302: Chapter 302 Arya's Shocking Visit

In the early morning, the first ray of dawn pierced through the high windows of the workshop, spilling over sixteen neatly arrayed cold silver mechs, casting layers of cold light.

The lights in the workshop remained unextinguished, a low and continuous hum filling the air. Sixteen Iron Spine-I units stood in a neat formation, their energy cores pulsing in synchronization like a silent army that had just finished assembling.

Chen Wuwang stood at the front of the line, his back straight. His right hand rested on the shoulder of Unit 001, and his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flickered slightly as he reviewed the final round of testing data.

He didn't move or look back, but a faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth—a smile that only surfaced when he was in absolute control.

Wind swirled in from the open factory entrance, carrying dust and the scorched scent of cooling metal.

A small shuttle landed silently on the outer pad. The hatch slid open, and the hem of a silver-white tasseled robe stepped out first. There was a light 'click' as the magnetic boots made contact with the ground.

Aelia walked in with steady steps, her wings folded behind her back, her fingertips still pinching a newly removed communication talisman.

She had intended to call out immediately, but as her gaze swept across the entire assembly line, her footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

She stood still.

Her pupils contracted.

Her breath hitched for a beat.

"This..."

She didn't move forward, as if afraid of disturbing something, or perhaps pinned to the spot by the sight before her.

She slowly looked up, her gaze sweeping from the first mech to the last before returning to Chen Wuwang's back. Her voice was tight. "You produced all of these?"

Only then did Chen Wuwang close the data interface and turn around. His silver hair swayed lightly with the movement, and the three claw marks on the right side of his face were clearly visible where the dawn light met the interior lamps.

He glanced at her, his tone as flat as if he were remarking on the nice weather. "That's right. These are all the results of our Chen Family Technology Workshop."

Aelia didn't respond. She took two steps forward, her fingertips almost touching the outer arm plating of Unit 002, only to pull back halfway.

She moved to the side, staring at the psionic patterns on the leg transmission structure, and asked in a low voice, "Mass production? These aren't prototypes?"

"The sixteenth unit just came off the line." Chen Wuwang pointed his finger toward the drop zone. "Serial number 016. Testing passed, standby status. The fifteen before it are the same."

"Sixteen units?" Aelia's voice suddenly spiked. "Are you telling me that a Family workshop mass-produced sixteen complete standardized mechs overnight? And with Psionic Coupling Systems?"

"It wasn't overnight." Chen Wuwang shook his head. "It's the first batch after seventy-two hours of simulated testing and full-capacity operation. From now on, eight units can come off the line every hour."

Aelia sucked in a cold breath, her wings twitching involuntarily like a startled bird.

She walked quickly to the front of the line, looking up at Unit 001's facial sensor array. She reached out to touch the edges of the shoulder armor, her fingertips tracing along the energy conduction rail. Her tone had completely changed:

"This precision... the material pretreatment must have reached at least Level 3 homogenization, and the assembly error is below 0.03 standard units. Where did you get a Nano-scale Spirit-silk Rolling Machine?

Not to mention this Synchronous Drive System—how did you synchronize the frequency of sixteen energy cores? Manual calibration? Impossible!"

Chen Wuwang smiled. "No calibration needed. The System matches them automatically. Every mech undergoes thirty-seven dynamic pressure tests before leaving the factory. Any that fail go straight back into the furnace."

"The System?" Aelia narrowed her eyes. "Are you referring to... the control logic you wrote yourself?"

"More than that." Chen Wuwang walked over and pressed his palm against the energy core on Unit 001's chest, saying softly, "It learns. The more it builds, the more it understands how to build better."

Aelia froze.

She stared at that slowly pulsing core, as if seeing for the first time what the thing in front of her truly signified.

"You aren't just building mechs." Her voice grew soft. "You are... raising an iron army."

Chen Wuwang didn't deny it, saying only, "Before, we were trampled underfoot, even our mineral veins were snatched away. Now, it's different.

We have hands, we have brains, we have land, and we have time. What we lacked was just a way to string them all together."

"But this speed..." Aelia shook her head.

