บท 265: CHAPTER 265 - Unlocking the War Mech!
With Urgot defeated, Li Lin no longer concerned himself with the future of the Undercity. That was a problem for Shoola to handle.
Returning to the breathing station in the lower district's central plaza, Li Lin met Caitlyn and informed her of Renata's demise. Caitlyn scolded him for not waiting, as they had initially agreed to tackle this mission together. It wasn't just about the thrill of the hunt; capturing Renata would have boosted her detective agency's reputation.
However, Caitlyn's complaints were only superficial. Taking down someone as manipulative and ruthless as Renata was undoubtedly beneficial for both Piltover and Zaun.
Li Lin didn't mention his suspicion that Renata might have planted bombs in Zaun. It was a personal hunch, and with Janna and Zac assisting, there was no need to worry Caitlyn.
With Li Lin's help, nearly half of the 30,000 people at the breathing station had come to believe in Janna, significantly boosting her divine power. Clearing Zaun's toxic smog was now only a matter of time.
The remaining tasks involved helping Zaun's citizens return to normalcy and rebuilding damaged homes. Li Lin didn't need to worry much about these; the mechanical workers would handle the reconstruction in just a few days. The materials and funds were provided by a humanitarian aid foundation established by several council families, with nearly every wealthy and influential upper-city family contributing.
Li Lin sent most of the mechanical workers involved in the Gaboga Project back to the academy to continue their work and temporarily shut down his factory. The remaining workers were sufficient for the task.
The explosion and Chemtech gas leak incidents had finally come to an end. By the time all the loose ends were tied up, night had fallen.
After greeting Vander and saying goodbye to Powder and Vi, Li Lin boarded the Hextech pressure transport with Caitlyn, Kai'Sa, and Orianna. Caitlyn and Kai'Sa were fine, even after several days of activity. However, Orianna, without any physical enhancements, was exhausted and fell asleep on the lift, with Caitlyn carrying her home.
Caitlyn's father, Colin, was worried about his daughter, fearing something had happened. Once he realized she was just asleep from exhaustion, he breathed a sigh of relief and thanked them for taking care of her.
At the dinner table, Caitlyn recounted the events in the Undercity to Cassandra. Kai'Sa wolfed down several pounds of food before retreating to her room to take a hot bath and play video games. With a computer and games at her disposal, she had become a full-fledged "gamer girl" or rather, a "gaming goddess."
At ten o'clock, Li Lin suggested Caitlyn, who was exhausted from the day's activities, should get some rest. He then went to her room.
Back in his workshop, Li Lin sat in his chair and asked the AI to compile a report on the mechanical workers' losses. So far, they had lost 13 units—8 of which were irreparably damaged by Chemtech toxins during rescue operations at the explosion site. The other 5 were destroyed due to various reasons, such as falling debris during bomb searches or issues during the expansion of the breathing station.
Mechanical workers were low-cost, mass-produced models, unlike the Project Genesis War Armor and the Battle Mech. The losses were acceptable to Li Lin. Otherwise, these batches of workers would be considered defective, requiring upgrades to the factory's production line before resuming construction.
With this task complete, Li Lin turned his attention to the system panel. Defeating Urgot had earned him significant rewards, raising his level to 54 and granting him 24 skill points.
If he crafted the technology unlocked at level 50, he could reach level 55 and unlock even more tech. However, the glaring "24" skill points in the skills section made him grimace.
"Ugh, back in Piltover, leveling up is slow, and earning skill points is even harder," Li Lin sighed. "I don't know when I'll get a lot of skill points again; I'll have to use them sparingly."
He suspected that his "Engineer System" was designed for warfare. Runeterra had various conflicts and future world-threatening crises. Perhaps this was why he had this system, forcibly assigned after his transmigration.
Li Lin couldn't fully understand and wasn't inclined to dwell on it. At his current level, dealing with the Ruination curse would be challenging enough, let alone Mordekaiser's undead army or the Void's invasion.
Li Lin shook his head, dismissing the thought. It was pointless to ponder the origin of the system; it was a waste of time. He instructed the AI to lock the workshop doors and windows, fully immersing his thoughts in the system panel, starting with the inventor system's skills.
At level 50, two technologies were unlocked: "Chaotic Energy Control" and the more intriguing "Rune Tech Theory."
