Chapter 48: Thunder and Time!
"I was just calculating the value of the assets. I never intended to sell them."
"The mechanical puppets are under your control now. They'll boost our combat strength—and if we end up on some extraterritorial battlefield, they could even help us masquerade as mechanical race elites."
"As for all that metal... I doubt you can consume that much, right?"
Oriana nodded and reminded him, "Master, I don't just need to devour metal. I need to consume all kinds of matter—organic, inorganic, energy-based… everything in the universe is on my menu. That's determined by my talent: [Lord of Matter]."
"Only by devouring and deconstructing all forms of matter can I achieve what you called 'creating something from nothing.'"
Jiang Zhe twitched at the corner of his mouth. "So you're telling me that if you only eat metal, you'll end up malnourished? And I'll have to scour the universe just to buy you all sorts of exotic materials?"
Oriana nodded solemnly, spreading her hands as if to say, That's the reality.
"Hss—! And to think my Thunder Prison Realm only needs rare thunder-type treasures to grow!"
Both master and servant were gluttons in their own right—giant resource hogs, like golden-horned behemoths.
"Our duo… might actually be the real 'Swallowed Star,' huh?"
Suddenly, Jiang Zhe turned to the mechanical dog. "Alpha, are all three C-grade production lines still running properly? Do we lack any raw materials?"
"Master, I've been meticulously maintaining every production line for tens of thousands of years! There won't be any problems!"
"As for raw materials, no need to worry for now. The previous master had just restocked before the accident. Less than 40% of the inventory has been used."
"Good dog!" Jiang Zhe praised and gave Alpha a pat on the head.
Alpha panted excitedly, tongue out, clearly overjoyed.
"Boy, give me a precise number—how much can we manufacture with the current materials?"
After calculating for a moment, Alpha answered immediately, "We can produce over a million C9-grade alloy starships, hundreds of millions of protective-type C-grade mechanical puppets, and nearly ten thousand C9-grade premium laser rifles!"
The numbers were staggering—almost headache-inducing.
Jiang Zhe was stunned for a moment. But after thinking it through, he realized something was off.
"How much can one C9-grade alloy ship, made with mechanical race techniques, sell for?"
"Around 10,000 Universe Credits."
"What?" Jiang Zhe's eyes widened. "A million ships would only bring in 10 billion Universe Credits—that's barely 0.1 Hun Yuan Unit in total revenue?"
That prompted a soul-searching question from him:
"Is making money really this hard?"
He looked down at the projection of a vast puppet army beneath his feet—representing nearly 130 Hun Yuan Units worth of fixed assets.
In comparison? The disparity was shocking.
He turned toward Oriana and Alpha. Both nodded in agreement.
At that moment, a seed was planted in Jiang Zhe's heart:
—Making money through proper channels is way too slow. I need to learn from Luo Feng: slaying alien races is the real fast-track to wealth!
Especially mechanical race immortals.
Still… there was one silver lining.
At least the value of the three production lines had shifted—from something that could tempt marquis-level immortals, down to something that even poor immortals might find irresistible.
Clearly, he had overestimated their value before.
"If I can join the Virtual Universe Company's core echelon, I'll be able to safely leave these three lines for the family to use in developing a business empire."
…
Jiang Zhe exited the virtual space, led by Oriana into the world stored within the World Bracelet.
Above the mechanical factory—
Jiang Zhe stood atop his Skyshuttle, gazing down at the endless expanse of silver-gray machinery.
This "city" had no towering buildings.
Instead, massive structures dominated the landscape like metallic beasts—smelting furnaces, forging hammers, etching blades, robotic arms, conveyor belts, welding platforms—all forming tightly integrated production lines.
Between various functional zones, patrols of E9-grade mechanical puppets marched by at regular intervals.
"So much dense universal origin energy... No wonder this place was built using Universe Crystals. It's a perfect cultivation ground for Genetic Origin Energy."
Jiang Zhe muttered to himself in admiration.
