Can't afford to pay for the takeout? Stunning CEO: Then pay with your body!

Chapter 104 Mechanical Dog!

River View No. 1 Villa, underground parking garage.

This place used to house Nie Qingcheng's eye-catching red Ferrari and several minivans, but now half of it has been cleared out and turned into a temporary "black workshop".

The welding torch hissed and sparks flew, filling the air with the smell of burnt metal and machine oil.

Nie Qingcheng was wearing a silk slip dress with a cashmere shawl draped over her shoulders, holding a fruit plate in her hand, and leaning against the door frame.

Her brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, and she looked at Zhang Yan, who was squatting on the ground amidst a pile of broken metal, with utter disdain.

"Honey, are you sure this thing is a treasure?"

Nie Qingcheng forked a piece of cantaloupe and put it in her mouth, mumbling, "Isn't this just a hairy lump of iron? You drilled through the granite layer at the construction site for this thing?"

The metal box that had just been dug out of the ground was lying on the ground.

After cleaning, most of the rust was removed, revealing a dull metallic luster.

But this thing doesn't look like a valuable antique at all; it looks more like a scrapped gearbox.

Zhang Yan turned off the welding torch, pushed up the goggles on his nose, revealing a pair of eyes that were reddened by the smoke.

"Long hair, short on brains."

Zhang Yan took the cantaloupe she handed him, took a bite of it, and said, "This is no ordinary lump of iron; it's a piece of 'black technology' left by our ancestors."

He reached out and pressed on the side of the metal box.

"Click—"

A series of teeth-grinding mechanical noises rang out.

That seemingly solid metal cube unfolded layer by layer like a Transformer.

Countless precise gears, connecting rods, and springs mesh and operate inside, producing a rhythmic metallic clanging sound.

What was originally a small box, no bigger than the palm of your hand, has instantly expanded into a complex mechanical core architecture.

Nie Qingcheng almost dropped the cantaloupe in her mouth.

"What...what is this?"

"The Mohist mechanical arts, the power core of the Xuanwu Armor."

Zhang Yan dusted off his hands, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

The system's "build mechs" mission only had seven days, and he was originally worried about the power source problem.

Current battery technology is too outdated, and internal combustion engines are too bulky.

Unexpectedly, this shovel strike unearthed a ready-made solution.

This core utilizes a lost technology of "gravitational potential energy + spring energy storage". With a slight modification and combined with modern hydraulic transmission, it can be a perpetual motion machine.

"So what do you plan to do with it?"

Nie Qingcheng walked over and curiously kicked the pile of parts on the ground with her toe. "Gundam?"

"Gundams are too expensive, and they are easily dissected and studied by relevant departments."

Zhang Yan pulled a steel pipe from a pile of scrap building materials and measured its length. "I'm planning to make a... watchdog first."

"ha?"

Nie Qingcheng thought she had misheard. "You went through all that trouble just to create a dog?"

"Things aren't going well at the construction site."

Zhang Yan put his goggles back on, and the welding torch in his hand once again spewed blue flames. "That hot spring is a hot commodity now. Old Wang and his few men are just ordinary people; they can't keep out thieves."

"and……"

Zhang Yan's voice sounded somewhat erratic amidst the crackling of the electrical current.

"Don't you think it's way cooler to have a mechanical dog as a mascot than to hire a celebrity as a spokesperson?"

……

three days later.

The construction site in the south of the city was dark and windy at night.

Two furtive figures crept in through the darkness, climbing over the construction site fence.

"Brother, this place is really eerie. I heard it was haunted before."

The skinny man stepped in mud when he landed, muttering to himself as he gripped a pair of pliers tightly in his hand.

"What a load of nonsense!"

The fat man walked ahead, carrying a large sack on his back. His fleshy face looked particularly ferocious in the moonlight. "That was just a trick that Master Ma used to pull!"

"Now a hot spring has been discovered underground, and there are valuable facilities everywhere."

