Chapter 1 The New Century Building

Li Cheng颐 was slightly stunned by the scene before him as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.

Instead of the orderly Hongjin Company he was used to, he saw an empty hall, cold and cheerless, with no more than five people at work.

"Xiao Li, you're here?" Song Ran stood up in a corner of the office hall, holding a freshly made cup of instant coffee in his hand.

"Brother Song? Where's the boss? And what's going on with the company??" Li Cheng颐 got out of the elevator and walked closer.

"They're all inside. The boss just gave everyone a half-day holiday today. Just need a few people on duty for the afternoon and evening," Song Ran replied.

"Okay... looks like something's up today?" Li Cheng颐 reacted instantly.

"You're quick on the uptake," Song Ran laughed. "An old subordinate of the boss came to visit him. He happened to know you wanted to learn about the Feiyi (flying instrument) and so the boss asked you to come over quickly so you can ask some professional questions. Be polite, he’s a pro."

"Got it." Li Cheng颐 understood the situation after hearing this.

Song Ran's words seemed simple and ordinary, but in fact they gave him a significant hint.

He walked through the company's office hall to the innermost office door.

Inside, Xindela was talking to a young man with black, shoulder-length hair. They were chatting happily, their expressions natural.

Hearing Li Cheng颐 approach, the long-haired young man quickly turned his head and looked towards the door.

"Your man?" the young man asked, looking back at Xindela.

"He wants to understand the Feiyi situation. Since you're here, just tell him a little," Xindela said with a slight smile towards Li Cheng颐, answering in a low voice.

"Alright, you're the boss, what you say goes," the long-haired young man laughed.

By this time, Li Cheng颐 had entered the room. At Xindela's prompting, he walked up to the young man and extended his hand for a light shake.

"Hello, Cheng Yi."

"Ding Ning." The young man smiled and shook his hand lightly.

"I heard from the boss that Mr. Ding can answer my questions about Feiyi, I wonder..." Li Cheng颐 asked softly.

"Have you had your brainpower and computing power tested?" Ding Ning asked.

"Not yet," Li Cheng颐 shook his head.

"That's it then. Controlling a Feiyi requires strong brainpower and nerve reaction speed." Ding Ning gestured to the sofa to sit down and talk.

"You've probably heard of brainwave control?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes, some children's toys also use this principle," Li Cheng颐 nodded.

"That's it." Ding Ning continued, "So-called brainwave control is actually the precise detection of your cerebral cortex's basic activity information through special sensing elements, and then, based on some characteristic brainwave reactions, generating corresponding control actions."

"So, it's not some kind of psychic power or superpower?" Li Cheng颐 realized.

Even in his predecessor's memory, brainwave control was an extremely mysterious method, and most people couldn't understand its specific principles.

Now, hearing Ding Ning's explanation, he immediately understood.

"Pretty much. Where are psychic powers and superpowers in this world? It's all about technology." Ding Ning laughed, "Technology is the primary productive force. The so-called brainwaves are actually just brain electrical waves. The intelligent mechanists that have been circulating on the internet for a long time are a typical example of this."

"So, the essence of Feiyi is actually equivalent to drone brainwave control?" Li Cheng颐 made an analogy.

"Accurate understanding!" Ding Ning nodded. "Turning the drones we usually play with into faster, more aggressive, and faster-reacting weaponized drones is what we call intelligent mechanists, which is Feiyi."

"Feiyi, Feiyi, is actually a flying instrument."

"Flying instrument..." After understanding this, many situations immediately surfaced in Li Cheng颐's mind.

"Then, it seems that any intelligent mechanist, any Feiyi controller, needs a very troublesome logistics support team to ensure the absolute stability of their Feiyi?"

"Generally, because there are fewer things to maintain and guarantee for Feiyi, powerful intelligent mechanists can solve their own logistics problems," Ding Ning replied. "So, do you think why intelligent mechanists are called 'shi' (master)? Not just Feishou (drone operators), that’s the reason."

"I see." A look of realization appeared in Li Cheng颐's eyes.

"I heard from the boss that you also want to become an intelligent mechanist?" Ding Ning asked.

"Well, I have some ideas, but I also know it's difficult. So, I just want to give it a try," Li Cheng颐 said with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"Actually, it's not a big problem," Ding Ning affirmed very easily. "You'll know when you go to the brainpower calculation center. For this profession, it's best to start with the amateur route and develop slowly, play around and try it out first. For our profession, brainpower is generally similar, as long as you're not ridiculously slow, you can do it. For computing power, you don't need any complex computing power if you play with the most basic old Feiyi models."

"Then why are there so few...?" Li Cheng颐 didn't finish his question when Ding Ning interrupted.

"Because of money." Ding Ning laughed, "The profession of intelligent mechanist is all about one word: burning money! Even the most basic Feiyi, brainwave control terminal, and basic protective force field suit cost tens of millions, and that's just the beginning. Later, continuous adjustments, maintenance, and modifications require you to hire a professional Feiyi master to handle it."

