Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 18 Modification Workshop

After seeing Rebecca and her brother off, Chen Yu's workshop returned to silence once again, with only the faint hum of the servo skull scanner and the rustling sounds of various tools running intertwined, like the whispers of a metal honeycomb.

He placed the newly acquired supplies one by one on the analysis table, his movements precise and efficient.

The "Thunder-7" battery was quickly connected to a homemade charge/discharge regulator riddled with cables, and energy began to flow slowly but steadily into his thirsty miniature reactor.

"Energy input is stable, with fluctuation rate below two percent. Not bad, old buddy, we can finally catch our breath." Chen Yu said to the floating servo skull, his fingertip tracing the energy warning on the visual interface, which had finally stopped flashing.

The skull rotated half a circle silently, the jaw opened and closed slightly, and the blue light in the eye sockets shone steadily, as if expressing agreement.

His attention then turned to the parts that Rebecca and the others considered scrap.

The high-frequency particle scanner emitted a soft hum as the microstructure analysis probe glided across the charred circuit board surface with the precision of embroidery.

“Look here,” he said, as if speaking to a silent apprentice, pointing to a unique spiral nanocircuit magnified in the hologram, “Sacrificing long-term stability for extremely high instantaneous data throughput…”

A design philosophy bordering on gambling. The technological evolution of this world is filled with this kind of all-or-nothing madness.

The servo skull lowered its height, and the sensors carefully scanned the area Chen Yu was pointing to, projecting a more detailed data stream into his field of vision.

He picked up another dull alloy fragment, and the sensor on his fingertip analyzed its molecular composition.

"The smelting process was outrageously crude, with impurities far exceeding the standard tolerance... However, looking at the combination of these trace elements, it was not unintentional. Was it to combat the corrosion of high-intensity acid rain and radioactive dust? A pragmatic solution for struggling to survive in harsh environments."

He stood up and paced half a step in front of the oil-stained workbench, the mechanical feet striking the ground with a crisp sound.

"And there's this redundant design of the neural network interface... Looking at these extra signal paths, it's not the optimal solution, but rather seems like a remedial measure. Is it to deal with the inevitable conflict caused by the large number of inferior and incompatible prosthetic implants on the market? Interesting, very interesting."

He was like a scholar facing ancient documents, trying his best to piece together the outline of a civilization struggling to move forward from these fragmented technological remnants.

"These technologies, in the eyes of the mechanical order that seeks unchanging stability and standards, are undoubtedly heretical and even barbaric. But they are exceptionally well-suited to this chaotic, rapidly iterating, and oppressive cyberpunk world. Understanding them, old friend, is the first step for us to apply them, and even surpass them." He gently patted the cold frontal bone of the servo skull.

The skull obediently bobbed up and down, as if nodding.

After encrypting and archiving all the analytical data, Chen Yu felt a long-lost sense of satisfaction that belongs to researchers.

This knowledge will be the foundation for his future modification and utilization of local equipment, and even for creating equipment that not only conforms to the underlying logic of this world but also integrates the advantages of mechanical teaching technology.

With initial improvements in energy supply and a deeper understanding of local materials, the desire to transform the workshop became urgent.

"Priority task: expand the energy system. We can't always rely on a salvaged battery and unreliable sunlight." He gave the order to the servo skull, his hands already working to build a more powerful conversion and buffer system using the newly acquired materials.

"Calculate the optimal energy plan and prioritize the energy needs of the workbench and smelting unit."

Light flowed from the skull's eye sockets, quickly projecting the calculated three-dimensional circuit diagram in front of Chen Yu.

Next, he disassembled the most valuable scrap circuit boards, the precision tools seeming to come alive in his hands: "To extract usable wafers and rare metals, the purity must reach 99.7% or higher. Our new workbench needs a sufficient 'heart'."

Hours later, the workbench was transformed, integrating a small but efficient focused laser sintering device. A dark red metal arm hung above, radiating a faint heat.

"Let's test it, starting with the lowest power," Chen Yu ordered.

A slender yet extremely hot beam of light shot out, precisely melting a small piece of alloy scrap into a dazzling liquid droplet, which then instantly cooled and solidified into a smooth ingot.

The servo-driven skull flew around the new device, and multispectral sensors recorded all the data, confirming that it was operating perfectly.

The most complex part was improving the network receiver. Chen Yu sifted through junk chips to find working signal processors and filters, his movements so fast they left afterimages.

“The filtering algorithm needs to be rewritten, and the local communication protocol is in a state of chaos beyond imagination. Skull, call up the previously analyzed signal fragment data and cross-compare the frequency characteristics.” He issued commands to the servo skull while welding those tiny components.

The skull quickly presented the required data stream to one side of his field of vision.

A few days later, a bizarre device, pieced together from countless scraps and with a crooked antenna, was erected on the workshop roof, a prime example of the aesthetic style of the Mechanicus.

“It looks like a real mess, doesn’t it?” Chen Yu said to the servo skull with a hint of self-deprecation. “But functionality comes first.” He activated the device.

After a series of cheerful yet piercing crackling sounds, the device began to operate.

In the visual interface, the information torrent that was originally filled with a lot of noise and invalid data seemed to be tamed by an invisible dam, becoming much clearer and more stable.

"Signal strength improved by 400%, and the signal-to-noise ratio improved significantly. Finally, I can hear the 'sound' of this world clearly." Chen Yu watched with satisfaction as more stable news frequencies, fragments of corporate broadcasts, and local communication signals flooded into his database.

“Continuous monitoring and recording of all information patterns related to technology, corporate dynamics, and conflict events.”

The servo skull faithfully executes commands, silently hovering beside the terminal, its eye sockets gleaming slightly with the data stream.

“Reverse engineering progress: Local basic materials science 7%, energy technology 12%, information network protocols 5%, biomechanical interfaces 3%…” Chen Yu examined the scrolling list in the corner of his vision. Progress was slow, but solid foundations were being built one by one.

The upgraded workshop still smells of ozone, molten metal, and dust, but it is no longer just a refuge.

Sophisticated homemade tools, a stable power supply system, a nascent data link, and most importantly—a brain rapidly understanding and absorbing local technological knowledge—have transformed this place into a vibrant and operational technological outpost.

Chen Yu stood in front of the newly renovated workbench, one tentacle picking up the locally refined alloy ingot, while the other tentacle brought up the blueprint for the power gauntlet.

“The material properties have been updated, and the structural strength is 5 percent higher than expected, but the toughness is insufficient. The stress distribution design needs to be adjusted,” he said to the servo skull, as if seeking advice.

The skull simultaneously projects the material analysis report and structural stress simulation diagram onto the blueprint.

Outside the window, the eternal wind and sand continue to batter this forgotten land.

But within the workshop, the creative fire belonging to the mechanical priest had already been ignited, burning steadily and illuminating the small but solid foothold he was building step by step in this chaotic world.

(End of this chapter)