Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Killing Two Birds with One Stone (3)
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A researcher disassembling the decoding mechanism spoke up.
“Riding this giant puppet right across the border like it’s no big deal—what are the odds such a half-baked plan will actually work?”
A colleague working alongside him replied.
“What if it doesn’t? We don’t have any other options anyway. Might as well give it a shot and chalk it up to experience.”
“Won’t it be dangerous, though?”
“Worst case, they chase us off. That’s what happened with the diplomatic delegation, right? They got a warning and that was it.”
The worried researcher seemed somewhat relieved.
“Right? It should be fine, yeah?”
“No way anything major happens. The delegation came back without a single injury. They must just let you go if you turn tail.”
A passing senior researcher scolded the pair.
“You two there. Enough chit-chat—finish disassembling that decoding mechanism. Things are hectic enough as it is.”
The chastened researchers quietly resumed their work.
It really was a madhouse.
Disassembling and reassembling the decoding mechanism, installing cooling formations, retrofitting the Grand Arbor Peng—the to-do list was a mountain high.
Thanks to all that, the entire Maintenance Alliance was in an uproar.
A few days later, they finally finished disassembling the decoding mechanism entirely.
Dismantling such a massive mechanical device without damaging it was no small feat.
To prevent any possible loss, they had to tag every single component by hand.
Moving the mountain of decoding mechanism parts into the Grand Arbor Peng’s belly fell to the Owl Express Legion.
The owl couriers hauled package after package—90% cushioning, 10% contents.
With so many puppets on hand, the transport itself wrapped up in no time.
After disassembly and transport came reassembly, naturally.
Under the senior researcher’s direction, the process proceeded with extreme caution.
A single leftover part later on would spell disaster.
They might have to tear the whole thing apart and start over from scratch—a nightmare scenario.
Obsessive intermediate checks were repeated constantly.
“Time for an intermediate check.”
“Didn’t we just do one?”
“They’ll be back again soon.”
In the end, the decoding mechanism reassembly wrapped up without a hitch.
Next up was the Formation Research Institute’s turn.
Formation banners and pillars were installed here and there.
These were cooling formations to handle the decoding mechanism’s heat buildup.
Of course, Seoran wasn’t idle either.
To fool the desert giants, they first needed to overhaul the giant puppet’s stone-statue exterior.
It had to look like a real living creature, not some man-made construct.
To that end, Seoran deployed the Blossoming Prosperity Art.
Vast pure wood spiritual power awakened two types of flower seeds slumbering in the seed vault.
Bouquets of petals burst through the rocky outer walls, blanketing the Grand Arbor Peng’s surface.
No stamens, pistils, or even leaves.
Just white and black petals—and nothing else.
Normally impossible, but Seoran’s mastery of the technique had long since transcended biological limits.
The Grand Arbor Peng, swathed in enormous black-and-white petals like feathers.
It looked nothing like its original stone-statue form.
At a glance, it passed for a real bird.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
Just like when she first learned mimicry arts, Seoran carefully observed a live white-headed woodpecker.
From that, she crafted a mimicry function.
The Grand Arbor Peng tilted its head quizzically.
It was imitating a common bird mannerism.
The mimicry was eerily lifelike.
Even folks from the Observatory Gear Research Institute and Formation Research Institute—and the expedition team itself—couldn’t hide their awe.
If puppetry’s ultimate goal was to breathe life into lifeless matter, Seoran stood on the cusp of achieving it.
She had every right to claim the title of the world’s foremost puppet master.
With the rebirth of the Neo Grand Arbor Peng, the South Continent Guardians completed all preparations.
*****
The Neo Grand Arbor Peng more than lived up to its name.
It spread its massive wings and soared over the Thunderclap Mountains.
Not quite 90,000 li a day, but its top speed fell just shy of sonic.
The group reached the desert outskirts in a flash.
How long had they flown over the endless dunes when a colossal sandstorm loomed on the horizon?
The moment they entered its domain, pitch darkness swallowed them whole—no light pierced it.
Thanks to the Grand Arbor Peng’s blistering speed, the South Continent Guardians soon reunited with sunlight.
