93: Whether you get good luck opening a package depends entirely on your face.

Li Cang was woken up by an alarm.

Not a phone alarm, but a system notification sound from the control panel.

A short, crisp “ding”.

He rolled over on his folding bed and squinted at the control panel.

A line of text floated on the holographic panel.

Prompt: Void Crusher Reverse Engineering has been completed. Please check the results.

His drowsiness vanished instantly.

Barefoot on the cold floor, he strode to the control panel and plopped into the chair.

He swiped his finger across the panel twice to bring up the Reverse Engineering results page.

He took a deep breath.

Unpacking time.

He pressed “View Results”.

---

Reverse Engineering Results: Void Crusher Six-Legged Walker Mech/Heavy

Input: BP 450 + abyss alloy Shards ×83 + Gravity Weapon Shards ×3

Reverse Engineering Completeness: 58%, equipment wreckage severely damaged, some core components missing

Output List:

I. Blueprint Fragment: Six-Legged Walking Platform Mechanical Structure

Completeness 72%

Design blueprint for the Void Crusher's locomotion system. Six hydraulically driven legs maintain stability on complex terrain. Core balance control algorithm is missing and requires additional research or completion from other sources.

Availability: Can only be put into production after completion, estimated completion cost BP 300~500

II. Blueprint Fragment: Gravity Pulse Generator Weapon System

Completeness 34%

The Void Crusher's main weapon system. Capable of creating localized gravity anomaly zones within a short range. The core gravity field stabilization module is severely damaged, with only peripheral circuits and energy conduction structures recovered.

Availability: Cannot be used independently at present. Requires more wreckage of the same equipment type for cross-referencing, or relevant theoretical support from the technology database.

III. Complete Blueprint: high-energy core Power System

Completeness 100%

The Void Crusher's power core. A miniaturized high-energy reactor with an output power approximately 12 times that of a standard Thunder Warriors power armor reactor.

Structurally complete, can be directly put into production.

Production Cost: GP 800 + abyss alloy ×50 + High-Energy Battery ×200

Note: This power core can be used for walker mechs, fixed fortifications, large vehicles, or other heavy equipment.

IV. By-product: Abyssal Alloy Smelting Process Material Technology

During the Reverse Engineering process, the system analyzed the material composition of the Void Crusher's armor, obtaining the basic smelting method for abyss alloy. Its hardness and heat resistance far exceed standard refined steel, and the smelting process requires extremely high temperatures and pressures.

Effect: Unlocks autonomous production capability for abyss alloy.

Production Cost: Refined Steel ×100 + High-Energy Battery ×50 → abyss alloy ×10

---

Li Cang stared at these four results for a long time.

One complete blueprint, two blueprint fragments, one by-product.

His gaze repeatedly swept over the complete blueprint.

high-energy core.

Output power is twelve times that of a standard power armor reactor.

Twelve times the power is enough to drive heavy equipment.

Walker mechs, heavy artillery, small vehicles, all are sufficient.

Of course, the premise is that there must be a carrier.

The blueprint for the six-legged walking platform is only 72% complete and still needs to be filled in.

The Gravity Pulse Generator is even worse at only 34%, basically half- 廢.

But the high-energy core is complete.

With a power source, the carrier can be designed slowly.

“Not bad,” Li Cang said, a slight smile on his lips. “At least it wasn't a waste of effort.”

He saved the high-energy core blueprint to the tech library, then looked at the two blueprint fragments.

Six-legged walking platform, 72%. Missing 28%.

He opened the Mariana Database directory and entered a few keywords into the search bar.

Walker mech, multi-legged platform, hydraulic drive.

Search results popped up.

---

Matching Results: 3 entries

Dark Age Multi-Legged Work Platform Design Specification, White Tag/Safe, Match 61%

Dark Age Military Walker Vehicle Overview, Yellow Tag/Requires Review, Match 78%

Dark Age Autonomous Balance Control Algorithm, Yellow Tag/Requires Review, Match 89%

---

The third entry. Autonomous Balance Control Algorithm. Match 89%.

This was exactly the missing part of the six-legged walking platform blueprint.

If this data could be decrypted and merged with the 72% blueprint fragment from Reverse Engineering, it might be possible to assemble a complete blueprint for the six-legged walking platform.

“The database is indeed a treasure trove,” Li Cang muttered.

However, this data had a yellow tag, requiring review. Review meant additional time and BP consumption.

He clicked on the details.

Decryption Cost: BP 350

Decryption Time: 36 hours

Review Notes: This data involves military applications and requires a security review before use. Data corruption or incompleteness may be discovered during the review process.

Three hundred fifty BP. He currently had nine hundred sixty. After deducting, six hundred ten remained.

Enough, but not abundant.

Li Cang thought for a moment and did not immediately press the decrypt button. He first searched for the Gravity Pulse Generator blueprint fragment.

---

Matching Results: 1 entry

Dark Age Gravity Field Manipulation Theory, Red Tag/Archived, Match 94%

---

Red tag.

Li Cang's finger paused on the screen.

94% match.

Almost a perfect fit.

If this data could be unsealed, the Gravity Pulse Generator blueprint could jump from 34% to nearly complete.

But it was a red tag.

C-1 Doom doesn't open red data.

Li Cang wasn't C-19, he was a player.

