I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 317Book 2: : Trust You My ss, Complete Personality Shift

Book 2: Chapter 317: Trust You My ss, Complete Personality Shift

Vol 2 Chapter 317: Trust You My ss, Complete Personality Shift

After another ten days or so, the evening news suddenly cut in with a breaking report:

"Due to experimental needs and with proper approval, there will be an airspace and traffic control on July 16th from 00:00 to 24:00 along the Tongtian Avenue section of Tonghua District in the capital."

"Residents in the controlled area, please remain calm and continue your normal life."

"After the restriction period, with a local ID card, you may claim twenty kilograms of Jiushan No. 2 rice or the equivalent value in cash."

...

The news segment wasn’t long, but it stirred a lot of discussion online.

Because the announcement was just too strange.

First off, that area was considered part of the capital's outskirts.

Although it was more like the far suburbs due to its inconvenient location and sparse population, it was still technically under the Emperor’s feet.

So any airspace restriction there would have more impact than usual.

But the most curious part...

There was compensation! You could claim rice!

Jiushan No. 2!

Netizens were bored, sharp, and loved speculating, so within minutes, one news comment shot to the top.

"Isn’t Tonghua District right next to Hong Mountain? And Jiushan No. 2... twenty kilos per person? That’s a lot. This experiment must be related to Hong Mountain, right?"

Someone replied below: "Any idea what kind of experiment Immortal Zheng is conducting?"

"Hey, based on your IP, you’re in the capital? You’re so close—why not go see for yourself?"

That’s when netizens spotted the loophole—

The notice only mentioned airspace restriction, not that you couldn’t watch.

Hong Mountain was off-limits, but Tongtian Avenue was long!

...

"Nezha One experimental unit is in position!"

Tang Lingwu stood behind "Nezha’s" head.

It was a vertical steel platform with a control panel on top and a comm system connected to the ground.

The young folks from the retirement home had built this thing, so Zheng Fa just named the experimental unit "Nezha."

Nezha One was forty-two meters tall, and since it was meant for digging and mining, of course it couldn’t be tested on Hong Mountain—it had the Turtle and Snake Veins underground, and those couldn’t be messed with. ɽά𐌽ՕBÈ𝐬

So they had to test it outside the mountain.

Tongtian Avenue was nearby, surrounded by large empty fields, and even had an abandoned coal mine up a hill—perfect for experiments.

The airspace control was just to avoid accidents.

As for banning photography or spectators, Zheng Fa wasn’t that overbearing—or that lacking in confidence.

A crowd stood on the ground, gazing up at Tang Lingwu.

Old Bai stood beside Zheng Fa, clearly itching with envy.

He had wanted to ride that giant toy and strut around in style for days now.

But Zheng Fa still picked Tang Lingwu as the pilot.

First, obviously, he wanted her to have some fun too...

Didn’t want her going stir-crazy cooped up in the retirement home.

Of course, that wasn’t the main reason. The key was: among all of Hong Mountain, Tang Lingwu was the only one at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Nezha had a bun-shaped head ornament with a dangling purple-gold pearl—obviously a Shenxiao External Pill.

The whole unit was powered by the Shenxiao External Pill, essentially a treasure on the level of an External Pill.

Controlling an External Pill required a certain cultivation level—at least Foundation Establishment.

If you were too strong, like Zheng Fa, that wouldn’t work either—your power might overlook critical details. Tang Lingwu, being middle-ground, was just right.

There were a few cameras in the crowd.

Two were from the retirement home for documentation and post-test analysis.

Two more were mounted on cars—brought by a news crew. With netizens curious, the TV station was too. After applying through Team Leader Yang, Zheng Fa approved it, thinking it wasn’t a big deal.

Tang Mu Dao looked at Zheng Fa, saw him nod, and shouted, "Nezha One Experimental Unit, first test run... begin!"

Tang Lingwu pressed a red button.

Nezha’s previously pitch-black eyes lit up with red light—clearly powered on.

