Ironclad: How can hand-crafted knight belts not be considered genius?

Alan stood silently, slowly digesting the operating principles of Jiang Ning's armor.

That's too advanced, I don't understand it at all. I guess I'm just a pure sports student after all.

Aista stood up, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling with admiration as she looked at Jiang Ning, who was deep in thought beside her.

"Mr. Jiang Ning is amazing! He can actually create armor with such powerful performance!"

When praised so frankly by the pink-haired girl, even Jiang Ning, with his thick skin, couldn't help but blush, and scratched his cheeks shyly.

"It's alright, just average..."

Despite his feigned modesty, Estelle's interest remained undiminished, and she quickly pressed for more information:

"Could I take a look at that transformation device?"

"Uh, no problem."

Jiang Ning casually handed over the Journey Driver in his hand.

Estelle immediately accepted it with both hands, her eyes examining every intricate detail as if she were appreciating a rare work of art.

"This is incredible... Mr. Jiang Ning, you are truly amazing! I have never heard of such a device before!"

"Alright, alright, stop praising him. If you keep praising him, he'll get all cocky."

A familiar voice suddenly rang out, and Jiang Ning knew who it was without even turning around.

The Black Tower doll held an electronic document, its gaze fixed on the rapidly scrolling data stream, never once looking up.

"Based on the data analysis of the battle just now, the [Build Rider] you mentioned has reached the level of the mainstream standard armor of the Interstellar Peace Corporation in terms of punching and kicking power."

But considering the power fluctuations you generate when switching between different energy bottles… this genius is very curious about something.

The Black Tower doll slowly raised its eyes, its amethyst-like eyes staring straight at Jiang Ning, as if examining a highly valuable artifact.

"Did you really give it your all in that last battle?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes fell on Jiang Ning.

"Well……"

Under the gaze of everyone, Jiang Ning felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

"Don't look at me like I'm some rare experimental subject... I do have a killer move I haven't used yet..."

When Alan heard this, although he had expected it, his mental defenses almost collapsed on the spot.

Has the power of technology become so terrifying...?

Destroy him, he's tired.

Alan's face paled instantly, and he collapsed to the ground, utterly dejected.

"Alan!"

Estelle hurriedly knelt down, frantically trying to comfort the heartbroken security captain.

"I knew Mr. Jiang Ning's abilities were far more than this... I'm still too weak..."

Seeing Alan's worldview shattered and his expression questioning the meaning of life, Jiang Ning quickly tried to explain and salvage the situation:

"Actually, you don't need to feel too inferior. My power comes from the Knight Armor, but your power is something you've actually forged."

Ultimately, you are more worthy of respect than I am.

You still need to keep going to protect Estelle! You can't give up here!

Upon hearing this, Alan's previously dull eyes ignited with a renewed flame of determination.

"Hey, Jiang Ning, come here for a second."

The Black Tower puppet didn't even glance at Alan. Before anyone knew it, it walked up to Jiang Ning's side and gently tugged at his sleeve.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

The two left Estella and Alan, who was deep in thought, behind and turned to leave the weapons testing room.

In the narrow corridor, Jiang Ning walked alongside the black tower doll, and the passing staff members all turned their heads to look at him with curiosity.

Jiang Ning was momentarily at a loss when faced with such a high rate of attention.

"Ignore everyone else," Black Tower said calmly. "This genius has something to ask you. Answer honestly."

Jiang Ning looked down into her clear eyes and nodded blankly: "What is it? Why are you so serious?"

"Just how high is the potential of your [Build Rider]? Is this all the capability you've shown?"

Jiang Ning rested his chin on his hand, and the image of a figure covered in various energy bottles instantly appeared in his mind—the "energy bottle guy" who single-handedly brainwashed the entire tokusatsu industry, Build's [genius form].

"Although I have only been developing it for a short time, its potential is far greater than what you see here. At present, it is only in the basic stage of development."

As for its future potential, it's hard to say... If I have enough time, who knows, I might be able to create a [Build Rider] with the combat power of an Envoy-level unit?

After hearing his answer, the Black Tower Doll seemed to have expected it and nodded calmly.

"From now on, the entire resource library of the Black Tower Space Station will be fully open to you, and you can freely access the supplies you need."

Go back to your lab and try to come up with something new. Don't disappoint this genius.

After saying that, the Black Tower doll turned around and walked straight towards the office.

Jiang Ning stood there alone, feeling a sense of unease.

Did he just casually make a huge promise that made this genius have extremely dangerous expectations?

Is it really a good thing to be favored by this eccentric and unpredictable genius?

…………

Since the Black Tower itself went missing, Jiang Ning's pressure on the space station has suddenly eased.

No need to worry about being pressured by the boss to meet deadlines or getting caught slacking off; there's also a lot more time to wander around aimlessly.

More importantly, his research freedom has been greatly enhanced, and research projects that were previously hampered by conditions can now be put on the agenda much earlier.

For example—the research and development of enhancement items!

Time flies by, and January is here in the blink of an eye.

Estella seemed to be born with the talent of a stationmaster. She quickly adapted to the complex affairs of the space station and became more and more mature and steady in handling matters, already showing the demeanor of a qualified stationmaster.

Ever since Alan lost the last sparring match, he's been working on his training like crazy, not to mention weightlifting.

Sometimes, when Jiang Ning was doing research late into the night, he would go out for some fresh air and happen to see a dark figure running wildly on the space station. He thought a thief had broken in.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Alan.

His explanation was that he was going for a morning run.

Yes, jogging at 3 a.m.... Jiang Ning now understands why Alan isn't growing taller.

Aside from training time, Alan served as Está's personal bodyguard every day, or occasionally took Pepe on patrols around the space station.

In his words, any threat that might endanger Estelle's safety, whether it be the antimatter legion or anything else, must be eliminated.

They are so reliable it's heartbreaking.

Incidentally, after losing the previous sparring match, Alan officially joined the Defense Section and became its second-in-command.

The second security captain has been confirmed.

With Alan, a hardworking and capable assistant, in charge of security, Jiang Ning, the official captain of the security team, could completely relax and focus all his attention on studying equipment in the laboratory.

However, Laira has recently been stuck in a bottleneck in her research, which has significantly reduced the time she can spend tutoring Jiang Ning.

Most of the time, Jiang Ning could only bury himself in a vast collection of books and study diligently.

Even with the [Divine Talent] bonus, it doesn't seem to make much difference...?

But the more Jiang Ning studied, the more he realized that his knowledge of modern society was nothing more than a mayfly trying to shake a tree, or a drop in the ocean, compared to the grand worldview of the Starry Sky Railway.

If only I could have a perfect teacher who provides close, one-on-one instruction and precise guidance.

Of course, Jiangning did not come away empty-handed during this month and a half.

Jiang Ning put down his tools, leaned back in the ergonomic chair, and stretched languidly.

Turning his head to look at the densely packed, uniquely shaped energy bottles on the worktable, the collector's desire was greatly satisfied.

These were all collected and extracted by him in his spare time, but there were quite a few duplicates among them.

The road ahead is still long if you want to collect all sixty different energy bottles and create the best combination.

"Finally finished!!"

Jiang Ning stared at the brand-new enhancement and transformation item on the table, his eyes filled with barely concealed excitement.

I really want to try it out right away...

No, this thing is too powerful. I can't control it right now. I need to wait until I develop all the supporting components to ensure safety.

After careful consideration, he decided to temporarily seal away this new prop.

Just as he put the prop into the alloy storage box, the warning light above his head suddenly lit up with a blinding red light without warning.