CIATB Chapter 111 Physics Persuasion!
Chapter 111 Physics Persuasion!
Three hundred meters underground, the air was as hot and dry as a steamer.
The enormous chainsaw sword was not dull despite being hundreds of years old; on the contrary, the sound of it spinning was like thousands of wasps buzzing in your ear.
"Buzz—!!!"
The serrated blade, carrying a foul stench, cleaved straight down towards Zhang Yan's forehead.
If this sword strike lands, not only will people be cleaved in two, but even that bronze cauldron will be split in two.
Zhang Yan didn't move.
Only when the serrated edge was less than ten centimeters from the tip of his nose, and he could even feel the metallic chill rushing towards him, did he lightly touch the ground with his toes as if shooing away a fly.
He dodged to the side.
"Sizzle—"
The chainsaw sword grazed his clothes and struck the granite floor, sending sparks flying a meter high. The hard rock was sliced open like tofu, leaving a deep groove.
"Tsk, she's got quite a temper."
Zhang Yan brushed the stone dust off his sleeves, frowning slightly. "These are brand new clothes my wife just bought me. Can you afford to pay for them if they get dirty?"
The black mech opposite clearly couldn't understand this kind of casual conversation.
When its first shot missed, it suddenly raised its left arm, which was carrying a rotary cannon.
Although there were no bullets, the six thick barrels were like a heavy hammer, sweeping across the battlefield with the torque of the hydraulic transmission at the waist.
If this thing hits you, even your bones will turn to dust.
"Stable vital signs detected in organism; defense level increased. Execution plan: Crush."
The cold, electronic sound echoed in the empty hall.
Zhang Yan smiled.
The moment that enormous steel fist swung down, a blue light flashed deep within his pupils.
[God-level Mechanical Mastery] Full power activated.
In his eyes, the monstrous killing machine before him vanished instantly.
Instead, there are dynamic blueprints that are superimposed on each other.
The flow direction of the hydraulic oil, the meshing angle of the gears, the stress points of the drive shaft, and even the tightness of each rivet...
All secrets are laid bare before him.
"The wear on the left arm drive shaft is 15%, and the hydraulic delay is 0.03 seconds."
Zhang Yan was reciting a string of tedious data, but his body was making the most awkward movements.
Instead of retreating, he advanced.
Just before that iron fist was about to shatter his ribs, he slipped like a slippery eel and darted into the gap left by the mech's swinging arm.
Close-fitting!
At that moment, he was almost face to face with this three-meter-tall steel behemoth.
The mech's camera flashed bright red, clearly not expecting this human to dare to do this.
"Too slow."
Zhang Yan gripped an inconspicuous black flexible tube under the armpit of the mecha with one hand.
That's the return oil pipe of the left arm's hydraulic system.
For this mech, this is its "blood vessels".
"Kneel down!"
Zhang Yan exerted force with his five fingers, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, and pulled outwards sharply.
"collapse--!!!"
A muffled cracking sound rang out.
The thumb-thick high-pressure oil pipe was ripped off, and black hydraulic oil gushed out like a fountain, splashing all over the mech.
The left arm, which had been sweeping across with such force, suddenly lost its power and hung limply down like a puppet's arm with its strings cut.
The mecha's balance system instantly went out of control, and its massive body tilted violently.
"Is this the mechanical art of the Mohists?"
Zhang Yan did not stop. Using the mecha's staggering momentum, he stepped on its knee joint and leaped into the air, like a nimble ape, onto the back of the mecha.
"The design concept is good, but the workmanship..."
Zhang Yan straddled the mecha's neck, one hand gripping tightly against the gap in the armor on its back, while the other hand groped around its cervical spine.
"Too rough!"
The mech thrashed wildly, trying to shake the "flea" off its back.
At the same time, he swung the still-roaring chainsaw sword in his right hand backward, attempting a "suicidal" backstab.
"You still dare to use a knife?"
Zhang Yan's eyes turned cold.
He touched it.
Between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae of the mecha, there is a tiny protrusion, which is the signal transmitter connecting the main control center to the limbs.
This is commonly known as the "nerve center".
Zhang Yan didn't hesitate at all, and didn't even use any tools.
