Douluo Continent: The Peerless Tang Sect, Angels and Rakshasa Return

Chapter 233 - Rhine Factory: The saintess draws a pie in the sky, I'll bake it; the main character is a rebellious soul!

"Le Xuan! By the way... how do you treat those silkworms and spiders that spin silk? You don't use this kind of assembly line, do you?"

Patting the assembly line machinery in front of her, Qian Lingyun gazed at another farm not far away and asked curiously.

"How could that be? We know how to have enough to eat every day," Zhang Lexuan said with a smile, waving her hand as she solemnly began to describe the conditions for those high-level soul beasts:

"Can those soul beasts that can spin silk compare to these soft-boned rabbits that only know how to eat, drink, poop, pee, sleep, and breed? The spiders and silkworms over there are paired up, male and female, and live in small huts."

"That's good. Kill a few Soft-Boned Rabbits for me now and then to treat them to some meat; after all, spinning silk is hard work!"

"it is good."

Soon, with the help of dozens of farm employees, they used whips to send the thousands of Arctic silkworms into the No. 2 farm in just over half an hour.

Here, these lowest-grade soul beast baits of the far north finally escaped their pitiful fate of living hand to mouth.

Now they have food and shelter, and all they need to do is diligently spin silk, and the employees of the Ordinary Alliance will guarantee their safety and reproduction.

After sending the captured soul beasts to their respective resting places, Qian Lingyun took out the large bundle of gifts from the Emperor Beast from her pocket and solemnly placed it in Zhang Lexuan's palm, instructing her:

"These golden fluffy things are treasures! Hang one on each rabbit enclosure door; they'll accelerate the growth of these rabbits! Don't forget!"

"Is this thing... really that magical?" Zhang Lexuan looked at the golden ball of yarn in her hand with suspicion, about to ask a question, but the inexplicable trust she had in Qian Lingyun made her hesitate.

Holding the golden ball of yarn, she pursed her lips and nodded to Qian Lingyun.

That look in his eyes was so resolute, as if he were about to be martyred and die.

After inspecting the various aspects of the farm and offering some personal requirements and suggestions, Qian Lingyun returned alone to the former Holy Spirit Cult's Soul Guidance Department, which is now the Rheinmetall Armory.

Upon entering, Qian Lingyun's gaze was immediately drawn to the strange machines on several assembly tables nearby. She couldn't resist stepping forward and tapping on the gleaming metal casing, saying:

"Whoa, what are you strange creatures?!"

"Reporting to the Holy Maiden, this is a crossbow we modified after a month of research, based on the principles of a weapon called the Zhuge Divine Crossbow described in the book 'Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons' you provided!"

"I've named it the Holy Spirit Ballista!"

The Third Elder slowly descended from mid-air, his old face unable to conceal his inner joy.

Since the last high-level meeting agreed to popularize soul tools and elevate the status of soul masters, in just over two months, the demons and monsters of the Holy Spirit Cult who practice divine skills all day long have also tasted the benefits of technological advancement.

People place orders for soul tools from time to time, and the status of these soul masters rises accordingly!

With the significant resources allocated to it by the Holy Spirit Cult, the Rhine Gold Machinery Factory has seen a substantial increase in the number and quality of its Soul Masters, as well as its disposable assets.

Qian Lingyun stepped onto the assembly platform using a chair and conducted a simple experimental operation on the soul guide version of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow.

Seeing that her operation was smooth and the soul power transfer process had no major problems, Qian Lingyun nodded in satisfaction. While wiping the machine oil off her hands with a silk handkerchief, she asked in surprise, "You figured out how to use that thing so easily?"

"Yes, this kind of mechanism isn't particularly difficult. With so many Soul Masters working together, we figured it out very quickly."

"At first, it seemed novel, but once you understand the underlying principles, you realize it's nothing special!"

"By incorporating some concepts and core magic arrays of soul tools, this crossbow was born! Its advantages are high power, ease of control, and strong coverage. But its disadvantages are also obvious, namely, the high cost of its fixed-load shells."

"But we're not short of money!"

The Third Elder smiled dismissively, seemingly possessing a unique understanding of mechanisms and new-type soul tools.

Qian Lingyun smiled and nodded repeatedly, exclaiming, "Really? The Soul Guidance Technology of our Holy Spirit Sect is indeed quite profound!"

"Yes, we have developed three versions of this ballista: level four, level five, and level six."

"Level four is a mass-produced product that uses mechanical technology as an aid and is powered by soul power."

"In terms of power, it's similar to a level 5 fixed-position soul-guided cannon, but it can fire multiple shots with minimal soul power consumption. It can even be operated by ordinary people after being pre-charged. This is something that no existing soul-guided device possesses. If there are enough of them, the power can be quite formidable."

