Chapter 871 - Maintenance Team

“Xia Fei. Oh, Xia Fei. Why couldn’t you be anything but normal? The grand ancestor brought you into the God Race so that you could experience the training here! What did you run off to Fig Corporation for?!” The news of Xia Fei joining Fig Corporation had spread to reach the Fiendish Wing Villa on its snow-capped mountains, and the more short-tempered peak Law Sage Xia Lianning stomped his feet to vent his emotions.

“From what I know, Xia Fei’s choices have always been very unexpected, and we already verified this fact when he was still in the Law Realm,” Xia Ke said as he stroked the sparse goatee on his chin.

“The Law Realm is the Law Realm, and the God Race is the God Race! How couldn’t he understand this? Besides the areas beyond the God Race territory, Fig Corporation is next in line when it comes to being the most dangerous! While Fig Corporation may appear to be a place of business on the outside, it is in fact the second major force outside the Palace of Gods! Danger lurks everywhere in there, while schemes and conspiracies abound!

“Forging an identity to join Fig Corporation? Only he could come up with such an idea! How could he actually be so bold!”

Xia Lianning vehemently unleashed a tirade of complaints, the nerves on his forehead bulging visibly. Anyone could tell that he was really infuriated this time.

Actually, there was not a single Skywing who could be called good-tempered. Even if they lived their day-to-day lives with a smile on their faces, they were the sort of stubborn bulls that would not listen to their master when in a fight.

“I believe that Xia Fei has carefully considered his actions beforehand. Given how smart that young man is, there’s no way he doesn’t know the problem Fig Corporation is actually in. Perhaps he’s investigating something personal over there,” Xia Ke said solemnly. “In any case, there’s no use being so anxious about him. Since the grand ancestor isn’t here, we’re the ones making the decision regarding all matters. You must maintain a calm disposition at such times.”

Xia Lianning was done with his tantrum, and he returned to his seat. His face contorted in rage, but eventually he sighed. “I’m not trying to pick a bone with Xia Fei, but to have actually risked joining Fig Corporation with a forged identity the first time he arrived at the God Race territory? Not even the entire God Race has a grit to rival his! In case of a mishap, just how would we explain ourselves to the grand ancestor?”

Xia Ke shook his head and replied, “You may have the wrong idea about him. Xia Fei isn’t someone who lacks mindfulness; his personality is just a bit more extreme, that’s all. I reckon the fact that he dares to brave Fig Corporation means there’s something he needs to do there. Plus, he’s someone who’s extremely obstinate. As long as it’s something he makes up his mind about, there’s nothing or no one out there that can stop him or change his decision.”

It was amusing to note that neither Xia Ke nor Xia Lian Ning thought positively of Xia Fei’s move to join Fig Corporation, and both were instead convinced that Xia Fei was just stirring up trouble.

Actually, neither of these peak Law Sages could be blamed for being glum about this; Xia Fei was indeed someone who enjoyed stirring up trouble, and this had already been proven, given his past troubles.

“Our grand ancestor at least has a position to stand on in the Palace of Gods, but no one in our clan can even have a word in edgewise with Fig Corporation. The situation will be very troublesome if we lose track of Xia Fei,” Xia Lianning rumbled.

Lifting his head up, Xia Lianning gazed at the blizzard raging outside the window. “Honestly, I’m not afraid of Fig Corporation at all. Fear isn’t a word known by any of the Skywings; I’m merely worried that the ancient legend will come to pass again. After all, the present is nothing like the past.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Xia Ke was abruptly stunned, his expression turning abnormal.

“There’s no use worrying over it now. The grand ancestor has given Xia Fei the mission to get a firm foothold in the God Race. Perhaps Xia Fei can really find it in Fig Corporation. In that case, our clan will finally have someone in that place where we’ve been unable to interfere with so far.” Xia Ke mused loudly.

