Don’t raise unruly people in extreme cold weather

Chapter 880

When the Northern Fleet slowly landed at the port of the floating city, the entire dock shook.

This aerial port designed by Perfecto himself finally welcomed the first batch of floating warships that officially docked.

The steam engine of the giant steel ship made a low roar, and the huge anchor chain slowly dropped under the traction of the mechanical device.

The emblem of the North painted on the side of the ship gleamed brightly in the desert sun, and the sailors on the deck were busy securing the cables.

The port's automatic loading and unloading equipment operated at full power for the first time, and the robotic arm accurately docked with the warship's supply port.

Perfect stood on the observation platform, holding the railing with one hand and quickly flipping through the port operation data displayed on the terminal with the other hand.

Today she specially changed into a formal dress and displayed the majesty of the empire's regent, just to welcome this fleet and also to check the condition of the airship she designed after a long voyage.

Although Perfect had conducted many tests on the floating battleship in the North, there were indeed no conditions for long-distance navigation tests at that time.

Now that we can make up for it, it can be regarded as filling in a missing piece.

"We are a few days later than the expected arrival time. It seems that the navigators in the North need to strengthen their navigation training." She said without raising her head, and there was no emotion in her voice.

The moment the gangway was just set up, Perfect had already walked to the front of the berth with steady steps.

Her dark blue skirt swayed slightly with her movements, and her cape inlaid with silver thread fluttered gently in the dry and cold desert wind.

As soon as the captain's military boots stepped onto the first step of the gangway, he saw the Imperial Regent standing in front of him.

"Take me to see your engine room first." Perfect raised his hand and interrupted the captain's formal report. "We can talk about the rest later."

She tilted her head slightly as she spoke, and her silver-white hair fell from her shoulders, shining like a metallic luster under the dim light of the engine room.

At this moment, the majestic aura of an imperial ruler seemed to fade away, replaced by an almost childlike eagerness - just like the young alchemist who created the steam core for the first time in the northern laboratory.

The engine room was filled with a strong smell of engine oil and metal, and the steam pipes made a hissing sound of pressure relief from time to time, like sleeping mechanical pythons talking in their sleep.

The crew members who were doing routine inspections stood in a row in a panic. A young sailor wiped his face with his oily sleeve in a panic, but ended up getting the black oil all over his face.

An old non-commissioned officer with gray hair on his temples rubbed his hands nervously, his rough palms still stained with grease that had not been wiped clean: "My lord, your skirt is gorgeous, please don't step into this dirty place! We can't afford to pay for your dirty clothes."

As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously glanced at Perfecto's dark blue dress embroidered with gold thread. It was said that the silver thread embroidery on it alone was worth half a year's maintenance cost for their entire warship.

Hearing this, Perfect looked down at the hem of her priceless uniform skirt, and then glanced around at the floor covered with coal dust and oil stains. In the astonished eyes of everyone, she just calmly pulled out the Midas Touch from her waist, and with a light "snap" sound, the Midas Touch turned a beautiful arc in her palm.

With a flash of blue light, her luxurious long dress instantly turned into a dark brown engineer's uniform, with a dozen practical pockets neatly arranged on the neatly cut stand-up collar jacket and overalls.

Even the jewel-studded hair accessories on her head disappeared, replaced by a pair of peculiarly shaped alchemical eyepieces. Multiple lenses of different colors were automatically rotating on the frame, making a slight "click" sound.

"It's OK now." She put the Midas Touch back into the leather holster on her waist, took the logbook handed to her by the captain, and slid her fingers quickly across the pages. "Take me to the main drive shaft. The logbook shows that the third propeller has abnormal vibrations. I need to confirm whether there is a problem with the gear train."

The captain opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just made a "please" gesture helplessly.

The metal stairs of the engine room made a crisp sound under the soles of Perfectcot's specially made engineer boots. Her agile figure quickly disappeared in the intricate mechanical structure, leaving behind only a group of stunned crew members and the old non-commissioned officer.

He was staring at his greasy cuffs in a daze, as if wondering whether he should try to find a magic wand.

