Inside the workshop, the cold artificial light fell evenly, clearly illuminating the crisscrossing scars and heavy chrome on Maine's bronzed skin.
He lay on a specially modified medical chair, his body subconsciously tensing slightly. Although he fully trusted Osiris's technical capabilities, handing over the highest control authority of his own cybernetic system entirely to a tech-savvy solo of mysterious origin was a primal reflex, a survival instinct honed on the street.
Several slender and precise mechanical tentacles extended steadily from Osiris's robes, their tips integrating various high-precision sensing probes and fine-tuning tools, flickering with cold light of different functions, like a precisely programmed swarm of metal snakes, hovering above Maine's exposed, interface-laden body.
"Stabilize your muscle groups, Maine. You are inducing excessive bio-electrical noise that will degrade the interface readings."
Osiris's synthesized voice remained steady, his crimson optical lenses slightly adjusting their focus, meticulously scanning the data ports on Maine's neck and spine.
"Omnissiah, look at this rig of yours. It's a disgrace to system architecture. It's like a bunch of drunk techies haphazardly cobbled together junk from different eras, different brands, completely mismatched parts, and they've never, ever done a complete firmware match or systematic calibration."
He paused, his tone taking on a clear critical edge: "Omnissiah, this is the most direct blasphemy against the Machine Spirit! Every implant, regardless of size, has its inherent harmony and logic.
Roughly stuffing them in, without considering overall synergy, is like forcing a group of unfamiliar beasts into one cage; they'll only consume themselves.
It's a miracle this rig of yours even runs, but its efficiency is pitifully low, internal conflicts are rampant, and it might completely conk out at any time, leaving you a painful flatline you won't soon forget."
Maine and the others heard "Omnissiah" and "Machine Spirit," and a flicker of subtle confusion crossed their faces. They exchanged glances, shrugging it off.
In this city, what top-tier techie didn't have their quirks? They simply assumed it was some strange terminology or cult-speak of Osiris's.
One of the thinnest tentacles precisely and gently connected to Maine's main neural interface above his spine, while another simultaneously connected to the energy relay port in the subcutaneous armor layer beneath his ribs.
"Initiating full diagnostic sweep. Clear your cognitive channels. Buddy," he turned to the servo-skull nearby, "synchronize monitoring of all his vital signs and neural current fluctuations. I require maximum data fidelity."
"Command confirmed."
The blue light in the floating servo-skull's eye sockets flickered steadily, projecting real-time data streams of Maine's cardiopulmonary function, hormone levels, and neural load onto a large optical screen to one side, forming continuously scrolling charts and readings.
In Osiris's internal vision interface, a massive torrent of data from Maine's body began to surge. His powerful data processing core, like an invisible, precise sieve, instantly captured, separated, and analyzed every piece of information.
The different generations and design philosophies of the chrome within Maine's body, their operating status, energy circulation efficiency, signal protocol conflicts, and even micron-level mechanical performance degradation, were all individually flagged, magnified, and subjected to penetrating analysis.
"Detected Militech 'Fortress-2' subcutaneous armor. Algorithm version is obsolete and conservative, maintaining an unnecessary fifteen percent base load even in non-combat status. Energy efficiency is catastrophically low."
"I will bypass the original redundant code, directly reconstruct the underlying protocol, and inject a new set of dynamic, context-aware adjustment algorithms. Post-optimization, energy consumption is modeled to decrease by over twenty percent, and peak output performance will also achieve a smoother curve."
"Furthermore, there is a systemic coupling conflict: the Zetatech 'Titan' class skeletal reinforcement frame lacks effective synergy with the 'Fortress' armor's buffer layer. Resonant frequencies conflict, causing systemic internal consumption and accelerating component wear."
"The buffer layer damping parameters must be recalculated and adjusted to harmonize the frequencies of both, eliminating internal interference. Optimization will not only improve component durability but also significantly enhance overall power output synergy."
"Omnissiah, and your 'Krenzicov' neural accelerator…"
One of Osiris's tentacles paused for an extremely subtle moment, and sensor readings spiked.
"This neural accelerator is an obsolete model from five years prior. Crucially, the non-standard data cable utilized fails to meet required specifications, signal delay and attenuation values far exceed the permissible range, creating a severe performance mismatch. This cable is bottlenecking the unit's maximum potential."
"I will attempt to bypass the inherent limitations of the original interface, directly optimize your bio-electrical signal transmission pathways, and load a custom firmware of my design. It must be noted that, limited by the existing physical hardware, I cannot completely alter its foundation, but it is still expected to improve effective response speed and system stability to a practical, operational level."
Maine closed his eyes, feeling a series of subtle but deep hums, localized heat exchange sensations, and occasional extremely brief sharp stings within his body. The sensation was as if countless nano-level precision instruments were silently working at the junction of his flesh and metal.
He could clearly perceive that certain sluggishness and dull pains he had long grown accustomed to, even accepting them as part of his chrome, were rapidly fading. An unprecedented sense of seamless fluidity and surging power began to emerge from his body's core.
Around him, Dorio, Falco, Rebecca, Pilar, and Sasha all watched with bated breath. Not only could they see Maine's tightly furrowed brow gradually relax, but they could even faintly hear the sounds of his cybernetics operating change, from the previous slightly frictional and noisy operation to a smoother, deeper, and more powerful hum.
Approximately thirty-seven minutes later, Osiris's mechanical tentacles systematically retracted one by one, all tool heads automatically cleaning and resetting.
"Phase one systemic optimization is complete. Overall operating efficiency has increased by approximately thirty-five percent, standby power consumption has dropped by eighteen percentage points, and core neural load is back in the safe zone. Disengage the chair. Validate system functionality."
Maine sat up from the medical chair, first slowly moving his limb joints, carefully sensing the difference, then suddenly performed several incredibly swift parries and straight punch thrusts. His movements were astonishingly fluid, rapid, and precise, and the whoosh sounds they created became sharper and more concise.
His face was instantly filled with an expression of incredible surprise.
"Holy chromes... this feeling... it's like I've been completely re-wired! No, better! It's like I'm truly owning this chrome for the first time!"
He clenched his fists tightly, feeling the coordinated, surging power within him that responded to his every command without lag.
"Before, I always felt something was glitching or catching, but now... it's just smooth!"
Osiris nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with the result, then his optical lenses turned to the rest of the team: "Next subject."