Chapter 543: Hiring an Assistant
Late October.
Zhang Yu once again rented Ye Xingli’s laboratory.
He chose this location for two reasons: first, Ye Xingli offered him a discount, and second, Zhang Yu coveted the Dao Seed within her.
At that moment, Zhang Yu manipulated streams of True Fire, which surged forth to envelop the metallic materials before him.
As a military-grade puppet among magical artifacts, the Heavenly Sun Radiance God possessed an incomparably complex design and structure compared to ordinary magical artifacts.
Each component — the puppet’s skeletal framework, nervous system, control center, Magic Power Core — was itself an exquisitely intricate and profound magical artifact.
The process of refining the prototype mechanism, put simply, involved first refining each individual module and then assembling and calibrating them.
Currently, Zhang Yu was working on refining the skeletal framework of the prototype mechanism.
As a puppet imbued with the ultimate yang and masculine energy, the Heavenly Sun Radiance God’s skeletal framework required exceptional strength, high-temperature resistance, powerful Magic Power Conduction capabilities, and the ability to transform through Fire Evasion techniques, among other demanding specifications.
Each bone of this prototype mechanism was more technologically advanced than many magical artifacts owned by students in University City.
However, for Zhang Yu, who had already mastered various artifact refinement techniques through his cultivation in the Supreme Clarity Realm, the process of refining the bones quickly transitioned from unfamiliar to proficient, and then from proficient to effortless.
Ye Xingli, watching Zhang Yu’s movements, couldn’t help but remark, “When did you become so skilled at refining biomimetic bones?”
Zhang Yu replied, “Remember the economic crisis we had recently? I had a lot of free time, so I decided to thoroughly study all the related technologies of the Heavenly Sun Radiance God. I read manuals, watched online courses, and so on.”
“I didn’t expect the practical application to be so straightforward.”
“Of course, my previous cultivation in artifact refinement techniques probably helped a lot. Those techniques greatly enhanced my artifact refinement abilities.”
This was a carefully prepared explanation. After all, Zhang Yu planned to refine the prototype mechanism step by step, openly and transparently, proving his capabilities beyond any doubt.
As for why he learned so quickly? Let them attribute it to his innate talent for artifact refinement.
Watching Zhang Yu’s movements, Ye Xingli immediately sensed his innate talent.
“He’s learning so quickly?”
“Zhang Yu… he seems to possess a special sensitivity and intuition for artifact refinement. He picks up everything exceptionally fast.”
Recalling their first encounter with Zhang Yu’s refinement process and his subsequent rapid progress, Ye Xingli couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. “Even with the aid of the Spirit Transformation Yin Artifact, Zhang Yu’s own talent for artifact refinement is undeniable.”
“I initially underestimated him, thinking he lacked aptitude in this area. Now I realize Master’s judgment was far more accurate.”
As Ye Xingli was mentally musing, Zhang Yu spoke up. “Senior Sister, thank you again for letting me use the laboratory these past few days.”
Ye Xingli waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll be spending most of my time in school training for next year’s Ten Greats League. Renting the laboratory to you works out perfectly.”
Zhang Yu glanced at Ye Xingli. Since returning from securing a top spot in the Ten Greats League, her department ranking had risen to 3rd in the Artifact Refinement Department.
If one looked at Ye Xingli’s head for a moment longer, they would see her Artifact Refinement Department ranking flicker briefly before jumping to 10th place overall in the school.
Watching her ranking, Zhang Yu thought enviously, “I heard that after entering the top ten school-wide ranking, the school grants loans of over a thousand Spirit Coins. I wonder if senior sister has applied for one.”
He took the opportunity to ask a question he had long wanted to know: “Senior sister, what’s the process for participating in next year’s Ten Greats League?”
Zhang Yu considered this information crucial to know early on. Otherwise, all his hard work might be wasted if he missed the registration deadline, failed to meet the eligibility requirements, or misunderstood the competition procedures. He would have no one to blame but himself.
Ye Xingli paused slightly, thinking to herself, “Although Zhang Yu has great talent, he probably won’t have a chance to participate next year.”
In her view, next year’s Ten Greats League would be more fiercely contested than ever before. The school would undoubtedly pour all its resources into supporting the senior students who had already achieved results, aiming to help them compete for the Immortal Sect Techniques.
“Unless Zhang Yu can surpass us in the next year, which is highly unlikely.”
After a moment’s thought, Ye Xingli knew this was impossible.
“If Zhang Yu manages to successfully refine a prototype mechanism by his senior year, that would already be quite remarkable.”
“In previous years, he might have had a chance to compete in the Ten Greats League.”
“But next year… he probably won’t even make the cut.”
According to Ye Xingli’s own judgment, she should immediately shatter Zhang Yu’s delusions and dissuade him from pursuing such unrealistic plans.
She also wanted to tell him to stop wasting everyone’s time with such nonsensical talk.
But just then, lines of text from the Poverty Simulator appeared on her Bionic Eye.
Ye Xingli smiled slightly and said, “You want to participate in next year’s Ten Greats League? Your senior sister supports you.”