Perfect walked along the narrow maintenance passage to the third thruster section, and the lens of the alchemical eyepiece automatically switched to high-power magnification mode.

She reached out and ran her hand across the casing of the steam turbine, feeling the subtle vibrations on the metal surface with her fingertips.

"The drive shaft's alignment is off." She suddenly spoke, her voice particularly clear in the closed cabin. Her finger stopped near the main bearing seat, pointing there and saying, "The vibration frequency here is not synchronized with the power output end."

The captain was about to explain when he saw that she had already removed her eyepiece and pulled out a thin resonance probe from her tool belt.

The moment the probe tip touches the bearing seat, a distinctive buzzing sound is emitted.

Perfect closed his eyes and listened, his brows gradually furrowed. "The viscosity of the bearing lubricant is wrong. Did you not perform maintenance according to the procedures?"

She signaled to the accompanying mechanic to open the inspection cover.

As the heavy metal cover was lifted, a stream of hot steam carrying metal chips gushed out.

Perfect didn't care and leaned over to check the meshing of the gear set.

The iris mechanism of the alchemical eyepiece automatically adjusts the focus to clearly show the wear condition of each gear.

"Look here, typical fatigue damage." She pointed to the tooth surface of the secondary transmission gear. "The hardened layer of the main gear has begun to peel off, causing microvibration on the meshing surface. The vibration is transmitted to the thrust bearing, amplifying the amplitude."

As she spoke, she took out a copper stethoscope-like device from her tool kit and attached the sensing end to the casing of the steam turbine.

The oscilloscope crystal at the other end of the device immediately showed a complex waveform.

"The opening and closing sequence of the steam valve needs to be recalibrated." She pointed to the abnormal pulse in the waveform graph: "The impact of high-pressure steam overlaps with the gear rotation phase, causing resonance, which will accelerate metal fatigue during long-distance voyages."

The captain suddenly realized: "So the abnormal vibration will intensify as the voyage gets longer?"

Perficot nodded and tapped the pressure gauge on the steam pipeline. "And your boilermen rely too much on the automatic regulating valve. The driving environment will change drastically during long voyages. The climates in the North, the Empire, the Frozen Ocean, and the Desert Kingdom are completely different. The boilermen need to manually fine-tune the steam pressure."

She turned to the accompanying engineer and explained the rectification plan: "Prepare to replace the gear set. Remember to readjust the gear parameters. In addition, the lubrication system needs to be thoroughly cleaned. The lubricating oil has deteriorated. The entire gearbox is full of metal debris. The wear is too severe." When she stood up, the lens of the alchemy eyepiece had switched to a dark protection mode: "This is not a design flaw, but the maintenance procedures need to be adjusted! Tell the chief engineer to check the condition of the gearbox every time he sails for a period of time, especially the condition of the lubricating oil!"

Perfect spouted off a long string of technical terms, and the accompanying engineers and officers on board were busy taking notes. Some were so nervous that they even dropped their recording boards on the ground.

Sweat broke out on their foreheads, fearing that they would miss any word spoken by the empire's most authoritative mechanical expert.

Only after making sure that everyone had taken note of the key points did they cautiously escort this distinguished figure out of the hot and narrow engine room.

As soon as they walked out of the engine room, the captain immediately led Perfecto to the exquisitely decorated officers' reception room - that was the place he had carefully prepared to entertain the Imperial Regent.

Although according to normal procedures, the captain should have reported to Perfectot's official residence, but who could blame the regent who is also the empire's leading alchemist and mechanical engineer?
The floating battleship under the captain's feet, from the steam core to the transmission system, every bolt came from her design drawings.

In the reception room, Perfect had changed back into her gorgeous dark blue dress and was sitting elegantly on the leather sofa.

She picked up the bone china teacup, and a familiar aroma wafted through the hot steam.

"Ceylon black tea?" Perfect raised his eyebrows in surprise, took a sip and showed a rare gentle expression: "I haven't drunk it for a long time since I left the North. Can the Empire still guarantee the supply of black tea now?"

