Chapter 300: Model Worker Zhang Yu
When Zhang Yu returned to his dormitory and shared his ideas, Zhang Pianpian asked him to wait a moment, then sent him a document.
“What’s this?” Zhang Yu asked curiously.
Zhang Pianpian explained, “The pharmaceutical factory that exploded this time belongs to the Heart Inscription Group.”
“Theoretically, the Heart Inscription Group is a subsidiary of the Pill Cauldron Sect, one of the Ten Great Sects. Its primary task on the Second Layer is to manufacture medicines for sale to the upper layers.”
“The file I sent you contains lists of the pharmaceutical factory’s equipment, construction materials, and renovation supplies.”
“There’s also a list of the raw materials procured by the factory.”
Zhang Pianpian added, “But just knowing the names isn’t enough. You need to be able to identify the materials yourself.”
Zhang Yu glanced through the material lists and figured that with the help of his Civil Engineering Department textbooks, he should be able to recognize at least seventy or eighty percent of them.
“But the raw materials for this medicine…”
Zhang Yu suddenly thought of Le Mulan.
That very day after school, Zhang Yu approached Le Mulan to ask for her help in researching the properties of certain raw materials and how to identify them.
As a pharmacology student, Le Mulan relied on her own knowledge framework and textbooks from the Great Library to gradually help Zhang Yu identify most of the raw materials.
In the days that followed, Zhang Yu spent his time outside of work scavenging, identifying, and consuming.
To maximize his time for these activities, he even requested a leave of absence from his department.
The Civil Engineering Department quickly approved Zhang Yu’s leave request.
After all, what was wrong with a student wanting to skip classes to earn more money? Especially when it was for the department’s own project.
Within the factory district:
“More food!”
Zhang Yu picked up several metal fragments and swallowed them whole, thinking, “Third-grade Spiritual Alloy, used for valves in high-temperature, high-pressure environments. Perfect for reinforcing my bones.”
As he circulated the Earth Devouring Divine Art, Zhang Yu felt a subtle heaviness in his hand bones, a slight increase in density and weight.
A moment later, he grabbed another handful of black fragments and swallowed them: “High-molecular polymer, used for cushioning components in high-wear environments. Just right for strengthening my joints.”
“Sky-Eroding Membrane Marrow, a biological material refined from Gu insects, resistant to acids, alkalis, and high temperatures, exceptionally tough, and impact-resistant. Originally used as a critical filtration material in pharmaceuticals, now it shall be refined into my periosteum.”
Since the factory repairs were expected to last only about fifteen days, and considering that network and surveillance systems might be restored even sooner, Zhang Yu had developed a clear plan for his feeding schedule.
“Instead of randomly eating everything and strengthening different parts of my body haphazardly, I should focus on gathering specific materials to prioritize enhancing my bone strength.”
Having decided on his dietary focus, Zhang Yu became like a customer storming into an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet and obsessively devouring a single type of dish.
With each wave of consumption, he felt his bones becoming increasingly resilient and sturdy, and his body growing heavier than before.
In addition to raw materials, Zhang Yu didn’t neglect pharmaceuticals or pharmaceutical ingredients either.
He became particularly interested after learning from Zhang Pianpian that the pharmaceutical factory’s drugs were all intended for the elite.
“This is an extract of Black Summer Flying Orchid. Long-term use can sharpen hearing and vision, enhancing both auditory and visual senses.”
“This is the essence extracted from Purple-White Gentle Root. It enhances the fire element within Magic Power.”
“This is Imperial Snow Extract, derived from Imperial Snowgrass. It’s used to increase bodily sensitivity…”
After identifying and experimenting with more and more raw materials, Zhang Yu grew increasingly disappointed.
“After all, this is a mass-production pharmaceutical factory. If I keep eating just these raw materials, I’m afraid I’ll waste my time.”
So Zhang Yu finally turned his attention to the leaked pharmaceutical intermediates.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to collect the finished products; the factory had already gathered them all during the initial disaster relief efforts.
