Chapter 59: Oh My, Your Tastes Are Quite Bold

Just as Luke had expected, Tony couldn’t possibly come away from his research into the Arcane Obsidian empty-handed. The discovery of arcane energy, or the so-called Beta element, left the deepest impression on him. He might have forgotten other details, but the atomic structure of this new element was etched firmly into his mind.

Repeated experiments with Jarvis soon confirmed it: this new element could entirely replace palladium, becoming the very new energy source Tony had been searching for to power his arc reactor. Although all the relevant data had been destroyed, rediscovering the element wasn’t difficult thanks to Tony’s deliberate memorization. So, over the course of a few days, Tony reconstructed the atomic structure of the Beta element from memory, and with Jarvis’s help in the lab, synthesized it anew.

The process was not unlike the one depicted in that movie, where Tony synthesized a new element using the clues left behind by his father. Using the Beta element, Tony created a new generation prototype of the arc reactor.

“Sir, I still recommend running several more tests to verify the safety of this new arc reactor,” Jarvis intoned.

Tony pulled the palladium reactor from his chest and said, “Let’s do it now,” before slotting the new reactor into place.

A surge of energy from the new arc reactor made Tony tremble from head to toe.

“Oh…” He grimaced, his face contorting in a mixture of awe and discomfort. “Oh, shit! Why does it smell like turtle urine?”

The new arc reactor shone brilliantly in Tony’s chest—a resounding success.

…

Because it pained him greatly, Luke ultimately crafted only a single Adamantium grenade, keeping it as a trump card for critical moments. Five kilograms of Adamantium, even if sub-grade, would be gone in an instant with one explosion. Luke simply couldn’t bring himself to make more. At least for now, such extravagance was beyond him.

Perhaps a plutocrat could afford such waste—but they’d never need to. Stark Industries might have left the arms business, but the foundation remained. Luke had considered making missiles out of Arcane Obsidian, but when his assistant Christina presented a cost breakdown and detailed the technical requirements, he quickly abandoned the idea.

“Master, even the cheapest air-to-air missile would cost two million dollars apiece.”

“How much?”

“Two million. Currently, your account balance is five million, thirty thousand dollars.”

“….”

And that was just for an air-to-air missile. An intercontinental missile would doubtless cost far more. The five million dollars he’d just gotten his hands on would vanish without a trace if he threw it at such a project.

“Why is it so expensive?” Luke asked. He’d thought a few tens of thousands would be enough.

“Master, for ordinary missiles, a prefabricated fragmentation warhead using Arcane Obsidian and Adamantium is certainly feasible.”

“And?”

“The problem is the propulsion system. It requires the creation of a two-stage solid-fuel rocket engine. The fuse system isn’t as simple as a wire—it needs an active radar. The missile guidance system is the most complex, requiring radio command correction, active radar, infrared imaging, and so on…”

“Alright, forget I asked…”

The difficulty was on par with building another G-0 War Lord. And it would all end up as disposable munitions.

Luke was speechless for a while, then asked, still reluctant, “What about rockets, like Hammer Industries’ Ex-Wife—a small warhead like that?”

Christina giggled. “A smaller missile would certainly reduce costs, but it requires even more precise technical processes and more advanced machine tools than you currently possess.”

Luke nodded, admitting his own poverty. These things couldn’t be built on technology alone. Missiles capable of actual combat deployment always required the backing of a military enterprise, or even a nation, with an incredibly complex, high-precision industrial system.

Luke glanced at the secondhand equipment in his warehouse and could only shrug and give up. Building the Tempest and the G-0 War Lord was possible because he had access to black-tech blueprints—once he understood the technology, he could copy it. This was celestial technology, not to be confused with Earth’s.

But as for missiles? Well, if he spent a year or two tinkering, he might be able to assemble a crude one from these scraps. But only a fool would waste time that way.

Far better to make a grenade and just throw it—simple and brutal. After all, the point was just to make something explode.

Why didn’t Deidara build missiles? Why did he just mold clay into shapes and toss them? Because, for him, explosions are art! Only the explosion itself is worthy of relentless pursuit! Everything else is mere embellishment, a means to an end, easily ignored!

What’s that? How would you use a grenade with a thousand-meter kill radius in actual combat?

Are you daft?

Obviously, you throw it and run for your life…

…

And so the days passed.

The G-0 War Lord parked in Luke’s warehouse was now essentially complete.

“Master, the internal structure of the G-0 War Lord is 100% finished. Transmission system: complete. Power system: complete. Auxiliary operation and fire control systems: complete. Internal titanium-alloy armor: 100% done. External candidate armor and weapon mounts have not yet been installed. What are your plans, Master?”

