Chapter 207: Technology Upgrade
The confrontation between Arasaka and Militech on the Badlands outside Night City fell into a cruel but stable war of attrition.
Both sides tacitly limited the range of engagement to the perimeter of the Badlands manufactorum and the wider desolate areas, as if an invisible line separated the fires of war from the neon sea of Night City.
This was not out of mercy, but based on cold calculations of interest—maintaining a superficially intact Night City secured the long-term interests of the corporations far better than destroying it.
On this designated killing field, the slaughter lasted from dawn until dusk.
Arasaka's "Onimusha" power armor clusters, covered by tanks and self-propelled artillery, charged wave after wave against the joint defense line composed of Barghest, Lazarus mercenaries, and Militech experimental units.
Tactics on both sides evolved continuously through bloody practice.
Arasaka relied on its massive industrial base and manpower reserves, adopting a tactic of continuous pressure.
Although more than double-digit "Onimusha" units were destroyed every day—some had their reactors sniped from a distance by Lazarus snipers, others had their armor torn open in melee by Barghest's "Ripper" chainswords, and some were even instantly decomposed by the Power Fist of that elusive dark red experimental unit—their logistical supply lines maintained efficient operation throughout.
The White Whale and rear bases continuously sent new power armor and pilots to the front lines.
Arasaka was also adapting to battlefield changes, adjusting AP ammo formulas, strengthening melee training, and even deploying special sniper rifles specifically targeting power armor joints.
Militech and its allies also bore immense pressure.
Barghest's power armor troops suffered heavy losses. Many pilots who had just completed basic training and weren't even proficient in shield energy management turned into burning wreckage under Arasaka's frenzied assaults.
Colonel Hansen's face grew gloomier by the day as he watched the growing list of casualties.
However, technical support from the "Sage" and Militech's own emergency production capacity barely maintained the stability of the battle line.
Although the "Vargr" power armor was still inferior to the "Onimusha" in basic performance, relying on shield technology and constantly updated weapon modules, they often held the advantage in exchange ratios.
Lazarus mercenaries acted as a fire brigade, relying on superb piloting skills and rich combat experience.
Their commander, "Butcher," showed intense interest in the Power Fist of that red experimental unit, attempting multiple times to acquire the relevant technology.
Unknowingly, this war turned into a testing ground for technical weaponry on both sides.
Every piece of battlefield data was carefully collected, analyzed, and fed back to rear R&D departments.
Arasaka was constantly optimizing the armor distribution and firepower configuration of the "Onimusha"; Militech accelerated the development of its own derivative models based on the shield technology and weapon interfaces provided by the "Sage."
Behind this seemingly evenly matched confrontation, Joric's existence was quietly tipping the scales of the war.
He did not directly intervene in any specific battles, but the technologies he provided—from the regional shield guarding the Badlands manufactorum to the kinetic shields enhancing individual survival rates, and then to the chainswords and new weapon modules on the experimental unit—had become key factors influencing the situation.
Like a calm observer, he collected data and verified technologies through this massive testing platform of a battlefield.
The warring parties, to some extent, all became participants in his macro experiment, passively engaging in cruel competition along the technological path he had designated.
Inside the central workshop of the Badlands manufactorum, Joric's attention was not on the specific tactical command of the front lines.
As long as the defense line held firm and precious combat data could be continuously transmitted back, this war of attrition happening outside his door held value for him.
His processing core was currently focused on conducting the first systematic optimization of that dark red experimental unit.
He carefully reviewed the technical proposals submitted by Militech and Kang Tao.
The two plans proposed by Militech—centered on high-performance laser weapons, or a multi-functional configuration combining rocket pods and electronic warfare modules—demonstrated a solid industrial foundation and pragmatic thinking.
"Standard and unremarkable, old friend," Joric commented to the silently hovering Servo-skull beside him, his crimson optical lenses scanning Militech's data stream.
"Lacks eye-catching creativity, but its value lies in structural stability and mature technology. Equipment of this level is quite suitable for equipping the Imperial Guard. After all, the Imperial Guard doesn't need, nor can it afford to maintain, overly sophisticated weaponry."
In contrast, Kang Tao's proposal reflected a different technological path, focusing on smart weapon fire control systems and collaborative combat networks between light weapons.
Joric paid particular attention to their target prediction algorithm.
"The thinking behind this algorithm is interesting; both precision and adaptability exceed the baseline," he whispered to the Servo-skull, pulling up the relevant data link.
"Although limited by the power of the base platform, making it ineffective against heavily armored targets, this intelligent fire control logic... might be used to improve Space Marine bolters, further enhancing their precision killing efficiency."
He archived these technical plans from this world.
Militech's plan was tagged as "Reference for Standardized Imperial Guard Equipment," while Kang Tao's smart fire control algorithm was extracted separately, noted as having "Optimization Potential for High-End Individual Weapons."
He did not rely entirely on these foreign technologies but used effective ideas within them as data reserves and sources of inspiration.
Subsequently, he integrated the data transmitted back from Valerie's field tests with general feedback from frontline troops and began systematic optimization of the experimental unit.
The core framework remained unchanged. That solid linear skeleton, ceramite composite armor, plasma reactor, and shield core all performed steadily and required no modification.
The focus of iteration fell on refining details and upgrading weapon systems.
He fine-tuned the response curve of the leg hydraulic transmission system, improving movement fluidity under normal conditions.
He improved the human-machine interaction interface inside the cockpit, optimizing the layout and tactile feel of several key physical buttons.
Simultaneously, he refined the tactical suggestion logic of the auxiliary AI, making it fit better with the thinking habits of pilots like Valerie who possessed actual combat experience.
The key to this round of upgrades lay in the expansion of weapon modules and a thorough overhaul of the piloting mode.
Based on previous concepts, he designed and manufactured multiple rapidly interchangeable weapon modules.
These included a small laser cannon mounted on the shoulder to provide continuous and precise medium-range suppression fire; a replaceable left-arm heavy weapon platform with options for a Plasma Incinerator (massive single-shot power but high energy consumption) or a Storm Bolter (rapid fire rate, better reliability).
Additionally, a physical shield enhancing frontal defense was included as standard configuration, used to construct a final line of defense when shields overloaded or when facing saturation strikes. For melee options, while retaining the iconic Power Fist, a backup "Ripper" chainsword was also allocated for the standardized interface.
At the same time, he completely abandoned the old piloting mode based on control sticks and augmented reality interfaces, installing a brand-new neural direct link interface for the experimental unit.
This was not the radical technology common in this world that required deep body modification, but a more "gentle" deep connection protocol designed based on his understanding of Skitarii augmentation technology.
It could input the power armor's sensor data stream directly into the pilot's brain and transmit the pilot's neural commands more swiftly and precisely to the machine, achieving near-instinctive reactions, significantly reducing operation latency, and greatly enhancing human-machine coordination efficiency.
"Time for the second round of testing, old friend," Joric said to the hovering Servo-skull, sending an internal communication order to Valerie simultaneously.
"We need to accurately quantify the combat effectiveness improvement brought by the neural direct link mode and evaluate the most cost-effective weapon module combination in actual combat."
(End of Chapter)