[2 weeks later]
We arrived not long ago, and the city is already expanding. The hospital is fully built, and with Momo's help, we managed to install reinforced glass in every window. She even rigged up some lighting by making worksite lights and connecting them to a makeshift wind turbine. Yes, it breaks down sometimes, but it's better than nothing. Hopefully, when Nezu sends us materials to learn from, it'll include how to build a gas-powered generator engine. My Builders also completed a relatively safe stairway around the volcano and are currently working on a bridge.
"~Sigh, ah, what a wonderful thing free labor is." I sat in a folding chair in my hazmat suit, watching the Builders scurry around to complete their tasks.
"Hey! You shouldn't talk about money when one of your girlfriends is literally the heir and princess of one of the largest companies worldwide." Momo came up from behind and playfully hit my shoulder, humble bragging again.
I've also been thinking about updating some of my units to make them more useful and easier to differentiate. I've already come up with some great quirk combinations for the updates and new units. I changed the classification of the Elite Troopers to a more logical quirk-based system.
First, my old Elite Scouts have become somewhat obsolete, as they're outclassed by almost all of my similar units. So, I renamed them Sharpshooters and gave them a new quirk combination called Sniper, which is a mix of Rifle and Zoom. It's pretty straightforward: the user can turn their arms into a high-caliber sniper rifle. Their eyesight is enhanced, allowing them to see perfectly up to 3 kilometers. The bullets they fire are made from their own hardened bones, which regenerate almost instantly, but the rifle has a 5-second cooldown between shots. If too many shots are fired in a short time, the user can overheat. Due to the name change, I also renamed the Elite Infiltrators to Quirked Assassins.
The biggest changes, however, were made to the Elite Commanders, who I renamed Quirked Commissars. I changed their quirk from the original High Specs to a new combination called Mechanical Mind, which combines High Specs with Mechanical Body. This grants the user the cognitive abilities of a supercomputer, allowing them to think in parallel and process information at superhuman speed. They also have near-perfect memory with almost limitless capacity. The downside is that they think hyper-logically, making them vulnerable to unconventional or illogical tactics. Additionally, their machine-like thinking makes it difficult for them to connect emotionally with others.
It was Thrawn's idea to combine these two quirks, so as a thank you, I updated his quirk as well. His demeanor changed immediately, becoming even more serious and calm, though his behavior toward me and Momo remained the same. He quickly suggested more combinations and units to assist us in our situation.
Breen's quirk was upgraded as well. The Administrator unit's original quirk, High Specs, was combined with Voice to create Hypnotic Charisma. This grants the user extreme charisma and charm toward almost anyone who hears them, thanks to their heightened intelligence in emotional and psychological manipulation. The user can even hypnotize listeners to a near-fanatical level, given enough exposure. However, there are downsides. If someone only hears a secondhand account or reads a written description of the speeches, they can see through the ruses. Also, this power is ineffective, or completely useless, against individuals with superior intelligence or stronger mental fortitude than the user.
Thrawn then suggested creating a unit useful for certain situations, particularly in our current environment: the Jammers. They have the combination of Radiation and Erasure, which together create Missing Waves, allowing the users to erase any electromagnetic waves within their line of sight, including sound, light, or even radiation. After creating them, I deployed them around the crater to clear out any radiation at the core of our new city.
Surprisingly, even Breen suggested a new unit, one designed to aid in general management and act as intelligent worker drones. These units would assist more specialized intellectual units with their tasks. We named them Hivewings. Their quirk, Fledglings, gives them two permanent wings on their heads that act as antennas, enabling them to communicate with their other selves. The user has a hivemind spread across ten host bodies, which can be replaced if destroyed. The downside is that they're more vulnerable to mental attacks since controlling multiple bodies divides their attention.
[4 weeks later]
I'm currently overseeing the final touches on the bridge. It's not aesthetically pleasing, but it's fully functional. Sadly, more than 13 Builders died during construction due to a combination of issues, the biggest being our lack of heavy industrial equipment. However, the maintenance stairs that wrap around the mountain are now complete and relatively safe.
