The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

"Make a deal!"

Hephaestus replied without hesitation, "I'll help you! I'll help you escape my teacher's surveillance, and I'll help you repair and... upgrade your ship!"

“I can use my dock access to get you the best materials from the Rustheart’s inventory, including… a spare, small 'Warp Engine Core'!”

“And what I want…” His breathing quickened, “is simply to ask that, during the time I’m helping you, I be allowed to stay on your ship and… learn from you!”

What he wanted to learn was that kind of forbidden knowledge—the perfect symbiosis of flesh and machine.

In this city that loathes flesh and blood, he, Hephaestus, is the most thorough "heretic."

Faced with Hephaestus's longing and fervent gaze, Shen Ge remained silent for a moment.

A spare small "subspace engine core".

This stake was even bigger than he had anticipated; it wasn't just a power source, but also represented one of the pinnacle creations of technology from the old era of this world.

If his technology can be analyzed to some extent, it could be of immeasurable help to his future understanding of "Ark Zero" and even the upgrading of Ark One.

All he needs to give up is "knowledge".

For him, this was almost a sure-fire way to make money.

Moreover, he really needs an "insider" like Hephaestus, who is both proficient in the local technology and in a key position, to break Arcturus's plan.

"Aren't you afraid that your teacher will find out and throw you into a furnace to be burned as fuel?" Shen Ge asked the boy in a calm tone.

Hephaestus shuddered, clearly thinking of the terrible consequences. But soon, a stronger, more powerful obsession with knowledge overcame the fear.

"afraid."

He answered honestly, "But if I can witness and touch the 'truth' with my own eyes and hands, even for just one day... it's better than being a puppet on a string for a lifetime in the lies woven by my teacher."

He paused, then looked up, his gaze unwavering beneath his thick glasses.

"And I bet you, Messenger... are not the kind of person who would easily let a partner die."

That was a perfectly timed compliment.

Looking at the boy in front of him, Shen Ge seemed to see Li Xiang from another world, who always followed behind him, shouting, "Old Shen, look at my new invention!"

The last trace of doubt in his heart also dissipated.

"The deal is done." Shen Ge nodded and extended his hand.

Hephaestus paused for a moment before realizing what this meant.

Overjoyed, he quickly wiped his oil-stained hands on his clothes and then clasped them tightly with Shen Ge's clean hand.

From this moment on, in this cold, steel city, Shen Ge had his first true "ally".

"very good."

Shen Ge released his grip and immediately got to the point: "Now tell me, what is Arcturus's entire plan? What does he want from my ship? And where did his modifications come from?"

When the conversation turned to his field of expertise, Hephaestus instantly transformed from a somewhat timid young man into a confident and eloquent scholar.

"The teacher's goal has always been 'immortality,' or rather... 'ultimate evolution.'"

Hephaestus lowered his voice and spoke rapidly: "He believes that pure mechanical ascension has its limits because cold steel cannot give birth to true 'will'. And pure flesh-and-blood evolution will be corrupted by supernatural energy, eventually losing its mind and turning into a monster."

"Therefore, his real goal is to find a path that allows him to possess both the immortality of steel and the evolutionary potential of flesh and blood!"

“Your ship showed him this possibility. He wanted to analyze your biomass engine, replicate that perfect energy cycle system, and then… transplant that ‘Heart of God,’ that subspace engine, into his own body!”

Transplanting a warship engine into his own body? This person is no longer a madman, but a monster attempting to become a god!

"Was the modification of his heart and brain also for this purpose?" Shen Ge asked.

“Yes!” Hephaestus nodded immediately: “Those were his early masterpieces, the ‘Phantom Processor’ and the ‘Logical Neural Network’.”

"The former is responsible for converting the raging energy of the subspace engine into bioenergy that his body can withstand; the latter is responsible for using absolute logic to suppress the mental pollution that may occur when the energy overload occurs."

"But both of these things are just... transitional products. They are not perfect, which is why he has stagnated for decades."

"I understand." Shen Ge connected all the information.

Arcturus, a ruthless warlord stuck in a bottleneck, who will stop at nothing to break through.

Hephaestus, a "heretic" genius with extraordinary skills, but oppressed by both his faith and his teacher.

He himself and "Ark One" were the catalysts that broke the fragile balance between the two.

"The plan is simple."

Shen Ge looked at the boy: "You, use your authority to help me 'upgrade' my ship. And I... will help you get rid of your 'teacher'."

Hephaestus's body jolted violently, and his pupils beneath the lenses contracted sharply.

He had thought about trading, he had thought about learning, but he never imagined that... the other party's first words were... to kill his master!
"You...you want to kill him?"

“No.” Shen Ge shook his head and corrected, “It was him who wanted to kill me and take my things. I was just… launching a necessary ‘counterattack’.”

“You have no choice, Hephaestus.”

Shen Ge's tone was devoid of any emotion as she calmly said, "Now, it's you and me who are boarding the ship. Those who aren't boarding... are you and your teacher. Think carefully about which side you should stand on."

The boy's face turned deathly pale instantly.

Over the next few days, things appeared calm on the surface. Under the round-the-clock "protection" of the "Gear Guard," Shen Ge and his group lived a monotonous and oppressive life of house arrest, confined to their home.

Their "Ark No. 1" is moored in the deepest and most heavily guarded "Hand of the Machines" shipyard, where it is being "repaired" by Hephaestus, the "Mechanical Sage."

No one knew that beneath this calm surface, an undercurrent powerful enough to upend the entire steel city was surging wildly.

During the day, Hephaestus would lead a group of equally enthusiastic technicians to perform some harmless "maintenance" and "reinforcement" on the outer shell of "Ark One".

He would deliberately create complex technical problems, engage in loud and heated debates with his subordinates, and "show" the entire process to his teacher Arcturus without reservation through hidden surveillance.

