Chapter 143: The Han Family

The two most crucial components of a light armor are its engine and optical brain. While the engine issue had been resolved, Ye Chong was essentially an idiot when it came to optical brains. Fortunately, his reliance on optical brains was minimal; purchasing a standard optical brain would be entirely sufficient to meet his requirements.

Aside from the optical brain and engine, other systems, such as the scanning system, were likewise beyond Ye Chong's ability to manufacture. Any scanning system available on the market was unlikely to be of high quality, rendering it completely useless against light armors from organizations like the Zong Research Institute or Black Horn. However, Ye Chong had never intended to install a scanning system in the first place; as long as Mu was with him, he possessed absolute access to the most advanced scanning system in existence. All he needed to do was construct a device that could receive information transmitted by Mu via the optical brain, a task that posed no great difficulty for him.

Yet, those were tasks for a later stage. Ye Chong's first priority was to take stock of the available materials at his disposal. This is precisely what makes crafting an all-bone light armor so unconventional: it is designed according to the available materials, rather than seeking out materials based on pre-existing blueprints.

Rare bone materials are stumbled upon by chance rather than obtained through deliberate pursuit, making it highly unrealistic to search for materials to fit a design when crafting an all-bone light armor. Furthermore, even among the exact same type of bone materials, vast disparities exist. Factors such as the organism's age at the time of death and its living environment exert a profound influence on the density and hardness of the bone material.

Looking at the various rare bone materials laid out across the floor, Ye Chong suddenly felt a surge of anticipation. What kind of light armor would he ultimately forge with his own hands?

After familiarizing himself with every single piece of bone material, Ye Chong commenced the light armor design phase. With Mu’s assistance, this step did not consume an excessive amount of time. He also prepared multiple backup plans just in case a mistake on his part ruined the bone materials, ensuring he would have substitutes at the ready. Naturally, Ye Chong hoped he would never need to resort to those backup plans.

Then, he began the hands-on work!

The initial stages were exceedingly trivial, and the rough processing of the bone materials rigorously tested one's patience. No one had ever independently completed the fabrication of an all-bone light armor before, so Ye Chong had not anticipated the workload to be so immense. Fortunately, when it came to physical endurance, Ye Chong possessed a formidable reserve. He operated like a tireless machine, never pausing for rest.

Every single step required meticulous care, as many of the bone materials were one-of-a-kind; if ruined, his only option would be to seek replacements. However, substitute materials often possessed inferior performance compared to the originals, which would lead to a decline in the light armor's overall performance. This was an outcome Ye Chong desperately wished to avoid.

Heizi came every day to deliver meals to Ye Chong, but he never disturbed him, and little Nunun sensibly refrained from seeking out her big brother to play.

For a full month and a half, Ye Chong lived in this frantic yet preternaturally calm state. Even Shang, during its shifts, knew that bothering Ye Chong at such a time would lead to a miserable fate, and thus wisely maintained silence.

He gazed infatuatedly at the light armor.

As he admired the fruit of a month and a half of day-and-night labor before his eyes, a immense sense of achievement welled up from the deepest depths of Ye Chong's heart. This was unequivocally a masterpiece—an awe-inspiring masterpiece! What made Ye Chong feel most fortunate was that throughout the entire process, he had not ruined a single piece of bone material.

The entire light armor stood twelve meters tall. Its main body was constructed from the vertebrae of a dragon-whale and the shell of a titanium-shelled beetle, shaped into a humanoid form. Ye Chong deeply admired Fish's four mechanical arms design, as it maximized the advantage of his rapid hand speed. However, Fish's four-armed design was far too unconventional and left too deep an impression; anyone who had seen it would virtually never forget it. The Zong Research Institute was still actively searching for Fish, so if he were to build another four-armed machine now, wouldn't that simply be inviting trouble?

Therefore, Ye Chong took a clever shortcut. Remembering the two electromagnetic whips on the Morning-style light armor, and recalling that the old man had provided four half-crystallized thousand-jointed earthworms among the bone materials, Ye Chong installed all of them, though routing the internal optical circuits required a tremendous amount of effort from him. Since the thousand-jointed earthworms could not be fashioned into electromagnetic whips, Ye Chong instead attached a bone spike to the end of each. These bone spikes—sourced from the dorsal barbs of a bee-tiger—were exceptionally hard. Ye Chong had previously tested them and found they could pierce ultra-high-strength alloy plates. Furthermore, they possessed superb toughness and were not easily snapped. Refusing to skimp on effort, Ye Chong ground all four bone spikes until they were razor-sharp. Just polishing these four spikes ruined four grinding machines, which speaks volumes about their extreme hardness.

The four thousand-jointed earthworm spikes were installed inside four concealed ejection chambers located near the ribs on the light armor's back, leaving no trace visible from the outside.

This light armor had long since been named Hanjia. Had it been left to Ye Chong to name it, nine times out of ten he would have found it too troublesome and simply called it Number 1. However, since the name was provided by Mu—albeit derived through a random generation method—Ye Chong had no objections.

Hanjia's primary weapon consisted of a pair of daggers, crafted through multiple processing steps using the fangs of a violent-toothed beast. These two daggers were slightly longer than those typically used by light armors, featuring a gently curved arc, naturally formed serrations along the edge, razor-sharp tips, and a texture as pitch-black as the night. The moment these daggers were completed, Ye Chong fell uncontrollably in love with them!

