The old chairman slowly entered the lobby of Qixing Company, his steps steady and composed, each one akin to treading upon the passage of time. His gray monk's robes were of a humble texture, but the subtle tap of his spiritual bamboo cane on the floor radiated a faint ripple of spiritual energy, revealing his extraordinary cultivation. The receptionist, looking down at the information board, caught a glimpse of the old man from the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened, and she quickly straightened, her tone unconsciously becoming tense.
"Chairman Dong, why... did you come here in person today?" one of the girls asked cautiously, with undisguised awe in her voice.
The old man smiled slightly, his eyes gentle, but revealing an indescribable majesty: "Just walk around."
His tone was calm, but it brooked no refusal, and he offered no further explanation. He waved casually, signaling the receptionist to continue their work, then walked to the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor workshop. The two receptionists glanced at each other, each seeing shock and curiosity in the other's eyes, but they didn't dare to ask any further questions.
After the elevator door slowly closed, the two girls finally lowered their voices and began to whisper.
"Have you met the chairman? I thought he had retired long ago, why is he suddenly here?" One of the girls whispered, her eyes full of excitement and confusion.
"Of course I've heard of him! But this is the first time I've seen him in person!" Another girl added quietly, her eyes gleaming with gossip, "And have you noticed? His aura is much stronger than those Jindan-stage executives in the company. They're not even on the same level!"
"Of course. I heard he's a great cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage, capable of suppressing a star field with a flick of his finger." The girl swallowed quietly. "He founded such a large company, but...why is he going to the workshop on the ground floor instead of the meeting room upstairs?"
"You don't know?" Another girl leaned closer mysteriously and lowered her voice, "I heard he came to see Engineer Hong."
"Engineer Hong? The oldest one in the repair shop?"
"Right! It's said that when the chairman started his business, Engineer Hong was one of his earliest partners. But as the company grew, Engineer Hong stayed in the workshop, saying he 'only knew how to repair mechas and wasn't comfortable sitting in an office.'" The girl shook her head. "Tell me, if he really wanted to move up, who would dare to stop him?"
The other girl was stunned by what she heard and couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder Engineer Hong is so respected in the workshop... But why did the chairman suddenly come to see him today? Could it be something important?"
The two became more and more excited as they talked, but unfortunately no one could answer their questions.
At that moment, the old chairman's elevator slowly descended, finally stopping at the ground floor workshop. The moment the elevator doors opened, a wave of heat, a mixture of oil, rust, and the lingering scent of psychic energy, washed over him. The air here was far less refreshing than above, even a bit murky. Yet, the old chairman didn't frown at all. Instead, he seemed to have returned to a familiar place, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
The workshop was filled with the clatter of metal, the workers busy at their own pace, no one noticing his arrival. The old chairman walked slowly, his gaze sweeping across the busy faces, finally stopping at Engineer Hong's workstation. He frowned slightly, looking at the desk filled with parts, even a few half-disassembled psychic circuit modules. The toolbox next to the workstation was wide open, clearly someone had just been working there.
"This old guy is still the same, as messy as a garbage dump." He shook his head, his tone filled with a hint of helplessness and familiar ridicule, "Where is he? Did he sneak off to smoke spiritual cigarettes again?"
He looked around but still didn't see Hong Gong. He was about to find a place to sit down and wait, but his attention was suddenly attracted by a wastebasket beside him.
It was filled with all kinds of old drawings and dismantled scrapped psychic components. Several pieces of paper were randomly crumpled into a ball, revealing some hand-drawn psychic circuit design lines, and some optimized mecha energy paths could be vaguely seen.
The old chairman raised his eyebrows slightly, bent down, picked up one of them and unfolded it to look at it.
The old chairman slowly unfolded the crumpled blueprint, his brows raised slightly. On it was an optimized design for a Foundation Establishment-level engine, but the data far exceeded conventional standards, even approaching peak Golden Core level. The psychic energy transmission efficiency was extremely high, and the design was bold and creative. While not perfect yet, it already had a breakthrough prototype.
"Interesting." He stroked the paper gently, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes.
But then he frowned again.
"No... This style doesn't seem like Lao Hong's."
He was too familiar with Hong Gong, who excelled at traditional stable transformations, skilled in repairs and optimizations, but would never use such a radical method of psychic energy transmission. This design method was obviously the work of a young man.
The old chairman paused for a moment, then casually rummaged through the other blueprints in the wastebasket, unfolding a few more. Scribbled yet imaginative designs appeared on the pages. Some were improvements to the engine's psychic circuits, others were attempts at entirely new conduction structures, and even some proposed optimizations for the mecha's internal architecture.
The more he looked, the more interested his eyes became.
"This kid...is not only a practical man, but also has strong theoretical deduction skills." He nodded slightly, tapping the paper with his fingertips. "His ideas are wild and imaginative, but his foundation is extremely solid. This is not something an ordinary apprentice can achieve."
He chuckled softly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes, but he muttered, "Old Hong is a really good at hiding things."
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