Chapter 507 - 396: Mechanical Power

He summoned Lingling. Thanks to the recent upgrades to her equipment, Lingling was now capable of cross-dimensional calls to Belle at any time. Of course, interdimensional communication required Long Yi to exert a great deal of Giant power, but this was insignificant compared to the potential gains.

Through Lingling, Long Yi told Belle that he was in a safe place and urgently needed help from the Crystal Demon plane.

Before long, Belle responded, informing Long Yi that due to interdimensional restrictions, the Crystal Demons couldn’t directly assist him through consciousness downloading and physical manifestation, especially given their distaste for the sun in his world. However, the Crystal Demon scientists had created a batch of Crystal Demon Light Cannons, after extensive research. These cannons used universal protocol and could be installed on any device powered by the Crystal Core. The power of each blast was proportional to the output of the Crystal Core.

Moreover, through reverse-engineering the Catalyst Crystal Stone, the Crystal Demon scientists developed an Array that could amplify the Crystal Core’s output energy within microseconds, significantly boosting the Light Cannon’s actual output. Due to interference, the Crystal Demons couldn’t use this Array, but humans were unaffected. By combining these technologies, the Crystal Demon scientists created a mega-power Light Cannon. The first batch of one hundred had already been made. Belle asked Long Yi if he really needed these devices.

Long Yi was so moved that he was on the brink of tears. He immediately requested as many as they had! However, he gently noted that he might not have anything to offer in return.

Soon, Belle responded with laughter. The gains the Crystal Demons had made from the Catalyst Crystal Stone were a million times more than what the Light Cannons were worth. To the Crystal Demons, the cannons were mere trinkets, easily produced within minutes.

While Long Yi didn’t fully understand the lifestyle of the Crystal Demons, from what it sounded, they seemed to excel at mass production. When he asked how long it would take to deliver the first batch of cannons, Belle told him they could make ten thousand units within a month!

Long Yi was dumbfounded.

Initially, Long Yi had planned to have the Crystal Demon scientists improve the Crystal Core powering his Battle Armor. However, upon hearing Long Yi’s description, Belle informed him that the energy core, a Dark City variant improved by the White Dragon Empire, was already maximizing the Crystal Core’s potential and could hardly be enhanced.

Long Yi exchanged a lot of information with Princess Belle until he felt his Giant power nearing its limit. Princess Belle told him that the Crystal Demons were currently engaged in battle with the Crazy Demons, and it wouldn’t be long before they regained control of the Crazy Demon planet. At that point, reaching Belle would become much easier. Long Yi looked forward to this possibility, but he believed that he might soon ascend to the upper Plane.

After ending his call with the Crystal Demon Princess, Long Yi headed straight for the Imperial Science Research Institute.

Long Yi was deeply invested in the tractor project. If war couldn’t be ended swiftly, it would eventually evolve into a war of attrition. Material supplies were of the utmost importance in a protracted war. Humans could survive without steel, but not without food. The White Dragon Empire was a deeply commercial empire. If food supplies were cut off, how could their people start farming on their own?

No chance of that!

Therefore, after setting a delivery date for the Light Cannons, Long Yi immediately rushed off to the Imperial Science Research Institute. In the underground testing field, a tractor with a modern design stood quietly.

But that was merely the shell.

Beside the shell, the heart of the tractor – the Crystal Core-powered engine – was laid out.

The Crystal Core engine relied on the Crystal Core as its power source and drove a complicated set of gears through connecting Arrays. Precision equipment didn’t exist in this world, so forget about gearboxes. Fortunately, the Crystal Core engine had excellent low-speed torque.

The world didn’t have rubber, so Long Yi designed the tractor to be track-based. The rugged tracks and heavy load-bearing wheels were within the Dwarves’ manufacturing capability.

Long Yi glanced at the tractor and silently counted in his mind.

"One, two, three, four, five... yes, five pairs of load-bearing wheels, perfect!"

When Ma Deburg and Angidd heard that Long Yi was visiting, they rushed out of their side room in their work clothes.

"Did I interrupt you two?" Long Yi asked with a smile.

"Cut the crap, come see! We’ve informed the Dwarves!" Ma Deburg, completely oblivious to Long Yi’s undertones, pulled him over to the Crystal Core engine.

"Ever since that day, Dean Angidd and I gathered three elite teams to conquer the mechanical structures you described. Finally, we’ve resolved the issue of power transmission in the engine. Look over here! Inspired by the Array layout of the airships, we set an excitation Array that send power diagonally at a 45-degree angle to another Array on this side. Thus, we used two sets of Crystal Core energy sources, one fixed, one on the axis, and the latter would start spinning. By adjusting the level of excitation of the fixed Crystal Core, we can adjust the output power!"

