331: Chapter 331 Deepening Cooperation, Sharing Magic

The morning at Qiming Plain was still draped in a thin mist, and the spirit steel piles on the ground had just completed their final round of charging tests, with a faint glow slowly flowing along the energy-conducting patterns.

Chen Wuwang stood outside the main control hall of the Technology Workshop, holding a data chip in his hand, his fingertips tapping unconsciously against it twice.

"Bai Ling." He looked up. "Come in."

Bai Ling walked in slowly from outside the door, the hem of her skirt fluttering slightly as it brushed over the threshold.

Her gaze swept over the winding, fully automated Formation-refining assembly line in the center of the hall, and her brows furrowed slightly: "What is this thing… cutting?"

"Cutting efficiency." Chen Wuwang walked to the control console and tapped his finger, and the entire assembly line started instantly.

Mechanical arms flipped with precision, and rune engraving tools operated at high speed, carving rapidly onto each tiny Formation Plate.

"It produces one high-order protective Formation every three seconds, with a margin of error not exceeding 0.03 degrees."

"But magic doesn't come about like this." Bai Ling walked a few steps closer and reached out to hover her hand over an unactivated Formation Plate on the edge of the conveyor belt.

A faint green light emanated from her fingertips, and upon her light touch, the Formation Plate actually floated up half an inch on its own, its surface patterns rising and falling slightly like breathing.

"It is alive. If you treat it as a component, it will die."

"I didn't let it die." Chen Wuwang pulled up a projection, showing the scene from yesterday after the battle where the composite spirit steel piles self-activated.

"Look at this—the remnant patterns of the old Formation resonated with the technology base. The power of nature wasn't cut off; it just changed its carrier."

Bai Ling stared at the projection for a long time before finally releasing her hand; the Formation Plate fell back onto the conveyor belt and was once again snatched up by the mechanical gripper.

"You're right," she said softly. "It didn't die, but it's no longer whole. It's like sawing a tree into planks; can you ever piece it back together?"

"I don't need to piece it back together." Chen Wuwang turned to her. "I only need it to be usable. And better, faster, and more stable."

The two looked at each other for a moment; neither backed down.

Just then, Chen Wuwang suddenly laughed: "Aren't you the same? The Seal inside you is an ancient war soul, but you are standing here now, speaking, thinking, and questioning me—isn't that control? Even if it is a blade, you are the one holding it now."

Bai Ling was startled, then the corners of her mouth twitched: "You certainly know how to reason."

"I'm not reasoning." Chen Wuwang walked back to the console. "I'm presenting facts. Come, look at this."

He pressed a button, and a massive light screen unfolded, displaying dense, scrolling energy waveform charts.

"This is all the combat data we compiled last night. It includes your Ice Domain barrier, Xiao Dao's Meteor Sword Intent, and the life resonance fluctuation you released at the end."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to know if magic can be 'read'." He said, "If it can be read, it can be modified, copied, and loaded into machines."

Bai Ling remained silent for a moment before suddenly taking out a roll of silver-glowing vine-skin scroll from her sleeve and gently spreading it out on the operation console.

The scroll floated automatically, projecting a passage of ancient inscriptions, the characters flowing like water: "Power belongs to none, but resides in flow."

"This is the oldest magic creed of the Elf Race." She said, "We do not possess power; we only guide it. Just like the wind passing through the forest, the sound comes from the gaps, not from the leaves themselves."

Chen Wuwang stared at that line of text, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flickering slightly as it began to scan the frequency fluctuations.

"So when you cast spells, you are actually establishing channels?"

"Yes." Bai Ling nodded. "Every incantation and every gesture is an adjustment to the width and direction of the channel. Magic power itself belongs to no one; it comes from heaven and earth, and returns to heaven and earth."

"Then that makes things easier." Chen Wuwang grinned. "Since it's just a channel, it's not impossible to simulate."

He quickly entered commands, importing the energy model corresponding to that inscription into the System, while simultaneously bringing out a micro energy-gathering ring device and placing it on the experimental table.

"Try it out; use your method to output a bit of basic healing light flow and direct it into this ring."

Bai Ling hesitated for a moment: "The System might not be able to withstand this kind of fluctuation."

