Waiting silently.

Ji Jue's gaze swept over, then he looked elsewhere and withdrew it.

A cat-and-mouse game, huh?

"You better be careful not to get bitten on the ear by the mouse you look down upon."

He took a deep breath, ignoring the acute pain in his legs, leaned against the wall to stand, and step by step made his way to the material warehouse—the mouse's immediate priority was to make a pair of crutches for itself.

Jian Yuan was even more generous than he had anticipated.

At the same time, he was much stronger than Ji Jue had imagined.

The inside and outside of the fourth floor of the workshop were completely two different worlds. The outside at best was nothing more than a workshop, while inside, it seemed like a world crafted by Jian Yuan himself.

Separated by just a door, once pushed open, one could see the deep, distant shelves that seemed endless, with a plethora of materials neatly categorized and extending as far as Ji Jue's senses could reach.

When he turned around and opened another door, within the void space, a dim light flickered from mid-air, burning silently without giving off any heat. Ji Jue stood outside the caution line and expressionlessly closed the door. That was the Annihilation Furnace.

Opening another door revealed a valley beset with storms, thunder, and incessant rain, where vague figures wandered. Sensing Ji Jue's gaze, it was as though one looked back before quickly averting its eyes and trudging away.

Ji Jue closed the door and abandoned the idea of exploring further.

This workshop—built over who knows how many generations of craftsmen—was practically a fully self-contained domain; God only knows what other bizarre toys Jian Yuan had crammed in there.

If he ended up with a Godzilla as his prize, that would really be something.

But only when he looked down did he notice the phantom that had appeared behind him at some point, as if a Soul, insubstantial and waiting, silently observing.

After pondering for a moment, Ji Jue pointed at the afterimage, "You there, go stir-fry two dishes for me."

The afterimage didn't respond.

With a snap, two packets of compressed biscuits fell from the sky, landing on the ground, accompanied by a bottle of water.

Dishes?

Wishful thinking!

Ji Jue thought for a moment, then said, "Find me a cane."

Instantly, several steel rods fell from the sky, the sharp edges still with burrs, clanging as they hit the floor in front of him.

Oh, wants me to do it myself, huh?

"So this is all you give me?" Ji Jue frowned. "Rubber."

Snap!

A whole block of rubber smacked him in the face, as if to say that's enough.

Is this a Craftsman Grandmaster's workshop, with artificial intelligence too?

Ji Jue laughed heartily, but said no more. With the double blessing of Non-attack and Heavenly Skill, it took just a few minutes for a wheelchair to take shape. Although it lacked a motor and wasn't automatic, he even managed to rig a suspension system.

Regrettably, due to limited resources, the armrests were too narrow to fit two shotguns...

Ji Jue sat in the wheelchair and idly spun a few circles before returning to the hall, sifting through a pile of materials. These were common materials spawned by Spring City's Mutated environment, seen as pollutants by the association's craftsmen, but they were suitable aids for the Zhi Fu branch of Mutated Transformation.

Based on the physical properties and spiritual characteristics, Ji Jue could roughly discern some of the materials' uses, but he soon frowned, "Just sorting materials, but what about specifications? Requirements? Diced or chunked? Isn't this just trifling? Without a single blueprint, how is a worker supposed to get on with it?"

The afterimage remained still; with a snap, a requisition list appeared out of nowhere.

It paid no attention to his probing and peering into Jian Yuan's legacy; in fact, without him even asking, two books detailing the materials processing and requirements were tossed into Ji Jue's arms.

Next, two books on the basic theory of creating Mutated Creations, and a comprehensive overview, as hefty as a brick, on Mutated Transformation theory and basic discussion landed in front of him.

With a bang, a blow hit his stomach before he could even react, as if struck by a clean, straightforward punch!

Lastly, in front of him was an alarm clock.

A four-hour countdown began to tick away.

The message was simple and clear.

Four hours.

If after four hours, you haven't mastered your task and completed the work, then we'll have some entertainment on our hands.

"What do you mean! Who forces someone to commit crimes!"

Ji Jue became furiously angry, holding the basics of Mutated Alchemy in his hand, his body trembling with cold anger as tears fell unwillingly: I'm a legit craftsman apprentice from the association, the successor to Fluid Alchemy, a clean and pure Ember Chosen One. Do I have to learn this kind of fucked-up nonsense? I'm tainted, tainted... Hey, but this section is quite interesting, the annotations are piercingly accurate, the old ghost's got something indeed...

Before he could react, the book was flipped open.

Damn it, I can't control myself, Ember bro, save me, my body is moving on its own, you can't blame me... this is force majeure! It must be that old bastard Jian Yuan's doing!

Ji Jue, with a look of disgust, lowered his head and started reading it, word by word.

Well, while I'm here...

Wouldn't it be a waste not to learn something?!

.

Three hours, forty minutes, and fifty-one seconds

All the materials were processed and sent to the suddenly appeared Jian Yuan. His emerald eyes scanned over them, and then, with a wave of his finger: "Mediocre, okay, mediocre... these few are passable, the rest is trash, remake them, you have half an hour."

"Half an hour?"

Ji Jue glared angrily: "I've only been learning for two damn hours, haven't even finished reading the book, where on earth is there such logic, don't push people too hard!"

"You know how much time you've really wasted."

Jian Yuan, expressionless, "If you can't do it, I'll chop off one of your fingers."

"..."

Ji Jue fell silent, and after a long time, he tossed the book aside with a helpless sigh.

"Why bother doing this, Craftsman Grandmaster." He earnestly advised, "Why not save the trouble and just kill me? Keeping a calamity like me alive might become a serious problem for you in the future."

Jian Yuan glanced at him, his indifferent face finally showing a slight change, as if looking at a clown: "Don't worry, if one day you indeed become a problem for me, I would be elated."

"Well said, brilliantly said, said till Emberrs cry out in delight!"

Ji Jue clapped in admiration, genuinely impressed: "However, with so many calamities in this world, you might as well take control of You Sui sooner rather than later, go kill the association, what bullshit Three Grandmasters, kill the Carrion Eaters first, then annihilate the Plowsmiths, and finally scatter the ashes of the Heavenly Furnace, to proclaim yourself the pinnacle of Embers, wouldn't that be splendid!

Why mix with the likes of the Evil Cult, and why waste your effort here?

Hmm?"

Ji Jue, leaning on the wheelchair armrest, curiously inquired: "Is it that you don't like it?"

Probably no one has had the guts to speak such nonsense in front of Jian Yuan in many years.

Even if Jian Yuan goes into a rage the next second and whips me into a spinning top with a copper belt, it wouldn't be surprising.

But unexpectedly to Ji Jue, Jian Yuan remained calm and indifferent, simply counterasking:

"How do you know I haven't?"

In an instant, Ji Jue became stunned.

Frozen on the spot.

Because, right in front of him, Jian Yuan cracked a smile, raised his hand and, with practiced ease, removed his face right before Ji Jue's eyes.

On that mask-like face lingered a mocking expression.

But underneath the mask, the head revealed violent gashes, profound cracks, and the curse light that was coiled upon them.

Beneath the human shell, as if everything was hollowed out, the residing soul that suffered from wounds and torment constantly changed, revealing its true face.

"Life Science is profound and extensive, kid, you still have a long way to go."

On that closed face, a meaningful mocking smile surfaced, with a final reminder, "You have twenty-five minutes left."

A fleeting shadow emerged behind Jian Yuan.

Holding cigar cutters, presenting them.

Click, click.

The countdown began...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.