Yan Hao treated He Shao to a big meal and afterwards, instead of rushing back to school, the two of them went to a nearby shopping mall. It was a rare occasion that they had come out, so Yan Hao wanted to buy some useful Mech parts to study.
“Student, what kind of parts do you want to buy?” The shop assistant, a beautiful-looking lady, greeted Yan Hao warmly as soon as she saw him enter. She had some impression of this fair-looking teenager and knew that he was a freshman in the Mech Building Department of the Federal University and that he often came to their shop to buy things since the beginning of the school year.
“I want to buy parts for a Mech’s arm.” Yan Hao replied.
“And which part of the part do you want?” The shop assistant asked.
“I want them all.” Yan Hao said.
“If you want them all, they’re not cheap.” The shop assistant warned.
“Don’t worry, beautiful big sis, our Hao Hao, who is now a rich man, has plenty money.” He Shao hehe’d, saying with a smile.
“Rich, alright, then come with me.” Amused by He Shao’s words, the beautiful shop assistant led the two of them towards the parts section of the shop.
Yan Hao, on the other hand, was so embarrassed by He Shao’s comment about him being rich that he turned red. He complained in a small voice: “Why do you make me sound like a rich mobster who has come here to show off his wealth?”
“You’re already a rich man.” You work out a random formula model and then proceed to make a fortune.
Yan Hao gave him a little glare then walked a few steps faster, passing He Shao and following the beautiful shop assistant. In a short while, the trio reached the parts section. Although it was only a corner of the Mech shop, the parts area wasn’t small in size. It was almost twice the size of their classroom and was filled with all kinds of parts.
“The Mech arm parts are in this section.” The beautiful shop assistant pointed to one of them.
“Beautiful big sis, is it true that we can buy all the parts and then go back and assemble a Mech arm ourselves?” He Shao asked.
“In theory, yes, but the parts we sell separately here are only used as Mech replacements, some of the wiring inside the Mech arm, isn’t taken into account in it. If you want to assemble a new Mech arm by yourself from the parts, you will have to solve the wiring problem yourself. Do you already know how to design your own wiring?” The beautiful shop assistant asked.
Naturally He Shao couldn’t design the wiring, and seeing the beautiful lady looking at him, had no choice but to turn the trouble to Yan Hao as he turned to look at him.
“……” Yan Hao was speechless for a moment but still replied, “We don’t know how to do it yet, that’s why we want to buy some parts to practice.”
“So it’s for practice. Then I suggest you buy Mech parts below level 3. Beginners basically start with Mechs below level 3.” The beautiful shop assistant was so delighted by the two of them calling her ‘big sis’ that she couldn’t help but give more advice.
“Big sis, I want to buy parts for a level 4 Mech.” Yan Hao said.
“Level 4? Level 4 is over here.” The beautiful shop assistant felt that Mech parts below level 3 would be more suitable for Yan Hao, but in the end, she had to comply with the customer’s needs.
So she led them over to the level 4 Mech parts section and after another introduction, Yan Hao chose a full set of the latest arm parts.
“There are 236 main parts in total, so it all adds up to a total of …… 86,360,000 starcoins.” The beautiful shop assistant quoted the total price.
“Over 86 million?” Yan Hao was stunned.
“Student, taking into account your well behaved appearance, I didn’t expect you to bargain. Fine, for the sake of you being so cute, the final payment of 360,000 will be wiped off.” The beautiful shop assistant laughed.
Yan Hao waved his hands repeatedly, somewhat embarrassed, “I’m not trying to haggle, I just don’t have enough money.”
The shop assistant was stunned. Didn’t they just say he was a rich man?
“Then why don’t you just buy the arm parts of the level 3 Mech? A set will will only cost 30 million.” The beautiful shop assistant suggested.
“No, I want to buy the Level 4.” Yan Hao refused.
“How much more do you need?” He Shao didn’t expect a full set of Mech arm parts to cost 80 million starcoins either.
“I only have 53.61 million starcoins.” Yan Hao whispered.
“That’s still more than 30 million short.” He Shao frowned, “I only have a million on me, and it’s the pocket money my mother gave me secretly, it’s not enough. Why don’t we buy it next time, when we have enough money?”
Yan Hao touched the parts that were already piled up in front of him, his heart full of reluctance. He had the wiring diagram in mind and was waiting to go back to try to assemble it, but he didn’t expect that he wouldn’t have enough money. He looked at the parts with reluctance, and then looked at the beautiful shop assistant.
