Is there something like obtainium with the ability to build from source?

An assassin will be assigned to the assassins to even the chances.

I partially agree. While there are a lot of useless upsells there still are supported standards and features to considder.

Is there a difference between the apt and the install script version?

What trustworthy options do you have for acquiring hardware?

Have you tried looking for used thinkpads?

A used framework 13 might be something for you