"Line interface is normal."
Andre carefully checked the Protocol Resonance Tower's equipment and confirmed there were no faults that needed handling.
"I was worried about compatibility between the old and new hardware… looks like I was overthinking it."
A guild member who'd come to watch the excitement looked stunned.
"After you Endfield folks tinkered with this for so many years, I didn't expect using it to be this fast—just a blink and it's done. This tech is insane."
Side note: he was the Perro uncle they'd met earlier in the Under-Construction Zone.
The other two guild members nearby were an Elafia uncle and a Kuranta uncle.
Clearly, after returning to the Hub Zone Base along the safe route, they'd followed Andre again to help out here.
"In just one night, you can build a shelter out in the wilderness."
Andre clenched his fist and thumped his chest, sounding deeply moved.
"This is the future integrated industrial tech is trying to achieve… our old dream has finally taken another huge step forward."
"You did good, Fat Big Bird—uh, Mr. Andre!"
While praising him, Chen Qianyu reflexively used his nickname, but before she could finish, she noticed Perlica's brows knit slightly, so she hurriedly corrected herself and called him "sir."
"Why's Hero Qianyu so polite today? I'm not used to it," Andre teased.
"Besides when we first met, how many times have you ever called me 'sir'?"
"…I didn't!" Chen Qianyu denied it flat-out.
No one could tell whether she was denying calling him by nickname—or denying she'd ever called him "sir."
Either way, she clearly didn't want to keep the topic going in front of the Administrator and Perlica.
Unlike her, Hao Fan was blunt.
"Fat Big Bird, I feel like the buckwheat powder still isn't enough. Can you make more?"
"No problem, but we've used up the buckwheat stock. You'll need to gather more—look around nearby," Andre replied, treating it as a minor issue.
After all, the fully automated production line was already built.
As long as they had materials, it could be restarted anytime—super convenient.
Just then, Qin Jiangchi's voice came through the radio.
"Administrator, Supervisor Perlica—power has been restored at the Hub Zone Base. Thank you, everyone!"
"Copy," Perlica replied with a faint smile.
"Engineer Qin, the Protocol Core is operating well. Maybe we can run more tests… is there anywhere else you need support?"
"We've only just started repairing the comm nodes, so we can't contact other areas yet. The Hub Zone is short on manpower everywhere," Qin explained, then raised the most urgent priority.
"The biggest problem right now is the Originium Byproduct Center. If something goes wrong there, the consequences are unimaginable… I'll transmit the site data to you now."
The terminal displayed the damage report for the Originium Byproduct Center.
Unlike the anchor impact, the destruction there showed clear signs of deliberate sabotage.
"Wait… Angels wouldn't cause damage like that. Did the Earthsplitters set their sights on something there?" Andre's tone turned grim.
Chen Qianyu grew curious.
"What exactly counts as 'byproducts'? Does it include your 'important work成果' too?"
She remembered the prototype machine they'd seen in the underground lab and wondered if it was something similar.
"Pretty much everything. Anything you can think of," Andre said urgently.
"But the main byproduct is Originium batteries. The Earthsplitters are probably after those!"
As he said that, his voice hardened further.
"Forget how many they've stolen—those people definitely don't know how to handle flammable, explosive materials safely… if something goes wrong inside and triggers an Originium explosion, it'll be catastrophic!"
That made everyone present realize how serious the situation was.
Especially Perlica.
Connecting earlier anomalies with intelligence from the Kuranta uncle, she felt the Earthsplitters' scheme warranted real alarm.
"This attack was clearly coordinated… the underground lab, the Protocol Core deployment zone, and now the Byproduct Center—none of these are targets they would normally prioritize."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Chen Qianyu said, brimming with eagerness.
"Let's go investigate what those mask-wearing bandits are really up to!"
Thinking wasn't her strength—she believed immediate action and solving problems physically was the best approach.
But Perlica caught a detail.
"From the photos, the Byproduct Center's damage is severe. If we can't restore its basic infrastructure, we won't be able to provide support safely."
She suspected the Byproduct Center's main door might have suffered a major failure and would need materials to repair before it could open normally.
Andre agreed.
"Now's the time for the Integrated Industrial System to keep doing its job!"
He sounded impatiently excited.
"Let's get back to the Integrated Core Zone and prepare!"
…
Hub Zone Base Power Station.
The crowd that had gathered under the Protocol Resonance Tower dispersed.
The three guild members planned to return to the Workers' Home.
They'd rushed out to help Andre and likely hadn't even treated their injuries yet, so now that they had time, they wanted to see Doctor Miguel.
Hao Fan, wanting to stock up more medical supplies, decided to go with the Administrator's group back to the Integrated Core Zone—
and gather more buckwheat along the way.
"The Earthsplitter traces seem to have disappeared from nearby for now," Hao Fan said after glancing at the enlarged game map.
Around him were only green dots (allies) and white dots (neutral units)—which meant some wild long-eared beasts.
Side note:
Long-eared beasts were creatures native to Titan II. They looked like rabbits carrying tufts of grass on their backs.
It was said that if you followed the ones carrying flowers, you could find resources they'd hidden—no idea if that was true.
But it was true that long-eared beast nests—and the huge shells left behind by Originium slugs—often had rare gatherables growing nearby.
Worth noting: Originium slugs originally came from Terra.
When people arrived on this planet back then, the slugs were brought along as well.
In fact, when settlers first came from Terra to Titan II, food options were so limited that they relied on Originium slugs to satisfy cravings—
"Valley No. 4 on the Tongue: Guild Hotpot Stew Edition."
Put slugs in water to make it easier to peel off the shell.
Then simmer the shelled slug meat together with pack-beast meat in a pot.
After that, add bitterleaf pepper and ash barley. Once the flavors meld, add crushed aromastone.
And the guild stew is done!
Annotation: modern young people can't accept that the soup contains slug meat in addition to pack-beast meat—yet it used to be extremely popular during the early development era of Valley No. 4.
So I improved it by replacing slug meat with canned food supplied by Endfield Industry.
Hao Fan had found these notes by accident earlier, and at the time he'd fallen into heavy silence—feeling that Terra people truly weren't picky eaters.
Anyway, today's wild Originium slugs were descendants of those originally released.
They adapted rapidly to Titan II's environment and evolved into different subspecies.
Hao Fan still hadn't seen one in person yet—
he'd only learned all this from chatting with guild members.
Someone even claimed that one major historical use for Originium slugs was brewing alcohol.
Because their secretions could push crops to convert into alcohol and aroma compounds.
Hao Fan wanted nothing to do with that.
"The Administrator's fighting style is really unforgettable," Chen Qianyu suddenly said, changing the topic.
"I'm super curious how the Administrator fought at full strength. Perlica, have you ever seen it?"
"I… haven't seen it with my own eyes," Perlica replied after a brief silence, her expression complicated.
"I found records saying the Administrator took part in several major campaigns. Some of the rumors came from those days… we need to help the Administrator recover as soon as possible."
She sighed and looked ahead at the Administrator—who'd caught a long-eared beast—then spoke with deep emphasis:
"For the sake of facing an even greater crisis in the future."
....
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