Their commission was suspicious.

"I'm sorry. After all, it involves armed dolls, so it's natural to be on the safe side," Chen Luo said apologetically.

"So now can you tell me why you insist on having a defective armed doll?"

“Ahem, that’s because… the recording was turned off,” Chen Luohua said to Vervière halfway through his sentence.

"Oh."

"The other one is closed too."

"Oh."

"...Do you really want me to take your hat off for you?"

"Tch." Velvi curled her lip, took off her hat, and then pressed a button on the back of the hat.

"..." Einstein watched expressionlessly.

Okay, maybe I misunderstood. Chen Luo and Wei Erwei might not be working together to trick me, but rather, when they get ruthless, they even trick their own people.

"The reason I chose the defective armed dolls is that since they became defective for some reason, the underlying commands given to them are naturally not preserved perfectly. So there is room for manipulation."

“A truly complete armed doll created by you must have all the instructions programmed into it, and you still have ownership of it. But if the doll is repaired from a defective product, there is no such concern, because the highest authority will become me after I repair it.”

“Repairing the defective ones from the armed dolls you create and turning them into mine, isn’t that also a form of NTR?” Chen Luo said after sinking into the sofa.

"...I regret it, is that alright?" Einstein turned to look at the man in the suit next to him.

"I'm afraid that won't work, Dr. Einstein, would you like to reconsider? Once this deal is completed, the research funding your institute can obtain will naturally increase significantly." The man in the suit kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a tissue.

If Chen Luo had given even a slightly more serious reason, it wouldn't be so utterly unserious now.

"Moreover... a complete armed puppet is naturally programmed into a pre-prepared AI network at birth. But a defective one is different. I've heard that each armed puppet has basic thinking abilities, and I'm interested in them, but I'm even more interested in nurturing an armed puppet into a completely new individual."

"Although this work may sound a bit unorthodox, 15 defective armed dolls shouldn't affect the overall situation, right? Besides, I'll keep an eye on them."

Just as the man in the suit was at a loss for what to do, Chen Luo suddenly added.

"Is this how your apprentice always is?" Einstein couldn't help but look at Vervie after hearing Chen Luo's follow-up.

“That’s right, he always likes to save the important points for last.” After glancing at Chen Luo, Wilvi nodded in agreement.

"...So? Is this explanation acceptable?" Chen Luo asked.

"From the perspective of the chief designer of the armed dolls, your possible experiment is indeed somewhat dangerous, and as you said, it is indeed somewhat unorthodox. Treating armed dolls as independent life forms is difficult for ordinary people to accept. But... if you consider that you are Möbius's assistant, then everything makes sense."

“I can accept that reason, but you must also remember to keep your armed puppets under control,” Einstein said.

Armed dolls are products that combine weapons as prototypes with programmed Soul Steel mimicry cores. Because the weapons are different, there are indeed some strange armed dolls in the warehouse.

While these dolls may be quite good samples, armed dolls are meant to fight as soldiers in the future, so having a personality is actually a disadvantage.

"..." Without the humanized plugin reminding him, Chen Luo really didn't expect that Einstein would accept his reason for this reason.

Oh, by the way, Mebius seems to be a scholar from the continent of Mu.

However... Mebius really does have a notorious reputation.

Chapter 1741 "Armed Doll Image Reference Guide"! The madness begins!

"...Is this really necessary?" Einstein couldn't help but ask, looking at the book in front of him.

Although Einstein had already discerned Chen Luo's unique fondness for armed dolls and his unconventional ideas during their conversation, and initially thought that nothing Chen Luo would surprise her, Einstein was still greatly shocked by what she saw in her hands.

Armed Doll Image Reference Guide

This is the content of the book in Einstein's hands.

The illustrations are exquisite and the design is stylish. The armed puppet figures depicted are very vivid and cute.

It is completely different from the mass-produced, identical armed doll image that Einstein originally designed.

Although Einstein felt that using the same model made no difference to the armed dolls, the armed dolls in Chen Luo's book did look more beautiful.

However, the problem is...

"Did you make this all by yourself?" Einstein couldn't help but look at Chen Luo.