Player choices are not bound by character commitments.

But the system panel clearly stated that unsealing might trigger unknown events.

And Nathan Doom had said that those red data were related to the Singularity Brotherhood.

That cult attempting to combine technology with Warp powers.

Warp, demons, chaos, corruption.

—Touching them meant ruin.

Li Cang was too familiar with these things.

“Not touching it,” he pulled his hand back. “At least not now.”

The gravity weapon could wait. First, get the six-legged platform sorted.

He pressed the decrypt button for the Autonomous Balance Control Algorithm.

Technology Decryption Initiated: Autonomous Balance Control Algorithm

Cost: BP 350

Estimated Completion Time: 36:00:00

BP Balance: 610

---

Just as he closed the decryption panel, the control panel chimed “ding” again.

Prompt: Reinforcement Forging Completed. Thunder Warriors Type II ×40, added to inventory.

Li Cang switched to the troop management panel.

Forty brand new Thunder Warriors were neatly arranged in the virtual barracks interface.

Each was standard configuration, three rare plugins, B-grade rating, 0% genetic collapse.

He casually clicked on one.

TW-315

Base: Thunder Warriors Type II T2

Overall Rating: B-grade 65 points

Entries

Rampage Gland Rare Green

Power Armor Adaptability Rare Green

Chainsword Weapon Mastery Rare Green

genetic collapse: 0%

Status: Awaiting Integration into Formation

Standard goods. No surprises, no unexpected outcomes.

He quickly scanned the data of the forty new recruits; all were B-grade, with ratings fluctuating between 63 and 67.

No entries rarer than 'uncommon' appeared.

Normal. The probability of mass production yielding high-quality items was inherently low.

He integrated the forty new recruits into the existing formations, supplementing various squads.

Troop Update

Thunder Warrior Legion Total Strength: 351 personnel

Deficiency: 34 personnel, awaiting subsequent replenishment

Three hundred fifty-one people. Thirty-four fewer than the three hundred eighty-five before the war, but forty more than the three hundred eleven after the war.

“It'll have to do,” Li Cang said.

---

He closed the troop panel, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the ceiling.

The current situation was this:

He had 3,765 GP minus half a day's maintenance fee of 25, equaling 3,740 GP. He had 610 BP.

There were two projects currently being decrypted. Gene Engineering: Advanced had about 54 hours left, and Autonomous Balance Control Algorithm had 36 hours left.

One item was being appraised. The human bone ring had about 30 hours left.

This meant that the appraisal result for the human bone ring would come out in about thirty hours.

Six hours after that, the balance control algorithm decryption would be complete. Eighteen hours later, Gene Engineering: Advanced would also be complete.

By then, he could consider the base upgrade for C-19.

But a base upgrade required 5,000 GP. He currently only had 3,740.

He was short by over a thousand.

“I need to find a way to make money,” Li Cang muttered.

He opened the mission panel to see if there were any quick money-making tasks.

---

Current Available Missions

Routine Patrol Pacific Ocean Coast, D-grade, Reward GP 200, No Risk

Annihilate Remnants Wasteland Gang, C-grade, Reward GP 500, Low Risk

Intelligence Gathering Sun Warriors' Traces, B-grade, Reward GP 1,200, Medium Risk

---

The third one.

Sun Warriors' Traces.

Nathan Doom had dispersed the Sun Warriors across Terra three days ago.

These people were ticking time bombs. If he could find their traces, he would not only get a 1,200 GP reward but also eliminate a long-term hidden danger.

But “medium risk” meant there might be combat.

The new recruits had just been replenished and hadn't yet integrated; sending them to war now wasn't ideal.

“I'll accept it but won't rush to do it.” He accepted the mission but didn't immediately deploy troops.

Then he glanced at Nathan Doom's intelligence output again.

Kamba Mawu Prisoner Intelligence System

Prisoner: Nathan Doom

Next Intelligence Output: Approximately 60 hours later

Intelligence Produced: 0 entries

Not yet. The first piece of intelligence would take seventy-two hours, and Nathan Doom had only been detained for twelve hours.

“Wait,” Li Cang said. “Keep waiting.”

---

He stood up and walked to the window of the control cabin.

Outside was the city's nightscape. Neon lights flickered in the distance, and traffic slowly moved on the elevated highways.

Watching the lights, his mind was still racing.

high-energy core, six-legged platform, genetic engineering, base upgrade, red data, human bone ring, Sun Warriors.

Each line connected to another, each decision influencing the next.

A card player's daily life isn't hardest during the game, but when settling scores after the game.

He returned to the control panel, listed all ongoing projects to confirm nothing was overlooked, then closed the panel.

He lay back down on the folding bed.

This time, he didn't fall asleep immediately.

Staring at the ceiling, he thought of Corvin's constantly trembling left hand.

He thought of Nathan Doom's gray eyes filled with fear.

He thought of TW-201 standing in the Deep Palace, watching Corvin's hand tremble, then looking down at his own hand.

These were all characters in the simulation. They were data, code, lines of text on cards.

But in the simulation, he had seen their faces, heard their voices, felt their fear and courage.

“Stop thinking about it.” He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. “They're cards, and cards don't feel pain.”

But he knew that sentence was a lie to himself.

Because a good card game makes you feel like the cards are alive.