Chapter 640, Can't Be Reassembled
The ship is quite large, and the furnace power station, retaining only heat and energy conversion functions—
At least half of the equipment has been reduced, so fitting it inside the ship shouldn't be a problem.
Even if it's still big, it can be appropriately downsized.
Wu Heng clapped his hands. "Not bad. Make a note of this and prepare for it later."
Then he continued pondering.
Besides Glenda and the frigate, the pen and watch factories on Gold-Silver Island need to start as soon as possible.
In terms of equipment, Wu Heng had already transported everything to the factories here.
The skeletons were also arranged—just waiting for the skeletal machinists to assemble the equipment and start production.
The existing materials would last for a while.
By then, the ordered materials should also arrive, especially oak sap, a material used in pen sacs.
It's also a material for many rubber-based products.
In the other world, it's not that hard to obtain.
Once mass production of these two items begins, they could become stable income sources for Gold-Silver Island over the next few years.
He kept thinking.
"Then there are the enemies."
"The Secret Cult, Divine Punishment Sect, and the exiled families of the Blood Clan."
"Land and ship-based threats are manageable, but aerial units are a bit tricky—especially since the Blood Clan can go invisible."
"Yeah, I need to watch out and find a solution for this."
After thinking through all the problems—
Wu Heng closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.
...
"Watches are on sale—next to the pen shop!"
Early in the morning, someone shouted from afar.
As similar words spread, the whole city seemed to come alive—figures converged toward the central area.
Looking at the price sign displayed at the entrance, people whispered while lining up.
"This price is outrageous. The basic version already costs 4 gold coins. Isn't this robbery?"
"Then don't line up."
"I'm just saying—don't push me! Took me forever to get a good spot in line."
"Robbery? Any consortium producing this would price it sky-high."
"I think other consortia might just make versions exclusive to royals and nobles."
"Exactly!"
...
Lighthouse Street.
In a clearing behind a tavern, Brittany took the offered cup of water and sipped it, moistening her dry throat.
Ever since the Island Lord allowed the adaptation of the short story "Blushing Maid Beni", she and several tavern maids began rehearsing.
Thanks to her beauty and decent bearing, she landed a major role.
Not as the heroine Beni—but as the male lead, Wu Heng.
While the other maids imagined themselves as Beni, Brittany admired Wu Heng more and was glad she landed that role.
"Why is it so lively outside?" Brittany asked softly.
"The Island Lord's estate started selling watches. I heard the cheapest is 4 gold coins," said the maid beside her, resting her chin on her hand. She added, "The Island Lord is really amazing."
Brittany's gaze wandered as she added, "Potions, pens, watches—can't believe he made all of them. Laila, why do you think he wouldn't help me?"
The maid glanced at her princess and said, "Princess, he just became Island Lord, and it was your first meeting. He probably had a lot on his mind."
Brittany sighed. "Looking back, maybe my request was a bit childish."
"The Island Lord is so nice, and you're so beautiful. He won't blame you," the maid said with a smile.
Brittany still looked a bit down and softly said, "If only we had met earlier."
"Princess, should I queue up to get you a watch? I heard there are male and female styles."
"Don't waste it. We'll be living on the island for a while, and the watches aren't much use for us."
"Alright then."
...
Inside a mansion.
The window was open, with two light stones propped up on either side of the desk.
A Dwarf machinist, wearing a monocle, carefully tried to reassemble the disassembled parts into the watch face.
On one side of the desk were rows of components, each labeled with its own number.
As time passed, sweat beaded on the Dwarf's forehead, running down his cheeks.
In the end, he placed the tools back on the desk.
Leaned back tiredly in his chair.
"How's it going?" A man in a purple formal suit stood and asked.
The others waiting also turned to look.
They had bought the watch early this morning and immediately had the machinist begin disassembly.
This was the third watch. The first two attempts had failed.
The Dwarf glanced at him and said, "Still can't reassemble it."
"Still can't? Didn't you mark everything?"
The Dwarf pointed at the table. "Still 12 parts missing. And the reassembled watch face doesn't keep time."
That means...
They'd already lost 12 gold coins in one morning.
"If we keep disassembling, will there be progress?" the man asked.
The Dwarf machinist shook his head. "Not sure. I think we should send these parts back to them, have them reassemble it under warranty. I might figure it out by watching them."
