Chapter 539: Meet Again

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Chen Xiaolian struggled to get up from the pilot’s seat. His head was spinning. It was the type of spinning one would experience after suffering from shockwaves.

As for his coughing actions, that was not because the explosion had managed to make it into the interior of the mech. Rather, the intense shockwaves from the explosion earlier threw Chen Xiaolian out from the pilot’s seat. Thankfully, he had managed to fasten the belts around him and his body had not been thrown off the seat. Even so, the snapping action affected his neck and chest, forcing him to cough out. At the same time, he could feel the sensations of pain palpitating from his chest.

Chen Xiaolian did not hesitate to pull out a healing substance and shove it into his mouth – he had no desire to survive the explosion only to die from internal injuries.

He scrambled to stand up before the operations panel and looked at the monitor screen…

A thin layer of golden coloured energy shield enveloped the body of the mech.

The energy shield was extremely thin. It was likely that the explosion earlier had spent it. Chen Xiaolian was able to observe from the operations panel that the bar for the mech’s energy reserve had dwindled down to its lowest. It was now red in colour.

Through the monitor screen, he could see that the entirety of the equipment room had fallen into ruins.

That was no ordinary explosion earlier. Those were energy-tier shockwaves. Thus, unlike the aftermath usually seen in normal explosions, there were not much flames around. However, large cracks and deformations had appeared throughout the underground structures.

At the same time, the energy-tier shockwaves had also inflicted a destructive toll on…

There on the ground were the densely packed Electronic Guardians. There was no way to count how many of those destroyed mechanical octopuses there were. All of them were broken into pieces, fragments of varying sizes, their body and tentacles torn and littered across the ground. With a glance, Chen Xiaolian could see over hundreds and thousands of them there.

Clearly, the Energyquake Bomb explosion had instantaneously destroyed all the Electronic Guardians that had charged into this underground factory. At the same time though, the explosion had also blasted much of the machinery within the underground factory and they exploded. Now the fires from their components flickered sporadically within the room.

A large portion of the ceiling had collapsed. Even those forming the protective barrier were falling down. Thankfully, the damage was only partial and the underground space did not collapse upon itself.

Chen Xiaolian observed the surroundings while remaining inside the mech. A few seconds later, he released a sigh of relief.

As for the passageway at the end of this underground factory, it had utterly collapsed in the explosion earlier. As expected, the violent quakes had brought the passageway down, utterly blocking access to it.

In Chen Xiaolian’s opinion, after losing the support of the Electronic Guardians, the Players outside would not have such an easy time getting past the 500-metre protective barrier.

Not to mention, there were also misalignments and faults resulting from the explosion earlier.

“Zero City,” said Chen Xiaolian with a sigh. “Are you still there? What should I do now?”

Chen Xiaolian’s question garnered a response from Zero City.

“Your life signs are mostly normal. In other words, you have temporarily made it out of this calamity.” Zero City’s reply was still laced with that dry tone. “Now, you should step out from the mech. According to my calculations, we are still in an urgent situation.”

“Eh?”

“The explosion cleaned up the Electronic Guardians within this area. Therefore, for the time being, it is safe. However, the destructive energies released by the explosion had seriously damaged the structural integrity of this underground factory. My calculations show that this underground space will utterly collapse in 10 minutes time.”

Chen Xiaolian was shocked. Without showing any hesitation, he opened up the cockpit hatch and climbed out from it.

Naturally, the post-explosion air outside was not comfortable to breathe in. In fact, it was somewhat suffocating.

“Only 10 minutes? Then, what should I do? Since you came up with this plan, surely you have a way for me to get out of here, right?”

Chen Xiaolian was not feeling too worried.

“Yes.” As expected, Zero City did not let Chen Xiaolian down. It replied, “According to my calculations, a temporary teleportation portal will be appearing here, 15 metres above you. I have already marked the coordinate on your personal radar. This teleportation portal will appear for a total of three seconds. However, that will be enough to send you to the outside world.

“As for the locking that the system is performing on you, I will be able to stop it in five minutes time.”

“ … a portal 15 metres above me. In other words, the crisis is averted?” Chen Xiaolian released a long sigh of relief.

“According my calculations, that would appear to be the case. You now have eight minutes of free time. According to my observations, some of the Players coming after you are presently only 480 metres above your position. However, as a result of the explosion, they will not be able to reach you any time soon. As for the Electronic Guardians, those that entered Zero City have all been cleaned up. Even if the system sends in more Electronic Guardians, it will take time – in other words, you are safe now.”