Looking down at the imposing puppet army, he suddenly asked, "Anna, if you took command of the E9-grade mechanical puppet army, could you contend with a Domain Lord?"
He knew the answer before he asked. The odds weren't good.
"Absolutely not," Oriana replied flatly. "Even fighting a Universe Level warrior would be hard!"
"First, my current computational power isn't sufficient to control a large number of puppets. Second, I haven't comprehended any Laws, so I can't direct the puppets to unleash Law-based attacks."
"Domain Lords, on the other hand, have already begun to understand the Laws of the Universe. They'd have me running in circles."
Jiang Zhe added, "Then they'd destroy the internal systems and capture our E9 puppets as trophies?"
After all, a certain City Lord was known for doing exactly that on alien battlefields.
"Not quite that bad," Oriana said. "To really damage E9-grade mechanical puppets, you'd need at least high-tier Domain Lord strength."
Then she turned her blazing eyes toward Jiang Zhe, clearly saying:
—Master, it's time to level up.
"Alright, alright!"
"I get it. I am working on comprehending the Lightning Laws, okay?"
Jiang Zhe shrugged helplessly.
Only by mastering Law insights himself could Oriana use her [Executor] talent to copy and apply those insights—allowing her to command puppets capable of Law-infused attacks.
At that point… it'd be hard to say who was the master, and who was the servant.
"Master, let's enter the tower," Oriana urged. "The mechanical race also pursues Law comprehension, and this tower might be compatible with your attributes. We might uncover something useful."
"Let's hope so."
The two of them flew together toward the towering structure at the city's center.
It was a pillar of silver metal nearly 10,000 meters high, filled with energy reactors powering the entire factory.
At the top was a spacious chamber nearly 10,000 square meters in size.
Having already taken control of the tower's systems, Oriana preemptively opened the massive floor-to-ceiling window as they approached, allowing them to enter.
It was a sleek, high-tech hall filled with metallic luster, nearly 100 meters high.
After glancing around at the minimalistic interior, Jiang Zhe's eyes landed on the workbench at the center.
He approached it.
Sitting on a three-meter-high metal chair, he gazed at a half-finished circuit board and a welding gun.
In his mind, he could already imagine an immortal from the mechanical race meticulously soldering on the board.
The circuit board was roughly one meter long and sixty centimeters wide, matte white, with a texture resembling hard fiberboard.
Across the rough surface were densely packed silver bumps, neatly arranged—probably more than ten thousand.
From the looks of it, the welding gun was used to connect these bumps, one by one, to draw intricate circuit patterns.
The more Jiang Zhe examined it, the more he could feel a subtle resonance coming from within.
In that moment of focus—
He suddenly saw flashes of his Thrusting Spear, embodying the essence of Speed—swift and unstoppable!
"It's... Time!"
Jiang Zhe abruptly came back to himself, leaning over the workbench and tracing the half-connected circuit map with his fingers.
"There really are traces of the Laws of Origin here…"
"But unfortunately, it's too rough—and it's incomplete."
Suddenly, Oriana reached out and slammed her hand onto the workbench, forcefully activating hidden mechanisms inside.
"Master, look at these two—this is probably where it all started!"
Click—Click—
The inner mechanisms began to whir.
The tabletop split apart and slid to either side, revealing a dark chamber beneath.
Out of that void rose two circuit boards, now presented before Jiang Zhe.
They were the same size and shape as the unfinished one.
But these were clearly higher quality—made of dark-purple and silver metal, their craftsmanship refined and meticulous.
The dark-purple board had 72 silver bumps.
The silver board had 9 dark-purple bumps.
Each connection made by the welding gun had left clear traces, linking the bumps into complex circuitry.
The moment Jiang Zhe saw them, he was captivated by the unique rhythm embedded in their layout.
In that dazed state—
He saw thunderclouds gathering, stars exploding, worlds forming, and time spinning in endless cycles.
"Lightning!"
"Time!"
What a surprise—a third recommendation slot got renewed.
Tomorrow's Tuesday—dear readers, please help support the novel with your daily reads. Much appreciated!
(End of the chapter)