Chapter 122: Chapter 119: I’m an Old Hand at This
Eleanor’s inquiry popped up just as Allen was figuring out how to turn over twenty thousand Magic Stones’ worth of materials into combat power.
He looked at the few lines of polite yet stern text on the light screen and raised an eyebrow.
High-Risk Investnt Monitoring Protocol? Projected Outco Assessnt Report?
Sounds pretty intimidating.
Any other apprentice, upon seeing the title "Senior Observer" and facing such an inquiry, would have probably panicked and scrambled to prepare all sorts of supporting docunts.
In his past life, he’d written enough similar reports to stack from his desk to the ceiling. It was all about repackaging things, using language the other party could understand to justify his actions and paint a sufficiently enticing picture of the future.
He didn’t even need a rough draft.
He recalled the countless nights in his past life spent pulling all-nighters to deal with inspections from his superiors.
Writing reports, making PowerPoints, selling pie-in-the-sky promises...
’I’m an expert at this stuff!’
He sat up straight. "DSeek, pull up all data related to the geopolitical landscape of Witchcraft, market price fluctuations for Magical Beast materials, and the strategic value of Level 3 Golems in potential military conflicts. I, your master, will personally write ’An Assessnt of the High-Value-Added Potential and Risk Control Plan for the PX-0 Project’ today."
「Half an hour later.」
A beautifully formatted, richly illustrated, data-backed, and logically rigorous report was hot off the press.
The report presented a comprehensive argunt from over a dozen different angles—including technological foresight, cost control, modular upgrade potential, and market application prospects—proving that the "PX-0" project was not a high-risk investnt, but rather a pri opportunity for the association to increase its assets.
At the end of the report, Allen also "casually" attached a concept for a civilian spin-off based on the "PX-0" technology: a "Large-Scale Post-Disaster Rescue and Engineering Platform." With a flick of his wrist, he had drawn up another grand promise for the association.
He checked it over one last ti, confird there were no issues, and sent it directly through his personal terminal.
After finishing it all, Allen stretched and felt refreshed and invigorated.
’A perfect match for my professional skills.’
He had two days to wait for the materials to arrive, and Allen wasn’t the type to just sit around.
He looked around the huge, empty workshop, then thought of the elegant, tuxedo-clad Ah Fu back in his dorm, and felt like sothing was missing.
In a place this big, even with the help of an Alchemy Machine, he’d work himself to death just doing nial tasks like hauling materials and polishing parts.
He needed helpers.
"There is only one Ah Fu, but the spirit of Ah Fu can be many!"
Allen thought for a mont, and an idea struck him.
’Ti to make a few "Ah Fu clones"!’
He opened the Apprentice Trading Market and placed an order for a batch of ordinary steel to build chanical Body fras, along with six generic Factory Servant Control Cores, the sa model as Ah Fu’s.
This ti, he wasn’t looking for anything high-tech or top-of-the-line; he just needed them to be sturdy and durable.
Money had to be spent where it counted. No need to use top-quality materials for manual labor.
「A day later, the materials arrived.」
Allen fired up the dium-sized Alchemy Machine in the workshop. This thing was way more powerful than the "Precision Model I" in his dorm.
Using Ah Fu’s open-platform design as a blueprint, he ticulously divided the functions of a "Factory Servant" to create six specialized chanical Bodies.
One would be for high-precision manufacturing assistance, one for rough processing, two would be pure haulers, one would specialize in assisting with Rune etching, and the last one would be fitted with a simple detection array to act as workshop security.
He pre-wrote simplified command sets for each role to ensure they could perform their duties with maximum efficiency.
"I’ll call you ’Fortune’ One through Six."
Allen looked at the design schematics and nodded in satisfaction.
"Now, you’re all going to work a nice 996 schedule for ."
A short while later, all the materials were brought over.
The Alchemy Machine began to roar. Steel ingots were fed into it one by one, and standardized fras and parts rapidly took shape within an energy field before being precisely stacked to the side by a chanical arm.
While carving the "firewall" Rune Arrays onto the six new Control Cores, Allen also took the opportunity to etch the serial numbers F-01 through F-06 onto each core’s tal casing with his Micro-Engraving Light Pen.
The "F," of course, stood for "Fortune."