"Chaotic Energy Control" required prerequisites like "Particle Control" and "Thermodynamic Equilibrium Control," making it an upgrade of "Particle Tech." This skill unlocked a new combat skill, "Focused Arc Laser," a continuous laser weapon far more powerful than the "High-Energy UV Laser Beam" or even the "Plasma Cannon."
Meanwhile, "Rune Tech" required no prerequisite skills, but its knowledge system was complex, involving arcane magic, elemental magic, and even astral magic. If not for Li Lin's prior research on the Primordial Crystal using "Data Mind," gaining "Secrets of Ancient Rune Imprints" and "Basics of Rune Magic," it would have taken him nearly a month of sleepless study to barely grasp half of it.
Spending two skill points to upgrade these skills, Li Lin shifted his focus to the combat system. Seeing three familiar blueprints available for unlocking made his breath quicken.
Battlefield Mechs!
Unlike the Project Genesis mechs, which focused on individual combat against deep-sea monsters, Battlefield Mechs were mass-produced mechanical armies meant for battlefield deployment. They were equipped with comprehensive functions, complementing each other, and had lower production costs and fiercer firepower. Li Lin felt that Project Genesis mechs were more suited for urban defense rather than frontline combat.
At level 50, Li Lin unlocked the prototype of the Battlefield Mech series: code-named "Alpha Skarner," the mass-produced mobile turret code-named "Kog'Maw," and the powerful suppression behemoth code-named "Urgot." These corresponded to the main universe's Crystal Vanguard, Mouth of the Abyss, and Dreadnought respectively.
Originally, reaching level 50 would only unlock the "Skarner" Battlefield Mech. Perhaps due to killing Kog'Maw and Urgot, the blueprints that were supposed to unlock at levels 55 and 60 were now available.
"Skarner" was a close-combat mech with extremely tough armor and a shield that could resist physical and energy damage. Its treads allowed it to traverse almost any terrain except water, and its tail, equipped with a retractable giant steel saw, could drag enemies close for crushing.
"Kog'Maw" was a long-range support mobile turret, equipped with energy weapons. When upgraded to the maximum, its cannon could have a range of over 800 kilometers! From Piltover, its firepower could cover the Kumungu Rainforest in Shurima.
"Urgot," the mini-boss of the Battlefield Mechs, was a towering 12-meter giant with armor comparable to Skarner and an even tougher shield. Its right arm's dual-barrel rotary machine gun could fire 200 compressed bullets per second, and its left arm's missile launcher could unleash rockets over a hundred meters. It could store thousands of compressed bullets and rockets internally. Its most terrifying feature was the ultimate weapon similar to Skarner's, capable of dragging targets into its body for crushing.
In the Battlefield Mech universe, encountering an "Urgot" mech would result in dozens of casualties even for experienced human resistance fighters.
Unfortunately, the cost of Urgot was exorbitantly high, surpassing even Li Lin's Project Genesis and Battle Mechs. Like the Battle Mechs, each Battlefield Mech blueprint required 5 skill points and 500 orange essences. With only 22 skill points left and the need to unlock new technology at level 55, Li Lin could only choose one blueprint for now.
After careful consideration, Li Lin chose the Battlefield Mech "Kog'Maw." Compared to Skarner and Urgot, Kog'Maw was simpler to produce, cheaper, and provided crucial long-range support. Li Lin lacked long-range offensive capabilities, and although aerial combat mechs like the Storm and combat drones were also long-range, their range was short, suited for close-quarters combat.
Besides the mech surprise and "Focused Arc Laser," the combat system also included a kinetic weapon device, the "Matter Projection Cannon." Despite its name, it could be applied in various ways. The smallest caliber was akin to a Gauss electromagnetic rifle, but its rate of fire and power were in a different league.
Spending 9 skill points and 500 blue essences, Li Lin learned these three technologies, with complete blueprints forming in his mind.
As for the individual enhancement system, level 50 only unlocked the "Gene Testing" technology, used to test for genetic defects. It wasn't very useful at this stage, primarily serving as a prerequisite for future genetic enhancements.
Glancing at the future of genetic enhancement, Li Lin saw that level 55 offered no new skills, but at level 60, with the inventor system's "Nanotechnology" prerequisite, genetic enhancement would truly begin. This included nano-active constructs, new genetic enhancement agents, and gene mapping for customized genetic treatment.
Deciding to save skill points, Li Lin temporarily ignored "Gene Testing."
Then, he started researching "Rune Tech Theory."
(End of Chapter)
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