Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 539 - 35 Giant Ymir

Dorothy fainted, her face extremely pale.

"..."

Li Yan carried her to the bed, looking at the Soul-forgiving Water in his palm with a hint of distress. It took him a whole day to refine several dozen tons of seawater to produce this single drop.

As the Soul-forgiving Water fell from Li Yan’s fingertip, it seeped through Dorothy’s lips. Within a moment, her complexion visibly became rosy.

Li Yan took the opportunity to stand up, pulled a chair beside the bed, and maintained a distance from Dorothy that was not too awkward.

Dorothy slowly woke up and turned her head to look at Li Yan beside her bed, her eyelashes drooping down, "Did it fail?"

"If it had been too intense, I wouldn’t have been able to guarantee your personal safety,"

Li Yan shrugged.

"You don’t have to comfort me. It’s still inside my body; I can feel it. I have sought out many sorcerers and exorcists, and you are the only one still alive. From this alone, you’re already very capable,"

"You have two more performances in San Francisco, right?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Li Yan asked.

Dorothy sat up, "That’s correct."

"Then I’ll confront it again in ’Giant Lake.’"

————————————————

Night fell, but San Francisco remained bustling. The Cupid Tower in the city center periodically lit up with steam lights.

"Chang, work’s done for today. Fancy a drink together?"

Robert was thirty today, still young. He had three daughters, the youngest of whom had just turned one month old, and a happy family.

"No thanks, Robert. I’ll stay a while longer."

Chang Yu lifted his head, his gaze continually rising to the latest experimental personal armor standing before him—the "Giant Ymir" by Enfield.

It was a metal box with black and white stripes and a V-shaped crack on the front, with more than ten fuel pipelines embedded inside, a tread chassis, and two vortex-like jets at the rear.

Robert walked over, patted Chang Yu on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Isn’t it awesome? I dare say that even in fifty years, there won’t be a more advanced steam-powered individual armor."

"Based on the parameters, it certainly seems perfect. But if it can’t be activated, it’s just a pile of scrap iron."

Chang Yu pulled out a drawing and circled heavily on it with a red pen.

"Rome wasn’t built in a day. With you joining us, I’m much more confident," Robert said as he approached Chang Yu and lowered his voice, "You should have joined the equipment testing department a long time ago. You’re a genius."

"Thank you. But we’re running out of time."

Chang Yu turned his head, "Little Jenny is waiting at home for you to tell her a bedtime story. Head back soon."

"Really don’t want to grab a drink with me?" Robert said with a sly smile, "You’re still a bachelor."

"I’m not."

"Ah right, you have gears, springs, valves, and pistons..."

Robert paused for a moment, his tone suddenly turning solemn, "Actually I’ve always..."

"Robert, if you’re not leaving, then take a look at this."

Chang Yu arranged a stack of freshly drawn plans, sat next to Robert, and started pointing at the structure with a pen holder, "Look at this."

"God save me. This is the fifth improvement scheme you’ve shown me today," grumbled Robert, yet he still accepted them. After a few minutes, his expression turned serious.

"Is there hope?"

"It’s worth a shot."

Chang Yu stood up abruptly, "Then what are we waiting for? Should we call them back?"

"Hey~ hey~" Robert held onto Chang Yu, "Have you gone mad? It’s nine o’clock at night. You want me to gather everyone back here to work with you? Guess how our colleagues would feel about you?"

"... All right, then, we’ll talk tomorrow."

"That’s the spirit, there’s a tavern on Tudor Street with girls that are very enthusiastic."

Chang Yu wrapped up his blueprints and placed them in the drawer. Rubbing his bloodshot eyes, he didn’t wait for Robert to finish speaking, interrupting him, "Sorry, Robert, I’ve got something else to attend to. We can visit that tavern another time."

After speaking, without waiting for Robert to react, Chang Yu had already pushed the door open and left.

The wind was howling on the street as Chang Yu walked out of town along the railway tracks. With Cupid Tower at his back, the urgent sound of a steam whistle approached, and a locomotive hauling steel parts thundered past him.

————————————————

The brothel was busier than ever before, the cheap beer mixed with the pungent fragrance was like insects that burrowed into one’s nose, making it nearly impossible to not sneeze.

After the sound of trickling water, Yanzi stepped out of the wooden tub, planting her bare feet on the floor.

She pulled out a purple bathrobe and draped it over herself, her wet hair fanning out, and droplets of water clinging to her pale shoulder blades.

Chang Yu lay on the wooden bed while Yanzi, wrapped in a bathrobe, sat beside him, her slender fingers gently pressing on Chang Yu’s temples.

After a while, Yanzi slowly bent down, their noses rubbing against each other, taking a while before separating.

"Yanzi, do you know? I’m going to London soon. To explain the machinery, to those foreigners, the cleverest among them. They’ll be sitting down there, obediently listening to me."

"The foreigners trick you with this nonsense again, it’s not as good as getting paid in cash."

Upon hearing this, Chang Yu opened his eyes and said seriously, "How can that be the same? If I can participate in the exposition, I will be able to prove to all foreigners the diligence and intelligence of the Chinese, that we are not a barbaric and uncivilized nation and should not be subjected to discrimination."

Yanzi laughed so hard she shook, "Chang, so you think cattle and sheep are barbaric and uncivilized, that’s why you eat their meat, huh?"

As she spoke, she took a black opium pipe from the drawer, lit it, and took a deep inhale, her face flushing abnormally.

Chang Yu grabbed Yanzi’s wrist, snatched the opium pipe away, and threw it aside, saying sternly, "I’ve told you before, this stuff is harmful."

Yanzi didn’t speak, but as her gaze shifted, she suddenly opened her mouth, blowing a thick cloud of smoke directly into Chang Yu’s face.

The opium smoke went straight to Chang Yu’s nostrils, causing him to cough uncontrollably.

"Cough cough, you!"

"Hahaha~ This stuff is really good though."

Yanzi’s laughter was like the tinkling of bells, her delicate hands roaming over Chang Yu’s chest.

"Stop messing around, I’m being serious with you."

Chang Yu took her into his arms and looked into Yanzi’s eyes as he lowered his head.

Yanzi found a comfortable position to rest on the man’s arm, her eyes narrowing as she lifted her hand, fluttering it over Chang Yu’s stubbly chin, "Let’s talk about something else, do you know? Since that time, Mom hasn’t let me take any more clients. I’ve heard them say, your friend is from Hesheng."

"Indeed, I’ve received much care from Cha and Li Yan. I will repay them."

Yanzi’s eyes suddenly became somber, "Chang, will you redeem me?"

Chang Yu asserted firmly, "Of course."

"And then take me back with you?"

Chang Yu was taken aback, stammering, "Why do you insist on going back? We’ve come here with great difficulty. If you look around Chinatown, who would want to go back? Ask the people in the shop, does anyone want to go back?"

Yanzi stared straight at Chang Yu, "They are prostitutes, I’m not."

"..."

The opium pipe lay sideways, its ember flickering sporadically.

Yanzi’s gaze grew more blurred, her breathing quickened, and she closed her eyes, seemingly delirious, as she tugged on Chang Yu’s clothes, "Chang Yu, I want to go home, I want to see the fireworks show in Yuandu."

Chang Yu, at a loss for words, could only comfort her in a low voice, "There are fireworks shows here, too. There’s one every Sunday in the plaza of San Francisco."

Yanzi stopped talking, seemingly falling into a deep sleep.

After a while, the scant remaining opium in the pipe bowl was completely burned away, suddenly extinguishing.