Authors note : sorry for you interruption but because of last comment and the review my mind is quite confused to how to make a story for interesting the result is I cannot longer right after the chapter 175 currently I am stuck in a chapter 176 a cross probably in one or two days I would able to push it but the problem is mind have become normally I would have ignore the complaint but since my pattern members are also dropping I need to think out to fix the situation of this novel if you guys have suggestions would like to listen if not then I might have to slow down the updating the chapter .
Chapter 129 – Return Flight
Russia – Forest Outskirts, 4:12 AM
The frozen branches groaned in protest as Lily led the Vankos—father and son—down a narrow, snow-covered path. Ivan still looked half-skeptical, hands stuffed in his coat pockets, while Anton followed with a faint but steady step. The medical lattice in his bloodstream had worked wonders, though his face bore the exhaustion of many years.
Then they saw it.
The Drop-Wing Skimmer sat nestled in a clearing like some predatory bird awaiting command. Matte-gray armor plates curved smoothly across its body, and its wings—angular, folded, and razor-edged—gleamed faintly in the pale moonlight. Antigravity coils glowed beneath the hull, keeping the craft suspended silently above the frost-hardened earth.
Anton blinked. "That's… not Russian."
"Nope!" Lily chirped, spinning on one heel and gesturing grandly. "Custom-built by Luthar himself. Probably cost more than your entire military budget."
Ivan stepped cautiously toward it. "You know how to fly this thing?"
Lily tilted her head. "Well, obviously."
"You sure?" he asked skeptically. "You look like you need a booster seat."
"Of course I'm sure! I got here in one piece, didn't I?"
"That doesn't mean you flew it well," Ivan muttered.
Instead of answering, Lily gave an angelic smile, skipped ahead, and, with a hiss of decompressing seals, the rear hatch slid open. She jumped inside, her boots clicking on polished black alloy.
"Strap in~!"
Anton exchanged a glance with his son. "Is this the part where we die?"
"At least it's better than dying from sickness," Ivan muttered.
In Transit
The interior of the skimmer was surprisingly serene. No rattling. No wind. Only the steady hum of fusion engines and the shifting pitch of grav-stabilizers.
Ivan was white-knuckled, gripping the seat straps as the world outside blurred into streaks of cloud and color.
"Is this thing supposed to bank like that!?"
"Of course," Lily called from the pilot seat, a grin in her voice. "Anti-inertial counter-rotators! They let me pull tight turns without turning your bones into soup."
Anton groaned quietly. "Those rotators are definitely not working. My insides already feel like soup."
Lily swiveled the pilot seat mid-flight to glance back at them.
"Don't worry! I passed my flight test! In VR. Only crashed three times."
Ivan opened his mouth, then closed it again. "How many times have you flown this thing in real life?"
"Well… with this, that makes twice!" she replied with a sheepish smile.
A hard turn sent them tilting sideways. Gravity momentarily twisted in their stomachs. A few seconds passed, then the skimmer leveled out, the engine tone shifting again.
"We're transitioning to transcontinental cruise mode!" Lily announced cheerfully. "We'll be home in three hours!"
Ivan muttered, "If we survive."
---
The Drop-Wing Skimmer settled onto a rising platform at Lotus Base around 7:02 AM with barely a whisper, steam hissing around its landing struts.
The hatch opened.
Ivan stumbled out like a man reborn. "I will never complain about commercial flights again…"
Anton descended more slowly, his steps calmer. His color was better. Breathing steady.
There were no guards. No checkpoints.
Only a set of steel doors that slid open as they approached—revealing a hallway bathed in sterile white light and lined with smooth hexagonal panels. The walls murmured faintly with distant machine song.
Lily led them forward without a word.
The hallway opened into a large, circular chamber—half cathedral, half laboratory.
Three young women stood at a central dais, dressed in crimson robes. Surgical instruments floated in the air beside them, suspended in perfect orbit by gravitic tethers.
Luthar stood at the center.
His robes today were darker—deep black threaded with silver veins—and in one hand, he held a stylus dripping with molten data, sketching glowing symbols into the air. The room thrummed with logic and intent.
