Section 158 A Close Encounter
"Mu, look at my hands! They're almost swollen!" Ye Zhong's tone was full of grievance, almost to the point of crying. It had taken Ye Zhong a full thirty-five days to finish all the bone components. Without any instruments, he had to resort to the most primitive manual crafting method, which directly led to his hands being overworked. Of course, there were benefits too. After so many days and nights of work, Ye Zhong's skills had improved significantly. Moreover, seeing the large quantity of high-quality bone materials he had kept for himself, Ye Zhong felt as if he owned a gold mountain, experiencing unprecedented wealth. He had even made a few components for Han Jia, just in case. The rest, along with a bunch of strange things he had bought, were taken back to his sub-space by Mu. Without Mu Shang's existence, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy such benefits. Only a high-intelligence light-simulated AI like Mu Shang could perform such a series of operations in sub-space. For example, the Iron Python Lizard scales from before had always been stored by Mu.
"Hmm, judging by the design, it's more likely to attract attention," Mu said with a deadpan expression.
"It's all because of that damn Shang! Hmph, just wait until he comes out..." Ye Zhong gnashed his teeth, his voice sinister.
"Leaf, I have to remind you that you lack effective means of attack," Mu said, appearing to have Ye Zhong's best interests at heart.
Ye Zhong was immediately left speechless.
In Jiu Kai City, after the mysterious person suddenly announced the cessation of the demand message that had only been released three days prior, people continuously received bone components—all those who had sent bone materials. Thus, the most popular topic of discussion every day became who received what kind of component that day, and so on.
Martis's efforts were not in vain; he also received a bone component—a shoulder guard made from Red Phantom Bone. He was ecstatic, couldn't put it down, and immediately began studying this rare bone component.
Ye Zhong finally completed all the bone components three days before the Level 4 assessment, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Soon, people in Jiu Kai City noticed that no one was receiving bone components anymore and speculated that all the components had been distributed. The day after news spread that no one was receiving any more bone components, their market value skyrocketed several times over. Even so, no one was willing to sell the bone components they had.
In this activity of Ye Zhong's, both Ye Zhong and the Institute were the biggest beneficiaries.
Ye Zhong obtained a large amount of rare bone materials, many of which were from species he had never seen before, ensuring he wouldn't have to worry about a shortage of bone materials for quite some time. Of course, the majority of these came from the Institute's contributions.
The Institute was also the biggest beneficiary of this activity, with about eighty percent of the bone components ending up in their hands. What they had付出的 was merely a portion of their bone material inventory.
However, all of this was irrelevant to Ye Zhong. What concerned him now was the Level 4 assessment in three days. After finishing all the work at hand, the first thing Ye Zhong did was rest. After days and nights of rushing to make bone components, he was in a state of extreme fatigue and desperately needed rest.
Two days later, having recovered his energy, Ye Zhong was once again full of vitality.
Soon, the time for the Level 4 assessment arrived.
Ye Zhong's guide was still Wei Qian. When she saw Ye Zhong, there was a bit more respect in her expression. As his guide, she naturally knew who was behind the recent bone component frenzy. No matter where you are, people with ability are always more easily respected by others, especially in a place like Jiu Kai City where strength is revered.
Ye Zhong followed behind Wei Qian, passing through the hall.
A veiled woman in purple came towards them. Wei Qian immediately stopped and bowed to her. The veiled woman in purple nodded at Wei Qian, and when her gaze swept over Ye Zhong, she asked, "And this gentleman is?" Her voice was sweet, with a somewhat elusive quality to it.
Wei Qian hurriedly said, "This is Mr. Ye, who is on his way to take the Level 4 assessment!"
"Oh, I didn't expect Mr. Ye to be so young and yet already passed the Level 3 assessment. Truly a genius!" The veiled woman in purple was very surprised.
"Average," Ye Zhong said expressionlessly, his tone neither cold nor warm.
"Yes, Mr. Ye is really amazing! He was the first applicant to pass the Level 3 assessment this time!" Wei Qian chimed in.
"Mr. Ye is indeed young and promising! Well, I won't keep you then. I wish you success in your assessment. I have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. Goodbye!" After speaking, the woman in purple nodded slightly to Ye Zhong and Wei Qian before turning to leave.
As she turned and walked away, the woman in purple felt somewhat puzzled. She couldn't help but turn around to look at the back of that Mr. Ye, wondering to herself, Who exactly is he? Why does his背影 seem so familiar, as if I've seen him somewhere before? But she couldn't recall it at the moment. The face, which didn't seem particularly special, also convinced her that she had never seen this person before.
Suddenly remembering that she was pressed for time and had a mission, Feng Su chuckled softly to herself. What's wrong with me? She then pushed all distracting thoughts out of her mind.
