Gu Ningli gave Zhao Mu a pass to enter the Engineering Department. Amidst the envious and astonished gazes of the crowd, Zhao Mu smiled and nodded toward Gu Ningli.
"Can I bring a few friends inside?"
He pointed to Meng Qiuqiu, Zhuo Yun, and Lu Yan behind him.
Gu Ningli said indifferently, "Suit yourself, but this round is only a basic screening. If you want to join the Engineering Department and learn Jinhai Manufacturing techniques, there are many more challenges waiting for you."
Zhao Mu nodded.
He then motioned for the others and walked toward the Engineering Department.
Using the pass to swipe through the machine, they entered the interior of the Engineering Department and followed the signs to the Jinhai Manufacturing Center.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the hall, Zhao Mu saw two familiar faces.
Shao Han and Shen Moran were standing in a corner, focusing intently on drawing something on a huge white drawing board in front of them.
"Whoa!"
Meng Qiuqiu let out a sound of astonishment as he looked at everything around him.
The Jinhai Manufacturing Center was enormous, with highly advanced scientific instruments placed in the front. Dark silver metal boxes lined both sides, containing unknown items that appeared extremely valuable from the outside.
On the workbenches, there were many finely carved tools, and some rare metal Materials were placed casually nearby.
Lying on a pristine white sofa in the center of the workshop was a short-haired woman wearing a sleeveless work uniform, exposing her toned arms.
She was holding a slender carving tool in her mouth and flipping through a swimsuit magazine in boredom.
Not far from her, standing before a small workbench, was a petite girl with two cute buns in her hair, working with a serious expression.
The arrival of Zhao Mu and his group drew their attention.
Liang Gongchi, lying on the sofa, merely glanced at Zhao Mu's group and asked lazily, "Did you pass the geometry test?"
Zhao Mu nodded. "Hello, Master Liang. I passed the test."
Shen Moran and Shao Han also noticed the arrival of Zhao Mu and his friends.
Shen Moran frowned slightly but quickly returned to her drawing work.
Shao Han stood aside, not daring to breathe loudly, seemingly afraid of disturbing Shen Moran's concentration.
However, when he looked at Zhao Mu, his eyes held a hint of hostility.
He walked up to Zhao Mu and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you think someone with E-rank Talent is qualified to become a Jinhai Master?"
"You should know, Jinhai Master is the profession that relies most heavily on Talent in the world. Not even one person out of ten thousand Spirit Energy Users manages to obtain a Jinhai Master license."
"Shen Moran's Space Element ability is very suitable for being a Jinhai Master. Don't come over here to cause trouble for her!"
Shao Han thought Zhao Mu knew Shen Moran was here and followed her to cause trouble, which is why his tone was unpleasant.
Zhao Mu chuckled lightly and said indifferently, "Do I need your permission to go somewhere? You think too highly of yourself."
He leaned close to Shao Han's ear and said in a deep voice, "I still haven't settled the score with you regarding that trial!"
The tension between the two men was heavy.
Liang Gongchi frowned and snapped, "Do you think this is a bathhouse? If you don't want to accept the test, get out!"
Shao Han's expression stiffened, and he quickly retreated back to Shen Moran's side.
Zhao Mu glanced over and realized she was carving based on a reference pattern.
Zhao Mu walked directly up to Liang Gongchi and said politely, "Hello, Master Liang. I am Bu Yanhuan's disciple. She asked me to pay my respects and request that you teach me the art of Jinhai Manufacturing."
Hearing the name "Bu Yanhuan," Liang Gongchi raised her head and stared at Zhao Mu.
"You're the Genius that drunkard talks about? Heh."
Her tone carried a hint of disdain.
"That woman probably didn't tell you that trying to use back door connections with me is impossible! Jinhai Manufacturing isn't something just anyone can learn; if you're not the right Materials, knowing anyone is useless."
Based on Gu Ningli's reaction, Zhao Mu had generally anticipated that Liang Gongchi would have this attitude.
Highly skilled artisans often have eccentric temperaments; it was understandable since she was capable.
"Then, how can I prove that I have the Talent to learn Jinhai Manufacturing?"
Zhao Mu asked.
Liang Gongchi pointed to the wall opposite her, where a square white board, over a meter in diameter, hung. It was densely covered with extremely intricate patterns, resembling a maze.
Just one look was enough to feel the beauty of machinery; every stroke was flawless and impeccable.
"I'll give you one month," Liang Gongchi said indifferently. "Within one month, without using any tools, reproduce it purely by hand drawing. If you can achieve 60% of the quality of this Ember Remains Spirit Rune, I can consider letting you stay in the Engineering Department to learn Jinhai Manufacturing."
Liang Gongchi pointed to the workbench. "The drawing tools are all there. Go get them yourself."
On the workbench, there was only paper and a pen—not even a ruler.
She was too lazy to waste even a second more on Zhao Mu and the others.
She didn't even bother to ask if Meng Qiuqiu and the others had also passed the math test and were here to seek apprenticeship.
Because that was just an appetizer, while this difficult task was the real test!
Even though Zhao Mu had been prepared, his pupils couldn't help but contract slightly when he heard the task.
Meng Qiuqiu and Zhuo Yun looked at the huge white board. Within the meter-square area, the shortest lines were only a few millimeters long.
Although seemingly crisscrossed, they were actually arranged very systematically, forming a massive maze.
"H-hand drawn?"
"How is that possible!"
Meng Qiuqiu took two more glances, immediately covered his head, and swayed.
"I'm dizzy. I can't do it."
Zhao Mu looked at Shen Moran in the distance, who was hunched over the workbench, carefully drawing stroke by stroke with a drafting pen, and finally understood what she was doing.
The difficulty of this task was truly terrifying!
No wonder Instructor Xie Yingxue had given him that look when she heard he was coming to see Liang Gongchi.
Learning the creation of ember remains likely required dedicating one's entire life and possessing immense Talent to succeed.
"Zhao Mu, are you really going to try?"
Zhuo Yun asked hesitantly. He had only glanced at it and already felt it was an impossible mission.
They even suspected that Liang Gongchi had no intention of accepting apprentices and was deliberately using this method to turn people away.
Zhao Mu walked up to the white board and examined it carefully.
The answer he ultimately reached was—impossible!
It was simply impossible for him to draw it purely by hand. The lines looked as if they were drawn by a machine. How steady must one's hands be, and how much patience must one possess, to draw such a precise pattern!
"Directly drawing it is indeed impossible."
"However, if the difficult task is broken down, it might not be undoable."
Zhao Mu's mind raced, and he quickly thought of a method.
Without hesitation, he walked to another workbench and retrieved a large sheet of white paper and a drafting pen.
The drafting pen used ink, meaning any mistake would be impossible to correct. Therefore, he had to draw the entire pattern in one go.
A smile played on Zhao Mu's lips. He did not look at the Spirit Pattern Diagram, but instead reached out and drew a straight line on the white paper!
"demon clown, skill change: [Draw Straight Line]."
"Draw Straight Line: Drawing Skill, Proficiency 0."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)