Base Building

The shop owner answered Fei Lei after taking the extra cash he laid down, "No, I happened to get it from a friend of mine, he lives in Galleria, the biggest merchant city in the region."

Fei Lei thanked him and continued on.

Seeing his suspicious behavior, Yan Mei moved over close to him and asked, "What was that? And don't tell me you don't know, I saw your reaction."

"It's something called Silicon and it has many very special uses," Fei Lei answered as he continued to walk beside the crowd.

Suddenly, a very drunk man came out of a nearby tavern and crashed against Yan Mei, removing her hood in the process.

The moment everyone saw her looks they started to blush and make provocative noises and inappropriate comments.

The drunken man stared at her as a grin came across his face before he shouted, "Hey pretty lady, why don't yus ditch that loser, and come back to my place for a funz, hic, time."

"I think he's far better to spend my time with, than drunken scum like you!" Yan Mei shouted with anger in her voice.

"Yuuz cat talk to meez like tat! Don't yoou knowz who I is?" The drunkard was about to touch her arm when Fei Lei appeared in front of him and captured his hand.

Before the drunk noticed him, Fei Lei squeezed the drunk's hands as gently as he could, until the rude man fell on his knees in pain.

Fei Lei then placed the hood back over Yan Mei's head and said, "I think you need to go home and sober up. You're hallucinating about beautiful women in the street."

Yan Mei blushed under her hood and stared at Fei Lei's large back as he blocked the drunk in front of them.

"Let go of me you riff-raff, I am the Barons son, hic...If you don't release my Spell Guards will come to deal with you!" The Drunkard shouted some sober words out now that the pain was helping him think.

Fei Lei picked him up by his arm and tossed him into the water basins that the horses drink from.

The drunken young master pulled himself out of the bowl of water and fell onto the ground before he shouted "I'm being attacked! Guards, save me!"

Yan Mei laughed a little as a group of disorderly Spell Casters came running out of the Bar laughing and falling over, a little less than half of them were drunk.

"Hey, who hit the Baron's Kid?!" One of the sober-ish guards shouted.

Fei Lei stood at the front of Yan Mei and shouted loud enough for the whole village to hear, "You, a shitty little child of a Baron dared to lay his hands on a High-Ranking Royal Mage?"

Turning to face the guards, Fei Lei continued his slander campaign, "Look at you slobs! I can't believe you have the audacity to ask us of anything."

Everyone started laughing at the group of corrupt officials when the drunken would be noble shouted, "Capture him! Arrest him and throw him in the dungeon."

One of the sober spell guards came up to him and tried to place his hands on Fei Lei. Everyone thought they were about to see the boy get arrested and become the captive of the Baron's Son, however, all they saw was Fei Lei placing his hand out with a single palm and pushed the guard, ever so gently.

The Spell Guard shot back into the wooden steps of the tavern he exited from and sent debris soaring through the air as his body crashed through them. Half of the Spell-Guard's body was facing the sky, while his bottom was stuck inside the broken pieces of wood, a dazed expression in his eyes showed that he was clearly unconscious.

Fei Lei and Yan Mei listened to the sounds of the crowd gasping for air out of sheer shock.

"Did you see that?!" A commoner said with a surprised expression on his face.

"It must have been magic! Was that boy telling the truth about her being a Royal?" Another commoner murmured.

"Holy crap! That was awesome!" Some kids watching cheered.

The crowd around the event began gathering and whispering and gossiping amongst themselves.

Fei Lei then stood in front of Yan Mei placing one hand behind his back and the other towards the remaining Spell Guards. With an open palm facing the sky, Fei Lei then let out a challenging smile before quickly pulled all of his fingers towards his body in a taunting manner.

"Well, come on! Let this bodyguard teach you, drunkards, some manners," Fei Lei said, mocking the whole group.

Some of the guards started to use their Spell Sigils, they executed a sequence of weak and different elemental bullet attacks and launched them all towards Fei Lei.

All of the Spell Guards were Adept-Level Mages, however, despite their actions, Fei Lei showed them no fear or panicked expressions.

Picking up Yan Mei like a princess, Fei Lei quickly moved forward and easily dodge them all.

"He must be a Wind Mage!" One of the Spell Guards shouted as Fei Lei appeared in front of him.

With a light jumping motion, Fei Lei kicked him across the jaw, sending his opponent's body flying and tumbling across the ground.

The crowd was silent, they were expecting Fei Lei to get blasted into smithereens, yet there was the captain of the guards laying face down in a pile of mud.

"Look, Ma! He skipped that guy like the stones we throw on the river," An excited kid shouted.

