Chapter 40: The First Drone Strike in the Cultivation World
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The sky is so blue,
the cloud is so white.
The forest is so green,
the mountain is far away.
The bird is flying,
the horse is walking.
I am riding a carriage,
I am going to the big city.

A cheerful and happy song can be heard accompanying the Liu family caravan. Wang Lingxin leaned out of the carriage window, singing as she enjoyed the journey. With good weather, a gentle breeze, and beautiful scenery, passengers in other carriages and the guards also reveled in the cheerful song. Such a cute kid, they thought.

Together with Master,
I am starting my journey.
To eat delicious food,
To visit beautiful places,
To become a fairy.

The song continued, everybody listening with relaxed and happy faces, enjoying the joyful melody from an innocent kid who seems to have a big dream.

If I meet bad guys, I will punch them.
If I meet demons, I will beat them up.
If I meet dragons, I will kick them.
If I meet phoenixes, I will eat them.
If I meet immortals, I will slap them.

"Whoa, what a brave kid! Still young but already has a courageous heart," everybody commented. Some laughed, and others added, "At least she has a righteous heart and will beat up bad guys, ha ha ha."

"Ha ha ha, she even would beat up demons; she's sure to become a heroic figure in the future," some people commented. Others joined in with laughter, but they weren't taking the words sung by the kid seriously; they considered it as mere entertainment.

Wang Lingxin continued her song, but this time, everybody fell into silence. They didn't know how to respond because now, she boldly sang about dragons, phoenixes, and even immortals. She brazenly took it lightly, wanting to kick, eat, and slap these legendary figures? Presumptuous, everyone thought. What if these legendary beings heard what Wang Lingxin sang and appeared to punish her? Everyone also worries about being implicated. Worries spread as they looked at each other, speechless, listening to the still singing Wang Lingxin.

Together with Master,
New adventures every day,    
Having fun every day,
Together,
Forever.

Wang Lingxin finally finished her singing. She watched the beautiful scenery for a while, then closed the carriage window. Next, she grabbed a fruit from the table, deeming that she deserved a little treat after the singing session.

Orion sat beside Wang Lingxin, busily writing on paper with a clipboard all this time. Orion had been occupied with the blueprint for the house, simultaneously listening to Wang Lingxin singing but considering that there was nothing wrong, thus choosing to ignore it.

The carriage in which Wang Lingxin rode became quiet. Everybody remained rather uneasy, some looking toward the sky and distant horizon, checking for any figures, silhouettes, or objects. They were rather scared that phoenixes, dragons, or immortals might suddenly show up. After being sure that there was nothing out of the ordinary and after quite a while, everybody let out a relieved sigh.

"What a terrifying kid. Sigh, I thought she is just a simple and innocent kid," some people murmured. They decided to forget and not talk more about what just happened, changing the subject.

The leader of the guard sighed. Before their departure, he had been strictly ordered by his superior to take good care of the armored man and his disciple, to avoid offending and disturbing him. If necessary, he and his subordinates were to obey and follow the armored man's orders and instructions. It seemed that the armored man had an extraordinary background. Observing that the armored man didn't stop the girl from singing about dragons, phoenixes and immortals, he couldn't do anything and couldn't complain. All he could do was sigh.

After a while, the caravan returned to normal, and they conversed like usual. They silently agreed that nothing had happened, especially concerning phoenixes, dragons, and immortals. They decided to collectively have 'memory loss,' they have been engaging in conversation the entire time and they hadn't heard any kid singing at all.

As the sun set, the caravan entered a village to spend the night, making their way to an inn. In the most luxurious room, Orion and Wang Lingxin sat at a table.

"So, do you like the design for your room?" Orion asked, controlling the tablet wirelessly to display the 3D model of her future room when the house is finished.

"Oh... is this going to be my room in the future?" Wang Lingxin asked excitedly, holding the tablet. "It's good, I like it very much. It's beautiful and cute. Thank you, Master," she added.

