Chapter 57 Guidance

Having offended someone?

Chi Rong had honed her skills considerably within the Mecha Association over the years, and she instantly caught the unspoken implication in his words.

And when she thought about it, it made sense. Even setting aside his status as an intermediate academy instructor, Mr. Karo was a veteran intermediate mecha maker. Back in his youth, he had no shortage of clients. If you counted the people across the resident star system who wanted to commission him to build a mecha, they could circle the planet at least half a time, if not more.

Later on, as he pursued a teaching career, he didn't have as much time to take on commissions, only occasionally picking and choosing projects to work on. Even now, the mechas he crafted were in high demand; he was considered one of the more talented younger-generation mecha makers within the resident star system.

Given his status, participating in a planet-wide competition was somewhat beneath him, yet today he had actually come here to act as a lecturer. Since he had explicitly mentioned offending someone, the situation immediately took on an aura of helplessness.

"Is someone pressuring you, Teacher?" Chi Rong reacted immediately.

She now held some standing within the Mecha Makers Sub-Association, so she was naturally willing to step forward on behalf of the teacher who had helped her so much in the past.

If it truly was some petty scoundrel bullying Mr. Karo, and she had the ability to handle it, she certainly wouldn't let the matter rest easily.

"It's not what you think." Karo was somewhat amused yet deeply touched. "It's fine. I came here of my own accord, too. Lately, I've had practically nothing to do and felt cooped up, so I came out to clear my mind. It just so happens I can also teach the children."

Hearing this, Chi Rong relaxed slightly, but she remained somewhat uneasy and asked hesitatingly, "Are you really sure my help isn't needed? If you have any needs, I certainly won't refuse."

"Your heart is in the right place. But this is just some unpleasantness among people; I won't take it to heart. Besides, no one dares to bully me. I may be older than you, but I'm not so old that I'm blind, deaf, and unable to walk," Mr. Karo said with a shake of his head and a chuckle.

Hearing this, Chi Rong felt a strange sense of agreement. She wasn't clear on everything, but this teacher was far from soft-natured. Many people in the resident star system's industry whispered that his temper was fierce like fire, unable to tolerate even a speck of sand in his eyes—a personality frequently criticized by others.

To say that a man like this had been bullied and dared not speak out... nobody would believe such a story if it were told.

Judging by his expression, an incident had indeed occurred. But it was likely just as he said—perhaps he was simply bored and came out to participate in this sort of activity to blow off some steam. Therefore, Chi Rong quickly set her mind at ease, conversing with the teacher she hadn't seen in many years and asking for his guidance.

Mr. Karo was also pleased to see this long-unseen student. However, after chatting for a while, he remembered the purpose of his visit and expressed his desire to go down and check on the learning progress of the participating children. Bidding farewell to Chi Rong, he headed downstairs.

***

Watching Karo's receding figure, the smile and look of filial reverence on Chi Rong's face faded significantly, her expression turning rather cool. She then parted ways with Mr. Trean and left the conference hall, appearing to connect to her optical brain communicator along the way as she hurried off on some unknown errand.

***

Meanwhile, Jiang Hui was still struggling with the core framework assembly. Although she had listened very attentively earlier and tried her best to make a mental note of everything the instructor taught, barely managing to have something to reference,

watching someone else do it was a completely different experience from doing it herself. Actual operation was truly unimaginably difficult.

For instance, she clearly knew that the two small inner rib frames of the mecha ought to be connected. Yet when she actually tried to combine the two, she found she couldn't quite get a grasp on the assembly angle, and no matter how she adjusted it, she couldn't get the two sides to fit together seamlessly.

This infuriated Jiang Hui. It was like seeing the path clearly yet remaining completely unable to locate the entrance—she felt an anxious rush of heat to her head.

She checked the disassembly sequence on her display again and confirmed that, according to the steps, she indeed needed to connect these two parts before moving on to the next.

So Jiang Hui summoned her patience and tried a couple more times, but she still failed.

They say failure is the mother of success, but how long had she been stuck here? The main body had been properly set up on both sides for ages, yet she kept getting tripped up over this tiny section and couldn't move forward. Jiang Hui was losing her patience, plagued by the irritability of having no clue how to proceed, and everything felt completely out of sync.

Just as she was about to try one more time, her eyes swept across the upper right corner, where a couple of scattered small parts were piled up. A flash of inspiration crossed her mind, and her hands instinctively reached out to pick them up.

Right here... yes... it should be shifted to the side by about zero-point-one micrometers... adjust it downwards just a fraction... yes, this angle... just a tiny bit more... a mere fraction... good, just like that.

Jiang Hui gradually entered the zone. Her eyes widened slightly, and her hands—which had just gone through countless failed attempts at micro-adjustments—did not tremble in the slightest as she supported the few small components and slowly brought the two sides together.

She hadn't even realized that her palms were beginning to sweat.

...She was about to succeed. Jiang Hui could feel it.

"Wait a minute, student." A voice suddenly interrupted her, causing Jiang Hui's hand to slip and ruining her efforts at the last second. The subtle, mystical feeling and state of mind she had just attained were instantly shattered.

***

Then, the several components she had nearly managed to assemble together simultaneously went crooked because of her sudden distraction.

Jiang Hui was furious. Who on earth was this? Ruining someone's hard work just like that—she had almost succeeded!

Although Jiang Hui couldn't quite explain why she felt that way, she had genuinely sensed it just now, a deep inner conviction that she was a hair's breadth away from success—she only needed to snap those few parts precisely into place and everything would be complete.

The girl looked up toward the person who had spoken, wanting to see who dared ruin her moment, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar yet vaguely familiar face.

The girl tilted her head slightly. Uh... this face looked rather like, well, pretty much like the instructor who had been lecturing her just moments ago.

Ah, the instructor?!

Why was he here? That was Jiang Hui's immediate reaction; she was somewhat baffled.

Karo, meanwhile, looked somewhat surprised, realizing he might have startled her: "Did I frighten you, child? I'm sorry, I just wanted to give you a warning."

"The angle you're using for this assembly is incorrect. You should put the two large cross-sections together first, and only then attach those two small parts. That way, it'll be much more accurate. Otherwise, you'll find it very difficult to adjust to the right angle, and the result won't necessarily be stable."

Realizing the man wasn't picking a fight, but rather came to guide her, Jiang Hui couldn't help but swallow her anger: "Um... oh, oh, oh, I see. Thank you, Teacher."

Her irritation seemed to have been instantly pressed back down, though she still deeply regretted having her progress ruined. Still, the teacher made a valid point; indeed, she had also felt how awkward the angles were to adjust. Perhaps following the instructor's advice was for the best—after all, she wasn't a professional herself.

Mr. Karo then guided her through a few minor issues in her assembly, allowing her to gain a wealth of knowledge all at once and swiftly complete the assembly of the main shell.