Chapter 225 Mechanical Expert

Soon, Zhang Yi brought Yang Mi and Zhou Ke'er to the living room. When they saw Yang Xinxin safe and sound, their faces lit up with extreme joy, and with tears in their eyes, they rushed over to her.

"Xinxin! Thank goodness you're alive!"

"Do you know how worried your sister was about you?"

Yang Mi squatted in front of Yang Xinxin, her face filled with a fawning smile.

"You're so troublesome! Why didn't you contact me sooner? You must have suffered a lot outside!"

But Yang Xinxin, facing her celebrity cousin, didn't show much kindness. She snorted coldly, saying, "My shameless sister! You became famous only by exploiting men's fantasies about you. Besides relying on your body, what other skills do you have?"

"If I hadn't found out that you were with Brother Zhang Yi, I wouldn't have bothered contacting you!"

Yang Mi's face turned awkward instantly. Zhang Yi raised his eyebrows slightly, realizing that this pair of cousins didn't seem to have a harmonious relationship.

But that wasn't surprising. As Zhou Ke'er had mentioned before, Yang Mi, the national goddess and the object of countless men's fantasies, was probably an embarrassment to the Yang family. For a genius like Yang Xinxin, a computer whiz with a high IQ, it was normal for her to look down on Yang Mi.

"Brother Zhang Yi?" Zhou Ke'er noticed the way Yang Xinxin addressed Zhang Yi.

"When did Xinxin start being so polite to people?"

In her memory, Yang Xinxin was so exceptionally intelligent that she rarely acknowledged anyone.

After a brief introduction between everyone, Lu Keran introduced herself. Although not from a prestigious family, her parents were both university professors, coming from an intellectual background.

Zhang Yi clapped his hands and began assigning tasks to Yang Mi and Zhou Ke'er.

"Mi Mi, you go and prepare a nice meal to welcome Xinxin and Keran."

"Ke'er, please tidy up the rooms for them."

Zhou Ke'er smiled, "Okay! I've already cleared out a room for Xinxin; I'll get another room ready."

Yang Mi then headed to the island kitchen in the living room and started preparing dinner for the evening.

As for Lu Keran and Yang Xinxin, Zhang Yi didn't rush them to work since they had just returned. He first asked them to take a bath, considering that there were no proper bathing conditions under the snow at Tianqing Academy.

Lu Keran pushed Yang Xinxin to the bathroom, and Zhang Yi prepared several sets of clothes based on their sizes, letting them choose what to wear.

However, while they were taking a bath, Yang Mi in the kitchen kept staring at Zhang Yi, her hand moving more slowly as she cut vegetables.

Zhang Yi, feeling a bit speechless, asked, "After all this time, you're still holding on to that?"

Yang Mi pouted. "What you did to me is one thing, but they're just innocent students. You'd better not think about doing that to them!"

Zhang Yi smiled gently. He hadn't intended to do anything to them.

How should he explain it? When he acted recklessly with Yang Mi, it was because he knew that Yang Mi had come with the intent of exchanging her body for survival. But Lu Keran and Yang Xinxin were different. They were technical talents that Zhang Yi could make great use of in the future.

Zhang Yi wasn't some lustful man who would prey on anyone. With Zhou Ke'er and Yang Mi, he already had enough companionship to satisfy his needs. As for these two girls, it was better to have them focus on improving the defenses of his shelter.

However, if over time, feelings developed in a situation where there were many women and few men, he wouldn't be able to do much about it.

The two girls took their time in the bathroom. Coming from good families, they hadn't bathed in so long that it was unbearable for them. So, once they were in a comfortable environment with hot water, they meticulously washed themselves several times before emerging, dressed in the clothes prepared for them.

After bathing, the two girls looked at Zhang Yi with much more warmth in their eyes. After all, he was their savior. Not only had he saved their lives, but he had also provided them with such a comfortable place to stay. This was a debt of gratitude they could never repay.

In Lu Keran's heart, the word "loyalty" was already ringing loudly.

"Big brother, we're all cleaned up!" Lu Keran said cheerfully to Zhang Yi.

This tomboy had an open, carefree personality, and her clear eyes gleamed with sincerity.

"Alright, come over and sit for a bit," Zhang Yi said with a smile, beckoning them.

Zhang Yi had them sit on the sofa, offering them hot drinks to help them replenish their energy before continuing.

There was a coffee machine in the house, and Yang Mi poured a cappuccino for Yang Xinxin, while Lu Keran drank an Americano.

Zhang Yi crossed his legs and casually started a conversation with them.

"Xinxin, you'll be in charge of the network security for the house from now on. Does that sound good?"

