Xu Ding's girlfriend glanced at her boyfriend, who was driving beside her.
Usually.
Her boyfriend was always a steady, honest man who didn't lie.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have planned to meet his parents after only half a year of dating.
However.
He kept saying he wasn't in a hurry, that safety came first, and that he wouldn't overtake on the fast lane, but what was the meaning of his eyes being fixed on the road ahead?
On this somewhat desolate ring road, a truck was moving slowly in front of their two lanes.
On the truck's trailer, secured by various cables... was a mech?!
As a woman.
Xu Ding's girlfriend truly couldn't see anything attractive about this mech, painted in camouflage, with sharp angles, and a cold, aloof demeanor.
Compared to handbags, lipstick, or luxury skincare, it was simply a pile of uninteresting scrap metal!
Her boyfriend, or rather, her future husband, Xu Ding, couldn't possibly be attracted to a pile of scrap metal, right?
Sigh.
She was indeed being overly sensitive.
She actually thought that a metal mech, appearing out of nowhere on the road and being transported by a truck, would hold more appeal for Xu Ding than she did.
How ridiculous.
Could this mech even move?
Could this iron lump strike any strange poses?
Could this large-scale figurine unlock more gestures?
Upon closer thought.
Xu Ding's girlfriend let go of her reservations... but still, what was the meaning of her boyfriend's gaze constantly fixed on the truck carrying the mech!
Hmm.
She understood.
This truck carrying the mech was the source of the traffic jam.
Xu Ding must have been planning to constantly monitor the truck's movements, ready to brake or overtake at any moment.
Indeed.
She had chosen well.
He was too steady, too considerate and gentle... I'm going to cry!
Then, in the next second.
Xu Ding, who always adhered to the rule of not making calls while driving, took out his phone.
"Hello, guys, can you believe it?"
"I saw a mech!"
"Yeah, like the powered suits in Fallout or Halo."
"It's so awesome."
"You're asking where I am?"
"On the ring road, I'll send you my location, hurry up, it's super cool, isn't it!"
Huh?
What?
Huh?
Xu Ding's girlfriend was utterly bewildered, her hair becoming exceptionally disheveled by the wind blowing in through the car window.
...
Heh.
Women.
Where did they get the confidence to compare themselves to mechs, the ultimate objects of a man's admiration.
On the entire ring expressway.
Countless male drivers slowed down, moving forward at a crawl.
Even many vehicles coming from the opposite direction stopped, got out of their cars, and started filming with their phones.
On this ring expressway, where traffic jams were supposed to be impossible, a traffic jam had occurred for the first time since its construction.
On the opposite lane.
Several young men got out of their cars.
They took out their phones and snapped pictures.
Then they uploaded them to social platforms like Weibo, Zhihu, and Bilibili.
"Holy crap, someone actually customized such a large mech!"
"The design, the appearance, the craftsmanship – you tell me this is a real combat mech and I'd believe it!"
"Damn, this mech must have cost a fortune, I want one too."
"Yeah, this mech is one million Great Xia coins... and it's not just a model, it's a real combat mech... although the seller doesn't admit it's a military robot!"
One of the young men, with eyes shining, almost drooled.
He was the most obsessed with military knowledge among them, a semi-professional armchair military enthusiast.
"By the way, how did you know?"
"The seller doesn't admit it's a military robot's combat mech?"
"That's a bit far-fetched, isn't it?"
Facing the doubts of his friends.
The young man, with a look of covetousness, explained with a dismissive air, like an older brother.
"Do you guys really not go online?"
"Do you know Brother Hao? Brother Hao from Huarong Industries?"
"He directly rejected a five-billion-dollar US military order and developed the first... uh... large toy figurine mech, which was directly hailed as the strongest combat mech on Earth by Bear Country."
"This latest Phantom model mech is their new model from Huarong Industries!"
"I was watching the livestream just now, I never expected to actually see this Phantom powered mech!"
"My wallet, you're an adult now, why can't you make money on your own to satisfy yourself... If I had a million, I'd buy this powered mech without hesitation... I just love this thing so much... You guys should search for related videos, it'll definitely ignite your every male cell, making your hormones and adrenaline surge like a flood..."
...
This inexplicable traffic jam lasted for a full four hours.
The mere ten-kilometer distance from Huarong Industries to the expressway entrance was blocked by all sorts of male compatriots, and the truck drivers who were asked to pose for photos with the mech were driven mad.
Fortunately, the traffic management department of Shilin City noticed the unusual situation on the ring road.
They dispatched over a dozen traffic order personnel, which finally eased the man-made sensation of a traffic jam.
With immense gratitude, the truck driver, escorted by the traffic order personnel, finally got onto the expressway and headed towards JN City.
However.
As they were about to enter the expressway.
The staff at the expressway toll booth and the dozen traffic order personnel maintaining traffic flow also asked to take a photo with the mech, what was that about?
...
JN City.
Is the capital city of J Province.
As a new first-tier city, although its prosperity doesn't quite match that of Modu City, not far away.
It is also one of the leading cities in Great Xia.
With a population of nearly ten million, JN City is a place where every inch of land is precious.
And Chen Kun, who had been eagerly awaiting its arrival, finally received the Phantom mech, delivered by truck, as dusk began to fall.
Chen Kun's family, who had almost worn out their eyes waiting, were among the top wealthy families in JN City.
Behind him.
In a building covering several thousand square meters, piles of various metal products were stored.
Things like tanks, airplanes, and even unignitable mushroom bombs!
But.
What excited him the most was that he had managed to get his hands on the first batch, the world's first, Phantom powered mech produced by Huarong Industries.
He didn't even have time to send the truck driver away before he set up his camera, got into the powered mech, and began controlling it with abandon.
As a hardcore military fan.
Chen Kun naturally disdained using the Phantom mech's "casual" mode and directly adjusted it to "professional" mode.
Holy crap.
It was indeed explosive!
Controlling the mech.
He used his various metal models, which he usually cherished, as targets and went on a rampage, smashing and crashing.
In this vast model display building, all the metal models became scrap metal, except for the Phantom mech, which remained completely undamaged.
For this.
Chen Kun felt no pain.
He even imagined.
That he was currently in a real battlefield, amidst a hail of bullets.
Those metal models were his imaginary enemies.
He attacked without mercy.
Finally, he was tired of playing.
Completely exhausted and drenched in sweat from operating the Phantom mech, Chen Kun transferred the cool videos he had filmed with the camera to his phone. He still lingered, climbing all over the mech, and took no less than a hundred detail-oriented photos.
This day.
Chen Kun dominated everyone's feed.
His WeChat friends, as soon as they opened their Moments, were immediately flooded with countless mech videos and photos!