[Welding and Assembly Area]

Apart from the Raw Material Handling Area which is the biggest area of the Big Gig Construction Company, the Welding and Assembly Area where Trucks are pieced together and assembled is the third biggest.

The Testing Area is the second biggest.

In the Testing Area, the guns and weapons crafted in the Raw Material Handling area are tested by capable mercenaries to check for any faults.

There, the light-weight Trucks that are crafted and assembled by the Construction Company are also test-driven by hired Ace Drivers to sound the machines out for any faults or deviation from speculated performance.

Leon already visited the Testing Area earlier. Apparently, before he arrived for this Trial, 4 hours already passed.

In these 4 hours, a few hundred standard guns and standard melee weapons were already crafted, including over 2,000 ammunitions and a few dozen incomplete missile chassis parts.

And yet, not a single light-armored Truck was close to completion.

The moment Leon walked into the Welding and Assembly Area, all engineers that were inside stood at attention as they were already informed of his coming.

Leon didn't pay attention to them.

Instead, he observed the construction environment.

There were 5 different large metal work tables, and surrounding each work table were gigantic welding and assembly equipment, large and tiny robotic arm machines, and a large AI-controlled mechanism that was connected to the ceiling like a giant chandelier.

About 6 thick black chains extended from the mechanism, each capable of latching into the chassis of an armored Truck and collectively keep it suspended in mid-air on top the work table to be worked on by the engineers.

Leon counted only 20 engineers in this room, meaning that out of the hundreds in the Construction Company, these were the best of the best, the only ones qualified to work on constructing military-grade Trucks.

Despite being a Mechanist himself or maybe because he was a Mechanist, Leon acknowledged how hard and important their job was and he respected them for it.

This did not mean he had any intentions of going easy on them though.

4 engineers stood in front of each of the 5 work tables and in front of them, an incomplete chassis of a light-armored Truck was held and suspended in mid-air by the AI-controlled mechanism with chains.

When they noticed that Leon was done observing the area and finally focused on them, one of the engineers, a Synth with a smooth bald head just like Kain and Brick walked out.

"Good evening Mr. Leon". He greeted. "My name is Cephas, I am supposed to be the leader of this workforce. It's nice to meet you sir".

Leon nodded thoughtfully then he pointed at the incomplete Truck chassis suspended on top the work tables. "How close to completion are they?"

"Just 48% sir".

Hearing that, Leon immediately frowned. 'I get that it's 5 work tables meaning they're working on 5 Trucks at the same time, but isn't that too slow?'

'They already gave up on meeting the quota from the onset?' He sighed; this did not surprise him but giving up did not match his ambition.

"That's too slow". He said immediately in an authoritative voice.

Mr. Cephas stayed respectful as he shook his head in regret. "Unfortunately, this is the limit of our ability".

Leon interrupted him. "What's the projected timeframe to complete a single light-armored Truck?"

"8 hours sir".

Leon rubbed his chin in thought as he did the math in his head. 'If I'm to meet the quota here before schedule and still have time to go and help the other engineers work on the other projects, 8 hours is far too long'.

Leon's eyes gleamed with ambition as he looked at Mr. Cephas. "Mr. Cephas, we're going to have to tighten up that timeframe".

The Synth stood straighter immediately, waiting for his verdict.

"We'll have to tighten that timeframe to 1 hour per work session. And for each work session, I want us to construct 5 Trucks".

"…" Mr. Cephas's mechanical lips twitched.

Leon didn't stop. "Since we have 5 work tables in this area, we should be able to fully construct 5 Trucks every 1 hour and at most at 1 hour, 10 minutes before sending them for test-driving in the Testing Area".

"…"

Mr. Cephas stood with his mouth opened agape for such a long time that it seemed like he was struck by lightning.

Leon looked at him. "What?"

"S-sir," the Synth stumbled on his words as he scratched his bald head with a hand, then he raised his head and straightened his spine. "It's just… with all due respect sir, I think that's impossible". He said carefully as he looked at the new Engineering Head.

Hearing that, Leon grinned. "Nothing is impossible when I'm here".

He didn't wait for Mr. Cephas to object again. He walked away from him and stood in the middle of the engineers, making sure that they could all see him then he started addressing them in a loud voice.

"This is how we'll do it".

"Your normal method is mostly guidance and correction. You do minimal welding and assembly to avoid getting hurt by the heavy machinery, guiding the A.I-controlled robotic arms to do most of the work and heavy-lifting".

"In a way, the machines are the point of reference, while you guide and follow their lead".

"I recognize that this is still immense work from you, but with me, we're going to be doing things a bit differently".

"Instead of the machines being the point of reference," he pointed at himself. "I will be the point of reference".

"I will do the heavy lifting. The machines will follow my guide, while all I need from you is support and timely assistance".

Getting to this point, Leon's face turned stern. "I don't want to be calling for materials when they're supposed to be in front of me".

He raised a finger. "If a material gets exhausted, replace it before I can even notice".

He raised two fingers. "When the tire installation parts come, I need tires on the work table and waiting for me to install them on the Trucks".

