90: Chapter 90 Intelligence on Coastal City

Shelter, main control room on the first basement floor.

Lin Li leaned back in his wide computer chair, holding a cup of warm water as he carefully read the frontline mission report that had just been sent back.

The report was sent by Black Tiger A-Fu, the Legion Commander of the [Hand of God].

Although Afu usually seemed loud and blustery, he was actually quite meticulous when it came to getting things done.

He had recorded everything he saw and heard along the way in great detail.

Through Afu's perspective, Lin Li was able to get a clear grasp of the situation around the Coastal City defense line for the first time.

"The gangsters of Shahe Town, the fishermen of the marshlands, and the Sea-people of Red Lake Town to the far south..."

Lin Li touched his chin as he looked at the indigenous forces mentioned in the report.

It seemed Coastal City was truly being pushed to the brink by the Greenskins this time; they had rounded up almost everyone from the fringe underclass who could hold a gun to fill the front lines.

The second half of the report detailed their current defensive positions on the northern line of Coastal City, as well as the equipment level of the Defense Force.

Afu and his four hundred players were mixed in with a thousand gangsters from Shahe Town.

Currently, they were desperately digging trenches and hadn't encountered the main Greenskin force yet. However, rumors suggested that skirmishes had already begun on other defense lines.

What truly caught Lin Li's attention was the state of the Defense Force's equipment.

"It's not as abundant or advanced as I imagined."

Besides common gunpowder automatic rifles, those Defense Force soldiers were indeed equipped with a fair number of laser rifles.

However, these laser rifles were extremely poorly maintained, their bodies wrapped in non-slip rags and animal hides, clearly ancient antiques that had changed hands countless times.

Their protective gear was even more pitifully rudimentary.

Most soldiers wore only low-quality patchwork flak armor; some even just had a rusted steel plate hanging over their chests.

As for heavy firepower? Aside from heavy stubbers prone to barrel explosions, Afu had even seen water-cooled heavy machine guns on the positions, similar to those from Earth's World War I era!

"The only things that could be considered good were those Promethium Flamethrowers spewing blue flames." Lin Li closed the report window and leaned back.

He had originally thought that since Coastal City was the only large-scale human city on this planet, the Defense Force would at least show some shadow of the Astra Militarum.

But now it seemed this unit's self-sufficiency was absurdly low, relying entirely on old stockpiles, and their combat effectiveness certainly wouldn't be very high.

"The quality of this Defense Force is, at best, an oversized self-Defense Force. If the Greenskins decide to commit, the casualties will definitely be heavy."

Instead of being worried, Lin Li's eyes lit up.

"This is a good thing!"

Lin Li calculated silently in his heart:

"The weaker Coastal City is, the more confident I can be. Not only am I mass-producing robots by hand, but I've also taken in Cain, that Adeptus Mechanicus heretic from the Logicians. If Coastal City were strong, my heretical actions would definitely be impossible to hide, and they'd come for me sooner or later."

"But now that I've gauged their strength, once the players on the fifth basement floor are fully developed, I might even be able to turn the tables and swallow Coastal City whole!"

Thinking of this, Lin Li was in high spirits and turned to shout, "73! Come here for a second!"

With a flash of red light, STC-73, now in a new humanoid mechanical body, walked in with heavy steps.

"What has that cogboy Cain been up to in the old workshop lately?" Lin Li asked.

"I must admit, Creator, that semi-mechanical organism you took in possesses a startling fanaticism for research. In just a few days, he has used scrap metal to build a rudimentary laboratory."

"Currently, he appears to be conducting basic research on the packaging of solid-state hydrogen batteries."

"Mm, good." Lin Li nodded, and was just about to drink some water when he suddenly realized, "Wait! What did you say? Solid-state hydrogen batteries?!"

Lin Li picked at his ear. "Are you sure?"

"Logic circuits are operating normally; identification is correct," 73 replied coldly.

"Unbelievable!" Lin Li almost spat out his water.

How can he be so unambitious?

