Chapter 7: The Junkyard Mechanic (Part 3)

"Contact Denny."

"Connecting to Denny's communicator, please wait..."

Ninth Prison, Sector H.

Adam's presidential prison cell.

Adam, sitting on the sofa in the living room, softly issued the command. The communicator's smart program quickly dialed out. After a few busy tones, a pale blue holographic image appeared above the communicator.

"Oh, my dear uncle..."

The image displayed a young man, impeccably groomed, wearing a shirt and bow tie, sporting a short beard, leaning on a desk, holding a coffee cup in one hand and greeting Adam with the other: "Uncle, how are you doing in prison? I watched the live broadcast of the last Death Island Capture the Flag. The 'Mammoth' was badly damaged, wasn't it? Can it still participate in the upcoming battles?

Well, regardless, don't be discouraged, and don't think about ending it all... Of course, if you really want to die, I suggest you don't use that electronic collar. It's not powerful enough and might lead to an incomplete death. If needed, I can arrange to send some drugs in, just one milligram will ensure there's no chance of survival."

"..."

Adam looked at Denny, his face growing increasingly grim.

His full name was Adam Norton, and the young man before him, Denny Norton, was his nephew, his own sister's son.

This kid perfectly inherited the cunning and deceitful genes of the Norton family but never bothered to disguise himself as a humble gentleman like his father.

Even towards his own uncle, he always acted infuriatingly.

"Enough, Denny, I'm not here to fool around," Adam sternly reprimanded Denny, then said, "I need you to check someone for me. Eddie, 23 years old, a regular human, citizen of the Aether Prime galaxy, recently imprisoned in the Ninth Prison. He's probably a highly skilled mechanic."

"Eddie... Okay, I'll try..."

Denny, sensing Adam's seriousness, briefly turned solemn, fiddling with a tablet. But as a photo appeared on the tablet, his solemnity vanished as quickly as it came. He turned the tablet towards Adam, surprised: "Wow, a handsome young man. Uncle, have you taken a liking to him? I didn't expect your preferences to change after just two or three years in prison..."

"Your jokes are not funny at all, Denny!"

"Alright, don't always be so stern, my dear uncle. You'll lose hair from stress. Tell me, why are you inquiring about this person?"

Do I even have hair left to lose? Adam, touching his bald head where not even a mosquito could land, didn't argue with his nephew, but recounted yesterday's encounter with Eddie to Denny.

He had accepted Eddie, but this didn't mean he fully trusted him.

Eddie, a normal person, faced danger within days of entering the prison. It was precisely when Adam was there, and his mech was damaged. Eddie, conveniently, was a mechanic... These coincidences made it hard for Adam not to suspect Eddie's identity, wondering if he was an undercover agent sent by the Aether Prime galaxy government.

That was why he asked Denny to investigate Eddie's identity.

With the Norton family's resources, checking someone's file was a matter of minutes.

"So that's it..." Denny listened to Adam's story, flipping through his tablet with a slight smile: "Uncle, this Eddie is quite interesting. His file is encrypted. I can only access basic information; his detailed life history is unavailable."

"Encrypted?" Adam frowned. "It seems he really is an undercover agent."

"No, uncle, I think this proves just the opposite."

Denny quickly disagreed, tossing the tablet onto the desk: "If I were to plant an undercover agent near someone, I would create a flawless, detailed life file for investigation before the operation, not completely hide someone's past like this."

That makes sense... Adam nodded, then looked at Denny: "What do you think I should do now?"

"Our mechanic had an accident, and since a replacement has presented itself, I suggest you cooperate with him for now. As for his real identity, I'll arrange for more investigations. This will take time... Of course, if you're worried, I have a solution. You can physically subdue him. With his electronic collar, he's just an ordinary person and can't resist you..."

Slap!

Adam hung up the call, leaning back on the sofa in silence, resolutely deciding something.

If he successfully got out of prison, he would definitely 'take good care' of this annoying nephew on behalf of his late elder brother.

...

"This helmet isn't bad. The Mammoth's neural connection helmet had a problem; the visual transmission module isn't working. This can replace it. Come, let me see if it fits."

Death Star, a junkyard area.

Eddie placed a helmet, just removed from a scrapped mech, on Curly Hair's head.

A perfect fit.

After a brief inspection, Eddie nodded, deciding to keep the helmet on Curly Hair, and began searching for other necessary parts.

Curly Hair glanced at the prison guards watching them from above and joined Eddie in the search.

Although it was a junkyard, mostly filled with mechanical wrecks, it was still possible to find some useful parts, just like salvaging usable parts from scrapped cars.

Given that the infantry-level mechs were basic models with low-value modules, few merchants bothered to dismantle them for parts. So, in just a short time, Eddie and Curly Hair found several useful components.

Unfortunately, the most crucial main control chip was still elusive.

"Main control chips are valuable and usually salvaged if still functional. We don't know if we'll find a suitable one, but the good news is, we have plenty of time."

Eddie casually tossed aside a broken mechanical arm, looking at Curly Hair, who was diligently searching: "Tell me about yourself. What's your mech synchronization rate, and what's your rank?"

"64% synchronization rate. I just reached General rank in spirit power before imprisonment, but I've never piloted a General-level mech."

"64%?" Eddie turned in surprise: "With a 64% mech synchronization rate and being a near-General Iron Rider, you could have lived well outside. Why enter prison to work for Adam?"

In this universe, the cultivation system grades from weak to strong, usually in the order of E, D, C, B, A, except for Iron Riders.

Iron Riders are graded based on the level of mechs they can pilot.

A General-level Iron Rider is already quite high-ranking.