Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, another two weeks had gone by.
During this period, beyond dealing with miscellaneous matters in Piltover and Zaun, a major event unfolded on the continent of Valoran.
Swain marched his forces southward, crossing the Varju Mountain Range to reach the Rokrund Plains, preparing to quell a rebellion.
According to rumors, a high-ranking general close to Swain had plotted to assassinate the iron-fisted leader. However, Swain easily saw through the conspiracy, dismantling it with precision.
Currently, Noxus, under the leadership of Darius, the Hand of Noxus, and the main force of the Trifarix Legion, launched an assault on the city-state of Kursala in the northwest.
In just three days, they breached the city gates, executed all the rebels, and left corpses piled high, their blood staining the Rokrund Bay.
Swain then led multiple warbands to surround the city-state of Rokrund, and it was expected to fall within days, effectively ending the internal unrest in Noxus.
Although Li Lin anticipated that Swain would soon visit Piltover, he paid little attention to the matter, opting instead to focus his energy elsewhere.
Over the past two weeks, Li Lin buried himself in crafting new battlecast mechs at Zaun's large-scale forge, then returned to his estate's workshop to delve into new technologies.
The completion of the mechs Urgot, Cho'Gath, and Colossus marked significant progress. Using 15 skill points and 1,500 orange essence, Li Lin unlocked the design blueprint for the mech Nasus and successfully built it, raising his level to 90.
Reaching level 90 signified a qualitative leap every 10 levels, unlocking technologies that bordered on miraculous.
The Inventor tree revealed "Material Conversion Technology," a breakthrough allowing the consumption of vast energy reserves to transform one material into another.
For instance, Piltover often faced an iron ore shortage and had to rely on imports from resource-rich Noxus. However, with material conversion, Piltover could transform abundant marble or other substances into iron ore, freeing itself from Noxus's grip on steel supply. When combined with Li Lin's advancements in biotechnology, Piltover and Zaun no longer relied on imported food either.
If not for the looming global crises requiring his attention, Li Lin could lead the twin cities into the space age, positioning them as pioneers on a galactic scale.
This material conversion also supported breakthroughs in Combat and Individual Augmentation specializations.
The Combat specialization unlocked "Energy Cube/Reaction Core" technology, a revolutionary energy source that produced far greater output than nuclear fusion while being much smaller.
Li Lin had planned to develop cold fusion energy, but with this discovery, he abandoned those efforts entirely.
The Energy Cube, a compact cubic reactor about the size of a palm, resembled Piltover's traditional Hextech batteries but was cheaper to produce. It required neither the rare, ethically controversial Primordial Crystals obtained from Shuriman Khurans nor the costly Hextech cores or Nano-energy reactors. Despite its low cost, the cube's energy output rivaled that of the massive nuclear fusion reactors currently installed in large mechs.
The Reaction Core, while larger than a miniaturized fusion reactor, offered unparalleled energy efficiency. Both technologies rendered the older Hextech, Nano-energy, and fusion cores obsolete.
On the Individual Augmentation front, Li Lin unlocked "Nano-Genetic Repair," which enabled nanobots to repair damaged cells and seamlessly replace them with equivalent tissue, making the repaired parts indistinguishable from the original.
Another advancement, "Energy Amplification," specifically benefited personal use.
Unlike the mutants in the Marvel Universe, whose abilities relied on unique substances, Li Lin's superpowers consumed his own energy. After weeks of training during his downtime, Li Lin could now sense the magnetic field of the entire twin cities.
If he chose, he could paralyze all technology in Piltover and Zaun within seconds. However, such an act would completely deplete his energy, leaving him immobile.
With "Energy Amplification," Li Lin could embed a small genetic code in himself to drastically increase energy storage, reduce energy loss, and harness external energy sources for power. This meant he could use his abilities without draining his reserves.
Curious, he wondered if his material conversion technology could transform void energy—a hypothesis that awaited further testing.
The Combat specialization also revealed additional opportunities. At level 90, Li Lin could unlock the Sovereign Mech, Dragon King. However, it required building all preceding Sovereign Mechs, which he had yet to complete.
Meanwhile, he completed all Battlecast Mechs, unlocking the design for Zac, a resilient mech featuring armor made from an alloy capable of shifting between liquid and solid states. This revolutionary material, supported by material conversion, boasted unparalleled flexibility and strength.
The new technology cost Li Lin 24 skill points and 1,500 orange essence, allowing him to maximize his skill levels. Following his plans, he personally crafted an epic-quality Zac Battlecast Mech, earning 500 orange essence and 8 skill points but no level increase. He then instructed his AI to mass-produce it.
With the twin cities' abundant resources, sponsorships from Demacia and Shurima, and the advent of material conversion, mineral shortages were a thing of the past. Li Lin could now expand his mechanical army severalfold without difficulty.
Mechanical workers, scattered drones, airborne mechs like Storm, and the epic-level Battlefield Mechs joined the defensive Sovereign Beasts, Sovereign Warriors, and unmanned floating carriers.
With these advancements, Li Lin's mechanical army would surpass one million units in record time.
As the first phase of orbital stations capable of comfortably housing 100,000 people reached completion—thanks to tireless work at Zaun's factories—Li Lin's grand vision edged closer to reality.
(End of Chapter)
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