You've been neglecting your duties a bit, haven't you?

And how long before you started plotting against my armed doll, Dan?

"Didn't you already propose a contingency plan for this armed puppet a while in advance? It's just that the meeting needs to be held in the next few days. Some time ago, my boss made me a big promise, saying that as long as I manage the work of the Super Transformation Surgery Office well, I can get a 15-day long vacation and be allowed to come to Mu Continent to go crazy with the armed puppet."

"Generate electricity?"

"...This is a term used by puppeteers, you don't need to worry about it." Chen Luo waved his hand.

“…Go on.” Although Einstein didn’t think it sounded like a compliment, he didn’t press the matter further.

"But as you know, sitting in an office is a complete waste of talent for research-oriented people like us. My boss said that if you're not interested in office work, you could help me with the Holy Marks... cough cough, a top-secret project. After weighing the options, I decided to waste my time." Chen Luo continued.

“But life is so boring, really meaningless, so I specially used my spare time to create this fashion magazine, to see if I could offer suggestions on the image of the armed mascot at the meeting, but I didn’t expect to meet you ahead of time,” Chen Luo said.

The reference guide for the armed puppet in Chen Luo's hand was indeed drawn by Chen Luo himself, as Hua, who was standing next to him, could attest.

Of course, the period spent painting is skipped.

Please, another me!

As a puppeteer, and a puppeteer with normal aesthetic sense, Chen Luo's armed puppets were enough to impress Einstein.

“But it’s useless.” Einstein put the reference guide for the armed doll back on the table.

"Hey, don't say that, at least it looks good," Chen Luo said.

"Furthermore, since the armed puppets are made of soul steel, it should be quite simple to change their program and modify their appearance, right?"

"It is simple..." Soul Steel is this kind of thing, it is quite convenient and has extremely high ductility.

Strictly speaking, if you want to make a plastic surgery on an armed doll made of Soul Steel and weapons, it only takes a few minutes.

If the appearance is set in advance, it is much easier to change.

It's simply a matter of inputting a few images; there's not even a need to manufacture a production line. Soul Steel will automatically generate the shape based on the images input into the program.

"But what's the point?"

"The point is that I'm happy. How about this, if you agree to use the designs of these armed dolls on the alternative designs of the armed dolls, and let them choose randomly, I'll help you swindle funding from those old geezers, how about that?" Chen Luo proposed.

Hearing this, Einstein couldn't help but glance at the man in the suit beside him who represented the government officials...

Do you think they're just for show?

"..." The man in the suit inexplicably straightened up.

That's right, I'm just for show!

What does it matter to me if you cheat me out of funding? As long as I get promoted and get a raise, that's all that matters, isn't it?

Besides, when Dr. Einstein asked for funding, was that considered fraud? It was called wanting to contribute more to society!

“If you can handle it, I wouldn’t mind making a few more 3D models,” Einstein said.

Einstein found Chen Luo's proposal quite interesting, and what the previous civilization lacked was manpower, not resources. Furthermore, this proposal didn't consume any resources at all.

"Don't worry, when I'm performing surgery on those old men, I'll whisper sweet nothings in their ears, and they'll naturally agree," Chen Luo said confidently.

"...!"

He ignored me completely.

They'll kill them if they disagree, right? Who would dare disagree in this situation?

After all... there's always the possibility of mistakes during surgery.

Even if seventeen or eighteen guards rushed in afterward and hacked Chen Luo until he bled profusely, the dead cannot be brought back to life.

Besides, it's not an important matter.

At most, Chen Luo simply raised the price of one lollipop from one millionaire to two.

These days, with everyone living hand to mouth, who would dare offend a doctor?

"Generally speaking, your application has a high success rate. In that case, I'll take this book back with me. I'll immediately create a 3D model and input it into the memory template of the armed doll. Speaking of which, you probably wanted several different designs of the defective product, right?" Dr. Einstein picked up the book about the design of the armed doll again.

"Ah."

"Then let's just create a rework system so that even armed dolls with fixed forms can be redesigned. Since they're made of soul steel, modifying their bodies is easy. This system can be used by all armed figures. After all, we can't give all our resources to defective products; that would be too unfair."

