Keqing's face turned bright red at Jiang Chen's words.
"W-w-what nonsense are you talking about?"
"Step back, don't get so close!"
With that, she quickly retreated a few steps.
Clearly, she was flustered.
Seeing Keqing's reaction, Jiang Chen couldn't help but grin.
Normally, Keqing was all seriousness—whether at work or in conversation, she always carried herself like a strong, no-nonsense woman.
But now, she was showing the kind of expression befitting her actual age.
Maybe she usually just pretended to be an adult.
The thought made Jiang Chen even more amused.
"You should act like this more often."
"No need to always keep a straight face."
"You're so pretty, but you always look like someone owes you millions of Mora."
"You should really fix that bad habit."
Keqing stared at Jiang Chen, utterly baffled.
Fix this habit?
Act like this more?
So you can tease me more?
At that thought, Keqing's cheeks flushed even redder.
"You—"
Before she could finish, Jiang Chen cut her off.
"Alright, time to eat."
"Later, we'll head to the workshop."
With that, he turned and walked toward the alchemy lab.
Keqing glared at his back, grinding her teeth.
This guy... actually dared to tease her?!
When had Keqing ever suffered such humiliation?
This grudge... she would remember it!
With that thought, she followed him.
Shenhe, watching the exchange, felt a little confused.
What was going on between these two?
For some reason, she wanted to know more.
Was this... gossip?
Muttering to herself, Shenhe followed them into the dining room for lunch.
At the table, Keqing ate in silence, occasionally shooting glances at Jiang Chen.
Once the meal was over, Jiang Chen smiled and said:
"Let's go, I'll take you to Albedo Junior's place."
"See how many he's made."
From what Jiang Chen knew of Albedo Junior, the man probably hadn't even eaten lunch yet.
When he was focused on work, he never stopped to eat.
That guy was a workaholic.
Maybe because he wanted to catch up to the real Albedo, Albedo Junior was extremely diligent.
Keqing nodded and followed Jiang Chen out, heading toward Mingyun Village.
Though she made sure to keep her distance, as if afraid Jiang Chen would suddenly blurt out another "Keqing, you smell so nice!"
That was just too much.
But at the same time, Keqing was also puzzled—did she really smell that good?
Why hadn't she noticed?
She didn't even use perfume...
Her thoughts began to spiral.
Seeing Keqing deliberately keeping her distance, Jiang Chen sighed internally.
Had he accidentally made her wary of him?
Great, now she probably thought he was some kind of pervert.
He was just stating the truth—what was wrong with that?
Keqing really did smell nice.
If you don't believe me, ask the readers.
Soon, the two arrived at the alchemy workshop.
Albedo Junior was hard at work, with several crates placed beside him.
Inside were palm-sized rectangular devices—the upgraded version of Jiang Chen's communicators.
The new model had nine buttons.
By inputting a specific channel, users could communicate within that frequency.
Hearing footsteps, Albedo Junior turned around.
Seeing Jiang Chen, he pointed at the crates.
"What you asked for is here."
"There are still some materials left—I'll finish the rest soon."
"Each device has a unique serial number on the back."
"This number allows for private connections—others won't be able to intercept."
"I added that feature specifically."
Jiang Chen was surprised.
Damn, he'd already improved upon Albedo's upgraded version?
Wasn't this basically a private number?
He'd already figured it out?
As expected of him.
Was alchemy really this overpowered?
Keqing, curious, walked over and picked one up to examine.
It looked a little plain, but it could really let people communicate?
Jiang Chen glanced at the device—the front wasn't anything special.
Just input the numbers, and it worked.
"Later, copy down all these numbers."
"When distributing them, remember which number goes to whom."
"Also, send a batch back to Ningguang."
"Since there's a vehicle heading back now, just have them deliver it."
"Write a letter explaining how to use it."
"She can decide how to distribute them."
Looking at the communicators, Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction.
For now, this was more than enough.
Though it was a bit annoying having to memorize numbers.
Kinda like an old-school phonebook from his past life.
Keqing nodded.
"Got it."
She already knew how to handle this.
This was a really good invention.
After a moment of thought, she couldn't help but ask:
"Have you tested the range of these communicators?"
Jiang Chen nodded.
"On Dragonspine, it was about 100 kilometers."
"But the ley lines there are chaotic, so the data isn't accurate."
"Liyue's ley lines are stable—the range should be much farther."
"We'll need to test it properly."
Hearing this, Keqing sighed.
"That's a shame—it won't reach Liyue Harbor then."
The distance between Liyue Harbor and their current location was way more than 100 kilometers.
Several hundred, in fact.
Otherwise, the drive wouldn't take so long.
But for their immediate needs, it was sufficient.
"Who knows? Test it when sending them back."
"Maybe it can reach Liyue Harbor."
"Dragonspine's ley lines are a mess—signal interference is normal."
"Liyue's are stable, so the range should be greater."
For all they knew, it might even cover the entire nation.
That wasn't impossible.
"Correct."
"The more stable the ley lines, the stronger the signal."
Albedo Junior chimed in.
He was well aware of the device's potential—it really might reach Liyue Harbor.
"If that's the case, that'd be perfect."
Keqing's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
If they could communicate with Liyue Harbor at any time...
The significance of this invention would be immense.
Future operations would become much more efficient.
Jiang Chen took a few for himself and left the rest to Keqing.
"We'll take this batch first."
"From tomorrow, have the workers start mass production."
"Everyone here should get one for easier communication."
"Make sure they all record their own numbers."
After giving Albedo Junior a few more instructions, Jiang Chen prepared to leave.
With the devices secured, Keqing—being the workaholic she was—probably wouldn't even take a break.
She'd start distributing them immediately and arrange for delivery to Liyue Harbor.
Which was exactly why Jiang Chen didn't want to stick around—he refused to work overtime!