Chapter 1363

Coupled with Lin Cheng's own detailed explanation, Miss Qianhui gradually understood what had happened, ultimately reaching a conclusion.

Jueqing really does have feelings for her Lin Cheng!

She actually attacked her beloved Lin Cheng—wah, this damned wicked woman.

"I'm sorry, Lin Cheng—I misjudged you."

Actually, his purpose in provoking Jueqing was simple: just to provoke and court death. I love the look on your face when you can't stand me but can't kill me—heehee.

"By the way, Elder Zhai told me to remind you that the Inscription Contest is in three days—don't be late."

Though he really didn't want to go.

"Sleep sleep~"

"Ah~ annoying, I'll do it myself… Today I want to be on top."

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Cheng completed the assembly-line forging and initial operation of the Magic Crystal Converter, a device capable of efficiently converting and utilizing Magic Crystal energy with a utilization rate of one hundred percent. Prince Li Jian's people had not yet arrived, but Lin Cheng had already begun mass production—no one in this world understood forging and inscriptions better than him; the quantity of Magic Crystals on hand could sustain stable operation for a month, and the Red-Eyed Mercenaries delivered more Magic Crystals daily on schedule, so there was no major issue—combined with the efficiency of the fully automated intelligent production line, producing twenty improved Magic Crystal internal combustion engines per day was no problem at all.

"Only twenty per day? Efficiency is still far too low."

Eating breakfast, Lin Cheng muttered to himself, lost in thought about the current situation.

Producing twenty Magic Crystal internal combustion engines per day was already the assembly line's limit—the only solution was to add more assembly lines.

Regardless of whether Prince Li Jian had succeeded yet, once he did and verified and developed various machines, the Empire would require vast numbers of Magic Crystal internal combustion engines—his own efficiency must improve, or he'd be blocking his own path to wealth.

Second, Lord Xuan Wuji and Lei Yi should be returning soon—they ordered twenty thousand mechanical mounts, which also requires an assembly line.

"Hmm… Let's set the target at five assembly lines for now—one as backup, the other four fully dedicated to Magic Crystal internal combustion engines."

After finalizing the plan, Lin Cheng quietly prepared to implement it.

But then he remembered—today was the first day of the Inscription Contest Friendship Match, and he absolutely had to go watch.

"Miss Qianhui, do you want to come watch the match with me?"

"Can I go too? No need to watch the shop?" Miss Qianhui was thrilled and delighted by Lin Cheng's invitation; though everyone knew about the relationship between Lin Cheng and Miss Qianhui, he had never taken her to any public event before.

Now that Lin Cheng was inviting her, it carried the implication of making their relationship public—even though everyone already knew, the female fans who adored Lin Cheng still clung to a sliver of hope.

That sliver of hope was about to be crushed!

"Everyone gets the day off today—full pay—and we'll go watch the match together, as a rare vacation."

As the boss, Lin Cheng naturally had the authority to decide whether to open or close for business today.

"We?"

Miss Qianhui whispered the word, her face flushing and heart racing—it was practically a romantic date! Lin Cheng glanced at her curiously, then nodded.

"Yes, we're going together."

Only when the guild's carriage arrived to pick them up did Miss Qianhui truly understand what Lin Cheng meant by "we."

Lin Cheng and her—not only that, but also Xiao Hong, Yunshang, and Valkyrie Ailin—everyone was coming along!

She knew it wouldn't be this easy to have a private date with Lin Cheng.

The Inscription Contest venue.

To host this contest, the Forge Master's Society had rented the central plaza from the city hall for three days.

The first day was the preliminary round, the second day featured over two hundred participants, and the third day was the finals.

The number of competitors had grown from dozens to hundreds, but it didn't matter—the Inscription Contest Friendship Match was not an official competition; it was merely an impromptu, informal event organized by the Shicheng Forge Master's Society, its commemorative value far outweighing its competitive significance.

Lin Cheng and Huoerde Society's president were originally the sole judges, but due to the overwhelming number of participants, they had to hastily recruit several impartial forge masters from within the guild—those who excelled in inscriptions but had not entered the contest—to serve as temporary judges.

Each temporary judge had one vote, totaling five votes; Lin Cheng and Huoerde Society's president each held five votes, for a maximum of fifteen votes and a minimum of zero—the contestant with the most votes won.

The preliminary round rules were simple: inscribe as many inscriptions as possible on the designated object within the shortest time; if two or more competitors inscribed the same number, the judging panel would decide the winner.

All preparations complete.

The Inscription Contest, symbolizing a new chapter in the Empire's forge masters, officially began.

Today should have been an utterly wonderful day for Miss Qianhui—but the idiot Lin Cheng ruined what should have been a perfect date.

But that was fine—after all, she was the rightful mistress; she had to be magnanimous to be a proper head of household.

What could Xiao Hong or Valkyrie Ailin possibly threaten her with? Hmph—she was Lin Cheng's true love!

But once the contest began, things changed—the positions of Lin Cheng and Huoerde Society's president on the judging dais revealed a shocking reversal.