So it's better to just hold back and refrain from probing.

"Senior, I have good news!"

At this moment, Xiu Lijia led two people under the metal scaffolding and shouted upwards.

"Wait a moment, I'm coming down."

A senior wearing glasses emerged from the mouth of a fish skull.

Thud!

A height of 10 meters is nothing for an ordinary Summoner; he jumped straight down.

This senior was tall and thin, with messy hair and heavy dark circles that made him look like he lacked sleep.

"Let me introduce, this is the leader of our project group."

"Senior in the second year of postgraduate studies, Gan Wenlun."

Xiu Lijia introduced the senior to the two.

"I feel like the senior's name sounds exhausting."

Ah Yajun muttered softly.

Li Pu thought that people's names were becoming more straightforward these days.

"Hello, everyone."

Gan Wenlun wiped unknown industrial liquids off his hands with a towel and shook hands with both of them.

After a brief greeting, they went to the meeting room in the warehouse.

The meeting room was filled with used draft papers, and the blackboard was covered with various formulas that outsiders couldn't understand.

Gan Wenlun casually cleared a few chairs, letting everyone sit down.

Then Xiu Lijia began to explain the situation.

"Oh?! There's such good news!"

"Junior Li Pu, quickly take it out and let me see!"

Gan Wenlun's eyes lit up immediately after hearing the news.

One of the challenges in assembling robots is the energy issue.

Regular electricity and such cannot power these monster materials.

Actually, the energy for these kinds of robots is simple; it can be extracted from Crystal Coins.

But the key point is that this is no longer within the scope of civilian machinery.

For such a large robot to be powered by Crystal Coin energy, the requirements for energy storage containers are very high.

Unfortunately, their project group had been searching for a suitable crystal core without any results.

Many project groups were in the same situation; this kind of thing is hard to find.

Especially nearing graduation, crystal cores become particularly sought after.

"Let me first assess the purity of the essence energy inside."

Taking the large pearl handed by Li Pu, Gan Wenlun immediately wanted to act.

But he waited for Li Pu to nod before standing up.

The four of them went into a small laboratory, where Gan Wenlun placed the large pearl into a square box that Li Pu couldn't name and began typing on the keyboard.

Soon, energy lights flowed from the gap in the box.

A series of complex analysis results were displayed on the screen.

"This crystal core of yours is quite good, its quality is around A-level."

Seeing the results, Gan Wenlun raised his eyebrows.

"Do you need me to refine it and concentrate it further?"

He looked at Li Pu.

"Senior, the issue is how should I handle this thing..."

Li Pu asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Oh, you didn't know?"

"After refining and concentrating further, you can directly sell it at the trading station."

"The quantity inside... can probably sell for about 200,000 Crystal Coins."

"That pearl shell might also go for around 200,000 in the market."

"But if those madmen from other project groups were to bid on it, it might go for 400,000 to 500,000."

According to Gan Wenlun's conclusion, the actual value of this crystal core is around 400,000.

Even Ah Yajun was envious; he had never seen so many Crystal Coins.

But Li Pu didn't seem too interested, though this wasn't a small amount of money. Hearing that his collected trophy could only be turned into cash, he felt somewhat disappointed.

"Besides, you can also use the essence energy to upgrade your inscriptions."

"Do you have energy-based inscriptions?"

Gan Wenlun changed his tone, offering new hope.

Energy-based inscriptions, he did have them.

Bubu's [Golden Armor] was still at C-level, and he had long thought the grade was too low.

"Senior, do you think this will work?"

Even though Bubu was not by his side, he could still pull up the panel for [Golden Armor].

"No problem."

Gan Wenlun glanced at it and immediately responded.

"Based on my experience, injecting this essence energy into it could upgrade it to B+ level at least."

"By then, the defense will surely be greatly enhanced."

This news was naturally fantastic for Li Pu.

"I can personally help you with the operation."

"Since you're a friend of Xiao Xiu, I'll waive the service fee."

Gan Wenlun continued to share good news.

"Gan's skills are truly excellent; many items in the trading station were created by him."

"He's one of the few students with a subcontracting agreement with the trading station, and his skills are on par with teachers."

Xiu Lijia was genuinely happy for Li Pu.

"You're too kind, haha."

Gan Wenlun humbly waved his hand, then deliberately looked troubled: "But... Junior, let's talk somewhere else."

The group then moved back to the meeting room.

After his explanation, Li Pu learned that upgrading [Golden Armor] wasn't so simple.

The service fee could be waived, but the auxiliary materials would still cost money.

Plus, You Shijin could also help Li Pu upgrade [Iron Bone].

No service fees for either inscription, but the cost of auxiliary materials would be about 100,000 Crystal Coins.

Of course, it wasn't just 100,000 to upgrade two inscriptions.

The key primary materials were already with Li Pu.

100,000 Crystal Coins weren't a big deal for him now.

Moreover, Gan Wenlun mentioned he had suitable materials on hand that he could provide.

He also hoped that after extracting the energy, Li Pu would sell the empty container to him.

Li Pu had no issue with that.

Since the other party showed goodwill, as a gesture of friendship, he could sell the container, valued at 200,000, to the senior for 80,000 after deducting the 100,000 cost of materials.

"Then here's the problem."

After gaining Li Pu's promise, Gan Wenlun was first delighted, then immediately became somber: "But I currently have no money."

"No problem, Senior can owe me; there's no rush."

Li Pu remained generous.

"However... I estimate I won't have money going forward either."

Gan Wenlun was honest.

He had invested all his money into this robot project.

The trading station had even advanced nearly a million in wages, and even after graduation, he'd have to work for them for a while.

"I have a suggestion."

Before Li Pu could say anything, Gan Wenlun proposed his idea.

"I'm about to graduate, and I still have some exclusive points from the Mechanical Department."

"How about transferring them to you to cover the 80,000?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The school's points cannot be transferred, but the Mechanical Department's internal points are for its exclusive use, so there's no such restriction.

Students like Gan Wenlun typically use the Mechanical Department points to exchange for materials that benefit their research projects; however, these materials are strictly controlled and cannot be sold outside.

Some are willing to buy Mechanical Department points, but most people keep them for personal use and don't sell them.

"But Senior... these points are useless to me."

Li Pu was in a difficult spot.

After hearing the function of these points, was he supposed to join the Mechanical Department?

He had zero interest in their research.

"Senior, how many points do you have now?"

At this point, Xiu Lijia spoke up.

"Uh, let me think."

"None of the materials from the Mechanical Department were what we needed, so I haven't used them in a while."

"About 80 points."

Gan Wenlun pondered for a moment before giving a number.

"Oh! That's a lot?!"

Xiu Lijia almost thought she misheard.

These points could fetch well over 80,000 if transferred to other project groups.

Using 80 points to offset 80,000 was a big gain for Li Pu.

Clearly, the senior really wanted that pearl shell, and he wanted it now.

The 80 points weren't just for buying 80,000 worth; they represented buying time as well.

Indeed, they were almost at the final step of their project now.

"Since Senior has so many points, then I have a proposal."

After pondering, Xiu Lijia turned to Li Pu.

"Have you heard of the mechanical summoning array?"

…

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