Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

Lynn bowed slightly, without arguing.

After all, the other party is a formal wizard. If I were to "give guidance" to him in his field of expertise, that wouldn't be showing off, that would be a slap in the face!

This kind of pointless "showing off" is unnecessary and may even provoke enemies, making it an unwise move.

Just as Lynn was about to turn and leave, an acquaintance walked out of the shop.

"Lynn?"

Lynn looked up and saw Thomas.

He was wearing an apprentice's robe stained with oil and metal scraps, holding a strangely shaped pair of pliers, and his face showed surprise.

For Thomas, once he passed the first two of the "three trials of life and death," the third one was nothing.

After all, their mentor's shop was in the Ghost Market, so getting five magic stones wouldn't be difficult.

"Thomas," Lynn nodded in greeting.

"Have you been at the shop these past two days?"

"Yeah! We're not allowed to bring any resources during the assessment, so I can't set up a stall. I'll just be helping out here and working on my project!"

Thomas excitedly wiped his hands and stepped forward to grab Lynn's arm.

"Perfect timing! My 'Iron Bones Fusion' project is a bit stuck. You're quick-witted, could you take a look?"

Lynn didn't want to go into the store, after all, Thomas's mentor was still there. Why ask yourself questions instead of your mentor?

Thomas expressed his frustration with this.

My own tutor has a terrible temper; he's like a dwarf and extremely hot-tempered. If I were to ask him anything, I'd probably get a real tongue-lashing.

Hmm...maybe my mentor really does have dwarf blood.

Short and stocky, with a thick beard, and a love for blacksmithing and fine wine...

The truth is!

Thomas didn't care whether Lynn agreed or not, and dragged him into the shop.

As Thomas passed Harold, he respectfully said, "Mentor, this is my friend Lynn. I'd like to invite him in to take a look at my research!"

Harold was busy introducing things to the guests, so he just grunted an "uh-huh" through his nose and waved for them to make themselves at home, but his gaze lingered on Lynn for a moment, seemingly unintentionally.

Lynn? The madman who rejected Victor and Malfa and chose to conduct suicide research?

Harold also attended the last "recruitment fair" and had some impression of Lynn.

A genius whose mind isn't quite right.

Thomas asked this kid for help? He must be out of his mind!

The interior of the shop appears deeper than the exterior, and the air is filled with the smells of heated metal, machine oil, and preservatives.

Various mechanical undead creations were neatly arranged on the shelves on both sides, some of which even looked exactly like "machines".

Inside, on the materials cabinet, are gears, bearings, metal pipes of various sizes, and biological tissue samples soaked in a transparent solution.

The two apprentices were busy working on various parts and paid no attention to Lynn and his companion.

In the storage room at the back of the shop, there was a simple worktable with tools scattered haphazardly, and in the center was a half-finished modified zombie.

This is Thomas's other project besides the "Bones Iron Zombie"—the "Grappling Iron Arm Zombie".

The zombie's right arm had been completely replaced; from the shoulder joint to the hand, it was a single mechanical arm cast from dark gray metal.

The robotic arm's tip is a rotating gripper with three sharp bone claws. (Press Q to grab an enemy)

In the chest and abdomen area, the originally rotting flesh was covered by a layer of fitted iron sheet, and under the iron sheet, one could vaguely see glowing energy circuits.

Clearly, compared to the bone weapons of the Bone Wheel Zombie, this metal grabbing arm is a level above.

"Look! I've used my family's 'Hundred Refinements and Gold Infiltration Method,' fusing low-grade 'Black Ironwood' powder into the metal, allowing the robotic arm to better conduct negative energy!"

Thomas pointed to the robotic arm with pride, but then his face fell.

"But a new problem has arisen: the mechanical arm is strong enough, but it is not well-coordinated with the zombie's own musculoskeletal system."

"Simply put, the brain wants the arm to move, but the signal always gets a little delayed when it reaches the robotic arm, and it consumes a lot of energy! When the movements are fast during combat, the arm can't keep up with the rhythm, and sometimes it will move randomly as if it's 'cramping'."

Lynn approached to observe, and the [Analysis] function quietly activated.

[Target: Metal Zombie (Under Modification)]

Problem Identification:

1. Neural-mechanical interfaces use "one-way direct energy connection" and lack signal buffering and feedback mechanisms.

2. There is a "phase difference" between the robotic arm's energy loop and the zombie's own negative energy circulation system, resulting in energy transfer loss of up to 35%.

3. The control rune set is too complex, with too many redundant nodes, interfering with the main signal.

[Optimization suggestion: Use a "bidirectional resonant loop" instead of a direct connection, add a "phase synchronization crystal (alternative: blended bone powder)" at the interface, simplify the control runes, and retain the core command channel.]

...

The analysis function remains powerful, listing out all the problems.

Lynn no longer held back and offered some advice:

"The problem lies in the interface design and the power loop."

Lynn pointed to the ring of shimmering runes where the robotic arm connected to the shoulder.

"You're using a one-way direct connection... (500 words omitted here)"

Thomas's eyes widened: "Feedback signal? Yes...yes! A living person's arm has touch and a sense of position, but mine doesn't! What do I do?"

"Add a two-way loop so that while the command is being sent, the position and force status information of the robotic arm can also be transmitted back to Soulfire in real time."

Lynn picked up a discarded bone fragment from the workbench and quickly sketched a simplified circuit diagram using the negative energy attached to her fingertips.

"Also, the phase difference here can be addressed by applying bone powder to the connection points. The control runes are too complicated; cut them out..."

He spoke as he made modifications to the bone fragment.

Thomas leaned closer, his breathing becoming increasingly rapid as he watched, and finally he slapped his thigh:

"Genius! A two-way resonant circuit...phase synchronization...how come I didn't think of that! I have all these materials readily available! Lynn, thank you so much!"

"Once the modifications are complete, I'll send you a modified zombie to play with. Next time you need anything modified—weapons, armor, or even just gadgets for your undead—just come find me! You provide the materials, and the labor is free!"

Lynn smiled and did not refuse.

Thomas's forging skills are indeed quite good among the apprentices, and he may come in handy in the future.

Having solved the problem, Thomas was in high spirits and dragged Lynn to tour some of the "good stuff" in the shop.

He pointed to a sealed glass jar on the shelf, inside which was a fist-sized heart with metallic patterns on its surface.

"Look, our mentor's early work, 'Clockwork Heart,' can provide stable power to undead creatures, but the energy consumption is a bit high."

Then he pointed to a multi-jointed robotic arm hanging on the wall, resembling a spider.

"The 'Octopus Engineering Arm' is an extremely useful auxiliary arm that can be mounted on your back to perform multiple delicate operations simultaneously, but its balance is very difficult to adjust."

In addition, there was a set of neatly stacked metal armor plates that gleamed with a ghostly light.

"The 'Adaptive Bone Armor' can fine-tune the local hardness according to the type of attack it receives, but it is slow to react."

...