Chapter 83

Menghongchen giggled, a hint of playfulness and cunning in her brows, she lightly waved her hand, cooing, "Got it."

Indeed, it's true that a grown‑up daughter won't stay. Jinghongchen rubbed her brows; she guessed her own granddaughter had taken a liking to Bosabei, but the two have different, even opposite, identities—could there really be a chance?

Bosabei also felt a bit helpless, a complex feeling rose in his heart; over the past three months, Menghongchen's attitude toward him had become increasingly intimate, sometimes cooing, sometimes joking, and occasionally even some intimate gestures.

As a normal man, and Menghongchen being a rare stunning maiden, it's impossible to say he feels nothing.

However, he hasn't figured out how to resolve the identity issue yet, so he can only maintain a non‑initiating, non‑rejecting stance.

As for whether he'll take responsibility, that'll be decided later.

Bosabei said nothing, simply pushed open the laboratory door and walked outward.

Menghongchen let out a soft hum, hands behind her back, a smile tugging at her mouth, and stepped forward to follow.

Their silhouettes, bathed in the sunset glow streaming through the windows, stretched out and became slender.

Guyuenna simply watched the departing pair in silence, feeling an indescribable sensation in her heart.

……

The next morning.

This time the Soul Guide Device experiment was set in the Jingyang Mountains; logically, Bosabei had only crafted a Tier‑3 Soul Guide Device, so there was no real need to come all the way here.

But Menghongchen and Xiaohongchen were close to reaching Sixth‑level Soul Guide Master, so the main purpose was to let them closely experience the strengths and weaknesses of their own Soul Guide Devices, to accelerate their advancement.

The Jingyang Mountains host a fair number of high‑level soul beasts; in the original, Huo Yuhao encountered a six‑element silver wolf here, so the danger is evidently considerable.

Jinghongchen also followed, but stayed hidden in the shadows; after all, this trip wasn't to obtain soul rings but merely to test Soul Guide Devices, so he wouldn't reveal himself unless necessary.

Upon reaching the edge, Menghongchen slapped both hands forward, layers of white light radiating rapidly outward from her palms.

Immediately after, the light fell to the ground, coalescing at the center into a white sphere.

When the sphere burst, chunks of alloy scattered, continuously stitching themselves on the ground; soon, a five‑square‑meter alloy floor appeared in place.

Each edge bore eight protruding black dots; as Menghongchen infused soul power, the dots instantly rose, becoming black rods about one‑meter‑fifty tall.

On both sides of each rod were small black holes, with a larger black aperture at the top.

"What is this?" Bosabei, seeing this type of Soul Guide Device for the first time, couldn't help but be curious.

Menghongchen's mouth curved with pride, "How about it? This is a Soul Guide Device I made myself. I call it a semi‑automatic Soul Guide turret; see the holes on it?"

"It has sixteen small holes for firing basic Soul Guide projectiles, and the eight larger holes at the top for launching Soul Guide cannon shells."

After speaking, another black rod protruded from the center of the white alloy plate, topped with a small control panel.

The panel bore various buttons, and the one that caught Bosabei's eye most was the large red button in the middle.

Bosabei pointed at the red button, curious, "What's this? A fire button?"

"What fire button," Menghongchen snapped, giving him a glare, "This is a defensive device."

She pressed it, and a "Clap!" sounded.

Then, blue specks flashed from the edges of the eight rods, quickly forming four blue light shields, the same around the head.

"I added this later; the Soul Guide shield incorporates a Tier‑5 core formation, so it can block attacks from Soul Guides below Tier‑5."

Listening to Menghongchen's explanation, Bosabei clicked his tongue in amazement; such a thing can't be seen in Shrek.

Menghongchen took in his reaction, pursed her lips in a light smile, then stepped lightly onto the alloy base.

After her fingers flicked the control panel a few times, countless fire serpents spewed out from the small holes.

Still not satisfied, Menghongchen pressed another button; the eight larger apertures "swished" and launched eight Soul Guide cannon shells.

All of them shot toward the distant mountains.

"Boom—!" A shrill roar blasted in the ears, rocks tumbled, dust rose.

"Awesome!"

Menghongchen's face lit with excitement; seeing her own Soul Guide Device wield such power, she couldn't help but cheer exuberantly.

Jinghongchen, hidden in the shadows, also nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, although Little Dream is usually a bit odd, her talent in this area still matches mine."

After packing away the semi‑automatic Soul Guide turret, it was Xiaohongchen's turn.

The Soul Guide Device he created differed from Menghongchen's.

It was a very strange object, essentially a sphere about two meters in diameter.

Inside were four seats, two in front and two in back.

The sphere was sealed overall, but all around—front, back, left, right—had crystal‑separated windows, through which one could see outside.

Beneath the sphere were six metal long legs. Each leg had three segments, with a sharply pointed tip that could easily pierce the soil.

The second segment of each of the six legs bulged, and the third segment attached beneath the sphere, looking quite odd.

Bosabei's gaze turned odd; wasn't this thing the one that Juzi took out in the original?

"All‑terrain detection Soul Guide Device," Xiaohongchen introduced, "Its greatest use is terrain scanning."

"It has other functions, but at my current level I can't yet produce them."

Bosabei listened and nodded; no wonder—judging by it, the one Juzi tested in the original was probably Xiaohongchen's upgraded version.

The original mentioned that the Sun‑Moon Royal Soul Guide Academy had researched for over thirty years; Xiaohongchen's device was likely a copy, used only to test his own abilities, so its functions weren't that refined.

"Come up and try it," Xiaohongchen said, "but this device consumes a lot of soul power, so the four of us will take turns operating it." He opened the cabin hatch as he spoke.

Like the cars from Bosabei's past life, the control levers were on the left side, four in total: input soul power, forward, backward, and jump.

Considering the other three might not know how to use them, Xiaohongchen slowly ascended the slope while briefing everyone on precautions.

After crossing several mountains, Xiaohongchen's soul power was nearly depleted; panting heavily, he signaled Menghongchen beside him to take over.

Menghongchen nodded, carefully grasped the control lever, and the entire Soul Guide Device began to crawl slowly.

(End of chapter)