"Let it trigger an alarm." Chen Wuwang shrugged. "If it blows up, we'll just fix it."

Bai Ling shook her head and smiled, closed her eyes, folded her hands in front of her chest, and took a deep breath.

When she raised her hand again, a soft green light appeared in her palm. The light was unstable, rising and falling gently with her breathing, like a heartbeat.

She pushed it slowly toward the energy-gathering ring.

"Beep—!" The alarm sounded abruptly!

[Energy waveform mismatch! Risk of collapse!]

Cracks appeared on the surface of the energy-gathering ring, and sparks flew from the internal circuits.

"Stop!" Chen Wuwang immediately cut the power, removed the charred interface module, and said, "It really is a rhythm issue. Your magic power follows biological rhythms, while our System uses constant current; of course it would blow up if you force it in."

Bai Ling withdrew her hand, looked at the extinguished light, and said softly: "You are too impatient. Magic needs to breathe."

"Then we'll give it breath." Chen Wuwang quickly replaced the interface, connected a set of flexible buffer devices, and added a pulse algorithm simulating a heartbeat into the program.

"Now, try again. Don't suppress it; just do it the way you normally do."

Bai Ling glanced at him and nodded.

She closed her eyes again and took three deep breaths, each one deeper and slower than the last.

Then, she raised her hand, and the green light reappeared.

This time, she didn't rush to push it; instead, she let the light flow seep into the energy-gathering ring bit by bit, like spring water overflowing through the crevices of stones.

Chen Wuwang stared at the screen, his pupils constricting slightly: "It worked! Frequency synchronization rate is 87%... 91%... stable at 93%!"

The crystal lamp in the center of the experimental table slowly lit up, the pale green glow illuminating both their faces, and it remained lit for ten seconds without going out.

Bai Ling opened her eyes and smiled.

Chen Wuwang also smiled.

Neither of them spoke, but in that instant, it was as if some kind of barrier had truly shattered.

"That buffer interface you just used..." Bai Ling pointed at the device, "Can it be recorded?"

"Of course." Chen Wuwang pulled up all the parameters. "I was even preparing to name it—'Breathing Bridging Protocol V1.0'."

"The name is too long." She laughed. "Just call it 'Catching Breath'."

"Fine." He laughed loudly. "Let's call it 'Catching Breath'."

The laughter faded, but the atmosphere did not disperse. Instead, a subtle fervor was rising.

"Actually..." Bai Ling lowered her head, stroking the moon-light vine scroll. "I can provide more. Not just basic light flow. For example, frequency analysis of high-order runes, or conduction models of ancient resonance Formations."

"You want to share?" Chen Wuwang raised an eyebrow.

"The condition is that you agree to one thing." She looked up. "Don't let them become tools for killing. At least... don't use them only for killing."

Chen Wuwang was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "I promise you. Magic can be used for defense, repair, communication—even farming. But I also won't deny that it must be able to protect people. Otherwise, how can we talk about sharing?"

Bai Ling looked at him for a long time, then nodded gently.

"Good."

She raised her hand, her fingertips tracing through the air, and three sets of complex rune patterns appeared out of thin air, rotating slowly.

"This is the first batch of models I can provide. Within three days, I can organize a complete transmission format."

Chen Wuwang immediately gave the order: "System, record all data streams, generate a draft of the 'Magic-Technology Coupling Preliminary Proposal', and submit it for review by the whole race during tomorrow morning's assembly."

After the order was given, he turned to look at Bai Ling, his tone uncharacteristically gentle: "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" She chuckled. "I also saw the possibilities. Two completely different paths, it turns out they really can converge."

She reached out and brushed over the still-active energy crystal, the green light reflected in her eyes, soft yet firm.

Chen Wuwang stood beside her, looking at the lamp that was still lit on the experimental table, and said softly: "This is just the beginning."

Outside the window, the sky over Qiming Plain had completely brightened. The footsteps of the engineering team could be heard faintly in the distance, and the forge fires of the Artifact Refining Workshop had already risen.

But here, there was only the low hum of machines and the flowing of a faint glow.

The two stood side by side, and neither moved.