Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 198 The Loyal Machine Soul Will Continue to Fight (First Update)
Battlefield data, like a surging tide, flowed continuously into Chen Yu's workshop's main control server through the logistics maintenance interface of military technology, as well as the hidden data collection subroutines on the power armor of the Ghost Hound and Lhasa Road mercenaries.

The shockwave spectrum of an explosion, the dissipation curve of an energy weapon, the penetration effectiveness of kinetic energy munitions, the real-time stress feedback of the joints and transmission system of powered armor, and even the fluctuations in the physiological indicators of the driver under extreme conditions...

All of this massive amount of information is meticulously recorded, categorized, and compressed, ultimately becoming a binary torrent stored in specific sectors of the core database.

Chen Yu's massive, dark red body stood silently in front of the main control panel, his scarlet optical lens steadily scanning the waterfall-like stream of data on the screen.

The deafening explosions and intense gunfire outside were weakened into vague and distant background noise by the thick composite sound insulation material and the active sound wave cancellation field, unable to interfere with the high-speed parallel calculations at the core of his logic that were beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

"Old friend, the data samples are almost collected, and the preliminary modeling is complete." Chen Yu's synthesized voice rang out in the workshop, carrying a calm tone of having completed a phase of work, as if he were sharing his discovery with an old friend.

He brought up the key dataset, which had been cleaned and visualized using algorithms, and displayed it on the main screen.

"Looking at these battlefield exchange ratio curves and subsystem damage reports, the power armor technology roadmap of this world is indeed... unique."

The servo skull floating beside him emitted a soft, understanding hum, and the steady blue light in its eye sockets flickered in rhythm with the scrolling data, like a focused assistant.

“Their core technology relies heavily on high-bandwidth neural direct connection interfaces,” Chen Yu said, tapping his metal fingers on the console to bring up several slow-motion and labeled close-quarters combat videos of “Onimusha” and “Commando-VII”. In the videos, every micro-operation of the power armor perfectly corresponded to the peak values ​​of the driver’s neural signal spectrum.

"Attempting to seamlessly connect the driver's biological reaction speed with the machine's maximum output can theoretically approach the upper limit of 'human-machine integration' operation, especially in environments that require instantaneous judgment and complex tactical maneuvers."

He paused briefly, slightly adjusting the focus of the optical lens, as if examining deeper issues behind the data.

“But what about the cost, old friend?” His voice took on a more analytical tone. “Leaving aside the dual burden this connection places on the driver’s mind and body, the cost, maintenance complexity, and basic skill requirements of the advanced neuroprosthetics and sensory synchronization systems needed to support this mode of operation alone constitute a high barrier to entry.”

“More importantly…” Chen Yu’s synthesized voice dropped a decibel, as if emphasizing the next key point, “This kind of technical path, which relies heavily on individual elite pilots, has a long training cycle, and requires stringent logistical support, is too extravagant for an empire that needs to arm billions of stars and cope with endless wars of attrition, old friend.”

It's more like a finely crafted musical instrument tailored for a select few, rather than a war anvil capable of arming legions and being repeatedly hammered through mud and blood.

The servo skull emitted a series of more rapid binary confirmation sounds, seemingly fully understanding the key difference.

“Think about it carefully and you’ll understand, old friend.” Chen Yu turned slightly towards the floating servo skull, the light from the optical lens steadily focused on its sensor array. “That’s right, the Space Marines’ power armor relies on neural connections, but they possess the ‘Black Shell’—the culmination of nineteen modification surgeries, an extraordinary gift bestowed by the Emperor.”

Our mechanical engineering school certainly has the capability to replicate and even simplify this interface technology, but the key issue is cost.

Countless complex resource assessment formulas and production line simulation data flowed through the core of his logic in an instant.

"The reality we must face is that the Imperial Guard needs to arm hundreds of millions of ordinary soldiers scattered throughout the galaxy. Even if only a small fraction of them, say one percent, were equipped with this kind of equipment that requires deep physical modifications to operate, the resources, time, and logistical support required would be an astronomical figure that could bankrupt several star sectors."

"Therefore, the guiding principles must be clear." Chen Yu's synthesized voice carried an undeniable sense of pragmatism. "For weapons and equipment, reliability and ease of maintenance are paramount, followed by performance and sophistication."

The Empire has never lacked cutting-edge technological creations, but what its grassroots troops truly need are 'tools' that can be mass-produced, rapidly deployed, and withstand attrition on the harshest battlefields.

He concluded, in a tone as if stating a physical law: "The core purpose of the power armor we are designing is to address the actual equipment needs of the Imperial Guard, to fill the gaps on the front lines, not to serve as a technological demonstration in some laboratory."

Based on this core idea, Chen Yu began to develop a design scheme.

First, the direct neural connection operation mode was rejected.

He pursued a simple structure, but also required ease of operation, so that drivers wouldn't have to memorize thick operating manuals.

"Then, the solution is clear, old friend." Chen Yu's synthesized voice carried a hint of sudden enlightenment. "The key lies in the auxiliary system. Or rather, adopting a form that is more in line with the 'context' of the Warhammer world—'machine spirit'."

Within the eye sockets of the servo skull, a faint blue light flickered noticeably, as if in response to this promising idea.

“The powered armor in the cyberpunk world is already equipped with low-level artificial intelligence for assisted control, which is a ready-made foundation.” Chen Yu explained to his silent partner while retrieving relevant technical files and code libraries. “We don’t need to start from scratch. We just need to collect enough combat data from excellent pilots, integrate, optimize and conduct deep learning, and we can train a general operational data model that is highly adaptable to the battlefield environment.”

The real challenge lies in how to implement it safely and 'compliantly' within the Warhammer universe…

His crimson optical lens flickered slightly, revealing a tacit understanding.

"That's the clever part. The Great Sage Vox has already approved the production of those 'Ancient Logic Cores' in Nexus, hasn't he? We'll load the trained data model into it and let this 'core' coordinate and drive the entire power armor."

As for the potential questions regarding the nature of its intelligence…

Chen Yu's synthesized voice carried a hint of mockery, as if stating an open secret: "Old buddy, how can the mystery of the Machine Soul be defined by the mundane concept of 'artificial intelligence'?"

The pilot only needs to focus on the target and do his best; the rest can be entrusted to the loyal machine spirit!
Even if the pilot tragically perishes in battle, the machine's spirit, imbued with its will, will continue to carry on its unfinished mission until the enemy of humanity is completely purified!

(End of this chapter)