"I'll study... I'll study..."
"I'll study a foot!"
Clack!
A sturdy, military-grade data pad was slammed violently onto the metal workbench, emitting a wisp of blue smoke.
Andy sat in his chair, the heat dissipation grille on his chest spewing hot air outward like mad.
You truly couldn't blame him for having a mental breakdown.
Over the past few days, in order to figure out the control logic of the Necron nanostart swarm, he had gritted his teeth and forced himself to digest obscure, difficult multi-dimensional geometry.
And the result?
The Necrons' function actually had six axes!
Six axes!
One had to understand that humans—even humans of the Golden Age—had senses and logical foundations built entirely upon a three-dimensional spatial framework.
Andy's current sensors could only read three-dimensional data, and the simulation engine in his mind could construct a model of four axes at most.
Where were the remaining two axes?
In the void? In the phase realm?
Or in the dimensional crevices that only those rib-sticks could comprehend?
This wasn't a problem that could be solved through sheer diligence!
"I'm done studying!"
Andy took a deep breath, forcing his logical core to cool down.
If he kept studying, he would suffer a logical deadlock himself long before fully digesting Necron technology.
He glanced at the system time.
Exactly nine days had passed since he threw the glorious yet arduous task of "building a Gundam" over to Hulie.
During these nine days, the outside world hadn't been idle either.
Reagan had led Engineering Department Six's convoy to not only smoothly complete the heat base station recovery mission, but on their way back, they had conveniently snagged over two hundred skilled technicians from several friendly territories.
The present Deep Space Industries could be described as formidable in troop strength and overflowing with production capacity.
The only thing lacking was this core, high-end combat power project, which hadn't shown any progress whatsoever.
"Time to go do an inspection."
Andy stood up, snagging the new version of his chameleon robe hanging from the rack and draping it over his body.
This robe was crafted from the leftover materials of the Læss's "ultra-performance stealth module" parsed earlier. Its stealth capability was more than a tier stronger than simple optical camouflage, capable of blocking even most thermal imaging and sonar scans.
With a pull of the hood, Andy's figure vanished instantly into thin air, leaving behind only an extremely faint air disturbance.
He sneaked all the way to Building A of the residential sector.
This was the senior employee dormitory—carpet lined the hallways, and the air carried the scent of air fresheners, a world apart from the oil-reeking industrial sector outside.
Room 1001.
Andy didn't knock, sending an unlock command directly to the door lock via his administrative clearance.
Beep.
The electronic lock lit up green, and the door slid open.
The heating inside the room was turned up high. Disengaging his stealth, Andy walked inside.
At a single glance, he spotted Hulie curled up on the sofa.
The girl wore a gray lounge set that was clearly two sizes too big, resting her bare feet up on the coffee table. She cradled a data pad in her arms, her fingers tapping across the screen at lightning speed.
She was playing a game.
Displayed on it was a simple Tetris game Andy had casually coded two days ago out of sheer boredom to test the display screen's refresh rate.
Andy walked up behind her and glanced down.
The score column displayed a suffocating string of numbers: 145,220.
And it was still rising.
Because Andy had slacked off while coding it, he hadn't implemented an increasing difficulty algorithm, so the blocks fell at a constant speed from start to finish.
How could Hulie play a endlessly tedious, repetitive game like this for two days straight?
And play it with such relish?
Was this something a human being could do?
"Ahem."
Andy deliberately exaggerated his footsteps, making a heavy clang against the floor.
Hulie startled, nearly throwing the tablet out of her hands.
She turned around and saw it was Andy, rolled her eyes, and turned back to keep tapping the screen.
"You're here?"
"Where's my Gundam?"
Andy got straight to the point, his tone unfriendly.
"I gave you nine days, and you've been sitting here grinding high scores for me?"
Without even turning her head, Hulie merely gestured casually with her chin toward the adjacent table.
"There, on the table."
Andy froze for a moment.
On the table?
A creature like a Gundam—even if it were a scale miniature—shouldn't be described using the phrase "on the table," right?
Filled with utter suspicion, he walked over to the dining table.
The tabletop was completely bare—no blueprints, no tools.
Sitting right in the center were merely a few inexplicable metal coils, with several palm-sized Canoptek mechanisms scattered beside them.
Nothing else.
Andy confirmed he hadn't mislooked—there was nothing else!!
Just this??
This was the heavy bipedal combat mech he had anticipated for nine days, intending to use it to breach the Launch Well?
This was the four-to-five-meter-tall steel warrior wrapped in full-coverage Necron armor, wielding a high-frequency vibration greatsword?!
Andy felt his logical core suffer a critical strike.
His vision went black.
CLANG!!!
His half-ton chassis fell straight backward, smashing onto the floorboards.
Scared out of her wits by the massive commotion, Hulie finally placed a block in the wrong spot.
"Game Over."
Hulie tried to drag Andy away, but Andy lay stiff as a corpse on the ground, completely immovable: "Hey, what are you doing?!"
"Don't crush my floor! I just spent 150 contribution points to exchange for this solid wood flooring!"
---
Simultaneously, several thousand kilometers away at the Culemborg Trading Zone.
As the largest commercial hub on the planet Zais, it still maintained a distorted prosperity.
