Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 555 - 51: The Plague

Li Yan clenched the Tri-Orb Device in his hand, his face betraying deep thought, before he immediately initiated a conversation with Cha Xiaodao back in Chinatown.

After a brief and chaotic sound of space being torn, Cha Xiaodao’s voice rang in Li Yan’s ear, "What’s up?"

"Where’s the book?"

On the other end, having just laid down, Cha Xiaodao pulled out the thick "Book of Creation" from under his pillow, "The pillow here is too low. I sleep well padding it with this thing."

"Pack up the book for now, don’t read it anymore. I’ll tell you the details when I get back."

"That works for me, I was getting a headache trying to figure this thing out."

"Wait for me to come back."

Only then did Li Yan cut off the conversation.

"Found it."

The freckled girl rummaged through a small drawer and produced a bottle of lubricant.

"Sir?"

"Oh."

Li Yan came back to his senses and handed the part back to the girl; the blood-vessel-like patterns on it had vanished without a trace, indistinguishable from an ordinary Tri-Orb Device.

The freckled girl took the Tri-Orb Device, carefully disassembled it, oiled it, and reinstalled it into the machine casing, the whole process fluid and adept.

"How old are you?"

Li Yan asked casually.

"Fourteen."

"It’s so late, and you are so young, yet you still need to iron clothes for guests?"

"We do sewing and washing as well."

"Oh."

Li Yan stopped talking.

After a while, the machine sprang to life again, the steam billowing from the pores of the iron was thicker than before.

"It does seem like it needed oiling."

"Right?"

The two of them, one tall, one short, just stared at the steam rising into the sky, neither speaking a word. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Suddenly, a stunning figure darted out from the Black Rose Theatre across the street. She ran so breathlessly that she even lost one of her high heels.

As Miss Dorothy caught her breath, she looked around and brightened upon spotting Li Yan staring blankly at the steam across the street.

"Hey!"

She raised her hand, drawing the gaze of countless passersby.

Miss Dorothy made her way across the street with an uneven gait and approached Li Yan. The freckled girl recognized her face and excitedly shouted, "Are you the big star Dorothy? Do you need your dress ironed?"

"Oh, thank you, I think I need a pair of shoes instead,"

Dorothy replied to the girl, her cheeks flushed.

"The show just ended, why did you run out? They must be looking for you everywhere now,"

Li Yan asked.

"Those people were shouting stupid and shrill things inside the venue. It might have been worse if I had stayed there." With that, Dorothy playfully winked, "Were you planning to leave without saying goodbye?"

"I didn’t mean to, but my face doesn’t seem to fit in that kind of environment."

Dorothy’s expression sobered, and she took a deep breath, "Thank you. I’ve never felt so relaxed."

"You’re welcome."

The freckled girl craned her neck, glancing back and forth between Li Yan and Dorothy. Her face was a map of confusion.

"Do you mind taking a walk with me?"

Dorothy extended her fair wrist to Li Yan.

"Uh, to be honest, I have some urgent private matters to handle, so maybe..."

Before Li Yan could finish, Dorothy grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

Li Yan opened his mouth but then thought better of it and did not resist any further.

"Hey, Miss Dorothy, are you sure you don’t need your clothes ironed?"

The freckled girl called out to their retreating backs.

Dorothy turned her head and flashed a sweet smile at the girl.

"Next time, good luck, kiddo."

With that, the two of them walked further and further away under the girl’s gaze.

The freckled girl touched the still-warm bills in her pocket, shrugged her shoulders, and sat back down on her small bench, eagerly eyeing the well-dressed passersby on the road, awaiting her next customer.

"The night sure is long today."

Dorothy sighed.

Li Yan looked up at the moon and nodded, "You’re right, the night is long tonight."

————————————————

The sky was dim, just showing the first hints of dawn.

The doors to the Enfield Munitions Factory’s workshop swung open as the lights in the corridors turned on one by one, the converter started, the gauges spun rapidly, and waves of heat from the steam rolled in, hitting the sleepy workers in the face. They muttered complaints as they slowly donned protective gear and safety helmets, reluctantly taking their positions.

The cold, cumbersome machines in the workshop buzzed to life with the rotation of gears, exuding a sense of vitality. The workers shuffled among the large military equipment, which, in contrast, brought out a sort of rugged and stirring beauty.

"Why call everyone in so early for what?"

Chang Yu’s eyes were bloodshot, and there was a bandage tied around his leg.

"The city’s health department urgently needs a batch of single-soldier equipment to prevent the rat plague. The assembly workload for single-soldier gear is huge, and with the higher-ups pushing us hard, they’ve called in all the workers they can," Robert said, then asked, "What happened to your leg?"

Chang Yu recalled the ordeal of the night, his expression darkening, "No, it’s nothing. Let’s get to work."

Robert patted Chang Yu on the shoulder, "Chang, the testing department staff don’t have to join the production line; you just need to do a final quality inspection of the single-soldier units before shipment."

"It’s okay, I can’t sit still. Hey, Jim, the hand crank should be tighter, and the track-fixing sound is off."

Saying that, Chang Yu walked up to the production line, chatted briefly with the brawny worker, and then took over his station, telling him to go help elsewhere.

Robert watched Chang Yu wielding a hammer, vigorously pounding the rivets, and could only smile bitterly.

"Chang is always like this, full of vigor; is he doing it for Mr. St. Yves to see?"

An engineer in a white uniform muttered nearby.

Upon hearing this, Robert turned to him and seriously replied, "That’s why you, graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology and starting as an engineer, and him, starting from pounding nails on the railway as a laborer, are now on the same level."

The man’s face clearly turned sour, but considering Robert’s higher position and the trust he had from St. Yves, he dared not make a scene.

The Enfield logo features a V-shaped figure resembling a white eagle, with "Enfield" spelled out underneath.

Nearly all steam-powered devices produced by Enfield bear this logo, whether it’s military combat units, armored vehicles, or seeding tractors.

The batch of steam equipment under Chang Yu’s supervision was naturally no exception.

After a long night of hectic activity, various powerful devices were assembled. Following some simple testing, they were packed in boxes, and the health department personnel took away the single-soldier equipment early in the morning.

"Thor heavy-duty single-soldiers, high-power shovels, flamethrowers," Chang asked Robert, who had just completed the handover with the health department, somewhat puzzled, "Is all this commotion really necessary for eradicating a rat plague?"

"The health department has the authorization and purchase list, Enfield operates by the book. We don’t need to concern ourselves with anything else," replied Robert, seemingly unconcerned.