Venti never expected that Ryen would gear himself up so heavily.
And the worst part...
He still looked so modest about it.
Staring at Ryen, now fully armored in iron plating, Venti was bursting with things to complain about—but didn't even know where to start.
"You're basically a humanoid hot weapon system at this point! What the heck, man!"
He looked at the MP5 in her own hands, then at the massive array of weapons strapped to Ryen.
Especially that heavy-looking M249 light machine gun—just the sight of it gave Venti a strong sense of danger.
After a moment of silence, realization struck him.
"I get it now! You were totally up all night crafting this stuff, that's why you were so exhausted!"
"These SMGs... you just made them on the side!"
Ryen looked at Venti with a calm, friendly smile.
"What are you talking about? I don't get it."
Looking at the machine gun in Ryen's hands, Venti fell quiet. After a beat, he let out a nervous chuckle.
"Ehehe… Well, SMGs are great too! You worked so hard, thank you!"
Then, scratching his cheek with a pout, he mumbled:
"You really went all out… I wish I had a cool loadout like that too..."
Ryen turned to continue walking.
"If you want one, make it yourself. These weapons are top-tier, and crafting them is complicated. The material consumption is huge too."
"But if you're serious, I can teach you."
Upon hearing that, Venti instantly perked up.
"Really? Then teach me!"
Ryen raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"No problem. But before that, I can show you how to craft the materials used for these weapons."
With that, Ryen stopped in place. As Ningguang and the others pulled out notebooks, he cleared his throat and began:
"To forge an M249 light machine gun, you need three plastic plates and three firearm metal plates."
"First, to make the firearm metal plate, you need six firearm metal ingots, which are smelted from firearm metal mixtures in a furnace."
"To make the firearm metal mixture, you'll need three copper ingots and three tin ingots."
"As for the plastic plates, they require three synthetic plastics, which are made from three carbon fibers and three synthetic polymer composites."
"Carbon fiber comes from smelting carbon composites, which are made from graphite blocks and slimeballs."
"Then there's the synthetic polymer composites…"
Ryen had completely mastered all these steps last night during a mentally exhausting session.
But the effort it took…
Even someone like him, with his enhanced physical constitution, was so drained he had to crash into bed afterward.
Let alone people like Ningguang and the others, who had never even heard of things like graphite blocks before.
Venti's eyes were already spinning, and Ningguang and Jean also lowered their pens, clearly overwhelmed.
But Ryen wasn't done.
"After making the weapon, you'll need ammo, right? Bullets are easy—they just require copper ingots and gunpowder. But their arrangement matters."
"You have to place them in the right pattern. If not, the bullets won't meet the standards and can't be used."
"There are nearly a hundred types of bullets…"
Seeing that Ryen was still going on, Venti sheepishly raised his hand.
"Um…"
She looked at Ryen with a weak smile and whispered:
"I think the MP5 is pretty great already…"
Ryen quietly let out a breath of relief.
This was already the part he'd practiced the most last night.
Anything more, and he'd have to open the recipe book and read it aloud.
"That's what I'm saying! For now, let's stick to the Dragon Knight mod. Hot weapons are just too hard to handle for now."
"Don't stress about it too much."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Just hearing about the ingredients needed to craft the weapon materials, and the materials for those materials…
The endless loop of nested recipes gave everyone a major headache.
In an instant, their enthusiasm for mass-producing firearms completely vanished.
"No wonder you said you spent all night trapped in a nesting doll," Hu Tao muttered, shaking her head to clear Ryen's technical sermon from her brain.
"This kind of overly complicated stuff—there's no way a genius like me is wasting brainpower on it!"
"From now on, you'll be the one making my weapons, Ryen!"
She gave him a cheery pat on the shoulder. Ryen rolled his eyes at her.
"You still have to learn it! Once we're done with the Dragon Knight mod, I'm going to force you to learn this stuff!"
To think—he, the lord of the world, had to do such meticulous and tedious work…
It was just embarrassing.
In the future, he'd definitely assign a special team to handle gunsmithing in this world.
There were plenty of masters in Liyue's Forging Division.
He could just copy the recipe book and let them figure it out on their own.
"You worked hard, Ryen," Ganyu said softly, gently holding his arm with a caring gaze.
"It's not bad once you get used to it," Ryen replied with a smile, keeping the rest to himself.
Worked hard?
Last night's ordeal went beyond that—it was practically torture.
He hadn't put in this much effort since studying for his college entrance exams!
After passing through the redstone mechanism door, the sky was still tinged with the glow of sunset—it hadn't fully darkened yet.
