Richard gritted his teeth as a wave of data surged into his brain. It wasn't just numbers or code—it was sensation, perception, raw information flooding into his neural pathways. His vision blurred for a moment, then sharpened, enhanced beyond human limits.
The neural integration process had completed.
[INIM Neural Interface: Fully Synchronized]
[Cognitive Pathways Enhanced: Processing Speed Increased]
[Direct Command Link to AMFS Established]
Richard was no longer just a programmer. No longer just a man sitting in a basement.
He had become the first cybernetic human, directly linked to an advanced fabrication system.
And now, it was time to finish the job.
The nanites moved with newfound precision, no longer operating on pre-programmed sequences but guided directly by Richard's mind.
Every part of the Advanced Modular Fabrication System (AMFS) came together seamlessly.
Structural Frameworks Locked into Place – Carbon-reinforced alloy beams and quantum-stitched lattices formed the skeletal foundation of the fabrication core.
Power Systems Activated – The Integrated Energy Management System (IEMS) distributed energy, optimizing power flow for each submodule.
Self-Calibration Initiated – The Cognitive Design and Optimization Core (CDOC) began running billions of simulations per second, fine-tuning the entire system for maximum efficiency.
[AMFS Self-Test Running…]
[Verifying Material Processing, Assembly, Optimization, and Deployment Systems…]
[All Systems Functional]
The AMFS was fully operational.
Richard took a deep breath, feeling its presence inside his mind. It wasn't just a machine. It was an extension of him.
The moment the AMFS booted up, a notification materialized before Richard's eyes:
[You have completed: Advanced Modular Fabrication System]Rewards: 250,000 SP
Richard grinned. The sheer amount of System Points meant only one thing—this machine was a game-changer.
He turned his gaze toward the fully-formed AMFS, now standing proudly in the basement like a miniature futuristic factory.
Its structure was sleek, industrial, and modular—each segment dedicated to a specific function. Soft, pulsing lights lined its edges, flickering in response to internal processes.
It wasn't just a machine. It was a network of interconnected modules, operating in perfect sync.
And now, it was time for the next step.
Richard's vision shifted, his augmented mind seamlessly slipping into build mode.
A new panel flashed before him, presenting four distinct versions of the Echo-AMFS, each designed for self-replicating production.
Model 1: Industrial Variant – A scaled-up version of the current AMFS. When viewed in normal mode, it resembled a large industrial shipping container, housing a complete, autonomous factory.
Model 2: Compact Variant – The present model, twice the size of a refrigerator but still capable of full fabrication. This would serve as the core unit for ByteBull's expansion.
Model 3: Mini Variant – A water dispenser-sized module, optimized for localized production and small-scale prototyping.
Model 4: Autonomous Swarm Drones – This was where things got interesting. Instead of a static machine, these were autonomous fabrication drones, roughly the size of mini landmines.
Unlike traditional drones, they didn't rely on rotors or jet propulsion. Instead, they floated using localized gravity fields, giving them complete three-dimensional movement.
A small demonstration video played on the system panel:
A swarm of these drones worked in unison, slowly assembling an entire starship hull from raw materials. The footage was simulated, but it showed their full potential.
Richard exhaled.
"Self-replicating… but not infinite."
Unlike the skill-assisted AMFS construction, these machines would still need raw materials. They could multiply, but not without input. Resources were still a limiting factor.
Still, it was eerie watching the nanites devour materials and restructure them into something entirely new.
The night air was crisp as Richard hauled another stack of metal bars toward the basement studio. The weight didn't bother him—he could lift ten times this if he wanted to.
And at this point?
He didn't care if people saw his inhuman strength.
Jack, however, had other concerns.
"Dude, can you at least pretend to struggle?" Jack groaned, walking beside him, arms crossed."You're making me look weak."
Richard smirked. "You are weak."
Jack scoffed. "Excuse me, I'm fat-strong. You're… supervillain-strong." He pointed at the several hundred pounds of metal Richard carried like a grocery bag.
"People are gonna start asking questions, man!"
Richard shrugged. "Let them ask. "
Jack groaned in defeat as they entered the studio room.
And then—
Jack froze.
His eyes widened. His jaw dropped. His brain short-circuited.
"WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FU—"
Right in the middle of their studio stood a massive, sleek, black machine, nearly reaching the basement ceiling. It hummed softly, like a heartbeat. Pulsing lights traced along its surface, glowing in response to its internal processes.
Jack pointed at it like a caveman who just saw fire for the first time.
"RICHARD. WHAT. THE. HELL. IS. THAT?!"
Richard, completely unfazed, casually loaded the metal bars into a small intake port on the machine's side.
Jack was still stuck in shock.
"This looks like some black ops government sh*t! No—NO—worse, this looks like something straight out of freakin' STAR TREK!"
