369: Chapter 369 Developing Mechs, Custom-Made for Nascent Soul Stage Individuals

The sunlight beat down on the tin roof of the Artifact Refining Workshop, making it hum, and heat waves rolled out from the door cracks, hitting people's faces mixed with the smell of red-hot metal.

Chen Wuwang kicked open the half-closed iron door; the door hinge let out a sharp screech, startling two gray sparrows resting under the eaves.

"Old Tie! Stop sleeping!" He strode inside, his boots making a slapping sound on the oil-stained tiles, "From today on, we're not making parts, we're remodeling the God of War!"

A loud clang came from deep within the Artifact Refining Workshop, sounding like someone had smashed a hammer onto an anvil.

Then, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar. Chen Tiezhu walked out wearing a tattered fireproof cloak, his face stained with charcoal ash, clutching a glowing red rune conduit in his hand.

"What madness are you up to now?" His voice was as coarse as a broken gong. "God of War? You think you're forging divine weapons? The war just ended, people haven't even caught their breath, and you're starting some new trick?"

Chen Wuwang didn't stop, walking straight toward the central workbench piled with blueprints and parts. He casually pushed aside a few pieces of scrap metal, revealing a yellowed mecha structural sketch underneath.

"It's not a new trick." He raised a finger to his right cheek, where three claw marks left by the Zerg glowed dark red in the sunlight.

"We're being pushed to the limit. Wang Ergou and the other two just made a Breakthrough to Nascent Soul. Guess what I just saw?"

"They were test-flying at the Martial Arts Arena, and the mecha wings couldn't withstand the recoil of flight. They almost plunged headfirst into the Medicinal Field."

Chen Tiezhu was stunned and frowned. "The Golden Core level propulsion System was never enough... but this isn't something that can be changed in a day or two."

"Then start now!" Chen Wuwang slammed the table, the sound vibrating through the entire workshop.

"They can blow down a mountaintop in one breath, but the mecha's load-bearing beams are still being made to Golden Core standards! If it explodes, whose fault is it? Yours? Or mine?"

Chen Tiezhu stared at him, his lips moving, but he said nothing.

Chen Wuwang stared at him, lowering his voice. "You said back then when you added a drill to the earth dragon, people called you a madman.

"But what about now? Which mineral vein in the Eastern Wasteland wasn't dug out by it? Today, I'll be that madman too—"

"I want them to do more than just barely stabilize when they fly; I want them to tear through the clouds and crash straight into the heart of the enemy lines!"

Chen Tiezhu was silent for a moment, then suddenly grinned, revealing teeth yellowed by smoke. "Alright, Clan Leader, you really do have some wild ideas."

He turned and walked to the furnace control console, flipping open the protective cover to reveal the dense spiritual energy circuit boards underneath.

His fingers tapped rapidly on several buttons. With a hum, the entire furnace began to heat up, the firelight shining through the observation port and turning half his face red.

"You want speed?" he said without looking back. "I'll give you a triple spiritual energy buffer array plus dual-ring cooling channels. But—"

He suddenly turned his head. "The outer shell material must be changed to 'star-fall iron'. Where are you going to get it? The stock in the warehouse isn't even enough to fill the skeleton of one mecha."

Chen Wuwang smiled, his lips curling into a sharp arc. "The thunderstorms are falling in North Valley; the pure yang thunder marrow is coming."

Chen Tiezhu was startled. "You already knew?"

"Before the celebration last night, the System gave the command."

Chen Wuwang walked to the wall, picked up a charcoal pencil, and drew a rough outline on the ground.

"When the thunder marrow enters the furnace and tempers the star-fall iron, the hardness will double, and it can also guide lightning storm energy. For this batch of mecha, I don't just want them to fly fast; I want them to withstand Heavenly Tribulation-level strikes."

Chen Tiezhu crouched down, squinting at the sketch on the ground, his fingers tracing lines unconsciously. "What about the power core? The current spiritual energy engines can't handle this kind of load."

"Tear out the old modules and replace them with a dual-core parallel System." Chen Wuwang tapped the abdomen area in the drawing with his pencil tip. "The main core provides power, while the sub-core specifically manages shields and Divine Sense synchronization. Also, all interfaces will be changed to direct neural connections, removing manual control redundancies."

"You're crazy!" Chen Tiezhu looked up sharply. "Direct Divine Sense connection? One lapse in concentration and your brains will explode! Nascent Soul Cultivators have strong Divine Thoughts, but they aren't made of iron!"

