73: Chapter 73 Extending an Olive Branch

Evening.

Zhou An had just finished showering and was walking downstairs while drying his hair when he was hurriedly dragged by Luo Ning to the production line on the first floor.

When he saw the scene before him, Zhou An's hand, which was wiping his hair, froze instantly.

The food processing assembly line, which originally had sleek lines and a futuristic feel, had been modified by Luo Ning beyond recognition.

Several thick, deep-blue high-pressure energy pipes had been forcibly attached to the outer casing, pulsing with the intake and discharge of energy.

Even more absurdly, the tips of the bionic robotic arms used for chopping vegetables were even flashing with the dangerous, cold light of high-frequency cutting beams!

"Ta-da! 'Cornucopia · Modified', reporting for duty!"

Luo Ning waved her hand triumphantly, pulled up the modified data panel, and pointed at the numbers as if asking for credit.

"Boss, I cracked its safety threshold, bypassed the built-in battery, and forcibly connected it to the core energy matrix of our fortress.

Look at this production capacity! It's not thirty thousand portions a day anymore, but a full fifty thousand portions a day!"

Zhou An looked at the insane production data and nodded in satisfaction: "Well done, this speed is indeed fast enough.

However..." He pointed to the few obtrusive blue pipelines: "Why did you install so many high-pressure pipelines?"

"Hehe, that's the main point!" Luo Ning snapped her fingers.

"I dismantled the molecular reshaping chamber of this production line and physically connected it directly to the third-floor armory via high-pressure pipes!"

"What do you mean?" Zhou An was taken aback.

"In other words, it's not just a food assembly line now, but also a micro-military industrial production line!"

Luo Ning danced with excitement, gesturing the action of firing a gun: "Normally, you can have it press canned goods or juice fruit.

When I need to build weapons or mass-produce high-explosive ammunition, I just need to switch modes with one click on the main console, and it can clear out the internal residue and directly help me press bullets or build gun barrels!

It handles both civilian and military use, not a single bit of production capacity is wasted!"

"..." Zhou An couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"You're really something. Using a machine that makes food to manufacture weapons, that's really like you."

However, after solving the production capacity problem, Zhou An soon discovered another blind spot.

"Old Zhang, we need to pack two hundred thousand portions of special combat canned goods and two hundred thousand portions of Wind Spirit Drink, what are we going to use for packaging? Muzi can't grow aluminum cans and glass bottles in her fields."

Zhou An turned to look at Zhang Ming, who was studying a recipe.

"This... I really hadn't noticed." Zhang Ming was also taken aback, "We usually just use ordinary containers to pack things casually, but if we want to mass-produce for export, hundreds of thousands of packaging boxes and sealed bottles are not a small number."

Zhou An immediately opened the trading platform to search, only to find that individual bottles and cans were either priced exorbitantly or the quantities simply couldn't be met.

Spending massive amounts of resources on such trash was simply not worth it.

"Fine, the one who tied the bell must untie it." Zhou An sighed and opened City Lord Zhao Tianyu's communication interface again.

Zhou An: "Boss Zhao, are you asleep? The blueprints are installed, and production capacity is no problem.

But there's an awkward issue, I don't have packaging here. What specifications of metal cans and sealed bottles do you need? Bring the materials yourself, or I can deduct it from the processing fee."

The reply came in seconds, but one could feel City Lord Zhao Tianyu's speechlessness through the screen.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu: "Zhou An. I am the dignified guild leader of tens of thousands of people, and you're asking me to allocate glass bottles and aluminum cans for you in the middle of the night?!"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu: "[Pushing contact card: Tianqing Guild Logistics Production Minister]. This is the communication frequency for the head of our production department. In the future, for such trivial packaging consumable issues, you deal with him directly! Let him send you as much packaging as you need!"

Zhou An looked at the pushed contact card and grinned, just about to reply "Boss is generous," when City Lord Zhao Tianyu's second message arrived immediately after.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu: "Speaking seriously, Zhou An. Are you interested in bringing your people to join my [Sky Engine]?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu: "I highly value your ability and potential. If you come, you can pick any minister position: Logistics Department, Military Industry Department, or even the Combat Command Department.

Accumulate some guild reputation and seniority in that position first, and in at most two months, a vice-president position will be yours."

Looking at the recruitment message on the screen, Zhou An felt a stir in his heart.

The vice-president of the number one guild meant being able to mobilize the vast resources of tens of thousands of people at any time, walking sideways in this crisis-ridden sky.

However, Zhou An only considered it for three seconds before typing his reply.

Zhou An: "Thanks, Guild Leader Zhao, I appreciate the kind offer. I'm used to being laid-back and don't like being constrained by guild rules and regulations. It's better for us to be high-level partners; it's a win-win cooperation."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu seemed to have expected his refusal long ago and didn't mention any high salary or material benefits—he knew very well that a person who could casually produce epic-grade mass-produced food and dare to take on a resale of 1.2 billion in resources was not short of money.

Subsequently, City Lord Zhao Tianyu threw out a trump card that would make any top-tier survivor go crazy.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu: "I won't mention resources. As long as you come, the entire resource library of [Sky Engine] will be absolutely open to you, and I will never block any of your approvals. Additionally... our guild recently managed to acquire two [five-source power core]s."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu: "You should know what this is. The core prerequisite material for upgrading to LV5! At the current stage, there are definitely no more than ten in the entire District 997. As long as you nod, one of the [five-source power core]s will be yours."

"Thump thump!" Zhou An looked at those five words, and his heart skipped a beat.

[five-source power core]! This was precisely the only missing core material on his LV5 blueprint! With it, [Cloud Top Fortress] could immediately undergo a complete transformation!

The temptation radiating from the screen almost materialized.

Zhou An took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the impulse to agree immediately.

Taking things from others makes one indebted; once he took this core and became a vice-president, he would no longer be his own master.

Zhou An: "Guild Leader Zhao, this is too big a gesture; it would be a lie to say I'm not tempted. But I'll say it again, I'm used to working alone. This core... I'll find a way myself."

The other side was silent for a long time.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu: "Fine, to each their own; I never force anyone. The doors of [Sky Engine] will always be open to you."

Zhou An looked at the dialogue box, but his confusion grew larger and larger.

Zhou An: "Guild Leader Zhao, one last question, purely out of curiosity. Where on earth did you manage to get this [five-source power core], which is almost impossible to drop at the current stage?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu: "Trade secret. Join us, and you will know everything."

The communication was cut, and the screen went dark.

Zhou An looked at the pitch-black screen, his fingers tapping lightly on his thigh.

"The LV5 core material that didn't drop even after opening 19 Moon-Glitter Grade treasure chests, he managed to get two in one go..."

Zhou An looked up at the window where the rain was still pouring down heavily, "The waters of this sky are truly getting deeper and deeper."