Suina stared at the thick gun barrel on the blueprint, her throat bobbing as she swallowed.
"Tank..."
She rolled the word over her tongue, her index finger slowly tracing the lines of the tread structure, her fingertip brushing against the rough charcoal marks.
"The chassis load capacity must be at least four tons or more. The current diesel fuel engine's torque is barely enough, but the strength of the drive shaft..."
She muttered to herself, her eyes brightening and her breathing quickening. She was completely immersed, her left hand unconsciously reaching for the ruler on the workbench, but her fingertips touched another hand.
Wu Liang was pushing the blueprint toward her.
Their fingers overlapped, and Suina froze.
She didn't look up.
The tips of her ears turned red first, the color spreading from her earlobes to the side of her neck, blending into her fiery red short hair.
"Keep the blueprint for now. Use the existing diesel fuel engine to run a round of tests on the chassis. Don't rush to mount the cannon."
Wu Liang withdrew his hand and tossed the wrench into the toolbox. "Let's get this thing moving on its own first."
Suina quickly pulled her hand back, pinching the corner of the blueprint, her chin tilted slightly upward.
"Then, do you want to stay and watch the first assembly?"
Her voice was stiff, and her jaw was tight.
After saying this, her gaze drifted to the side before immediately snapping back to the blueprint, pretending to study the articulation of the treads.
Wu Liang reached out and flicked her nose with his index finger.
The movement was light and casual.
Suina jolted, taking a half-step back and bumping into the edge of the workbench, causing the iron tools to clatter.
"I'll come to inspect it tonight."
Wu Liang left those words behind and turned toward the factory workshop door.
A muffled grunt came from behind him, followed by the sound of footsteps—fast and hurried, running deeper into the workshop. The metal door curtain was pulled open and then fell, clattering several times.
Wu Liang didn't look back, the curve of his lips narrowing slightly.
Outside the factory, the sun had already climbed to its midday position. The white sunlight beat down on the hardened road, the heat distorting the air. The driver started the car, the engine vibrating with a low rumble as the vehicle began to move.
The Communication Crystal in his pocket vibrated; this was something Annia had recently tinkered with.
Wu Liang hadn't expected that after he had only briefly explained the principles of mobile phones and telegraphs to her, she would actually use magic to create such a thing.
Unfortunately, it could only handle voice calls and couldn't do face-to-face video yet.
Wu Liang took it out and pressed his thumb into the groove on the side.
Sylvia's voice came from the crystal, filled with a woman's resentment.
"Wu Liang, the seasonal bedding in the master bedroom hasn't been touched for three days."
"I need to confirm whether the Lord intends to move to the factory to live with Suina or if he has found a more comfortable place."
Wu Liang leaned back in his seat and brought the crystal close to his lips.
"Stop it, stop it. I'll come back tonight to make it up to you."
The other end of the crystal went quiet.
After about three seconds, a bashful voice came through.
"Hmph, fine then. I've changed into a new nightgown... You can help me take a look."
The crystal went dark.
Wu Liang stuffed it back into his pocket and glanced out the window at the passing buildings.
The Elf Queen's jealousy was only this much; she held onto her dignity but couldn't even put up a convincing act.
Just as the car passed the outer gate of the Main Keep and before the tires hit the stone road of the inner courtyard, a black horse charged out from a side path, its horseshoes striking sparks on the ground.
The female rider dismounted, dropping to one knee on the ground, her chest heaving and her forehead drenched in sweat.
"Report, Lord! The Black Port City patrol has discovered an abnormal target on the rocky beach fifteen miles east of the port!"
Wu Liang pushed open the car door and stepped out.
"What kind of target?"
The female Scout swallowed hard, clearly stammering over her words.
"It looks like... a person, but not entirely human."
"Her whole body is embedded with a layer of something like snake skin—scales. There are two huge lacerations on her back, as if her wings were torn off."
She paused and added:
"The patrol captain said the thing is still breathing, but no one dares to get close."
