Volume 1, Chapter 42: Han Xiao's Body is Gone

"What is this? A three-slot core module?" Zhang Wei felt as though he were losing his mind.

Zhang Wei had guessed that the Rat King would drop something good, but he had never imagined that the drop would be this extraordinary.

The Hundred-Battles Core was a type of mecha module.

There were many kinds of core modules, varying greatly in size. Some garbage modules could take up as many as ten grid spaces. The smallest modules occupied only a single grid. A three-slot Hundred-Battles Core was an extremely, exceptionally rare top-tier module—one that Zhang Wei had never managed to acquire in his past life, nor had he even heard of one.

The highest-tier module he had obtained in his previous life was the Iron-Wall Core, which occupied five grids and primarily enhanced mecha defense capabilities.

The Hundred-Battles Core was also known as the Number One Core, and its function was very straightforward: it directly increased combat power.

Aside from the Hundred-Battles Core and the Iron-Wall Core, there were also Detection Cores, Assault Cores, Super-Energy Cores, Gale Cores, and so on.

"Examine."

Hundred-Battles Core (Epic Grade)
3 slots
Combat Power +300

"Holy crap!" Zhang Wei exclaimed once again after checking the attributes of the Hundred-Battles Core.

The attributes were straightforward, simple, and explosive.

A tiny core module could casually increase combat power by 300 points. This was...

Well, he couldn't equip it yet.

A mecha's module space would only unlock after its second evolution. For now, Zhang Wei could only stare at the Hundred-Battles Core with helpless frustration.

Just as Zhang Wei was glaring at the core in frustration, Lin Qianying appeared at a breakneck speed.

She stared at Zhang Wei in astonishment, finding it somewhat hard to believe.

Especially when she saw the massive mechanical elephant corpse lying on the ground, she immediately cried out, "Gosh, you killed all of these? Did you do it all by yourself?"

"You've come at the right time. My mecha is ready for its second evolution; keep watch for me." Zhang Wei had no time to explain anything to Lin Qianying; he just wanted to equip the Hundred-Battles Core as quickly as possible.

"Got it!"

Without a single word of nonsense, Lin Qianying brushed aside her shock, picked a relatively intact tall building, and used her thrusters to leap up to the rooftop.

Her expression was grave and earnest.

"Absorb source crystals."

Zhang Wei began to absorb the energy within the source crystals.

The ordinary source crystals rapidly transformed into experience points for his mecha.

Soon, Zhang Wei's mecha level rose to Level 30.

There was no helping it; he had plenty of source crystals. Even after raising his mecha to Level 30, there were still thousands of ordinary source crystals left in his mecha space.

"Evolve mecha."

Familiar yet unfamiliar energy descended from the sky. Zhang Wei's mecha slowly levitated, and mysterious energy continuously poured into his machine.

Zhang Wei's mecha began to grow taller at a visible rate, its torso and limbs becoming much more robust.

This evolution still took about ten minutes.

When the mysterious energy vanished, Zhang Wei's mecha slammed heavily onto the ground.

By this point, the twice-evolved mecha had reached a height of fifteen meters.

"Ding. Second mecha evolution complete. Combat power +50. Mecha module space unlocked. Current space: 10."

All mechas would gain ten grids of module space upon their second evolution, regardless of the mecha type.

"Three slots are enough. Equip the Hundred-Battles Core." Zhang Wei gave the command impatiently.

The Hundred-Battles Core floated toward the chest of Zhang Wei's mecha.

Then, a black-box-like apparatus popped out from the mecha's chest, and the Hundred-Battles Core was sucked into it.

"Ding. Equipped Hundred-Battles Core. Combat power +300."

The moment Zhang Wei equipped the Hundred-Battles Core, his newly evolved mecha underwent another transformation.

The mecha's external armor continuously increased in density. Its strength, speed, and all-around capabilities were enhanced, and even its weight increased.

"Open panel."