As Ma Deburg explained, Angidd handed Long Yi a chart showing a series of curves, including rotational speed, level of Mana input, energy loss, and more.

"The optimal range is between 800 to 3000 revolutions, so we plan to keep it within this range." Angidd explained on the side.

When Elder Morton of the Dwarves came to the testing field, Ma Deburg and Angidd were standing on either side of Long Yi, discussing the principles of various parts and continuously handing over documents.

Eventually, everyone fell silent, waiting for Long Yi’s response.

Long Yi carefully looked over each page and scrutinized the Crystal Core engine. Ma Deburg and Angidd didn’t dare breathe loudly, fearing that Long Yi would point out an issue they had overlooked.

"Actually... there seems to be no problem now. We may need to pay attention to water and dustproofing. After all, this device needs to work in harsh environments. But that’s not a problem, we can just add a protective casing later. However, what about the temperature issue?" Long Yi eventually raised a question.

"Temperature?" Ma Deburg and Angidd looked at each other in confusion.

"Yes, any mechanical movement generates heat, and such heavy use of energy by this Crystal Core engine is bound to produce a lot of it," Long Yi explained.

"This...we did not think about it." Angidd’s face turned red in embarrassment, he had overlooked such a crucial detail! It was a disgrace to the name of the Mechanical Research Institute!

"Forget it, it’s not a big deal. Let’s test the assembly first!"

Long Yi turned around and smiled at Morton.

"It’s ok, it’s ok, we’re not in a hurry. The core power is very important!" Morton, with his dwarf innate love for metal and machinery, particularly liked to listen to Long Yi talk about these things, he truly never got tired of it.

"Let’s first take a look at this bodyframe."

Long Yi walked over to the tractor, the structure of this tractor was much simpler than the ones from his previous life. With Long Yi’s knowledge, it was very difficult to completely replicate the design from that world. However, a simple structure did not mean it was ineffective.

"Yes, there is no problem. Let’s assemble it. First, install the energy core on the gearbox."

Long Yi didn’t have the skills to design a gearbox, so here they only had a reduction gearbox to increase the torque, with the speed completely controlled by the operator.

The reduction gearbox was made up of a series of large gears. After they had assembled them together, Long Yi picked it up with both hands, slowly installed it on the tractor, tightened it, and installed the operating seat.

Then, it was time for the test.

Fighting Aura acted as a motivator in the Array. With the clicking sound of the mechanical gears, the tractor actually slowly started moving!

After a moment of silence, deafening cheers erupted in the entire testing ground!

The benefit of having a simple structure was now evident. Because the structure was simple, as long as every link was manufactured completely according to the design, it would definitely achieve the original objective of the design.

Long Yi drove the tractor around a few circles, touched the core and the reduction gearbox, the temperature was acceptable.

"Traction test!"

Long Yi shouted out, and immediately several people from the Mechanical Institute came forward, and the hitch from the back of the tractor was attached to a very thick chain. The other end of the chain was connected to a large testing device.

"This is our homemade traction testing device." Angidd proudly said to Long Yi.

"I hope it doesn’t get damaged." Long Yi said.

"Don’t worry, it won’t! The maximum tensile strength of this thing is three tons!" Angidd was full of confidence.

Long Yi immediately infused the Fighting Aura. The power core made a heavy buzzing sound, and the reduction box made a clicking sound. But, Morton wasn’t worried, things made by dwarfs might not look good, but are definitely sturdy!

Suddenly, there was a muffled boom, and the chain that locked the tractor broke!

People were shocked. The tensile strength of this chain was one ton!

"Change the chain!"

After replacing the chain, the test continued, and as Long Yi fully released the core’s power, the tension meter was nearing its limit.

"Half of the core’s energy output is about one ton and full output can reach about three tons. Not bad." Long Yi nodded.

Angidd wiped the sweat from his forehead, he even thought his tension meter was going to break!

"Attach load!"

Long Yi shouted.

A series of large iron lumps chained together were already prepared at the testing ground.

Long Yi immediately drove the tractor with the iron lumps attached, and started moving around the testing ground. However, after just less than five circles, a spark suddenly shot from the core. Long Yi immediately jumped off the tractor, but there was no explosion.

After waiting for a while, everyone gathered around. They found that the two ends of the core axis had bent due to the high temperature, so the two disks could not be aligned, which resulted in the inability to transmit energy.

"Well, now let’s solve the cooling problem." (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)