Divine Flame Crystal

Chapter 680: Humanity’s New Wing

The tide gently lapped against the rocks, like a pair of hands brushing away the nonexistent dust. Like the first straight line of a blueprint, it had been drawn. The rest was up to them to complete the painting themselves.

The data from the Ark's first stable "displacement" was sent back to the Gear City and into the Supreme Conference Hall. It was a building constructed of steel and glass, reflecting the sky on its walls during the day and lighting up rows of star-like lights at night.

The hall was filled with different sounds.

"I insist on immediate production!" A young councilman slammed his desk and stood up, his voice excited. "Since it can fly, it means it can protect! Do you remember the sea invasion two years ago? If we had five arks back then, the enemy would never have been able to cross the bay!"

"Start production?" another elder retorted coldly, "Do you think building an ark is the same as building a steamship? Where will the materials come from? Where will the energy core come from? Dark matter isn't just common iron ore. Do you have enough 'black cores'?"

The argument intensified and the director had to be called in.

The director was a white-haired old craftsman, his back slightly hunched, his gaze piercing. He spoke slowly, "There's no rush to start production. The Ark isn't about building a single ship, but an entire combat system. Without a stable energy supply, mature off-site technology, and a supporting fleet, even if you build a hundred of them, they'll be nothing more than rolling coffins in the sky."

The hall was silent for a moment.

The young councillor was about to argue when Kronos suddenly said, "Let it fly for another year."

Everyone turned and looked at the old man who had been silent.

"Old man, what gives you the right to say that?" someone complained. "You're not a craftsman, nor a councilor!"

Kronos simply glanced at him, a gaze so profound it seemed to see through time. After a moment, the entire hall fell silent. No one spoke again.

Little did they know that this old man held a secret they could not comprehend. He knew that if he rushed into production, this 341st attempt would fail prematurely.

Soon, Ark's experimental factory became the busiest place on the entire continent.

During the day, hundreds of workers swung hammers, pouring molten steel into molds. The sound of steam engines was deafening, and thick smoke rose to the sky, even causing seabirds to fly around.

At night, young apprentices gathered in the simple canteen, eating hard bread and salted fish. Their faces were covered with coal dust, but their eyes were surprisingly bright.

"Today's thrust reading is three percent higher than yesterday!" said an apprentice excitedly.

"Really? Does that mean the Ark can fly higher?"

"In theory... yes."

They laughed, just like children discussing toys, but everyone knew that these were not toys, but their future destinies.

In a corner of the factory, a woman walked by, carrying a stack of blueprints. She was only an apprentice, but already she had an incredible amount of responsibility on her shoulders.

"Master said that every line can make the difference between success and failure," she whispered to herself. "If I make a mistake in drawing one line, the Ark might explode in the air."

Kronos looked at her from the shadows, a hint of pity in his eyes.

He knew that the gears of history had changed - in the previous one hundred attempts, this girl was just an ordinary person, but in this life, she became an apprentice who drew up a key blueprint.

"Perhaps, this is just a slight deviation in the timeline." Kronos thought.

Three months later, the second "Ark" began testing.

This time, the goal is to break through the cloud tops and reach the stratosphere.

Before departure, the director personally boarded the ship and faced all the crew members, his voice like a hammer hitting a steel plate.

"Remember, don't think too far ahead. Today we have only one goal: to get up and then down. If you can land safely, that's victory."

The Ark slowly rose into the air. The first ring of energy propulsion lit up like a light ring, its thrust steady. The second ring of energy propulsion activated, and the hull shook violently for a moment, but was quickly suppressed.

When the third circle lit up, the entire ship broke through the clouds, and for the first time the hull was completely exposed under the blue sky.

"We're up!" someone shouted excitedly.

But at that moment, a dull explosion suddenly erupted from the ship's belly. A secondary ring's energy valve ruptured, sending flames surging out, nearly burning through the hull!

The alarm suddenly sounded and the entire deck fell into chaos.

"Cut off the secondary ring!"

"Cooling chamber temperature overload!"

"Should we abandon ship?!"

The director stared at the instrument and said in a cold voice: "Don't abandon the ship! Start the backup cooling pipe!"

The workers frantically worked, sweat streaming down their cheeks. Finally, just a second before the explosion spread, the backup cooling system successfully activated, suppressing the flames.

The ship swayed in mid-air, but miraculously remained stable.

"Keep on course!" the Director gritted his teeth. "We're not done yet!"

In the end, the ark held out for two hundred breaths before returning to the bay with scars.

After falling, the high temperature of the hull evaporated a large area of ​​seawater, and steam filled the air, obscuring the appearance of the giant ship.

The moment the hull landed on the track, everyone collapsed to the ground, crying and laughing.

"We... succeeded."

They didn't know that in the shadows in the distance, Kronos also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Still holding on." He murmured, "At least in this life, I haven't given up."

The successful test flight of the Ark made the Gear City excited.

Thousands of people took to the streets, factories put down their hammers, schools were closed, and even vendors in the market closed their businesses spontaneously, just to see the giant ship rise from the sea.

In the central square, a woman named Monica was being pushed onto a makeshift platform by a group of young apprentices.

Kronos knew that restarting would require a huge amount of energy. In order to save energy, he would take some people away for restarting. At the same time, in order to develop quickly, he would also tell some people limited truths. Therefore, there were both giant ships and steam cars here. It looked a bit weird, but all of this was for rapid development.

"Say a few words!" someone shouted.

Monica blushed, lowered her head, and spoke softly after a while: "I just drew a few pictures...it was you all who really made it fly."

There was warm applause from the audience.

People raised their hands, threw their hats into the sky, and shouted in unison: "Ark of the Sky! Ark of the Sky!"

At this moment, they didn’t know the “enemy” they would face in the future, nor did they know about the “god” or even the existence of “war”.

They were simply celebrating the first time humans had truly touched the sky.

Kronos stood at the edge of the crowd, a glint in his eyes.

"Remember this. In the 341st generation, the Sky Ark not only took off successfully, but everyone was also laughing happily."

But on the other side of the cheers, undercurrents are surging.

In the meeting hall at night, a stern-faced council member whispered to his companions, "The Ark is too dazzling. If someone notices it..."

"Hush," his companion interrupted, looking around and lowering his voice, "Don't say that word."

"But we must be on guard."

"No, we just have to keep moving forward."

The congressman sighed and finally kept silent.

They didn't know that Kronos had already written a new annotation in the dark:

"If the Ark continues to develop, it will eventually attract 'their' attention. But right now is not the time to remind them. Only when humans themselves reach the cliff will they understand what lies beneath their feet."

Late at night, the factory is brightly lit.

The two apprentices were grumbling as they tightened the bolts.

"Tell me, can we really fly to the stars?"

"Silly boy, that will take ages. We'll be lucky if we can build the boat."

"But I heard it's very quiet up there. No wind, no rain, no temple bells..."

"If the boss hears you say this, you'll get a scolding."

"I don't care. I just want to go and see it. Even if it's just for a moment."

Kronos was walking through the shadows and suddenly stopped when he heard this conversation.

He looked up at the sky, a faint hope arising in his heart.

"Maybe, this time, they can see."

A year later, three Sky Arks were launched simultaneously.

They flew side by side above the clouds, and the rings on the belly emitted a faint blue light, like three parallel star tracks, cutting the sky apart.

People on the ground looked up, the magnificent scene reflected in their eyes.

"This is the new wing of mankind." Someone whispered.