The servitor skulls hovered around Alex, humming.
The mechanical eyes embedded in their sockets recorded this moment.
Warmaster's face showed excitement.
He hadn't expected the conferment ceremony to have a dedicated storyline!
He would definitely ask the group leader to send him the relevant video to cherish.
"I am willing."
Warmaster knelt on one knee, extended his hands, and spoke with reverence.
"Are you willing to serve the God-Emperor and fight against darkness for the Human Empire?"
"I am willing."
"Are you willing to wield a sword to protect civilization and fight for humanity until the end?"
"I am willing."
"Are you willing to eternally fight against the enemies of Chaos and purge all evil?"
"I am willing."
"What is your duty?"
"To sacrifice myself for the will of the Emperor is my duty."
"What is your mission?"
"To defend humanity to the death is my mission."
"What is your destiny?"
"To fight until death is my destiny."
"Stand up."
Alex motioned for Warmaster to stand up, then crouched down and pinned the eagle medal to his chest.
"Remember your oath today; the God-Emperor is watching you."
Old Bird, Wu Mou, and other veteran Players watched this scene, feeling a sour envy, as if they had eaten a lemon.
Why wasn't it them being honored?!
It seemed they had to continue grinding like mad.
They also wanted to earn the eagle medal.
They also wanted their own dedicated storyline.
"This is too cool, an oath ceremony with a dedicated storyline. What other game has this?"
"It's invigorating, very invigorating. I'm going to grind like crazy; I want to get the eagle medal."
"I will offer my heart and liver to the Emperor."
"I want to sell my ass to the Emperor; I wonder if I can exchange it for one."
"Quickly call the Inquisition, tie this Heretic up, and slow-roast him for three days."
The new Players discussed excitedly, their faces flushed.
What other game offered such an immersive experience?
It was not only realistic but also full of ritual.
They were captivated.
Completely captivated.
Now, they had only one thought in their minds.
That was to grind for the Emperor and offer all their loyalty.
Capitalists want me to work 996; I just want to hang them on lampposts.
The Emperor wants me to work 007; that means the Emperor loves me.
Loyalty needs no words.
Grind!
Must grind relentlessly!
Feeling the Players' enthusiasm, Alex nodded in satisfaction.
If you want to talk about which group makes the best oxen, it's the Players.
Working 007 with loans, grinding with all their might, just for loyalty.
Even servitors couldn't compare to them.
After the conferment ceremony, on the way back to the Strategic Room.
Cortana's projection appeared before Alex.
"Master, the Tomorrow Series exoskeleton armor has been optimized."
Alex nodded, "Transfer the relevant data to my data-slate."
"Understood, Master."
Cortana quickly completed the task.
Alex opened the data-slate and checked all the data.
"It's very well done."
Alex's praise brought a joyful expression to Cortana's face.
"Cortana must complete the tasks Master assigns perfectly."
"Good girl."
As soon as Alex returned to the Strategic Room, he communicated with Dora, who was at Lykard Space Station.
Dora had undergone a major transformation.
He was wearing a crimson robe.
Shiny data cables were implanted in his head.
Servitor skulls and mechanical arms were connected to his spine via nerve cables.
He also chose not to become an Astartes.
Instead, he chose to strengthen his brain and implant auxiliary brains, ascending to the rank of Mechanical Priest.
After Players ascended to Mechanical Priest, they could obtain knowledge in various fields from the Emperor by consuming Faith Points.
They didn't need to learn slowly like members of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
"Guide, sir."
Dora performed the aquila salute, his voice excited.
He had just seen the conferment ceremony broadcast by the servitor skulls.
What boy hasn't dreamed of being a hero and a knight?
Although his physiological age was a bit old.
But dreams don't disappear with increasing physiological age; they are just suppressed by daily trivia.
The Guide actively sought him out, so it must be something important to convey.
He had to seize the opportunity.