「The next day, Allen brought Ah Fu from his dorm to the workshop.」
Six bare, gray Alchemy Puppets were lined up in the center of the workshop. Ah Fu’s optical lens flickered.
"Sir, these are..."
"Your new colleagues. And subordinates," Allen said, writing administrative privileges into Ah Fu’s Control Core. "I’ve given you managent authority. Now, activate them and get them acquainted with their jobs."
Ah Fu adapted to its new role with remarkable speed.
It cleared its non-existent throat and issued its first command in a lilting, operatic tone, like an aria.
"Number One! Go and move that heaviest steel ingot from the temporary storage area to the material processing station!"
Fortune One imdiately turned and walked toward the corner with heavy steps.
"Number Two! Pick up the cleaning tools and sweep the floor! Not a single speck of dust is allowed in the Sir’s workshop!"
Fortune Two silently headed for the tool wall.
"Three and Four, organize all the parts and sort them by serial number!"
Allen stood to the side, watching the scene with a satisfied nod.
’Now that’s more like it!’
’The joy of a capitalist is just that simple, unadorned, and dull.’
Just then, a BEEP BEEP ca from the workshop’s main gate, requesting communication.
The massive amount of materials Allen had ordered had arrived.
"Ah Fu, prepare to receive the shipnt."
"As you command, Sir."
The heavy alloy gate slid open slowly.
Outside, the apprentice in charge of the delivery, a young man nad Martin, was directing several large transport-type chanical Bodies to a stop.
In his line of work, he often delivered to Alchemy Apprentices. What kind of crazy scene hadn’t he witnessed?
Ingots weighing hundreds of kilograms, crate after crate of rare ores—it was all routine.
Martin hopped off the transport platform, delivery manifest in hand, and was about to bellow, "Delivery for Workshop 37!" but the words got stuck in his throat.
He saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.
Inside the gate stood a black chanical Body, ramrod straight, dressed in a tuxedo and top hat.
It bowed slightly, its right hand placed over its chest.
"Cargo confird. Please begin unloading."
The voice was deep and polite, exactly like that of a head Steward in the mansion of so great mortal noble.
Martin was stunned.
Before he could even react, four gray chanical Bodies marched out from behind the "Steward" in perfect lockstep.
Three of them headed straight for the transport vehicles, their massive chanical arms effortlessly lifting the multi-hundred-kilogram Auric Gold Ingots and carrying them steadily toward the workshop’s materials area.
The other one held a recording device and began checking the other items on the manifest one by one, its movents so fast they left afterimages.
The entire process was seamless—not a single wasted word, not a trace of chaos.
Unloading, scanning, sorting, storing...
An automated assembly line of terrifying efficiency was operating right before Martin’s very eyes.
And the tuxedoed Steward rely stood quietly to the side, occasionally raising a hand to make a minor adjustnt to one of the "Fortune’s" positions with an elegant gesture.
Martin’s jaw hung open, the manifest in his hand nearly slipping to the ground.
He rubbed his eyes, wondering if the long nights of working late were making him hallucinate.
He’d seen other Alchemy Workshops receive deliveries. Those scenes were utter disasters.
Apprentices running around in a panic, hired hands yelling and shouting, Alchemy Puppets piling materials all over the floor like it was a garbage dump.
But here...
’Are you sure this isn’t the secret base of so Alchemy Master?’
Martin felt like his entire worldview had been violently shaken.
When the last crate of goods was placed precisely on a warehouse shelf, Ah Fu stepped forward and gently stamped Martin’s manifest with Allen’s authorized Wizard’s Mark.
"The handover is complete. Thank you for your service."
With that, it bowed slightly once more and turned back toward the workshop.
The heavy workshop doors slowly closed in front of Martin.
Martin stood there in a daze. It took him a long mont to co to his senses. He glanced down at the clear mark on the manifest.
’I suddenly feel like I live with less class than a Factory Servant.’
「Inside the workshop.」
Allen stared at the mountain of Auric Gold Ingots and other expensive materials, feeling a dull ache in the region of his liver.
Twenty-five thousand Magic Stones, all turned into this pile of stuff before him.
Next up was to turn it all into a true machine of war.
He patted the tal casing of Fortune One beside him.
"Ti to get to work, boys."
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