"This, this isn't a Mountain Jackal..." Ye Ying murmured, gazing at the colossal figure before her.
It truly wasn't a Mountain Jackal!
How could a mech from thirty years ago, with its second-rate technology, compare to the behemoth before them!!!
Gu Ya stood up in astonishment, tilting his head back as far as it could go, barely managing to see its head.
Under the scorching sun,
A transparent film encased the dark red armor, shimmering brilliantly.
Two ice-cold blades stood erect on its shoulders,
Not only that, but sharp steel edges adorned its knuckles, elbows, knees, and ankles!
From wrist to elbow, two inverted fine blades were mounted.
The broad short sword slung at its waist was incredibly magnificent and imposing, exuding a sense of immense weight.
Its width alone would require four adult heads stacked one upon another to match.
Thick limbs and massive mechanical hands, all declared "strength"!
Looking at it as a whole, its entire body seemed to be made of blades!
It was simply too large, nearly 30 meters tall. The 16-meter Radiant Blue Swordsman was like a child in comparison.
If classified by current mech standards, this thing was undoubtedly a medium-to-large sized mech.
But its appearance was so peculiar,
Its entire body, except for the blade edges, was covered in what appeared to be heavy armor.
If the Radiant Blue Swordsman was an agile and dashing martial world swordsman,
Then this mech was a fully armored heavy warrior!
"What is this?" Gu Ya asked himself in a daze.
Suddenly, the system prompt sounded:
[Main quest unlocked: Defeat the ancient mech before you]
[Quest reward: Gain control of the ancient mech]
The system only issued quests when Gu Ya was in mortal danger,
This meant the mech was no benevolent entity!
Gu Ya immediately became vigilant, pulling Ye Ying along, and shouted, "Quick! It... it..."
Before he could finish,
The ancient mech's dark red eyes suddenly lit up, and its entire body emitted a sky-shattering mechanical roar, as if its bones and joints were stirring.
"Who... awakened me—!" the ancient mech cried out in a mechanical bellow!
It was alive!
"Prepare for battle—!"
The ancient mech swiftly grasped its sword hilt, swung its arm, and drew the thick, broad short sword slung at its waist.
The mere movement of the blade stirred up dust and grit!
"The Radiant Blue Swordsman is severely damaged, and if I have to buy another from the system store, who knows what monstrosity I'll get!" Gu Ya thought to himself.
Others buy what they can afford.
This guy!
I can't even buy what's cheap!
The ancient mech merely swung its greatsword lightly, and the Radiant Blue Swordsman snapped in half at the waist!
To be precise, it wasn't cut, but broken by impact!
Its short broadsword had no blade;
The sword was more like a single, massive iron disc!
Gu Ya suppressed the frantic pounding of his heart, held back his fear, and roared inwardly, stabilizing himself.
"Gu Ya! What are you doing?" Ye Ying was also panicked now.
Following Gu Ya, she had witnessed many never-before-seen things, some happy, some angering, some surprising,
But this situation now was something she had never even dreamed of!
That mech was clearly no good; now was the time to run, not hesitate!
Gu Ya pulled Ye Ying behind him, his gaze fixed on the ancient mech, a determined ferocity on his face. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'm going to destroy it!"
"But you don't have a mech!" Ye Ying cried out in terror, her face pale, tightly gripping Gu Ya's hand.
Gu Ya gently pried Ye Ying's hand away, simultaneously equipping her with an exoskeleton armor, forcing his trembling lips into a calm expression. "Ye Ying, run, run far away!"
"I must destroy it!!"
With that, Gu Ya took off running towards the ancient mech,
A glow emanated from him as pieces of exoskeleton armor attached themselves to his body.
Jetting flame from his feet, he activated the [Burst Flash] skill, vanishing instantly and reappearing tens of meters away.
The ancient mech had just dealt with the Radiant Blue Swordsman, and seeing Gu Ya as a mere "bug," it paid him no mind.
It turned its head to the side, looking towards the mountains, and softly said, "Where is this?"
Suddenly, its dorsal thrusters spat sparks, and a colossal wave of heat, distorting the very air, erupted.
Dark red flames followed.
The flames blew away everything on the ground, carving out a large pit.
The ancient mech trembled and lifted off the ground, slowly ascending into the sky.
Gu Ya used [Overclock Drive] and [Burst Flash] twice in succession, finally reaching its head.
Next, all that was needed was to use [Code Tamper] on it.
Other information about this mech could be explored in detail after he subdued it!
The ancient mech rose two hundred meters above the ground, surveying the landscape.
