46: Chapter 46 Equipment Upgrades, Doubling Efficiency

The blue light from the bronze box continued to flow, resembling a miniature abyss that reflected in Chen Tiezhu's sunken eye sockets.

He sat on the bed by the furnace, clutching the Jade Slip filled with parameters in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

He hadn't closed his eyes for three days and three nights; he looked as if he had been drained of all strength, yet his eyes were terrifyingly bright, staring unblinkingly at the newly born machine.

The door hinge creaked softly.

Chen Wuwang walked in, his footsteps not stirring a breath of wind.

He stood in the center of the Artifact Refining Workshop, his gaze falling upon the bronze box. His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flickered slightly, projecting a set of data streams: purification efficiency, energy consumption, frequency stability—all within the optimal range.

"It's done." His voice was low, like a stone dropping into a well.

Chen Tiezhu did not turn back, only emitting a sound from his throat: "Mm."

"Dismantle and reconstruct." Chen Wuwang approached, his fingers hovering above the machine without touching it. "I want it half the size, so it can fit into the Storage Pouch of an ordinary Cultivator; I want it as stable as an old dog, so even a kid at the third level of Qi Refining can use it; I want it fast, so it can be assembled in ten minutes and run as soon as a Spirit Stone is inserted."

Only then did Chen Tiezhu turn his head, his brows knitting into a knot:

"Do you think this is molding clay figures? The smaller the structure, the harder it is to control the Spiritual Qi. The chip shattered twice last time."

"I know." Chen Wuwang raised his hand, tracing an afterimage in the air as the System interface silently unfolded. "I've adjusted the original frequency formula, and I'm giving you the resonance model, too. We aren't relying on intuition; we are relying on code."

With a tap of his fingertip, three core modules emerged: the Rune Array, the chip adsorption layer, and the energy conduction tube, each independent with standardized interfaces.

"Modularization," he said. "Just like assembling blades; anyone can pick it up."

Chen Tiezhu stared at the afterimage, his eyes unmoving.

After a long while, he stood up abruptly, limped over to the workbench, and grabbed a carving knife and a rune pen.

"Fine." He gritted his teeth. "I don't believe that craftsmanship can be written down as words."

The first round of trial manufacturing began at dawn.

The new chassis was shrunk to the length of a palm, the outer shell replaced with high-purity Spirit Copper newly mined from the Dongshan Mineral Vein, with conduction tubes embedded inside and the chip encapsulated at the center.

Chen Tiezhu operated the tools himself, the rune etching refined to a nanometer scale, with the spacing of each ring adjusted according to his early notes on "Earth Vein Resonance."

"Activate!"

The Spirit Stone was inserted, and the blue light ignited.

Hum—

In less than three breaths, the chip emitted a piercing crack, and spiderweb-like fractures spread across it.

"Too fast!" Chen Tiezhu roared. "The flow rate can't be contained!"

Chen Wuwang immediately called up the scan from his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye; the blue light curve was oscillating violently, with a frequency offset of 0.7 Hertz.

"Insufficient buffer channel." He quickly input commands into the Void Realm, adding parameters for an energy recirculation groove. "Try again."

The second time, the chip did not shatter, but the purity of the purified Spiritual Qi dropped to 8.5 grade, with 0.02% residual Spirit-Eroding Particles.

"Not good enough." Chen Tiezhu wiped away his sweat, his stubbled face full of agitation. "Back in my day, it took me three months to finalize a Flying Sword, and you want me to finish this thing in a day?"

"It's not about creating it from scratch." Chen Wuwang stared at the data. "It's about replicating it."

He walked to the furnace and pulled up the material inventory list of the Artifact Refining Workshop, his fingers sliding quickly:

"Spirit Copper substrates, rune etching fluid, standard interface modules—all in stock. Once it's finalized, we can manufacture it in shifts."

Chen Tiezhu caught his breath, staring at the dilapidated machine, and suddenly laughed: "You brat... do you really want to turn Artifact Refining into an assembly line?"

"What else?" Chen Wuwang retorted. "Rely on individual craftsmen betting their lives? Rely on skills passed down generation by generation? Can we afford to wait?"

The air went silent for a moment.