“Usually, the school team’s teachers will actively recruit members. If they don’t approach you, you can apply yourself before June next year.”
“The selection criteria usually require mastery of at least two military-grade powers. If you obtain the Heavenly Sun Radiance God Military Certificate, you can try applying.”
“However, next year’s competition will be exceptionally fierce, so the requirements might be even higher. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get selected…”
Zhang Yu nodded slightly, carefully memorizing Ye Xingli’s information. He felt an even greater sense of urgency.
“To participate in next year’s Ten Greats League, I can’t afford to waste a single second.”
After discussing the competition, Ye Xingli observed Zhang Yu’s actions and added, “Refining the bones is a tedious process. Not only does it involve numerous steps, but the prototype mechanism requires a vast quantity of bones, making it extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive.”
“However, the initial preparation stages — material selection, impurity refinement, and so on — are relatively straightforward. You might consider hiring an assistant to help with those tasks.”
Zhang Yu had already considered these issues himself.
As an incredibly complex and precise magical artifact, the prototype mechanism for the Heavenly Sun Radiance God wasn’t uniformly profound in every step. Many stages involved repetitive, low-tech tasks.
Zhang Yu planned to personally refine the entire prototype mechanism a few times to confirm his mastery of the techniques and direction. He would then delegate the simple, repetitive preparatory work to an assistant, focusing himself on the critical stages to significantly accelerate his progress.
“The initial overall refinement takes the most time.”
“If I refine it alone, it would probably take three months to complete the first-level prototype mechanism. Then, through repeated refinement and improvement, I could gradually upgrade its level.”
“But with an assistant, I should be able to reduce the time to two months, or even less than one month.”
Remembering Jin Jun, who had started his project several months earlier, Zhang Yu realized that hiring an assistant was the safest way to catch up and surpass him.
With this in mind, Zhang Yu turned to Ye Xingli beside him and asked, “Senior Sister, do you have any recommendations for an assistant?”
Ye Xingli replied, “What about Zi Yunzhen? She should be available after my project concludes, as she hasn’t joined another laboratory yet.”
Zhang Yu recalled the diligent figure he had seen working in this laboratory recently and nodded slightly. “What’s her rate?”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I wonder if Zi Yunzhen is truly qualified for this job? I’ll have to interview her and assess her relevant skills later.”
Just as Zhang Yu was pondering this, Ye Xingli said, “I offered her 2 Spirit Coins per month, with 14 working hours per day. She also volunteered 12 hours of free overtime each week, which she could allocate as she pleased.”
“Only 2 Spirit Coins?” Zhang Yu’s heart jolted. “What kind of superhuman workhorse is this? Is she even a student from the Artifact Refinement Department?”
Ye Xingli replied, “Zi Yunzhen has a natural talent for assisting.”
Zhang Yu thought, “Talent? This is beyond talent! Offering free overtime at that price? She’s clearly too talented. How many Artifact Refinement students would work for such low pay?”
Zhang Yu immediately declared, “She’s hired!”
Although Zhang Yu’s current funds seemed substantial, in Kunxu, no one dared claim they had money to spare. When hiring an assistant, cost-effectiveness was paramount.
Zi Yunzhen’s extreme value made Zhang Yu feel that even if her artifact refinement skills were subpar, she would still be worth employing.
Ye Xingli cautioned, “While she’s affordable, she does have project requirements. She insists on working on projects where she can learn something.”
Zi Yunzhen stared at the messages in the group chat, a hint of envy in her eyes.
Su Yunni, the top student in their class, was sharing updates on her current project.
Ever since joining Senior Jin Jun’s laboratory, Su Yunni had been regularly posting such updates.
Su Yunni: “Senior Jin Jun’s accumulated knowledge of artifact refinement is truly profound. Just a few words from him can give us invaluable insights.”
Su Yunni: “The project funding is incredibly generous. We get hands-on experience every day.”
Su Yunni: “We’re already close to completing the Magic Power Core. Soon, I’ll have familiarized myself with all the components of the Heavenly Sun Radiance God prototype mechanism.”
Zi Yunzhen longed to participate in a military-grade magical artifact project like Su Yunni’s.
Especially since Jin Jun was known for his generous compensation, offering Spirit Coins that even senior assistants found highly satisfactory.
Unfortunately, every resume Zi Yunzhen submitted to Jin Jun vanished without a trace, never receiving a response.
Just then, a message from Zhang Yu appeared in her Bionic Eye.
Zhang Yu: “Zi Yunzhen, are you interested in joining my project?”
Zi Yunzhen recalled that Zhang Yu had also claimed he would complete the prototype mechanism’s refinement this academic year.
She, of course, didn’t believe him for a moment.
Though she accepted lower Spirit Coin compensation, it was to maximize her learning opportunities. Whether applying to Ye Xingli or Jin Jun, her goal was to learn from these academic overachievers.
“Zhang Yu hasn’t even mastered a single military-grade cultivation technique from the Artifact Refinement Department, nor has he won any awards. Yet he’s attempting to refine the Heavenly Sun Radiance God… This project is almost certainly doomed to fail.”