Chapter 890: A Life in the Jianghu, Opportunities for Full Development

After finishing his tea and reading, Xia Duo temporarily put away *Greta's Mental Protection*. Right now, he didn't have much heart to study any mental spells.

Having the 【Pioneer Scepter】 for the time being was enough; he should finish the Ascending Ring work for his other common spells before considering anything else!

After leaving his residence, Xia Duo sent a message to Niya that his troubles had been resolved, telling her not to worry and to focus on researching the Magic Net data brought back from Giles Tower.

However, Niya teleported over directly and asked anxiously, "Is it really resolved? But the New Year Festival might truly have problems!"

"It really is resolved!" Xia Duo looked at Niya's concerned eyes and said earnestly, "There is no escaping next month's New Year Festival. Don't worry too much; I believe that at the very least, safety won't be an issue! As for the rest, it will depend on everyone's own methods."

Xia Duo might not have many ways to deal with soul-related trouble, but he was very adept at physical safety. At worst, he could just hide in his Personal Space; surely the enemy couldn't chase him in there, right?

If they really did chase him in, he would be overjoyed—wouldn't that be equivalent to a little lamb voluntarily walking into a tiger's mouth?

In fact, the current Xia Duo was no longer as nervous about his own safety as he had been when he first transmigrated, but there were always some things more troublesome than his own safety.

After all, safety does not equate to comfort, intimacy, or satisfaction; it is merely a most basic psychological need.

The New Year Festival was just such a big trouble. If he could, Xia Duo truly didn't want to get involved. Wouldn't it be better to just honestly hole up in a corner where no one could find him and farm?

But there is a saying: "Once in the jianghu, one is not master of one's own actions." Since he had already boarded the ship of the Seven Towers and had even gained many benefits from it, how could he be allowed to withdraw so easily?

Everything has a price; Xia Duo had long been prepared for this.

……

After comforting Niya for a while, until the worry in her eyes had faded quite a bit, Xia Duo said, "Now that the King-Slaying Star has receded, the effects of the 【Dragon Madness Mythallar】 should have disappeared. Those dragons shouldn't go crazy anymore."

"If you have time, take Yabo and Pamela out for a flight. The Arcane Garden is still too cramped for flying creatures!"

"Ah?!"

Hearing Xia Duo mention the two precious Pegasus in the Arcane Garden, Niya let out a cry of surprise, her eyes lighting up as she said happily:

"I've been gone for a month and almost forgot about them. I'll go right now!"

But as she finished speaking, her tone became hesitant. She looked at Xia Duo and confirmed again, "Then I'm going now?"

"Go, go!" Xia Duo said repeatedly.

He guessed that Niya must have thought of the time he teased her for playing with the Pegasus. However, who doesn't have a side of innocence and childlike interest? As long as it wasn't neglecting one's duties for play, Xia Duo supported it.

At the very least, maintaining a certain degree of childlike innocence is more beneficial to the development and perfection of one's humanity and personality.

……

Soon, Niya left excitedly, while Xia Duo himself continued walking toward the elevator, preparing to head to the Public Level.

When passing the entrance to the Tilake Research Lab, he had no intention of going in to take a look.

Now that the Tower of Time had transformed and was generally on the right track, compared to the Horst Research Lab, which was designing for the mass production of Magic Items, the Tilake Research Lab, which focused on pioneering research, did not need too much intervention.

As long as funding and resources arrived on time, that was enough. Of course, the necessary audits and reviews were also indispensable; there was a dedicated Audit Department for that.

As for the Horst Research Lab, Xia Duo would specifically seek them out. This time, he mainly wanted to see the production status of the Communication Magic Tools.

This concerned the largest cash flow for the Tower of Time for a long time to come. Nothing could be done without money, so he couldn't afford not to take it seriously.

He had been away for a month; those Magic Technicians at the Official Mage level should have been trained by now. If nothing else, they should at least have no problem mastering the 2nd-ring 【Magic Net Background Communication】.

If they really couldn't master it after a month, then in Xia Duo's eyes, they might be destined to be Primary Technicians for life.

……

Public Level, 022 Gongzuojian.

The moment Xia Duo walked into the workshop, he saw a scene of a busy assembly line—

The Mithril Components of the Communication Magic Tool core were divided into four assembly lines based on Spell Element units, before entering the final assembly line.

After completing the assembly of the core Mithril Components, they were transferred to the hands of Magic Technicians at the Official Mage level. There were three of them in total: the first was responsible for encapsulation, the second for linking the Magic Net, and the third for inspection.

Finally, the completed, crystal-ball-like Communication Magic Tools were placed into a small box behind the three of them. Eight per box; there were already seven or eight boxes piled up here.

Moreover, Xia Duo noticed that the number of people on the production line was almost double what it had been before; they were all Apprentice-level Magic Technicians, and the positions of all production line personnel had been adjusted to some extent.

This made the production line operation he saw this time much smoother than before, and perhaps the efficiency had also improved significantly—it was almost pushing the production limits of those three Official Mage-level Magic Technicians!

He didn't know who had adjusted it, but they had truly handled this matter exactly to his liking!

Every profession has its own specialty. He might understand the entire process of mass-producing Communication Magic Tools, even the details, but when it came to the specific arrangement of production line personnel, he might not be as knowledgeable as the frontline production staff.

……

Xia Duo hadn't felt like he had been in the 022 Gongzuojian for long when Jianaer, having received the news, hurried over from outside. "Xia Duo, you're back!"

Although the two had a superior-subordinate relationship, their personal friendship was decent, especially since they had known each other during Xia Duo's Apprentice period, not to mention that after becoming Official Mages, they had both become Niya's students.

Of course, Xia Duo had later completely risen to the top, but he wasn't a petty person and was still quite tolerant and generous toward these old companions.

"Jianaer, was it your idea to add these new technicians?"

"Yes, after many adjustments, I found that this could achieve the highest production efficiency. With more time, they can also go to attend Apprentice Courses or Low-level Mage Study Classes, and they are willing to do so themselves."

Jianaer's words sounded like a matter of course, but Xia Duo felt quite emotional inside.

Once upon a time, he was also a wage earner on Earth, but the improvement in work efficiency would not bring him time or opportunities for study; instead, he would be subjected to heavier oppression by his boss.

From 966 to 996, what changed was not just a simple number.

But here, the core of mass-producing Magic Items was the spellcasting ability of the Magic Technicians. Whether they were Apprentice-level or Official Mage-level, there was a limit to spellcasting; it was impossible to work continuously for 8 hours.

Therefore, Magic Technicians actually had a lot of free time at their disposal.

Jianaer's approach seemed to be squeezing them, but in essence, it was increasing efficiency and giving the Magic Technicians more free time to improve themselves.

This was actually what Xia Duo had envisioned from the beginning: even a Magic Technician had the possibility of becoming an Archmage!