Chapter 545: Hiring an Assistant

Late October.

Zhang Yu once again rented Ye Xingli’s laboratory.

The reason he chose to rent here was partly because Ye Xingli offered him a discount, and partly because Zhang Yu was naturally coveting the Dao Seed she carried.

At this moment, he was controlling waves of True Fire, flames roaring and twisting in midair, wrapping around the metal materials before him.

The Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype, as a military-grade puppet among artifacts, was incomparably complex in its crafting and structure compared to ordinary artifacts.

The puppet’s skeleton, nervous system, control core, and mana core—each individual component, if separated, would be an intricate and profound artifact in its own right.

The process of refining the prototype, in simple terms, was to refine these separate modules one by one, then assemble and calibrate them.

At this moment, Zhang Yu was working on the skeleton section of the prototype.

As a puppet that contained the power of the utmost yang, Heaven-Sun Radiance required bones that could endure extreme strength, high temperatures, intense mana conduction, and even fire-elemental transformations.

It could be said that each bone of the prototype was more technically advanced than the average artifact owned by most students in the University City.

But for Zhang Yu—who had already reached the Supreme Purity Realm and mastered a wide variety of artifact-refining techniques—the process quickly went from unfamiliar to proficient, and soon from proficient to effortless.

Watching Zhang Yu’s deft movements, Ye Xingli couldn’t help asking, “When did you get so good at crafting bionic skeletons?”

Zhang Yu replied, “Wasn’t there an economic crisis recently? I had too much free time, so I studied all the technical materials on the Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype—read documents, watched online courses, that kind of thing.”

“Didn’t expect that once I started practicing, it wouldn’t be too hard.”

“Of course, it probably also helps that the refinement techniques I’ve cultivated boosted my artifact-crafting ability.”

That was Zhang Yu’s long-prepared excuse. After all, he planned to refine the prototype step by step in the open, proving his skill beyond any doubt.

As for how he’d learned so fast? Let his “artifact-refining talent” take the credit.

At this, Ye Xingli couldn’t deny it. Watching his every motion, she could almost feel that innate gift.

“So fast at learning…”

“This Zhang Yu… seems to have some sort of special instinct or sensitivity for the Dao of Refinement—he picks things up incredibly quickly.”

Recalling the first time she saw him refine an artifact, and how rapidly he’d advanced since, Ye Xingli couldn’t help sighing inwardly, “Even with the help of that Nascent Soul Yin Artifact, Zhang Yu’s talent in artifact refinement is no small thing.”

“I used to think he didn’t have any particular gift for this. Seems my master’s eye was sharper than mine.”

While Ye Xingli was reflecting on this, Zhang Yu said, “Senior Sister, thanks for letting me borrow your lab all this time.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll be spending most of my time in school training for next year’s Top Ten League anyway. Renting you the lab works out perfectly.”

Zhang Yu looked at her. Since returning victorious from the previous Top Ten League, the ranking above her head now showed Artifact Refinement Department, Rank 3.

And if he stared a moment longer, he could see that rank flicker briefly, shifting to Rank 10 overall in the entire university.

Seeing that, Zhang Yu felt a pang of envy. “I heard students in the top ten get loan approval for over a thousand spirit coins. I wonder if Senior Sister applied yet.”

He asked something he’d been curious about for a while: “Senior Sister, if I want to enter next year’s Top Ten League, what’s the process?”

It was something he needed to know early on—after all, if he worked hard but missed registration or selection deadlines, he’d regret it forever.

Ye Xingli blinked, thinking privately, “Zhang Yu’s talented, but he probably won’t have a chance next year.”

In her view, the upcoming Top Ten League would be the fiercest in history, with the university channeling all its resources into supporting senior students with proven achievements.

“Unless he can surpass us within the next year…”

But she knew that was impossible.

“If Zhang Yu can finish refining the prototype by senior year, that would already be remarkable.”

“In past years, he might’ve been able to at least show up at the League.”

“But next year… he probably won’t even qualify.”

Ordinarily, she would’ve told him to give up the unrealistic idea—to stop wasting time on something hopeless.

But then, a few lines appeared in her EyeNet interface from the “Poor Man Simulator.”