Given the chance, and he wastes it on this!

With the help of the packaging machine provided by the dwarf Vaughn, Shelter had long been able to achieve assembly-line mass production of solid-state hydrogen batteries.

This cogboy went through all the trouble of setting up a lab just to study the batteries that were everywhere in the camp?!

Lin Li rubbed his brow and fell into deep thought.

Actually, he couldn't entirely blame Cain.

73's database indeed contained the vast majority of incredible technologies from the Golden Age.

But every time Lin Li wanted 73 to make something new, this rigid AI would refuse to produce it based on...

..."lacking a specific material" or "insufficient precision of the Matter Constructor."

It simply didn't understand the concept of "it's good enough to use."

It insisted on building exactly according to the materials and specifications in the data.

But cogboys were different.

Scrap metal that was garbage in 73's eyes was treasure to a Tech-Priest that could be hammered and tinkered with to make do!

As long as you applied some oil to the machine spirit and recited a couple of prayers, it might just start running by sheer force of will.

"The 'I fink' power of these guys is sometimes even more absurd than the Greenskins; I just don't know if he still believes in the omnissiah."

Lin Li made a decision. "Cain's vision is still too narrow. I have to give him a strong dose of inspiration!"

Lin Li commanded, "73! Go to the warehouse and get an unopened Pip-Boy. Bind it to Cain's information. And then..."

A smile curled on Lin Li's lips.

"Put a blueprint for an [Ion Generator] inside, and add another for an [Anti-gravity Engine]."

The red light of 73's optical lens flashed violently as its daily sarcasm protocol activated:

"Creator, I must lodge a strong protest. I believe that handing over Golden Age technology of this level to a primitive heretic with low-quality gears implanted in his brain for research is not only a desecration of knowledge but is also highly likely to trigger an uncontrollable physical disaster..."

"Alright, alright, shut up. Just do as I say." Lin Li cut off its long-winded lecture.

"...Command confirmed." 73 shut up helplessly.

Late at night.

Shelter's surface camp, the old workshop on the west side.

Even though it was the early hours of the morning, the lights in the workshop were still on.

Cain the cogboy had his back to the door, his mechanical servo-arms rapidly welding a pile of junk circuit boards while he constantly muttered something under his breath.

Lin Li pushed the door open and walked in; the fellow didn't even notice.

"Ahem."

Cain's massive frame suddenly stiffened.

He spun around instantly, his mechanical servo-hand hidden beneath his red robes reflexively reaching for the plasma pistol at his waist.

Only when his flickering optical lens saw it was Lin Li did the mechanical hand's movement stop.

"Oh, is it the Lord? To visit so late, what are your instructions?" Cain's electronic voice held a hint of wariness.

"I see you've been working hard these past few days; I have something to give you."

Lin Li didn't waste words and tossed the bound Pip-Boy over.

Cain caught it with a mechanical tentacle, looking somewhat puzzled.

He fiddled with the oddly shaped terminal, the red light in his eyes flashing.

"This seems to be... just some kind of portable computing terminal? Its craftsmanship is exquisite, but its processing power isn't top-tier."

"Open the database inside," Lin Li said calmly.

Cain became even more confused.

The next second.

Cain's massive, two-meter-tall mechanical body suddenly froze!

Then, his chassis began to tremble violently and uncontrollably!

The servo-arms under his red robes twitched frantically, and the red light of the optical lens on his mask flashed like an alarm!

"Impossible... impossible!"

Cain's voice became sharp and piercing due to extreme excitement.

"Are these truly complete blueprints?! This energy feedback structure... is this a plasma generator?! These anti-gravity field calculation formulas... is this an Anti-gravity Engine?!"

Cain tremblingly raised his heavy mechanical head, his gaze fixed dead on Lin Li.

Even through the thick metal mask, Lin Li could clearly feel the extreme shock like a level-twelve tsunami surging within Cain's heart!

This was lost technology that even the Bishops of the Martian Priesthood dreamed of recovering!

