Chapter 544: Taking Shape
After Zi Yunzhen politely declined Zhang Yu’s invitation, she received another message from him.
Zhang Yu: “If you’re willing to join the project, you can ask me anything about the Heavenly Sun Radiance God’s related technologies.”
Zhang Yu: “I can also repair and maintain your magical artifacts for free.”
Zi Yunzhen wasn’t particularly interested in Zhang Yu’s first offer.
While his artifact refinement skills were impressive, how long had he been in the Artifact Refinement Department? How much could he have learned about the Heavenly Sun Radiance God’s technologies in such a short time?
Zi Yunzhen had previously witnessed Zhang Yu practicing all sorts of chaotic artifact refinement techniques in the laboratory.
She couldn’t believe that in just a few months, he could have mastered the Heavenly Sun Radiance God’s related technologies.
However, the offer of free magical artifact maintenance and repairs piqued her interest.
She thought to herself, “I’ll join temporarily, have Zhang Yu repair a few of my worn-out artifacts, and then find an excuse to withdraw.”
With this in mind, Zi Yunzhen agreed to Zhang Yu’s proposal.
They agreed on a one-week trial period. Zi Yunzhen would join the project as Zhang Yu’s assistant, allowing both parties to assess compatibility. If things didn’t work out, she could withdraw.
Zi Yunzhen had just arrived at the laboratory when she received a file from Zhang Yu through her Bionic Eye.
Zhang Yu’s voice came through: “You have experience with alloy material processing, right?”
“Following the requirements in the file I sent you, please perform the initial screening and refine the impurities. That’s your task for today.”
Zi Yunzhen glanced at the workload outlined in the file and exclaimed in surprise, “Refine this much in one day?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “This is just the beginning. I have high expectations for you. Your efficiency directly impacts the progress of our entire project team. I hope you’ll push yourself and grow quickly…”
Watching Zhang Yu turn and leave, Zi Yunzhen muttered to herself, “Preparing this much material… can you even use it all?”
She glanced at the few refined bone fragments on the nearby workbench and thought, “Only this much completed? It’s nowhere near Senior Jin Jun’s output.”
Zi Yunzhen shook her head, inwardly grumbling, but dutifully began preparing the materials. She planned to make an excuse to leave as soon as Zhang Yu finished repairing her magical artifact.
Half an hour later, just as Zi Yunzhen was preparing the second batch of materials, she noticed that over half of the first batch she had just prepared was already gone.
“Hmm?”
“Using them up so quickly?”
She paused, then frowned. “He couldn’t have wasted them all, could he?”
In Zi Yunzhen’s view, Zhang Yu had only just begun refining the Heavenly Sun Radiance God. The rapid consumption of materials must mean he was failing repeatedly.
She turned to look at Zhang Yu’s workstation and saw wisps of True Fire rising as a milky-white material gradually took shape within the flames.
Simultaneously, the surrounding artifact refinement equipment continuously discharged bolts of Thunderfire, which Zhang Yu skillfully manipulated to etch Magic Power Circuits into the material.
Watching Zhang Yu’s incredibly practiced movements, Zi Yunzhen realized that he was already nearing completion of refining this bone segment.
“So fast?!”
Zi Yunzhen’s heart jolted as she watched the scene unfold. She stared at the newly completed component beside her. “It’s already done? How could it be so fast?”
She remembered Su Yunni mentioning in their group chat that refining the skeletal parts of the prototype mechanism took hours.
“Even Jin Jun didn’t seem to work this quickly, did he?”
With that thought, Zi Yunzhen couldn’t resist sending Su Yunni a message: “How long did it take you guys to refine a complete bone back then?”
Reading Su Yunni’s reply, Zi Yunzhen murmured to herself, “Two or three hours?”
She glanced back at Zhang Yu’s workbench. “This is several times faster, isn’t it?”
“Is this even normal?”
She couldn’t help but suspect that the puppet bones Zhang Yu was refining might have quality issues.
Over the next few days, Zi Yunzhen was even more astonished to discover that as her proficiency increased and she prepared materials faster, Zhang Yu’s refinement speed continued to accelerate.
It turned out that his previous pace hadn’t been his limit; it was her slow material preparation that had been holding him back.
“Zi Yunzhen, are you finished yet?”
“The next batch will be ready soon.”
“I’m almost done on my end.”
Zi Yunzhen felt as if Zhang Yu was constantly lashing her with a whip, pushing her to her limits. Just when she thought she had finally met his material preparation requirements, his artifact refinement speed would increase slightly again.
Gasping for breath, Zi Yunzhen would then frantically circulate her Magic Power, pushing herself to work even faster.
The moment she entered the laboratory, she felt as if Zhang Yu had drained all her energy and focus. Her mind could no longer process anything beyond the materials before her, leaving no room for other thoughts.
After more than a week of this relentless work, Zi Yunzhen stared in disbelief at the humanoid skeleton before her. “Is… is it finished?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “Yes, it took a bit longer than I expected, but it’s still quite good.”
“Longer?” Zi Yunzhen thought to herself. “This is longer?!”
She couldn’t resist glancing again at the Bionic Eye, where her chat logs with Su Yunni were stored.
Zi Yunzhen asked, “How long did it take you to complete the refinement of the skeletal system back then?”
