Chapter 1

Four hundred years after the natural disasters swept across the world.

The once seemingly eternal great empires have collapsed and vanished, leaving only scattered city-states standing amidst the fog, reflecting their former glory.

Some say that everything will be rebuilt after the destruction.

Others say that this is merely the final glimmer before the end.

June, Northern Federation, Haizhou, Yacheng.

Under the scorching sun.

White clouds are scattered across the sky, which is too dazzling under the exposure. As the sea breeze blows, the reflections on the sea surface gradually blur amidst the waves, no longer clear. When the faint cries of seagulls ring out, everything seems to be shrouded in the sound of the tides.

For the people of Haizhou, this is already a common sight, not worth paying attention to.

On this sweltering afternoon that makes one sweat profusely, only the cicadas are buzzing, and the vehicles on the street have become sparse. Inside an auto repair shop, the atmosphere is gradually becoming scorching...

"Little Master Ji, do you think my two headlights have some problems?"

In the reflection of the sports car's paint, a slender, delicate arm gradually rests on the young repairman.

The youth lowers his head upon hearing this, looking at the large headlights, examining them carefully.

The headlights are large and bright, as if they are also looking at him, with eyes like silk.

"It does seem like there's a problem."

Ji Jue leans back tactically and concludes: "It should be a minor scratch; just get some maintenance done and it'll be fine. Our shop recently launched a 998 maintenance package, which includes full-car waxing and four deep cleanings. It's very cost-effective, don't you think, Brother Feng?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!" The dark-skinned, lean, and sturdy mechanic not far away, covered in oil, nods frantically upon hearing this.

"Annoying~"

The female car owner coquettishly taps Ji Jue's shoulder and snuggles closer.

"Then what about this exhaust pipe?"

She whispers a request in the youth's ear: "My husband says that every time he drives, it makes a very loud noise, which scares people. Could you please help me get something to blow it?"

Ji Jue looks at the exhaust pipe.

The weathered exhaust pipe also looks at him, dark and deep.

"Just replace it."

Ji Jue concludes: "It just so happens that our shop just received two, both are Mustang accessories, the kind with certificates, all genuine products from Cosmic Weight Heavy Industry... Only 12,888, take the Mustang exhaust home! Brother Feng, come and take a look quickly!"

As he speaks, he tries hard to pull away, but he cannot escape the entanglement beside him, instead struggling in vain like a small hamster caught by a python.

"No, I still think there's a problem with the car..." The woman with permed long wavy hair bites her lip, her eyes lingering: "Recently, the engine's oil output has been particularly high, and it seems to be leaking oil right now. You help me take a look."

"So serious?!"

Ji Jue is shocked and speechless, staring at the innocent engine under the hood for a long time, and concludes: "It might be a lack of maintenance. I suggest you purchase our 24,999 full-car maintenance package. If you sign up now, you'll get exquisite floor mats and fragrance pads. After maintenance, I guarantee it will drive like it just came out of the factory!

Right, Brother Feng?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!!!" The man holding a wrench nearby nods: "If you sign up for a card and top up now, there's also a 20% discount! Heartbeat is not as good as action!"

Unfortunately, after promoting for a long time, the car owner didn't even look at him.

Instead, she was about to stick her whole body onto Ji Jue.

As if she had no bones.

"But my husband can't drive for more than two minutes every time, saying the push-back feeling is too strong and he can't stand it." The female car owner bites her lip and blinks: "Little Master Ji, is what he said true?"

I don't know!

Ji Jue really wants to tell her that it's useless to ask Little Master Ji; he is only nineteen years old and has only been repairing cars for three and a half years, with no experience. You have to ask Master Ji for this!

Oh, it seems she came specifically for his Master Ji...

But this woman doesn't look like a good person. What if Master Ji comes out and gets beaten up by her?

He is so scared!

Since he was a child, he has suffered too many such covetous gazes.

Originally, only senior schoolgirls and female hooligans in school were thinking about him. Since he came out to work, these bad women in society have constantly emerged, coveting his beauty and wanting to touch him. As for now... she looks like she wants to get it for free, and she didn't even bring a gift? It's really a collapse of etiquette and music!

Narcissistic woman, really disappointing!

Ji Jue keeps winking at the mechanic Lu Feng beside him, but Lu Feng stops talking, just leaning against the wall watching the fun, gloating.

Until the savior descended from the sky...

Boom!

Amidst a loud noise, a burly figure appeared at the door, like a mountain of flesh, carrying two brand-new tires and throwing them on the ground, breaking the silence.

"What are you doing?"

The female boss with a crew cut, whose arms are as thick as an ox's and can ride a horse, raises her hand, wipes the oil off her apron, and looks over with a pair of fish-eye eyes: "Changing the engine, right? I'll do it... Are you two very free? If you're free, go unload that car of tires at the door into the warehouse."

"Okay, okay, okay, tires, tires, I love tires the most!"

Seeing the boss save Master Ji from danger, Ji Jue is overjoyed. The female car owner's expression twitches twice, as if dissatisfied that someone ruined her good deed, but the female boss reveals a little bit of the terrifying aura of 'fist suppressing the mountains and rivers', as well as the gaze looking over like a dead fish. Her lips open and close twice, and she doesn't dare to speak.

Embarrassed, she pinches the face of the child doing homework behind the counter, praises that the child is cute, and then gets in the car and leaves.

Lu Feng, who had watched enough of the fun, watches the pair of large headlights go away, clicking his tongue in regret. Then, he is slapped on the back of the head by Lu Ma, almost rolling into a gourd.