Ryen asked Cloud Retainer to watch the house as usual, and once Ningguang picked up two stacks of Ender Eyes, the group finally set off.
Ryen had already told them how to find the End.
Just throw an Eye of Ender and follow its path.
So, this time, no one rode horses—they simply walked on foot.
Following the direction of the Eye of Ender.
What surprised Ryen was that Lisa, of all people, was actually very interested in the gun crafting process.
This was perfect for Ryen.
If someone was willing to learn and could help once they mastered it, it would significantly reduce his workload.
"Ryen, do all firearms require gunmetal plates and plastic plates to forge?"
Lisa wasn't holding a notebook. For her, her mind was the best memory tool.
That was the confidence of a genius.
Ryen shook his head.
"Indeed, most weapons can be crafted using gunmetal plates and plastic plates, but that's not absolute."
"For example, the MP5 I gave you only needs steel ingots, small steel plates, and steel plates, along with a few other components."
"It's just the arrangement that's different."
Lisa's eyes lit up and she murmured,
"Steel?"
"That's right. It's a material far harder than iron."
"Combine four coal with an iron ingot to get steel powder. Smelt the powder in a furnace to get steel ingots."
"Two steel ingots make a small steel plate, and six make a full steel plate."
"Much simpler compared to complex gunmetal plates."
"And the materials are easier to obtain."
As he said this, Ryen sighed helplessly:
"Lucky blocks don't drop these materials, so we have to go into the mines to collect them. Otherwise, I could've made more weapons last night, even the components."
Ningguang, walking to the side, said softly:
"I've already arranged for people to go mining again today. By the time we return, we should have enough resources."
"Then, I'll join you in learning how to make firearms, so you don't have to carry the burden alone."
Ryen didn't refuse.
Although recreating them wouldn't be difficult once familiar, mechanical tasks were still tiring.
Having help was naturally welcome.
"Don't underestimate these crafting materials either," Ryen said softly.
"Take steel for example — it's a material countless times stronger than iron. Whether used for weapons or armor, it's far superior to iron."
"I'm not just talking about this world — the same holds true in Teyvat."
Hearing this, both Ningguang and Lisa fell into thoughtful silence.
Ryen continued:
"Besides that, this mod includes a lot more than just firearms — that's not the only thing worth our attention."
"In fact, if applied in Teyvat, many materials could have unique advantages."
"For example, synthetic plastic and gunmetal plates — if enhanced with your local technologies, they'd be extremely useful."
"Or, you could use these materials in entirely new ways."
As he spoke, Ryen suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed:
"Almost forgot — this mod includes a tool of immense strategic value to you."
"Tablet computers and wireless cameras."
"These two, when combined, allow real-time surveillance across all of Liyue."
"Install wireless cameras in every alley and street, and you could sit in the Jade Chamber and still oversee all of Liyue."
"No movement would escape your eyes."
"This kind of tech was widely used in my previous world — we called it Skynet…"
Ningguang couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement.
"Skynet, huh? If it truly works like that, the name is fitting."
"With that, the movements of all major factions in Liyue Harbor would be under our watch. That's undeniably a powerful advantage."
She imagined herself sitting high above in the Jade Chamber, watching every move in Liyue Harbor.
No matter how secretive the Fatui's schemes were, she would know them all.
Perhaps it wouldn't directly provide combat strength, but its strategic value was second to none.
"In addition to that, there are even vehicles included. You probably don't know what vehicles are," Ryen added.
"But all you need to know is that they can completely change transportation and travel in Teyvat."
"In the short term though, I don't know how to make them yet, so don't worry about it too much."
Hearing this, Ningguang chuckled and gave Ryen a helpless look.
"So, you're bringing it up just to tease us?"
"You got it!"
Ryen grinned and nodded.
Vehicles, huh…
He couldn't be the only one longing for something out of reach — others had to share in the tragedy too.
He glanced at the sky — it had turned completely dark by now.
It had been another three to four hours since they set out.
At this point, only torches could provide light in the surroundings.
But perhaps thanks to Ganyu's good luck, they hadn't encountered any monsters on the way, and they had opened quite a few more lucky blocks.
Still, after witnessing things like dragon riders and firearms from the new mod, their enthusiasm for lucky blocks had cooled a bit.
Ryen estimated the distance, then turned to look — the distant beacon light was still faintly visible, though now barely noticeable.
He clapped his hands and said softly,
"That's it for today. Let's camp here and rest."
"Same routine — some people set up the fences while the rest of us build shelters. Don't forget to place torches!"