It's so painful! So hard! So difficult!

"How can you not take advantage of free money? Even if you call your whole family, they definitely can't pull it."

Bai Lin glanced at the lizardman who actually paid the wages, then glanced at the people sitting on the ground. Without saying anything more, he strode directly to stand next to the rope. Hidden under his helmet, he smiled disdainfully and reached out a hand to grip the rope tightly.

Ten tons? I can pull fifty tons for you to see.

The group of people sitting there couldn't help but laugh when they saw Bai Lin pulling the rope with one hand. In their eyes, Bai Lin was either crazy or stupid. But a second later, these people could no longer laugh.

The ground beneath Bai Lin's feet rumbled, and the rope in her hand began to move. Connected to the end of the rope was a black, circular lever like an axis. Then, a large number of closed gears, centered around this axis, began to operate.

Large amounts of molten magma poured into the operating and roaring equipment. The unique rhythm of steel clashing began to work right beside Bai Lin's hands. The tiger sitting on the ground couldn't help but rub his eyes in disbelief.

Although he couldn't believe it, he was a worker after all, and he could still face the reality. He quickly reacted, stood up and wanted to run out. Bai Lin stretched out his other hand, clamped the hair on the back of the tiger, and said sinisterly behind him,

"Why are you leaving? Take out the money quickly, or I'll throw it in for you."

"I give, I give!"

Tiger quickly raised his hands in surrender, dropping a purse. After Bai Lin released his grip, Tiger fled at the fastest speed he'd ever run. After all, after Bai Lin's demonstration of strength, he knew full well that she was capable of carrying out her stated threat.

Of course, if he really didn't give the money and ran away, Bai Lin wouldn't dare to do anything to him. If someone died and the news spread, it wouldn't be good for Bai Lin either.

Bai Lin was in the limelight, and for some reason, her little Mi Yu also became complacent. She put her hands on her waist and said proudly,

"Hehe, see, I told you Sister Bai Lin is amazing. Now you believe it!"

Why didn't I hear you praising me? Bai Lin was speechless, but she ignored Mi Yu and walked straight to the lizard man in charge of recruitment who was still in a daze and said,

"Hey, I turned on your stove for you. Can you pay me now?"

"Ah?" The lizard man was stunned again at Bai Lin's words. Then, with a serious expression, or rather a very serious look in his eyes, he took a step closer to Bai Lin. He grabbed the hand that Bai Lin stretched out to ask for his wages and said with respect and seriousness,

"Please, do me another favor!"

Bai Lin was also stunned for a moment. This was an unexpected development, but she handled it very quickly. She pulled her hand away, took a step back, and said in a muffled voice,

"Hey, this is different from what we agreed on."

"Please, this is a life-threatening request!"

The lizardman clenched his fists, placed them in front of him, and bowed deeply to Bai Lin. Bai Lin didn't even look at him, but turned around and pulled Mi Yu closer to him, and replied in an even more dull voice,

"What do you mean by life-threatening? I was originally promised that I'd be paid once this was done. You're trying to shirk responsibility by using these excuses. Are you planning to make a move on me?"

"No, no, no, no." The lizard man suddenly realized how abrupt and rude his behavior was after hearing Bai Lin's heavy words. He quickly said,

"Well, come and take a look at it with me first. I'll pay you two hundred platinum coins now, and after the job is done, I'll give you an additional nine hundred. How about that?"

Does this mean that I have to pay an additional thousand? Bai Lin tilted his head, frowned, and replied,

"If you want me to be your thug, forget it. I don't like getting into trouble."

Chapter 472 Pull

"No, no, don't worry, you don't have to fight with others if you don't want to!"

This made Bai Lin more and more confused. After she took the money, she first asked Xiao Miyu,

"Don't let go of my hand."

Xiao Miyu nodded sensibly, and the lizardman's eyes showed no dissatisfaction, but he was slightly surprised by Bai Lin's caution. He naturally led Bai Lin towards the original location of the sky furnace. At the side of the corridor, the lizardman stretched out his claws, opened an iron door, and invited,

"go in."

Following closely behind the lizardman, Bai Lin was surprised to discover that beneath the mountain, besides the outer furnace, there was actually another cavernous world. The first thing that caught his eye was a steel staircase. The walls were almost entirely made of steel. Although the space didn't seem very large, each floor was filled with numerous iron doors.

Looking up, there was a staircase at least forty meters deep. Within this iron tower, a vast amount of magma flowed, surging towards the sky furnace outside. The light was so bright that it made this nearly completely enclosed building feel less oppressive.

"Wow, so there's a place for people to live inside the Sky Furnace? That's the first time I've heard of that!"

