17: Chapter 17 Dragon Shield Power Armor

"So what do you plan to do now?"

"We originally intended to restart the ship's main engine, using the very last bit of remaining energy to reactivate the entire explorer ship's systems, so that we could locate all the valuable storage bays."

However, it was clear that Leovitos had encountered a problem; otherwise, he wouldn't have spent so long here without being able to restart this explorer ship.

"So, what problem have you encountered now?"

Leovitos's optical bionic eye dimmed noticeably.

"We have too little research on Golden Age technology, and we simply lack the ability to manipulate this ship's power system."

Xia Xingchen understood immediately. Simply put, their technology wasn't advanced enough to handle it.

"Let Nuwa give it a try."

Xia Xingchen immediately introduced the Tech-Priest Nuwa who was by his side.

At this moment, Nuwa had already proactively walked to the operation panel, connected the mechanical interface on her fingertip to the console, and began operating it at high speed.

Before long, Nuwa stopped her movements, turned her head, and said to Xia Xingchen and Leovitos:

"Alright, it works now."

Upon hearing this, Leovitos was stunned on the spot, unable to react in time.

Then, they saw Nuwa tap the panel one last time, and the entire engine room instantly roared to life.

Azure light bloomed once more from the main engine, and massive energy flowed along the pipelines, beginning to activate the basic systems of the entire explorer ship.

However, after a short while, the entire ship lit up with red alarms, and the piercing siren made even Xia Xingchen feel a tightening in his chest.

"My Lord, there is no need to worry. This is the ship's self-diagnostic system confirming the damage across the vessel. According to the prompts on the operation panel, 75% of the ship has suffered irreparable structural damage, and 10% of the area is severely destroyed. The ship cannot be restarted for launch."

Xia Xingchen was quite speechless. Of course, he knew this ship could never be launched again.

After over ten thousand years, it would be a miracle if it could still function normally.

If that were really the case, Xia Xingchen couldn't think of any other explanation besides the blessing of a Chaos God or the Emperor.

"Look around and see if there is anything else worth recovering."

Nuwa quickly accessed the ship's navigation logs and soon found the target information:

"In the deepest storage room on the right side of the ship, there are stored crop gene blueprints specifically for the explorer ship, as well as various agricultural supplies. If we are lucky, we might also find some relevant blueprints for civilian defense engineering."

Hearing Nuwa's words, Xia Xingchen looked at Leovitos.

"Do you want to go take a look?"

As Xia Xingchen spoke, he noticed that Leovitos was frozen in place, staring fixedly at Nuwa as if he had seen the most precious treasure in the world.

Xia Xingchen looked left and right, glancing back and forth between Leovitos and Nuwa. What was going on?

The next second, Leovitos rushed to Nuwa's side like a fanatical believer, chanting excitedly: "Praise the Omnissiah! Praise the Omnissiah! How did you do that?"

Leovitos hovered around Nuwa, looking just like a child thirsting for knowledge.

Watching this scene, Xia Xingchen just calmly said to Leovitos: "If you want to learn, when we return to the dream star, I can let Nuwa teach you. But for now, for the sake of the Omnissiah, let us hurry and find the precious technology left behind from the Golden Age."

Hearing this, Leovitos finally snapped back to reality, realizing he hadn't yet gone to find those noble technological blueprints.

Just like that, Xia Xingchen's honor guard and the Tech-Priests of the Iron Heart Society quickly converged, forming a mixed team that followed Nuwa's guidance as they moved forward.

Nuwa led everyone to a thick bulkhead door.

Xia Xingchen recognized at a glance that the material of this door was some kind of high-strength, special titanium alloy.

"This storage room was built with special thermal-insulating and pressure-resistant materials, specifically to ensure the stability of the supplies during long-distance interstellar voyages. The navigation logs clearly record that this sealed room utilized a vacuum storage mode."

As Nuwa operated the control panel, a green light shone, and the heavy bulkhead door began to open slowly.

Nuwa diverted all of the engine's remaining backup energy into the power system of this storage room.

The door opened inward, layer by layer, revealing the scene inside to everyone.

Wow!!!

Everyone looked inside, where piece after piece of pioneering technology from the Golden Age was neatly arranged.

In the center of the core area stood three display cabinets, all filled with incredibly precious technological blueprints.

And all around were large numbers of sealed wooden crates, as well as Golden Age power armor.

Wait, power armor?

How could a civilian explorer ship be equipped with something like mechs?

Xia Xingchen walked up to the power armor and, after careful observation, discovered that these were basically agricultural civilian-type power armor.

But just then, he discovered something out of place nearby—a protective cabinet made of special blast-proof glass.

Inside, a set of dark gold power armor rested quietly.

This dark gold power armor was primarily black and gold, its surface covered in fine hexagonal scales. The pauldrons were broad and heavy, and an dark gold dragon-patterned emblem was embedded in the center of the breastplate. The helmet had a sharp, angular knightly design, and the visor was a slender T-shaped eyepiece that emitted a cold, ghostly blue light.

The entire suit of armor lacked any intricate Gothic ornamentation; its lines were simple and cold, filled with an extreme industrial aesthetic, completely different from the complex and heavy style of the Adeptus Mechanicus in the 40K era.

Beside the protective cabinet was a thoughtfully placed handwritten introduction card, a brief note left by the captain:

[Dragon Shield]

[A special power armor crafted by the mysterious Eastern civilization of the Federation, gifted to me as a diplomatic present.]

In other words, this set of power armor was originally intended as a gift, not a weapon of war.

It was simply a waste of a treasure!

Xia Xingchen did not hesitate for a moment and reached out to touch the protective cabinet.

The glass sensed human biological traits and opened slowly in response.

Xia Xingchen easily grasped the suit of armor.

The armor unfolded automatically as if it had a life of its own, revealing the exquisite interior lining and energy patterns before him.

Xia Xingchen did not hesitate and immediately donned the power armor.