"This place looks like a villain's base. I can't believe you have this under Ashford Academy!" Milly Ashford looked at a very large but empty Hall-like room.
This was a completely man-made structure, as Tokyo Settlement is built on plate-like structures on top of the old Tokyo metropolitan area.
That means that the Underground for buildings can be quite deep. Hell, if no one noticed, one could even dig into real ground after reaching it.
Something Marcus was thinking, maybe at some point… he can use the old metro system and tunnels to move around.
"Well, I do need it for my research and inventions."
"...Right, you want to make Knightmares." The girl commented after looking around. Milly doesn't 100% believe that he could do it.
She knows that he is smart, the girl recalled that, but to make Knightmare? Without help? Well, that's fantasy to her!
Still, she is going to watch his progress; the blonde is curious how far he can go.
"Eventually, but first I need to build up foundations." Marcus nodded at her.
"Well, tell me if you need anything." After saying that, she began to walk towards the lift.
Marcus can access this place from the secret lift in his living area in the Clubhouse in the Academy.
So it was pretty much a secret lab in one's basement kind of thing.
Just like his workshop in his previous life.
'Only this time my starting point is a bit better.' With a smile, he walked over to the only two things in the room, a foldable table and a chair.
That's literally all he has in this huge empty hall.
From here on, he began his unhinged acceleration with technology.
First was money, not hard, with Ashfords giving him a decent amount of money, it was not hard when the stock market only has three major places to sell and buy.
Nothing like his previous world.
After doing some research, he began to move around money and invest in savings accounts that have good interest rates.
Not hard either, considering that Ashford's gave him their connections.
Marianne might be gone, but there are many who still like her and are loyal to her.
With things set in motion, Marcus continued with his programming while waiting for things to develop.
Next thing on his radar is AI; Legion needs an essential perk he needs to have.
Accelerated calculations are essential for his gravity tech and fusion reactor.
~~~
One afternoon, the Fallen Prince was called to meet the principal.
"Marcus, we just received the rights to collect scrap from the whole Area 11," Ruben said to the Fallen Prince.
"Wonderful, I assume we can build them outside the Settlement?" He asked while taking a sip of his tea.
"Precisely."
"Good, then we can hire Japanese, they are essential for this," Marcus said with a pondering look.
"You do know that it's not that easy to do that. They need to be in the Honorary Britannian Program to work for the Britannian company."
"Not work, to sell scrap for us."
"...Oh, I see!"
"Same time, we can wiggle them in and maybe get some part-timers when no one is watching."
Marcus is planning to abuse every possible angle, not only use the people for cheap labour, but at the same time give them some hope, work that pays is better than any work.
All he can think is how bad the Britannian system is; it makes him think that he SHOULD run for the Emperor position just to change this lack of efficiency.
"Cheap labour is good for business, at the same time, we will be helping the locals and make a good impression with them."
"It is risky, but I see your point." Ruben was not an idiot; he lived long enough to understand what Lelouch, or in this case, Marcus, is thinking.
If he gets insiders in Japanese people, he will be able to access even better resources without attracting Britannian's gaze.
That's of course, if they trust him in the first place.
However, it's a good route to pursue.
"Indeed. For now, let's sit back and watch how this will progress." Marcus smiled as he couldn't wait for all of the materials to reach his workshop!
And so the next stage has begun, as the flow of scraps began, the refinement of scrap soon began. Meanwhile, Marcus started the learning process for his Legion AI.
With his Legion OS in place, robotics, instruments and software creations can start.
The most tiring part was over, and now he can enjoy his most exciting part.
But it was only the beginning as… they got the contract from the Colonial Government.
That means the Glasgows that are getting decommissioned will go through their scrap company.
"So these are the Glasgows." Marcus looked at the green machines before him.
He kept three of them for himself.
They were brought over to the Academy's loading bay.
It's underground, one of the roads that goes to the Academy goes underground and right under the core buildings.
This design choice is good for bringing in food and materials directly to the centre of the place, but it's simply an excuse for Marcus to get raw materials for his workshop, as there is a hidden route that takes it directly close to his workshop.
Like now, when he got three decommissioned Glasgows. They are supposed to go for scrapping, but the Inventor Prince kept them for research and as a source for his future technologies.
"Not bad, now let's start."
After looking for a while, he was able to connect his laptop to the machine.
Before long, data had been loaded up to his terminal, and he was able to see logs of this machine.
"Quite a primitive OS for running this thing." As he read the logs, he ordered his AI. " Legion begins data mining."
The AI began to download everything from the machine while Marcus was running tests and determining the specifications of this vehicle.
"I do have to give props for the security of this machine. It's built around survivability."
At that moment, he recalled that Knightmares started from the cockpit instead of the exoskeleton.
With that idea, he checked how the humanoid structure works.
