One Man Worth More Than Half a Research Institute, Part 2
"Xiao Liu, bring the research materials over."
Inside the research and development room of the Transcendent Arsenal, Wu Jiahao gave an instruction to a young man not far away.
His gaze fell on Cao Fengqi again, a faint smile on his face.
They looked at him with an expression that suggested he was putting on a show.
"Okay, Director Wu." Upon hearing this, the young man picked up the documents in front of him and walked over.
"Give it to me."
Cao Fengqi glanced indifferently at Director Wu and said to Xiao Liu who was walking over.
Give it to him.
The young man was taken aback by his words. Wu Jiahao, who was standing beside him, smiled and gestured to him, "This young prodigy said he wants to see if he can finish it in one day."
"Huh? You got it done in one day?"
The young man was slightly taken aback, a strange expression appearing on his face. This... what a joke?
He looked at Cao Fengqi curiously and handed him the documents.
"Hehe."
Cao Fengqi smiled and took a look at the information. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the contents of the document.
"That's interesting."
He murmured to himself.
The research data does not indicate the development of a level 7 weapon or equipment; it is merely a level 6 item.
The difference is that their research focuses on developing a level 6 hidden weapon without using souls.
Calling it a concealed weapon is an understatement; it's more like a grenade of the technological age.
In weapons, the Soul acts as a power center, while the grenade uses the repulsive properties between metals to create a one-time energy plate, which replaces the Soul, thus enabling the Transcendent Grenade to unleash a one-time attack.
In their view, since it's a disposable weapon, it doesn't matter if it doesn't have a soul.
"The approach is correct, and the solution is indeed feasible."
He looked at the contents of the document and immediately made a judgment in his mind.
"But..."
Cao Fengqi looked at the materials used to make the Transcendent Grenade, his eyes flickering slightly.
He looked at Director Duan and asked, "Director Duan, why are you researching this kind of trashy Level 6 weapon?"
"Trash? Fengqi, don't underestimate this weapon just because it's low-level. This weapon has extremely high strategic significance for our country."
Upon hearing this, Director Duan frowned and explained, "Currently, our country isn't particularly lacking in level 6 metals, but souls are the most scarce resource. If we can forge level 6 disposable hidden weapons without needing souls, then even without deploying powerful superhumans, we can sweep through the Desolate Town on a large scale."
"To exchange some level 6 metal for conquering a Desolate Town would be a huge boost to our strength."
"..."
Cao Fengqi nodded slightly upon hearing this.
Indeed, in a Desolate Town, most evil spirits and beasts cannot withstand the attack of a level 6 hidden weapon.
Once you conquer a Desolate Town, you can obtain at least a few Transcendent Sequence Rune.
This is extremely profitable for the authorities.
"So, if I help figure it out, the merit I'll receive will be very high?"
Cao Fengqi looked at Director Duan with a slight upturn of his lips, revealing his true intentions.
"???"
Director Duan was slightly taken aback by his words.
Damn, this kid just said that on purpose, was he waiting for me here?
This kid's a bit cunning; he's not innocent at all.
"The total merit of the entire research project is 10,000, and the achievement is 5,000."
With a dark expression, he replied, "If you can help complete this project, your rank will be directly promoted to honorary major."
"You just said this project is very important, but it only costs 10,000 merit points?"
Cao Fengqi looked at him speechlessly and continued, "Could we exchange our merits for medals?"
"..."
"The amount of merit depends on the difficulty of the research and development, and also..."
Director Duan looked at him with a sense of helplessness. "Merit cannot be converted into honorary titles. We have rules and regulations; this is not a game."
"That's too unfair! What's the use of merit points? What's the use of military rank?"
Cao Fengqi looked at him as if he were a ruthless businessman.
"..."
"If your rank were higher than mine, I would still have to salute and bow to you, and greet you as 'Sir.'"
"It's pointless, just send me a large sum of money instead."
"???"
"A higher military rank grants you access to advanced training rooms. Surely that's useful to you, right? A major has one hour of access to a level 8 training room every day."
"It's useless to me, forget it."
Cao Fengqi felt somewhat helpless upon hearing his words, and looked at him, saying, "Can't you give this cultivation room time to my uncle and the others?"
"According to the rules and regulations..."
Director Duan was starting to lose his composure. Seeing the young man's expression, he had a terrible headache and changed his tune, saying, "Fine, you're the boss. I'll apply for it for you, and we'll do it your way."
"And... after saying all this, are you confident in your ability to use this weapon?"
Finally, with a dark expression, he asked Cao Fengqi.
"What's there to be sure about with this kind of garbage weapon? Even a three-year-old could make it?"
Cao Fengqi shrugged and looked at him.
"???"
"???"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone stared at him in disbelief.
Their first thought was, "Where's my knife?"
Holy crap, where did this kid come from? He's such a show-off!
Cao Jianjun, who was standing to the side, also rubbed his forehead. After these few encounters, he realized that his nephew was just a show-off!
The kind that could result in a life sentence.
At that moment, all the Mystic Artificer in the research room looked over with unfriendly expressions.
Even a three-year-old could do that?
This is an insult to all of them.
"No offense, young man..."
"Brother, don't say it."
"..."
Wu Jiahao, looking somewhat embarrassed, spoke with a sullen face, only to be interrupted by Cao Fengqi's words.
He stared with his mouth agape, feeling as if he had swallowed a fly.
Holy crap... who is this person?!
"The research and development approach is correct, and the initial design is also sound."
Cao Fengqi smiled and glanced at them, took the documents, walked to a bench and sat down, saying calmly, "Your design for the one-time burst power disc is fine. The problem lies in the 'metal bead' for the burst damage. This metal bead must be forged from level 7 metal. Using level 6 hard gold as the metal bead for the burst damage will ultimately not work."
"Call!"
Wu Jiahao took a deep breath to calm himself down, and said coldly, "Level 7 metal? Level 7 metal is already quite precious. This kind of hidden weapon is for single use only. Using a higher-grade metal would defeat its strategic purpose."
"Level 6 metal cannot withstand this burst of power and will deform; only level 7 metal can."
Cao Fengqi leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and said, "Let's think about it another way. We can replace the burst damage metal beads with spikes, which would require far less level 7 metal."
Even if it's just a small number, making ten thousand would require ten thousand jin of grade 7 metal.
Director Duan shook his head and spoke.
"That's why I'm a prince charming while you're just ordinary people."
Cao Fengqi chuckled as he looked at them, "You can use level 5 metal as the outer casing of the hidden weapon, and level 6 metal as the weapon for burst damage. If the power isn't enough, just make it bigger. It's used to deal with evil beasts and evil spirits. A hidden weapon the size of a human head is still a hidden weapon."
"Alright, I'll make one for you guys first."
As he spoke, he noticed a power plate they had made on the table next to him, and casually picked up some level 5 metal.
"Buzz!"
The Transcendent Emberfire appeared in his hand, quickly transforming the level 5 metal object within.
Soon, he rubbed a nail box out by hand.
Yes, this is a nail box, exactly the same as the Abyss-Patterned Evil-Binding Nail Case, but ten times larger.
The Abyss-Patterned Evil-Binding Nail Case was the first weapon Cao Fengqi forged after becoming Artifact Refiner. The Transcendent Grenade they researched was similar in concept to the Abyss-Patterned Evil-Binding Nail Case.