49: Chapter 49: Resources Increase Significantly, Family Takes Off

The door to the Council Hall had just been pushed open, and Chen Wuwang's footsteps were already treading on the bluestone slabs.

Sunlight cut in diagonally from outside the Main Hall, shining on the old scar left by the Zerg on the edge of his shoulder armor, casting a cold gleam.

He did not look back, only hearing the sound of a cane tapping against the ground growing closer behind him.

"People are all here," Chen Tiezhu said, standing still while panting, wiping his face with an oily palm. "Even the oldest clan elders have come; they're sitting in the third row on the east side, and their expressions don't look too good."

Chen Wuwang nodded and walked straight to the main seat.

The Jade Slip was still in his bosom, its warmth not yet dissipated.

He pulled one out, and a Spirit Array screen instantly appeared in the air of the hall, the blue light reflecting dense streams of data—the "First Batch of Feedback Resources List" unfolded holographically, with the usage and priority marked after each item.

"High-purity Spirit Ore, divided into three batches," his voice was not loud, but it commanded the entire room. "The first batch goes to the Artifact Refining Workshop to serve as the foundation array core for the new workshop; the second batch goes to the Medicinal Pill line for purification; the third batch is to be sealed and stored, not to be touched until Elder Lin's new catalytic array is formed."

Someone muttered in a low voice, "So many good Materials, and they're all being dumped into those metal lumps? What our ancestors passed down was Qi Refining and spirit cultivation, not fiddling with machinery!"

The speaker was Chen Dehai, an older craftsman of the Family, with flowing white beard and a face full of indignation.

Chen Wuwang did not look at him, but raised his hand and pointed, magnifying the entry for the Lightning-Struck Meteorite Core; faint blue electric arcs leaped within the phantom image.

"This thing naturally carries high-frequency shockwaves. You tell me: should it be thrown into a furnace to forge a Flying Sword? Or should it be used as a reactor core to power the three assembly lines?"

No one answered.

He swiped to another section: "Millennium-old Gloomwood Heart, light as cotton, tough as tendon, resistant to spirit explosions. You tell me: is it firewood for heating, or the best material for a mecha skeleton?"

Chen Dehai opened his mouth, but ultimately did not speak again.

Chen Wuwang then turned his head, his gaze sweeping across everyone:

"Three years ago, our Chen Family was trampled into the mud. What did we rely on to stand back up? We didn't rely on kowtowing and begging for handouts; we relied on turning every resource into stronger power."

He paused, his voice deepening: "Now, we have Materials. These aren't just a pile of dead objects; they are opportunities. If we miss this wave, the nine great families of the Eastern Wasteland will take ten or a hundred years to crush us back into the dust."

The hall was silent for a moment.

"Three workshops, two lines," he waved his hand, and the blueprints unfolded—the Automated Artifact Refining Workshop, the Spirit Array Integration Workshop, and the Intelligent Medicinal Pill Workshop, with two main assembly lines running through them.

"Starting today. Chen Tiezhu, you are in overall control of the Artifact Refining line; Chen Xiaodao, you will trial run the construction mecha modules, and report the compatibility data once a day."

Chen Tiezhu looked up abruptly: "Construction mecha? Are you really going to use Sword Cultivators to open mountains and chisel rocks?"

"Who says swords can only kill?" Chen Wuwang retorted, "Sword Intent is precise, stable, and controllable; it is perfect for guiding cutting. Let him try; don't waste his talent."

Footsteps approached rapidly from outside the door. Chen Xiaodao, still in his training gear and with dust on his face, entered and casually stuck his sword into a crevice in the stone by the door. "Family Head, the Earth Vein array base in the West District has been cleared; we can start work at any time."

"Good," Chen Wuwang stood up. "Let's go to the East District. I need to see the first shovel of earth fall with my own eyes today."

The group passed through the corridor of the Main Hall, and clansmen along the way stopped to salute one after another.

Someone whispered, "I heard we're going to build three large workshops this time?"

"Not just that, there are also two spirit energy transmission belts that go directly to the mouth of the mineral vein in the heart of the mountain!"

"How much manpower will that take?"

No one answered, but the light in their eyes was bright.

The wasteland in the East District had long been cleared, and supplies from eleven storage racks were being transported box by box by the apprentice team.

Chen Tiezhu immediately saw his old companions gathered around a portable voltage stabilization array, their brows furrowed into knots.