Mecha Form: Secondary Evolution (15 meters)
Mecha Level: 30
Weight: 41 tons
Combat Power: 1066
Type: Medium Melee
Power Source: Dual-Cycle Nuclear Engine
Equipment: Thermal Greatsword (Epic), Alloy Defense Armor (Superior), Afterburner Thrusters (Superior), Hundred-Battles Core (Epic).
Skills: Super-Energy Combat Enhancement (Legendary), Death Ray

"These attributes are somewhat luxurious."

Zhang Wei couldn't help but praise himself.

And this was only the second day of the apocalypse.

"What was that thing you just integrated into your mecha?" Lin Qianying walked over curiously at that moment.

She had rushed over the instant she saw Zhang Wei's mecha finish evolving.

"A core module."

"What is that?"

Without holding back, Zhang Wei explained, "It's a type of equipment. After a mecha undergoes its second evolution, module space is unlocked, and you can equip core modules then."

"Is it very powerful?" Feeling as though she had acquired some new intel, Lin Qianying couldn't resist digging for details.

"The module I just equipped increases combat power by 300 points. Would you say that's powerful or not?" In a wonderful mood, Zhang Wei teasingly bantered with Lin Qianying.

Lin Qianying gasped, "How much?"

"300 combat power." Cooperative to the end, Zhang Wei raised his hand and extended three fingers.

Lin Qianying walked right up to Zhang Wei, stood on tiptoe, and poked his chest repeatedly with her finger.

She had seen what the Hundred-Battles Core looked like just moments ago.

What she couldn't wrap her head around, however, was how something so small could increase combat power by so much.

It made no sense whatsoever.

Yet Zhang Wei knew it was entirely logical.

A core was a high-level crystallization of technology. Much like expanding a smartphone's RAM, adding another sixteen gigabytes of running memory on top of the original hardware would naturally boost the phone's performance immensely.

A core was precisely that kind of existence for a mecha.

It was just that top-tier cores were exceptionally rare, while ordinary cores only increased combat power by ten points or so.

"What's your combat power at now?" Lin Qianying suddenly withdrew her hand and stared intently at Zhang Wei.

"Well..." Zhang Wei debated whether he should tell the truth.

It wasn't that he wanted to hide anything—there was no need for secrecy anyway.

He was mostly afraid of crushing Lin Qianying's spirit.

"Tell the truth." Lin Qianying put her hands on her hips, as though she had seen right through Zhang Wei's thoughts.

Zhang Wei helplessly spread his hands. "1066 combat power."

"How much?!" Lin Qianying's voice pitched up in agitation.

"You heard right, 1066 points."

Lin Qianying instantly autistic-shut down.

She knew the gap between herself and Zhang Wei was not small, but she had never imagined it would be this wide.

Her own combat power was barely 200 points.

"You'll catch up eventually. Don't be discouraged," Zhang Wei comforted her.

"Don't speak. My head hurts. Just let me be quiet for a minute."

Lin Qianying squatted down on the ground, pondering why the gap between human beings could possibly be this vast.

Just as Lin Qianying was brooding in silence, Zhang Tao appeared with a group of people.

Zhang Wei looked at Zhang Tao and the others, a flicker of doubt arising in his heart.

Based on his understanding of Zhang Tao, this fellow would usually be shouting at the top of his lungs upon seeing such a massive scene.

At the very least, he would swagger around and order his subordinates to get to work.

Yet Zhang Tao appeared exceptionally calm right now, or rather, somewhat gloomy.

Before Zhang Tao even drew close, Zhang Wei took the initiative and asked, "What happened?"

Zhang Tao raised his head, only to quickly lower it again. He and his men had dragged their feet and arrived so slowly precisely because he was trying to figure out how to break the news to Zhang Wei.

"Out with it." Forcing down the urge to kick Zhang Tao, Zhang Wei spoke in a stern voice.

"Boss, I really can't be blamed for this. I don't know what happened either... It's just that Han Xiao's corpse... is gone." Zhang Tao took a step backward while waving his hands frantically at Zhang Wei.

Hearing this, Zhang Wei said coldly, "What do you mean, it's gone?"