Besides those high-ranking officials who surrounded the hatch, the next people Zhang Ge saw were the Tech-Priests.
It wasn't that they weren't anxious, but once they entered their zone, the time it took for Zhang Ge to disembark and return was, to them, as if it hadn't happened at all.
At first, Zhang Ge thought the Adeptus Mechanicus had other matters to attend to until he almost collided with a Tech-Priest squatting in the corner, studying something, as he returned to the Armored Transport.
The other party only looked up when he heard the footsteps so close. They stared at each other, and just as Zhang Ge was about to say something, the Tech-Priest spoke first:
This standby lasted for more than ten minutes. Tech-Priests kept arriving from all directions, and the smells of oil, incense, and fuel mixed together. If it weren't for the air purification system that had been activated at some point, it was hard to imagine what it would have been like.
The reason the Tech-Priests wanted to see Zhang Ge wasn't for political gain but for a very practical reason:
They had discovered that without Zhang Ge, any Non-invasive Study of the Titan, let alone the Land Battleship, was completely impossible.
It wasn't just about getting inside to study it; even climbing onto the Titan's surface was a problem. The last Tech-Priest who had tried that had the lower half of his body crushed into a pancake. It took disassembling several Servitors to scrounge up emergency parts to repair him.
Even the Tech-Priests who had been involved in installing the Jump Pack on the Titan were treated no differently.
Faced with this situation, the Tech-Priests, after sharing information, continued to try new methods while also deducing a logical hypothesis based on the previous information:
The reason they could sometimes touch the Titan was likely because there was a Hierarchy of Protocols in place.
That is, the pilot and the Machine Spirit believed that ensuring Zhang Ge's safety > the Titan's own preferences.
When Zhang Ge's life was potentially threatened, the Titan didn't mind the Tech-Priests installing functional attachments or performing maintenance because these things would facilitate better support for Zhang Ge and ensure his safety.
The Titan had taken the initiative to attack twice before, both times when Zhang Ge was threatened. And before or during the attack, it had allowed the Tech-Priests to perform simple maintenance on its outer layers.
But when Zhang Ge was not threatened, the Titan would naturally prioritize its own safety and preferences, pushing the Tech-Priests far away again.
Although it might be difficult to accept and didn't seem very rigorous, the fact, from the current stage, was that this Titan didn't care much about the Adeptus Mechanicus. It was a Freeblade Titan independent of the Cult.
Of course, it also confirmed the previous guess about the "Titan Forge" to some extent. After all, if it wasn't a brand-new Titan fresh from the factory, it was hard to imagine it wouldn't have any connection to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Time ticked by, and as more and more Tech-Priests arrived, some officers also notified the nearby soldiers of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment to ensure Zhang Ge's safety, causing the number of personnel gathered in the corner to multiply, becoming more and more crowded.
Finally, just before every open space was about to be filled, a tall High Magos squeezed out from the red and green crowd.
He was over two and a half meters tall, and everything below his chest had been completely transformed into mechanical constructs. Numerous pipes and gears intertwined with each other, and from time to time, a little Sacred Unction of unknown function could be seen being transported back and forth between the pipes.
After a few seconds of staring at each other, he took the initiative to speak:
"Proposal: Draft One of the Joint Development Agreement for the Titan and the Land Battleship."
Hearing this opening, Zhang Ge rejected it before even hearing the content:
"The Titan and I are just friends, not superiors and subordinates. If she rejects you, then I can't force her."
It would be one thing if they could really figure something out, but the problem was that, judging by their looks, they obviously couldn't solve the problem with technical means, so they came to talk to him.
Silently allowing them to try their own research was already the maximum extent of Zhang Ge's test. If the Adeptus Mechanicus could find out that the Titan was related to the sword at his waist and then directly kill and seize the treasure, that would, of course, be to everyone's delight.
But the problem was that they hadn't even guessed this most basic thing. What could Zhang Ge do? Directly say that this thing was stabbed out by his sword, or allow them to flip out the Titan's parts and scan them all before putting them back together?
What difference would that make from him holding a Boltgun to his head and pulling the trigger?
Seeing that Zhang Ge rejected him without hesitation, the High Magos on the other side wasn't annoyed... of course, it was also possible that he didn't have much personal emotion left:
"Revised: Draft One of the Observation Agreement for the Titan and the Land Battleship, only requiring the recording of relevant video information of the Titan and the Land Battleship through specialized equipment."
As if he had expected Zhang Ge to reject the previous treaty, the High Magos' mechanical arms behind him flipped out a few Parchment Accords covered with densely packed small characters as he said this.
Zhang Ge glanced over them roughly.
Aside from some additional clauses such as logistics, the majority of it was the equipment and Throne Gelt given by the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the things they were asking for seemed far less sharp than before, even loose enough to be called generous.
But in reality, not to mention videos, even certain photos were enough to reveal a lot of information. The Adeptus Mechanicus must have guessed that Zhang Ge didn't have a very deep understanding of technology, which was why they were so sure that he would accept.
However, Zhang Ge was obviously no ordinary person.
"Um... I must reject again. The regiment can't occupy more military resources."
These things on paper were given a lot, but most of them were just some conventional equipment. The 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment had already overflowed with things like lasguns and Flak Armor.
These things weren't goods that could be infinitely refreshed in a store. If you used more of them, it meant that a certain unit somewhere had less of them. If there was a surplus, there was no need to continue taking them to pile them up in the warehouse and wait for them to rust.
The reason was very peculiar, but from the perspective of an Imperial officer, it made sense.
Seeing this, the High Magos rarely showed a trace of regret on his face, of which there were only a few pieces of skin left. Then, he waved his hand to signal the others to leave.
As the Tech-Priests dispersed, he also turned to leave... but as he was about to disappear into the corner, he suddenly said something casually, as if it were an insignificant little thing:
"Addition: The number of personnel in the 1st Mechanized Infantry Regiment has increased, requiring more Enginseers to be dispatched."
Hearing this, Zhang Ge, who was about to continue moving forward, thought briefly and felt that it was indeed unimportant, so he casually agreed:
"This is no problem, but please find someone to discuss the specifics with my logistics officer."
Hearing this answer, the High Magos also turned back to look at his front as Zhang Ge turned to leave.
A satisfied smile curved on his mouth.
In front of him was that group of Tech-Priests who had pretended to leave but had all squeezed behind the corner.
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