Chapter 140: Robot Construction Team
"You mean..."
Bailey covered her mouth, incredulous. "My God!"
She quickly approached Jake and apologized repeatedly. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry... I thought you were here to collect a debt... Charlie owes so many people..."
Her words were quickly interrupted by Charlie's nervous smile. It was best not to mention his terrible credit history in front of a new business partner.
"Now can we talk about the customized robots?"
Meeting Charlie's eager expression, Jake nodded casually. "Of course."
[Mad Max: Fury Road] World
In a cave within the rocky mountain complex, ninety-nine trainee knights had gathered, waiting for their leader to arrive.
"Gil, are we really the chosen ones who'll help expand operations to other worlds? Are we the elite?"
The questioner's voice carried clearly through the space, so as soon as he spoke, the somewhat noisy cave instantly fell silent. Everyone turned their attention toward him, expecting an answer.
"Absolutely," the man called Gil nodded firmly. "The boss said he'll bring us a hundred powerful machines that will allow the base to be constructed faster. These machines will give us the strength of a hundred men each!"
"Have you been to other worlds?" another person asked.
"No," Gil shook his head, his voice filled with conviction. "But the ability to freely travel between worlds is a power possessed only by the boss, and under his leadership, we'll also have the opportunity to visit other worlds and expand our operations!"
"That's right! That's right!"
"Hell yeah!"
"New worlds!"
"Freedom!"
"Freedom! Opportunity!"
As soon as Gil finished speaking, everyone began shouting enthusiastically, as if they couldn't wait to explore what lay beyond their wasteland home.
"Quiet down—the boss is coming!" Gil called out, and the noisy space instantly fell silent.
The sound of dress shoes on the newly paved concrete floor was particularly loud in the quiet chamber.
As the footsteps grew closer, a man in a black tactical suit appeared before everyone.
It was Jake, but he was now carrying a large metal case, about a foot square, with two handles on either side resembling motorcycle grips.
He stopped before the assembled group, not speaking immediately, but scanning their faces. As his gaze fell upon each person, the trainee knights—their eyes filled with determination—bowed their heads respectfully.
"You are the warriors I've selected," Jake announced. "Warriors must possess the capability to build and defend our operations, so... I'm giving you the tools to do so."
He then twisted both handles on the metal case.
With a mechanical whir, as if some switch had been activated, the case suddenly lit up, and an invisible signal rippled outward.
Immediately afterward, a series of heavy footsteps echoed through the cavern!
All the trainee knights tensed, instinctively assuming defensive positions. Judging from the sound, something massive was approaching. Standing before their leader, they were unarmed and empty-handed.
Yet they showed no fear, standing ready to protect Jake if necessary.
The footsteps grew closer, the ground trembling slightly with each impact.
Two seconds later, the source finally revealed itself!
First appeared a leg—a jet-black metal limb with thin crimson accent lines running along its surface.
THOOM—!
The metal foot slammed heavily onto the concrete, the solid surface groaning under the weight.
Then another leg stepped forward, and the machine finally revealed its full form!
It was a massive robot, standing over thirteen feet tall!
Its entire frame was painted matte black, decorated with thin red racing stripes.
Under Jake's control via the remote, the robot slowly walked forward and stopped behind him. Judging from its appearance—with its lean build and black tactical aesthetic—the robot seemed designed to match Jake's own style.
Witnessing this incredible sight, the War Boys stared wide-eyed but remained silent.
This was out of respect for their leader, and also self-discipline, so they suppressed their amazement.
Robots—the very concept had never existed in the Fury Road wasteland.
"This is called a robot," Jake explained while operating the machine. "Its energy comes from diesel fuel, and its power comes from a combustion engine."
"The ninety-nine warriors I've selected will each have the opportunity to operate one of these machines. They'll become your most valuable assets!"
WHIRR!
The robot smoothly executed a series of movements—striking poses, turning, demonstrating its hydraulic strength!
Impressive and powerful!
As soon as Jake finished speaking, everyone erupted in cheers and shouts. With Jake's approval, the group surged forward, reaching out to touch the black mechanical giant.
All ninety-nine people surrounded the robot, forming five concentric circles!
They touched it awkwardly, like people experiencing advanced technology for the first time—amazed and uncertain where to begin, only able to stare wide-eyed, wanting to explore but almost afraid to make contact.
This continued for ten minutes, until everyone had gotten a chance to examine it.
On this desolate wasteland, for the first time, something far beyond the world's existing technology had appeared.
One hundred pitch-black robots now stood in the desert, clumsily and chaotically practicing basic movements.
"At this level of competency, having them participate in base construction is going to be difficult!" Jake muttered.
"Red Queen, is there no alternative besides building signal towers?"
A holographic projection of a young girl appeared beside Jake. "Without signal towers, I cannot transmit or receive control signals, and therefore cannot operate these machines remotely."
"But having these people train from scratch will waste too much time!"
Standing on the observation platform carved into the rocky mountain, watching the ninety-nine operators below diligently practicing under Furiosa's supervision, Jake deeply felt that training these skilled drivers into competent robot pilots would be very time-consuming.
He'd originally wanted Red Queen to take over remote operation of the robots, but the AI lacked the necessary infrastructure to control them wirelessly. So Jake had been forced to use a less efficient method: selecting people and training them to operate the machines manually.
The robot order from the Real Steel world had been completed a week ago. Jake had specified that they didn't need combat capabilities, but rather high torque and hauling power.
He'd also required they use diesel fuel instead of electricity.
This world didn't have its own power generation facilities, and running diesel generators just to charge electric robots would be wasteful and inefficient.
Red Queen's inability to build signal towers was directly related to the lack of reliable power infrastructure.
Furthermore, fuel-powered robots were more powerful and less prone to operational problems than electric models in harsh desert conditions.
[A/N: The robots from Real Steel have been modified for construction and heavy labor rather than fighting. In the film, these robots typically stand 7-8 feet tall, but Jake has commissioned larger 13-foot models with enhanced carrying capacity for base construction in the wasteland.]
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