Two days later.
Qin Mo held up both hands, creating the sixth suit of Power Armor, while using telekinesis to control a spoon and scoop food from a meal box into his mouth.
He then realized that his previous prejudice against this kind of food had been unnecessary. Going hungry for two days had been completely pointless—this food was far more delicious and acceptable than he had imagined.
And as he ate, Qin Mo also discerned how this stuff was made.
First came the biological remains that could be found on battlefields, or the corpses of terrifying creatures in the Underhive ruins, such as giant spiders.
Then the Logistics Machines responsible for food supplies, under orders from the Master Control Intelligence, purified the remains and extracted their nutrients and biological tissue, combining them together.
These foods originally had no flavor at all, but the Logistics Machines had been taught by the Master Control Intelligence how to synthesize flavor compounds, using harmless chemicals to create delicious tastes and add them to the food.
"According to the statistics gathered by three Logistics Machines, this food has received a one hundred percent approval rating. More than seventy percent of soldiers reported feeling stronger after eating it, or that their wounds healed faster."
"This data has been incorporated into the Data Core as a reference condition for further optimizing the food supply process."
The Master Control Intelligence's voice came through the communicator by Qin Mo's ear.
This was a routine report. Qin Mo wanted the Master Control Intelligence to act freely, but he still needed to know what it had done.
"How is the intelligence work going?" Qin Mo asked.
"The completed drones have already been deployed. As of this moment, forty-two positions have been confirmed to still exist. Eighteen of them are under fierce Rebel attack, and three are about to be overrun."
"Including the defenders at your position, a total of 357,231 people remain alive."
"If you wish to support these positions, I can calculate the optimal support plan for you."
Qin Mo was greatly surprised to hear that more than 357,000 people were still alive.
According to the information he had received from Klein, before the Marshal realized things had gone terribly wrong, he had only deployed fifty thousand men to establish a defensive line.
Then where had three hundred thousand of those survivors come from?
"There is a settlement in the Underhive named Kato," the Master Control Intelligence explained.
"Oh, no wonder." Qin Mo suddenly understood. He picked up the Power Armor helmet and put it on. "Calculate the optimal rescue plan for me."
A three-dimensional map immediately appeared on the HUD inside his visor. Every surviving position was displayed clearly on the map, marked in different colors according to its current condition.
The less critical situations were marked green. Positions in danger but with enough survivors to hold out for a while were orange. Positions that were both in danger and short on manpower were red.
The Master Control Intelligence plotted a route through the red positions. Following it would allow Qin Mo to support each position as quickly as possible.
"Two of these red positions can be relieved by Fire Support Drones. Only the Kato settlement, located one thousand kilometers directly west, requires your personal support," the Master Control Intelligence said. "If you permit it, I require authorization to call in Fire Support Drones."
"I permit it." Qin Mo nodded.
Then, on the map he saw, four Fire Support Drones took off from the 47th Regiment's base and swiftly flew toward the two red positions other than Kato.
"It's time for me to set out as well." Qin Mo stood up and looked down at the sixth suit of Power Armor he had just created. Then he suddenly felt empty. In his eyes, this Power Armor no longer seemed like such a perfect masterpiece.
Over this period of research and manufacturing, Qin Mo had discovered that he was not driven to develop and create by belief or adversity. He genuinely enjoyed doing it.
When technical barriers that ordinary people might spend their entire lives trying to overcome were broken through, when creations that even the most advanced engineering techniques could not produce came into being in his hands, Qin Mo felt heartfelt joy and satisfaction.
But once the technical barriers had been completely overcome, and manufacturing became as effortless as eating and drinking, that joy vanished.
Qin Mo desperately wanted to create things that were more advanced and powerful. That desire also made him understand that the power he wielded came from a C'tan that loved creation.
"There are more important things to do now." Qin Mo suppressed his desire to create and his thirst for knowledge, then ordered Grey through the communicator, "Bring Tor here. His Power Armor is ready."
"Are we going out to fight?" Grey asked.
"Of course." Qin Mo nodded. "We need to head immediately to a settlement called Kato."
The Kato settlement was a small city in the Underhive.
Bounty hunters searched the scarcely traveled parts of the Underhive for ancient relics. Gang members built "factories" in the city to produce weapons and other contraband, while civilians provided services for the former two in exchange for money and food.
Qin Mo had heard a little about this settlement. He had assumed it had fallen long ago.
But when he arrived at the main road where the fighting was fiercest, he found that all two thousand Planetary Defense Force soldiers were stationed along it.
"Friendlies!"
The soldiers immediately realized Qin Mo had come to help when they saw the Aquila Scepter in his hand.
"Hold the line." Qin Mo gave the order to the other soldiers, then looked toward an officer in a nearby trench. "As far as I know, you have two thousand men, but almost all of you are on the main road. Who is fighting elsewhere in the city?"
The officer immediately began to answer. "It's—"
Just as the officer spoke the first word, a vehicle suddenly roared up from behind the position and stopped in front of Qin Mo, drawing his attention.
Qin Mo turned and saw that it was a pickup-like vehicle with black cloth covering its cargo bed.
After the vehicle stopped, five civilians climbed out.
They were a family: a husband and wife with three children.
"This is the front line. What are you doing here?" Qin Mo asked.
"We came to support these useless bastards." The man glanced at the soldiers, then jumped into the cargo bed and tore away the black cloth.
Beneath it was a quadruple-mounted heavy Stubber.
The man began adjusting the Stubber's firing angle, aiming it at the rebels far down the main road. Meanwhile, his wife and children brought over ammunition boxes and skillfully loaded ammo belts onto the Stubber.
Once everything was ready, the man immediately took control of the Stubber and sprayed the rebels with fire. His wife and children ran back to the vehicle, took out Laser Rifles fitted with scopes, and joined the battle.
The youngest girl was only a little taller than her rifle, yet she could already snipe enemies with ease.
"As you can see." The soldier sounded rather helpless. "Most of the fighting in the city is handled by the militia."
"The Underhive folk really are simple and honest, just as the rumors say." Qin Mo now understood why the city had not fallen.
In the Underhive, anyone too weak to fight had long since been weeded out by the environment.
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