"Project 'Odin'," Nyx whispered, tracing her grease-stained fingers over the cold, pitch-black receiver.
"A prototype Mag-Rail Sniper Rifle."
Kael crossed his arms, his silver eyes narrowing as he stared down at the dismantled weapon.
The dark star-metal absorbed the ambient light of the ruined subway station, almost as if it were breathing.
"Railguns require massive, stationary power plants, Nyx," Kael said coldly, his tactical instincts instantly picking the schematics apart.
"You can't just miniaturize an electromagnetic propulsion system into a handheld rifle."
"The kinetic recoil alone would shatter an ordinary soldier's spine," he continued, stepping closer.
"And the energy drag would melt the chassis in three shots."
"Bingo!" Nyx beamed, pointing a grease-covered finger gun straight at his forehead.
"Which is exactly why those white-coat bastards called it a fifty-billion-dollars paperweight."
She kicked the heavy receiver with the toe of her worn combat boot. A low, hollow ring echoed off the damp concrete walls.
"Marcus Thorne poured half a decade of Vanguard R&D funds into this monster," Nyx scoffed, popping another pink bubblegum bubble.
"He wanted a handheld gun that could punch through a S-Rank monster's mana-barrier from three miles away."
"And?"
"And human science crashed into a wall," she shrugged, leaning back on her hands.
"The magnetic coils kept tearing themselves apart under load."
"The internal mana-battery couldn't handle the conversion, melted two lead engineers, and locked the firing pin."
Nyx smirked, looking up at Kael through her messy dark bangs.
"So Thorne got scared, shoved it into the deepest vault in Sector 1, and threw away the key."
[User 'Weapons_Nut_44': FFFUCK! IS THAT A CLASS-9 EXPERIMENTAL ELECTROMAGNETIC CORE?! THE VANGUARD ACTUALLY TRIED TO HARNESS KINETIC ACCELERATION AT A PORTABLE SCALE?!]
[User 'Zark': Bro, fifty billion dollars for a gun that melts its own engineers?! Vanguard R&D is literally just a burn pit for money 💀💀]
[User 'Star_Dust_69': WAIT A MINUTE! IF IT MELTED LEAD ENGINEERS, ISN'T THAT THING DANGEROUS TO EVEN HOLD?! DON'T TOUCH IT KAEL!]
[User 'DragonBoredom': A failed toy made by fragile flesh-craftsmen. How utterly mundane.]
[User 'Succubus_Envy_99': Mmm, a fifty-billion-dollar death trap? Sounds like my kind of weapon. Shoot me with it first, Kael 🤤❤️]
Seraphina's golden eyes flickered with intense caution as she stared down at the black metal chassis.
She rested a hand on the hilt of her giant greatsword, her brow furrowing deeply.
"It radiates an unstable frequency," Seraphina muttered softly, her voice carrying the heavy weight of an ancient warrior.
"Even in pieces, I can hear the mana screaming inside those housing rails. It is broken, Kael."
Kael didn't move a muscle. He simply stared down at the empty shell resting on the cracked tiles.
"So you brought me a broken brick," Kael said coldly.
"I brought you a chassis," Nyx corrected instantly, tapping the side of her temple with a cocky, greasy grin.
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"I have the schematics. I have the brain. But human engineering alone isn't going to fix a weapon meant to slay gods."
Nyx suddenly pointed her finger directly at the empty air hovering two inches from Kael's eye.
Right where she knew his invisible cosmic stream interface was floating.
"You have a sugar daddy in the stars, Kael," she smirked, her eyes gleaming with pure, unhinged ambition.
"We don't need human science."
"We need alien magic."
A heavy silence hung in the subterranean air for half a second.
Then, the invisible stream window violently exploded with glowing blue light.
[User 'Zark': LMAOOOO! DID THIS NEON GREMLIN JUST CALL ME A SUGAR DADDY?! MY CREDITS ARE NOT FREE, BRAT! 💀😭]
[User 'Star_Dust_69': WAIT! HOLD ON! SHE IS ACTUALLY COOKING! HUMAN METAL IS TRASH, BUT WE HAVE THE INTERSTELLAR SYSTEM SHOP!]
[User 'Weapons_Nut_44': MOVE YOUR FAT HEADS OUT OF THE WAY! LET ME SEE THOSE BLUEPRINTS! I AM A LEVEL ?? DWARVEN FORGEMASTER AND I AM ABOUT TO BLOW A FUSE!]
[User 'Succubus_Envy_99': Aww, if I am his sugar mommy, do I get to pick his battle outfits next? Kael in leather harness when? 🥵❤️]
[User 'DragonBoredom': ...Sugar daddy? A grand constellation of the upper realms, reduced to a patron of mortals. Insolent girl. Keep her alive, Kaelen.]
