Just as he was about to delete it, a thought struck him: whether it was qualified or not didn't matter. As long as he handed the data over to Yinlu, his mission would be complete. Then he could sit back comfortably within the team, waiting for the big prize.

Thinking this way, his mind settled considerably. He secured the data and went to the far end to see what exactly was wrong.

“How could it be unqualified?”

He moved closer to the main shaft, scrutinizing it carefully, then glanced at the test data. Three data points were perfect, eight were within reasonable error margins, and four deviated slightly outside the acceptable range. Overall, it was quite excellent.

He remarked, “For a first attempt, this result is superb. Ziye, you shouldn’t demand too much. Very good work.”

The words were out before he realized he’d misspoke. If Ziye didn’t make any modifications, the main shaft would be the same as what Yinlu and the others produced. If Yinlu then played the victim and accused the Chuqiao team of plagiarism, Chuqiao would be finished.

Not only would it be hard for Chuqiao to qualify, but if they were confronted, his secret would be exposed too.

He should have told Ziye to redo it!

Benton broke out in a cold sweat, his eyes fixed on Bobo and the others, hoping they would contradict him. However, Bobo agreed with his statement: “Although there are some deviations, they are within a reasonable range, so it’s acceptable.”

The twins remained silent, their eyes fixed solely on Ziye.

Benton was close to despair.

Just then, Li Chunyu spoke up: “It is indeed unqualified. We had better redo it.”

Benton’s eyes lit up, but before he could swing his allegiance, the twins exclaimed, “Why? Is it because those four data points deviated beyond the reasonable error range?”

Making one component had already taken so many days. If every single part had to meet a hundred percent perfection standard, they probably wouldn't manage to complete a single functional mech by the delivery deadline.

Of course, the twins desired the most perfect mech, but when it came to pitting perfection against time, they chose time.

Ziye touched the main shaft with her hand. “Honestly, I don’t want to melt it down and remanufacture it either; it’s too troublesome. Among these four data points, three aren't critically important; a little bit worse is fine. But the hardness value must be within 0.3. Right now, it’s over 0.8. The main shaft’s hardness isn't enough; it could easily bend during piloting, which is bad for both the mech and the pilot.”

The issue wasn't poor execution; it was that the metal composition wasn't perfect enough.

Since Ziye hadn't expected to nail it in one go anyway, this attempt was just practice, and she wasn't overly upset.

Benton finally heard a dissenting voice and immediately chimed in, “I also think this point is crucial. It’s best to remake it.”

The remaining four people agreed to redo it without question, but having struggled all day, everyone was tired and hungry. Bobo suggested, “Let’s go eat first, take a short rest, and then continue.”

Ziye shook her head. “You all go ahead, and bring me back takeout while you’re at it.”

Li Chunyu was even more decisive, already beginning to reorganize the data. Without looking up, he said, “Little Yezai and I will stay here. You guys go.”

Bobo shrugged, pulling the twins along. “Let’s go. Data crunching isn’t our strong suit.”

Aix corrected him: “That’s not right. Ledger data is my strong suit, but mech data is not.”

The three laughed heartily and left to eat.

Benton felt a flicker of annoyance that the three ignored him. However, his mood had been up and down all day, and now that he had finally calmed down, he felt utterly exhausted. Seeing the three walking ahead, he forced himself to follow.

Those two who were burying themselves in work were definitely not his kind of people.

In truth, Ziye and Li Chunyu were also utterly worn out.

However, they had a clearer concept of the data deviations and their causes and knew exactly how to make modifications. If they ate first, the impression might fade, requiring them to sort through the data all over again, wasting more time.

The two reorganized the data once. By the time the other four returned from their meal, they had indeed brought back a full spread—main courses, dessert, and fruit.

The two quickly wolfed down the food, then sent the main shaft to the melting pool for dissolution, adding a bit of metal to enhance hardness. The day was over.

Ziye finally had a moment to sit down, munching on a star cake. “Brother Chun’er, is it alright that we missed the first day of classes?”

Li Chunyu chuckled. “The first day of class ended three minutes ago. Does asking now even matter?”

Ziye shrugged and shoved a piece of star cake into his mouth.

Li Chunyu bit the cake, chewed a few times, swallowed, and said, “We are competition participants; the school gives us leeway. We can make up the coursework after the mech is built.”

Ziye immediately relaxed.

The twins stood beside her on either side. Spente patted her head and smiled, “It’s just classes. As long as we pass the exams, everything will be fine.”

Ziye turned her head. Aix had already, with lightning speed, diverted the conversation: “Come, come, everyone sit down. Let’s first discuss what performance specs we need for the three components we plan to buy. We can visit the market tomorrow to get detailed parameters, and then we can decide which ones to purchase. How about it?”

Ziye turned her head back and thought seriously for a moment. “That’s a good idea, but you twins, only one of you can go.”

