Murong Xue asked, "Do you have anything important in your room? It's okay to let him stay there?"

Lin Yang answered, "No, nothing important is left there. Let's go to see our equipment."

Lin Yang took Murong Xue to the hill behind his residence where there were various traps everywhere and more guards than in his residence patrolling all the time.

Looking at the empty hillside and bare ground without any trees and grass, Murong Xue asked in doubt, "Why do you bring me here? There is nothing."

"You'll see. Follow me and be careful. There are landmines."

Murong Xue followed him and asked in surprise, "You have landmines?"

A landmine was an inexpensive defensive weapon and explosive firearm planted or laid under the earth's surface. The earliest landmine originated in China. Anti-infantry mine, developed by Russia around 1903, was the earliest standardized-produced one and was put into practice for the first time in the Russo-Japanese War, which achieved a moderate effect.

Anti-tank mines were developed by the Germans in 1918 and anti-infantry mines were invented by the Germans around 1938. The system of rocket-delivering mines was developed by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1970. The use of landmines was now completely banned by international conventions.

Lin Yang said, "What's strange about that? There were mines with mechanical ignition devices in the early Ming Dynasty. Moreover, mines are not that difficult to make. I only use it in this place now. After all, there are no tanks in this world; it is not necessary to deploy landmines. Otherwise, it would make the common people suffer."

After walking a long way, Lin Yang stopped in front of a stone and pressed it. Then the surface in front of them split and a channel with a staircase showed up.

"Follow me down there." Lin Yang waved to Murong Xue.

At the foot of the stairs was a long tunnel, which was clean and paved with cement-based concrete. With lights on both sides, the tunnel was secured at intervals by guards.

"How about the underground weapon factory's airing?" Murong Xue felt surprised that she could feel flowing cold air, which meant the existence of air vents. Normally, there was little available oxygen and it was hard for people to stay deep into the ground.

"It doesn't matter. I can make it work."

"Okay. Now I know why the three countries can't find your weapon factory. It's hidden better than rat holes."

"I'm from the future. If I was as slow as you, we would have been doomed."

Murong Xue rolled her eyes at him. She did not mean to cause trouble and no one could predict what would happen next. She would have never done that if she had known. "How much longer must we go?"

"Here we are."

Murong Xue saw him open a door and then she entered a different place where people were busy walking around and concentrating on models on the big table.

Eyes wide open, Murong Xue found the weapon factory much bigger than she had imagined. The factory seemed to be built specifically for experimentation. "Where is the manufacturing unit? This is a research unit?"

Lin Yang explained, "The production is done somewhere else. You just need to see the results of our research. The research unit is in charge of the design and fixed parameters and then the manufacturing unit will finish mass production according to the data."

Murong Xue saw a set of machines and asked in surprise, "Steam engine?"

"Yes. Manpower is very limited. Machinery is the only way to achieve mass production. But I don't know much about it. The steam engine is just a model needing improvement."

Murong Xue walked inside while listening to Lin Yang. She checked on all the projects, including moduled siege artillery.

It almost took two hours for Murong Xue to finish the sightseeing.

"You've done much more than I have imagined."

"I can do it thanks to my old job in modern times, but you are a businesswoman. How do you know about this stuff?"

"Not all business people are idiots. Maybe I can help you with the data you lack of, so I'll stay here. Please find my friend. Please."

"I'm on it."

Lin Yang introduced everyone in the research unit to Murong Xue and went back the way they came. He could not waste too much time there.

Murong Xue was such a young woman. Although Lin Yang had been advocating gender equality, these people could not get rid of the stereotypes in this backward world and they still thought that women should stay at home and take care of children.

People in the research unit were all men, which demonstrated one of the defining features of their time. Murong Xue was the only woman here.

Before Lin Yang left, they greeted her because of him. When he was gone, they all went back to work and ignored that Lin Yang had asked them to ask for Murong Xue's help.

Murong Xue sneered as she knew they were isolating her silently.

But it was not the time to argue for gender equality. She had to help them make lethal weapons.

Murong Xue did not talk to them. She just stood aside quietly and looked at what they had achieved and their progress.

The man who stood next to her saw this and gave her a contemptuous look. He asked harshly, "Move. You are in my way."

Most researchers were only thinking about data all the time, so they would not be nice to Murong Xue because of her beauty. They only felt humiliated that Lin Yang sent a woman to help them.

Murong Xue did not care about his behavior and moved aside slightly.

When the man walked away, she started to check on the steam engine before her. Apparently, Lin Yang did not know much about steam engines. Otherwise, he would not have allowed them to mess it up.

The steam engine she saw was the earliest model that could not be put into mass production. Shaking her head, she tried to recall the modern machines she knew.

The man came back and saw Murong Xue shake her head. He said angrily, "Do you know mechanics? Don't pretend to know what you don't know. Out of the way. Don't waste my time."

Murong Xue stood still and looked up at him coldly before she continued checking on the model. She was looking at the parts of the vacuum steam engine as she remembered that this earliest steam engine's low efficiency was brought about by the low pressure although it was very safe, which could not meet their production standards.

Seeing Murong Xue's cold eyes, the man paused for a moment in fear. Then he realized that he was ignored by a woman and he reached out to push her in anger.

Murong Xue concentrated on the steam engine, so she did not notice what the man was doing and she fell to the ground.

She was caught off guard and her head hit the corner of the table with a bang.

With the pain sweeping over her, Murong Xue put her head in her hands and felt something warm running down her face. She felt dizzy and her eyes became colder. "You..."

The man did not mean to hurt her, so he looked a little panicked when he saw the blood. "I, I told you to step aside."

As the dizziness was getting worse, everything in Murong Xue's eyes became blurred. She bit her lip and said coldly, "Go and tell Lin Yang. Now."

After a while, she passed out.

These people looked down upon women, but they were not heartless. More importantly, they knew this woman was the governor's friend, so they did not dare to do anything and let Murong Xue lose too much blood. The governor was nice to them, but he was cruel to his enemies.

The man called several guards on duty and Murong Xue was carried out.

"What happened?"

Lin Yang asked a doctor to dress her wound and then questioned those who brought her back.

The man knelt down and said, "I'll take the punishment, my lord."

Lin Yang banged on the table. "I'm asking you what happened."

The man answered in a low voice, "I pushed Miss. Murong."

With a dark face, Lin Yang looked at the man he recruited. This man had been a stallkeeper in the street, selling all kinds of miniatures of mechanical products. At that time, his business had been very bad with such strange things. Lin Yang did not notice this man until something happened later.

One day, Lin Yang went out to patrol in disguise and saw several bullies dropping the man's miniatures, one of which rolled at his feet. He picked it up and found that it was a small ejector with much stronger tension. He noticed this man and paid off his debt.

This man was called Chen Shui. Men in his family had been mechanicians for generations, but his family's fortunes gradually declined and none of the three countries would accept him when he asked for a job. Chen Shui was grateful to Lin Yang and had been trying his best to help him. He admired Lin Yang for his wonderful ideas.