Miyu was jumping up and down happily. If it weren't for the fact that there was so little room to move on the stairs, Bai Lin suspected that if he lost consciousness, Miyu would run away to who knows where and he would be completely lost. The lizard man also replied very considerately,

"This is where we Lizardmen live, and only we, the Yaozlaw Clan, live here. For us, forging is almost a profession arranged by God, so all of us in the tribe are more or less proficient in it."

"Unfortunately, although we are quite good at developing machinery and often have many good ideas that are promoted and used throughout the empires, we have almost no talent for construction. And we don't like living in cold and gloomy caves, so most of our people have gathered here."

But I think this place is not much different from a cold cave, except that it is not cold. Bai Lin thought so.

The metal walls shimmered with a unique luster, but the overly smooth surface was somewhat tiring. No matter how many floors she climbed, Bai Lin felt like she was always on the same floor. She looked at the iron doors, seeing no numbers or symbols on them, and couldn't help but wonder how these lizardmen could tell which was their home.

After walking up a few floors, the lizardman leading the way walked straight to the side of a house. He took a piece of metal that looked like a magnetic card and swiped it through the crack on the door. Then he pushed the door open. As soon as he entered, he shouted loudly,

"Duan Ziqiang, get out of your bed and look who I brought for you."

"Come on, if you're capable, bring me a humanoid earth-swallowing turtle that can pull a molten mechanical core with its bare hands, or don't disturb my sleep."

Compared to the harsh steel exterior, the interior of the house actually looked much more comfortable. The abundance of warm lighting and the comforting brown paint on the walls made it appear much more humane than the exterior.

However, just as the lizardmen had said, these guys might indeed lack a bit of racial talent in decoration. Within the not-so-large space, there were all sorts of jagged edges and corners, as if the soil wasn't leveled when the cave was excavated. Even after renovation, the space still had the flaws of a natural cave.

Of course, it is also possible that the unevenness is due to the renovation.

Perhaps because the room felt warmer and more welcoming, the lizardman leading the way was much more cheerful the moment he entered than he had been outside. And the person who responded to him seemed to be quite direct in expressing his emotions.

Deep within one of the room's outer compartments, there was a small space just large enough for several people to lie down. On the rigid metal floor, a soft cushion was spread, filling the entire space. And on top of it, naturally, a lizardman lay curled up on the mat, covered with a thin blanket.

"You bastard, it's been all these years, have you ever seen me come to you for no reason? Hurry up and turn your head around and take a look."

"What? You're not really going to bring me a ferocious beast, are you? I can't change anything now—"

Finally, at the sight of his friend's particularly enthusiastic words, the lizardman slowly turned over in bed. The first thing he saw was Bai Lin, clad in black armor and a cape. Although Bai Lin's aura was exceptionally well concealed, after so long in the comfort of his bed, the sight of such a tin can made his pupils tremble.

"Although I'm not a ferocious beast, it's still pretty easy for me to pull out that kind of core. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Bai Lin ignored the other person's momentary shock and spoke calmly. Even if someone had been deeply impressed by Bai Lin's outfit, the magic of the cloak would have only left a small memory of him after he left. So, after a casual glance inside the room, Bai Lin had let down his guard to a certain extent.

There is no source of magic power. If it is just a mechanical trap, it probably won't hurt me hiding in such a small room, and it will be easy to protect Miyu.

The lizardman with the trembling pupils looked similar to the guide, but there were some subtle differences. First, the color of his skin was a little lighter, and second, his body was thinner, even a little shriveled. He looked like a guy who was really suffering from illness.

"You...you're not kidding, are you?"

When the lizardman faced Bai Lin, he was obviously much more polite than he was to his own people. Bai Lin simply replied,

"I don't need to lie. Your companion said that you can get money if you come to see me, so I came. Tell me, what do you want me to do for you?"

Just as the lizard man lying on the bed swallowed his saliva and was about to say something, a noisy sound came from outside the door. Three or four strong lizard men ran over at a rapid pace, rushing into the house as if they were running for their lives.

Chapter 473 Ace Pilot

"Duan Ziqiang, damn, we finally met today! I'm going to call all the guys over from their workstations. You better get up quickly!"

"Yes, yes, hurry up, strike today!"

These burly old lizardmen, each wearing a heat-insulating suit made of similar fabric, looked extremely excited. The one who had led Bai Lin earlier curled his lips and said,

"That bastard didn't believe it and asked if the little brother had the strength. He must have been lying in bed for so long that he has lost his vision.

"Duan Xiaoli, you're spreading rumors! Do you dare to say that you can tell at first sight that someone is qualified to help us?"