With a few quick jumps off the nearby taverns railings, Fei Lei placed Yan Mei on its roof and placed her down gently.

"Thanks." Yan Mei blushed as she let go of Fei Lei's neck.

Placing his Sword-Staff in his spatial ring, Fei Lei felt his body lose about 200 pounds of metal before he gave her a quick wink and then disappeared like a phantom image.

As he started to take out the guards one by one, Fei Lei jumped down on to the shoulders of the closest Spell Guard and heard the sounds of his 380-pound body snap the guard's bones.

Fei Lei then lightly tapped the back of the spell guard's head, sending him falling forwards as Fei Lei rolled down his back to dodge the lightning spell that another Mage used.

He laughed a little as he saw the lightning bolt hit the back of the spell guard's ally instead of himself.

Fei Lei then launched himself off the ground and used capoeira's dual spring kick to the nearest opponent, sending his both his feet into another guard's gut.

At the moment of impact, the spell guard's eyes expanded as he exhaled all the air in his lungs, his body then flew back into a nearby stone pillar, shattering the column to pieces as he crashed through both it and the slate-stone walls of the building the column was supporting.

Wounded and unconscious, the guard coughed up a mouth full of blood and slid down the wall onto the ground.

Next, there were 3 Wind Adepts that all carried swords and wore heavy plate armor charging towards Fei Lei with all their might.

They cast a featherweight spell on themselves and charged around Fei Lei creating a circle.

Fei Lei waited patiently for them to attack, and the moment they made their move, he dropped to the ground before using his hands to hold up his body. With a rapid twisting motion to his hips, Fei Lei then performed a helicopter kick that sent the circle of men flying back.

They floated to the surface due to the effects of their featherweight spell and managed to negate some of Fei Lei's force because of it.

However, all of them had broken ribs, arms, and shoulders. Their equipment, shattered alongside their fighting spirits. It was clear to all that they had lost this fight.

Suddenly, Fei Lei hopped up from his hands and shot into the air while dodging a water blast that was directed at him.

The ball water quickly exploded taking a chunk of the ground with it.

In response to the attack, Fei Lei had dashed over to the Mage and shaped his hand into a claw as he slashed downward.

Fei Lei's hand then cut through the mage's armor and ripped through his flesh like it was a hot knife going through butter.

As the guard screamed out in pain, a spray of blood leaked from his wound before he collapsed face down.

Seeing this, most of the guards decided to back away from the solo fighter. Their armors and will to stay were shaking as Fei Lei growled at them and said, "Get lost."

The remaining spell guards dropped their weapons, grabbed their injured, and started running away in a panic for fear of what Fei Lei might do to them if they didn't.

Everyone was watching Fei Lei in shock as he approached the Baron's kid.

Never before had they seen such a one-sided fight against their oppressors, and now, some random boy just came along and defeated the strongest guards in the village.

The one in question stood at the center of the crowd and shouted at the foolish Baron's son, "This young madam is the daughter of the Crimson Warlock, and you, a mere Baron's son dare have eyes on her?!"

Everyone, including the Baron's son, gasped in astonishment.

Fei Lei then smiled as he thought, "Her father must be a very influential person. To think that his name is even known all the way out in a rural place like this."

Fei Lei reappeared next to Yan Mei in a flash of speed, she was impressed with his actions, but still stared daggers at him for giving away her name.

Fei Lei laughed at her expression before he said, "It's okay, I have a plan. Just play along."

Yan Mei sighed before she pulled her hood down and shouted, "My name is Yan Mei, and I am the only daughter of Yan Chi, the Crimson Warlock."

Next, she pulled out an emblem with her clan symbol. A small wooden medallion that had a single strand of mana injected into the small fire design on its center.

The emblem lit up with her family's mana as the commoners bowed down and the Baron's legs began to quake.

Fei Lei picked her up like a princess again and said, "We were busy traveling north, and you interrupted our journey, it's only expected that you receive some punishment. So take your bruised egos, go home, and reflect on your actions."

Jumping off the roof with Yan Mei in his arms, Fei Lei started to run across the northern roadway, creating a dust storm behind him as he dashed out of the village as fast as he could. His trail of dust showed him disappearing in the northern forest lines.

As they ran through the forest for a few dozen miles, Fei Lei jumped up into the air and started to climb above the clouds. He then turned around and started going south-west, towards his cavern abode.

"You tricky little devil!" Yan Mei shouted as she figured out what he was doing.

Fei Lei continued to run on the surface of the clouds as he said, "Now your pursuers will think your way over here, and will give us some breathing room."

