Chapter 39: The Universal Workbench

“Michael, I have a bad feeling about this…”

Alba gripped the plasma cutter, glancing nervously around. Apart from the blood sprayed and splattered on the walls and floor, there was no sign of any survivors in the station, nor even the shadow of a mutated creature.

Both of them had assumed that after encountering three small mutants, the road ahead would be crawling with more monsters. Yet, even after crossing several compartments on high alert and nearing the secondary armory, they hadn’t seen a single additional mutant.

Alba didn’t need to say anything for Li Nanke to feel a growing sense of danger creeping through his heart.

It wasn’t the kind of immediate, intense threat, but rather a silent, steadily building unease—one that grew stronger with every step. It was as if he were all alone, adrift in a boundless, dark ocean; though he still had strength to tread water and stay afloat, he could clearly sense his energy being slowly drained, knowing it was only a matter of time before exhaustion pulled him down into the bottomless blackness.

Without a word, Li Nanke quickened his pace toward their destination.

The secondary armory was located along the side of a long corridor. Its gate, forged from high-strength alloy, looked utterly unbreakable, and an identity verification device was mounted to one side.

Li Nanke had an idea. He motioned for Alba to try hacking it.

Armed with a powerful portable quantum computer, Alba quickly bypassed the identity scanner, but the armory’s door didn’t budge.

He spread his hands and shrugged in defeat, pointing to a nearby slot. “It’s not that my skills aren’t up to the task. This door has both electronic and mechanical locks. Hacking the electronics isn’t enough—you also need to open the mechanical lock.”

Li Nanke pulled out a metal card and, under Alba’s astonished gaze, inserted the key into the slot.

With the sound of gears meshing, the armory door slid open.

The so-called secondary armory was tiny inside, about the size of a single-occupancy room. It was completely empty—none of the advanced weaponry they’d hoped for, not even a single combat knife.

The only thing inside was a workbench that looked straight out of a science fiction film, equipped with an array of advanced mechanical arms.

Alba’s eyes lit up. He licked his lips and hurried over, touching and examining the machine with more excitement than if he’d seen a woman. “This is an additive manufacturing printer. It can rapidly fabricate items based on existing blueprints—a high-end 3D printer, basically.”

“This one obviously isn’t some commercial or civilian junk. It’s a classified military model—the so-called ‘universal workstation’!”

“We’ve struck gold—no, we’ve hit the motherlode! With this, we can quickly produce all kinds of advanced weaponry, provided there’s enough material in the printer and we have the necessary designs.”

Recalling Alba’s explanation, Li Nanke remembered the 3D printers from his previous life on Blue Star. Those machines could only manage micron-level precision, relied on stacking physical materials layer by layer, and had to print small components separately for complex items, requiring manual assembly in the end.

This high-tech device, on the other hand, used plasma deposition to construct objects at a microscopic level. With the aid of nanobots, it could fabricate a complex weapon in mere seconds. It even integrated testing, optimization, modification, and upgrade functions—a true universal workstation.

Li Nanke operated the workstation, but found that it held no weapon blueprints of its own. All data and blueprints were stored on the small metal keycard; only by inserting the card could the machine be used.

He couldn’t help but curse inwardly. The reward from the Far Shore really left no loopholes. Even if you hacked through the electronic lock or forced the door, without the blueprint data, the workbench inside was nothing but a heap of scrap metal.

But as he opened the blueprints menu, the contents soon caught his attention.

[Wave Particle Pistol]
[High-Energy Pulse Rifle]
[Plasma Ejector]
[Linear Laser Cannon]
[Plasma Cutting Sword]
[Electromagnetic Oscillation Hammer]
[Powered Protective Armor]

There were four firearms, two melee weapons, and a set of armor.

Each required different amounts of materials to produce, and the workstation’s reserves weren’t enough to make everything. Two items, in particular, demanded a huge amount of materials—after crafting either one, they’d have nothing left for the others.

Those two were the Linear Laser Cannon and the Powered Protective Armor. Since he couldn’t see the stats before manufacturing, it was a bit like opening a mystery box.

“Should I go all in on one item, or pick several that require fewer resources?”

His current melee weapon was a chainsaw sword. Though it was only of ‘ordinary’ quality, with his maxed-out combat skills, it packed a considerable punch, so he didn’t urgently need another close-combat weapon.

His defense, too, was strong enough with his fully upgraded “Scales of the Sea.” Powered armor sounded like a metal shell meant to ward off external harm, but it wasn’t something he needed right away.

What he truly lacked was powerful ranged firepower. The shock rifle was functional enough, but its actual lethality was lacking.

After a long bout of contemplation, Li Nanke finally made up his mind—sometimes, betting everything on one shot was the wise move.

The very name, ‘Linear Laser Cannon,’ screamed devastating ranged weapon—so that was his choice.

He pressed the button, and the workstation’s mechanical arms began to move at lightning speed. Jets sprayed out plasma; invisible nanobots worked to rapidly cool and shape it into solid form.

Piece by piece, the massive firearm took shape from the base up.

At last, the mechanical arms fell still. What emerged was a fierce-looking, ultra-high-tech weapon.

To call it a gun was almost misleading—it looked more like a man-portable anti-air missile launcher, bulkier and more intimidating than an FIM-92 Stinger. It was the kind of colossal weapon you’d have to heft onto your shoulder to fire—no wonder they called it a cannon.

[Linear Laser Cannon]
[Type: Weapon/Firearm]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Rating: 19/100]
[Description: Powered by a high-energy battery pack, this cannon can instantaneously, and nearly completely, convert stored energy into a focused laser beam, creating a devastating, high-energy laser blast. The linear beam can easily pierce all manner of materials, including armor plating and concrete walls, making it lethally effective against hardened targets. This is an extremely powerful weapon—but requires a five-second charge before firing, and after each shot, the internal optics need a long cooldown. This critical flaw greatly reduces its rating.]
[Note: Second battalion commander! Where’s your damn Italian cannon? Bring it to me!]