Section 130: The Underground Workshop

Blackie's master is Nannan's grandfather.

Ye Chong followed Blackie into the backyard. Blackie had never taken him here before, and since Ye Chong was not one to be overly curious, he had never attempted to sneak in. The backyard covered a vast area, yet Ye Chong, possessing the instincts of a wild beast, could scent a trace of hidden danger lurking within. Blackie led the way with extreme caution, repeatedly warning Ye Chong to follow closely in his footsteps. The two moved in lockstep; Ye Chong had no desire to test what secrets might lie hidden here.

Deep within Ye Chong’s mind, Mu remarked in admiration, "Not bad, a highly creative protective measure!" However, lacking a light-brain, Mu could not transmit the scanned data to Ye Chong. Ye Chong had no way of guessing what these "highly creative" measures were, but since Mu had praised them, he felt there was no need to doubt their effectiveness. As for the creativity, that was hardly his concern.

Following Mu’s warning, Ye Chong, who had already been trailing closely, now stepped precisely into Blackie’s footprints with every move.

Deep inside the backyard stood a fairly large brick building. From the outside, it looked perfectly ordinary, but a single remark from Mu made Ye Chong realize it was anything but simple: "Ye, the sandwich layer of these walls contains thick, high-strength alloy plates, and they even possess a certain degree of anti-scanning capability!"

"A certain degree?" Ye Chong was puzzled. To what extent? Mu shouldn't use such vague terms. "Heh. While they don't affect me, this level of anti-scanning capability is sufficient to effectively neutralize even the most advanced scanning systems currently on the market," Mu explained. So that was it. Ye Chong suddenly understood.

Entering the room, he discovered the space inside was massive. On the wall directly facing the entrance hung a purplish-brown wooden board inscribed with the four characters "Bone Blade Releases the Soul." Unfortunately, Ye Chong knew nothing of ancient calligraphy and could not judge the quality of the script. The vast room was filled with strange, peculiar instruments Ye Chong had never seen before, and various odds and ends were scattered across the floor. Upon closer inspection, Ye Chong immediately recognized many of them as bone marrow from mutated creatures—things he had seen countless times back on the garbage planet. Others he did not recognize, though they had a strange texture and some even possessed a metallic luster.

"These are just rejects. It’s a pity to throw them away, so Master keeps them here. Sometimes they can be repurposed!" Blackie’s demeanor relaxed as soon as he entered, and he turned to say this to Ye Chong.

Blackie took long strides and reached the center of the room while speaking. He occasionally fiddled with the instruments before leading Ye Chong to a corner. To Ye Chong’s surprise, a square pit suddenly appeared in the floor, with stairs leading downward. He guessed that one of the things Blackie had manipulated must have been the switch. The design was truly ingenious; hiding the switch among so many instruments made it nearly impossible to find.

A faint light emanated from the hole, but the stairs seemed to have no end, suggesting they went very deep underground. Why did these people like to burrow so far down? Ye Chong was quite puzzled.

Blackie led the way down the stairs, and Ye Chong followed closely. As soon as they descended, the light dimmed as the trapdoor above closed. Ye Chong was slightly startled. If not for the change in light, he would never have known the trapdoor had shut, as he hadn't heard a sound. Despite his keen hearing, he had detected nothing. Though it was a minute detail, it reflected the exceptionally high level of craftsmanship involved in that trapdoor.

Blackie spoke as they walked: "This is the real workshop. Master usually works in here, and I spend most of my time here too! Though I mostly just help Master with the minor tasks." Blackie’s voice was naturally loud, and in the tunnel, it echoed with a buzzing sound.

Ye Chong simply grunted in acknowledgment as he followed behind. Even now, he couldn't figure out why Nannan's grandfather wanted to see him, especially in a place so well-hidden. He wouldn't just bring anyone here, so what did this mean? As for his own safety, Ye Chong wasn't worried; even before, he had absolute confidence in his strength, and now he had Shang, who was the undisputed king in such an environment.

Furthermore, he had Mu.

The staircase turned out to be much longer than expected, descending very deep into the earth. Fortunately, both of them moved extremely fast. The light ahead grew brighter, and the sound of machinery became louder. Ye Chong, with his sharp senses, noticed a slight tremor in the ground; only then did it dawn on him why the workshop was built so deep underground.

