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Chapter 152 - 151: All for a Better Jiang City

Three days later, the comprehensive survey of Building 99 in Hot Pepper Village was basically completed.

It has a total of 75 floors, almost running through the entire mountain. The living spaces are divided into upper, middle, and lower sections. The rock wall is thinnest in the upper section, almost only as thick as a palm, and can be easily broken open with a pickaxe.

The interlayers between residential areas have various uses, such as various warehouses, water storage rooms, and boiler rooms... That’s right, Chen Xuan discovered a room on the 22nd floor with large boiler equipment, and whether it’s the furnace or the pipes, they are basically well-preserved and seem ready for use at any time.

Next to this boiler room is a warehouse for storing coal. Unlike the fate of rice, these coal blocks, except for being covered in a thick layer of dust, basically remain intact.

The reason it was renamed Building 99, instead of Mountain 99, is because the exploration team found similar situations in another mountain a kilometer away.

Apparently, this building within the mountain is not an isolated case.

"So the Wanshan Wilderness not only had inhabitants before, but they also built many high-rise buildings and turned this place into a city?" summarized Lin Qing.

The three of them were standing on the "rooftop" of Building 99, the top of the mountain pillar, discussing their findings over the past few days. Only from a high vantage point could they feel the regular arrangement of these mountain pillars. Despite their differing heights, the intervals between them were quite close. Countless mountain pillars formed the unique terrain of the Wanshan Wilderness, and now knowing that buildings might be hidden within these rock formations made it even more peculiar.

However, no matter how far Chen Xuan looked, he couldn’t see the giant sword stele from Liu Zhidong’s memory.

Perhaps at that time, he had already delved deep into the wilderness, far from the Qing State.

"We can basically think of it like this now, but there are still some puzzles unsolved," Chen Xuan said, picking up a stone and drawing on the ground. "There are many devices and materials arranged on the upper floors, so numerous elevators are needed. We indeed found many similar mobile platform devices. The problem is, they don’t seem to be powered by electricity or steam."

Compared to the ultimate questions of who built them and why they abandoned this place, he considered more realistic issues.

Because a vision emerged in Chen Xuan’s mind.

It was to let Hot Pepper Village "occupy the magpie’s nest" and reuse these houses!

These are excellent concrete houses, with metal plate layers on the outside, sturdy and durable, warm in winter and cool in summer, much more comfortable than those cave dwellings at the foot of the mountain. Now the village’s food supply is almost self-sufficient, animal fur and herbs can be exchanged for cloth and ironware, but the only shortfall is housing.

Even though thousands of people are continuously building wooden houses, the number is not increasing fast enough in the short term. As the weather gradually cools, heavy snow will start to fall in two months, and housing will become a significant issue then.

Fortunately, Liu Shuyue had infused them with dragon blood, improving everyone’s physical fitness; otherwise, a harsh winter could wipe out the entire village.

But enduring the cold doesn’t mean they like to be cold. Who wouldn’t want a warm home instead of squeezing dozens or even over a hundred people into a single cave for the night?

Therefore, moving into these mountain buildings is an extremely tempting option.

The explored residential area of Building 99 can accommodate two thousand people.

Of course, ... if they abandon the inconveniently accessible middle and lower levels and only use the upper section, it could house around eight hundred people.

If they make some compromises, convert some empty warehouses into temporary accommodation, the capacity could be multiplied several times, and the height and spaciousness would be far superior to caves.

Since they plan to live there, naturally they must consider fully utilizing the existing resources of the house; otherwise, the trash won’t go out, and food and water won’t come in, and living in a high-rise for a while would mean it’s wasted.

"Could it be powered by spiritual energy?" Liu Shuyue suddenly had a thought, "For example, the kind of device used by the Immortal Alliance in the Moon Gazing Tower seems to be able to move objects using spiritual energy."

"Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything similar in the building... and even if there were, I guess we wouldn’t know where to start," Lin Qing spread her hands, showing that this thing was completely beyond her knowledge.

Chen Xuan thought it over and felt it wasn’t impossible.

The devices being completely different could make sense. After all, they belong to two worlds, and the application of spiritual energy must vary greatly. "I did ask Xu Yuanqing about this — actually, whether it’s the elevator or the Hexagram Instrument used to test spiritual energy, they all operate with Dharma Artifacts. When injected with spiritual energy, they can react, and their size and shape depend on their purpose."

Liu Shuyue seemed thoughtful, "If that’s the case... I might have a way."

"What way?"

"The Sect taught a rather obscure spell that can be used to locate lost magical treasures and instruments scattered around," she said slowly, "According to my master, some early disciples would carry a Sect’s magical treasure when they left the mountain, and after they died, these items would disperse among the people. If they could be reclaimed, that would be ideal. But the primary goal of disciples leaving the mountain is to aid the nation and secure the people, so almost no one wastes energy on such matters."

Chen Xuan guessed, "Does it work by utilizing the spiritual energy absorption properties of magical treasures?"

"Exactly, you’re really clever," Liu Shuyue praised, "Remember the Smoke Soul Pillar? If a recipient is set up, it will transmit messages between two locations. In fact, it can also be modified to connect to other targets. This spell utilizes the properties of the Smoke Soul Pillar, allowing the smoke to search for regions that need to absorb spiritual energy. My artifact refining skills are not as good as Liu Zhidong’s. I probably can’t make a new Smoke Soul Pillar, but modifying the Liu Family’s one is doable."

"If there really are mechanisms driven by spiritual energy inside this mountain building, they might be sensed by the soul smoke, creating a phenomenon where smoke gathers. Then I can have the villagers inject spiritual energy to determine if this idea is correct."

She said with enthusiasm.

...

Back in the store, Lin Qing smiled, "That’s really nice, Miss Liu seems revitalized."

Chen Xuan wasn’t surprised at all, "If she could be easily defeated, she wouldn’t have led a group of disaster victims to the Wanshan Wilderness, shouldering the pressure of breaking the Sect’s agreement."

Upon realizing the world wasn’t as she had known, disappointment and confusion were inevitable, but that was in the past — whether or not she could truly achieve her ideals of aiding the nation and securing the people, at least she had genuinely saved the villagers of Hot Pepper Village, who now held her in complete trust. In the face of responsibility, Liu Shuyue has never chosen to evade.

In fact, Chen Xuan was a little happy inside.

He had always worried that indifference might have a negative impact on her, gradually turning her into someone cold both inside and out. But thankfully, Liu Shuyue hadn’t been changed by this ability; she remained devoted to the villagers and maintained her consistent attitude towards herself.

Perhaps only when confronting emotions needing to be overcome would the high wall of defense rise; in other words, it’s an active skill.

He cheerfully turned on the TV, preparing to open for business.

However, the news broadcast on TV made Chen Xuan pause.

Lin Qing also turned her attention to the screen.

"...In light of the public safety crisis that occurred earlier, the Dimensional Limit Mechanism has decided to form a professional emergency response team to meet Jiang City’s security needs. This team will publicly recruit all Ability Users and is willing to accept supervision from the entire society. According to the spokesperson, the plan has already gained police support, marking the first time the authorities have recognized the importance of Ability Users."

"The first recruitment conference is set to start this Saturday morning, located at the West Plaza of the City Talent Market. Our station’s reporter will provide full coverage for you."

"Finally, let’s thank the Dimensional Limit Mechanism for their efforts in creating a better Jiang City, and call on viewers in front of their screens to fully support the ordinary residents who dare to stand up against illegal elements, cheering them on!"