Chapter 33: Quick, Bow To Your Master!
Cillin recalled the memory of Mo Heng assembling the parts back at the train station in his head: The force of every finger, the angle and accuracy of every connection…
After glancing once at his chosen heap of parts, Cillin almost never looked away from the parts in his own hands. But somehow, Cillin was always able to grab the correct parts needed for the next step of the assembly instantly.
At first, Cillin’s speed was a little slow. But once he got used to that kind of finger control and calculation of the accuracy of his assembly on the fly, his hands began to move quicker.
While he watched Cillin assembling in his office, Mo Heng grew so excited that his entire body began to shake. He stood up from his chair while still shaking and zooming in on the screen, staring at the art-like assembly.
The further he went, the faster Cillin’s assembling speed grew. Not only did his accuracy not fall, it even trended to increase even further. Mo Heng stared closely at the screen and said to the computer, “Analyze overall accuracy.”
“Scanning… overall accuracy at 97% of theoretical value.”
“Scanning… overall accuracy at 98% of theoretical value.”
“Scanning… overall accuracy at 99% of theoretical value.”
“Scanning… overall accuracy at 99.2% of theoretical value.”
“Scanning… overall accuracy at 99.3% of theoretical value.”
“Scanning… overall accuracy at 99.5% of theoretical value.”
…
In the end, the overall accuracy had reached 99.5% of the theoretical value, and every step he took afterwards reached 99.95%. Be it assembling one part or multiple parts at once, his accuracy was always 99.95%!
The overall accuracy was calculated by putting through the many parameters acquired after scanning into a number of technical formulae. The higher the overall accuracy, the closer the assembler was to that legendary point.
Inside the workshop, Cillin had assembled the heap of parts into specific units and components. Then he put these units and components through one final assembly. Mo Heng didn’t even need to test for the assembly’s circuits or correctness to know that it would definitely work; that it was definitely at excellent grade!
At the ninth minute, Cillin completed his work and pressed a button on the assembled machine.
Other than the stabilizing bottom, a large majority of the upper part of the half-an-arm tall machine began to open up like flower petals. It was like the blooming of a skeletal flower accompanied by a crystalline music, causing someone to feel as if they had stumbled slowly out of the darkness after a long, long wait to welcome that very first ray of light.
Cillin finally understood why so many engineers were obsessed with these things. He watched the machine that he had assembled with his own hands and felt a childish joy in his heart. It was incredibly touching.
Cillin sat there cross-legged on the floor, and while listening to the flowing music, fell into a trance while watching the machine; watching them expanding and collapsing, blooming and closing… just like rebirth.
It wasn’t until Mo Heng opened the door of the workshop that Cillin finally came to.
Mo Heng walked before Cillin and sat down on where he stood, “Cillin, do you know about the Golden Point?”
(T/N: Not to be confused with golden ratio or that other golden point. It’s a new concept. Also, testing out Italics to see if it’s more friendly to the readers. Do comment and tell me!)
Cillin shook his head. The first year courses did not venture deeply into many content, and the relevant books that Cillin read previously did not mention this either.
“Most books would not mention this, because it is something that exists only within our circle. The correct parts, the correction position, the literal perfect assembly accuracy within the shortest time. The ‘point’ that satisfies all those requirements is called the Golden Point.”
While speaking, Mo Heng took out the computer’s calculation results while Cillin was assembling.
Cillin frowned at the 99.95% at the end. There was actually no increase at all during the last stages of the assembly.
Mo Heng pointed at those 99.95% at the end and said, “When this number reaches 100%, then you would have achieved the Golden Point. Cillin, you’re not bad at all. I can see that you haven’t done this much, but you are already much better than some of the teachers in Seven Lights to be able to reach 99.95%.”
“Have you reached the Golden Point, elder?” Cillin looked at Mo Heng.
At this, Mo Heng’s voice turned forlorn.
“No. No one even in the entire Galactic Alliance has reached it. We have always been getting closer to the ‘Golden Point’, but no one was actually able to reach it. Some said that the Golden Point is just a theoretical limit that is impossible to achieve, but I have always believed that the Golden point is achievable!”
