47: Chapter 47 New Plans and New Operations

Wade scratched the back of his head: "My Lord, are you talking about forming those glory boys from the Imperial Guard?"

"Yes, that's them. If we have a squad of Stormtroopers, how much would our casualties drop when taking the underwater dock?" Fu Haoran tapped his finger on the screen, his tone resolute.

Wade thought for a moment: "At least forty percent. Stormtroopers are the battering ram, specifically designed to deal with tough nuts."

"But my Lord..." He scratched the edge of his helmet, "The equipment for the Schola Progenium Stormtroopers is too expensive for us to afford, and the most critical issue is the technical side."

"That's easy, just use Ivan's micro-arc reactor." Fu Haoran pulled up the reactor progress, unaware of the difficulties.

"No, my Lord, I'm not just referring to the energy issue." Wade sighed, his tone grave.

"My Lord, you might not be fully aware, but the Stormtrooper units from the Schola Progenium are direct military assets of the Empire."

"Their formation, organization, and equipment issuance must be jointly approved by the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Departmento Munitorum, and the relevant Forge World. A Planetary Governor has no authority to form them privately."

"Furthermore, Stormtrooper equipment uses standard templates from the Forge World, which I cannot produce. If we make unauthorized modifications and get caught, the Adeptus Mechanicus will invite us for tea."

Fu Haoran frowned, his finger poking at the Stormtrooper armor bearing on the screen: "We can't even change the bearing size?"

Wade shook his head violently: "My Lord, we can't make it! We don't have the corresponding STC template!"

"Forget the STC, just modify existing parts to fit." Fu Haoran said nonchalantly.

"It can't be done!" Wade shook his head like a rattle, his tone firm, "Stormtrooper equipment is all standard templates supplied directly by the Forge World; we can't even adjust the size of the armor's elbow bearing on our own!"

"Once the Adeptus Mechanicus discovers any uncertified modifications, it's considered tech-heresy, and they will invite us for tea!"

Fu Haoran's forehead was covered in black lines.

What he saw as a minor modification, these Warhammer people considered impossible, and they were ridiculously rigid.

Fu Haoran was silent for two seconds, then slapped the console: "If pure Warhammer stuff doesn't work, we'll build a chimera."

As Fu Haoran's fingers flew across the controls, the blueprints for the Iron Monger and the Hive City force-feedback data popped up simultaneously.

Fu Haoran stared at the merged sketch, calculating quickly in his mind.

"The Iron Monger is tough and simple in structure, making it a qualified consumable, but it's not enough."

Fu Haoran pulled up two design blueprints.

On the left was the Iron Monger: sturdy frame, heavy armor, but the control system was a clunky hydraulic transmission with visible lag.

On the right was the engineering exoskeleton from the warhammer universe: simple structure, but marked with a neural force-feedback system, which could make the wearer feel that the Mechanical Arm was an extension of their own arm, reacting three times faster.

Fu Haoran's fingers overlapped the two blueprints, the lines instantly merging, and the slots for exposed hydraulic lines were automatically marked: "Iron Monger frame + force-feedback control, modular armor slots, outer layer of ceramite plates, inner layer of plastiform. If it gets smashed, just pop the latch and replace it, saving man-hours."

"Add a jump pack, connect the lines to the hydraulic frame, and ensure short-range flight."

Wade stared at the composite sketch: "What about defense? We can't build carapace armor."

"Use external armor and plates." Fu Haoran pulled up the material library, "For the outermost layer, use the highest purity ceramite we can smelt and press into standard plates."

"Line the middle with plastiform, and cushion the inner layer with bulletproof fiber. Make all plates with quick-release latches. If it gets smashed on the battlefield, rip it off by hand in three seconds and replace it with a new one, no tools needed."

"That sounds like..." Wade scratched his head, choosing his words carefully, "It's just a walking tin cabinet."

"But it's cheap." Fu Haoran tapped the screen, "We brought plenty of ceramite and plastiform."

"The plates can be stamped and formed; we can just modify this Stark excavator arm production line, no need to recalibrate equipment, saving time."

"What we need isn't a company of artisanal pieces three years from now, but an entire battalion of iron hulks that can smash through walls within three months."

"Also, route the materials through Stark channels, modify the magnetic attachment system to secure weapons."

"Use hellguns and autoguns for weapons. Have Ivan finish the reactor miniaturization. R&D and manufacturing will all use Stark's factory and equipment."

Wade was stunned, subconsciously asking: "...Are we basically freeloading?"

"Mr. Obadiah is generous and supports the development of new individual equipment." Fu Haoran smiled, "We're just taking the opportunity to verify the practicality of the new equipment. Why spend money when we can fleece someone else?"

That afternoon, Fu Haoran went straight to Ivan's temporary laboratory.

Ivan was pondering over his new armor, not even looking up: "What? You want to build an Iron Man Armor too?"

Fu Haoran pushed the design sketch over.

Ivan opened the blueprint, chuckled, and the toothpick in his mouth bobbed: "You call this Powered Armor? Tony's Mark 3 could dismantle it and use it as a toy!"

"No need to compare it to Tony's; I want something that can be mass-produced quickly." Fu Haoran said in a calm tone.

Ivan was full of disdain but finally pursed his lips: "Got it, I'll have the finished blueprints in three days. Don't tell anyone I made this; it's too embarrassing."

...

Stark Industries, Sector 7.

This production line was originally used to manufacture heavy excavator arms.

A five-axis CNC machine stood quietly in the corner of the workshop, with a precision laser calibrator flashing standby blue light. But the machine roaring at this moment was the heavy hydraulic press next to it.

Clang!

The press slammed down, and a ceramite plate was pressed into the sharp-edged outline of a breastplate, with burrs from the stamping on the edges.

A Mechanical Arm grabbed the steel plate and moved it to the welding station.

A Servo-skull hovered nearby, scanning the plates with a high-precision optical lens, then began welding; this was the only part of the entire line that used "high-tech."

Next, workers pushed over an old-fashioned CO2 shielded welding machine, sending blue and white sparks flying with a sizzling sound. Someone carried a riveting gun, clacking away to secure the quick-release latches, and lines were welded directly into the pre-reserved slots on the frame.

An old Stark technician squatted at the end of the assembly line, tapped the stamping burrs on the breastplate with a wrench, and curled his lip, shaking his head.

The report, with photos attached, was sent to Obadiah's office.

Obadiah glanced at the photos of the sharp-edged steel parts with stamping burrs, scoffed, and tossed the report into the trash can.

"Just a bunch of bumpkins from out of town, only good for crude work."

Obadiah waved his hand at his subordinate: "Keep a close eye on them, don't let them touch any precision equipment. As for these tin toys... let them play with them."

Late at night, the stamping machine in Stark's Sector 7 continued to roar with a clanging sound. The thumping of the hydraulic press mixed with the clacking of the riveting gun, and the lights pierced through the night sky.

No one knew that in this factory area, despised as a "bumpkin workshop," piles of ceramite plates, hydraulic frames, and quick-release latches were accumulating in the warehouse like small mountains, and a torrent of steel that would soon shock the world was quietly gathering.

【World Line Alteration Rate: 26.7%】

【Special Unit: Iron Husk Heavy Powered Armor (First Generation Modular Model) Unlocked】

But a new problem arose: how to mass-produce them quickly?