This answer greatly exceeded Reddito's expectations. His optical mechadendrites flickered a few times, emitting faint electrical crackles, as if processing a logical error.
"The former is fine, but cybernetic augmentation... are you sure?" Reddito's voice carried a clear note of doubt.
"Yes," Robert said, looking at the forum posts. The moment the Adeptus Mechanicus appeared, discussions about cybernetic augmentation had become the hottest topic on the forum, with other related topics barely visible.
Robert confirmed, "If you agree, then many Helldivers will come to request augmentation. You can perform the augmentations according to their requirements."
Could the Helldivers be a faction of the Astra Militarum that reveres cybernetic augmentation? Reddito's logic circuits whirred rapidly.
However, this request from the Astra Militarum would undoubtedly deepen their connection with the Adeptus Mechanicus, especially with him, Reddito, personally.
Reddito had considered using force to control this Astra Militarum unit, but after a simple deduction, he realized he might not be able to defeat them—if the Helldivers could conjure laser guns out of thin air, could they also conjure melta bombs?
So, Reddito refrained from any aggressive actions from beginning to end, instead maintaining a distance from all members of this Astra Militarum unit.
"I can agree to your request," Reddito finally chose to consent, because in his opinion, it was not a condition at all. He could also use this opportunity to study why this Astra Militarum unit could conjure weapons out of thin air! This would undoubtedly be a huge contribution to the Omnissiah's knowledge repository!
But Reddito soon realized he had rejoiced a little too early... because the requests these Helldivers made were truly bizarre!
The first player to enter the augmentation chamber excitedly said to Reddito's mechanized face, "Tech-Priest, I want an explosive implanted in my body. The more powerful, the better, preferably a tactical nuke!"
Reddito's indicator lights almost froze. He looked at the player in front of him and repeated, "An explosive implanted in your body, the more powerful, the better, preferably a tactical nuke? Are you sure? My time is precious, and I cannot design a special surgery for you.
It will only be forcefully grafted to your body. Leaked radiation, pollutants, and rejection reactions will leave you with at most one month to live! You had best choose those already mature augmentations, which can at least guarantee you ten years of life..."
"Sure, sure," the other party just waved dismissively, as if shooing away an annoying fly, "Whose life can last more than a month anyway?"
"Oh, and I see your Skitarii are so awesome, with things like metal prosthetics and brain-computer interfaces. Can you give me all of them at once? I want to experience everything!"
"...Those are completely incompatible with your nuclear explosive. If installed together, the rejection reactions will be even more severe, and your lifespan, even with an optimistic estimate, will only be about ten days."
"That's plenty, just put them in!" the player urged.
Reddito ultimately performed the augmentation as requested. After the player's augmentation was complete, he explored his body, feeling the faint, wild power within and the novel sensations from all over his body, then ran out. Reddito could clearly sense that the other party was absolutely overjoyed.
"...Incomprehensible," Reddito muttered to himself.
Then the next player's request made him even more puzzled: "You want your abdomen to be transparent and capable of alternately flashing red, green, and blue lights?"
"Yeah," this Helldiver said in an incomprehensible manner, "How cool would a walking RGB light strip be?"
"This would require the removal of many of your organs," Reddito said. "You would thereafter only be able to sustain life through nutrient fluid injections and would lose the function of most of your organs.
In this situation, your body would rapidly become unbalanced, and even with an optimistic estimate, you would die from over a hundred diseases within three months..."
"Oh, why so much nonsense? Just do the augmentation! Who can live three months anyway?" the player impatiently interrupted him.
By the time the third Helldiver entered, Reddito had accepted that these individuals, like the Death Korps of Krieg, completely disregarded life. No matter what was said, he would simply nod and proceed, only speaking up when a fundamentally impossible request was made.
It wasn't until the tenth Helldiver entered that what he said surprised Reddito again.
"I want to become a Tech-Priest!"
Seeing Reddito's indicator lights flicker with surprise, this Helldiver, named Archer, quickly said, "I have admired the Omnissiah since I was a child, and I love the astonishing sense of power when great industry is in operation.
I believe that machinery is the source of human strength, and the fundamental reason why humanity has endured to this day..."
"No need to say more," Reddito waved his hand, interrupting Archer's effusive declaration, "You want to be my apprentice, right?"
"...Yes," Archer replied somewhat nervously, or appearing nervous
"Not everyone is qualified to serve the Omnissiah," Reddito's voice returned to its usual coldness and authority, "especially the foolish."
With that, Reddito took out a piece of parchment, drew and wrote on it, then handed it to Archer. Archer looked closely and saw a pile of dizzying math problems, full of complex formulas and symbols, interspersed with a large number of profound philosophical and religious terms.
"Take it back and do it. Bring it to me after 24 terra hour."
After speaking, Reddito saw that Archer still hadn't left and asked, "Any other questions?"
Archer nervously said, "Uh, that, could you write down the formula for plastisteel and its manufacturing principles? I'd like to see it."
Reddito stared at Archer for a full minute. His logic circuits whirred at high speed during that minute. Was he an alien spy sent to steal the Omnissiah's achievements? This thought flashed through Reddito's circuits, and then he almost laughed at himself.
If aliens were this foolish, humanity would have long since cleared the galaxy, instead of struggling in the quagmire of war for ten thousand years.
It wasn't until noticeable sweat ran down Archer's forehead that Reddito drew out another piece of parchment and wrote down the plastisteel formula and its manufacturing principles.
"Anyway, this is no big deal," Reddito said unhurriedly, with a hint of subtle amusement in his tone, "I'll tentatively consider this a sign of your studiousness."
Archer gratefully took the parchment, thanked him, and left the room. Reddito then watched everything the other party did after leaving the room through a monitor—no suspicious behavior, he went straight back to the resting area and fell asleep... Earth.
Archer forcefully pushed open the game pod door. The personnel who had been waiting for a long time immediately gathered around him, their faces filled with anxiety and anticipation. Archer's first words were, "Mission accomplished! I got the manufacturing principles for plastisteel!"
The surrounding personnel erupted in excited cheers. Someone asked loudly, "What about the Tech-Priest's apprentice? Did you become one?"
Archer nodded vigorously, his face unable to hide his excitement: "He gave me a set of math problems and said he wanted to see how I did them. I've memorized all of them!"
"Agent Archer, you've rendered a great service to the USA!" An old man with white hair immediately stepped forward and clasped Archer's hand, his voice trembling with excitement, "Without further ado, I'll immediately arrange for specialists to assist you with that set of problems!"
"For king and country as they say!" Archer said nonchalantly. "I'm going for burgers, toodles!"
"That's the United Kingdom Archer!"