He pulled a coin from his pocket—the one he'd used to humiliate Butler Wang at the airport, and now it came in handy.
The coin got stuck in the gap.
Pry it open with force.
"Click!"
A piece of armor the size of a palm flew out.
The dense network of copper wires and gears inside was exposed.
Zhang Yan spotted one of the red copper wires, which was the main wire controlling the power of his right arm.
Reach out and pinch with two fingers.
"Break!"
"Sizzle sizzle—"
A sickeningly loud electrical hum rang out.
The chainsaw sword, which was about to strike Zhang Yan on the back of the head, seemed to have its soul ripped out. Its speed suddenly dropped, and it finally got stuck in mid-air, unable to move any further.
In less than ten seconds.
The once invincible "Xingtian-01" now has both arms completely destroyed.
It stood stiffly in place, like a giant whose joints had been dislocated, emitting black smoke and with hydraulic oil spilled all over the ground.
"Warning! Warning!"
"The damage rate of the aircraft exceeds 40%! Power transmission interrupted!"
"The target has been determined to be extremely dangerous! It cannot be eliminated by conventional means!"
The electronic voice became rapid and shrill, and the originally scarlet electronic eyes began to flash wildly.
"Initiating the final agreement: mutual destruction."
"Self-destruct countdown: 30 seconds."
Zhang Yan was about to jump off the back of the mecha when he heard this and suddenly stopped.
"Depend on."
He swore.
This thing even has a self-destruct function?
The armor plate on the mech's chest suddenly cracked open, revealing a rapidly spinning core reactor inside.
The furnace's color rapidly changed from dark red to a blinding bright white, and the surrounding air began to distort due to the high temperature.
A chilling energy fluctuation is rapidly accumulating.
If it's not stopped, the force of its explosion would definitely collapse half of this underground cavern.
At that time, the hot spring resort above, along with Nie Qingcheng, will all be buried with him.
"25..."
"20..."
The countdown ticked like a death knell.
Zhang Yan didn't run away.
Running is useless; with an explosion of that magnitude, running a few hundred meters will still result in death.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
His gaze was fixed on the core that was about to explode.
The Eye of Treasures has been activated again.
This time, he wasn't looking at the structure, but rather at the "lock" of this thing.
Since it was created by the Mohists, it must have a backdoor for "non-aggression".
The Mohists advocated universal love and non-aggression. They created this killing machine for defense, and would definitely have a mechanism to force it to stop, to prevent it from going out of control and harming innocent people.
"Where...?"
Zhang Yan's gaze swept rapidly across the complex runes.
"15..."
"10..."
Sweat dripped from Zhang Yan's forehead, landing on the scorching hot mecha shell and turning into white smoke with a "sizzle".
found it!
At the very bottom of the core reactor, hidden in the shadows by a ring of heat sinks, there is an inconspicuous recess.
The groove was an irregular circle with a small protrusion in the middle.
It looks familiar.
It looks very familiar.
A sudden idea flashed through Zhang Yan's mind, and he abruptly pulled a red string from around his neck.
That was a "bonus" he had casually acquired when he bought that blue and white porcelain vase at Panjiayuan – a Ming Dynasty bronze thumb ring engraved with the words "Tiangong" (Heavenly Craftsmanship)!
This ring is not only the key to unlock the Thousand Machine Box, but also the highest-level key to control this mecha!
"5..."
"4..."
The mech had begun to tremble violently, and the white light emanating from its core was so bright that it was impossible to open one's eyes.
Zhang Yan flipped over and slid directly from the back of the mecha to its chest.
The intense heat scorched his skin, and his eyebrows were almost burnt.
"Shut up!"
In the last three seconds, he pressed the brass thumb ring hard into the groove.
Then twist it hard.
Three circles to the left, then half a circle to the right.
This is the "zeroing" technique recorded in "The Thousand Machine Box".
"Click."
A crisp click of a mechanism engaging stood out clearly amidst the blaring alarm.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
"3..."
The countdown stopped at this second.
The core reactor, which was about to explode, dimmed instantly, like a campfire doused with cold water.
The gears, which had been spinning wildly, emitted a few reluctant scraping sounds before coming to a complete stop.
"drop--"
"Highest-level key detected: Mo Family Grand Master Token (fake)".
