Cyberpunk - Badland Madman [Cyberpunk 2077]

Making the Servo-Skull wasn't just a single invention, but a series of them. The components that went into building it were advanced, far more advanced than the world he was living in, or most of the tech he had received until now, except Star Wars and Star Trek.

Servo-Skull was a thing of a grimdark, stagnant, theocratic, techno-feudal spacefaring society. It was technologically advanced yet at the same time stagnant and regressive, a very strange mix.

But to Cypher, it was still futuristic. While not everything was state-of-the-art and great, there was plenty. Putting the anti-gravity engine aside, the skull also had a dumb AI called Machine Spirit. Beyond that, it had a great high-density energy cell better than the Arc Powercell he had gotten from the Leaper.

There was also a state-of-the-art inertial stabilization system and a heat dissipation and energy regulation system. The visual cameras had a great range and zoom, and the motion detection was also more advanced. Since he had gotten knowledge of multiple variants, it also had all sorts of biosensors for medical purposes.

However, it was still a very dumb and basic thing. Just a flying wrench or a single-purpose computer. For the one he made, a Utility Servo-Skull, he hoped to upgrade it since the itch had gone now.

By upgrading it, he wanted to upload schematics in it so it could follow set instructions to repair and refurbish second-hand chrome or build new things. Especially with the Sonic Screwdriver he was installing.

"Hey, Atlas, let's update Obsidian's stuff. Take that existing heatsink and upgrade it with the Servo-Skull's data, make it better, but keep it marginal, alright? Bump it up fifty percent from now, and it'll still be way below the real deal we got. And throw the inertial stabilization system in the catalogue, plus that high-density energy cell, but keep them sixty percent below what we got. It'll still be thirty percent better than the Leaper powercell, enough for them to moan my name in their sleep."

"Drawing a bigger marker on your head, understood," Atlas replied humorously. "The underground industrial levels have completed construction. Should you wish, I can guide you on a tour right away. We currently have seventeen floors."

"Seventeen?!" Cypher exclaimed, rising to his feet from the floor as the Servo-Skull creepily hovered near his head, staring at him through the red lenses fixed in the two eye-sockets.

It had an Obsidian logo painted on its forehead, and from the neck area protruded eight mechanical arms. It also had one major arm shaped like a spine, and at its end was a Sonic Screwdriver.

"Damn, you went all in? Alright, show me around." He said and grabbed a can of water from the fridge first. "SU-1, follow along."

He ordered the Servo-Skull to follow. It had no name, and he didn't bother because they weren't sentient and their purpose was limited. He couldn't name them all. For now, the codename meant Skull-Utility-1.

It also didn't have a voice, as Atlas was their overseer, and machines don't need human speech to talk to each other. Cypher had no reason to get involved in micromanagement in the first place.

"Follow me."

He followed Atlas's visible old avatar into his bedroom. He was curious where the entrance to this massive underground section even was. But then Atlas stopped in front of his double-door cupboard near the bed.

"This? I changed my damn undies just this morning."

"It serves multiple purposes," Atlas replied and waved a hand towards the cupboard. The two doors opened up and revealed an elevator. It wasn't big, just enough for six people. It had screens on the walls that showed fake scenery to feel less claustrophobic.

Cypher walked inside and saw the button panel. There were seventeen marked buttons and many more still left unmarked. He didn't press; the number one lit up on its own. The doors of his cupboard closed, and then the elevator moved.

Ding!

This time it was a proper elevator door, sliding wide to open. He stepped out of it with Atlas and found himself in a small lobby-like space. On his left and right were massive doors with smaller single-person doors added into them.

He followed Atlas to the right and entered through the small door.

Now, Atlas had only told him that an underground workspace was being developed. So, he was expecting a large underground cavity, an empty space where he could work and build stuff. But what he saw was far from that, and beyond his wildest imagination.

His jaw hung wide while his eyes looked left, right, center, and even above because the ceiling was just so high. He reckoned it was at least twenty meters high. And no matter which direction he looked, it was endless, well-lit with ceiling lights and…

"Holy fucking shit!"

Cypher cursed.

The entire floor was covered with magnetic tracks over which countless mechanical, industrial arms moved about. They were everywhere. On a closer look, he saw huge crates of Microbots sitting idle, waiting for more work.

