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"The incident last night?" Fang Li raised his brows slightly.
Aleister, in contrast, spoke with perfect, unnerving calm.
"Because of you, quite a lot was spent to calm the turmoil from last night. If calculated as compensation, you would need to work for 1,365 years, 8 months, and 14 days to repay our losses in full."
Hearing this, Fang Li's eyes narrowed.
Good grief.
The Superintendent of the Board of Directors was actually trying to force him into a compromise with this absurd debt?
Compensation?
If Fang Li truly tried to compensate in the literal manner Aleister described, it would be an impossible task.
Clearly, Aleister wanted Fang Li to do something of equivalent value, in other words, to work for him.
Fang Li let a slight, knowing smile creep onto his face and countered:
"If I'm not mistaken, the Aureolus incident... the reason that Rune Magic user approached me was arranged by you, Superintendent, wasn't it?"
The meaning was simple: "I played your game and resolved the problem you set up. Now that it's over, you expect me to bear the losses? Doesn't that feel a little... cold?"
As he spoke, Fang Li shifted the topic, as if a sudden thought had struck him, and his voice took on a tone of sudden realization:
"By the way, this incident could also be considered me working for you, Superintendent. And yet... I don't think I've received any reward, have I?"
Fang Li was now demanding payment of equivalent value from Aleister.
This seemed to make Aleister pause for a moment.
But the silence didn't last long.
Almost immediately, Aleister's mechanical voice returned:
"Then, if I were willing to pay you, would you accept any kind of work?"
The implication of that sentence was perfectly obvious, no guesswork required.
Fang Li cast his gaze toward the inverted figure and smiled indifferently: "That depends on what kind of reward the Superintendent is willing to offer."
As the words fell, the space around them returned to silence.
"Clang!"
Suddenly, a projection screen unfolded right in front of Fang Li without any warning.
Fang Li's gaze instinctively locked onto it.
On the screen appeared a full-body Battle Suit.
Next to the suit, a torrent of data points flowed. Fang Li couldn't understand the technical specifications, but the Main God's Dimension instantly translated the crucial message directly into his mind:
Latest-Type Advanced Fully Autonomous Battle Suit
Category: Upper Garment, Lower Garment, Gauntlets, Shoes
Rank: Third Rank
Effects: STR+50, VIT (Endurance)+50, AGI (Agility)+50, Attack Speed +50%, Movement Speed +50%, greatly reduces external impact; occupies four equipment slots; cannot be disassembled.
When this message appeared in Fang Li's mind, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
Immediately afterward, Aleister spoke again:
"Have you ever heard of a 'Powered Suit'?"
"---Powered Suit."
Of course, Fang Li had heard of it.
It was a specialized armor designed to completely cover the wearer's body and provide extraordinary mobility and strength.
The primary energy source was electricity, and the suit's joints were powered electrically, allowing the wearer to exert strength far beyond that of an ordinary human. Depending on the specs and scale, the size and combat capability of a Powered Suit varied. Even the most generic mass-produced models could provide abilities several times, or even dozens of times, greater than normal humans.
Could it be that…
"Exactly."
Aleister seemed to have anticipated Fang Li's thoughts. With an unchanging tone, he calmly confirmed:
"The Battle Suit now before you is based on the concept of making the Powered Suit more accessible."
Powered Suits were typically large, composite armor systems. When in use, they were either remotely controlled or required the user to climb into a cockpit, much like driving a vehicle. They were essentially combat machinery.
Such specialized armor was unique to Academy City; outside its walls, seeing a functional one was practically impossible.
But human ambition is endless.
Once the armor was developed, some inevitably began to think: "If we could scale a Powered Suit down to the size of clothing, allowing anyone to wear it and gain extraordinary physical abilities…"
Based on that bold idea, this specific Battle Suit was conceptualized.
"Unfortunately, even in Academy City, with current technology, creating such a Battle Suit remained only an ideal. According to calculations, realizing it would require technology a hundred years ahead of the outside world."
Aleister floated up and down inside the test tube as he explained to Fang Li:
"To put it simply, it's like trying to turn a car into a pair of shoes. Fitting all the necessary parts into the shoes is physically impossible. And even more so if you want to supply them with endless fuel, that's simply unfeasible."
At Academy City's current technical level, even being 20–30 years ahead of the outside world, this project should have failed.
"However, Academy City has many espers with superhuman abilities. By combining the abilities of multiple espers, we eventually developed this Battle Suit."
Aleister spoke directly to Fang Li:
"The Battle Suit before you is the only successful prototype developed in Academy City. Under current conditions and technology, it cannot yet be mass-produced, there is only one in the entire world."
"Its function is identical to a Powered Suit, providing abilities far beyond normal humans. Although it cannot mount weapons, its performance surpasses even ordinary Powered Suits."
"To put it bluntly, this Battle Suit represents the cutting edge of Academy City technology. Its design incorporates nanomachinery and other advanced systems, all synergized with the abilities of multiple espers. In terms of research value alone, it is so great that even nation-scale powers would stop at nothing to acquire it."
Hearing this, Fang Li finally understood what Aleister was getting at.
"So," Aleister asked lightly, "if I offered this Battle Suit as your reward, would it be enough to persuade you?"
The air suddenly grew heavy and tense.
Fang Li quietly stared at the Battle Suit displayed on the screen, completely aware of the subtext.
This wasn't just a negotiation for a job. This was a test.
A test from Aleister.
(End Of This Chapter)