Chapter 1 I Have No Brothers

Zhao Chenghuang took several deep breaths to calm his complex emotions. His face returned to its cold, stern expression, and he said in a flat tone, "I have no brothers, I'm not married, and my father doesn't need to borrow money at high interest rates, but I was indeed very sad just now, so sad that I wanted to commit suicide..."

He paused for a moment and continued, "During the previous exploration, two things were confirmed. One: this is the final stage, and the mecha is the final boss of the dungeon. There are three stone tablets standing next to the Bagua Square... We were all wrong. The enemy is not an ancient war god of Jinting, but a Mo family mecha. Two: The ability of Jian'ai (universal love) is to make people lose their will to fight. Even if the enemy waves a butcher's knife at you, you won't have any intention of resisting. You'll even feel sad, because they are your brothers, sisters, and loved ones."

The ability of Jian'ai is to make people lose their will to fight? Everyone felt it was a thorny issue. Facing an enemy at the Weak Ruler level, losing the will to fight often leads to death.

Jian'ai alone is already so troublesome, not to mention the other three rules.

Hong Ji-ge (Red Chicken Bro) gasped, being realistic and speaking his mind, "Damn, do we have to lose half our people to get through this?"

These words were undoubtedly adding insult to injury, and the expressions on the team members' faces became even more unsightly.

Asano Ryo, the weakest member, pursed her small face and silently tightened her grip on the Ice Soul Blade.

If there were bound to be casualties in the team, she knew that she would be the first to be sacrificed. There are few Lingjing Xingzhe in Japan, and even fewer items in storage. Although the team leader and deputy team leaders often patted her on the shoulder and said, "Ryo-chan, work hard! You are the future hope of the Chizuru Group."

But in reality, the Ruler-level items retrieved from Takamagahara have never been allowed near her.

She was given a Saint-level item, but it was of mediocre quality and not a strong attack or defense type. It was just a support item, so what use could it be?

At this moment, Asano Ryo's tightly strung ears twitched, hearing the dense clicking sounds of mechanisms, as well as the whirring of gears turning at high speed.

Startled, she looked towards the source of the sound, which came from the tunnel-like holes all over the stone walls.

"Attention, enemy attack!" Xiahou Aotian judged it was a mechanical weapon from the sound. "There are many of them."

As soon as he finished speaking, mechanical creations slid out of the holes on the left, resembling unmanned aerial vehicles. They had steel frames, membrane wings, and black iron pipes extending from their bellies, like the muzzles of Gatling guns.

The number of unmanned aerial vehicles was more than thirty. After sliding out of the holes, they glided and circled over the ancient city, adjusting their bodies so that the dark muzzles were aimed at everyone.

The next second, "Bang, bang" sounds were heard continuously, the muzzles spitting out flames, and black bullets shot towards everyone below.

One of the bullets landed next to Hong Ji-ge, and with a "boom," the expanding fire and raging air currents directly blew him away. His clothes were torn, and his skin was blackish-red. One bullet was enough to inflict a serious injury on him.

Boom, boom, boom...

One by one, the bullets exploded around everyone, and the scorching fire and terrifying air currents struck the Undead Squad in an unavoidable manner.

In just one round, everyone was injured.

"Why are there unmanned aerial vehicles in a Song Dynasty dungeon? Did gunpowder invent itself in the Song Dynasty? And they even manufactured bombers? If the Mo Sect is so awesome, why didn't they go conquer the world?" Hong Ji-ge roared.

"This is not the time for your complaints," Zhang Yuanqing said, raising his small shield to protect Guan Ya behind him.

Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang transformed into starlight and retreated from the area the moment they were hit.

Xiao Yuan also activated her Gu (poison) body in an instant, turning into an enchanting wasp woman and avoiding the subsequent bombing with unmatched speed.

Asano Ryo was blasted into her Mizuchi passive and hurriedly summoned two shikigami to resist the rain-like bombing.

The unmanned aerial vehicles whizzed over everyone's heads, flew towards the high reaches of the mountain caves, and turned around after gliding in a circle.

"This won't work!" Tianxia Guihuo (All Under Heaven Returns to Fire) shouted, "Are you brainless? Are you dead? If you're not dead, get up and work!"

With that, he stepped forward, and crimson flames gushed from his palm, condensing into a long knife that emitted high temperatures and distorted the air, which he swept horizontally towards the sky.

A wave-like arc of fire swept across the wide mountain belly space.

Boom, boom, boom...

