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Chapter 632, Test Fire
"Simply put, it's about using design and structure to give the ship enough buoyancy to float on the sea," Wu Heng explained.
The two frowned, but still nodded.
As they spoke, another ship approached the port from afar.
Philipa ran down with her green-feathered parrot, waving from a distance, "Sheila Grey, Shiyali, you two came too."
The two smiled and nodded.
Then Philipa urged Wu Heng, "Everything's ready, let's head out, I want to see the new ship."
Wu Heng nodded, "Board the ship, let's go test it."
The group followed him onto the ship.
The ship was still equipped with modernized gear.
Wu Heng introduced the names and functions of each cabin to the group.
The three women listened carefully, even more astonished inside.
Completely different from this world—clean and tidy, and without the strong rotten wood smell.
After a general tour—
Wu Heng walked into the control room and ordered the skeleton, "Leave the port and head southwest."
A roaring mechanical sound started as the escort ship began to move.
After clearing the port, it accelerated southwest.
They arrived at the position Philipa had pre-arranged.
The escort ship began to slow down and came to a gradual stop.
Philipa pointed to a black dot at the edge of her vision, "That's the small boat just released. Are you going to test the weapons?"
She picked up a telescope and looked toward the target.
A fishing boat with a black flag could be seen, swaying endlessly with the waves.
Wu Heng said to the control room, "Target fishing boat ahead, destroy it."
The cannon adjusted its aim.
Boom~!
A thunderous blast erupted, and the location of the distant boat exploded into massive waves.
When the splash subsided, the sea was empty.
The three women widened their eyes further, staring at where the boat had vanished.
Wu Heng said to Philipa, "The ship has 145 beds, is equipped with anti-air missiles that can strike aerial targets, and what was just fired was a naval cannon with a range of 10,000 meters. Upon spotting a target, we don't need to get close—just fire."
Philipa nodded instinctively, "Ah, got it."
"From now on, this ship is yours. The other ships will be patrolled by the vice-captains," Wu Heng told Philipa.
"Damn, that's awesome!" Philipa jumped and cheered.
Wu Heng was also satisfied with this ship—it was undoubtedly the sea's overlord in this world.
Once sea trade starts, it can ensure the safety of trade routes.
"Return to port," Wu Heng ordered.
The ship began its return, gradually docking at the port.
Philipa stayed behind to continue studying the ship and transferred some skeletons over.
Wu Heng, Sheila Grey, and Shiyali returned together.
On the way—
Wu Heng said, "A bet is a bet. You two owe me one request."
Sheila Grey's face turned a bit red and emphasized, "Nothing too excessive."
"Alright, I'll think of something," Wu Heng replied with a smile.
Shiyali raised a brow, "A little excessive is fine."
The carriage dropped the two off at the guild's entrance.
Wu Heng continued back to the Island Lord's Mansion.
...
Returning to the Island Lord's Mansion.
Minnie helped him remove his coat, and Robe brought iced tea.
"Still many visitors?" Wu Heng asked.
"Two came in the morning, barely anyone in the afternoon," Minnie replied softly.
"That's good," Wu Heng said.
Robe smiled, "Those people were all so polite and cautious—totally different from the merchants in Rentam City."
"They're all the same. We're the ones who've changed," Wu Heng gently reminded.
"Right, we're maids of the Island Lord's Mansion now. It's different," Robe puffed her chest.
Wu Heng chuckled, rested a bit, then went to the back courtyard to sip tea and continue assembling the railgun.
...
Dusk.
Andviel and Shanaila also returned from outside and ate dinner together in the dining hall.
Shanaila asked, "When will your exhibits go on sale? Those people couldn't find you, so they all came to me."
"Fountain pens will be sold first. Quantity is limited—we won't open mass sales yet. Then comes the watch. As for the potion, I plan to auction it off," Wu Heng explained.
"When will the pens start selling, and how many?" Shanaila asked.
"About seventy thousand."