Among all weapons, Ye Chong was most adept at wielding daggers, though their attack range was admittedly a bit limited. How wonderful it would have been if Fish's ultra-frequency oscillating blade were still around; that had been the masterpiece of Master Fred! The commercially available ultra-frequency oscillating blades paled significantly in power compared to that one, failing to catch the eye of the current Ye Chong.

On Hanjia's left arm was a shield, its surface gleaming with a fish-scale-like pattern. Its material consisted of the scales of an iron python-lizard acquired back on planet Laba. These scales had been able to withstand a direct blow from Mu without sustaining any damage, leaving an extraordinarily deep impression on Ye Chong, which was why he thought of them instantly when crafting the shield.

Later, Ye Chong discovered that the iron python-lizard scales not only possessed outstanding defensive capabilities against physical attacks, but also performed brilliantly against energy weapons, leaving Ye Chong clicking his tongue in wonder—this seemed to be a naturally occurring material tailor-made for crafting shields. Moreover, it boasted another advantage: lightweight texture. This shield was substantially lighter than a standard metal shield.

Adopting Mu's suggestion, Ye Chong utilized a layering method in its construction, which naturally produced the fish-scale pattern. Naturally, Ye Chong also habitually ground the edges of the shield to be razor-sharp; when it came to life-saving gear, wouldn't having an extra edge be better?

In addition to these, Ye Chong had also dismantled the two self-locking double-bladed boomerang projectiles from the Frost's Lament and mounted them onto Hanjia, granting the light armor a certain degree of long-range combat capability.

Ye Chong had originally intended to embed barbs onto Hanjia's shoulders, elbows, knees, and feet, as such features often yielded unexpected tactical advantages in close-quarters combat. Yet, after giving it some thought, Ye Chong ultimately abandoned the idea. Such a light armor would look far too conspicuous, contradicting his intent to conceal his identity. Furthermore, it bore a heavy Black Horn aesthetic, and Ye Chong had no desire to be mistaken for a member of the Black Horn faction.

Every single aspect of Hanjia's design had consumed Ye Chong's utmost care and effort, yet he was thoroughly satisfied with the final result.

What pleased Ye Chong the most was Hanjia's speed—a velocity that was utterly unimaginable.

The main body of Hanjia was predominantly constructed from bone materials, making it vastly lighter than metal. This allowed Hanjia to achieve greater speeds and an extended maximum operational range under the exact same power output! This constituted the greatest charm of an all-bone light armor!

Equipped with Fish's engine, Hanjia's top speed could reach nine mach, lagging behind Guardian by a mere one mach, yet outpacing Frost's Lament by two mach! While Guardian could achieve a maximum speed of ten mach, that reflected its short-burst acceleration capability, whereas Hanjia's top speed could be sustained over long-distance flights. Compared to Frost's Lament, Hanjia was vastly faster!

On the battlefield, even the slightest advantage in speed translated into a massive tactical edge. A speed of nine mach ensured that even when facing standard-issue light armors from the Zong Research Institute, Black Horn, or the Mech Pilots Association, Ye Chong would hold an absolute advantage. Furthermore, combining a speed of nine mach with superior long-range endurance made escaping from danger considerably easier!

Upon completing the assembly, Ye Chong conducted an analysis and scan via Guardian, tweaking a few minute yet potentially fatal flaws.

Heizi uttered gasps of awe beside Ye Chong. Although the old man remained silent, his eyes shone brightly as he blankly gazed up at this first-ever true all-bone light armor. The two of them were so utterly absorbed in viewing it that they completely failed to notice Ye Chong's departure.

Ye Chong was exhausted! A month and a half of day-and-night, highly focused mental labor and contemplation had left both his body and mind utterly exhausted. Once he realized the task was genuinely finished, Ye Chong could no longer suppress his fatigue; he randomly selected a relatively clean spot, collapsed, and fell soundly asleep! Almost the moment his head touched the floor, he plunged into a deep slumber.

When Ye Chong awoke, it was already the third day. He was jolted awake by hunger, his stomach rumbling incessantly. Seeing a meal prepared nearby, Ye Chong reached out and grabbed it without hesitation. This must have been brought over by Heizi, Ye Chong thought as he ate.

After finishing the meal, the hollow hunger in his chest subsided slightly, and Ye Chong stood up, walking over to the completed Hanjia.

In terms of styling, Hanjia could be considered concise, entirely devoid of superficial decorations, yet its natural aesthetic immediately caught the eye. Chromatically, however, Hanjia was multicolored; the diverse bone materials each possessed their own distinct hues—black, white, pale cyan, and deep red—endowing Hanjia with a unique charm. Coupled with the distinct luster characteristic of bone materials, Hanjia looked more like an abstract artistic sculpture.

Aside from the titanium-shelled beetle shell which exhibited a pronounced metallic sheen, the remaining components varied: some resembled jade, others wood, and some even looked like artificial materials. The overall impression was profoundly bizarre, yet without a single doubt, anyone laying eyes on it for the first time would instantly be drawn to this distinctive light armor!

Ye Chong could not help but frown slightly.