Deep inside the military factory within the Core Area of the Serenitea Pot, the pungent scent of machine oil and rust stubbornly hung in the air, mixed with the faint ozone odor left behind by the operation of Electro-element devices.
Limeng squatted in front of a pile of twisted metal wreckage, his fingertips tracing a cold, dented barrel—the final remains of a 75-millimeter field gun that had been completely destroyed while repelling Abyssal Monsters during a previous Fontaine Condessence Crystal mining expedition. The brief peace brought by the stable operation of the realm's barrier had not completely dispelled the deafening roar of cannon fire in his ears; it lingered quietly in a quiet gap like a warning bell hanging overhead.
"Catapults and ballistas driven solely by elemental energy are not enough," Limeng said in a low voice, sending a faint echo rippling through the empty workshop. His gaze swept over the mountains of piled materials in the corner: crude White Iron Ore, cold-polished Liyue forged mechanical components, and a few sections of branches that still carried the fresh fragrance of Thunder Sakura Wood. "When the Abyss returns, we need something more... substantial, something with firepower that can tear through enemy defense lines."
Chapter 97