Chapter 173: The Tank
Leaving Dr. Oak's laboratory—which felt more like a private garden—Furina headed straight for Dr. Mirror's research facility.
As for Bei Bei and the others, they had long since disappeared from the main hall. They were probably off touring somewhere else with Ye Guyi.
Upon arriving at Dr. Mirror's laboratory, Furina paused briefly, taken aback.
It was less a laboratory and more a small-scale factory—massive in scope. It was even larger than Dr. Oak's facility, larger than the research institutes of the other three departments combined.
But that made sense, when she thought about it. The Soul Tool Division inherently required far more personnel than the other three departments. Moreover, this was the era in which soul tools were flourishing and developing rapidly; naturally, a large number of people were needed to research and manufacture all kinds of soul tools, in preparation for the Water God Church's future domination of the continent.
The natives of the Douluo Continent would soon witness what true war looked like, and what overwhelming, crushing power truly meant.
Of course, the ideal scenario would be for her to simply sweep through the four great empires without expending a single soldier after becoming a god. That might even satisfy the Goddess of Life—after all, when it came to fighting and killing, it was ultimately the common people who suffered the most.
Even a lightning war couldn't avoid casualties, unless the opposing side surrendered entirely before the battle even began. But that possibility was practically zero.
Bei Bei and the others didn't seem to be here. They were likely still visiting the soul bone and soul ring sections. After all, compared to soul tools, those were what truly counted as novel to them.
As for Wang Dong... influenced by Tang San, the probability of him coming to the Soul Tool Division was probably fifty-fifty. Still, Furina believed that under the God of Destruction's intervention, Wang Dong would sooner or later escape the clutches of the Tang Buddha.
She had already spoken at length with the God of Destruction and laid out all the details clearly. She trusted that the great deity would keep an extra eye on Wang Dong and look after him.
She planned to give Wang Dong a copy of the Taiyi Spirit-Refining Art later, to help him temper his spiritual power as well. That might assist him in resisting that portion of Tang San's divine consciousness.
She was very much looking forward to a heartwarming scene of "family affection" between father and daughter.
"Your Holiness!"
The moment Dr. Mirror spotted Furina, she nearly jumped with excitement.
She hurried forward, struggling to suppress the elation in her heart and keeping her voice as calm as possible: "Welcome to the tour, Your Holiness!"
Furina nodded with a smile. "Mm. Show me around. Let's see if your Soul Tool Division has had any new breakthroughs."
She paused, then added, "Later, if the opportunity arises, I will invite a Class 8 soul engineer from Shrek to come here and exchange insights. Just don't leak anything too classified. The other things, like pistols and such, are trivial and don't matter."
Dr. Mirror understood immediately and bowed slightly. "As you wish, Your Holiness."
She grasped the deeper meaning behind Furina's words.
She herself was the only Class 7 soul engineer in the Water God Church. To be precise, her soul power had been pushed up by the pills Furina had provided; otherwise, she would still only be half a step into Class 7.
After all, the crafting of soul tools was closely tied to a soul master's soul power—the higher one went, the more so. To become a Class 7 soul engineer, one ideally needed soul power above rank 70; otherwise, producing a Class 7 soul tool was difficult beyond measure.
The reason the other three doctors hadn't relied on pills to break through like she did—aside from their work not being the same as soul tools—was that their three divisions had started far too late, and their early research submissions had been too shoddy. Naturally, the support Furina gave them was less.
But the moment they achieved a breakthrough, the rewards Furina bestowed were also exceedingly generous, far surpassing those of the Soul Tool Division. Just like today—Furina had personally promised to use pills and immortal herbs to push all the doctors to Soul Sage or even Soul Douluo, and had even expressed concern for Dr. X's physical condition. With such treatment, such a Pope, who wouldn't love her? Who wouldn't be loyal?
And now, Her Holiness was even willing to bring in a Class 8 soul engineer for her to exchange insights with. This was an opportunity that no amount of resources could buy. How much she could learn from the other party would depend entirely on her own ability.
Praise be to the Pope!
"Come, please look, Your Holiness." Dr. Mirror stepped aside and gestured toward the rows of neatly displayed soul tools behind her.
They were a series of firearms—pistols, rifles, sniper rifles—each differing in form, yet all emitting faint fluctuations of soul power.
"These are all soul-conduction guns, modified based on the pistol, rifle, sniper rifle, and other samples provided by Your Holiness."
Dr. Mirror explained, "This way, even without bullets, they can be used solely with soul power. According to our design and modifications, their power far exceeds that of long-range attack soul tools of the same class."
She paused, then added, "Of course, mass-produced firearms are also under simultaneous development, and bullets are being strenuously pushed toward mass production as well. However, the process requires many steps, and the technology is still not mature enough."
Furina nodded slightly, expressing her approval. "Mm, very good. Continue. Surely there's more than just these, right?"
Dr. Mirror smiled faintly. "Indeed. Please follow me, Your Holiness. What is prepared here is only the firearms, as well as the soul tools developed from the hidden weapon blueprints you gave us."
Under her guidance, Furina walked toward the depths of the laboratory.
And then, she saw something unbelievable.
A colossal entity stood silently in the center of the workshop floor.
Furina froze.
Logically speaking, she had never provided any blueprints for this. Yet Dr. Mirror and her team had actually built it.
Although there were some differences in appearance from the original version, the general outline—without a doubt, this thing was a tank.
Furina couldn't help but blurt out, "I only casually mentioned it! I never even gave you the blueprints! You actually went and built a tank?!"
Dr. Mirror adjusted her glasses, the lenses reflecting the light of intellect. "It was really just a sudden flash of inspiration. Your Holiness provided us with the concept and direction; we merely needed to advance along the path you pointed out."
She walked over beside the tank and patted its thick armor, her voice carrying a hint of pride. "A union of spear and shield, with a cockpit inside. As it happens, there is a species of soul beast in nature called the Cannonball Turtle, which matches the standards you described very closely. We used it as the foundation and designed this soul-conduction war chariot—what you call a tank."
Furina was momentarily speechless.
Good heavens. Quick-witted, strong in practical execution—and there really was a soul beast similar to a tank.
No wonder they managed to build it.
Dr. Mirror continued her introduction: "According to our tests, this thing is currently equivalent to around a Class 5 soul tool. It can withstand two full-force strikes from an Assault-type Soul King. Its attack method is to launch custom-made soul-conduction cannon shells. A machine gun is also mounted on top, allowing for suppressive fire. As for speed... it's currently relatively slow, but there is still room for improvement."
Furina nodded with satisfaction. "Excellent. I am very pleased."
What was there to be dissatisfied about? Without spending any points to purchase blueprints, they had built it on their own. Wasn't this just saving her a massive expense? At the same time, it advanced the military development of the Water God Church.
She pursued with keen curiosity: "Are there any more surprises?"
A sly glint flickered in Dr. Mirror's eyes. "Naturally, there are more. Although we haven't yet produced an airplane, I have built the automobile and motorcycle you spoke of."
Furina's eyes lit up.
"Oh?"
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I started a new translation, it's a crossover based on Mondaiji (Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?), and the story also intersects with No Game No Life, Honkai: Star Rail, and Demon Slayer. I've only just started reading this story and can't say much about it yet, but so far it's pretty interesting, so I recommend checking it out via the link or finding the translation on my profile. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do!
Mondaiji: Am I A Dragon Species? https://www.webnovel.com/book/36661423108025005