Tang Lingwu then pushed a lever and announced, "First test: flight."

Everyone saw six circular rings appear under Nezha’s feet, glowing with a faint blue light. The steel giant shot silently into the sky, leaving only a trail of white vapor.

The retirement home group didn’t find it strange—

The "Wind-Fire Wheels" weren’t exactly new;it was just magnetic levitation, same tech as the Shenxiao warships—just cooler-looking.

Zheng Fa tapped with a finger, and a light screen appeared in front of everyone.

On the screen, Nezha was soaring through the sky at high speed.

The figure gradually flew out toward the mountains.

Through the light screen, they could see that along Tongtian Avenue beside Hong Mountain, many pedestrians and vehicles were gathering. When they saw the experimental unit appear, people gasped in amazement. The noise was audible all the way at Hong Mountain.

Especially the guys, going nuts with binoculars.

Zheng Fa could understand these people...

Transformers, excavators, Nezha, and Tang Lingwu.

That combo? It hit every age bracket of male fascination.

On the screen, Tang Lingwu ignored them, pressing a black button as she said, "Second test: mineral detection."

Nezha’s eyes turned from red to blue, gazing at the mountain below.

On the black monitor in front of Tang Lingwu, there was originally a flat line—now it started to ripple.

She had expected this and rotated the unit to face Hong Mountain.

A small peak instantly appeared on the monitor.

"Success!"

Zhou Miaomiao clenched her fists in excitement.

This experimental unit’s mineral detection worked by using a spiritual energy scanner—basically, a signal peak indicated a concentration of spiritual energy.

In low-energy environments, the line only trembled slightly on the screen.

But Hong Mountain had much denser spiritual energy, so the readings spiked, forming a peak.

And spiritual mines in the Xuanyi Realm were essentially condensed spiritual energy—their energy density differed significantly from regular objects.

So with the spiritual scanner, unusual energy concentrations could be detected to locate spirit mines.

Next to them, the TV crew kept recording the footage on the screen.

"Third test..."

...

"Third test: drilling!"

At the Shannan Province Institute of Mining Machinery, Huang Yi and his colleagues were watching Nezha on the news.

"This... we made this?"

A balding man murmured, but no one answered.

The proposal they submitted was fairly basic. Who would’ve thought it would turn out this impressive?

On screen, Nezha held a "red-tasseled spear" in one hand. The spear tip spun rapidly, glowing with a blinding white light.

The shaft extended on its own and stabbed into a small hill below.

The rocks shattered like tofu...

Soon, the spearhead drilled deep into the earth’s crust—who knew how far.

"Fourth test... mining!"

The red-tasseled spear retracted and turned into a scoop bucket. The cold iron teeth dug fiercely into the ground like massive claws!

"This part—we designed this!"

"It worked!"

The old institute director's voice rang out, his face glowing with joy.

The whole institute buzzed with excitement. Everyone smiled—their design had been adopted by Zheng Fa!

That wasn’t just an honor.

Maybe honor still meant something to the old director.

But for the younger generation, it wasn’t that big a motivator—different era, after all.

Zheng Fa paid very generously!

In fact, just a few days ago, he sent more money, saying he was funding their next research project.

Huang Yi smiled too—the drive structure of that scoop was his design.

Pride gleamed in his eyes.

But the news wasn’t over yet.

It seemed to skip several test items, and most of the segment focused on the final test.

"...Testing, stealth mode."

"Stealth?"

Everyone turned sharply to the TV and saw the giant mechanical titan vanish before their eyes.

People in the broadcast crowd also gasped.

The narration played various system reports:

"Radar lost target..."

"Satellite lost target..."

"... ..."

The researchers were stunned.

"This... is for mining?"

They couldn’t quite wrap their heads around why a mining bot needed stealth mode.

But it was Zheng Fa’s requirement—mainly because the Xuanyi Realm wasn’t exactly peaceful.

In the future, Jiushan Sect’s mining machines needed not only stealth but also to harness the Shenxiao External Pill’s combat power.