"This is the optimized Tomorrow Series exoskeleton design by Cortana; it's more cost-effective."
"I want you to expand production and strive to arm the Human Empire's regular soldiers to the teeth."
Dora received the data package sent by Alex.
After decompressing it, he quickly reviewed the detailed contents.
Having ascended to Mechanical Priest, Dora possessed stronger logic and computational abilities.
In a short while, he had finished reviewing all the data.
"The cost has increased by more than 30%, but the cost-effectiveness ratio has also significantly improved."
"However, expanding production at this stage might be difficult."
Dora looked troubled.
"What's the difficulty?" Alex asked.
"There's no money left. To expand production, I've invested all my contribution points."
"Is it a funding problem?" Alex smiled, "That's easy to solve."
With the right to mint currency in his hands, how could he lack money?
He had to over-issue, over-issue aggressively.
Let the Players suffer; I'll bear the blame.
"I will have Cortana evaluate it and then continue to inject capital into Dora Workshop. You just go ahead and do it."
"Oh, right, have you been researching any new equipment recently?"
Dora nodded, proudly puffing out his chest.
"Yes, Guide, sir. Currently, Dora Workshop is reverse-engineering the power armor you sold previously."
"It's almost fully analyzed. I plan to lower the cost and add a miniature nuclear fusion power supply to the original design to extend its endurance."
"Dora Workshop also plans to build a bipedal walking mech, currently tentatively named Zagu 01 Type. Here is its detailed data."
Dora compressed and sent the Zagu 01 Type related data as a data package.
After receiving it, Alex examined it.
According to the Human Empire's classification, the Zagu 01 Type was a small mech.
It was 17.5 meters tall, with a maximum weight of 175 tons, equipped with a deflector shield and a miniature energy reactor.
Combining force feedback and neural interface technologies, it allowed the pilot to easily control the massive mech.
It was equipped with a giant chainsword or chainaxe.
It carried six small hellfire missiles on its back.
One heavy multi-barreled laser cannon.
One 120mm caliber heavy autocannon.
The Zagu 01 Type's performance was inferior to the Human Empire's Knight mechs.
Its firepower, shields, armor strength, and movement speed were all inferior.
Its only advantage was that it was cheap enough.
The manufacturing cost of a Zagu 01 Type was only one-tenth that of a Human Empire Knight mech of similar height.
"Can it be mass-produced?"
Alex asked the question he was most concerned about.
Dora nodded, "There are no technical difficulties, only some structural optimization issues remaining."
"If Dora Workshop can be successfully expanded, the Zagu 01 Type production line can be deployed very soon."
"I will fully support you," Alex said.
"Industry is the key to supporting war; we must ramp up our military production capacity."
"Arming the soldiers to the teeth, you must bear this heavy responsibility."
Alex's words stunned Dora.
Then an excited expression appeared on his face.
The Guide was very concerned about this area and personally encouraged him to fully develop military industry.
What did this mean?
It meant that if he worked hard, he would eventually earn the eagle medal.
"I will complete the task, Guide, sir."
Alex nodded in satisfaction, encouraged him further, and then disconnected the communication.
Just as he was about to leave, Cortana notified him that Governor Feng of Planet Atoma wanted to speak with him.
"Connect him," Alex said.
The projection refreshed, outlining Feng's figure.
"Respected Guide, sir, please forgive my interruption."
"No need to be so polite. Is there something you need to report?"
Feng looked troubled and said uneasily:
"Guide, sir, my Astropath received a notice from the tax department in the capital of the Calixis Sector, demanding that we pay the tithe as soon as possible."
Alex's pupils widened slightly as he looked at Feng.
"Didn't you tell them that Planet Atoma is suffering from war due to a rebellion?"
Feng sighed.
"I did, but they said the rebellion was due to the Valanxius Family's own incompetence and had nothing to do with them; they only want the tithe."
"If we fail to pay the tax within the stipulated time, they will brand us as traitors and send punitive forces."