After touring the core area of the Underground City, Barton didn't give Lin Jie much ti to digest that overwhelming experience.
This highly efficient investigator seed determined to strike while the iron was hot, completing all pre-employnt preparations in one go.
He led Lin Jie through corridors composed of intricate brass pipes and wiring, eventually arriving before a heavy tal door marked "Fourth Equipnt Laboratory - Precision Machinery and Alchemy Integration Departnt."
"Before we officially register your identity and distribute initial resources, there's one final matter to address." Barton's expression beca sowhat peculiar, tinged with sympathy and resignation.
"You need to et soone. This is a 'baptism' that all new hunters must undergo, whether they're official mbers or freelancers like yourself. He's responsible for inspecting and registering your initial equipnt, and assessing its value and potential."
Lin Jie noticed that even the usually fearless burly man Marcus involuntarily showed reluctance upon hearing they needed to et this person, making Lin Jie increasingly curious about the individual behind the door.
Barton input a series of commands on a keypad beside the door, and the tal door slid open with a hiss of depressurization.
Unlike the futuristic tal corridors outside, the space beyond was a massive area filled with old-world workshop atmosphere—chaotic yet possessing a certain obsessive aesthetic beauty.
Countless design blueprints covered every corner of the room, from tables to floors, even plastering the walls.
Enormous lathes, drills, and various precision machinery Lin Jie couldn't na occupied most of the space.
Amid these massive machines were interspersed alchemists' crucibles, crystal distillers, and glass cabinets displaying various minerals and biological specins, creating an eerie harmony of industry and magic intertwined.
Deep within this enormous workshop, a tall, slender figure stood with his back to them, hunched over a massive workbench.
Wearing a pair of bulky goggles, he was carefully embedding a rice-grain-sized red crystal into what appeared to be a pocket watch movent using tweezers.
His concentration was absolute, completely unaware of the three visitors behind him.
Barton seed accustod to this neglect. He walked to the workbench, cleared his throat, and spoke in as calm a tone as possible: "Arthur Conan, I've brought a new friend. He needs initial equipnt registration."
The man called "Arthur" still didn't turn around.
He rely waved impatiently, his voice erging from behind the goggles with a neurotic hoarseness and urgency: "Can't you see I'm performing the final stage of 'spiritual coupling' for the Crimson Count's power core!"
"If this fire salamander eye from the Arizona desert shifts by even one micron, seventy-two hours of work will be completely wasted! Whatever earth-shattering matter it is, wait five minutes!"
Barton's face showed an expected bitter smile. He spread his hands toward Lin Jie, indicating they could only wait.
Lin Jie studied the craftsman with curiosity.
From his surna and the current era, Lin Jie imdiately associated it with a famously renowned na, but seeing this madly imrsed, world-obsessed appearance made him feel it didn't quite match.
Exactly five minutes passed.
Arthur Conan's tweezers steadily placed the final micro-screw.
He exhaled contentedly, then slowly turned around.
Removing the complex goggles revealed a youthful face that didn't match his age.
His hair was sowhat ssy, his eyes sharp, but the heavy dark circles beneath them betrayed chronic sleep deprivation.
He radiated an intellectual arrogance and neuroticism that scread "stay away."
"Alright, speak. What clueless newcor had to disturb at my most critical mont?" Arthur's gaze swept over Barton and Marcus, finally settling on Lin Jie with a critical look.
"This is Mr. Lin Jie, newly certified freelance hunter by the Association." Barton introduced. "He needs to register his initial weapon."
Under Barton's signal, Lin Jie placed the 【Serene Heart】 Webley revolver, along with the core crystal obtained from the Mist Walker, on the workbench.
The mont Arthur's eyes fell on the pistol, his previously impatient expression imdiately shifted slightly.
He ignored the obviously more research-valuable UMA crystal and directly picked up the revolver.
Unlike ordinary gunsmiths checking barrels and chanisms, he imdiately brought the grip close to his eyes.
His fingers repeatedly stroked the embedded scale, closing his eyes as if "listening" with his fingertips.
"Hmm... interesting texture." Arthur murmured. "Basic polishing, but crude technique, just to embed it."
"The scale cos from cold waters, but not entirely. This Zen-like stable ntal frequency... not from the Deep Sea Siren itself, that's pure malice and madness."
He suddenly opened his eyes, bursting with fanatical light, looking at Lin Jie and asking rapidly: "When hunting Deep Sea Sirens, did you notice any accompanying monk-like or ascetic-form auxiliary UMAs? They're rare, don't attack actively, only surround the 'Siren Queen' performing ntal chanting?"
Lin Jie was completely stunned.
Recalling the scene on the Sea Witch, he only rembered countless sirens besieging them, with no impression of any "accompanying creatures."
He could only blankly shake his head.
"Waste!" Arthur evaluated bluntly. "Such a precious observation opportunity missed! Cartographer Karl was also an idiot, his diary definitely didn't record such details!"
Barton coughed awkwardly nearby: "Arthur, mind your language."
Arthur completely ignored him, stroking the scale like a lover, his face showing obsession: "Perfect material! This mutated biological tissue produced through ntal resonance between 'accompanying wraiths' and the 'main body' is the best choice for creating 'ntal stability anchors'!"
"Although Karl was an idiot who didn't understand materials science, his luck was decent. Pity... he used it in the most wasteful way!"
He cast a disdainful glance at the revolver: "Embedding it on a gun grip? This insults art! It's like using Rembrandt's canvas to wrap stinking salted fish!"
"Firearms—such crude physical attack tools—how do they deserve such exquisite 'spiritual dium' that can soothe souls? This weapon has been a failure since its creation!"
Hearing his treasured weapon being disparaged as worthless by this neurotic craftsman, Lin Jie felt complex emotions.
But he cared more about the massive information revealed in Arthur's words.
For the first ti, he learned the true origins of his pistol and the source of its abilities.
"Then... in your opinion, where should it have been used?" Lin Jie couldn't help asking.
Arthur looked up, giving him a "you've got so brains" glance.
"Of course embedded in defensive or auxiliary equipnt! Like an amulet, a shield, even helt lining!"
"Placing it closest to the brain or heart maximizes its 'soothing spirit, resisting low-level ntal influence' effects! On hands? Hands need dexterity and stability, not fucking calmness!"
His rapid-fire scolding brought sudden enlightennt to Lin Jie.
This was professionalism.
This was the vast cognitive gap between him and I.A.R.C.
He only felt the gun made him calm, while this craftsman had already seen through the material's essence, optimal uses, and all future possibilities.
"So..." Arthur disdainfully tossed the pistol back to Lin Jie. "This failure is registered. Evaluation: premium materials, foolish design, low potential. As for this..."
He finally turned his gaze to the black crystal, putting on goggles and leaning close as if admiring a peerless diamond.
"Oh... oh! Perfect condensed shadow crystal! This is the Mist Walker's core! Look at this purity, this stable energy structure... Using it to create an 'optical stealth' trench coat, or a dagger that silently penetrates physical defenses is simply... simply... God's masterpiece!"
Arthur fell into a fervor only he could understand, hugging the crystal and beginning to frantically search through piles of blueprints, muttering to himself, completely ignoring the three people standing nearby.
Barton had long grown accustod to such behavior, shrugging at Lin Jie.
"Welco to I.A.R.C., Mr. Lin. I hope you're already accustod to dealing with these artists."
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