Spente shook her shoulder in dissatisfaction. “Why?”

Ziye explained, “Keep one here to observe the pilots from other teams. Think about the opponents we might face in the mech battles and practice accordingly.”

Spente pouted and held out his hand to Aix, preparing for the habitual ‘rock-paper-scissors’ to decide. Bobo shook his head. “No need to fight over it. Gathering intel on competing teams’ pilots and training simultaneously requires two people. We’ll leave that to you. I’ll go to the market with Benton. Ziye and Brother Chun’er, you two are responsible for fabrication. Does that sound right to everyone?”

Ziye smiled. “That sounds much better!”

She turned her head and noticed Benton’s expression looked somewhat off, so she couldn't help but ask, “Benton, what’s wrong?”

Benton forced a painful twitch of his lips. “Nothing.”

He had just wanted to learn something from Ziye, and now he’d lost the opportunity! Bobo wasn’t the technical talent, so it made sense for him to handle market logistics. But why did Bobo have to take him along?

Worse, he had no grounds to argue!

Of course, even if he did argue, it would be futile.

Benton’s fabrication skills couldn't compare to Ziye's, so he couldn't snatch that job. Furthermore, perfect unity between fabrication and design required the designer to be present, meaning Li Chunyu had to stay.

He was utterly relegated to being a bystander.

If it were just being a bystander, that would be one thing. But because the Chuqiao team was short-staffed, Bobo assigned him to market runs.

He quietly took a breath, comforting himself mentally, “If I go out for market runs, I’ll have a valid excuse to put off Yinlu’s requests!” He firmly believed the Chuqiao team would definitely make it to the finals.

After the division of labor, the twins relocated to the pilot training base. Bobo and Benton headed to the market. Only Ziye and Li Chunyu remained in the lab, overwhelmed.

When they encountered problems the two couldn't solve, even the supervising teacher couldn't help, so Ziye had to seek assistance from Tang Wen.

Tang Wen, ever since leaving the Interstellar Federation, had been incredibly idle.

He taught a public course at Lingsi and another at Kaga. When Ziye went to ask him questions, he forced her to enroll, which brought tears to her eyes just thinking about it.

However, Tang Wen had one good quality: he answered every question asked.

Through trial and error, their technical skills became increasingly practiced and refined. With only half a month left until the mech deadline, they finally completed the basic casting of the mech.

Ziye estimated it would take three days to build the system, leaving twelve days for testing and familiarization. That was ample time.

After completion that afternoon, all six were ecstatic. They quickly packed their things, saved their data, and prepared to go out and celebrate.

Bobo laughed. “Should I call Lingyin and the others over?”

Ziye shot him a sidelong glance and suddenly asked, “Are you and Lingyin together now?”

Mentioning this made the smile on Bobo’s face uncontrollable. After all, Lingyin had visited the workshop more than once; she was quite familiar with them. He admitted, “Yeah. We’ve been too busy lately to mention it. I planned to tell you after this period.”

The twins said in unison, “You’re paying tonight, and we’re fine with everything.”

Bobo generously declared, “Deal! I’ll pay!”

The group cheered.

Ding-dong—everyone naturally ignored the sound of the doorbell mixed in with the cheers.

The next second, Benton’s private communicator buzzed.

Benton had developed acute communicator anxiety recently. Hearing the sound, his fingertips twitched. He stepped a few paces away and answered. On the communicator, a voice soft yet laced with menace said, “Benton, why aren't you opening the door for me?”

Benton was startled—it was Yinlu!

A while ago, under the pretense of going to the market, he had refused Yinlu’s request to get data on other components. Yinlu had even staked out his apartment three times, but he managed to evade her.

He never expected Yinlu to be so bold as to show up at his door.

If Ziye and the others found out about his entanglement with Yinlu, he was done for!

Benton’s back broke out in sweat. He turned to see that Ziye and the others were busy chatting and hadn't noticed him, so he quietly opened the laboratory door and slipped out.

Outside, Yinlu was crying pitifully. “Why do you always ignore me?”

Benton lowered his voice. “What exactly do you want?”

Yinlu looked at him, her eyes red-rimmed and brimming with tears. “Are you so busy with them that you forgot about me?”

If one didn’t think too deeply, this tear-streaked appearance could make any man fall for her, and Benton was no exception. Even though he knew Yinlu was pointing to his failure to provide the data, he couldn't help but soften.

After all, Yinlu was his childhood friend.

He glanced back at the laboratory door. It was thick, heavy metal, tightly shut now. The people inside shouldn't be able to hear him. He felt a small measure of relief and consoled her, “Haven’t I been busy with market runs and picking components? I remember. I’ll have it done for you tomorrow. Stop crying.”

Yinlu finally managed a watery smile, clinging to the corner of his shirt. “I knew you were the best to me.”

They didn't notice the tiny sprout swaying near the door at that moment...

-(To be continued)