Last night during dinner, Jiang Chen had discussed many things with Guizhong. The mention of vehicles like excavators came from Lumine. It was unclear why she was so fond of these things. When she brought them up, Jiang Chen was left speechless. However, her words reminded Jiang Chen of something. So, he decided to explain everything to Guizhong and asked her to start creating these vehicles. Although they only described the vehicles, Guizhong already understood what Jiang Chen and Lumine were talking about. As soon as she arrived, she began sketching out the things Jiang Chen had described. After some discussion, they got to work.
First, they needed to create a power source. Using their existing technology, they could easily produce the necessary components. After all, many of the required materials were already available. They just needed to assemble them. If they had enough materials, they could finish within the day. Ningguang, of course, provided full support. Various materials were continuously delivered. By the afternoon, several vehicles were ready: an excavator, a bulldozer, and a dump truck—the legendary dump truck of isekai fame!
Upon receiving the news, Jiang Chen rushed over. When he arrived at the scene, he saw the Teyvat-style vehicles created by Cloud Retainer and Guizhong. The entire vehicle was made of steel. If this were in his previous world, creating a vehicle in less than half a day would be impossible. Just the time needed for forging the steel wouldn't be enough. But Cloud Retainer and Guizhong were no ordinary beings—one was an adeptus, and the other was a god. Creating these vehicles was a breeze for them.
"As expected of Guizhong."
"Such speed!"
Jiang Chen looked at the large vehicles parked at the entrance of the mechanical workshop and felt quite satisfied. Good, good! He had definitely chosen the right person.
Hearing Jiang Chen's praise, Guizhong was beaming with pride.
"Who do you think I am?"
"Creating these things is a piece of cake!!"
"Next, I plan to create mechanical ships."
"This is a great opportunity to showcase my mechanical skills."
Guizhong was also excited. She saw a brand-new path ahead. As long as they continued to develop, her mechanical arts would surely become popular across Teyvat, right? Her name would spread far and wide. How delightful~!
"Hmph, I played a part in this too."
"The energy system uses my method."
When it came to this, Cloud Retainer looked quite proud. She had contributed to this project.
Hearing this, Jiang Chen became curious.
"What kind of energy are you using?"
Jiang Chen was also very curious about this. To power these vehicles, they must be using some form of energy, right? It couldn't be nothing.
"I replicated the Chaos Core of the Ruin Guards."
"So now the vehicles use a similar energy source to the Ruin Guards."
"Although there are some differences, they're essentially the same."
Cloud Retainer explained the situation to Jiang Chen, looking quite pleased with herself. This was her masterpiece.
Hearing this, Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.
Some differences?
"How long can it last?"
Was this the kind of vehicle that could last a lifetime after purchase? The kind where the owner dies, but the vehicle lives on? If that were the case, Jiang Chen felt it necessary to make some adjustments. If they didn't, how would they make money?
Hearing this, Cloud Retainer fell silent.
Seeing her reaction, Jiang Chen was puzzled.
Wow, why the silence?
Was there a problem with the replication?
"Pfft~!"
Guizhong, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh.
Clearly, she knew the reason.
Hearing Guizhong's laughter, Cloud Retainer became flustered and angry.
"So what if it can't continuously absorb elemental energy?"
"I'll find a solution sooner or later!!"
That's right. Although this was a replica of the Ruin Guard's core, its functionality was somewhat different. The Ruin Guard's power core was actually driven by ley line energy. Cloud Retainer naturally wouldn't touch the ley lines—those were off-limits. However, when Jiang Chen heard this, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Oh?"
"So, it needs to be replenished with energy periodically?"
Guizhong nodded.
"Exactly!"
"Once the energy is used up, it needs to be refilled."
"But we've already found a solution."
"So it's not too troublesome."
"It just needs to be replenished every now and then."
"If you want it to last longer without refilling, you'd need to use the Ruin Guard's power core."
"That kind can last for centuries."
Hearing this, Jiang Chen's lips curled into a smile.
"No!"
"That's not necessary."
"This is perfect as it is."
"Cloud Retainer, could you help design a specialized elemental replenishment device?"
"In the future, we'll build elemental replenishment stations at regular intervals."
"This is also a great business opportunity."
"Since you'll be living in Liyue, you'll naturally need Mora."
"Guizhong now owns a cement factory."
"She'll definitely be wealthy in the future."
"You wouldn't want Guizhong to support you, would you?"
Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Cloud Retainer was stunned.
Let Guizhong support her?
Thinking about it, Cloud Retainer suddenly imagined herself, broke, reaching out to Guizhong for money.
Element detected!!
Cloud Retainer was shocked.
"Alright!"
"Building such a device isn't difficult."
"But how do we charge for it?"
Now, Cloud Retainer was also interested.
"How about having Ganyu handle it for you?"
"After all, if we're going to build these, there will be a lot of negotiations and paperwork."
"I'm sure you wouldn't like that."
"Let Ganyu handle it, and you can just sit back and collect the profits."
These gas stations... no, elemental replenishment stations would definitely need to be built. In the future, all mechanical vehicles would require elemental replenishment. With this, Cloud Retainer would become a super-rich woman in no time. However, the specifics would need to be discussed later. Gas stations were highly profitable and would become a necessity in the future.
But what was the energy being converted from? It couldn't just be absorbed out of thin air, right? Suddenly thinking of this, Jiang Chen couldn't help but ask curiously. If it was being converted from thin air, it felt like there might be issues.
"Cloud Retainer, what materials are your devices using to convert and replenish the elements?"
"It can't be drawing from the ley lines, right?"
Hearing this, Cloud Retainer, who had been pondering Jiang Chen's earlier words, immediately became alert.
"Ley lines?"
"I wouldn't draw energy from the ley lines."
"I use crystals to convert elemental energy."
Hearing this, Jiang Chen understood.
So that's how it was.
Crystals?
There seemed to be plenty of those in Liyue.
"Got it."
"That's no problem then."
Crystals were abundant in many nations, but Liyue had even more. Moreover, if energy could be extracted from crystals, then surely it could also be extracted from other minerals, right? What a pity, elemental supremacy!!