Chapter Sixty-Seven: It Is Done, the Nine Provinces Have United!

The laboratory was ablaze with light!
Everyone was bent over their work, so absorbed that not a soul noticed Chu Xiao’s arrival.
Under the dim glow of the lamps, they drafted blueprints, machined parts, assembled components, their eyes reddened from sleepless nights, yet no one paused to rest. All for one purpose: to create weapons that could defend Kyushu.

Chu Xiao walked to Ren Boyuan’s side, watching him through the gold-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose, a 2B pencil in hand, sketching out diagrams.

“Does this need further improvement?” Ren Boyuan raised the blueprint for all to see.

Hua Bo stared at it for a while, but couldn’t discern much—after all, she wasn’t an expert in this field.

Walker from the States studied it for a long time, finally pointing out, “Look here, this needs to be adjusted. The mechanism isn’t smooth enough. During firing, this obstacle could cause an explosion.”

“Alright! I’ll modify it. How’s it going on your end?” Ren Boyuan circled the problematic spot and turned to the others.

Hua Bo, being a woman who had endured many sleepless nights, was starting to flag, her focus wavering.

“Chu Xiao? What brings you here?” She turned and, spotting him, couldn’t hide her surprise.

The others, hearing Hua Bo’s voice, glanced over at Chu Xiao as well, but soon lowered their heads, returning to their work.

“It’s nothing! I just wanted to have a look, study the weapons a bit. I didn’t expect everyone would be here.”

“Oh, I see! Come join us, then! Let’s work together!” Hua Bo beckoned him over.

Chu Xiao nodded slightly and walked to the group.

He saw that everyone was poring over the weapon designs. Clearly, they had come up with dozens of plans, each person responsible for drafting a different version. If they could draw it, they could build it, and if it survived testing, it could be deployed in war.

Jiao Xu silently memorized the dozens of plans. She picked up a sheet and began to sketch, but it ended in failure—a misshapen, awkward drawing.

“Dr. Ren, could you take a look?” Chu Xiao placed his drawing in front of Ren Boyuan.

With a furrowed brow, Ren Boyuan scrutinized the sketch, pondering what could be gleaned from it. Clearly, it was a challenge.

But Ren Boyuan was not so easily stumped.

He took up his pencil and, following Chu Xiao’s intentions, redrew the concept more clearly.

Soon, a new blueprint was finished.

Ren Boyuan stared at it for a long moment. The others gathered around.

Chu Xiao watched, hoping he could contribute to the researchers’ efforts.

“Aha! Yes! This works!” Ren Boyuan suddenly exclaimed.

Not just Ren Boyuan, but the others echoed his excitement.

“We should try it! I think it’s promising!”

“Yes, let’s test it. It should work!”

“Mr. Chu, you’re amazing!”

“There are still some issues, but we can refine it.”

Everyone voiced their opinions and suggestions.

After a night of discussion and with the rough draft Chu Xiao had contributed, a complete weapon blueprint finally took shape.

“It’s done! We actually finished it! The parts—we need to make the parts! I’ll help you!” Ren Boyuan was now beside himself with excitement.

He had pulled several all-nighters, his mind full of ideas, yet every attempt had its flaws.

Now, at last, they had succeeded! How could he not be overjoyed? He could hardly contain himself.

It was marvelous!

“My God, Kyushu’s efficiency is incredible!”

“Exactly! Beyond our expectations!”

“Kyushu is so clever!”

Researchers from the other three nations could not help but exclaim, their eyes brimming with admiration for Kyushu.

“This is the result of everyone’s efforts—we are all top scientists from around the world. The success of this weapon is inseparable from everyone’s help!”

“This is a collective achievement!”

Chu Xiao understood that this was the fruit of everyone’s labor. He had simply memorized the various blueprints in his mind, layered them together, and drawn an ugly, messy sketch.

It was the team’s combined effort that made the blueprint coherent and viable.

Chu Xiao truly hoped to help.

No one in the arsenal had slept for over twenty-four hours; everyone waited anxiously for the weapon to be completed.

Three hours later.

Chu Xiao stared intently at the finished weapon: at the rear, a collector to gather sunlight; in the middle, Ren Boyuan’s energy converter; and at the front, naturally, the emitter.

It sounded simple, but Chu Xiao knew how complicated every detail truly was.

Had they not already had a ready-made energy converter, it would have been impossible to assemble a prototype in just three hours.

Now, all eyes were fixed on the jet-black weapon, glowing with hope and tinged with anxiety.

If it failed, they would have to start all over again—a daunting task for all involved.

Every nerve was taut. Days and nights of effort would be tested in this single moment.

The elite scientists from each nation stared unblinkingly at the weapon.

Now, prayers rose silently, as everyone wished for success.

“Begin the test!” Chu Xiao’s command rang out. Instantly, everyone sprang into action, moving the weapon to an open area to prepare for the experiment.

An hour passed. Everything was ready—all that remained was to fire.

“Charge!” Chu Xiao called out.

Ren Boyuan stood by, quickly opening the rear compartment. A sunlight collector extended, gathering rays from the surroundings, gradually forming a small orb of light.

The orb grew, from the size of a thumb to that of a fist.

“Fire!” As Chu Xiao gave the order, Ren Boyuan, unable to wait, pressed the firing button.

The orb of light passed through the energy converter, and when it emerged, it had transformed into a beam that shot straight through the ground.

Time passed—no explosion was heard.

Clearly, the power was immense, but it did not detonate.

From the distance, an inspector reported, “Penetration depth: one thousand meters!”

At those words, the whole team erupted in jubilant shouts.

One thousand meters! What did that mean? Even a fifty-meter-thick titanium alloy plate would be pierced through!

This weapon was incredibly powerful. Though it did not explode, it was more than enough to cause irreversible damage to enemy machines.

“We did it!”

“Amazing! We actually succeeded!”

“Yes! I must report this to headquarters at once!”

“My Lord! Thank you for your blessing!”

At that moment, everyone was lost in joy, unaware that disaster was quietly approaching.