"Pre-charge?" Qian Lingyun thought for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked, "If we had sealed baby bottle technology, wouldn't it be possible to do what you described as normal operation?"

"Yes, one of our research groups is currently working on a technology for sealing baby bottles, but progress is slow." The Third Elder nodded and gave a slight snort, seemingly somewhat unhappy. However, as a ninth-level Soul Master, he was still a craftsman, so after a few complaints, he continued:

"In terms of its inherent power, this soul tool is not a particularly powerful product. However, it can use a variety of fixed-mount soul-guided projectiles, and a cheaper version made of ordinary metal can be mass-produced for deployment."

Mass deployment...mass deployment...

The Third Elder's words struck like a thunderbolt, shattering the last vestige of confusion in Qian Lingyun's heart. She leaped off the table, grabbed the Third Elder's sleeve, and excitedly growled:

"If there were a heavy soul-guided vehicle with outer armor made of ordinary metal, equipped with a ballista like ours that can fire fixed-projectile shells, wouldn't that be...?"

"An all-terrain self-propelled machine? I remember... this is Mingdetang's research, right? It seems pretty impressive. I'll ask Old Li from Mingdetang another day; he seems to know something about it..."

"No, no, no, no!"

Qian Lingyun interrupted the Third Elder impatiently, explaining in a serious tone:

"It's the large-scale deployment you mentioned before! All-terrain autonomous vehicles are too expensive! They can't be mass-produced, so what we need is just a simple replacement version!"

The Third Elder waved his hand, and seven or eight Soul Masters of level seven or above picked up paper and pen in unison, saying:

"You take care of the promises, and I'll take care of the execution. As long as it's something that can be made, I'll definitely get you a prototype."

"Given the current level of Star Luo Heavenly Soul's standard crossbows and the power of low-level Soul Masters' Soul Skills, my suggestion is that the frontal metal armor should be at least 15 centimeters thick, and the sides 10 centimeters thick."

As soon as Qian Lingyun finished speaking, the Third Elder's gaze sharpened, and he shouted at the crowd, "Remember this: 25 centimeters of beryllium-plated steel on the front, and 20 centimeters on the sides!"

"The interior space needs to be large enough to seat five people, allowing them to take turns driving and firing!"

The Third Elder shouted again, "Did you hear that? The vehicle should be able to fit ten people inside. If it breaks down, we can get out and fight!"

"Besides the main gun, it would be best to have secondary weapons to attack blind spots! They also need to be able to attack air units!" Qian Lingyun pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "Three secondary weapons seem about right!"

Everyone: "..."

Finally, the Third Elder took a deep breath, made the final decision, and shouted, "Give me seven or eight more of those little cannons, so they can fire in all directions like a hedgehog!"

"The metal armor should ideally be slanted, at an angle! This will make it easier for crossbow bolts to bounce off automatically!"

"Got it, 45-degree angled armor, it has to look good! It has to be stylish!" A certain Soul Master chewed on his pen and made his own interpretation.

"Ahem, in addition to simple metal armor, it's best to prepare soul-guided shields and attribute-isolation shields! To prevent attacks from soul masters!"

This time, the soul guide researchers learned to apply what they learned to other situations, saying, "Understood, install three or five different kinds of shields, and it'll be impregnable! Then replace the mechanical legs with wide wheels or track plates so they can run around everywhere."

Soon, the ridiculously simple blueprints were freshly produced.

"Oh my god! This is outrageous! My request wasn't that unreasonable!"

Picking up the modified requirements, Qian Lingyun's eyes twitched slightly. She couldn't help but bite her lower lip, looking helplessly at this group of tech-geek lunatics.

"You don't understand. Let's raise the production standards first. Even if the product we make is unreliable, it won't be a waste."

An eighth-level Soul Master explained to himself while biting the eyeball in his pocket.

This absurd explanation not only garnered the approval of a group of lunatics, but also successfully caused Qian Lingyun's face to twitch a few more times.

(① In Douyi, Lou Gao, a blacksmith who had spent his whole life forging iron and could create defenses against a Soul Saint's attack using metal, could not see the hidden clasp on his hanging device.)

Kong Deming, a level 10 Soul Master in Douluo Continent II who can manufacture all kinds of cutting-edge weapons, couldn't understand such a simple thing.

Even Jing Hongchen, a level nine Soul Master, couldn't understand it, and Xuan Ziwen, an eighth-level Soul Master who was close to level nine, couldn't see it either. What kind of quantum mechanism was this?

The Trisolarans' technology is something humans can understand, yet an ancient machine is more complex than the Trisolaran machine.

A mechanism is something that is triggered by a mechanical device; engineering students know a lot about them.

They're exaggerating things that are obvious enough to be understood with a glance using mental power.

(End of this chapter)