Chapter 70: Master and Apprentice plus Old Dog

After ending the call, Xia Fei returned to the workshop. He worked like what he did that morning. His face barely betrayed any bit of emotion, showing an expression that was as calm as ever.

Xia Fei was certain that Old K’s men were nearby, watching each move in the factory, so even if he had even the slightest emotion, he knew that he must not show it here.

The universal modification pliers danced in his hands. Boateng and Xia Fei continued to work hard in the workshop, while Old Porter and Lina remained in the design studio, the fabrication of parts progressing as per normal; none of them even slowed their pace of work.

When working with the team of nine, Xia Fei never felt that repairing spaceships was a tiring task. In fact, they would even have time to sit together to brag and bluster, bantering, and killing time as they talked about their partners.

Now that it was just Boateng and him, he finally felt that repairing spaceships was actually a very strenuous job. His arms were beginning to numb, while he could feel his two legs becoming heavy like lead.

He brushed his spatial ring lightly and took out two White Dew, handing Boateng one as he ate the other.

Boateng was an honest man, almost to the point of denseness. He received the White Dew from him and swallowed it without even asking any question. He was delighted when he felt his body recovering strength, flashing a thumbs-up at Xia Fei as he continued to bury himself in their work.

Ever since that grueling fight with Chen Dong, Xia Fei would always bring along a good amount of Snake Eye Berries and White Dew with him wherever he went. Had he not had these items in his possession during the assessment, there was no way Xia Fei would have been able to last for twenty-one days.

Another shuttle appeared in the sky, and it landed on a clearing in the factory compound. A tall and plump dark-skinned man exited it.

This person was essentially a younger version of Old Porter, looking to be in his forties. He was over six foot five and had a rather conspicuous distended belly as well. He even had a slight limp when he walked, but unlike Old Porter, he did not have just one eye.

Xia Fei stopped his work, poured out two glasses of water, and walked toward Boateng.

Nudging Boateng with his elbow, he gestured with his chin in the direction of that large man walking over and asked about the identity of their visitor.

“He is master’s oldest apprentice, Murray,” whispered Boateng.

Xia Fei had already heard about Old Porter actually having four apprentices, but three of them had ultimately chosen to leave for different reasons. Just what was Murray doing here at this time?

Murray waddled to where Xia Fei and Boateng were with his giant beer belly, his two hands rubbing against his hands constantly out of seeming nervousness.

*Slam!*

Boateng placed his glass heavily on a steel plate and, with a cold snort, buried his head into his work again, completely ignoring Murray’s existence.

Murray balked at his unfriendly actions, sweating non-stop as he stood there like a statue. Many times, he tried to open his mouth but always ended up closing it without saying a word.

In the end, Xia Fei smiled and approached Murray himself, stretching his left hand. “I’m new here. You can call me Xia Fei.”

Xia Fei had no clue about the uncomfortable past these fellow apprentices shared, but seeing this portly man in the factory during its most troubled time clearly showed that this fella still deeply valued the bond between master and apprentices. There was no reason to be overly unkind to the man, so he took the initiative to greet the other.

The new arrival’s expression revealed a great degree of gratitude, softly saying, “I’m Murray… h-here to…”

Xia Fei laughed and patted his beer belly. “Amazing. You’re almost about to catch up to Uncle Porter. He’s in the design studio by the way.”

Murray hesitated for several minutes before he picked up a pair of universal modification pliers from the ground and joined them in the restoration of the spaceship.

The difference between a skilled mechanic and that of a novice was immediately apparent. Though Murray had only joined in the repairs of this warship just the one time, he had very quickly found work that he could contribute to.

In the eyes of a veteran, there would always be no end to the work that they could do on a spaceship. They would be able to very quickly adapt to the task even when taking over someone’s work halfway, while a novice would find themselves fumbling about on what they should be doing.

Xia Fei worked even as he observed Murray’s actions. His movements were very proficient yet brusque, considered to be the sort that accomplished heavy-duty work. What would have taken anyone half a day to tighten a long-shafted safety screw, Murray only needed a short time to accomplish.

Boateng and Murray were completely different from each other. The latter was the kind that worked slowly, doing everything unhurriedly no matter what the task was just like a tai chi expert—calm and elegant, while the fo