Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 525 - 21 Tri-Orb Device Interaction Theory

"After the second act of ’Giant Lake’ ended, the next day, Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao brought some spiced duck and whisky to proactively visit the apartment rented by Chang Yu."

As the two were knocking on the door, Chang Yu was polishing the plating of a gauntlet. This wasn’t his job; he just loved to tinker with little gadgets in his spare time.

"Sorry to disturb you, Chang. I know you’re on vacation. But I had such a great time talking to you last time, and I have many more questions to ask you."

Chang Yu smiled at Li Yan, "Not at all, come in and we can talk."

He stepped aside, and Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao then entered Chang Yu’s rented room.

The room didn’t look big, and there wasn’t much in the way of decent furniture. Cardboard boxes filled with metal parts were scattered everywhere. There were also some commonly used parts processing machines, like a pneumatic grinder, a gear profiling machine, and even a small machining center.

Against the wall near the bed, there were stacks of blueprints thick as bricks. On the windowsill stood a pen holder filled with used carbon rods, along with odds and ends like a dental cup, toothbrush, and razor.

There wasn’t a table, but there was a rail-mounted drafting machine and a small stool, with a blueprint on it that only had the design of a soldier’s helmet halfway drawn.

The three sat in a circle, Li Yan pulled the cork from the bottle, and poured whisky for the other two.

"Actually, I’ve thought about the question you asked last time, and I still insist that humans are nothing more than flesh-and-blood machines, just more complex ones. It’s just that current technology isn’t advanced enough to reach that level. However, to achieve what you mentioned, machinery comparable to living organisms, might not be impossible."

Chang Yu, holding a duck leg and too lazy to take off his usual work monocle, talked to Li Yan earnestly.

"Take a look at this."

He handed Li Yan a book, seemingly a mechanical theory work by some scholar.

"The Tri-Orb Device has two basic functions. First, it can amplify the vaporization process by hundreds of times, using a small amount of water and fuel to generate significant power. Second, it enables some liquids and metals that are normally difficult to vaporize to do so at very low temperatures and thus perform their functions, such as mercury vapor emitting strong light, or tungsten vapor used in making fully automatic soldiers."

"Over a hundred years ago in England, a scholar put forward the famous Tri-Orb Synergy Theory, which states that in a single machine, the more Tri-Orb Devices that operate simultaneously, the geometrically higher the efficiency of the machine. This discovery caused a sensation at the time, but it was soon found that crudely connecting Tri-Orb Devices in machines mostly resulted in only one activating. Only through trials of different materials and precise machine design could more Tri-Orb Devices be brought into operation."

At this, Li Yan suddenly thought of the Hex-Core "Unicorn" of the "Steam Princess" in Giant Lake.

Chang Yu continued to enlighten Li Yan with enthusiasm: "In the decades since the Tri-Orb Synergy Theory was introduced, most scholars and engineers’ mechanical designs have remained dual-core, with a small number of steam devices reaching tri-core. In that era, many outstanding science fiction authors were born. They fantasized that multi-core technology would allow people to fly to the moon, explore the depths of the ocean, create immense illusions, unleash destruction comparable to myths, and even achieve immortality."

Li Yan drew out his words, "What do you mean?"

"Tri-Orb Synergy Theory might sound absurd, but to this day, no one has been able to refute it. The steam airship introduced in 1805 in Scotland had the technical level of five Tri-Orb Devices operating simultaneously. The London City that floated into the sky in 1850 was powered by eight Tri-Orb Devices. There’s also the Sky Train that’s about to be displayed at the London World Expo this month, which operates on seven to eight Tri-Orb Devices."

Chang Yu spread his hands wide, his eyes sparkling: "If one day an eight-core or even nine-core steam soldier appears, then perhaps what you mentioned, mechanical beings comparable to life forms, will also become a reality."

After hearing this, Li Yan immediately asked, "So what’s the most advanced steam soldier right now, how many cores does it have?"

"Hex-Core."

Chang Yu replied without hesitation, "Enfield Company is the cutting edge of steam-powered individual suits in the world. Recently, they were experimenting with the latest steam suit, the eight-core ’Giant Ymir,’ but the load was too heavy, causing the Tri-Orb Device that powers Cupid Tower to overload, and Ymir couldn’t get up and running. So the highest level of steam suit that can be deployed in combat is only at a hex-core level."

"I hope you don’t take offense, Chang, but with your abilities, what level of individual suit armor can you make?"

"Between six and seven cores."

Li Yan didn’t speak, just stared blankly at Chang Yu.

Chang Yu scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, "But the production process for high-tier steam suits requires large mechanical equipment, all of which are the property of Enfield Company. Plus, in truth, I haven’t produced a steam suit independently; I have only assisted others. The reason I said that I might be able to make a six to seven-core suit is because..."

Chang Yu felt a bit embarrassed. He discarded the duck bone and pulled out a bunch of stuff from under the bed, which turned out to be all sorts of high-end models of steam suits from Enfield Company!

Included among them were the "Venus" capable of flight and high mobility, the heavily armed "Thor," and the four-wheel driven "Hera," which could serve as a single-person off-road vehicle. But invariably, these suits were at most fifty centimeters tall, the smaller ones only twenty or thirty centimeters — in plain terms, just toys.

"These were all crafted from things in my room, not just models; all the parts are scaled down in proportion to the actual suits."

Cha Xiaodao looked at Chang Yu with a very peculiar gaze. He picked up one of the suits and waved it towards Chang Yu, "Does it work?"

"Haha, for that, you would need to find a little dwarf who can wear these suits," Chang Yu joked.

"Ah, right, Li, this is for you."

Chang Yu popped open a compartment on the back of a toy suit, and with a screwdriver, unscrewed a hot-pot-shaped part the size of a nail cover.

"I heard Xiaodao say you wanted a Tri-Orb Device. The ones used in the factory are too expensive to make sense. If you’re just interested, I’ll give you this one; I made it myself, and the material costs were not high."

With that, he placed the miniature Tri-Orb Device in Li Yan’s hand.

Li Yan examined the Tri-Orb Device thoughtfully and then suddenly looked up at Chang Yu and said, "Chang, I want to hire you to make a suit like this. I’ll work with you on the specific design. If you’re willing, name your price."

"You’re Cha’s friend, so you’re my friend as well. If you like it, everything is right here, just pick whatever you want; it’s free."

Li Yan shook his head, "These items don’t meet my requirements; it has to be custom-made."

Chang Yu thought for a while with his head down, then after a long moment said, "All right then, what style do you want?"