"Doctor! My chair is in your hands. I want the most powerful engine."
After the Engineering Department's chair modification service was announced, seventy percent of Rhodes Island's chair racing enthusiasts took the initiative to carry their beloved chairs to the Engineering Department. The modification prices were also relatively cheap. Originally, the prices were set at 30,000 Lungmen Dollars for the lowest tier, 60,000 for the middle tier, and 100,000 for the highest tier.
However.
This would easily create an equipment gap between wealthy and non-wealthy operators, thus undermining the basic principles of fairness and justice.
So, Closure, being very conscientious, unified the price of all three tiers to 40,000 Lungmen Dollars.
She added small gadgets like smoke grenades, tear gas canisters, and banana peels to the chairs, and also included a nitro boost feature. However, the fixed nitro boost could only be used twice. This added a layer of fun for many operators, as they had to consider when to best use the nitro boost and when to deploy their gadgets.
Of course.
Lucas and Closure did not add a brake function. After all, it was an office chair race; using your feet to brake or perform a foot-brake drift was part of the fun.
Naturally.
The 40,000 was just the modification fee.
The subsequent nitro fuel and various small missiles had to be purchased separately.
And then...
The once zero-cost chair race suddenly became an arms race.
If he modifies his, and you don't, you'll be left eating his dust. Some operators even wanted to slip the Doctor some extra money in hopes of getting their chairs made even more awesome, but for the sake of fairness, everyone's modification standards were the same.
Through all this back and forth.
Closure made a hefty profit, which she split fifty-fifty with Lucas.
Although... Lucas genuinely couldn't care less about such a small amount of money.
Of course.
Lucas only modified these chairs because he was bored and looking for something to do to relax. These days, he had been holed up in the Engineering Department with Closure, researching subsequent optimizations for their artificial intelligence. Of course, it was less of a discussion and more of a one-sided lecture.
Ever since witnessing the power of the [Titan].
Closure had been clinging to Lucas almost every day, begging him to teach her.
However.
There were some principles Lucas didn't know how to teach, like the forging of Nirvana Metal. This was something only he could forge, and the technique required personal insight rather than something that could be explained with words. Moreover, most of the things Lucas developed were based on these top-tier materials. Many of the principles weren't actually difficult, but the material issue was the bottleneck. Yet, Closure kept pestering him, and Lucas had no choice.
So.
These past few days.
The Engineering Department was often filled with the clanging sound of hammering.
And during these days.
There wasn't much going on back in Columbia.
Jessica still left early and returned late. As Raythean Medica's business dealings grew, Jessica was gradually becoming more like her father—busier and busier.
Previously, she could get off work around five or six.
But now, she might not get home until eight or nine, and she had to leave early in the morning.
And it wasn't a good solution for Ceobe to just play at home all day.
At Silence's suggestion.
Jessica found an excellent private tutor for Ceobe, Ifrit, Shamare, and Rosmontis, planning to have them start learning from first-grade material. Although Jessica could afford to keep Ceobe at home for the rest of her life, a child of her age should at least learn to read. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to figure out how to use a phone properly.
However, Ceobe's academic talent was truly... lacking.
Though her combat talent was very strong.
After a while.
Rosmontis was already previewing middle school math, Shamare had mastered fourth-grade knowledge, and Ifrit could at least do some basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. But Ceobe still barely recognized a few words. However, she did learn the words for ice cream, popsicle, honey cake, and cake very quickly.
As for Surtr, she had decided to live at Jessica's house permanently.
Years of wandering had finally come to an end. Whether it was because her heart was here, or for some other reason, perhaps only Surtr herself knew.
Nian was waiting for the Columbia Film Festival in over a month. A few days ago, she received an invitation to the festival, personally delivered by someone sent from the head of the Columbia Film Group. She was overjoyed.
In reality, only Jessica knew that the invitation was sent purely out of respect for Raythean Industries.
Rhodes Island.
"So tired, Doctor~ I can't go on. I can't lift a single muscle in my body...."
Closure lay exhausted on the lounge chair in her workshop, looking completely drained. Her skin was flushed, and sticky sweat had soaked through her shirt, causing it to cling to her body with every breath.
Her chest rose and fell.
White steam continuously rose from her skin as she lay on the chair, muttering things that sounded strangely suggestive.
I have to say.
Lucas hadn't noticed before.
But Closure, lying down now, had a pretty good figure, or at least she was curvy in all the right places.
"Uh... not quite right."
"The impurity extraction is incomplete. It's still far from a hundred percent extraction."
Lucas examined the iron ingot Closure had forged and shook his head.
As expected.
Everyone's talents have their limits.
For example, Closure's raw forging talent was far inferior to Zumama's. The current Zumama could already forge high-quality metals with her bare hands.
"Sigh...."
"By the way, Doctor, you don't look that strong. Why are you so fierce when you swing a hammer?"
Closure asked Lucas.
"Is it that thing where the leaner you are, the more skilled you are?"
"..."
Closure's sudden innuendo ran right over Lucas's face.
"You have to master a technique. Everything requires a technique. Just using brute force will hardly be effective. You need to be skillful—sometimes light, sometimes heavy, sometimes fast, sometimes slow."
Lucas said with a straight face.
"Forging is like a massage. You can't just use brute force. Every metal has its own life and its own 'temper'. Using brute force won't work. You need a special touch. You still have a long way to go; you have to learn slowly."
Why does this sound more and more wrong?
Are we talking about smithing?
Closure frowned.
This massage... is it a proper one?
Just then.
There was a series of orderly knocks on the door of Closure's office. No more, no less, exactly three, and the interval between each knock was identical.
Hearing this knock.
