Chapter 403: Night City's Replicator
Inside the laboratory, the heavy air seemed solidified by an invisible atmosphere of research.
David stood before the holographic projection, Gloria's physiological data flowing like stars across the deep blue light screen.
He was no longer that boy who could only helplessly watch his mother's life slip away. Now, he held the tools to change his fate in his hands—complete biological knowledge from the Adeptus Mechanicus system.
His fingers moved rapidly across the console, pulling up three parallel neural synapse repair protocols.
Detailed molecular formulas and operating principles were annotated next to each protocol. When he discovered that the catalytic enzyme in the standard treatment protocol was difficult to store stably in Night City's environment, he did not show the slightest panic.
Instead, he immediately accessed the local chemical database, spending a full six hours comparing alternatives, and ultimately decided to use an improved local compound as a stabilizer.
Late into the night, David was still repeatedly verifying the gene-editing sequences.
There were shadows of exhaustion under his eyes, but his gaze remained focused.
When he found a potential mismatch risk in the seventh base pair, he did not hesitate to scrap everything and start over, redesigning the entire vector structure.
This almost paranoid rigor was exactly the first lesson he had learned on the Death World.
At the other end of the laboratory, Lucy's progress equally reflected the results of her systematic training.
Spread out before her was a complex design blueprint, densely annotated with every component parameter of the quadrupedal Cybernetica Automata.
When she discovered that the joint transmission mechanism of the standard model could not adapt to Night City's humid and dusty environment, she did not simply copy the solution from the textbook.
For three consecutive days, she repeatedly tested the wear resistance of different materials.
Scattered across the workbench were more than a dozen alloy test pieces, each marked with detailed test data.
Ultimately, she chose a titanium alloy composite material and added a simple dust cover to the exterior of the transmission structure.
This seemingly minor improvement increased the automaton's estimated lifespan threefold.
The most difficult challenge came from the miniaturization of the power core.
The existing standard energy modules were too bulky to be installed within her compactly designed chassis.
Lucy was not discouraged; instead, she creatively wired two smaller energy units in parallel and redesigned the energy distribution system.
This task consumed nearly a week of her time, during which she experienced several failures due to circuit overloads, but she maintained an astonishing patience throughout.
During the assembly phase, Lucy's meticulousness was displayed to the fullest.
She double-reinforced every circuit interface and added backup circuits at critical nodes.
When the final sensor was installed, the internal structure of this quadrupedal automaton was as orderly as a textbook example. Every wiring harness was arranged along the optimal path, and every solder joint was uniform and perfect.
Ryo occasionally passed by the laboratory, but he never interfered.
He merely quietly recorded how rigorously David adjusted the pharmaceutical dosages and how patiently Lucy optimized the structural design.
These seemingly minor details were precisely the core manifestation of the Adeptus Mechanicus's knowledge system—integrating rigorous logic and precise operation into every decision.
The two young people proved in their respective ways that they had not only learned the knowledge but also learned how to apply it.
In this challenging process, they were completing the important transition from apprentices to practitioners.
Ryo's massive mechanical body passed through layers of blast doors, stepping into the core construction area of the plasma reactor.
The giant ring-like structure had already taken shape. Thick energy conduits coiled and extended like giant metal pythons, and the central reaction chamber gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the construction lighting.
The air was permeated with the distinct smell of ozone, welded metal, and coolant.
His crimson optical lenses slowly swept over every critical node, his built-in precision sensors silently collecting environmental data: radiation levels, structural stress, and energy circuit integrity.
Several nimble mechadendrites extended from his back, probing into several preset diagnostic interfaces to directly read the raw logs and real-time operational parameters of the reactor's core control system.
"Overall structural integrity meets design standards, with a deviation rate below 0.5 percent," Ryo's synthesized voice rang out on the vast construction platform, betraying neither joy nor anger. "But there is a 0.3-millimeter thickness unevenness in the secondary buffer layer of the seventh section of the main energy conduit. The synchronization frequency of the containment magnetic field generator needs to be recalibrated by 0.07 standard units."
The engineering supervisor standing by, a technician covered in grease, immediately jotted this down rapidly on his dataslate, a light sweat forming on his forehead.
The deterrence of a "Magos" in this world was undoubtedly a more terrifying existence than the former Arasaka Emperor.
Leaving the reactor core area, Ryo met with the "Three Magi" in the workshop's command center.
Arasaka Yorinobu was the first to report. He pulled up a holographic engineering map, clearly marking the progress nodes on it: "The main construction is 94 percent complete. The final energy core injection and main control system joint calibration will be completed within ten standard working days.
"The main bottleneck at present is the insufficient localized synthesis efficiency of some high-purity energy-conducting crystals, but we have found an alternative solution and it will not affect the final schedule."
His report was pragmatic and well-organized.
Johnny Silverhand's holographic image flickered impatiently as he interjected: "The boys down below are all waiting for this big guy to start moving! The synthetic garbage being rationed right now isn't even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.
"If you ask me, finish it up quickly and let everyone see what real energy is!"
His words pointed straight to the core issue, also representing the general impatience and expectation at the bottom rung.
The data stream of the "Administrator," Arasaka Kei, connected smoothly, supplementing with details: "According to the deductions from current data models, once the reactor is connected to the grid, the city's energy deficit will be fundamentally resolved.
"It is recommended to prioritize restoring the energy supply to the medical, water purification, and basic manufacturing areas in order to quickly stabilize societal mood, yielding the highest marginal benefit."
Ryo listened quietly to the reports from all three parties without offering an evaluation.
He raised his hand, and a new blueprint—even more complex, filled with flowing energy pathways and material structural decomposition diagrams—overlaid the original reactor structural map.
"This is the complete technical blueprint for the 'Material Replication System'." His synthesized voice remained steady, but the three present could all feel the weight it carried. "After the plasma reactor reaches critical output power and operates stably for forty-eight hours, initiate the first phase of construction for the replicator."
He pointed to the core module of the blueprint: "Prioritize establishing the basic elemental database and standardized material templates. The initial product catalog is restricted to highly nutritious synthetic food, purified water, basic medical supplies, and standardized construction materials."
His gaze swept over the three. "Yorinobu, coordinate the resources to ensure construction needs. Johnny, have your people keep an eye on the construction site; I do not want any unexpected interference. Administrator, you are responsible for the data architecture and operational logic of the entire system, ensuring it is absolutely controllable."
There were no requests for opinions, no room for discussion, only clear directives and an unquestionable timeline.
After handing over the highest clearance for the blueprint data, Ryo no longer paid attention to the specific execution of this matter.
For him, the technology and plans had already been given; the remaining implementation details were nothing more than the inevitable extension of the logical chain.
(End of Chapter)