Doomsday Mechanic: My Train Can Be Modified Infinitely

Chapter 45 Talent

Breaking through to the next level will also awaken a unique talent.

This is a unique ability randomly generated upon breaking through to the first tier, based on the awakened individual's personality, experiences, subconscious, genetic expression, and environmental factors at the moment of awakening. It's like a "signature" of the superpower system; no two people in the world will have exactly the same exclusive talent.

Based on memories from a past life, after the apocalypse, under the stimulation of psychic energy, about one-tenth of humanity will awaken basic superpowers—enhanced physical abilities. However, among these, only about one percent of those who awaken will further awaken unique, exclusive talents.

"Wrath of the Flame Dragon": A talent of a fire-type awakened individual. Its flames are not simply high temperature, but also have the characteristic of "burning away energy", which can quickly burn through shields, deplete batteries, and even temporarily inhibit the operation of other abilities.

"Immovable Mountain": A talent of a defensive awakener. When standing firmly on the ground, one gains defense nearly three times greater than one's physical abilities, at the cost of being unable to move.

Another awakened individual's talent is "stress vision," which allows them to directly see the stress distribution inside a mechanical structure and find the most vulnerable point of failure.

There is also the recorded "mechanical mimicry," which briefly metallizes parts of one's body to gain corresponding properties—arms are transformed into high-carbon steel to gain hardness, skin is chrome-plated to gain reflectivity, and bones are injected with shape memory alloys to gain deformation recovery capabilities.

Unique talents are usually related to the core obsession of the awakened one.

These talents are incredibly diverse and closely related to the awakened individual's own obsessions, experiences, subconsciousness, and even genetics, much like the "genetic signature" of their special ability system, with no two being alike.

In his past life, Wang Zhengyang struggled for a long time amidst the ruins before vaguely touching upon the power of mechanical affinity. He stumbled along the way until the flame of civilization was almost extinguished, at which point he finally stepped onto the first level alone. He had never encountered another awakened individual with mechanical talent. He was a solitary pioneer, an explorer with no path to follow.

"In this life, I will be the only path, the only law," he thought silently, his eyes showing no confusion, only absolute certainty.

"What kind of talent could someone like Wang Zhengyang possess?" Wang Zhengyang pondered. "There are no completely matching cases in the database. But based on the 'civilization inheritance' attribute of the Caldova engine, it is very likely related to 'knowledge preservation,' 'technology reproduction,' or 'system integration.'"

He recalled the engine's name, "Caldova"—an ancient civilization renowned in Old World legends for its mechanical ascension and preservation of knowledge. This engine itself was a remnant of their legacy.

"So, what will my talent be?" Wang Zhengyang's thinking was calm and efficient. His goal was never to become a "powerful individual," but to establish an absolute order in this crumbling world that only believed in steel and logic. Preserving the flame, upgrading technology, creating oases... behind all of this was the reconstruction of a mechanical god kingdom where he defined the rules and ensured that the rules were strictly enforced.

The Caldova Engine, a legacy of that legendary civilization, is called "Fire Seed," but in reality, it is a complete "civilization reshaping system."

"My talent must be related to 'command,' 'integration,' and 'absolute domination.'" He speculated on several possibilities, each pointing to supreme authority. "For example, 'central command': any mechanical creation I approve of can be injected with commands remotely, as easily as an extension of an arm; or 'domain assimilation': within my mechanical affinity range, the 'authority' of all mechanical structures will be open to me, and I will be the supreme administrator."

But what shook him even more was the information the engine conveyed about the true nature of the Caldova system's power—a framework of authority tailored for "civilization reshapers" like himself.

Wang Zhengyang stood up and placed his palm back on the cold body of the Longyuan. The 0.53% activation level allowed him to perceive more clearly the vaguely existing, massive interface and the framework waiting to be filled inside this steel behemoth.

The Longyuan was no longer a collection of steel parts, but a complete "mechanical life form". Wang Zhengyang activated his senses and could "hear" its "heartbeat" - the regular roar of the two V12 diesel generator sets at 1200 revolutions per minute, the combustion knocking sound of each cylinder, and the rotating hum of the turbocharger.

You can "feel" its "pulse"—the flow of current throughout the vehicle's wiring, with the 200-ampere stable current in the main cable surging like arterial blood, and the milliampere-level signal current in the control lines flickering like nerve impulses.

You can "see" its "meridians"—the pulsation of pressurized oil in the hydraulic pipeline, the pressure fluctuations in the compressed air pipeline, and the temperature gradient of the cooling water circulation system.

Most remarkably, when he placed his hand on the carriage wall and concentrated his mind, he could feel a faint "resonance." The Caldova engine and the mechanical structure of the Longyuan train formed a deep connection, as if the train had become an extension of his body and a vessel for his will.

The underlying logic of the Caldova engine reveals its essence: it was not created to build a "super individual," but to forge a "mechanical master" capable of controlling all machines and connecting collective wisdom.

In this architecture:

Wang Zhengyang himself is the sole "host" and "core of authority." He carries the original spark of civilization (engine) and supreme command authority.

Complex mechanical systems like the Longyuan, which he has deeply modified and imprinted with his power, can become powerful "fixed base stations" or "mobile nodes".

Anyone who obtains his permission and uses the equipment (such as lathes, weapons, and terminals) connected to, produced, or authorized by these "base stations" or "nodes" will have their highly focused neural activity, professional judgment, and even fighting will transformed into encrypted biosignal streams through the equipment itself in a safe and non-invasive manner, and then fed into the network controlled by Wang Zhengyang.

These individuals are not controlled; they maintain their independent will. However, their use of the equipment within the "Wang Zhengyang System" unconsciously contributes "computing power" and "stability" to the system. Their experience nourishes the database, their focus becomes the anchor of network stability, and their fighting spirit can even temporarily amplify the effectiveness of specific weapons.

The more powerful and functional the "base station" (Longyuan) is, the more stable and efficient the number of "authorized users" (terminals) will be, and the more professional their quality will be. This will lead to almost unlimited growth potential for the entire "host-base station-terminal" network's total processing power, the coverage and strength of the quantum stable field, and the precise control and multi-threading limit of Wang Zhengyang's body.