Closure immediately shot up, quickly wiped the sweat-dampened lounge chair with a nearby towel, and straightened her clothes before going to open the door.
*Click.*
The office door opened.
Standing outside was a pretty and cute white-haired girl.
"Yo, Weedy, what's up?"
Weedy frowned, not giving Closure a pleasant look in the slightest, even though Closure was her superior.
"You smell strongly of sweat, Senior Closure."
Moreover, the current Closure was clearly a bit disheveled. Although she had hastily tidied herself up just now, her hair was still messy.
Weedy's mysophobia was well-known in Rhodes Island.
On a normal day.
If she smelled sweat like this, Weedy would absolutely terminate the conversation immediately, turn around, and leave, only coming back to talk business after the other person had taken a nice, fragrant shower. However, today she made an exception, taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing her compulsive cleanliness, avoiding looking at Closure and walking straight into the room.
Upon seeing Lucas.
A rare smile finally appeared on Weedy's lovely face.
"Doctor~"
"Is the modification of my water cannon complete?"
Weedy walked over, her hands behind her back. The smile on her face, combined with her fiery red eyes, made her look like an angel.
"It's about done."
Lucas and Weedy's acquaintance was purely accidental.
Weedy was also a member of the Engineering Department, technically Closure's subordinate, but they were responsible for different fields. Closure focused on pure engineering, while Weedy specialized in bio-engineering. She rarely appeared in crowded places, and her mysophobia made her reluctant to interact with too many people.
After all.
Weedy's mysophobia was so severe.
She would lose the desire to speak the moment she saw someone looking disheveled, like her reaction to Closure just now.
The reason Lucas knew Weedy.
Was purely because...
He went to the wrong office.
He accidentally walked into Weedy's office. At that time, Weedy happened to be out, and he saw the 'water cannon' lying on the floor. Lucas became interested in this type of weapon and began to study it in detail. He happened to run into Weedy, who was returning from the cafeteria with takeout. As a total shut-in, Weedy naturally didn't recognize the Doctor and even... called Amiya. In the end, it turned out to be a misunderstanding.
After Weedy apologized to Lucas, Lucas also pointed out some potential improvements for the water cannon. After a few back-and-forths, the two gradually became acquainted.
The main reason was Lucas's exceptionally unique soul.
This special spiritual power easily created a sense of affinity in others, much like some social butterflies in real life who can befriend others with just a few words. However, Lucas's soul was even more special.
"The modifications are pretty much done."
Lucas took out Weedy's water cannon.
"I improved the water cannon's output power, increasing it by about 40% compared to the original. I also replaced the shell material with a higher-grade metal that's lighter but harder, so it'll hurt more when you hit people with it in close combat. Also, I added a high-pressure water jet function. The specially compressed water, containing iron sand, can instantly cut through ordinary steel plates."
"As for the original liquid nitrogen function, I added a medium-sized casting unit inside. Miss Weedy, you can inject Originium energy to achieve a freezing effect on everything. That's about it."
"Mm.."
Weedy nodded and carefully took back her precious water cannon.
"Excuse me, Doctor, how much will the modifications cost in total...."
Lucas smiled. "No need. We're friends helping each other out. I'm not skilled in bio-engineering, so I might need Miss Weedy's help in the future."
"Friends..."
Weedy slowly lowered her head, then said a thank you and turned to leave. Due to her personality, Weedy didn't have many friends. After all, not many people would like a super-mysophobe.
+2000
Huh?
She gave me two thousand just like that?
Is Miss Weedy that easy to get along with?
Meanwhile, Closure was completely shocked.
"My god!! Doctor!! How did you do it!! When did you two get together?"
Closure's eyes widened.
"How come!! Your clothes are obviously untidy too, why is Weedy so willing to talk to you?"
"Uh... I don't know either."
Lucas shook his head innocently.
He actually hadn't interacted with Weedy many times.
"Doctor, you're not a player, are you?"
Closure nudged the Doctor's chest with her elbow.
"A player? I... don't have a trident."
"You know, the kind that plays with many girls, a scumbag who flirts with a bunch of them and then runs for the hills after sleeping with them."
"Huh?"
Lucas paused for a moment, then immediately retorted, "Don't talk nonsense, I'm still a virgin. Whose boat have I stepped on?"
Closure puffed out her chest and said righteously, "Mine!"
"Doctor, maybe you don't know, but you have no idea what kind of rumors are spreading about me in Rhodes Island. They're saying the Doctor spends all day in my office. As a single girl, do you know how much damage that does to my reputation? I might not be able to get married in the future."
"....."
Lucas was speechless. Having spent so much time with her.
Lucas knew Closure's personality all too well. It was similar to Exusiai's—easygoing and uninhibited, just not as talkative, and she often made outrageous jokes.
"How about this, Doctor! One hundred kilograms of Nirvana Metal, or one unmanned aircraft as a betrothal gift, and you can marry me."
Closure suddenly winked, her eyes holding a hint of flirtation.
"Uh..."
"Not a good deal. Next."
Lucas refused without any hesitation.
Closure: "???"
"Sigh... Doctor, you won't find a girlfriend like this, you know. You're too straight-laced."
Closure sighed.
"By the way, Doctor."
"The goods in my shop and the materials in the workshop are almost used up. Want to go out and restock with me?"
Closure suddenly asked.
"Where to?"
"Lungmen, of course. Our landship is closest to Lungmen, so naturally we'll restock from there. However, there's one type of material that's only sold in Yan. After we're done in Lungmen, we'll have to make a trip to Yan."
"Yan..."
Lucas thought for a moment, then slowly nodded in agreement.
Yan. It seemed he had never been there before.