"These brats are messing with my equipment again!" he cursed, stepping forward quickly with his cane. "Who told you to dismantle the outer casing?! The rune set inside hasn't been grounded yet!"

"Uncle, we just wanted to see how to connect the wires..." an apprentice shrank his neck.

"You want to see? Finish memorizing the 'Ten Lectures on Basic Spirit Conduction' before you touch a screwdriver!" Chen Tiezhu snatched back the toolbox and turned to Chen Wuwang with a bitter smile. "We don't have enough hands, and we have even fewer brains."

"Then learn while you work," Chen Wuwang looked toward the team assembling the tracks in the distance. "First, lay down the first material sorting line. Goal: Process thirty units of raw Materials every quarter-hour, with an error margin of no more than 0.3%."

Before he could finish speaking, the ground suddenly shook.

"Hum—"

A low-frequency hum came from underground, followed immediately by a burst of sparks from the Earth Vein diversion array that had just been activated on the north side, causing three Spirit Array apprentices to stagger backward.

"Resonance out of frequency!" someone shouted. "The diversion pattern is engraved half a millimeter too deep, causing energy backlash!"

Chen Wuwang immediately activated his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye, and countless data streams flashed across his vision.

He quickly locked onto the problematic node, raised his hand to cast three command talismans, and injected them into the temporary voltage stabilization array. "Cut off the B7 to C3 segment and connect it to the backup buffer pool! The Spirit Array group must re-engrave the diversion pattern, lower the depth—use this parameter!"

Chen Tiezhu grabbed a carving knife and rushed over, shouting, "Everyone get out of the way! I've been carving these patterns for thirty years; I wouldn't make a mistake even with my eyes closed!"

Twenty breaths later, the System returned to stability.

"Phew..." Chen Xiaodao stood beside the construction mecha and wiped the sweat from his brow. "That shake just now almost knocked over the 'Rock Breaker' in my hands."

"Then try again," Chen Wuwang walked over and patted the hydraulic rod on the mecha's leg. "Activate the self-balancing System and import the Sword Intent guidance module. You control it."

Chen Xiaodao nodded, flipped, and leaped into the cockpit.

The mecha's eyes lit up with red light, and the high-frequency oscillation sword on its right arm slowly extended.

He gently pushed the control stick, the tip of the sword touched the ground, and a subtle Sword Intent seeped into the rock layer.

In an instant, the hard basalt was sliced open like tofu, and a neat groove formed instantly.

"Five times the efficiency," Chen Wuwang watched the timer. "Not bad. But it's still not stable enough; there were two slight deviations just now."

"I know," Chen Xiaodao's voice came from the communicator. "The Sword Intent and mecha protocol aren't fully synchronized yet, and there's still fluctuation in the buffer latency."

"By noon tomorrow, compress the startup to within one second, with zero-latency response," Chen Wuwang said. "You can do it."

"Understood," Chen Xiaodao replied crisply.

The watching clansmen began to applaud, and a child jumped up and shouted, "Mecha Brother is awesome!"

Chen Tiezhu grinned, then frowned again: "What are you laughing at? Go move the Materials! The first assembly line must be powered on and tested tonight!"

When night fell, the East District had already changed its appearance.

The skeletons of three brand-new workshops rose from the ground, spirit energy conduits wound and connected like blood vessels, and lights extended all the way into the mountain along the tracks.

On the training ground, young clan soldiers were practicing basic movements around the newly issued training mechas; in the direction of the Medicinal Field, the buzzing sound of spirit plants resonating spontaneously could be faintly heard, as if responding to the restlessness of this land.

Chen Wuwang climbed to the Family observation deck alone.

The wind blew from the valley, carrying the scorched smell of metal welding and the scent of freshly turned earth.

He stood motionless, his gaze sweeping over the lights of the entire Family—the light streams of the new workshops were like rivers, the sword shadows on the training ground were flying, and the spirit plants in the Medicinal Field were shimmering with a faint glow, like stars fallen to the ground.

Footsteps came from behind.

Chen Xiaodao walked onto the platform, stood beside him, and said nothing, just gazing at the same starry sky.

After a long time, he asked in a low voice, "Brother, can we really reach the end?"

Chen Wuwang did not answer immediately.

He raised his hand, his fingertips tracing through the night sky, as if sketching an invisible trajectory.

"It's not about reaching the end," he said. "It's about walking a path that no one else dares to walk."

The two stood side by side, their shadows cast on the stone platform, stretched out long.