"The Steam Furnace?"
After listening to the young man's description, Jing Liuli finally pieced together the chaos currently unfolding in the City of Steam.
Although the travelers stranded at the station only knew that something major had happened at the Steam Furnace, with large groups of Association Stargazers rushing over, none of them could explain the specifics.
They only knew that the commotion earlier was huge, and some even witnessed an advanced fighter jet from the Quantum Fortress screaming towards the Steam Furnace. Clearly, something serious had happened.
Knowing all this and coupling it with the strange behavior of Chen Xing, Jing Liuli excitedly turned to Mei Ling beside her. "Aunt Mei, is the location of Xingxing and her Guardian in the direction of the Steam Furnace?"
Mei Ling closed her eyes, sensed for a moment, and then nodded steadily.
"Yes, the aura is very clear."
Armed with this information, the eyes beneath Jing Liuli's sunglasses immediately sparkled.
"I knew she was stirring up trouble!"
Jing Liuli clapped her hands, saying with absolute certainty, "I bet what's happening here now is absolutely linked to her!"
She had suspected Chen Xing was acting strangely before, and now it seemed she was right. If Chen Xing had nothing to hide, why would she be at the Steam Furnace right now?
Thinking this, Jing Liuli, unable to contain her curiosity, immediately summoned her prized pillow.
In the next second, a special pillow, emitting a faint glow, appeared out of thin air in front of her. Jing Liuli leaped onto it, sitting steadily on the Illusory Dream Pillow in a cross-legged position.
She then casually removed her sunglasses, revealing a pair of bright, sparkling eyes, and gave a standard celebrity smile to her gathered fans.
"Everyone, we'll make up the autographs and photos later! Thank you all for your support!"
With that, Jing Liuli rode the 'Illusory Dream Pillow,' transforming into a streak of light and shooting out of the station, leaving behind a crowd of astonished people.
On the other side, Mei Ling shook her head helplessly at Jing Liuli's frantic departure.
The company's car had arrived, yet her little princess insisted on finding her own way.
But it didn't matter; she'd let her be. Without any unnecessary movements, Mei Ling's body lifted into the air, swiftly catching up to Jing Liuli.
As Jing Liuli's Guardian and manager, the Catastrophe-level Stargazer had long grown accustomed to Jing Liuli's 'childish' nature. And she didn't particularly dislike it, either.
Outside the Brass Tower.
Chen Kong walked out of the Steam Furnace, carrying the unconscious Vivian on his back.
Seeing them, the Branch President Liam immediately stepped forward.
"Chen Kong, what's the situation like inside now?"
Facing Liam's question, Chen Kong thought for a moment, then shook his head, indicating that he wasn't sure.
Liam frowned slightly, instinctively feeling that Chen Kong was withholding information. However, he ultimately chose not to press for details, patted Chen Kong's shoulder, and told him to go rest.
Then, he turned and looked towards the Steam Furnace, lost in thought.
For a moment, Liam had clearly sensed a trace of 'divine aura' leaking from inside the Furnace. Given the recent entry of Ivan, the high priest of the Mechanical Cult, that divine aura was likely a result of him activating the Mechanical Cult's 'Ritual: Deus Ex Machina'.
Now that the divine aura had vanished, it meant either Ivan successfully defeated Tendo or Tendo turned the tables and won.
But regardless of the outcome, he would only know for sure after the Steam Furnace completely stabilized. Right now, the Furnace was enveloped by a strange power, visibly undergoing some unknown transformation.
He dared not send anyone to investigate the Steam Furnace in its current uncertain state. As the Branch President of Steam, he had to be responsible for his subordinates.
The scoundrel Tendo Simei had already made a fool of the Steam Branch once; he couldn't let it happen again. Furthermore, he sensed a new Catastrophe-level Stargazer had arrived in the City of Steam.
Thinking about this, Liam felt a headache coming on.
Counting the Guardian accompanying the Chen Xing, there were currently three Catastrophe-level Stargazers gathered in the City of Steam. If he included the young master of the Yu Family from the City of Martial Law, who had recently visited, the number of Catastrophe-level Stargazers who had come to the City of Steam recently reached an astonishing three.
Such a situation was incredibly rare, even for the Seven Floating Cities, let alone the small City of Steam.
Meanwhile, inside the Steam Furnace.
"No more, Danica needs to rest!"
Danica lay sprawled on the floor, forming a small 'X,' too exhausted to move a single finger.
Watching the young Danica, who had skipped many detours and essentially turned herself into an excellent laborer, the dimension viewers couldn't help but tease.
'Danica confirmed model worker! Looks like modifying the Furnace drained her mana bar.'
'Does the Stars world have child labor laws? Feels like the Heavens are exploiting an underage workhorse.'
'Workhorse: Who's calling me?'
As the bullet comments scrolled, the episode's camera briefly gave a close-up of the surrounding environment.
Due to the radical modifications by Danica and Tendo, the Steam Furnace was now precisely divided into twelve zones, corresponding perfectly to the twelve Gear Guardians within the Furnace.
While the maximum power for forging in the modified Steam Furnace was reduced by about 50%, the number of equipment that could be forged simultaneously had achieved a qualitative leap. It could now also be used by up to twelve people at once.
All these changes were possible thanks to Tendo having mastered all of the Furnace's permissions, allowing him to freely adjust the core rules. It was also dependent on the new 'Law' Danica had reshaped for the place; without it, the modification could never have gone so smoothly.
As the cost of modifying the Steam Furnace, Tendo had Danica establish a rule called the 'Service Fee'. This meant that everyone who used the Steam Furnace would have to pay a service fee to Tendo. The more people who used it, the more Tendo earned.
Although Tendo seemed to be doing this to make money, his real reason was to highly bind himself to the Steam Furnace.
Protecting him meant protecting the Steam Furnace.
Therefore, as soon as the Chief President, Enite, learned of the situation with the new Steam Furnace, he would inevitably weigh the pros and cons and come out to publicly support Tendo.
With such a major figure backing him, even the rigid members of the Iron Dome Family wouldn't be able to openly obstruct him. And that was all Tendo needed.
After enough rest, Danica propped herself up and looked curiously at Tendo not far away.
"Mr. Tendo, what are you studying?"
Tendo's arm was wrapped in wisps of pale blue electrical current. These currents continuously flowed about one millimeter above his skin, not touching yet closely connected.
"Nothing much, just contemplating some new things."
Although Tendo didn't explicitly say it, the dimension viewers on Station 13, through their screens, keenly caught the changes on Tendo's body.
'Is that lightning ability?!'
'Is the Heavens unlocking a new skill?'
'Wait a minute, guys, what does Vector Control have to do with electricity? The Stars production team is adding more settings!'
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