153: Chapter 153: New Guys, New World
Warehouse No. 1 was the largest and most heavily guarded place on the base.
Zhang Liancheng walked in quickly and saw Jiang Ning from a distance. She was standing in the middle of the warehouse with her hands behind her back, staring at several large objects covered in canvas.
“Reporting to Chief Engineer Jiang! Zhang Liancheng of the 1st Psionic Engineering Corps, reporting for duty!” Zhang Liancheng stood still behind her and saluted.
“Regimental Commander Zhang, you're here.” Jiang Ning turned around and nodded. “Take a look at the new toys I've prepared for you.”
As she spoke, she gave a casual wave of her hand.
The canvases covering the big guys lifted by themselves and drifted to the floor.
Under the canvas were four large machines with strange designs and an indescribable industrial feel.
They looked like engineering vehicles, but Zhang Liancheng had never seen an excavator or bulldozer like these before.
The bodies were dark gold, the treads were thick and heavy, and the shells were covered in densely packed runes. The front wasn't a bucket or a drill, but a multi-functional mechanical arm that could extend and transform, looking quite complex.
“This is...” Zhang Liancheng walked around one of the machines, his face full of curiosity.
He could feel a powerful energy moving inside these big guys.
“I call it the ‘infrastructure puppet No. 1’,” Jiang Ning explained briefly. “Just think of it as an all-purpose engineering vehicle. It can dig, lift, cut, weld, and even carve formations. It also has a bit of self-defense capability.”
“Carve formations?!” Zhang Liancheng was stunned by those words.
Using a machine to carve formations? He had never even heard of such a thing.
“Correct.” Jiang Ning pointed to the complex mechanical arm. “The front can be swapped for a psionic carving knife. As long as you input the blueprints, it can carve formations on anything—standardized and without error. As for efficiency, it's about a hundred times that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Stage formation master.”
A hundred times!
Zhang Liancheng's heart skipped a beat.
He wasn't a cultivator, but he knew how precious formation masters were in the Immortal-Mortal Realm. A Foundation Establishment Stage formation master was a hot commodity anywhere.
And this machine in front of him was worth a hundred of them?
If the people in the Immortal-Mortal Realm found out about this, they would probably start questioning their existence on the spot.
“And that's not all,” Jiang Ning continued. “It uses a new generation spirit stone engine. Insert one low-grade spirit stone, and it can work at full power for three days and three nights. The armor is made from scrap material I stripped off ‘Peace No. 1’; it can withstand any attack below the Golden Core Stage. Additionally, it comes with a small shield and two self-defense cannons.”
“This... this isn't an engineering vehicle!” Zhang Liancheng's eyes went wide. “This is just a mobile iron tortoise!”
“Once we reach the Immortal-Mortal Realm, the top priority is to build a self-defending, self-sufficient base in the shortest time possible. Safety first,” Jiang Ning said. “With these four ‘infrastructure puppets,’ your efficiency in leveling the ground will be at least ten times higher. Can you get the first batch of defense towers and barracks up at the target location within half a day?”
“No problem!” Zhang Liancheng puffed out his chest and answered loudly, “I guarantee the mission will be completed!”
His mind was already reeling.
This Chief Engineer Jiang was truly terrifying.
Not only was she powerful herself, but what was even more frightening was that she could take that power and mass-produce it through industrial means!
No matter how good a single person was at fighting, they only had two hands.
But if hundreds or thousands of machines had this kind of power, what a force that would be!
He could almost see the massive impact it would have when this troop, equipped with ‘cultivation industrial products,’ appeared on the ancient lands of the Immortal-Mortal Realm.
...
Three days later.
In the massive space beneath Kunlun Academy.
The ‘Cross-boundary Teleportation Array,’ over a hundred meters in diameter, sat quietly in the center.
It was a large disk made of metal and runes, covered in complex patterns. Around the edge of the disk stood twelve energy guiding pillars, dozens of meters high, also covered in carved formations.
At this moment, the entire space was filled with people.
Director Zhao Lixin, Professor Chen, and all the other project heads had arrived.
Beside the teleportation array, the five hundred soldiers of the 1st Psionic Engineering Corps were fully geared up and lined up in formation.
They wore black combat uniforms, held psionic rifles, and carried combat backpacks. Every face showed a hint of nervousness, but more so an excitement about going to do something big.
At the front of the line were the four massive ‘infrastructure puppets,’ like four silent iron beasts, exuding a cold and powerful aura.
Jiang Ning stood at the very front of this troop.
She had also changed into a sleek black combat uniform, her hair tied up high, looking very spirited.
Her face was expressionless and very calm.
“Chief Engineer Jiang, everything is ready.” Zhao Lixin walked up to her and handed over a communicator. “The latest encrypted communicator. As long as the teleportation array is open, we can contact you at any time.”
“Alright.” Jiang Ning took it and strapped it to her wrist.
“And this...” Zhao Lixin handed over a small red badge. “The national flag. We hope you can plant it in our new home.”
Jiang Ning looked at the red badge and said nothing. After a moment, she reached out to take it and pinned it to her chest.
“Don't worry,” she said. “I will.”
Zhao Lixin looked at her, his mouth opening as if to say something like ‘stay safe,’ but when the words reached his lips, only three remained.
“We're counting on you.”
Jiang Ning nodded and said no more.
She turned and stepped onto the center of the teleportation array.
She closed her eyes.
The next second, a powerful burst of golden spiritual power erupted from her, precisely pouring into the core of the teleportation array.
The entire massive teleportation array came to life.
The runes on the array disk lit up with blue light, circle by circle, starting from the center.
The twelve energy guiding pillars also began to vibrate, and twelve thick beams of energy shot out from the tops of the pillars, converging at a single point above the teleportation array.
The space there was torn open, creating a rift.
A multi-colored circular light gate slowly appeared above the teleportation array, its surface rippling continuously.
Air that was completely different from Earth's drifted out of the light gate—fresh yet ancient, filled with dense spiritual energy.
All the soldiers who smelled this air felt their spirits lift and their whole bodies feel comfortable.
“Success! The spatial tunnel is open!” In the Command Center, Professor Chen stared at the data on the screen, his eyes moist with excitement.
“Attention everyone!”
Jiang Ning opened her eyes, and her voice was clearly transmitted to every soldier's ears through their equipment.
“Target: Immortal-Mortal Realm. Coordinates: Eastern Wasteland, Black Stone Valley!”
“Move out!”
Zhang Liancheng was the first to react. He drew the pistol from his waist and waved it forward.
“First Squad, infrastructure puppet Group A, advance!”
The two massive ‘infrastructure puppets’ moved first, their treads crushing the ground as they heavily drove into the multi-colored light gate.
Next were the soldiers. They moved in pairs, covering each other as they stepped quickly and orderly into the gate to the new world.
Jiang Ning stood in place, watching her troops disappear one by one into the light gate.
Only after the last soldier had entered did she turn back and give a final nod to Zhao Lixin and the others.
Then, with a flash of her figure, she also entered the light gate.
After she entered, the massive multi-colored light gate flickered once and then stabilized, becoming a passage connecting the two worlds.
Zhao Lixin watched the light gate, his fists unconsciously clenching at his sides.
He knew that from this moment on...
Everything would be different.