The Invincible Strongest Student

Chapter 1350: Chapter 1350: Mechanical Skill

"What? You saw the Luban lock?"

Too excited, Davis stood up directly from his chair, his expression enough to show the tumultuous feelings inside him.

Having searched in the unfamiliar Kanyue City for half a year, this was the first time he heard someone had seen it, Davis’s emotions were extremely excited.

Perhaps too happy and excited, Davis spoke too fast, not clearly pronouncing the words ’Luban lock’, but Lin Tian and Zhang Ya’Er could still hear him clearly.

Lin Tian’s demeanor was not as excited as Davis’s, he merely crossed his arms and looked at Zhang Ya’Er with a faint smile.

He was not pleased now; to be precise, this woman had concealed such an important matter and failed to consult him before directly telling Davis.

How could Lin Tian possibly be happy about this uncontrolled quadrant?

Zhang Ya’Er naturally noticed Lin Tian’s expression too; she slightly nodded to Lin Tian, showing an apologetic look.

"Amy, are you serious? Look at this closely," Davis hurriedly took out the drawing of the Luban lock from his bag and handed it to Zhang Ya’Er.

Zhang Ya’Er merely glanced at it before gently nodding and saying, "That’s it, exactly the same. Even the grain on the wood is the same. I wouldn’t mistake it."

Lin Tian leaned against the sofa and asked, "How could you have seen it? And even remember the grain?"

Zhang Ya’Er smiled bitterly and said, "My childhood was different from other kids; I hardly needed to go to school. My grandfather was a carpenter, and my dad was a gambler, does that make sense now?"

Lin Tian understood halfway, asking with a speculative tone, "Your dad taught you card skills because he was a gambler, and your grandfather, being a carpenter, passed on those mechanical skills to you?"

Zhang Ya’Er nodded slightly, "That’s basically it, though with many twists in between."

Davis caught the key point too and looked at Zhang Ya’Er, cautiously asking, "Are you saying you can unlock the Luban lock?"

Zhang Ya’Er pursed her lips, smiled lightly, and shook her head, "My grandfather probably could, but as for me... I don’t have that capability."

"So the Luban lock hasn’t been opened?" Davis asked again, a little excited.

He knew that the box wasn’t the key; what’s inside the box was the true treasure. If the box had already been opened, tracking further might be harder and perhaps meaningless.

Zhang Ya’Er shook her head gently, "They hired several skilled craftsmen, over twenty people, studied it for almost two days, and then dared to try once."

"What was the result?" Davis urged, annoyed at Zhang Ya’Er for speaking too slowly, couldn’t she get to the key points?

"The result?" Zhang Ya’Er smiled bitterly, with a semblance of a poignant beauty. She said lightly, "I remember the weather was nice that day, a sunny day. A large group of people placed the Luban lock under the sun at a special angle. When the sun shone into the Luban lock, I heard a ’click’ sound; afterward, the Luban lock automatically opened a small gap, about the size of a one-yuan coin."

"Light reflected from that gap, very beautiful. The pattern formed looked like a circle but had no discernible pattern. They studied for another two days and finally decided to try opening the next node."

The Luban lock, also known as the Eight Trigrams Lock or Kongming Lock, was primarily a popular intellectual toy in ancient times, comparable to modern Rubik’s Cube. Its internal structure relies solely on self-connecting support, embodying extraordinary wisdom. To unlock a Luban lock, not a single step can be wrong, and the difficulty is exceedingly high.

Especially for this stolen Luban lock, who knows which skilled craftsman designed it. The things inside are extremely varied. Sunlight exposure possibly triggered the temperature of some component inside, creating a gap, which then reflected light patterns. Undoubtedly, those light patterns are the next clues!

Yet according to Zhang Ya’Er, over twenty skilled craftsmen studied for two days, stubbornly not making sense, and had to take a risky attempt.

Unexpectedly, this attempt went awry!

That day, someone tried to manipulate a tiny piece of wood next to the small gap, only as big as a fingertip, but intricately made and very unobtrusive.

When that small piece of wood was pressed, everyone heard a ’click’ again. Before they could express joy, a yellow fog suddenly sprung from the inside of the Luban lock, rushing towards the nearest people. Ultimately, it resulted in three deaths and four injuries; now those four are still lying in hospital beds, not yet awake.

After that, the gap in the Luban lock closed on its own, as if nothing had happened.

Listening to Zhang Ya’Er tell this, Lin Tian and Davis simultaneously felt a mix of joy and sorrow.

The joy naturally came from the Luban lock not being opened, meaning the treasure inside was still there.

The sorrow was that this thing was exceedingly dangerous! Over twenty skilled craftsmen gathered, spent several days, only to open a tiny gap, and the second step already caused casualties. Could this thing be played with?

Davis, quick-witted, immediately reacted and asked, "Then wear a gas mask, a bulletproof vest, wouldn’t that be safe?"

Zhang Ya’Er shook her head, "That toxic fog is corrosive; you haven’t seen the scene then. Those at the front had their skin rotted. It spread along the veins to the heart and brain almost instantly; even if they didn’t die, they couldn’t possibly wake up. Your suggestion was brought up, but no one dared to do it, after all, no amount of money is worth more than one’s life." Zhang Ya’Er said calmly.

Davis let out a bitter laugh and said, "Your Celestial Dragon Continent’s mechanical skills are indeed sinister."

Upon hearing this, Lin Tian was displeased. He glanced sidelong at Davis, coldly saying, "It’s not that the mechanical skills are sinister, but that vigilance is necessary. It’s to protect the treasure inside; if there’s no intent to steal it, how would one reap what they sow? Moreover, everything has two sides. You’ve only seen the ruthless side of our Celestial Dragon Continent’s mechanical skills; what gives you the right to generalize?"

Davis knew he had upset Lin Tian, promptly apologizing, "Mr. Lin, I’m sorry. But I must say, please don’t over-interpret my words. You know that’s not what I meant."

Lin Tian said no more; he simply disliked the foreigner’s mocking tone.

Lin Tian turned to Zhang Ya’Er and asked, "And then?"

"And then... nothing more. I haven’t seen the Luban lock since; I was directly sent to the card skills platform instead," Zhang Ya’Er replied truthfully.

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