The move itself went fairly smoothly.
Jiang Qi had always kept his belongings sorted by category, so all he really had to do was load the storage boxes straight onto the vehicle.
As for tearing the house down, he was fast at that too.
His Synthesis ability was absurdly effective when it came to things like nails, screws, and wire. There was no need to painstakingly unwind wire or pry out nails one by one—he only had to synthesize them, and they would naturally transform into higher-quality parts in his hands.
With that ability, Jiang Qi quickly reduced his house to a pile of raw materials.
After loading everything onto the vehicle, he drove back to the workshop.
At the moment, Glaxia was still hidden outside the town. Jiang Qi had considered driving out to pick her up, but after thinking it over, taking the Heavystep out of town would simply be too conspicuous, so he decided against it.
For someone with a night-vision helmet, it was obviously better to wait until deep night, then quietly head out with his old scavenging gear and drag Glaxia back himself.
Once he had unloaded everything, Jiang Qi spent some time arranging his personal belongings.
He had to admit, the workshop was vastly more spacious than his old home. After laying things out, he felt as though his working environment had undergone an outright qualitative upgrade.
He checked the time.
There was still quite a while before nightfall.
After digging out some preserved rations and eating a little, Jiang Qi sat down at the desk.
He spread out a sheet of blank paper and picked up a pen.
He intended to spend the time before midnight drawing blueprints.
And no, not blueprints for the mech he was currently building.
All the necessary drawings for that first mech had already been completed, and construction had entered the middle-to-late stage. Barring surprises, it should be finished within a week.
That pace was actually very fast—at least, that was how Homa had described it.
According to the old man, the apprentices he had taught in the past usually needed nearly a full month to complete their first mech.
Jiang Qi was working at fully twice their speed.
And on top of that, Jiang Qi's mech design was also more complex than theirs had been.
As for Jiang Qi himself, he wasn't particularly surprised by his speed.
He already had some relevant background knowledge, his hands were quick, and he learned fast.
And beyond that—
he had cheats.
His Appraisal ability let him spot problems the moment he made a mistake, and his Synthesis ability saved him an enormous amount of time that would otherwise have been spent hand-fabricating components.
If his pace still hadn't sped up under those conditions, that really would have been embarrassing.
As for the design Jiang Qi was planning to work on now, it was actually for the second mech-fighter he intended to build.
Homa had given him far more freedom with this one, allowing him to design it according to his own ideas.
The moment Jiang Qi realized that, he understood it might be an opportunity.
A perfect opportunity to keep Glaxia hidden at his side.
At the memorial gathering, meanwhile—
although it was nominally a funeral, the atmosphere wasn't particularly grief-stricken. If anything, it felt more like a drinking party held for group bonding.
Wastelanders were long used to partings and death. Most people didn't react with some great show of sorrow and hatred. It was common enough for memorials to feel more like send-offs.
Of course, human joys and sorrows were never perfectly shared, and even amid the lively atmosphere, there were always a few discordant notes.
Take Bauer and the others, for example.
On the surface they seemed to be laughing and drinking merrily, but a closer look made it obvious that the several people boxed in at the center of their group weren't actually part of their usual circle at all.
They looked like they were drinking happily with them, but in truth they were being watched like hawks.
Those men were naturally the few who had been relatively close to Natuba.
Just as Old Homa had worried, they had never planned to stay long tonight. Their intention had been to lie in wait near Jiang Qi's old house and make trouble for him.
Unfortunately for them, before they could leave, Bauer and his people had pinned them down here.
Since they were outnumbered, and since mechanics like Homa and Bauer held higher status in the gang than ordinary members, they could only swallow their anger for the moment.
With one exception.
A big, burly black man with dirty dreadlocks was still glaring fiercely at Old Homa, as if he wanted to bore a hole straight through him with his eyes.
Old Homa naturally knew who he was.
His name was Jiatuodu, and he was probably Natuba's closest friend in the gang. Rumor had it that Natuba had once saved his life during a battle against a rival gang.
This time around, he had also been the only one bold enough to openly protest to White-Claw Crow in person.
White-Claw Crow knew about his relationship with Natuba and didn't hold it against him.
Not only that—he had even hinted that if Jiatuodu was unhappy, he could find his own way to vent it, so long as he didn't go too far.
That was practically a direct suggestion that he go trouble Jiang Qi.
Old Homa wasn't surprised in the slightest by White-Claw Crow's attitude. That was simply how things worked inside a gang. There were plenty of grudges between different people, and as long as things stayed within the rules, White-Claw Crow generally wouldn't interfere too much.
After all, a gang was a place governed by favors and personal ties, not reason. As boss, no matter which side he openly favored, even if his reasoning was sound, he would still only earn resentment from the other side.
Of course—
as always, it all had to stay within the rules.
Rules were the foundation of his rule. If someone broke them, then the nature of the matter changed completely.
While Old Homa was thinking over how he might eliminate this hidden danger, White-Claw Crow, seated beside him, suddenly extended a wine glass toward him.
"Homa, what's wrong?" he asked. "Already getting drunk?"
"A little, maybe. I am getting older, after all," Old Homa replied, not even thinking of trying to act tough about his alcohol tolerance. He simply went along with it, even though he didn't actually feel remotely drunk.
"Heh. Then you'd better drink less. Eat a little more instead. These canned vegetables are from a really good batch—rare stuff," White-Claw Crow said with a smile, pushing a dish of stewed vegetables toward him.
"Thanks," Old Homa said without ceremony, scooping up a large spoonful and putting it straight into his mouth.
"Oh, right, old friend," White-Claw Crow said, slowly swirling the beer in his glass. "If I'm counting the days correctly, it'll be time for Bafeng City's mech tournament again before long, won't it?"
"This time, have you prepared a new machine?"
"Is it that time already..." Old Homa sighed. "I've modified the Leide all the way up to Version Five now. Its results should be a bit better than last time, at least."
"Just a bit better?" White-Claw Crow sighed as well. "Homa, I know what you're capable of. Can't we really make a run for first place?"
"You think too highly of me," Old Homa said helplessly, shaking his head. "Among the people who compete, there really aren't many with technical skill on my level—but there aren't none, either."
"And if you want first place, it's not just about skill. It also depends on luck, on hidden trump cards, even on imagination and raw talent. If we're talking about getting a strong enough placement that we don't lose out, I'm confident. But actually competing for first..."
Old Homa didn't finish the sentence.
He simply scooped up another large spoonful of stew and put it into his mouth.
"Fair enough," White-Claw Crow said, taking a drink. "By the way—your new apprentice. Does he have potential in that area?"
"Maybe," Old Homa replied. "But right now he's still just a rookie."
"Still, I do think highly of him. Maybe one day he'll be able to take over from me."
"Is that so? Good," White-Claw Crow nodded, though he didn't seem to take the statement too seriously.
After all, just as Old Homa had said—
right now, Jiang Qi was still just a rookie.
And as for how long it would take for him to truly grow into something more...
who could say?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter95)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 55
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 45
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 32
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 31
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 31
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