5 Chapter 5: The Road to Wealth_1

Mengzi took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down; he was terrified he'd be pissed to death!

"Huff, huff, huff!"

"Damn Xu Changsheng, if it were someone else, I'd crush his fuckin' balls."

"Which doctor starts operating without asking about the symptoms first? All I had was a slightly stiff middle finger, and you son of a bitch, you went and took apart the entire hand clean off its parts!"

Looking at the densely packed tiny components on the workbench.

Mengzi was sweating bullets, thinking his hand was beyond help.

Five hundred thousand, ah!

Five hundred thousand!

Xu Changsheng, upon hearing the commotion, didn't say a word and bent down to begin the operation.

Having completed the task, he decided to showcase a bit of his own flair.

He hadn't yet tried out the Grade G Mechanical Arm enhancement skill he had just acquired.

Nor had he tried the two blueprints he'd just gotten: the Hidden Mechanical Arm and the Arm Weapon Blade.

The neural interface connections could be altered a bit to reduce reaction time appropriately.

The blade's strength relied on the mechanical arm's muscle power, which could be enhanced through gears.

...

Xu Changsheng started his operation.

It must be said, the work was quite strenuous.

If it weren't for the recent increase of 1 point in physical strength, Xu Changsheng wondered whether he'd be able to endure.

The workshop was equipped with numerous instruments and devices, which could be made use of.

As the first guinea pig, Mengzi gave Xu Changsheng ample room to excel.

Who knows how much time had passed, but Xu Changsheng finally finished the job.

Meanwhile, Mengzi had fallen asleep in despair.

Of course, he might have also passed out from rage.

But no matter how you fell asleep, Doctor Xu always had a knack for waking people up.

Electrified; his hair got a styling treatment to boot.

"Holy shit, Xu Changsheng, I wouldn't complain about you messing up my hand, but this...you playing with my life now?!" Mengzi jerked awake from his sleep, eyes flying open as he cursed loudly.

Xu Changsheng pointed at the arm and said, "Try it out and see how it feels!"

Mengzi was taken aback, instinctively replying, "What... how does it feel?"

Suddenly looking down, he saw his mechanical arm and his eyes widened in disbelief: "You fixed it?"

After saying this, half in doubt, he got off the chair, stood up, and moved his arm a little, immediately lighting up with surprise.

"Holy crap? What's this rhythm? I feel so strong."

"Why do I feel like my hand responds faster and is more flexible?"

Xu Changsheng said straightforwardly, "Come here to test it and you'll know."

The workshop had simple testing tools.

The main metrics tested were reaction, strength, explosive power, and other routine data.

A few minutes later!

Mengzi, somewhat astonished, looked at his mechanical hand and swallowed hard: "Old Xu, did... did you really make this?"

Xu Changsheng walked to the table, too tired for small talk, and started writing a bill: "Come on, let's settle the account."

Mengzi paid no attention to Xu Changsheng, engrossed in the data on the apparatus, thinking he was dreaming:

"The arm's strength has increased to 80 kg, reactive response time to 600 milliseconds, active response time to 350 milliseconds, and the blade strength actually reached 20T...that's... doubled!"

Mengzi found it hard to believe, sighing with emotion: "Old Xu, this performance could be considered Grade G for a mechanical arm, right?"

"When I saw the enhancements being done at Floating Life Group, I witnessed that Grade G mechanical arms had only about 120 KG of strength, a reaction time of 500 milliseconds, and even the cheapest, lowest-quality beggar version cost a whopping 1.5 million yuan!"

"You're amazing!"

At Mengzi's words, Xu Changsheng looked at the 100,000 yuan on the bill and silently added a zero behind it.

1 million, that shouldn't be too expensive, right?

But is this really Grade G?

It doesn't seem too difficult, does it?

If I had access to better materials and equipment, I could probably do even more.

After all, mechanical enhancements largely depend on the quality of the materials themselves.

Especially reaction time and strength, which require special materials like sensory metals and strength amplification devices.

These are things technology can't replace.

Back in college, Xu Changsheng was quite interested in becoming a Prosthetic Doctor, and he had even prepared to apply for graduate school.

Unfortunately, he ran into these events.

However, he now felt that he had a chance to apply for a Prosthetic Doctor certification.

According to Federation standards, the certification criteria for a mechanical prosthesis doctor is to manufacture and repair a standard model of a Grade G prosthesis and, upon passing the assessment, apply for a junior qualification.

With this certification, he could do a lot of things.

The most important thing was still making money.

After all, his father's workshop actually lacked a business license, and he himself didn't possess even a primary qualification, relying on a few skills learned in the military to stubbornly keep this illegal workshop going.