Slowly, the corners of Kael's lips curled upward into a faint, razor-thin smile.
It was a cold, terrifying sight.
The brat was absolutely brilliant.
She wasn't just a rogue hacker hiding in the slums. She was a tactical asset who understood how to exploit the universe.
Kael raised his right hand and swiped his scarred fingers through the air.
"System," Kael commanded, his deep voice echoing off the damp concrete subway walls.
"Activate local projection."
"Open Cosmic Shop: Weapon Components."
HUMMM!
A blinding array of neon-blue holographic screens materialized above the dismantled star-metal chassis.
The entire dark subway platform was suddenly illuminated in brilliant, intergalactic light.
A massive, infinitely scrolling catalog of alien hardware, celestial cores, and exotic metal alloys cascaded downward like a glowing waterfall.
Nyx gasped, her jaw dropping so fast her bubblegum almost fell out of her mouth.
"Holy shit..." Nyx whispered, her glowing green goggles reflecting thousands of celestial blueprints.
"It's real..."
The audience chat was scrolling so fast it turned into a blinding blur of light.
Thousands of cosmic entities were screaming, bidding, and offering advice at hyper-speed.
Kael ignored the noise.
With a single flick of his wrist, he filtered the chaotic stream, pinning messages from the high-tier entities who actually possessed real tactical authority.
A deep, metallic hum vibrated through the air as the local projection screen flashed a violent crimson red.
[SYSTEM ALERT: A High-Tier Entity has entered the channel!]
[Constellation 'Mecha-King' (Lv. ??? Ruler of the Iron Nebula) has entered the chat.]
The entire chat stream froze for a fraction of a second as every low-tier watcher immediately quieted down.
[User 'Mecha-King': A primitive magnetic rail prototype? How pathetic.]
[User 'Mecha-King': The copper coil alignment is completely asymmetrical, and the localized energy channels are utterly abysmal.]
[User 'Mecha-King': However... that dark star-metal chassis is surprisingly durable.]
[User 'Mecha-King': It is thick enough to withstand the temporal output of a localized Void-Battery.]
DING!
A deafening, chiming bell rang out across the subterranean station, echoing off the rusted subway cars.
[Constellation 'Mecha-King' has donated 50,000 Cosmic Credits!]
[User 'Mecha-King': Replace those garbage coils, mortal. If you manage to disintegrate yourself with my wealth, I will personally descend and wipe out your bloodline.]
A shower of golden, burning numeric glyphs rained down across the holographic interface, instantly merging into Kael's personal vault.
[Total Cosmic Credits: 81,500]
Nyx stared at the floating golden numbers, her eyes practically bulging out of her head as she grabbed her hair with both hands.
"Fifty... FIFTY THOUSAND?!" Nyx shrieked, her voice cracking in utter disbelief.
"Do you have any fucking idea how much that converts to in standard Vanguard credits?!"
"That is literally enough to buy three full military districts in Sector 1!"
"Focus, kid," Kael snapped coldly, his deep voice slicing straight through her panic.
He didn't give a damn about Earth currency.
Paper money couldn't pierce heavy armor, and credits couldn't stop a bullet.
He only cared about absolute lethality.
[User 'Weapons_Nut_44': LISTEN TO ME, KAEL! DO NOT BUY EARTH PARTS!]
[User 'Weapons_Nut_44': That human battery is completely fried garbage! You need a 'Dark Matter Cell'! It will feed the magnetic rails without generating a single degree of thermal waste!]
[User 'Weapons_Nut_44': And strip those primitive copper coils! Replace them with 'Xel'Naga Acceleration Coils'! That is how you turn a broken rifle into a god-slaying rail cannon!]
Kael didn't hesitate for a single second.
His scarred fingers cut through the floating holographic interface with practiced, ruthless precision.
"System," Kael ordered, his raspy voice echoing in the dead quiet of the subway tomb.
"Purchase one Dark Matter Cell and two Xel'Naga Acceleration Coils."
[Item: Dark Matter Cell (Tier-B) - 25,000 Credits]
[Item: Xel'Naga Acceleration Coils (Tier-B) - 20,000 Credits]
[SYSTEM ALERT: 45,000 Cosmic Credits Deducted.]
[Remaining Vault Balance: 36,500 Credits]
[User 'Zark': BRO ACTUALLY BOUGHT ALIEN HARDWARE FOR A BROKEN EARTH GUN! HERE IT COMES!]
[User 'Weapons_Nut_44': DO NOT DROP THE DARK MATTER CELL! IF IT TOUCHES OXYGEN BEFORE ANCHORING, YOU ALL DIE!]
Above Kael's palm, the very fabric of space began to distort and tear open.
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