stonecrandall Chapter 64, No Products?
Chapter 64, No Products?
Inside the starship, a silence fell.
Only the occasional crackling sound of metal expanding and contracting due to heat could be heard from afar.
Three minutes have passed.
Just as Andy's finger was already on the pin of a grenade, ready to actually find a place to blow it up for fun.
From the shadows around the corner ahead, a heavy, slow mechanical hum could be heard.
"Kucha—Kucha—"
The hydraulic pump groaned under load, accompanied by the grating sound of unlubricated metal joints.
It sounds old, tired, and even a bit... dilapidated.
Andy loosened the pull ring, and the electronic eye locked onto that direction.
A tall, dark figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
It was very tall, probably around three meters, much taller than Andy's two-and-a-half-meter engineering body.
Its appearance is extremely imposing, with thick armor plates covering its entire body and shoulders as broad as a wall.
But what's most striking is its left arm.
The left arm was severed at the elbow joint, and a long string of thick, colorful cables was exposed at the jagged break, swaying helplessly in the air as it moved, occasionally sparking a few electrical sparks.
It was one of the three "Abomination Intelligence" units that had previously routed Helios's elite forces in Sector D.
Codenamed "Cleaner One".
This is the top-tier security robot from ancient times, as described in Helios's report.
But when this behemoth actually stood before Andy, and the STC scan truly covered its body...
Andy was dumbfounded.
The initial expectations of it being a "similar to the golden age" or a "lost STC masterpiece" were shattered at this moment.
[Target scan complete.]
Model: Unknown.
[Core architecture: Seriously violated.]
Andy almost burst out laughing when he saw the line of red analysis report.
This... what kind of golden age security superhero is this?
It's clearly a pile of industrial waste that has come to life!
At first glance, it looks impressive, but upon closer inspection, it's full of flaws.
Just by looking at its intact right arm, the model of the hydraulic booster pump is clearly wrong.
Andy couldn't identify the specific model, but the output of this architecture was simply not enough to power such a thick robotic arm, so it had to be connected in parallel with three, making the whole arm bloated and the tubing as messy as a clump of fried noodles.
Now look at its breastplate.
It was indeed a fine steel plate, with even ancient molecular circuit etching marks on it.
But the way it's installed is simply outrageous.
It's not the standard one-piece molding of the Golden Age, nor does it look like polymer welding; it's more like it was directly nailed to the skeleton with rivets.
The most outrageous thing is its head.
That seemingly intimidating sensor array actually had several probes that were actually made of flying wires!
Andy believes that its field of vision must have huge blind spots and distortions, requiring extremely high computing power to correct the image in real time.
No wonder its walking posture was a bit strange; it turns out its eyesight wasn't good!
Andy is all too familiar with this style.
So familiar!
Isn't this exactly what he's been doing every day for the past three months?!
At first, Andy had no original parts or standard blueprints, so he could only scavenge for scraps in the garbage dump.
Use whatever you find; if the model is wrong, modify it; if the interface doesn't match, add jumper wires. I don't care what it is, as long as it works, it's a good thing!
It boasts an engineering miracle that emphasizes "I think it can be done" and "just keep pushing it forward."
Without a doubt, this "Cleaner Number One" is not an original product from the Golden Age at all.
It is clearly the main AI controlling this starship, which has been haphazardly cobbled together bit by bit over a long period of time using all the resources at hand!
There is no factory serial number, no STC certification, and not even a unified industry standard.
It's a complete "three-no product" (no production date, no manufacturer, no quality certificate).
"Sizzle—"
The big guy stopped three meters in front of Andy.
A red light illuminated on one of its old-fashioned speaker units on its chest, emitting a hissing sound.
Immediately afterwards, a familiar, teasing female voice came from inside.
Without radio interference, the sound was much clearer this time.
"Have you seen enough, little yellow robot?"
"Cleaner Number One" looked down at Andy, its head turning and making a clicking sound.
"I know you're scanning me."
"How about it? Are you stunned by my magnificent creation?"
"Look at this, now that's what you call a perfect killing machine, every line is full of artistry."
Andy withdrew his scanning gaze.
He looked at the large iron lump that was full of confidence and even boasting about itself.
The initial awe and tension I felt towards my fellow human beings vanished instantly.
Instead, there's a strange feeling of encountering a fellow traveler, a feeling that's both funny and a little bittersweet.
"Artistic sense?"
Andy couldn't help but ask a question in return.
He pointed to the tangled mess of hydraulic lines on the robot's right arm.
"You mean that pile of hydraulic supports where even the cushioning rubber is practically caked with wear?"
"Or are you referring to that radiator grille that was forced to be welded crookedly?"
Andy's tone contained no sarcasm, only the professional commentary of a seasoned junk collector.
"If the cooling grille is installed like this, hot air won't be expelled properly and will accumulate in your chest cavity."
"If I'm not mistaken, if this machine runs at full power for more than forty minutes, the motherboard will overheat and reduce its frequency, making it at least half as slow."
"And that severed arm of yours, it wasn't broken off by a blow, was it?"
Andy pointed to the swaying cables.
"You dismantled it yourself."
"Because you couldn't find a suitable drive bearing, or the motor in another part burned out and you didn't have a spare part to replace it, so you simply disassembled it and moved the parts to the right side."
"rob Peter to pay Paul."
Am I right?
Silence fell once more, and the towering robot froze in place.
The red light in its single eye (or rather, a compound eye composed of several probes) was flashing at an extremely high frequency.
Clearly, the AI controlling it is experiencing a violent emotional upheaval.
She probably never expected that this seemingly tiny intruder could see right through all her underwear at a glance.
What she intended as a "perfect creation" to intimidate the other party was, in their eyes, nothing more than a tattered mess covered in patches.
The shame of being exposed to someone's face was worse than death for an AI with such a high sense of self-esteem.
"you……"
The voice coming from the loudspeaker became somewhat exasperated.
"You don't know anything!"
"This is battle damage! Don't you understand battle damage tactics?!"
"This is a medal that has withstood the test of time! It is..."
"Alright, stop pretending."
Andy interrupted her explanation.
He stepped forward and patted the robot's waist armor.
"We're all just scraping by, everyone knows each other, right?"
"A product without a manufacturer's name, address, or production date is a product without a manufacturer's name, address, or production date; there's nothing shameful about it."
"I've shoveled a lot of trash too, look at me all dressed up."
Andy shook the yellow robe he was wearing, which was made up of several chameleon cloaks pieced together.
"We're all cut from the same cloth."
Seeing Andy's candid attitude, the giant robot remained silent for a long time.
Finally, its tense body relaxed slightly, and its deliberately aggressive posture lessened considerably.
"snort."
The woman gave a cold snort:
"You have some good taste."
"Since you've figured it out, I won't pretend anymore."
"Come in."
The robot turned around and led the way with heavy steps.
"The road ahead is difficult to travel; be careful not to fall into a pit."
"This place hasn't been thoroughly cleaned in hundreds of years, so it's a bit messy."