"That's why the shields must be made in advance." Chen Wuwang's gaze darkened. "Complete the Nascent Soul-level spiritual energy shield prototype within seven days. This is a direct order."

Chen Tiezhu stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and started drawing another line on the ground.

"Fine, if you want to risk your life, I'll join you. But listen—the outer shell will use a star-fall iron + thunder marrow composite layer, and the internal structure will have twelve stress-dispersion beams added;"

"Add an isolation rune array between the dual cores of the power bay to prevent overload backlash;"

"Add triple safety locks to the Divine Sense interface, with an automatic switch to backup mode if disconnected."

He talked as he drew, his movements getting faster and faster, a long-lost light gradually igniting in his eyes.

"The first one will be for Wang Ergou. That kid likes head-on collisions, so I'll give him sloped frontal armor, two Rune Cannons embedded in the shoulders, and a pair of folding ramming horns on the back—he'll punch a hole right through a mountain if he hits it!"

Chen Wuwang looked at the drawing on the ground, getting more excited. "What about Li Dachui? He's good at low-altitude raids. I want him to be able to strike from three hundred miles away without consuming any Qi."

"Simple." Chen Tiezhu sneered. "A gliding chassis + geomagnetic adsorption system, with power connected to the underground Spiritual Vein to charge while running. Then I'll install a silent rune array; he'll fly over and not even a mosquito will hear him."

"What about Zhao Xiaohua?" Chen Wuwang pressed. "She saves people while fighting, she's the hardest to handle."

Chen Tiezhu rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

"A built-in medical module! A deployable treatment pod in the chest—injured teammates can be stuffed inside for automatic healing;"

"Add a ring of floating healing units on the back, just like a Sword Cultivator's Flying Sword, available on call.

"Then give her an auxiliary AI voice—'Please be careful to bandage your wounds' and 'You have been fighting for four hours, please rest'."

Chen Wuwang laughed heartily. "This thing sounds like my mother!"

"Then let her mecha come with a nagging function!" Chen Tiezhu also laughed, slapping Chen Wuwang on the shoulder. "So, do you still think I'm a conservative old man?"

"If you're conservative, then there's no one in the world who would dare to rebel!" Chen Wuwang grabbed a charcoal pencil, and the two huddled together, drawing more and more on the ground, lines crisscrossing in a dense web.

The firelight cast two giant shadows on the wall, gesticulating wildly like two Master Craftsmen forging the Laws of heaven and earth.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Tiezhu suddenly stopped his pencil and looked up at Chen Wuwang. "Three Nascent Souls, each with different needs. Do you really want a separate version for each one?"

"Of course." Chen Wuwang said decisively. "They didn't risk their lives to break through just to wear a uniform! What I want is—Wang Ergou's mecha to fly through lightning storms, Li Dachui's to glide three hundred miles without consuming Qi, and Zhao Xiaohua's to heal teammates while fighting! This isn't mass production; it's customization! Exclusive!"

Chen Tiezhu stared at him, his gaze slowly changing from doubt to shock, and then to a near-fanatical agreement.

He slowly stood up, went to the tool rack in the corner, and took down a carving knife—a relic left by his wife twenty years ago, its handle wrapped in faded red string.

He gripped the handle tightly, took a deep breath, and suddenly made the first score on a metal plate.

"Then you must give me seven days!" His voice was hoarse but firm. "In seven days, the first prototype will be off the line!"

Chen Wuwang stepped forward and extended his hand.

Chen Tiezhu looked down at him, grinned, and raised a calloused hand, slapping it heavily into Chen Wuwang's palm.

With a crisp "bang," the two applied force simultaneously, high-fiving as an oath.

Just then, the holographic projector on the workbench hummed to life. With a flash of blue light, a blurry but imposing mecha outline slowly rose, floating in mid-air.

The outline was not yet clear; only the torso frame and the position of the power core were sketched out, with bulging weapon slots on the shoulders and a hint of a folding wing structure on the back.

Under the glow of the firelight, the two stood before the light and shadow, one recording parameters and the other gesturing, their voices echoing back and forth in the empty Artifact Refining Workshop.

Outside, the wind swept over the eaves, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Inside the workshop, the furnace fire burned bright, the blueprint was newly formed, and a revolution of war machines crafted by Mortal hands had just begun.