Chapter 257 — A Moment of Rest
For a few moments after the meeting ended, nobody spoke.
The holographic displays had already disappeared. The reports were gone. The discussions about worlds, technology, gods, magic, zombies, chakra, and galaxy-spanning empires had finally come to an end.
The atmosphere in the room felt different now.
Lighter.
Tony was the first to stand.
The others followed soon after.
Naruto stretched his arms and immediately grinned.
"I want to go out!"
His voice carried through the room with obvious excitement.
Unlike the meeting, this was something simple.
Something fun.
They had finally been given permission by the authorities of this universe to move around freely. After spending time inside the residence and attending a meeting, Naruto wanted to see the city with his own eyes.
Mindy immediately nodded.
"I do too."
"I want to as well," Saeko said with a small smile.
Diana nodded shortly after.
"I will join you guys."
Naruto's grin widened.
Now there were already four of them planning to go.
His eyes immediately moved toward the others.
"What about you, Tony, Tanya, and Gaius?"
Tony waved a hand without even thinking about it.
"I will not join you guys."
Naruto's shoulders dropped slightly.
Tony noticed.
"I want to study some things."
That made sense.
Naruto nodded.
Tony was Tony.
The moment he found himself in a new universe, he immediately wanted to study everything around him.
"Okay."
Although disappointed, Naruto accepted it.
Then he turned toward Tanya.
"What about you, Tanya?"
Tanya looked at him.
Naruto's hopeful expression was obvious.
The two of them had spent a long time talking through the group chat before all of this happened. Yet despite that, they had never actually met face-to-face until arriving here.
Still, Tanya shook her head.
"No."
Naruto's hopeful expression immediately weakened.
"I will just stay here and relax."
"Okay."
Naruto nodded.
He did not argue.
He did not push.
If Tanya wanted to stay behind, that was her choice.
Then he turned toward the last person.
Gaius.
Naruto opened his mouth.
Before he could say anything, Gaius answered.
"No."
Naruto blinked.
He hadn't even asked yet.
The giant Space Marine had somehow already known what was coming.
"Okay."
Naruto gave up immediately.
Trying to convince Gaius was usually pointless.
Meanwhile, Saeko picked up the phone resting on the table.
Compared to the technology of her world, the device looked advanced.
The screen was clean.
The interface was smooth.
Still, it was easy enough to understand.
She opened the contacts application.
Only two names appeared.
Lieutenant Marcus.
Commander Osman.
Saeko selected Marcus and pressed the call button.
Across the room, Tony noticed what she was doing.
He already knew who she was calling.
"Don't end the call with Marcus," he said.
Saeko looked over.
Tony continued.
"I have something to talk about with him as well."
Saeko simply nodded in understanding.
The phone continued ringing.
Only a few seconds later, the call connected.
"Lieutenant Marcus speaking," came the voice from the speaker.
"Do you guys need any assistance?"
Marcus already knew who was calling.
That was not surprising. Their contact information had likely been registered in the system already, and as their assigned liaison, he had probably expected them to reach out sooner or later.
"This is Saeko," she said politely.
"Commander Osman said we would be getting money."
Marcus listened quietly.
"We will be needing it because we plan to go out and explore the city."
"I see."
His response came immediately.
"Please wait about ten minutes."
Saeko listened carefully.
"I will come there myself."
"That would be helpful."
"I will also bring your personal communicators."
Marcus continued.
"The money will already be inside them."
"We use digital currency."
Saeko raised an eyebrow slightly.
Digital currency.
That was different from her world.
"Okay then."
Before ending the call, she remembered Tony's request.
"Tony also has something to discuss with you."
"I see."
Marcus sounded calm as always.
"Then we can discuss it when I arrive."
"I understand."
After confirming everything, Saeko informed him she was ending the call.
Then she disconnected.
The room became quiet again.
Saeko looked toward Tony.
"Lieutenant Marcus will be coming here."
Tony nodded.
"You can discuss whatever you need face-to-face."
"Perfect."
Then Saeko turned toward the others.
"Lieutenant Marcus will also bring everything we need for exploring the city."
Mindy immediately spoke.
"Money?"
Saeko couldn't help smiling slightly.
"Yes."
That seemed to be the most important detail for Mindy.
After all, exploring a city without any money would not make for a very good outing.
"Nice."
Naruto looked even happier.
"Yehey!"
Diana laughed softly.
Saeko smiled as well.
