Jing Shaoyu's Sub-profession (Seeking Investment! Seeking Monthly Ticket! Seeking Recommendation Ticket!)

"Phew! Done!" Jing Shaoyu let out a long breath, raised the blueprint on the table, and broke into a brilliant smile.

He carefully put away the blueprint, then left his room and headed for the seventh floor, planning to transfer to the Manufacturer Building and try to turn the blueprint in his hand into reality.

"Well, if it isn't A Yu? Haven't seen you in over a month!" Jing Shaoyu ran into an acquaintance in the elevator to the seventh floor.

"Long time no see, Senior Apprentice Li." Jing Shaoyu greeted Senior Apprentice Li with a smile. He was a member of the Designer Association and a Level 5 Mecha Designer.

Mecha design was the sort of field that was easy to enter but difficult to master. Level 1 and Level 2 designers only needed to pass theoretical examinations; with a little effort, anyone could make it through. But from Level 3 onward, things were different—it required personal talent and inspiration.

To advance from a Level 2 designer to a Level 3 designer, one had to design either a system component suitable for a White-level Mecha or a Level 3 Soul Tool. Once the design was complete, a dedicated Manufacturer Examiner would create it, after which it would undergo testing. Only upon passing the tests could one be considered to have passed the assessment.

That was merely the requirement for advancing from Level 2 to Level 3. The requirements for advancing from Level 3 to Level 4 were even harsher. Thus, Designer Associations in nearly every city had heaps of Level 2 designers, while very few could advance to Level 3.

The higher a designer's level, the rarer and more valuable they became. Designers above Level 7 could already be considered strategic-level talents, while all Level 9 designers were monopolized by the Sun Moon Federation.

The role a Level 9 designer could play was absolutely no less than that of a Titled Douluo—perhaps even greater.

Jing Shaoyu understood this quite well. On Blue Star, top scientists truly could determine a nation's rise and fall.

"A Yu, what's that?" Senior Apprentice Li noticed the blueprint in Jing Shaoyu's hand and asked curiously.

"Oh, it's a new Soul Tool I designed. I'm planning to take it to the Manufacturing Association for inspection." Jing Shaoyu explained.

"I see." Senior Apprentice Li could not help but sigh. "As expected of the youngest Level 3 designer in our Eastsea City Designer Association. You really are extraordinary!"

Jing Shaoyu had passed the Level 3 Mecha Designer assessment at the beginning of this year. He was the first eight-year-old Mecha Designer since the Eastsea City Mecha Designer Association had been established. At the time, he had alarmed several presidents of the Mecha Association, who had all competed to take him as a disciple. The old men ended up fighting, and the matter of accepting him as a disciple came to nothing.

Before long, he arrived on the seventeenth floor of the Manufacturer Building and entered a room filled with various workstations, instruments, and equipment. This was a dedicated Soul Guidance Manufacturing Room, available for application only to Level 3 Mecha Manufacturers and above. As it happened, Jing Shaoyu was a Level 3 Mecha Manufacturer.

Yes, besides being a Level 3 Mecha Designer, Jing Shaoyu was also a Level 3 Mecha Manufacturer. Furthermore, he was a Level 3 Mecha Repairer. He cultivated all three professions and followed the path of the Ancient Soul Guidance Master. This was the path now chosen by the vast majority of Mecha Designers, Manufacturers, and Repairers, though they generally specialized in one profession and studied the other two as secondary pursuits. Someone like Jing Shaoyu, who had raised all three professions to Level 3 simultaneously, was rare.

Perhaps he would choose one profession to specialize in someday, but not yet.

Jing Shaoyu walked to the workstation in the center of the room and skillfully entered a series of data. He then unfolded the blueprint he had brought and laid it over the workstation's scanning area. A moment later, after the workstation emitted a beep, he put away the blueprint and headed straight for the large workstation on the left.

He arrived at the large workstation. The largest workstation in the room was called the Manufacturing Table. As for what it was used for, there was no need to explain.

Jing Shaoyu pressed the red button in the upper-left corner of the Manufacturing Table. After waiting a moment, the clean, orderly surface began to change. A rack rose from the left side, holding standardized engraving knives of various types and other auxiliary tools. The right side of the tabletop automatically sank, forming a circular recess filled with several differently shaped metal pieces, several wires, and other materials.

These were the materials required by his blueprint.