The fat man pointed to the shed where materials were piled up not far away: "See those rolls of imported high-temperature resistant cable? They sell for several hundred yuan a meter! If we pull this off tonight, it'll be enough for us to eat, drink, and have fun for half a year!"

The two men crouched low and, under the cover of darkness, quickly made their way to the vicinity of the workers' shed.

The construction site was quiet, with only the occasional beam of light from a distant searchlight sweeping across the site.

Old Wang in the duty room was fast asleep, snoring louder than an excavator.

"I told you it was nothing."

The fat man smiled smugly, took out hydraulic shears, and was about to cut the chain on the shed door.

Just then.

Two lights suddenly appeared in the darkness.

There were two faint red lights, about half a meter above the ground, less than five meters behind them.

"Who?!"

The skinny man turned around abruptly, the beam of his flashlight sweeping around frantically.

The moment the beam of light froze, both of them were stunned.

That's not a person.

That was a... dog?

But this dog looks so random.

Its body was welded from scrap excavator bucket steel plates, its four legs were thick hydraulic rods, its head was a modified motorcycle fuel tank, its two eyes were infrared cameras, and it had an unfinished cigar in its mouth—a decoration that Zhang Yan had specially welded on to increase its "bandit-like" appearance.

The mechanical dog just sat there quietly, its red electronic eyes staring intently at them, emitting a "humming" sound from its throat, similar to an engine idling.

"What...what is this thing?"

Skinny people's legs are a bit soft.

"What's there to be afraid of! It's just a toy!"

Although the fat man was also uneasy, looking at the pile of valuable cables, a wicked thought crossed his mind: "It's probably some worker's prank. We can't afford to pay for the damage. Let's get back to work!"

He raised the hydraulic shears and ruthlessly cut the chain.

"Snap!"

The sound of chains hitting the ground was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Almost at the same time, the mechanical dog moved.

"Woof—!!!"

A loud, amplified electronic dog bark rang out, as loud as an air raid siren.

Immediately afterwards, the seemingly heavy pile of scrap metal suddenly burst forth with astonishing speed.

The hydraulic legs suddenly extended and retracted, and the mechanical dog shot up like a cannonball, covering a distance of three or four meters, and landed with a thud in front of the two people.

The ground shook.

Holy crap!

The fat man was so frightened that he dropped the hydraulic shears and turned to run away.

"Sizzle—!!!"

The mechanical dog's large metal mouth suddenly opened, revealing a dark tube protruding from it.

The next second, a jet of scalding water gushed out!

That's a high-pressure water gun that directly draws and pressurizes underground hot spring water, with a water temperature as high as 70 degrees Celsius. While it won't scald you, it's definitely enough to make you drink a whole pot of water.

"Ah—! It's so hot!"

The fat man was hit head-on by the water jet and was sent flying like a bowling ball, rolling several times in the mud while letting out a pig-like scream.

Upon seeing this, the skinny man was terrified and dropped the pliers, trying to climb towards the fence.

The mechanical dog pushed off with its hind legs and nimbly slid to the side, blocking his path.

It raised its heavy metal front paw and, like a cat catching a mouse, gently pressed it against the skinny man's back.

"puff!"

The skinny guy was shoved into the mud and ended up with a mouthful of dirt.

The mechanical dog lowered its head, its red electronic eyes flashed twice, and a pre-recorded audio message suddenly came from the loudspeaker.

That was Zhang Yan's lazy voice:

"Don't move, move even slightly, and I'll crush your balls."

……

Early the next morning.

A video titled "Hardcore! Cyber ​​watchdog spotted at construction site in southern city, thugs scalded and soaked" has gone viral across major short video platforms.

The video was taken by Lao Wang.

He was woken up by the alarm last night, and ran out in his clothes, just in time to capture the scene of the mechanical dog pressing two thieves into the mud and rubbing them.

Although the footage was shaky, the wildly designed, agile mechanical dog that could also spray hot spring water instantly captured the excitement of countless netizens.

