Chapter 346 - 288: The Z-3 Drone is Alive?

’I’m actually a little curious. If this Divine Technique is developed further, what kind of Divine Power will it produce next?’ Chu Bamboo silently snarked to himself. ’I can’t help but feel the ceiling for this Divine Technique isn’t very high... After all, it’s just Equipment Repair, not equipment creation!’

’The Great Joy of the Machine Soul already handles repairs... So where does it go from here? Don’t tell me the next stage of development is extreme equipment modding?!’

Chu Bamboo’s imagination ran wild. ’If I had this Divine Technique, my next step would probably be to see if I could mod and cobble together a pile of Ancient Relics into a mech.’

’Who says modding isn’t a form of repair!’

Snarking internally was one thing, but Chu Bamboo’s expression remained calm as he conversed with the Mo Family disciple. Then, he suddenly activated the Reproduction function of his Memory Divine Techniques.

The Mo Family disciple’s body tensed, and a flustered look appeared on his face. Although he sensed something was wrong, his experience wasn’t enough for him to realize what had just happened...

He mulled it over, starting to wonder if he was getting sick... ’If this uncomfortable feeling doesn’t go away, should I go see a doctor?’

Finally, Chu Bamboo finished the Reproduction. He didn’t remove his hand right away, though, continuing to chat and laugh with the Mo Family disciple until...

"...I’ve dug it up!" Covered in dust, Brother Tu Mu suddenly shot out of the pit, wiping sweat from his face. His voice was filled with joy. "Mr. Chu... the thing is exactly as you described! It should... be your target! It’s true, the location, the depth... even the time it took me to dig was about the same as you said!"

Brother Tu Mu was genuinely shocked. ’What incredible mental calculation ability is this?’ Even if he knew the location beforehand, to predict his efficiency and the final result so accurately...

However, Brother Tu Mu wasn’t too surprised. After all, he knew how special the man before him was... This man’s mathematical prowess had shocked their ancestor, Mo Ban, and even earned endless praise from the Giant of the Mo Family, who had tried to take him as a disciple only to be refused...

"Good!" Chu Bamboo’s gaze sharpened. He walked over to Brother Tu Mu, patted him firmly on the shoulder, and offered a few words of generous praise before leaping down into the pit.

Arriving before the entrance, Chu Bamboo had Mo Wen leave his post as usual... He passed the human magnetic field detection, entered the base, and arrived at the fifth level...

"Uncle Chu..." Listening to the words Lin Xin Bamboo had already told him once, Chu Bamboo walked up to the only unmanned fighter jet that could be activated.

He activated the Equipment Repair Divine Technique he had just reproduced and placed his hand on the jet.

In the next instant, under the effect of the First Divine Power, countless streams of information flooded into his brain.

Chu Bamboo’s expression went vacant for a moment. ’This is a very strange perspective! In a way, you could even call it a God’s-eye view—’

’—the general internal structure and components of the jet appeared in his mind. If he wanted, he could even inspect the detailed structure of certain perplexing areas of the aircraft—’

’—and the only price to pay was the Blessing Power within his body!’

’Holy crap!’ After the realization hit him, Chu Bamboo didn’t know what kind of expression to make. ’This is basically a cheat-level ability for replication!’

’These people from the Moisture Teaching are truly terrifying...’

’But...’

’To have this ability and still not have cobbled together a few Ancient Relics, they’re so usele— uh, wait.’ A thought suddenly struck Chu Bamboo. Many of the excavated items were electronic devices. After a brief silence, he immediately pushed the matter to the back of his mind...

He realized that the chips inside electronic devices had far too complex structures... even if he could see them... it would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to create them by hand from scratch!

Chu Bamboo observed in silence.

"...Hm?"

Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes. The jet was mostly intact, but just as he had guessed... most of the problems were with the electronic components. Even with special treatment, the passage of time had caused these high-precision parts to age severely, with some being completely totaled.

There were also some issues with rust and wear on certain parts of the fighter jet, but those weren’t serious...

"Great Joy of the Machine Soul!" Chu Bamboo used the Second Divine Power without hesitation.

Immediately, Chu Bamboo sat down cross-legged on the ground and began to pray with a pious expression.

The Blessing Power in his body flowed out in a continuous stream.

At that moment, Chu Bamboo felt an inexplicable sensation, as if his mind had connected with the jet before him, a feeling of perfect synergy.

He could even feel... that he could faintly perceive the jet’s emotions!

It was a mixture of many emotions—sadness, loneliness, solitude, a will to fight, a hint of madness... a feeling that was hard to describe with words!

Chu Bamboo almost lost himself in it, but he quickly snapped back to reality. He eyed the machine with uncertainty, inwardly shaken. ’Is this... the key reason why this Skill is called Great Joy of the Machine Soul?’

’Does this Skill also allow you to understand what a machine has experienced in the past through the emotions it transmits?’

’For example, this loneliness and solitude must mean it’s been in storage for a very long time!’

’But, this feeling is really like the jet has come to life... Wait, is it possible!’ Chu Bamboo fell into deep thought...

’The reason everyone thinks Ancient Relics are Divine Artifacts, and why the Wall Announcements even state that the unmanned aircraft is a Divine Envoy of the Great Goddess Nuwa, that it’s alive... is because in the past, a Cultivator with the Great Joy of the Machine Soul Skill transmitted the emotions of these artifacts... so...’

’That’s actually a sliver of logic in all this absurdity!’

Of course, Chu Bamboo didn’t dwell on it for long. He sat ramrod straight, praying to the fighter jet with all his might, controlling and pouring in his Blessing Power...

This repair session lasted a full ten minutes...

The moment the Divine Power dissipated, Chu Bamboo froze, panting slightly. He closed his eyes, organized the information in his mind, and made an estimate. ’...About forty percent repaired?’

After confirming, Chu Bamboo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and staggered to his feet.

He narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself... ’In other words, if I find that Mo Family disciple and Reproduce the skill two more times, I can completely fix this thing?’

He glanced at the time, calculated the process, and decided he had more than enough time. With that, Chu Bamboo simply turned back...

After returning to the surface, under the baffled gaze of Mo Wen, Chu Bamboo once again sought out Brother Tu Mu. He clapped a hand on his shoulder and continued to force an awkward conversation for a while. Once the Reproduction was successful, he turned and went back inside. After expending his energy on the unmanned jet, he came out again to awkwardly chat with the brother, Reproduced the skill again, and went back in one more time...

Mo Wen, who had been ignored by Chu Bamboo both times he came out: "...?"

Brother Tu Mu: "...What in the world is he doing?"

Brother Tu Mu wanted to say something several times but held his tongue. What he really wanted to ask was if Mr. Chu was nuts. ’Is this some kind of abstract performance art?!’