Chapter 243 - 242: Now This Is the Arkham Town I Want

Chapter 243: Chapter 242: Now This Is the Arkham Town I Want

"Hm? What new trick is this kid up to now? Let me see... Huh? How did my Arkham turn into a militarized fortress?"

"Look, how did all the residents of this town become Tier Five?"

"Can you guys focus on what’s important? Does no one care what this giant metal man is?"

The three powerful figures were completely rattled by Lloyd’s latest stunt. They were even more shocked than when he’d speedrun the last challenge in twenty seconds.

Arkham, which had once been a peaceful, serene, remote, and backward town without even a connection to the power grid, was now surrounded by towering, thick walls over ten meters high. It had transformed into a formidable fortress that would make any attacker sigh in despair.

The walls were constructed in a star fort-style, with multiple layers forming barbicans. They were equipped with all sorts of weapons on every side, guaranteeing that any enemy who dared to approach would never leave.

Inside the walls, Arkham was already a highly modernized town. Skyscrapers shot up from the ground, and below them lay a complete sewer and power grid, boasting a level of advancement on par with Radiant City.

Around the fortress, a cluster of factories had suddenly sprung up. They churned out deafening noise and thick plumes of smoke, and conveyor belts could be seen endlessly transporting all kinds of parts.

These parts were then loaded onto rugged, heavy-duty trucks and taken to adjacent factories for further processing.

The scene was already that of a modern industrial zone, and it showed signs of technology that surpassed the current era.

In an open area amidst the cluster of factories, a giant robot over five meters tall was undergoing its first test run.

The robot’s design was rather plain and simple. Its entire body was a greasy green, its head was round, and it had a single red eye on its forehead. A breathing tube of indeterminate purpose was clenched in its mouth.

Its movements were clumsy and stiff, and it looked like it was about to topple over as it walked. It was clearly just an early prototype.

But it was a truly epoch-making creation. Even a powerhouse like Olga, a Tier Seven, was stunned and amazed, unable to stop herself from remarking:

"In it, I see the path forward..."

......

At this point, Lloyd was having the time of his life inside the "Story," completely engrossed and lost in his own world.

Through all his tinkering, he had discovered a major loophole in the "Story" ability!

To put it simply, the ’main plot’ had the highest priority. Everything else—’side quests,’ ’character profiles,’ ’backstory’—would be pushed aside for the sake of advancing the ’main plot.’

Once the ’main plot’s’ progression was obstructed to a certain degree, the remaining story elements like ’character profiles’ and ’backstory’ would descend into chaos and collapse. It was like when a web novel author on Earth gets writer’s block on the main plot and starts throwing in crazy or even terrible filler...

What Lloyd was doing now was intervening just as these elements—the ’character profiles,’ the ’backstory’—were on the verge of collapse. He was guiding their development in the direction he wanted. It felt a bit like the original author had written the story into a corner, and he was taking over to write his own fanfiction.

And naturally, that meant he could do whatever his heart desired.

In theory, his flashy methods were still consistent with the techniques the butler had taught him. Both involved exploiting loopholes in the "Story" to resist the power of the ’plot’—in other words, the ’main plot.’

It was just that under the influence of the ’narration’ and the pressure of the ’plot,’ no one else could possibly be as wild and unrestrained as Lloyd.

’Hmm... This model needs a few more tweaks. Especially these armor plates—they need to be articulated. And this single horn-like antenna on the head, it absolutely has to be able to split open into a V-shape.’

Lloyd tossed a complete set of blueprints to his ’sister,’ then rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation, awaiting the successful debut of his latest giant robot.

The giant robot he’d built before was just a preliminary prototype, not what he truly wanted.

What he really wanted was the ’Next-Generation Experimental All-Domain, All-Weather, Multi-Function, Sustained-Operation, Strategic-Tactical Mobile Weapons System’ that he was about to build.

If he weren’t afraid that his creations were too extreme and might cause the "Story" to collapse completely, Lloyd wouldn’t have bothered with this step-by-step approach. He would have gone all-in at once to create the ’Arkham’ of his dreams.

Fortunately, as long as the ’main plot’ still existed, the "Story" wouldn’t end. This, in turn, gave Lloyd plenty of creative time and freedom to play around at his own pace.

So, he found a ’side quest,’ exploited a bug, and conjured up a new batch of ’workers’ who didn’t need to eat or rest. Then, he sent them off to the factories to enjoy their "blessings."

Next, he instantly appeared outside the town, gesturing at a group of earth-moving constructs, and several more factories shot up from the ground.

After figuring out the rules of the "Story," he had completely turned the tables, treating this place as his personal domain to do with as he pleased.

The ’narration’ that had been whispering in his ear was still trying to pull him back onto the right track. But as the ’setting’ continued to collapse, the narrator seemed to have been rendered speechless and had mostly stopped bothering Lloyd.

So Lloyd let loose completely, letting his imagination run wild.

Gradually, Arkham’s Victorian Era aesthetic shifted toward a more modern one. Products far beyond the current era, like cell phones, computers, and pay-to-win gacha games, began to appear.

The factories outside the town were now fully automated. They didn’t even require raw materials; as long as Lloyd gave the command, all sorts of planes and tanks would roll out in an endless stream, forming solid lines of defense around the town.

The latest model of the giant robot had grown to a height of twenty meters. It carried a set of weapons on its back that resembled a pipe organ. When it entered a combat stance, its armor would fracture and shift, and a pair of ethereal blue wings of light would unfurl from its back.

’Alright, my Next-Generation Experimental All-Domain, All-Weather, Multi-Function, Sustained-Operation, Strategic-Tactical Mobile Weapons System has completed its testing and is ready for combat deployment. When that ’Mysterious Existence’ from the outside finally shows up, It’s going to get a big surprise.’

Lloyd nodded in satisfaction.

But after waiting for a long time, there was still no sign of the ’Mysterious Existence’ appearing. Lloyd was getting bored.

There was nothing for it but to push Arkham further in the sci-fi direction.

And so, he began tinkering again.

Finally, the day before the state-of-the-art ’Ancient Level’ supercarrier was set to embark on its maiden voyage, the game was over...