Luke stood before the six-meter-tall behemoth, his small frame appearing especially slight.

He stroked his chin, pondering for a while. “Hmm…”

Just as with the Tempest, the G-0 War Lord had no weapon mounts or matching armaments. What Luke wanted was a main cannon, along with some secondary weaponry. Ideally, it would have a laser weapon—because, let’s be honest, that’s just cool.

What to do?

Time to spend more money!

Luke decided to try his luck with the Magic Box. Maybe he could draw some blueprints for these things. If not, he’d just have to go steal them.

Moreover, based on what he got from the Magic Box, he’d decide how to use the remaining Adamantium.

Of the original fifty kilograms, he still had ten kilograms of pure Adamantium and thirty-five kilograms of sub-grade Adamantium.

Luke considered the options: either plate the G-0 War Lord with an external layer of Adamantium armor, or forge a melee weapon for the mech—perhaps a sword or blade of some kind.

…

Recently, Hawkeye felt as if his luck had run dry.

For no apparent reason, the one-eyed boss had assigned him to watch Luke—twenty-four hours a day, no breaks. There were no demands for daily reports or any other requirements. It was as if surveillance was the sole purpose.

Hawkeye couldn’t fathom what he’d done to offend the Boss.

With no alternative, he’d spent his days and nights lurking outside Luke’s warehouse. Sometimes he even considered building himself a treehouse for shelter.

Of course, Christina’s surveillance easily picked up on Hawkeye’s presence. Luke himself didn’t care about Hawkeye perching day and night on that tree across the street. Sometimes, when Luke went to the store, the two would bump into each other and exchange friendly greetings.

Luke mused: Why do all these Marvel heroes like trees so much? First Daredevil, now Hawkeye. How had he never noticed before?

Inside the warehouse.

Luke stared at Lotus in disbelief. “What did you say? The Magic Box price went up?!”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Lotus spread two tendrils and shrugged—if a creature like that could be said to have shoulders.

Luke immediately pulled up the system in his mind and saw that, indeed, the Magic Box price had increased from fifty dollars to five hundred dollars each!

“Ten times more, just like that?!”

Luke was furious. He’d thought that with his current windfall of five million, he could finally splurge. Who could have guessed the Magic Box itself would go up in price!

“The Magic Box can increase in price? Who made that rule?” Luke had played DNF for so long, and the Magic Box had never gone up before.

Lotus replied serenely, “I did.”

“You?!” Luke glared. “Why?”

As the apostle’s avatar and guide, Lotus possessed a certain level of authority over the system. It could assign Luke tasks, but a price hike was unprecedented.

Lotus replied, “It’s a test of your potential.”

“…”

“You have to understand: with your current purchasing power, at the old price, how many Magic Boxes could you have bought? If things went on like that, I’d worry you’d lose your motivation for mischief!”

“…”

“So, in light of our arduous mission of spreading the apostle’s glory in this world, I made this incredibly difficult decision. Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”

“…”

“This way, you’ll be inspired to strive ever onward in this world. Young man, work hard to become the ninth apostle’s successor! Bwahaha!!”

“So, according to your logic, you’ll raise the price again next time?” Luke asked, dumbfounded.

“Absolutely!” Lotus replied with conviction.

“Another tenfold increase? That would make it five thousand per box next time…”

“Absolutely!” Lotus declared with gusto.

Luke gritted his teeth. “Then I want to buy a thousand right now! No, ten thousand!”

Now it was Lotus’s turn to be stunned.

“Bwahaha!” Luke laughed triumphantly. “I’m going to draw out all the skills from every DNF class! Hmph hmph!”

Lotus’s beady eyes sparkled. “I’ve decided to cap purchases at one hundred!”

“…”

A howl of frustration suddenly erupted from the warehouse, startling Hawkeye so badly outside that he nearly fell from his tree.

Luke pointed at Lotus sprawled across the table, cursing, “Lotus, you son of a—!”

Lotus, ever the snark, retorted with a look of disgust, “Ew, Luke, your tastes are really something else.”

…

PS:
1.
The previous chapter clearly stated it was about making shrapnel—yet some people still complain about the casing. Imperial class players, perhaps?

Also, what’s with people ranting just by reading the title?

If you’re here for discussion, my eight tentacles are open in welcome. But troublemakers—please, kindly go fork yourselves!

2.
You all say my math is bad, but I refuse to accept it. If my math was so poor, could I count backward like this?

What’s that! ∑(っ°Д°;)っ One plus one actually equals two?!

Flip the table!

(╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