Nolan, who had just stepped out of the Valkyrie transport, stopped. His heavy boots made no sound on the ramp.
He subconsciously twitched his nose. A sharp, chemical smell had hit him first. Then he slowly narrowed his cyan wolf eyes.
The brightly lit base was filled with the overwhelming, lemony scent of cheap cleaning fluid. The metal floor, as far as the eye could see, was wiped spotless and was almost reflective under the harsh lights.
Because the area of the underground base was so large, even with David's carefully designed ventilation system, dust problems were still inevitable. In most cases, David was only responsible for maintaining the base hall and the underground passages that were frequently visited.
Therefore, a thick, gray layer of dust usually remained on most of the metal floors.
Even the emergence of the automatic servo robots had only partially alleviated this problem. They were busy with daily tasks and only occasionally had time to clean.
"David, what bad things did our Tech-Priest Reditus do again?"
Nolan straightened his back, standing still. Without looking back, he asked David, who was walking behind him, carrying the data hard drives.
David shook his metal head, a silent whir of servos. With blue light flashing in its eyes, it casually handed the data hard drives to Bucky.
Bucky, caught off guard, fumbled with the heavy drives, his expression helpless.
"My lord, I have not been paying attention to the situation in the base. You should go and ask about it yourself."
Nolan, his cyan wolf eyes narrowed, nodded slightly.
He immediately move forward, his heavy footsteps thudding on the unnaturally clean floor, walking towards the base hall.
A few minutes later, Nolan arrived at the spotless lobby.
Before he could ask, a group of automatic servo robots slid into view. They lined up in a neat, perfect row and slowly stopped in front of him, stretching out their mechanical tentacles in a strange, uniform gesture.
At the same time, Reditus, the servo-skull driving its anti-gravity engine, rushed out, zipping frantically through the air, waving its two mechanical tongs.
Its eyes flashed with a striking red light, and it said loudly to the expressionless Nolan, its voice synthesized and high:
"Congratulations, Lord Primarch, on your triumphant return!"
"Reditus... what bad thing did you do again?"
Nolan narrowed his eyes.
He carefully looked at the servo-skull's every move, his gaze flat and penetrating, and asked slowly.
"Haha, I still can't hide it from the Primarch! Our foundry workshop can already produce small-scale, mass-produced plasteel and ceramite steel parts! Congratulations!"
The servo-skull floated up and down in mid-air, its mechanical sound full of deliberate, forced excitement.
"Well, good job... but that's not what I wanted to hear."
The expressionless Nolan took heavy steps, passed through the silent, waiting line of automatic servo-robots, and stood on the metal platform used for disassembling the Terminator armor.
He raised his hand and motioned for Reditus to come forward.
"Haha... Lord Primarch, what else do you want to hear? The laser weapon production line has only built a prototype, and there is still some time before production..."
Servo-Skull Reditus quickly commanded the automatic servo-robots, which extended countless mechanical tentacles.
The heavy metal shell of the Terminator armor was quickly disassembled with a series of hisses and loud clacks.
Nolan, squinting, stretched out the Terminator's thick arms as pieces of the thick metal shell were carefully peeled off.
After Reditus disassembled the skeleton himself, Nolan continued, his voice echoing in the hall, "Be truthful Reditus, as long as you confess everything, I will treat you leniently."
The next moment, the heavy, unknown metal skeleton was jointly lifted by more than a dozen automatic servo-robots.
Nolan stepped off the metal platform, wearing the rubber suit that now gave off a bad smell in the clean air.
He grinned, the expression not reaching his eyes, and moved his limbs. A faint emptiness, a feeling of vulnerability, spread in his heart without the armor.
"Lord Primarch... I just made a small change to the automatic servo-robots and increased the number."
Servo-skull Reditus drove its anti-gravity engine, floating carefully next to Nolan, its voice extremely cautious.
A half-smiling expression appeared on Nolan's face.
He stared at Reditus and said calmly, "How much more?"
Reditus's red eyes flashed.
"How much exactly?" Nolan bared his fangs, his smile widening.
Reditus bobbed up and down nervously.
Nolan's voice dropped. "Reditus, you only have one chance."
"Lord Primarch! I was wrong! I built more than a thousand of them! I also installed large-caliber firearms that fire physical bullets!"
Reditus waved its mechanical pincers, its voice filled with panic.
Nolan let out a heavy breath.
He stared at Reditus with squinted eyes and said calmly, "The merits and demerits balance each other out. I won't hold you accountable this time. Go and receive the tech info from David. Your free days will disappear!"
"O God of all machines, I give thanks, Lord Primarch. Your heart is broad as the moon itself."
Servo-Skull Reditus quickly shook its white skull up and down.
It immediately drove its anti-gravity engine and rushed deep into the channel, zipping away as fast as it could.
Nolan stared at the back of the tech-priest, lost in thought.
He immediately turned around and walked towards the equipment room.
However, when Nolan lifted the dust sheet covering the hoverbike and squatted down to inspect it carefully, he discovered that Reditus had never touched it. It was still coated in a fine layer of dust beneath the sheet.
"Did he just build more servo robots?"
Nolan murmured and stood up.
He turned and walked to the weapons rack.
He checked out a logging gun prototype that Reditus had deliberately placed, a single, new item left out as if to claim credit.
"It seems that I have overthought it. Tech-Priest Reditus is quite obedient."
Nolan subconsciously rubbed the cold, thick plasteel barrel of the logging gun and murmured in a low voice.
Then, he walked out of the equipment room, heading towards his private lounge.
Countless scalding hot water completely washed away the slight fatigue from Nolan's body, the steam filling the small room.
The Terminator Armor brought him powerful protection and strength, but the comfort level wasn't great.
Especially Reditus's knock-off product. There were still some issues with the metal running-in at some locations, which left his skin chafed.
Nolan, his hair still undried and dripping, was thinking about the positions on the Terminator armor that needed to be readjusted.
He slowly lay down on the metal bed.
Soon after, Nolan closed his eyelids, dispersed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and gradually entered dreamland.
When Nolan woke up again, it was already more than eight hours later.
He first stared at the shining, blank metallic ceiling for a while, his mind clear. Then he stood up and sat cross-legged on the bed.
Nolan took a deep breath.
The simulator page opened in his vision.
It had been a long time since the last simulation.
It was time for him to see what kind of rewards this one could bring.
Nolan closed his eyes slightly and adjusted his breathing.
Then, without hesitation, he activated the simulation option.
"The Emperor's blessing—"