"It's too fast! I only saw your first-generation prototype last month. Back then, you hadn't even solved the walking stability issues, and now you're telling me you've entered full-scale mass production?

How many steps did you skip? Material iteration, process verification, safety redundancy... you didn't do any of those?"

"We did them." Chen Wuwang pointed to the seventh section of the guide rail. "It exploded seven times, and three technicians died. Later, we changed the design, making the entire line a central hub. If one part blows, the whole thing blows. Conversely, no one dares to act recklessly anymore."

Aelia felt a jolt in her heart.

She finally understood why this army before her was so quiet—it wasn't the silence of machinery, but the stability born from trials of life and death.

She walked slowly to Chen Wuwang's side, moving closer and lowering her voice:

"Have you considered that once this technology gets out, the balance of power in the entire Eastern Desolation will collapse?

The Chuanyun Sect, Leiyin Pavilion, the West Ridge Zhao Family... they won't sit idly by while a single Family suddenly possesses this kind of power."

"They already know." Chen Wuwang said indifferently. "Last night, three groups tried to break in and sabotage us. Xiao Dao caught two, and the last one escaped. I'm not in a hurry. Let them watch, let them spread the word, and let them be afraid."

"Aren't you afraid they'll unite to besiege you?"

"Afraid?" Chen Wuwang suddenly laughed. The laughter wasn't loud, but it carried a hint of madness. "I stand here with three hundred clansmen behind me and this line in front of me. If they truly dare to come, I'll show them what it means to 'resist an alliance with the power of a single workshop'."

Aelia looked at him and suddenly felt that the man before her didn't resemble a Family head so much as a gambler—if he won, he took it all; if he lost, he had nothing more to lose, because he had already staked his life on it.

She was silent for a moment and then whispered, "I've seen the mech legions of the Star River Civilization and visited the automated armories of the Steel Temple, but I've never seen... a cultivation Family use the foundation of an Artifact Refining Workshop to forcefully carve out a path of Cyber Cultivation."

"So you find it inconceivable?" Chen Wuwang raised an eyebrow.

"I find it... terrifying." She said frankly. "I'm not afraid of your technology, but of your determination. You aren't chasing the era; you are forcing the era to bow its head."

Chen Wuwang didn't speak. He simply raised his hand and patted the shoulder armor of Unit 001, producing a dull thud.

"It's called Iron Spine." He said. "It means the spine cannot be bent. Not for the person, not for the clan, and certainly not for the path."

Aelia took a deep breath, finally pulling herself out of her shock.

She looked down at her empty hands and suddenly realized something. "I came here today originally to discuss the procurement of new power furnaces... but now it seems that those things are likely already a previous generation of products to you."

"You can take a look." Chen Wuwang stepped aside. "The production line is still running. You can watch as long as you like."

Aelia didn't move, her eyes still wandering over the group of mechs. She suddenly asked, "Have you thought about selling these mechs? Not just to allies, but to other Star Domains? The price for such things on the cross-civilization trade market starts at at least a million Spirit Stones per unit."

"Not selling for now." Chen Wuwang shook his head. "The first batch of three hundred units will all be used to equip the Chen Family Guard. Once we've secured our own footing, we'll talk about other things."

"And when do you plan to be 'secure'?" Aelia stared at him.

"When no one dares to place even a single nail at my doorstep." He answered bluntly.

The workshop fell silent for a moment, save for the hum of the guide rails and the rhythmic pulsing of the energy cores.

Aelia stood there, her wings trembling slightly as if her heart had not yet settled.

She finally raised her hand and took a Jade Slip from her sleeve, but she didn't open it, only clutching it in her hand.

"You know?" She suddenly gave a small smile.

"My mother told me before she died that in the eyes of a merchant, there are no miracles, only profit.

But standing here now, looking at these sixteen mechs, I suddenly feel... perhaps the miracle itself is the greatest profit."

Chen Wuwang looked at her but didn't respond.

The sunlight moved another inch, hitting the facial sensor of Unit 003 and reflecting a piercing light.

Aelia squinted and took half a step forward, her voice softening. "Can I... take a closer look?"