Volume 1, Chapter 36: Your Source Crystal, I'll Be Taking That

"A renegade, how handsome." Lin Qianying whispered as she watched Zhang Wei’s back recede into the distance until he finally vanished from sight.

"Big sister, we are at such a critical juncture, and you still have the heart to swoon over a man?" Zhang Tao barked at Lin Qianying, his face full of irritation.

Hearing this, Lin Qianying glared at him fiercely and retorted, "What the hell do you know!"

"Whoa, you actually cursed?" Zhang Tao was stunned; it was rare for the soldier girl to use such language.

"Enough nonsense, look after yourself! If you don't find a safe place to evolve your mech right now, you'll just be waiting to die when those things charge over here!" Lin Qianying scolded him without ceremony.

"I..." Zhang Tao wanted to argue, but the words died in his throat. He immediately began to absorb the energy from the source crystal with all his might.

At this moment, everyone else was occupied with desperate flight and would pay him no mind. Moreover, with Lin Qianying here, Zhang Tao trusted that she would not leave him to his fate.

Seeing Zhang Tao begin the absorption, Lin Qianying leapt high. With the assistance of her thrusters, she soared ten meters into the air, and after a few quick steps against the surrounding structures, she landed atop a ten-story building.

"Good heavens, is it really this spectacular?" From the rooftop, the view was even clearer.

The area shrouded in yellow dust seemed boundless. Through the haze, she could see mechanical rats rampaging across the ground, and the sight of countless red eyes made her shudder.

"Bang!" Lin Qianying fired her cryo-gun. Although the target was nearly a kilometer away, well beyond the effective range of the weapon, accuracy didn't matter in this situation. A single shot was bound to strike a few unlucky rats.

"Where did he go?" Standing on the roof, Lin Qianying could not spot Zhang Wei. Logically, he hadn't been gone long, and from this vantage point, she should have been able to see him. Yet, she could not.

As for whether Zhang Wei might have seen the situation worsening and fled, Lin Qianying never doubted him for a second. If he hadn't wanted to get involved, he could have just run away from the start. Since he chose to intervene, he would certainly not abandon the fight halfway.

At that moment, out of Lin Qianying's sight, Zhang Wei was wreaking havoc. The epic-grade thermal greatsword was truly exceptional; ordinary mechanical rats began to melt even before they could get close to it, let alone withstand the strike of its blade.

There was no enemy that could withstand a single blow. If one were to look down from the sky, they would see that Zhang Wei had carved a bloody path—a straight, clear corridor through the horde, driving directly toward the very heart of the rat colony.

"Death Laser."

The Death Laser had grown thicker and more powerful as Zhang Wei’s combat prowess increased. The purple bolt of lightning swept across like a giant dragon, slicing through everything in its path as if it were tofu. A single activation of the skill could claim the lives of a dozen or even twenty mechanical rats at once.

However, against a swarm numbering in the tens of thousands, this was but a drop in the ocean.

Yet, Zhang Wei’s appearance had caught the attention of the Rat King, who controlled the swarm. Since its formation, the horde had swept through everything with unstoppable momentum, encountering no resistance until now. This sudden opposition naturally alerted the Rat King.

Facing this, the Rat King remained unconcerned; it had far too many minions. The number of ordinary mechanical rats was so vast that even the King couldn't count them, as new ones constantly joined the swarm while it ravaged the city.

However, the Rat King was well aware of its mutant mechanical rats—there were over a hundred of them. With a hundred mutants plus itself, who in Chuan City could possibly be its match? Hadn't those once-arrogant and powerful beings fallen one by one at its feet?

The Rat King still held three high-grade source crystals in reserve, looted from the powerful mechanical creatures that had escaped from the zoo, which it hadn't yet had time to consume.

"Go and kill the resistor," the Rat King commanded, its voice booming like a thunderclap.

"Yes!" Seven or eight mutants acknowledged the order and, like arrows released from a bow, broke away from the core of the swarm and surged toward Zhang Wei. Led by these mutants, a smaller, secondary tide of rats formed behind them. This group of mechanical rats acted like a spearhead piercing through the massive swarm, closing in on Zhang Wei at high speed.

"They're coming!" With his height advantage, Zhang Wei spotted the mutant mechanical rats charging toward him.

"Hmph!" Zhang Wei let out a cold snort that sounded like a thunderclap on the flat ground, and his floating cannons opened fire.

The cryo-shells, set to rapid-fire mode, formed a queue like an ice dragon emerging from its lair. When the shells collided with the swarm, the rats were instantly sent flying. As they were tossed aside, the ground froze, causing the remaining rats to stumble and crash into one another in a chaotic heap.

At that very moment, Zhang Wei charged, wielding his greatsword like a falling star.

The ice on the ground was like thin paper before him; under his immense weight, it shattered instantly upon impact. As his thermal greatsword swept through, the shattered ice was vaporized into mist. Amidst the swirling steam, Zhang Wei rampaged, as if he had become a god of slaughter.

Neither ordinary mechanical rats nor mutants could withstand his attacks. Even a slight graze was enough to kill an ordinary rat on the spot.

After just a few minutes of carnage, a forbidden zone for the mechanical rats had formed around Zhang Wei. With no rats daring to approach, he began to collect the source crystals from the ground. While ordinary crystals could be retrieved later, those dropped by mutants were at least mid-grade and had to be recovered immediately.

As Zhang Wei gathered his spoils, the Rat King led the remaining mutants toward him. Although he was shocked that Zhang Wei had wiped out seven or eight of his subordinates in one go, the King refused to believe that Zhang Wei was his equal. If even the colossal beasts transformed from elephants were no match for him, what right did a mere human mech have to challenge him?

"Showing yourself so soon?" Zhang Wei felt quite surprised as he watched the Rat King charging toward him.

The Rat King stood three meters tall, making it stand out prominently within the swarm. What surprised Zhang Wei even more was that the King should have been a cunning creature, unlikely to reveal itself so easily. How was this possible? They had barely begun to fight, so why would the King emerge on its own?

In truth, if one were to analyze it, it was simply that the Rat King had become overconfident, having yet to suffer a proper beating. Only after being battered a few times would it revert to the cunning Rat King of Zhang Wei’s memory.

"Damned human, you dare to harm my subjects!" the Rat King roared at Zhang Wei from a distance.

"Just a larger rat, and you dare call yourself a king? I'll be taking your source crystal."

Zhang Wei raised his sword and charged at the Rat King, his speed far surpassing that of his opponent.