Chapter 728 - 599: The Chief Instructor’s Blade

"It’s free? And three orders at once! You’re really loosening up, huh? I’ve got to seize this opportunity."

Saying this, Zhang Su pulled out two sheets of A4 paper, under the astonished eyes of Ding Yong Country and Zheng Ziwen.

"No way, Boss Zhang, you came prepared, haha!"

Ding Yong Country laughed heartily, taking the blueprints from Zhang Su’s hands and unfolding them.

"Hiss... Wow!"

Looking at the blueprints, Ding Yong Country made a series of strange sounds, furrowing his brow as he casually placed the large iron pliers onto the anvil.

"This Katana... has some real design to it, Boss Zhang, this doesn’t look like your handiwork, which master did these blueprints come from?"

"A master? How do you figure that?"

Zhang Su didn’t expect Ding Yong Country to give Ju Mumio such high praise, could it be that he remembered the parameters from Ju Yihet?

"Do you understand East Asian Blades?"

Ding Yong Country asked very seriously.

East Asian Blades encompass the Tachi, generally referring to a series of Japanese katanas.

Zhang Su shook his head blankly. He really wasn’t a fan of Japanese swords, so he hadn’t explored them much.

Seeing Zhang Su shake his head, Ding Yong Country also shook his head, "Then I can’t explain to you. In short, the design of these two Tachi from the blade, edge, angle, and weight is very intricate. Given the conditions here, well, it’s a no-go."

As a master craftsman, it was a bit embarrassing to say such things, but if he were to stubbornly take on the job and it turned out horribly, it would be even more embarrassing, better to be honest early on.

"Uncle, come on, it’s just an ordinary Japanese Tachi, you can definitely handle it!"

Zheng Ziwen jumped in to support when he saw his uncle was downcast.

"Ordinary? With your skills, you can tell intricate from ordinary? Go stand aside!"

Ding Yong Country glared at Zheng Ziwen and criticized him. The weight of each part, the critical bending curvature, the detailed edge, everything was clearly intricate. Not only are the technical requirements high, but also the requirements for materials and the environment for forging!

"Old Ding, what do you mean, turning away orders right as you open shop? Is it because the blacksmith’s hammer isn’t hard enough or the furnace isn’t hot enough?"

Zhang Su felt the old man was just being difficult, he had to provoke him a bit.

"No, no..." Ding Yong Country waved his hand, explaining: "The short knife is easier to discuss, but this one... it’s almost the size of a Great Tachi. To forge such a large Tachi, never mind the hammering, but the material requirements are extremely high..."

"I knew it, you old guy, just don’t want the hassle, the material requirements are high, right? Don’t give me that, with so many cars around, can’t you dismantle one? Shock springs, stabilizer bars, drive shafts, use whatever you like. If that’s still not enough, see that tank? Armor plating, track plates, cannon barrel! Enough?"

Shock springs are generally made of high-carbon steel or alloy steel, with excellent elasticity and hardness, and the tools forged from them become sharp and tough.

Armor plating is even more amazing, usually made of high-hardness alloy steel with special heat treatment providing very strong impact resistance, very high strength, but the downside is the hardness might be too high, making it difficult to forge, requiring high skill in heating and forging techniques.

"Enough, enough..."

Ding Yong Country smiled awkwardly: "Boss Zhang, since when did you know so much? By the way... we’re just making a knife, is it necessary to be so detailed? Maybe we can lower the standard a bit?"

"What do you mean just a knife, Old Ding, now weapons are life, not like before when they were toys for street punks. Moreover, the owner of these two blades is quite formidable, with a good weapon, it would be like adding wings to a tiger."

Zhang Su felt he hadn’t emphasized enough, and he also learned from Ding Yong Country’s words that Ju Mumio’s design was excellent, and he could seek her help for designing other weapons in the future!

"Alright, since you’re letting me dismantle cars, I’ll take the job. As for the fire, arrange that thing for me to see."

Ding Yong Country patted his chest, then pointed towards the parking lot.

Zhang Su knew Ding Yong Country meant the Fire-breathing Zombie, nodding: "No problem, you focus on that short knife first. In a while, I’ll need to take the Fire-breathing Zombie out, and once I’m back—hey, Xiaoju, you came just in time!"

Just as he was speaking, Zhang Su saw Ju Mumio passing on the mountain road, with Zhou Haotian trailing behind like a shadow.

"Brother Zhang!"

Zhou Haotian, marching proudly with a backpack, followed Ju Mumio, looking like a squire to a medieval European knight.