His pitiful eyes made the beautiful shop assistant’s heart soften: “How about this, you buy some of them today, and I’ll give you the discounted price for a whole set of arm parts. You can buy the rest when you have the money.”
“Beautiful big sis, can we pay in instalments then? We will pay part of it first, take the stuff away, and then pay the balance in instalments.” He Shao negotiated.
Yan Hao’s eyes lit up as soon as he heard this.
“Don’t look at me like that.” The beautiful shop assistant said helplessly, “We have a rule in the shop that you have to be a Level 3 Mech builder to get credit. You guys are freshmen, so you can’t get this credit yet.”
“Beautiful big sis, please be accommodating.” He Shao called her beautiful big sis sweetly while gesturing with his eyes for Yan Hao to join him.
“Big sis.” Yan Hao understood and stepped forward stiffly.
“Hmm?” The shop assistant looked over at Yan Hao.
“You’re beautiful.” His tone was stiff and one could tell at first glance that this was said deliberately to achieve credit.
“……” Beautiful shop assistant.
“……” He Shao.
It’s over. They might have had a chance just now, but now he guessed it was gone for good. Hao Hao, can you have some soul when you compliment people?
“Can I pay in installments?”
He Shao wanted to die, so embarrassed that he couldn’t wait to find a hole in the ground.
Hao Hao, even if you are a god of learning, I regret knowing you at this moment. Even if you praise people soullessly like this, how can you even directly state your purpose?
“Pfft ……” Just as He Shao was about to choke, a burst of laughter broke the awkwardness. The three of them turned their heads to look, only to see an old man with half of his hair turned white, standing not far behind them.
“Professor Qin?!” Yan Hao and He Shao uttered at the same time.
Professor Qin coughed twice to ease his burst of laughter, before walking over: “Here to buy something?”
“En.” Yan Hao nodded his head.
“Don’t have enough money?”
“En.” Yan Hao nodded again.
Professor Qin turned to the beautiful shop assistant: “I am a Level 7 Mech builder, can your shop give my students installment payments if I vouch for them?”
“You are a Level 7 Mech builder?” The beautiful shop assistant looked at Professor Qin in shock, her eyes full of admiration.
“Is it possible?” Professor Qin smiled as he nodded.
“Yes, of course.” The beautiful shop assistant affirmed right away.
This was a level 7 Mech builder, a mere 80 million starcoins purchase could result in him selling it for more than this price just by making a part out of his hand. How could such a person possibly renege on his bill?
In the end, with Professor Qin’s guarantee, Yan Hao made a down payment of 30 million and then got the allowance to pay the rest in instalments, to be repaid within a year.
“Thank you, Professor Qin,” Yan Hao thanked Professor Qin gratefully as he exited the Mech shop.
Professor Qin waved his hand then asked, “You are buying the Level 4 Mech parts because you want to try to assemble them yourself?”
“Hmm.” Yan Hao nodded his head.
“You know how to design a level 4 wiring diagram?” Professor Qin asked about designing, not memorizing. For the average freshman, just being able to remember Mech’s wiring diagrams would be mission accomplished, but Yan Hao’s talent was different, so Professor Qin believed that he had acquired knowledge long beyond his freshman year.
“I don’t know how to do it yet, I just want to buy it back and try.” Yan Hao wouldn’t say in public that he could design a wiring diagram until he had assembled it successfully.
“Coming to buy parts before you’ve learnt it isn’t cheap.”
“I just thought that I would learn faster if I had something physical. Professor, I’ll pay close attention later.” Yan Hao said in a low voice.
“Why should you pay close attention? That’s what you should do.” Professor Qin laughed, “Mech research is expensive, but it’s just in the early stage. When you get into it, money won’t be a problem. If you have an idea, you have to dare to try it, otherwise how can you progress? Every one of us Mech builders have a pile of money, otherwise why else would we teach you how to make energy blocks in the first semester? It’s just so you can make money.”
It turns out Professor Qin wasn’t chastising him, but giving him a nod of approval.
Yan Hao, who understood, was red with excitement as he nodded his head heavily.
Professor Qin smiled, patted Yan Hao’s shoulder, then his gaze fell on He Shao: “He Shao, how is your Level 5 energy block practice going?”
“I’m still falling a little short.” He Shao said with a bitter expression, “Professor, can you lower the requirement a bit? Instead of 75%, how about 73%?”
“It looks like your best result so far is 73%. Not bad, you’re making progress, you’re just two percentage points away, keep up the good work.” Professor Qin said then patted He Shao’s shoulder with a smile.