The biggest problem with the intermediates was their uncertainty. There was no way to be sure whether they would be effective, or what effects they might have, before ingesting them.
Fortunately, with the drug list provided by Zhang Pianpian and Le Mulan’s assistance, Zhang Yu could confirm that the products from this factory shouldn’t exceed his University Sacred Body’s tolerance.
Thus, Zhang Yu had no choice but to try them one by one, feeling like he was drawing a lottery every day.
One dark, paste-like substance caused his Spirit Root in the Sea of Qi to stir, subtly increasing his Spirit Root integration level.
Another yellow medicinal powder made his skin itch all over, and a few scales even grew beneath his skin. Terrified, he immediately stopped, ripping the scales off.
After consuming some of the semi-finished products, Zhang Yu felt a lightness in his Sea of Consciousness, and the effects of his mental cultivation technique improved.
Other semi-finished products even stretched his tendons and bones, causing his body to expand by a whole circle. His normal height rose to 2.05 meters, forcing him to consciously compress his frame.
In short, these semi-finished products varied greatly in appearance and efficacy. Zhang Yu found it impossible to distinguish them, so he simply ate and experimented at random, occasionally sensing his body growing stronger.
But the most memorable item was a golden pill he found, the only finished medicinal pill he found during the entire pharmaceutical factory restoration project.
Upon swallowing this golden pill, Zhang Yu felt an overwhelming surge of energy coursing through his body, an indescribable vitality and Primordial Qi.
It was only later, after identification by Zhang Pianpian and Le Mulan, that he learned it was a Longevity Extension Drug, instantly adding approximately one year to his lifespan.
“A Longevity Extension Drug?”
After learning this, Zhang Yu felt utterly perplexed. “Longevity Extension Drugs aren’t listed on the pharmaceutical factory’s product manifest, are they?”
Zhang Pianpian didn’t give him her usual detailed explanation, simply saying, “Longevity Extension is a very special and vital resource… Don’t ask too many questions, meddle too much, or overthink it for now.”
Zhang Yu could only suppress his doubts, secretly wondering if the attack on the pharmaceutical factory was connected to the Longevity Extension Drug.
Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye. As the network infrastructure was repaired, the formation restored, and surveillance systems back online, Zhang Yu found fewer and fewer opportunities to slack off and freeload in his final days there.
Yu Xinghan, seeing Zhang Yu return to the dormitory, couldn’t help but ask, “You’ve been working so hard every day, yet you look like you’ve gained weight?”
Zhang Yu replied nonchalantly, “Stress eating.”
Yu Xinghan persisted, “And you seem taller too?”
Zhang Yu shrugged, “Just practiced my cultivation art well. Second growth spurt.”
Over the past few days, thanks to his prodigious appetite, Zhang Yu’s strength had skyrocketed.
In particular, his bones had been infused with various high-strength materials, dramatically enhancing his physical strength. He was now far more resilient than he had been just half a month ago.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “With my current high-density, high-strength bones combined with the Civil Engineering Sacred Body, my resistance is truly astonishing.”
What’s particularly beneficial is that this bone enhancement remained constant even when Zhang Yu switched between Chain Method Diagram Sets, allowing it to synergize seamlessly with various sets like his Civil Engineering Sacred Body, University Sacred Body, and Martial Dao Sacred Embryo.
The comprehensive strengthening of his bones had also led to continuous improvement in Zhang Yu’s physical strength, which had now reached Level 12.31.
Moreover, after repeated consumption of medicinal semi-finished products, his Spirit Root integration level had also made a breakthrough, currently standing at 90%.
His standard physique had reached 2.08 meters in height, and his weight continued to increase in proportion to his height and bone density, further enhancing his physical explosive power.
Other fundamental stats had also seen improvements: his dao heart had reached Level 12 (68.1%), and his Magic Power had surged to 401.1.
