Chapter 71: Otherworldly Black Technology

After finding what he needed, Zheng Yichen immediately dismissed the Projection he had released using the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. With his main body unattended, keeping it active made him feel uneasy. If he wasn’t careful, someone might stumble upon it, and that would be a terrible way to go.

His attention returned to his main body. Making sure everything around him was safe, Zheng Yichen tapped the monocle he wore. He confirmed that the members of the Pursuit Squad were resting during the late night. Only then did he begin processing the information he had found in the library.

During this period, Zheng Yichen had already tried concealment-type Magic, but it wasn’t very effective. The pursuers kept chasing him just the same. Even when Zheng Yichen took sharp turns and drifted, he couldn’t shake them off even a little.

Since Magic wasn’t working, he had to try another method—a decoy method. This way, he could create an Alchemical Product double that was nearly identical to him in aura and everything else. It would attract others’ attention. Even if it couldn’t completely break the Pursuit Squad’s line of sight, it would at least create a distraction.

He rubbed his hands together. Ignoring the exhaustion from traveling all day, he knew the materials in his bag were far from enough to make such an Alchemical Product double.

Alchemy had specific Magic for processing materials. Even without proper tools on hand, he could still treat the materials. As for precision… the books said it was very difficult. Controlling Mana for fine adjustments required great effort. However, Zheng Yichen didn’t find it as hard as described.

Perhaps… I’m just a genius, huh? Looking at the lump of metal whose form kept changing under the influence of Magic, the hard iron became fluid-like under the spell’s effect. In the world before his crossing, this would absolutely make a whole bunch of scientists’ Eyeballs pop out!

In a world of Magic, this method… well, it wasn’t simple either. To do this, one first needed sufficiently dense Mana and precise control. At minimum, someone who had reached the Tier could handle such Magic. But since Zheng Yichen found controlling this Magic very easy, he could ignore that prerequisite.

As for Mana? He never lacked it! Creatures like the Dragon Clan, if placed in a game, would be standard boss templates. Forget about the attack and defense stats suppressed for balance with Players. One thing about a boss definitely wouldn’t change!

That was health and Mana pools. What kind of boss wouldn’t have dozens or hundreds of times a Player’s pool!?

For any Magic with Mana requirements, Zheng Yichen could always meet most conditions.

Soon, a skeleton frame lay before him. The design wasn’t something Zheng Yichen came up with himself. Among the Engineering books he read, there were designs for making mechanical puppets, including designs for dragons. However, the design specifically emphasized a warning: one must be very careful when using mechanical puppets. It was best not to let the dragons of the Dragon Clan know.

While the Dragon Clan might not necessarily cause trouble over such a thing, who could guarantee they absolutely wouldn’t? It wasn’t unheard of for them to extort someone under the pretext of their image being stolen, even if it wasn’t life-threatening. Disagree? Then they’d settle it with fists.

Others using such a design needed to consider this, but Zheng Yichen himself didn’t care at all. After all, he was a dragon now. What was wrong with making a Mechanical Dragon based on his own image?

Combining this world’s Mechanical Dragon design with an Earthling’s creative ideas, even though it was hastily made, he managed to create a simple, Magically Modified Mechanical Dragon. At least, this dragon was more agile in movement, and the cost to operate it was significantly reduced.

As for a more refined version… that was something for when he had time in the future. He didn’t have time now for in-depth research. After completing the skeleton, the next step was the Mana Source to power the Mechanical Dragon. The Mana Source was an Alchemical Product. Using the Otherworldly name, it was a Mana Source. Using the Earth version, it was a power reactor.

The most basic requirement for making a power reactor was a type of Enchanted Material with excellent Mana-bearing capacity. Only such material could withstand Mana Erosion. With massive Mana infusion, over time, it could even undergo deep Demonization due to the Mana—what was called Mana Enhancement.

The dividing line between ordinary materials and Enchanted Materials was whether the material naturally contained Mana. If it did, even an extremely faint trace, then it was an Enchanted Material.

Of course, even Enchanted Materials, if infused with Mana exceeding their tolerance limit, would still be eroded and destroyed by the Mana, not enhanced. Enhancement was a slow, gradual process.

As for Zheng Yichen’s Magic Weapon Summoning Book… it was made of top-grade material to begin with. The rate of enhancement under Mana influence far exceeded ordinary Enchanted Materials. Therefore, it could withstand a large infusion of Mana. Moreover, the book had now taken on some of Zheng Yichen’s own characteristics, ignoring any personal Mana imprints infused into it. This further reduced the pressure and greatly increased its “digestive capacity.”

The Magic Weapon Summoning Book would only grow stronger and stronger!

“Hmm, since it’s just a trial version anyway, I’ll use ordinary materials for the Mana Source. Even if it can only last a few days at most, that’s enough to test the effect. No big loss if it fails.” Mumbling to himself, Zheng Yichen controlled his Projection and started making it. The Mana Source wasn’t large. To power a Mechanical Dragon his own size, it only needed to be about the size of a human head.

Making this thing required not only Magic precision but also physical precision. Zheng Yichen’s claws, which were big enough to grab a person, were obviously not suitable for such delicate work.

“Ah-ha~”

After toiling all night, Zheng Yichen, yawning repeatedly, looked at the product before him. Well, if he could cover up the material joints and the stiff lines, the dragon in front of him would pretty much look just like him. Seeing through the monitoring lens that the Pursuit Squad was starting to move again, he had no time to rest. A Mana Thread extended from his mouth into the Mechanical Dragon’s mouth, activating the Mana Source from the inside.

The previously motionless Mechanical Dragon, which had been like a statue, immediately began to move. Its wings extended to their fullest. The wingtips shimmered with a sharp, blade-like cold light. Its eyes lit up with two faint glows of emitted Mana.

The Mechanical Dragon wasn’t just for show. It was a tool meant for combat. But besides fighting, it now also had the effect of an Alchemical Product double. To achieve this, Zheng Yichen had to shed quite a bit of his own blood… He wondered how much his blood could fetch on the Black Market. It was, after all, Dragon Blood.

After giving the Mechanical Dragon its orders, it flapped its wings and flew off in another direction. Despite the Mechanical Dragon’s considerable weight, thanks to the Magic cast on its wings, its takeoff was much quieter than Zheng Yichen’s. Magic really was convenient…