It had only been a year or two.
One had to understand that, unless it was just a cheap reskin meant to scam funding, a development cycle of one or two years for military-grade armor like this was barely enough to get things started. Even if off-the-shelf plans were available as references for every single component, the polishing of minute details, repeated assessments, and constant trial and error would still consume a staggering amount of time and resources.
The research teams and disciplines involved were far too numerous to count.
An engineering undertaking on such a massive scale was something even Ye Xian could not possibly complete on her own.
Wait, looking at it from the other angle—had the founding of Haichao Armaments and Warden Lyu's plans already begun long before this?
"Fits and starts, endless revisions—most of the work was outside the design itself. After weighing everything for so long, it's finally more or less settled. Aside from the engine and transmission, all I really did was compile it."
Ye Xian cast him a glance. "All that's left is the final optimization. I'm leaving that to you."
"Consider it done, Teacher! Leave it to me!"
Ji Jue thumped his chest without hesitation. Wasn't this right up his alley?
If one were to talk about the multitude of talents in the Federation, calling them hairs on nine oxen wouldn't even begin to cover it. Saying sleeves formed clouds and sweat rained down might be an exaggeration, but a rank-two engineer like Ji Jue truly didn't amount to anything in the grand scheme of things!
Whether in theory, experience, creativity, or ideas, when faced with true geniuses who had dedicated their entire lives to this craft, Ji Jue couldn't hold a candle to them.
But if we're talking about optimization—well, pardon me!
Take that up with my Deus Ex Machina.
*Smack!*
With a casual pat from Ji Jue, the silent steel giant suddenly shuddered, a fierce light flaring to life in its eyes.
Systems online. Self-check complete. Power output...
Amidst the deep grind of steel on steel, the power armor pushed itself up from the ground and began moving, as if endowed with life.
First things first, checking the specs—
It was unexpectedly light. To maximize speed, weight reduction had been pushed to the absolute limit, even discarding heavy plating in favor of an extra set of secondary engines, yielding a superior velocity that far outstripped its peers.
Its handling had clearly been painstakingly refined; at a glance, no obvious flaws were visible, though the center of gravity could still use some minor adjustments.
This power armor clearly wasn't a model meant for frontal engagement; it leaned heavily toward reconnaissance and harassment—the standard archetype for mass-production units.
Without the empowerment of a Blessing Chain, armor was just a glass cannon; evasiveness took clear precedence over defense.
Stacking defense had no cost-efficiency whatsoever; it amounted to taking maybe one more hit before buckling. Rather than wasting effort on that, one was far better off figuring out how to maintain distance, avoid target locks, and eliminate the enemy beyond visual range.
Those who could charge through battlefields as if unhindered, tanking everything with their faces while carving paths back and forth, were without exception custom machines outfitted with Blessing Chains—or genuine Tiangong masterworks themselves.
Looked at from this angle, however, this armor still had immense room for upgrades. In fact, if it were upgraded and fitted with Blessings, it might genuinely hold its own against other specialized units.
As Ji Jue sensed the feedback transmitted through Deus Ex Machina, what surfaced in his mind were, surprisingly, numerous Blessings of the White Stag lineage, or even...
"The Yingri lineage?"
He suddenly recalled the Dongjiao Hunters he had seen in the White Nation—moving like the wind, kiting their enemies across great distances, even eliminating targets from hundreds or thousands of li away.
"The Dongjiao Hunters' combat doctrine was indeed referenced, but the design has diverged considerably since then," Ye Xian said. "There is still a very long road between a prototype and a blessed creation. You only need to focus on optimization."
Ji Jue nodded and asked again, "Isn't the transmission system's redundancy set a bit high?"
"Have you factored in add-on equipment for combat across different environments?"
"Even with those factored in, it's still a bit excessive."
"That's how design works. You have to leave room to spare. In practical application, there is no such thing as 'just right'—only surplus and deficit."
Ye Xian calmly reminded him, "Not every operator is a craftsman, and not every maintenance check or servicing will be flawless. A design capable of standing the test of time must take every facet into account. Don't go to extremes."
After pondering for a long while, Ji Jue still stuck to his guns. "We can shave a bit off. It'll still be plenty."
At that, Ye Xian nodded without standing in his way.
The process called optimization was precisely this: repeated assessments through constant trial and error, asymptotically approaching the optimal solution.
No harm in trying.
Power armor wasn't car manufacturing. At times, the slightest modification could affect the entire system, where moving a single hair shook the whole body. This was bound to be a task that couldn't be wrapped up in short order.
Furthermore, constrained by frustrating reality, when necessary, certain flaws even had to be intentionally retained—for example, specific engine defects that could only be compensated for by a specialized transmission design, the patent for which just so happened to be owned by Haichao Armaments.
Even with Deus Ex Machina, attempting to close in on that optimal solution remained an exhausting, laborious endeavor. Under so many constraints, it was like dancing in chains.
By the time the afternoon was over, Ji Jue was utterly drained.
Drenched in sweat, mouth parched.
"That's enough. This single afternoon of yours is worth six months of work from two research teams." Ye Xian glanced at her watch. "We'll call it a day here and pick up tomorrow. So? How does it feel, dealing with the technical headaches within the design and the petty politicking outside it?"
