In the brightly lit base hall, countless books and papers were scattered across a metal round table.
In front of Nolan was a small pile of illusory dust, shimmering with a faint, colorful light. He carefully used a folded piece of paper to coax the fine powder into a reinforced glass bottle, only the size of a knuckle.
After not even a particle of the phantom dust remained on the paper, Nolan picked up a small cork and firmly blocked the mouth of the glass bottle.
Then, he picked up a slender chain made of pure silver. After wrapping it several times around the transparent bottleneck, he tied the intersection into a firm knot.
When everything was done, the expressionless Nolan narrowed his cyan wolf eyes.
He put the homemade jewelry on his neck. The glass felt cool against his skin. As his mind turned, some of the inhuman features on his body quickly faded. He looked in a mirror, checking his completely human appearance, and then let them reappear.
The grinning Nolan took a deep breath.
He casually took off the necklace.
After he poured the rest of the illusory dust into more glass bottles and plugged them with corks, Nolan slapped his palms together, the sharp sound echoing in the hall. His work was finished.
"In addition to being used for disguise, these are actually very suitable for spies," Nolan murmured to himself, squinting his eyes as he played with the dozen knuckle-sized bottles in front of him.
At this moment, the subtle sound of an anti-gravity engine approached.
The servo-skull Reditus slowly crossed the air and came to Nolan's side.
Its optical eyes were flashing with red light, and its mechanical voice seemed to convey an indescribable exhaustion.
"Lord Primarch... the version 0 update of the Reditus-Pattern Terminator is over. Do you want to come and take a look?"
Nolan, dropping the small objects in his hands, raised his head.
He stared at Reditus's white skull, his eyes widening in surprise, and said with a smile, "Reditus, is it completed so quickly? I thought it would take you at least half a month, but I didn't expect it to be completed in a week."
Before he finished speaking, Nolan slowly stood up.
Reditus, remaining silent, drove its anti-gravity engine to guide him towards a corner in the hall. Several automatic servo-robots quickly stepped forward and dragged away the heavy black tarpaulin covering the corner.
Soon, Nolan stood in front of a three-meter-tall Terminator Armor, completely different from the previous one.
If the past MK 0 only changed the shape of the helmet, some of the metal structures on the body still retained the Saturnine-pattern appearance, such as the iconic large, squared-off shoulder armor.
But the current MK 0 Reditus-Pattern terminator actually had some prototypes of a Cataphractii-pattern terminator, and the lines on the overall structure were also smoother.
Reditus slowly flew around Nolan.
It seemed to have temporarily lost some of its active emotions, trying hard to maintain its identity as a Tech-Priest as it said:
"Lord Primarch, as you can see, the overall metal skeleton has not been changed. After all, it is too complicated, and the problem is not our carefully cast skeleton. The layout of the electro-fiber bundles and servo devices is more in line with later Terminator power armor. This is also due to the fact that I was fortunate enough to participate in the long casting work of a set of Cataphractii-pattern Terminator armor."
"In order to support the wear and tear of some joint structures, most of the armor shells have been successfully replaced with our own plasteel and ceramite steel. The pure close-combat defense capability is comparable to the original Terminator armor. Of course, the refractor field is also the same as before. Likewise, the protection capability from long-range firepower has not been reduced."
"If there are any specific changes..."
The words were not spoken yet.
Reditus suddenly stopped flying.
The red light in its eye sockets flashed several times, and its two mechanical pincers waved repeatedly.
As it moved, three servo-arms, which had not yet been painted, quickly extended from the back of the power backpack.
At this moment, Nolan suddenly opened his eyes wide.
He stared at the fire array composed of three bolt rifles mounted on one of the servo-arms. Before he could ask, Reditus's voice cut in, suddenly loud and manic:
"That's right! I installed a miniature fire array on it, which greatly increases the long-range fire output of the MK 0 Terminator Armor! If it weren't for the fact that installing too many would affect the dynamic balance of the power armor, and it would be too ugly, I even planned to remove the twin assault guns from the Land Raider! After all, more is better! Bigger is better! The turret is the truth!"
The eyes of Reditus, who looked like a madman, were filled with red light.
It continued to face Nolan, zipping excitedly:
"In addition, you no longer need to wear the rubber clothing of the neural connection device. I have completely integrated those things into the interior of the armor. Even the helmet is filled with neural detection interfaces. In other words, you only need a single thought to control the fire array..."
However, before the smiling Nolan could open his mouth to praise Reditus,
the servo-skull, driving its anti-gravity engine, suddenly danced back and forth, and the conversation changed. Its voice dropped back to its previous, exhausted tone.
"Of course, such a modification also comes at a cost. The environmental support system has been completely removed, leaving only the constant temperature system you need. This means that this Terminator power armor can no longer enter special environments such as oceans or space to fight. And due to the replacement of metal parts, its weight is heavier than the original version, and its movement speed is greatly reduced compared to before."
After listening to what Reditus said, Nolan nodded slightly with a smile on his face.
He smiled and said:
"Thank you for your hard work during this time, Reditus. The improvement of melee protection capabilities and long-range firepower is something I didn't expect. As for the movement problem you are worried about, the Terminator power armor itself is a heavy unit. It's just returned to normal. The enemies we are currently facing cannot deal with this metal lump."
Nolan had just finished speaking.
At that moment, the tall figure of David suddenly appeared in the underground passage of the base.
It quickly scanned the base hall and found Nolan's location.
At the same time, David's mechanical voice sounded in Nolan's ears.
"My Lord... the Stark Expo you are paying attention to has officially opened, and Ivan Vanko is also making his final preparations. It seems that tonight is the day of his revenge. After my calculation, if you take the Valkyrie now, you can reach your destination earlier."
Nolan, who narrowed his cyan wolf eyes, listened to David's words.
He took a deep breath and stared at the servo-skull Reditus in front of him.
"Reditus... get me suited up!"
"Let us make a guest appearance... as robbers!"