Chapter 188: Liquid Nucleus Chips [Part 1]
The 1st generation robots were the first batch of robots Frentz created back when he built his own kingdom. While some new technologies weren’t implemented into these robots, they were far better than the next generation robots be it in terms of complexity or material quality.
Earlier, the Third and Sixth Squad didn’t know where these 1st generation robots were.
The 4th and 5th generation robots were akin to civilians; civilians who lived in this machine city that imitated an ecology. The 3rd generation robots were akin to guards; soldiers who were garrisoned inside this city. Meanwhile, the 2nd generation robots fell under the category of hermits who would be awakened only during certain critical moments. So what about the 1st generation robots?
Everyone looked at the image displayed on the wall. Other than Cillin, Eudy and a few others who were mentally prepared after discussing something relevant to the topic, everyone else wore a look of astonishment on their faces.
Every building in this city – no, not just this city, but many other places on the planet where the Robert Family was present – that was undamaged by the armed rebellion stirred by the 2nd and 3rd generation was a 1st generation robot.
Although the ancient castle they were stuck inside hadn’t undergone a transformation, everyone was wondering inside their hearts whether it was also a 1st generation robot. Relatively speaking, perhaps they were now inside the stomach of a 1st generation robot?
In fact, the 1st generation robots didn’t share the same humanoid shape as the other generations. They neither shared the same shape, nor did they share the same size. On the surface they looked incredibly crude, many of the robots were even covered in a layer of soil. They looked like a generation of robots who had phased out of time.
However, who was the better and who was the inferior was obvious the moment the 1st generation robots clashed against the 2nd generation robots.
A large body, agile speed, and excellent equipment. One could see just how much effort was sunk into these 1st generation robots just from their blinking energy shields and rapid transformation in order to adapt to the battlefields.
The fur on the gray cat’s ears kept trembling as it lay on top of Cillin’s shoulder. It wasn’t a reaction that would draw attention from outsiders. After all, who would keep staring at a cat’s ears for a prolonged period of time? Even if they did, they wouldn’t think much of the trembling fur on a cat’s ears.
Right now, every hair on the gray cat’s ears was tracking a particular wave band of signal. When Frentz had activated the 1st generation robots, those wave band signals had suddenly increased in number. The signals hadn’t came only from the 1st generation robots, but also from an outside source. These signals carried data that was similar to the ‘Rebel’ virus, and if the 1st generation robots were to receive these signals then the virus could start infecting them as well. However, the good news was that these 1st generation robots had not turned out the way the 2nd generation robots did even after some of them had received those wave band signals. They continued to maintain their orders and cleaned up the 2nd and 3rd generation ‘traitors’.
The shortest 1st generation robot was over ten meters tall, and the tallest 1st generation robot was over a hundred meters tall. The crowd had to admit that they felt pleased and a lot more at ease seeing these big 1st generation robots flinging the 3rd generation robots into the air like they were ants.
“The situation can be dealt with now that these 1st generation robots are here, right?” someone said.
“No, it is not that simple.” Frentz, who had walked to the grand hall alongside Shawton and Falvey cast a glance at the group at the grand hall and said, “The build of the 1st generation robots has their own weakness, and they are not without gaps in their defenses. There are too many 3rd and 2nd generation robots out there. The 1st generation robots numbered only one hundredth or less to the 2nd and 3rd generation robots.”
“So you’re saying…?” Falvey figured out somewhat what Frentz was going to talk next. The decision to accept Frentz’s requirement and miss the best time window to escape had made him feel pretty conflicted already. Falvey had even regretted his earlier decision because it put his subordinates’ lives at risk.
Right now though, Frentz’s tone suggested that he wanted them to join in the resistance against those robots. Currently, the world beyond the castle was the robots’ battlefield. Was he telling them to commit suicide fighting those robots with their own flesh and blood? Moreover, their current weaponry and equipment were completely inadequate to meet the needs of the battlefield. If they knew from the start that there would be a battle at this level, their equipment would’ve been several times stronger than what they had now. They wouldn’t have brought only some cold weaponry and simple guns with them either.
Frentz cast Falvey a glance for him to quell his impatience, “A, bring out the things.”
Frentz had just finished saying his command when a long row of boxes were dropped down from the ceiling. The boxes were opened to reveal the objects inside.
Beaver’s eyes lit up when he saw the objects inside the boxes. In fact, he nearly salivated on the spot. Everyone who recognized the objects inside the boxes were feeling the exact same thing as Beaver. If it wasn’t for the circumstances they were in right now, they would’ve pounced over to grab the things already. The feeling of being able to see but not touch a desired object was just as uncomfortable as a cat not being able to scratch its itches.