Perhaps the arrival of this new group of people had boosted the lizardman's trust in the bed. Coupled with the repeated sarcasm from the guide, whom it called Duan Xiaoli, the lizardman felt a bit overwhelmed. Excited, it flung its blanket aside and leaped off the bed. It ran directly towards the group of cheerful friends behind it, and in the process, punched Duan Xiaoli a few times with all its might.

"Lao Qiang, you're well now. Why are you so energetic?"

A tall and strong lizard man said happily, while Duan Ziqiang didn't even look at him. His hands were concentrating on launching a fierce attack on Xiaoli, and his mouth said,

"What disease is healed? Someone really came. It means the God of Machinery has opened his eyes. Even if I'm in a grave now, I'll definitely find a way to jump out!"

Looking at this group of lively lizardmen, Bai Lin couldn't help but think of the very youthful boys' dormitory, the kind of boys who called each other dads, wrestled together, and rarely had conflicts.

She'd been through a similar period before, though it hadn't lasted long. Of course, the brotherhood between men wasn't limited to high school and college dorms; even a nerdy guy like her had plenty of friends. But men who could really speak their minds so openly were truly enviable.

Ever since Bai Lin arrived in the other world, she'd been surrounded by women. She'd seen quite a few beautiful girls, but she couldn't possibly play around with them like that, could she? Even the few men she knew well, the two in her own adventurer group, were incredibly rigid and wouldn't really get into a fight with a girl like Bai Lin. While they were close psychologically, they were incredibly reserved physically.

The other one, on the other hand, had absolutely no teenage boy's intellect. When he wasn't being snobbish, he treated people with his own elegant demeanor. Even at the table, he rarely lost control. At most, like the one above, he'd occasionally put his arm around Bai Lin's shoulder when things got really exciting.

After all, Bai Lin was a beautiful girl, not just any beautiful girl. It was impossible for her to have no barriers between her and men. But the point was, even the time she spent hanging out with them was gone.

Seeing Bai Lin standing there in a daze, the lizardman called Xiaoli quickly took two steps forward and said very politely,

"Don't mind it, brother. We have a good relationship, so we are more noisy."

Bai Lin nodded. Although her expression was a little strange, she was only wearing a helmet, so the lizardmen probably couldn't see it. She replied,

"It's okay, this is fine. Just tell me what you want to do. I'm pretty busy too."

"Did you hear that, grandson? Hurry and bring me your crappy blueprint!"

Xiaoli turned around and started cursing at his friend, completely different from the attitude he had towards Bai Lin. Ziqiang walked to the other corner of the room, slapped a wall, picked up a thick stack of yellowed papers, and shouted back,

"If you curse again, even if the deed is done, I will stop you from watching!"

Xiao Li's eyes widened, and he laughed loudly, "Hey, I brought the person here, how could you not show him to me? Stop talking nonsense to me and explain the situation clearly to this distinguished guest."

Ziqiang glared at Xiaoli unhappily, and looking at the brothers around him who were laughing and expectant, he said nothing more. He took a big step and came to Bai Lin's side. Similarly, when he came to talk to Bai Lin, his tone was obviously much more polite.

"Look, little brother... These drawings are the lifelong dreams of me and my brothers. Almost all of them were designed by us."

After saying this and reminding Bai Lin of the importance of these drawings, he carefully handed them to Bai Lin. Obviously, these were indeed very important things, so Bai Lin also flipped through them one by one with some care.

You wouldn't know until you see it, but it was quite shocking. The lines on the blueprint were very straight, like something an engineer would draw, and the transitions were very abrupt. The mechanical structure seemed very simple and easy to understand at first glance, but after combining so many mechanical structures together, Bai Lin was a little confused.

After flipping through a few blueprints, she began to understand some of the functions, perhaps through the annotations. Flamethrowers, armor deployment, and mecha-barrier impacts. While it was a bit confusing, the information contained in them didn't seem like something from this era.

After reading three or four drawings, Bai Lin realized that she had only read the design drawings of an arm. Bai Lin's eyes gradually filled with more and more surprise. She looked up at Ziqiang who was full of expectations and replied,

"This... is quite fantastical. But even though I have the power, I can't understand these mechanical drawings."

"It's okay. You don't need to understand it. I just want you to have a brief understanding first. And then, most of the parts in our blueprint are already made. If you want to fully form it, we brothers can do it in no time, but..."

Ziqiang rubbed his hands, his eyes full of expectation, but he was a little embarrassed. Bai Lin frowned and asked,

"But what?"

