New Member-Robert
When the half-meter-tall humanoid robot appeared in front of Gu Ding and Liliath, the two were clearly stunned.
"His name is War Machine One, and he's currently in the state after that metal sphere was activated," Sea Emperor explained in their ears. "I think he's perfect for the job of a repairman."
"Hello, my name is Gu Ding, and this is Liliath. Welcome to our team!" Gu Ding grinned.
"Don't you need to conduct some investigation?" War Machine One didn't expect Gu Ding to make the decision so directly.
"No need. If the Sea Emperor thinks you can do it, then there's no problem." Gu Ding turned to look at Liliath, "Lily, what do you think?"
"It's your decision, you're the captain." Liliath didn't raise any objections. One reason was that she trusted the Sea Emperor's decision, and the other was that she felt that this kind of advanced intelligent Mechanical Life left over from the Middle Ancient Era should be very powerful, and keeping it in the team would only be beneficial.
"Are you sure you don't want to know my background before recruiting me? What if I've done something really bad in the past?" War Machine One still didn't immediately accept Gu Ding's invitation. After all, he knew that most humans probably wouldn't accept his past. Although he hadn't directly participated in the war from beginning to end, according to the people at the time, he was a high-ranking war criminal. If they hadn't created the Super Weapon, that war wouldn't have been so devastating.
"I heard from the Sea Emperor that you are a being from over 10 billion years ago. Whatever you did back then, 10 billion years have passed, enough to be included in the history textbooks of the Middle Ancient Era. Most Interstellar Pirate have a shameful past. I don't need to know what you did in the past; that's your own business. We can't change history, but we can change the present." What Gu Ding said was precisely what he had always insisted on, just as he never inquired about Liliath's affairs. He knew that if one day she wanted to talk, he would be there to listen, and that was enough.
"I have two requirements. If you agree to these two requirements, I will agree to join." War Machine One was silent for a moment before giving his reply. He was indeed struggling with his decision.
"My first requirement: I will only serve as a repairman in the team. I will not participate in any fighting because I hate fighting."
"We only need repairmen; leave the fighting to us." Gu Ding readily agreed, though he had never intended for repairmen to participate in the battle from the beginning.
"My second request: I need you to give me a new name. I don't want to use the name War Machine One anymore." After saying that, War Machine One looked at Gu Ding.
"How about calling Robert?" Gu Ding grinned.
"Hmm, this name is good, it suits me well." War Machine One readily agreed. "I've already inspected this ship; it's quite old. A major overhaul would be good if we had the time. But the priority now is to repair the damaged parts. I'll give you a list of the materials we need, and once the materials are ready, we can begin."
"How long will it take to repair?" Gu Ding was considering whether to stay on this planet any longer or leave first and make repairs along the way.
"If all the materials are ready, it should be completely repaired in about half an hour." Robert didn't think it was a lot of work.
"But Sea Emperor told me that if we get a repair shop to fix it, it will take at least two days. Are you sure half an hour is enough?" Gu Ding usually trusted Sea Emperor, but Robert seemed very confident.
"If Robert says he only needs half an hour, then he really only needs half an hour. Their Mechanical Civilization's technology is completely different from what has been passed down to us. The two days I calculated earlier were based on the current level of technology on this planet," Sea Emperor explained to Gu Ding.
"Don't worry, Captain, half an hour is more than enough for me." Robert's tone was full of confidence. He was determined to do his best and demonstrate his value in his first job with the team.
"Before it gets dark, Lily and I will split up to find materials. If possible, I hope to leave here tonight. The Onassis Family has definitely leaked our presence on this planet. The longer we linger here, the more dangerous our situation becomes." While Gu Ding wasn't afraid of challenges, no one likes trouble that comes knocking. The Onassis Family's private bounty was a full ten billion Star Coin, already attracting the attention of some Seventh Order Gene Body powerhouses. Gu Ding also knew that his chances of surviving an encounter with Seventh Order Gene Body warrior were slim.
Upon receiving Robert's list, Sea Emperor immediately provided the best purchasing route, as these materials could only be obtained by visiting five ore processing plants.
After disembarking from the spaceship, Gu Ding and Liliath split into two groups, each heading towards a different ore processing plant.
"Sea Emperor, keep an eye on Lily. The Onassis Family should have spread the word about our presence here last night, and the first wave of Interstellar Hunter should have arrived on this planet by now. As for Lily, remind her to avoid the enemy as much as possible..." Gu Ding was interrupted by Sea Emperor before he could finish speaking.
"It's too late. You two have been followed ever since you got off the spaceship," Sea Emperor brought bad news. "I've already reminded Lily to be careful. Generally speaking, people who do surveillance aren't very strong, so you don't need to worry. If there's any problem, I'll let you know immediately."
"Alright then, I'll see what this guy who's been tailing me is all about." Gu Ding grinned, and unleashed the Sixth Layer of his Limitless Body Technique, the Shadow Step, in quick succession. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished from his spot.
A man in black standing at the corner of the building blinked twice before realizing that Gu Ding, whom he had just seen, had disappeared.
Liliath, however, took a completely different approach. After receiving a hint from the Sea Emperor, she headed towards a quiet alley with few people. The person who had been following her followed Liliath, but after turning several corners, he realized he had lost her.
"Hey, are you looking for me?" He heard a voice behind him, and felt the cold touch of a gun on the back of his neck.
"Sweet dreams!" Liliath pulled the trigger, and the man instantly collapsed to the ground. She bent down, removed the tranquilizer dart from his neck, and turned to leave.
(This week's featured posts in the book review section have been used up; any posts that need to be featured will have to wait until next Monday. Everyone is still welcome to participate in the book review section; I'll feature them all next week. There's also a bonus chapter tonight! Speaking of which, we're less than 70 votes away from first place in the Sanjiang voting. Brothers, do you think we should aim for first place? Originally, I didn't plan to get first place, because getting first place isn't always a good thing. But now that it's so close, I feel it would be a shame not to give it a shot. After all, a book only has one chance to be featured in the Sanjiang recommendation, and the voting deadline is tomorrow at 2 PM. The earliest I can ask for Sanjiang votes again is probably the second half of next year, or even the year after...)
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