I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1085 Mechanical Blueprints
Regardless of how Zhang Chen obtained the beef, he pretended not to know and just focused on eating. Asking too many questions would only cause trouble.

Zhang Jun wasn't stupid. Upon seeing Wang Gong's prompting, he realized he had misspoke. With Zhang Chen's skills, was it really that difficult for him to eat some beef? Let alone eating beef, he would think it was perfectly normal for Zhang Chen to eat a whole meal of beef.

Zhang Chen ate a bowl of beef. As a Qi cultivator, he didn't need much ordinary food; he only needed to eat a little bit each day to maintain his immortality.

Zhang Chen put down his chopsticks, carried the engine into the house, and then walked over to the prince: "Prince, I have something interesting to show you."

The prince looked at the engine Zhang Chen had brought in, his face showing surprise: "What is this?"

Zhang Chen didn't say much, but instead took out the blueprints he had drawn earlier and handed them to the prince. The prince took the blueprints and examined them carefully, looking at each one. Zhang Chen then began to introduce the engine he had created: "This thing is called a diesel engine. I designed it myself, and it can carry a load of 200,000 jin!"

With the support of materials from this world, and Zhang Chen's deductions, isn't it normal for the engine's maximum load capacity to reach 200,000 jin?
"Two hundred thousand catties?" Upon hearing this, the prince was stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief: "Really?"

The agricultural machinery of the Great Han Kingdom nowadays can only carry a maximum load of 30,000 to 50,000 catties.

“Of course it’s true. Your Highness can have someone test the accurate data and record it in a book after the experiment is completed.” Zhang Chen said with a smile, “Your Highness can submit the blueprints and the engine together. Perhaps it can change your situation. I have already recorded Your Highness’s name on the blueprints. From now on, this engine will be Your Highness’s invention.”

Wang Gong was stunned upon hearing this, staring at Zhang Chen with a look of astonishment: "Boy, if what you say is true, do you know what this engine and blueprints represent? It's enough for you to rise to prominence, become a pillar of the nation, and solve all your predicaments."

“If you, sir, rise to prominence, won’t my difficulties be easily overcome?” Zhang Chen said unhurriedly.

Upon hearing this, Wang Gong stared intently at Zhang Chen. He knew that Zhang Chen already knew his identity, and although he didn't know how the other party knew, the temptation was simply irresistible to Wang Gong.

Returning to the central command, regaining power, and realizing one's ambitions is an irresistible temptation for any man.

"No, I can't accept it!" The prince put down the blueprints in his hand and sighed softly. Regardless of whether the engine was real or not, he couldn't accept it. His pride and dignity wouldn't allow him to do such a thing.

“It’s not a free gift; consider it a deal. If I hand over the engine, I’ll only gain some minor fame. But once you, Prince, activate it, you can compensate me a thousandfold with a mere flick of your finger. So we’re both smart people; naturally, we want to maximize our benefits. Besides, I’ve now married Bai Ziling; we’re on the same side, in the same boat. If you’re not doing well, our future won’t be much better. Even if you don’t consider yourself, you should at least think about your family, friends, and allies, right?” Zhang Chen persuaded Prince, giving him a reason he couldn’t refuse.

Upon hearing this, Wang Gong gripped the blueprints tightly, his fingers lightly stroking the engine in front of him, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Zhang Jun, standing beside him, couldn't help but whisper, "Wang Gong, countless of our brothers are freezing in the snow and ice. You know firsthand how much suffering they endure in this brutal weather. How can you bear to let those old brothers suffer like this? Zhang Chen is one of our men; we'll make it up to him properly later. If you miss this opportunity, it will be at least ten years before you can hope to be reinstated. By then, our team will have long since disbanded, and what can you accomplish alone?"

"Besides, it's still uncertain whether you can survive ten years!" Zhang Jun pleaded earnestly. "If you're gone, all your ambitions and achievements will come to nothing. What will happen to the brothers who are implicated? Their families are still suffering. What will they do? Take Bai Ziling, for example. If she hadn't met Zhang Chen, do you think she could have lived a peaceful life in the North with her beauty? She would probably have been imprisoned by those wolves and become their plaything."

After hearing this, Wang Gong remained silent for a while before saying, "Little Zhang, don't worry. As long as I can rise again, I will never forget your kindness."

Zhang Chen smiled upon hearing this: "It's good that the prince can think this through."

"Is your engine really that powerful?" Prince Wang asked, stroking the engine's cold, metallic texture.

“I’m underestimating it! This engine is resistant to both freezing and high temperatures; its performance exceeds your expectations. It can still function normally even in temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius, and it doesn’t have any weaknesses like burning out. Unless there’s hardware damage, it can be used indefinitely.” Zhang Chen enthusiastically described the engine’s impressive features to the prince, who listened with wide eyes, his gaze filled with astonishment. After a long while, he exclaimed, “A national treasure!”

