The standoff between Arasaka and Militech in the Badlands outside Night City had devolved into a brutal and stable war of attrition.
Both sides tacitly limited the combat zone to the vicinity of the Wasteland Town and the broader desolate areas, as if an invisible line separated the conflict from the neon sea of Night City.
This was not out of mercy, but based on cold, calculated self-interest—maintaining a superficially intact Night City was far more beneficial for the corporations' long-term interests than destroying it.
In this designated killing field, the slaughter continued from dawn till dusk.
Arasaka's oni power armor clusters, under the cover of tanks and self-propelled artillery, continuously assaulted the combined defensive line formed by Wraithss, Lazarus Mercenaries, and Militech experimental units.
The tactics of both sides constantly evolved through bloody practice.
Arasaka, relying on its vast industrial base and troop reserves, adopted a strategy of continuous pressure.
Despite more than a dozen oni power armors being destroyed daily.
Some had their reactors detonated by Lazarus snipers from long range, others had their armor torn open in close combat by the Wraithss' Ripper chainswords, and even more were instantly dismembered by the elusive dark red experimental machine with its power fist, yet their logistics supply lines consistently maintained efficient operation.
The white whale and the rear base continuously sent new power armors and pilots to the front line.
Arasaka also adapted to the changing battlefield, adjusting armor-piercing ammunition formulas, strengthening close-quarters combat training, and even deploying special sniper rifles specifically targeting power armor joints.
Militech and its allies also faced immense pressure.
The Wraithss' power armor units suffered heavy losses, with many pilots who had just completed basic training and were not even proficient in shield energy management turning into burning wrecks under Arasaka's furious assault.
Colonel Hansen's face grew gloomier each day as he looked at the growing casualty list.
However, technical support from the "Archmagos" and Militech's own emergency production capacity barely maintained the stability of the front line.
Although the fangs power armor was still inferior to the oni power armor in basic performance, it often gained an advantage in exchange ratios due to shield technology and continuously updated weapon modules.
Lazarus Mercenaries, with their superb piloting skills and rich combat experience, acted as a fire brigade.
Their commander, "Butcher," showed great interest in the red experimental machine's power fist, repeatedly attempting to acquire related technology.
This war had unknowingly become a testing ground for both sides' technological weapons.
Every piece of battlefield data was carefully collected, analyzed, and fed back to the R&D departments in the rear.
Arasaka was constantly optimizing the oni power armor's armor distribution and firepower configuration; Militech, based on the shield technology and weapon interfaces provided by the "Archmagos," accelerated the development of its own derivative models.
Behind this seemingly evenly matched confrontation, Osiris' presence was quietly shifting the balance of the war.
He did not directly intervene in any specific battles, but the technology he provided—from the area shields guarding the Wasteland Town, to the kinetic shields enhancing individual soldier survivability, to the chainswords and new weapon modules on the experimental machine—had already become a key factor influencing the war.
He was like a calm observer, collecting data and validating technology through the battlefield, which served as a massive testing platform.
To some extent, both warring parties became participants in his macroscopic experiment, passively engaging in brutal competition along the technological path he had defined.
Meanwhile, in the workshop at the center of the Wasteland Town, Osiris' attention was not focused on specific tactical command on the front line.
As long as the defensive line remained stable and valuable real-world combat data continued to flow back, this war of attrition happening outside his door held value for him.
His processing core was focused on the first systematic optimization of the dark red experimental machine.
He carefully reviewed the technical proposals submitted by Militech and Kang Tao.
Militech's two proposals, centered on high-performance laser weapons or a multi-functional configuration combining rocket pods and electronic warfare modules, demonstrated a solid industrial foundation and pragmatic thinking.
"Steady as she goes, Buddy," Osiris commented to the servo-skull silently hovering beside him, its crimson optical lens scanning Militech's proposal data stream.
"It lacks eye-catching creativity, but it's stable in structure and mature in technology. This level of equipment would be quite suitable for the Imperial Guard. After all, the Imperial Guard doesn't need, nor can it afford, overly high-tech weaponry."
In contrast, Kang Tao's proposal embodied a different technological path, focusing on the collaborative combat network between intelligent weapon fire control systems and light weapons.
Osiris paid particular attention to its target prediction algorithm.
"The concept of this algorithm is somewhat interesting; its accuracy and adaptability exceed the baseline," he whispered to the servo-skull, pulling up the relevant data chain.
"Although limited by the power of the basic platform, it seems underpowered against heavily armored targets, but this intelligent fire control logic...perhaps it could be used to improve the Space Marines' Bolters, further enhancing their point-kill efficiency."
He archived these technical proposals from this world.
Militech's proposal was marked as "Applicable for Imperial Guard standardized equipment reference," while Kang Tao's intelligent fire control algorithm was extracted separately, noted as "Potential for high-level individual weapon optimization."
He did not entirely rely on these external technologies but used their effective ideas as data reserves and sources of inspiration.
Subsequently, he integrated the data returned from Valerie's combat tests with the general feedback from front-line units and began the systematic optimization of the experimental machine.
The core framework remained unchanged; the sturdy linear skeleton, ceramite composite armor, plasma reactor, and shield core all performed steadily and required no modification.
The focus of the iteration was on refining details and upgrading the weapon system.
He fine-tuned the response curve of the leg hydraulic transmission system, enhancing movement fluidity under normal conditions.
He improved the human-machine interface within the cockpit, optimizing the layout and tactile feel of several key physical buttons.
At the same time, he also refined the tactical suggestion logic of the auxiliary AI, making it more aligned with the thought patterns of pilots with combat experience like Valerie.
The key to this round of upgrades, however, lay in the expansion of weapon modules and a complete overhaul of the piloting mode.
Based on previous concepts, he designed and manufactured various quickly interchangeable weapon modules.
These included small laser cannons added to the shoulders to provide continuous and precise medium-range suppressive fire; a replaceable heavy weapon platform for the left arm, with options including a plasma bombard cannon with astonishing single-shot power but high energy consumption, and a storm bolter with rapid fire rate and better reliability.
Additionally, a physical shield to enhance frontal defense was also included in the standard configuration, used to form the last line of defense when shields were overloaded or facing saturation attacks; close-combat options, while retaining the iconic power fist, also included a backup Ripper chainsword for the standardized interface.
Concurrently, he completely abandoned the old piloting mode based on joysticks and augmented reality interfaces, installing a brand new neural direct-link interface for the experimental machine.
This was not the radical technology common in this world that required deep physical modification, but rather a more "gentle" deep connection protocol designed based on his understanding of the Skitarii Corps' modification technology.
It could directly input the power armor's sensor data stream into the pilot's brain and transmit the pilot's neural commands to the machine more swiftly and accurately, thereby achieving almost instinctive reactions, significantly reducing operational delay, and greatly enhancing human-machine collaboration efficiency.
"It's time for the second round of testing, Buddy," Osiris said to the hovering servo-skull, as an internal communication command was sent to Valerie.
"We need to accurately quantify the combat power increase from the neural direct-link mode and evaluate the most cost-effective weapon module combination in actual combat."