431: Chapter 431 Chen Tiezhu is excited; a technological breakthrough is imminent.

After issuing the order, the entire Qiming Plain became busy. As the morning light just climbed over the eastern ridge of Qiming Plain, the spiritual energy conduits outside the Artifact Refining Workshop were still buzzing and vibrating, and the rising white steam spread along the geothermal trenches like a lazy Dragon.

Chen Wuwang did not go into the dispatch room, nor did he return to the main hall.

He stood on the slope where the lights of the row of laboratories were gradually extinguishing, the wind pushing him from behind, and with a turn of his feet, he headed straight for the depths of the Artifact Refining Workshop.

He did not walk fast, but every step fell in rhythm with his heartbeat.

His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye felt slightly hot, and the System instruction passed through his Sea of Consciousness once more— "Chen Family technology will soon see a major Breakthrough."

It was just this one sentence, without beginning or end, but he knew that this spark must be ignited on the hardest iron.

The door of the Artifact Refining Workshop was half-open, and the crisp sound of light metal tapping came from inside, with a steady rhythm, like an old craftsman keeping time for an apprentice.

Chen Wuwang lifted his foot to cross the threshold, his boot sole crushing a piece of cooled rune residue.

The light inside the workshop was a mix of dim and bright, the furnace array lay dormant, and several mech wrecks undergoing repairs lay scattered about, like beasts that had been stripped of their teeth.

Directly ahead, the observation window of a spiritual energy furnace glowed dark red. Chen Tiezhu was crouching beside it, one hand resting on the control valve, the other holding a magnifying chip, squinting at the rune trajectories flowing within the furnace wall.

His back was slightly hunched, his shoulders dusted with ash, and his pant legs were rolled up to his knees, revealing two calves covered in old scars.

Hearing footsteps, he didn't even turn his head, only saying in a low voice: "Who is it? If you have something to say, say it. This furnace is at a critical point; a fraction off and it will explode."

"It's me." Chen Wuwang stood still, his voice not loud, yet it suppressed all other noises.

Chen Tiezhu finally turned around, and seeing it was him, his brows relaxed, then immediately furrowed again: "Why are you here? Didn't you say there was a technical seminar? I thought you'd be stuck in the dispatch room until dark."

Chen Wuwang did not answer, just walked forward two steps, stood beside him, swept his gaze over the furnace, and said indifferently: "The System just gave me an instruction."

"What?" Chen Tiezhu's hand paused, and the chip almost fell to the ground.

" 'Chen Family technology will soon see a major Breakthrough.' " Chen Wuwang said each word clearly, his tone calm, but the light in his eyes could not be hidden.

Chen Tiezhu was stunned, blinked, blinked again, then suddenly threw away the chip, stood up abruptly, and stared at him: "What did you say?! The System said it? Really?"

"Yes."

"A major Breakthrough? Not the kind of small tinkering? A real Breakthrough?"

"Literal meaning."

Chen Tiezhu's breath hitched, his whole person as if struck by lightning, he froze in place for three seconds, then suddenly slapped his thigh with a "slap" and roared: "Finally, a Breakthrough! I've been waiting for this day for so long!"

His voice was so loud that even the adjacent work shed shook, and several apprentices poked their heads in to look.

He didn't care, his face flushed red, his eyes shining frighteningly, rubbing his hands as he paced back and forth:

"I knew it! I knew this day would come! All these years we've been working on automated smelting, improving rune embedding precision, working on closed-loop spiritual energy feedback... Which step wasn't groundwork? Which step wasn't a gamble? Now it's good! Heaven has opened its eyes! The System has acknowledged it!"

He stopped abruptly and turned to stare at Chen Wuwang:

"Tell me, is this Breakthrough related to nano-scale etching? I just modified a set of dynamic calibration algorithms two days ago, I just didn't dare to test it on the furnace! If we can match it with a high-sensitivity spiritual wave array and suppress the error to below 0.3 microns, our yield rate will at least triple!"

Chen Wuwang's mouth twitched, he didn't speak, just looked at him.