The captain immediately straightened his back, and said with a tone of seeking credit: "Your Excellency, several large chambers of commerce in the North have jointly opened up a secret route to the Eastern colonies. Although the shipping capacity is limited due to the influence of Eternal Winter, it is already able to transport luxury goods of this type in small quantities."

Then he leaned forward respectfully and lowered his voice: "This is a special grade tea carefully preserved from the last harvest before the cold winter. I kept it specially because I thought that you might miss the taste..."

Perfect stared at the amber liquid in the cup and couldn't help but sigh: "Yes! Now that I think about it, the days of leisurely sipping tea have become a luxury."

"If you like, there are still some in stock on the ship. I will have someone pack them for you right away." The captain keenly caught this emotional fluctuation and immediately went with the flow.

Although this collection of precious tea almost emptied his half-year allowance, it would definitely be a good deal if it could win the favor of the imperial regent.

However, Perfect simply waved his hand casually, causing the tea in the cup to ripple slightly. "Forget it. A gentleman should not take away what others like."

The corners of her lips slightly raised, revealing a somewhat arrogant smile, "Tea is something that I have in abundance in my mansion in the northern border, so I don't need you."

In addition to being the regent of the empire, Perfect is also the lord of the northern border of the empire. For her who owns the entire northern border, a little tea is indeed not something worth caring about.

She gently placed the teacup back onto the carved saucer, and the metal made a crisp sound when it collided with porcelain.

If this expedition had not been so hasty, how could she not have put a few bricks of tea in her carry-on luggage? For her, drinking tea was not so much a pleasure as a habit that was hard to give up.

Otherwise, she would not have specially developed and designed a set of portable tea utensils and stoves to make tea for her anytime and anywhere.

It was only at this moment that the captain remembered the supplies brought by his fleet, so he hurriedly took out a list from his arms and presented it respectfully with both hands: "Sir, this is the detailed list of supplies transported by the fleet this time, please take a look."

Perfect took the list, the parchment rustling under her fingers.

As her eyes wandered between the entries, her stern brows gradually relaxed.

"You have transported these things all the way from the north. You must have worked hard along the way." She nodded slightly, with a rare hint of approval in her tone.

The supplies on this list are exactly what she needs most right now.

Since taking control of the Desert Kingdom, Perfect has managed to gather enough basic materials needed to build a new floating city module by plundering France's old world heritage and the treasures of the Desert King.

But the continuous alchemical experiments and engineering projects, like a beast that can never be fed, devour all kinds of special materials day and night.

Those carefully prepared solutions, specially treated metals, and crystals containing special energies, each one is being consumed at an alarming rate.

Indeed, with her supreme fantasy alchemy, she could theoretically obtain the required materials through alchemy.

However, every time this high-level alchemy is performed, it requires an astonishing amount of mental strength, and the energy loss caused by the transformation process is even more troublesome.

In comparison, mining directly from mineral veins and obtaining from nature is several times more efficient.

What's more, the number of alchemists in the empire is limited, and their energy should be focused on areas where it is more needed.

"This batch of supplies arrived just in time." Perficot pointed to a line on the list and said to the accompanying alchemist, "The new floating city's cryogenic protection layer is in need of this."

She turned to the next page. "And these ores are enough for us to complete the casting of three new steam cores."

The captain noticed that Perfecto's tense brows finally relaxed a little, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Before this long voyage, the cabinet specially convened several of the most senior alchemy masters in the North for a three-day meeting, and after repeated deliberations, they finally finalized the supply list.

Now it seems that the experience of those old guys really came in handy.

"Notify the logistics department immediately and give priority to unloading these special materials." Perfect closed the list and his tone became crisp and decisive again.

She turned and looked at the vast desert outside the porthole, and a look of relief finally appeared in her eyes. With this batch of supplies, many shelved projects could finally be moved forward.

"Regent, Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to bring some personal belongings on board. Would you like to check them now?" The captain suddenly took out another list from his pocket and handed it to Perfect.

This list was completely different from the previous one, and even had the royal coat of arms embossed in gold on the cover.

(End of this chapter)