Nanomechanical bugs can not only store technological blueprints, but also perform instant transformations.
At the same time, they possess the ability to independently evolve and iterate. Once a nanomachine bug devours an alloy with exceptional properties, it will absorb the alloy's characteristics and incorporate them into its own evolution.
Afterward, the nanomachine bug will reconstruct its nest, drawing in the remaining nanomachine bugs. As long as sufficient energy is supplied, all the nanomachine bugs within the body will rapidly complete an iteration cycle, further enhancing the host's physical strength.
However, there is one absolute rule.
No matter how far one evolves, when that power is copied and bestowed upon others, the nanomachine bugs will inevitably degenerate into nanomachine protozoa.
Arasaka Yorinobu quickly grasped Xiao's reasoning.
This restriction was most likely meant to preserve material diversity.
Everyone's experiences are different, and the powers they ultimately develop will naturally diverge as well. Through the screening and analysis of massive datasets, Xiao could continuously refine materials science itself, creating ever more advanced substances.
The God of All Machines was never a nanny.
What he sought was evolution—unceasing evolution. How could he possibly tolerate those who only wished to wait for ready-made gifts, squandering such precious power?
…
…
The number of nanomachine bugs was so vast that strength could not be measured by quantity, but by coverage rate.
From 1% to 100%, the nanomachine swarm would gradually fuse with every cell in the body. Flesh and machinery would become indistinguishable—one would be both human and machine.
As coverage increased, the host would gain the overwhelming strength of machinery alongside the regenerative vitality of flesh and blood, eventually evolving into an entirely new species, one Xiao named:
Cyber Monks.
When nanomachine coverage reached 50%, Cyber Monks could awaken the life force and willpower hidden deep within their bodies, converting it into extraordinary Haki.
Armament Haki could manifest as invisible armor, reinforcing the body, amplifying attacks, piercing solid defenses, and even striking energy-based entities.
Observation Haki allowed one to discern the trajectory of enemy attacks, sense approaching danger, and even glimpse fragments of the future.
When the two were combined, they could be used to temper both body and weapons. Through prolonged nourishment by Haki, a weapon could undergo a qualitative transformation—
Even a rusted blade could be reborn as a black blade, its very essence altered.
When nanomachine coverage reached 100%, Cyber Monks would obtain power equivalent to Adam Hammer's. As long as the brain was not completely destroyed, they would be effectively immortal.
Effectively, not truly.
The inheritance data made it clear: human flesh and blood have inherent limits.
Nanomachine bugs could only preserve cellular vitality and extend lifespan as far as possible—they could not grant true eternal life.
Moreover, nanomachine bugs themselves had operational limits. The older the body, the more nanomachines were required to sustain each cell.
Once the number needed exceeded the number actually present, cellular aging would accelerate dramatically, leading to death within a few months.
If one wished to further extend their lifespan, Xiao had provided a solution:
Construct a dantian within the body, and build a fusion furnace inside it.
The fusion furnace would supply additional energy and power to the nanomachine bugs, reducing their burden and allowing lifespan to be extended further.
Without any modification, the natural human lifespan capped at roughly 120 years.
With nanomachine augmentation, it could be extended to about 200 years.
With a fusion furnace, the upper limit reached approximately 300 years.
As for how to live forever—
Xiao had not mentioned it.
And Yorinobu had no desire to know.
He had never pursued eternal life. What he sought was a lofty ideal.
He would use his limited lifespan to enact his beliefs, to realize his will, and to spread it like a spark across the world—living forever in the hearts of the people.
After reinforcing his resolve through the dimensional data, Yorinobu checked the coverage rate of the nanomachine system installed within him:
[0.1%]
Then he glanced at the various "recharge options" listed in the dimensional interface.
His face instantly darkened.
"Damn it… why is my coverage only 0.1%?!"
After a quick calculation, he realized that reaching 100% coverage alone would cost roughly five million euros. And to obtain Adam Hammer–level power, he would also need to install countless technological blueprints.
Without blueprints, the body was nothing more than raw steel.
Only with the appropriate blueprints could the full potential of a steel body be unleashed.
And that was just the baseline.
The evolution of nanomachine bugs required countless top-tier material formulas to adapt to different environments. Taken together, the total cost exceeded twenty million euros—roughly two months of Huangban Capital's revenue in Night City.
Without hesitation, Arasaka Yorinobu ordered a massive transfer of top-grade prosthetics and high-end materials from his own corporation.
After all, why not use what you already had at home?
In the end, it cost him barely one million euros.
Ten times cheaper than Xiao's products.
And the results were even better.
"Bakayarō~~~! This bastard is even better at fleecing people than the Arasaka family—twenty times over! Damn capitalist! I'll hang you from a streetlamp sooner or later!"
After comparing prices repeatedly, Yorinobu cursed and shut down the Dimension Network. He was determined not to let that capitalist take a single euro of his money.
…
…
"What a resolute red warrior,"
Xiao murmured after cutting off the connection, unable to help but sigh.
"Perhaps he really should meet those old fellows and exchange ideas. After all, they're all comrades of the same mind."
After Yorinobu merged with the dimensional chip, Xiao had sensed an exceptionally powerful will resonating within his consciousness—
A noble resolve to fight for ideals, unafraid of being crushed to dust.
"Wishing you success, Comrade Yorinobu."
Xiao offered a distant salute, quietly raising Yorinobu's priority level once more.
"A-choo——!"
Xiao sneezed violently, utterly unaware that Yorinobu was cursing him as a capitalist.
If Xiao had known, he would only have laughed and scolded back:
Arasaka Yorinobu, do you have any idea who you are?
After his elder brother Arasaka Kei's death, Yorinobu became the crown prince of Arasaka. Anything he wanted could be delivered with a snap of his fingers—at cost price, no less. Of course it was cheap.
But the goods on the Dimension Network were never meant for people like Arasaka Yorinobu.
Their true target was the grassroots masses—those who had no access to high-end technology at all.
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