Chapter 353: Is The Chen Clan This Terrifying? How Can They Be So Fast?
“Teacher, how are we supposed to handle this?” a relatively young team member quietly asked Academician Liu.
He could not understand any of it.
“This… is a new discipline… that…” Academician Liu really wanted to explain a couple of sentences to cover his own awkwardness, but he truly was not good at this. In the end, he could only sigh and say, “Sigh, I don’t understand it either…”
“Pfft!” Minister Ma could not hold back when he saw him like this and laughed again.
Only when he noticed Academician Liu glaring at him in displeasure did he awkwardly cough and say, “Looks like we still need support from the Special Intelligence Analysis Department for this.”
As he spoke, he had already picked up his mobile phone and started making arrangements.
Seeing this, Academician Liu only snorted once and did not argue with him.
In this situation, further cooperation between both sides was inevitable.
Looking at those runes, they felt like illiterates staring at advanced calculus.
The Special Intelligence Analysis Department, on the other hand, did have more experience with this kind of thing.
On the other side, in the mountain canyon of Dragon Vein Qi Gathering, a killing intent had appeared, because the place had already been taken over. A fully armed unit of soldiers had moved in and were checking safety in all areas.
In a few days, the higher-ups would personally come over for an on-site inspection.
After all, the information report on this Feng Shui formation was too unbelievable.
People from the Special Intelligence Analysis Department were also packing up. Apart from leaving two people behind to help check and maintain the formation, the place would be handed over to the military.
As the person in charge of the instrument group of the Special Intelligence Analysis Department, Xia Ke carefully gave an introduction to a middle-aged man before withdrawing: “Leader Ding, when dense red dots appear on this instrument, it means there is still energy present. When soldiers train in military boxing within it, they can absorb this energy.”
While speaking, they pointed at another instrument and said, “This is a human image detection instrument. You can use it to detect whether the soldiers have absorbed energy. Because this formation was activated by documents issued from the higher-ups, it requires orthodoxy, meaning only soldiers who are absolutely loyal to the country can absorb it. If there are any soldiers who are unable to absorb the energy, please handle them as soon as possible.”
Ding Feng was filled with shock when he heard this.
When he first received the task, he was dumbfounded. He wondered if the higher-ups were joking, or if he had somehow time-traveled and the world had changed.
Otherwise, how could terms like Dragon Vein Qi Gathering, Feng Shui formation, drawing on Wudang true kung fu, and soldiers absorbing energy during training all appear together in a document?
But his duty was obedience. However the higher-ups arranged things, that was how he acted.
Only after truly understanding the situation did he feel he was about to fall behind, because the Feng Shui formation was literally set up right before his eyes.
Those soldiers really could absorb energy through military boxing training, and even the soldiers themselves could feel it.
Seeing the energy being absorbed by the soldiers on the human image display, his expression grew serious, understanding what this represented.
Right now, the effect might not yet be obvious, but what about a few years later? Or ten years later? What would their soldiers become?
Therefore, everything here had to be kept strictly confidential. If a soldier appeared who could not absorb energy, he had to be dealt with at once.
Such a person might not be a traitor, but was certainly not absolutely loyal. Who knew if after discharge they might be targeted and end up exposing this matter?
“Team leader Xia, thank you for your hard work.” Ding Feng was full of respect for these people from the Special Intelligence Analysis Department. After all, they had created such a miraculous formation.
Then, driven by curiosity, he asked, “Team leader Xia, has the duration of the formation’s energy emission been confirmed? I did not see this in the information.”
Xia Ke explained, “Yesterday the formation was just completed, so we had not fully tested it. Now we can confirm that it should emit three times a day, at the hours of yin, chen, and shen.”
“These three times correspond precisely to the three hours of normal daily revival of the dragon vein in Feng Shui. At other times, the dragon vein is in a dormant state.”
“The hour of yin is from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. In Feng Shui, this is when the yang energy of the earth begins to revive along the dragon vein. At this time the dragon vein crouches, waiting…”
“The hour of chen is from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. In Feng Shui, this is the best time for rising dragons gathering qi and for moving clouds and dragon water…”
“The hour of shen is from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. In Feng Shui, this is the best time for the dragon vein’s qi to gather and return to its nest…”
Hearing this, Ding Feng could not help but feel emotional. “Feng Shui really is broad and profound.”
After Xia Ke finished explaining everything, they took their people to say goodbye and leave. Just as they got in the car, they received a call from a leader.
After answering and hearing the new instructions, they immediately replied, “Okay, we will head to that laboratory right away.”
Hanging up, they instructed the driver and gave a location.
They had not expected that right after dealing with the Feng Shui formation, their department would have new work.
But that was a good thing. The busier they were, the more it showed how important their department was, and the more secure their high treatment became.
