... 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

「Half an hour later.」

A pile of more than 170 parts sat in front of Zheng Hai.

This allowed him to breathe a slight sigh of relief. He reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. ’With this level of focus, my speed is incredibly fast, isn’t it?’

As he thought this, his gaze drifted unconsciously to the other side of the room.

That one glance...

...was almost enough to make him fall to his knees.

Because Gao Neng was already assembling the anti-magnetic battle armor.

"Wh-when did he finish making all the parts?!" Zheng Hai felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His gaze turned dull and vacant.

’He finished making all the parts?!’

’Not only did he finish the parts, but he’s already almost halfway done with the assembly?’

’Does he have to be so ridiculous?’

’Can’t he leave me even a sliver of a chance?’

Zheng Hai’s heart ached with bitterness. Gao Neng’s speed was so terrifying it didn’t seem human. How could anyone be this fast?

He had never seen anything like it.

Even with Energy Materialization, it should be impossible!

’What in the world is going on?’

Zheng Hai couldn’t figure it out.

In truth, it wasn’t just him. The surrounding Manufacturing Masters were also trapped in a state of shock, unable to pull themselves out of it. They had all personally witnessed Gao Neng complete the fabrication of every single part.

It was too fast!

parts, without a single moment of rest in between.

Moreover, he had finished manufacturing all of them five minutes ago.

In other words, Gao Neng had finished making 305 parts in just over half an hour. To call his speed monstrous would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.

If not for the fact that the two were focused on their competition, they would have long since cried out in astonishment.

’The assembly... can he succeed?’ This question was on the minds of all the Manufacturing Masters.

Guan San and Fang Tangtang were wondering the same thing.

Gao Neng, however, wasn’t thinking about any of that. He was now deeply appreciating the usefulness of his second magnetic core. He could achieve 400% focus without having to sing.

’If not for this...’

’...I probably would have had to start singing ’Three Hundred Nursery Rhymes’ again.’

He imagined it: Zheng Hai making parts while he himself was over here singing loudly. The mental image... was just too beautiful to behold.

’I’ll just slow down the assembly a little. It’s a guaranteed win anyway.’ Gao Neng’s hands moved ceaselessly, putting the battle armor together, while he used his Spiritual Power to directly control and assemble the smaller parts.

In truth, he could have been even faster.

But he felt there was no need to crush the man’s spirit like this. After all, what he’d done was enough.

His enhanced focus made his learning ability faster than ever. In the minds of Zheng Hai and the others, he had at most looked at the manufacturing schematics only once.

But in reality, he had read through them three times.

Images from the diagrams flashed continuously through his mind as Gao Neng’s hands flew, grabbing parts and fitting them into place. Cutting through the complexity like a sharp knife through a tangled mess, he smoothly completed a full set of anti-magnetic battle armor fifteen minutes later.

And this was the result of him deliberately slowing down.

If he had gone at his maximum speed, he estimated he could have been about five minutes faster.

"Phew..." Gao Neng let out a breath. ’That felt great.’

Meanwhile, the surrounding Manufacturing Masters stared wide-eyed at the set of anti-magnetic battle armor sitting on the manufacturing platform, rubbing their eyes again and again.

It wasn’t a trick of the light.

There really was a set of battle armor on the manufacturing platform.

A complete set.

Furthermore, besides the armor itself, there wasn’t a single spare part left over. This meant that during his manufacturing process, Gao Neng hadn’t wasted a single bit of material.

"He finished?!"

"He really finished? In less than an hour, he completed a full set of battle armor!"

"From fabrication to assembly... Just who is he?"

This time, the Manufacturing Masters were truly and utterly stunned.

Regardless of whether Gao Neng’s assembly was successful or not, even if it failed, just reaching this stage was enough for his strength to earn everyone’s recognition.

As for Zheng Hai...

...his expression was stiff.

In fact, the moment he saw Gao Neng begin the assembly, he had already stopped what he was doing. His gaze had been fixed on Gao Neng’s hands, hoping to see him make a mistake.

But in the end, from start to finish, right up until the battle armor was completely assembled...

...for the entire fifteen minutes...

...Gao Neng’s movements hadn’t just been flawless, they hadn’t even paused for a second. It was like watching someone stack building blocks, and in a moment, the whole thing was finished.

"Mr. Gao, I... I’ve lost..." Zheng Hai sighed.

"Director Zheng, he hasn’t even tested the armor’s performance yet! Assembled so quickly... there’s no way this armor is functional, right?" Zhuo Bing, who had been standing to the side, sounded unwilling to accept the outcome.

"Shut up, Zhuo Bing. A loss is a loss. You’ve built anti-magnetic battle armor before. Can’t you tell?" Zheng Hai’s eyes narrowed.

"I... I..." Zhuo Bing was speechless.

"This set of armor is perfectly constructed. Every part is up to standard, and the assembly is flawless. Even at my peak, this is the best I could possibly do. What’s more, Mr. Gao did it in less than an hour!" Zheng Hai turned his gaze back to Gao Neng and spoke with sincerity.

"Director Zheng’s skill is beyond question, and your ability to accept defeat so gracefully is admirable. I believe that with you as the technical director, the Third Manufacturing Plant will go far." Gao Neng didn’t offer any phony platitudes about it being a fluke or just good luck.

A win was a win.

Besides, he had won through his own ability. What was there to be modest about?

Still, Zheng Hai’s direct concession surprised him a little. At the very least, it proved that Zheng Hai was a man of decent character, magnanimous enough to accept others’ strengths.

"Mr. Gao, I have a question I’d like to ask..."

"Let’s skip the questions. The path I walk may not necessarily be a good fit for you, Director Zheng. You just need to walk your own path well, and that will be enough." Gao Neng naturally knew what Zheng Hai wanted to ask.