After school, Merlin headed to his mod shop.
After Stark's mission ended, he handed Erica's body over to Matt and posted a mission to revive his girlfriend. The target, naturally, was The Hand.
He also posted a mission for Bullseye, which was accepted by the Asian scientist Kenji Koyama—the Dark Wind Lord.
Merlin had also taken the opportunity to track the Dark Wind Lord recently, wanting to see where he had gotten the Adamantium.
He was quite interested in Adamantium, Vibranium, and Asgard's magical metal—Uru Metal.
Punisher had also been taking a break lately, waiting for Merlin's next opportunity.
With the platform expanding and orders for vehicles and weapons increasing, many gang members had remained busy, either making deliveries or on their way to make deliveries.
And because the growing orders required massive amounts of materials, the businesses under Kingpin also saw their economies grow.
As a result, Hell's Kitchen, once chaotic and disorderly, had fallen into an eerie calm. On the surface, it looked no different from an ordinary neighborhood.
Outside the mod shop's entrance, Merlin sat quietly on a small stool, enjoying the night breeze. Atop a small hill not far away, a massive searchlight beam pierced through the dark forest and shone onto the bright clouds overhead, forming an emblem in the night sky.
It was the symbol of the Cybertronian Autobots faction.
At its source was Arcee, lying atop a tree trunk and holding the searchlight.
She was calling for the other Autobots on Earth.
"Autobots, roll out!"
Just as Merlin watched the scene curiously, the Notebook page on the small table suddenly flickered, and a window popped up.
"Lizard Rise mission activated."
Merlin shifted his gaze from the sky and smiled as he looked at the accepted mission.
"So they really did take it!"
Muttering to himself, he began sending transport missions to suitable players.
"Ding!" As he drafted the missions, another notification sounded.
This time, however, it rang inside his mind—it was the system.
[Reputation Points have reached ten million. Reward obtained: Orbital Cannon technology, Decepticon technology, TM-02K Khan Jali military tank technology.]
As the platform expanded, the game's Reputation Points had surged as well, finally reaching ten million.
Over the course of the day, various iconic game vehicles, such as the Vigilante, Oppressor, Superburn, Turaldo, and Saint Taro, had exploded across the internet and begun spreading to other cities and even other countries at an astonishing pace.
Therefore, ten million was only the beginning.
"Orbital Cannon!" Merlin's eyes lit up when he saw today's reward, but he soon felt troubled when he considered his current situation.
Although the platform had expanded, it only had him and an AI subsystem. Running a Liberty City Server was barely manageable, but if he wanted to keep developing, relying on himself alone would be difficult.
Vehicles like the Turaldo and Tyrant MK2 could still be produced, but large fortress vehicles such as the Avengers and the Orca submarine would be much harder for him.
To build them, he would need not only space, but vast quantities of materials and time. Although Stark's Cold Fusion Core had reduced most of the required time, it was still not enough for Merlin.
And now there was the Orbital Cannon, which required launching satellites into space. That went without saying.
Still, he had to build it. As the platform spread, it would inevitably draw the attention of many people. A deterrent weapon was essential.
Merlin had money now, but he lacked both materials and equipment. The main issue was that his foundation was simply too weak.
Thinking of this, he took out the business cards for Stark Industries and Hammer Industries and looked them over.
After some thought, he put them away again. He would wait until the Lizard mission was over before deciding.
At the moment, aside from the big boss's cheating technology, Grand Theft Auto's weapon and vehicle technologies had almost all been acquired. The next game should be unlocking soon as well.
He was not in much of a hurry and continued looking at the remaining two technologies.
The Decepticon, an air-and-ground vehicle, was not bad either, but its mobility was still far too poor when facing fighter jets.
With Stark's Cold Fusion technology, Merlin was not particularly interested in the Decepticon. Selling it to players would be fine, though.
Come to think of it, Stark Industries' stock had plummeted recently, and he had bought quite a lot. He wondered when Iron Man's classic scene would arrive.
As for the Khan Tank, he could find a way to make one.
"Vroooom..." As Merlin pondered, bursts of engine roars rang out through the quiet night.
As headlights drew closer, a convoy led by a fiery red Peterbilt truck sped down the street.
"They're here," Arcee said as she stood beside Merlin and gazed into the distance.
Merlin stood up as well and looked over curiously.
The convoy drew nearer and nearer. Once it reached the front of the shop, the vehicles began transforming before Merlin's astonished eyes.
Under the cold moonlight came the clashing of machinery, the scrape of sparks, the centrifugal whir of rotating tires, and the crisp snapping of metal plates...
kukukikikukukukiki...
Amid that symphony of metal, a massive red-and-blue Autobot like a knight dropped to one knee. Its imposing metallic face leaned close to Merlin with curiosity.
"Merlin Xiao. What a coincidence—you're also a high school student." A deep, sensual voice emerged from his mouth.
Optimus Prime was somewhat surprised. Aside from this human's name, he could not find anything else about him online.
"Knock, knock, knock..." Merlin rapped on his massive face.
Optimus Prime apparently had not expected him to do that and hurriedly stood up.
"Human, you're quite rude," he said to Merlin in dissatisfaction.
"We should blast him once and let him learn what manners are." Ironhide waved his hands irritably.
"Ironhide, don't forget why we came here," Ratchet reminded him helplessly before turning to Merlin apologetically. "Sorry. A dog pissed lubricant on him earlier."
"Hi, I'm Sam." At that moment, Sam stepped out of Bumblebee and greeted Merlin.
"I'm Megan." A black-haired girl wearing a red spaghetti-strap crop top and denim shorts that reached her thighs also waved with a smile. Most of her wheat-colored skin and her sexy waist were exposed.
Large hoop earrings hung from her ears, and she radiated a wild, untamed allure—an absolute beauty.
"Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet."
"I'm Merlin."
After getting acquainted, they went straight to the point and began discussing the AllSpark.
"The glasses are no longer useful. The AllSpark marked on them has already been moved somewhere else, but I'm still investigating the exact location." Merlin took the old glasses from Sam's hand as he spoke.
Today's update was a little late. There'll be another chapter shortly.
Before you continue