However, at this moment, in Zhang Su’s eyes, three thought bubbles appeared above Zhou Haotian’s head.

[Ingenious Mind] [Diligent Learner] [Adaptable]

After three days of interaction, Zhang Su found it increasingly difficult to understand what this young man was thinking, so he used an [Insight Label] on him for the first time in a long while.

It turned out that what this guy said before wasn’t exaggerated, and he was indeed very understanding of himself, with a very touching way of thinking, and through Ju Mumio’s feedback, constantly bombarding her with questions, utterly annoying.

Ju Mumio walked under the blacksmith’s canopy, seeing the blueprints in Ding Yong Country’s hands, instantly understood, nodded, and smiled: "I’m counting on you, Master!"

"Boss Zhang, is this... the owner of the blades?"

Ding Yong Country asked somewhat uncertainly, pointing to the Tachi on the blueprint.

When he and Zheng Ziwen arrived at Lego Mall, Ju Mumio was already gone, and after arriving at the camp, he hadn’t heard anything about her, with meeting opportunities being extremely rare.

"That’s correct."

Zhang Su nodded with a smile, "Strictly speaking, she and I are mutual teachers. What she’s taught me is much more than what I’ve taught her, and she is currently the chief instructor of the Yama Corps."

Zhang Su never hid Ju Mumio’s contributions and didn’t mind letting others know about his growth journey.

"Oh! Chief instructor! Pleased to meet you. Young lady from Japan? Your Mandarin is quite good."

Upon hearing this, Ding Yong Country put away all his previous slight contempt. He didn’t know this woman in front of him, but he knew Zhang Su. Zhang Su could take out nine; if this woman could be his teacher, even if slightly weaker, maybe six?

Zheng Ziwen’s expression was quite colorful; previously, he was mulling over how strong a frail, weak-looking woman could be, just fierce-looking at best, turns out she was indeed quite fierce!

"No need to be so polite, Master, I’m asking for your help, so please forge these two weapons as soon as possible. I really need them."

Ju Mumio bowed respectfully.

"You young lady, doing such a big courtesy, some people should learn from you!"

Ding Yong Country looked at Zhang Su with an exaggerated expression.

"Go to hell, just like that, you hurry up, no slacking, finish it up and I’ll treat you to tea, we’re off!"

"Hey, I heard you’re going to kill zombies, can you take Ziwen along?"

Ding Yong Country placed his hand on Zheng Ziwen’s shoulder.

"Can’t carry him, today’s mission is critical, it’s more suitable for him to stay and help you forge!"

Zhang Su turned his head, speaking very seriously.

Since even King Yama said it was severe, Ding Yong Country didn’t persist. He indeed needed help but didn’t want his nephew really to die out there...

The Yama Corps, not counting two temporary workers, had twenty-six members, four stayed to guard the camp. Due to today’s special mission, Qi Xiaoshuai and Pang Dakun weren’t dispatched to West Camp Village, and with the two temps, a total of twenty-four were ready and waiting.

"Brother Zhang!"

Zhang Su was just about to step into the cargo truck when he heard someone calling from a distance. He saw Wang Zhetao running over, full of energy.

"Brother Zhang, do you need extra hands for today’s mission? I can help!"

Wang Zhetao stood tall and confident, full of vigor.

Had Zhang Su not learned about Wang Zhetao’s behavior outside from Tan Huajun, he might have been fooled by his spirited demeanor.

"You and your dad have been busy for days, stay and rest at the camp. This afternoon, we’re organizing combat personnel into squads. If you really don’t want to idle, you can busy yourself with some farm work."

Zhang Su gently refused Wang Zhetao.

"Farm work? Okay, Brother Zhang!"

Wang Zhetao’s eyes dimmed upon hearing Zhang Su’s words but instantly brightened at the words ’farm work,’ as if he thought of something fun.

Zhang Su watched Wang Zhetao come and go swiftly, speechless, completely unable to understand what was going on in his head, considered using an [Insight Label] on him but restrained himself as he only had seven uses left and couldn’t waste them!

"Let’s move!"

At the command, the seemingly still dilapidated but actually repaired cargo truck drove out of the camp, leading the way with six vehicles following behind.

Currently, there were so many vehicles in the camp; even if everyone had one, it wouldn’t be an issue. However, for safety reasons, they maintained a four-people-per-vehicle setup, since the Yama Corps wasn’t responsible for transporting supplies. This way, even if unexpected dangers arose, four people could still resist, while also conserving some energy.