“Half cyborg weapons!” Falvey raised an eyebrow at Frentz and indicated him to speak further.
The gray cat’s body froze for a moment when it heard the word ‘half cyborg’. However, as Beaver explained things with a soft voice, the wariness in its eyes slowly faded and became replaced with thick condescension.
You call these pieces of junk a half cyborg? The real rare specie of the universe and half cyborg is sitting right here, and this old man dare show off those ripoffs of his?
That being said, no one including Frentz knew that there was a genuine half cyborg right here in this grand hall. After all, the half cyborg created by the Robert Family was an imitation of another half cyborg like the gray cat. Moreover, the weapons had been modified greatly for portability purposes, shaped into many forms and installed with all kinds of functionalities based on various needs.
A half cyborg weapon was extremely expensive, and it wasn’t standardized yet among Hunter regiments. Only an extremely small amount of Hunters would possess a weapon like this, not to mention that they weren’t even the latest products. There were more people who possessed half cyborg weapons inside the military, and this was one of the reasons Hunters were jealous of the military.
If they understood Frentz correctly, not only was he supplying both squadrons with these high-end weapons for use during this crisis, he would give away some of them after the incident was over as well.
“The core unlock code of these weapons is still intact. I’ve calibrated them to work for only 72 hours of time. Once this incident is over, I will unlock them and transfer their ownership to you. I would also pay you a sum of monetary reward identical to the one before too. What do you think?” Frentz looked at Falvey and Shawton.
Some people were swallowing down salivas already. They stared expectantly at their respective commanders.
They had to admit that Frentz knew very well how Hunters thought. He knew what a certain Hunter needed in a certain set of circumstances.
As a member of the four great Hunter regiments, no one got cold feet even though they weren’t part of the A Squad, especially when things seemed to have taken a new and better turn.
A large majority of the people Shawton and Falvey had brought with them were combat personnel, and it was inevitable that combatants would lust for battle. Some people finally couldn’t hold back after Frentz threw one attractive offer after another at them.
“Let’s go, commander!”
“We will avenge our fallen squadmates!”
…
Despite the desires to avenge their deceased squadmates, to satisfy the craving for battle inside their hearts, or to obtain the half cyborg weapons Frentz offered them, Falvey continued to maintain his silence and weighed the pros and cons on the inside.
After Shawton had discussed the matter with a few people inside the squad, he looked at Cillin, “Cillin, what do you think?”
Cillin thought for a moment before saying, “‘Grim Reaper’ is likely going after those robots only, so they probably won’t raise a hand against us. Since Mr. Frentz had supplied us with weapons and defensive equipment, I suppose this deal is barely acceptable if he wants us to assist the 1st generation robots in the battle only. However, I still have some questions that I wish to ask Mr. Frentz about.”
Shawton nodded, “Mr. Frentz, my squadmate wishes to ask you something.”
Frentz recognised Cillin. If it wasn’t for him, he would’ve been killed by his servant already. Therefore, although the members of the Robert Family had always thought quite highly of themselves, Frentz’s tone turned out relatively amiable since he was facing Cillin.
“Just ask me anything you want to know.”
“Mr. Frentz, my question is this: shouldn’t you provide us with a little more something other than these weapons to combat this crisis?”
“A little more something? Such as?” Frentz looked at Cillin in puzzlement.
“Fighters, armored cars, spaceplanes.”
“Oh, those.” Frentz say on his chair as his fingers tapped unconsciously against the wall, “The Robert Family is famed for their creation of robots. Fighters, armored cards, spaceplanes, etc. do not fall under our usual category of use. However, I do have some of them in my possession.”
Frentz’s fingers slid across the wall and pressed, causing a screen to pop up and display some diagrams.
“These are the only vehicles in this area. The rest are a little far away on the other side of the planet.”
The small-sized fighters displayed on the diagrams had a very unusual and flat shape. The armored cars were thankfully more normal looking. The spaceplanes however were either too big or too small. Still, they could use the small sized spaceplanes and act in small groups. It was better than nothing: after all, how could manpower possible compare to tireless machines?
It was obvious that the members inside the squads were more inclined towards Frentz’s suggestions with the addition of these things now. It was difficult for Falvey to turn down the offer when everyone was looking at him with expectant gazes anyway, not to mention that he himself was inclined to agree with this trade.
In reality, Falvey, Shawton and many others knew very well on the inside that this was a trade that profited both parties. The two squadrons needed new weapons, and Frentz needed someone to test these weapons on a real battlefield.