Chapter 869 - 422: Force Field Hand
The robot’s electronic voice suddenly became fractured in the latter half of its sentence, as if it had said something very inappropriate. Andasu anxiously slapped its head, and with a smack she shut it down.
Li Ang gave an awkward laugh. "Its speech functions... come with a learning module?"
"Mm," Andasu lowered her head, cheeks flushing red. "I-I was talking to myself during testing. I didn’t mean to criticize my master."
Li Ang gently wrapped an arm around her, and she very naturally slipped into his embrace, her big fluffy tail coiling around his waist.
The close contact melted away the pent-up frustration caused by Inanna suddenly boarding the Eternal Summer. Once Andasu relaxed, a soft blush tinged her cheeks as she started telling Li Ang about her research progress.
For the White Wolf, cultivation of combat power felt more like a natural result of bloodline Recovery, and lately most of her energy had been spent on mechanics.
She had actually been hesitating over whether to give up this specialization—one that had always been dismissed as a mere crowd-pleasing gimmick back when she was a small Airship racer—but Li Ang had been affirming her from the start.
Whether it was piloting Flying Airships, or her innate Talent for machinery, this was rare High tier ability; those mediocrities would never understand.
Since they no longer bothered to hide their intimacy, every time Li Ang praised her, he could feel that fluffy wolf tail, warm and tightening around him, and the scent of Blood Fragrance grew ever clearer, seeping into his heart.
The Young Girl crouched down and operated on the little robot, which responded by popping out various built-in tools.
When it came to talking about a Domain she loved, the White Wolf’s love-struck, Young Girl-like charm faded in an instant. She became like a child facing a favorite toy, smile on her face, golden eyes widening slightly, words pouring out nonstop.
The robot introduced itself as a Support work robot, model "Reserve Type-III," meaning the third prototype not intended for actual combat deployment. It had already gone through two quiet trial versions before it could finally be brought out to meet people.
Since it was a Support worker, Andasu also demonstrated the interchangeable tools on its movable arms and internal mechanical arms. Right now it only carried simple tools like screwdrivers and peeling knives, but she said that as long as it was near a Workbench, aside from large equipment it couldn’t substitute, everything else could be swapped in on the fly, letting it replace her hands for simple and repetitive operations.
The real highlight, however, was still its combat Support functions.
In this area Andasu had already demonstrated something back in the Flashing Field—like using a small device that unfolded into a restraining net. It was just that she’d lacked the conditions then and could only achieve that much.
Afterward, she had the chance for in-depth observation and analysis of the Mecha Demigod left behind by the Makena prodigy Cormac, as well as the Magical Guide Machine Soldiers the Empire used, driven by Annihilator Flesh. Li Ang hadn’t skimped on materials either, using their time in the City of the Ship’s Rudder to purchase as much as the local market could offer.
Finally, the little robot in front of them embodied the results.
It could fire explosive bombs, restraining nets, and all kinds of projectiles, which could be tuned according to future needs.
"Because man-made Creations can’t be fitted with overly strong Spirit Cores, they can’t reproduce the effects of High-tier Powerhouses channeling Magic Power. So I designed everything with Support in mind," Andasu said.
"That line of thinking is very sound," Li Ang told her.
Due to Nebis’s matter–Spirituality–Magic Power triad, even those large pieces of Mechanical Armor needed a powerful Spirit Core to pull in Magic Power and drive them.
Nebis currently had no technology to make high-output Spirit Cores that small.
If the little robot couldn’t carry a strong Spirit Core, its Magic Power output would inevitably be low, so it made more sense to focus on Support effects.
Whether it was to help in team battles or to cooperate with her already formidable layered "Shadow Wolf" trait, direct frontal output really wasn’t what they lacked right now.
What the Incense Attendant’s three scents—damage boost, Dodge, and Recovery—fell short on was actually control.
Using small mechanical devices to apply Weakening effects for crowd control was the correct combat approach.
"You’re the one who gave me a lot of inspiration too."
Andasu said excitedly, "Once I finish designing the movement module, I can try putting it into actual combat."
What she had to think about now, instead, was whether to use mechanical legs or wheels. She wanted to cover as many types of terrain as possible.
Li Ang suggested that rather than trying to do everything, she should develop targeted solutions: use transforming tracked wheels for complex terrain, and high-speed wheels for simpler ground, and design them as replaceable modules for greater efficiency.
This immediately sent Andasu into deep thought. Even though Li Ang wasn’t a mechanical engineer, he’d seen all kinds of sci-fi works and real-world robots back on Earth, so his ideas were slightly more comprehensive than Nebis’s habit of treating robots as just mechanical humans.
Andasu’s progress made Li Ang genuinely happy. He probed further, "Have you ever considered that in the future, besides piloting Flying Airships, you could also pilot large Mechanical Armor in battle?"
The White Wolf’s golden eyes constricted; she seemed a bit stunned.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand; it was that her interest spiked all at once. The light flickering in her eyes already said everything.
"But if we want to build something like that, I don’t really have a clue yet."
"We’ll get the chance. On our past adventures, we often saw lost Mechanical Armor in ancient ruins. As we keep moving forward, we’re bound to get a glimpse of those things someday."
With her Talent—and more importantly, her ability to calmly immerse herself in research—those ancient civilization devices that Sky Knights once dismissed as worthless might just be hiding the path they needed.