Chapter 2301 - 5: Duel in the Workshop

The massive Rat Monster glanced anxiously to either side.

He had indeed come to reason with the Black Bear, but never expected the Black Bear would have evidence of his materials, now revealed. The employers watching this from the shadows might never order from him, the Rat Monster, again, even if his prices were the lowest.

"I-I-I, Black Bear, I want to challenge you."

Wariness erupted from the Rat Monster’s eyes, revealing his fury towards the Black Bear Creature.

"Alright, I’ll fight you!"

After some hesitation, the Black Bear agreed.

"Oh? A battle? A battle between skilled technicians? I really want to see what kind of combat method this is."

Jia Yan, who was working in the background, had just finished setting up a piece of machinery. His eyes reflected a bit of curiosity as he halted his work and turned silently to observe everything.

He thought disagreements between technicians shouldn’t be direct battles because that wouldn’t suit their identity. After all, they’re skilled technicians, and if they fought using the basic methods of Strong Ones, it wouldn’t match their identity as technicians. Moreover, technicians would gradually shift to cultivation. After all, no matter how advanced your technical skills are, if you ultimately have to rely on strength to defeat others, what’s the use of practicing technical skills?

This was a straightforward judgment of a Strong One, but Jia Yan was uncertain if it was correct, although it seemed reasonable.

Sure enough, when Jia Yan saw the Black Bear Creature return to the workshop and retrieve two identical platforms, or operation tables, and two identical materials, he stood in place waiting for the Rat Monster to enter.

"It’s arranged. Are you going to check the materials I provided, or shall we start directly?"

"I don’t need to check. I trust your Black Bear’s character."

Surprisingly, the Rat Monster trusted Black Bear, Jia Yan’s temporary superior.

"Hmph, unfortunately, I don’t trust your character."

The Black Bear snorted coldly.

"You don’t trust me, but it doesn’t prevent me from trusting you. Don’t you agree?" The Rat Monster laughed heartily.

The two walked to the two platforms. During this, the Black Bear instructed Jia Yan, who appeared small in his Earth people avatar.

"Today is special, so consider your attendance full. Watch our competition; it might benefit you if you want to pursue the path of a technician."

Come on, which ear heard me say I wanted to pursue the path of a technician?

Jia Yan was almost speechless.

After just a short time here, he discovered that technicians on this planet seemed quite arrogant. But it wasn’t surprising as the whole planet, and even nearby planets, took pride in their engineering; everyone revered technicians fiercely, though unbeknownst to them, these technicians merely worked for some interstellar consortium.

Of course, ordinary technicians from outside, like the young people from Earth, could bring new information here, but the locals might not listen. Just as people from Earth knew war was the main theme across the Starfield, the locals here believed technicians and workshops would be their lifelong main theme. Even Jia Yan didn’t dare claim which was better.

Perhaps they believed the path of a technician was superior?

"Alright, we have materials for two main storage devices. Let’s directly use these simple materials with ordinary workstations to create a storage device. What do you think?"

The Black Bear addressed the Rat Monster ahead.

"Directly using material to make a storage device? You’ve reached that point? Hmm, but it doesn’t matter. Although I haven’t tried it before, it’s still possible. Let’s begin."

The Rat Monster was initially stunned by the Black Bear’s proposal but coldly accepted the challenge shortly after.

He believed that, as technicians of the same level, their reputation was similar, so there was no reason why he couldn’t accomplish what the Black Bear could.

"Amazing, these two guys are actually starting to compete."

A crowd of spectators from nearby stores suddenly gathered around Jia Yan.

"Oh, can you tell me about these two?" Jia Yan asked casually.

Several people nearby looked at him curiously, as if he had asked a fundamental question he shouldn’t have.

"Oh, you’re new here, probably haven’t been here long. These two are quite famous; though their skilled capabilities are good, that Rat is a businessman employing many apprentices for large-scale work. In contrast, our conscientious technician in this street district, the Black Bear, is the exact opposite. His technical skills are exceptional but he doesn’t seek to earn much and only does enough work to cover living expenses. Anything beyond his capacity, he refuses, making these two rivals in each other’s eyes."

"I see."

Jia Yan nodded slightly, showing little interest or emotion over the dispute between the two technicians.

After all, as a Strong One, he’d heard countless similar situations and even more dramatic stories.