Merlin stared at the brand-new motorcycle before him and pondered for a while.
He had just tried touching the headlights of several other vehicles, but there had been no issues, nor had he felt that strange, subtle sensation.
When he returned and tried touching the Ducati in front of him again, the engine revving and fuel spraying from the exhaust were gone too. He had no idea whether it had entered some kind of post-release sage mode.
Shaking his head and tossing those bizarre thoughts out of his mind, he pulled over the Atomic Engine.
He called Jack and several other mechanics at repair shops to describe what had happened, but none of them had ever heard of touching a vehicle's headlights causing its engine to start.
Still, when facing an inexplicable problem like this, replacing every potentially faulty part would probably solve it.
So although he had yet to identify the cause, the root of the problem was most likely in the engine. Since he was already planning to modify the engine, replacing it should take care of things.
He would replace the bulbs and wiring while he was at it.
Mm... sure enough, he was gradually becoming a parts-swapping mechanic too.
Time was tight, and Merlin did not want to spend too much time on the motorcycle. The Game Platform was still in its initial construction phase, and he needed to keep an eye on it.
Therefore, he had to finish modifying the motorcycle tonight, even if it meant pulling an all-nighter. It was for his own safety, after all.
He first wiped away the oil stains inside the exhaust pipe and the fuel sprayed onto the ground. Only after cleaning everything up did he begin dismantling it.
As Merlin wiped down her exhaust pipe, Arcee endured her humiliation and indignation. To avoid exposing her identity, she could only let this human handle every part of her body.
The next morning, Merlin's Custom Shop.
Merlin took off his gloves and gazed at the Ducati before him with satisfaction.
After the modifications, its original engine had been replaced with an Atomic Engine, and the exhaust ports had been moved behind its large rear end. Two red-painted wing weapon packs had also been installed on either side, connected to the engine and capable of firing energy to assist flight.
The overall modifications gave the motorcycle a weighty yet nimble feel.
Before modifying the bike, Merlin had actually wanted Saint Taro, the one with the strongest futuristic feel, but it would have been far too conspicuous on the streets.
After the Ducati's originally heavy, bloated V-shaped four-cylinder engine was removed and replaced with the compact Atomic Engine, the fuel tank space was freed up. Twenty Deadlock Missiles had been installed there instead.
Furthermore, after switching to the Atomic Engine, many components had been removed. Merlin had also installed a Vulcan Gatling beneath the engine compartment.
As for the front of the bike, to achieve close-range combat and interception capabilities, he had used Evil Hades's laser energy technology to install a laser-guided Fire Control Radar, allowing for automatic interception.
It could be said that the modified Ducati was a mobile arsenal with both offensive and defensive capabilities. Not only could it travel on land, it could also take to the skies as an aerial vehicle.
With this, his safety whenever he went out would no longer be a problem.
Arcee, who had undergone the modifications, was equally shocked. When the engine was removed, she had been worried. Aside from the Spark source, it was essentially the equivalent of her heart.
Yet she had never expected that after this human replaced her with a new power heart, her entire body would seem to evolve, undergoing earth-shaking changes.
If Merlin had not been right beside her, she truly would have been unable to wait to activate her new power engine and take it out for a run.
"Phew..." Merlin let out a long breath, and then the exhaustion from staying up all night swept through his body like a tidal wave.
However, he did not go straight to sleep. He ate something to fill his empty stomach before returning to the break room.
"I hope the next game will be a biotech type." He threw himself heavily onto the small temporary bed, muttered as he stared at the ceiling, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Although his intelligence had increased, only his mind had improved while his body remained the same. During certain research projects, it was difficult for his body to keep up with the mental strain.
Feeling hungry frequently after research was also perfectly normal.
As he pondered, his consciousness had already sunk into darkness.
"Look and see her eyes, they glow..."
The familiar ringtone pulled Merlin from his sleep. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and looked dazedly at the time on the wall.
"It's past five in the afternoon..." Seeing the time cleared his head somewhat. He had not expected to sleep for so long.
The ringtone continued without pause, and Merlin casually answered the call.
"Hi!" He yawned and called out lazily.
"Merlin, where are you right now?" Gwen's voice came through the phone.
"Me? I'm still at the shop. Don't tell me that Lizardman came looking for me again?" Merlin rubbed his hair as he walked downstairs and headed toward the washbasin.
"No, it isn't that. There's something I need your help with. When are you free today?"
"Let me wash up first. I'll head back right away."
"You just woke up? Did you pull an all-nighter last night?" Gwen sounded puzzled on the other end.
"Yeah. Didn't my Ducati get smashed to pieces the day before yesterday? I bought another secondhand one and stayed up all night modifying it."
"Wait for me. I'll be home soon."
"OK!"
After hanging up, Merlin splashed his face with cold water, and his previously groggy mind became much more alert.
After washing up, he checked the platform's progress in Hell's Kitchen.
Over the past few days, he had reached cooperation agreements with several weapon shops and auto repair shops. The platform would provide weapons and vehicles, while they would handle sales and receive a share of the profits.
Several intelligent production lines had already been completed, fully capable of supplying those stores.
"I can recruit some players now." Merlin swiftly searched through the information of everyone in Hell's Kitchen. After selecting the candidates, he quietly sent out Yellow Star App invitations one by one.
After finishing all that, he rode the modified motorcycle out of the shop.
Not long after Merlin left, a sexy, beautiful woman with curly brown hair arrived in front of Merlin's Custom Shop.
She looked at the closed rolling shutter and the sign beside it that read Closed, then fell silent for a moment.
"What bad timing." She tilted her head. Then, without lingering for long, she casually tossed a miniature device outside the door and drove away.
Natasha had only arrived in Hell's Kitchen not long ago. After making contact with Frank the Punisher, she had been referred here.
However, her luck was clearly not very good.
But according to the information she had gathered, this was not the only place selling special vehicles and weapons, so she was not too disappointed.
During her investigation, a mysterious R-Star Game Platform had surfaced. This platform seemed to cooperate with many weapon shops and auto repair shops, and it had recruited many NPCs online through a game-like system to carry out missions.
She had also tried to hack into it, but even handing it over to Director Fury and deploying every technician had proved completely useless.
Therefore, she could only investigate offline weapon shops and auto repair shops.
After starting the car, she held the steering wheel with one hand and took out her phone with the other, preparing to search for the next offline weapon shop.
However, the moment the screen lit up, her pupils suddenly contracted.
A Yellow Star App had somehow been installed on her phone.
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