"dionysium!!!"
Duke looked at the one microgram of dionysium in the test tube in his hand, his eyes filled with intoxication; the test tube in his hand was about the size of a regular penicillin vial, with a button at one end and an injector at the other.
The dionysium inside the test tube was in an aerosol form; through the light, one could only see tiny specks of light, like stars, floating within it.
"Good stuff!"
"Compared to this, Gun Kata is trash!"
Duke, speaking contentedly, unbuttoned his upper garment, placed the injection port against his heart, and pressed the button.
Click!
With a soft click, one milligram of dionysium was forcibly injected into Duke's heart; Duke put down the test tube and redressed himself.
Integrating the dionysium did not cause the immense pain experienced when injecting the Super Soldier Serum.
However, the dionysium had already been injected into his body, forming a coexistence with Duke.
This substance only takes effect when the host is on the verge of destruction or when life suffers severe trauma; normally, no matter how it is detected, the presence of dionysium cannot be found.
The sole purpose of dionysium is to repair host damage and allow the host to regenerate; the Joker, containing dionysium in his body, became an immortal existence, and he even wanted to make Batman like himself so they could fight each other for eternity.
As one of the five special metals in the DC Universe, dionysium can only be described as extremely buggy.
Even with one milligram integrated, Duke now had a chance at life in desperate situations.
Even if his heart were pierced, he could be reborn after death.
This is the power of dionysium!
"Alright, the lottery's done, now it's time for some real work!"
Duke set aside Gun Kata; he wasn't planning on using that inheritance just yet. Right now, he needed to refine his blueprint to cool his head.
The lights in the night remained brightly lit, like the only star in the darkness.
Five days later.
Colin Workshop, underground forging room.
Clang, clang, clang...
Amidst the huge roar of the forging machine, the flames in the furnace rapidly surged, melting the materials in the crucible into liquid. Duke, pulling the T-shaped lever with both hands, continuously exerted force, making the furnace's fire even more ferocious.
Under the high temperature, Duke, shirtless, was covered in sweat, but his eyes gleamed. After five days of sleepless work, his Clockwork Exoskeleton was finally about to be born, with only this last batch of parts remaining.
Duke pulled the handle with all his might, raising the furnace temperature to maximum, then released the handle. He casually wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel on his shoulder, picked up a hammer, clamped a metal plate with fire tongs, and vigorously hammered it on the iron anvil.
The hammer struck the metal plate rhythmically, slowly shaping it into Duke's envisioned form.
Ding, ding, ding, ding...
The rhythmic hammering echoed in the forging room. Duke hammered this metal plate into the shape of a greave. He then used the fire tongs to dip the greave into a special liquid for quenching. After quenching, he put down the hammer and turned to pull a pull ring.
As the pull ring was tugged, molten metal liquid poured into the mold.
Just preparing the molds for the critical parts took him three days; the remaining two days were spent manually making the parts.
As the molten golden-red liquid poured into the mold, Duke began to wait. He wiped his sweat, behind him lay scattered parts.
These parts were neatly piled, categorized. Anyone without a design blueprint would be unable to assemble them.
After a long wait, Duke disassembled the mold and extracted a metal strip resembling a human spine. This was his last part, and the most crucial component of the Exoskeleton.
After a quick polish, Duke looked at all the parts, wiped his sweat with the towel, and threw it into the furnace.
"All done, next is assembly!"
He categorized and packed all the parts into a box. Carrying the box, Duke didn't bother with the furnace; without wind power, it would extinguish automatically. He could just restart it when needed.
Duke walked out of the forging room, up the stairs, and entered a workshop Colin had specially opened for him. This was the second workshop in Colin Workshop.
Even Orianna, Colin's own daughter, wasn't qualified to have her own workshop, but Duke now did!
Duke placed the box on the floor and began the final assembly. As the first prototype, it required manual assembly. But if it passed the Blue Lavender Manor evaluation meeting and received investment, Duke could have his own factory and his own assembly line.
Just as Duke began assembling, Orianna poked her head out of the workshop door, curiously observing Duke's every move.
Duke was adding parts and devices to the most crucial component. Orianna tiptoed into Duke's workshop, curiously reaching her hand into the material box.
"Don't mess with it. All the materials are categorized. If you move them and I can't find them, it'll be ruined!"
"What's the big deal!"
"If even one part is missing, this thing will turn from an enhancement tool into a torture device!"
Duke tightened a screw with a wrench and tapped the long cervical spine column in front of him. Orianna stuck out her tongue and playfully slapped her own hand.
"But when will you be finished, Duke!"
"Don't worry, I'll let you play with it once it's done. You'll also be the one testing it on the final evaluation day!"
Duke paused slightly, two figures appearing in his mind, and he emphasized, "One of the testers!"
"Huh?" Orianna sat on the workbench, pouting, "One of the testers!"
"Because there are two other women in the Council. At Blue Lavender Manor's evaluation, besides the evaluators from various major families, people from the Council will also be present. That will be the Prototype's moment to shine!"
"Hmph!"
"Then I still have to be the first one!"
"Fine!" Duke, whose eyes were only on his Exoskeleton armor, casually brushed her off, "Go wait outside. If you're bored, say some prayers for Janna. She quite likes that from you!"
"Got it, got it!"