"Holy crap! What kind of cutting-edge technology is this? Is this really made in China?"

"This design is so punk! Is it a modified excavator bucket? This aesthetic is absolutely amazing!"

"Is this dog a good buy? I want to get one to keep at home so my mother-in-law won't dare to speak loudly when she comes over!"

"Hey upstairs, this thing looks like it weighs several hundred pounds. Are you sure your floor can handle it?"

"Am I the only one paying attention to that water jet feature? Is that hot spring water? This is practically a portable sauna!"

Headquarters of Qingcheng Group.

Nie Qingcheng sat behind her large desk, watching the ever-increasing number of views and comments on her tablet, a playful smile playing on her lips.

"Mr. Nie, it's blown up."

Linda pushed open the door, holding a report in her hand, her face more excited than if she had won the lottery. "Just now, the first batch of 5,000 pre-sale tickets for the 'Tiangong Hot Spring Resort' that we released sold out in three seconds...!"

"Three seconds?"

Nie Qingcheng raised an eyebrow.

"Yes! And scalped tickets are already three times the original price!" Linda exclaimed excitedly, speaking rapidly. "The internet is flooded with people asking for tickets; everyone wants to see that mechanical dog named 'Wangcai' in person!"

"Wangcai?"

Nie Qingcheng's lips twitched slightly. "Who came up with this name?"

"Mr. Zhang..." Linda suppressed a laugh, "He said that a humble name makes a child easier to raise."

Nie Qingcheng sighed and rubbed her forehead.

That guy, despite having the skill to create such a marvelous artifact, insisted on giving it such a tacky name.

but……

She glanced out the window.

The sky, which had been somewhat gloomy due to tight cash flow and suppression from competitors, now looked exceptionally clear.

"Mr. Nie, there's something else."

Linda handed over another document, her expression slightly more serious. "Tianqing Capital has made a move."

"They seem very interested in that robotic dog. They just sent a letter saying they want to talk to us about... technology transfer."

"Technology transfer?"

Nie Qingcheng sneered and casually tossed the document into the shredder. "Tell them they're dreaming."

"That's a toy my husband made for me, I wouldn't sell it for any amount of money."

She stood up, walked to the French windows, and looked towards the south of the city in the distance.

"Get the car ready, let's go to the construction site."

"I'm going to see what surprises that 'big toy' holds."

……

Construction site in the south of the city.

Zhang Yan was squatting next to "Wangcai," holding a wrench and applying lubricant to its hydraulic joints.

In last night's battle, "Wangcai" performed heroically, but also exposed some problems.

For example, when the water sprayed, the recoil was so strong that it almost flipped me over.

And that identification system almost mistook Old Wang, who rushed over, for a thief and shot him.

"It still needs to be revised."

Zhang Yan patted Wangcai's fuel tank-like head, "I'll install an IFF module on you later, and add a shock absorption system."

In his mind, the system's notification sounded at just the right moment.

【Ding! 】

[Side Quest Progress Update: Crafting an Exoskeleton Armor Using Existing Resources (1/1)]

[Congratulations, host. Although what you created resembles a dog, its core logic is the same as that of an exoskeleton armor.]

[Hidden reward triggered: Advanced chapter of Mohist mechanical arts - Fragment of "Non-Aggression and Defense"]

Zhang Yan's eyes lit up.

Money doesn't matter, the important thing is this fragment of the scroll.

He was just about to review the new knowledge in his mind when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

When I took it out, I saw it was a text message from an unknown number.

The content was very simple, just one sentence, but it instantly froze Zhang Yan's relaxed expression.

"Young man, your skills are quite good."

"However, some things are safest when buried underground."

"Want to chat at Panjiayuan Ghost Market tonight at midnight?"

The signature is a strange symbol.

It looks like an eye, or maybe a... gear.

Zhang Yan squinted, his fingers gently stroking the phone screen.

It seems that this mechanical dog has not only attracted tourists, but also some... unclean things.