When disaster struck, I became a big shot surviving in the ocean.
Chapter 33 Basic-level Mechanic

Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Basic-level Mechanic

Chen Qing had exceptionally strong hands-on abilities; she was a born Mechanic.

By the time One-eyed arrived with a group of battered soldiers at the factory, Chen Qing had already stripped the submarine’s entire hull and was in the process of rewelding it.

The original hull had long been corroded by seawater beyond recognition, and it wouldn’t have lasted much longer.

Once the hull ran into problems, even if Chen Qing repaired the inside, it would collapse along with the hull.

The vessel destroyed, the crew perished.

After all, it was an ancient model of advanced age.

Chen Qing had dug up quite a few rare metals from the pile of trash, and with some advanced lumber, it should hold for another twenty or thirty years.

The premise was, no major damage.

For instance, encountering some sea beast or the like.

"..."

One-eyed opened his mouth wide, glanced at the sky, and began to doubt whether he had been gone for half an hour or ten hours.

How had they already started preparing to repaint?

"Are you here?"

Chen Qing jumped down from the rack, passed by One-eyed holding a bucket of replaced parts, and nonchalantly greeted him.

"..."

"Is everything, everything fixed??"

One-eyed asked in shock.

"Mm."

Chen Qing nodded, dumping those parts into the trash heap – those parts were no longer usable, and the only possibility was to melt them down for re-casting.

Otherwise, they could be used as concealed weapons.

"Where did you find this Master???"

The Mechanic Apprentice pulled by One-eyed looked on with a complicated expression. She didn’t know if it was fixed, but just from looking at the submarine’s exterior, she knew Chen Qing was competent.

Being able to precisely pick the best goods from a pile of trash wasn’t something just anyone could do.

"... Just randomly picked from the black market."

One-eyed’s gaze was also complex; he truly hadn’t expected Chen Qing to be so impressive!

"So why did we even come here?"

A one-armed pirate felt just as complicated; were they really so useless?

Grandma Taozi’s submarine had been out of operation for over half a year; despite their half-year of research, they had made no progress at all.

While they were reflecting on it, Chen Qing was already repainting the submarine.

The paint, too, was picked up from the pile of trash; she just used it on the spot since its color was a bit similar to seawater, which would be beneficial for camouflage.

Upon fixing the submarine, Chen Qing earned 10,000 experience points and successfully advanced from Apprentice Mechanic to Basic-level Mechanic.

All her Basic Skills remained unchanged, but she acquired a new skill.

[Basic Weapon Manufacturing (E)].

The journey of a Mechanic was indeed challenging.

One-eyed and her associates, dazed by Chen Qing’s efficiency, took quite a while to react and come forward to help.

They were somewhat lacking in discernment.

Soon, with everyone’s assistance, the submarine’s painting was completed.

One-eyed and her group quickly crawled into the submarine and fired it up; upon hearing the roaring engine, a group of middle-aged folks couldn’t help but cheer!

The loud noise attracted Grandma Taozi out from the shed; although she couldn’t see what was happening, she could feel it from the children’s cheering.

"It must be fixed then."

A happy smile appeared on Grandma Taozi’s face.

"Thank you, really thank you; I don’t know how else to express my gratitude," said the Apprentice Mechanic, disregarding the dirt as she firmly grasped Chen Qing’s hand, her voice choked with emotion.

This submarine had always been a thorn in Grandma Taozi’s side, and in theirs as well.

But she lacked the ability to help Grandma Taozi fix it, which had always troubled her deeply.

"It’s fine."

Chen Qing tugged at the corner of her mouth, withdrawing her hand from that of the mechanic.

"Chen Qing wants to set up a factory assembly line," she said, "The core equipment is already in place, now it’s just missing some basic infrastructure, Tang, you’re better at this than I am."

One-eyed interrupted.

"A mechanical factory?"

The one called Tang, a former pirate apprentice mechanic, pondered for a moment.

"That’s simple, I’ll sneak a couple of devices out of Jina’s factory, and the rest Grandma Taozi can piece together with basic stuff."

True to his former pirate nature, he made theft sound so righteous.

"...No need, it’s okay, I’ve already got it covered,"

Chen Qing smiled, declining Tang’s "kindness".

"Help me calculate the cost for that pile over there."

Chen Qing pointed towards a corner piled with junk, as she had her own plans.

"Don’t feel embarrassed, if Jina knows you helped Grandma Taozi, she will pretend not to know."

Tang continued warmly.

Chen Qing still didn’t agree, just shaking her head.

"Alright then, pick whatever you want from the recycling factory, we’ll deliver it to your ship for free."

"Don’t worry, although we may not look tough, we are strong!"

Tang slapped his brawny arm, as the others also tried their best to show their friendliness.

All these former pirates had varying degrees of issues, some with faces, others with limbs.

Most of them had issues with limbs, which forced them to give up their careers as pirates.

This time, Chen Qing didn’t refuse again, and the mechanic recycling factory, usually filled only with the sounds of machinery, quickly became lively once more.

The former pirates helped carry stuff to Chen Qing’s ship, while Tang took charge of selecting reusable parts from the recycling factory.

A mechanical factory needs raw materials to operate, after all.

Grandma Taozi watched all this cheerfully, even pointing out where the good stuff was hidden; no one knew better than her where treasures were kept in the mechanical recycling factory.

Of course, Grandma Taozi had a motive for doing all this.

The first batch of mechanical parts was transported back to the ship, and Chen Qing followed to assemble and repair the factory assembly line.

Gao Yue and the others hadn’t expected that Chen Qing, by merely leaving briefly, would win so much goodwill from the natives of the island, prompting so many to voluntarily come and help.

During the hour that Chen Qing was away, Gao Yue also managed to acquire a few scrapped mechanical items at a low price.

With so many strangers suddenly on board, Daliya watched them like a surveillance camera, her gaze intense.

It must be said, Daliya’s vigilance was justified.

Indeed, a few pirates with ill intentions had mingled in the crowd, as the island had more bad people than good.

The basic foundation was there.

Not only that, among the mechanical parts shipped over, Chen Qing discovered a bugging creature.

It looked just like a mechanical part, even the insides were similar, devoid of breath or heartbeat.

It was precious, rare, and expensive, not something common folks could afford.

If not for Chen Qing’s presence and keen ability, this creature would have gone unnoticed.

The person behind the scenes hadn’t anticipated that Chen Qing would be so sharp and naturally gifted to spot the issue immediately.

It seemed someone was targeting her.

But Chen Qing thought deeper; as a mere newcomer, she wasn’t worth such a great expense.

The person who placed the surveillance creature wasn’t targeting her, but Daliya!

Someone was questioning Daliya’s true identity!