Chen Tiezhu looked down at the old scar on his left hand, left behind when a furnace exploded.

He remembered how his wife had fallen, and the look in his son's eyes when he first picked up a hammer.

"Try one more time." He said hoarsely. "Use a double-layered rune ring, buffering on the outside and conducting on the inside; I'll integrate the old method of Earth Vein Resonance."

The third assembly began.

This time, Chen Tiezhu personally took the lead, with Chen Wuwang calibrating in real-time on the side.

The Mechanical Prosthetic Eye locked onto the blue light fluctuations; every time an anomaly appeared, he immediately corrected the parameters and added new buffer logic.

Time ticked by minute by minute.

At noon, the new chassis was completed.

The Spirit Stone was inserted, and it was activated.

Hum—

The blue light shone steadily, without oscillation, without noise.

The console automatically detected:

[Purification Complete]

[Residual Spirit-Eroding Particles: 0.00%]

[Spiritual Qi Purity: 9.0 Grade]

[Runtime: Continuously Stable]

Chen Tiezhu stared at the screen, not speaking for a full five breaths.

Then he slumped back onto the edge of the bed, grinned, and laughed like a fool.

"It's done." He muttered. "It's actually fucking done."

Chen Wuwang didn't smile, but his fingers tapping on the table stopped.

Seven minutes from zero to full operation, operable even by non-Artifact Refiners.

"This is it." He said.

He walked to the console, pulled up the production capacity report of the Artifact Refining Workshop, and slid his fingers quickly over several sets of data.

The newly mined Spirit Copper from the Dongshan Mineral Vein was prioritized, the rune substrate production line paused non-urgent orders, and all high-level craftsmen were transferred to the purification device assembly line.

"Three shifts." He ordered. "Twenty-four hours without stopping, make one hundred units first."

"One hundred?" Chen Tiezhu was stunned. "Are you crazy? Where would that much demand come from?"

"It will come soon." Chen Wuwang withdrew his hand, his gaze sweeping across the entire workshop. "The Freemasons want water, so I will give them water. But they don't know that this water can not only save lives but also refresh the mind, solidify foundations, and boost cultivation."

He paused, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly: "Once they get a taste of the benefits, they will beg us to supply more."

Chen Tiezhu understood, his eyes lighting up: "Make them dependent?"

"Correct." Chen Wuwang nodded. "The technology is in our hands, so we must set the rules."

He turned to look at Chen Tiezhu: "Standardize the blueprints, write the assembly process into a manual, and include diagrams for every step. Starting tomorrow, the whole workshop will work in shifts; I want this thing to be as common as a Flying Sword."

Chen Tiezhu was silent for a moment, then suddenly pulled the Jade Slip from his bosom and handed it to Chen Wuwang:

"The parameters are all here, and the failure records are there, too. Take it, don't let it go to waste."

Chen Wuwang took it, did not open it, and tucked it directly into his sleeve.

"Go rest." He said. "From here on out, it's their business."

"I'm not tired." Chen Tiezhu shook his head, struggling to stand up. "I still need to keep an eye on the first batch; there can't be any mishaps."

He walked to the new machine, picked up his carving knife, and began to carve a tiny symbol onto the copper shell—it was the ancestral forging crest of the Chen family, and also the pattern his wife had loved most during her lifetime.

"This thing..." He said in a low voice, "needs a bit of human touch."

Chen Wuwang looked at his hunched back and said nothing.

A moment later, he raised his hand, and his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye scanned the entire machine's data one last time, confirming it was flawless.

"Issue the mass production order." He said to the messenger guarding the door. "Execute according to this version throughout the workshop."

The messenger took the order and left.

Deep in the workshop, the first batch of apprentices had gathered, and Chen Tiezhu held the prototype, beginning to explain the key points of assembly.

His voice was hoarse, yet every word was enunciated clearly and powerfully.

Chen Wuwang stood in the center, looking at the rows of production lines about to start, his fingers tapping gently on the table.

Da, da, da.

The rhythm was steady, like a pendulum.

He knew that these one hundred machines were just the beginning.

Next, the water would flow into thousands of households.

And what they would drink would not just be clean spirit spring water.

It would also be the Chen family's grand scheme.