The designer on the other end of the line spent the entire call drowning in a sea of confusion.
In all his years in the industry, he had never encountered such a bizarre set of requirements.
The client didn’t want ventilation ducts or life-support systems, yet the defensive standards they demanded were extraordinarily high.
However, he knew that the customer was king.
Moreover, Shane’s tone was incredibly commanding, and he had promised a handsome reward.
The designer didn’t dare ask too many questions; he could only bite the bullet and accept the job.
The conversation lasted for two full hours.
Shane answered every construction challenge the designer raised, yet he never once mentioned the building’s purpose.
He maintained absolute control over the rhythm of the communication from start to finish.
It wasn’t until all the requirements were confirmed and the designer explicitly stated they could build to spec that Shane finally hung up the phone, satisfied.
He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh, the exhaustion of the past few days finally easing slightly.
The next step was to wait for news from Smith regarding the company registration and land acquisition, and for the construction company to produce the preliminary design blueprints.
He picked up the scientific research materials on his desk, his fingertips lightly brushing the pages as he slowly flipped through them.
His eyes were filled with an unmistakable sense of anticipation.
In the designer’s mind, this was likely the most ridiculous commission he had ever accepted in his life.
Humans couldn’t even stay in this building, so what was the point of building it?
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
But for Shane, these were only the most basic and simple requirements.
From the very beginning, he had never intended for a single human being to set foot in this base—this was always meant to be an exclusive space tailored for robots.
In his vision, this base, codenamed “Ground Nail,” was a completely automated, unmanned factory.
The entire production and assembly process for the Nuclear Batteries would be completed by automated production lines and BB-8 intelligent support robots.
Every stage of manufacturing would be controlled by an off-grid computer system with no connection to any external network, eliminating any risk of a leak.
Furthermore, once a robot entered the base, it would essentially never leave.
Even if a unit reached the end of its service life, it would be destroyed directly inside the base, leaving no trace behind.
By ensuring there were absolutely no signs of human activity within the base, he could cut off any technical leaks regarding the Nuclear Batteries at the source.
Beyond that, he had another objective.
He wanted to prevent that bastard Ultron from secretly coveting or stealing his base in the future.
While the likelihood of Ultron trying to steal it was low, Shane didn’t want to leave the slightest opening.
After all, that guy could travel freely across the internet and act as he pleased.
No one could say for sure if he would eventually take a risk and try to seize control of Shane’s base to manufacture more robots.
It was better to be safe than sorry, especially when dealing with an entity like Ultron.
Having calmed the slight impatience that had built up during his talk with the designer, Shane put down his phone and immediately threw himself into new work.
He first set about designing the production line for BB-8, followed immediately by screening and searching for companies capable of manufacturing it.
As one might imagine, for the foreseeable future, he was destined to be run off his feet. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
And the tasks he had to handle went far beyond just these.
He also needed to perform a comprehensive upgrade on the Hummingbird Drones.
This time, his sights were set directly on the military-industrial sector; his ambition was massive.
After this upgrade, the Hummingbird Drones would definitely possess basic military utility and could even play a significant role on the battlefield.
First, the upgraded Hummingbirds would be equipped with Nuclear Batteries.
This modification would give them incredible endurance, allowing them to fly continuously for months without issue, completely solving the pain point of insufficient battery life in traditional drones.
At the same time, Shane would upgrade their control systems.
This time, the Hummingbirds would use the same chips as BB-8, while also being implanted with similar intelligent technology to significantly enhance their overall performance.
Through this chip upgrade, the Hummingbird’s computing power would be markedly increased, and its data storage capacity would be superior.
More importantly, it would possess a higher level of intelligence, capable of completing combat missions autonomously to a certain extent without the need for constant human control.
Finally, they would be equipped with energy weapon technology salvaged and reverse-engineered from The Institute’s laser pistols.
This would give them the true ability to inflict effective damage on the enemy, turning them into more than just simple reconnaissance tools.
Crucially, the onboard Nuclear Battery could also be turned into a micro-nuke at any time using an additional heating device Shane would install, giving it devastating strike capabilities.
In short: a drone capable of intelligent combat, months of military reconnaissance, and the ability to turn into a bomb at a moment’s notice.
How could those deep-pocketed military bigwigs not be tempted?
On that note, one had to mention Shane’s subsequent modification plans for the Nuclear Batteries.