Within the Manufacturer Association, whenever a manufacturer produced a newly designed blueprint, the association provided the materials for the first attempt free of charge. The second attempt cost half the market price, while full price was charged from the third attempt onward. It was a form of welfare, since Soul Guidance materials were rather expensive.

Jing Shaoyu worked with complete focus as time passed second by second. When he finished engraving the final rune, an overjoyed smile appeared on his face.

"Success!" He excitedly raised the hexahedral metal block in his hand and shouted, "Level 3 Soul Power Core Driver!"

After his brief excitement, Jing Shaoyu began the final assembly. He placed the Level 3 Soul Power Core Driver among the other components he had already completed, studied them for a moment, then got to work.

Before long, a fifty-centimeter metal bird appeared in Jing Shaoyu's hands. This metal bird was the Level 3 Soul Tool Jing Shaoyu had personally designed and manufactured over the course of three months: the Reconnaissance Flying Bird.

As its name implied, the Reconnaissance Flying Bird's primary purpose was reconnaissance. Its eyes and chest cavity were fitted with specially made cameras, while the Level 3 Soul Power Driver inside allowed it to scout as far as five hundred kilometers away. Its simulated wings could release Wind Blades, giving it a certain degree of combat capability. Combined with Jing Shaoyu's special design, this Reconnaissance Flying Bird could evade the perception of Soul Elders and Soul Masters below that level.

"Let's test it!" Jing Shaoyu was eager to try it out. Holding the Reconnaissance Flying Bird's controller, he immediately began operating it.

Under Jing Shaoyu's control, the Reconnaissance Flying Bird immediately took flight, then flew out the window and headed downstairs. The cameras in its eyes and chest transmitted what they saw to the controller in Jing Shaoyu's hand in real time. The controller had a rectangular display that clearly showed the scenes the Reconnaissance Flying Bird saw.

The sixteenth floor of the Manufacturer Building was a public area, so the Reconnaissance Flying Bird's view was filled with people coming and going. Naturally, it was quickly noticed. Through the scouting feed, Jing Shaoyu saw someone walking toward it.

Just as that person was about to grab the Reconnaissance Flying Bird, Jing Shaoyu immediately controlled it to fly away from the sixteenth floor and return to the room where he was.

"Phew, not bad. Looks like it worked." Jing Shaoyu landed the Reconnaissance Flying Bird on the workstation before him, put down the controller in his hand, and smiled faintly.

The Reconnaissance Flying Bird had actually been inspired by the drones from Jing Shaoyu's previous life. In this extraordinary world, however, remotely controlled drones had far more possibilities.

Knock, knock, knock~ At that moment, someone knocked on the door. A deep, rich voice followed. "A Yu, are you in there?"

"I am!" Jing Shaoyu immediately went to open the door upon hearing this.

A burly man in a Mecha Association uniform stood outside. When he saw Jing Shaoyu, a smile appeared on his face. "Was that little Soul Guidance bird that flew downstairs just now your doing, kid?"

"It's a Level 3 Soul Tool I just made. I only wanted to test it, but I didn't expect to disturb you, Uncle Wu. Hehe, I'm really sorry." Jing Shaoyu immediately put on an embarrassed smile.

"Is that so?" Uncle Wu's eyes lit up. "Can I take a look?"

"Of course!" Jing Shaoyu nodded. "Even if you hadn't come looking for me, Uncle Wu, I would've gone to find you. This new Level 3 Soul Tool I designed has strong practical value and great potential for further development. Maybe the association's seniors can draw inspiration from it and develop Soul Tools with better, more complete performance!"

As he spoke, Jing Shaoyu led Uncle Wu into the room and handed him the Reconnaissance Flying Bird. Uncle Wu then began examining it carefully.

This Uncle Wu was Wu Mian, vice president of the Eastsea City Mecha Manufacturer Association: a Level 7 Mecha Manufacturer, a seven-ring Soul Saint, and a Black-level Mecha Master.

"Good kid, what an ingenious idea!" Wu Mian quickly figured out the structure and operating principles of the Reconnaissance Flying Bird, letting out a sigh of amazement. "Tell me, how do you want to split the profits this time?"

"Hehe, the usual arrangement is fine." Jing Shaoyu scratched the back of his head and flashed a sunny, confident smile.

"Alright!" Wu Mian readily agreed. "No problem. I'll take this Reconnaissance Flying Bird first as a sample. Once the final test results are out, your share will be deposited into your Soul Master Card as usual."

"Alright, thank you, Uncle Wu!" Jing Shaoyu said with a beaming smile.