In the laboratory, True Monarch Magnetic Pole’s mind was flooded with inspiration. As her Dao Heart slightly regressed, design blueprints rapidly generated within her eye-bone, and with her movements, one blueprint after another was continuously drawn. Finally, looking at the complete design blueprint for the Yin artifact, especially the strange patterns on its Dharma-bone casing, Magnetic Pole couldn’t help but frown slightly. She mused to herself, “Recently, for the Divine Transformation Dharma-bone experiments, I’ve designed quite a few experimental machines. But why do I… always draw such strange coatings and patterns?” Magnetic Pole shook her head, trying hard to recall the source of these inspirations, but she couldn’t remember them at all, which made her feel increasingly puzzled.

Zhang Yu memorized the stocking-shaped magical artifact he had designed, then extracted a portion of that inspiration to discuss with Ye Xingli. After all, her requirement for replicating the Dao seed was for them to jointly complete the design of an artifact. Zhang Yu reasoned that if he simply sent her the blueprints, it would be purely his own design, and thus wouldn’t fulfill the Dao seed’s replication requirement.

Upon hearing Zhang Yu’s inspirations, Ye Xingli nodded repeatedly, her eyes lighting up. “That’s a good idea, wait a moment, I need to write it down,” she said. As a flash of light and shadow flickered in her eye-bone, Ye Xingli continued, “However, I don’t have time right now to discuss your design; I need to finish the blueprints I’m currently working on first.”

After their discussion, Zhang Yu realized he had misunderstood Ye Xingli’s intentions. “So, Senior Sister isn’t designing a magical artifact or Dharma-bone for herself,” he thought, “but rather an artifact suitable for college students.”

To Zhang Yu’s understanding, although Ye Xingli’s fan base had exploded recently, her merchandise sales hadn’t improved much. The overall reason was quite simple: the products sold by All-Fa University and her were too high-end, and Ye Xingli’s fans were too poor to afford them.

Ye Xingli sighed deeply. “53% of my fans are college students, and 35% are lower-school students. Their incomes are very low, so their willingness to buy products over 1 Spirit Coin is very poor,” she explained. “While I could find some low-end brands to sell, they lack differentiation and core competitiveness, and those companies don’t give us many discounts. So, I was thinking… could I design a unique product under my own name, one more suitable for less affluent people? But these past few days, no matter how much I thought about it, something just felt wrong.”

Saying this, Ye Xingli turned to Zhang Yu and smiled. “After our discussion just now, I suddenly understood,” she said. “What I lack is communication, the exchange of relevant information. I know too little about the situations of lower-school students and college students; how can I design products they truly need?”

Zhang Yu’s heart stirred, and he said, “I also have quite a few connections in the college and lower-school communities. I can help you gather some information and complete the design.” “Thank you, Zhang Yu,” Ye Xingli replied.

However, after saying this, Ye Xingli thought for a moment and then sent another message: “[1 Spirit Coin].” Looking at the message, Zhang Yu secretly thought, “Indeed, the Senior Sister who pays feels more sincere.”

As for where to collect information about the less affluent, it was simply too easy for Zhang Yu, as he knew far too many impoverished people. He directly posted a survey in his hometown chat group and then received various responses every day.

Some requests included eye-bones priced at 1 Spirit Coin with performance comparable to the Heavenly Eye; mouths without taste buds that could quickly digest waste; buttocks that wouldn’t require defecation and wouldn’t produce waste; Dharma-bones that could transform their feet into wheels and their hands into various tools; and even the ability to don the skin of demon-kin or demonic beasts to resist environmental damage to their bodies.

Zhang Yu casually looked through them and found that each request basically aimed at making one less human, as if they wanted to gradually transform themselves from living beings into animals or tools. However, Zhang Yu was not in a hurry to activate the power of *Artificer’s Divine Work*, as this would cause his Dao Heart to regress. Both he and Magnetic Pole lacked a sufficient understanding of the university’s lowest social strata, so activating *Artificer’s Divine Work* rashly at this moment would likely just be a waste. Zhang Yu decided to gather more information for a while longer before activating *Artificer’s Divine Work* to complete the design blueprints and then discuss them with Ye Xingli.

In the blink of an eye, more than another week passed, and it was now early February. In Jin Jun’s laboratory, bursts of radiant light soared into the sky, golden flames erupted from the prototype machine, and the entire machine slowly floated upward. Cheers and applause immediately filled the laboratory. Jin Jun also nodded and smiled repeatedly at this scene. “It’s finally done,” he exclaimed. Almost two months had passed since Jin Jun last completed a Level 5 prototype machine. During this time, he endured immense pressure and continuous financial expenditures, watching as various expenses went over budget. Today, he finally completed the refinement of a Level 11 prototype machine.

