35: Chapter 35 The Price of the Star Chart Library

The weekly ranking light screen above the Black Well hadn't faded yet, and the area by the well was already erupting in chaos.

"The Third District of the Scrap Warehouse?"

"Once the main transport corridor in that place opens, a single trip from the heavy-load system could equal half a day of our work."

"The outer directory of the Star Map Library—this time, it won't be the Black Well's turn to pick up the scraps."

Instructor Wu Heng stood at the wellhead, his black iron prosthetic finger tapping lightly against the rim.

"Half an incense stick of time. Report your teams."

"The Third District is opening three storage lines today, and the priority for the main transport corridor has been sold to the sponsored classes. If you want to grab something, you'll have to risk your lives for it."

As soon as these words fell, the faces of those who had originally been considering it darkened.

With the main transport corridor sold to the sponsored classes, it meant that the widest, fastest, and most stable mechanical transport lines had already been taken in advance. The Black Well Class, with their obscure methods, couldn't compete in transport capacity, let alone logistics. If they really entered the Third District, they probably wouldn't even be able to gnaw on the scraps.

Shi Jiukui spat out a mouthful of bloody foam and sneered, "I'll do it myself. Less money to split."

He tugged at those few Armor-Splitting Mountain Pigs and started to leave.

Lu Jin spoke up, "Your pigs can charge, but they aren't stable enough for pulling. If you enter the main transport corridor, their front legs will be sliced off by the overhead rails in the first round."

Shi Jiukui's footsteps faltered, and he turned to glare at him, "And how would you know?"

Lu Jin ignored his anger and simply reached out toward Instructor Wu Heng, "Structural diagram of the Third District."

Instructor Wu Heng glanced at him and actually tossed over an old copper chip.

As the chip landed in his palm, a holographic projection of the Third District of the Scrap Warehouse unfolded in mid-air.

Three levels of overhead rails, five main transport corridors, eight maintenance wells, four waste oil trenches, seventeen maintenance seams, and at the very bottom, three old-era conveyor slots that had long been sealed off. Large areas were marked with red lines—those were the heavy-load zones bought in advance by the sponsored classes. The remaining narrow slits, maintenance wells, broken slots, and waste slopes looked like a pile of bone crevices that everyone else found too filthy to touch.

Lu Jin observed for three breaths, then raised his hand and pointed to four spots.

"Duan Chenzhou, your Cart-pulling Rats can traverse the waste oil trenches."

"Zhu Qinghe, your fungal mist can suppress thermal vision."

"Zhong Xiaoqi, your Copper Needle Bees can dismantle the overhead rails and locking mechanisms."

"Shi Jiukui, your Armor-Splitting Mountain Pigs are more valuable for ramming doors and plates than for pulling cargo."

The surroundings went quiet for a moment.

The three people whose names were called all looked over.

Duan Chenzhou, carrying those three salt-white hard-shelled Cart-pulling Rats on his back, had a heavy gaze, "You want to lead the team?"

"Yes."

"How will we split the spoils?"

Lu Jin looked at them, his words brief.

"I command."

"Contributions are recorded by work points. Battle damage will be repaired for the main transport units first, then the remaining points will be split."

"I take first place, you all get to eat the meat."

Shi Jiukui scoffed, "You sure talk big. The main transport corridor has already been bought by others; what are you going to use to take first place?"

Lu Jin raised his hand and traced a line on the projection so thin it was almost invisible.

The line cut into the waste oil trench on the outermost side of the Third District, drilled through two sections of maintenance wells, passed through a scrapped conveyor slot, and finally bit into the narrowest corner of the main transport corridor.

"They bought the road."

"I am going to rob the carts filled with goods."

The Copper Needle Bee hive in Zhong Xiaoqi's arms vibrated gently. The young girl stared at the line, her eyes lighting up for a moment before she suppressed it.

The fungal child at Zhu Qinghe's feet spat out a small cloud of grey mist, its voice faint, "You want to ambush the main transport corridor?"

