"His name is Battle No. 1. This is his current state ever since the metal ball was activated," Gu Ding explained to the duo. "I think he's the perfect candidate to be our mechanic."
"h.e.l.lo, my name is Gu Ding. She's Liliath. Welcome to our team!" Gu Ding broke into a grin.
"Aren't you going to conduct an evaluation?" Battle No. 1 was not expecting Gu Ding to make the decision immediately.
"That's not necessary. If Neptune thinks you're fit for the job, there shouldn't be a problem." Gu Ding turned his head to look at Liliath. "Lili, what do you think?"
"You decide, you're the captain." Liliath did not raise any objections. For one, she trusted Neptune's decision. Second of all, she figured that such advanced-level mechanical life forms from the Middle Ages were pretty powerful. There would only be advantages if he stayed on their team.
"Are you sure you're not going to ask about my origins before recruiting me as one of your own? What if I've done something really terrible in the past?" Battle No. 1 was still unwilling to accept Gu Ding's decision. After all, he knew that a large majority of humans would not accept him because of his past. He might not have been directly involved in the war from start to finish, but exactly what the humans had cla.s.sified him as back then, he was an advanced-level war criminal. If he and his friends had not manufactured the ultimate weapon, the battle would not have turned out so tragically.
"From what Neptune said, you're a life form from over 10 billion years ago. No matter what you did back then, it has been 10 billion years now. It should be long enough that it was put in the history textbook of the Middle Ages. A large majority of Interstellar Pirates have dark pasts. We don't need to know what you did in the past. That's part of your privacy. We have no way of changing the past, but we can change the present." Gu Ding expressed exactly what he believed in; he had never asked Liliath about her past. He only knew that if she one day wished to talk about it, he would sit beside her and lend her an ear. That was all that mattered.
"I have two requests. If you agree to these two requests, I will agree to join you," Battle No. 1 replied after a moment of silence. He was indeed struggling inside.
"The first request: I will only take on the role of a mechanic in the team. I won't partic.i.p.ate in any combat because I hate fighting."
"We only need a mechanic. You can leave the combat to us." Gu Ding nodded and agreed without hesitating. In fact, he was not planning on allowing their mechanic to partic.i.p.ate in combat from the start.
"The second request: I need you to give me a new name. I don't want to use the name Battle No. 1 anymore." Having said those words, Battle No. 1 stared at Gu Ding.
"How about Robert?" Gu Ding grinned.
"Mm, I like that name. It fits me very well." Battle No. 1 gladly agreed. "I've already inspected the ship. It's quite old. It would be nice to give it a major makeover. But the main concern right now should be repairing certain damaged areas. I'll list down the needed materials for you. Once the materials are ready, I can start working on it."
"How long will it roughly take for you to repair it?" Gu Ding was contemplating between staying on the planet or leaving it first and repairing it on the way.
"Once all the materials are ready, I should be able to repair it in half an hour or so." Robert did not find it very hard to do.
"But Neptune told me that if a mechanic shop were to repair it, it would take at least two days' time. Are you sure half an hour is enough?" Naturally, Gu Ding trusted Neptune's words more. However, Robert seemed pretty confident too.
"If Robert says he only needs half an hour, then perhaps it will only take half an hour. The machinery civilization's craftsmanship is completely different from what has been pa.s.sed down to this age. My earlier calculations that it would take two days were based on this planet's current standard of craftsmanship," Neptune explained in Gu Ding's ears.
"Don't worry, captain. Half an hour will be enough for me." Judging from Robert's tone, he sounded really confident. It was his first job in the team, and he planned to perform well to reflect his worth.
"Before it turns dark, Lili and I will split up to look for the materials. If it's possible, I hope we can leave tonight itself. The Ona.s.sis family is sure to have leaked information on us being on this planet by now. The longer we stay on this planet, the more dangerous it'll be for us." Although Gu Ding was not afraid of encountering any challenges, no one enjoyed having trouble turn up at their doorsteps. The private bounty that was being offered by the Ona.s.sis family was worth a billion Star Credits. It was enough to have Rank 7 Gene Body powerhouses take action. Gu Ding knew that if he encountered any Rank 7 Gene Body martial arts pract.i.tioners in his current state, his chances of survival were slim.
After obtaining Robert's list, Neptune showed them the fastest purchase route immediately. In order to purchase all the materials, they had to make five trips to five different processing plants.
After getting off the s.p.a.ceship, Gu Ding and Liliath went separate ways, walking toward two different ore processing plants that were in different directions.
"Neptune, watch over Lili. The Ona.s.sis family might have spread the news about our whereabouts last night. I predict that the first wave of Interstellar Hunters have already arrived at this planet by now. Regarding Lili, remind her to try her best to avoid the enemy..." Before Gu Ding could finish his sentence, Neptune cut him off.
"It's too late. From the very moment both of you got off the s.p.a.ceship, you both started being tailed." Neptune brought rather bad news. "I've reminded Lili to be cautious. People who do things like tailing others typically don't have any strong abilities. Don't worry. If any problems arise, I'll inform you as soon as possible."
"Alright then. I'd like to see how capable this fellow who's tailing me is." Gu Ding broke into a grin, consecutively executing the Ultimate Arts Level 6 Silent Step. In the blink of an eye, he vanished on the spot.
Standing at the corner of a building, a man in black blinked twice before he realized that Gu Ding whom he had his sights on earlier had vanished.
As for Liliath, she adopted a completely different approach. After receiving Neptune's prompt, she entered a small alley that had very few people in it. The person tailing her followed her into it as well. However, after making a few turns while trying to follow Liliath, he realized that he had lost her.
"Hey, are you looking for me?" He heard a voice behind him. In addition to that, he felt a cold sensation coming from the back of his neck
"I hope you'll have a sweet dream!" Liliath pulled the trigger. The man's body fell limp to the ground immediately. Liliath bent down and pulled out the anesthetic needle from the man's neck, turned, and then left.