Zhang Yi was clueless about computers, probably only slightly better than Yang Mi and Zhou Ke'er, but when facing a computer expert, he knew he'd be out of his depth. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had his identity information stolen by Lu Fengda before.

Yang Xinxin nodded and, in a calm yet highly confident tone, said, "Leave it to me!"

Zhang Yi then turned to Lu Keran, who immediately sat up straight, placing her hands on her knees.

"Big brother, what are your orders?"

Zhang Yi asked, "You're an expert in the mechanical field. I'd like to know, can you make weapons and ammunition?"

Zhang Yi smiled warmly at Lu Keran, like a gentle older brother from next door.

Lu Keran, wearing slippers, shrank her feet slightly under Zhang Yi's gentle gaze. She looked shyly away and scratched her cheek as she replied, "Actually, making guns isn't that difficult, but it requires specialized mechanical equipment. As for ammunition, the materials needed aren't something you can just buy on the market."

"Oh, but if it's cold weapons, that would be much easier. You could even obtain the materials from other metals at home," she added, "but we'd still need forging tools."

Zhang Yi chuckled softly, "That's not hard to arrange."

He suddenly stood up and said to Lu Keran, "Come with me. I'll show you a few things!"

Lu Keran followed him curiously. Zhang Yi led her to the basement, arriving in a spacious room. He opened his dimensional space and took out various mechanical equipment from a steel company that he had previously scavenged from a warehouse area.

Though Zhang Yi wasn't familiar with these CNC machines and other tools, he knew their purpose.

Zhang Yi asked, "Take a look. Will these work? If not, I have more. Worst case, I can go out and raid a few steel factories to find whatever machinery you need!"

Lu Keran's eyes gleamed with excitement at the sight of the high-end machinery in front of her. These were expensive, many of them imported, with each piece costing at least a few million, and some even over ten million!

"No problem. These will be more than enough!" Lu Keran said excitedly. "Even if some of the equipment isn't needed, I can take apart the parts and modify them."

As a mechanical genius, her hands-on skills were top-notch!

Hearing this, Zhang Yi nodded and handed her some tools.

"Start by organizing the equipment. Later, you can help me build what I need."

As for the materials for ammunition, that would be even simpler. His dimensional space contained plenty of chemical materials, and gunpowder wouldn't be a challenge for a mechanical genius like her.

Large firearms weren't something Zhang Yi lacked, but he was short on bullets and silencers—especially for his sniper rifle, which made too much noise and drew attention every time it was fired.

Lu Keran flexed her arms, showing off her toned, white muscles. "Don't worry, big brother! Leave these tasks to me!"

Looking at the passionate girl before him, Zhang Yi felt a burst of joy. What he had initially thought was just a "buy one, get one free" situation had turned out to be a delightful surprise.

"By the way, since you're a mechanical expert, you must know a lot about materials, right? Take a look at this for me."

Zhang Yi retrieved a Tang sword he had taken from Liang Yue and handed it to Lu Keran.

"Is this some kind of ancient divine weapon? When I took it, your teacher's eyes looked like she wanted to fight me to the death."

Lu Keran was very familiar with this sword. She took it in her hands, and her eyes gleamed with excitement as she drew it out halfway, revealing a sharp, chilling glow and a clear, resonating sound.

"This is Teacher Liang's treasured sword! I've finally had the chance to hold it myself."

She admired the sword for a while, like it was a rare treasure, before reluctantly sheathing it and returning it to Zhang Yi.

"This sword is called 'Longming' (Dragon's Roar)," she explained. "It was personally forged by Yuan Lin, the greatest swordsmith in China."

"This isn't some ancient artifact; it's a modern cold weapon masterpiece!"

"It's made from a metal called Adamantium alloy, supposedly the hardest metal in the world, even capable of cutting through diamonds!"

Zhang Yi couldn't help but ask, "Is it really that strong?"

Lu Keran nodded. "Yes. This metal was developed about ten years ago and was initially intended for military weapons. However, due to its high manufacturing costs and the scarcity of materials, it was abandoned by weapons manufacturers."

"But some people started using it to forge cold weapons, resulting in unbreakable treasures like this sword!"

She pointed at the sword in Zhang Yi's hand.

"This one is called 'Dragon's Roar.' It's said that Teacher Liang received it as a reward after saving the life of a high-ranking official's wife when she was working as her bodyguard."

"To Teacher Liang, this sword symbolizes supreme honor, so she treasures it more than her life."

Zhang Yi looked at the sword in his hand, his gaze heating up. No wonder Liang Yue had been able to fight the demon cat with it. Ordinary swords would have become dull long ago.

"This is a great weapon. I'll hold onto it for her!" Zhang Yi said with a grin.

Something this valuable would serve him far better than his previous Damascus steel hunting knife. Of course, Zhang Yi had no intention of returning it.