Tss—
Finally done after a whole day's welding!
Late at night.
Xu Fan set his welding mask and torch on the battered workbench.
Exhaustion lined his brow.
When his father died ten years ago, he left nothing behind except a mission that seemed impossible to finish.
His mother's health was poor, so Xu Fan had to take odd jobs to pay his tuition.
Luckily, after earning his Special-Grade Welder certificate, summer jobs had started rolling in.
Mixing his university mechanical know-how with welding, he could craft intricate metal garage kits that paid pretty well.
After tuition, there was barely enough left for him and his mother to get by.
His father, Xu Tiangong, had been a frontline researcher ten years earlier.
He'd worked obsessively to break the Eagle Sauce monopoly.
He led the team that built a manned submersible able to dive 7,000 m.
During the manned test his father had the accident.
Dying, he pinned every hope and burden on Xu Fan, his star-student son.
Only after hearing Xu Fan swear to build a 10,000-meter submersible did he close his eyes for good.
"Dad, what I promised, I'll do!"
Xu Fan clenched his fists, a flash of steel in his eyes.
Beep-beep—
His phone jolted him back.
A WeChat notification: new friend request.
A client!
He opened it—profile pic of a cute girl.
The moment he accepted, messages flooded in.
"Master Xu, I'm Wang Yixue. I found you on the talent site—state-certified special-grade welder and a student at Zhonghai National University of Defense Technology, so mechas shouldn't be new to you."
"I'd like you to weld a 500 cm-tall mecha—do you have time?"
"This means a lot to me; name your price!"
Five meters—seriously?
A whale of a client!
The sudden windfall lifted the gloom off Xu Fan's heart.
A rough budget put the project north of a million.
"Three million."
"Hmm… all right, three million it is."
The other side paused, then agreed instantly.
"Uh… okay."
Her quick yes left Xu Fan speechless.
He kept chatting to see what the cutie said next.
"Any specific requirements for the mecha model?"
"Nothing fancy—just make it look high-end and sci-fi, the more futuristic the better. Oh, and I need it by tomorrow night, delivered to my spot; I want to surprise Grandpa at his birthday the day after."
Three ultra-sci-fi mecha pics followed her message.
Holy—
Crimson Typhoon from Pacific Rim?
Strike Freedom from Mobile Suit Gundam?
The Graviton Armor from Ling Cage???
Xu Fan's heart sank.
He'd only watched bits of those shows—just enough to name them.
He's a welder, not an alien engineer.
A five-meter mech!
Even with classmates helping, a simple shell would take a week; two days was impossible.
He'd thought he could earn next semester's tuition and upgrade life at home.
Now it looked like that dream just burst.
He had to refuse—no choice.
[Detected host's urgent desire to craft high-tech products; binding Super-God Tech System—]
[Binding successful!]
[First-time gift: Super-God Tech Workbench Lv1]
[Gift: 1,000 technology points]
[All relevant mecha-building knowledge transferred]
Xu Fan's head now held the System manual plus full mecha-manufacturing know-how.
The System can craft any super-tech; awe from its products converts into technology points.
technology points unlock even more super-tech.
Xu Fan almost shouted for joy, his breath quickening.
First idea: use the System to build that deep-sea sub and fulfill his dad's dying wish.
He pictured several top-tier subs, but the System said he lacked the points—and the cash for materials; he had to finish this order first.
Two days would be plenty now!
He messaged the girl at once:
"1.5 million deposit first; balance on delivery."
When the bank text confirmed the deposit hit, Xu Fan's pulse spiked.
Rubbing his hands, he fired up his second-hand pickup and sped to the steel market.
Tight schedule, heavy task—every second counted…
On the open sea, aboard a Private Luxury Yacht.
Wang Yixue reclined beside a window.
Bright eyes and white teeth, skin like porcelain, an air of effortless grace about her.