While Fei Lei continued to rush back towards his home, Yan Mei stared at the view fascinated by the entire scenery, the pure blue sky and the terrain below all blended together in a breathtaking sight.

"It's beautiful." Yan Mei said with a fascinated expression.

Fei Lei stared at her for a second and flipped his peepers back to the sky as he said, "Yeah. Yeah, it is."

After traveling for a few hours, they finally reached his cave and returned to his house.

As Fei Lei landed, Yan Mei turned to him and said, "Thank you for everything, if I hadn't met you..."

"It's fine. We're partners now, and you still have to keep your promise," Fei Lei said as he moved over to his courtyard and started to remove the materials from his ring.

He then looked over to her and asked, "Can you use your fire magic to melt these metals?"

"Yeah, but why would you want to? These are just regular ores. There's no mana in them what so ever," Yan Mei replied looking confused.

"I need the copper to make a piping system for water transportation and heating. Iron for several smaller objects such as bolts, nails, screws, and the rest of these are for a few things I want to make." Fei Lei answered.

Yan Mei was curious as to what he was trying to build and decided to help before saying, "Okay, but you have to tell me what the purpose is of everything you're trying to build."

Fei Lei smiled as he nodded his head and began teaching her that the copper is resistant against water corrosion.

Fei Lei then started to use his telekinesis to shape stone molds of the complex parts and materials he would need to build a proper sewage system and water transportation system.

"Copper pipes are lightweight and very malleable if properly constructed, these pipes require minimal tools needed to fit and be joined with many other pieces. These factors make the copper water pipes simpler and quicker to install."

Yan Mei followed along with his explanation fairly well so far, and while she melted the ores, Fei Lei continued to talk, "In areas with neutral-pH water such as this, the chemical reaction between the water and copper naturally forms a thin protective coating inside of the pipe that resists corrosion while maintaining its structural integrity for countless years. That protective coating keeps things like the minerals from building-up and creating clogs, because of this, copper is the best metal for using smaller-diameter pipes for the purpose of maintaining maximum and consistent water flow. Objects with thinner walls that don't lose durability are also easier to make with copper than other types of metals."

Yan Mei had many questions about the scientific terms he explained, in acknowledgment of her efforts, Fei Lei did his best to explain each and every one of them.

To his surprise, he discovered that Yan Mei was a rather quick learner, whenever she didn't understand something, she would ask for multiple descriptions and explanations. Yan Mei worked with Fei Lei to find common ground, so she could comprehend what he was saying easier as well.

Fei Lei continued to create several other objects such as the parts for a water heater, "Copper also conducts heat well, so the pipes get warm during exposure to hot water and stay warm for a longer duration. This helps keep hot water at a consistent temperature as it travels through the house. Copper's conductivity makes it the perfect choice for radiant heating systems."

"Okay, but surely there are other metals with the same physical properties, does it have to be copper?" Yan Mei questioned.

"No, but copper has natural anti-microbial properties that help kill harmful bacteria and pathogens. Copper pipes also inhibit the growth of bacteria and slime inside the pipes that can lead to illness. Copper's prohibitive effects on diseases such as E-coli, polio, and Legionella pneumophilia, among other harmful bacteria, have all been tested. Unlike iron, lead and PVC pipes, copper pipes do not leach dangerous metals or toxins into drinking water, well under most conditions anyway. I don't think someone would be dumb enough to drink water that had molten copper in it." Fei Lei announced.

Once again Fei Lei began teaching her the meaning of all the new terms he was throwing out.

Yan Mei was a very good student, and Fei Lei was really beginning to like her attitude towards bettering herself.

They continued on making several other materials he had planned out for future use, other than the materials for a large Ramp Pump, he was going to build a magnetic reactor.

It was the first thing his previous self-built to better mankind, it used very powerful magnets to create a self-rotating dc engine the size of half a nuclear plant. The device could power all of the cities energy needs twenty for hours a day, and seven days a week, making every other form of energy production pale in comparison.

Rotary electrical machines that convert direct current electrical energy into mechanical energy are the most common types that rely on the forces produced by magnetic fields.

The reactor he designed could do this on a massive scale by creating an algorithm with the difference in magnetic attraction levels for the previous magnet to be attracted to.

All of this resulted in a semi-perpetual motion machine, however, it had to be kept in a vacuum to run at full efficiency.

It was Magnets following magnets, of course, that would require him to find a mine of loadstones or create a magnetizer, which he just couldn't do with his current technology.

Instead, Fei Lei chose to focus on what he could make. He started to create his sewer and piping systems for his castle, along with a new wood-burning water heater.

They continued to work on the project as a team for three weeks before they saw signs of success.