I Can Program My Body?-Chapter 568: The Last Piece

In front of Nash, Atom absorbed the entire battleship, transforming into an armor that wrapped around his body.

Looking at the matte black armor, Nash could feel its solidity.

"Did it just transform into armor? How could the ship compress into something so small?"

The battleship contained many materials and equipment that couldn’t simply be stored inside a spatial ring.

To shrink to this size, it had to be embedded with the ability to fold space.

"Master, I’m here. Although I can’t use most of the functions of the fully deployed Void Pulse, I still retain the defensive ability of a tier 8 treasure." Atom spoke through the apparatus in his hands.

"What do you think? Are you satisfied?" Philo asked with a smile.

"You really put your effort into this, Lord Philo."

Although he didn’t know how it had been done, he estimated that even for a tier 9 mechanic, it wouldn’t have been easy.

This was no longer material manipulation, but a deep application of laws.

"No matter. Your safety is my priority. Furthermore, I’m being paid to be here, so don’t worry about it."

"Even so, I still have to thank you. The optimization you did was already well beyond what was required." Nash said sincerely.

The improvements to the Void Pulse were thorough.

From defense, speed, attack, and various amenities, it could even morph to protect him directly.

Although he had a complete set of tier 8 equipment, those required the active use of his power.

This armor manifested by the Void Pulse was completely different.

Not only was it controlled by Atom, a tier 7 mechanical being, it also carried the protective ability of a tier 8 battleship.

That meant even if Nash came face-to-face with a tier 8 War God, he could escape without a scratch.

"If you really want to thank me, then come to the main headquarters of the Covenant of Truth."

"I will."

Nash was genuinely curious about the place that cultivated the top scientists of the Chronos Empire.

"Hmm. My task here is done. I’ll be heading back. See you after the Cosmic Competition." Philo bid his farewell.

Although the Cosmic Competition was long, sometimes stretching thousands or even millions of years, for scientists like them, it was barely a blink.

"Also... if you ever meet the Chronos Saint, run as fast and as far as you can."

He had already given Nash every preventive measure he could think of, but the same was true of the Chronos Saint.

And while Nash only had their backing, the Chronos Saint had the Chronos Emperor standing behind him.

"I’ll be careful." Nash sighed.

From Lilliana to Philo, it seemed the Chronos Saint was not someone to be trifled with.

Even so, instead of fear, his curiosity only grew.

His current strength wasn’t enough. But with enough time, he will eventually catch up.

Soon, Nash watched the fleet carrying Philo and the others pass beyond the Solaris Capital, disappearing into the distance.

"Just a month left..."

After all this time, the final stage of the Cosmic Competition was almost here.

"Good luck and stay safe. If you need anything, just say the word." Aldric patted his shoulder.

"Hmm. Thanks."

Calling out Atom, the armor quickly transformed back into its ship form.

Appearing directly inside the command center, Nash had Atom set course for Neon Planet.

---

Returning home, Nash suddenly remembered a problem.

"We’re still short on quota for another tier 8 battleship."

So far, the Star Alliance has only had four shelters that have reached level 6, meaning they could only employ four tier 8 powerhouses and their equivalents.

All four quotas were already filled.

From Alexus, his Guardian, Hans, the uncle of Elizabeth, and two Tier 8 battleships.

If he wanted to add the Void Pulse to the roster, he either had to remove one from the quota or bring in another level 6 shelter.

In the Solaris Domain, only three cosmic teams met the requirement: the Solaris Team, the Liberty Coalition Alliance, and the Vortan Team.

Among them, the Liberty Coalition Alliance was out of the question.

What they sought wasn’t wealth or glory, but control over people.

Joining another team’s alliance ran completely against their nature.

The Solaris Team was equally difficult.

Nash had tried to invite Eldora to the Star Alliance multiple times.

He had even asked Azalea to act as a bridge between them, but Eldora was a tough nut to crack.

Having brought their shelter to level 7, his ambitions had grown limitless.

Unless Nash offered him leadership of the entire alliance, there was no chance he’d agree.

That left only the Vortan Team.

Although Varra was prideful, he also understood profit and opportunity.

As long as the offer was generous enough, Nash could reel him in.

"I’ll leave this to Julius."

This month was his final sprint before the Cosmic Competition.

The additional quota mattered, but it wasn’t an urgent, life-or-death situation.

Calling Julius out from his training, Nash felt a little guilty.

However, before he could retract his instructions, Julius had already replied and was on his way.

---

Soon after, Julius arrived.

"Hmm? Your strength feels different."

Sensing the overflowing power coming from Julius, Nash quickly scanned him.

[Julius Fey:

Rank: Void Venerate

Elemental Core: 320]

Not only had Julius advanced to tier 4 Void Venerate, but in just over a hundred days, he had also condensed over three hundred elemental cores.

That meant Julius was condensing at least three elemental cores per day.

As expected of a prodigy he had created himself.

If not for the improvements to his module systems, Julius might already have surpassed him in growth rate.

"What is it, Commander Nash? Do you have orders for me?" Julius asked.

Although his power had grown, his respect for Nash hadn’t wavered. If anything, it had only deepened.

His life, his talent, his strength, all of it had been built on Nash’s foundation.

"I want you to do everything you can to invite Varra and the Vortan Team into the Star Alliance. Money, resources, position. Offer whatever it takes."

"Leave it to me, Commander!" Julius nodded without hesitation.

"Good. I’ll be waiting for good news."