After transferring 1.5 million yuan as a deposit to Xu Fan, she asked the middle-aged man in gold-rimmed glasses beside her,
"Dad, does a 50-centimetre mecha model really cost three million?"
"Three million?"
Wang Tianhao frowned at the price and casually asked,
"Which top-tier craftsman did you find? Cai Qian?"
"Master... Master Xu. You've definitely never heard of him."
Having blown an entire week's allowance in one go, Wang Yixue braced for a scolding.
Wang Tianhao said nothing more; his precious daughter knew nothing of the world, and being cheated was hardly new.
He couldn't be bothered lecturing her—anyway, a few million was pocket change.
Wang Yixue prayed silently: Master Xu, please make it look high-end.
She didn't want to lose face in front of her dad and grandpa.
With that thought, she messaged Xu Fan again on WeChat.
"Master Xu, remember—high-end, the more sci-fi the better!"
"If it's not enough, I can pay extra!!!"
...Zhonghai City, Nanshan District.
Inside a derelict warehouse, Xu Fan set down his phone after reassuring Wang Yixue.
Then he began building the mecha.
Xu Fan took the Super-God Tech Workbench Lv1 distributed by the System, pulled it from the System space, and placed it in the centre of the warehouse.
He stacked the purchased materials around it.
Drawing a deep breath, he said to the workbench,
"Super-God Tech Workbench, let's go!"
[Ding—]
[Super-God Tech Workbench Lv1 activated]
[Host's mecha concept read and understood]
[Data being comprehensively optimised...]
[Aerodynamic calculations complete]
[Micro-hydrogen Module load calculations complete]
[Vector-thrust Unit simulation and calibration complete]
[Optimisation finished!]
[Materials scanned]
[This build will cost 900 technology points, estimated 26 hours. Manufacturing initiated...]
The three-metre-tall workbench rumbled to life.
On the bench, three enormous robotic arms extended and retracted on their own.
Under the smart terminal's control, they machined every component with pinpoint precision.
Xu Fan watched the gleaming metal parts, stars in his eyes.
It was like a heifer flying first-class—utterly freaking awesome.
Half an hour later, the bench's racks were packed with precision parts.
Bulky shells and other heavy sections were set aside by the arms, waiting for final assembly.
Xu Fan locked the warehouse gate from outside and headed home first.
He arrived just in time for dinner.
"Xiao Fan, are you busy lately?" his mum suddenly asked.
"Pretty busy. Why, Mum?"
"You're twenty-two and still don't have a girlfriend—of course I'm worried for you!"
She handed him a bowl of rice and went on,
"There's a girl next door to your second uncle's place; she's also studying at Zhonghai Uni. I already asked—she's willing to meet you when she's free, so in a few days you'll go say hello!"
"I'm still studying—where would I find time for romance?" Xu Fan sighed.
"You don't get it. Our family's not well-off; the earlier you marry, the lower the bride-price. Mrs Liu told me today it's already up to 88,888 yuan—who knows how high it'll climb later!"
Xu Fan gave a noncommittal grunt and said no more... Early next morning he reached the warehouse.
He opened the gate.
Xu Fan froze on the spot.
Even expecting it, the sight of the colossus stunned him.
The mecha's main structure was fully assembled.
Only a few remaining parts were still being fabricated and fitted.
The five-metre mecha gleamed with cold metallic lustre.
Without paint, it already looked breathtaking.
Nimble robotic arms welded and installed precision components at high speed.
Welding sparks rained down, blossoming into showers of light.
Xu Fan walked up to the mecha; at 1.8 m tall he barely reached its calf.
The corner of his mouth curved up.
"The more sci-fi the better, right?"
"Wonder if this is sci-fi enough..."
Night deepened; Xu Fan dozed in a chair.
[Ding—]
[Unnamed Mecha v1.0 construction complete, awaiting designation...]
At the System prompt, Xu Fan jolted awake, all drowsiness gone.