Chapter 174: Overturning the Continent
Next, Dr. Mirror led Furina to another area.
After just a dozen or so steps, a blue-and-white automobile came into Furina's view. Beside it, a motorcycle of the same blue-and-white color scheme stood parked silently.
However, the motorcycle's appearance differed somewhat from what Furina had imagined. This was likely because, without complete blueprints, the design relied entirely on her verbal descriptions, supplemented by Dr. Mirror's team's own imagination and ingenuity to cobble the thing together—the same principle as the tank from earlier.
Furina's eyes brimmed with delight. "You actually built them. This is truly a pleasant surprise."
She nodded approvingly. "Not bad, not bad. I can see you've all worked very hard."
Among the three divisions, aside from Dr. Oak's department, which had been a bit... well, unconventional in its approach, the other two had both made excellent progress.
With the help of Huo Yuhao and Electrolux, Dr. Tomoe's side would likely be able to produce soul spirits very soon. Afterward, with Electrolux conducting deeper research, they might even develop a more advanced and complete version of artificial soul spirits.
As for Dr. Oak... she could only let things take their natural course. Perhaps in the future, he really could produce beast-kin, cat-eared girls, and the like.
That's right—she was benefiting future generations, perhaps even the next transmigrator.
As long as it didn't cross into truly degenerate territory, she'd let him research as he pleased.
Dr. Mirror bowed in thanks. "Thank you for your praise, Your Holiness."
Furina curiously approached the automobile and asked, "Is it functional now? Can it be driven?"
Dr. Mirror considered this, then shook her head. "I would advise against it, Your Holiness. It is still in the development phase. There are mainly some detail issues—speed-related, stability-related. In short, it still requires further modification and refinement."
She explained, "The main problem is that we modified the energy supply system, converting it to be driven solely by soul power. This way, resources like petroleum can be conserved for use in other fields. However, this caused the design to deviate significantly from the original, with far too many changes, resulting in its current state. We are researching how to resolve the aforementioned issues."
Furina listened, feeling inwardly astonished.
She had originally assumed Dr. Mirror and her team would follow her line of thought—developing fuel-based energy sources like petroleum first. She hadn't expected them to have a sudden flash of brilliance and create a soul-power-driven system instead.
But on second thought, soul-power drive was indeed more environmentally friendly and more convenient. After all, in this world, if automobiles were to be widely popularized, only soul masters could afford them, because soul masters were wealthier.
Even the richest tycoons among commoners wouldn't have that much money to buy an automobile comparable to a high-grade soul tool. Besides, anyone who could become a tycoon had most likely already come into contact with the martial soul stratum and might have long since found a way to awaken their martial soul and soul power.
So in the final analysis, it was soul masters who had money. Or rather, those who had money were almost invariably soul masters.
After all, this wasn't yet the era of Douluo Dalu 4, where entertainment activities blossomed in endless variety. The people of the Douluo Continent developed entertainment far too slowly—before Douluo Dalu 4, it was practically nonexistent. Even if it existed, no one would specifically mention it. After all, the main theme of the Douluo Continent was soul masters fighting other soul masters, not slice-of-life.
Furina couldn't help but applaud. "Not bad, not bad. Very creative. I greatly look forward to the final results. Keep it up, and keep working hard, Dr. Mirror. For now, focus on these for the time being—biting off more than you can chew won't help."
Dr. Mirror inclined her head in acknowledgment. "As you command, Your Holiness."
Just as Furina said, although their Soul Tool Division had the most personnel and the largest space, when it came to researching soul tools, manpower was still finite. Their energy didn't allow for undertaking too many projects simultaneously. Moreover, high-level soul engineers were scarce—they had no Class 8, let alone Class 9.
If she herself could reach Class 9 soul engineer, she might have the spare capacity to branch into other directions and train more high-level soul engineers. Unfortunately, she was still only Class 7; it was still far too difficult.
She could only look forward to when Furina invited that Class 8 soul engineer from Shrek. She would learn as much as she could from him and, along the way, see if she could attempt a promotion to Class 8.
Furina admonished, "Alright. Since the research has reached this stage, I think you and your team should find some time to relax and rest. Balance work and leisure; don't wear your bodies out."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Holiness. Please rest assured, I have always upheld the principle of balancing work and rest," Dr. Mirror said with a smile. "Although the recent period has involved some rushed work and considerable fatigue, it has all been worth it. Afterward, I will notify my subordinates to take a break and readjust. I will also rest properly and, along the way, seek inspiration to perfect these soul tools."
Furina nodded. "That's good, then. I'll take my leave now. I still need to take Bei Bei and the others to see some other places."
"Very well, Your Holiness."
...
