That departing figure was the very picture of arrogance.
Zhang Yi stood frozen in place, his mind a chaotic, buzzing mess.
Arrogant!
So damn arrogant!
When had he, Zhang Yi, ever been so humiliated in this aviation division?
"Fine, fine, fine!"
Zhang Yi's face twitched with rage as he snarled through gritted teeth.
"Liao Ming, I'd like to see what your precious little apprentice has to compete with my Chen Gang in the assessment a week from now!"
He made up his mind. He would immediately start extra training for Chen Gang!
Every training resource he could get his hands on, regardless of cost, would be thrown at him!
The apprentice he taught could not lose to anyone!
Especially not to that bastard Liao Ming, who just got damn lucky!
...
The light was soft in the corner of the library.
The last page of *Spiritual Energy Engine Fluid Mechanics* was closed without a sound.
Han Feng pressed his fingertips to the bridge of his nose, and a cool sensation instantly dispelled the fatigue from his long reading session.
[Ding! Host has been detected completing advanced theoretical studies...]
[Professional Skill—"Spiritual Energy Engine Principles" Skill Proficiency has reached 100/100. Automatically upgrading to "Spiritual Energy Engine Principle·Proficient"!]
[Activating Skill Body Sculpting... Commencing Knowledge Empowerment!]
There were no earth-shattering phenomena.
The knowledge about Spiritual Energy Circuits, energy node conversion rates, and high-pressure Spiritual Qi turbulence models wasn't forcefully crammed into his mind.
Instead, it was as if it grew and constructed itself within his mind, ultimately forming a complete and logically rigorous palace of knowledge.
If the previous *Mechanical Maintenance Theory* had allowed him to understand the physical structure of the fighter jets...
...then now, he had completely grasped the fighter's Energy Core.
Han Feng closed his eyes.
His consciousness seemed to transform into a stream of data, speeding through the incredibly complex Energy Circuits.
Before, when he repaired jets, he relied on the Human-Machine Unity granted by the system, using his Intuition to sense abnormalities.
He knew what was happening, but not why.
Now, it was completely different.
He could deduce which Rune Array was experiencing a power Vibration from the slightest fluctuation in the Energy Flow.
He could even tell which valve's opening and closing angle had a fatal error of a few tenths of a millimeter.
'This feeling...'
'It's incredible.'
Han Feng opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his lips.
As he was now, even without activating the system, his theoretical knowledge alone was enough to crush the vast majority of C Level Technicians.
...
When he returned to the hangar, it was just about lunchtime.
Xiaoli was squatting next to a dismantled "Hunting Falcon" engine, gnawing on a tube of nutrient paste with a miserable look on his face.
"What's wrong with you? You look like you just ate Demon Beast dung."
Han Feng walked over and asked casually.
"Don't even ask."
Xiaoli pointed at the pile of complex wiring in front of him, his expression constipated.
"This engine's idle is unstable, and every now and then it makes a sound like a wailing ghost."
"I've been taking it apart and putting it back together all morning, but the error code is still the same string of nonsensical gibberish."
Pang Hu, who was chewing on a steamed bun nearby, chimed in indistinctly, "If you ask me, it's metaphysics. The engine's possessed. We need to get a Daoist priest to stick a couple of talismans on it."
Zhou Wen, who was holding a data terminal off to the side, pushed up his glasses. "According to the data, the combustion chamber pressure is normal, and there's no blockage in the intake manifold. Theoretically, this shouldn't be happening. It's really strange."
Han Feng didn't say anything, just leaned closer to the engine.
He tilted his head, listening intently.
He didn't need to activate the system.
Relying solely on the knowledge from the Empowerment and the faint, sharp whistle his ears had caught...
"The one-way valve in the number three turbocharger pipe."
Han Feng stated the conclusion casually.
"The return spring in there has lost its tension. Air is flowing back under high pressure, causing a Vibration."
Xiaoli was stunned. "Impossible! I just replaced that one-way valve last month!"
"A new part can still be defective. Or maybe when you installed it, you used too much sealant and it got squeezed in, jamming the spring."
Han Feng shrugged, walking over to pick up his own toolbox as if it were no big deal.
Dubious, Xiaoli put down his half-eaten nutrient paste, grabbed a wrench, and started taking apart the number three pipe.
「Five minutes later.」
"HOLY SHIT!"
A cry of shock echoed through the entire hangar.
Xiaoli stared at the small one-way valve in his hand, his expression like he'd just seen a ghost.
"There really is a fucking piece of dried sealant stuck inside! It's only the size of a sesame seed!"
He quickly cleaned it and reinstalled the part.
He started the engine.
VROOOM—
A deep, powerful roar filled the air. The annoying noise from before was gone without a trace, and the engine ran as smooth as silk.
Xiaoli plopped onto the ground, his gaze toward Han Feng filled with despair.
"You psycho, are you even human? You figured it out just by listening for a second?"
"I listened with a goddamn precision stethoscope for half an hour and heard jack shit!"
Pang Hu stuffed the last bite of his steamed bun into his mouth, dusted the crumbs off his hands, and wore an "I knew it" expression.
"Just get used to it. At this point, I'm starting to suspect this kid is the engine's long-lost father. How else could he know it so well?"
Zhou Wen silently turned off his data terminal and placed it facedown on the table.
"Just end it all. I'm tired."
"Sharing a dorm with a freak like him, my self-confidence gets curb-stomped on a daily basis."
Han Feng looked at his three deeply traumatized roommates and laughed.
"Alright, stop messing around."
"Clean up those tools over there. The assessment is tomorrow, so don't embarrass Old Liao."
Hearing the word "assessment," the three of them immediately turned serious.
Although they weren't participating this time, Han Feng was representing their team.
If he passed, it would reflect well on them, and maybe Director Liao would get happy and treat them to another good meal.
...
「Meanwhile, in the B Level Engineer office area.」
Zhang Yi was sitting on a sofa, holding a cup of hot tea with a comfortable smile on his face.
Across from him sat a young man with a focused expression.
Chen Gang.
The widely acknowledged number one genius among this year's D Level Students.
At this moment, he was holding a High Tier modification plan for a "Hunting Falcon" engine, reading it with great interest.
His face radiated intense confidence, the kind that came from having absolute mastery over his own skills.
"Gangzi, how are the preparations coming along?"
Zhang Yi asked leisurely, blowing on the foam in his teacup.
Chen Gang put down the proposal, his gaze calm yet sharp as he looked up.
"Teacher, for an assessment of this level, as long as nothing unexpected happens, I'm one hundred percent confident."
"Don't get careless."
Zhang Yi said this, but he couldn't hide the crow's feet of a smile forming at the corners of his eyes.
"Although this is a C Level assessment, the chief examiner is Zhao Yu. He's the type who can't tolerate a single grain of sand in his eye, so the questions definitely won't be simple."
"The harder, the better."
Chen Gang gave a faint, proud smile.
"If it's just about replacing parts by the book, it won't be a true test of my abilities."
Zhang Yi nodded in satisfaction.
Talent, pride, and a drive to master his craft—these were the things he valued most in Chen Gang.
"Oh, right," Zhang Yi said, putting down his teacup as if he'd just remembered something.
"Have you heard of that Han Feng, the one Liao Ming recommended?"