He looked up the moment Lily entered.
"Ah. You've returned," Luthar said.
The three girls stepped back in unison. Two bowed. One whispered something in binaric and returned to adjusting a disassembled servo-skull.
Ivan muttered, "Creepy…"
Lily gave a playful salute. "Mission accomplished! No kidnappings, no violence—only mild air sickness."
Luthar's gaze shifted to Anton, scanning him from top to bottom.
"I am glad you accepted the lattice," he said.
Anton nodded. "Your offer was too tempting to ignore. I can breathe easier now, with just a bit of your medicine… I can only imagine what else you're capable of."
Satisfied, Luthar turned to the younger Vanko.
"I see you came."
Ivan shrugged. "Did I have any choice? I still have to observe my father."
Luthar studied him—measuring, not judging. "You will do more than observe."
Ivan frowned but said nothing.
Lily slid between them with a bright grin. "He's still thawing out. Give him a minute."
Luthar didn't argue. "Accommodations have been prepared. You'll both begin orientation in the afternoon."
"Orientation?" Ivan repeated warily.
"Before I teach you anything, you must understand the Adeptus Mechanicus and your place in the Cult of the Machine. I must be certain you will not abuse the knowledge you are given."
both father and son glanced around—at the floating skulls, the half-metal zombie servants, and the eerie calm of the place.
"Abuse of knowledge," Ivan muttered. "A bit ironic, coming from a guy whose hallway looks like a demon castle."
Anton whispered back, "Better to work for a demon than to die in some unknown corner of the world."
Ivan finally asked the question he had been holding back."I don't think you brought us here just to worship your God and give us free technology. What's the real reason?"
Luthar gestured, and a hologram shimmered to life—an armored battlesuit, humanoid, its surface a lattice of interlocking plates. Energy conduits pulsed faintly across its frame.
"To build this," he said simply.
Anton leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "A suit? Like… armor?"
"Not just armor," Luthar replied. "I am taking inspiration from alien wargear. This will serve as a perfect frame for low-level soldiers—but I don't have time to build them."
Ivan crossed his arms. "You could've grabbed any scientist with a degree."
"Because I do not need scientists," Luthar said calmly. "I need hands willing to work without asking the wrong questions. Hands that understand machines, not theories."
Anton hesitated. "Let me guess—you want an Arc Reactor for this armor?"
"I don't need your Arc Reactors." Luthar said, slicing the assumption apart with his tone. "It's not useful for me, I will build a new power source— stronger, and beyond this world's limitations."
Ivan stared at the hologram. "So… we're just here to help you build this armor?"
"You may see it that way," Luthar said evenly. "If your work satisfies me, I will move you to projects far greater than this. Fail…you would just become low-level worker with no future."
Silence followed, broken only by the low hum of machines.
Chapter 130 – Orientation and Orders
The Vankos followed Luthar down a narrow corridor that spiraled deep into the earth. The air grew cooler, tinged with a faint metallic taste, like the breath of some ancient machine. Soft red lights traced patterns along the walls, illuminating reliefs of cogwheels and alien script that seemed to shift when not directly looked at.
"Welcome to the workshop," Luthar said, his voice carrying easily in the enclosed space. "This will be your world for the foreseeable future."
The corridor opened into a cavernous chamber, larger than any workshop they had ever seen. Platforms hovered silently on magnetic rails. Robotic arms moved in precise synchrony, welding plates to skeletal frames of machines Anton could barely comprehend. Suspended across the room were half-formed battlesuits, each in a different stage of assembly, hanging like metallic corpses from gravitic harnesses.
Ivan stopped in his tracks. "…This is a workshop?"
"A nursery," Luthar corrected. "A place where machines are born."
Anton, regaining some composure, asked, "And… what exactly is our part in all this?"
"You will develop the Mark I frame," Luthar said, hands clasped behind his back. "You will combine your engineering knowledge with the data I provide. Just make sure not to create any autonomous artificial intelligence—only pilot-assisted functions. I do not allow soulless machines to think."
Ivan frowned. "So, no AI. Got it. And the power source?"
