Chapter 109: Tempering Assessment, a Distress Signal

Chapter 109: Tempering Assessment, a Distress Signal

On the fifth month of the Abyssal Descent, the temperature had dropped, bringing a chill to the air.

Despite the strong physique of Energics, who were generally more resistant to cold, Lu Heng still put on a down jacket at his mother's insistence.

Over the past few days, he had accumulated ten tempering orders, each with its own unique weapon.

Today, Lu Heng arrived at Tempering Castle to complete these orders and earn some crystal cores.

As he carried two boxes and entered the castle through the Ninth Bridge Arch, he was slightly taken aback.

The castle was unusually crowded, with a group of Energics gathered in the front courtyard, surrounding Gulu and doing something unknown.

The main reason for this was Gulu's short stature; standing further away, one could barely see him.

However, his voice could be heard.

"Try it, try it," Gulu urged.

Lu Heng, curious, walked over and peered into the crowd. What he saw caused him to freeze in shock.

Gulu held a basin filled with fried cockroaches.

The group of Energics, their faces contorted in disgust, reluctantly reached out to take the cockroaches from the basin, slowly putting them into their mouths as if they were under the effect of an advanced stasis spell.

Witnessing this scene, Lu Heng's skin crawled, and he felt nauseous.

However, to be fair, the Abyssal Blackiron Dwarves lived in harsh environments and were known to eat insects, albeit those from the Abyssal world.

As Lu Heng realized what was happening, his stomach churned, and he almost vomited. Hurriedly, he quickened his pace and headed into the castle.

Just as he was about to pass through the front courtyard, an Energic struggled to get a fried cockroach into his mouth. Noticing that someone was entering without eating, he pointed at Lu Heng and demanded, "Why isn't he eating?"

Gulu turned and saw it was Lu Heng, holding the basin of "delicacies." With a smile, he asked, "Do you want to try some? I've added a delicious seasoning."

"No, thank you," Lu Heng declined firmly, waving his hand in refusal, and continued on his way.

Gulu didn't insist, instead encouraging others to try the treat.

Upon seeing Lu Heng enter without eating, the group of Energics felt a sense of imbalance. "Why can he go in without eating? I won't eat it either!"

Hearing the defiant Energic, Gulu's expression darkened, and he immediately ordered, "Then get out!"

Hu Biao quickly explained to the protesting Energic, "Mr. He, that person has special privileges in the Tempering Castle. You should eat quickly."

The one who raised the objection was none other than He Shangyong, the "Tempering Master" groomed by the Springtop Group.

Hu Biao had waited for three days under the Century Bridge, finally catching the opening of the Tempering Castle and successfully bringing people inside.

However, for some unknown reason, there was a rule that anyone entering the Tempering Castle had to sample the "delicacy" at the entrance.

Lu Heng had never imagined that Gulu would take his joke seriously.

This was undoubtedly a result of significant cultural differences, leading to a minor issue.

Lu Heng entered the forging chamber and began the tempering process for the weapons.

He completed eight out of the ten tempering orders successfully, with two failures.

It was likely that his stomach discomfort affected his performance, resulting in an 80% success rate for the day.

With ten tempering procedures completed, Lu Heng's Tempering Mastery increased by a total of 180 points.

His Tempering Mastery level reached 750/2000, and it would still take some time to reach the next rank.

So far, he hadn't received any orders for spirit infusion, likely because such orders required face-to-face negotiations.

During the tempering process, someone loitered outside the forging chamber, persistently asking Gulu if they could enter to observe.

Lu Heng promptly closed the door from the inside, leaving Gulu to continue his tour without paying attention to the person.

After cleaning the smelting residue from the tempering furnace and organizing its components, Lu Heng exited the forging chamber and returned to the front hall to settle the distribution of the tempering orders with Gulu.

Since he used the tempering furnace of the Tempering Castle, a portion of the earnings from the orders had to be given to the castle.

However, Gulu never rushed Lu Heng, trusting him to be conscientious.

When Lu Heng returned to the front hall, the Energics who had come to visit the Tempering Castle earlier had finished their tour and were now gathered in the front hall, drinking tea.

Fortunately, the tea was normal, with no strange ingredients, which helped ease the nerves of the group.

Gulu was in high spirits today, as the castle hadn't been this lively in a long while.

He Shangyong had come with a task from the Springtop Group, and seeing Gulu's good mood, he made a request: "Master Gulu, I'm also a Tempering Master. May I use the tempering furnace of the castle? I'll give a portion of the earned crystal cores to the castle."

Gulu was generally easy to talk to, as long as his habits and principles weren't violated.

Upon hearing the human's request, Gulu didn't immediately agree but instead considered it seriously.