Speaking of this, Ding Ning took out a fire-red small knife from his coat pocket.

The knife was only the length of a palm, and looked exceptionally delicate.

"Here, this is my Feiyi - Fire Sickle. You can take a look."

He handed the knife to Li Cheng颐.

Li Cheng颐 carefully took the knife and examined it carefully.

This Fire Sickle knife was like a mechanical knife made up of many precise mechanical parts fitted together.

"With so many parts assembled, will this thing fall apart easily?" He sincerely asked the question in his mind.

"Hmm, good question." Ding Ning laughed, "So that's the job of my Feiyi master. Every three uses, the Fire Sickle knife must be returned to receive the Feiyi master's adjustment and inspection."

"Is this the case for all intelligent mechanists?" Li Cheng颐 frowned.

"Pretty much, mine is considered ordinary. At the brainpower calculation center, they calculate your upper limit, they will tell you how far you can go at most. If you still want to enter the intelligent mechanist industry after being informed of the situation, then you have a lot of money, and no one will say anything about you." Ding Ning took out another Fire Sickle, gently spread it in his palm, and then, silently, the Fire Sickle knife floated up, with faint red lines emitting from the tail.

"Anti-gravity modules are still very expensive. This is a high-tech product that can only be produced in self-circulating cities. Therefore, in order to prevent technology leakage, the maintenance of intelligent mechanists can only be carried out in self-circulating cities."

"Mr. Ding, can you reveal the price of these two Fire Sickle knives?" Li Cheng颐 couldn't help but ask.

"Twenty million for one, and one million for each maintenance and repair. The service life is about fifty times. If you encounter a target with very high hardness, then you have to redo one every time you use it." Ding Ning replied quickly, with nothing to hide.

"......" Li Cheng颐 thought he had overestimated the cost, but he didn't expect it to be so high.

"Do you think it's too exaggerated and too expensive?" Ding Ning stood up. "Want to see the basic speed of Feiyi?"

He gently raised his hand, looking at Li Cheng颐 with a smile.

"Can I?" Li Cheng颐's heart filled with anticipation, and he also stood up.

"Of course, just try the speed, no wear and tear." Ding Ning nodded.

"Then I'll trouble you!" Li Cheng颐 nodded seriously.

He hoped to see how strong Feiyi really was with his own eyes.

"Then... let's use this cup as a hypothetical enemy." Ding Ning raised the water cup in his hand and smiled slightly.

Whoosh.

He suddenly tossed the milky white single-eared water cup gently into the air.

The water cup drew a light curve in the air, rising to its highest point before starting to fall.

Chī!

In an instant, a point of red light flashed and disappeared, penetrating through the center of the water cup.

Li Cheng颐 didn't even have time to react before it was all over.

With a snap, Ding Ning caught the water cup accurately with one hand, smiling and placing it in front of Li Cheng颐.

In the center of the cup, there was a sudden, slender, charred crack.

The crack was about the size of a fingernail. Most importantly, it didn't break the cup apart.

"The initial speed of a normal pistol bullet can reach the speed of sound the moment it leaves the muzzle," Ding Ning explained, "My Fire Sickle certainly can't reach the speed of sound."

"Then....." Li Cheng颐 recovered from the shock and wanted to ask.

"It's about half the speed of sound." Ding Ning interrupted him, revealing a gentle smile. "The speed of Fire Sickle is about half the speed of sound, and this is not its limit, but my limit."

"The limit speed that I can control freely is about this point. If it's faster, it can naturally be faster, but I can't control it, and the lethality will drop sharply, and I may even accidentally injure myself, which would outweigh the benefits."

Li Cheng颐 was silent.

He suddenly thought of his sister, Li Cheng Jiu. She was taking the intelligent mechanist certificate exam. It seemed that she might also have a Feiyi.

Since Feiyi was so expensive, how did she get her hands on this thing?

Just relying on the family's support?

He didn't understand it before, but now that he did, Li Cheng颐 knew that the family's capital wasn't even enough for a single basic consumption of Feiyi.

Thinking of this, he simply asked Ding Ning about his doubts.

"This model also exists. Many talented young people who perform well can receive investment from some capital or forces. This can compress the cost to a very low level. After all, there are many capital groups that have Feiyi masters and the cost of maintaining Feiyi is much lower than that of ordinary people."

Ding Ning replied.

"Some universities can also rent them. Renting Feiyi is much cheaper. But these rented ones are mostly models that are one to several generations behind the market. At most, they can be used to practice and get familiar with them."

"I see." Li Cheng颐 nodded in understanding.

"Although I don't know if you can become one of us, I still want to give you a word of advice in advance." Ding Ning's smile faded and he said seriously.

"Please speak."

"That is, before becoming an intelligent mechanist, you can be indifferent, but after becoming an intelligent mechanist, you'd better supervise every maintenance yourself. Don't be lazy and let go completely."