New Contract

"How was it?" Luke asked with a smile as Snoke removed his helmet.

"It brought back some bad memories." Snoke's voice was a little low.

Luke shrugged. "Even though you've already signed a contract, there are some things I think I should ask again."

Snoke looked up at Luke, who had walked over to him.

"What did General Evra tell you?" Luke stuffed a piece of Dark Chocolate into his hand and gestured for him to eat it. "It's from my laboratory. It tastes like chocolate, but it can ease the aftereffects of memories surging back."

Snoke did not refuse Luke's kindness. With his only intact left hand, he took the chocolate Luke offered him, skillfully bit open the wrapper with his teeth, and practically stuffed the entire ten-centimeter-long, half-palm-wide bar of Dark Chocolate into his mouth. As he silently chewed, his gaze rested on his damaged Right Arm, and the expression on his face seemed to be one of remembrance.

"He only said that you might have a way to restore me to normal."

"He didn't mention the risks?"

"I don't care about that." Snoke swallowed the chocolate in his mouth in large gulps. Perhaps it was psychological, but he felt that the turmoil in his mind had indeed calmed considerably, allowing him to think more clearly. "To me, if I can return to normal, I don't care about those risks. Neither do they."

Snoke was referring to the others outside who had signed contracts like his.

"You long for the battlefield?" Luke asked after glancing at an information file compiled by the White Queen.

Snoke was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Why?"

"Other than the battlefield, I don't know what else I can do." Snoke's tone was calm. He had seen many retired soldiers, and quite a few of them could not find a new way to live. The skills they brought out of the military also led them to become lackeys for gangs or mercenary groups. As for people like him, retired with injuries and no family, aside from finding work as repairmen, most could only drown their sorrows in alcohol every day.

"I looked through some of your records. After retiring, you didn't give up on yourself like many of the people outside. On the contrary, you're very disciplined." As Luke spoke, he watched Snoke stare silently at him. Satisfied, he smiled. Rather than continue questioning or testing him, he said directly, "If you long for the battlefield and for combat, then perhaps we can sign a New Contract."

Snoke remained silent, seemingly waiting for Luke to continue. Yet Luke had no intention of saying more. He quietly instructed someone nearby to take over his position and continue the selection process, then beckoned to Snoke, who stood ramrod straight, signaling him to follow. The two passed through the crowd and several rooms before arriving at another place that resembled a laboratory.

There were more and more security checkpoints and cameras along the way. With Snoke's experience and sharp eye, he could not find a single blind spot. Luke simply used facial recognition all the way through, stopping before an elevator that went directly to the third underground level. When the elevator doors opened to either side, the sight before him made even Snoke, with the composure tempered on the battlefield, lose himself in shock.

A ten-meter-tall Mechanical Creation filled his entire vision with brutish, rugged savagery, charging straight into his eyes! Snoke could see nothing else but it. Though it looked ugly, its body covered in exposed mechanical Parts and densely packed wires that made one's scalp tingle, like a half-finished product among half-finished products, none of that could affect Snoke's first impression of it.

"What is that? Some kind of mechanical armor?" For the first time, Snoke took the initiative to question Luke. He pointed at the enormous thing in front of him, his eyes filled entirely with it. He even saw a muscular man, with a bearing similar to his own and likely a former soldier as well, standing bare-chested while several researchers continuously assembled and fastened some kind of equipment onto him. One of the man's arms appeared to have been fitted with something like a Mechanical Arm sleeve.

"You can think of it that way." Luke casually glanced in that direction.

Mecha were a man's romance. That saying was true.

But he had seen far too much of that kind of romance in another world, and it no longer stirred him. Besides, in his view, the saying that mecha were a man's romance should be corrected: all metal creations filled with mechanical beauty and violent beauty were a man's romance.

"What are they doing?" Interest rarely appeared on Snoke's face.

Seeing that look on him, Luke simply turned and led him over. "Just an experiment. You can take a closer look."

Stopping by the railing of the testing area, Snoke watched the experiment intently. When he saw the test subject wearing the Mechanical Arm sleeve clench his fist, and the enormous metal creation behind him—the one that had held his attention all along—also raise its metal arm and clench its fist in sync, his eyes nearly shone with intense light.

"Pairing the Drift System with machinery creates a near-synchronous resonance between human and machine. What do you think?" As if he knew what Snoke was thinking, Luke took the initiative to explain. Of course, he did not go into detail about the technologies involved. None of that was necessary for Snoke.

"Is this the technology that can restore me to normal?" Snoke turned to Luke, his eyes blazing.

"Of course not." Luke directly denied Snoke's guess. Seeing his stunned expression, he continued, "Do you know how expensive it is to manufacture a Drift System right now? Ordinary missing limbs don't require this kind of technology. To put it bluntly, even ordinary Smart Prosthetic Limbs are already expensive enough to put pressure on ordinary people."

"Of course, you're different." As Snoke's enthusiasm cooled somewhat, Luke reminded him, "The New Contract."

"The New Contract?" Snoke repeated the words under his breath. He knew this New Contract might contain some harsh, or perhaps other, conditions, but he did not care. The moment he saw that big guy, he had already developed quite a bit of goodwill toward this place.

"It's just a long-term security contract." Luke was straightforward. "I need you to help me build a powerful elite squad, one that answers only to me. You can choose your own members, though it would be best if they are in situations similar to yours. I can provide you with the best weapons and the most powerful equipment, and keep them updated over the long term.

"All you need to do is help me deal with some hidden troubles and enemies, while also testing the equipment you use and reporting your experience with it."