"Correct."

Lu Jin's fingertip tapped on that corner.

"There are overhead rails above the corner corridor and an empty maintenance layer below. When the cart is heavy, it turns slowly. As long as we make it stop for half a breath, the cargo will be ours."

Shi Jiukui wanted to retort, but Duan Chenzhou had already set down one of the Cart-pulling Rats from his back.

"I'm in."

Zhong Xiaoqi hugged her beehive tightly, "I'm in too."

Zhu Qinghe nodded.

Shi Jiukui looked at the three of them, his expression foul, but in the end, he yanked the reins of his Mountain Pig, "I'm only ramming once. If you miscalculate, your nest of rats dies first."

Lu Jin gave a grunt of acknowledgement.

"That's enough."

As the group at the well dispersed, the others in the Black Well Class stared at this temporarily assembled team, their eyes filled with suspicion and a touch of disbelief.

Instructor Wu Heng leaned against the well, his prosthetic finger tapping twice against the iron bricks.

"Team registration complete. Black Well Team One."

"Lu Jin, take them in. Don't embarrass the people from the well."

Lu Jin didn't reply; he turned and walked straight into the Black Well workshop.

The workshop was half of a derelict furnace room, with two broken fire vents and a collapsed section of the furnace wall. Lu Jin threw the seven blue-grey residual cores, the half-section of rail-splitting spirit nail, and that piece of wind-cable component he'd brought back from the train and floating platform into the wanji ember furnace.

As the grey fire swirled, two lines of dark characters immediately crawled onto the furnace wall.

[Wind-Locking Traction Wheel]

[Rail-Splitting Sliding Buckle]

Lu Jin tapped his fingertip, choosing the former.

There was a muffled sound inside the furnace; the wind-cable component and the spirit nail melted together into four grey-white wheel buckles, their edges shimmering with extremely fine wind patterns.

"Grey Pupil."

Grey Pupil stepped forward, took the wheel buckles, and pressed them onto the Black Shield Bone Carriage.

Zhong Xiaoqi had already opened the beehive, and dozens of Copper Needle Bees flew out. They buzzed as they drilled into the wheel axles and bone nail crevices, weaving back and forth with copper fire, painstakingly welding those wheel buckles in place. Duan Chenzhou's Cart-pulling Rats lay by the wheels, spitting out thick salt paste, sealing the gaps between the bone wheels and the wheel buckles until they turned white. Zhu Qinghe had her fungal child climb onto the underbelly of the carriage, spitting out a layer of grey-green film to suppress the smell of fire oil and the heat radiating from the scorched bones of the carriage itself.

Shi Jiukui's eyes changed as he watched. "You know how to refine this too?"

Lu Jin didn't even look up, "A little."

His consciousness sank into the Dead Ash Mine.

By the Return Fire Well, the group of Red-Eyed Rats left behind by Grey Pupil had already dragged the battle-damaged rats into the fire room. Two Cart-pulling Rats with fractured spines were soaking in fungal paste, and a Fire Oil Thrower with burnt-through front claws lay on the stone slab, panting. The White-Bellied Mother Rat and the incubation crystal core were curled up in the deepest part of the Breeding Cave; the faint white light beneath her belly was still stable.

Resources were insufficient.

He could only prioritize those capable of fighting, transporting, and pulling.

"Repair the Cart-pulling Rats."

"Only replenish four Fire Oil Throwers for the front line."

"Tunneling Rats are to switch to the maintenance seams; do not touch the hard plates."

As the divine oracle fell, the threads of faith tightened slightly.

The group of Red-Eyed Rats by the well bowed their heads in unison, the grey fire reflecting in their pupils like glowing charcoal embers suppressing their restlessness. Grey Pupil looked up at him, its grey eyes brightening bit by bit.

"Can fight."

Half an incense stick of time burned out, and the Third District opened its gates.

The Third District of the Scrap Warehouse was like an iron beast lying horizontally in the corner of the academy.

