"What do you think of Ye Feng as a person?"
Shen Botian paused slightly and rephrased, his expression quite serious.
"As for him... overall, he should be a decent person!"
"Although he's definitely kept some things back, that's understandable... After all, in this apocalypse, trust is an extremely rare commodity. Moreover, it's his first time in Mech City, and he's not very familiar with us..."
"Of course, this is just my intuition!"
Shen YunYao pondered for a moment and made a judgment.
"That's good!"
Hearing Shen YunYao's words, Shen Botian let out a long sigh of relief.
"What?"
Shen YunYao blinked, looking a little confused.
"Nothing~"
Shen Botian waved his hand gently, offering no explanation, clearly not wanting to continue the topic. He then continued, "Yao Yao, it's time for the special key, Cang Feng, to be passed into your hands. Come, I'll teach you..."
By the time Shen YunYao returned to her own residence, it was already two in the morning. However, Shen Botian was still standing on the rooftop of the Star-Plucking Tower, quietly gazing at the night sky, his eyes filled with contemplation.
"'The Fool'... interesting..."
...
The next day,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao woke up quite early because they were going to the Secret Mech Institute today.
Due to the considerable distance, they decided to take a taxi.
...
Around eight in the morning,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao arrived in front of a five-story building with a style similar to the palace-like ancient architecture in the square. This was the Secret Mech Institute.
The Secret Mech Institute looked quite dilapidated, with peeling paint in many places on the walls. If it weren't for the tall, burly men wielding weapons surrounding it, Ye Feng would have assumed it was abandoned.
After presenting the token that Shen YunYao had given him the previous day, the guards let them pass.
Upon entering the gate, Ye Feng discovered that the interior of the Secret Mech Institute had a layout similar to a siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), only much larger.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ye Feng frowned slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
He had discovered the entrance to a formation-based secret passage in the southeast corner of the Secret Mech Institute, a familiar arrangement.
"There's actually an entrance to a formation-based secret passage here too... It seems my previous guess was quite accurate..."
"Perhaps all the important locations in Mech City have entrances to formation-based secret passages..."
"Although Xiao Xiao and I explored a large portion of the formation-based secret passages last time, it seemed like no one had been active there for a long time..."
Ye Feng murmured to himself as he looked towards the southeast corner of the Secret Mech Institute.
"What are you looking at? So lost in thought!"
At this moment, a middle-aged male voice sounded from behind Ye Feng.
Ye Feng followed the sound and saw a mass of straight, upward-growing green, which was Cang Shi, whom he had met only yesterday.
"Oh, it's nothing~ I just find this Secret Mech Institute quite strange, to be such an old building!"
Ye Feng shook his head lightly.
"It's normal. I was also very surprised the first time I came here."
Cang Shi was not surprised by this. "Let's go, Shen Bai has been waiting for you for a long time!"
"Oh, alright~"
...
Led by Cang Shi, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao arrived at the entrance of the ancient building they had seen at the gate. Above the entrance hung a plaque with the words "Secret Mech Institute."
Upon entering the first floor, they found a layout similar to a school classroom, with desks, a podium, and a blackboard. There was a flame seed on the podium, presumably a teaching prop.
Below the podium, seven or eight people were already engaged in conversation. They merely glanced at Ye Feng's arrival before continuing their discussion.
"These are the other participants who passed the blacksmith selection. Find a place to sit first!"
Cang Shi explained to Ye Feng and then turned to leave.
As soon as Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao took their seats, a middle-aged man in tight-fitting clothing, holding a carving knife, walked slowly onto the podium. He was Shen Bai.
"Hello everyone, I am Shen Bai. First, congratulations to all of you for successfully passing the blacksmith selection. For the next period of time..."
Shen Bai gave an "opening ceremony" speech on the podium. Since it was the first day, he then allowed everyone to explore freely and familiarize themselves with the environment.
In a short while, only Ye Feng remained alone in the classroom. The other blacksmith apprentices had already left in pairs.
At this moment, Ye Feng saw Cang Shi, who had left earlier, return. He scanned the surroundings with a serious expression, and after confirming that no one else was present besides Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, and Shen Bai, a flash of light appeared in his hand, and a flame seed instantly materialized.
"Ye Feng, Shen Qing and Shen Bai mentioned that you had previously recreated arcane runes?"
Cang Shi looked at Ye Feng with palpable excitement.
"Uh... I suppose so. I'm not entirely sure..."
Ye Feng scratched his head, unsure how to respond.
"Hey, Cang Shi, you're not thinking of asking Ye Feng to repair your flame seed, are you?"
"Recreating arcane runes is extremely difficult, and the differences between flame seeds and runes are vast, with significant randomness. It's not something that can be done on demand!"
Shen Bai glared at Cang Shi, his tone somewhat displeased.
"Ahem~"
"Indeed, I was too hasty!"
Cang Shi clearly realized this and looked embarrassed, preparing to put the flame seed away.
But at that moment, Ye Feng called out to him, "Let me take a look~"
"Uh... alright!"
Cang Shi was slightly taken aback, then nodded. "But don't force yourself. It's okay if you break it!"
Ye Feng didn't say much more. He took the flame seed from Cang Shi's hand. "Yellow-tier, rank one?"
Muttering, Ye Feng observed Cang Shi's flame seed for a moment, then arcane energy manifested in his hand, coalescing into the shape of a surgical knife.
Ye Feng continuously moved the surgical knife, formed from arcane energy, over the Yellow-tier, rank one flame seed. Time flew by.
Suddenly, the arcane energy surgical knife in Ye Feng's hand stopped. Almost simultaneously, the runes on the surface of the Yellow-tier, rank one flame seed flared with a dazzling light. The arcane runes covering the entire surface of the flame seed seemed to come alive!
"Re... really arcane rune recreation!"
"The auxiliary runes on the flame seed are influenced by the primary runes and resonate... This... This should only occur at the moment a blacksmith crafts the flame seed!"
"This is just like a blacksmith repairing their own flame seed... No... this is like recreating another flame seed..."
Cang Shi held the flame seed that Ye Feng had repaired, muttering in disbelief.
"Hey hey, Cang Shi, stop being ridiculous and focus on what's important!"
Shen Bai looked at Cang Shi with envy, though his words didn't betray it.
"Uh... ahem~!"
"My apologies, I got too excited!"
Cang Shi came back to his senses, his old face blushing. He exchanged a look with Shen Bai, and they both nodded.
"Ye Feng, since you were taught by the old city lord, we probably have nothing we can teach you in terms of flame seed repair..."
"Is there anything specific you want to learn? For example, flame seed forging... arcane rune arrays... the coordination between flame seeds and mechs... or do you have any questions? We will do our best to answer them for you!"
Shen Bai frowned and spoke quickly to Ye Feng.
"The library in the Secret Mech Institute is also quite extensive. It's what Mech City has collected through various channels over the years. Some of it, even we old guys can't understand. If you're interested, you can take a look."
"However, the books cannot be taken out of the Secret Mech Institute!"
After Shen Bai finished speaking, Cang Shi hesitated slightly before adding.
"Arcane runes!"
Ye Feng pondered for a moment and made his decision.
His previous research on flame seed records had already given him a considerable understanding of flame seeds and mechs. On the other hand, arcane runes were something he only had a vague grasp of.
"Alright, follow me!"
...