Stealth itself was easy—just use the External Pill to cast an invisibility spell.

In short... armed mining!

The old director stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I’m no expert, but you young folks have sharp memories. Aren’t those stealth planes only invisible to radar, not human eyes or satellites?"

Huang Yi nodded. "Right. I’ve never heard of a plane that’s truly invisible."

"...Then isn’t this the real deal?"

The old director pointed at the TV.

Huang Yi was stunned.

Yeah… even though detection aircraft rely on radar, stealth tech is practically a cheat code in the modern world.

Putting it on a mining machine was a bit weird.

Putting it on a fighter jet… well, that was weird too—mostly because it was terrifying.

At that moment, the news broadcast ended. On screen, the female anchor smiled naturally as she said, “This is the newly developed mining robot from the Hong Mountain Retirement Home…”

A mining robot, and you spent half the segment showing it off?

The anchor’s expression twitched slightly: “It will never be used for military purposes.”

Trust you my *ss…

The old director slowly straightened his back. “So… we’re a military contractor now?”

“…”

…

Zheng Fa didn’t bother with how modern media was sneakily using “Nezha” to scare people.

When he returned to the Jiushan Realm, he immediately brought out the blueprints—scaring Madam Xuanhua half to death.

“What is this?”

“A modification plan for the Shenxiao warship!”

The human-shaped models made by those modern youngsters weren’t actually practical. They were just for testing features, and Zheng Fa didn’t care at the time.

But the Jiushan Realm was different.

When it came to actual production, a warship shape was far more suitable than humanoid—for transport, for mining, even for flight. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

“Modification plan?”

Madam Xuanhua flipped through the blueprints.

She fell silent.

Page by page, she turned more slowly, like she was getting drawn in.

“Xuanhua?”

“I just didn’t expect… pure mechanical design to have so many functions…”

Zheng Fa nodded slightly.

There were parts even he couldn’t understand—the mechanical analysis was too complex, and he wasn’t trained in it. Just looking at it made his scalp go numb.

Madam Xuanhua suddenly looked up, eyes burning with passion as she said to Zheng Fa, “It’s like I’ve glimpsed another path of artifact refinement.”

“These machines don’t even need spiritual energy… yet they seem more powerful than most magical treasures!”

“I…” Madam Xuanhua’s voice even trembled slightly, as if unsure of herself. “It’s like I no longer know how to refine artifacts. Everything I’ve learned before…”

A strange sense of pride welled up in Zheng Fa.

After all, the true strength of modern technology was, in essence, its path of artifact creation.

And Madam Xuanhua had just encountered the product of hundreds of years of modern scientific development.

These blueprints came from the most industrially advanced nation on Earth—a near-national effort.

Honestly, from a pure artifact refinement standpoint, aside from the innate mysticism of spiritual energy, no artificer in the Xuanyi Realm could hold a candle to modern industrial systems.

Madam Xuanhua was understandably shaken.

“Sect Master…”

“Hm?”

“I’d like to step down from my position as head of the Heavenly Crafts Pavilion.”

Zheng Fa blinked. What the hell?

Just a few days ago, she was still enthusiastically helping with the Golden Core Project.

Now she suddenly wants to quit?

Madam Xuanhua’s eyes burned with intensity: “I feel like I’ve found my true path! I want to go into seclusion and study this mechanical Dao.”

“…”

“Besides, with my current abilities, I’m no longer qualified to lead the Heavenly Crafts Pavilion…”

Zheng Fa had no idea what to say.

Good news: the modern experiment was a success.

Bad news: it was too successful.

They accidentally created a dimensional-power-gap that crushed her confidence and made this top-tier workhorse want to renounce the mundane world and seek enlightenment!

Judging by her expression—she was dead serious!

Senior Sister Zhang stood to the side. When she saw Madam Xuanhua like that, she curiously looked over too.

She gazed at the blueprints, then suddenly pointed at one. “Spiritual Energy Scanner?”

