Chapter 5: Surprise
After hearing that comment, everyone in the Mecha Repair Workshop was immediately startled.
"His circuit engraving is wrong?" a Disassembler asked, frowning.
Although he didn't specialize in engraving, he still understood a basic principle:
If the engraved circuits conflicted, it could cause the entire circuit board to self-destruct due to electron collision.
In that case, not only would the weapon fail to damage the enemy — the operator might not even survive!
Incorrect circuit engraving was a major taboo in mecha repairs, and even more so during mecha manufacturing.
A single mistake could lead to catastrophic failure.
"Should we stop him?" Monte asked, frowning.
The senior Engraver studied Tony's technique carefully. Watching how Tony traced new circuits over the damaged board, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.
"Strange… His engraving routes seem contradictory, yet when connected in series at the end, they actually harmonize exceptionally well..." the Engraver murmured to himself.
"Is it dangerous or not?" Monte pressed.
The Engraver shook his head. "I don't know yet. If you want to be sure, just reassemble the parts and run a test after he finishes the repairs."
Hearing this, everyone once again focused their attention on Tony.
At this moment, Tony had already moved on to the second part. Calmly and steadily, he was carving complex micrometer-scale patterns using a Precision Engraving Tool.
What the others didn't know was that faint system prompts were echoing constantly in Tony's mind:
> "Beep... Disassembly successful, Starlight Points +1"
"Beep... Disassembly successful, Starlight Points +1"
"Beep... Repair successful, Starlight Points +1"
What surprised Tony was that not only disassembly, but successful repairs also earned him Starlight Points.
This meant that if he successfully repaired an entire weapon, he could easily rack up dozens of points!
This mecha repair workshop was practically paradise!
In a great mood, Tony moved even faster, quickly repairing several more parts.
Including the earlier disassemblies, he immediately accumulated 20 Starlight Points.
Looking at the freshly repaired parts in his hands, Tony didn't hesitate.
He immediately began reassembling them.
The surrounding Mechanics stood frozen, blankly watching Tony work.
He had disassembled, repaired, and now he was reassembling everything by himself...
Was there anything this guy couldn't do?
Reassembly was the hardest step in mecha repair.
You had to precisely reconnect every micrometer-level circuit and ensure the gap between mechanical joints was less than 1 micrometer — a daunting task requiring extreme skill and control.
Even Tony had to fully focus, carefully aligning and assembling every part step-by-step.
Piece by piece, over a dozen parts were reassembled into a complete mecha component.
When Tony finally finished reassembling the component, the entire Mecha Repair Workshop let out a collective sigh of relief.
Everyone had been holding their breath the whole time, watching every one of his movements.
Now that he had successfully completed it, many secretly wiped the cold sweat off their foreheads.
"Success!" Tony said with a satisfied smile, admiring the component in his hands.
"The Energy Conduction System of the N-265 Model Mecha Rifle has been fully restored!"
Repairing a broken component and bringing it back to perfect functionality —
That was the true charm of mecha engineering!
Only then did Tony realize that everyone was now surrounding him, their gazes glued to the part he had just repaired.
"Tony, right? Why does the circuit engraving on your component look different from the original design?"
The Engraver asked cautiously, still unable to hide his shock.
Tony smiled casually.
"Oh, I thought the original design had some inefficiencies, so I modified it a bit."
"Modified it a bit?"
The Engraver almost wanted to laugh bitterly.
That sounded simple enough... but in reality, casually modifying a mecha circuit required Master-level skills.
It was practically creating an entirely new blueprint while standing on top of an old one!
"Is there a test rifle for the N-265 model available? I'll install the component and run a trial," Tony asked casually.
Hearing his words, everyone snapped out of their daze.
Right!
Regardless of doubts, the easiest way to verify the repair was with an actual test.
As long as the restored rifle could output more than 75% of its original firepower, the repair would be considered successful.
If it surpassed 90%, it would be considered a perfect repair.
Everyone quickly pulled out a test model of the N-265 Energy Rifle and handed it to Tony.
Tony installed the repaired Energy Conduction System without hesitation, then walked over to the testing range and took aim at the target dummy.
"Zzzzzt!"
Energy surged through the weapon, rapidly concentrating and shooting out from the barrel.
"Bang!"
A loud boom echoed as the energy projectile slammed into the heavy composite test target, visibly shaking it, though it remained intact.
Moments later, the test results appeared on the display:
---
> "Beep... N-265 Energy Rifle Test Results:"
"Firepower Output: 130% of original performance."
"Energy Storage Time Reduced: 20%."
"Projectile Velocity Increased: 20%."
"Overall Evaluation: Repaired Component Efficiency at 130% of Original."
"Component Quality: Excellent!"
---
The data left everyone stunned, goosebumps rising across their skin.
Normally, mecha repairs inevitably reduced a component's original performance, even if only slightly.
But this...
Tony's "repair" didn't just restore the rifle.
He had made it significantly stronger than before!
This wasn't repair anymore —
This was creation!
He had created an entirely new and more powerful energy conduction system for the N-265 Rifle.
All eyes turned toward Tony, now full of awe and admiration.
Mechanics capable of this kind of feat were usually legendary Masters.
And yet this young man, who had been dismissed as an amateur earlier, actually possessed Master-level mecha engineering skills!
Monte's breathing grew rapid, excitement flashing in his eyes.
He already understood —
Their humble Mecha Repair Workshop had just struck gold.