The bullets were licked by the flames and turned into expanding fireworks. The entire mountain cave was shaking, and gravel and dust were falling down.

On the other side, Hong Ji-ge put on his crimson gauntlets and threw fireballs into the sky, using his precise fire control ability to intercept the remaining bullets.

For a time, scorching winds raged in the mountain cave.

The second wave of bullets was blocked, and the unmanned aerial vehicles swept over everyone's heads, gliding towards the higher ground.

Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly put on the Swiftwind Gloves and stirred up gusts of strong wind, but the mountain belly space was wide, and the unmanned aerial vehicles glided too high, so the strong wind only made them totter for a moment.

Unwillingly, Zhang Yuanqing swung out two wind blades, cutting down two unmanned aerial vehicles.

Guan Ya and Zhao Chenghuang took out their handguns one after another, but this was obviously not enough to stop the third wave of bullets. No matter how fast they were with their guns, it was impossible to shoot down more than thirty mechanical creations in a few seconds.

At that moment, a cold wind howled, and Sun Miaomiao spat out a long stream of Yin energy. One by one, spirit servants emerged from her small mouth and floated towards the unmanned aerial vehicles.

The next moment, there was a grinding sound of bending steel frames. Faced with these mechanical creations that did not possess supernatural powers, the spirit servants' most basic ability to manipulate objects was enough to deal with them easily.

The only requirement was... a large number of spirit servants.

One by one, the unmanned aerial vehicles fell from the sky, exploding in various parts of the ruined city.

"It's over..." Asano Ryo breathed a sigh of relief, dismissed her shikigami, and bowed to Sun Miaomiao. "Arigato, Sun-chan."

"You're welcome. This is just the beginning. We haven't even started fighting the boss yet, but we've been put in such a mess by these small fries." Sun Miaomiao returned using the Star Tunneling Technique, her round, sweet face filled with seriousness. "Now we can confirm that there are mechanical creations hidden in the holes in the mountain walls. If nothing else happens, this is just the first wave."

Hong Ji-ge staggered over, glaring at Tianxia Guihuo in disbelief.

"What kind of move was that just now? How can you, a Level 4 Saint, have such abundant spiritual power and such exquisite fire control?"

Laymen watch the excitement, but experts watch the details.

When Tianxia Guihuo swung his Fire Blade, it just looked like a sea of fire to the laymen, but to a Fire Master, it was like someone using the One Finger Zen meeting someone using the Six Meridian Divine Sword.

He couldn't help but want to kneel down to him.

Tianxia Guihuo refused to answer, "It's none of your business."

Xiahou Aotian sneered from the side, "Foolish Fire Master, you're always asking for trouble."

"You weak Fang Shi (alchemist), are you always trying to undermine me? Do you have a problem with me?" Hong Ji-ge said angrily.

"It's not that I have a problem with you. I mean, everyone here is trash," he said arrogantly.

Although I know you're just making a joke, you've played the detestable nature to the fullest.

Seeing that the two were about to fight, Xiao Yuan coldly interrupted, "Although I've been trying to remain silent along the way, your professional qualities make me wonder how you were promoted to the Saint realm. Can you reduce the meaningless nonsense and provide some more suggestions that can be used as a reference?"

Knowing the personalities of the two, Tianxia Guihuo spoke up in a timely manner, "It's useless to ask them about tactics."

He looked at the gang leader, Yuanshi Tianzun, and said, "Gang leader, what are your thoughts on the next course of action?"

Except for Hong Ji-ge, everyone immediately understood what Tianxia Guihuo meant.

With a Weak Ruler-level enemy, Yuanshi Tianzun's combat power and items, and the elite nature of this squad, it would definitely not be difficult to clear the dungeon.

But to achieve zero casualties, it couldn't be solved by simply "Everyone, charge with me."

If they really did that, half of the team would be lost.

So at this time, the leader's overall planning ability and command ability would play a crucial role.

The time had come to test Yuanshi Tianzun's ability as a gang leader.

He might be a smart genius, but he might not be a qualified leader.

I'm not Yuan Fang, so what thoughts could I possibly have...? Zhang Yuanqing silently complained. If the Five Elements Experience Card hadn't been handed over to Fu Qingyang for safekeeping, he could fight against even a genuine Ruler, let alone a Weak Ruler.

But if the Five Elements Experience Card and the Ruler-level items hadn't been handed over to Fu Qingyang, the boss in the Mechanical City would probably really be a Ruler-level one. The black-robed wraith just now might have been a Weak Ruler-level one. Small tricks and clever methods couldn't bypass the Spirit Realm bugs.