Su Yunni replied, “About a month and a half.”
Su Yunni continued, “The speed was mainly due to Senior Jin Jun hiring several senior students to assist.”
Su Yunni added, “But in our pursuit of speed, we wasted a lot of materials.”
Su Yunni asked, “Why are you asking about this?”
Zi Yunzhen replied, “I’m working on a project with Zhang Yu.”
Zi Yunzhen continued, “I was just curious about the differences between the two approaches.”
Su Yunni said, “Zhang Yu’s methods definitely can’t compare to Senior Jin Jun’s. Don’t get discouraged. If any positions open up here, I’ll recommend you to Senior Jin Jun.”
Meanwhile, Zi Yunzhen focused her gaze on the humanoid skeleton before her. She observed the dense network of Magic Power Circuits within, each circuit flickering with golden Magic Power.
With each pulse of light, the skeleton seemed to shift between solid and ethereal states, with fleeting glimpses of firelight flashing through its structure.
Zhang Yu said, “Next, help me complete the testing.”
Zhang Yu added, “If there are no quality issues, we’ll begin refining the nervous system.”
As Zi Yunzhen watched the bones pass the strength test, high-temperature test, and Magic Power Conduction test one after another, and then transform into streaks of fire under Zhang Yu’s control, her astonishment grew.
She stared at the scene in disbelief. If she hadn’t personally witnessed Zhang Yu refining each bone piece by piece over the past few weeks, she might have suspected he had someone else do the work for him.
Unconsciously, Zi Yunzhen had quietly forgotten her original plan to leave after a week.
“Zhang Yu… he might actually be able to defeat Jin Jun, pass the Heavenly Sun Radiance God’s evaluation first, and obtain the Military Certificate.”
“But even if he doesn’t win against Jin Jun, going through the Heavenly Sun Radiance God’s evaluation with Zhang Yu should be fine.”
“If he does defeat Jin Jun…”
The thought of Zhang Yu and herself, two fourth-year students, defeating Jin Jun to seize the Military Certificate — the resulting impact, the various gains in experience, reputation, and resume enhancements — made Zi Yunzhen’s heart flutter with excitement.
At that moment, Zi Yunzhen had truly resolved to stay under Zhang Yu’s guidance and study diligently.
Zhang Yu glanced at Zi Yunzhen’s earnest expression beside him, feeling as though he had anticipated this all along.
He had long suspected that Zi Yunzhen’s initial participation in the project lacked genuine commitment.
However, Zhang Yu remained confident in his ability to persuade her.
After all, as a fellow student from the Artifact Refinement Department, he understood her true motivations and intentions perfectly.
More than earning money, Zi Yunzhen craved rapid experience accumulation, honing her artifact refinement skills, and building a portfolio of high-value project experience…
All of which she could gain under his mentorship.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Now I won’t need to give Zi Yunzhen a raise to keep her here.”
In the following days, Zhang Yu led Zi Yunzhen in relentlessly advancing the refining of the prototype mechanism. Zi Yunzhen’s daily work hours gradually increased from 14 to 16, then 20, and finally to a relentless 24-hour, non-stop schedule.
Watching the project’s rapid progress, Zi Yunzhen didn’t bring up overtime pay or raises with Zhang Yu.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
By mid-November, Zi Yunzhen gazed at the prototype mechanism, now taking on a vaguely humanoid form, still feeling a surge of awe.
“In just over a month, the first assembly is nearly complete?”
She glanced at her chat history with Su Yunni, thinking to herself, “It seems Jin Jun’s team is also close to finishing their first assembly.”
Although both projects were nearing completion, Zi Yunzhen knew that “completion” wasn’t a uniform standard. Zhang Yu’s team was catching up at an alarming rate.
“But why has Zhang Yu been leaving so often these past few days?” Zi Yunzhen couldn’t help but wonder. “This is a critical moment! How can he afford to be distracted?!”
“We need to seize this momentum, surpass Jin Jun completely, and secure the Military Certificate as quickly as possible.”
With this in mind, Zi Yunzhen decided it was time to speak with Zhang Yu and urge him to focus.
Meanwhile, outside the Research Department office, Zhang Yu sat on a waiting chair, his face gradually showing impatience.
After a long wait, Feng Yuhuan finally called him in. The man leisurely said, “Young man, why do you have so little patience?”
Zhang Yu frowned. “Teacher Feng, I’ve been busy with my current project lately…”
Feng Yuhuan waved him off. “No matter how important your project is, can it be more important than the school’s project? Don’t you know how much the Principal values you regarding the Spirit Transformation Bionic matter?”
“From now on, you must fully cooperate with the project team’s inspection. Put aside whatever you’re working on for now.”
Zhang Yu stared at Feng Yuhuan. “Teacher Feng, are you targeting me?”
Feng Yuhuan chuckled. “Why would a teacher target a student like you?”
He waved dismissively. “Go now. Remember to cooperate fully with the work schedule I’ve sent you. If you delay the school’s affairs and the Principal gets angry, even your teacher won’t be able to protect you…”
As Zhang Yu’s figure receded, Feng Yuhuan could clearly sense the young man’s dissatisfaction, resentment, and anger.
But in his eyes, a student’s discontent was insignificant. The boy would eventually swallow his anger and move on.