210: Equipment upgrades and "personalized" flying swords

Abundant energy was the foundation, and converting that foundation into tangible combat power had become the top priority.

The industrial zone welcomed a new wave of intense, exhausting work.

In Wen Youyi's vision, the future members of "Spark" should no longer be a ragtag group holding a motley assortment of weapons of uneven quality, but rather a well-equipped, well-coordinated regular army—even if the current scale was pitifully small.

The concept of "Standardized Equipment" was proposed for the first time.

The basic template was the "Spark" standard Flying Sword already recognized by the market (black market), but with the support of new Materials and new technologies, it underwent a comprehensive upgrade.

Senior Brother Li and his technical team almost lived in the industrial zone.

The "Matter Decomposition and Recombination Furnace," running at full power, continuously churned out high-quality "star iron" ingots.

After precise forging assisted by "Flowing Silver" and rune inscription, Flying Sword embryos, each gleaming with cold light and containing inner starlight, were produced.

But Wen Youyi's requirements did not stop there.

"Standardized does not mean identical," he said to the busy crowd in the industrial zone.

"On the basis of standardization, we must achieve a certain degree of 'personalized customization' to make the equipment better suited to the user's characteristics and combat style."

This requirement made Senior Brother Li scratch his head.

Standardized production could greatly improve efficiency, but personalization meant more processes and adjustments.

However, practice soon proved Wen Youyi's foresight.

The first batch of upgraded standard Flying Swords, although far superior to the past in terms of power, toughness, and spiritual power conductivity, received varied feedback when they reached different people's hands.

Zhao Iron Pillar, that brute, couldn't put the new Flying Sword down after receiving it, and then habitually poured brute force into it to test the feel...

"Snap!"

With a crisp sound, the sword body was fine, but he accidentally crushed a small piece of the star patterns carved on the hilt for aesthetics and anti-slip purposes...

Senior Brother Li looked at the "maimed" hilt, his mouth twitching: "Iron Pillar... this is a Flying Sword, not a fire poker..."

Zhao Iron Pillar scratched his head, looking innocent: "I feel like this handle is a bit thin, doesn't feel right. If it were a bit thicker and heavier, it would be better!"

On the other side, Wang Wu, after trying out the new Flying Sword, offered a different opinion: "The weight distribution of the sword body is very balanced, but I think the tip could be a bit lighter and more agile, so the sword speed could be faster, which is more suitable for skirmishes and surprise attacks."

And a member of the Purifiers who specialized in water-attribute Spell whispered: "Can we inlay a small piece of 'Cold Jade' at the crossguard? Although it doesn't improve the overall power much, it can slightly amplify the effect of my water-type Spell..."

Facing this motley variety of feedback, Senior Brother Li's head grew as big as a bucket.

If he had to modify them one by one, the workload would be too huge!

Just as he was worrying, Wen Youyi once again cast his gaze toward their versatile tool—"Flowing Silver."

He took Senior Brother Li, holding the Flying Sword with the hilt crushed by Zhao Iron Pillar, and found a meritorious "Flowing Silver" that was "patrolling" nearby.

Wen Youyi handed the Flying Sword to the "Flowing Silver" and transmitted his intent through the star core fragment: "This... handle... is not good... modify it to be... suitable for him (pointing to Zhao Iron Pillar)..."

The "Flowing Silver" extended its silver tentacles, touched the hilt, and "sensed" Zhao Iron Pillar's massive Qi and strength characteristics; the silver liquid surface rippled.

Then, in the astonished gazes of everyone, it slowly covered the hilt.

The silver liquid, like living colloid, quickly filled the crushed part and began to reshape the hilt!

It made the hilt thicker according to Zhao Iron Pillar's hand shape and usage habits, added anti-slip threads to the grip, and even added a small counterweight ball at the end that didn't affect the center of gravity!

The whole process took less than a stick of incense, and a brand new, custom hilt that perfectly fit Zhao Iron Pillar's usage habits was completed!

"Flowing Silver" retreated, leaving behind a hilt that displayed a matte dark gray color, with a warm touch and an excellent grip!

Zhao Iron Pillar took the modified Flying Sword, swung it casually, and his eyes immediately brightened: "Hey! This feels good! Handy! Too handy!"

Senior Brother Li watched, dumbfounded, and then ecstatic: "This... this is simply a Divine Artifact! They can even do this?"

Wen Youyi smiled and said: "They can change their form at will, and they are extremely sensitive to material structure and energy flow.

Letting them perform 'fine-tuning' and 'personalized optimization' according to each person's subtle differences is most appropriate!"

Thus, an interesting scene appeared in the industrial zone.

The production line was responsible for mass-producing standard Flying Sword embryos, and then, based on user feedback, different "Flowing Silver" performed "personalized finishing."

Some Flying Swords had their centers of gravity adjusted, making them more suitable for hacking and slashing; some had their blades thinned to increase speed; some had small attribute Materials inlaid in specific locations to adapt to the user's Spell; even one member whimsically requested a few more hooks on the scabbard to make it convenient to carry other small tools, which was also easily achieved by "Flowing Silver"...

"Flowing Silver" seemed to enjoy this "creative" work as well; they would spontaneously make some optimizations based on the user's characteristics, and sometimes the changes they made were things the users themselves hadn't thought of, yet they were exceptionally handy to use.

In addition to Flying Swords, armor and "Life-Support Belts" were also upgraded.

The new "Spark Type III" armor had stronger defense, lower energy consumption, and reserved interfaces to prepare for loading more functional modules in the future.

The "Life-Support Belt" integrated a more efficient air circulation and water collection System, significantly improving sustained combat capability.

Watching the base members put on brand new, well-fitting, and more powerful standard equipment, with morale at an unprecedented high, Wen Youyi nodded with satisfaction.

To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools.

This "Spark" squad, armed with modern management thinking and ancient black technology, was transforming into a true elite force at an unprecedented speed.

And all of this was just the solid first step taken toward that grand plan—piercing through the Ranch.

(End of Chapter)