The Servo-Skulls hovered around Daniel, making a buzzing sound. The mechanical lenses embedded in their eye sockets recorded the moment.
Warmaster's face was lit up with excitement. I didn't realize the medal ceremony came with its own exclusive cutscene! I've got to ask the group admin to send me the video later so I can keep it safe.
"I am willing." Warmaster knelt on one knee, stretching out his hands and speaking in a reverent tone.
"Are you willing to serve the God-Emperor and fight the darkness for the Imperium?"
"I am willing."
"Are you willing to take up your sword, protect civilization, and fight for humanity until the bitter end?"
"I am willing."
"Are you willing to fight the enemies of Chaos forever and eliminate all evil?"
"I am willing."
"What is your sworn duty?"
"To serve the will of the Emperor."
"What is your mission?"
"To defend humanity to the death."
"What is your destiny?"
"To fight to the death."
"Stand up."
Daniel prompted Warmaster to stand, then crouched down and pinned the Imperial Medal on his chest.
"Remember your oath today. The Emperor is watching you."
The veteran players, including Fred and UwU, watched the whole scene. It was a sour pill to swallow. Green with envy, they thought, Why wasn't I the one awarded the medal?!
Guess I've got to put my nose to the grindstone now. I want that Imperial Order, and its unique story segment.
"This is off the hook! A medal ceremony, honor oath, plus a unique questline? No other game is doing this," a new player shouted.
"Awesome, just awesome! I'm going to grind my heart out for that Imperial Order," another agreed.
"I'll give the Emperor my heart, my soul, and my left kidney."
"I'd sell my firstborn for one of those," someone else quipped.
"Someone call the Inquisition! Tie that heretic up and roast him slowly for three days," an Imperial fan yelled back.
The new players were hyped, their faces flushed with excitement. They were hooked, line, and sinker. Completely lost.
Now they only had one idea: work their tails off for the Emperor and give him their absolute loyalty.
Loyalty needs no words. Time to grind!
Daniel, feeling the players' enthusiasm, nodded with satisfaction. If you want the best bang for your buck in free labor, you can't beat the players. They're working around the clock, often in debt, just to prove their loyalty. Even the mechanical servants couldn't compare.
After the awarding ceremony, on the way back to the strategy room, Arale's projection appeared in front of Daniel.
"Master, the 'Tomorrow' series exoskeleton armor has been optimized."
Daniel nodded. "Shoot the relevant data over to my data pad."
"Understood, Master."
Arale completed the task quickly. Daniel opened the data board and checked all the data.
"You knocked it out of the park."
Daniel's praise made Arale look delighted. "Arale is happy to execute the Master's orders flawlessly. So sweet."
As soon as Daniel got back to the strategy room, he contacted Doraemon, who was stationed at the Lycard Space Station.
Doraemon had changed significantly. He wore a scarlet robe and had a shining data cable implanted in his head. Neural cables connected his spine to a Servo-Skull and robotic arms. He hadn't chosen to become an Astartes but had instead focused on strengthening his brain and implanting an auxiliary mind, becoming a Magos.
As a Magos, he could obtain knowledge in various fields from the Emperor by consuming Exp Points, eliminating the need to slowly learn like the members of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
"Sir Guide." Doraemon gave the Imperial salute with an excited tone. He had just seen the award ceremony broadcast by the Servo-Skull.
Every guy dreams of being a hero or a knight. Sure, he was a little older, but dreams don't die with age; they just get put on the back burner by the daily grind. The Guide reaching out means he has something big. Time to step up to the plate."
"This is Arale's optimized 'Tomorrow' series exoskeleton design, which is more cost-effective," Daniel said. "I want you to ramp up production and aim to fully equip the common soldiers of the Imperium."
Doraemon received the data packet. As a Magos, he had greatly enhanced logic and computing abilities. After a beat, he finished reviewing the data.
"The cost has increased by more than 30%, but the cost-effectiveness has also improved significantly," he reported. "It's just that right now, it might be tough to scale up production right now." Doraemon looked sheepish.
"What's the difficulty?" Daniel asked.
"I'm tapped out. I put every contribution point I had into expanding the workshop."
"Money problems?" Daniel smiled. "That's small potatoes."
We have the power to mint currency, so how can we be short on cash? It'll just be a matter of massive, severe over-issuance. The players will bear the brunt, and I'll take the flak.
"I'll have Arale run an evaluation, and then we'll inject a boatload of capital into Doraemon Workshop. Knock yourself out."
"By the way, have you researched any new equipment recently?"
Doraemon nodded, puffed up with pride. "Yes, Sir Guide. Doraemon Workshop is currently reverse-engineering the Power Armor you originally sold. The analysis is almost complete now. I plan to lower the cost and install a miniature nuclear fusion power supply device to increase the battery life."
"Doraemon Workshop also plans to build a bipedal walking mecha, currently tentatively named the Zaku 01. Here are its detailed data."
Doraemon compressed the Zaku 01 data into a packet and sent it over. Daniel checked it. According to Imperial classification, the Zaku 01 was a small mecha.
It was 17.5 meters high, had a maximum weight of 175 tons, and was equipped with a deflector shield and a micro-energy reactor. Combined with technologies like force feedback and neural docking, the driver could easily control the huge body.
It was equipped with a Giant Chainsword or Chainsaw Axe, six small Hell missiles, a heavy multi-barrel laser cannon, and a 120mm caliber heavy-burst machine gun.
Its performance was not as good as the Imperium's Knight Mecha. It lagged behind in firepower, shields, armor strength, and speed.
Its saving grace is that it's dirt cheap. The manufacturing cost of the Zaku 01 is only one-tenth that of an Imperial Knight Mech of the same height.
"Can it be mass-produced?" Daniel asked the question that concerned him most.
Doraemon nodded. "There aren't any technical difficulties. The only issues left are some structural optimization. If we can successfully expand Doraemon Workshop, we'll soon be able to deploy a Zaku-1 production line."
"I've got your back completely," Daniel said. "Industry is key to supporting war efforts. We must increase military production capacity. You need to take the bull by the horns and arm our soldiers to the teeth."
Daniel's words stunned Doraemon, then an excited expression appeared on his face. The boss is paying attention and personally pushing me to focus on military development! The writing's on the wall. If I hit this hard, that Imperial Medal is as good as mine.
"I will definitely complete the mission, Sir Guide."
Daniel nodded with satisfaction, offered a few more words of encouragement, and disconnected.
Just as he was about to leave, Arale informed him that Fax, the Governor of Planet Atomal, requested a meeting.
"Patch him through," Daniel said.
The projection refreshed, outlining Fax's figure.
"Esteemed Guide, please forgive the interruption."
"Cut the formalities. What's the report?"
Fax looked distinctly embarrassed, speaking in an uneasy tone: "Sir Guide, my Astropath received a collection notice from the Calixis Sector's capital. The tax department is demanding we pay the tithe."
Daniel's pupils dilated slightly as he looked at Fax. "Didn't you tell them that Planet Atomal was being ravaged by a rebellion?"
Fax sighed. "We did, but they said the rebellion was a problem of the Valancius family's own incompetence and was neither here nor there for them. They just want the tithe."
"If we don't pay the taxes by the deadline, they'll hit us with a traitor label and send in a punitive fleet."