But in the dead of night, when everyone had evacuated and he was the only one left in the dock, the real "upgrade" officially began.

He would shut down all the surveillance equipment and, using the "backdoor program" he secretly left behind, secretly retrieve one precious piece after another of the "Pioneer Alloy" that shimmered with a strange luster from the most heavily guarded warehouse of "Rusty Heart".

And, a small subspace engine core, only the size of a basketball, sealed within layers of force fields, yet radiating terrifying energy fluctuations!
Beneath the deck of "Ark One," the converted safety room became their secret command center.

Shen Ge sat cross-legged inside, his spiritual power already silently enveloping the entire dock through the Ghost Domain. No movement, however slight, could escape his perception.

Meanwhile, Hephaestus, outside the safe area, was like a child who had received the most perfect toy, engrossed in his dream of creation, neglecting to eat or sleep.

"No...no!"

He looked at the small subspace engine and shook his head excitedly: "Your biological heart has a 'living' energy output curve that can be adjusted according to your will. This inanimate object, on the other hand, only outputs a constant amount! Forcing a fusion will only lead to an energy conflict and blow your ship into a firework!"

“We must have a ‘converter’!” The boy’s eyes gleamed with wisdom: “A ‘translator’ that can ‘translate’ mechanical, constant energy output into pulsed energy flows that biological energy can understand!”

“Use your ‘logic neural network’ technology to simulate one.” Shen Ge’s voice came calmly from the safe room.

"No! I've only cracked less than 30% of the teacher's technique; I can't completely replicate it!"

“Then use your own way. Haven’t you always believed that flesh and blood can also be a part of power?” Shen Ge suggested. “Forget those rigid circuits and chips. Use a… more ‘living’ material to make your ‘translator’.”

This seemingly random statement, however, was like a lightning bolt that instantly cleaved through the fog in Hephaestus's mind.

“Living…material?” He stared blankly at his own human, nimble hands, then at a fragment of the “monstrous heart” that had been smashed during the dragging.

An unprecedented, insane, and blasphemous idea took shape in his mind!

What if we used our own nerves, combined with the ganglia of a bizarre creature, and the most sophisticated micromechanics to create an unprecedented… “biological processor”?

That will no longer be "the flesh and blood are weak, while machines ascend."

That will be a symbiosis of flesh and machine!
Having found his way, Hephaestus went completely mad. He locked himself in the modification room at the bottom of the dock, working day and night.

The ear-piercing cutting sounds, the eerie welding noises, and his own uncontrollable, maniacal laughter continued throughout the night.

Inside the Forge Temple.

Bishop Arcturus watched with satisfaction as the monitoring footage of "Ark One" was transmitted back on the crystal screen.

In the scene, Hephaestus is leading a group of people, replacing gears on a giant mechanical arm.

“Everything is normal, Your Grace,” a member of the archbishop’s guard reported. “Hephaestus has been behaving himself these past few days, and all the repair work is under our supervision. The ‘messenger’ has also remained in the tower without making any unusual moves.”

“Very good.” Arcturus nodded, a barely perceptible hint of contempt flashing in his cloudy old eyes.

A divine messenger? Just a fool with a bit of power. Once I obtain the secret of his ship, my own evolution will be complete. At that point, crushing a mere "messenger" will be as easy as crushing an insect.

"How are the preparations for initiating the 'Final Purification' protocol going?" he asked.

“Ninety percent complete,” the guard replied. “The energy output of ‘Heart of God’ is at maximum. With a single command from you, the entire ‘Hand of the Myriad Machines’ dock will be completely… ‘formatted’ by warp energy. Both the ship and the people on board…”

“No rush,” Arcturus waved his hand. “I haven’t gotten what I want yet. Any new research reports from Hephaestus?”

“Yes, sir.” The guard handed over a data panel. “Hephaestus said he discovered an incomprehensible ‘energy inert layer’ on the enemy’s hull, preventing him from scanning the core engine. He… he requested to use a ‘logic probe’ for forced decoding.”

"Oh?" Arcturus became interested and took the data panel.

The 'Logic Probe' is his highest-level access tool, specifically designed to hack into and crack old-fashioned black-box technology. Once used, it's equivalent to directly connecting a portion of one's own consciousness to the target.

Is Hephaestus finally about to reach the core?

“Approved,” Arcturus said without hesitation, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips.

Little did he know that this so-called "energy inert layer" and the application to use the "logic probe" were, from beginning to end, just a trap set for him by Shen Ge and Hephaestus.

The lowest level of the "Hand of Ten Thousand Machines" dock.

A specially reinforced repair boat slowly approached the massive hull of "Ark One". Hephaestus was the only one on board. He was focused, his forehead covered with fine beads of sweat, and his hands were rapidly operating a complex control panel that shimmered with a ghostly blue light.

Under his control, the repair boat extended a mechanical arm composed of countless precision parts, with its tip blooming like a flower bud.

That was Arcturus's most prized highest-level tool, the "Logic Probe."

Beside him, an irregularly shaped object covered by a black canvas was undulating slightly, as if something alive was breathing inside.

"Teacher...you're watching, aren't you?"

As Hephaestus operated the device, he muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear. His eyes held a complex expression, a mixture of fear of betrayal and a barely suppressed, morbid excitement.

He knew that the moment the "logic probe" touched the ship's hull and activated the forced decoding mode, Arcturus, far away in the Forge Temple, would erode a portion of his own psychic power, extending along the probe to personally "taste" the "feast of knowledge" he had longed for.

That would also be Shen Ge's best chance to retaliate.

“My Lord Messenger…” Hephaestus took a deep breath and pressed the last button, “…Everything is ready.” (End of Chapter)