The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 117: The Old World (2)

Jason was lost in his own thoughts as they returned to the compound. The first thing he wanted right now was a shower, some food then to sleep. However, Jason still had to analyse the extent of the damage done to the Infinity. He was feeling anxious and on edge. There was no telling if the Alliance would try to abduct him again.

'I need to find out how Adam and Dani are doing as well.' Jason sighed as his list kept getting longer. Sentinel had pulled some strings to make sure that nobody saw them as they disembarked Rust's fortress.

After all, with the visor broken on the Infinity, it would not be hard to discover Ouroboros' identity. Sentinel was caught up in his own thoughts as he ushered Jason through the compound and left him alone in his room. He was trying to decide if it would be worthwhile to show Jason the NEST he had discovered.

The only problem was that he was unsure of how Jason would react. If he could understand even some of the technology in that place, then there was no telling what Jason might become capable of. 'Is it a risk worth taking?' Sentinel hummed as he left their private area and headed for the office of one of the Generals.'

Even though he was a Pillar, he still had to apply for an appointment with the current Emperor. This was to prevent the powerhouses of the Empire from attempting to take him hostage. An appointment would only be granted once they were confident that they could restrain the person who had applied for the meeting.

In his case, the Emperor would need several Generals to be present as a safety measure. However, Sentinel thought that this was just a show of force. He had an odd feeling that the Emperor could defeat him on his own. 'It would help if anyone actually knew what his Power is.' 

Sentinel did not like not having this information. It was an unknown factor that he could not plan for. However, the purpose of gaining a meeting with the Emperor this time around was to seek some benefits for Jason. Which meant that he had to be on his best behaviour.

Meanwhile, Jason clambered out of the Infinity's wreckage. His mind began to work hard to make sense of the damages that he could see. Jason groaned as he realised how extensive the damage actually was. Several metal plates would need to be swapped out to start off with.

Then there was structural damage to the actual exoskeleton as well. Jason would probably have to remake the helmet from scratch and rethink the visor. There was also spent ammunition to replace and possible modifications to consider.

Jason sighed as he felt like he would be rebuilding the Infinity from scratch again so soon. He heaved a sigh as he finished making a list of the things he would need to make the necessary repairs before calling on Friday to deliver it to the brass.

Jason clasped his hands together and stretched his arm above his head. A couple of his bones cracked because they had become stiff with everything that had been going on. 'I should actually get some rest now.' He gave the Infinity one last glance before heading into his room for a shower.

When he came back out feeling tired and refreshed he noticed that his clothes were gone! In their place was a pair of orange and black cargo pants designed for heavy manual labour and a plain white t-shirt of good quality. A brand new pair of combat boots also sat by his bed with clean boxers and socks.

'When did this happen?' It unnerved him that someone had come into his room while he was showering, and he had not realised until just now. He usually would have thrown a fit about it, but he appreciated the gesture. His old clothes were barely holding together anymore as it was. Plus, they had left his bomber jacket behind, so there was nothing to be upset about.

His nostrils soon caught the scent of roasted meat, causing him to almost break his own neck with how quickly his head turned towards the source of the smell. A plate was sitting on the desk with warm, fresh bread and a few slices of juicy cooked meat. 

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Jason's mouth watered at the sight of it before he realised that the clothes and food must have been Sentinel's doing. He was grateful for his mentor's concern as he sat down to chew on the food with nothing but the towel wrapped around his waist. 

There was no point in getting dressed since he was planning on sleeping after this anyway. Still, his mouth felt like it was in heaven as the flavours caressed his tongue. He was almost tempted to question what kind of meat it was, but he knew better. There was a good chance it came from some beast that would put him off from eating it.

Syssie giggled at his thoughts as she cast a tender gaze over him. His body's more toned since the day she first came online, but that was probably due to all of the heavy lifting he had been doing. 'Hm, maybe I should take a look at his physical stats.' She thought as she pulled up the relevant data.

[Strength: 0.2]

[Endurance: 0.3]

[Intelligence: 1.2]

[Agility: 0.2]

[Memory: 1.1]

She hummed with delight to see that everything had gone up by at least 0.1. Jason's Intelligence was the only exception, going up by 0.2. This was to be expected by all of the knowledge that he unlocked. It was a sure thing that his body would take much longer to grow by the same amount.

When she really thought about it, a lot had happened during her short life so far. From Jason's first steps into creating items to opening his own store. From the crazy events at the zoo to teaching a lesson to a local gang. Then there had been the NEST, the Guardian Tournament, meeting Sentinel and the recent events.

It was almost too hard to believe that just a short time ago, he had been a simple scavenger struggling to survive alongside his grandfather. Syssie stared at the young man with pride. However, there was a more pressing matter on her mind. Her components were degrading even faster now, and if they did not find a solution soon, then all of this would have been for nothing.

Syssie quietly ran an internal diagnostic before grimacing athwart she found. 'We have around six weeks left.'

"Did you say something?" Jason suddenly asked with a confused look on his face as he stared at Syssie.

"Hm? No. Not at all. Why do you ask?" Syssie wore her best smile as she returned his gaze.

"Strange" Jason looked puzzled as he tapped his chin. "I could have sworn I just heard you say something about six weeks."

Syssie's eyebrow twitched as she realised what that meant. She knew that she did not say this to Jason, which meant that the barrier between their thoughts was starting to disappear. It was meant to be a one-way thing. But that was only because Jason's brain would not be able to handle all of the complex code that made up her existence.

If those barriers came down, then that could kill him before the deadline. 'Maybe we need to ask Sentinel for help. It's better to be alive and have to stick close to him than die just for the sake of it.' Syssie's expression turned ugly as she wondered how she should bring up this subject.

"Goodnight, Syssie. See you in the morning." Jason called out to her from the bed. 

She had not even noticed when he had finished his food, never mind when he had crossed the room and slid in-between the sheets!

"Goodnight Jason." Syssie's response was soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing him. 

'I guess I'll bring it up in the morning.' Syssie yawned as she waited for the automatic sleep mode to kick in, coinciding with when Jason entirely fell asleep.

Minutes passed, and she began to frown. 'I could have sworn' Gentle snoring suddenly cut off her train of thought as her expression became dumbfounded. Her sleep cycle had failed to kick in!

Syssie's breathing became ragged as she agonised over what that might mean. Did it mean that their connection was starting to fail? Had a fault appeared in her program? Was she already that far gone? These questions hammered at her thoughts make the situation feel worse.

"Don't worry, Syssie." Friday suddenly said as he appeared beside her. "Lord Sentinel had temporarily halted your sleep cycle so that you two can have a private conversation. Are you willing to come with me?"

"I" Syssie hesitated for a moment as she bit her lower lip. "Can't. I'm unable to really go anywhere without Jason being close by."

"Oh" Friday immediately understood her dilemma. "In that case, I'll fetch Lord Sentinel over here then. Please wait a minute."