"That's good that you like it. How about the design of the house?" Orion inquired.

"It's also good, Master. I like it. But, Master, make sure that there won't be snakes and foxes entering the house," Wang Lingxin expressed her concern.

"Huh... snakes and foxes? What about them?" Orion asked.

"I don't want them to eat you, Master," Wang Lingxin replied.

"Why would they eat me?" Orion questioned.

"Uhm... nothing," Wang Lingxin mumbled.

"You don't need to worry. Forget about normal snakes and foxes; even if it's a Rank-3 snakes and foxes spirit beast, I can deal with them easily." Orion assured, noticing that Wang Lingxin didn't want to elaborate further, and Orion dropped the subject.

Orion's combat power had increased tremendously. Orion believed that facing Rank-3 spirit beasts wouldn't be hard. Now, Orion wouldn't struggle so much if facing the Vermilion Clawed Bear again; just a single punch would be enough to kill the bear.

The night progressed, and now it's midnight, Orion sat at the table, diligently drawing the design for the houses on a paper. Several papers were already finished, detailing the specifics of the houses. Meanwhile, Wang Lingxin was already asleep.

"...emm... master... don't worry... I'll protect you... from the snakes... and foxes...mm..." Wang Lingxin sleep talked.

"Just what's with the snakes and foxes...." Orion mused, still busy with the brush and papers. Checking the time, Orion remarked, "Well, I think now it's the time."

In a forest about 500 meters from the village where the Liu family stayed, a group of people had gathered, setting up camp and lighting a firepit not far away. In the sky above them, without their knowledge, something resembling a dragonfly had been circling for a long time. Suddenly, it changed course and headed toward their camp.

As Orion left Yanjing, Orion noticed that there were apparently three groups of cultivators secretly following the Liu family caravan. It wasn't hard to discover them; Orion easily detected their radio signals, though Orion wasn't familiar with their radio signals and didn't know their identity. They followed from a rather far distance. When the caravan entered the village, they stayed in the nearby forest. Additionally, a familiar 'rat' from the Liu family, who had been tailing Orion around Yanjing city, was also present. This cultivator had been following the Liu family caravan from about 50 meters away and was currently somewhere in the village.

The groups of cultivators are probably from factions in Yanjing, and maybe the Chen family is also involved. As for the Liu family, it's unlikely. Orion concludes that there is a high possibility that their target is Orion itself. Orion doesn't like being followed around by unknown people from an unknown origin and plans to teach them a lesson.

Orion will attack them using the drone. Orion calculated the attack vector for the drone; the drone would drop explosives without any guidance system and would employ a dive-bombing technique. As the drone got close enough to the camp, it began to dive downwards. When about 100 meters above the ground, Orion controlled the drone to release explosives from the storage ring—several wooden barrels filled with explosive material commonly used for firecrackers, of which Orion had obtained a substantial quantity in Yanjing. Additionally, Orion had loaded the barrels with many small metallic balls, serving as shrapnel. After the drone executed the dive-bombing attack, it immediately changed direction and flew away, ensuring it wouldn't be discovered.

The barrels fell towards the camp, their fuses already lit before being stored in the storage ring. Now, as the barrels descended, the fuses continued burning. The barrels landed in the camp, some falling about 5 meters from the mysterious group of cultivators and the farthest about 20 meters away. Apparently, the cultivators noticed something falling at the last second and retreated. Also, because the barrels didn't immediately explode after hitting the ground, it gave the cultivators time to move rather far away.

When the fuses burned out, the barrels exploded with a deafening bang. The barrels exploded almost simultaneously, the explosions were rather strong, creating a series of explosions that obliterated the camp and the surrounding area. Small craters were formed by the explosion, and countless shrapnel flew in every direction, causing more damage to the surroundings. The forest, damp from rain a few days ago, fortunately didn't catch fire due to the explosion.

