Chapter 108: Job: Tower Espionage (Part II)

As Maine's squad squeezed into the car and drove off, Leo dialed a number. Communication Contact: "El Capitan" Muamar Reyes Beep—beep— El Capitan: "Isn't this our hottest Afterlife boss, Mr. Burgerking? What can I do for you?" Leo: "Impala Automatics, what do you know about it?" El Capitan: "Heard they use fully automated workshop technology, haven't seen many people there. What's up?" Leo: "Would you be interested in taking over their factory? There might not be real fully automated workshop tech inside, but there are some assembly facilities that could help with your 'car business.'" El Capitan: "...Do you know what's inside?" Leo: "Just tell me if you're interested or not." El Capitan: "Of course! Who wouldn't want a shiny factory to maintain their cars if they had the chance?" Leo: "Good, tonight I'm going to hit Impala. This company has been involved in some shady stuff, and once it's exposed, they'll be out of money." El Capitan: "I see, no money means NCPD will kick them out—these days, people hide behind selling cars to do illegal business. Truly... shameless!" To save on administrative costs, NCPD would undoubtedly be happy to outsource this kind of work to freelancers. As for who takes over the factory and how they handle the facilities inside, as long as the new boss pays the rent on time, NCPD doesn't care. Leo: "Glad you get it. I need a multi-functional signal jammer, one that disrupts radar, blocks signals... the whole package." El Capitan deals in second-hand cars. That "second-hand" also includes cars he has people steal for him. So, El Capitan is quite skilled in signal search, jamming, and blocking—considering what's coming up, Leo needs a jammer. El Capitan: "That's easy. How do you want the goods delivered?" Leo: "I'll give you the location, place the goods on a Delamain car." El Capitan: "Got it—nothing less from the boss, even using Delamain for deliveries. I'll get your stuff ready right away—pleasure doing business! Anything else?" Leo: "One more thing—there might be some changes in Santo Domingo, business-wise." El Capitan: "Oh? Oh, oh!" Leo: "Let's leave it at that for now, we'll talk later." After hanging up, V asked, "So what do we do? I feel like you're using them as bait." "They are bait, but our side is at even greater risk." Leo finished speaking just as Delamain reminded him from behind, "Honorable Mr. Burgerking, your transport order has been completed. Please proceed to the workshop to collect your package." Jackie and V gave Leo curious looks. Since Leo had entered, Delamain had mentioned that Leo had an incomplete transport order. So, what had Leo shipped over? Seeing the curiosity on their faces, Leo walked towards Draman's automated workshop, waving his hand as he walked. "Come on, remember what I said? The Biotechnica agents caught us off guard with their specialized gear. Now, we need to restock on some similar equipment." The cargo Delamain transported included a batch of cyberware maintenance materials Leo had asked old Vic to buy, CHOOH2, and that pet care device old Vic used to maintain the lizard. Among them were bio-conductors and bio-semiconductors, all high-end goods—some models even used single-molecule wire materials. These materials have a unique property: equipment made from them can operate stably in a biological environment, making them the material of choice for most implant cyberware. And in single-molecule wires, these materials are used to allow biological systems to output strong voltages on demand, making the single-molecule wire rigid. Leo intended to use these materials to simulate a superpower from the Marvel universe— The powerful bio-static electricity that allows Spider-Man to cling to skyscrapers. [Professor Connors Scott cultivated a genetically modified spider according to your requirements.] [Professor Connors Scott is pleased with the result, as this is his most successful cross-species gene cultivation.] A genetically modified spider. Due to size constraints, the bio-static electricity on this genetically modified spider isn't strong for humans. But if humans had a bio-static structure as efficient as this, they could gain Spider-Man's powerful bio-static electricity— Of course, Spider-Man's energy source is still an issue—but in 2077, Leo has alternative methods. First, he needs to extract the bristle arrangement and static electricity generation mechanism from these tiny genetically modified spiders. This is a very complex mechanism, something 2011 technology could barely observe. But in 2076, bio-modeling devices used to care for high-end pets can do it. This is a highly risky move—Leo himself isn't sure if he can figure it out in a few hours. In theory, he could use bio-conductors to simulate bio-static electricity, creating cyberware or equipment that lets a person stick to walls. But who knows how it will actually turn out? And, can genetically modified spiders be transported across dimensions? [Attempting to transmit special biological entity.] [Tech Points consumed x2] [Tech Points -30] [Current Tech Points: 1270] Jackie and V were busy helping Leo unload, completely unaware that Leo had pulled a spider out of his pocket. Leo placed the spider in the device, plugged the device's power line into Makinaw's battery, then put on the tech specialist gloves and started calibrating the device, reading the data. After