As one of the famous workaholics of the Craft Commission, Yingxing rarely had time to look at his jade terminal.
He had long since gotten used to working overtime, intense, high-pressure labor every day, focused entirely on his blueprints and forging techniques.
Yingxing almost never looked at his jade terminal during work hours.
And even when he did, it was usually to search for new materials in the universe or to reply to messages from friends.
This time, the fact that he happened to respond to Zero so quickly was pure coincidence.
Luckily, he'd looked at his terminal today.
When Yingxing saw that eight-digit transfer, the thought that suddenly popped into his mind was, 'Wow.'
He was so stunned by that massive sum that his brain practically crashed; it took him a long while to react.
Yingxing lived paycheck to paycheck, he didn't have much money himself, but his friend Dan Feng sure did.
As Jing Yuan liked to put it, Dan Feng was practically the "Dragon King" out of a storybook.
Yingxing considered himself someone who'd seen a fair number of big scenes, Dan Feng walking ahead while people lined up on both sides to bow; the strict, almost ceremonial etiquette of the Vidyadhara; the enormous warehouses, thousands of square meters, filled with valuables…
He'd once joked that whoever gave him eight figures, he'd call them dad. But that was just a joke, like people saying they'd "win the lottery someday."
He never actually thought it would happen.
But it turned out, the rich big shot was right beside him.
Zero really was loaded, and the money transfer was real.
Jing Yuan had mentioned before that Zero wasn't short on money, but this? Throwing around eight digits just like that?
Yingxing had never seen something like this before. He was so dumbfounded he even forgot to ask why Zero wanted custom jewelry in the first place.
After thinking it over, Yingxing decided he should return the money.
After all, he wasn't about to scam anyone.
Zero was Jingliu's sweetheart, and his personality really suited Yingxing's taste too.
Especially those words of his, "An immortal species can't die anyway," and "As long as you don't die from overworking, just keep pushing yourself to death." Yingxing really admired that.
He'd even used those quotes from Zero to shut down a bunch of lazy coworkers in the Craft Commission.
So there was no way he could cheat a guy like that.
He'd never made jewelry before anyway. Someone like Zero, with that much money, would be better off hiring a professional.
Before Yingxing could send his refusal, Zero sent another message.
[I don't understand forging. You tell me what materials are needed, I'll buy them. This is the deposit.]
Yingxing, "…"
'Huh? What kind of jewelry deposit costs eight figures?!'
Was Zero trying to have him handcraft a battleship or something?
A project of that scale should be reported to General Tengxiao.
[I've thought it over, and I believe only you can do it.]
Yingxing, "..."
At that point, he stopped worrying about the money and grew genuinely curious.
What kind of jewelry could possibly require someone like him, a master craftsman, to make it?
Then Zero sent over another huge transfer.
[Of course, a master smith's craftsmanship is worth more than eight figures. Don't worry, you won't be shortchanged.]
Yingxing stared at those two massive eight-digit transfers, feeling his resolve start to waver.
Maybe… he should give it a shot?
Zero, his client, said it himself, only he could pull it off.
If the client was covering costs and materials and didn't even fear he'd mess up, what was there to hesitate about?
It was just jewelry. He'd forged divine weapons capable of slaying abominations, how hard could a little jewelry be?
Yingxing was straightforward and honest, so he sent Zero a reply,
[Yingxing: To be honest, I don't know much about jewelry. Do you need it urgently? If not, I'll take some time to study it.]
On the other end of the terminal, Zero, seeing that Yingxing had agreed, quickly typed out his ideas and sent them over.
And truly, Yingxing was Yingxing, after seeing Zero's outrageous request, he didn't even question it at first.
He'd originally thought Zero was making a gift for Jingliu…
But now, this setup didn't seem like that at all.
Come on, that's Jingliu. She doesn't need anyone protecting her.
So maybe Zero was actually preparing a defensive weapon for himself?
Yingxing began pondering the feasibility of combining jewelry with starship-level weapon systems, and then belatedly realized the issue.
[Yingxing: Combining star-destroyer-grade weapons with jewelry… sounds a bit like the Xianzhou Colossi. Hm. Definitely challenging.]
[Yingxing: But if you want to use those kinds of technologies and facilities, you'll need to apply through the General first. Once approved, it has to be reported up to Marshal Jing Yuan.]
Zero, "…"
'Why's the process so complicated?'
What? He was the one who'd set up all those restrictions? Oh, right. Never mind then.
After all, he'd revoked the Colossus permissions himself, so it was only natural the related tech would also be restricted.
Zero realized the problem, right now, he was just an ordinary itinerant cultivator. He couldn't act like before.
He needed to keep his identity hidden and not let anyone find out.
Still… what had happened during all those years he'd been "dead"? Something felt off, like the tech tree had gone wrong. Why hadn't any technology surpassed the Colossi yet?
Unable to figure it out, Zero dropped the thought and decided to lower his standards.
[Zero: Without applying to the General, what level can you reach?]
The master smith gave an answer that would make any other engineer faint on the spot.
[Yingxing: Probably only powerful enough to turn seven or eight abominations into dust.]
Zero thought about it for a moment, acceptable.
After all, he still had his star-destroyer battleship. The jewelry was just for fun anyway.
[Yingxing: But you'll need someone to vouch for you, to file it with the Craft Commission in case anything serious happens. Don't worry, it's no big deal, I can vouch for you myself.]
Zero was deeply moved, and sent another seven-figure transfer his way.
Look at Yingxing. He trusted him.
Not like Jing Yuan, and definitely not like Hua, those two always thought he'd cause trouble.
But Yingxing was different. Even when Zero requested a weapon with massive destructive potential, he still cooperated wholeheartedly, even offering to vouch for him.
[Yingxing: …So, what kind of jewelry are you making?]
Zero started recalling the pieces he'd looked at earlier, rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and hairpins.
Among them, hairpins were the fewest.
Hairpins were a bit larger than the others, so maybe Yingxing would have more room to be creative?
Plus, they already had a bit of offensive potential, you could pull one out and stab someone with it.
Now that he thought about it, pretty practical.
[Zero: A hairpin, then. Tell me what materials you need.]
Zero thought for a moment but didn't change Yingxing's contact name.
That name was eye-catching and pinned near the top of his contact list, it made communication easy.
He found a bunch of reference pictures of hairpins themed around peach blossoms and moons and sent them to Yingxing.
[Zero: I'd like it to have elements of peach blossoms or the moon. The rest, I'll leave to Master Smith's creative freedom.]
On the other end, Yingxing, "…"
'Was this kind of client even real?'
Someone who paid generously, clearly stated their requirements, even sent pictures for reference, and still gave him creative freedom?
Yingxing was utterly shocked.
He completely overlooked how "peach blossoms" and "moon" were somewhat feminine motifs and didn't think too deeply about who the hairpin was actually for.
Fueled with motivation, he stayed up through the night, working overtime until dawn to finish the drafts.
Under the double drive of credit points and a god-tier client, Yingxing managed to complete three design drafts for the hairpin right before the janitor came to kick him out, and sent them over to Zero immediately.
After that, he returned to his Commission-assigned dorm and passed out in bed.
By the next morning, when Zero woke up, went to the archive, and started slacking off at his desk, he finally saw the drafts Yingxing had sent.
The message timestamp read around three in the morning.
What a top-tier corporate slave.
If Zero had met someone like Yingxing back then, this ultimate workaholic, he'd have made sure the guy lived forever and worked for the Xianzhou Alliance for eternity.
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