Free Web NovelChapter 169: Extraction of Materials
Seth followed right behind her, gawking at the sight before him in mild amazement. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
For one, her workshop was several times vaster than Engineer Ron’s, and then there was the sight of rows of pedestals holding various gadgets of sorts.
"Are these post-apocalypse crafts?" he asked curiously, as his hands reached for a glowing Rubik’s cube-like device levitating above its pedestal as it spun, seemingly trying to sort itself.
Glancing at him from the corner of her eyes, Kylie warned first, "Do not touch anything!"
Seth’s hands froze, silently retracting back into his pockets, continuing to follow her as they headed for a workbench.
"Yes, some are. I had the chance while in Australia with the help of some worthy peers..." she answered.
Seth’s eyes flashed with recollection. ’That’s right, she wasn’t even on the continent when shit hit the fan.’
He couldn’t help but get curious. Having not left the USA yet since all this crap had begun, he was ignorant of how other nations were faring.
"How was it there?" he asked.
Kylie replied nonchalantly, "Their government barely survived. The casualties among civilians had been severe, the military had it even worse..."
Seth nodded. That was about what he estimated. Indeed, no one could control the outcome of the apocalypse.
After all, everything had been random, and the Corruption didn’t discriminate. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were nations completely eradicated by now.
It was sad, but it was the unfortunate reality. Having more than fifty percent of the population mutating along with the land, animals, and forestry just meant this.
And then there was the looming threat of hostile races. Humanity was really at its lowest point.
Kylie finally halted, stretching out her palms towards Seth. She stared at him.
And he stared back...
"Give me the blueprint," she finally voiced, motioning.
"Ah, about that..." Seth started. "You see, it’s not quite a blueprint, you see."
He waved his hands, and a brilliant sheen of emerald bled into reality. A green crystal orb bobbed midair.
Kylie stared at it unblinkingly, fascination brewing in the depths of her gaze.
"This is my most cherished item, the oracle crystal. It’s an ancient relic, apparently used by an ancient civilization to groom their young. Take it as a Tutoring AI of sorts," Seth introduced.
Kylie’s eyes burned brighter, lights of curiosity spilling from their depths.
She reached her hands towards the hovering orb. "I can ask it anything?"
Seth nodded and shook his head right after. "While yes, it’s quite complicated, and the info it can give is restricted to its tier privilege."
Seth wasn’t revealing his most prized item to Kylie out of trust, but merely out of necessity.
No matter how attracted he was to the damsel — that he couldn’t deny — his logical faculty still ran unimpeded.
He wasn’t just showing her to build an impression. That was beneath him.
It was just, for their project to progress smoothly and without a hitch, he felt she would need guidance. And what better guardian than the oracle itself?
"Fascinating," she expressed as the orb now sat on her palm, pulsing with emerald lights.
Her heart was already burning with anticipation. She was ready to submerge herself into this new form of craft right away.
Turning to Seth with bright eyes, she asked, "So where are the alloys we’re working with?"
The smile on Seth’s lips stiffened. He facepalmed. "Fuck!"
How could it have escaped his mind? Now this might cause a delay.
Wearing a dark expression, he questioned the oracle right away. "Oracle, what type of alloys will I need to craft a genetic battle armor?"
The crystal ignited brighter on Kylie’s palm...
[Metal alloys needed for crafting genetic battle armor shell includes...
Basic Essence Steel
Damascus Amorite
Lead Tryon ...]
The list went on and on, the number of alloys and metals culminating to a total of 29!
Fortunately, according to the Oracle, these metals weren’t qualified to be rare, and with a prompt scan it revealed their locations.
Seth’s expression went dark, his mood sinking, calculating the routes he’d have to take to visit the various states, and the fact that he’d have to leave the country to Mexico to locate three more alloys.
At most, with his peak speed and no impediments, Seth estimated he’d take at least 31 hours to make a round trip.
His deadline just got tighter...
He massaged his forehead, as though trying to banish a headache. Like always, things never ran as smoothly as anticipated.
Plus apparently, even after doing the delivery work, he’d be the blacksmith!
According to the Oracle, these metals needed heavy smithing for purification, and the amount of strength needed was such that he’d have to even use a RiftTide alloy and go all out.
Seth didn’t waste time. Since the genetic battle armor was going to be crafted for him, it had to be based on him.
Though it wasn’t compulsory that this was so, Seth had limited choices.
After giving Kylie a drop of blood, he didn’t tarry. Each second wasted was a second more he would be deprived of his armor.
With a blur, he retreated from the research facility entirely. Fortunately, Kylie would be busy deciphering his gene code for quite a while to get to the primal pattern layer.
Hopefully, he should be back before she was done.
Seth’s frame tore through the sky, his hair flowing back due to the pressure of the wind, in his fists a glowing metal ore.
His essence poured into the RiftTide alloy, as his speed instantly skyrocketed, zipping straight into the horizon.
He arrived at his first location pretty quickly.
Boom!
He descended with brutal might, kicking up such a wave of compressed heated air that it pulverized all debris in his wake.
Seth had knowingly landed so roughly, tearing a massive crater in his wake, and with that digging wasn’t much needed.
With a punch, he tore through the terrain, extracting the precise quantity he needed and some more, then took back to the skies.
This time it took longer, but he arrived at the next destination, ripping straight through a colossal mountain, holding within just what he wanted, extracting the metal as he tore through.
And like that, hours passed with Seth diligently moving from state to state. Distances that weren’t supposed to be scaled so quickly by a human were easily covered by him.
He saw quite a few refugees along the way. He helped where he could, cleared zones that stood in his way.
And finally, after a day and some hours of his dutiful blitz extraction, he was back at Aegis.
Fortunately, Kylie had arranged for him to have access to her workshop. He re-flashed his card on a sensor, and the grand doors slid right open.
He was exhausted, mostly mentally rather than physically though, but regardless he still had work to do.
"Hm?" He blinked, catching sight of Kylie, who was supposed to be working, engaging with a frivolous question-and-answer conversation with the oracle crystal.
She turned his way upon entry. "You’re back."
The crystal bobbed silently in the air. It was merely an autonomous device; it had no personality. Hence, even if it recognized its owner was back, it showed zero reaction.
Seth’s brows furrowed. "Are you done deciphering the gene codes?"
Kylie crossed her legs on her workbench, disappointment evident on her expression. She waved nonchalantly. "After all the hype, I expected it to be a challenge, but I broke the code in three hours..."