“Oh right, that’s the most important component.”

The Spiritual Energy Scanner was vital.

Not only could it detect mineral deposits, it could also be mounted on Shenxiao warships and used like radar.

Among all the blueprints, this one had some of the most technical content.

Within the Jiushan Realm, it could detect spiritual fluctuations—perfect for measuring cultivation strength.

Senior Sister Zhang’s eyes lit up as she read the scanner’s description.

She suddenly turned to Madam Xuanhua, looking very serious. “You can’t go into seclusion.”

“…”

“If you want to go, you’ll have to build me this Spiritual Energy Scanner first.”

“…”

Zheng Fa had already predicted this. If there was anyone in the Jiushan Realm who loved data more than him, it was Senior Sister Zhang.

And this Spiritual Energy Scanner? It was her joy machine.

“I…”

“Work with me on this, and I’ll get you the Grand Elder of Chongxuan Sect.”

“What Grand Elder…” Madam Xuanhua froze, then realized, “Oh.”

Zheng Fa was now sure—after seeing these blueprints, Madam Xuanhua had truly forgotten her late husband…

Senior Sister Zhang could tell too. She thought for a moment, then added: “A raise! Your monthly salary as head of the Heavenly Crafts Pavilion—up by 20%!”

Money-grubber Madam Xuanhua wavered.

But after a moment, she still couldn’t take her eyes off the mechanical structures and shook her head.

Senior Sister Zhang’s expression grew solemn as she stared at the blueprints.

To make a Nascent Soul artificer abandon revenge, even change her very nature—what did that say about the value of these blueprints?

Finally, Zheng Fa spoke up, clearing his throat. “Wanna learn?”

Madam Xuanhua froze, looked at him, then nodded fiercely. “You have more?”

“I’ve got other materials too. As long as you keep accumulating virtue, they’re all yours…”

Standing nearby, Xiao Yuying suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. Then it hit her—

That’s exactly how Zheng Fa tricked her back in the day!

And the result…

She never finished learning everything!

Now she had to serve the Jiushan Realm, going off to explore dangerous secret realms.

Watching Madam Xuanhua striding out with her head held high, Zheng Fa turned to Xiao Yuying, his expression solemn. “I’m counting on you, Fairy Xiao.”

At present, Xiao Yuying was preparing to lead Mu Qingyan and others out of the Jiushan Realm to a certain secret realm.

That place was supposedly left behind by a Nascent Soul pill master, so it wasn’t too dangerous for her.

But protecting all the disciples working on archaeological projects would still be a headache.

Xiao Yuying nodded lightly. She didn’t say anything else, only promised Zheng Fa, “I’ll keep an eye out for various pill recipes and alchemy techniques.”

Zheng Fa had now reached the peak of the Golden Core stage. If not for refining and perfecting the Jiushan Golden Core Method, he could have already started forming his Nascent Soul.

Elder Xiong from the Qingmu Sect had already produced a few basic pills, but none had passed Madam Xuanhua’s testing.

Now, only an unnamed pill recipe from the Tianhe Sect remained.

The problem was…

This recipe only listed the ingredients. There were no dosages or refining methods—completely incomplete.

So the research had hit a wall.

“This Nascent Soul pill master was from the end of the last epoch… I’m going to look for clues.”

That’s why Xiao Yuying was setting off now.

The pill might’ve been concocted by the Tianhe Venerable himself—or stumbled upon by chance.

Considering he was only at the Golden Core stage at the time, the technique used likely wasn’t that high-level, nor was it a heavily guarded secret.

So Xiao Yuying thought… if she searched a relic left behind by a contemporary Nascent Soul alchemist, she might find something useful.

Madam Xuanhua was working on the Golden Core Project, Senior Sister Zhang was studying every pill-related text she could find, and now Xiao Yuying was heading out to search for external clues.

You could say—everyone in the Jiushan Realm was pulling out all the stops to help Zheng Fa complete the Jiushan Golden Core Method.