"Okay, Mr. Ye. The four great families of Mech City are the Shen family, the Wang family, the Yu family, and the Sun family,"
"The Shen family is the family of the Mech City Lord. They were originally the number one family in Mech City, but since the first generation City Lord Shen Lang went out to explore and disappeared, they have gradually declined..."
"The Wang family was originally the second family in Mech City. After the disappearance of Shen Lang, the head of the Shen family, their influence gradually expanded, especially the number of mechs they owned increased sharply... In recent years, the Wang family's influence has long surpassed the Shen family, the City Lord's family... There are even rumors that the Wang family's current strength has surpassed the sum of the other three families in Mech City..."
"The Yu family is in charge of arcane Yuan Coins in Mech City..."
"The Sun family is the lowest-key among the four great families, responsible for mining arcane nguyên đá..."
Zheng Huzi thought for a moment and quickly explained to Ye Feng.
"I see..."
Ye Feng frowned slightly and asked, "Old Zheng, do you know anyone named Wang Wangwang in the Wang family?"
"Wang Wangwang... I know the famous people in the Wang family. I haven't heard of this person. He shouldn't be a big shot!"
Zheng Huzi recalled for a moment and then said.
"Alright~"
Ye Feng was slightly relieved. "My previous guess was correct. The Wang Wangwang I met in Shuangyu Town was actually very weak, except for having a mech. He was indeed not an important person. He was probably just someone who used the Wang family's name to scare others..."
At this moment, the waiter brought up the dishes Xiao Xiao had just ordered.
"Roast chicken, lamb chops, sweet and sour pork, beef skewers, scrambled eggs with tomatoes..."
Seeing the plates of fragrant food on the table, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao immediately started eating with rice.
"Old Zheng, aren't you eating?"
Ye Feng was gnawing on a lamb chop when he saw Old Zheng hadn't moved his chopsticks and spoke out.
"I... I'm not hungry. I ate a very full breakfast and I'm already a bit bloated!"
Zheng Huzi was flattered and smiled awkwardly, waving his hands.
"Eat up. We can't finish so much food. And if you starve, how can you be our guide!"
Saying that, Ye Feng put a beef skewer on Old Zheng's plate. "If you don't eat, I won't need you as a guide anymore!"
Zheng Huzi wanted to refuse, but upon hearing Ye Feng's last sentence, he didn't dare to speak.
Next, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao happily enjoyed the food, while Zheng Huzi quickly ate the rice in his bowl with the soup from the lamb chops and sweet and sour pork, then took a beef skewer and went outside, saying he would eat slowly while enjoying the scenery.
Ye Feng frowned slightly but said nothing.
The meal cost over 300 arcane Yuan Coins, but Ye Feng didn't feel the slightest bit of pain.
This was because it was the remaining currency after he had purchased supplies from the system's [Shop]. If he didn't spend it, he couldn't accumulate more, and it would be gone tomorrow...
...
After lunch,
Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, and Zheng Huzi continued to ride horses, wandering around the outer city of Mech City, stopping to watch from time to time.
...
In the evening,
Beside a giant stone with a radius of over 10 meters,
"Mr. Ye, have you been to Mech City before?"
Zheng Huzi looked at Ye Feng with some doubt.
Based on his previous observations, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao were clearly unfamiliar with Mech City, but after walking around all day, he was surprised to find that Ye Feng seemed to know where to turn, and several times he walked ahead of him...
"No, I just have a good sense of direction~"
Ye Feng smiled slightly and didn't elaborate.
Because after walking around today, a new mystery had formed in his mind. The map given to him by Li Yidao had a specially marked route, but he had searched for a long time and couldn't find where it was.
That specially marked route was actually in the middle of a cluster of buildings, with no way to pass through. He finally found an entrance, but it turned out to be a large stone...
Ye Feng had also considered that the map provided by Li Yidao might be problematic, but he had verified it multiple times. Although the buildings had changed, the main road conditions were correct...
He glanced at the passersby around him and finally gave up the idea of digging a large hole in the giant stone to see what was inside...
...
As night fell,
Zheng Huzi hummed a happy tune all the way home.
"Er Ya, see what Daddy brought you today?"
As soon as he entered the room, Zheng Huzi shouted inside.