He crawls up and giggles: "Ouch, Mom, if you had come a little later, maybe she would have signed up for a 9999 gold card!"

"I opened the shop to repair cars, not to sell ducks! Little dog, don't ask for a beating!"

Lu Ma scolds, calling out his nickname, clearly very angry: "Like watching the fun, right? If you've watched enough, after moving the tires, get lost and clean the outhouse in the backyard!"

Now, it's Ji Jue's turn at the door to watch the fun.

Wonderful.

Really wonderful!

Moving a car of tires didn't take much effort. The shop has an old forklift, and Lu Feng, who retired home, also has strength in his arms, so naturally, it doesn't need a college student working part-time like him to exert effort.

In the afternoon, business is also slow.

After moving the tires and washing two cars, everyone lies in the shade, having nothing to do.

Lu Ma watches a few children do their summer homework, Lu Feng lies on the mat, giggling at short videos. And Ji Jue borrows the old computer in the shop, which might be as old as himself, and starts to continue writing his thesis.

In the afternoon, the sunlight shines on the youth's handsome profile, making the passing girls and aunts stop and watch.

The only pity is the burn scar that crawls from the collar to the neck and finally spreads to the cheek. It is so hideous, making the white jade slightly flawed, which is a pity and a sigh. Otherwise, wouldn't it be wonderful to debut as an idol?

At worst, there are wealthy aunts waving banknotes to invite him to sing and dance in a big villa, isn't that better than repairing cars in this kind of place?

But Ji Jue doesn't think it's a pity, and he has never felt that there is anything wrong with working in an auto repair shop.

In this day and age, disasters are rampant, and everything is difficult. It's not easy for an orphan whose parents died early and who is plagued by bad luck to survive. Having kind people take him in to work, never deducting money, and trying every way to help him is already a blessing from his ancestors.

What's more, he also got into college, and although his food and clothing are not luxurious, he doesn't have to worry. Compared to the bleak loneliness of the past, his life has already begun to improve visibly.

Since God has given him a chance to turn his life around, he must rely on his own ability to live like a person.

There is no qualification or reason not to work hard.

"A kind of... joint design and analysis... with a high-precision... harmonic reducer?" Lu Feng leans over to peek, feeling dizzy just looking at the title:

"What kind of stuff is that?"

"It's probably a mechanical joint design equipped with a small reducer." Ji Jue explains, "Mechanical equipment will use this principle to reduce speed and increase output."

"Oh, flexible joint, right? I've seen it on the exoskeleton armor in the army."

Lu Feng understands it immediately, pats Ji Jue's shoulder twice, and is even happier than if he had earned money himself, "Not bad, Little Ji, awesome."

Ji Jue shakes his head and smiles: "Where is that, it's the teacher who guided me."

The new planetary frame that serves as the basis for the thesis and design is originally the professor's own research result. The opportunity to give Ji Jue a sip of soup is already a pie falling from the sky.

Moreover, now, except for the opening report, the rest is basically just a frame, and Ji Jue himself is also trembling with fear.

With Professor Ye's consistently harsh style, if he messes it up, he might be considered useless and kicked out of the group directly by her. He still wants to rely on the professor's recommendation letter to take the second-level engineer exam, so he can't help but be careful.

It's a pity that the busy time is not long. The old computer's case vibrates and hums, and the bellows wail. It is clearly unable to support the arduous task of opening two more web pages while opening the document. Ji Jue can only stop for a while.

He looks down at his watch, it's only past four o'clock.

He takes a tissue and wipes the oil off the watch chain, seriously and carefully.

It must be said that in this day and age, except for a few people, wearing a watch has basically changed from a functional need to an act of showing off. Otherwise, why not take out your phone and take a look?

Is it because you forgot to charge it last night?

The times are changing.

In the early years, when Ji Jue's grandfather was still alive, his family's constant-time clocks were a famous brand in all of Haizhou. In those years, if a child could get into the navy, he would definitely come to the shop to buy a Seagull-style pocket watch. After changing into his uniform, half of the watch chain would be exposed from his pocket, and he didn't know how many big girls' eyes he could attract.

Unfortunately, Ji Jue's parents died early, and the times changed too fast. The small glory of the past had long been drowned in the dust. What was left to Ji Jue, besides an old shop that could no longer be opened, was only the meager skills of today, and this relic left by his parents.

To tell the truth, after so many years, Ji Jue hasn't figured out what brand this watch is. He can only guess that it is a watch used for timing in precision work through the complex mechanical-like logo on the dial.

The style is rare, and the design is different from most on the market. It looks like a style that early sailors liked to use, but sailors' watches usually have perpetual calendars or moon phase displays. But this watch's dial, besides the hands, only has a window that doesn't know what it is.

Two rows of small numbers seem to change gradually with time, gradually increasing, but the trend is too slow. When Ji Jue wore it for the first time as a child, the numbers on it were only 06, and now, it is already 92.

Besides that, what's even stranger is that it has no crown for timing, no place to wind it, and not even any gaps.

Ji Jue even borrowed a high-precision microscope in the school laboratory and couldn't find any seams or solder joints on the watch case at all. It is integrated, and even the watch mirror is wrapped inside, seamless.

Ji Jue once placed it on the table for several months, observing it every day, and the result was that it kept time as usual, proving that it didn't rely on arm swinging to wind automatically... So where did the power come from?

Could it be a perpetual motion machine?