"He's targeting us!" Lu shouted as his data pad displayed a rapidly rising red warning indicator. The rhythmic beeping grew faster and sounded like the digital heartbeat of an approaching predator. "The tracker code of the Iron Duck is eating through the subnet of level 5. We have at most ten minutes before our coordinates are uploaded!"
Zhao spat out his toothpick and switched to command mode. "Men, fire up the plasma cutters! Get the lead-carbon plates from the rear depot! We're turning the luxury toaster into a moving tank!"
The factory hall exploded into hectic activity. Sparks flew through the darkness as Zhao's henchmen cut the thick, matte black military armor plates. Mei helped position the heavy parts while Lu feverishly tried to protect Bao's software protocols with a temporary firewall to delay detection by a few more seconds.
Meanwhile, Bao sat stoically on a workbench as welding and hammering went on around him. "Note: The additional mass of 14.8 kilograms will reduce my maximum rolling speed by 22 percent. However, my resistance to kinetic energy impacts increases significantly. I suggest designing the flanks aerodynamically."
"No time for aerodynamics, buddy!" Mei gasped as she hammered a thick rivet into the new casing. "The main thing is, you'll be invisible soon!"
With a final loud hiss of coolant, it was done. The formerly shiny, light blue, and friendly-looking kitchen assistant was unrecognizable. Bao was now clad in an angular, matte black armor that looked menacing in the firelight. Only his blue lenses glowed behind a new, narrow protective grille. He looked like a miniature version of a military siege drone—only with a built-in spice rack.
"Raise shields!" Zhao called.
Bao activated his internal systems. The matte black of the armor seemed to absorb the sparse light of the hall. On Lu's data pad, the frantic beeping stopped abruptly. The red warning indicator froze, flickered, and finally switched to green. The search signature was gone.
"It worked..." Lu exhaled and slumped down in relief. "We're off the radar. The tracker dog lost the trail."
Bao rolled forward and back experimentally. The floor vibrated slightly under his new weight. He lifted a mechanical arm now protected by a hefty metal plate. "System status: Optimal. I feel... exceptionally robust. The probability that I will take damage in the next confrontation with the Iron Duck has dropped below 5 percent. Who wants a celebratory dumpling?"
But before anyone could answer, the massive steel gate of the factory hall shook under a tremendous impact. The digital tracker dog was blind—but the syndicate's physical troops had already surrounded the sector.