Ji Juechen never expected Cao Yu to recruit him today. While feeling a little surprised, he readily agreed. The two hands clasped together, and the agreement took effect at that moment.
"I hope the research institute you've established won't disappoint me."
Cao Yu reached out and pulled him up from the steps, saying, "There's no disappointment, only hope. Ji Juechen, you need to work harder too, and strive to break through to the Level 8 Soul Engineer as soon as possible."
Ji Juechen chuckled softly, then tucked the black iron sword into his robes and said loudly, "You too, don't let me surpass you so quickly. I'm leaving." Turning around, Ji Juechen waved and slowly departed.
Being able to recruit another highly promising Soul Engineer is obviously a happy thing for Cao Yu.
In the afternoon, he arrived at the Mingde Hall on time, where Meng Hongchen had already been waiting for quite some time.
He greeted him with a smile, but before he could even sit down, Meng Hongchen grabbed his hand and said softly, " Cao Yu, are you in a hurry for your Level 5 Soul Engineer assessment?"
"What's wrong?" Cao Yu looked at her with a puzzled expression. Meng Hongchen seemed a little embarrassed. She lowered her head and after a while, she slowly said, "My experimental project is almost finished in a few weeks, but my supervisor was urging me to finish it yesterday."
"If you're not in a rush for the assessment, could you help me out? Even just being an assistant would be fine."
Without hesitation, he agreed and said cheerfully, "No problem. You always help me. If you have any difficulties next time, just let me know, and I'll definitely help you."
"Hehe, thank you very much then."
"Don't mention it, and I can't be of much help anyway."
When Meng Hongchen saw that he had agreed, she was naturally very happy. Then she took his hand and skipped along to another experimental site.
As she walked, she explained, "The project I'm researching is a level seven Soul Tool Turret. Because it's too large, it wasn't placed in the laboratory."
"I've completed the basic structure of this Soul Tool Turret; only the engraving of some magic arrays remains."
"The magic arrays for the Soul Tool Turret are composed of different types of magic arrays ranging from level three to seven. You will be responsible for engraving the level three and four arrays; I will complete the rest."
Cao Yu nodded in agreement and asked, "If you successfully manufacture this Soul Tool Turret, how destructive will it be?"
After pouting for a moment, Meng Hongchen looked at Cao Yu and said, "In terms of individual combat ability, theoretically it can harm a Soul Douluo- level expert, but in a real battlefield, it's just wishful thinking."
Cao Yu chuckled softly, "Things always have a process of development. It's perfectly normal for this thing to have flaws now. Let's go, let's finish this project as soon as possible, then you can continue to have fun."
Her tied-up hair hung down her back, swaying from side to side as she skipped along. Meng Hongchen even reached out and held his right hand.
Cao Yu followed quietly behind her without saying a word, and soon the two arrived at the experimental site.
There were quite a few people inside. When they saw the two enter, they all looked in their direction before turning back to their own tasks.
Meng Hongchen led him to a rather large Soul Tool Turret platform.
At this moment, the hard metal shell gleamed under the light, and its surface was so smooth that one could see the reflection of objects on it.
" Cao Yu, these twenty Soul Tool panels are all for engraving level three to four magic arrays. Thank you for your hard work."
"You go ahead and get busy too."
Meng Hongchen placed a stack of Soul Tool panels on the lab table, and then the two of them went about their own business.
The magic arrays at hand are of various types, some used to increase speed, some to increase Soul Power storage space, and some to enhance damage. As for the others, their main functions are not significant; they only provide some auxiliary effects.
"It takes half an hour to carve a level three magic array, and an hour to carve a level four magic array. It will take about fifteen hours to complete."
Holding the carving knife in his hand, he glanced at it and then began to bury himself in carving.
Two days passed quickly. Apart from eating and resting, Cao Yu stayed here the whole time.
The array of magic formations in front of him had already been handed over to Meng Hongchen.
Just as the last piece was being installed on the giant Soul Tool Turret, Meng Hongchen was seen jumping into the turret's control room.
After testing for a while, no problems were found in terms of speed or turret responsiveness, and Meng Hongchen, who was in the control room, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he opened the protective pod, jumped out, excitedly hugged Cao Yu, and then stood on tiptoe to give him a big kiss on the lips.
Even now, Cao Yu was still somewhat bewildered.
Holding his hand, she started spinning him around, Meng Hongchen laughed happily, " Cao Yu, we did it! I can finally go play again, hee hee!"
"But... why did you kiss me?" Cao Yu asked, pointing at her with an innocent look on his face, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
After realizing what had happened, Meng Hongchen felt a little shy, but she also secretly smiled to herself.
"I was just... excited, I couldn't control myself, sorry, hehe." She was laughing more happily than anyone else, and her apology was completely insincere.
"Meng, I feel like your apology is a bit perfunctory." Seeing his sullen look, Meng Hongchen blushed and whispered, "That was my first kiss."
"That's good, let's go." Just as Cao Yu turned to leave, Meng Hongchen pulled him back.
Then she tiptoed and kissed him, only this time it took a little longer than before.
A minute later, Meng Hongchen gently pushed him away and smiled, "Alright, this is a reward for helping out. How about it? Do you like it?"
A reward? I think you just want to eat me up.
Cao Yu said in a serious tone, "How should I put it? I really like it. Please give me more of these kinds of rewards next time."
Meng Hongchen raised an eyebrow slightly and said softly, "Hmph! You wish! You're getting the better deal and then acting innocent. I'm going to hand in the mission now. Wait for me here."
She smiled sweetly at him, then skipped over to the Soul Tool Turret and finally put it into her Storage Soul Tool.
After finishing, she skipped and hopped away, seemingly even more lively and adorable than before.
Two or three minutes later, Meng Hongchen reappeared in front of Cao Yu, then took his arm and left.
It was around 10 p. m. when the two strolled along the campus corridor. The streetlights were dim, and there weren't many people to be seen.
The two were standing shoulder to shoulder no more than four centimeters apart, very close, and would occasionally bump into each other.
However, in most cases, it was Meng Hongchen who did it on purpose, and Cao Yu pretended not to know about it.
The silence was finally broken when Meng Hongchen gazed at him with her beautiful, affectionate eyes, then said firmly, " Cao Yu, I like you!"
(End of this chapter)