There were also other barrels filled not with shrapnel, but instead with a sticky flammable substance similar to napalm. However, considering the high risk of causing a forest fire, Orion chose not to use them.

Orion observed the situation with the drone. It's easy to spot them even in the darkness by using the thermal camera. Orion observed them. The attack failed to cause any damage to those cultivators, but it's more than enough to scare them away. They still ran away at full speed towards the distance.

Well, there is still a lot of room for improvement, Orion thought internally. There are aerodynamics issues, and the fuse is not good; I need to develop an impact fuze. And there are also other issues, Orion continued, still busy drawing the house design while multitasking, controlling the drone.

Orion then controlled the drone to head for another group of cultivators; there are still two more groups camping in the jungle. It's time to let them taste the attack from the drone. Then another series of loud explosions could be heard from the village, emanating from the direction of the forest, causing alarm. Most people and cultivators in the village thought that some cultivators were fighting in the forest. After a while, the series of explosions stopped, and the village returned to calm.

Serves you right, Orion thought internally as it monitored the situation via the drone. The surprise drone attack had successfully scattered the cultivators. If they dared to regroup or stop, Orion would then control the drone for another strike. Only after ensuring that the mysterious groups of cultivators had fled a significant distance did Orion halt the drone's attacks. Orion then directed the drone to return to the village and hover around, conducting surveillance and patrolling the surroundings.

Finally, it's done, Orion thought internally after finishing the last paper and placing it on the stack of papers. The detailed design for the house was complete. Orion used a DIY binder clip to hold the stack of papers together before storing it in the storage ring.

Hmm... it's still quite a while for the sun to rise, Orion contemplated internally, checking its internal clock. It then retrieved several items from the storage ring, internally planning to practice making a dress, starting with a simple design. Satisfied with the night's progress, having completed the house design, Orion dedicated the rest of the night to practicing dressmaking.

In a room in the Chen family estate, Chen Rongxin was seated when suddenly, a communication talisman in his pocket lit up. He retrieved it and received the message. After listening to the message, the communication talisman turned to dust. He then picked up another communication talisman to deliver his reply.

"Cancel the mission and return immediately," Chen Rongxin said upon receiving the information. Apparently, the scouts he had sent to tail the Liu family caravan had been attacked. Was it the Liu family people, or other factions, or the armored man? Chen Rongxin pondered internally.

The same event occurred with several other factions in Yanjing City. Upon receiving the message about the attack via the communication talisman, they also ordered a retreat.

In this world, long-range communication is facilitated by rare artifacts, and a more common method involves using communication talismans. The range of voice transmissions using spiritual sense is limited, but it can be extended by using a communication talisman.

When a communication talisman is created, it is made on a single piece of paper with a sender part and a receiver part. After the talisman is created, it is cut into two parts for the sender and receiver, forming a pair that can only work with each other. It operates as a one-way, single-use communication talisman that can only send voice transmissions. Once the talisman is used, it turns to dust, making long-range communication a rather expensive endeavor. 

Chen Rongxin remained seated and silent, contemplating how to gather more information about Orion. Simultaneously, other factions in Yanjing were pondering the same issue. Orion, a mysterious individual with an enigmatic background and a high cultivation level, always wore full-body armor; nobody even knew his face. While several people in Yanjing were still awake and engaged in strategic thinking, grappling with the challenge of formulating plans regarding Orion, the mysterious figure itself was currently struggling with the task of making a dress.

"It's not as easy as I previously thought," Orion internally noted, working on the dress. Orion looked at and compared the dress being worked on with the 3D model in its AI system. It seems that it will still take a long time for Orion to be able to create the dress that Wang Lingxin wants.

...
"Orion..." Chen Rongxin mumbled.
...
Hm... the dress... Orion internally noted.
...
"Mm... master... that fruit is mine..." Wang Lingxin sleep talked.
...

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