Soon, Xia Ke arrived at a heavily guarded Mechanical Science Laboratory. After showing work ID and passing inspection, they were taken into a large analysis room in the lab.
The others from the Special Intelligence Analysis Department had already arrived and were observing a mecha together with the laboratory personnel.
This should be that mecha belonging to the Chen Family Head, right?
“Xia Ke, you’re here. Come over and take a look together.” Minister Ma saw them arrive and called out.
“Okay.” Xia Ke nodded and stepped forward to look, but when they saw the talismans inside the mecha, their face was filled with disbelief.
Although they had already learned how powerful some things from the Daoist Sect were through the Feng Shui formation, seeing this scene still made it hard for their worldview to adjust.
Especially when they thought of how freely that mecha of the Chen Family Head had moved. Was it controlled by these talismans?
The key point was that these talismans were also connected with some wires and circuit boards, seemingly involving technology as well.
It was a bit like the so-called cyber style often mentioned online.
People from the laboratory and the Special Intelligence Analysis Department watched for a long time, and everyone who saw it remained silent for a long while.
There was the difficulty of understanding those talismans, and also the shock and impact.
However, Academician Liu’s team were top talents, and the Special Intelligence Analysis Department staff were also highly capable. After observing for so long, it was impossible they gained nothing.
Minister Ma was the first to speak to Xia Ke and the others: “We’ve been staring at it for a while. Everyone talk. Any ideas?”
Hearing this, a young member of the Special Intelligence Analysis Department spoke up: “Minister Ma, yesterday I asked the Chen Family Head quite a bit about Feng Shui. According to what he mentioned, advanced Feng Shui formations rely on Feng Shui stones as connectors of geography and terrain, and the layout of terrain and flow affects the veins of the formation.”
“Looking at the runes inside this mecha now, can we understand them as similar to the terrain veins in a Feng Shui formation, with these crystals equivalent to Feng Shui stones?”
“Except Feng Shui stones are connected to the geography and terrain and sustained by them, while these crystals should contain their own energy. And these wires and circuit boards are the equivalent of the terrain layout.”
After hearing this, Academician Liu said, “These crystals do indeed carry some kind of energy. That’s why when the detection chamber instruments scanned, they were affected and could not examine the inside of the mecha. But there should be another reason for these wires and circuit boards.”
As he said that, he suddenly stopped and turned to his own team members to ask, “What about you? After watching for so long, did you gain anything?”
A researcher spoke up, “Academician Liu, after careful observation, we think this is actually a kind of circuit diagram.”
As he spoke, he picked up a small blackboard and began drawing while explaining, “These crystals are batteries. These wires and circuit boards are parts of a circuit diagram. And these talismans should be acting as some kind of power activation device, mid-circuit receivers, and so on.”
“If we convert it into modern circuit technology, and replace these runes with relays, receiver chip boards, and such components, it immediately becomes clear.”
As he talked, a circuit diagram gradually appeared on his small blackboard, except that the talismans had been replaced by modern circuit symbols.
This was truly astonishing.
Minister Ma could not help saying, “It should be something like this. I didn’t expect that old Daoist priest from the Chen Clan, at his age, to actually understand circuit science, directly combining these talismans with electronic circuits to create such an incredible mecha.”
Academician Liu could not help retorting, “Whether someone understands science and technology has nothing to do with age. I’m old and I understand, and you’re younger than me and don’t.”
“…” Minister Ma was left awkward. “Well… since we have a working idea, let’s first focus our research and analysis in this direction and figure out this talisman circuit diagram.”
What he had said earlier was indeed based on a mistaken assumption. That old Daoist priest of the Chen Clan was only born in a more backward era, which did not mean he himself was backward.
Moreover, with such a long lifespan, as long as he kept up with the times and adapted to the era, it would not be strange for him to learn anything new.
In fact, with the knowledge accumulated over such a long lifespan, he could probably crush many modern experts.
After all, if you subtract childhood, primary school, middle school, and high school, how many years of true intensive learning do these experts really have?
There was simply no way to compare.
The key thing was that this old Daoist priest of the Chen Clan clearly knew how to keep up with the times, and this mecha before them was the proof.
Academician Liu did not argue further with Minister Ma.
Right now, researching this mecha was what mattered most.
He immediately said, “Let’s do as Minister Ma said. Everyone get moving. We have the finished product right in front of us. If we still can’t figure it out, when I go to become a disciple, I’ll drag you all along. If we lose face, we lose it together.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Ke subconsciously said, “If I could acknowledge the Chen Family Head as teacher, I wouldn’t feel it’s losing face.”
The member of the Special Intelligence Analysis Department who had just spoken up also said, “Me too, you can bring me along when you go to become a disciple.”
