Chapter 495
Chapter 495
“How exactly do you plan to study me, though?” Jake asked.
“Don’t worry,” Mick said with a crooked grin on his face. “It won’t hurt.”
Jake just stared at him silently, and Mick wiped off his grin.
“It was a joke, of course,” he said. “I’m well aware that you guys don’t feel pain.”
Jake stayed silent, his eyes fixed on Mick, waiting for an answer. Mick hesitated. For a moment, he seemed to carefully weigh his words, as if he already knew Jake wasn’t going to like what he was about to say next.
“To study you,” Mick finally said, “I’d need to implant a chip in your head.”
“No way.”
“Jake, there’s no other way to do this.”
“Absolutely not.”
Seeing his reaction, Mick lifted his hands in a calming gesture. “Jake, just hear me out. I know it sounds bad…”
“Sounds bad?” Jake cut in. “You’re talking about putting something in my head like I’m some kind of experiment.”
“That’s not what this is,” Mick said quickly. “The chip wouldn’t control you or endanger you, of course. It would be nothing like the one the Commander made me implant in Owen’s head. No spyware of any kind, and certainly no self-destruct function. It would only monitor how your stats change, how your body responds when you use your abilities, and things like that. It’s the only way I could understand how your powers work and use that knowledge to create tech tailored specifically for you.”
While Jake was inclined to believe Mick had no intention of harming him in any way, the thought of having something foreign implanted in his head made him uncomfortable.
“My answer is still no,” he said. “Did you really think I’d just agree to that?”
“No,” Mick admitted. “I figured you’d fight me on it. But I also thought you might be at least a little curious about the kind of tech I could build for you. Who knows? Maybe I could develop something incredible, some new abilities you haven’t even imagined.” He tilted his head slightly. “I’m not asking you to decide now, Jake. Just promise me you’ll think about it someday. Don’t let your first reaction become your final answer.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Mick smiled faintly. “Good. That’s probably the best answer I’m going to get for now.”
The disappointment in Mick’s expression was hard to miss. He was trying to hide it but wasn’t very successful. The whole thing clearly mattered more to him than he wanted to admit, and that made Jake curious.
“I can see what I’d get out of it,” Jake said. “New powers. But what about you? What exactly are you getting out of this? And don’t just say faster progress on your Fabrication skill.”
Mick let out a quiet breath, as if he’d expected the question. “Honestly? Not much, at least not in the way you mean.” He paused, searching for the right words. “Mostly, it’s just curiosity. Ever since I was given Fabrication, I’ve been obsessed with making new things. Every time I get to work with something unfamiliar, I not only progress my skill faster but also unlock a new section with new types of blueprints. It opens the door to building something I couldn’t have made before.”
His eyes lit up a little as he spoke, some of the disappointment giving way to excitement.
“Hope that answers your question,” he finished.
Jake was silent for a moment, thinking. Then he asked, “These new abilities, how exactly would you give them to me? Would they simply add to the Genetic Development Interface, from where I could purchase them, like any normal abilities?”
Mick shook his head. “No. Here’s how it works: I invent a new piece of tech that contains a single ability. Then I implant that tech into your body. After that, you can use the ability whenever you want. You don’t have to spend mana to purchase it first like you do with standard abilities.”
So that meant even more foreign objects in his body. Great.
“So, one piece of tech means one ability, huh?”
“That’s correct.”
Jake looked over his shoulder at Owen and asked, “So, besides the chip in your head, you now also have two pieces of tech in your body, one for each of the two new abilities?”
Owen nodded.
Mick must have realized where Jake’s thoughts were going because he said, “It’s not as bad as it sounds, Jake. I can remove those implants at any time without any trouble. If you didn’t like an ability or got tired of it, all you’d have to do is come to me and ask for it to be removed or replaced with another one.”
“Like I said, I’ll think about it,” Jake said.
“Please do. You saw the two I invented during your fight with the Titan, right? You can’t deny the abilities I gave Owen are incredible, can you?”
“I also noticed those two abilities Owen used consumed quite a bit of his mana,” Jake said.
“It’s not as bad as you think, Jake,” Mick said a bit too quickly.
Jake looked at Owen and asked, “How much mana do those two abilities consume?”
Owen held his hands before him and pulled them apart as far as they could go.
