Small Refractor Field Generator

"What the... what the hell is all this?"

Rorschach, who had already been lying in bed, flipped through a dazzling array of salvage gains before he couldn't help but sit up with a start. He furrowed his brow slightly, carefully read through all the item descriptions, and fell into silence.

A few minutes later, Rorschach let out a sigh and murmured, "Ah, I knew it..."

In the second salvage, the most valuable item was only one thing: a small, unopened Refractor Field Generator. This was a high-tech product that only officers in the Imperial Defense Force had the chance to wear. It could project a protective Energy Field around the user, dispersing and resisting laser, plasma, or incoming bullets.

In other words, from now on, Rorschach wouldn't have to worry about most bullet damage. He could happily charge in with his Chainsword and start sawing people up.

But! Rorschach had to curse out a "but." The rest of the haul was all ammunition and clothing, plus some food supplies completely unfit for human consumption!

Though, considering the Simulator's salvage pricing, it was still reasonable. However, the surprise and anticipation of scoring an Iron Man on the first salvage left Rorschach in a faint state of disappointment now.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, staring blankly for a while. Then Rorschach's fingers suddenly moved, extracting the Field Generator. A palm-sized, thick metal plate materialized in his hand. It was a decorative iron piece meant to be worn on the chest, engraved on the surface with the Imperium of Man's emblem—the double-headed eagle. Around the double-headed eagle were a few line-shaped patterns.

Squinting, Rorschach studied it carefully and eventually realized the so-called line patterns were the touch points to activate the field. By swiping them in order from top to bottom, he could instantly open the Refractor Field.

At this point, having satisfied his curiosity, Rorschach tossed the generator onto the headboard.

Creak—

He flopped heavily onto the pillow. The powerful kinetic force and weight made the entire bed frame groan under the strain. Rorschach closed his eyes, intending to sleep, but he tossed and turned, unable to settle down.

Finally, gritting his teeth, Rorschach opened the Simulator's Salvage Page again. "I'm going to bet small for big! I want Power Armor! Even if I can't wear it, I'll just display it, right? If that's no good... I wouldn't even mind a force-feedback civilian Power Armor..." Muttering to himself, Rorschach selected ten salvage attempts again.

[Salvage Countdown: Nine hours, fifty-nine minutes, fifty-nine seconds]

Staring at the slowly ticking countdown on the page, Rorschach, now completely calm, quickly closed the Simulator and peacefully drifted off to sleep. After all, dreams have everything...

—

The next morning at nine o'clock. The first thing Rorschach did upon waking was check his salvage gains, only to find there was still about an hour left until completion.

So, having decided to temporarily put the matter aside, Rorschach finished his morning wash and went straight to the basement.

He wanted to check on his iron friend and see how he was adapting to life now.

However, the moment one foot stepped into the basement, Rorschach was startled by the unfamiliar sight before him.

In the past, the basement had been limited by Rorschach's skill and materials, with steel plates and wooden beams only propping up the key areas, completely lacking any design or finishing.

But now, the entire basement had transformed into something entirely different.

Smooth steel plates, seamless and without any welding marks, covered the walls and floor of the basement. Even the hole that had been dug just yesterday had been carefully designed and finished, with a simple metal ladder revealing its upper half.

"Hiss—"

Rorschach took a deep breath, calming his restless emotions. Then, he cautiously walked to the hole and peered down.

What he saw was a deep passage inside the cave, now also covered in metal!

"How did it manage this?" Rorschach murmured to himself, frowning slightly.

After a moment's hesitation, he began climbing down the metal ladder. About fifteen meters underground, his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness.

When he finally reached the bottom of the cave and turned around, Rorschach was shocked to find a cavern at least five hundred square meters in size, already taking shape!

"Good morning, Rorschach."

Before the stunned Rorschach could react, the two-meter-tall iron man emerged from an underground passage, a faint blue light glowing in his eyes, carrying a pile of brand-new steel plates and materials.

"Uh..." Rorschach's eyes widened, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say. Finally, he pointed at the new building materials and asked, "Friend, where did you get the metal materials?"

"Ordered from a construction company in Rorschach's name. More materials are on the way... The ones brought in were unloaded by transport workers, as per the contract, under a bridge a few kilometers away. There's also an abandoned entrance to an underground passage there. I'm learning from a species called ants, moving things in bit by bit..."

"I don't recall having much money left in my bank account," Rorschach said, puzzled, as he watched the iron man set down the materials. He couldn't help asking, "What did you use to buy them? My credit card?"

"Rorschach, Terra's financial system and economic principles are very fragile and crude, even riddled with loopholes..." The iron man slowly straightened up, twisting his Metal Head, the blue light in his eyes fixed on Rorschach as he explained. "It only took me a few seconds to obtain unclaimed funds from the network—amounts incalculable to a Terra human—and it's all completely legal and compliant."

"Rorschach, do you need any? I can transfer money directly to your bank account... If you're worried about large sums triggering an investigation by other humans, Terra's stock market is already open. Do you want to become a new billionaire among Terra's humans?"

"Billionaire!" Millionaire Rorschach couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Yet, the sudden temptation of wealth didn't completely shatter his reason. Breathing rapidly, he quickly waved his hand at the iron man and said, "Not for now! I don't want to become famous that fast!"

"Thanks for the offer! If I need anything, I'll come to you for help... I need to calm down now, 025, you go ahead!"

With that, Rorschach, who had only been there a short while, climbed back up the ladder.

He moved with the speed of someone who had a rocket booster strapped to his back.

Watching Rorschach's rapidly disappearing figure.

The blue light in the Iron Man's eyes flickered.

The slowly rising mechanical voice seemed filled with confusion.

"They're just some unclaimed resources within easy reach... why did Rorschach react so strongly? Could it be that, like me, he values low profile and freedom?"

"But... if Terra doesn't even have a single temple, how could it be worthy of the Omnissiah's presence?"

The Iron Man shook his Metal Head, as if sighing.

Thank you flying12 for the 500-point tip on Qidian Reading iOS.

Thank you reader 20220306221418195 for the 500-point tip.

Thank you reader 20220306221418195 for the 1500-point tip.

Thank you for your support!

The next chapter might be in the evening—I still haven't eaten yet.

Please recommend, please bookmark!

If you have spare monthly tickets, feel free to throw them my way, haha!