A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

A large group of dozens of people stood at the entrance of the White Lotus Pagoda. As soon as they entered the hall, Zhang Youfu greeted them with a forced smile.

Upon recognizing that the leader was Zhao Daxuan, his smile widened even further.

"Commander Zhao! Welcome, welcome! I was just thinking of visiting you today, but I didn't expect you to arrive first!"

Zhao Daxuan raised an eyebrow. "Manager Zhang, your information network is really impressive; you found out so quickly!"

Zhang Youfu smiled and waved his hand, "Such important news spread throughout the city in no time, and the fact that you, a mere hundred people, formed your own army is unprecedented, unparalleled in history!"

"Haha, you flatter me. It's just that the general is too kind." Zhao Daxuan waved his hand with a smile.

Zhang Youfu was incredibly enthusiastic. When he saw Li Shishi and her sister standing to the side, he immediately knew why they had come.

"Commander Zhao, I suppose you've come to see Miss Shishi and her group's work? It truly is a masterpiece of boundless imagination; I am genuinely impressed!"

He gave a thumbs-up in the direction of Li Shishi and her sister, and they simply smiled and nodded in response.

During this period, they frequently visited Bailianfang, but to avoid suspicion, they did not have much private communication apart from technical exchanges.

Moreover, every time he came, he would bring Sixi and Chunmei or Xiahe with him, and he never spent time alone with the people from Bailianfang.

"Indeed, Shishi and the others were very secretive last night and wouldn't tell me what it was, so we came over early this morning to take a look. Please lead the way, Manager Zhang."

Zhao Daxuan smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Steward Zhang, who quickly stepped aside and then led the way for them.

"Commander Zhao, no need to be so polite. This way, please. I'll take everyone to have a look."

Afterwards, Zhang Youfu led the group through a maze of twists and turns, and as they passed several forging workshops, they felt a wave of scorching heat wash over them.

Everyone sighed with emotion, realizing that although the items at Bailianfang were expensive, they were all hard-earned money.

A moment later, the group passed through an alley and came to an open space. As soon as they stood still, they stared wide-eyed at the huge machine in front of them.

The machine was almost entirely made of steel, covered with various complex structural parts, and was more than a person tall. A cold and murderous aura emanated from it.

Dozens of steps away from the steel behemoth, there is an iron chain several tens of meters long and as thick as a forearm.

It has finger-length iron spikes on it, and the two ends of the iron chain are connected to the tops of two iron pillars that have fallen to the ground.

It's like a horizontal bar lying on the ground, except the horizontal bar has been replaced with a barbed iron chain.

This single bar is connected by two iron cables, which extend towards the steam engine and are embedded in a circular gear winch.

Zhao Daxuan looked at the enormous, strange yet familiar machine in front of him, a complex expression on his face.

"Sir, what is this?"

Li Erlong, standing beside Zhao Daxuan, looked at the huge machine in front of him with a hint of wariness in his eyes.

Li Erlong stepped forward and stood in front of Zhao Daxuan, fearing that the machine might suddenly flare up and injure someone.

Zhao Daxuan reached out and patted Li Erlong on the shoulder, smiled slightly, and spoke softly.

"Erlong, don't worry, let me introduce you. This big thing is called a steam engine."

"It possesses immense strength far exceeding that of prehistoric beasts, and most importantly, its power source is solely the burning of coal; as long as the coal supply continues, it will not stop."

Li Erlong and the others stared blankly at the steel behemoth before them, feeling that being around Zhao Daxuan meant they were constantly receiving all sorts of information that shattered their worldviews.

Zhao Fubao, who had come along this time, peered at the steam engine and asked uncertainly, "Sir, is the coal you're talking about the kind of black lump used for burning?"

After seeing Zhao Daxuan nod affirmatively, Zhao Fubao's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed.

The black charcoal blocks that Zhao Daxuan mentioned are produced in many places in the Zhenbei City area, and many of them are in the open air.

Although he didn't know what the machine could be used for, the thought of a tireless machine with terrifying power was frightening.

Zhao Daxuan took the lead and walked forward. When he crossed the outermost ring of iron chains, he looked at Li Shishi with a puzzled expression.

"Is this iron chain used in conjunction with the steam engine?"

"That's right, I call this the 'Steam-Powered Barricade.' You'll see when I demonstrate it."

Li Shishi smiled slightly and gave a brief introduction.

Zhao Daxuan raised an eyebrow, suppressed his curiosity, and continued walking forward.

Finally, I stood in front of the steam engine. At this point, the steam engine had not completely stopped, and there were still a few embers burning inside the furnace.

The group toured the steam engine, where, besides a pile of coal, there were two strange control discs.

"Shishi, can you show us now?" Zhao Daxuan looked at Li Shishi with a hint of curiosity on his face.

Li Shishi nodded to Zhang Youfu, who then called over two assistants to start adding coal into the furnace.

"My lord, you should retreat to the outer perimeter. There are too many people here; it's not safe."

Zhao Daxuan nodded and waved for Li Erlong and the others to retreat to the outermost edge, while he remained in place, wanting to see how Li Shishi would operate.

As coal was added, the flames inside the furnace intensified, and the water temperature in the boiler soared, beginning to boil.

Soon, steam began to accumulate in the gas pipe. Li Shishi stared intently at the pressure gauge, her hand resting on the valve, waiting for a signal.

"Tch~"

When the pressure reached the threshold, Li Shishi opened the valve, and high-pressure steam gushed out, instantly pushing the piston and starting the steam engine!

The instant the steam engine started, Li Shishi pulled a handle, and the gear winch next to the steam engine instantly began to turn.

Driven by the winch, the iron chain lying on the ground dozens of steps away immediately straightened, causing the iron chain barricade that had fallen to the ground to bounce up.

And as the winch rotates, the iron chains on the baluster swing continuously through the pulleys on the iron pillar.

The sound of the iron chains swinging echoed through the air, moving so fast that their form was obscured.

This scene caused everyone present to gasp in shock.

I felt a chill run from the bottom of my spine straight to the top of my head, and goosebumps rose all over my body.

"This...this is too terrifying!" someone exclaimed.

Zhao Daxuan's eyes lit up as he looked at the scene before him.

I never expected that Li Shishi and her sister could design something so amazing; it's practically a city defense weapon.

Any passing warhorse or soldier who was even slightly touched by such a rapidly spinning iron chain would either die or be seriously injured.

"Great, great, Shishi, this design is fantastic! You've done me a huge favor!"

Zhao Daxuan's face showed a hint of impatience. "I wonder how many of these iron chains have been forged yet? If there are only a few dozen meters, that won't be enough!"

Li Shishi smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, my lord. These iron chains are not difficult to make. The main difficulty lies in making the pulleys and bearings connecting the iron chains, but quite a few have already been made in this period of time."

After thinking for a moment, Li Shishi continued, "More than a thousand meters of iron chain have been made so far."

Zhao Daxuan was overjoyed upon hearing this, "That's enough, that's enough for now!"

Seeing Zhao Daxuan's happy expression, Li Shishi and her sister were also very happy. Their efforts during this time had not been in vain.

"My lord, don't be in such a hurry, I actually have another good thing to show you!"