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Colt's the only one with any real construction experience, and he's working with very suboptimal tools for what you're doing. You and the <span class="mu-b">Man</span> are freeballing all of this. You have to tunnel through layers upon layers of reinforced steel without it collapsing or completely compromising the structural integrity of the cells.
It is backbreaking, dehumanizing work. The sweltering heat inside of HARD TIMES' containment cell makes any attempt at physical exertion five times worse than it'd normally be. The noise, though, that's the worst part. A chaotic, hectic mess of bangs and metal scraping against metal reverberates through the steel you're carving through.
You can already hear 199X screaming at you to stop making all of that racket, even with the tunnel still being half completed. You doubt SOMMELIER will be spared from the noise, but alas, alack. All three of you continue to work, work, and work to finish this project.
Your group does some final touches to make sure the hole you punched through the wall is structurally stable. After it's determined that the tunnel won't collapse, the three of you return to the safety of your lab.
You hastily check the two containment cells over your security cameras. The actual project worked out as well as you could've expected. Excessive heat pours out of HARD TIMES' containment cell and into 199X's, which causes the snow and frost inside 199X's cell to melt. The resulting water flows into the grate on the floor, which immediately turns into steam once it enters HARD TIMES' cell.
Repeat, repeat, repeat. The heat transfer is subpar, but the machine is more than eager to accept the steady source of steam pouring into its room. Aside from the racket you made, 199X hardly registers the grate on the floor or the slight increase of heat that it brings.
It works as expected when all is said and done. The device you attached to HARD TIMES is cranking at a noticeably faster rate now that it's being fed by steam. The flickering light on HARD TIMES is flickering even faster, threatening to turn off completely.
Excellent.
>HARD TIMES will now produce 1.75 FULLY CHARGED BATTERIES with no external work needed.
>HARD TIMES MOOD is 110/100! WARNING! BE CAREFUL!
You and the <span class="mu-b">Man</span> slump onto a chair, trying to not die of a heat stroke. Colt scoffs at the two of you but before he can say anything, you hold your arm out.
"Sponsorship. Cut some skin off. Take some blood. Don't hold back."
"Wha?" Colt squints at you. "Normally I'd wouldn't say no to hurtin' someone, but ya sure you wanna do that after what we-"
"Do it." You mumble out. "I need to activate CRUNCH TIME."
"I have no earthly clue what you're ramblin' about, but whatever you say, freakshit."
Colt isn't a gentle hand either, which is good and bad. Good, because he obtains more samples. Bad, because he <span class="mu-i">obtains more samples.</span> By the time he's done, a decent-sized hole is carved right out of your forearm.
