Chapter 262.2: Hello Part 2

Blazing fire spewed through the opening of the furnace. Through the flames, something could be vaguely seen thrashing around.

Unfortunately for it, it was already too late. Even without using the Aberrant Alchemy that old bastard Jian Yuan had forced on Ji Jue, he could still think of at least eighty-one different ways to deal with something that had conveniently delivered itself right to his doorstep using Modern Alchemy alone!

Considering the situation, he didn’t take long to make up his mind. Amid a succession of agonized screams, reconstruction began inside the furnace.

***

Some craftsmen had only just started working. For others, however, the examination was already over.

Inside the Myriad Transformations Tower, one display after another turned crimson before Gustav and Jiang Tongguang. Pale faces filled the screens as terrified screams rang out without end. Within just a few minutes, the warning alarms had become almost continuous, barely pausing at all, to the point where they had almost merged into one unbroken tone.

To prevent damage to the candidates’ souls, the simulated universe inside the Myriad Transformations Tower had been equipped with numerous safeguards. The moment an apprentice died, suffered a mental breakdown, or was otherwise judged incapable of continuing the examination, their connection would be severed and they would be ejected from the simulation.

As for whether the experience left them traumatized, that was not something the Craftsmen Association concerned itself with.

“More than three hundred eliminated within the first ten minutes of the first exam?” Jiang Tongguang clicked his tongue in amazement. “Most of them didn’t even manage to make it to the real challenge. Gustav, I have to say, isn’t your exam a little too difficult?”

“Did I set any problem that an ordinary craftsman would be incapable of solving? Did any of the candidates encounter a situation beyond their ability to handle?” Gustav asked dismissively in return.

Every necessary clue had been provided. Every tool they could possibly need was available inside the workshop. Even an apprentice who had only just begun learning the craft could have cleared the challenge perfectly, so long as they calmly assessed the situation, worked out a rough understanding of what was happening, formulated a plan, and carried it out without panicking.

Unfortunately, most of those eliminated couldn’t even manage something as basic as keeping their composure. Some panicked and floundered without ever understanding what was happening. Others lost their minds at the slightest provocation, failed to read the situation, and practically delivered themselves to their deaths. Some had even blown themselves up before any of that could happen.

If they had actually memorized the workshop safety regulations and the emergency management guidelines, they would never have felt completely helpless the moment something went wrong, doing nothing but waiting for disaster to take them.

Anyone with a functioning brain who stopped to think for even a moment wouldn’t have been stupid enough to open the door and let an aberrant creature inside. Anyone with halfway decent fundamentals could have reinforced the workshop in time. And anyone capable of adapting to the situation could have figured out how to deal with the problem and keep the contamination from spreading.

There were even two protective suits provided. If the contamination was already right in front of them and they still didn’t think to put one on, then frankly, they had no one to blame but themselves.

Some failed to notice the changes and warning signs coming from the furnace. Others lacked the ability to deal with the mutation and aberration. Some didn’t even have the nerve to cut their losses and destroy the furnace before it was too late. If they ended up being crushed to death by a fully developed aberrant creature after all that, then they had brought it on themselves.

This was by no means some excessively harsh examination thrown together on a whim with a casual, “Let’s make them do this.” The scenario had been taken from an actual historical case, and every challenge it presented fell well within the range that an apprentice should have been capable of handling. By craftsman standards, this wasn’t even difficult!

Every piece of theory and every fundamental principle had been laid out clearly in the association’s textbooks and examination papers. Every instructor should have also drilled the proper procedures into every new apprentice until they knew them by heart.

After more than three years of theory, training, internships, and hands-on work, these things should have been ingrained into their bones and instincts. There should have been no hesitation whatsoever. If someone still died right at the start of the exam under those circumstances, then with that level of intelligence and judgment, perhaps they were better off not sullying the Ember’s reputation or wasting the association’s resources.

“Oh, take a look at this one. This one’s pretty good.” Jiang Tongguang pulled one of the floating displays closer.

The workshop shown on the screen was perfectly calm, without the slightest sign of chaos. From beginning to end, the young man inside had remained steady as a rock. Without the slightest trace of panic, he calmly sorted through the messy situation, repaired the faults, inventoried the materials, and reinforced the workshop.

The aberrant creature inside the furnace had not even had the chance to emerge. He had noticed the warning signs early and dealt with it before the mutation could fully begin. By now, he had already started repairing the water purification core.

