13: Research attempts on combat robots

At the entrance of the combat readiness laboratory.

"Clean up a small Disaster Zone?"

Zhang Huaiyuan, having just woken up, said with some surprise, "Do you need me to go along?"

He hadn't expected his first mission to be this dangerous.

"Don't worry, little brother, you'll mainly be in the rear. This time, our three elite squads are acting together, and the Commander will also be going in person, so there won't be any danger."

Seeming to see through his concerns, Randy smiled and comforted him, "The brothers from our First Brigade will also do their best to protect you."

"Alright... when exactly are we leaving?"

Zhang Huaiyuan took a deep breath and asked.

It wasn't that he was cowardly.

It was just that for an ordinary person, a Disaster Zone was truly too terrifying.

During the five years he spent wandering before joining Dark Annihilation, he had heard many rumors of temporary survival zones being destroyed and well-equipped mercenary squads being wiped out.

"A month from now. During this time, the Intelligence Department will do its best to investigate the dangers of the mission location and make targeted strategies in a timely manner."

Randy feigned a relaxed tone, "Little brother, you might have your work cut out for you. From weapons and combat suits to mechas, everything will need some adjustments."

"This is what I should do."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head and said, "Then I'll go prepare."

"Alright, I'll send you the full mission details."

Randy looked thoughtfully at the back retreating into the laboratory and didn't say anything more.

When he first participated in a Disaster Zone mission, he was also nervous and couldn't sleep all night.

However, he believed that this little brother with outstanding talent as a Star Mechanic would be able to adjust his mindset before departure.

On the other side.

Zhang Huaiyuan looked at the mission description, and a trace of irrepressible anxiety flashed through his heart.

Although, according to what Randy said, the probability of a life-threatening danger to him was infinitely close to zero.

However, he remembered that the original two Star Mechanics of the First Brigade had died during a mission.

After his clearance was upgraded, he had seen the mission briefing for that incident.

It was a cleanup operation for a medium-sized Disaster Zone, jointly conducted by the five most powerful mercenary legions in the Blackstone Star System.

Dark Destruction Legion was responsible for dealing with one of the outer areas.

But they didn't expect that an A-rank mutated Galaxy Beast in the core area had faked its death to deceive the perception of two A-rank ability users, and while fleeing to the periphery, it happened to crash into the area Dark Destruction Legion was responsible for.

The starship left in the rear was like a huge target, smashed to pieces by the fleeing Galaxy Beast in one hit, and the two standby Star Mechanics turned into dust in the starry sky along with the destruction of the starship.

Although this was an accident.

It also proved that even the top five mercenary legions of the Blackstone Star System could not guarantee absolute safety when facing a Disaster Zone.

Who could guarantee that an accident wouldn't happen this time?

"In the final analysis, it's still a lack of firepower."

Zhang Huaiyuan sighed.

If he were a combat-type Transcendent above A-rank, or piloting the Empire's most advanced starship, why would he worry about a mere small Disaster Zone?

"How about preparing a mecha for myself? But it wouldn't be very useful... The mechas circulating in the outside world are all old models phased out by the Empire over a hundred years ago, and they simply can't withstand the attacks of Galaxy Beasts above C-rank."

"If only I had the Empire's most advanced mecha technology... I've heard it can even allow a trained ordinary person to maneuver and fight against a B-rank Galaxy Beast; the performance is at least a hundred times that of these old models... Wait, a hundred times?!"

A thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Huaiyuan's mind.

Since the quality isn't enough, what about ten times, or a hundred times the quantity!

If there were thousands of mechas capable of autonomous combat, even an ordinary A-rank Galaxy Beast would have to avoid their edge.

It's just that... as far as he knew.

Because supernatural powers exist in this world, those special abilities combined with corresponding mechas can exert power where 1+1 is greater than 10.

Coupled with the ever-changing environment of Disaster Zones and the extremely high cost of combat readiness maintenance, not much attention has been paid to the development of intelligent combat robots.

—At least that's how it is for ordinary factions.

In other words, with his status, the amount of knowledge he could find in related fields was extremely limited.

"It seems I can only rely on myself."

Zhang Huaiyuan walked quickly to the information transmission center and browsed through the few professional books available via the "Dark Annihilation" database.

Ordinary artificial intelligence is not difficult; the laboratory he was in had a large number of cleaning and carrying robots.

They could understand and process simple instructions, but if they were asked to do complex tasks, such as assisting in research or creating new modification plans, they couldn't do it.

"And adapting to combat in a Disaster Zone is even more difficult. However, I can make some simple attempts first."

Zhang Huaiyuan's enhanced brain operated at high speed, conceiving suitable models, and began writing lines of algorithm code on the cloud computer.

"Conventional machine learning capabilities, language reception and processing capabilities..."

"The database contains a large amount of footage of Dark Destruction Legion soldiers training and fighting, which can be used to feed combat techniques..."

"Necessary restriction programs..."

"..."

Immersed in his work, six hours flew by in a flash.

"That's about it; next is to download the model to the terminal and then put it into the simulation room to see the actual effect."

Zhang Huaiyuan selected a semi-finished mecha, modified the unsuitable parts, and implanted the chip with the written program.

"Activate!"

"Beep! Voice recognition successful, program started."

A moment later, the eyes of the 5-meter-tall mecha suddenly lit up with green light.

This mecha, named "War-Maker Mark II," was a standard model phased out by the Empire 120 years ago.

Its thick mechanical arms were respectively equipped with a large-caliber machine gun and a high-power laser longsword, while its chest and shoulders were mounted with small cruise missiles; it was a quite powerful war weapon for medium and close range.

At first glance, it was full of oppression.

"Number 001, awaiting your instructions."

A heartless mechanical voice sounded.

"Connect to the simulation center and execute the mission according to the prompts."

Zhang Huaiyuan quickly ordered.

"Instruction accepted, connecting... connection successful."

"Start mission execution."

At the same time, the simulation scene was also being broadcast in real-time on the light screen.

That was a real mission once executed by members of Dark Destruction Legion, the goal of which was to rescue the trapped family of Viscount Karen, an Imperial noble, from the edge of a sudden medium-sized Disaster Zone.

To balance the combat power, Zhang Huaiyuan deliberately adjusted it to an appropriate difficulty.

The mission went smoothly at first, and under heavy fire coverage, the ordinary Galaxy Beasts blocking the way were quickly cleared.

But soon, an oversight occurred during the rescue process.

The combat robot actually failed to eliminate the weakened Galaxy Beast leader at the first opportunity, causing the aftermath of its attack to coincidentally kill Viscount Karen.

And after this incident occurred, the combat robot, after a brief hesitation, actually chose to give up continuing the fight, allowing the Galaxy Beast to kill all of Viscount Karen's remaining family members and attendants.

"No good... the problem is too big."

Zhang Huaiyuan looked at the four large characters "Mission Failed" appearing on the light screen, and his brows furrowed.