The echoes of Lawson's voice hadn't even faded before he spun around, his leather boots crunching sharply against the gravel.
He strode like a comet toward the makeshift base station that served as the temporary command center.
Against the backdrop of billowing dust and cold steel skeletons, his silhouette appeared exceptionally resolute and magnificent.
"Ester! Connect me to every energy node in the city!" He roared into the void as he kicked open the doors of the command center.
Ester's illusory figure manifested instantly, pale blue data streams cascading around her like a waterfall.
A look of unprecedented gravity flashed in her eyes—absolute obedience to the supreme command.
"Understood, Supreme Authority Lawson! Forcibly requisitioning all energy sources in Nova Star. Frequency bands aligned. All thirty-six energy nodes are merging at full speed!"
The roar of machinery across the construction site ceased abruptly, replaced by a deep, terrifying hum of electrical power.
The giant floodlights flickered before converging into beams of ghostly blue light, shooting straight toward Lawson's command center.
Lawson stood before the dust-covered console, his hands suspended in the air, fingers dancing in the void.
This was the hand speed possessed only by an "SSS-Rank Armor Smith"; every afterimage represented lines of code that defied all common logic.
"Since the old system is dead and we have no functional armor left," Lawson's eyes were bloodshot, but a wild, arrogant smirk curved on his lips.
"Then I, your new 'System' will code a brand new one right here! A system exclusive for Nova Star!"
"Dodge! George! Phyllis! Luther! Katie!" He roared without turning back, his voice piercing through the corrugated iron of the base station.
"Throw your 'scrap metal' phones into the pedestal! Today, I'm going to show the world what it means to craft a system by hand!"
As his fingers blurred, the steel skeleton of the construction site groaned.
Countless pale-gold data streams surged through the walls, forcibly pulling the dead phone terminals of his comrades into the air.
George stared in a daze, muttering to himself, "He's insane... He's actually live-coding a tactical combat system in a godforsaken construction site?!"
The air crackled with the ozone scent of tearing electricity. On the screens before Lawson, the prototype system began to flicker violently:
[New System Loading: 1%... 5%...]
With a flash of near-maniacal obsession in his eyes, Lawson swung his arms wide and let out a roar that shattered the silence:
"[ARMOR GOD'S VAULT] — FULL ACCESS UNLOCKED!!"
The air at the center of the station tore open. Golden fissures spread across the void.
Then came a sight that would make any Armor Smith's heart stop—ten years of Lawson's sweat, blood, and obsession from his legendary gaming career poured out of the spatial rift like a flood of steel!
Masterpieces of cold, gleaming metal suspended themselves in mid-air, each one representing thousands of nights spent grinding for perfection.
"Ester! Sync and copy all underlying logic! FORCED DOWNLINK START!!"
Lawson's fingers became ghosts over the logic panels made of raw authority.
The sky full of armor phantoms blurred into golden runes—code seeds—and shot into the phones of his friends. The dead screens instantly erupted with blinding brilliance.
Vrrr— Vrrr— Vrrr!
"This... this is?!" George looked down. His screen displayed text that made his heart soar:
[New System Detected: Armor God OS v1.0]
[S-Rank Template Detected — {Mage Saint} Synced. Requesting Deployment!]
Lawson wiped a bead of sweat and flashed a grim, predatory smile at the stunned group.
"Don't just stand there! The trash from the Old System has been cleared. From now on, every line of code, every plate of armor you use, was hand-kneaded by yours truly! Use them well!!"
With one final heavy strike on the operation panel, the power in the base station was instantly drained, leaving only the golden data stream before him pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Authority Deconstruction — Full Extraction!!"
With a low growl, the save data that had accompanied him for ten years—the "Inventory," "Armor Tree," and "Attribute Panel"—was physically "peeled" from his own screen, transforming into glowing blue icons floating in the air.
"Ester! Format and replicate! Convert into a universal system compatible with all of humanity!"
"Understood! Cross-platform application system [Armor God Terminal] has been generated!"
The programs then turned into brilliant gold light, sinking precisely into his comrades' phones.
The crude interfaces were completely overwritten, replaced by revolutionary applications.
[Armor God Storage System]:Optimized from the old version. It now supports instant material retrieval and a revolutionary "Data Sharing Link." Warriors can fully open their personal inventories to comrades through mental interaction. Except for soul-bound armors, all items can turn into light to be freely exchanged.
[Armor God Tech Tree]: The labyrinthine upgrade paths of the old system were gone. The new logic was simplified to the extreme: "Materials are Justice; NLP is Power." No more tedious step-by-step evolution; if you have the rare materials and enough NLP, you can leap across level gaps to forge high-tier god-gear.
[Armor God Real-time Status Bar]: The UI became clearer than ever. Beyond basic durability and HP, the new [Enemy Scanning Module] synced with head-mounted cameras. When staring at an enemy, their HP threshold, level, and elemental weaknesses would appear in vibrant virtual windows.
[Armor God Personal Skill Bar]: Divided into two dimensions:
[Combat Skill]: The art of killing. Skills unlock automatically as you swing your sword more often in the smoke of battle.
[Soul Skill]: Resonance of the spirit. Mental skills bloom like lotuses in the sea of the mind as your will transcends despair.
[Armor God Trading Interface]: Taking "laziness" to the edge of the universe. With the [No-Touch Loading] feature, armors sleeping in sub-space dimensions respond to the call, floating automatically into the workshops. Warriors can even remotely deploy newly forged armor to any location within their line of sight.
"This… this is more than just restoring our armor…" Katie slid her finger across her screen, looking at the exquisite and logically tight interface.
"Lawson, you formatted your 'life's blood' to share with us… and you optimized the whole thing?"
George looked at the glowing S-rank armor in his phone, his throat tightening.
He knew that was the result of Lawson's ten years of hard labor, and now it belonged to him.
Lawson leaned weakly against the console. Though his face was pale, his eyes were exceptionally bright.
He looked at his comrades who had regained their strength and let out a relieved, mischievous smirk.