He knew that at this moment, he already had the qualifications to apply for military certification. “But it’s not enough,” he thought. “The success rate for Level 11 is still too low; I need to go a bit higher.”

With a hint of satisfaction, Jin Jun announced to all his assistants in the laboratory that they would stop work for half a day. The assistants could take the opportunity to attend online classes, relax a bit, and then return to the laboratory to continue working. He knew that several assistants were rushing to prepare for their final exams recently, and their academic pressure was very heavy; allowing them to attend online classes and prepare for exams could effectively alleviate their stress.

But just two hours later, Jin Jun, who had just felt content and proud, immediately became tense. “What did you say?” he asked gravely, looking at the message from a friend. “Zhang Yu has already applied for military certification review?”

His friend’s name was Bei Wufeng, the second-ranked top student in the Artifact Forging Department and a senior brother who had always provided much assistance to Jin Jun. Upon hearing this news from Bei Wufeng, Jin Jun’s first reaction was disbelief. He felt he had already increased funding and manpower, pushing speed, efficiency, and quality to their limits. It was hard to imagine that Zhang Yu could also participate in the review at this moment.

“Did the prototype machine Zhang Yu refined exceed Level 11? Level 12? Level 13? Or how much higher?” Jin Jun shook his head. “How is that possible?” He instinctively didn’t want to believe this. “Or did he just reach Level 11 and wants to participate in the military certification review?” Jin Jun didn’t think Zhang Yu was a fool. “That success rate would be too low.” Wavering between these two possibilities, Jin Jun couldn’t help but hesitate about his next choice. “Should I participate in the review?”

After much thought, Jin Jun decided to first gather information and investigate Zhang Yu’s situation. So, he skillfully summoned Su Yunni and explained the situation to her.

Su Yunni was slightly startled upon hearing this and immediately sent a message to Zi Yunzhen to inquire, but received no reply for a long time. Jin Jun urged, “Where is she? Go find her directly. As long as she’s willing to disclose the specific situation with Zhang Yu, money is not an issue; I can pay her.”

At a construction site somewhere in University City, the Primeval Magnetic Channel was being excavated for renovation. Similar work had been happening all over University City in recent months, so Zi Yunzhen was already accustomed to it. However, looking at the construction site before her, she still had a helpless expression, recalling Zhang Yu’s instructions.

Zhang Yu smiled faintly. “Little Zi, the lab work is done,” he said. “For the rest of this month, you’ll be working at the construction site.” “Huh?” Zi Yunzhen replied, her face full of resistance. “A construction site? Boss, how can I… how can I go to such a place?” “What’s wrong with a construction site?” Zhang Yu retorted. “I’m your boss, and I need you to help at the construction site, so you’ll go help. I’ve taken on quite a few projects contracted by the Artifact Forging Department there, so you’ll be helping the department. What? You don’t want your name added to the prototype machine project?” Thinking of the Heavenly Sun Blazing God project in Zhang Yu’s hands and the prototype machine that had a high chance of passing the review, Zi Yunzhen ultimately went to the construction site.

Ying Xin led her, introducing the surrounding environment and the work for the day. Just then, Fu Xinyao, not far away, saw Zi Yunzhen, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. “An Artifact Forging student? Finally!” she exclaimed.

As an undercover agent from Huanhuan University stationed at All-Fa University, Fu Xinyao had been quietly gathering information from various sources. However, due to the highly complex authorization management of the entire University City, coupled with the devastation of the economic crisis, Fu Xinyao had been idled for a long time. She finally managed to re-establish contact with the civil engineering department and even found Su Yanyang, a civil engineering student who was said to be very close to Zhang Yu. After some in-depth discussions, Fu Xinyao horrifyingly discovered she was becoming increasingly lazy, almost wanting to join the “Weekend Cult.” Fortunately, she overcame this thought with her astonishing willpower and returned to work. At this moment, Fu Xinyao looked at Zi Yunzhen and thought that her prediction was indeed correct: with the revival of the civil engineering department and the commencement of various projects, students from the Artifact Forging Department were also gradually being drawn in.

Meanwhile, not long after Zi Yunzhen started working, she saw Su Yunni also appear at the construction site. “Su Yunni?” Zi Yunzhen asked curiously, “Why are you here too?” Su Yunni looked at the gaunt Zi Yunzhen, whose Dharma-bone casing showed considerable wear, and asked, “It looks like you’ve been working a lot of overtime lately.” Zi Yunzhen smiled faintly. “After all, besides Zhang Yu, I’m the only one left in the project team, so there’s an endless amount of work,” she replied. “But with more opportunities to practice, the progress has been immense.” Envy flashed in Su Yunni’s eyes upon hearing this. She didn’t have as many opportunities in Jin Jun’s project team; there were too many experts, so she had to compete for any work to get a chance to do it. Su Yunni then asked, “Isn’t the laboratory busy today? What made you come to the construction site?”