Chapter 246: Troublesome Woman
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lian was surprised to see Ye Chong following behind Donald. She remembered well the intermediate modification technician that she had ushered that day when she was on duty. These days, she was busy with the hiring session and was not aware that the young man was already recruited. It was no wonder that she was surprised to find him trailing behind Donald.
Ye Chong did not notice Lian. On the day of his interview, his attention was focused on all the other candidates. Lian may be a pretty woman, but for someone as obtuse as Ye Chong, it was not enough. Ye Chong only saw the crowd behind the woman. They were all above 40 years of age, and their hands seemed to be heavily calloused. Ye Chong realised then that they were all candidates who had been hired.
Lian bowed slightly to Donald and said, "Chief, they’re all here." When she lifted her head, she was surprised to see the young man standing just beside Chief Donald. Experienced workers would know to never stand beside their superior during a lecture session. It was more appropriate to stand a half step behind their superior.
This young man was obviously inexperienced. Thus was Lian’s conclusion, but Chief Donald did not seem to be offended.
Donald nodded expressionlessly and looked around. "Is Ms Qiu not here?"
Lian replied respectfully, "Ms Qiu is currently occupied with other matters. She said that you will be in charge here."
Donald grunted in acknowledgement and faced the crowd. "Since you’re all hired, that means you must be at least somewhat capable. As long as you work hard, I believe you will be properly rewarded. As for the general scope of your work, I believe you must have received it. All in all, here in the center, it’s all about walking the talk."
All the new recruits listened quietly with respect. After all, this was Donald, the only Great Master on planet Rainbow! Most of the recruits here were his fans. Only Ye Chong’s unmoved expression as he stood right beside Donald was a little odd.
"I think you’re all familiar with your job scopes. I don’t have time to follow up with all of you individually. This is my assistant, Takano. If you have any questions, find him. He will also be responsible for inspecting your work."
His words were met with an outburst from the crowd.
All of them, besides Lian, had thought that Ye Chong was Donald the Great’s student. While there were many academic institutions available these days, some still preferred the traditional way of teaching. However, this young man looked like he had just passed his 20th birthday, how could he take on such an important duty?
Lian also let out a soft gasp despite herself, but quickly covered her mouth. However, her eyes still shone strongly with disbelief. The research center never had such a young researcher, much less allow him to do work inspection. It was usually the more experienced and reputable old researchers who were given this role. They were more persuasive both in terms of their abilities and their reputation. However, this young man was only an intermediate mod technician, and he was so young. What was Chief Donald thinking?
Ye Chong was also shocked, and groaned inside. He had joined this center to infiltrate further into Prometheus Group, and find out more about Gao Shichang. Laying low was his priority, but now Donald’s order had pushed him to the forefront of attention.
Fortunately, he was able to keep his cool, at least maintaining his calm exterior.
Donald was satisfied with everyone’s reaction, and even more impressed with Ye Chong’s composure. From the work he had delegated to Ye Chong recently, he could tell that this intermediate mod technician was actually far more capable than the average advanced mod technician. Besides, his creativity was a rare quality for most mod technicians.
This talent should be nurtured. Hence, Donald made his decision. Besides, he understood the real intention behind the research here. To the higher-ups, the projects given to these new recruits were only a cover for the outsiders to see. He still had his own experiments to do, and did not want to waste time on these meaningless chores. Even if Ye Chong were to blunder up, it would not matter. Donald hoped that the work would be good training for Ye Chong. To him, that was what most young people lacked.
Ye Chong said nothing. Donald was happy to see him so steady, and so declared that the meeting was over.
"Assistant Gao, please have a look at this matrix arrangement."
"Assistant Gao, can you please look at this new photon circuit schematics? I can’t seem to find out where the problem is."
____________________________________________________________________________
There were too many requests like these coming in, and Ye Chong soon earned their respect. Qiu Man did not object to Donald’s decision after her return. Besides, Ye Chong’s performance surprised them all.
Even Donald, who gave the role to Ye Chong, was also surprised. He did not expect Ye Chong to do his job so well. To him, the young man may be a genius, but he was only a 20-year-old teen, and knowledge took time to accumulate.
However, Ye Chong’s performance was too impressive.
Ye Chong had a solid foundation, and was familiar with a wide range of subjects that people began to wonder is he was actually a Great Master in mechs in his previous life! Almost all problems presented to him were easily solved, and while they may be very difficult, some of them involved some relatively unknown mech subjects.
Who was his teacher? What would it take to produce such an exemplary student?
In particular, his creativity and flexibility were astonishing. His creative solutions were all easy to realise, and mose people began to wonder if he was actually an old veteran in mech modifications. Young people may be bursting with creativity, but most of them were unrealistic ideas, impossible to translate into actual products.
This was the difference between reality and ideas.
Only a truly experienced mech modification technician could handle the delicate balance between the two. Soon, the researchers found that the young assistant called Takano was able to translate his creativity into practical solutions. This ability that did not match his age won the approval of the other researchers.
The atmosphere in the research center was cheerful, and Ye Chong’s performance won respect and approval. No one doubted the appropriateness of Donald’s decision.
In fact, Ye Chong was quite taken aback by the atmosphere around him. Fortunately, he still remembered his original mission. His keen sense told him that the woman called Qiu Man was watching him. Many a time did he find that woman’s smiling eyes flash meaningfully at him.
The woman was an annoyance to Ye Chong. Her smile was always faint and unreadable. Ye Chong found that no one could stand against her. Even Old Donald, with his skin all wrinkled up from age, would blush at the sight of her.
This made Ye Chong wary. He dared not relax whenever the woman was around. Fortunately, nothing strange had happened so far. The woman’s influence was so strong that it surprised Ye Chong. Just a glance, and Ye Chong could feel his heart racing for no reason.
When it had happened the first time, Ye Chong was almost scared out of his wits, thinking that he was attacked by an unknown force. Was it an infrasound wave attack? Fortunately, he quickly caught up to what was really happening.
"Biology class really does come in handy." Such was Ye Chong’s first thought upon his realisation.
Ye Chong never thought that a person’s glance could be so powerful. Fortunately, he was also very good at controlling himself. Even as he trembled inside, his face betrayed nothing. This became something of a legend in the research center, as Ye Chong was the only man who could stay composed before Qiu Man.
Ever since that last incident, Ye Chong was very conscious of his own reactions. It was not that he thought badly of this natural response, but he felt that it would put him in danger.
Ye Chong remembered someone saying that the difference between humans and animals is that humans could control their natural instincts.
Besides, the expressionless man standing behind the woman was also someone he should be careful of. While Ye Chong could not see any reason for that man to attack him, the situation was still unclear. If he grew careless before a combat expert and made a mistake, he would be so dead.
Qiu Man smiled enticingly and called, "Takano."
It was like a flower had bloomed in full glory, and everyone in the entire room except Ye Chong experienced a lapse in attention. Ye Chong acknowledged with a wooden expression, but inside he was tormented. This was not the first time for him, but Ye Chong had no choice. His reaction was also the center of attention. If he ignored the woman any further, he would create further problems for himself.
For the time being, Ye Chong did not want to stir things up, but this did not mean that he was averse to it. Ye Chong lowered his head, and the flash in his eyes went unnoticed.