Leaving the Soul Tool Division, Furina returned to the main hall.
Sure enough, Bei Bei and the others were all there, with Huo Yuhao also waiting among the group.
Furina walked up and asked with a smile, "So? Has my Scientific Research Department met with your satisfaction?"
Bei Bei drew a deep breath, his voice filled with awe. "Incredible. All I can say is, this is something that would overturn the common understanding of everyone on the continent. Even Shrek Academy never considered developing artificial soul rings, artificial soul bones, and the like—at most, we just think about protecting soul beasts."
Hearing this, Furina grumbled inwardly: Protecting soul beasts? Really? Doesn't Shrek Academy still capture soul beasts for that so-called assessment? Where students pick their own soul beasts to fight and then get a comprehensive score. Is that really protecting soul beasts? Isn't it just a pure waste of soul rings?
But theoretically speaking, among the positive portrayals, Shrek did indeed serve as a mediator between soul beasts and humans.
Back during that wave of beast tides, if Shrek hadn't intervened, the three great empires other than the Sun Moon Empire would have suffered devastating losses. That was what they got for being so close to the Great Star Dou Forest.
Tang Ya chimed in excitedly as well: "Exactly! Absolutely magnificent! The Water God Church is destined to become the greatest sect in history, unprecedented and never to be surpassed! It will surely be even more glorious than our Tang Sect of old, and far longer-lasting!"
She inwardly grumbled: Damned Tang Sect ancestor Tang San! What was the point of leaving behind an incomplete cultivation technique?! And without even giving a warning! Also, insisting that the Bluesilver Grass martial soul be the sect master—wasn't that just pure misguidance? And having to donate the majority of the money from selling hidden weapons.
Although the intention was good, after all that, combined with the previous issues, the Tang Sect simply couldn't sustain its development. Otherwise, the Tang Sect would never have fallen to such a wretched state.
Xiao Xiao had already thoroughly transformed into a starry-eyed fangirl: "Too amazing! Your Water God Church is so incredible it defies all reason! Surpassing Shrek is just a matter of time!"
Wang Dong also nodded with rare seriousness: "I have to say, it's developing far too fast. No other place even compares. Even the Sun Moon Empire only focuses on researching soul tools—in these other areas, they can't hold a candle to you."
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, a hint of pride in his voice as if sharing in the honor: "Sister Furina is, after all, the Water God herself."
Ye Guyi nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Even if she weren't, if anyone dared to claim it was false, I'd be the first to object."
Furina smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "Then I thank you all for your affirmation."
She turned to Huo Yuhao and asked, "Yuhao, how did matters go on your end? No issues with Dr. Tomoe?"
Huo Yuhao considered this, then replied, "Mm. After listening to my ideas, and after I demonstrated a portion of my abilities to him, Dr. Tomoe is now extremely excited. He originally wanted to drag me into a discussion lasting a day and a night, but then he thought I should rest after just returning, so he gave up. He's preparing to delve into research on his own first, to see if he can reach some conclusions."
Furina nodded. "That's fine. I only sent you to give him some pointers. It won't matter if it's done later; we have plenty of time."
She knew very well in her heart: back then, if Huo Yuhao hadn't been pulled away by Tang San immediately after becoming a god, the hundred years he could have stayed in the mortal realm after attaining godhood would have been more than enough to resolve all the problems of the Spirit Transferring Pagoda and artificial soul spirits completely.
Unfortunately, Tang San hadn't permitted it. This indirectly led to the subsequent tragedy of soul beasts nearing extinction in Douluo Dalu 3.
But this time, she absolutely would not allow Tang San's scheme to succeed. She was guaranteed to smash his wishful thinking into utter chaos.
Furina clapped her hands and called out, "Alright. Next, let me take you to the Canaan Academy I founded."
A confident smile surfaced on her face: "That is an academy I am determined to use in contesting Shrek Academy for the title of number one. Although it's newly established, and I don't know how many students have been recruited, I still have a certain degree of confidence."
Granted, her teachers were certainly not as numerous as Shrek's, nor did she have as many powerhouses. Their teaching experience was probably also mediocre, and the student quality would be wildly uneven.
But what she provided were cutting-edge knowledge and theories, with more abundant resources—enough to make up for a portion of the gap.
Moreover, when it came to Neuvillette, Lei Bao, and the others handling affairs, she still trusted them.
Tang Ya was the first to respond: "Alright! Let's do it! We all really want to see it!"
The others nodded in agreement, their eyes brimming with anticipation.
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I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation for a rather rare fandom. It's a crossover based on Mondaiji (Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren't They?)
Mondaiji: Am I A Dragon Species? https://www.webnovel.com/book/36661423108025005