Cillin kept his head down and watched the machine still blooming and closing before him, listening quietly to Mo Heng’s story. Many of these knowledge could not be learned from books.
After talking about some matters relating to the Golden Point, Mo Heng continued to sigh, “I am old. My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. Even if I know what I should be paying attention to when assembling, even if I know where I can improve further, but my hand speed and control still cannot reach the form I had imagined in my mind.”
Slapping his his hands on his knees, he sighed as if he wanted to vent every bit of regret inside his heart. Then he glanced at Cillin still keeping his head down and – this brat isn’t reacting at all!
Let’s give it another shot!
Mo Heng sighed again with even more sadness of a hero at his twilight, “I will reach a higher point in my life no longer, and my biggest regrets is none other than the fact that I have no successor. My son has chosen the army, and there wasn’t any students that I was particularly satisfied with back when I was still a teacher in my younger years, unlike those old bastards in the Alliance who had the good luck to run into a good disciple. Ah, this is fate! How nice would it be, if I had met someone of your talents earlier.”
While sighing, Mo Heng’s eyes glanced towards Cillin’s direction. The latter continued to bow his head and said not a word. His expression was hidden from sight either. Mo Heng swore in his heart.
You little shit, I already made it as clear as it can be; can’t you show me any signs at all? Logically speaking, shouldn’t this be the part where you excitedly recommend yourself?! How stupid do you have to bit grab hold of such a precious opportunity! So stupid! Blockhead!
Sir Mo seemed to have forgotten that he was praising a certain blockhead just now.
Seeing that Cillin refused to give any reaction, Mo Heng got angry.
“Would it kill you to react a bit?!”
Cillin was tempted to laugh. With Mo Heng’s ‘quick, bow to your master!’ look and that intense gaze he threw over from time to time, it would be hard not to know what Mo Heng was thinking. However, as a Hunter, his days in Seven Lights were limited. He would leave as soon as his mission was complete. What would happen when Cillin Douance disappears from the people’s eyes?
“You know, there are so many specially recruited students…”
“Don’t talk to me about those specially recruited students! They can’t achieve what I want, and they are put under the names of other mentors. Their direct mentor isn’t me either.”
Cillin pressed his forehead under Mo Heng’s terrific gaze and said, “I’m lacking in many expertise, and since I’ve picked up so many classes, I should obtain those credits as well. I don’t have too much time…”
Before Cillin could finish Mo Heng waved his hand grandiosely, “Those courses are mostly form without substance; to attend them will just be a complete waste of time! I’ll give you your credits directly; I’ll be interested to know which chief mentor dares to question me!”
Cillin sweatdropped in his heart. Oh vice headmaster Mo, you must not speak of this outside, or every teacher and student in Seven Lights will be holding a grudge.
“So? Are you going to become my disciple or not?!”
Seeing Mo Heng’s eyebrows slowing trending towards a vertical line, Cillin considered for a moment before finally saying, “How about this. I’ll work as a trainee under you, and if you’re satisfied with my performance, then we’ll talk about this again. Is that okay?”
“Forget becoming a trainee or whatever; it sounds ugly. You’ll work as a research assistant.”
“Alright, I’ll become a research assistant as you say.”
Cillin didn’t know that for individuals like Mo Heng, a research assistant was the equivalent of a disciple. And so without Cillin’s knowledge, Mo Heng had labeled Cillin as his research assistant a.k.a disciple right away.
Now that Mo Heng was happy, he pinched Cillin’s cheeks and said, “What else are you dissatisfied about with the Chief of Research Division teaching you personally?! You’re totally taking this for granted, aren’t you kid?!”
“Yes yes, I’m taking it for granted, I’m taking it for granted.” Cillin did not struggle and allowed Mo Heng to pinch both sides of his cheeks and shake them. Sigh, why does this old man like to pinch someone’s cheeks so much. It’s almost swollen already.
What Cillin didn’t know was that Mo Heng’s son, the GAL army general, had carried ‘baby fat’ on his face before he entered higher military university at fifteen years old.