Everyone paused.
Disassembled this badly—sending it back would clearly look like a counterfeiting attempt.
Doing it in secret is one thing—but sending it back openly feels provocative.
One person suggested, "Why don't we rest first? I'll check how the other consortia are doing. We might find something useful."
"That's fine. It's been too long. A break would be good," the others agreed.
The Dwarf machinist said nothing, just glanced at the watch again.
Then walked deeper into the room.
...
Island Lord's estate.
Wu Heng stretched and shooed away a bee circling his teacup.
The Elves' flower tea had a strong floral scent—easy to attract bees and butterflies.
Just then, Glenda was the first to fly back, hovering nearby. "As expected, those consortia dismantled your watches to analyze their structure."
Wu Heng wasn't surprised at all—he had expected this.
"Which consortium?"
"All of them! Including Starflower. But Shanaila definitely doesn't know. She's still sleeping at home," said Glenda, then added, "Some consortia haven't dismantled theirs yet, waiting for machinists to arrive on the island."
"And the result? The tricky part must be component manufacturing."
"No. The hardest part is—they can't put it back together. Before I came back, not one of them had successfully reassembled one," Glenda said.
"That... difficult?"
"Seems so. They've suffered big losses. The watches weren't cheap, and they broke a bunch."
Wu Heng pondered. "That's fine—raises their cost to copy it."
"Right." Glenda nodded and suggested, "Your store has after-sales service, right? You should update the rules: no repairs for intentional damage. Otherwise, you'll be swamped in repairs these days."
"Makes sense." Wu Heng signaled her to go invisible, then called maid Annette and told her to update the store's after-sales policy.
Annette nodded and left the Island Lord's estate with a skeleton.
Then Beni and Xiaoxiao returned, one after the other.
Beni said, "The watches are selling fast. The basic version is the most popular."
"No problems with the queues?"
"Nope. Everyone's behaving well," said Beni.
Xiaoxiao raised her hand. "Uncle, I found a pickpocket in the queue. I had a skeleton arrest him."
Wu Heng and the other two ghosts looked at her.
"How'd you catch him?"
"I possessed him, made him punch the skeleton—and then the skeleton put a knife to his throat." Xiaoxiao mimed the actions as she spoke.
That works too.
Looking at Xiaoxiao, clearly waiting for praise, Wu Heng said, "Xiaoxiao is so smart. Caught the bad guy with strategy."
"No big deal. Just doing what I should." Xiaoxiao happily twirled in the air.
Overall, the watch launch was a success.
And it showed that copying it wouldn't be easy for others.
Modern tech and this world's development don't align.
Even if they reassembled it and understood how it works—manufacturing the components would take time to study.
Wu Heng had plenty of time to keep selling and making money.
...
While chatting, Minnie came out of the house.
She called over, "Master, Philipa sent word—she's near the Lingaxi route."
That fast?
Based on sailing time, she should arrive tomorrow morning.
But Philipa was clearly ahead of schedule. She'd left yesterday afternoon, and now it was only morning.
The frigate was indeed faster than this world's ships.
"Got it. I'm heading upstairs now." Wu Heng returned to the house and went up the stairs.
The three ghosts flew straight back to the study to do their tasks.
He entered the radio room.
Picked up the radio on the frigate's frequency. "Philipa, can you hear me?"
"Yes. I'm near the route. Which direction should I head now?" Philipa's voice came through.
"Hold on."
Wu Heng took out the Emerald Sand Table and looked into it.
Inside, he could see the whole sea and the passing ships.
Each route was packed with ships—several times more than before.
All flying the flags of various consortia.
Wu Heng focused on the "Lingaxi Route"—there he spotted the pirate crew.
Seven pirate ships flying the Black Hurricane Pirate Flag, chasing three merchant ships.
Though there was distance between them, the pirate ships were faster and gaining.
"Seven pirate ships. These bastards are asking for it."
Wu Heng picked up the mic. "Sail forward a bit—you'll see them soon."
"Okay," Philipa replied. Then came the order, "Keep moving forward."
A moment later—
Philipa's voice returned. "Dad, I can see them. Several ships are fighting—I can't tell which are the pirates."
Wu Heng looked at the sand table. "The first, third, and fourth are merchant ships—the rest are pirates. You're in range. Open fire."
"Got it!"