Chapter 246 (1/2)
Hao Ren raised an eyebrow at the MDT. “You can supply power to that? You sure?”
Looking at the palm-sized device, Hao Ren was incredulous. He was under the impression that the MDT was much more like a smart phone. While Hao Ren had never seen the island’s shield generator proper, he figured that it probably needed a whole tonne of nuclear reactors in Earthling terms to power it. (With that said, Aerym’s most basic power plants were probably still more advanced than Earth’s) To use this tiny device to power a city-wide shield seemed almost like using a AAA battery to power up a space elevator…
The MDT wiggled smugly in the air. “Nah, you’re just being an ignorant pleb. As small as I am, I’m still psionically-powered. To generate that level of power is just child’s play. Quickly, get me a power terminal. I’m going to save the world.”
The Elven mage beside them could only look in awe at the wondrous “magitech” device that was almost human. Seeing that the MDT was confident, Hao Ren approached the crew on the scene. “I suppose you guys can pull out one of the power conduits… can you?”
The crew at hand quickly went about preparing for the job and the Elven mage who was in charge looked awkwardly at the MDT. “Pulling out a power conduit is not an issue… but… what sort of terminal does it use? We-we have not seen this sort of device before.”
Hao Ren then went to prod the MDT. “So… how do we solve this connection compatibility issue? You support USB3.0, yes?”
“And you suppose these bunch of elves have USB?” The MDT snorted as it made a quick spin on the floor, leaving a ring-like marking. “Bring the power conductor equipment and place them around the circle. I’ll be inside it. Forget the conversion works. Once I get started, please stay far, far away. There may be some mild psionic radiation that will be lethal.
The so called magical technicians had managed to wrench out an additional conduit from a nearby maintanence hatch, pulling out a wriggly, almost plastic-like piping towards the circle. Hao Ren realised that the elves’ magitech equipment used a system akin to blood circulation in order to power itself. Within the “blood vessels” was some sort of thin liquid that was infused with magic and some kind of consumable substances in it. The liquid was a glittery green, almost like what you would see inside a plant. The elven technicians dragged a couple of thick conduit tubes towards the MDT and fitted a circulation pump on them. At the same time, they also placed an absorbtion conduit on the tubes before welding the entire equipment onto the ground. (In low gravity situations the tubes would be floating all over the place if not welded.) After that, they created a magic amplification circle using some silver-coloured, liquid metal, with the MDT at the centre of the circle.
Hao Ren could only look on in amazement at this “high-tech magic”. Anything was possible in this vast void. Indeed, the development of a magical civilisation was not about who could cast the biggest fireball. They too can fabricate spacecrafts and other intricate items. Or rather, there was almost no difference between a magical civilisation and a scientific one. The difference was only on the surface layer, and it all boiled down to “technique”.
Who could says an Earth-made circuit board would not look like a magical circle in the eyes of another alien race? It seemed like mysterious runes to the Aerymian elves, were nothing but simple and elegant circuit diagrams.
Once all the needed equipment were in place, the MDT signalled for all present to stay back as it muttered, “Thank goodness I’m one of the newest models, and part of my case is made from energised alloys. Or else, this form of conversion would have been beyond me… I’m starting up!”
A faint, blue light expanded outwards from the MDT as the magical circle lit into life with a silver glow. With it, all of the charging equipment came back online.
Hao Ren took a deep breath. “It’s working.”
The elves beside him also nodded in agreement. “It’s working…”
A soft hum rang out from the hoops at the top of the dome. The shield generator that had been offline for almost an hour was reactivated once more and it automatically synchronised itself with the other shield generators at a rapid speed. As the shields reformed, the snow screen that had spread for miles on end faded away. The dome was now secured.
The elves around Hao Ren gave a roaring cheer. Even the grim-faced elven mage smiled after taking a deep breath. “Now what’s left is to plug the hole, and figure out how to fix the propulsion system. This is however, a secondary concern. The propulsion system is usually dormant and is only activated if there is a need to adjust the floating isles’ position or move it elsewhere—”
Boom!!!
A thundering crack cut the mage’s speech short. Chills ran down the spine of everyone present as vertigo struck. It appeared that the artificial gravity had been restored but it was not aligned to the surface. Hao Ren looked up in confusion and only realised that there was an unusual flash of light, almost blinding, outside the dome hoops. It almost seemed like there was a giant pillar of fire rampaging outside the walls.
The aftershocks were getting more violent after every passing second. It spread throughout the isle before it suddenly skewed sideways!
Lily’s natural senses towards danger were triggered as she looked upwards, her tail bristling. “The stars are flying!”