He raised three fingers. "When we're working on the engines, I need the camshaft, the crankshaft, the pistons, the cylinder heads, the engine block, the connecting rods, the spark plugs, the cylinders, the timing belts, the flywheels, the manifolds, the engine valves…"

He paused and looked at the engineers. "I need absolutely everything in place at the right place and at the right time when I need it".

"I don't want to have to ask, do you understand?"

"Yes sir". They all instinctively stood straight like students in a lecturer's class.

"Good," Leon nodded. "I'll do the heavy lifting while you do the final coupling and color spraying at the end".

"This way, everything should not take more than an hour if we work on all 5 work tables simultaneously".

None of the engineers said a word of objection though Leon could already guess the thoughts in their heads. He didn't mind, evidence would convince them.

Leon nodded and immediately after, he climbed one of the work tables and directly started work.

When he noticed the engineers still standing in a daze, he frowned and clapped his hands loudly.

"What are you standing still for? Come on, who're those in charge of this work table?"

"Where are my materials?"

His voice deepened into a loud growl. "Where is the urgency?"

The engineers shuddered on hearing that voice and without hesitation, they started rushing to gather all the materials that were needed.

Leon didn't focus on them.

Instead, he focused on the incomplete chassis of the military-grade Truck in front of him. He took a deep breath and then, he did it.

Construct!

His grayish white ADE flowed out, engulfing the incomplete Truck.

When the engineers saw that ethereal energy, they were shocked as they stared in a daze. But remembering his growl, they quickly snapped out of it after a few seconds and went to work.

As the ethereal energy flowed through the chassis of the Truck, right before their eyes, the most shocking thing happened as the light-armored Truck devoured the materials and started fixing itself up!

It was a magical sight that they would never forget.

Just like Leon expected, constructing a Truck was far slower and more complicated than anything he had done before, but there was progress and that was all he needed to see.

18 minutes later, a complete chassis of a light-armored Truck appeared on the work table, complete with a high-specs engine, a military-grade interior, and a light-weight design meeting all the specs required by the military.

DING!

~----~

[Congratulations! You have constructed a military-grade light-armored Truck!]

~----~

Once again, the engineers stared in a daze.

They were shocked.

Without even stopping to take a second glance at the Truck that he just finished constructing, Leon left to the second work table.

As he left, he instructed the 4 engineers assigned to the previous work table. "Finish the coupling and color spraying".

They immediately snapped out of their daze. "Yes sir".

And just like that, the Welding and Assembly Area of the Big Gig Construction Company turned into a noisy hub where work continued non-stop.

In the end, the first time, despite the fact that he was working on the foundation of the chassis of the light-armored Trucks that were already 48% completed, Leon still took almost an hour and 25 minutes to finish all 5 Trucks.

His 1 hour goal seemed unrealistic but the first run didn't discourage Leon as he clapped his hands aggressively.

"This is just the first time. Come on, we can do it faster".

"We have so much work to do".

The engineers dared not dally around as they worked fast and tried to keep up with Mr. Leon's construction speed.

As they worked, they could not help but worry. 'Did the Trucks meet standard?' They felt like Mr. Leon's method was rushed but none of them dared voice out their inner thoughts.

They waited to get the verdict from the Testing Area.

Soon, the first 5 constructed light-armored Trucks were sent to the Testing Area and after a few minutes, the verdict came.

The test-drive was a great success, all 5 light-armored Trucks were in great working condition!

Once again, the engineers were shocked.

To see something that they originally needed hours to work on being completed in mere dozens of minutes left them feeling like their whole world-view was being upturned.

The quality test removed all their doubts as they finally put all their trust in the new Engineering Head.

They worked for hours, non-stop, constructing Truck after Truck.

And just like Mr. Leon said, the time they took to construct a single Truck slowly started shrinking as they got used to the procedure.

With more familiarity with the blueprint and the construction process, Leon's Construct speed started rising.

From 1 hour and 25 minutes to construct 5 Trucks during the first run despite starting from the half-way point, the second run time increased to an hour and 34 minutes, but by the third run the time finally reduced.

The third work session just took an hour and 15 minutes to construct 5 Trucks in good working condition!

The engineers felt like they were witnessing magic.

After the third run, their work speed stabilized at between an hour and an hour and 15 minutes.

Compared to the first work session, this was a mind-blowing improvement.

After 5 hours of non-stop work, the assistant engineers finally complained of being exhausted. Leon gave them only a single hour of rest.

As for him, he didn't give himself any rest as he continued working. After another hour, just before his ADE could be exhausted, he finally picked one of the ADE Crystals.

The crystal did its job perfectly, flooding him with a steady supply of ADE.

Leon's eyes glittered. 'They really work! I wonder how the crystals are created'.

Focused on working, he soon lost track of time. The only thing left ringing in his head was 'Construct' as he forgot about every other thing.

Construct!

DING!

~----~

[You have constructed a military-grade Light-armored Truck!]

~----~

…

Construct!

DING!

…

Construct!

DING!

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