Volume 1, Chapter 44: Han Xiao Resurrects, Transforming into a Serpent

Han Xu had no idea what was going on with Han Xiao.

The moment he snatched the mecha, Han Xu had fled at top speed, not daring to linger for even a second.

By now, he had run all the way to the far western side of Chuan City.

If not for his insufficient strength, he would have been ready to flee Chuan City entirely and put as much distance between himself and Zhang Wei as possible.

At this moment, inside a sewer two to three kilometers away from the villa area, a battle-scarred steel snake was enveloped in a hazy layer of light.

The steel snake was devouring food frantically, surrounded by a pile of mechanical rat carcasses and debris.

The glow on its body was a sign of physical recovery.

"Zhang Wei, you will die a horrible death. Just wait for my revenge, you just wait."

If Zhang Wei were to hear this venomous voice, he would surely recognize it as none other than Han Xiao's.

Originally, Han Xiao had thought she was dead for sure.

The terrifying feeling of her lifeblood draining away rapidly was unforgettable.

Just as Han Xiao lost consciousness and her breathing stopped entirely, she sensed something calling out to her.

Following her instinct, she drew closer to the entity that beckoned her, and when she regained consciousness, she found herself transformed into a snake less than half a meter long, no thicker than a human forearm.

A steel snake.

Moreover, she had concealed herself inside her former human body.

When she discovered a mecha attempting to bury her remains, a raging fury had ignited within her.

Unable to restrain herself, Han Xiao attacked the mecha. Following the physical instincts of the steel snake, she burst out from the bloody wound in her former body's abdomen and instantly pierced straight through the mecha's midsection.

Such an injury would not have been fatal if inflicted on other parts of the mecha.

However, the mecha's abdomen housed the human pilot's cockpit. Han Xiao's strike not only pierced the machine but also ran through the person operating it.

Thus, it was a fatal blow.

After killing the mecha and regaining a shred of reason, Han Xiao felt a wave of panic.

Was she panicking because it was her first time taking a life, or because she had turned into a snake?

Han Xiao had no idea.

Fortunately, she sensed that something else was still calling and drawing her toward it.

This attraction dispelled the panic in her heart. Not knowing what would happen next, she followed the pulling force to investigate.

To Han Xiao's surprise, the source of the attraction was none other than Dafahua's corpse and wreckage.

Without overthinking it and taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Han Xiao approached Dafahua's remains and burrowed directly into them.

Miraculously, upon entering Dafahua's body, she merged completely with the wreckage.

Following the fusion, she transformed into Dafahua, even reattaching her severed head seamlessly.

Han Xiao had no idea what her emotional state was at the time; she only knew that she could not stay here long. Since Zhang Wei could kill Dafahua, he could easily kill her too, and she possessed zero combat experience.

Therefore, Han Xiao fled. Before running off, she even made sure to take her human corpse along with her.

She no longer cared how such a bizarre event had come to pass. All she knew was that she was still alive, and she had acquired an immensely powerful physique.

She wanted revenge.

Had Zhang Wei been able to witness Han Xiao's transformation with his own eyes, he would certainly have understood the situation much clearer than she did.

The metal fragment that had pierced Han Xiao's abdomen and caused her fatal wound had undoubtedly originated from Dafahua.

Perhaps it was due to Han Xiao's lingering obsession, or perhaps because of Dafahua's unwillingness to perish.

Or perhaps a combination of both.

Ultimately, it had resulted in this bizarre state of affairs.

Why things had turned out this way was something Zhang Wei could not explain.

Nor could anyone else.

Just as no one could clearly explain how the mecha had descended upon the world in the first place, who could truly make sense of this?

...

Villa area.

In the woodland not far behind the villas.

A mecha lay motionless on the ground.

"Boss, it's this brother right here. Look, there's a hole in his abdomen," Zhang Tao said to Zhang Wei, pointing at the puncture wound on the mecha's midsection.

Zhang Wei had already noticed the hole—about the thickness of an arm. If it hadn't been a vital spot, it wouldn't have been fatal.

"I can't tell what kind of weapon caused this," Zhang Wei muttered.

Indeed, it was impossible to tell.

There were no other wounds on the mecha, save for this single puncture.

What kind of mechanical creature could inflict such an injury?

Or perhaps a ranged mecha had launched a sneak attack from the shadows?

Yet, did any ranged mecha currently possess this level of firepower?

Ranged rifles and machine guns could both inflict this kind of physical damage, but a bullet with such penetrating power required a mecha combat rating of at least three hundred points.

Even with his assistance, Lin Qianying's combat rating was barely over two hundred.

"What about the body..." Zhang Tao gently reminded Zhang Wei.

"Leave it be, forget about it. Tell our people to be careful and stay in groups of at least three when on patrol."

Zhang Wei issued his orders.

With an enemy possessing such firepower, even pairs of two were not entirely safe.

