When disaster struck, I became a big shot surviving in the ocean.
Chapter 226 - 192: Victory in the Contest, Shearing the Sheep_3

Chapter 226: Chapter 192: Victory in the Contest, Shearing the Sheep_3

Even if in the end, Chen Qing was unwilling to take them as apprentices, it didn’t matter—they had already grown accustomed to being discouraged.

In the realm of mechanics, they truly lacked talent, the only thing that had brought them this far was their passion for machinery.

Chen Qing was not the first Mechanic they had approached, nor would he likely be the last.

For them, learning just a little bit would suffice, even if it only meant witnessing the birth process of a great Mechanic.

"It’s okay, Lord Chen Qing, you can just treat us as free labor."

"We can take care of our own needs like eating and sleeping, and I can even earn 2 goldfish a month. Though it’s a little less, as long as you need..."

The voice of the speaking Apprentice Mechanic faded gradually, realizing that even with this offer, they were still taking advantage of Chen Qing.

But they truly didn’t want to give up this opportunity!

"Yes, Lord Chen Qing, we have grown up in Clockwork Bay, we know everything about this place better than anyone."

"It’s okay if you do not wish to teach us, just treating us as labor is enough."

The group included both men and women, besides one Beginner Mechanic, all the rest were Apprentice Mechanics.

Moreover, none of them were young. The youngest among them was more than a decade older than Chen Qing, one even had graying hair.

Honestly, having them work as labor for Chen Qing was still a loss for him.

"Sorry, no need."

Chen Qing politely rejected these people, nodded at them, and went back onto his ship without bothering with them anymore.

Back on the ship, Chen Qing began drawing up the blueprints for the Steam Driver, an item suitable for selling to survivors and some ordinary ships.

The estimated material cost was about 500-700 Silver Crabs, and the blueprint was free.

The factory was also acquired by force, resulting in lower costs; hence, Chen Qing usually excluded these expenses when calculating costs.

Selling the Steam Driver for one goldfish, floating a bit higher, would be just about right.

However, he could not sell this device right now; it had to wait for a suitable time.

Chen Qing felt no remorse for his actions, and of course, in this world, there was no problem with them.

This world had no laws anyway.

Even if it were his original world, who could say Chen Qing was wrong?

The blueprint was duplicated by Chen Qing, but she did not immediately put it into production. Instead, she continued to refine the design.

The Steam Driver was likely an old blueprint, but it was still highly practical.

Now, it could still be used; the Mechanical Association had not thought to improve it further.

Who could have imagined that Chen Qing would be so perverse as to be able to replicate the original blueprint upon just touching it?

Chen Qing had stayed in the workshop until Wu Xi came looking for her.

Wu Xi was there to fulfill her promise, introducing a merchant who sold Alchemy Factories.

This merchant belonged to a large Mechanical Family in Treasure Sea and had no ties with the Red Snake Family or the Rose and De Lu Families.

In Treasure Sea, there were only a few capable of manufacturing Alchemy Factories; one could count them on one hand.

To buy from them, one needed money, fame, strength, and connections; lacking any one of these would not do.

The threshold was very high.

Wu Xi and Qu Sizhen were not particularly outstanding within the Mechanical Association, but they were famously agreeable and had many friends.

If it weren’t for their introduction, Chen Qing would have found it difficult to get involved.

Alchemy Factories were somewhat easier to buy than Scroll Factories. Regarding the Scroll Factories, Wu Xi and Qu Sizhen’s connections were limited, so they really couldn’t help.

Those Mechanical Families tightly controlled the Scrolls; unless someone raided them forcefully—a success in such a raid was not even guaranteed.

After all, aside from their family members, no one really knew whether they had these factories.

Today, meeting with Wu Xi, she hadn’t brought those little followers; those students had been severely discouraged and were now immersed in intense study.

Not just them.

"Your actions yesterday greatly upset them."

"I heard that Mechanics from other branches want to challenge you too."

"Once the issues in Mechanical Island are resolved, the headquarters of the Mechanical Association should also send someone."

"If you don’t want to deal with these troubles, it’s best to leave Clockwork Bay sooner rather than later."

Wu Xi handed over a newspaper from Clockwork Bay to Chen Qing with a smile. This was a newspaper published by Clockwork Bay.

The competition between Chen Qing and those Mechanics hadn’t topped the Deep Blue Daily headlines, but it had made the front page of the Spring Report.

Compared to the praises for Chen Qing in the Deep Blue Daily and the detraction of the Mechanical Association, the Spring Daily was much more "neutral."

What with claims like the Mechanical Association lacking substance, Chen Qing using special means, and Chen Qing having good relationships with certain School Mechanics...

It appeared neutral but was immensely biased towards the Mechanical Association.