"Let's go to my workshop first." Alex suddenly became enthusiastic. The truth was, a leisurely life wasn't always that great; he occasionally needed to work to keep things interesting.
Now, Alex planned to repair this automaton named "Katheryne" to pass his boring time and refine his craftsmanship.
Although he was quite laid-back, he fundamentally enjoyed mechanical things. He only disliked the kind of rigid, uncreative mechanical design and manufacturing work that stifled his own ideas.
For Alex, who considered himself to have great Talents, this was a form of torture.
Fortunately, he had made it through. Now he had plenty of free time to do what he wanted, unlike those fresh graduates who worked day and night to meet deadlines.
Yu Jin carried Katheryne, following behind Alex. They walked among the gray and white skyscrapers, with vehicles of various shapes suspended and flying in the air.
The wide roads below were entirely left for pedestrians. People strolled in twos and threes, or simply hailed an airship to travel to distant places.
It was hard to imagine that such a nation existed in the same world as The Seven Nations like Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma, which were still largely in a medieval state.
However, it couldn't really be said that way. Here, there was element power, alchemy, and The Seven Archons, which could, to some extent, bridge this gap.
"We're here." Alex stopped ahead. Yu Jin looked up, and what greeted his eyes was an entire, massive factory building.
This couldn't possibly belong to a mechanical designer, could it? And why would a mechanical design and manufacturing factory be built in a bustling city?
There were too many absurdities; Yu Jin didn't know where to begin to complain. He could only say that Alex, in front of him, was a man with ideas.
"Let's go, I'll show you what the best mechanical manufacturing plant in Khaenri'ah looks like!" Alex, with considerable pride, led Yu Jin into the factory.
The expected noise did not appear; the entire factory was orderly. Countless robots were moving between the factory's machinery, fulfilling their duties.
Yu Jin looked around and saw many machines he had never seen before.
Among them were Ruin Guards and Ruin Hunters. There were also mechanical behemoths tens of meters tall, resembling dragons.
They were either completed and awaiting shipment, or currently under construction, their complex internal wiring enough to make one's scalp tingle.
"What is that?" Yu Jin pointed to the mechanical dragon in the center of the factory, feeling curious. Lately, why did he keep encountering dragons? First a long dragon, then a fat dragon, and now a mechanical dragon.
Alex waved his hand, saying nonchalantly, "An improved version of Apep, the Dragon of Everlasting Calamity, but it's useless now."
"Why is it useless?" Yu Jin asked. Such a huge fellow must be very effective at getting things done.
After hearing this, Alex looked at the gigantic machine and said with a sigh, "The original prototype designed by the Empire had many flaws. I wanted to improve it and fix those loopholes."
"But now... it seems they've negotiated something with The Seven Nations on the surface, so these big guys aren't needed anymore. I've been busy for nothing this whole time."
Although Alex said this, judging by his relieved expression, he was quite happy that his improved version wasn't put to use.
"Tell me, how do you want him to be modified?" Alex looked at Katheryne beside Yu Jin and asked her.
He could tell that this automaton had already begun to awaken consciousness. Given this, he couldn't simply view her as a machine.
"I..." Katheryne was a bit flustered when the topic suddenly shifted to her.
Everything she had just experienced had almost caused her already severely damaged processor to crash. Now, she had no idea what she should do next.
Seeing this, Yu Jin took over the conversation and said to Alex, "Keep her appearance and consciousness unchanged; you can do whatever you want with the rest. Also, if you can increase her strength, that would be even better."
After speaking, Yu Jin looked at Katheryne, who nodded in agreement. As long as her appearance and consciousness remained unchanged, Katheryne didn't care about anything else.
"Whoosh—" Yu Jin suddenly felt a blinding light. It was then that he realized Alex's eyes were glowing like light bulbs.
Alex looked at Katheryne, then at Yu Jin. He felt that his inner delusion could finally be realized.
Deep within Alex's heart was a delusion: he fantasized about replacing every part of the body to make it stronger. If he did this, would life increasingly approach that of a god?
One step closer, perhaps even surpassing a god?
However, these were just thoughts in his mind. His education and his conscience did not allow him to do such a thing.
Khaenri'ah's current achievements were all due to the development of the forbidden power deep underground.
That power was dangerous and mysterious, which made Khaenri'ah extremely cautious about any research. This atmosphere also influenced Alex.
He knew that the danger of his ideas was comparable to researching that forbidden power, so he had always kept them buried deep within his heart.
And now, the idea in his heart had a chance to be realized. Moreover, there was a volunteer, and the volunteer was almost beyond repair, which directly eliminated Alex's sense of guilt.
He now only wanted to furiously modify Katheryne. Besides that, everything else could wait.
"Good, good, good! Increase her strength, you say! No problem, I must severely increase this lady's strength!" Alex wiped his saliva, took Katheryne's hand, and ran deeper into the factory.
Yu Jin looked at Alex, who resembled a pervert, and suddenly wondered if he had found the wrong person.
No, that couldn't be right? Alex was clearly the most skilled in machinery among the people of Khaenri'ah within him!
"Forget it, let's see. Nothing major can happen anyway." Yu Jin shook his head and jogged after him.
Alex led, or rather, dragged Katheryne all the way to a circular control platform.
"Come, come, Miss Katheryne just needs to stand on it." Alex urged Katheryne to stand on the platform as if coaxing a child, afraid she might run away.
"I'm warning you, don't mess around. If you turn Katheryne into a monster, I'll beat you into a monster!" Yu Jin walked up from behind, waving his iron fist.
"Uh... let me confirm again, only the appearance and consciousness remain unchanged, right?" Alex paused, then asked, as if unsure.
Yu Jin stroked his chin and looked at Katheryne. Katheryne felt Yu Jin's gaze, and she smiled and nodded at Alex, saying, "Mr. Alex, please begin."
"Woohoo!" Alex let out a strange cry, then operated the control console to modify Katheryne.
Suddenly, many mechanical arms and high-sensitivity lasers appeared on the console. They worked together to modify Katheryne.
"Hmm? That's strange. With this level of damage, she should have been scrapped long ago, right? How is she still fine now?" A mechanical arm disassembled Katheryne's head and took out a consciousness core full of cracks.
He was a bit puzzled. With this extent of damage, it was already good that she hadn't been scrapped on the spot. The fact that she could maintain operation for so long left him bewildered.
"You have to believe in life," Yu Jin added from the side. Alex nodded at his words.
Indeed, Katheryne could already be considered a life form. And life was even more difficult to understand than taboos.
He carefully placed the consciousness core into the repair chamber. Now he could work freely.
Immediately, sparks flew from the operating platform. The sounds of mechanical cutting, splicing, and twisting echoed through the factory.
Yu Jin looked at the unrecognizable Katheryne, then at Alex, whose face was flushed. He asked curiously, "You said you'd severely increase her strength. What kind of strength are we talking about?"
Alex looked up at his words, smiled confidently, "You've heard of a Vision, right?"
Yu Jin nodded.
"When she encounters a Vision wielder, she must rip out their Vision and slap them hard in the face!"
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