At that moment, Lu Heng walked in from outside.

Gulu directly asked, "Lu Heng, what do you think? This Tempering Master wants to use the Tempering Furnace, and I don't have to do anything. I'll just get a share of the profits. What do you think?"

This arrangement was similar to Lu Heng's.

The Energics present were already surprised when they saw Lu Heng enter the Tempering Fortress without having to consume that "delicacy."

Now, hearing Gulu seek Lu Heng's opinion, they were even more astonished.

Some of them couldn't help but wonder: "Who is the real master of the Tempering Fortress?"

He Shangyong's expression instantly turned sour, for he knew who Lu Heng was.

As the Tempering Master groomed by the Springtop Group, he had always been aware of a rival's existence, and that rival was none other than Lu Heng.

So, when he heard Gulu asking for Lu Heng's opinion, he thought he was done for.

Since the other party was a competitor, they would surely prevent him from using the Tempering Furnace.

However, Lu Heng's response caught him off guard.

Lu Heng thought for a moment and replied, "As long as the Crystal Cores earned can offset the furnace's wear and tear, I see no problem with it."

The reason he didn't immediately shut down the other party's chance to use the Tempering Furnace wasn't because Lu Heng was magnanimous, but because it was unnecessary.

The Tempering Fortress would come into contact with more and more Energics in the future, and it was impossible for there to be only one human Tempering Master forever.

In other words, if he blocked He Shangyong now, there would be Chen Shangyong and Wang Shangyong in the future.

Instead of blocking their paths, it was better to foster a better relationship with Gulu.

Therefore, Lu Heng's suggestion was made from the perspective of the Tempering Fortress's interests, considering Gulu's position and thinking for him. This was the correct way to foster a better relationship.

After some serious thought, Gulu asked, "That makes sense, but how can we know if it offsets the furnace's wear and tear?"

He Shangyong, upon hearing that there was more to come, quickly said, "It definitely offsets the wear and tear."

Gulu couldn't possibly trust someone he wasn't familiar with, so he looked at Lu Heng, wanting to hear his suggestion.

"It's simple," Lu Heng offered a very fair suggestion. "Just conduct an assessment. Perform a tempering, and you give it a score. Then you'll know, right?"

"Yes, let's do an assessment," Gulu agreed.

Gulu stood up and pointed at He Shangyong, saying, "Did you bring Tempering Materials? If you did, follow me, and we'll perform a tempering. I want to see your skills."

He Shangyong hurriedly agreed, "I did, I did. I'll definitely give it my best."

Gulu then pointed at Lu Heng and said, "You come too, and give him a score."

The Energics present were once again surprised, wondering, "What's this guy's relationship with the Tempering Fortress? Why does he need to score the Tempering Master during an assessment?"

Even Hu Biao was astonished, as he clearly knew the connection between Lu Heng and the Tempering Fortress.

After all, it was Lu Heng who had helped the Tempering Fortress in the Abyssal Battlefield.

It had only been four months since then, and Lu Heng had already become half the master of the Tempering Fortress.

He Shangyong's face turned ashen. He had originally considered Lu Heng a rival, but now his rival had become the one scoring him like a mentor.

How was he supposed to handle this?

However, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and go through with it.

This was his only chance, and if he gave up now, it would be hard to get another opportunity in the future.

Gulu didn't stop the others from observing, so all the Energics present crowded into the Forging Chamber.

Lu Heng and Gulu found seats and prepared to watch the performance of this newly promoted apprentice Tempering Master.

He Shangyong, with a grim expression, began his work. He heated the furnace, added the tempering materials, melted them, and started the tempering process...

Lu Heng watched expressionlessly from start to finish without saying a word.

Gulu stood up from his seat several times, wanting to speak up and remind He Shangyong, but each time, he swallowed his words. This was an assessment, and if he spoke up, it would invalidate the assessment.

Finally, He Shangyong completed the tempering process, but an uncommon situation arose.

The tempering was only half successful, increasing only half of the tempering attributes.

This situation did exist and should be considered an incomplete state.

Usually, when encountering this situation, the solution was to add more tempering materials and repeat the latter half of the process to complete the tempering.

In terms of data, this incomplete tempering state required an additional 50% of tempering materials to succeed.

After discovering this situation, He Shangyong quickly glanced at Gulu behind him, then gritted his teeth and took out another set of tempering materials, adding them to the furnace and repeating the latter half of the process. Only then did he finally complete the tempering.

The tempering was complete.

He Shangyong turned and glanced at Lu Heng, then looked at Gulu and respectfully bowed, saying, "Please, Master, give your evaluation."

Gulu didn't offer his opinion directly but turned to Lu Heng and asked, "What do you think?"

Lu Heng casually replied, "It's okay, passable."

