Chapter 59: Hydraulic Exo Gauntlets (Part 1)

“If it’s through bribes, that would mean the Related Department might have gotten something extremely awesome then.”

Lin Yu mumbled to himself.

Based on his guess, the Related Department might actually be confident that bribing would motivate the streamers on the Hero Livestream to accept assignments on their own accord. Lin Hai had previously mentioned that assignments involving defending against monsters would be rewarded.

What kind of rewards could motivate a person to risk their own life to fight monsters? Even if there were courageous Livestream Heroes, they would at least need to provide some incentive that was attractive enough, right?

Being in this program truly provided huge perks that were even enough to effectively make Awakened Superhumans better!

When an Awakened Superhuman already had money and fame, there would be little things left that could motivate them to risk their lives. It would either be improving their reputation in a violent battle of fame or some perks no one could refuse.

Of course, there was another possibility. Since the current state of these 2D wormholes at the moment were not too serious, the Livestream Heroes served as a backup or were used as law enforcement. Hence, the Related Department was more than happy to not expose the news of monsters and 2D wormholes under a camera’s watchful eyes so soon.

However, the chances of such a possibility were not great. If the Related Department was not under pressure and genuinely appointed Awakened Superhumans for that, they would never have implored such a method in the first place. Although prevention was better than cure and shaping a hero could calm the masses, it would be better if everything could be solved and be controlled without much exposure.

“It’s pointless for me to be thinking about this right now. Even if there are incentives, I can’t even remotely get myself an entry ticket to join the Livestreams. Not to mention that with my current powers, I’m not even capable of becoming a toothpick[1] for these 2D Lifeforms.”

“However…if I can upgrade a powerful prop, then maybe I can plan something with my dad. Of course, it’s best to gain better recognition with the Related Department to persuade them to allow the participation of regular humans.”

He was not powerful enough right now so it was pointless to think about anything. Without mentioning the bare requirement to join the Livestream Heroes, even if the Related Department was kind enough to allow, he would not even pass their combat assessment.

However, he was ready to upgrade his Exo Gauntlets now. Based on the upgrade of the Charge Blade, the third level equipment upgrade would be a material mutation. Besides, after two continuous upgrades, everything was already improved by ten times more than twice. Based on simple calculations, it would be too awful.

He could always test the waters then if his upgrades were powerful enough. Although he could not be a part of the Livestream Heroes, his father had actually passed the combat assessment. Besides, the Related Department had never mentioned anything about not allowing anyone to tag along during the assignments, right?

…

Lin Yu’s routine was the same for the following two days. However, he spent his free time recording the inner mechanics and parts of his Piston Exo Gauntlets to be backed up in his archive. He even recorded its activation and saved a backup in his archive.

The Level Up ability was undeniably meticulous and there was even data left behind in the Piston Exo Gauntlets. Moreover, after connecting it, he could activate the administrator controls to make a copy of the data and this saved him plenty of trouble.

After he was done backing it up, he proceeded to upgrade his gauntlets without hesitation.

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[Hydraulics Exo Gauntlet]

Rank (LV3): 85480/100000

Description: Hydraulics Exo Gauntlet, compact structure with stable movements. Impact and shock-resistant. Strong grip and lift strength along with explosion-proof attributes. However, it lacks control. Standards are slightly higher in terms of its compact build and intricate finish. It would be expensive to build.

Evaluation: It is a wild and impulsive man. Please do not use it for embroidery.

___

A dim blue light flashed through and the front half of the gauntlets did not seem to change much. However, the original clunky metal cylinders had completely vanished as they had once again transformed into the fully covered metal gauntlets similar to its first level, extending all the way to his shoulders.

However, compared to the crudely-made gauntlets from its first level, this Hydraulic Exo Gauntlet was more intricately made. There were no exposed wires or parts, and it was also free from all the curved tubes from the Piston Exo Gauntlets. A single glance would show off its full glistening black exterior armor plates and intricate mechanical parts. This was an amazing and impactful sight to see.

After putting it on, it felt slightly heavier than the Piston Exo Gauntlets. Every movement he made with his arm emitted a soft compression sound that was not ear piercing at all. Instead, it had a captivatingly unique beauty that would cause anyone to feel they were filled with energy. It was similar to motorheads that enjoyed the explosive roaring sound of an engine starting up.

After testing it out for a bit, Lin Yu felt more surprised and ecstatic.

Although the original Piston Exo Gauntlets had some form of lethality to it, its finger movements and the gripping motions were controlled by a tiny motor and some steel cables. Hence, his finger grip strength was exceptionally poor. Since the piston’s design was fixed, it made controlling its speed very difficult and would even make controlling his finger movements difficult too if it extended to his palms.

The Hydraulic Exo Gauntlets, on the other hand, were not difficult to control. Although the finger movements mechanics were still the same steel cables design, its interior had changed to a much softer and flexible composite drawstring. Besides that, a pressure transducer, torque sensor, and some other sensory-related parts were added. It utilized hydraulics to control movements so that a single grip could withstand up to a few hundred kilograms of weight.

Of course, the more important part was the propulsion force for the general part of the mechanical arm. Its maximum support weight would be at least two hundred kilograms. He mentioned that it would be ‘at least’ 200kg because he was afraid to test heavier loads.

Movements for gripping and lifting from the Hydraulic Exo Gauntlets were completely controlled by hydraulic pressure. Basically, it would not require him to exert any strength from his own body. However, his body would be supporting all of that weight.

The Hydraulic Exo Gauntlets encompassed his arm all the way up to his shoulders. Due to the simple lever principle, the object’s weight would be transferred up to his shoulders and spread equally to all parts of his body. Moreover, the arm’s main support was also made up of mechanical parts from the gauntlets so the action of lifting weights by gripping would mean that it ‘selectively lifted and pulled’ the weights.

Anyone with basic common knowledge would understand that selectively lifting and pulling an object was much easier than carrying it. However, there would be a limit to that as well.

A gauntlet was still a gauntlet. There were no waist or leg support structures so if the body’s posture slightly leaned to the sides, it would actually cause bone fractures or a hemorrhage. He did his research and found out a normal human could withstand up to 200 to 300 kilograms of weight. When squatting, the human body was even able to withstand 500 to 600 kilograms of weight. This was why he dared to make an estimate of 200 kilograms.

Even with training, it would be impossible to train the bones of a regular human to exceed the limits by much. The stress of lifting weights could be placed onto the gauntlets itself so any amount of weight a normal human being could withstand, he would naturally have no problem doing so as well. However, he was afraid of causing a hemorrhage to himself by adding more weights. His feeble life was more important, so he preferred to be extra careful.

Besides, 200 kilograms of weight was only meant for a stationary state. If he was moving without any external influence, the weight limit would probably be around fifty kilograms, which was about 100 pounds of weight. Anything above that weight would greatly affect movement and be extremely uncomfortable.

[1] Becoming a toothpick is a metaphor made by the author of expressing how weak the main character actually is at the moment. Since nothing he could have done would make a dent against actual 2D lifeforms anyway.