Ducati Turned Upside Down

Looking at the brand-new motorcycle before him, Merlin pondered for a moment.

Just now, he had tried touching the headlights of other vehicles, and none of them had any issues, nor did he get that subtle feeling.

When he came back and tried touching the Ducati's headlight again, the engine roar and exhaust pipe spitting oil had also stopped, as if it had entered a post-release state of clarity.

Shaking his head to toss out those strange thoughts, he pulled over the Atomic Engine.

He called Jack and a few other mechanics from the repair shop to describe the situation, but none of them had heard of touching a headlight causing an engine to start.

Still, when faced with an unclear problem like this, replacing all the problematic parts usually solved it.

So, though the root cause wasn't found, it was mostly tied to the engine anyway. Since he was planning to modify the engine, swapping it out should fix things.

He might as well replace the bulbs and wiring too.

Hmm... yeah, he was slowly turning into a parts-swapper himself.

Time was tight, and Merlin didn't want to spend too much effort on the motorcycle. The Game Platform was still in its early stages of construction, and he had to keep an eye on it.

So, even if it meant pulling an all-nighter, he had to finish modifying the bike—for his own safety.

First, he wiped clean the oil stains inside the exhaust pipe and on the ground where it had sprayed. Only after cleaning did he start disassembling.

Arcee, whose exhaust pipe was being wiped, endured her shame and embarrassment, letting this human fiddle with her various parts to avoid exposing her identity.

The next morning, at Merlin's Custom Shop.

Merlin put away his gloves and looked at the Ducati before him with satisfaction.

After the modifications, the original engine had been replaced with an Atomic Engine, and the exhaust port had been moved to the rear. On both sides, he had added red-painted wing weapon packs, connected to the engine to spray energy for assisted flight.

The overall transformation gave the motorcycle a sense of both heft and lightness.

Actually, before modifying the bike, Merlin had still wanted the most futuristic Saint Taro, but driving that around town would be too conspicuous.

After removing the Ducati's bulky V-shaped four-cylinder engine and replacing it with the compact Atomic Engine, the fuel tank was freed up, and those sections were fitted with 20 Deadlock Missiles.

Beyond that, after switching to the Atomic Engine, many parts were removed. Beneath the chassis, Merlin also installed a Vulcan Gatling.

As for the front end, to achieve close-combat and interception effects, he used Evil Hades' laser energy technology to add a laser-guided fire-control radar for automatic interception.

In short, the modified Ducati was now a fully armed fortress, capable of both offense and defense. It could drive on the ground or take off as a flying vehicle.

From now on, his safety when going out was no longer an issue.

Also shocked was the modified Arcee. When the engine was being removed, she had been a bit worried—after all, aside from her Spark, it was like her heart.

But she never expected that after this human replaced her with a new power core, her entire body would evolve, undergoing earth-shattering changes.

If Merlin weren't right there, she would have been itching to start the new engine and take it for a spin.

"Phew..." Merlin let out a long breath, and the fatigue from the all-nighter washed over him like a wave.

But he didn't go to sleep immediately. He ate something to fill his empty stomach before heading to the break room.

"Hope the next one is a biochem tech type game," he muttered, throwing himself onto the temporary cot. Staring at the ceiling, he mumbled to himself and then closed his eyes to sleep.

Though his intelligence had increased, his brain had leveled up while his body stayed behind. In some research areas, it was hard to support the mental calculations.

After studying, his stomach often felt hungry—that was normal.

As he thought, his consciousness sank into darkness.

"Look and see her eyes, they glow..."

The familiar ringtone pulled Merlin out of his sleep. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and glanced dazedly at the clock on the wall.

"Past five in the afternoon..." Seeing the time, he woke up a bit. He hadn't expected to sleep that long.

The ringtone kept going, and Merlin answered casually.

"Hey!" He yawned and called out lazily.

"Merlin, where are you now?" Gwen's voice came through the phone.

"Me? I'm still at the shop. That Lizardman isn't coming after me again, is he?" Merlin rubbed his hair as he walked down the stairs and over to the sink.

"No, it's not that. There's something I need your help with. When do you have time today?"

"Let me wash up, and I'll head back right away."

"You just woke up? Pulled an all-nighter?" Gwen sounded puzzled on the other end.

"Yeah, my Ducati got smashed to pieces the day before yesterday, didn't it? I bought a used one and modified it overnight."

"Wait for me, I'll be home soon."

"OK!"

After hanging up the phone, Merlin splashed his face with cold water, and his originally groggy mind cleared up considerably.

After washing up, he checked the progress of Hell's Kitchen's platform.

Over the past few days, he had already reached cooperation agreements with several weapon shops and auto repair shops. The platform would supply weapons and vehicles, while they would handle sales, with a cut of the profits to be split later.

Several smart production lines had already been built, fully capable of supplying these stores.

"It's time to recruit some players." Merlin quickly scanned the information of everyone in Hell's Kitchen, selected his targets, and quietly sent out one APP notification after another.

Once that was done, he mounted his modified motorcycle and left the shop.

Not long after Merlin left, a woman with curly brown hair, sexy and stunning, arrived in front of Merlin's Custom Shop.

Staring at the closed sign hanging beside the rolled-down shutter door, she paused for a moment.

"What bad luck." She tilted her head, didn't linger long, casually tossed a tiny device by the door, then got into her car and drove off.

Natasha had only just arrived in Hell's Kitchen not long ago. After making contact with the Punisher, Frank, she had been recommended to this place.

But her luck clearly wasn't great.

Still, based on the intel she'd gathered, this wasn't the only place selling special vehicles and weapons, so she wasn't too disappointed.

During her investigation, a mysterious R-Star Game Platform had surfaced. This platform seemed to have partnerships with many weapon shops and auto repair shops, and it had been recruiting a large number of NPCs online to carry out missions in the form of a game.

She had tried to hack into it, but even when she handed it over to Director Fury and had all the technical staff work on it, they got nowhere.

So she had no choice but to check out the offline weapon shops and auto repair shops in person.

After starting the car, she gripped the steering wheel with one hand and pulled out her phone with the other, ready to search for the next offline weapon store.

But the moment the screen lit up, her pupils suddenly contracted.

A Yellow Star App had somehow installed itself on her phone.