"However, although this thing has been meticulously designed for decades and gradually formed, it is theoretically complete and has many accessories. But if we really want to achieve the effect, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no problems, so..."

Judging from what Ziqiang said, this thing might be quite dangerous.

Chapter 474 30t

"We'd like you to be in charge of the machine, but if your own force doesn't exceed 30 tons, there's still a possibility of malfunction. Although we can come to your rescue as soon as possible, we can't guarantee absolute safety. So, please use your own power."

Even if it's a lifelong wish... do you have to worry about the safety of others first? Bai Lin glanced at Ziqiang and thought that this lizard man still had some morals.

Flipping through a few more drawings, Bai Lin could sense the solid foundation left by each stroke of ink. The reliable yet simple structure formed a whimsical fantasy machine. Though the proposed shape was crudely drawn, just by looking at the instructions on the drawings, Bai Lin could sense the sense of a towering, steel-like structure towering over the earth.

"You've been drawing this for decades. But haven't you ever thought about how to realize it? It's a bit strange that you have to wait until I get here to start."

Bai Lin glanced at Ziqiang in front of him, not hiding his doubtful expression at all. Ziqiang also seemed a little anxious, and he quickly explained to Bai Lin,

"Of course we've considered it, but we weren't able to properly conceive its robustness. As the brothers' shared ideas grew, the more functions we added, the less effective the labor-saving mechanical structure became. Ultimately, this required a humanoid creature with immense strength, but no larger than us lizardmen, to accomplish this! Please trust us, we have no intention of deceiving you!"

It's said that men have a unique romantic affinity for machines. Clearly, these lizardmen, willing to devote so much time to a nearly impossible plan, were undoubtedly pursuing this romantic connection. Ziqiang's eyes gleamed with intense longing.

Bai Lin, as a "original" man, understood these feelings perfectly. Naturally, her original world contained numerous works depicting large mechanical entities. Those massive robots that shook the earth, soared through the sky, blasted missiles and lasers, or flashed back with lightsabers, all left a deep impression on Bai Lin.

She, too, possessed this romantic spirit. And in the eyes of these lizardmen, she saw her own romantic feelings from the past, and also saw their sincerity. A man might lie to achieve his goals, but he would never tarnish his dreams with despicable means.

Bai Lin, who once held other dreams, now completely empathized with the lizardmen standing before her. Her earlier doubts were merely a test of Zi Qiang's abilities. After all, this wasn't human territory. What if she helped them conduct this experiment and they took it to the alien front lines, transforming it into a war machine?

Bai Lin pondered for a while and replied slowly,

"I can tell you clearly that 30 tons isn't that much strength for me, so this thing... it's your lifelong dream. Even though you let me drive it, I won't take it away. But you have to agree to one condition."

Bai Lin's tone and attitude were still unusually calm. The cold words came out of her mouth, but when Ziqiang heard them, it sounded completely different. Ziqiang held his hands together and asked sincerely,

"What conditions do you want? As long as it's within my ability, I can agree to it."

"Once you're done, I want you to equip this thing with a self-destruct system, and I'll keep the button. I hope you'll keep it a secret. You can show it to others, but you can't reveal any of the methods or ideas involved in its creation. It can only exist as your dream, and no one with bad intentions will have the opportunity to copy it."

When Bai Lin said this, his tone was not only very tough, but he even straightened his body and coldly swept his gaze over the group of lizardmen. Although he didn't say it directly, there was a hint of threat in his tone.

After hearing this, all the lizardmen were stunned for a moment, as if they were stunned by Bai Lin's words, but then they all burst into laughter, as if they had heard something funny. This turned the tables, and their laughter made Bai Lin confused, so she continued to ask in a calm voice,

"What are you laughing at? Do you think I'm joking?"

You know, in Bai Lin's opinion, with her strength, it would probably only take a moment to kill these defenseless lizardmen. Even if Bai Lin didn't deliberately intimidate them, didn't they feel the slightest fear of her words?

At this moment, Xiaoli stood up again, waved his hand, and explained to Bai Lin with a smile,

"No, no, we don't mean to laugh at you, brother. It's just that you really don't understand us, the Yaoclaw clan."

A tall and strong lizardman behind him also managed to stop laughing, nodded, and echoed the lizardman's words.

"Let alone us, the Yao Claws. Even those large tribes who are even less skilled at forging than us have never heard of their technology being taken away by others."

Looking at Bai Lin who was still very confused, Xiao Li straightened his expression and said to Bai Lin,

"It's like this. As long as we don't want this to be leaked, it will never be leaked. In our area, if anyone covets the technology of other tribes, they will face retaliation from more than just our own tribe."