Soon, a girl who looked about fifteen or sixteen years old ran out.
The girl had two small braids, her skin was a bit dark, and she was quite thin, but her eyes were bright and spirited.
"It smells so good... Dad... Are these beef... beef skewers?"
The girl looked surprised.
"Exactly!"
Zheng Huzi smiled broadly. "Er Ya, quickly call your mother over. We haven't eaten meat in a long time. Let's just heat up these beef skewers and eat... Daddy was lucky to meet a kind, wealthy, and powerful adventurer. I was his guide today..."
...
Ye Feng didn't know how much warmth and happiness that single beef skewer he gave to Zheng Huzi brought to Zheng Huzi's family.
He and Xiao Xiao returned to the Mech Star Hotel, cultivated arcane energy for a while, and then went to sleep.
...
Just as Ye Feng was fast asleep, in a highly guarded building in the core urban area of Mech City, in a brightly lit room, a group of middle-aged men and several elderly men were sitting around an oval table.
Although the room was brightly lit, the expressions of the people in the room were quite grim, and everyone seemed to be worried.
If an outsider were present, they would surely be extremely surprised!
Because all these people were high-ranking figures in Mech City, usually scattered here and there, but now they were all gathered here, and it was late at night...
Around the oval table, a man with a square face, around 40 years old, was holding a folder and speaking non-stop, reporting something to the people in the room.
"...And another matter is that two or three days ago, a super explosion occurred a considerable distance from Mech City."
"The power of the explosion was on the scale of a nuclear bomb, and many people saw a mushroom cloud rising... However, the scene was very strange, and no nuclear radiation was detected..."
After his voice fell, the square-faced man closed the folder and sat back in his chair.
The entire room fell silent.
After a long time, an elder with white hair and eyebrows spoke first. He looked at the middle-aged man who had just reported the situation and said, "Have the Royal Guard mechs investigate that great explosion!"
Then, the elder's gaze swept over everyone at the oval table, "Tell me, what are your thoughts on the frequent problems with Mech Sparks?"
The people at the oval table looked at each other and discussed in small groups, and after a while, silence returned.
"Shen Qing, your Secret Mech Institute knows the most about Sparks, and your people are the ones who maintain them. You speak first!"
The elder with white hair and eyebrows looked at a man with thick glasses and graying temples and said.
"After our group of old guys investigated, we can confirm that the core reason for the frequent problems with Mech Sparks is the multiple maintenance of the Mech Sparks and the incompatibility of the runes that the forging master initially incorporated into the Sparks when they first forged the mechs!"
"Unless the forging master himself maintains the Mech Sparks he forged, this incompatibility is unavoidable!"
"Initially, the incompatibility was minor, and the Sparks could operate normally. However, as the number of maintenance increased, the incompatibility became more obvious, and the probability of problems increased..."
"The mechs with frequent problems this time have all undergone more than 30 maintenance cycles!"
Shen Qing cleared his throat and spoke quickly.
"Is there a solution?"
As soon as Shen Qing finished speaking, the elder with white hair and eyebrows immediately followed up.
Shen Qing's brow furrowed, and he finally shook his head.
"Hmph! The Secret Mech Institute occupies so many resources, and they can't even fix a Spark!"
Seeing this, a middle-aged man around 40 years old snorted.
"Wang Kun is right... If these Sparks can't be repaired, it will put our Mech City in a completely passive position!"
"Some factions that were originally on good terms might use this to retaliate!"
A thin, extremely old person, almost skin and bones, who could barely be recognized as a woman, added.
"Cough, cough, Wang Kun, Yu Zhuangrong, what you said makes sense..."
"But you can't blame the Secret Mech Institute entirely. After all, each Spark is special. It involves the arcane energy attributes of the forging master who forged it and their understanding of arcane runes..."
"Even for the Secret Mech Institute, maintenance is very difficult! Old Shen Qing has barely slept for the past three months, and I'm afraid he'll suddenly collapse from exhaustion!"
"If that happens, Mech City will be in big trouble!"
Another man with graying temples and half of his left ear missing chimed in.
"Sun Zhizhi, who are you being sarcastic with?"
As soon as he heard this, Wang Kun immediately became displeased.
............