Scorching sun, blistering sands, eternal sandstorms as natural ramparts—this was a secret land untouched by outsiders.
The desert giants’ territory.
Seoran, piloting the giant puppet, asked,
“Lord Damcheong, any desert giants nearby?”
Damcheong, craning his neck around, replied,
“Two coming from the east. They’re pretty far out, but you spotted them anyway.”
His far-sight was every bit the match for the Thousand-Mile Eye.
In the flat, obstacle-free desert, evading giant eyes was next to impossible.
Seoran asked,
“Which direction exactly?”
“Over there, that way.”
Damcheong pointed somewhere off in the distance.
The giant puppet turned its head that way.
But even with all the observation gear crammed inside the Grand Arbor Peng, nothing showed up clearly.
Seoran said,
“I don’t see anything.”
“Just wait a bit—it’ll come into view soon.”
Damcheong was right.
A short while later, the giants appeared to the group’s eyes as well.
Two muscular desert giants.
The pair closed the distance in seconds.
True to their giant nature, their strides were enormous.
At mere alert speed they were this fast—what would full sprint look like?
At last, the two desert giants faced off with the giant woodpecker.
*****
The two desert giants were border patrol soldiers.
The senior soldier said, face puzzled,
“What bird gets this big?”
The bird bursting from the sandstorm was truly enormous.
Its head came up to the senior soldier’s waist.
About the height of a 400-year-old child.
The junior soldier said,
“Isn’t this a Great Peng? Y’know, the massive bird from across the sea in the North Continent.”
“Why would a bird from that far away be here?”
“They say it flies 90,000 li a day—why couldn’t it?”
The senior soldier nodded.
“Hm, fair point.”
He glanced down at the giant woodpecker.
Even as the two giants talked, it hadn’t budged.
If anything, it just stood there, head raised, staring blankly at the soldiers.
The junior soldier said,
“Doesn’t seem skittish at all. Doesn’t even think to flee from strangers.”
“With that size, being skittish would be ridiculous.”
“True enough.”
The senior soldier peered into the giant woodpecker’s bright, round eyes, deep in thought.
Repelling intruders was the border patrol’s duty.
But whether this giant bird counted as an intruder was debatable.
The junior soldier, rummaging through a bundle at his waist, asked,
“What’re you pondering so hard?”
“Just wondering if we should shoo it off too.”
“Huh? Why bother?”
The senior soldier mustered some sense of duty.
“Look at the size of it. Almost child-sized. Might be dangerous for the kids, even if adults are fine.”
“Dunno—my daughter could probably take it.”
“How old’s your girl this year?”
The junior soldier said,
“Around 450.”
“Aw, prime cuteness age.”
“Yeah, life’s been great lately.”
“Lucky. My daughter’s grown—barely answers me anymore.”
“How old’s yours?”
“Just hit 600.”
“That’s puberty, for sure.”
“Guess so.”
A moment later, the two soldiers returned to duty.
The junior soldier asked,
“So, what’ll we do with this Great Peng?”
“Nothing—just report it and be done. Think it’ll leave if we tell it to? Not like it understands us.”
“Fair.”
“Let’s head back to the outpost.”
“Wait a sec.”
The junior soldier pulled something from his waist pouch and tossed it.
A green object landed near the giant woodpecker.
The creature eyed it warily before snapping it up and flying off.
On the way back to the outpost, the senior soldier asked,
“What was that you threw earlier?”
“Cactus snack.”
“Different color from usual.”
“Secret seasoning.”
“Mind if I try one?”
“Plenty to go around—help yourself.”
The two desert giant soldiers vanished beyond the horizon.
*****
Seoran said, sharing the giant cactus snack,
“Things went even smoother than expected.”
Damcheong swallowed his mouthful before replying,
“Honestly, passing so easily is almost suspicious.”
The institute director agreed.
“I concur. The desert giants’ wildly different reactions to the delegation versus the giant bird make no sense.”
The senior researcher offered,
“Maybe they just hate humans?”
Of course, no amount of head-scratching would yield answers.
The clues lay with the desert giants themselves.
In the end, they set aside pointless speculation and focused on slicing cactus.
Shortly after, the group arrived at a small village.