With that in mind, Xu Changsheng took the bill in his hand and went over, "Let's settle the bill first."

At that moment, Mengzi was still engrossed in his new mechanical arm, his eyes brimming with more joy than if he had seen a new girlfriend.

While examining it, Mengzi excitedly said, "This is so cool!"

"Old Xu, not bad, doesn't the August Research Institute mainly research bizarre medicine? How come they've started doing prostheses too! You haven't been there long, and you've already learned such technology, impressive!"

"The money can't be short!" Xu Changsheng emphasized.

Mengzi laughed loudly, took the bill, and after seeing the numbers, his hands shook, "Damn, 1 million!"

"It's over, Old Greasehead is definitely going to kill me!"

"He nearly coughed up blood when I got him to cough up 500,000 for my prosthesis, and now a bill of 1 million... "

He was a bit shocked, but after regaining his composure, he didn't doubt the price at all.

The prices of prostheses were always clearly marked; you get what you pay for, and weren't all Grade G prostheses in the million class?

So, there was no way he could let his brother suffer a loss.

Moreover, Xu Changsheng had a sister, Xu Liuliu, who needed long-term support.

Xu Liuliu, who lived in the psychiatric hospital, required a sizeable sum for medical expenses every month.

Mengzi was even less likely to cheat his own brother.

Besides, society was chaotic, and with such an item by his side, his survival ability would undoubtedly increase manifold.

Mengzi himself lived on the edge, so he was very clear about how much the mechanical arm could help him.

Money could be earned slowly.

But once life was gone, it was truly gone!

Mengzi calmed down and said, "Old Xu, don't worry, the money won't be short, I'll figure out something with Old Greasehead. But the amount is indeed a bit much, can I pay you in installments? Right, I can give you my car to use!"

Watching Mengzi's excited state, Xu Changsheng suddenly fell into thought.

In fact, the cost of materials here was actually around seventy to eighty thousand.

He had largely modified the existing equipment, adding some new materials.

If he were to pay to make a set himself, it would probably cost around 300,000.

Xu Changsheng hesitated for a moment then said, "Forget it, give me 100,000 and that'll do."

Mengzi was stunned, his head shook like a rattle-drum, "No, no! This isn't a joke!"

"If I said 1 million, it's 1 million."

Xu Changsheng shook his head, "Don't refuse just yet, I have conditions."

"If you refer 10 customers to me, we'll call it even on the debt. Then, I'll upgrade yours to a real Grade G mechanical arm, with a blade strength of 50T or even 100T without a problem!"

Upon hearing this, Mengzi's eyes lit up instantly, "Tsk, tsk, that's some big-picture thinking! This is what you call vision!"

"Old Xu, your education wasn't wasted!"

"No wonder my old man thinks the best thing he's done in his life was becoming friends with you!"

"Respect!"

"You're the boss!"

"Small issue, I got this handled!"

"By the way, how do we price this thing, 1 million?" Mengzi suddenly asked, "I'm worried that 1 million might be a bit difficult. After all, going to some brand stores, you can get an official product for 1.5 million."

Xu Changsheng pondered for a moment, then directly said, "800,000 a set, you negotiate a deal for one, and I'll give you a rebate of 100,000."

He knew very well that Mengzi's social network was complex and was better suited for this job than himself.

"But remember, there can be fewer people, but they must be reliable and trustworthy," Xu Changsheng solemnly advised.

Upon hearing this, Mengzi's eyes widened, "Old Xu, you're really generous; let me inquire around, ask a few people."

"Indeed, there are not many who would spend 800,000 on such things."

Indeed, although Federation welfare was quite good, with 1,000 yuan in basic living allowance available each month without work.

Even ordinary people only earned a monthly salary of about 3,000 to 5,000.

In the previous generation, a mechanical arm was the price of a house.

Compared to friendship, Xu Changsheng now believed more firmly that a bond backed by mutual interest was more secure.

Of course, if the friendship between Xu Changsheng and Mengzi were really solid, that wouldn't be bad either.

Being cautious when new to the scene was always right.

Mengzi thought for a while then said, "Leave it to me! But 100,000 is too much, I only want 50,000 per person!"

Xu Changsheng ignored him.

He checked the time; it was already past 2 a.m., "I need to sleep, I have work tomorrow, you should head back."

Mengzi sheepishly smiled, "Heh, thanks for all the hard work, Old Xu!"

"You see, when I woke up today and asked that woman in my bed, turns out her name was Magpie, I knew just by the name that something good would happen."

Xu Changsheng locked the door, too lazy to deal with him, "Remember to transfer the money!"

Mengzi had already run off, brimming with excitement.

The night was thick, and he was thrilled.