Ye Zhong was not as relaxed as the woman in purple. The moment he saw her, his heart almost stopped!
It was Feng Su! Absolutely her! No mistake!
Almost simultaneously, Ye Zhong received Mu's reminder: "Leaf, be careful, that's Feng Su!" Mu then added, "Shang once scanned her full body curve characteristics!"
While his mind was in turmoil, Ye Zhong竭力 maintained an unchanged expression. If Feng Su recognized him now, it would be disastrous!
Feng Su's attire was too easy to recognize—always in that purple dress, veiled, and her unique voice, which Ye Zhong also remembered vividly. Last time, in the small grove near Mr. Yin's house, Ye Zhong had clashed with Feng Su and knew that this seemingly delicate woman actually possessed immense strength! The injury from that time still made him apprehensive. Fortunately, he was wearing a Hei Jiao mask then, so she hadn't seen his real face. Otherwise, just thinking about the consequences made him shudder!
Judging from Wei Qian's behavior towards Feng Su, this woman must hold a fairly high position in the Institute, Ye Zhong guessed to himself. It seemed she had paid quite a bit of attention to him, making his scalp tingle.
Hearing Feng Su's footsteps leave the hall, Ye Zhong casually asked Wei Qian, "Who was that? Her clothing is really strange."
Wei Qian pursed her lips and smiled. "Lady Feng is always like that. We're also very curious about her appearance! But it's said that besides the Elders, no one knows what she looks like! Lady Feng is incredibly powerful; she's the Institute's Ace Pilot. And she's very approachable too; we all really like her!" Wei Qian's eyes sparkled, her face full of admiration, making Ye Zhong feel slightly disgusted.
So that's how it is. No wonder she's so powerful. It wasn't unjust that I suffered a loss at her hands last time. I just don't know what she's like when piloting a light mech. An Ace Pilot... she must be really formidable. What would her light mech be like? Ye Zhong's mind wandered.
It never occurred to him that he might have already seen Feng Su's light mech.
"Lady Feng seemed quite impressed with you!" Wei Qian said, widening her large, watery eyes as she looked at Ye Zhong with interest.
"Oh, really?" Ye Zhong replied offhandedly.
Wei Qian led Ye Zhong through several twists and turns until they arrived at a room door. She示意 Ye Zhong to place the pass wristband on his left wrist against the door for identity verification. A light beep sounded, and the door slid open silently.
Ye Zhong entered the room. Wei Qian did not follow him in but stayed outside. As soon as Ye Zhong entered, the door closed automatically and silently.
At the far end of the room sat a row of seven or eight old men, all appearing very elderly. Facing them stood a line of people who seemed somewhat nervous. These standing individuals were probably applicants for the Level 4 assessment, just like him.
Ye Zhong's entrance immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"Eh!" Several exclamations of surprise rose one after another. Even the more composed ones couldn't hide the astonishment in their eyes. Glancing around at everyone, Ye Zhong quickly understood why they were so surprised. Everyone here, besides himself, was middle-aged or older. For a young man like him, not even twenty, to suddenly appear among this group was naturally very conspicuous.
Ye Zhong's expression remained unchanged, fearless, as he walked to one end of the standing line.
Ahem, ahem! Seeing many people still staring intently at Ye Zhong, the old man in the middle of the seated row couldn't take it anymore and lightly coughed to remind everyone to pay attention.
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn by the coughs, and all eyes turned to the old man in the middle of the seated row. This old man wore a blue cloth robe, was spirited, had a few wisps of white beard on his chin, and looked quite authoritative.
Blue Robe! Ye Zhong's heart skipped a beat. He knew that in this place, only Arts Masters wore blue robes. This old man was actually an Arts Master! Ye Zhong couldn't help but become highly alert. Although Arts Masters weren't as powerful in combat as Arts Practitioners, their attainments in mental cultivation were deeper, and they possessed many unfathomable methods. Moreover, Ye Zhong himself practiced Meditation and feared that if he wasn't careful, the old man might discover it, which would be troublesome!
The old man slowly swept his gaze over everyone, his eyes as sharp as swords. Everyone involuntarily lowered their heads, avoiding the old man's gaze.
When the old man's gaze fell on him, Ye Zhong felt as if everything about him was being seen through. This made all the hairs on his body stand on end!
Ye Zhong imitated the others and quickly lowered his head, but inwardly he was wary. Mental Pressure! The information he obtained from Mr. Yin included the application method of this technique, but it required a high level of mental cultivation from the Arts Master! It seemed this old man was indeed a master among Arts Masters. Even with his head lowered, Ye Zhong敏锐ly noticed that the other's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds longer!
"Well, first of all, congratulations on passing the Level 3 assessment. However, you will now face an even more severe test. Let me first explain the rules of the Level 4 assessment!" the old man slowly began. His words made all the applicants lift their heads.