finishing that, Leo opened the materials box, which contained several pieces of skin-like material. Leo now had to process the bio-conductors and semiconductors on the material using the tech specialist gloves and the cyberware surgeon gloves, developing equipment that could allow a person to stick to surfaces. As Leo started working, a system interface he hadn't seen in a while popped up in front of him. [Detected development of new equipment.] [Activate development assist mode to accelerate the development process?] Leo chose "yes" without hesitation. [Developer's objective: Use existing materials to simulate the bio-static electricity of genetically modified spiders, granting the user the ability to adhere to surfaces.] [Developer's mastered relevant information: real-time bio-model of genetically modified spider] [Developer's mastered resources: C-32-1 type bio-conductor, PEAC-44c type bio-semiconductor, GSF-BNW type bio-semiconductor, universal skin-like material, mini motor BT-224] [Please select the type of target equipment: implantable cyberware/non-implantable cyberware] [Selected non-implantable cyberware] [Available development template: Mag Gloves (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare)] Leo felt his thoughts quicken, the schematics for the equipment in his mind becoming much clearer. Every detail was deeply etched in his brain, with no chance of forgetting one thing while thinking of another. The control mechanism for the spider's bio-static electricity became increasingly clear in his mind, merging with the device's readouts into mathematical models. His hands moved rapidly—his left hand, with the cyberware surgeon glove, constantly selecting the right materials and embedding them into the skin-like material, while the tech specialist glove on his right hand occasionally fine-tuned the microchips on the back of the skin-like material. In his mind, Leo was quickly programming the control software for the equipment to be compatible with the cyberware system. The entire process didn't pause for a second; Jackie and V were stunned— They had seen those TV shows where big companies advertised their products. Some were mechanically made, some were handmade—especially those products claimed to be "master-crafted." The kind of scenes they showed were endlessly fascinating. Materials from nature were concentrated by those skilled hands into a small area, with the materials, too small for the naked eye to see, tightly arranged on the gloves, creating a highly aesthetically pleasing mechanical scene. These were gloves—Jackie and V both saw it. But in reality, it wasn't just gloves; there were also electrostatic adhesive shoe covers for the feet. Jackie muttered, "My God... V, have you seen those videos Malorian Arms posts online of master gunsmiths making weapons?" V roughly understood what Jackie was getting at, nodding in agreement: "Actually, I think this is closer to how Herrera Automotive handcrafts their cars. But... I've never seen handcrafted cyberware. They say that's all high-end custom stuff, all classified." The two exchanged a glance: This is some serious stuff. Leo placed a gray synthetic material over the arranged bio-conductor array, connected all the pressure sensors, and completed the final packaging. [Development assist mode concluded.] [Calculating contribution of assist mode in development process...] [Balancing first equipment development and reward Tech Points.] [Tech Points -800] [Current Tech Points: 470] [You have completed first equipment development: Mag Gloves (Basic).] [Equipment Description: Provides surface adhesion capability, based on the material of the adhesion surface, a single module can provide up to 10,000N of normal force.] [Note: Extremely high energy consumption.] After finishing, Leo turned his attention to the silk glands of the little spider. Although it was just a small amount, it could still be used in an emergency. He just needed to extract the silk, liquefy it, then place it in a vacuum container to prevent it from degrading upon contact with air, then use high-pressure equipment to shoot it out, creating a simple web shooter. Looks like someone's going to cosplay Spider-Man. Jackie and V rubbed their hands and approached: "What's this?" "Magnetic gloves, and matching footwear, capable of... just put them on, and you can stick to walls. But before that, you'll need a little surgery." Leo pulled out a few micro-generators—he had already linked them together, converting the implantable cyberware into external equipment. The magnetic gloves consume a lot of energy, comparable to some specialized cyberware like thermal mantis blades. The surface temperature of thermal mantis blades can even exceed 600 degrees Celsius, and such temperatures can't be powered by the body's energy alone. The usual solution is to install micro-generators and CHOOH2 biofuel cells to power the cyberware. Without the conditions for major surgery, Leo could only perform "minimally invasive" cyberware surgery, so he had to hang the fuel cells externally. "Stick to walls?" V was puzzled, "Why would we need that?" Leo smiled faintly. "V, Jackie, you know, I have a lot of faith in you two." The two suddenly shivered—why the sudden sentimentality? Leo smiled as he patted both of them on the shoulders. "I believe in you... you'll definitely climb to the top of Biotechnica Tower, this very day, tonight."