Ji Jue pondered for a moment and nodded. "It's still more convenient to work on my own. I can do whatever I want—"
Unfortunately, that was destined to remain wishful thinking. Given Haian Industries' current scale, pushing its limits meant building exoskeletons, bootlegging first-generation armor, or producing tractors and armored personnel carriers. A cutting-edge, high-precision model like this was far beyond its reach, even if it jumped with all its might.
"As expected, an ability like Deus Ex Machina finds its true purpose in engineering," Ye Xian remarked with feeling. "Taking this as a foundation opens up an even broader horizon of applications. Perhaps you can even attempt the path that I failed to see through."
"Mm..."
Ji Jue suddenly remembered that dream back in the Paradise of Myriad Phenomena, and blurted out, "Engineering alchemy?"
Ye Xian fell silent for a long time. Almost as if amused, she slowly shook her head. "If you manage to achieve something of it in the future, calling it that wouldn't be wrong. But aside from you, who else possesses such an ability? How can a theory that cannot be passed down be called a legacy? And how can an engineering endeavor that cannot involve everyone be called engineering?"
Deus Ex Machina was good; Deus Ex Machina was too good.
Its brilliance lay in its universal utility, and what made it even better was that only Ji Jue could use it—otherwise, the entire mortal realm would probably have been thrown into chaos.
Precisely because of its rarity, it wasn't viewed as an existential threat.
Likewise, precisely because it was so rare, it could not possibly be propagated. If development were built upon this foundation, in the end, it could only ever remain Ji Jue's exclusive secret art.
A legacy that could not be passed on, an alchemy that no second person could ever learn—what meaning was there in that?
Ji Jue sank back into thought. After a long silence, he suddenly asked, "Then again, couldn't the inverse work just as well, Teacher?"
The inverse.
Ye Xian went quiet.
She understood what Ji Jue meant—if craftsmen were the subject, engineering alchemy was impossible. But what if engineering was the subject?
To invert the primacy: make the craftsmen who were supposed to rule over all of this serve the creation instead.
Master and servant reversed.
The focus wouldn't be on the craftsman, but on the project itself.
Everything would develop around the engineering project, while the presence of craftsmen would become insignificant—even mere apprentices would suffice.
In the protracted silence, Ye Xian gave no answer.
She simply looked at him with an eerie expression that made his hairs stand on end.
As if she were watching Ji Jue foolishly trying to shove a fusion bomb up his ass.
Only after a long while did she suddenly bring up something that seemed entirely unrelated:
"That thing you're running in Xinquan—you'd better not rush it."
Neither affirming nor rejecting, merely issuing a warning.
Fulfilling her duty as a teacher.
Ji Jue was well aware of what she was referring to.
The Lord of the Flies!
Ye Xian understood completely that what Ji Jue proposed was not some innocent musing or theoretical vision.
Because the bastard had already been doing it for quite some time!
It was merely because he had been stealthily skimming the gray areas, disguising it so well, and because the hidden potential was far too heretical, that the vast majority of people had never even considered the possibility.
When it truly came to engineering, in the entirety of Haizhou, where was there a spiritus engineering project larger and more intricate than the Lord of the Flies?
The massive swarm formed through the repeated iterations and evolutions of the Spirits of Creation born from Deus Ex Machina—that itself was the ultimate example of the "engineering alchemy" Ji Jue had spoken of!
It was just that the current Lord of the Flies was still far too puny compared to that sweeping vision, and Ji Jue had not yet pushed it in that direction, which made it appear entirely harmless.
Yet theoretically, such a possibility existed—turning craftsmen into vassals who served and maintained the Lord of the Flies, where craftsmen became mere spare parts and the Lord of the Flies became the master!
Once such a future drew near—no, once even the whisper of that possibility revealed itself—forget whether Ji Jue was a Master, even if he were a Grandmaster, the Association would turn on him without hesitation!
With the livelihoods of a million apprentices and countless craftsmen on the line, the upheaval triggered would be dozens or even hundreds of times more catastrophic than what had happened in the White Nation.
Never mind its practical effects—its conceptual foundation and core essence were already an unadulterated creation of Stagnant Rot!
Upending master and servant, placing creation above the craftsman, turning craftsmen from the creators of yesterday into slaves to their creations... If he truly pulled that off, Kanemoto would probably have to step down and yield his seat, offering him the top spot among the Three Grandmasters of the Profound!
"A tool is just a tool, Ji Jue. Don't forget that," Ye Xian gave a final warning.
"I know."
Ji Jue bowed his head respectfully. "Then again, a tool is just a tool, right?"
A mere repetition, yet the meaning seemed completely different.
Ye Xian did not pursue the subject any further, merely waving her hand.
She dismissed him to go on his way.
It looked like irritation and annoyance, but from start to finish, not a hint of genuine anger touched her face. She simply waved her hand and wiped the recent log from the workshop's system.
She looked down at the scattered stack of manuscripts on the table.
After a long while, she let out a soft laugh.
Her own student—could she possibly fail to understand him?
Whether she warned him or not, he probably wouldn't change his ways.
Even if his humble demeanor was sincere and never feigned, wasn't this arrogance—brimming almost to the point of spilling over—just as genuine?
They were of the same lineage, after all.
And the pupil was truly surpassing the master!
Chapter 659