The new units have begun their work across the various departments. Thrawn is assisted by two Hivewings in Strategic Command, with their other bodies stationed elsewhere. Breen is supported by three Hivewings in the largest department: the Propaganda and General Administration Office. The Overwatch system remains inactive due to a lack of power to run the sirens and loudspeakers, but the Dispatchers are still on standby for orders, as the system is fully operational thanks to Momo. Other active departments include the building and production sectors. The factory began operations last week, with both Builders and a new unit, Transmuters, hard at work. The Transmuters have the quirk Alchemical Genesis, which allows them to produce raw materials. So far, I've amassed 5 tons of pure titanium, 8 tons of steel, 13 tons of iron, and 20 tons of carbon, all stored in giant cubes.
On the downside, our supplies didn't arrive last month, and we're running lower than comfortable. However, we still have enough to last another 2 or 3 weeks if we ration wisely.
[A week later]
With the bridge completed, I began coordinating the Builders to construct defensive fortifications. We added trenches, foxholes, barbed wire, and started transforming parts of the mountainsides with large tunnels and gunner positions. These positions provide a full 360-degree view of the base's surroundings. The only downside, however, is the lack of powered transportation. Soldiers and personnel have to use the two giant spiral staircases that everyone else relies on to reach their positions. Meanwhile, the hospital is now fully staffed and operational, with Medics and new units called Rescues, whose power is Guardian Angel. They're treating injured engineers and regularly checking Momo and me for radiation poisoning.
As I was considering our next steps, I heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter approaching. Quickly, I ordered all guards to get to their positions, preparing for a possible surprise attack. While I suspected it was Power Loader, I couldn't be certain until I confirmed it myself.
I made my way to the previous landing zone in my protective suit, and sure enough, I saw Power Loader and, to my surprise, Nezu disembarking from the helicopter. I waved to them, and they waved back as I approached.
"Ah, Young John, how great it is to see you! We were a bit worried when we didn't spot you right away, but I'm guessing these concrete fortifications around the volcano are your doing?" Nezu, chipper as ever, greeted me with a smile.
I nodded and stored the new supplies in my vault. "Yes, we've been very busy. If you'd like, I can show you around. I'm sure you'd enjoy seeing the progress of my budding city, Opportunity."
Nezu nodded enthusiastically and climbed up onto Power Loader's shoulder. With a sigh of resignation, Power Loader carried Nezu as we began the hike back to the base. I considered storing the helicopter in my vault, but it was too large, and I didn't want to exhaust myself for the rest of the day. It took us about two hours to reach the bridge checkpoint—walking in this rugged terrain was exhausting, especially since I'd gotten used to flying over long distances.
Nezu was visibly impressed by how much the place had developed in such a short time, and even Power Loader whistled in appreciation. The guards let us through, and as we crossed the bridge, the Jammers met us halfway to decontaminate us from any radiation. This time, Nezu didn't try to hide his amazement at how we managed to work around one of the most dangerous aspects of Area 13.
After another long walk, this time up the stairs and into the heart of Opportunity, we finally arrived. Once we got out of our protective suits, I gave them a tour of the base. Nezu was particularly delighted to learn that Thrawn could now technically be considered smarter than him in terms of information processing and raw brainpower. Although Thrawn didn't show much emotion, I could tell he was secretly pleased that his prediction about Nezu and Power Loader's visit had been correct.
I explained to Nezu and Power Loader my ideas for future expansion, the difficulties I was facing with the lack of electricity and heavy machinery, and my desire for blueprints of essential items like a water pump for plumbing and plants for an indoor vertical garden to produce self-sufficient amounts of food. Power Loader volunteered to help by designing blueprints while he was here, but he voiced concerns about the lack of materials, as it would be hard for them to bring us everything we needed. I just smirked and led them to the factory warehouse. Power Loader's jaw dropped when he saw the sheer amount of pure and expensive materials we had stockpiled.
As a thank you for their help, I offered to send two Transmuters to UA as helpers in the support department. They accepted and thanked me for the offer, I also gave them my recommendations on how to use the units effectively. Power Loader then suggested that Momo should learn how to make heavy industrial tools so we could start using our engineers as intended. Right now, despite having a large stockpile of raw materials, we couldn't use them efficiently without being wasteful. He also mentioned that while he wasn't against giving us blueprints for a gas-powered generator engine, he recommended building a coal-powered steam engine due to the sheer amount of raw materials available to us. The steam engines would also be useful in the freezing winter ahead.