Zhang Yu estimated that acquiring all the materials, medicinal products, and other resources from this wave of cultivation would have cost him at least twenty to thirty Spirit Coins if he had to purchase them himself.
He sighed inwardly, “What a pity… I can’t take any of this to go.”
“Ah well, who ever takes leftovers from an all-you-can-eat buffet anyway?”
“I wonder if my current skill level is enough to rank in the top three of the class.”
“I’ll update my data after tomorrow’s class and check the updated rankings then.”
Since taking his leave of absence, Zhang Yu had been working at construction sites every day for half a month, missing all his classes. He relied entirely on Yu Xinghan’s notes to catch up on the material.
Just then, the dormitory door opened and Le Mulan walked in.
Zhang Yu immediately said, “Come here, I’ll give you some more of my blood. Your Foundation Establishment exam is just around the corner, right?”
Though he’d been focused on work, eating, and drinking these past few days, Zhang Yu hadn’t forgotten to give Le Mulan some of his blood.
Especially since he’d been eating so well lately, the potency of his blood had increased significantly, giving Le Mulan a bonus boost.
Yu Xinghan chimed in from the side, “Brother, give me some too!”
As Zhang Yu began drawing blood, a series of notifications flashed across his Bionic Eye.
“Materials Theft Incident at the underground 2nd floor Heart Inscription Pharmaceutical Factory: Over 300 tons of resources missing. Security investigation reveals Zhang Hetian, Zeng Huaian, and over a dozen other workers as primary suspects. Interrogation confirms their involvement in the theft…”
Zhang Yu stared at the notice, thinking, “300 tons? They actually dared to steal that much? Wait… how did they even move it all? Could those dozen workers really have done it?”
Just then, another notice appeared:
“Employee Zhang Yu demonstrated exceptional courage and determination during the recent repair project, leading the charge and single-handedly clearing 1,200 tons of waste. He has been recognized as a model worker, and this public announcement serves as encouragement.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I was just picking up scraps and clearing trash on the side, hauling it out bit by bit… I never realized I’d moved that much!”
At the same time, his wages for the past 15 days arrived, instantly boosting his account balance to 12.51 Spirit Coins.
As Zhang Yu gazed at the Spirit Coin balance, his heart surged with excitement. At that moment, a message from Tu Lishan arrived:
“Zhang Yu, your performance has been excellent.”
“Director Gao is very impressed with you.”
“Next month, there’s an outdoor project. The department plans to select outstanding students from each grade for special training. Are you interested?”
Ying Xin felt a sense of unease when Zhang Yu was named model worker.
After confirming through various channels that Zhang Yu had replaced her to participate in the field project, her resentment intensified.
“Why him?”
“It’s one thing that Gongshu Jin was chosen, that was inevitable… But why Zhang Yu instead of me?”
When she voiced her questions to Tu Lishan, he chuckled and replied, “Director Gao is looking for Civil Engineering seeds who are talented, strong, and willing to endure hardship, those who would work themselves to the bone for money. Ying Xin, you fall a bit short in those areas.”
Tu Lishan thought to himself, “Only sixth-generation Civil Engineering? And you already want to sit at the head of the table, shirk dirty and strenuous work, and wash off the earthy smell? Does the Civil Engineering Department need someone like you? The director wants useful tools, not delicate porcelain. If everyone keeps slacking and refusing to work hard, how will the department make money?”
He smirked inwardly, “Just because you follow Gongshu Jin around all day doesn’t mean you’re one of the elite now. Little do you know, university might be the closest you ever get to that world.”
Meanwhile, Ying Xin remained indignant. “I can endure hardship too! I can work just as hard!” she insisted.
“Besides, my skills are far superior to Zhang Yu’s. Isn’t the university supposed to prioritize merit and rankings?”
“I demand a showdown with Zhang Yu!”
Tu Lishan chuckled inwardly. “Alright then,” he said, “let’s see who can work harder and endure more hardship.”