Birth Of The Crafts-God

"It's indeed a case of corruption." Lucas sighed after studying the results of the imagery.

The final structure of the Qin chip's conductors under an electron microscope was supposed to have a symmetrical and octagonal distribution. However, it could be seen that in some octagons, there was an opening or two, resulting in the formation being ruined.

This meant that the material has been damaged under the exposure of stellar energy, in other words, the material has been corrupted.

"Describe the process you took."

Lucas glanced at Cayman after he spoke.

Considering the blueprint was made using the steps he took while developing the Qin stellar processor before, and there were no issues with it, the only explanation would be that there was something the research team did wrong. The slight difference in the appearance of the stellar processor could be choked up as being innovate, which was a pretty standard practice in the industry.

Cayman guessed what Lucas was thinking but he didn't refute it.

Weston proceeded to speak up at this moment.

"It's pretty much the same steps as mentioned in the blueprint. We created the poly-dicroyl gantiuum alloy using the electron shift displacement method mentioned. After that, we sterilised the alloy blocks using a toluene-isopropyl mixture, then sliced the blocks into wafers. The wafers were brought into M1-001 for production."

While district M1 had many buildings and facilities, since the Qin stellar processor's production method was being tested out for the first time, it was only natural that the procedure was carried out in the main R&D facility, which was here.

"The AFSD model is a thirteenth generation on the Black Kiln architecture. We got it last year from Paros city-state's Dies Co. [1], a frontrunner in making fabrication equipment and photolithography tools." Cayman added.

The meaning behind his words was that the equipment the team used was state-of-the-art, so there was no way the equipment was at fault either.

Lucas understood this, but he never attributed the blame to the equipment. He still believed that the fault lied with the vestige-smiths.

'There's the option of spending a week with them while they redo the process, but that's a waste of time.' Lucas frowned as he stared at the electron microscopy images.

"You should have an observation document, no?" Lucas glanced at Cayman.

It was common practice for scientists and researchers to record each and every step they carried out during an experiment. Vestige-smiths in certain branches also followed this same rule especially during research and development (R&D).

"Yes, we do." Cayman nodded before he tapped on the communicator in his wrists and began inputting some commands.

After a few seconds, Cayman swiped from the communicator into midair, following which a hologram was projected. Lucas lifted his wrist in the direction of the hologram and it immediately flew into his communicator. With that, the data was transferred.

Lucas didn't say a word, instead choosing to read the document then and there. This surprised Maessen as he was expecting the latter to leave the area and take a break or at least, head elsewhere to continue his investigations.

With Lucas not saying a word, the room became silent and awkward.

"Professor, who exactly is he?" Weston carefully asked Cayman, making sure that his voice wasn't heard by any other.

It was already known that the Seven Sparks Forge had allied with the Silverine Factory through a deal with the Seven Stars Spring Dealership. The Forge offered up licences for two stellar processor blueprints in exchange for the Silverine Factory manufacturing these processors in mass and supplying them to the Dealership. While there were some notable clauses in the deal, this was the foundational structure for cooperation.

Since the Silverine Factory encountered a hitch in development, it was only natural for the Seven Sparks Forge to send over a helping hand. However, this 'helping hand' was a human. This was quite disappointing to Weston as it showed that the Seven Sparks Forge still wasn't so eager to let them have access to this technology or treat them as an equal.

At the very least, the Forge, which was supposedly backed by a Tier 1 Grandmaster, should have sent a Tier 1 Elite vestige-smith as a show of respect, even if they didn't send over a Master.

"If I'm correct, he's the owner of the store in West Wing district and the centre of all the attention a couple of months ago." Cayman replied.

Weston was a bit surprised by this, but he still wasn't satisfied. While the title of the store's owner was quite high, it didn't necessarily equate to skill. For instance, Maessen was the CEO of the Silverine Factory and also a vestige-smith, but he wasn't even as skilled as Professor Cayman when it came to the topic of stellar processors. He wasn't even on par with Weston.

"Why didn't they send over a professional instead?" Weston frowned as he whispered.

