Time flew by. The next day.
Chen Tiannuo entered the lab, looking at the newly completed Sentinel, and smiled. "Taxon... we meet again."
He took Taxon from the Foundry and powered it up.
The small sentinel wobbled in the air, as if greeting him.
Watching this little guy, memories of past battles flooded back to Chen Tiannuo's mind. Without it, there were times he probably wouldn't have made it out alive.
Instead of placing Taxon into the Arsenal, he removed its weapon, Artax, and brought the sentinel along with him.
Then he left the lab and headed to Theresa's office.
Knock knock knock.
"Come in," said Theresa, hastily tucking her manga into a cabinet and putting on a serious face.
Chen Tiannuo pushed open the door and got straight to the point. "Theresa, I'm here to request leave."
"Leave? Where are you going?"
"Looking for special types of zombies and Honkai beasts."
"What for?"
Theresa glanced at the floating Taxon beside him, curious. "Also... that machine floating next to you—did you build it? For combat?"
"Yeah. It's my partner. Saved me countless times. I've brought it back again."
'It doesn't look all that powerful though...' Theresa thought to herself.
"As for why I'm looking for them... you know how some blueprints need rare materials. I'm going out to collect them." Chen Tiannuo looked a bit exasperated. Some of the components came from entirely different planets. Finding them on Earth wasn't always feasible.
"You can get materials from Honkai beasts too?"
"Exactly. Like that Mech-Zombie I brought back. It had a special kind of neuron that can interface between machines and flesh. So, I figured I'd go looking for more."
"You could've just asked logistics."
"Ahem... yeah, about that—because I've requested so many materials in the past and produced so few results, they blacklisted me."
"Just how much material did you use to end up blacklisted?!" Theresa exclaimed in disbelief.
"About one-tenth of the warehouse..." Chen Tiannuo scratched his nose awkwardly.
"What?! That much?! And how many finished products?"
"Uh... Excalibur, my weapons, the Valkyrie Amp, and Taxon," he said, pointing at the sentinel beside him.
"That's it?!" Theresa's eyes bulged.
"Well yeah. Different materials have different properties. You gotta test them, and tests use up a lot of resources."
"Sigh~ Whatever. At least it was used for something important," Theresa held her forehead and relented. "Fine, I approve. But be careful, alright?"
"Don't worry. You've seen what I can do." Chen Tiannuo gave a thumbs up with a grin.
"Tch. Taking down a pseudo-Herrscher is nothing compared to a real one. And that one you fought was still in its weakest form. Don't get cocky," Theresa warned.
"Yeah yeah, I got it. But hey, retreating is my strongest skill set!" Chen Tiannuo said proudly.
"That's not something to brag about!" Theresa snapped.
"Alright then, I'll be off. I'll be back in no more than two weeks."
"Okay. Got it." Theresa nodded.
...
On an uncharted island somewhere at sea, Chen Tiannuo looked at the contents of Taxon's internal storage and nodded with satisfaction.
Ever since leaving St. Freya Academy, he'd just wandered aimlessly, hunting Honkai beasts along the way.
Though the rarer types were scarce, the amount needed wasn't high—and he'd managed to stockpile quite a bit of common material.
Looking at the Morphics dropped from some unknown beast, he sighed and muttered, "This stuff is rare... and I've only managed to get three units of it. What kind of weapon can I build with just that?"
Checking the time, he decided it was time to head back.
He hadn't slept in over a week, yet somehow, despite being a constructed Warframe, ` showed faint signs of consciousness. When he got too tired, the frame could fight in his place.
'Maybe I should build an Orokin Catalyst and upgrade Excalibur...?' Chen Tiannuo thought. 'Forget it. I'll decide when I get back.'
He sent a message to the Hyperion, asking Himeko to dispatch a ship. His Archwing and K-Drive hoverboard weren't built yet.
He'd definitely have to get those tools crafted next. Being dependent on pickups was too much of a hassle for field ops.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Chen Tiannuo let himself drift into sleep. He wanted a proper rest.
Who knew how long had passed before Himeko's auxiliary ship arrived?
"Chen Tiannuo! We're here to pick you up!" Kiana's voice came from behind.
Chen Tiannuo opened his eyes and saw the auxiliary ship parked nearby—with Kiana and the others stepping out. He smiled.
"You guys came?" he stood up and asked.
"Hehe~ Aunt Himeko said she was sending a team to get you. We didn't have any classes, so we tagged along!" Kiana beamed.
"Perfect timing," Chen Tiannuo gestured to the piles of Honkai beast corpses. "Those are useful materials. Help me haul them onto the ship."
"Ughhh~" Kiana immediately slumped.
"Come on—you're already here. Wouldn't feel right if I didn't put you to work~" Chen Tiannuo smiled.
"So basically you just want me to suffer!" Kiana shot him a glare, tempted to fight him.
"Alright, alright—Kiana, we're here to help. Don't start," Mei said, gently pulling her back.
"Fine!"
"Aba aba aba~" Chen Tiannuo started acting dumb on purpose.
He joined in on the hauling. The ship was spacious, so the previously unmovable beast corpses could now be returned for research.
Bronya controlled Project Bunny 19C to help with the load, while Kiana and Mei pitched in too.
After a while, Chen Tiannuo had filled more than half the cargo hold. Getting this many materials again would require going even farther afield. He'd basically cleared out everything around St. Freya Academy.
Time to set sail. Time to go home.
...
The auxiliary vessel docked with the Hyperion, connecting their cargo bays. All the Honkai beast corpses were transferred to the main ship.
Incidentally, the Hyperion had been fitted with a Foundry Module—perfect for Chen Tiannuo's weapon crafting needs.