Twenty-five minutes later.
Inside the brightly lit central hall of the base, a Terminator power armor, standing nearly 2.8 meters tall and weighing one ton, was placed in front of Nolan. The massive suit, black and scarred, dominated the space.
Just behind him, David, his metal spine slightly hunched, lifted his metal head. The blue light in his eye sockets scanned the huge armor in front of him, the delicate internal sensors whirring softly as they mapped the ancient machine.
Not long after, David completed the scan. He shook his metal head, a gesture he had picked up from mortals, and said to Nolan, who stood with his arms folded: "My Lord, I have basically understood the internal structure of this power armor. It is remarkably complex."
Hearing David's words, Nolan, narrowing his cyan wolf eyes, pondered for a moment and asked: ""David, can you modify the internal structure? Without a Black Carapace interface, I can't properly operate this suit. My strength alone isn't enough to control the outer servo layers effectively."
"My Lord, the Terminator power armor is divided into an outer layer of Ceramite Steel armor, an inner Adamantium skeleton, and electro-fiber muscle bundles all over the body," David began listing the components methodically. "There are also various complex closed life support systems and detection systems."
David took a step, walking to the front of the Terminator power armor. He slightly raised his metal head, staring up at the metal lump that was much taller than him, and continued: "I can 100% guarantee that the ceramite steel armor and the skeleton can be reassembled after disassembly. If the electro-fiber bundles is only disassembled and installed, I can also do it. But I know nothing about other complex systems, especially the energy source in the power backpack."
"This Terminator in front of me is a technological 'black box.' I just reproduced and restored many places based on observation, but what is needed to truly understand the technical logic is a complete drawing and idea," David turned around and spread his metal palms to Nolan in a clear admission of defeat.
"Please forgive me, my Lord. After all, I am just a construction worker, not a real Tech-Priest. You need a super helper who specializes in this. If you still have the energy to create miracles, I wonder if you can pull a living person out of thin air?" David raised his metal head, his two metal palms slightly clasped together. His mechanical voice seemed full of genuine, if whimsical, expectation.
Nolan grinned expressionlessly, a rigid, unpleasant flexing of his facial muscles that revealed his hidden fangs. He said with a stiff expression: "Maybe there will be a chance in the future, but I'm afraid it's not possible now. David, is there really no way?"
"Uh... Lord, I have an idea." David suddenly turned around and looked back at the Terminator. "If you want to turn it into combat power immediately, I can use ordinary metals on Terra to make a copycat Terminator power armor for you."
He elaborated on the concept: "A metal skeleton suitable for your body size and an armor shell made of ordinary metal. With the help of the Terminator's own electro-fiber bundles, I will learn some scientific knowledge, like force feedback. I'll add a new energy source or continue to use the power backpack. But in this way, there may be a lack of support from many systems. Your combat ability may not increase much, and your survivability will be greatly reduced, as the armor won't have the integrity of the original."
Silent, Nolan listened to David's simple idea. A gleam of light flashed in his blue wolf pupils. "David, why don't we just do it! It's a waste to leave this thing here as a decoration. Even a copy is better than nothing."
"My Lord, first, you need to understand that this project still has a high chance of failure. I still need to build Dr Connors' biological laboratory," David nodded without hesitation, then began listing the current task progress, one by one, for Nolan. "Although the underground passages have been opened, some corners have not yet had access control facilities installed..."
Nolan raised his sharp fingertips and covered his forehead. He sighed, cutting him off: "I understand, David, I understand. The existing Hunting Lord Armor is enough to deal with any threat. There is no need to work overtime to rush this. You can just follow your original plan."
"Thank you for your understanding," David shook his metal head and turned to walk into the base passage. Its footsteps seemed to be much lighter, relieved of the pressure of an immediate, complex side project.
Nolan, with a helpless expression, stepped forward and reluctantly touched the cold, heavy ceramite steel shell of the Terminator. He turned around, walked to the metal round table, and sat down next to it.
Thanks to David's plan to copy the power armor, Nolan suddenly remembered a better, less arduous strategy. He searched for a while, found a pen and paper, and spread them out in front of him.
Nolan first wrote down a name: Tony Stark.
Then, he wrote down: Morocco, Whiplash, Palladium Poisoning, New Energy, and many other related words, organizing his knowledge of the Marvel universe.
"The best strategy is to make friends and exchange the Terminator, which isn't needed temporarily, for technical support from the other party. But I am afraid I can hardly tolerate Stark's temper and personality, and it is easy to attract the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D and Hydra in advance."
"However, since I intend to destroy Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D, I am not afraid of exposing some things."
"The middle strategy is to let David remind the other party of the palladium poisoning crisis and inform him of his father's inheritance in advance. And in return for saving his life, try to get him to give me the new energy?"
"Uh... This is probably a bit whimsical, right?"
"The worst strategy... rob him! Especially Ivan Vanko's first-generation energy, that's the easiest to get! If the timing is right, Stark's new energy can also be taken!"
"Hey... why do I always feel that the last option is the best way to suit my wishes?" Nolan slowly narrowed his cyan wolf eyes. The pen in his hand drew a big, messy circle around the words "Rob them blind"!
At that moment, an exclamation from the equipment room suddenly interrupted Nolan's thoughts. He stood up quickly, his expressionless face unchanged. His tall body ran toward the direction of the sound!
"Jessica, what are you making a fuss about... what's going on?"
However, Nolan, frowning slightly, rushed into the equipment room. The words he hadn't finished were swallowed back into his stomach.
At this moment, two Jessicas, with almost identical height, body shape, and even surprised expressions, stood in front of the weapons rack. In her hand, she held a handful of fine powder that was constantly reflecting a colorful luster!
Shocked, Nolan instantly made a rational judgment. Placed in that position was the trophy crystal ball from the Minotaur Agger!
"Jessica! Do you feel that your spiritual will is being invaded? Or are there any other changes in your situation that you think are weird?" The expressionless Nolan lowered his thick arms, his palms, tipped with sharp fingers, were slightly open. It seemed as if he would launch an attack at the next moment!
"Uh, boss, I feel fine, I don't feel any discomfort," the frightened Jessica quickly threw the colorful powder in her palm back onto the weapon rack. "I swear this is the truth!"
The next second, of the two almost identical Jessicas, one of the figures slowly disappeared into the air! The powder, Nolan realized, had created a temporary duplicate.
Nolan took a deep breath and blinked his cyan wolf eyes. He subconsciously bared his fangs and whispered softly: "What I hate the most is these wacky gadgets from mages... they don't even have basic fucking instructions!"