Xia Lian Ning sighed, muttering to himself, “I hope that that’s truly the case. Still, I’m very worried. The Godwings of our clan have the greatest potential but also bear the worst curse…”

The blizzard outside grew in intensity, and Fiendish Wing Villa amid miles of ice basked in silence.

…

Xia Fei, of course, had no idea about the worries of the people in Fiendish Wing Villa. His only thought at the moment was to investigate this tech company, which was rumored to be the greatest in its field. Hence, his presence here in Fig Corporation. It was really that simple.

Research Institute 137’s maintenance team was situated underground, separate from the well-lit and spacious facilities enjoyed by the other departments above. It was evidently a little gloomier here.

After walking along the corridor for quite some time, Xia Fei finally arrived outside a door with a plaque that read ‘Maintenance Team’. Inserting his identification pass to the electronic reader, the metal door slowly opened.

He entered, only to find himself in a huge warehouse, with countless broken equipment strewn all over the place. There was even this odd and pungent smell permeating the room. It was a fairly bleak scene to behold, considering that this was a well-known tech company reputed to be number one on this side of the universe.

Xia Fei did not say a word, and nobody inside the warehouse said a word, either. The only sounds came from the machines in operation. It appeared that everyone was busy with work.

“Are you the newcomer?” a thick voice called.

Xia Fei turned toward the sound, only to find the team leader of Research Institute 137’s maintenance team. The person was a barrel-chested man, and he was presently kneeling on the ground, repairing a sonic scanner that was disproportionate in size.

“Director Kalu sent me to the maintenance team to help out for a few days,” Xia Fei lightly explained as he took out a cigarette.

“Oh, give me a minute.”

With that said, the powerful man continued to bury his head in his own work.

*Za za za za*

His fingers were chubby, yet he was able to work nimbly as he repaired components and parts. Exactly one minute passed when the work on the sonic scanner was announced to be completed.

*Clap clap clap*

“Come over here, all of you! We’ve got a new colleague!” The team leader got up and clapped his hands.

Several minutes later, Xia Fei was introduced to the three members of the team. There was the tall and large team leader, Song Jianlin, and two skinny older men, Andrew and Hoff.

“Independent College! You’re from there?” These three men appeared to be very surprised. After all, Independent College was one of the three major faculties of Fig Star Academy, its fame preceding itself. There was no reason someone like Xia Fei would end up helping out in the maintenance team, even if it was just temporary. It seemed to be somewhat of a waste of talent.

Team Leader Song Jianlin seemed to have thought of something and frowned, but he did not make a comment.

“The maintenance team can be considered as the logistic support department of Research Institute 137. Not just this institute, even the other institutes will send over to us all their broken equipment for repair,” Song Jianlin said. “Logically speaking, our department can be considered as having the lowest priority; we need to finish repairing forty items every day at least. That’s to say we don’t get to rest till we’re done repairing ten items each.”

“Alright, let’s get back to work.”

Xia Fei was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the job scope of the maintenance team to be so simple. Furrowing his brows, he asked, “With so many broken items, where should I start?”

The other three men laughed in unison, as old Hoff patted Xia Fei on his shoulder. “You already know just how many items we are required to repair daily, which far outstrips what the maintenance team can handle. No one’s gonna blame us if we can’t get everything done, so all you have to do is find any ten items from the ground and repair them. You may knock off work once you meet your quota, and the earlier you’re done, the earlier you can rest.”

Xia Fei frowned. It looked like the maintenance team was a group of forgotten men in Fig Corporation.

…

About twenty minutes later, Xia Fei got up. He had very quick hand speed, and he had completed ten items in the time that passed.

The Mechs’ inheritance played a key role here. Everyone believed that Xia Fei’s foundation in mechatronics came from the Panhuman Alliance, but that was very far from the truth. Old man Qin Mang had given him a handbook to Mech technology, but it was the chief engineer of the Mechs, Dimsky, in the Hidden Realm who had truly deepened his knowledge of technology.