"Self-destruct procedure terminated."
"System reset in progress..."
The mecha's crimson electronic eyes flickered a few times, then slowly turned into a soft, ethereal blue.
The violent and murderous aura vanished instantly, replaced by absolute obedience and tranquility.
"call……"
Zhang Yan was completely exhausted, hanging on the chest of the mecha, panting heavily.
That last move was like dancing on the Grim Reaper's scythe.
"Bang!"
The hydraulic struts of the mech's legs emitted a deflated sound.
Then, in this empty underground hall, this war machine from hundreds of years ago slowly knelt on one knee.
It lowered its proud steel head, making a gesture of submission towards the young man hanging on its chest.
Zhang Yan jumped off the mecha, his legs feeling slightly weak when he landed.
He reached out and patted the mecha's heavy visor, making a "bang bang" sound.
"Why didn't you just listen to me from the beginning?"
"You're forcing me to take your parts apart."
The mecha didn't respond; it just knelt there quietly, like a child being punished for making a mistake.
Just then, the cockpit on the mech's chest—the part where the core had just been exposed—suddenly popped open again.
However, this time it wasn't for self-destruction.
An exquisite ebony box was slowly brought out by a mechanical tray and handed to Zhang Yan.
"This is... spoils of war?"
Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow.
He reached out and picked up the box.
It was not locked.
Upon opening the lid, there were no gold or silver treasures inside, nor any magical weapons.
There was only one yellowed, thread-bound ancient book.
The pages are a bit brittle, but the book is still in relatively good condition.
On the cover, several large characters, written in bold cursive script, are prominently displayed:
The True Version of "Mozi: The Will of Heaven".
Zhang Yan's hand trembled slightly.
He knows his stuff.
Most of the Mozi circulating in the market are fragments, especially the "Tianzhi" chapter, which is about mechanical arts and the core of physics, and has been lost for thousands of years.
If this is true...
What's recorded here is probably not just about building a few mechs.
That is a "black technology" that is enough to overturn the understanding of modern physics.
Zhang Yan carefully turned to the first page.
The drawing above is not text, but a picture.
A... primitive architectural diagram resembling a nuclear fusion reactor?
There was also a line of annotation next to it, written in an extremely arrogant tone:
"That old man Gongshu Ban only knows that a wooden kite can fly for three days. In fact, if it is powered by earth fire (geothermal/nuclear energy), an iron bird can also soar ninety thousand miles and go straight to the moon palace."
"Holy crap..."
Zhang Yan closed the book, feeling its weight in his hands.
This is not a book.
This is clearly a key to a new world.
If you master this thing, let alone a whole group like Qingcheng Group, it wouldn't be impossible for you to build a real "Sky City".
Just as he was still in shock, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
At this depth, only specially designed satellite signals can penetrate.
It was Nie Qingcheng calling.
Zhang Yan took a deep breath, tucked the book into his pocket, and answered the phone.
"Hey, honey."
His voice instantly returned to its usual languid and calm tone, as if the life-or-death struggle had never happened.
"Zhang Yan! Where the hell have you been?!"
A low voice came from the other end of the phone, with loud music playing in the background, "The celebration banquet is almost over, and you, the chief engineer, still haven't shown up? Several investors were just asking you about it!"
"Um... my stomach wasn't feeling too well, so I stayed in the toilet for a while."
Zhang Yan glanced at the still-smoking mech next to him and lied without batting an eye.
"Alright, alright, hurry up and get on!"
Nie Qingcheng clearly didn't believe her, but she was too lazy to expose her. "The 'Dragon Eye' just lit up, was that your doing?"
I guess so.
Zhang Yan smiled, reached out and touched the mecha's cold armor, "It's like adding a 'big' piece of furniture to our house."
"Furniture? What furniture?"
"You'll see when you come down."
Zhang Yan hung up the phone and glanced at Xing Tian-01 kneeling on the ground.
"Get up, big guy."
"Don't stand there like a sculpture anymore."
"The world up there is wonderful. Let me take you to meet... your mistress."
Zhang Yan turned and walked towards the elevator.
Behind him, the blue-eyed mech slowly rose to its feet with a heavy hydraulic hum, taking long strides like a loyal guardian, and followed.