Chen Xiaolian nodded his head. Then, he abruptly asked, “So… … what about Bluesea and the evacuation plan?”

“As you have lured over a great deal of the invading forces, Bluesea’s evacuation plan is not disrupted or broken. The earlier explosion may have caused some shockwaves, but everything appears to be progressing smoothly. Still, there is no way to calculate what the final result would be. According to my calculations, the rate at which they are evacuating is behind that of their schedule. Thus, it is possible that some of them would be unable to leave after the teleportation portal closes up.”

Chen Xiaolian fell silent. Next, he sighed and said, “There is nothing else we can do… … we have done our best. Being able to evacuate most of the people is perhaps the best possible result we could achieve.”

Chen Xiaolian jumped off the mech and landed on the ground.

“Eight more minutes…”

He checked his surroundings and first determined the location where the temporary teleportation portal will be appearing. There tens of metres above him was a slanting ceiling, a result of the explosion earlier. Thankfully, the structure was still holding and it did not collapse – otherwise, should the teleportation portal end up buried within the collapsed debris, he would be in serious trouble.

Chen Xiaolian then looked at the mech beside him. A thought abruptly struck him.

This is some good shit!

Eight times the cost of making Angel Wu’s mech! This mech is top of the line!

Although it was incomplete, it was as Zero City had said, its defensive shield was simply extraordinary. Not to mention, the explosion earlier had verified that fact – naturally, Chen Xiaolian would not let go of such an item.

“Can I keep it?”

“You are presently the highest authority in Zero City. Naturally, you have the authority to any and all items within Zero City.” Zero City’s answer greatly satisfied Chen Xiaolian.

Without showing any hesitation, he kept the mech into his Storage Watch.

“Although it possesses the energy shield, the earlier explosion did inflict harm upon some parts of the mech. Additionally, there are still many parts that remain incomplete. Even if you take it with you, with the standard of technology of the outside world, the possibility of you repairing it to the state it was in before the explosion is zero. As for completing the mech, that is simply out of the question.”

“I will just keep it as a souvenir, can’t I?” Chen Xiaolian gave a harrumph.

He stepped forward and suddenly felt his feet slipping on something. Lowering his gaze, he saw one of his feet stepping on the remains of one of the mechanical octopuses.

Its body had broken into three parts and its tentacles were scattered all over.

Chen Xiaolian crouched down and extended his hand toward it. Touching it, his hand felt cold. Who knew what type of material was used to create these things.

He then thought of something.

Although these things had been destroyed… that did not mean they were utterly useless.

These are Electronic Guardians!

Rare items!

If he were to bring the remains of these things back and give them to Roddy, who possessed powerful mechanical skills, for research…

Mm, even if Roddy failed to find anything, he can still throw them into the energy smelting furnace for a good amount of energy.

Having thought of that, Chen Xiaolian felt happy.

As there was still seven to eight minutes’ time left, he could do quite a bit.

He quickly got busy as he frantically picked up all the remnants of the mechanical octopuses and stuffed them into his Storage Watch.

He imposed no criteria at all. As long as he could see them, he would ignore how damaged they were and just sweep them up before tossing them into his Storage Watch.

After having picked up more than 10 of them, he suddenly exclaimed.

He had seen something on the ground before him. It was one of the mechanical octopuses and it was actually wriggling slightly.

Chen Xiaolian swiftly pulled out his Sword in the Stone and pointed it warily at the mechanical octopus.

“One of them slipped by? Didn’t you say all of them were destroyed?”

“I said they were all destroyed, not killed. What I meant by destroyed is: Damaged to the point where they could no longer function.”

Zero City’s answer left Chen Xiaolian speechless.

He then stepped forward and used the tip of his sword to lift up the mechanical octopus.

The mechanical octopus had suffered terrible damage. However, its main body remained intact. It was only missing a few of its tentacles.

Chen Xiaolian noticed the mechanical eyes on the mechanical octopus’ head. A faint light came from those eyes. Although faint… … it was still alive.

“This thing…” Chen Xiaolian suddenly thought of something and he said, “Zero City, what are these things for?”

“It is a low-level electronic life form created by the system. It is not an AI product; rather, it is a true electronic life form, albeit a low-level one. The explosion earlier had depleted its energies for defensive purposes. It is now in a dormant state. It is very lucky to be able to remain intact. Although its mechanical parts are badly damaged, it is not fatal.”

