Chapter 124 - 90: Mr. Mo Ning’s Method Works So Well
It wasn’t long before the two girls were hard at work.
Reina held a transparent, fist-sized sphere filled with silver sand.
This was a tool provided by Anya, prepared specifically for this mission.
The Dazed Girl slowly moved the sphere along the ground.
The silver sand inside the sphere shifted gently. It seemed to be drawn to the underground stems, drifting left and right like a small compass seeking a magnetic pole.
Using this phenomenon, Reina quickly pinpointed the path of an underground stem.
Anya crouched beneath a stalk of Steel Bamboo, her shovel slicing into the dirt. She dug out clumps of black earth one by one and soon found where an underground stem began.
The Noble Lady gripped a short saw in her right hand and activated her Qi and Blood Power. A faint red instantly flushed across the fair skin of her hand.
She gripped the handle tightly, her hand moving so fast it left an afterimage. The blade bit into the underground stem, letting out a high-pitched GRIND—GRIND— sound.
The sound was much quieter than expected.
It was clear the short saw was designed to absorb Vibration and noise. The jarring sound from the friction between the blade and the stem was greatly suppressed.
Reina, meanwhile, found the other end of the underground stem. Focusing on the short saw, she quietly cast the Sub-zero Level Trick: Object Control.
She merely mimed holding the saw, making a back-and-forth motion. Under the influence of her Magic Power, the saw began to cut through the underground stem on its own.
With one using Qi and Blood Power and the other Witchcraft, the two girls diligently began to cut through the underground stem, each using the method she excelled at.
The underground stems were far harder than the Black Moss and the branches. Each stroke of the saw only managed to cut to a negligible depth.
That was why the mission only required 30 underground stems, yet offered the highest reward of 6 Black Tower Points.
After a full four minutes, they had only cut more than halfway through the stem.
At this rate, it would take another two minutes to sever the stem completely.
The two girls were working with all their might, not slacking for a single moment.
A fine sheen of sweat had already formed on Anya’s forehead.
Reina handed her water bottle over. It had a small daisy painted on it. "Anya, have some water," she said kindly.
The Noble Lady hummed in agreement and took the water bottle.
Just then, Mo Ning’s unhurried voice drifted through the bamboo forest to the two girls’ ears.
"You’re working too slowly. I have an idea that could cut the time in half."
He was standing right behind the Noble Lady.
Anya was crouched on the ground, a posture that made the curve of her backside quite pronounced.
’Honestly, it’s quite a tempting sight.’
Mo Ning’s gaze brushed against the shapely curve, and he quickly looked away.
Hearing his voice, the two girls looked up at the same time.
The outgoing Reina’s face lit up with surprise. "What’s your idea?" she asked.
Anya looked on with equal anticipation, her clear eyes reflecting Mo Ning’s figure as he emerged from the bamboo grove.
Mo Ning’s expression was as placid as ever.
"Minute vibrations actually contain immense power, enough to destroy a solid fortress."
Reina looked thoughtful.
She roughly understood the principles: resonance, frequency matching, energy amplification.
She had learned these concepts in her Divination class, so they weren’t entirely new to her.
Anya’s pretty face, however, was a mask of utter confusion.
Mo Ning began to explain the principle. He spoke slowly but clearly. "I just probed the structure of the underground stems.
"They look solid, but their interiors are actually filled with numerous micro-cavities that are very evenly distributed.
"If we introduce a vibration of a specific frequency into these cavities, we can use their structure to amplify the vibration.
"The simultaneous vibration of countless micro-cavities would then tear the underground stems apart from the inside, saving a great deal of time and effort."
Reina’s eyes lit up as she listened. "What a great idea!"
Anya understood now as well. "That really is a good idea," she agreed.
The Dazed Girl had some idea of how to do it.
She knew she could use Sub-zero Level Tricks to create a vibration, and that she could alter its frequency by adjusting her Magic Power output.
But finding that "specific frequency," amplifying the vibration within the cavities, and controlling the amplification’s Amplitude—all of it would require extensive experimentation and calculation.
’It would take at least three months,’ she estimated privately.
The Noble Lady knew her own limits.
She knew that with her level of skill in Divination, completing such research would be impossible.
Mo Ning took a few steps closer, his tone still nonchalant. "I’ve already found a base frequency that can effectively create resonance. I’ve fixed that frequency into this Vibrating Stone."
As he spoke, he flicked his right wrist, tossing a grayish-brown stone toward them.
Anya caught the stone reflexively.
This Vibrating Stone was the very tool Mo Ning had purchased for the mission from Dawa’s Grocery List. Its official price was 5 Black Tower Points.
One only had to channel a stream of Magic Power into it to make the stone produce a Vibration. Its frequency could also be changed at will, like an adjustable tuning fork.
The Vibrating Stone might not have seemed very useful, but in the right hands, it could have a tremendous Effect.
The prerequisite, however, was possessing sufficient knowledge.
Looking eager to learn, Reina asked:
"Mr. Mo Ning, the right frequency can certainly make the underground stems vibrate, but amplifying the Amplitude isn’t easy. How is that done?"
Mo Ning replied in a relaxed tone, "That’s simple. You use Magic Coupling to add a Second-stage Magic Vibration Frequency."