"This assessment isn't meant to be a deliberate criticism, but it's a rather lukewarm evaluation."

Gulu asked again, "So, do you think he should be allowed to use the Tempering Furnace?"

Everyone's gaze shifted to Lu Heng, wondering what his response would be.

Lu Heng spread his hands and said, "In this case, it's best to leave the decision to the Master."

Gulu wasn't satisfied with this evaluation. He hopped down from his chair and walked over to the Tempering Furnace, closing its door before beginning to lecture,

"Setting aside the tempering technique for a moment, your skills aren't exactly praiseworthy either. Lu Heng always ensures that the furnace is clean after use, and he organizes the components properly.

"You didn't clean it at all. Don't you know that if residue isn't promptly removed, it can accumulate in the furnace and affect the internal temperature?"

"Your tempering skills are also subpar. You can't compare to Lu Heng at all. You're not fit to be a tempering master. My evaluation is that you've failed."

The mutants present widened their eyes upon hearing Gulu's lecture, thinking to themselves, 'You must be the legendary Dream-Crushing Mentor. That's brutal.'

He Shangyong froze, feeling like he had turned to stone. If Lu Heng had criticized him, he could have dismissed it as malicious suppression from a competitor.

But Lu Heng hadn't said a word from start to finish; it was Gulu who had given him a poor evaluation.

He actually wasn't unaware that the furnace needed to be cleaned after use. Typically, this task was handled by the assistant of the tempering master, and he had never had to do it before.

However, bringing this up now as an excuse would only make him look foolish.

He Shangyong's failure to pass the tempering assessment meant that the Springtop Group's plan to infiltrate the Tempering Fortress had completely fallen through.

...

After leaving the Tempering Fortress, Hu Biao and He Shangyong still had to report to Kenji Kino.

Hu Biao wasn't worried because he had successfully completed all the tasks assigned to him by the Springtop Group.

His responsibility was to bring people to the Tempering Fortress, and he had indeed done so.

Whether or not He Shangyong gained the approval of the master of the Tempering Fortress was none of his concern.

The Springtop Group's plan to place their own tempering master had failed, and Lu Heng's tempering skills had become even more highly regarded.

During this time, the Springtop Group's plans in the coastal region had suffered consecutive setbacks, causing great dissatisfaction among the financial conglomerate backing them, and Kenji Kino was under immense pressure.

...

After leaving the Tempering Fortress, Lu Heng needed to hand over the tempering business contract to Lin Zeyu, so he sent him a message.

Before long, Lin Zeyu replied, "I just finished paying the auction fee this afternoon. I'm going to get the team contract now. You can handle the handover at the company; I don't need to be there."

It was already dark, and it was quite late to be picking up the team contract.

Lu Heng didn't think much of it and headed to the Universe Corporation to hand over the two weapons from the tempering business contract.

The Universe Corporation guaranteed a 70% success rate for tempering services, so even if Lu Heng's performance was subpar today, his success rate would still be higher than the guaranteed rate.

After completing the handover, Lu Heng prepared to head home.

At that moment, the Universe Security Company was suddenly alerted, and a group of mutant bodyguards rushed out of the company.

Lu Heng stopped the manager in charge of the handover and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"

The manager's voice sounded anxious as he replied, "The boss sent out a distress signal."

"A distress signal?" Lu Heng's eyebrows furrowed. He immediately thought of Lin Zeyu going to pick up the team contract at such a late hour, which did seem a bit odd.

"Can you contact him?" Lu Heng asked immediately.

The manager of Universe Security quickly grabbed an ear-mounted communication device and said, "This is the company's emergency communication device. The boss sent out a distress signal, and all security personnel will receive the notification. Mr. Lu, please help us."

Lu Heng took the communication device and put it on his ear, asking, "What's the situation now?"

A voice from the communication channel replied, "The boss has been shot, and his vehicle is stopped on the Embankment Road near Riverside Park. We haven't been able to contact him yet."

Lu Heng listened to the information while walking outside.

The entire Universe Security Company was mobilized, and over a dozen vehicles started one after another.

Lu Heng got into one of the vehicles and asked through the communication channel, "Muyu, can you hear me?"

The Universe Security Company was initially established to provide bodyguard services for Lin Zeyu.

When Lin Zeyu sent out a distress signal, all security personnel from Universe would receive the message.

Su Muyu had signed with Universe a few days ago and naturally received the distress signal as well.

"I can hear you. I'm on my way, and the Scout Eagle is estimated to arrive in two minutes near Riverside Park," Su Muyu's voice came through the communication channel.

"Good, keep in touch."

As he spoke, the vehicle's engine roared to life, and they sped off towards Embankment Road and Riverside Park.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end