An Upgrade Toward the Zerg?
Jiji was hovering in Lister's palm.
What was originally just a head and body made up of two spheres has now become much "thinner".
Silver mechanical wings spread out, reflecting neon afterimages between them, and the streamlined body is covered with precisely interlocking dark gold inscriptions.
As it stepped on Lister's palm, the three-toed metal claws retracted freely, and the inscriptions on its body gradually brightened and dimmed.
Beneath the slender, metallic brow bone, a pair of bright green eyes gazed at him with remarkable liveliness.
For a moment, Lister felt that Jiji was no longer a mechanical creation, but a true mechanical life form.
Its original cute appearance has also changed, becoming handsome and much sharper.
Only when it is completely retracted can its entire body reassemble into a silver sphere.
The various colored inscriptions and other colored metals also lost their color in an instant.
Of course, the change in appearance was not the reason Lister frowned.
[Jiji (S-rank)]
[Level: LV120 (Note: Upgraded only through casting process)]
[HP: 99999/99999 (Connected to host during battle)]
[Energy: 100%, Infinite Loops]
[Skill: Death Resistance: When the host's health is below 3%, forcibly remove all negative effects, quickly restore health to 30%, and increase the host's four main attributes by 20 points.]
Information Transmission: Establish a dedicated channel for transmitting information to multiple designated targets over extremely long distances.
Mechanical Bird Breeding Chamber: Consumes energy to build a breeding pod that can continuously absorb metal and surrounding energy to create Evil Shadow Mechanical Birds. Basic rank: 8.
Mechanical Bird Summoning: Command and control the Evil Shadow Mechanical Bird, increasing the base attributes of all Mech Birds by 30%.
Robustness Aura: Within a 10000px radius, grants all Evil Shadow Mechanical Bird a 100% boost to their health, defense, and stamina.
[Evil Shadow Mechanical Bird (Summoned creature, disappears after battle)]
[Level: LV80 (Note: Can be increased during battle, maximum LV120)]
[Health Points: 12000/12000]
[Skill: Swift Shadow Wing Needles: Wings transform into flying needles, striking all enemies within a certain range, dealing 803~889 damage, and inflicting bleeding and poison effects.]
Energy Transfer: Defeating enemies allows you to absorb their energy to power yourself, and some of this energy will be transferred to the breeding pod.
That's right!
What truly struck Lister as odd was Jiji's evolutionary trajectory.
According to Kavin's original design blueprints, the forging and upgrade should have further enhanced his combat capabilities.
Especially after he was on the verge of death, he could activate the third stage, which would greatly increase his combat power.
As a result, the Death Resistance skill remained unchanged, without any improvement.
Even the original Robustness Aura was transferred from him to his mechanical summons.
Jiji itself underwent a dramatic transformation, evolving towards the direction of the "Zerg" race after being forged!
Although the improvement was significant, it was also a considerable benefit to Lister personally.
However... the Zerg are a civilization directly suppressed by the Galactic Federation.
Jiji's current skills are already bordering on dangerous, and there's a sense that they're somewhat shady.
Lister then looked at Powell again, his voice becoming increasingly somber.
"Are you sure 'Jiji' was forged and upgraded according to the blueprints?"
"Huh!? Are you sure?!"
Powell, who was still basking in the joy of his son's future, was suddenly interrupted and quickly began to explain.
"Sir, how could I dare to alter the blueprints you provided!"
"A mechanical creation like Jiji, which is an S-class creation, is inherently difficult to modify. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have the ability to do so!"
Upon hearing this, Lister nodded in agreement.
He was just confirming with Powell; the design of the Jiji was spearheaded by Kavin and was extremely difficult, so it was indeed unlikely.
The reason why Jiji has developed in this direction after its upgrade, besides the forging master Powell, is that...
The only variable is actually the material of that "Evil Shadow Civilization's Resentful Evil Eye (S-rank)".
Now, after forging, this S-grade strange eye material has become Jiji's eyes.
Just looking at it makes it seem lively and intelligent, several levels above average.
Considering that this S-grade material is also a remnant of the Zerg mother civilization like the Evil Shadow Civilization.
The Jiji is evolving in this direction is most likely due to the influence of this material.
It was as if they were aware of Lister's current change in attitude and the reason for his concern.
Powell continued to persuade Lister.
"Sir, actually, 'Jiji's' current evolution doesn't have any impact."
"It merely absorbs resources to continuously create new mechanical entities for attack; not only does it not engage in large-scale resource plunder, but the mechanical entities it creates also cannot last long."
"It will disappear after the battle, so you don't need to worry. It doesn't even meet the standards of a Zerg-like Zerg."
Powell is right; Jiji's current skills are merely converging on those of Zerg-like Zerg.
This is why Lister only frowned at the moment.
If Jiji's summoned creatures continue to exist and plunder resources to level up, Lister should be worried about the Federation warships that will besiege him.
"Jiji about what's going on between you."
"My lord, you can rest assured."
"I guarantee that no information about the equipment I forge for you will be leaked."
"As for Jiji, you really don't need to worry too much."
"It's very difficult to determine whether something is Zerg civilization. A mechanical creation like Jiji doesn't even qualify as a civilization."
Powell was completely indifferent to Jiji's creations.
Zerg-like Zerg don't come easily; in his eyes Jiji aren't even considered living beings.
But Lister wasn't thinking about the present; he was more worried about the future.
Jiji the Death Resistance skill alone is enough to make him want to keep leveling up Jiji's abilities.
If it were to undergo further upgrades and modifications in the future, it could truly become the cradle of a Zerg civilization...
He, along with Kavin and Wang Yue, the three pioneers who were the first to enter the Galactic Federation, will probably never see the light of day!
Arcane Civilization, Planet DZ1191.
A Type III civilization's star field is hundreds of times larger than that of a Type II civilization.
This planet can be considered a newly established military factory of the Arcane Civilization.
The main task is to cast and maintain warships; after all, buying them from the Federation Military District would be a complete rip-off.
Currently, a brand-new, giant warship is docked in the public area.
Among the group of small ships, this medium-sized ship immediately caught Lister's attention.
Meanwhile, the lettering "A73" covered the entire hull, clearly indicating that this was his new warship.
"Lister, shall I take you to choose a room first?"
As soon as they boarded the ship, Gwent, the head of the Logistics Department, began to greet them.
He was originally a captain, but has now been promoted to major.
However, his position remained unchanged, and he treated Lister with far greater enthusiasm than before.
"Has Captain Boren already made his selection?"
"Captain Boren and Thorn have already been chosen, and Captain Brody has not yet returned today. So, only the two of you have not yet made a choice."
"Furthermore, there are still four rooms available at the highest standard, so you don't need to worry."
"This one then."
Since they all used the same standard, Lister didn't bother to choose again.
Pushing open the door, I found that the room's standard had been upgraded by more than one level.
The porch, the spacious, enormous living room that connects directly to the spectacular starry sky, and the bedrooms, study, and so on go without saying.
There are even separate training rooms, meditation rooms, work areas, forging areas, and so on...
It has long transcended the concept of a "room," and is even higher than the standard of the luxurious residences provided by Falco, the Arcane Seat of Government Planet.
The total area of all areas is at least three or four thousand square meters, truly befitting the highest standard of rooms on a medium-sized warship.
"Lister, which time slot would you like to schedule for the daily cleaning?"
"Now the sergeants are also responsible for cleaning?"
This service wasn't available on smaller ships before, and Lister was quite curious about it.
"No, they are unofficial personnel from the frigates and supply ships."
"From now on, shipboard cleaning, replenishment, and weapons maintenance will all be handled by these non-staff personnel."