Chapter 1467: Unknown Energy
"Human bones?" The people present, except for Xu Huo, didn't find it particularly surprising. Zhao Jicheng even said, "Hasn't human bone been excluded from the list of graded materials? At best, it can only be used as fertilizer or fuel."
"I find it strange too," Xin Rong said with a barely contained excitement. "But the aircraft I saw was indeed using this as raw material for sustained flight. I wonder if there's some substance that our current instruments can't detect."
"That's unlikely," Bian Jun said. "The mechanical instruments used by Platinum Eye are connected to A-level wormhole points. If even we can't detect it... which district did you go to?"
"A place with relatively underdeveloped technology," Xin Rong replied. "Apart from their combat weapons being relatively advanced, the entire district's population lived poorly, including those leading the district. Those people were especially hardworking and enduring."
"The purpose of making weapons is to ensure people's livelihoods. If all resources are concentrated on that, isn't that putting the cart before the horse?" Liao Ying said.
"You're not wrong to think that way," Xin Rong said. "But not all districts are as prosperous and developed as ours. Many people are struggling just to get by."
No one denied that point, but they were still more interested in how human bones could be used as a power source. The conversation returned to this topic, and Xin Rong provided his previous test results along with some data, giving a copy to everyone.
"Per the usual arrangement, if a new weapon is eventually developed, I'll split the profits fifty-fifty with whoever succeeds in the research."
No one had any objections to this. The Liao sisters, who were more curious about this, had already started looking through the materials. Xin Rong took a moment to come over and chat with Xu Huo again, asking if he had ever seen such strange weapons.
Xu Huo's current instances hadn't involved super-large machinery. What he had encountered most were various types of robots. Other things like fighter jets or weapons requiring multi-step coordination to operate hadn't come up yet, or even if he had seen them, they were basically unrelated to his instances.
"I don't know much about machinery, and I haven't paid much attention to it," he said honestly.
"Machinery is a very interesting thing," Xin Rong said enthusiastically. "Don't let the fact that weapons take up a large share fool you. Weapons are actually just a derivative of a developed machinery industry. As long as the energy source is good enough, many weapons don't have significant technical barriers. On the contrary, mechanical products like robots or super-large starships require sufficient knowledge and technology to complete. Don't think that just because Platinum Eye's new energy cannon can blow up half a city in one shot, our tenth-generation defensive starships are already capable of withstanding its attack."
"Now that's real technology."
"Many high-level wormhole points possess such technology. The scale of defense they can achieve is also unimaginable. I always thought Platinum Eye was a cutting-edge technological city in the game, but only after stepping out did I realize I had been like a frog at the bottom of a well."
"Besides technology, there's also the shortage of materials," Xu Huo said.
"You've hit the nail on the head." Xin Rong smacked his lips. "The game actually has a semi-monopoly on resources within the districts. There are some super materials I've never even heard of, yet some wormhole points can use them to build starships."
"What's infuriating is that even if such materials are hard to obtain, some can't even be put to use even if you get them. That's also a technical barrier."
"An individual is fragile. Even those super players, so what?" he continued. "If their items don't work, they're just humans with slightly stronger physical bodies. Machinery is the future of humanity."
If items don't work... Xu Huo smiled. "You also said the premise is that items don't work."
Xin Rong chuckled along. "Of course, I'm not saying super players aren't powerful. But how many super players are there in the game? Just look at the materials some high-level districts use as tools. You'll know that the most cutting-edge, most advanced technology in the game must be in the hands of the core figures controlling the game. Why are other districts completely unaware or have no way to find out? Besides the game world being too vast, are there no other factors?"
Xu Huo thought for a moment and said, "You mean districts that have been hidden away?"
If a district had enough resources, destroying it and removing it from the train tracks would allow one to monopolize the resources and erase its existence.
Instances weren't entirely built by people. Those instances that weren't controlled by humans and were naturally occurring were likely an automatic mechanism within the game. That is to say, most instances were born naturally and uncontrollably. Once an instance appeared, tickets and stations would follow. It was absolutely impossible to completely isolate a district from the rest of the world.
But the birth of instances was often related to people. If a district was devastated or even razed to the ground, lacking the foundation for birth, then it might truly never produce instances—like high-risk instances, which were mostly untouched by anyone.
Of course, it was hard to explain exactly how the game operated. But from a small glimpse, it was conceivable that whether it was the people controlling the game or others exploiting loopholes, they could all use the game's rules to their advantage.
"That possibility can't be ruled out," Xin Rong said. "Otherwise, think about it. There are plenty of players in the game. People move around everywhere. How could there be something that outsiders absolutely cannot know?"
Platinum Eye wasn't just the capital of precision instruments; its channels for purchasing various kinds of information were also top-notch. That was one of the reasons they always stayed at the forefront of weapon manufacturing.
Xu Huo knew that Xin Rong wouldn't say all this for nothing, so he said, "If I ever come across any good materials or strange weapons in the future, I'll definitely bring them to Platinum Eye."
Xin Rong happily slapped him on the shoulder. "Let's drink! Let's drink!"
After this "heart-to-heart talk," they moved on to the topic of the Artificer, Old Lady Lu. Xin Rong was somewhat distantly related to Old Lady Lu, but since people in mature districts generally had long lifespans, the kinship wasn't very strong. Xin Rong had always had a natural fondness for crafting and had even studied under the old lady for a while, but he was kicked out for lack of talent. He was very curious about the ore Xu Huo had brought.
"I asked Teacher Lu to make a defense item for me," Xu Huo said. "We'll have to wait for the final result to see how it turns out."
Xin Rong nodded repeatedly. "You don't need to worry about Auntie's craftsmanship. Apart from having a bit of a temper, her reputation is much better than that of ordinary Artificers. Everything she makes is top-notch... The ore you gave her must be a good Subclass Stone, otherwise she wouldn't have talked with you for so long."
That was exactly what he wanted to find out. Xu Huo couldn't help but smile. "Subclass Stones aren't that easy to find. I got it by chance. Even if I went back now, I probably wouldn't find a second one."
Xin Rong waved his hand. "I was just asking casually. Even if there's no Subclass Stone, there might be other ores..."
Liao Ying couldn't help but laugh. "You're really dense. Didn't you understand what he meant? He didn't dig that ore out of some mountain."
(Chapter End)