Ye Xingli smiled. “You want to join next year’s Top Ten League? I support you.”

“Usually, the faculty advisors for the school teams reach out to potential participants. If they don’t, you can apply on your own before June.”

“As for qualifications—normally, you need at least two military-grade capabilities. If you can earn a military license with the Heaven-Sun Radiance, give it a try.”

“Still, next year’s competition will be brutal. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t make it…”

Zhang Yu nodded earnestly, memorizing every word, feeling a growing sense of urgency.

“If I really want to enter next year’s League, I can’t waste a single second.”

After that topic, Ye Xingli returned to watching him work and added, “Crafting the skeleton is tedious—not only are there many procedures, but the prototype needs a lot of bones. It’s extremely time-consuming.”

“Actually, the initial prep work—like material sorting and impurity purification—isn’t that complicated. You could consider hiring an assistant.”

Zhang Yu had already thought of that.

The Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype was an extraordinarily complex artifact, but not every step was deep or mysterious—many were repetitive and low-skill tasks.

Once he’d proven he could handle the full process himself, he could delegate the repetitive work to an assistant while focusing on the key refinements. That would greatly boost efficiency.

“The first full build takes the most time.”

“If I work alone, I might need three months to finish a Level 1 prototype. After that, I’d need repeated refinements and upgrades to raise its level.”

“But with an assistant, I could cut that to two months—or even one.”

Thinking of Jin Jun, who’d started months ahead, Zhang Yu realized hiring an assistant was the safer bet if he wanted to catch up and surpass him.

So he asked, “Senior Sister, do you have anyone to recommend?”

Ye Xingli said, “What about Ziyun Zhen? After my current project wraps up, she probably won’t have joined another lab yet.”

Zhang Yu recalled the girl who’d been bustling around here earlier and nodded. “What’s her rate?”

He thought to himself, “I just don’t know if Ziyun Zhen can handle my work. I’ll have to interview her, test her skills…”

Before he could continue, Ye Xingli said, “I paid her two spirit coins a month. She works fourteen hours a day and gives twelve hours of free overtime weekly—you can schedule that however you like.”

“Just two spirit coins?” Zhang Yu was stunned. “What kind of monster is this? Is she really an Artifact Refinement student?”

Ye Xingli smiled. “Ziyun Zhen’s very talented at being an assistant.”

Zhang Yu thought, “Talented? This isn’t talent, it’s divine virtue! Who else in the department would work for so little—and throw in free overtime?”

He said immediately, “I’ll take her!”

Though Zhang Yu’s finances seemed stable, in Kunxu, no one ever dared to say they weren’t short on money. Hiring help had to be cost-effective.

And Ziyun Zhen’s value-for-money ratio was simply unbeatable—even if her skill wasn’t great, she’d be worth it.

Ye Xingli added, “She’s cheap, yes, but she does have one condition—she wants to actually learn something from the project.”

…

Ziyun Zhen stared at the messages in her class group chat, eyes full of envy.

The top student, Su Yunni, was posting updates about her current project.

Ever since she’d joined Jin Jun’s lab, she’d been sharing progress like this:

Su Yunni: Senior Jin Jun’s mastery of refinement is so deep—every word he says teaches us something new.

Su Yunni: The funding for this project is amazing, we all get hands-on time every day.

Su Yunni: We’re almost done building the mana core now—soon I’ll have worked through every component of the Heaven-Sun Radiance Prototype!

Ziyun Zhen also wanted to join such a military-grade artifact project.

Especially since Jin Jun paid handsomely—his wages could make even senior assistants satisfied.

But unfortunately, every resume she sent to Jin Jun had vanished without a trace.

Then suddenly, a message popped up on her EyeNet interface—from Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu: Ziyun Zhen, would you be interested in joining my project?

Ziyun Zhen blinked. Oh right—Zhang Yu was also claiming he’d refine a prototype this semester.

Of course, she didn’t believe it.

She accepted low pay to maximize her learning opportunities—whether with Ye Xingli or Jin Jun, her goal was to learn from top-tier talents.

“Zhang Yu hasn’t even mastered a single military-grade refinement technique, hasn’t won a single award—and he’s already trying to make the Heaven-Sun Radiance Divine Prototype… This project is doomed.”