Orianna rolled her eyes, made a face at Duke, and then ran out of the workshop. Duke remained completely unaffected.
Engineers are all like this; when they get busy, they immerse themselves in their own World. Forget about girls, even a Cataclysm wouldn't shake them!
Time passed by minute by minute, and Duke tightened the last screw on the clockwork Exoskeleton.
"It's done!"
Wiping the fine sweat from his forehead, Duke tucked the wrench into his tool belt at his waist, a look of satisfaction in his eyes.
Before him lay a clockwork-powered Exoskeleton resembling a human skeleton, with a movable metal column conforming to the spine as its main body, designed to fit the wearer's back and provide assistance.
The cylindrical clockwork power unit at the waist was roughly the size of a small engine, about the length of an adult male's forearm.
The clockwork power unit had metal buckles on both sides for fastening and connected to the movable metal column that conformed to the spine in a triangular shape, ensuring stability.
At the shoulders were shoulder pads. Duke used leather as a substitute, with soft padding inside to prevent discomfort for the wearer during use.
It also had a frame that extended to the arms and legs for leverage, covered in gears and miniature clockwork power units.
The hands and feet had specialized combat boots and gauntlets. The combat boots were the clockwork-enhanced combat boots Duke had once envisioned, and the gloves were similar to Vi's Hextech Power Gauntlets.
"Next, it's time to bring out the guinea pig!"
Duke rubbed his palms, his eyes gleaming with excitement. The clockwork-powered Exoskeleton he had built was, to be precise, an unfinished version of his clockwork-powered combat suit.
He would add armor and energy devices to this Exoskeleton to upgrade it into an even stronger battle suit.
"Orianna, I'm ready!"
"I'm coming!"
Orianna quickly rushed to Duke's workshop upon hearing him, excitedly running over.
"Can I test it now?"
"Of course you can!" Duke opened the buckles and gestured, "Come on, I'll help you put it on, and you'll experience what it feels like to be a Superman!"
"Mhm, mhm!"
A moment later, in the courtyard of Colin Workshop.
Colin and Duke stood in a corner of the courtyard, facing a test target.
"Are you sure the enhancements you made are safe?"
"More accurately, it should be called a Clockwork Powered Exoskeleton device. It can help people achieve things impossible for humans, such as single-handedly lifting heavy objects, speeds surpassing carriages, jumping ability comparable to a jerboa, and enhancing a human's basic strength by more than ten times!"
"Isn't that just a weapon?"
Colin expressed his concern. The thing Duke created was a weapon. If a person's strength, speed, and endurance were enhanced more than tenfold, and it fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it would be a disaster.
"You could say it's a weapon, or you could say it's a tool. Tools have no good or evil; it only depends on the user!"
Duke clapped his hands, "Come out, Orianna!"
Bang!!
The door leading to the courtyard was directly torn off by Orianna. Orianna maintained the pushing motion, her face a bit blank, and she spoke with a crying voice: "I just wanted to open the door!"
"It's nothing, keep going!"
Duke comforted her. Colin watched his daughter, who was wearing the Exoskeleton armor, suppressing his worry. Orianna took a step forward, and the Clockwork Power device on her lower back sensed the operation of the kinetic energy activation device built into her combat boots.
The kinetic energy was transmitted through the gear linkage into the Clockwork Power device. The power device instantly burst forth with immense strength, and Orianna flashed to the courtyard wall.
"Such speed!"
Colin was startled, looking at Duke with surprise and disbelief. Duke could actually create such powerful armor; he was truly a genius of Clockwork Technology. This also strengthened his resolve to pass on his legacy and workshop to Duke.
"Take small steps, don't use force!"
Duke walked over to Orianna, gently guiding her: "It's your first time using it, so you'll definitely be a bit unaccustomed. This set, the power output I installed, has no safety lock, so you will have more than ten times the strength and speed of a normal human."
"But as long as you relax and actively adapt to it, you will be able to fully utilize its performance, and its protection for you is beyond your imagination."
"Don't be afraid, try boldly!"
"Mhm!"
Listening to Duke's comforting words and guidance, Orianna overcame her initial apprehension and unease, bravely taking her first step.
Orianna stepped steadily on the ground and walked a few steps forward. Seeing this, Orianna's eyes lit up, and she walked a few more steps forward. Duke's lips moved, "Janna, take good care of her!"
"Even if you didn't say it, I would do it. Orianna is my little Angel!"
Janna's voice echoed in Duke's ears. Duke guided Orianna to the target, pointing at it and saying: "Now punch forward, with a bit of force, don't resist the Exoskeleton's propulsion, adapt to it, imagine it's a part of you!"
"Mhm!"
Orianna gripped the joystick of the gauntlet. The moment the gauntlet formed a fist, she let out a delicate cry and punched forward.
Such a light punch, landing on the target, instantly caused the target to shatter into pieces.
"Success!"
Duke's face broke into a smile, and he applauded Orianna.
"Well done, Orianna!"
"Not at all!"
Orianna covered her mouth in embarrassment, feigning annoyance while landing a punch on Duke's chest. Duke's expression changed: "Damn it!"
The next second, Duke was sent flying backward, embedding himself into the wall.
"I absolutely must add a safety lock; I can't take a second 'little punch' like that!"