“…” Academician Liu was instantly speechless. He suddenly felt that the people from the Special Intelligence Analysis Department were just like Minister Ma, all bad at talking and really annoying.
At this moment, however, someone hurried in to report, “Academician Liu, we scraped off a bit of metal earlier and took it to test the material composition, but we could not match it to anything. We currently have no record of this metal, and the metal atom detection instruments show that its atomic bonding strength is twice that of the special metals in our database.”
“How is that possible? Wasn’t this mecha bought from that model company?” someone exclaimed.
Academician Liu immediately said, “If it were metal from that model company, it would never be able to pierce through those robots with a single sword.”
This statement shocked everyone.
If the atomic bonding strength of this special metal was twice that of the special metals they had researched, that meant its hardness was also twice as high.
They had to know that their special metals had never been made public. They were the world’s most cutting-edge, hardest batch of metals.
And now they were being told that the metal of this mecha was twice as hard as those special metals?
Had the Chen Clan defied the heavens?
The key was that the Chen Clan had forged such metal into a complete mecha. How had they done it?
The Chen Clan did not have such a mechanical manufacturing flow line, did they?
And the real issue was not even the production line. Metal of such hardness could not be melted by ordinary heat; the required conditions were ridiculously high.
It could be said that, at present, no one but the authorities could achieve this.
One more thing: if the Chen Clan had used this kind of metal to build, then why did they buy so many models from the mecha model company?
Wouldn’t it have been easier just to build according to the blueprints found online?
But these seemed to be secrets they had no way of knowing.
For a moment, people on both sides stared blankly at the mecha. In this situation, it seemed that not only the internal talismans and circuits had to be studied, but they also needed to invite laboratories specializing in metals to join.
Were Daoist things really this formidable?
Was the Chen Clan really this terrifying?
…
When Chen Han returned from Qingming City to the Chen Clan, it was already the next day.
In the car, he received a call from Minister Ma. After answering, he began operating Douyin on his mobile phone.
All the online news videos related to mecha had actually disappeared.
Even the Robot Mecha League had released a special statement video: 《Decrypting the secrets of filming the Chen Clan mecha!》
This video had clearly attracted a huge number of viewers.
After all, the previous related videos had become extremely popular. The Chen Clan mecha had been too astonishing, and its combat power was terrifying.
It had to be admitted that while people mocked the robots of the Robot Mecha League, those things were made from very good metals.
But those robots had been taken out by the Chen Clan mecha with a single sword, either pierced through or sliced through, like they were made of paper.
With such shocking scenes, it was impossible for viewers not to be stunned. So this matter had gained tremendous popularity.
Yet after that, the Chen Clan mecha had suddenly disappeared from the Robot Mecha League live broadcasts.
It was as if the Chen Clan mecha had vanished, and the same old robot mechas were back to fighting each other. The ornamental value instantly dropped.
So when the 《Decrypting the secrets of filming the Chen Clan mecha》 video appeared, it naturally drew massive attention, and it already had an enormous number of comments and likes.
Chen Han clicked open the video and saw a representative from the Robot Mecha League start explaining: “We have to admit, many viewers are sharp-eyed and realized that the Chen Clan mecha in our previous promotional video was fake.”
“Indeed, that was a video we co-produced with the Chen Clan to support the concept of the national Southern Heavenly Gate Plan.”
“But please don’t be disappointed. Given our country’s level of development in robotics, such a mecha should appear soon. Next, I will explain how we shot the Chen Clan mecha’s battle scenes…”
In the video, as he spoke, footage appeared. It showed that, although the exterior of the mecha looked very textured, it was actually just a shell, empty inside, allowing a person to get in.
That way, the jumping and sword-swinging movements were all performed by a human inside.
Everything that followed was special effects.
They even showed several special effects artists working at computers to create the effects.
With these images shown, people who did not know the truth would believe it, even if they had doubts.
In the car, Xiao Yu and Xiao Mi leaned in from either side to watch the video on his phone.
Seriously, there was still an empty seat in the front, but they ignored it and insisted on squeezing together in the back.
And when he watched a video, they just had to crowd in like this. Did they not realize they had eaten Yellow Spirit Gourds?
Was the effect of the Yellow Spirit Gourd a joke?
“Senior brother, isn’t this video just talking nonsense?” After watching, Xiao Yu complained, “The Robot Mecha League obviously couldn’t accept losing, so they’re pulling this trick. When we get back to the Chen Clan, I’ll upload a video and roast them to death.”
“No need. The Robot Mecha League is just obeying orders,” Chen Han said with a smile. “You know the term macro-control?”
Xiao Yu looked puzzled. “What does that mean?”
Xiao Mi, however, seemed thoughtful. “The mecha is too powerful. The people at the top don’t want too many people to know, especially foreigners.”