Scales.
The base of severed limbs.
And signs of life.
Wu Liang glanced at the driver beside him:
"Turn around. Head toward Black Port. Full speed."
Then he turned to the female Scout: "Tell Akomann to deploy a platoon of guards to seal off that beach. No one is allowed within five hundred meters."
The car turned around, its engine roaring as it plunged onto the eastern official road.
Wu Liang rested his hand on his knee, his fingers tapping rhythmically.
Based on the Scout's description, he thought of Storm Dragon Island.
Dragons.
If the one lying on the rocky beach really is a Dragon, how did she drift here from the dead waters of Storm Dragon Island?
And who could have inflicted such injuries?
Less than twenty minutes later.
The car screeched to a halt at the edge of a gravel beach, the tires crushing a patch of dried seaweed.
The sea breeze rushed in, carrying salty moisture, making his clothes flap loudly.
The receding tide revealed a vast expanse of jagged black rocks covered in slippery moss.
Several soldiers from the patrol stood far off at the perimeter, their guns pointed in the same direction.
Wu Liang jumped out of the car and strode onto the rocks.
The first thing he saw was hair.
A large mass of wet, deep reddish-gold hair was spread across a crevice in the black rocks, heavy with seawater and motionless in the wind.
A humanoid figure lay prone among the rocks.
Face down, limbs splayed, in a twisted posture.
Her clothes had been torn into a few shreds by the seawater and some massive external force, hanging from her waist and shoulders, barely covering anything.
The large areas of exposed skin were pale, shimmering with a faint iridescent luster under the sunlight. As the angle changed slightly, the colors seemed to flow.
Two massive lacerations extending from her shoulder blades were shockingly wide open.
The edges of the wounds were densely embedded with shattered deep-red scales, some peeling up and others already fallen off, revealing the mangled tissue beneath.
Dark red blood had coagulated into thick scabs, but fresh blood was still oozing from the deepest parts.
That position, that angle, and that shape of the break—they were definitely wings.
A pair of massive wings had been forcibly snapped and torn off from the base.
Wu Liang knelt down, supported her shoulders, and slowly turned her over.
Strands of wet hair were peeled away from her face, revealing her features.
Her features were deep and well-defined, with skeletal structures clearly different from humans.
Her cheekbones were higher, her jawline sharper, and the curve of her brow ridge possessed a geometric precision.
Her closed eyelashes were thick and of an exaggerated length, resting against her cheekbones; her lips were a deep crimson.
Below her collarbone and above her chest, a horizontal claw wound cut deep enough to see the bone.
Three parallel lacerations, evenly spaced; the edges weren't the dark red of a normal wound but an icy blue.
The skin around the wound had the texture of frostbite, with a thin layer of frost crystals forming on the surface.
This wasn't an injury caused by a weapon.
Wu Liang placed his right hand over the edge of the wound below her collarbone, and Earths Grace was activated.
A warm green light overflowed from between his fingers, slowly spreading along the path of the wound.
The small, superficial wounds began to heal at a visible rate, but the claw wound on her chest and the severed wings on her back showed no reaction.
An icy blue alien mana was entrenched deep within the wounds, pushing back the healing energy layer by layer.
He made a quick assessment: severed wings, claw wounds, at least four fractures, severe blood loss, and hypothermia.
But the moment he pressed his palm against her, he froze.
Hot.
Her basal body temperature was terrifyingly high, far exceeding the normal range for humans.
Even though she had lost so much blood and cold seawater was still dripping from her hair, the heat radiating from beneath her skin was still scorching.
Wu Liang took off his coat and wrapped it around her upper body, then supported her neck and knees, picking her up in a bridal carry.
At that exact moment, the fire element within Wu Liang's body exploded.
It wasn't an active skill activation; his Fire Affinity had produced a spontaneous, violent resonance.
The fire element in his chest surged toward the surface of his body like crazy, desperately pouring into her through every inch of skin in contact with her.