Shanaila did some quick math based on the number of guilds and said, "Then limit each merchant guild to 100 pens. Tell them it's to test the market. We'll open sales later."
After a short pause, she added, "As for price, best to set it between 20 to 60 silver. Pricier than special quill pens, but still within range—regular writers can afford it."
Wu Heng frowned and considered it, "Isn't that a bit expensive? Once the factory is built, we can mass-produce them."
Twenty silver could buy a pretty good crossbow.
Compared to the modern world, the price of a pen was quite different.
Shanaila shook her head, "Not too expensive. We must set the first batch's price. Early buyers aren't short on money. Later, mass production makes bargaining easier and helps recapture the market."
"You're right," Wu Heng nodded.
"What price are you setting then?" Shanaila asked curiously, putting down her utensils.
"Pens vary in design and quality. Let's set common ones at 30 silver, and others higher," Wu Heng replied.
"And the watches and potions?" Shanaila followed up.
"Fewer watches—around twenty thousand. Potions even fewer," Wu Heng recalled.
In reality, the potion supply was higher than the watches.
Not yet mass-produced, but the expanding skeletons always brought back large amounts of corpse cores.
Enough to sell for a while.
But due to their unique nature, they had to be publicly treated as rare to preserve their importance and value.
As for pens and watches, just move the production lines here and start manufacturing.
"Fine, we'll talk again when sales begin," Shanaila said.
Officially, Shanaila was still the president of Flower of the Stars, but she was now focused on Gold-Silver Island.
Especially with the success of the exhibition—
Uniting major guilds of all races—no kingdom or force had done this before.
And Wu Heng's exhibits had indeed shown impressive results.
"No rush," Wu Heng smiled, then added, "Are you heading back tonight?"
Shanaila glanced at the maids and replied, "Not going back."
...
Night fell.
Shanaila stepped out of the bath, her damp hair falling over her shoulders.
She wore a white bathrobe, loosely tied at the waist, stepping lightly on the carpet.
Sitting before the vanity, she dried her hair.
Wu Heng walked over and took out two potions from his space ring, placing them on the table.
"Enhancement potion. Side effects include pain. You drink them—I'll monitor you."
Shanaila raised a brow at the potions, "Aren't you auctioning these? Giving me two already?"
"I'll give you more later—just don't tell anyone," Wu Heng said with a smile.
Shanaila turned and cupped his face, giving him a firm kiss on the lips, "Big sis didn't dote on you for nothing."
"Hurry and drink them, you'll need rest after."
"Alright!" Shanaila nodded, uncorked a potion, and drank it without hesitation.
The side effects made her body start to spasm.
Wu Heng comforted her, explaining that the first time hurt more but would ease later.
After finishing the first, Shanaila rested a bit, then took the second.
"You liar…" Shanaila muttered, curling into a ball on the bed.
After a while, she gradually recovered.
Her body was drenched in sweat.
Shanaila let out a deep breath, "I feel something changed, but I can't tell what."
"Muscle and bone enhancement," Wu Heng explained.
"I'm going to wash again."
Shanaila bathed again, dried her hair, threw a flirty glance at him, and slowly climbed onto the bed.
Wu Heng hooked her robe belt with a finger, and the garment fell away like a soft cloud.
Revealing smooth, fair skin.
Despite some reluctance, she knelt on the bed.
He gently held her waist.
...
The next day, morning.
Shanaila left early to continue managing the exhibition.
She also leaked some pricing info about the pens to the merchant guilds to test their reaction.
There was already a pen and watch factory in Yangtong City—they could restart production.
However, Wu Heng would need to return, relocate the factory to Gold-Silver Island, and source materials from the guilds.
After confirming he had nothing else to handle—
Wu Heng opened the realm gate and headed to the Zombie World.
Walking through the gate—
He picked up the radio and called for Qi Hancai.
Not long after, Qi Hancai walked in and said, "News from the arms factory—Gao Rong completed testing the production line. Didn't say much over radio, but I think it's the rifle production line."