"Dr. Einstein, you can handle it as you see fit."

"On the third day, remember to attend the meeting on time. After the meeting, come with me to pick up your armed doll."

"Sigh, but I haven't finished my surgery yet. Is it really okay? After all, it will take 15 days to complete the surgery on 15 old men."

"It doesn't matter. Giving you an advance is no problem either, since I'll be sending some of the armed puppets to the Firemoth sooner or later anyway." Einstein waved his hand.

It's not just the continent of Mu that's suffering from the Honkai; it's all over the world.

So even if Chen Luo didn't say anything, he would still send a lot of armed puppets to the Fire Moth later.

Of course, the Mu Continent will still be the primary focus. That much is certain.

Whether Chen Luo speaks up or not depends on whether he will acquire a batch of defective armed puppets and gain full ownership of them.

Just as Chen Luo said, the defective armed dolls, due to various flaws, are not connected to the armed doll's AI network. Repairing them is possible, but the repair cost is more expensive than manufacturing a new armed doll, so it's completely unnecessary.

Therefore, if Chen Luo wanted it, it would be given to him.

As long as Chen Luo can afford to support them...

Hopefully, Chen Luo won't abandon these defective armed dolls because of the high repair costs.

However, I heard that Chen Luo is a puppeteer himself, which saves on labor costs.

How much money can be saved depends on how skilled Chen Luo is as a puppeteer.

"Oh, right, speaking of which, you have to attend a meeting, right?" After Einstein's reminder, Chen Luo suddenly remembered that his trip to Mu Continent wasn't entirely for tourism or to go crazy over the armed puppets.

"..." Einstein couldn't help but cover his forehead.

Oh well, I wasn't expecting Firemoth to offer any constructive suggestions anyway, so let's just consider this Armed Doll Image Guide that Chen Luo gave us as Firemoth's advice.

"Speaking of which, is the academic atmosphere this relaxed throughout your Firemoth organization?" Einstein asked.

"So, are you planning to join the Firemoth? Welcome, welcome."

“No, I was just curious. Speaking of which, someone invited me to join the Firemoth before, but I didn’t go because the Firemoth’s headquarters isn’t on Mu Continent,” Einstein said.

In fact, after the Eighth Herrscher, the relationship between the Fire Moth and the United Nations and local governments began to become blurred, because even the dumbest person knows to kill the Honkai first.

While wealth is tempting, the first priority is to survive.

Therefore, although people still quarrel over various interests, cooperation in the general direction is inevitable.

Conversely, although the general direction is cooperation, internal disputes are unavoidable.

This is very distressing for people of insight.

Damn it, humans really should be exterminated!

"Chen Luo... he's an accident. Yes, an accident. The only exception among the Moths of Fire. The reason he's doing so well now, besides his outstanding fusion surgery skills and the fact that he's particularly favored by the higher-ups and the old man, is also due to some insignificant reasons,"

"What trivial reason?"

“This… is the secret inside the Firemoth.” Velvi crossed her arms and let her hands hang down on her thighs.

“Alright, I’ve said too much. Well… see you in two days.” Einstein stood up.

……

Two days later...

"Wait, isn't this... the meeting is starting already? That's too fast! Have these past two days been so rushed?" Chen Luo sat in the conference room, somewhat bewildered.

"What more do you want? It's all your fault. You brought work with you when you came out to play, making me rush to five different places for a tour in just two days. Sigh, I was originally planning to tour the Mu Continent for a month, but after meeting you, it became 15 days." Velvi said boredly, resting her chin on her hand.

If it's 30 days to travel around the Mu continent, the time is more than enough, but if it's reduced to 15 days, the time becomes a bit tight.

But what could Wilvie do? After all, she was caught by May on the very first day she escaped.

Fortunately, because Chen Luo was by my side, I could go wherever I wanted without any obstacles, and the convenient transportation made up for the wear and tear on the road.

Moreover, Wilvi no longer needs to carry her heavy magic luggage around, because she can put it in Chen Luo's thermos.

The plan was to travel to 30 locations across the Mu Continent in a month. Originally, it was one location per day, but with 15 days, that would mean two locations per day.