11: Rapid progress

"I am not qualified to enter the Armament Laboratory, Brother Zhang. I will see you here. I am going back to train now. If there is anything you don't understand, you can contact me via Dark Message at any time," Randy said with a smile.

Compared to other muscular warriors, his appearance was more delicate. Combined with his black combat suit, he looked dashing, naturally making people feel favorably toward him.

"Thank you for the trouble. This is far enough." Zhang Huaiyuan nodded, bade farewell to the other, and turned to face the heavily encrypted gate.

A blue light scanned down from above.

"Identity verification in progress..."

"Verification successful. Welcome, temporary Researcher Mr. Zhang Huaiyuan."

"Such high efficiency..."

Watching the gate slowly open, Zhang Huaiyuan couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

He didn't even know when An Yu had granted him the permissions.

Lifting his leg to step through the gate, Zhang Huaiyuan looked inside with curiosity. He had never seen a laboratory belonging to a major power before.

"Damn! This...!"

What met his eyes was a space of several tens of thousands of square meters, filled with all kinds of processing benches and equipment, most of which he had never seen before.

Based on the arrangement style, it could be roughly seen that it was divided into two areas. Thinking back to what An Yu had said before, there should be two Star Mechanics working here at the same time.

Zhang Huaiyuan approached a large machine; it was an assembly line production bench with dozens of mechanical arms suspended on both sides of the conveyor belt. When mass production was needed after completing a modification plan, one could input the plan and proceed to mass produce.

"The last plan upload was 168 days ago. It seems this place has been out of operation for nearly five months. Fortunately, there are a large number of cleaning and maintenance robots, so there isn't even a speck of dust."

"Huh, what is this..."

Zhang Huaiyuan familiarized himself with the area distribution along the way and saw that at the intersection of the two central areas, there was a large terminal displaying dense records.

"Mecha modification request: Adapt for long-term underwater combat. Proposer: Second Combat Squad, Reis... (Incomplete)"

"Combat suit modification request: Adapt to the environment, capable of automatic mimicry/color-changing, self-repairing. Proposer: First Squad Captain Randy... (Incomplete)"

"..."

"So this is for receiving tasks."

Zhang Huaiyuan silently noted the location and purpose of each piece of equipment.

It wasn't until three hours later that he had initially browsed through the entire Armament Laboratory.

"That will do for now. When I have time, I will adjust the positions of these machines according to my habits. Next is the most important thing."

He scanned the southeast corner of the laboratory, his eyes revealing an undisguisable excitement.

There, a large number of weapons awaiting modification were placed, and there were even quite a few semi-finished mechas, all of which were models phased out by the Empire over 100 years ago.

"Hmm... first, find some firearm modification tasks to quickly raise my extraordinary level to E-grade. This way, my brain domain strength and learning ability should further evolve, and then completing the professional level upgrade will be twice the result with half the effort."

Zhang Huaiyuan recalled some of the incomplete requests recorded in the terminal just now, quickly picked them out from the inventory, and began the modifications.

"Range requirement is over 8 kilometers, power requirement is over 5 crystals..."

"Hmm... range improvement is simple. Lengthen the barrel design to let the bullet gain a longer acceleration distance. I can also make a kinetic energy enhancement linkage device; this way, both the muzzle velocity and power will increase. However, considering the shooting accuracy issue, I must add a stabilization device..."

The high development of his brain domain caused infinite inspiration to flash within him.

A hard-to-describe light flickered in Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes, and his extraordinary ability was activated, leaving no secrets in the structure of the entire firearm.

He didn't even need to practice on the simulation bench; he directly controlled the precise mechanical arms to begin modifications. Soon, a brand-new sniper rifle appeared in his hand.

He walked quickly to the testing area.

"Start recording."

Bang, bang, bang...

After firing several consecutive shots, a series of data appeared on the light screen to the side.

"Effective range 8.13 kilometers, power 5.02 crystals..."

"Effective range 8.16 kilometers, power 5.01 crystals..."

"Comprehensive assessment: effective range 8.10 - 8.19 kilometers, power 5.01 - 5.08 crystals. Meets expectations."

"OK, I can proceed to the next one."

Zhang Huaiyuan placed the firearm in the completion area, concentrated his mind to check his extraordinary level, and felt increasingly excited.

90/1000.

"At this rate, I will be able to advance in at most half a month."

...

Dark Destruction Legion station, top-floor exclusive training room.

"How is it?"

A woman dressed in a light cyan combat suit asked while quickly dodging the overwhelming laser attacks.

Her figure was elegant and composed, like a dancing elf from mythology.

"Eldest Miss, the new Star Mechanic you ordered us to pay attention to has only left the Armament Laboratory once in these past 10-plus days. He applied to the Logistics Department for twenty doses of the restricted drug 'Muscle Stimulant'."

The maid was clearly accustomed to her master's character of utilizing time to the extreme, and she reported on her own:

"According to the usage records of the Armament Laboratory, he has worked over 20 hours every day and completed 368 backlogged firearm modification tasks. Members of the First Brigade have nothing but praise for him."

"Working over 20 hours a day? And asked for twenty doses of Muscle Stimulant?"

An Yu dodged two parallel lasers and spoke with some surprise, her voice involuntarily raising a little. She was well aware that his physical fitness was only that of an ordinary person.

"Yes, Eldest Miss. Furthermore, judging from the materials he accessed from the headquarters information terminal, he is already studying knowledge regarding mechas and heavy weapons. If he is not just putting on an act, he should already be approaching the level of a proficient-grade Star Mechanic," the maid continued to report.

"Hmm...!"

Hearing this news, An Yu finally stopped her training, leaped down from the dodge training device, and confirmed, "Approaching the level of a proficient-grade Star Mechanic?"

"Yes, based solely on the materials he borrowed. However, his borrowing speed is extremely fast. For some very profound materials, he only borrowed them for less than half a day before switching to the next book. It is unclear if he is intentionally putting on an act," the maid respectfully replied.

"Probably not."

An Yu shook her head slightly. She knew that he had awakened a learning-type extraordinary ability, and his mastery speed was far faster than that of a normal person.

"Huh..."

At this moment, the maid who was reporting with her head lowered suddenly saw the latest message on her communication device. She couldn't help but show joy and quickly said:

"Eldest Miss, good news! Lord Reis just sent me a message saying that the mecha underwater adaptability modification he previously proposed has been completed. It seems to have been done by that new Researcher named Zhang Huaiyuan!"

"Not bad... It seems Dark Destruction Legion is about to welcome an excellent Star Mechanic."

Hearing this, a smile from the heart involuntarily appeared on the face of the usually indifferent An Yu. She looked at the maid and said:

"Order the Logistics Department to select an excellent health management team to serve Zhang Huaiyuan specifically."

"Raise his permission from temporary to Level 3; he can access all materials below top-secret level."

"Also, select two personal guards from the 'Shadow Blade' to be responsible for protecting our Star Mechanic personally."

"..."