The Mechs and the Cobalti were two major species most technologically competent outside the Law Realm, and though they were still a few levels off Fig Corporation, Xia Fei was definitely more than capable of handling some of these not-too-complex tasks with his firm grasp of the Mechs’ knowledge in technology.

“So fast?!” The three veteran maintenance workers were greatly shocked. Xia Fei having completed a day’s work in such a short time on his first day of work was definitely a shocking feat!

“Truly a graduate of the Independent College! I assumed at first that you’re like the other fresh grads, smart in theory but weak in practice; who knew that your operational ability would be this strong!” Song Jianlin gasped in amazement.

Xia Fei remained expressionless. He could already vaguely sense this problem, almost as if he had been far too unsuitably assigned to the maintenance team.

“Well, you can knock off work since you’re done. We’ll be heading back in a bit ourselves,” Song Jianlin said. “The greatest benefit of being in the maintenance team is that our work hours are very short every day, so we have the chance to enter the company’s core for furthering our knowledge. Company products are also available for a very cheap rate, so I do believe that it’ll be very beneficial to you.”

Hoff laughed from his side. “But of course! Otherwise, only a ghoul would be willing to come and work in the maintenance team. Though our repair speed isn’t as ridiculous as yours, we can also get done in about two hours, and how we spend the remaining time is entirely up to each of us.”

Xia Fei was somewhat taken aback. Turned out the members of the maintenance team actually did not enjoy their job and were just interested in having ample time to themselves.

This was also not a bad thing for Xia Fei. If he had to spend long hours working every day, then the time he had for cultivation and his other pursuits would be greatly reduced. This was not something he was willing to let happen.

Leaving the maintenance team, Xia Fei did not depart from the institute but, instead, took out a small earpiece from his spatial ring and placed it in his right ear.

Soon, the sounds of conversation Song Jianlin was having with the others echoed in his ear.

“The Independent College is the strangest out Fig Star Academy’s three major faculties. Technically speaking, this Yin Fei is considered a scholar. Why would the director send him over to us?” This voice belonged to Andrew.

“That’s right. While the maintenance team is without pressure, the fact remains that there’s nothing for anyone to learn here. There’s going to be a company-wide recruitment exam soon, and the results will directly impact his future. Isn’t it better for him to be in one of the big research teams? That way, he can learn something during this time.”

Hearing the queries from Andrew and Hoff, Song Jianlin made sure no one was around before whispering, “Yin Fei was a student of Professor Flynn, so he’s bound to have a bad time staying in Institute 137.”

“Flynn?!”

“The former director of Division 4?”

“Wasn’t that the same Flynn who chased our Director Kalu from Research Division 4 to Research Institute 137?!”

A moment of silence passed before Old Hoff sighed. “No wonder… Though Kalu didn’t verbally mention this, he must hate Flynn to the core. Having been transferred from Research Division 4 to this place back then must be quite the embarrassment. Now that Flynn’s own protege has come to Research Institute 137, Kalu will definitely not let him have an easy time.”

Song Jianlin shrugged as he said, “It can’t be helped. Flynn probably didn’t know that when he kicked Kalu out that day, he ended up becoming the director of Research Institute 137. This is a mortal feud!”

Taking off the earpiece, Xia Fei followed the long corridor out as his mind raced.

It was far too coincidental. The mysterious Hybrid Dragon Correction Core had created a very intricate identity for Xia Fei, and mechatronics just so happened to be Xia Fei’s forte. Had it been optics or heritage, Xia Fei would really have had a hard time impersonating the character.

Alas, this given identity brought Xia Fei plenty of trouble.

‘Could this be a hand by the all-knowing grand ancestor?’ Xia Fei wondered to himself.

“Are you Yin Fei, the newest member of the maintenance team? The goods you ordered have arrived.” A middle-aged man wearing the company internal dispatch uniform stood and waved from the opposite corridor.

At that moment, Xia Fei’s heart was in his throat.

It was very apparent that Xia Fei had not ordered anything!