"A new one," Luthar said evenly. "I will finalize it within a few days. I already possess several prototypes. Your task is simple: build a functional, stable frame. If you succeed, you will be the first humans to create something that is 1000 years ahead of this planet's technology."
Anton nodded slowly, more intrigued than intimidated. "And if we fail?"
"Then your usefulness ends," Luthar said without a hint of hesitation.
Lily bounced past with a datapad nearly as big as she was. "Don't worry~! He says that to everyone. Mostly."
Ivan muttered, "…Comforting."
Luthar gestured toward a hexagonal-lit workstation. Two half-complete exosuit torsos rested there, humming softly.
"You will start by redesigning the skeletal frame and stabilizing the core housing. Schematics will arrive in stages. Complete each step to my satisfaction."
Anton examined the alien blueprints hovering above the workstation. "This… is nothing like anything I've ever seen."
"These designs come from my family's collection," Luthar said, his tone almost reverent. "Some of this technology is older than every nation on your maps."
The soft whirring of servo-skulls filled the chamber.
"Have fun building your doomsday toys!" Lily clap. "And maybe build a tiny one for me!"
With a mischievous wink, she followed Luthar out, leaving the Vankos to their new reality. Anton was already sketching modifications in his notebook, while Ivan leaned on a railing, trying—and failing—to ignore the floating skulls that occasionally circled him.
Outside the workshop, Luthar walked alongside Lily through the observation corridor. The hum of the base followed them like a mechanical heartbeat.
"I need you to monitor them," Luthar said quietly. "Anton's loyalty will hinge on gratitude, but Ivan will resist as long as he thinks he still has control."
"You want me to babysit?" Lily tilted her head, eyes sparkling.
"Monitor," Luthar corrected. "I have embedded nano-bombs during their treatment. Which would be useful when the time comes."
Lily blinked, then grinned. "Wow, didn't expect somebody would put boom inside a medicine."
"Just keep an eye on them," Luthar said, voice cold and certain. " Let them believe they are safe ."
"I can do that!" she said cheerfully, hopping ahead. " I would make sure to watch over them like a cat who watches over the milk."
Luthar's gaze turned distant. "Good. I have other matters to attend to. My attention will soon return to the dungeon world."
SHIELD HQ – 03:40 AM (Earlier)
The air in the command room was heavy with unease. Screens projected stills of Brock Rumlow—once a trusted field commander, now part machine. Black alloy traced his arms and neck; synthetic servos twitched beneath his skin.
Maria Hill's voice was clipped. "He's enhanced. Extensively. And he hasn't reported a single thing."
Nick Fury leaned forward, his one eye narrowing.
"If Rumlow was still ours, he'd should have asked for approval. No agent takes that kind of upgrade without clearance. Not unless they are ready to betray."
"Kara hasn't reported either," Hill said grimly. "No pings. No exfil requests. It's like they don't care about shield anymore."
Fury growled.
"Then they're not ours anymore. The question is—what made them switch?"
A second monitor lit up, showing the Drop-Wing Skimmer streaking through Russian skies.
Hill tapped the screen. "The same one that brought Tony Stark back into America now, the craft brought the Vankos out of Russia. The only people besides Stark who can build an Arc Reactor."
Fury's expression hardened.
"That's men now, they would have technology to build armours which is similar to Tony Stark."
While Fury was misunderstanding Luthar's action, there was a place where Paranoia spread like a disease. In a dimly lit room, Hydra's inner circle watched encrypted feeds.
Rumlow walked through a battlefield with machine-like precision, captured by distant cameras.
"He doesn't answer," hissed one operative.
"which means Hydra has been compromised"
Another operative shook his head." This is going to be a big problem."
The room went silent.
The third said, finally. "Maybe this is a good opportunity to recruit a new member, since that person hasn't revealed or information, it means we still have a chance to become friends with him…" A smile curved his lips. "Once he joins, all are goals would be easier, regardless of taking over the world or protecting the world from other forces, everything would become easy."
Listening to this, everyone's as started to eyes started to shine, completely ignoring the fact that Luther had no reason to join them.