Volume One, Chapter 11: You Damn Fool, Have You Lost Your Mind?

“Don’t worry, boss. When we handle this, I guarantee we won’t damage the mech. Besides, our mech is so powerful—who could possibly break it?” The pilot of the towering fifteen-meter heavy mech flattered confidently.

Zhang Tao felt a surge of pride at those words.

Before the apocalypse, Zhang Tao had ruled over Chuan City with an iron fist. Now, with the world fallen into chaos, he intended to expand his reach even further—to cover an even greater sky.

“Let’s go!” Zhang Tao declared with vigor, waving his hand as he led his men into the zoo.

Yet, as they stepped inside, they froze, stunned by the unexpected scene before them.

“What’s going on here?” Zhang Tao glanced back at his men, baffled.

If the metal debris scattered across the ground belonged to mechs, he wouldn’t be surprised. They had already witnessed the might of mechanical creatures firsthand. The mining area was littered with such beasts, and they had toiled hard just to clear them out.

But this sight was different. The metal wreckage clearly came from mechanical creatures, yet if others had destroyed these machines, they would have consumed the remnants to salvage energy crystals.

Obviously, someone had dismantled these mechanical creatures.

“Boss, someone’s scavenging monster parts!” a sharp-eyed subordinate shouted excitedly.

“Let’s hurry and see who it is,” Zhang Tao urged, growing anxious.

He had already acquired a sizable amount of source crystals and knew how precious they were.

His mech was currently at level six, and he planned to push it to level ten this time around.

If someone beat him to harvesting the source crystals from the mechanical creatures in the zoo, how could he continue his plan?

Was he supposed to scour the city corner by corner to clear out mechanical creatures? That would be far too inefficient.

With that, Zhang Tao led a large group of comrades deeper into the zoo.

The thunderous footsteps of the various-sized mechs reverberated powerfully, causing the ground to tremble beneath their weight.

Zhang Wei, in pursuit of the Monkey King, sensed the vibrations and looked back with some surprise.

“What massive creature is coming this way?” Zhang Wei glanced over his shoulder.

“Who cares?” he muttered, and focused back on chasing the fleeing Monkey King, paying no heed to the tremors behind him.

The Monkey King fled much faster than an ordinary mechanical monkey, yet it faced Zhang Wei, whose combat power was nearly ten times greater.

There was no chance of escape.

As Zhang Wei closed in behind the Monkey King, the creature had no choice but to turn and face him. Its eyes flickered with a vivid azure light, betraying its fear.

Still, it refused to give up. It bared its teeth and snarled, trying to intimidate Zhang Wei.

“You weren’t laughing like that earlier,” Zhang Wei sneered coldly, unfazed by the Monkey King’s threats.

“Human, spare me,” the Monkey King pleaded, its voice a synthetic electronic tone tinged with desperation.

“Don’t make me laugh,” Zhang Wei replied, unwilling to waste another word. Many mechanical creatures awaited him inside the zoo.

Moreover, the tremors behind were drawing nearer. He didn’t want the Monkey King to flee again when he faced the others.

The Monkey King tried to utter more, but Zhang Wei’s gleaming battle scythe, crackling with electricity, descended upon it.

Struck by the thunderous scythe, the Monkey King was powerless to resist.

At their initial stage, mechs lacked advanced offensive capabilities; similarly, mechanical creatures operated mostly on instinct, resembling their original forms.

The thunderous scythe struck the Monkey King fiercely, and the azure light in its eyes vanished instantly.

In its place appeared a high-grade source crystal, glowing a brilliant, dazzling red.

“Drop that source crystal!” a roar came from behind Zhang Wei before he could even collect it.

“Collect!” Zhang Wei ignored the voice, tucking the high-grade source crystal away into his mech’s storage.

Only after securing it did he slowly turn around.

“A mech? It’s you.”

With just a glance, Zhang Wei recognized the newcomer.

Zhang Tao saw Zhang Wei at the same moment.

Originally, Zhang Tao had coveted the high-grade source crystal produced by the Monkey King.

But now, his desire shifted—he coveted the battle scythe in Zhang Wei’s hand even more.

The weapon alone radiated an overwhelming power.

“A twelve-meter mech? Your luck’s pretty good. I’m Zhang Tao of Chuan City Mining—heard of me?” Zhang Tao introduced himself with an air of arrogance.

He hadn’t taken Zhang Wei seriously before.

After all, mech strength was often gauged by size.

Zhang Tao’s seventeen-meter mech was twenty points stronger than a fifteen-meter one.

Zhang Wei’s twelve-meter mech, even with a weapon, couldn’t possibly match that level of power.

Besides, Zhang Tao commanded nearly thirty mechs of varying sizes. Couldn’t they handle a single twelve-meter mech?

Still, Zhang Tao preferred to win people over with charm rather than outright theft. He wanted Zhang Wei as an ally.

In his eyes, Zhang Wei was a formidable fighter.

“Zhang Tao, I know who you are,” Zhang Wei replied coolly. How could he not? His mech’s engine had been salvaged from one of Zhang Tao’s own machines.

“That’s good. Join me, and you won’t regret it,” Zhang Tao offered casually, not even mentioning any benefits.

To him, just knowing his name was an invitation in itself.

“Have you lost your mind?” Zhang Wei’s tone turned icy. He had once considered joining Zhang Tao, but now this man was the one trying to recruit him.

“What did you say?” Zhang Tao blinked in disbelief, doubting his ears. He couldn’t believe Zhang Wei dared speak to him like that.

“The Chuan City Zoo is my territory now. You came in the way you’ll leave—if you don’t leave, the consequences are on you.”

“You mutt, are you crazy? Boss, don’t waste words—just kill him!” one of Zhang Tao’s men snarled.

Zhang Tao didn’t respond immediately, but a faint tremble betrayed his anger.

After a few seconds, he laughed heartily.

“Ha! Wonderful. It’s been so long since someone spoke to me like that. Kill him—but don’t break the weapon in his hand.”