Chapter Forty-Three: The Design of Metal, Wood, and Wind

If, at first, Hu Lei joined the creative design competition merely to win the prize money and help his beloved junior, then the moment he saw the initial model, the thrill of being a designer was already ignited within him.

Those with a deep dedication to their craft all share a common flaw: an irrepressible excitement when faced with a worthy challenge. Presented with a truly outstanding idea, how could Hu Lei not be exhilarated? The fatigue of staying up all night was swept away by his surging thoughts.

He dashed out of the dormitory, swift as the wind, heading straight for the convenience store. He returned with armfuls of energy drinks, instant coffee, and all manner of instant food. Hu Lei was ready for another battle.

The next step was to refine the model, meticulously perfecting the vein-like branches and other intricate details. Even the simplest procedures were now carried out with utmost seriousness. In his eyes, this was the sculpting of a work of art at the height of his profession—not just the completion of a task.

And, strangely, he felt a certain pressure while shaping the model. He didn’t know if it was the exhaustion from staying up late or if his health had simply declined lately.

It was Saturday, and his roommates were all sleeping in, only getting up gradually as the sun climbed high. One had to admire the novel enthusiast among them—this guy had stayed up reading until three in the morning, yet was still the first out of bed, jumping down at ten o’clock.

“Damn, Hu Lei, you’re still not asleep? Didn’t your boss—your mentor—give you any work today?”

Hu Lei had already completed the model of the mountain tree, though it hadn’t been rendered yet. Now he was racking his brains over how to implement the building’s foundation. Without turning his head, he replied in a slightly hoarse voice, “Yeah…”

“What’s with that deathly look on your face…”

Hu Lei stood up, went to the sink, turned on the tap, and splashed cold water onto his face, rubbing vigorously. Back at his chair, he grabbed a bottle of mineral water and gulped down half in one go.

“Much better,” his voice returning to normal.

“It’s strange, really. Pulling an all-nighter for architectural design isn’t exactly routine, but it’s not rare either. Yet, after last night, it feels like I’ve been up for three nights straight.”

His roommate, Fan Xiaojin, looked him over and grinned.

“What’s with that weird look?” Hu Lei shivered. “I wasn’t… you know!”

“Huh? I didn’t say you were! Why so nervous, eh?” Fan smirked mischievously.

Only then did Fan Xiaojin notice Hu Lei’s computer screen. “Hey, is this your design? A tree? It’s got a seriously strong vibe.”

Hu Lei agreed, “Right? You feel it too. This is the foundation for the building in this design. Look, it’s exactly what the reward post requires.”

“Whoa… Two million BuildCoins for the prize. Can you handle it?” Seeing Wu You’s post, Fan Xiaojin sucked in a breath.

“Want us to give you a hand? I’m into structural mechanics—not great at design, but I can handle the load calculations. If we get the other two in on it, and you win the prize, just give us a few tens of thousands each.”

Hu Lei smacked his forehead. “Good idea. This creative design is tougher than I thought. Help me get this prize, and we’ll celebrate together!”

“What are we waiting for!” Fan Xiaojin pulled a steel basin from under his bed, grabbed a shoe brush, and started banging away. “Bang, bang, bang… Wake up, wake up! Big things are happening!”

“Damn…”

“Come on, what the hell…”

The dorm was soon roused into action. Though only Hu Lei was truly well-rounded in design, none of the others were pushovers. The very fact that they were pursuing graduate studies at the nation’s top architecture school, Gongji University, spoke volumes about their abilities.

“Jinzi, the positions for the foundation pillars and beams are ready. Start the calculations.”

“Piece of cake.”

“Buffalo, add all the roofs for each branch building, and use high-transparency polycarbonate for the doors and windows.”

“Heh, I started before you said anything. I knew you wouldn’t go with glass.”

“Zhang Long, design a cable-suspended corridor linking the branches, and account for wind load.”

“On it, boss!”

When academic elites form an alliance, their efficiency is staggering. With just three more people, Hu Lei felt their productivity had increased more than threefold.

Driven by both money and a sense of achievement, by 9 p.m. that evening, the first, unedited draft of the drawings was already largely complete.

After another two hours refining the details, they finished the official first draft. This was only the drawings, however; as it was a low-profile villa complex, the content wasn’t extensive. The model, mainly Hu Lei’s responsibility, was only half done.

By midnight, exhaustion overwhelmed them, and all four collapsed into bed.

It was the afternoon of the next day when the plans and model for “Treehouse Manor” were finally complete. The entire design emphasized harmony between architecture and nature. Since the reward post’s author had stipulated that the branches were all sturdy enough, the design made full use of the tree’s structure.

Some of the building’s walls were even penetrated by branches, which inside served as hanging points for chandeliers. All the primary supports for the base and beams were steel structures, while the house’s inner walls were lined with metal purlins and clad with timber curtain walls.

Every branch featured a unique courtyard, some spire-shaped, others flat. Between the branches, metal cables were woven with square wood and high-strength nylon ropes.

In the renderings, the entire design blended seamlessly with the mountain tree, exuding an artistic fusion of metal and wood. The enchanting scheme filled the four roommates with immense confidence—this was, without a doubt, the pinnacle of Hu Lei’s architectural career thus far.

Hu Lei was certain no one had submitted their design before him. Sure enough, opening the competition thread, he saw that posts with meaningless replies had all been deleted by the forum administrators, leaving only threads with design-related questions—such as the required area, number of stories, and so on. No one had yet uploaded a design file.

Since posting, Wu You hadn’t even logged back into Buildbug’s Home, much less answered any questions.

Why hadn’t Hu Lei asked these questions? Simple: the sponsor had provided so many detail diagrams, clearly intending for everything to be utilized. So he modeled all the branches, leaving two or three as platform plazas.

Since this was a creative contest, it was enough to make the design beautiful and reasonable—no need to overthink it. Without browsing the forum further, he was sure that claiming first place would be a big plus.

Hu Lei uploaded the file to the competition thread and left a message: “Host, the design plan ‘Metallic Wood Style’ is complete. Please review and approve!”

The forum instantly exploded with activity. No one had expected that, in just two days, someone would already have finished and uploaded a design.