Chapter 160

“Wow?”

Once again, prompted by consecutive notifications, I reopened the stat window to check the collection.

—

Humanity ▽

—

Fangju ▼

—

Fallen ▽

—

Iron Legion ▽

—

▲

[ ZBL 08 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (Modified) x 1 ]

[ Modern Ringdong (Modified) x 1 ]

[ Cherry Alazo 5 (Modified) x 1 ]

[ D2JCI Chevrolet Volt (Modified) x 1 ]

[ Maxus V80 (Modified) x 1 ]

[ Dongfeng EQ2102 (Modified) x 1 ]

▼

—

Invaders ▼

—

Ustansha ▼

—

Applied Effects – 1. ▼

—

‘It’s long!’

What was once simple and brief has now become a much longer collection window greeting me.

A new Fallen tab and the Iron Legion tab below it caught my eye.

Even though I had stored many vehicles, the tabs seemed longer than expected. After touching the Fallen section to collapse it, I tapped the Effects section below it to display the detailed information.

—

Applied Effects – 1.▽

Iron Legion – Reinforces the armor and off-road capability of all vehicles stored in the collection.

—

“Huh?”

“Why is that, Edu? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, the defensive capabilities and off-road performance of the vehicles I have been improved.”

“Hmm, so collecting an entire type gives you extra power, huh?”

“It seems like that. Also, it seems like the storage space has increased significantly—”

It’s not certain, but compared to before, it feels like I can store even more stuff now.

In short, it’s like sensing that you can “do it!”

“And apparently, these vehicles don’t occupy space.”

“Huh? You mean they don’t take up space? So you can transport as many as you want?”

“Maybe?”

Our gazes met in the air.

“Should we check?”

“Alright?”

Following her brisk movements, I swept the remaining vehicles of Iron Legion that I had left aside into the collection.

“So, how does it feel, Edu?”

“Definitely different.”

Even though I stored far more vehicles than before, I didn’t feel like I was filling up space. It was more like filling with something as light as a feather.

‘This is pretty amazing.’

As I was thinking this, a sudden idea came to mind on how to use this newfound power.

“Miss Banetta, using this power, could we possibly transport all remaining Invader equipment from the battlefield at once?”

“Edu was thinking the same thing, huh? It’s not certain, but it should theoretically be possible.”

“Then, let’s try, shall we?”

Not only would it save people the trouble, but I’d also gain more benefits from the collection effect—a win-win situation.

At my suggestion, Miss Banetta smiled slightly and replied.

“Let’s do it right away.”

Heading back to the dock, I boarded Jason.

“Jason, take me to the third defensive line as fast as possible.”

[ Acknowledged, Commander Edu. Initiating ship launch. Entering high-speed navigation mode to reach the target destination. ]

The white ship that had been floating slowly surged forward with a thud.

The rapidly changing scenery around me.

Before long, Jason reached the sky above the third defensive line and gently descended to the ground.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes!”

Miss Banetta, carrying me on her back, disembarked from the ship.

In the distance, a group of people were hurrying toward us in a rush.

They caught their breath and saluted us.

The man at the forefront, dressed in a commander’s attire, had a single star badge on his chest glistening under the sunlight, signifying the rank of brigadier general.

“Welcome, Director Edu.”

However, unexpectedly, the words spoken by the brigadier general included honorifics.

It was as if he wasn’t overly concerned with ranks.

“Thank you…? But since my rank is lower, you don’t need to be so formal.”

“No, Director, you are undoubtedly a hero, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to call you casually while considering ranks.”

The man’s words were met with nods of agreement from his subordinates.

While it’s true that solving a big problem is great, I couldn’t help but feel that the title of ‘hero’ might be premature.

But there was no need to reject the goodwill of others outright, so as I scratched my cheek, the man spoke up again.

“Anyway, why did you come here?”

“Ah, I just need to check something briefly.”

“If there’s anything we can help with, please don’t hesitate to ask, and we will assist.”

“Thank you. By the way, do you know where a friend named Edward is? He might be here with the people in white lab coats, recovering the Invader weapons.”

“Ah, well…”

The man’s expression momentarily became awkward.

What’s going on? Did he do something strange again?

As I thought this, the general quickly reverted his expression to normal.

“Of course, I know. Please, this way.”

“Thank you.”

Guided by him to one side of the defensive line, I saw large trailers bustling around and the dark tanks and armored vehicles loaded behind them.

Graduate students from Miss Banetta’s lab moving about with soldiers everywhere.

At their center was a friend with a bizarre face, indeed with a gag in his mouth.

“…Edward.”

“Mff? Redoo? Rygin muden rirro—”

“Talk without the gag.”

With my instruction, Edward removed the gag.

The strange face of a pervert transformed back into the normal face of a pervert.

“Hmm, Edu. What brings you here?”

“Just a quick check, how’s the recovery going?”

“Recovery itself is smooth, but unlike our tanks and vehicles, these have no cockpits or anything similar, so it’s quite puzzling. It’s taking some time.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

The Invaders’ equipment and weapons are more like mechanical organisms rather than purely mechanized.

So while there may be similarities here and there with our equipment in broad strokes, the internal structures are vastly different.

