Goal = 150 Powerstones.
--
On the third floor of the command building, inside a concealed operating room.
Zeke lay flat on a massive stone operating table. Beneath him was a medical-grade cushioning gel pad redeemed from the shop.
His upper body was bare. The 100% completion of the Type-III Basic Physique Enhancement had brought this body to the theoretical state of perfection for a mortal, assuming no psychic powers or genetic modifications were used.
In the observation room next door stood Schrödinger Bro, Tax Bro, Cogboy, Blood Angel, White Scars, Bro G, [Soul of Cadia]...
All the core members were squeezed in front of the one-way glass, holding their breath and watching intently.
Zeke took a deep breath and retrieved the [Salamanders Legion Gene-Seed] from his inventory.
Inside the fist-sized crystal, flowing magma seemed to be sealed away. A warm sensation transmitted through his skin, and he could even feel a faint, steady pulsing—like a slumbering heart.
"It's starting."
Cogboy's mechanical eye adjusted its focus, pale blue data streams rapidly scrolling across his retina.
[Detected: Host has met implantation standards.]
[Confirm initiation of "Astartes Augmentation Surgery (Phase I) - Genetic Compatibility Restructuring Preparation"?]
[Price: 10,000 Imperial Coins]
[Estimated Duration: 1 hour]
[Warning: There is a 10% risk of failure during the augmentation process. Failure will result in permanent damage to the host.]
Zeke didn't hesitate.
"Confirm."
[Command Accepted]
[10,000 Imperial Coins Deducted]
[Remaining Personal Account Balance: 6,671,131 Imperial Coins]
[Augmentation Sequence Initiated]
Above the operating table, the air began to warp.
It was the same rippling distortion carrying the aesthetic of precision machinery. Invisible gears meshed and turned in the void.
A point of silver light burst forth from the center of the ripples, rapidly expanding into a circular portal half a meter in diameter.
Flowing inside the portal was a phantom projection made of countless tiny cogs, piston drive shafts, and energy conduits—like the internal blueprint of some ultra-complex machine.
From within the portal, three mechanical arms slowly extended.
The metal gleamed with a cold luster. The joints were spherical universal gimbals, and the tool heads at the front could change shape as needed. They shifted into scalpels, forceps, syringes, staplers, laser-cutters, and more.
There were even molecular-level probes meant for gene splicing.
Even having witnessed the System's augmentation scenes several times before, Zeke couldn't help but marvel inwardly. The technology behind this game had completely surpassed the realm of his understanding.
Suddenly, Zeke felt his body sink.
An invisible force field locked him firmly onto the table. It was a flawless immobilization—every joint and every muscle was perfectly secured in the optimal position for the surgery.
From the portal above, the tip of the left mechanical arm morphed into a long, slender hypodermic needle. The syringe was filled with a pale gold liquid.
"Anesthetic?" Zeke thought to himself.
The moment the needle pierced his carotid artery, the icy liquid surged into his bloodstream.
But the anticipated haziness of consciousness never arrived. On the contrary.
His senses became even sharper.
His hearing could pick up the suppressed breathing of the crowd in the observation room next door. His vision could discern the nanometer-level machining grooves on the surface of the mechanical arms. He could even feel the exact trajectory of his blood flowing through his veins.
"It's not an anesthetic... It's a sensory enhancer?"
Zeke was stunned.
The right mechanical arm moved.
The tool head shifted into a high-frequency vibrating scalpel. The edge of the blade glimmered with the sharpness of a monomolecular edge.
It hovered directly over Zeke's chest, slightly adjusting its angle.
Then, it descended.
Sssshk!
Skin, muscle, and fascia were sliced open without the slightest resistance. The incision was so clean it looked as though it had been carved by a laser.
But strangely, Zeke realized he didn't feel any pain whatsoever.
The wound didn't bleed, either. Some sort of energy field formed a temporary hemostatic barrier along the edges of the incision.
Everyone watching through the one-way glass drew a collective breath of cold air.
"Holy fuck..." Tax Bro's Adam's apple bobbed. "This is so fucking... hardcore..."
White Scars unconsciously rubbed his own chest. "Just looking at it hurts..."
"It's not about whether it hurts or not," Cogboy's mechanical eye recorded every single detail of the surgery. "It's the precision. Look at the depth of the incision. It touches the exact surface of the sternum. Not a millimeter off. That level of control..."
Inside the operating room, the mechanical arms continued their work.
After opening the chest cavity, the left arm inserted a probe equipped with a micro-camera, projecting the internal imagery into the air.
Zeke could clearly see his own beating heart. It was strong and vigorous, but it was still a mortal heart.
The third mechanical arm extended from the portal. Its tip was a complex, multi-porous syringe.
It aimed at the vascular cluster surrounding Zeke's heart and plunged the needle in.
The pale gold liquid began to inject.
It was no ordinary drug.
The moment the fluid entered his bloodstream, Zeke felt a searing heat erupt from his heart, rapidly spreading to every blood vessel and every cell in his body.
His gene chains were restructuring.
He could feel it. It was a profound, molecular-level reconstruction.
Under the influence of some external force, his DNA double helix was being disassembled, edited, and reconnected, rearranging itself to match a predetermined template.
A holographic projection materialized in the air. Zeke's original genetic blueprint was displayed side-by-side with the template blueprint extracted from the Salamanders Legion Gene-Seed.
Countless specks of light flowed between the two blueprints, representing the replacement and fusion of genetic fragments.
[Primarch template adaptability conditioning in progress...]
[Progress: 17%]
Time slipped away amidst the precision surgery.
One hour later.
[Phase I Augmentation Complete]
[Genetic Compatibility Restructuring Successful]
[Host has acquired the physiological foundation to accept subsequent organ augmentations]
[Toxin Resistance +300%, Radiation Resistance +500%]
[Basal Metabolic Efficiency Increased by 150%]
The incision on his chest slowly closed under the influence of the energy field. Only a faint red line remained on the surface of his skin—newly formed tissue that would completely vanish in a few days.
Zeke sat up and flexed his arms.
His strength hadn't noticeably increased, but he could feel that something deep within his body was different. It was tougher, and far more... brimming with potential.
It was as if a container that was previously full had its capacity expanded, waiting for new contents to be poured in.
He looked at the System interface.
A new option had unlocked.
[Complete Astartes Augmentation Surgery Suite (Salamanders Legion Standard Template)]
[Includes: The full 19-stage primary organ implantation surgery protocol]
[Estimated Total Duration: 24 hours]
[Price: 1,999,999 Imperial Coins]
[Note: Includes basic post-surgery adaptability training regimen]
Nearly two million.
Zeke pulled up his account interface. Balance: 6,671,131 Imperial Coins.
He raised his head, looking through the one-way glass at his companions in the observation room.
Everyone was looking back at him.
Tax Bro gave him a thumbs-up, grinning widely.
White Scars made a "charge" gesture.
Cogboy gave a calm nod.
Blood Angel pressed his palms together in a gesture of blessing.
Schrödinger Bro... he simply watched him quietly, his eyes filled with trust and anticipation.
Zeke smiled.
Then, he clicked confirm.
[Command Accepted]
[1,999,999 Imperial Coins Deducted]
[Account Balance: 4,671,132 Imperial Coins]
[Complete Augmentation Sequence Initiated]
[Warning: This process is irreversible and cannot be interrupted]
[Host must remain conscious throughout the process]
--
Wanna read ahead?! Join Patreon.com/AHumanMadeMOFO to read 30+ chapters ahead and support me if you wish.