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this: "Naturally, it is a powerful weapon for the nation!"

"However, its performance still needs to be tested before it is submitted," Wang Gongdao said.

"I'll arrange the venue," Zhang Chen said, patting his chest and making a promise.

"No need, leave this matter to me. Although I have been dismissed, I still have these connections." Wang Gong waved his hand, rejecting Zhang Chen's suggestion.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Although the prince has fallen and even his faction has been destroyed, his power should not be underestimated. Countless people are willing to risk their lives to gamble on him.

At this point, Prince Wang stopped eating, picked up his clothes, put them on, and headed outside, saying, "I'm going to make a phone call." In the entire hunting grounds, only the administration office had a telephone. Prince Wang didn't say he would "find a way" to make a call, but rather that he would "go make a phone call," demonstrating his confidence.

Zhang Jun hurriedly followed Wang Gong out, leaving Zhang Chen and Bai Ziling sitting under the lamplight, staring blankly at the steaming beef on the table.

"Come on, eat well! The hard times will soon be over, and you'll soon be the number one young lady in Shanghai again." Zhang Chen put a large piece of fatty meat in Bai Ziling's bowl and said with a smile.

"Zhang Chen, you are truly capable. In the future, the prince will likely regard you as his greatest savior. With the prince's support, your future is limitless, and reaching the central government will be no problem." Bai Ziling looked at Zhang Chen with burning enthusiasm.

“Who said I was going into politics?” Zhang Chen said with a smile.

“Since ancient times, the social hierarchy has been strictly defined. Don’t you want to be an official?” Bai Ziling was stunned.

Zhang Chen smiled. He had always had an idea in his mind: to guide the development of technology to suppress the revival of spiritual energy and the power of the extraordinary, so as not to give those extraordinary beings a chance to survive. In order to promote the rise of the extraordinary, the Great Thousand World would definitely open up the authority of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth more quickly.

At this moment, the will of the Great Thousand Worlds is only tentatively 'releasing water' and can be shut down at any time. Once it completely stops restraining the spiritual energy between heaven and earth and allows it to be released like a flood, if I take the opportunity to rise up, it will be too late even if the Great Thousand Worlds discovers it.

The end of the Dharma in the Great Thousand Worlds is calculated over millions of years. For the Great Thousand Worlds to sever the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it would require a long process. As long as he regains his extraordinary power, Zhang Chen feels that finding the lost Thirty-Three Heavens would not be difficult.

There's not a sound from the Thirty-Three Heavens right now. Zhang Chen has already sensed something's wrong. The spiritual energy has already begun to recover, so how can the Thirty-Three Heavens not fall down?

Perhaps the Thirty-Three Heavens had already fallen, but it fell into the deep mountains and forests and had never been discovered.

Zhang Chen wanted to establish a technological empire, develop technology to suppress supernatural powers, and force the world to rapidly "open its floodgates."

"So what do you want to do in the future?" Bai Ziling asked.

"Let's get into technology!" Zhang Chen said with a smile. "I'm going to start a tech giant, a tech giant that can span dozens of countries."

It's important to understand that the world is no longer solely ruled by the Han Dynasty; there are hundreds of other countries, large and small. If Zhang Chen wants to search for information about the spiritual world, limiting himself to the Han Dynasty alone won't suffice. His reach needs to extend to the entire world.

His current computing power is hundreds or thousands of times that of Einstein. If he wants to develop technology, coupled with the knowledge he learned in his previous life, it is not impossible for him to push the world to its limits.

"If you have no interest in officialdom, then I will enter it and make my mark, safeguarding your empire. You just focus on expanding your territory, and I'll add a security lock to your technological empire," Bai Ziling said, patting her chest with boundless enthusiasm.

"You'll probably be humanity's first female leader in the future," Zhang Chen said with a smile.

Although Emperor Taizu established the Han Empire, he used an electoral system, breaking the shackles of secular monopoly and giving hope to all people.

"Female head of state? Hahaha! Female head of state, come and have a drink with me!" Bai Ziling raised her glass, clinked glasses with Zhang Chen, and drank together.

To be honest, Zhang Chen wasn't interested in power. What wealth and glory hadn't he tasted? He had already enjoyed all the riches and glory to the fullest. The powerful and wealthy of ancient times were not much different from people today in their pursuit of power.

After Zhang Chen and Bai Ziling finished their drink, Zhang Chen ordered the Five Ghosts to clear the table, which left Bai Ziling stunned. She looked at Zhang Chen with a shocked expression: "Is that how you got that beef?"

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this: "That's right."

"I feel like my worldview has been turned upside down. With your abilities, what do mere wealth and glory mean to you? Even if I become the female head of state, I can't protect you anymore," Bai Ziling said helplessly.

(End of this chapter)