Becoming the Wasteland Overlord With My Harem System!

Chapter 316: A Fair Price

Of course, 250 Quintillion was too large an amount to pay all at once. Thus, from their negotiations, it was split into paying 150 Quintillion Credits upfront, with the remaining 100 to be settled in the form of a custom ordered item.

The item wasn’t something too complicated, of course.

"I want a laptop computer with all the latest technologies put in. Able to read any and all data drives across time—from the latest to the most ancient. With a battery life that lasts as long as physically possible."

At first, Axel thought that no matter how expensive, it wouldn’t go beyond a Quadrillion. However, when he learned of the full range of customizations available, he didn’t hesitate and pushed the price all the way to 100 Quintillion.

The result was quite something.

A laptop computer with 1 Zettabyte of memory—enough to contain an entire galaxy’s worth of information without breaking a sweat. A CPU running at speeds of 1.78 THz.

Its battery was constructed from fusion material, capable of keeping the device powered for a minimum of 100 years on a single charge. Axel read through the spec sheet twice just to make sure he hadn’t misread anything.

And lastly, as requested, it would include a special analysis module—a quantum tunneling optical laser module—capable of reading data from any and all kinds of storage media.

From the most ancient hieroglyphs carved into stone, to deteriorating film reels, all the way to the latest esoteric drive sticks like the necklace he had just picked up. Whatever format, whatever era, it would read it.

To ensure neither side could back out, Roamer created a specific shop entry for Axel to purchase at zero cost. A formal binding through the Interdimensional Shop’s own framework—clean, airtight, and carrying consequences severe enough that neither party had any interest in testing them.

As for Axel’s side of the deal...

[This place should be big enough.]

Their entire group moved somewhere deep within the facility, descending through several layers of the structure before emerging into an underground hangar that spanned several kilometers end to end. The ceiling alone was high enough to make Axel crane his neck.

It was more than large enough to house even the biggest ships sitting in his inventory, let alone the small one he had just sold.

"Then, I’ll be taking it out now." Axel declared, stretching his hand forward.

He accessed his inventory and withdrew the ship—the one they had first tested, partially broken, and then explored from bow to stern back when all of this started. It materialized in the hangar with a low resonant thud, its hull casting a long shadow under the facility’s overhead lights.

[Woah...!]

For the first time, Axel heard something resembling genuine emotion in Roamer’s voice. A hint of awe, of anticipation, and something underneath both that sounded a great deal like gratitude.

[What a wonderful piece of technology. With this, we should be able to close the technological gap with Trismus by at least a hundred years!]

He wasn’t so arrogant as to think they could fully catch up and overtake them with just this one ship.

Research was a never-ending endeavor—by the time the technology on this vessel was fully applied, Trismus would already be prototyping the next generation, with the one after that already living in theoretical frameworks on someone’s desk.

All this would accomplish was letting Roamer’s dimension catch up to Trismus’ current public-facing technology.

But that was more than enough.

As soon as the ship was laid out, it took Roamer only seconds to scan it in its entirety—engine type, computer architecture, weapons systems, subsystems, all of it catalogued and sorted faster than Axel could blink.

Every component several generations ahead of what SunderTECH currently had.

[I originally thought 250 Quintillion was far above fair price, but looking at this now, it seems I’ve gotten a bargain!]

"Good for you then."

Even hearing that, Axel didn’t feel sour about it. He was satisfied with the price. He had gone in convinced it was fair, and that hadn’t changed. Roamer’s perspective simply came from a machine’s eye—calculating value in terms of generational advancement rather than raw market price.

"Now, I’ve upheld my end of the deal." Axel smiled, turning to the giddy Roomba hovering near the floor. "Next is my item. How long until it’s done?"

[Ah, right!] Roamer responded, with the energy of someone who had genuinely almost forgotten. [I already asked the manufacturing team to speed it up. It should be ready in three hours.]

"Three hours..."

Axel wasn’t sure whether that was fast or slow—he had no reference point for assembling a machine of that specification. Either way, it meant they had three hours to fill before they could return to Axevaria Kingdom.

Going back and forth was an option. But now that they were standing inside an entirely different dimension, run entirely by machine life, with kilometers of unknown facility stretching in every direction—the desire to simply look around was difficult to argue with.

As if speaking on behalf of everyone, Eve took a step forward.

"Excuse me, Sir Roomba. But is it possible for us to tour the place while we wait?"

[Tour?]

Roamer beeped a few times, the lights around him flickering in that particular pattern Axel was beginning to recognize as deep processing—genuinely weighing the request rather than running a quick calculation.

Roughly ten seconds later, he replied.

[It’s alright. Then I shall be your guide. Where would you like to go, specifically?]

Eve didn’t hesitate. "I’ve heard your rifles are even better than Trismus’. I want to see them—and if possible, test them out too."

[Thanks for the praise, but our weapons still fall far behind Trismus by a considerable margin.] A short pause. [That said, your request poses no problem. Anywhere else?]

Next, Ria’s hand shot up, her whole body bouncing with it.

"Me! I want to see your nursery! You have lots of little ones running around, right? I want to see them~!"

Before Axel could interject, Roamer had already answered.

[Unfortunately, we don’t reproduce the same way as carbon-based beings like yourself. We don’t have what you would call a nursery.]

"Awww... Then, a factory? There must be somewhere you make your bodies, right...?"

[If it’s that, then yes—that’s fine. Anywhere else?]

Axel pressed a hand to his chin, thinking it through. Eve’s request would probably lead them to a weapons facility. Ria’s to a manufacturing floor. As for him...

"Then, can you just show me around? I want to see how you handle defense fortifications in your dimension."

He had decided. He would compare their defenses!