices on duty right now, they can't even cook a meal properly, and suddenly a Great Master appears?"

Chen Xiaodao sneered: "Have you forgotten the last time about 'Blood mist descends in the west after three quarters of an hour'? We ended up picking up a Zerg Egg Core, hatched a Gold-Eating Insect, and it directly doubled our Artifact Refining efficiency. If he says there is one, there is one."

Bai Ling said softly: "But this time... the System said 'Genius craftsman', not a resource, not a crisis, but a 'person'."

Her tone was a bit dazed: "Five hundred years ago, our race also had a 'born machine-communicator' who could understand the heartbeat of machines. But he only lived for seventeen years because... his Soul fused with the metal."

The team was silent for a moment.

Chen Wuwang never turned back, nor did he speak; he just walked faster.

Ahead, the outline of the Technology Workshop gradually became clear.

It was a massive building half-embedded into the mountainside, its outer walls covered in spirit-energy conduction plates, with three Signal Towers mounted on top, glowing with a pale green light in the night.

Two guard mechs stood at the entrance; upon identifying Chen Wuwang's aura, they automatically unlocked the alloy doors.

"Beep—Authorization confirmed, Family Head Chen Wuwang, access granted."

The heavy alloy doors slid open to the sides, emitting a dull "hum".

Chen Tiezhu looked at the gap and swallowed: "I'm telling you... when I designed this door, I added seven layers of security; it's usually locked solid at night, who powered it up?"

Chen Xiaodao's hand was already on the hilt of his sword, his eyes sharp: "There is someone inside."

Bai Ling floated at the back, a faint light flickering on her fingertips as she whispered an Elven incantation.

Her pupils instantly turned silver-white, and she saw the scene inside the door:

"There is spirit-energy fluctuation, but it's not offensive; it's the rhythm of forging, very steady, very familiar, as if... they've been doing it for a lifetime."

Chen Wuwang finally spoke, his voice low but like a hammer striking an anvil:

"Do you think I have ever made a wasted trip?"

With that one sentence, everyone shut up.

Their steps quickened.

They passed through the hallway, the floor paved with anti-vibration alloy plates, making their footsteps silent.

On both sides of the corridor were R&D rooms, most of them dark, with only the one at the very end lit—the Furnace Area.

The closer they got, the more they could feel the heat.

The smell of red-hot metal drifted through the air, along with the faint scent of rune ink.

Ding—Ding—Ding—

It was the sound of a hammer striking, unhurried, each blow landing on the same frequency, like some kind of ancient beat.

Chen Tiezhu sniffed: "This hammer technique... it's not right. This isn't the method we teach, nor is it a traditional forging rune technique; it's more like... listening to the metal's breathing with their ears?"

Chen Xiaodao narrowed his eyes: "People who can hear the fatigue points of metal are one in ten thousand."

Bai Ling said softly: "Or... he is inherently a part of the metal."

Chen Wuwang didn't speak again.

He walked to the door of the Furnace Area, raised his hand, and pushed it open.

The door opened.

A wave of heat rushed toward them.

The room was brightly lit, and in the center was a new type of spirit-energy furnace, which was supposed to be operated by three people, but at this moment, only one figure stood in front of it.

The person had their back to the door, wearing coarse work clothes and a pair of old-fashioned goggles, holding an alloy hammer that no one had ever seen before.

The furnace fire reflected on him, casting a long shadow.

With every strike, the runes on the furnace wall lit up a fraction more, the rhythm as precise as if controlled by a program.

Chen Wuwang stood at the doorway, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening.

He whispered to himself, heard only by himself:

"Interesting."

Inside the room, the sound of the hammer did not stop.

Outside the door, the four of them stood still.

The night was not yet over, and the turning point had already begun.