Chapter 53: The First Evolution of the Revolver

During this window period while waiting for further instructions from headquarters, Lin Jie prioritized enhancing his own hard capabilities as his most urgent task.He didn't squander his assets or exchange for those seemingly tempting ordinary equipment. Instead, carrying the handful of blue scales containing special power gifted by the "Loch Ness Guardian Deity," he stepped for the third time into the chaotic workshop of the neurotic genius craftsman Arthur Conan.

When Lin Jie pushed open the heavy metal door, he found Arthur wasn't lying on the massive workbench as usual, keeping company with cold components and blueprints.

The craftsman stood before a large blackboard, holding a white piece of chalk like a mathematician lost in thought, swiftly writing strings of complex formulas and esoteric symbol calculations across the board.

That blackboard displayed the design sketch of the that Lin Jie had previously provided him, along with Arthur's own more profound and complex extensions and deductions regarding "spiritual conduction circuits" and the concept of "modularization."

"...If we consider aether as a quantifiable fluid, then the material and width of spiritual conduction circuits directly determine flow velocity and loss rate... No, no, this model is still too crude, it doesn't account for potential compatibility rejection between different spiritual energies..."

Arthur, immersed in his own world, muttered to himself until Lin Jie walked behind him and coughed lightly, startling him out of his contemplation and making him whirl around abruptly.

"It's you!"

When he recognized Lin Jie as the visitor, his eyes—previously somewhat unfocused from excessive thinking—snapped back into focus, bursting with intense light.

That gaze made Lin Jie instinctively retreat half a step.

"You came at the perfect time!"

Arthur tossed the chalk aside, grabbed Lin Jie's arm, and dragged him before the blackboard filled with calculations. In a tone resembling a teacher questioning a student, he pointed at one particular formula string and asked at breakneck speed.

"Quick, tell me! What are your thoughts regarding the 'resonance' issue in spiritual conduction? When two different spiritual attributes conduct through the same circuit, how do we avoid energy internal consumption from mutual interference by altering the 'rune etching frequency' of the circuit? Your damned blueprint completely omitted this point!"

Looking at this genius who had already entered a state of "technical fervor," Lin Jie felt a wave of internal bitter laughter.

He knew that his basic theories, transplanted from the 21st century, had been thoroughly digested by this 19th-century genius craftsman in just a few short days, and were now being extended into more advanced, esoteric application domains.

"Sorry, Mr. Arthur, I don't have any better ideas on that matter for now."

Lin Jie could only speak truthfully, "Perhaps the answer lies not in the circuit but at the 'source'?"

He skillfully steered the conversation toward his true purpose for visiting.

He placed the metal sampling case containing the "Guardian scales" onto the workbench, then gently opened the lid.

A pure, gentle spirituality flooded the entire workshop like a silent tide.

The power was so pristine and mild that even the instruments and tools within the workshop—which had grown somewhat irritable from long-term exposure to various "cursed" materials—quieted down under the soothing influence of this aura.

Arthur's rapid-fire questioning abruptly ceased.

As if frozen by a paralysis spell, he shifted his gaze inch by inch from the formula-covered blackboard to the metal case emitting a blue halo.

His eyes held only that breathtaking handful of blue scales that seemed to contain the entire starry sky within them.

"This... this is..."

Arthur's voice carried a tremor, "This purity... this stability... this... this ancient divinity directly connected to the world's origin! This isn't material, this is a 'holy relic'!"

The proud genius craftsman instantly saw through the attributes concealed within these scales.

Watching his focused expression, Lin Jie spoke up, "I need your help, Mr. Arthur."

"I need to use these holy relics to perform an evolution for my ."

He gently placed his Webley Revolver—which had accompanied him through several life-and-death situations—beside the blue scales, then produced another blueprint that showed only simple concepts but was annotated with extensive requirements.

"Still the 'modularization' concept," Lin Jie pointed at the blueprint while explaining his new requirements, "But this time I want to modify not a vambrace, but the weapon itself."

"The grip of already provides me with sufficient mental protection, but I've discovered that during combat, the barrel might 'overheat' from being unable to effectively bear the power of alchemical bullets, which affects shooting stability and accuracy."

He pointed at the area below the barrel that he had prominently circled with red ink on the blueprint, looking at Arthur with expectant eyes.

"I hope to resolve this potential issue. Mr. Arthur, from your professional perspective, would it be possible to create a detachable 'barrel stabilization and heat dissipation module' for it?"

Arthur didn't immediately answer Lin Jie's question. Instead, he extended his hand and delicately picked up one scale from the collection.

He closed his eyes, gently rubbing his fingertip repeatedly over the scale containing protective power, using his soul to listen to the whispers from the ancient deep lake.

"...Gentle... resilient... accommodating... orderly..." he murmured, conversing with an unseen presence.

"Yes... yes! I understand... I understand! Hahahaha!"

He snatched Lin Jie's simple requirement-only blueprint and began frantically drawing wildly imaginative design sketches across the blank areas with a quill pen!

"Simple heat dissipation would be the greatest sacrilege to this divine blessing!" Arthur's voice rose with excitement.

"What it contains is ancient and vast water element! Order sufficient to calm all fury! Why should we dissipate heat? We should guide it! Cycle it!"

His pen tip danced across the blueprint, materializing a transformation plan filled with genius concepts.

"We can grind the scales into powder and mix them with high-purity mithril!" He pointed at a complex structure on the blueprint resembling an alchemical array, explaining with flying spittle.

"Then utilize their pure 'water element' properties to directly forge a complete circulatory system with miniature 'cooling cycle' runes inside this barrel module!"

"When the violent spiritual impact and waste heat generated by alchemical bullet discharge are instantly absorbed by this system, converted into gentle water vapor, then silently expelled through the heat dissipation vents on both sides of the module along our designed guides!"

"With this," Arthur emphasized with a tap of his pen, "every shot you fire will have no lingering concerns, your barrel will forever maintain the most stable 'icy' state, and this gun's shooting precision will reach theoretical limits!"

Yet this wasn't the end—it was merely the first part of his wildly imaginative concept.

"But this isn't enough, this only utilizes its 'water' gentleness!" Arthur's eyes grew even more fanatical.

"Can't you feel it? Lin Jie! These scales also contain stronger, more resilient 'guardian' divinity!"

Without waiting for Lin Jie's response, he added a finishing-touch new component at the blueprint's forefront.

"I will take the most complete and pure hexagonal scale from among them," he said with trembling voice, "and inlay it at the very front of this module to serve as a 'spiritual calibrator'!"

"It will add a faint protective forcefield to the bullet the moment it exits the barrel."

"Do you know what this means?" Arthur looked up at Lin Jie.

"This means your bullets will no longer be mere physical projectiles! They will become blessed 'holy bullets'!"

"They will be able to ignore most energy interference, their trajectories becoming perfectly straight under the guardian power's enhancement."

"They might even use that 'divine' resilience to achieve a certain degree of armor-penetrating effect against enemies with spiritual shields!"

Transforming guardian power into weapon penetration force.

This design philosophy, filled with reverse thinking and bold imagination, represented the spark of wisdom erupting from this craftsman after contacting those "fragments of divinity!"

After completing this passionate design exposition, Arthur finally calmed somewhat from his fervor.

"Lin Jie, my friend."

"I retract my previous negative assessment of the weapon." Arthur's eyes shone astonishingly bright.

"A gun might not deserve 'zen,' but it absolutely deserves a blessing from a 'deity.'"

"Let us together," he extended his hand in solemn invitation to Lin Jie, "transform this former 'failed product' into perfect armament."