Warehouse racks so high the tops couldn't be seen, old rails broken in half and still hanging in mid-air, mountains of scrapped Tiger Machines, split city crossbow arms, and rusted star-patterned rotating shafts—everywhere was dripping with black oil. Three storage entrances in the deepest part spewed white fire; whoever delivered items inside would see their score jump up.

As soon as they entered, a commotion erupted on the side of the main transport corridor.

Four silver-plated Tiger Machines pulling magnetic levitation transport racks rumbled onto the central corridor. On the carts stood a group of freshmen wearing sponsored badges, their armor gleaming, their mechanical puppets lined up in rows, even their traction cables inlaid with silver patterns. The leader, wearing a short gold cape on his shoulders, raised his eyes and saw Lu Jin, the corners of his mouth curling up instantly.

"The Black Well Class is also here to try the main corridor?"

"The Unified Exam first place, you're rising fast, huh."

Someone nearby laughed, "Zhou Jibai, don't crush them too much; they're still relying on the Star Map Library to make a comeback."

Zhou Jibai raised his hand, and the two magnetic-cable mechanical puppets beside him directly hoisted a piece of Tiger Machine outer armor onto their cart.

"I'll leave you some scraps."

"Pick fast; if you're late, you won't even have crumbs to eat."

Fire seemed to erupt from Shi Jiukui's eyes, and his Armor-Splitting Mountain Pig pawed the ground, eager to charge right then and there.

Lu Jin, however, didn't even spare them a glance.

"Take the waste oil trench."

"Copper Bees, fly ahead."

He led his team, sliding in along the outermost edge of the Third District.

The waste oil trench was narrow and foul-smelling, its walls covered in solidified black grease, and many places were embedded with sharp fragments; ordinary people wouldn't want to walk there at all. As soon as Duan Chenzhou's three Cart-pulling Rats landed at the bottom of the trench, it was as if they had returned to their own territory. Their shell-bellies swelled, and they dragged the sticky salt rails forward, stable with astonishing precision.

Zhong Xiaoqi's Copper Needle Bees flew into the overhead seams first, their tail stingers shimmering with fine copper light as they drilled one by one into the overhead rail locks and maintenance holes.

Zhu Qinghe patted the fungal child's head.

The grey-green fungal mist slowly spread along the trench walls, thin at first and then thick, swallowing the shadows of their entire team until they became faint.

Lu Jin raised his hand and pressed it against the trench wall, his consciousness sinking forward.

There were three layers of cavities on the outside of the waste oil trench, and the old maintenance layers were still connected. The Tunneling Rats didn't need to gnaw through the iron plates; as long as they pried open the rusted-out rivet seams, they could connect all those waste slots together.

"Grey Pupil, take ten Tunneling Rats and seize Maintenance Well Number Two."

"The Ambush Rats are to stay back and block the conveyor slot exit."

"Don't touch the fire oil."

No one fought head-on along the way.

Other teams were grabbing large items in the main transport corridor, while Black Well Team One stuck to the dirtiest and narrowest seams, collecting three crates of star-patterned bearings, two sets of Tiger Machine chips, and a semi-paralyzed folding crane arm. As the white fire at the storage entrance swallowed the items, the name of Black Well Team One slowly climbed to seventh place on the weekly ranking light screen.

Only seventh.

Zhou Jibai's side already had forty-two points, holding a high lead.

Laughter came from the spectator gallery.

"Is that all Lu Jin's got?"

"As expected, the Black Well Class only knows how to crawl through cracks."

Only Instructor Wu Heng didn't laugh.

He leaned behind the black railing, looking at the 3D map of the Third District, his gaze fixed on those thin lines that were quietly lighting up beneath the corner transport corridor.

On a high platform in another direction, a senior student in a gold-patterned robe was also watching this side.

His cuffs were pressed with faint Sun Gold patterns, but his eyes were colder than the patterns.

Someone nearby whispered, "Senior Student Pei Zhaoting, should we remind Zhou Jibai? Lu Jin hasn't gone to the high-point areas."