"Understood!" Zhang Tao felt a surge of excitement upon hearing this.

Because he had caught the word "our" in Zhang Wei's instructions.

What did that signify?

It meant the boss now considered him one of their own.

Naturally, Zhang Tao was thrilled to be accepted by Zhang Wei. Primarily, this boss was simply too strong, and following such a leader provided an immense sense of security.

Furthermore, Zhang Wei possessed a cold exterior but a kind heart; when facing a crisis, Zhang Wei hadn't used him as cannon fodder, instead telling Zhang Tao to retreat first.

That gesture had deeply moved Zhang Tao.

Before Zhang Tao could finish wallowing in his emotional gratitude, Lin Qianying spoke up.

"Zhang Wei, I want to discuss something with you."

"What is it?" Zhang Wei asked, looking at Lin Qianying with a hint of surprise.

Lin Qianying appeared somewhat hesitant: "Well... my superiors want you to visit our base. Rest assured, there's no hidden agenda; they just want you to offer some guidance to our people."

Fearing that Zhang Wei might misunderstand her intentions, she explained herself very earnestly and carefully.

Zhang Wei did not answer immediately.

Contact with the military was inevitable sooner or later, and establishing a favorable rapport with them through Lin Qianying was a good idea.

However, Zhang Wei did not want to make contact with the military just yet.

Mainly because it wasn't safe enough.

Lin Qianying likely harbored no malicious intent toward him, but the same could not be said for others.

Who wouldn't be tempted upon seeing Zhang Wei's luxurious arsenal of equipment?

Therefore, lacking sufficient strength, Zhang Wei was unwilling to engage with the military.

Waiting until after his third evolution, when his true form possessed reliable strength and his mecha was equipped with energy shields, would be a much safer time to make contact.

After all, the military's fighter jets and heavy artillery were still operational. Early-stage mechas were mere toys in front of such weapons of mass destruction, and Zhang Wei's current mecha could not withstand a missile strike.

Besides, if the military sent transport to pick him up, they would certainly dispatch aircraft, forcing Zhang Wei to disengage from his mecha to visit the military zone—which would be no different from a death sentence.

"Not right now. Let's wait until after the third evolution. Me going over there now won't serve any purpose," Zhang Wei told Lin Qianying seriously.

Hearing this, Lin Qianying let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Her superior's attitude had been quite firm about bringing Zhang Wei to the military base, but no deadline had been set.

This spared her from being caught in a difficult position.

"Alright, that's fine. What level is required for the third evolution?"

"Level fifty."

"That's pretty fast!" Lin Qianying knew that Zhang Wei's mecha had already reached level thirty.

Wasn't climbing from level thirty to fifty fast?

Zhang Wei slowly shook his head: "It won't be fast. The higher the level, the slower the progress. Have you never played a video game?"

Upgrading a mecha's level worked on the exact same principle as playing a game.

Earlier, when he unlocked a stash of high-grade source crystals, more than half of them had gone toward mecha experience points, yet that massive quantity of crystals had only raised his level by a single tier.

Today had been a rare stroke of luck yielding so many high-grade source crystals; such windfalls wouldn't happen every single day.

Besides, even if he could acquire that many every day, it would still take about twenty days to push his mecha to level fifty.

"Ah? Is that so? Well, it doesn't matter too much. Things are pretty much stabilized on our end. Their main goal in wanting to retake the city is to hear your advice," Lin Qianying added casually, omitting the fact that this was only one of several reasons.

"My advice?" Zhang Wei asked, slightly puzzled.

"Yeah, you know a lot more about these things than anyone else," Lin Qianying said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"If they just want my opinion, I can tell you right now. There's no need for me to make a special trip."

Lin Qianying looked at Zhang Wei with pleasant surprise: "Really?"

"Of course." Zhang Wei already had a clear idea of how to establish a safe zone, drawing entirely from the successful blueprints of his past life.

"Hurry up and share your thoughts," Lin Qianying urged, her anxiety showing.

Watching ordinary people suffer without being able to rescue them was a profound torment for any soldier driven by a sense of duty.

"Abandon the existing cities and rebuild a new safe zone from scratch."

"What? Give up our current cities entirely?" Lin Qianying found it difficult to grasp Zhang Wei's logic.

Frugality was deeply ingrained in the bones of their people, making the prospect of abandoning their cities an extremely difficult choice.

Zhang Wei nodded at her: "You've seen the destructive power of mechanical creatures. A mere pack of rats caused that much devastation. Do you really think our current cities possess the capability to resist them?"

"This..." Lin Qianying was left speechless.

"Therefore, the safest approach is to harvest the metal wreckage of mechanical creatures, smelt it down, and construct a fortress made entirely of metal."

Lin Qianying froze.

She had never expected Zhang Wei's imagination to be so grandiose.

A city forged entirely out of metal?

It actually sounded like a viable plan.