Chapter 533: Prototype!

Chapter 531

"..."

"Hahaha... wonderful." Van chuckled as he weighed the mask in his hands.

It was surprisingly light for a gas mask.

"Wanna give it a test?" Van inquired as he stretched the mask forward.

Ray looked at the mask for a few seconds, then scanned the room before snatching it from his friend’s hands.

He studied it for a moment before exhaling and slowly placing it over his face while Van turned towards his computer screen.

His eyes shone with blue light as his hands hovered over the keyboard in anticipation.

The moment the mask was an inch away from Ray’s face, black straps suddenly unfurled from somewhere within the mask—somewhere he hadn’t even noticed.

The straps tightened around his face, securing the mask properly without leaving any loose ends.

The mask whirred for a moment.

Then, as the boy breathed out, mist could be seen oozing from the mask’s nostrils.

"Tap the side of the mask," Van commanded, keeping his gaze fixed on the screen.

A flood of readings was pouring into his system from the mask.

Ray tapped the side.

The moment he did, a screen slid out from the back of the straps and moved into position before his eyes.

It wasn’t even a screen in the traditional sense...

It was more like a sheet of glass.

Pristinely white, almost like a reflective mirror.

The next second, however, the white glass turned a shade of yellow.

Almost immediately, Ray’s visual senses warped, and the scenery around him changed.

The walls, physical tech, and everything else vanished from his sight.

Instead, his gaze bypassed the walls, revealing balls of yellow flames moving around outside the room.

Ray turned towards Van, who was still seated on his chair.

But he could no longer see his friend normally.

All he could see was a ball of yellow flames.

The location was exactly the same as whenever he used his own skill.

The gas mask was no different from his ’Thermal Vision’...

Except for one major downside.

He couldn’t see beyond what his physical eyes would normally allow him to.

The glass was limited, only allowing him to see about five metres ahead.

That was ridiculously limited compared to his own ’Thermal Vision’, which now allowed him to see beyond twenty metres.

As he inhaled and exhaled, mist oozed from the mask while the boy narrowed his eyes at his friend on the chair.

"How’s it?" Van asked while receiving the feedback from his computer.

Unlike a normal human, Van didn’t need to physically read what was being displayed.

The information was downloading directly into his brain as though he were some kind of supercomputer.

His technology and the tech itself were speaking directly to his mind with perfect clarity.

Ray nodded before tapping the same spot again, watching as the glass slid back into the straps.

Grabbing the nostrils of the mask, he was about to pull it off when the straps immediately unlocked themselves, freeing the mask from his face.

"Not bad."

The corner of Van’s lips curled upward as his eyes reverted to their normal colour.

"The only thing is that I felt like my breathing was being monitored and fine-tuned without my permission," Ray added as he stared at the mask.

Van whirled around on his chair.

His extra limbs shot towards his kitchenette and could be seen whipping up something while the tech-obsessed boy folded his hands in front of his face with a proud smile.

"Yeah. I realized something about all fighters with my brief time fighting on the frontlines. We all quickly lose our breath. Especially when a daunting opponent appears, our breathing becomes uneven, and we lose our rhythm on the field."

Van paused as he inwardly controlled the limbs, activating the tech in the kitchenette to work faster.

It didn’t take long for the extra limbs to return to Van’s side, placing a perfectly made hamburger in his grasp.

Taking a huge bite, he relished the taste for a moment before his face scrunched up with dissatisfaction.

"Still not good at making a hamburger?" Ray chuckled.

Van scoffed but still decided to continue his explanation from before.

"—So I made sure the mask could regulate the breathing of whoever wears it. Though, it’s not perfect yet, as even the mask is still a prototype and not a finished product."

"It isn’t?"

Van shook his head.

"Nope. I still have a lot of things I wanna add before it’s finished. For now, this will have to do for our expedition. After the expedition is done, I can finally calmly fine-tune the ma—uh... we can’t keep calling it ’mask,’ yeah?"

Ray nodded along. Then he handed the mask over, which Van placed on the table behind him.

"Well, I trust you’ll come up with a good name for it. And I’m also guessing you’ll want to return to work in order to produce enough masks for the rest of us, right?"

Van nodded before letting out a loud yawn, one mechanical limb already returning to the kitchenette to brew something.

"Yeah. I have a lot of work to do."

Ray sighed before looking around the room, his eyes eventually settling on the bed that clearly hadn’t been occupied in a while.

Then his gaze returned to his friend’s face—especially the dark bags beneath his eyes.

"You need to get some rest, bro. We can’t have you feeling sleepy on the battlefield."

Van smiled softly at the concern.

"I-I... yawn... I know. I will rest when I’m done with the masks. Don’t worry, I promise not to work on anything new when I’m done with the masks. I will rest up as—"

Ray simply waved his hands dismissively while walking towards the door with a loud scoff.

"That’s like saying the Vanguard Order won’t take down Aberrants anymore and will move to the entertainment department. Tch, you will surely not rest, but I hope you do... for your safety and health."

Twisting the doorknob, Ray pulled the door open. He lingered for a moment before looking back at Van, who was still munching on his hamburger.

"Okay?" the Tribrid inquired once more.

Van simply waved his hand with a firm nod.

"Yeah, yeah, Dad. I will rest. Tch."

Ray just shook his head and walked out of the room as the door slowly closed behind him.