Volume 1, Chapter 61: The Third Evolution Begins

"Ah, the third evolution."

"Didn't you say the third evolution wouldn't happen that fast?"

Lin Qianying felt like she was losing her mind.

The news she had received tonight was more explosive one after another, each harder for her to accept than the last.

If she remembered correctly, it was just the day before yesterday when Zhang Wei said the third evolution would be relatively slow, right?

Could two days really be considered very slow?

Zhang Wei felt somewhat awkward.

He truly had thought his third evolution wouldn't progress so quickly, considering the limited supply of source crystals obtainable within the city.

However, after taking a casual stroll outside the city and raking in several thousand medium-grade source crystals, it was indeed more than enough to trigger the evolution.

"I managed to acquire some source crystals before returning to Chuancheng," Zhang Wei explained briefly, not wanting Lin Qianying to think that leveling up a mecha to level fifty was a walk in the park.

"How many source crystals?"

"A few thousand medium-grade ones, I suppose."

Lin Qianying was speechless.

He went out for a stroll for less than two days and brought back several thousand medium-grade source crystals?

Was it one thousand or nine thousand?

Since it was enough to elevate a mecha to level fifty, it definitely had to be several thousand.

Lin Qianying was already contemplating whether she should also go out for a stroll.

"We can discuss the details later," Zhang Wei decided it was necessary to give Lin Qianying and Zhang Tao a proper briefing.

He couldn't let them assume mechanical lifeforms were all weaklings; Zhang Wei was the only one who could handle a swarm of crabs like that. If anyone else had gone in his place, they would have died without a trace countless times over.

"Alright."

The rest of the journey was silent.

They encountered no danger, nor did they stumble upon any treasures. Xiaobao remained quiet the entire way, showing nothing out of the ordinary.

However, as they approached Chuancheng, Xiaobao began to show signs of tension.

"Big Brother, up above. There's something there."

Prompted by Xiaobao's warning, Zhang Wei switched his fine-tuned detection to rough detection.

Sure enough, flying in the sky about five or six kilometers in a straight line from them, a flock of mechanical birds was circling continuously, occasionally diving down from the air.

Zhang Wei glanced at Xiaobao.

He hadn't expected this fellow to be able to sense danger from such a great distance—a rather pleasant surprise.

"It's fine. It doesn't dare to come down. Let's go."

Zhang Wei placated Xiaobao.

If the bird in the sky dared to fly down and look for trouble, Zhang Wei would show it just who was truly out of its league.

***

The villa district.

Brilliantly lit.

Zhang Tao was busy directing his subordinates.

When he felt a slight tremor in the ground and turned around, the first thing he saw was Xiaobao, towering like a small mountain.

"Big Brother, there's a monster!" Zhang Tao hoisted his battle sickle and charged toward Zhang Wei, looking fully prepared to slaughter Xiaobao on the spot.

Startled by the aggressive aura emanating from Zhang Tao, Xiaobao instinctively cowered behind Zhang Wei.

"Cut it out. It's a new recruit," Zhang Wei called out to warn Zhang Tao.

With his battle sickle already raised high in the air, Zhang Tao asked in utter astonishment, "A new recruit?"

Zhang Wei nodded at Zhang Tao. "Yes, its name is Xiaobao. It's easily frightened, so don't bully it. I'm afraid if you provoke it too much, it'll flick its tail and whip you to death."

Zhang Wei said this with an exasperated tone.

This wasn't bravery on Zhang Tao's part; it was sheer recklessness. He didn't even bother to check what kind of abilities the creature had before charging in!

Zhang Wei was baffled, wondering how Zhang Tao had ever managed to rank among the Ten Great War Gods in his previous life.

"It's that powerful?"

Zhang Tao immediately lowered his battle sickle.

All jokes aside, if Big Brother said it could whip him to death with a single tail strike, a second strike probably wouldn't even be necessary.

"Xiaobao is on the verge of advancing to the King rank. What did you expect?"

Hearing this, Zhang Tao understood immediately.

"I get it, Big Brother."

In Zhang Tao's mind, Zhang Wei was simply waiting for Xiaobao to reach the King rank. The exact moment Xiaobao advanced to the King rank would be the moment Zhang Wei took it apart.

"I'm going to evolve my mecha. Keep an eye on the situation in the sky." Zhang Wei looked up at the heavens.

Here in the urban villa district, the large bird in the sky was only about two kilometers away from them.

If Zhang Wei evolved his mecha here, it would undoubtedly attract that bird's attention.

Hearing this, Zhang Tao immediately spoke up with a hint of anxiety, "Big Brother, it's dangerous! That bird is really troublesome. Not only does it kill people, but it also hunts mechanical lifeforms. Remember that herd of elephants, Big Brother?"

"Yeah, what about them?" Zhang Wei naturally remembered the elephant herd; those were the mechanical lifeforms he had essentially been farming.

"That bird has already killed two of the elephants." Zhang Tao was certainly well-informed, having learned about an event that had occurred only recently.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wei became even more displeased.

"Have they touched that pile of metal wreckage?"

"Not yet, but I'm not sure now. I've already called everyone back."

"Let's go over there." Zhang Wei gestured and turned around to leave.

Xiaobao and Lin Qianying followed behind him.

Zhang Tao was utterly bewildered. Could it be that he hadn't made the severity of the situation clear enough?

"Big Brother..."

***

"Are you coming or not?" Zhang Wei interrupted Zhang Tao.

"I'm coming!"

Zhang Tao gritted his teeth and followed.

In the northern part of the city, when Xiaobao laid eyes on the piles of metal wreckage, the dazzling blue light emanating from its eyes flared like two oversized lightbulbs.

Food. It was all food.

"Big Brother, I want to eat," Xiaobao said to Zhang Wei with a hint of entreaty in its voice.

If it could consume these metal remnants, it felt certain it could advance to the King rank.

"Not these. They've already been sold," Zhang Wei shook his head at Xiaobao.

A person must keep their word and not go back on a promise.

"However, eating a small amount of it should be fine, right?" Zhang Wei said as he looked toward Lin Qianying.

"I only mentioned there was a huge pile of metal wreckage. Exactly how much there is, nobody knows," Lin Qianying replied nonchalantly.

"Go ahead, eat a little," Zhang Wei patted Xiaobao's head.

"Okay." Xiaobao bolted forward instantly.

Zhang Tao looked at the charging Xiaobao with pity. This silly beast was still too naive; didn't it know that the more one ate, the faster one died?

"I'm going to evolve my mecha now to see if I can lure that bird down. If we can draw it down, perhaps we won't have to move."

Zhang Tao and Lin Qianying both stared at Zhang Wei, then nodded in unison.

For Zhang Tao, avoiding a relocation was naturally ideal.

Once they entered military-controlled territory, he would definitely not be as free as he was now.

What Lin Qianying cared about, however, was the lives of the people in Chuancheng.

"Devour source crystals."

The source crystals stored within Zhang Wei's cargo hold began to be rapidly consumed, and the energy released by them continuously poured into his mecha.

The mecha's level began to climb as the source crystal energy integrated into it.

Within a few minutes, having consumed over five thousand medium-grade source crystals, Zhang Wei's mecha level rose to fifty.

Advancing from level thirty-one to level fifty increased his combat power by 95 points, bringing his current combat power to a total of 1235 points.

"Begin evolution."

The third evolution of Zhang Wei's mecha commenced.

As Zhang Wei's mecha floated into the air, mysterious energy descended from above, forcing Zhang Wei to become the largest glowing beacon in the northern part of the city.

Such a conspicuous spectacle naturally attracted the immediate attention of the giant bird soaring in the sky.