Cayman stared at Lucas before uttering a single word.

"Overconfidence."

Weston didn't say a word again but stared at Lucas. Unlike Cayman, he didn't want Lucas to fail, however, it seemed likely that Lucas would.

Although operating the AFSD was quite impressive, Lucas only performed basic functions with it. Knowledge of basic functions didn't entail that he was a brilliant vestige-smith and could find out the fault right away.

After all, the vestige-smiths working on this project were all intelligent and respected figures in the industry. There were also three Tier 1 Master vestige-smiths in this research team, and four Tier 1 Elites. It wasn't logical to say that such a team couldn't contend with one human; in fact, making the comparison in the first place was insulting.

Silence prevailed in the lab once again as the trio maintained their gazes in Lucas.

Weston was tasked with the Qin stellar processor, and since the purpose of this meeting was to fix it, he basically couldn't leave. In fact, ever since the issue of corruption came up, Weston's work focus had shifted to fixing it.

As for Cayman, he was the head of the research on the mass production for both the Rain Dragon Z1 and the Qin chips. It was only natural for him not to leave the site yet.

Even less needed to be said about Maessen as despite his busy schedule as the CEO, he didn't intend on leaving unless he had heard Lucas' opinion.

And so, half an hour went by with all four men simply standing in the lab.

Just as Maessen was about to raise the suggestion for them to move, Lucas turned off the projections.

"How was it?" Maessen tentatively asked.

Lucas didn't reply. Instead, he turned towards Cayman.

"I went through the data and checked your steps. If I'm correct, you utilised a chromium template for the backboard and installed blue silver as electrical node conductors, correct?"

"Yes." Cayman said. For some reason, he felt slightly pressured by Lucas' question, so he added,

"While chromium isn't a better conductor of electricity and heat than copper or silver, it is more suitable to work with when stellar energy is involved."

"Because of the counter-reacting field produced when stellar energy encounters an electrical field?" Lucas asked.

"You know your basics well." Cayman said in a high-handed manner.

Maessen could sense that something was wrong, but he didn't interrupt. He already knew that when he invited Lucas to provide the solution, he was basically offending Cayman. After all, Cayman prided himself of being smart, and with a blueprint in front of him, he believed that he would figure out the specifics without any help. This was why, even though the contract contained a clause stating that the Seven Sparks Forge should aid the Silverine Factory in mastering production, Maessen had never requested Lucas' help.

"Naturally I should. But I can't say the same about you." Lucas nonchalantly replied.

"Oh?" A deep voice resounded from Cayman's direction.

"I understand that you're here to assist us, but kindly watch your tone." Weston commented. He emphasized heavily on the word "assist", pointing out that Lucas' role was only secondary.

This was because Weston believed that Lucas didn't know much about vestige-smithing considering that he was a human. Furthermore, Weston was disappointed at the Forge for not sending a proper support vestige-smith, but appointing a human.

It wasn't new information that the Seven Sparks Forge was backed by a Tier 1 Grandmaster vestige-smith after the revelation of Lucas' possession of a temporary licence. Thanks to this new knowledge, many people saw the Forge in new light and believed that it had a secret team of vestige-smiths who operated in the dark or from Belfargos territory. Although the 'branch' in Baylands city-state was run by a human, it still wasn't underestimated.

This new identity that the Forge bore now made many interpret its actions differently than in the past.

Taking the current situation for instance; Cayman and Weston believed that the Seven Sparks Forge had a team of specialists. Yet despite the current obstacle they faced in development, the Forge only sent a human to offer guidance.

A human.

It was inevitable that they would be pissed but this meant that the Seven Sparks Forge didn't consider them worth sending over an actual vestige-smith.

Lucas was angered by the behaviour of the trio,my and he didn't plan on swallowing the insult.

"But am I wrong? While you did consider the counter-reacting field problem when making your adjustments to the design, you also forgot about a very basic fact." Lucas said.

Seeing him not continue, Weston couldn't hold it in and asked,

"...what do you mean?"