For all the incredible things they had discussed today, money somehow managed to excite Naruto almost as much as advanced technology and space travel.
Tony returned to his seat.
He crossed one leg over the other and settled back comfortably.
Now all that remained was waiting for Marcus.
A moment later, another chair moved.
Everyone looked over.
Gaius stood.
His enormous armored frame seemed even larger now that everyone else was standing nearby.
"I will be in my room."
Tony nodded.
"Okay."
Nobody stopped him.
There was no reason to.
Gaius was not the type to remain in a conversation simply for the sake of talking.
If he had nothing important to say, he preferred silence.
Without another word, he left.
His armored footsteps echoed softly through the residence.
Even then, the sound was lighter than most people expected.
Gaius deliberately controlled every step.
Instead of heavy crashes, only quiet thuds followed him down the hallway.
Soon he reached his room.
The door opened.
The room itself was simple.
A large bed occupied most of the space.
The mattress was oversized and specially prepared.
Anything smaller would have struggled to support someone of Gaius's size.
He entered and closed the door behind him.
Unlike the others, he remained fully armored.
Only his helmet was absent.
The helmet itself rested safely inside his Parcel System.
Gaius walked toward the bed and sat down on its edge.
For a few moments he remained still.
Then he reached toward his right arm.
The massive power fist covering his hand released with a series of mechanical clicks.
Slowly he removed it.
The enormous weapon was placed carefully on the floor.
Without the power fist, the auramite gauntlet beneath became visible.
Compared to the power fist, it looked sleek.
Thin.
Refined.
Though only by comparison.
Even now, the armored hand remained large enough to easily cover a normal human head.
Silence filled the room.
Then Gaius placed a hand against his chest.
Against the place where the fragment of the Emperor rested.
"Emperor," he said quietly.
His voice was respectful.
Steady.
"I need knowledge to trade with the humanity of this universe."
The response came immediately.
The miniature sun within his soul stirred.
"I will give you knowledge."
The Emperor did not refuse.
There was no reason to.
The request was meant to help humanity.
Not the humanity of Gaius's own universe.
Another humanity.
Yet humanity nonetheless.
The Emperor had witnessed everything Gaius had experienced since arriving in this universe. He had seen the same events, understood the same opportunities, and recognized the potential value of this exchange.
The humans of this universe possessed technologies that could be useful.
Slipspace alone held enormous potential.
Helping them was worthwhile.
Working together was worthwhile.
Golden light slowly filled the room.
A figure appeared before Gaius.
Not the full fragment.
Not the true extent of what rested within him.
Only a small portion.
A sliver of golden radiance took form before him.
Gaius immediately lowered his head.
"I require knowledge."
The Emperor regarded him silently.
Then knowledge flowed into Gaius's mind.
There were no spoken words and no explanations. Instead, understanding arrived directly.
The first thing he saw was a lasgun.
Not the weapon itself, but the complete knowledge behind it. Its design, construction, operation, and manufacture became clear at once. He understood how the power cells worked, how the internal components interacted, how energy was converted and discharged, and how each part could be produced and assembled.
The knowledge expanded beyond the weapon itself.
He saw the industrial processes required to manufacture it on a large scale. Factory layouts, production methods, quality standards, maintenance procedures, and supply chains unfolded before him. It was not simply knowledge of a tool, but of the infrastructure needed to create it.
Then came ceramite.
Information on materials, fabrication techniques, structural composition, and industrial production flowed into his mind. Layer after layer of understanding settled into place.
The Emperor did not give him everything.
Only enough.
Enough to build.
Enough to reproduce.
Enough to offer something of value to the humanity of this universe.
Finally, the flow of information ceased.
The vision faded.
The Emperor still stood before him.
Golden light filled the room one last time.
"It is enough."
Then the light vanished.
The manifestation disappeared, and the fragment returned to its place within Gaius's soul.
Silence returned.
Gaius sat alone on the edge of the bed and slowly opened his eyes.
His metal hand brushed against the side of his head as his transhuman mind processed the knowledge he had been given. Vast amounts of information were already being organized and stored, each piece falling into its proper place.
Ready to be used when the time came.
Elsewhere in the residence, Marcus was already on his way. Naruto, Mindy, Saeko, and Diana were preparing to explore the city. Tony was waiting to continue discussions about technology and cooperation. Tanya intended to spend the day resting.
And Gaius now possessed the first knowledge he intended to exchange between two different humanities.
~~~
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