Not Eating Beef

After reaching an agreement, Qin Ning promptly left with Zhu Di.

Meanwhile, Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the Hongwu court and immediately issued an order for the army to assemble and set off in seven days!

At the base on the outskirts of the capital.

Qin Ning brought Zhu Di to the base and found Old Zeng. "Old Zeng, that piece of equipment you mentioned last time—has it been built? Can it be put into use now?"

"It's been built, developed together with Wei Xing. Originally, we still needed some time to overcome the technical hurdles, but with the infusion of Sa Xing's technology, we've successfully made it," Old Zeng said with a smile, the joy evident on his face.

This weapon integrated technology and resources from Earth, Wei Xing, and Sa Xing. Without any one of them, it would never have been possible to create.

"However, due to shortages in materials and various constraints, we can't mass-produce it for now. It probably won't be easy to mass-produce in the future either. If we can make a few or a dozen units, that would already be pretty good."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ning nodded. "Has anyone tested it? Any issues?"

"We've tested it, and most problems can be solved. Why do you ask—are you thinking of trying it yourself? With your level of strength, you still have an eye for modern technology gadgets?" Old Zeng asked curiously.

Qin Ning smiled. "It's not for me, it's for him."

With that, he pointed at Zhu Di and then explained their plan to travel to the Orthodox Era.

After hearing the explanation, Old Zeng couldn't help but laugh. "Isn't that using a sledgehammer to crack a nut? But it's fine—it'll be a good chance to use it in actual combat for the first time. You'll just need to let him get used to it for a few days."

"Of course. We won't set off until seven days from now, so he'll have time to adapt," Qin Ning said.

"Come with me."

So saying, Old Zeng turned and led Qin Ning and Zhu Di toward a research facility.

"Old Zeng, Mr. Qin, what kind of weapon is this? Why all the mystery?" Zhu Di asked curiously.

He had previously learned about some futuristic weapons from Zhu Yuanzhang and knew that this era was filled with countless unimaginable destructive tools.

Could it be some new type of intercontinental missile?

"You'll see soon enough. I guarantee it'll give you quite a shock," Old Zeng said with a mysterious smile.

Soon, the three took an elevator down to an underground level.

Here, there were many departments, with over a hundred specialized top-tier scientists busy at work every day.

They arrived at a large, flat underground chamber.

Ahead of them was a raised small platform, around which several robotic arms were connected.

Old Zeng brought Qin Ning and Zhu Di to a computer by the platform and opened a video to play.

When Zhu Di saw the "weapon" introduced in the video, he was utterly stunned.

It was a humanoid armor suit, equipped with all sorts of weapons, controllable by a human operator, and capable of flight.

"This is the gadget we've recently developed. It features the most advanced artificial intelligence and omnidirectional high-definition cameras. The AI can use these cameras to help analyze the surrounding environment and objects. Its power source is a small battery that operates on a controllable nuclear-fusion-like principle, so you don't need to worry about endurance," Old Zeng said proudly.

No wonder he reacted this way—this thing was something you’d only ever see in a sci-fi movie.

In layman’s terms: Iron Man.

“Maybe I should give it a try?” Qin Ning licked his lips.

Hearing this, Old Zeng quickly said, “No, no, no, don’t mess around. With your power, even Iron Man would just be a toy that gets smashed in one hit. Don’t stir up trouble, alright? We worked so hard to develop this. If you break it, there won’t even be a place to cry about it.”

He looked troubled, genuinely afraid that Qin Ning might accidentally leak a sliver of his spiritual energy and blow the entire armor to pieces.

Qin Ning was speechless. “I’m a bona fide Immortal Emperor. How could I not control such a tiny bit of power? I just want to fulfill a childhood dream.”

“You’re an Immortal Emperor, and you still want to fulfill that dream…”

Old Zeng couldn’t help but laugh or cry.

Still, despite his protests, he didn’t actually stop him. As Qin Ning had said, the man was an Immortal Emperor—how could he possibly fail to control his strength?

Soon, after going over all the operations and precautions with Old Zeng, Qin Ning walked onto the platform.

Several mechanical arms around him began working simultaneously. In less than ten seconds, Qin Ning had transformed into “Iron Man.”

“Xiao Ai Tongxue—no, wait, spit—Xiao Hua Tongxue,” Qin Ning said, issuing commands to the AI integrated into the armor.

“I’m here.”

Qin Ning continued, “Open the basement exit. Analyze the weather and environment outside.”

“Understood.”

A moment later, the huge ceiling above slid open, revealing the sky outside.

Inside the armor, streams of information scrolled past Qin Ning’s eyes.

“Whoosh!”

Before long, a sound like this rang out.

Then, under the watchful eyes of Old Zeng and Zhu Di, the armor took flight.

On the computer screens, Old Zeng and Zhu Di could clearly see everything outside. They watched Qin Ning pilot the armor, darting back and forth at speeds that even reached Mach.

After a good while, Qin Ning guided the armor back into the basement, and the mechanical arms began removing it from him.

“The performance is pretty good. The combination of brainwave and voice control makes it quite flexible. I just haven’t tested the weapons yet,” Qin Ning said with a smile.

Overall, he was quite satisfied with this Iron Man suit. Leaving aside his own power as an Immortal Emperor, in terms of technological capability, this armor was definitely a devastating weapon—one that allowed humans to truly “stand alongside gods,” so to speak.

Of course, “standing alongside gods” was just an exaggerated metaphor. But if an ordinary person had such a suit in a civilization like Earth’s, saying they wouldn’t need to bow to anyone was certainly not far-fetched.

“Spend these next few days getting used to operating the armor here. When you’ve had time to adjust, I’ll come find you when it’s time to set out,” Qin Ning said.

“Yes, sir.”

Zhu Di’s face was full of joy, and he could hardly contain his eagerness.

…

Time passed, and before they knew it, seven days had gone by.

When Qin Ning arrived at the base again, Zhu Di was already skillfully piloting the armor, flying back and forth high in the sky.

When he saw Qin Ning approach, Zhu Di descended and landed back in the square. The armor on him then autonomously retracted and eventually disappeared, becoming a metal bracelet wrapped around his wrist, looking like some kind of nanotechnology.

"Not bad, they've even integrated nanotechnology. It seems there's been another breakthrough," Qin Ning said with a smile.

Old Zeng replied, "We only made this breakthrough a couple of days ago. With this nanotechnology, future 'transformations' will be much more convenient."

"Sir, are we departing for the Orthodox Dynasty today? I don't think we even need my father to dispatch troops. I could go over there myself and take care of all the trouble," Zhu Di said.

"We still need to send troops. The main purpose is to let the soldiers of the Hongwu Dynasty take the percussion guns they developed themselves into actual combat to test their effectiveness," Qin Ning said with a laugh.