“All right, I admit using those abilities can be quite costly in terms of mana consumption, especially when they’re used excessively,” Mick said. “But I’m working on improving that. I’m sure I’ll eventually be able to make them consume less mana.”
“All right then,” Jake said. “I’m leaving for now, Mick.”
“If that’s what you want,” Mick said with a sigh. “I really hoped we’d work together, but I guess I’ll have to accept it. Still, if necessary, I hope you’ll come back. I mean if, or rather when, the Whisperers contact me. They might want us working together.”
“Yeah. Though considering your base is quite far from Dead City, getting here isn’t very convenient.”
“In Dead City, as you call it, I’ve been working on another teleporter, and it’s all but finished,” Mick said. “By the time of your next visit, it’ll likely be finished and ready to use.”
“Good.”
“Well, then we part ways for now, Jake. When the Whisperers reach out, I’ll find you in Dead City. I have plenty of small drones scattered throughout the city. The ravagespawn never attack them, hardly even react to them. My drones can also locate mana clouds and recharge themselves. I was able to upgrade them that way thanks to studying Owen. The upgrade was based on one of his abilities. So as long as you’re in Dead City, I’ll be able to find you. But for now, farewell, my friend.”
Jake nodded. He turned to look at Owen. “Are you staying? Or coming with me?”
“There’s nothing for him to do at my base right now, so he’s going with you, Jake,” Mick said. “Board the helicopter you arrived in, and I’ll remotely pilot it back to Dead City.”
Jake nodded, and then he and Owen left the room. A few minutes later, they boarded the helicopter, and it took off. Soaring into the air, it rotated toward the direction of Dead City and sped through the sky toward their destination, quickly accelerating.
Jake looked at Owen and asked, “So are you fine with having all that tech implanted in your body?”
Owen shrugged.
“Are there any side effects?” Jake asked.
Owen was silent for a moment, then shook his head. Jake kept his gaze on him for a moment longer to see if Owen would add something, if he would try to convey something with gestures. However, his counterpart went completely still.
After that, Jake lapsed into silence. He braced himself for a lengthy and uneventful flight, not expecting it to be any different from the flight to Mick’s base. However, halfway to their destination, something unexpected happened.
A beeping sound came from the dashboard. Jake glanced at Owen, and both of them went to the cockpit. Just as they got there, Mick’s voice came from the loudspeakers.
“Jake, Owen, something isn’t right,” he said in a worried voice. “I’m detecting something moving toward you from the east. Something huge. It seemed to appear a second ago out of the blue sky. I have no idea what it is, but it seems to be on an intercept course with you guys.”
Just as Mick said that, Jake turned his head and, through the transparent canopy, indeed saw something huge drifting through the air toward them from the side. It seemed to be a few hundred yards away, but Jake could already make it out.
It was some kind of aircraft. At first glance, it seemed like an airship. Only it was something else entirely. More than anything, it resembled… a whale. Only it was much bigger than one.
It was definitely some organic creature floating through the sky. It appeared to be a fusion of mechanical and organic parts. It resembled a gigantic whale with compound eyes and organic-looking skin. But its overall organic appearance was contrasted by clearly artificial parts implanted into its body. Jake discerned a propulsion system, some kind of weapons, along with some unfamiliar equipment.
Watching the biomechanical creature drift toward them on an intercept course, Jake said, “Mick, are you seeing this? What the hell is that thing?”
“Yes, I’m seeing it, Jake, but no, I have no idea what it is. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“Do you think it’s them?” Jake asked. “The enemy the Whisperers warned you about? Did they track us because we were talking about them?”
“I… I really don’t know, Jake.” Mick sounded puzzled and confused. “The Whisperers never told me who their enemies were, what they looked like, or what kind of technology they used. I’m just as confused as you are.”
Jake was about to respond when the biomechanical creature opened its enormous mouth. A moment later, a dozen or more smaller flying creatures poured out of the gaping maw. Each was roughly half the size of their helicopter, with long, flexible bodies that undulated through the air like serpents. Jake couldn’t make out many details yet, but he could already see that they had no wings, but they could fly just fine.
More and more of the bizarre creatures emerged from the massive thing, whatever it was, then shot toward the helicopter at incredible speed.