“Then when our Chen Clan later makes more puppets, won’t tourists be able to see them?” Xiao Yu pouted. “And during the competition, so many spectators saw it. Isn’t this just covering your ears while stealing a bell?”
“Pfft!” Xiao Mi could not help laughing and explained, “People at the scene saw what they saw. But as long as they can’t spread it clearly online, who else will know? And how many people from abroad can come here to see it in person?”
“If they can hide it for a day, they will. Until the day it can be made public in the open. For all we know, this video has already spread across foreign sites, and people overseas might be frantically mocking us for using such flashy fakery.”
Chen Han gave her a thumbs up. “Smart.”
“They’re making it so troublesome, acting like some war deception bureau!” Xiao Yu muttered.
Just as Xiao Mi had said, foreign mechanical forums were already in an uproar, especially the Robot Mecha League forums in the Star-Spangled Nation.
Two days earlier, someone named Dongfang Long had kept posting a mecha video from the East, showing a mecha taking out a robot with one sword strike every time.
The robots being chopped were from their own Robot Mecha League.
That was a frontal, blatant humiliation.
Back then, they had not known whether the video was real or not, and the mecha in it was from Eastern Greatness’s Southern Heavenly Gate Plan.
At the time, they had almost believed the video was real, especially since Dongfang Long had confidently shared live stream footage.
It was demoralizing. They thought their mecha technology was far behind Eastern Greatness.
But today’s video had made them all excited.
Of course Eastern Greatness could not have mecha that strong. In the global Robot Mecha League, Eastern Greatness had never won many good awards.
So it turned out to be just a special effects video.
That so-called “Dongfang Long” had even used it to bluff people.
The entire forum burst into mockery:
“See? Those people from the Eastern Country are so vain, bragging about things they don’t have.”
“With this video out, to use their own words, their faces must be burning from the slaps.”
“If they can’t beat us in the Robot Mecha League, fine, but then they pull these flashy tricks.”
“…”
The tone of these comments showed satisfaction at venting, along with unrestrained ridicule.
But this left “Dongfang Long” dumbfounded. He was a mecha enthusiast from a state university in Eastern Greatness and had applied to join the university’s robot team.
He just had not been accepted. If he had been, he would have been part of the Robot Mecha League.
So when he saw the Chen Clan mecha appear and saw that people from his country had built such a terrifying mecha, he had been thrilled and posted the mecha videos on the Star-Spangled Nation’s forums to slap those foreigners in the face.
After all, they had always looked down on their robot mechas for never winning any prizes in the global competition.
Watching those people choke on their words had felt incredibly satisfying.
So what was going on now?
He felt like he had been stabbed in the back.
If those scenes were special effects, then what had he seen in person?
Was the whole thing some full virtual illusion?
And now that the video had gone viral as an official release from the Robot Mecha League, he had no way to refute the ridicule.
Unwilling to accept it, he immediately contacted a senior classmate who was a member of the university robot team and a maintenance technician, who had previously complained that their robot had been pierced by the Chen Clan mecha’s sword and its battery ruined.
He made the call, and once it connected, he asked, “Senior, did you see the video online? Isn’t the Robot Mecha League talking nonsense? How could our robot being pierced through with one sword be special effects?”
The reply came over the telephone: “Xiaolong, what nonsense are you talking about? When was our robot pierced with one sword? That was a special effects video we filmed in cooperation with the league. Alright, I’m busy. Hanging up now.”
On the other end, a young man hung up and smiled. The league had given them funding; compared with that, what was telling a lie?
The key point was that it washed away the shame of their robot being pierced with one sword.
But after Xiaolong hung up, he was stunned. He suddenly wondered if he was still dreaming, or if something was wrong with his mind.
Had what he personally witnessed also become fake?
He was not the only one. Many people who had seen the match with their own eyes were also dumbfounded.
What was happening all of a sudden?
They had paid for tickets to watch in person. How could they not be able to tell if it was special effects? Could the organizers project special effects into their faces?
And don’t mention immersive virtual reality. If they had that level of technology, would the Mecha League still be floundering like this with such low popularity?
They were furious and went straight into the comments to curse out the video, but after posting, they found that no one responded.
They also noticed that in the comment section, there were no posts exposing the real truth about the mecha.
What they did not know was that their comments were being instantly flagged by the Douyin System. No one else could see them; only they themselves could.
This was the new comment transparency system rolled out across platforms.
Comments related to this mecha had been preset: once certain keywords were detected, the comment became transparent, visible only to the commenter and to no one else.
The car soon pulled into the Chen Clan Parking Lot and stopped. As Chen Han got out, a game prompt suddenly appeared in his mind.
The prompt truly stunned him.
Was it really this fast?
……
（Tickets, tickets, tickets）