Although war raged across the wasteland outside and refugees and bandits roamed everywhere, the interior of the trading zone remained ablaze with bright lights, goods piled high like mountains.
It had to be said that Aethel was indeed a woman of capability.
Under her iron-fisted rule, order in the main urban district was restored rapidly.
The streets previously blown apart by the Læss had been cleared out and paved with fresh asphalt.
Patrol teams wore uniform yellow-and-black attire, holding brand-new boltguns in their hands as they maintained security along the streets.
Sisyphron sat in the passenger seat of a heavy truck, looking through the window at all this, nodding silently to himself.
This place possessed rules.
Having rules was good—having rules meant big business could be conducted.
The convoy rolled slowly into the plaza before the administrative building.
What the two trucks carried was nothing else than crates packed to the brim with specialized alloy ingots.
High-purity tungsten-titanium alloy—hard currency among hard currencies.
All of it served as security deposits for Deep Space Industries to register as a "legal commercial entity."
Adjusting his collar, Sisyphron grabbed his briefcase and stepped down from the vehicle.
Receiving green lights all the way, he walked straight into the first-floor lobby of the administrative building.
The office wasn't as crowded as imagined; only a few exhausted-looking clerks sat behind the counter.
Stepping up to a window, Sisyphron set his briefcase onto the counter, a smile plastering across his face.
"Hello, I am a representative from Deep Space Industries."
"Here is our inventory manifest and relevant qualification certificates."
"We are applying to register a permanent commercial entity in Culemborg."
The clerk was a middle-aged man wearing thick spectacles.
He picked up the manifest and scanned it, a glint of brightness flashing in his previously lifeless eyes.
Clearly, the weight of those two truckloads of specialized alloy was substantial.
Yet he didn't stamp it immediately. Instead, setting the manifest down, he looked at Sisyphron with a peculiar expression.
"Horisenburg?"
The clerk tapped a few times on his terminal.
"Sir, a commercial entity for Horisenburg has already been registered."
"Huh?"
Sisyphron was stunned for a moment.
Already registered?
Registered by whom? Boss Andy hadn't even stepped out the door!
Could it be that big-mouth Huck?
"Just three days ago."
The clerk turned the screen around.
"Although the registrant didn't fill in a real name, they utilized a special recommendation code from the Dusk."
"Furthermore, all security deposits have been waived."
Sisyphron remained somewhat dazed.
Recommended by Aethel?
When did Aethel get on such good terms with Deep Space Industries?
How come he didn't know about this?
"In that case, please process the paperwork then."
The clerk pushed a document over.
"Sir, you need only sign the name of the registered entity right here."
Picking up the pen, Sisyphron signed the four characters: "Deep Space Industries."
As the stamp descended, the procedure was finalized.
Filing the document away, the clerk suddenly lowered his voice, a mysterious smile known only to insiders appearing on his face.
"By the way, sir."
"According to the latest decree issued by Lady Aethel, any entity registered with a special recommendation code receives a special perk."
"You may head to our underground storage vault to select a batch of goods to take with you, serving as a token of friendly relations between both parties."
Sisyphron's heart leaped.
There was a perk like this too?
This was a direct gift!
"Say no more," Sisyphron stood straight up immediately. "Lead the way."
Stepping out from behind the counter, the clerk led Sisyphron through several security doors, riding an elevator down to the sixth underground level.
This was Culemborg's strategic reserve vault, filled with all kinds of goods sealed behind blast glass walls.
The moment he entered, cold air rushed against his face.
Sisyphron looked left and right as he walked, his eyes barely able to take it all in.
Everything here was top-tier quality.
There were precision instruments brought down from the Drop Port, intact data pads dug out from ancient ruins, and various high-grade xenos condensates that looked extraordinary at a single glance.
The clerk introduced from the side: "Most of these are items that failed to sell at auctions. Lady Aethel felt these things might be of use to you, so she specifically set them aside."
Sisyphron nodded repeatedly as he listened.
Generous indeed!
Who would have thought—Aethel was truly a generous person!
He'd definitely have to mention this to Andy later and cultivate a good relationship with her!
As he walked, Sisyphron's footsteps suddenly ground to a halt.
Standing before a massive explosion-proof glass display case, he couldn't move his legs.
Inside the case lay a skeleton frame.
A massive, five-meter-long metallic framework displaying a dark golden hue.
Although Sisyphron understood nothing of metallurgy, his instincts as a merchant rang alarm bells frantically.
This thing... was expensive!
Exorbitantly expensive!
Furthermore, he seemed to have seen a description of this exact color on Andy's procurement manifest...
"This..."
Sisyphron grabbed the clerk's arm in a vice grip, pointing at that case.
"What is this?"
The clerk took a glance and answered in a matter-of-fact tone: "Oh, that."
"Fortress Odin dug this out from the wreckage of a frigate in the past. Supposedly, it's a structural frame for a specific type of specialized instrument."
"Material identified as... Adamantite."
"Adamantite?!"
Sisyphron felt his brain let out a loud buzz.
Adamantite!
Wasn't this the exact adamantite Andy nagged about every single day, required for building ship keels?!
A skeleton frame this large had to weigh at least several dozen tons, right?!
And it was the type with exceptionally high purity!
Staring at that framework, Sisyphron's eyes turned entirely red: "This! Can I take this one?!"