Senior Student Pei Zhaoting didn't turn back.

"He's already there."

As soon as the words fell, Zhong Xiaoqi shook her sleeve, and three Copper Needle Bees landed back in her palm.

"They're here."

"Zhou Jibai's team has loaded two Tiger Machine cores and a complete star-patterned main shaft, and they are heading toward the central corridor corner."

Lu Jin raised his eyes.

Above the corner of the transport corridor, the hanging rail hung very low, and below it was a curved slope, with the bottom of the slope connecting to the entrance of the old transfer slot. Normal transport vehicles had to navigate the slope steadily; once one got stuck, the entire line behind it would be blocked.

He raised his hand.

"Deploy."

Grey Pupil led the Tunneling Rat and climbed up from the maintenance level first, while the Copper Needle Bee crawled up along the gaps in the hanging rail. Zhu Qinghe's fungal mist first sealed the rear view and then paved the way forward, shrouding the corner of the transport corridor in a grey haze. Duan Chenzhou's dragging snails pulled bone ropes, silently slipping into the old transfer slot. Shi Jiukui lay in wait behind a pile of wreckage from a scrapped Tiger Machine with three Armor-Splitting Mountain Pigs, his palm pressed against the pigs' backs, his gaze tense.

Zhou Jibai's convoy arrived quickly.

Two silver-plated Tiger-Back beasts were in the front, with four magnetic-cable automata guarding the sides, and two fully loaded magnetic levitation transport vehicles behind them, with the main shaft lying horizontally in the center of the vehicle body, the star patterns still glowing. Zhou Jibai stood on the leading vehicle, followed by eight freshmen holding grappling hooks, guarding it flawlessly.

"Cross the corner quickly!"

Just as his voice fell, Lu Jin's voice rang out.

"Copper Bee, break the No. 2 brake."

"Zhu Qinghe, press the mist."

"Shi Jiukui, hit the right wheel."

"Fire Oil, hit the axle, don't hit the people."

Hum!

A burst of copper ringing exploded within the hanging rail.

A dozen Copper Needle Bees simultaneously burrowed deep into the No. 2 brake buckle, their tail needles snapping, and the entire old brake lock jammed on the spot. A heavy city crossbow shield hanging above slid down violently, crashing into the rear of the convoy, instantly sealing off the entire transport corridor.

Zhou Jibai's expression changed: "There's an ambush!"

The fungal mist had already pressed down.

The grey-green mist tide rolled up along the floor, wheels, and the automata's ankles; once the view was obscured, the rear group fell into chaos first. The two magnetic levitation transport vehicles were just turning into the corner, heavy in the front and crowded in the back, slowing down significantly.

Shi Jiukui roared, and the three Armor-Splitting Mountain Pigs charged out from behind the wreckage, their target not the people, but the rear wheel bearing plate of the magnetic levitation transport vehicle on the right.

Bang!

The first hit, and the bearing plate tilted.

The second hit, and the entire vehicle slanted to the right by half a foot.

The star-patterned main shaft pressed on the vehicle shifted, and the center of gravity of the convoy's front and rear was immediately thrown into disarray. Just as Zhou Jibai was about to raise his hand to control the vehicle, four Fire Oil Throwers lunged out from the maintenance opening, their fire sacs forming a line, all smashing onto the front wheel axle and the traction cable.

The grey-red fire instantly bit into the silver-patterned cable.

The Tiger-Back beast roared in fright, lifting its hooves to charge forward.

"Drag the cable!"

Lu Jin pressed his palm down, and the Return Fire Well in the Dead Ash Mine shook violently.

The eight Cart-pulling Rats lying in wait at the exit of the transfer slot exerted force simultaneously, the bone ropes hidden underneath pulled taut, snagging the slanted magnetic levitation transport vehicle. Grey Pupil leaped down from the maintenance beam above, his ritual staff smashing heavily onto the front vehicle's magnetic core.

Crack!