"Wait!" He suddenly remembered that there was another large door on the left after exiting the elevator. "Is there another floor like this on the other side?"

"Yes, this is level one of the Obsidian Factory. This floor is the largest and highest, as I designed it specifically for you, with the understanding that you will build much larger things in the future. We have twenty-five meters of height, three square kilometers of usable area, and room for more expansion in the future. All these arms and Microbots are here to support you."

"What about the other floors?" Cypher asked.

"They're not this high, and they stay more packed instead. Those floors serve as automatic factories by design. Every level comes fitted with countless arms, Microbots, printers, fabricators, and soon Servo Skulls. I will personally run all of them with the highest efficiency."

It took a few seconds for the gears to turn in Cypher's head, and the full scale of seventeen massive floors filled with automatic machinery conceptualized. The floor he was on was mostly empty, looking like a place that wanted to be used to build something.

"Show me the rest."

Silently, he followed Atlas into the elevator again and went to the second floor. As told, it was more packed with machines everywhere, and entire production lines were set to build anything. Microbots were doing the heavy lifting of moving things around smoothly. But the best part was how silent everything was.

Another floor down, there were countless printers of various sizes. Another floor was filled with screens that ran god knows what. Floor after floor, Cypher became more numb as everything exceeded his imagination.

It took him two hours to finish the tour, and he didn't even walk around much. He just checked the starting parts of each massive floor.

Finally, he returned to the first level and stood beside a large mechanical arm. "Pinch me."

Bam!

The mechanical arm moved and suddenly knocked him on the head.

"I said pinch, fucker!"

"Apologies. I once read that some humans, when they receive head trauma, gain extraordinary intelligence."

"You just called me dumb, didn't you?"

"You did that, Cypher. I did not."

Cypher chuckled and looked around with an exhale. "This is a lot, Atlas. How're we even powering all of this?"

"I have control over the city grid. At the same time, every element in his factory runs with absolute efficiency down to the last spark. I have upgraded all their designs and constructed them from the ground up. They are meant to serve us. We no longer have to sell mere patents. We can sell the actual product."

"So we make everything here and use the milk farm nearby as a cover?" Cypher rubbed his face, a little worried. "I don't think we've got enough protection, man."

"We will produce clothing there. This underground factory remains unfinished for now. Once we purchase the lake and the dam, I will create a concrete slab in the middle depth of the lake and extract water from under it. The entire cavity will, too, become a factory. But for further progress, we do need our own energy generation. Regarding protection, I have made twenty Leapers with enhanced sensory capabilities and four DL-18 blasters each. They rest dormant near the surface and will surface if an attack occurs."

Cypher whistled at that. Twenty was a pretty good number, and knowing how those leapers worked, they would terrify the enemy into surrendering before killing.

"How do you plan on selling this stuff? Online?"

"That suits us the best. All this while, we have developed a respected reputation, and our brand stands out there. People already want our products, and many would be pleased to get them ready-made rather than make them personally. I will launch CitiNet sites for business-to-business and business-to-customer sales."

"And delivery?"

"For that, we will require external services. For now, I intend to keep this facility concealed. We will move the goods to the Continental and operate from there as our distribution hub. The nearby dairy farm will function efficiently for loading and unloading. It will leave you and this shack undisturbed."

"Well shit, let's fire it up then. You're damn smarter than me, so I don't gotta know everything." Cypher moved towards the elevator. "Hit me up if you need help, I'll focus on the itches, people, and the Continental. My name's out there, might as well have them think I'm some dangerous asshole you don't approach. I do want permanent bodyguards, honestly, but it's a hassle."

"I can find suitable options," Atlas offered.

"No, screw that, leave it. I'll make them myself when an android or cyborg itch hits me. Right now I gotta bounce to Kabuki and meet Misty. She didn't even show at the club opening, man."

He went back to his bedroom, took a quick shower, and donned another one of those bulletproof suits. This time it was simple, a grey suit with a white shirt, and no tie. There was no Delamaine either, and he got into his Quadra Type-66.

He floored it, enjoying the rush and an addiction he didn't mind having.

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Check out Cypher X Panam, Cypher X Gloria, Cypher X Judy NSFW ART, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens

Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 8 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 26-30 NovelFire chapters.