Chapter 43: Secure and Stable Now

Chapter 43: This One's in the Bag

Half an hour later, the four members of the squad returned to their lodgings.

The time was already 10:30 p.m.; outside, the festivities continued in full swing, boisterous and bright, yet the expressions on their faces were far from relaxed.

Lei Jie inspected the three batteries they had just bought, still fairly intact, and spoke:

"They look brand‑new; they must have been taken off some sealed equipment."

"When we powered them up for a test, the voltage and current were steady; compared with a fresh‑off‑the‑line battery, the loss should be minimal."

"These three batteries can be used on the exoskeleton we found; in fact, I suspect they were originally taken from that very exoskeleton."

"If that’s the case, the situation gets a bit complicated."

"Is it the Holy Blood Hall using the Machine God Cult as a middleman to feed us, or has the Machine God Cult already discovered what happened at Xia Ma Town and is probing us with these three batteries?"

After Lei Jie finished speaking, Chen Jian shook his head and replied:

"I don’t know, but it’s probably one of those two possibilities."

"The Holy Blood Hall has motive, and judging by the timeline, news of Xia Ma Town should have reached them by now."

"Yet their actions feel overly blunt—what era is this, where you can just stroll into a night market and pull out three perfectly usable batteries? Don’t they find that exaggerated?"

"Who knows."

Shen Yue, while trying to load the sleeve‑arrow into its launcher, continued:

"Trying to understand them with our own logic is impossible, but what if we shift our perspective?"

"Perhaps the miners of Xia Ma Town mean nothing to them; what matters is that someone looted the town and carried off certain items."

"And those items happen to be exactly the things they deem useful but don’t know how to employ."

"If it were me, I’d probably use the same method to test them—of course, I’d smooth it out a bit."

"Indeed."

Chen Jian pondered for a moment, then went on:

"If this line of reasoning holds, it means they still have similar exoskeletons on hand, which they could repair once they grasp our technology."

"Only then would their series of actions make sense."

"I think the same."

He Shuo nodded and then asked:

"Is there any chance we could directly cooperate with them and take the remaining exoskeletons they hold?"

"If the problem of Xia Ma Town is no longer a problem, then I think cooperation isn’t out of the question."

Chen Jian shook his head and answered:

"Cooperation presupposes exposure, which is not good for us—though the Holy Blood adherents are fine, we have no conflicting interests, yet the Machine God Cult’s ideology is fundamentally aligned with ours."

"But I have a compromise—let the Holy Blood adherents go and retrieve the items."

"If they refuse, their motive in handing over the batteries becomes blatantly clear, meaning we’ve been marked and must prepare to resist."

"If they comply, all the better."

"It’s possible we’ve overthought it; they may simply not realize how important this is, and some insiders stole it to sell on the side."

"Really that foolish?"

Shen Yue asked incredulously.

"What’s that? Back in the Qing dynasty, even cannon shells and gunpowder could be hawked."

"Don’t overestimate human nature, especially in chaotic times."

Chen Jian waved his hand decisively:

"We’ll go on two legs—I’ll contact Xu Lie; you three study this gear."

"Lei Jie, see if you can get this exoskeleton running."

"He Shuo, strip down the sleeve‑arrow and ready the launcher."

"Shen Yue, give them a hand."

"Let’s spend a day or two getting everything ready; that way, when we scout the city, our odds will improve!"

"Understood!"

The three responded in turn; Chen Jian pushed the door open and hurried without pause toward Xu Lie and the others’ quarters.

Two hours later, Chen Jian and Xu Lie settled the details, fabricating a story convincing enough to be believed.

Relying on that tale, Xu Lie didn’t waste time; he immediately reported to the Holy Blood Hall, intending to trade his squad’s feat—"slaying a level‑five monster, creating a war machine to annihilate the Blood Skull camp"—for the equipment Chen Jian wanted.

The ensuing period meant only waiting for Chen Jian’s squad.

Fortunately, the wait was not dull. First, they spent four or five hours dismantling every sleeve‑arrow missile on hand, found the functional parts, reassembled them, and ended up with six "should‑be‑usable" sleeve‑arrow missiles, sidestepping the difficulty of repairing delicate electronics.

Then they devoted nearly ten hours to taking the exoskeleton apart into its components, deciphering its entire operating principle.

This step was quite complex for Chen Jian, Shen Yue, and He Shuo, but Lei Jie handled it with ease.

"This is exactly what I do!"

"He was a top graduate of the Electronic Science and Technology University, majoring in electronic engineering; he entered the service via direct commission, originally slated for technical troops, but his all‑round development eventually placed him in the squad."

"Taking apart little gadgets like this poses no challenge for him; Chen Jian has even seen him, under the pretense of maintenance, tear apart the remote‑weapon station on the squad’s Mengshi vehicle until it was a wreck—at the time the squad’s commander was a major general, accustomed to big scenes, yet he was so infuriated he threatened to discharge him if the station couldn’t be restored."

"Obviously, since he stayed, he must have succeeded in restoring it."

"Thus, although the scattered parts nearly covered the entire downstairs living room, Chen Jian remained confident in Lei Jie’s abilities."

"How’s it looking? Can you fix it?"

Chen Jian asked.

"Not easy—we’re missing parts."

"Two bearings are shot; they can’t be repaired."

"A multi‑stage hydraulic cylinder has a small crack on its exterior, a swinging hydraulic cylinder is rusted, we lack the tools to fine‑polish or weld."

"The motors are all usable, though I’m not familiar with this stepper motor model; to fully understand it we’d have to remove it, study it, and then we could fix it later."

"For now, let’s just set it aside."

"The wiring has issues, but they’re minor."

"The computer is known to be dead, so we can discard it; the sensors still work and are excellent."

"Everything else is basically fine—the frame is titanium alloy, just needs a bit of polishing and lubrication to be usable."

"But to put it bluntly, for us now, going from immobile to mobile—even if we’re only one step away—actually means we’re lacking an entire industrial‑plus‑information era."

Lei Jie sighed, and Chen Jian patted his shoulder and said:

"Lighten up—maybe it’s three eras we’re missing."

"No worries; we’ll find replacements eventually, no rush."

“Thump-thump!”

He hadn't finished his sentence when the door to his residence was abruptly rapped.

After confirming the visitor's identity, Chen Jian opened the door.

Standing outside were Xu Lie and Li Shi, and behind them they dragged a heavy-looking cart covered with canvas.

“Is this what I asked for?”

Chen Jian asked.

Xu Lie nodded and replied:

“Yes, plenty.”

Chen Jian let out a soft sigh and continued asking:

“What did they say?”

Xu Lie gestured for Li Shi to bring the items inside, then replied:

“They said these items are broken, the most valuable batteries inside have been lost, and they can give them all to us.”

“They also asked me what use this junk could have, especially since even the grand cathedral of the Machine God Sect couldn't figure out its principle.”

“These special metal materials aren't worth much either; they can't be made into weapons.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Following your instructions, I told them these could be assembled into armor racks for our own use.”

“Excellent!”

Chen Jian nodded in satisfaction; at that moment, Li Shi had already begun moving the damaged exoskeletons into the room.

At a glance, the exoskeletons on the cart numbered at least ten.

Lei Jie eyed the newly brought-in items, gave them a quick inspection, then thrust a thumbs-up at Chen Jian.

Afterwards, he spoke:

“This is secured!”

(End of Chapter)