The magnetic core shattered, and the magnetic levitation vehicle lost its balance on the spot, tumbling into the old transfer slot entrance with its cargo.

Zhou Jibai's eyes turned red.

"Grab it back!"

The magnetic-cable automata beside him raised their arms in unison, and the silver magnetic cables shot through the mist, aiming directly for the main shaft in the transfer slot. But the moment they reached into the slot entrance, the Ambush Rats that had been waiting inside pounced, biting specifically at the joints and cable wheels. The rat teeth couldn't bite through the thick armor, but they could jam the finest wheel gaps.

The three magnetic cables immediately went off course.

Duan Chenzhou's three dragging snails were lying at the bottom of the slot, their shell bellies spread open, spreading salt paste all the way under the bone carriage wheels. Two Black Shield Bone Carriages equipped with wind-locking traction wheels bit into the slope and slid backward, their wheels neither drifting nor deviating, firmly holding onto that star-patterned main shaft and a complete Tiger Machine core, dragging them hard into the depths of the transfer slot.

Zhou Jibai grew anxious and leaped to enter the slot.

A grey shadow smashed in front of him first.

Grey Pupil swung his ritual staff horizontally, the staff head pointing directly at the traction rune under Zhou Jibai's ribs. Zhou Jibai raised his arm to block, but Grey Pupil twisted his feet, his entire body skirting half an inch along the mist shadow, and he swung the tail of the staff back, striking Zhou Jibai squarely on his back.

Zhou Jibai staggered, almost having his hem set on fire by the fire oil.

Shi Jiukui's blood boiled at the sight; he led the mountain pigs and crashed into the side team again, knocking a freshman holding a grappling hook, along with his shield, over to the edge of the waste oil ditch.

"Hit the one on the left again!"

Lu Jin's voice was very steady.

Shi Jiukui didn't even think; he turned his head and did it.

With this hit, the other magnetic levitation transport vehicle also tilted. Zhong Xiaoqi immediately released the swarm, and dozens of Copper Needle Bees burrowed into the locks under the vehicle, with several clicking sounds, dismantling a section of the vehicle's protective plate. The spirit energy bearing and half a box of star-patterned brick fragments inside rolled all over the ground with a clatter.

The eyes of the Black Well Team lit up.

"Drag!"

All the fungal children at Zhu Qinghe's feet crawled out, the mist wrapped in spores first covering the scattered items, and then covering the dragging snails and Red-Eyed Rats that were transporting them. Duan Chenzhou, while pulling the snails, shouted in a deep voice: "Main shaft first, then the bearing, don't be greedy!"

Zhou Jibai finally suppressed the chaos, gritting his teeth and raising his hand, his sponsorship badge on his chest glowing.

A circle of gold-white traction runes exploded from under his feet, and all the metal fragments in the entire corner of the transport corridor shook. The magnetic-cable automata pushed forward against the rat swarm, clearly wanting to rely on divine arts to forcibly drag the things in the transfer slot back.

Lu Jin stared at that gold-white rune, his eyes turning cold bit by bit.

"Grey Pupil, break his traction point."

"Fire Oil, seal the front feet."

"I will suppress it."

He sank his fingertips, and the black fire in his Sea of Consciousness pulled outward fiercely along the line of faith.

That fire didn't burn Zhou Jibai, but instead raced along the already-lit traction cable into the old energy path under the floor. The corner of the transport corridor was already in disrepair, and Zhou Jibai had forcibly activated his sponsorship divine art; once the energy path was blocked by the grey fire, the entire stretch of ground instantly lit up with a string of out-of-control white runes.

Zhou Jibai's expression finally changed.

"Retreat!"

He shouted too late.

Shi Jiukui's three Armor-Splitting Mountain Pigs were pressing against the right bearing plate; when the white runes exploded, the entire bearing plate sank violently. The two magnetic-cable automata lost their footing and fell into the waste oil ditch on the spot. Grey Pupil stepped up, smashing his ritual staff directly at the sponsorship badge on Zhou Jibai's chest.