In other words, their bodies do not contain anything resembling a cockpit.

I nodded at this realization.

“Then, you couldn’t mess with something like a medium tank, right?”

“That’s right, but it’s not entirely impossible.”

“Do you have any good ideas?”

“An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, they say. If the medium tanks are too large and heavy, what about using large vehicles like mining dump trucks instead?”

“Wow.”

As expected of Edward.

His intelligence might be overshadowed by his oddities, but Edward was a top-tier intellectual in the AOE, too.

I gave an approving nod at this reasonably good alternative.

“By the way, what are you checking?”

“Just a hunch, but I believe I can use my power to transport enemy weapons much faster.”

At that moment, the graduate students moving around nearby all flinched and turned their weary eyes toward me.

Their gazes, filled with hope and wishful anticipation, made it feel like they were looking at something sacred.

Just as I felt a pang of pity, Edward nodded and spoke.

“Ah, you’re referring to the storage ability you showed us before, right? But wasn’t there a space limit? Did you find some new method?”

“Exactly. So, can you help me first gather the recovered Invader weapons by type? Could you guide me?”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult, follow me.”

Edward led the way, followed by Miss Banetta. We arrived at a warehouse combined with a sorting yard, where the Invader weapons were already grouped by type.

Clearly, unlike the Fallen vehicles, the collection of Invader weapons filled the space inside.

Even though I collected all the equipment piece by piece, I still hadn’t completed the collection, so no notifications appeared.

“What do you think, Edu?”

“It’s still not enough; I need to gather all of them.”

“You need to collect everything? Gather all enemy weapons piece by piece?”

“That’s right, so, can you transfer them from the front lines?”

“Got it.”

Edward nodded and approached the trailer where the armored vehicles had been placed, signaling us to get on.

Arriving at the battlefield littered with Invader debris and weapons, I stretched my hand toward the enemy medium tank standing prominently in the middle.

“Using Collection.”

– Activating the Collection function.

The medium tank turned pure white.

At the same moment it disappeared, a notification I had been waiting for appeared before my eyes.

– Completed Collection of Invader – Megabase Tank Type. Collection Completion Bonus: Eternal War unlocked. All owned Megabase Tank Type vehicles will permanently belong to the collection space without taking up any space.

Simultaneously, I felt the sensation of the collection space inside becoming lighter.

“Wow.”

“Edu, did it succeed?”

“Yes.”

So, Iron Legion’s collection was grouped as a whole while Invaders’ were divided into more detailed parts.

With this thought, I spoke again.

“Then, let’s find the rest?”

“Yeah.”

We searched for the remaining weapons and moved.

What I needed were the Track Medium Armor Vehicle Tahroom and Siege Mortar Bazra.

Since I knew what they looked like, I headed confidently toward them and soon spotted the weapons I had been searching for.

Among the parked armored vehicles stood a particularly large one with a twin-track impression, the Track Medium Armor Vehicle Tahroom.

In the line of self-propelled artillery, the Siege Mortar Bazra, with its particularly large cannon barrel and a long rectangular body reminiscent of a railway gun, stood out distinctly.

As I approached these two and used the Collection function, another notification greeted me.

– Completed Collection of Invader – Megabase Armored Vehicle Type. Collection Completion Bonus: Mechanized Troops unlocked. All owned Megabase Armored Vehicle Type vehicles will permanently belong and not take up space.

– Upon completing the third collection, the ‘Collection’ ability has been upgraded.

– Completed Collection of Invader – Megabase Self-Propelled Artillery Type. Collection Completion Bonus: Rain of Ruin unlocked. All owned Megabase Self-Propelled Artillery Type vehicles will permanently belong and not take up space.

“Edu, are we done?”

“Yes! Just a moment.”

I immediately opened the stat window and checked the effects tab.

—

Applied Effects – 4.▽

Iron Legion – Reinforces the armor and off-road capability of all stored vehicles.

Eternal War – Greatly increases the durability of collected vehicles and repairs damaged ones (7-day limit).

Mechanized Troops – Installs combat circuits on all stored vehicles and enhances mobility.

Rain of Ruin – Strengthens firepower of all stored vehicles and replenishes ammo for stored vehicles (24-hour limit).

—

“Wow?!”

“Edu, what’s going on?”

“Just give me a moment. I think showing you would be faster than explaining.”

“Faster to show?”

Banetta tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes, using Collection.”

I nodded in reply and extended my hand toward a nearby completely wrecked Clarent Tank to use the Collection function.

The Clarent tank shone white and then vanished.

I checked the tab and retrieved the collected remnants of the Clarent tank.

The tank reappeared with a flash of light.

However, its appearance was completely different from before.

“Huh?”

The ominous black armored body, and the long and heavy cannon sticking out.

The sensors moved around, reacting, and the deep engine noise echoed around, showing the tank’s engine was alive and kicking.

In an instant, the tank returned to its full working condition.

“Wow!”

“Edu, is this that pile of scrap from just a while ago?”

“Yes, exactly!”

The fully functional Clarent tank.

The blue sensors scanned us, and a somewhat rough mechanical sound spread.

[ ST-05 Clarent on standby. Please issue an order, Commander. ]