And this Lord had just tossed them to him like he was throwing away trash?!

"Stop studying those worthless batteries; it's beneath you."

Lin Li looked at him, his tone calm.

"Master these two blueprints. If you can use Shelter's existing resources to achieve mass production of these two things..."

Lin Li threw out a temptation that no scholar could refuse:

"Then, the equipment produced from these two prototypes can be named after you, Cain."

"!!!"

Cain was completely stunned.

What kind of glory was this?!

For a scholar of the Logicians dedicated to restoring scientific rationality, naming an epoch-making recovered technology after himself was even more maddeningly desirable than being promoted to Forge Archmagos!

"Huff... huff..."

Two thick plumes of white steam hissed from the exhaust valves on Cain's chest. He took several deep breaths, forcing down the trembling of his chassis.

Then, this arrogant Adeptus Mechanicus heretic pushed aside his table and bowed deeply to Lin Li.

"Yes. My Lord."

This address of 'My Lord' was spoken with utter sincerity.

Lin Li turned and left the workshop with satisfaction, returning to the underground main control room.

The matter with Cain was completely settled.

The seeds had been planted; whether they would bear the fruit of plasma cannons and hover tanks would depend on this cogboy's fortune.

Lin Li sat back at the computer and opened another population statistics file.

The screen displayed:

[Total indigenous population under direct jurisdiction of Shelter: 4,325 people].

Since the players had established three outposts outside, they had gathered quite a few desperate wanderers from the wasteland during this period.

"But I'm still miles away from the main mission's goal of fifty thousand people."

Lin Li stood up and paced back and forth in the main control room.

The enemies he would face in the future were becoming more troublesome one by one.

The Governor of Coastal City would eventually eye Shelter's resources again.

The Greenskins to the north had been repelled once, but they were like weeds that could never be fully cleared; they'd be back sooner or later.

Not to mention that in this gods-forsaken universe, there were Necrons that could wake up at any time and Tyranid Hive Fleets that devoured everything.

"I need to speed up the population gathering. But as the population grows, food and clean water become issues. Damn it, it's a vicious cycle!"

Lin Li scratched his hair in frustration. "Whatever! I'll take it one step at a time. First, I'll issue a quest and let the players go out and stir the pot!"

...

The next day.

Shelter's surface camp.

Although many veteran players had moved to the wilderness outposts, the surface plaza had actually become even more crowded due to the influx of five thousand new players.

Looking around, there were newbies running all over the place.

The open-air food stall opened by the lifestyle player [Lao Ba Canteen] was filled with players eating, drinking, and chatting.

The player [Legend of Lu Shi] picked up a piece of tenderly stewed Greenskin meat, and while chewing loudly, he blustered to the player [Heisi] sitting opposite him:

"Heisi, let me tell you! That Shahe Town to the south is definitely a big piece of unexploited fat!"

Legend of Lu Shi lowered his voice.

"Think about it: you put up 100 points to rent a car, and I'll provide the goods. We take the camp's specialties down there to trade. We can easily swap some crappy jerky for a piece of NPC equipment, then flip it to the newbies. That's a guaranteed profit!"

Heisi picked up his ceramic bowl, drank the last bit of meat soup, and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"You can just drop that. Last time, that merchant player called Mudslide went south and was immediately drugged by NPCs who harvested his kidneys. The wasteland NPCs in this game are getting more and more sinister; you actually dare to go?"

"You spineless coward! The bold feast while the timid starve!"

Legend of Lu Shi was just about to continue using his silver tongue to swindle him.

Suddenly, there was a soft "beep."

A server-wide announcement popped up simultaneously on the pv terminals of all players present:

[Faction Bounty Quest: Rescue Our Suffering Compatriots!]

[Quest Objective: On this cold wasteland, countless human compatriots still struggle in the darkness. Go find them and use trade, negotiation, or force to bring them back to the light of civilization!]

[Quest Reward: For every indigenous person successfully rescued/recruited to join Shelter, you will be rewarded with 50 Core Points!]