Chen Tiezhu became more and more excited as he spoke, suddenly turning to point at the pile of dilapidated mech parts in the corner: "Look at that pile of scrap metal, the left arm joint has cracked three times, all caused by unstable rune embedding!"

He spoke faster and faster, his speed like an open floodgate: "And the furnace! The current power supply is still manually tuned, and if there is a fluctuation in Spiritual Qi, an accident will happen immediately! If we could create an adaptive smelting process, let the System monitor furnace temperature, rune flow rate, and Material crystallinity in real-time, and automatically adjust energy output... Damn, that's what you call Artifact Refining! That's what you call technology!"

He said this, slammed a fist on the corner of the table, making a few screws jump up: "Back in the day, I could explode a furnace three times just repairing it, and now I can look forward to such a grand prospect; this feeling is worth it!"

Chen Wuwang finally smiled, very faintly, but there were lines at the corners of his eyes.

He stepped closer, stood side by side with Chen Tiezhu, looked at the broken mech, and said in a low voice: "What you thought of is precisely one of the Breakthrough points."

Chen Tiezhu turned his head abruptly: "What do you mean? You had this idea long ago?"

"Not long ago, but it's clearer now." Chen Wuwang raised his hand to point at the furnace, "This round of upgrades is not just about efficiency, nor just precision."

He paused, his voice sinking: "It is a paradigm shift."

"What is a paradigm shift?" Chen Tiezhu frowned.

"It means—" Chen Wuwang turned to look at him, "In the future, our Artifact Refining will no longer rely on intuition or experience, but on data, models, and System deduction. Every mech, every part, must have its 'digital twin.' From design, smelting, rune carving, to assembly, the whole process will be traceable, predictable, and optimizable."

Chen Tiezhu listened, stunned, then suddenly grinned: "Your words sound mysterious, but I understood—you want to turn Artifact Refining into a 'craft calculated out'?"

"Correct."

"Ha!" Chen Tiezhu slapped his thigh, "Isn't this exactly the 'intelligent rune embedding mechanism' that I've been secretly drawing every day! I was afraid you'd say I had Qi Deviation!"

"You are not deranged, you are very clear-headed." Chen Wuwang nodded, "Therefore, you must lead this battle."

"That goes without saying!" Chen Tiezhu puffed out his chest, his face flushed red, "Give your orders! If you need people, I'll give people; if you need Resources, I'll give Resources! I'll dismantle the entire furnace array and reinstall it tonight! No, no need for tonight—I'll do it now!"

As he said this, he was about to run to the tool rack, but Chen Wuwang grabbed his arm: "No need to rush."

"Why not rush? This is a Breakthrough!"

"Precisely because it is a Breakthrough, it must be even steadier."

Chen Wuwang stared at him, "You go and gather the core craftsmen now, first make a list: which existing equipment can be used, which need modification, and which must be newly built. I want to see personnel, Materials, and a schedule; not one can be missing."

Chen Tiezhu breathed heavily, stared at him, then suddenly grinned: "Fine! I'll go right now! However—" he squinted, "You must promise me one thing."

"Speak."

"When the first 'calculated' mech comes out of the furnace, let me press the start button myself."

Chen Wuwang looked at his face, full of grease but shining with light, and nodded slowly: "Very well."

"Good!" Chen Tiezhu stomped his foot, turned around, and rushed out, shouting as he ran, "Xiao Liu! Old Zhang! Stop sleeping! Grab your tools! Start working!"

The workshop immediately turned into chaos, apprentices emerged from every corner, some moving tools, some adjusting instruments, and someone even knelt directly on the ground to draw sketches.

Chen Wuwang did not move, still standing in place, looking at the broken mech.

He raised his hand, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the tabletop, that familiar rhythm, as if returning to the time of writing code thirty years ago.

From afar came the shouts of a youth practicing swordplay, one after another, clear and powerful.

He turned his head to look; in the direction of the training field, a young figure was brandishing a sword, cutting through the air, their clothes fluttering.