Chapter 10: The Peculiar Trigger Mechanism

Blueprints.

Are these things valuable?

Of course, they are.

After all, superhumans are a rarity, and the true backbone of human civilization is still technology and various levels of thermal weapons.

Against this backdrop, high-tech weapons are naturally expensive, and the value of blueprints for such weapons is even higher, not to mention mecha weapons.

Even the lowest-grade E-level weapon blueprints, as long as they meet the standards, can fetch a considerable patent fee whether sold to a civilized political party or to well-known mechanical arms dealers in the universe. It's enough for an ordinary family to live a carefree life.

However, everything is relative.

These blueprints might be extremely precious to the average person, but for Eddie, they are much less so.

E-level weapons, after all, are something Eddie could easily produce in large quantities on his own, given his knowledge and capabilities, if the conditions allow.

In this situation, the E-level blueprint seems somewhat redundant.

"Wait, I should be more calm..."

As Eddie thought, he observed the structure of the blueprint, his expression suddenly changing.

Although it was only a few minutes, as a mechanic, he noticed the special feature of this 'Crimson Python'.

Compared to the E-level weapons he knew, the 'Crimson Python' seemed optimized in every aspect.

Specifically, the output level, output interval, and structural ratio all reached the most ideal state, something Eddie couldn't achieve with his knowledge.

In his memory, there were hardly any weapons like this.

The reason is simple: with so many technological methods and weapon types, many weapons' shortcomings can be compensated for by others, so people naturally won't focus on continuously developing a single weapon.

Take pistols, for example. Most people wouldn't think about significantly increasing the range and lethality of pistols because it's time-consuming, not necessarily successful, and unnecessary.

If a pistol's range is insufficient, use a rifle; if a rifle's firing rate is low, use a submachine gun; if a submachine gun's lethality is lacking, use a sniper rifle.

If changing firearms can solve the problem, naturally, few people would obsess over fixing a single weapon's flaws.

But the 'Crimson Python' is different.

This weapon, while not high-level and with a not-so-complex blueprint, Eddie is certain, has truly reached the most ideal state in all aspects.

Even compared to the military and big tech companies' weapons of the same level, it's no less superior, even stronger.

"The blueprint is idealized, but I don't know if it can function when actually made. I saw a heavy energy gun while looking for parts earlier, maybe I can try modifying it according to this blueprint."

Eddie opened his eyes and stood up, finding the energy gun in the junkyard based on his memory.

Though called a gun, it's particularly large for use in field mechas, over two meters long, more like a cannon, a basic model of a soldier-class heavy gun.

Eddie carefully examined the gun's structure, confirmed that it could be simply modified according to the blueprint, and called over Curly Hair. Together, they lifted the heavy energy gun onto the flying car.

After confirming that he had enough parts, he chose to return.

"Back so soon, have they given up?"

Not far away, watching the guards escorting Curly Hair and Eddie onto the car and the flying car taking off, Carl muttered unconsciously.

The damage to Curly Hair's mecha was almost entirely his doing, and he was well aware of the extent of the damage to that mecha. He didn't believe Eddie and Curly Hair could find enough parts to repair it in such a short time.

"The exterior armor damage is easy to deal with, but the main control chip is the key," David said.

As a professional mechanic, he knew more than Carl.

"So, they really can fix that mecha?"

"It's a possibility."

Carl fell silent for a moment, then turned back to scavenging, his eyes slightly cold: "Hmph, it's no big deal. His mecha's configuration isn't high, as long as I find allies, or ambush again, I can still destroy it!"

He was confident, seemingly unashamed of relying on ambushes to win despite having a mecha advantage.

...

"Maybe I underestimated this cube..."

At night, Eddie lay in bed resting, thinking back on the day's events.

Seven or eight hours had passed since he returned to prison.

The smart core could solve the main control chip problem, but it wasn't compatible with Mammoth. He needed a dedicated computer to modify the intelligent program in the smart core.

Adam had already sent someone to prepare it, and it would arrive tomorrow morning.

With four days left until the next capture-the-flag battle, there was ample time.

After carefully checking Mammoth's damage and the structure of the heavy energy gun, he had a plan for repair and modification, and the day was over.

Resting alone at night, Eddie thought again of the cube in his mind, feeling more and more that there should be more than just one E-level blueprint.

Sure, the blueprint that came out this time was relatively mediocre, but he had only twisted it once.

Just one twist yielded an E-level blueprint, what about a third or fourth twist?

Lin Mo estimated that a third-order cube has about 43.25 quintillion possible states. If each twist produces a blueprint... they can't all be just E-level, right?

Of course, getting a blueprint with each twist is the ideal state, and Eddie had only twisted once, so no conclusions could be made.

But even if it takes several twists to get a blueprint, the number of blueprints contained in the cube could still be described as massive. Maybe there's a super powerful blueprint in there.

Of course, for Eddie, still serving his sentence, all this was too far away.

The urgent matter at hand was to figure out why the cube, silent for twenty-three years, suddenly reacted today.

After much thought, Eddie arrived at an answer.

Electrocution.

Yes, recalling what he did that day, he believed electrocution was the only possibility.

Perhaps it was the electric energy entering his body that activated the cube, allowing him to twist it.

And since that energy was only enough for one twist, that's why the cube is unresponsive again now.

...Speaking of which, some might ask, hasn't Eddie been electrocuted before? Why was it activated only today?

True, as a mechanic, Eddie had been electrocuted, more than once.

However, the technology in this universe is very advanced, and safety measures are quite reliable. Even if Eddie was negligent at work, the power would be cut off immediately, so his previous electrocutions were mostly momentary and with low voltage.

Like today, touching an electric door and being stuck for four or five seconds before being thrown off was a first.

Eddie thought it might be because the previous electrocutions were too short, totaling less than two seconds, which is why the cube never had enough charge.

This time, the longer electrocution allowed the cube to have enough energy for him to twist it once.

"So, to activate the cube again, I need another long electrocution..."

Eddie looked at the power source in the bedroom, unconsciously grinning.

Even with his strong willpower, electrocution was definitely not something that could be endured harmlessly.

Mainly because, in the novels he had read, he hadn't seen other transmigrators use cheats in such a painful way!

What is this?

Soul transmigrating across the starry universe, and I become stronger by getting electrocuted?