“Is this that hot-tempered old dragon’s student?” Jiang Tongguang clicked his tongue in surprise. “He’s so calm. He’s nothing like his teacher.”

“No matter how violent Li Lin’s temper may be, the Clock Tower is still the legacy of a grandmaster. Its ability to train students was never going to be poor.” Gustav glanced at the screen and gave a slight nod. “This student does remind me somewhat of the Scavenger back in the day. He’s careful and methodical, and he doesn’t rush ahead recklessly.”

“This one’s good too. Hasn’t made a single mistake so far. Oh, impressive instincts. He’s good at spotting trouble before it blows up.”

On the screen, a dark-skinned candidate kicked open the furnace door, grabbed a pair of tongs, and hauled out the half-formed aberrant creature. Then he shoved it straight into a large vat of concentrated acid.

A constant sizzling filled the workshop. Before long, chunks of cooled remains were floating in the bubbling acid. That settled it.

“This one... Hmm. His technique is very practiced. You can tell his fundamentals are solid, and he handles unexpected situations well. It’s just... isn’t he getting a little too worked up?”

Jiang Tongguang’s gaze shifted to another floating display. The workshop on the screen was a complete mess, though its structure remained intact. The aberrant creature that had burst from the furnace was now sprawled on the floor, twitching and convulsing. A foot pinned it firmly in place as it struggled in terror.

“You bastard! I’ve had enough of you!” The candidate’s face was livid with rage. Spirit matter enveloped his hands, hardening them until they were like iron hammers. His fists came crashing down, whipping up gusts of air as he pounded the creature and cursed without pause. “How dare you pull that manipulative crap! ‘Partners for life,’ my ass! Just fucking die! Die! Die! DIE!!!”

The punches continued as the aberrant shrieked and struggled helplessly. In the end, the young man beat it to death with his bare hands.

A brief, awkward silence followed. Jiang Tongguang and Gustav looked at each other in shock.

“Well... ahem. At least his punches are good, right?” Jiang Tongguang asked. “Judging by that form, he’s definitely trained before. It’s evident that he put some serious effort into it, too.”

He shook his head and checked the candidate’s file. “Let’s see whose student he is. Hm? Kong...”

“Well... that does make sense.”

Jiang Tongguang nodded. “Indeed. No doubt about it. That’s definitely her student.”

The floating screens displayed far too many changing scenes to follow one by one. Even the two council members could only set up alerts for specific conditions, then focus on the most important or dangerous cases so they could intervene immediately if necessary and prevent the candidates from suffering any irreversible harm.

As they continued monitoring the exam, another alarm sounded. Someone had opened the workshop door again.

“How are there still idiots opening the door at this point?” Jiang Tongguang frowned and looked over, then he froze. After a long moment, he reached out and poked Gustav beside him, who was still concentrating on the other screens. “Gus. Gus, you’ve got to see this...”

“I told you, stop calling me that!” Gustav snapped, turning around with an angry glare. His gaze was drawn to that particular screen, and he went just as still as his colleague.

Within the glowing projection, the door swung open, and the aberrant that had been prowling outside let out an excited shriek. Its grotesque body, stitched together from multiple corpses, writhed violently. Its limbs twitched and flailed in excitement as it lunged through the doorway without hesitation.

And then it saw the figure standing before the furnace. With the furnace door open behind him and roaring flames casting him into shadow, he appeared as nothing more than a pitch-black silhouette. It looked quite terrifying.

Over his protective suit, he had welded together scraps of old steel into a crude suit of armor. A diesel generator strapped to his back pumped out electricity, driving the powered structure while sparks sprayed from the exposed cable connections.

Huge gears turned slowly in the open air. Greasy hydraulic rods extended and contracted with grinding friction, forming an exoskeleton so crudely simple it was almost outrageous. In his hands was an enormous iron hammer that was, quite literally, baring fangs and claws, still carrying the furnace’s blazing residual heat.

Across the massive hammerhead, somewhere between steel and flesh, strange eyes and mouths crawled over the surface. They howled with hunger and struggled wildly, yet they remained firmly bound to the hammer, unable to break free. Thick drool and bloody tears constantly seeped from between those eyes and gaping maws, dripping onto the floor with an angry hiss.

As the machinery rumbled to life, the hammer slowly rose amid the piercing screech of grinding metal. Its grotesque outline cast a huge black shadow, engulfing the twisted faces across the aberrant’s body.

“Hello!” Ji Jue said.

BOOM!!!