What exactly did they do? Ye Chong finally felt a spark of curiosity.

When they reached the end of the stairs, Ye Chong was confronted by a scene that left him stunned.

It was a massive, empty space. Ye Chong estimated the basement was at least the size of a standard starship. The ceiling, constructed of silver metal, was ingeniously designed with interlocking metal frames as thick as a man's arm, yet the vast basement had not a single pillar for support! The lighting was excellent, allowing Ye Chong to take in everything at a glance. The area near the stairs was divided into square sections, each neatly stacked with identical light-mech components. Even though they were of the same type, the variety in style and texture was dazzling.

It was spectacular! The mech components were arranged as neatly as a squad of soldiers. With Ye Chong’s exceptional eye, he could see that every single one of them was a masterpiece. Seeing so many high-quality parts gathered together left him spellbound. He realized that these parts were enough to assemble countless mechs! It was enough to open a mech exhibition.

A clear path ran through the middle of these neatly arranged parts, and Blackie led Ye Chong along it.

Along the way, Ye Chong’s eyes gleamed like a hungry wolf, his gaze darting greedily among the mech components. "Quite excellent components," Mu offered an objective evaluation, which made Ye Chong’s eyes burn even brighter.

Upon entering this area, Blackie fell silent, his expression becoming more serious and his footsteps lighter.

After passing through what Ye Chong considered the most wonderful area, he tore his gaze away and began to survey the rest of the room. Adjacent to this "treasure trove" was a large area filled with various instruments Ye Chong had never seen before. The roaring sound came from these machines, which appeared somewhat aged and not particularly advanced, but every single one was clearly meticulously maintained. They were also arranged in perfect order. An old man was intently focused on a machine in operation, and the product on it was already taking shape—Ye Chong guessed it was an inner ring buckle for a mech.

Behind this cluster of machines were mountains of raw materials. Ye Chong easily identified many bones of mutated creatures, though most were foreign to him.

Blackie walked respectfully to the old man’s side and whispered something. The noise was too loud for Ye Chong to hear. Nannan's grandfather turned to nod at Ye Chong, then returned to his work. Blackie looked back and gave Ye Chong an apologetic grin, to which Ye Chong shook his head to show he didn't mind.

After waiting for a full half-hour, Nannan's grandfather finally finished his work and turned off the machine. The room suddenly fell into a profound silence. The old man’s hair was white, his face showing signs of deep exhaustion. He forced a smile and said to Ye Chong, "How do you feel after seeing all this?"

"Not bad," Ye Chong replied concisely.

Nannan's grandfather gave a hearty laugh. "Haha, good! I was afraid these things might not be to your liking. I haven't properly thanked you for saving Nannan. Blackie tells me you’re very fond of mechs, so you must have some expertise in them! I have nothing but these components here. To be honest, I don't know much about mechs; these are just spares left over from jobs I did for others. If you need anything, just take it—it’s of little use sitting here. Consider it my thanks! Don't be polite! If you have any questions, you can ask Blackie; he knows more about mechs than I do. Sigh, this old man is exhausted, I'm going to sleep. You two take your time picking out what you need!" With that, Nannan's grandfather yawned and headed toward the pile of raw materials. To Ye Chong’s surprise, there were two rooms tucked away there, where he and Blackie likely lived.

Ye Chong was ecstatic. Could there be any greater happiness than this? He was already highly skilled at assembling mechs, and while these components were a bit strange in style and numerous, he still had Mu!

After consulting with Ye Chong, Mu immediately began scanning all the mech components in the basement, standardizing their parameters with high precision. Ye Chong chatted with Blackie while waiting for Mu to finish the scans, perform optimization analyses, and eventually provide several reference schemes.

Opportunities like this were rare. Ye Chong had been craving mechs, and now that someone was being so generous, he wouldn't leave without picking the very best.

Blackie watched curiously as Ye Chong stood there leisurely, wondering why he wasn't picking components. He reminded Ye Chong to hurry up and choose what he needed.

Ye Chong signaled that he understood but remained motionless, continuing to chat with Blackie.

Only then did Ye Chong learn what these two actually were: they were Bone Smiths!