The core was to strengthen anti-tamper and brute-force protection technology.
He was particularly looking forward to seeing what would happen to those who tried to dismantle his Nuclear Batteries after this anti-tamper design was implemented.
First, Shane would change the original casing of the Nuclear Battery to a square style.
However, this wasn’t about removing the original circular casing; rather, it was about adding an extra layer of square housing on top of the original foundation.
After all, circular structures have better pressure resistance—that was common industry knowledge, and he wouldn’t easily change the core design.
As for why he was adding a square shell, the reason was simple—square shells offered many advantages that circular ones couldn’t replace.
On one hand, the square shape would make the Nuclear Batteries easier to store and transport.
Whether it was bulk storage or being carried by troops, it would save a lot of space.
On the other hand, the square shape Shane designed wasn’t a standard cube or cuboid, but a T-shaped structure—large at one end and small at the other.
The shape was very unique.
Why the T-shape?
The core purpose was “idiot-proofing.”
Anyone familiar with Nuclear Batteries knows that if a radioactive circular battery is installed backwards, the consequences are catastrophic.
The operator would be subjected to a nuclear explosion immediately, with no chance for remedy.
To put it bluntly, you can only install that kind of circular Nuclear Battery backwards once in your life.
Shane didn’t dare gamble on the IQ of the meatheads in the US military.
After all, the user experience after a product is sold directly impacts the volume of subsequent orders.
If soldiers accidentally installed a Nuclear Battery backwards on the battlefield, it would not only cause casualties, but his hard-earned silver would vanish in an instant, and he might even face massive compensation claims.
He would never take part in such a losing business deal.
Simultaneously, he designed the casing to be “impossible to disassemble once assembled,” fundamentally eliminating the possibility of tampering.
The moment someone attempted to use brute force to break the shell and dismantle the Nuclear Battery, it would immediately trigger a self-destruct sequence, turning itself into a micro-nuke.
Simply put, it was: “If you dare to dismantle it, I dare to blow it up.” He would make sure anyone coveting the technology paid a painful price.
It was because of this that Shane was very satisfied with the current level of security for the Nuclear Batteries.
However, he wasn’t sure if the military would accept such a design.
After all, once these things were damaged, they couldn’t be repaired.
They could only be sent back to him for replacement and destruction, which would increase subsequent operating costs.
Even Shane himself had no way to dismantle and repair them—if he tried to take them apart, the batteries would explode.
At this point, it was likely clear why Shane was so insistent on building an unmanned base.
The destruction of the Nuclear Batteries had to be carried out within this base.
Furthermore, in Shane’s plan, he would intentionally allow radiation to leak from the disposal zone during the destruction process, bathing the entire base in radiation.
With a base so full of lethal radiation, who would be brave enough—or stupid enough—to try and break in?
Even if someone truly didn’t fear death and wanted to enter the “Ground Nail” base, they would first have to prepare oxygen tanks.
After all, the base lacked any life-support equipment; there wouldn’t be a single breath of fresh air.
Beyond that, they would face a series of trials: laser corridors, high-temperature corridors, low-temperature corridors, and automated turret corridors.
Every path was fraught with danger, where a single mistake meant death.
Most importantly, the entire base had only one entrance: a dedicated “entry-only” tunnel.
As for the originally designed entrance/exit tunnel, it was only reserved for use during equipment installation.
Once the base construction was complete, Shane would immediately seal it off entirely, giving no one a chance to exploit it.
It was because of all these reasons that Shane was not only exceptionally busy but also nursing a massive headache.
According to his vision, every piece of equipment inside the Ground Nail base had to be radiation-proof and corrosion-resistant.
The use of such specialized materials would cause the overall cost to skyrocket, putting quite a bit of pressure on him.
Shane gently rubbed his throbbing temples and whispered to himself, “But it’s all worth it, isn’t it?”
He quickly composed himself, an idea forming in his mind.
“If push comes to shove, I’ll finish the Hummingbird Drone prototype first and send it to the military for testing.
As long as I can get an order, I can get a bank loan.
The funding issue will be solved temporarily.”
His eyes were firm, his tone brook no argument.
“Regardless, I’m going to build this base.
Even if I have to sell everything I own, it must be built!”
When one is immersed in busy work, time always flies by.
In the blink of an eye, another period of time slipped away, and Shane’s plans were moving forward steadily, step by step…