Reborn as a Mechanist with a God-Tier System-Chapter 312: A visit to Canyon Hub [3]

When Talia and the others decided to go to Drift Haven to participate in the resources war at the border after collecting their rewards for the mission of killing Parasite and ending the Zmer gang, Brad decided to stay behind in Canyon Hub to continue his research.

"Long time no see Brad!" Leon called as he walked closer and immediately grabbed the NetRunner before giving him a side hug.

And just as expected, Brad cowered cautiously the moment he was hugged.

Leon chuckled. "You’re still as timid as the last time that I saw you".

"I’m not timid," Brad retorted softly. "I’m just very self-aware and cautious".

"Really?" Leon laughed. "If you really believe that, then cool," Leon didn’t argue as he smiled. "How’s your research been going?"

Brad took his time to greet the other members of the crew after months since their last meeting, and as they entered the cemetery he finally answered Leon. "I’m still at the beginning phase".

"Honestly, I’ve not made as much progress as I want but it’s just been a few months. I believe that I’ll succeed eventually".

Leon still remembered Brad’s ambitious research of creating mech suits that can be mass-produced to be used by F Rank Ascended of any Class.

Then, Leon didn’t have a lot of ideas about what a mech suit entailed but now, he was an expert at it. And it was this knowledge that made him realize just how ridiculous and ambitious Brad’s research focus was.

Creating the mech suits was not the problem, but it was creating it in a way to protect them from NetRunner assault while at the same time making the neural telemetry low enough for an F Rank Ascended to handle without having their brain fried by the tons of data was the problem.

Heck, Leon was sure that making a powerful and effective Mech Suit for D Rank Ascended outside the Mechanist, NetRunner, and Quantum Shaper Class was impossible.

These were the only 3 Classes with enough INT stat to handle the tons of telemetry data that a mech suit like the Bulwark MK.II Titan Frame handled and communicated with the mech pilot every second. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Even a D Rank Gene Augur or Cyber Gladiator may have their brain fried if he/she recklessly interfaced with the Bulwark MK.II Titan.

All of this meant that theoretically, Bran’s research was doomed from the beginning unless he had the help of a high-ranking Mechanist.

And not just any high-ranking Mechanist, theoretically, a combination of a Warmachine Specialist and a Mechanist Technician was the only way such a research could be realized.

’Maybe I can participate in this research in the future,’ Leon thought. ’After I become a C Rank Mechanist’.

’This is a much better idea and initiative to empower the world against a potential Neon Beast cataclysm rather than suppressing Ascended growth’.

None of the soldiers and police officers of the convoy followed them inside.

Alongside Gwen, they stayed outside the cemetery, giving the crew the privacy that they needed as alone, they entered the cemetery. Brad followed them.

The moment Leon stepped past the gate inside, the atmosphere changed, becoming somber and quiet. Despite this, the first thing he realized was that Canyon Hub’s military cemetery was nothing like Iron Reef’s cemetery.

The military cemetery was a vast sweeping expanse of an artificial green lawn that was meticulously maintained, stretching flat into the horizon.

Inside the cemetery were thousands of long, perfectly aligned rows of identical headstones, creating a powerful sense of unity and military discipline even in death for the soldiers.

Each grave was marked with a simple, uniform headstone made of granite and concrete.

Each headstone included the name of the fallen soldier, the rank and unit of the soldier, including the dates of birth and death.

There was no special headstone, each one was the same. This was a deliberate design as the uniformity removed any distinction of wealth or status, emphasizing the equality in sacrifice of every soldier laid to rest here.

Seeing this, Leon could not help but smile slightly. ’I didn’t know Rex for long... but I think this is what he would have wanted in death...’

Rex’s grave and headstone was deeper inside the cemetery, meaning they had to trek to get there.

But none of them complained. In the silence of the cemetery, they relished the experience as they walked quietly along the paths, sometimes hearing only the sound of the wind and the sound of distant birds.

Combined with the visual rhythm that came about due to the repetition of graves, they all felt like they were journeying through the underworld to meet the memory of their old friend.

The atmosphere was solemn and slightly overwhelming.

After about 5 minutes of walking without stop, they finally stood before Rex’s grave and his headstone.

On the headstone was written...

[Name: Rex Mallow]

[Ascended Rank: F Rank Mechanist]

[Military Rank: Sergeant]

[DOB: January 4th, Year 693 A.G]

[DOD: June 22nd, Year 714 A.G]

As soon as they arrived in front of the grave, though each of them held flowers, they all stood behind as only Leon went closer to the grave.

He was the only one who was yet to pay his last respect to their friend.

Leon went closer to the headstone, then he focused on the epitaphs that were written on the concrete slate.

["A reliable teammate, a protector."]

["A friend."]

["A Mechanist who thinks outside the box."]

He keenly noticed that there were only 3 epitaphs, and no one pointed to a family member, just friends.

He already learned about Rex’s past through Daren.

He squatted in front of the headstone and dropped the flowers that he brought with him, then he crossed his hands over his legs in silence and just stayed there.

As he stayed there, Leon’s mind went on a pilgrimage as he relived all the memories that he built with Rex within just a week of knowing him.

He remembered when they just met inside the cargo trailer. He remembered how despite Talia introducing him, the rest of the crew were hostile then except Rex who welcomed him immediately with enthusiasm.

He remembered how enthusiastic Rex was about learning from him and trying to understand him, he remembered the unceasing questions.

He remembered Rex’s genuine love for asking questions and learning.

He remembered telling him different random quotes that he came up with to sound wise, he remembered telling him to think outside the box, he remembered working together with him in his workshop back in Community G to construct basic pistols.

He remembered when Rex created his very first and only Mechanist blueprint. He remembered his ecstasy, joy, and gratitude towards him for directing him and teaching him to think outside the box.

He also remembered Rex’s final moments, he remembered his sacrifice.

Leon simply stayed squatted in silence for a long time as he relived these memories, then he removed his backpack and brought out a package from inside.

It was a pair of chains, the ADE Nullification Shackles.

Looking at the chains, he smiled slightly, then he gently wrapped them around the headstone.

He leaned back and admired the sight for a few seconds, then he finally pulled the plasma pen out of his pocket and wrote his own epitaph.

Leon didn’t overthink it, he wrote it straight out of his mind.

["A friend who was more than a friend. My family. A Mechanist whose legacy will live on forever through me."]