Nezu chimed in with a more humorous but practical suggestion: giant hamster wheels or large hand cranks that could generate electricity from kinetic energy. Since my unnamed puppets don't need to eat or sleep, they could operate almost 24/7, only needing short breaks to recharge their energy in the vault.
During the tour, we ran into Momo, who was happily playing with a group of Hivewings. Ever since I made them, Momo had fallen in love with their cute design and demeanor. They stood at about 4 feet tall because I had to boost their brain capacity to assist people with super-specialized quirks. Their design leaned heavily into the angelic theme I had going, with short, fluffy white hair, two red bangs framing their serious faces, and feathered antennae on their heads that matched the color scheme. Their eyes were yellow with slit pupils, and I made their bodies a bit more mature to avoid any weird complications—slightly enhancing their thighs and bust to make them look older than they otherwise would, as they resembled middle schoolers.
That's something I've started to notice about my powers over the past few months. Even without properly naming them, my puppets are beginning to look more and more like real humans, with porcelain-white skin and connection lines around their joints. It's becoming a bit of a problem, and one of the main reasons I've started leaning more towards making mechanical puppets with quirk combinations like Mechanical Body. It feels like the more puppets I create, the more lifelike they become, and I can't shake the guilt of sending them into dangerous situations. They're starting to feel too human.
Momo, after profusely apologizing to the teachers for her behavior, shot me a glare for not warning her. But she joined us nonetheless. Nezu offered to stay for a week to help us come up with a more well-thought-out plan moving forward. He also mentioned that supplies would arrive every two months to avoid raising suspicion, and that he could send any of my stranded units back here if I could make protective suits for them.
[4 months later]
It was the beginning of winter, and here on the island, there was a constant heavy snowstorm. I thought that after the almost catastrophic winds during autumn, we would be through the worst of it, but I was naive. The last time Nezu sent me a message and supplies through Power Loader, he mentioned that he was providing us with a much larger amount of resources since he couldn't risk any delivery runs during the harsh winter. Thankfully, the gardens were fully operational, so we could produce enough food to last, but the extra supplies were a welcome relief.
I also expanded the city inside the crater, building bunker-like barracks in case the weather got too cold for the units to find me or if they needed a safe retreat. The crater itself provided some shielding from the weather, but due to our high altitude, we were already in a much colder environment than the rest of the island, putting us in constant danger from the cold. The steam engines were working full throttle, not to generate energy but to heat up the factory and the command center. The hospital had to be temporarily abandoned due to the difficulty of keeping it open in these conditions.
I declared a general emergency when the bridge guard units went missing at the start of the storm—most likely frozen to death somewhere. I tried to create some experimental units using Burnin's quirk to generate heat and recover any lost workers, but not long after they left, I felt my connection with them sever, meaning they perished in the wind and snowstorm.
Another issue arose with rapidly increasing radiation levels due to the storm. Momo and I didn't notice anything wrong at first, except feeling more tired, but the puppets around us began falling ill, with some even dying. Thrawn and Breen locked down their departments to avoid contamination, but they urged us over the radio to head to the temporary medical bay for a check-up. It turned out that both Momo and I were covered in radioactive particles and had been exposed to more than a hundred times the lethal amount. We were essentially carrying the same radiation levels as a nuclear reactor core.
The medical staff, though severely weakened, discovered that due to our evolved genetics, we were effectively immune to the harmful effects of radiation. Our cells were able to replicate without limits or errors, making us biologically immortal. While we could still be killed by conventional means, no amount of radiation, poison, venom, or even time would kill us unless we became too exhausted from lack of nutrients or stamina. This also meant that we would remain in our prime physical state indefinitely, healing our cells forever. I realized this might be true for Mei as well if my theory was correct.
However, the only potential issue was our ability to reproduce. We weren't sure yet whether we were entirely incapable or just had a very long reproductive cycle, but compared to other humans, we were effectively infertile.
With these revelations, the harsh winter began, and survival became our top priority.