Chen Xiaolian considered it and said, “This thing, if I bring it back, would it be dangerous?”

“No, every Electronic Guardian is something of a one-time consumable. After depleting its energy reserves, it will enter a dormant state to recharge and undergo a reset. The previous commands would be reset as well. Thus, even if you repair it, it would not consider you a ‘primary objective’.

“However, I must warn you. This thing is not suitable for a pet. The inceptive setting of the Electronic Guardian will make it automatically attack any life form it sees. This is its inceptive setting. In other words, even if you fix it, it will remain without conscience and automatically attack everyone like a… … mm, I found a comparison: Rabid dog.

“Naturally, with your strength, one Electronic Guardian would pose no threat to you.”

“Are there ways to control it?” Chen Xiaolian was curious.

“I do not know.” Zero City’s answer came as a surprise to Chen Xiaolian. It then continued, “Although I was once part of the main system, I was not the one who created these Electronic Guardians. Thus, I lack a complete understanding of these things. If you are interested, you can bring them back and test it out.”

Chen Xiaolian then reached out and grabbed the mechanical octopus by its tentacles. It was quite heavy.

As he was about to toss it into his Storage Watch, the mechanical octopus suddenly underwent a change.

The mechanical octopus’ tentacles suddenly curled up. They curled back toward its main body and head.

Next, its entire body, body and head, shrank. After a few seconds, it had transformed into an oval shaped metal object.

Mm, more accurately, it looked more like a metal egg?

“This is?”

“This is the Electronic Guardian entering a dormant state. It has depleted its energy reserves,” replied Zero City. “You may take it with you and slowly conduct research on it. It is now safe. Unless it is recharged, it will not awaken.”

Hearing that, Chen Xiaolian kept the metal egg into his Storage Watch.

He then checked the time and saw that there was still over five minutes to go.

Next, he continued searching, attempting to find more ‘living’ Electronic Guardians. Unfortunately, he was no longer as lucky. The things he picked up were all remnant wreckages.

After picking up the remnants of around 50 mechanical octopuses…

He suddenly straightened himself up.

He had heard a soft sound coming from behind him.

Chen Xiaolian’s extensive combat experience allowed him to quickly identify the sound.

Those were… … the sound of footsteps.

Chen Xiaolian abruptly turned his head back and saw a familiar face.

Striking blond hair, sapphire like eyes and the exceptionally handsome facial features…

“We meet again, friend.” Shen revealed a faint smile. It was a very elegant smile and he spread open his arms. “Truth be told, I was just thinking about who this ‘primary objective’ might be. I had this feeling that it might be someone I know. Looking back, it would appear that I was right.”

Chen Xiaolian’s face quickly contorted to the extreme.

“You… … how did you get down here?” Chen Xiaolian turned to look into the distance. The passageway remained blocked by the fallen debris.

“Oh.” Shen smiled and said, “Because I have lived for a long time, I had accumulated a vast number of skills. I can’t even remember how many of them I have. Mm, as it so happens, one of them allows me to break the space barrier… … teleportation. I have not quite refined my grasp on this skill and can only cover a distance of no more than 1,000 metres. Thankfully, this place is not beyond the range of my skill.”

Chen Xiaolian took a step back and brought out the Sword in the Stone as he stared right at Shen.

“Don’t be so nervous. Even though the system is giving a spectacular reward for killing you, I am not here for it.” Shen smiled. He then took a step backward and reached his hand into his pocket. After pulling out a packet of cigarettes, he slid one out and lit it up. Taking a puff from it, he then gestured at Chen Xiaolian. “Want one?”

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian did not reply.

“I am not too interested in the system’s reward. Rather, I am more interested in you. Truth be told, I did not think you would be this special when I met you in the instance dungeon last time. Just now, you were talking to yourself… … it seems like you were talking to some unseen existence. Let me guess… … you were… talking to Zero City, right?”

Shen’s words caused Chen Xiaolian’s face to sink.

“It seems I am right.” Shen nodded his head. “Now then, Mr Chen Xiaolian. I will not kill you. I just want to invite you back with me. It is simple, you see? I believe I may be able to acquire something even more valuable compared to the rewards offered by the system.”

“You want to capture me?” Chen Xiaolian frowned.

“Mm, I prefer the word ‘obtain’. That sounds more elegant.”

…