Chapter 638 – Meeting of Talents action
Zero Wing Training Center, Guild Leader’s Office:
Twenty-four young men and women were gathered in the office that was half the size of a basketball court. The oldest among these individuals was just nearing 25, while the youngest was just nearing 16. Apart from their youthfulness, these youths had another thing in common—they were all incredibly talented Lifestyle Players.
Placed in any upper-ranking hegemonic power, these youths would be put on a pedestal and receive full support in their development. Many powerful experts would also be willing to pay a high price to acquire customized tools and equipment from these youths.
At this time, though, these youths all wore anxious expressions as they stood in the spacious office.
It was true that they were top talents of their respective corporations or families. It was also true that should they join an upper-ranking hegemonic power, they would receive priority nurturing. However, their value as individuals remained insignificant when compared to the young man seated before them.
Zero Wing’s Guild Leader, Shi Feng!
He was a legendary figure in the region of the continent they currently resided in. He had played a key role in elevating Star Lake City from a third-tier mobile city into a second-tier mobile city and made Zero Wing a highly sought-after partner for the various upper-ranking powers. In the future, he might even be able to help Zero Wing move into a first-tier mobile city.
“Do you think we can be selected, Big Brother?” a 16-year-old girl anxiously asked the tall and robust young man beside her. “We only managed to come in fourth and fifth in forging success rates this time. I also heard that Jade River is receiving personal guidance from Guild Leader Shi Feng. Now that she has been promoted into a Grandmaster Forger, if the Guild Leader is only looking for four forgers, we’ll most likely get disqualified…”
The current Zero Wing was extraordinarily popular in the area. Many corporations and powerful families had sent their combat talents to Zero Wing. But because Zero Wing could only afford to recruit a limited number of players, competition for these limited slots was incredibly intense.
Meanwhile, as Zero Wing was recruiting even fewer Lifestyle Players, competition among Lifestyle Players was even more intense. If the chances of a combat player getting selected were one in a thousand, the chances of a Lifestyle Player getting selected were one in ten thousand.
Moreover, even after making it into Zero Wing, one still couldn’t relax. After all, more and more talents were bound to join Zero Wing in the future. Once Zero Wing filled up the residential slots it had in Star Lake City, it would have to start sending some of its members to third-tier cities to make room for more talented individuals. At this point, the only way Zero Wing members could guarantee themselves a place in Star Lake City was if they became an internal core member of the Guild. Now that Shi Feng had suddenly gathered them here, it was their best opportunity to prove their worth. If they could get selected for whatever task Shi Feng had for them, it would make becoming a core member much easier for them in the future.
“Don’t worry. While our success rates aren’t high, seeing as Guild Leader Shi Feng has gathered so many of us here, I’m sure we will be given a fair test. If we’re lucky, it is still possible for us to be chosen,” the tall young man going by the name of Huo Rong replied anxiously.
In the family they came from, he and his little sister were considered the most talented forgers in their family’s history, and they took pride in that fact. However, when they applied to join Zero Wing, they quickly understood that they weren’t anything special.
When they applied to join Zero Wing, over a million other forging geniuses had also done so. Among them, quite a few were already Grandmaster Forgers despite being under twenty years of age. It was only through sheer luck that they managed to stand out from the competition and get recruited. Had they formed even a little worse during the recruitment test, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to get disqualified.
At this time, the other Lifestyle geniuses in the room similarly felt anxious. It was especially so for Silk Radish and Jade River, whom Shi Feng had specifically summoned.
Unlike the other Lifestyle Grandmasters present, they didn’t get into Zero Wing by surviving an intense competition. Instead, they had gotten in because of their connection with Aqua Rose. They had also only become Lifestyle Grandmasters recently because of all the resources Zero Wing had poured into them.
So, if Shi Feng wanted them to compete against the other Lifestyle Grandmasters present, they highly doubted they could achieve a pleasant result.
“No need to be nervous,” Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the anxious faces before him. “I might have called you here for a project, but I don’t need you to complete it if you can’t. I just want to see how much you can accomplish.”
The Silverwing Flying Ship was a highly complicated work requiring multiple classes to complete. It possessed enough firepower to outgun even a Tier 6 player, and the difficulty of its construction easily exceeded even that of Legendary Equipment. The requirement for Magicians was especially high, as even Grandmaster Magicians would find it challenging to construct the required magic arrays.
Not to mention, a Secret-Silver Flying Ship simply wasn’t something a few dozen players could complete within a reasonable amount of time. At the very least, several hundred players would be needed for the task. It simply wasn’t something Zero Wing could attempt at manufacturing at present.
As for why he had summoned Zero Wing’s internal Lifestyle members, it was to see how much of the Silverwing Flying Ship’s crucial components they could complete. That way, he could prepare the necessary resources for these young geniuses to tackle the parts they couldn’t manufacture.
Meanwhile, everyone sighed in relief when they heard Shi Feng’s explanation. Then, they couldn’t help but start to wonder what kind of project Shi Feng had for them to only expect them to be able to complete a certain portion. “Come over and take a look. Afterward, tell me how much you can complete,” Shi Feng said as he pointed at the component designs on his desk. However, these designs were limited to the Silverwing Flying Ship’s core components.
The Silverwing Flying Ship Design consisted of several hundred components, of which thirty-something were core. These core components were also the most challenging to overcome. Meanwhile, by sharing only the core components, he could conceal the Silverwing Flying Ship to a large extent, as it would be impossible to tell that these core components were for a Flying Ship just by looking at them.
Following Shi Feng’s instructions, everyone gathered around the desk and analyzed the various designs on display. Everyone did their analysis carefully, afraid they might miss minor details that could cause problems with the final product.
After eight hours, the twenty-four Lifestyle Grandmasters finished their analysis. Then, with the help of the office’s God’s Domain Simulation Cabins, they quickly performed a rudimentary simulation.
Once everyone finished their respective simulations, Shi Feng said, “Well then, what are your completion rates?”
“I can complete 50% of the forging designs!”
“I can complete 60% of the engineering designs!”
“I can complete 65% of the forging designs!”
Hearing everyone’s report, Shi Feng couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised. Nobody reported a completion rate lower than 50%, and everyone’s problems were concentrated on the power source’s magic arrays. In that case, he would only need to collect materials for the power source and have everyone practice constructing it repeatedly.
At this time, a tall young man suddenly stepped forward from the group. Then, while scratching his head, he anxiously said, “I can complete the forging designs at a 20% success rate…”
“Twenty percent?” When Shi Feng first heard the percentage the tall young man reported, his first reaction was to ask why the young man could only complete so little of the forging designs. However, before he could voice his doubts, his attention was quickly drawn to two of the young man’s words. “Success rate?”
Completion rate and success rates were two entirely different concepts.
If a Lifestyle Player reported that they only had a completion rate for a project, it meant that they could only manufacture a certain portion of the project. As for the remaining portion, they wouldn’t be able to manufacture it no matter what.
On the other hand, if a Lifestyle Player reported a success rate for a project, it meant that they could manufacture the entire project. Even if the success rate was only 20%, it was still infinitely better than nothing.
“What is your name?” Shi Feng couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the tall youth.