Richard smirked. "You're not wrong."
Jack took a step back, pointing aggressively.
"RICHARD. DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?! YOU JUST BUILT A GODDAMN FABRICATOR!"
"FAB-RI-CA-TOR! Like the ones from SCI-FI! FROM MOVIES! FROM VIDEO GAMES!"
He spun around, hands in his hair.
"People have been dreaming about this tech for DECADES, MAN! And you just—just BUILT IT like you were assembling IKEA furniture?!"
Richard chuckled at Jack's meltdown.
"Calm down."
"CALM DOWN?! RICHARD, THIS MACHINE CAN PRINT WHATEVER IT WANTS. YOU HAVE JUST ENDED THE CONCEPT OF 'MANUFACTURING' AS WE KNOW IT!"
"HOW ARE YOU NOT FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW?!"
Richard just grinned and turned to the AMFS console.
With a few taps on the interface, he selected the fourth Echo-AMFS model—the drones.
[PRINTING: Echo-AMFS – Model 4 (Autonomous Fabrication Swarm Drones)]
Inside the fabrication chamber, mechanical arms moved with surgical precision.
A blue laser flickered into existence, scanning the empty space inside the chamber. Then—
With a flash of light, the material began taking shape.
The metal disintegrated inside the intake port, breaking down to its atomic structure. The machine processed it, restructured it, and built something entirely new.
Jack stared in horror.
"THAT'S A REPLICATOR. YOU BUILT A GODDAMN REPLICATOR."
"Dude, do you even understand what this means?! If this thing works… we're talking about the end of factories. The end of supply chains. The end of needing to buy sh*t ever again!"
Richard simply smirked. "I know."
Jack collapsed into a chair, head in his hands.
"Jesus Christ, man. You are either a goddamn genius… or you just accidentally started the next industrial revolution."
Richard watched as the drone fabrication completed, the sleek black device hovering slightly above the platform using its gravity field.
He turned to Jack.
"Not accidentally."
Jack gulped.
"Bro… we are so screwed."
Jack was still reeling from the whole "Richard-built-a-fabricator-from-sci-fi" situation when another thought hit him.
"Can't you just build something that isn't world-endingly dangerous?!"
He threw his arms up.
"I mean, dude! Drones, self-replicating machines, reality-breaking technology—how did you even pull this off?!"
He paused, narrowing his eyes.
"Wait… Hold up. I noticed you've been hauling literal TONS of materials for the past three days."
"But even THAT shouldn't be enough!"
"So how—how in the name of all things holy—did you manage to build a machine that should've taken DECADES to develop?!"
Richard just sighed and stood up.
"Watch."
He raised his hand.
A faint hum filled the air.
Then—
A black mist-like substance began pouring out of his skin, swirling like a storm cloud, hovering over the scrap metal bars and broken sheets scattered on the floor.
"What the actual f—"
Jack took a step back.
The black nanites engulfed the scrap metal—and then, before Jack could even process what was happening—
The metal shifted.
The pieces broke apart at a molecular level, rearranging themselves in an almost organic, fluid motion.
In seconds—
Where once lay useless scrap now sat perfectly formed, thin gold bars.
Jack stared.
Jack blinked.
Jack's brain shut down for a full five seconds.
Then—
"YOU JUST DID ALCHEMY."
Richard shook his head.
"No, it's transmutation."
Jack pointed wildly at the gold.
"THAT'S ALCHEMY. YOU JUST FULLMETAL-ALCHEMISTED THIS SCRAP INTO GOLD."
Richard raised an eyebrow.
"It's nanites."
Jack held his head like he was about to pass out.
"Oh great, yeah, sure! Nanites! Right! Of course!"
He paused.
"Wait… NANITES?! LIKE FROM 'THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL'—THE BAD ONE, NOT THE CLASSIC?!"
"RICHARD, THAT'S EVEN WORSE!"
He started pacing.
"Okay, okay, let me get this straight. Not only do you have an AI-powered, self-replicating, sci-fi-fabricator… BUT YOU ALSO HAVE SWARMS OF SELF-ASSEMBLING, MATTER-TRANSMUTING NANITES?!"
"YOU HAVE—QUITE LITERALLY—THE MOST TERRIFYING TECHNOLOGY KNOWN TO MAN. AND YOU'RE JUST CASUALLY USING IT TO MAKE GOLD?!"
Richard just shrugged.
"I needed to test it."
Jack collapsed into a chair, staring at the ceiling.
"Dude… You have NO IDEA how much the world is gonna lose its mind when they find out about this."
Richard smirked.
"I do. That's why we're keeping this under wraps."
Jack groaned.
"Oh yeah. Sure. Because SECRETLY having god-tier nanotech totally won't backfire on us in the future."
He covered his face with his hands.
"Man, we are so, so, so screwed."