Zhou Jibai raised his arm to take the blow, but was still forced to one knee by the staff.

The Fire Oil Throwers followed up by throwing the second round of fire sacs.

The grey-red fire line curled along the front hooves of the Tiger-Back beasts; the two transport beasts in the front row could no longer hold their ground, and they overturned along with the vehicle and cables. The transport corridor was blocked, and the rear team was in a complete mess.

Lu Jin didn't even look at the people.

"Cargo, go!"

Deep in the transfer slot, two Black Shield Bone Carriages had already dragged the most valuable star-patterned main shaft out of the old slot. The wind-locking traction wheels were stuck on the slope, the wheel tracks biting tightly; even Duan Chenzhou couldn't help but look back, his gaze changing.

"This carriage... really can run on a slope."

Lu Jin only replied with two words.

"Into the warehouse."

The Black Well Team retreated across the board.

The dragging snails pulled the main shaft, the bone carriages pulled the Tiger Machine core, the Red-Eyed Rats scurried through the mist holding the bearing and brick fragments, and the Copper Needle Bees even dismantled the magnetic cable wheels of two automata on the way. Zhou Jibai chased them halfway, but was blocked by his own overturned vehicles and the burning transport corridor, his face livid, and could only watch helplessly as the cargo was swallowed into the warehouse white fire.

Hum!

The weekly ranking board lit up brightly.

[Black Well Team 1: 91 points]

[A-Grade Sponsorship Team 1: 76 points]

The spectator gallery was dead silent.

After three breaths, someone gasped sharply.

"They hollowed out Zhou Jibai's entire vehicle?"

"Can transport battles really be fought like this?"

Instructor Wu Heng stood behind the black railing, his black iron prosthetic finger finally stopping.

On the high platform, Senior Student Pei Zhaoting looked down at the transport line that had been chewed through by the rat swarm, dragging snails, fungal mist, and bone carriages, his eyes slowly darkening.

"Lu Jin."

He recited the name, his lips not moving at all.

"Pull up his registration line for the freshman ranking for me."

The white fire in the third district slowly extinguished, and finally, the scores were sealed.

"This week's Contribution Ranking, first place."

"Black Well Team 1."

When the broadcast ended, Shi Jiukui was stunned at first, then burst into loud laughter, laughing until he triggered his wounds and didn't stop. Duan Chenzhou pressed his hand on the dragging snail shell, slowly letting out a breath. Zhong Xiaoqi hugged the beehive, her ears turning red. Zhu Qinghe squatted down and touched a fungal child that was exhausted, a glimmer of light appearing in her eyes for the first time.

Lu Jin stood in front of the warehouse white fire, looking down at his token.

[Contribution +80]

[Transport Interruption Score +19]

[Instructor Observation: Excellent]

Grey Pupil threw a silver cable wheel he had dragged out from the transfer slot to his feet, his grey eyes full of fire.

"Can still modify the carriage."

Lu Jin put away the token and raised his hand to collect the cable wheel into the black box as well.

There were getting to be more and more things that could be modified.

The entry permit for the Star Map Library was delivered to the Black Well entrance that night.

As soon as the black-silver thin sheet was attached to the token, a slender star gate lit up above the entire Black Well. Lu Jin entered the gate alone, walking up the empty grey stairs all the way until a semicircular cold storage appeared before his eyes.

There were no books in the library.

There were only pages of floating starlight catalogs.

Lu Jin raised his hand, and with a light touch of the token, the outer catalog immediately unfolded. Zhuixing Academy old battle scrolls, internal resource files, waste library indexes, border records—lines of cold text flew past his eyes.

He read very quickly.

When he reached page 327, his fingertips suddenly stopped.

At the very bottom of that page, there was a sealed scroll number.

The three-segment prefix was exactly the same as the dark red coordinate fire code in the black box.

Lu Jin's eyes sank instantly.

The star page slowly stabilized.

[Zhuixing Academy - Scroll No. 7]

[Permission: Top ten in the freshman league can apply to view]