Any plan needs information as support. We currently know too little about the mecha, so the main task now is to gather information. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." Zhang Yuanqing's expression was calm, revealing a calm and collected demeanor.

"I don't have any more Yin corpses," Zhao Chenghuang said with a serious face.

Along the way, he had lost three Transcendent-realm Yin corpses, leaving only two Level 4 Yin corpses, but these were one of his core combat strengths, so using them as cannon fodder would be a waste.

"Then we'll gather materials on the spot," Zhang Yuanqing said. "Liu Shui (Six Waters), Xiao Zhao, did you bring any corpse refining materials?"

Zhao Chenghuang was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "I brought a little, not much, enough to refine three Transcendent-realm Yin corpses."

Sun Miaomiao asked in confusion, "Are you calling me?"

"Besides you, who else has so much water?" Zhang Yuanqing said with a smile.

"You're not allowed to give people nicknames without permission!" Sun Miaomiao gritted her teeth in anger.

She glared at him, then said, "I brought some too, but less than Zhao Chenghuang. At most, two corpses."

"We'll refine five corpses, ten Yin corpses. Adding Zhao Chenghuang's terracotta soldiers, that's enough cannon fodder." Zhang Yuanqing turned and left. "Let's go back to the valley. There are plenty of Yin corpses there. Although they're missing limbs, we weren't expecting them to fight anyway. It's just right to use them as cannon fodder. Once we figure out the mecha's information, I'll talk about the battle plan. I have some ideas."

And so, everyone returned to the valley. The three Star Lords picked and chose ten Yin creatures with decent looks and barely preserved full corpses, and performed a live corpse refining technique for their teammates.

The difference between the three was clearly and directly displayed in front of everyone. After Zhang Yuanqing refined five Yin corpses, Zhao Chenghuang had only refined two, and Sun Miaomiao had just finished drawing the corpse refining array.

The corpse refining array is different from the spirit refining array.

After refining the Yin corpses, everyone returned to the mountain belly. Zhang Yuanqing said:

"Miaomiao, you'll be in the vanguard. From now on, record everything you see, hear, and do, and tell it all to Guan Ya after the exploration is over."

"Guan Ya-jie (older sister), you'll analyze it."

Sun Miaomiao and Guan Ya nodded. The former closed her eyes and split half of her spirit body to enter the Yin corpse's body, taking control of its body.

Then, she controlled the one-armed Yin corpse and walked towards the depths of the city.

After about ten minutes, she opened her eyes. "I know the mechanism of Fei Gong (non-aggression). Just like its name, it can't attack targets."

Then, she controlled the second Yin corpse and walked towards the depths of the city.

Everyone waited in place, but before Sun Miaomiao's second wave of information arrived, the sound of mechanisms clicking and the "whirring" of gears spinning at high speed once again came from the holes.

The unmanned aerial vehicle bombing was back again.

With the experience from the last time, the Undead Squad easily eliminated the threat of the bombers.

Sun Miaomiao's second Yin corpse was quickly sacrificed.

"This time, I didn't attack it directly. I chose to observe, but it still slashed me, and I was Jian'ai-ed (universally loved) too," Sun Miaomiao said with a sad face.

You also had your name written down by your father for borrowing money at high interest rates; your boyfriend cheated on you? After thinking about it with pity, Zhang Yuanqing pondered, "So, not attacking will trigger Jian'ai?"

"That's not right. The core mechanism isn't this," Guan Ya shook her head. "Miaomiao, you just said that you didn't attack it directly the second time, so the first time, you attacked it as soon as you met it, right?"

Sun Miaomiao nodded.

"When were you Jian'ai-ed? The specific time," Guan Ya asked again.

Sun Miaomiao thought for a moment and said, "It didn't take more than a minute."

"What about you?" Guan Ya looked at Zhao Chenghuang.

"Several minutes," Zhao Chenghuang said, then seemed to remember something and added, "I observed in the shadows of the street for a few minutes and didn't encounter any danger, but after stepping into the Bagua diagram, it seemed that I was attacked in less than a minute."

Guan Ya nodded with satisfaction. "From the looks of it, both Jian'ai and Fei Gong have a time interval. The former is one minute, and the latter is even shorter. A more precise time will require the two of you to test it out."

A "pattern" has been found... Everyone's spirits were lifted!