'Sakuradite is in joints. Well, well…' That moment, his eyes gleamed as he could finally run some tests on that material!
Moments later, he finally saw a notification that the extraction was done and he could begin stripping these Glasgows.
But then realised that he was a bit too small for such a work.
'I guess Legion Bots are next.'
Instead of scraping the three machines, he began developing his first robot.
The most difficult part was the AI's self-learning. As he already had schematics, he simply copied what he had in his head. His maintenance bots were a thing in his past life.
He simply redid them.
~~~
"..." Milly gawked at the sight before her.
She hadn't checked his place for over a month! Then one day she decided to visit 'Lulu's workshop' where she found two Knightmares and one Knightmare getting scrapped by robots!?
'Is that robot building another robot!?'
Her eyes went to one of the corners where parts are being assembled.
From her grandfather, she heard that several trucks brought over materials for Marcus, so she came to see what it is. Never did she expect to see this!
'If he can build these things, then there is a chance he can make a Knightmare…'
"Lulu! You are missing too many classes~" Milly walked over to Marcus, who looked at her.
Her eyes ended up on computer screens. He had three monitors, and these monitors were showing a sphere in different stages.
'Energy? Is he designing a reactor of some sort?'
"I can make them up by doing the necessary exam, at the moment I am at a critical point." He replied without looking at her.
"..." The blonde began to pout at him, but then decided to ask…
"What is this?" She asked, curious.
"A Fusion Reactor, with how conductive is Sakuradite, making one of these is child's play." He replied to her.
"... A fusion reactor? Never heard of it." She shook her head.
"Extreme heat inside this sphere will make molecules bond, creating enormous heat, which pushes the generation of electricity.
Since it's Sakuradite, it can generate and conduct power several times more than any other metal.
Because of this much power, I will be able to make my dream Knightmare."
He explained, finally turning around and looking at her. She was dressed in a yellow uniform and a black shirt.
"Oh, nice, is this the new uniform?" He asked, finally seeing the promised uniform, because of Milly and her antics, it took ages for them to decide on a school uniform.
"Nice, isn't it?" She did a spin.
"Indeed. Though the skirt is a bit too short." He commented on her black skirt.
"Heh, is Mister Smart Brains interested?" The blonde girl asked with a grin.
"Of course, my Milly is beautiful." He casually shrugged, making her gawk at him.
"Y-Your!? What does that suppose to mean!?" She exclaimed, confused.
"What? Your family are my followers, that includes you. As a Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, it means you are mine, isn't it?" He replied, making her blush even harder.
"T-That's not how it works!" She tried to reason, but what he is saying makes no sense!
"I do, my old man is the Emperor, and he makes the rules."
"You hate your father! Why do you use his name now?!" Milly puffed angrily. Here he was using his name to get to her! Just a few days later, he complained about the Emperor!
"That's because I can tease you. Obviously." He rolled his eyes, making her realise that he did that on purpose!
"Y-You!"
At that moment, he stood up and got closer to her, smirking as his hand went to her chin.
"What? I heard you've been teasing others, so it's only natural as the Prince of Holy Britannian Empire to do the same to you." He said that while leaning forward, making her look to the side.
"...I-It was a joke…" She said with growing blush. It was too close to comfort for her!
"Why not? You like this, don't you? All the attention?" He grabbed his hand around her waist and pulled her ever closer to him.
"...Umm…Umm…"
But then Marcus released her, and the blonde scrambled back with a deep blush.
"I will come to the classes, but I then will expect your attention~." He winked at her, but the Ashford Heiress was already retreating to the corridor and towards the lift.
Seeing how she was running away made the Prince chuckle. It was cute how flustered she looked. She can tease others, but she can't take one herself?
Regardless, he returned to his work. He was close to designing the Fusion Reactor. By this point, what he needed was parts, something his scrap yards were working on collecting.
His scheme to get the Japanese to help him has worked wonders, as people were bringing all sorts of scraps to him.
Not only does it help the environment, but it also gives people a chance to work and earn money that they desperately need.
Now that things are on the way and he has made a decent-sized fortune, he can begin his next step.
And that is robotics, exoskeleton and prosthetics research.
Once that is in place, he can begin designing the Knightmare's Frame. He needs actual data to perfect the models.
The best way to do that is to collect from people themselves.
'Let's see…'
For now, he closed the reactor's files and created another project, which he called 'Anaheim Robotics'.
It's a call back to a certain franchise. With the project named, he summoned the files he mined from the Glasgows and took the limbs.
He stripped those to the base and began to adjust to the size of the person, and began altering them so that they could fit for human use.
It's a bit different, but Glasgow's were designed for human use, and their hands move similarly.
Though feet are different, because of the landspinner they use for movement.
'Well, whatever, I can design the alterations after hands are complete.'