novelODS Chapter 13 Cortia
Chapter 13 Cortia
The door opened quickly, and a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, wearing a gray work uniform, peeked out. He was taken aback when he saw Jiang Yong's travel-worn appearance.
He guessed this guy was probably a trainer who had just returned from a battle outside the city and needed to repair his mechanical Pokémon module. But the problem was, I've already put up such a big sign on the door, why are you still knocking? You... I mean, you're a dragon-eyed monster!
The young man suppressed his impatience and was about to politely send the man away when Jiang Yong spoke first.
"Excuse me, are you Xiao Fan, a student from Nancheng University?"
Unlike Jiang Yong's unconventional approach, which started with a disastrous beginning, the normal life for most people with beast taming, after the Carol Confederation won the "Final Battle" fifteen years ago and established a lasting peace, consisted of going to school, taking exams, competing, and traveling. Each city-state established its own beast taming academy, continuously cultivating talent. "South City University" was the highest institution of learning in Yunqi City, and due to its location on the border of human influence, which facilitated cross-border research, its research capabilities were outstanding, ranking among the best in the entire confederation.
The young man, whose name sounds even more like a protagonist than Jiang Yong's, is a student at Nancheng University and is currently doing an internship at this store.
"...It's me. May I ask who you are?"
Xiao Fan was surprised to learn that the other party was after him before answering.
"I saw the request you posted, saying that there's a piece of equipment here that's broken, right?" Jiang Yong said, throwing out the answer he had already prepared.
Are you here to pick up a client?
Xiao Fan sized up the person in front of him with a mixture of disbelief and skepticism, confirming that this person wasn't among the top students in his department. He had indeed posted a request a few days ago, hoping someone could help him fix a problem he couldn't handle himself. But Xiao Fan himself was a top student in his department; otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten the internship at this store. That request was aimed at more senior students; what use would an ordinary student be?
However, those who can get into Nancheng University are all highly capable people, so we shouldn't underestimate them too much right from the start.
He thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right. But that piece of equipment is very complicated. Several classmates and I spent several days trying to figure out what was wrong. Are you also from the School of Mechanical Engineering?"
Junior? Do I look that young now?
Jiang Yong was momentarily stunned, then smiled, raised his hand, and condensed vacuum energy to release a wisp of white flame.
"Expert level?!"
Xiao Fan's eyes widened immediately, and then his gaze became eager—which dean had come out to wander in the mortal world and happened to have the leisure to help him?
But there's no one like that in our school, and besides, which dean is that young?
"Teacher, please come in!"
A slight doubt did not affect his attitude; he made a complete 180-degree turn and hurriedly invited Jiang Yong into the shop as if he had seen a savior—if the problem couldn't be solved soon, he might be fired, and finding another internship with such good pay wouldn't be easy. At this time, receiving help from an expert was undoubtedly a godsend.
Compared to a typical mechanical repair shop, this store's layout is more like a clinic. There's a counter at the entrance, and behind it is a corridor with several doors on both sides, probably the mechanical genius's own operating room or material room.
"...This is it."
Xiao Fan led Jiang Yong through the corridor, opened a door at the end of the corridor, and entered a spacious machine workshop. He pointed to a machine tool in the center of the room and said, "This is the only machine tool in this shop that can process elf adapter modules. It suddenly stopped working two days ago for some reason, and no matter how we check it, we can't find the problem. Thank you for your help."
"I see."
Jiang Yong nodded slightly and walked towards the machine tool.
You have triggered the quest
[Task Description: Xiao Fan's machine tool seems to have encountered an unknown malfunction. Fix it, and you'll earn his gratitude and respect, and perhaps some unexpected rewards?]
[Task Requirements: Repair the machine tool and restore it to normal function.]
[Task Rewards: 5000 experience points, 10 high-quality silver coins, Xiao Fan's favorability +20]
Seeing the task pop up, Jiang Yong nodded in satisfaction. The reward listed on the panel was not worth the trip, but the task actually contained many additional hidden rewards that could only be obtained by socializing in a certain way or by actively asking for them. Some of these rewards were very useful to him now.
This is also one of the charms of Star Age: Evolution. Because the world operates in a 100% realistic way, players can give full play to their initiative and fight for benefits that are not explicitly stated on the interface. What they actually get depends on luck and their social skills. This mechanism has also become one of the roots of the players' overall love for being eccentric and their abstract style.
In real life, people know to restrain themselves from haggling when buying groceries, but in the virtual world, once the masks are removed, the diversity of human species becomes apparent.
In Jiang Yong's plan, as long as the method is right, this small task can solve five of his urgent problems!
This machine tool occupies a large area; it takes several steps to walk from one end to the other. Its base is thick and heavy, and its edges are cold and hard. Its outer shell has now been removed, revealing a variety of intricate internal components, as well as a crystal core that shimmers with a faint silver-red light.
Jiang Yong pretended to walk around the machine tool a few times, then clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Quickly!"
"We've found the problem."
"So fast!"
Xiao Fan looked surprised, then became excited: "Then I'll help you?"
"No need, it's a minor issue and won't take much effort."
Jiang Yong waved his hand—he didn't have a relevant profession yet, so of course he couldn't do proper repair work. However, he knew from the beginning where the problem lay, and it just so happened that it couldn't be solved with normal repair skills…
After saying that, he placed his palm on a part of the machine tool, then suddenly blasted out a white flame and pushed it forward!
"Hey, what are you doing...?"
boom!
A silver-gray figure, accompanied by a burst of intense white light, suddenly flew out from where Jiang Yong had touched it, crashing into the wall with a thud and silencing Xiao Fan's exclamation.
After the figure swayed and stood up, Xiao Fan finally saw what it was—a mechanical-type spirit.
The elf was small, only about half a person's height. Its body was made of a metal base resembling a machine tool, with a pair of triangular tracks mounted underneath. A rotating spindle was embedded in its body, and exposed gears and guide rails were arranged on its back. It had no obvious head, only a single glowing eye on a sliding platform, below which were several machining nozzles, seemingly capable of folding and transforming into a real machine tool at any time. Tiny wisps of steam occasionally leaked from the gaps between the parts, dissipating into the air with heat.
(It probably looks like this)
The machine tool failed because this little gadget got stuck inside a component that functions like a fusion ball, causing the entire machine to crash.
This was also Jiang Yong's first major objective on this trip!