Although it had no facial features, its stiff posture suggested it was confused.
Gu Ya plunged towards the mech's head, landing firmly, and as his hands made contact, [Code Tamper] was activated.
What's going on????
Gu Ya paused for a moment. Was this...
Bionic human code?
Gu Ya had already reviewed the program code of bionic humans while repairing them at home and during his raid on the Burning Phoenix Corporation.
Some of the intricate and subtle program logic was identical to this mech.
So, was this just a super-sized bionic human?
Gu Ya's expression turned speechless, a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek.
Now that he understood the principle, modifying it would be effortless.
The ancient mech seemed to sense a small bug on its head,
It violently shook its massive head, almost throwing Gu Ya off.
"Who—!!!" the ancient mech roared in anger, clumsily reaching out an arm to swat at its own head.
The giant palm, laden with strong winds, roared as it approached,
Immensely close, about to crush Gu Ya!
Ye Ying covered her mouth, tears immediately welling up. Gu Ya, no!
But Gu Ya remained unfazed, a smile playing on his lips. He stood up steadily and said softly, "It is your master."
"Submit to me!"
The giant palm abruptly stopped less than a meter above Gu Ya's head.
The strong wind howled, creating turbulent airflow around his head, blowing chaotically in all directions.
But Gu Ya stood firm.
The ancient mech paused for a few seconds, then suddenly shouted, "No—!"
Gu Ya smiled, shook his head, crouched down again, placed his hands on the armor once more, and reactivated [Code Tamper].
He murmured, "Yes, you are far more complex than a standard bionic human, with three hundred core processors, equivalent to three hundred brains..."
"But I'm sorry, from now on, all your brains will only hear one voice."
"That voice is mine!"
Standard bionic humans had only thirty processing cores.
This mech had three hundred.
Let alone three hundred brains, even three thousand, thirty thousand, or three hundred thousand, the operating principles were the same: retrieve information from the outside, perform rapid calculations in the brain, and output corresponding action programs.
All brains operated in parallel, without hierarchy, greatly enhancing computational power.
They finally converged in a few core processors and were outputted.
It only required adding a few "barrier" type codes within these core algorithms,
And directing the instruction target to Gu Ya, adding uniqueness.
If program loopholes appeared, he would simply fix them.
After all, his mechanic skills allowed him to find vulnerabilities quickly.
Now, Gu Ya was completely at ease.
This behemoth had become his slave.
As Gu Ya stood up again, the success notification for his system mission chimed.
"I knew it. Any difficulty, as long as you find the method and weakness, coupled with courage and perseverance, can be overcome."
"Nothing is impossible in this world~"
Ye Ying watched Gu Ya slowly descend from the ancient mech, her anxious heart finally settling.
As soon as Gu Ya landed, Ye Ying asked eagerly, "Did you succeed?"
Gu Ya tilted his head, raised an eyebrow, reached out to gently wipe away the tears at the corner of Ye Ying's eyes, and smiled, "Of course. Is your future boyfriend handsome?"
Ye Ying let out a long sigh, placed a hand on her chest, and whispered, "Who knows if you'll change your mind..."
Gu Ya quickly covered her rosy lips, pretending to be angry, "Don't say things like that."
"Alright! Now, let's have a chat with it."
The ancient mech knelt down. Its colossal body combined with its docile demeanor was truly incongruous.
Gu Ya and Ye Ying, so tiny before it, now stood on its mechanical giant hand, lifted to its massive head.
"From the research of material-like bodies to the birth of the first formal mech, it's only been over two hundred years. Mech technology and appearance have evolved, but the core remains the same. You don't look like a modern mech; what exactly are you?"
Gu Ya asked calmly.
The ancient mech raised its eyes, which were larger than Gu Ya's. Within its dark red irises, countless intricate mechanical parts slowly rotated, seemingly locking onto its master.
"179 years ago, to consolidate the domestic situation of Xianxia and deter the Black Star Empire, I was developed."
"But I never went into battle; humanity abandoned me even before I left the experimental hangar."
"After I was dismembered, humans used my parts and materials to build more mechs."
"My consciousness ceased 64,805 days ago, when the last part was removed, and humanity ended my 'brain'."
Gu Ya frowned, crouched down, and touched the transparent film on its outer armor, which was very smooth.
"This is the purest form of material-like body," the ancient mech slowly explained.
Gu Ya stood up, looking at its large eyes, and said, "Let's talk about your central processing system. Why is it bionic?"
The ancient mech slowly replied, "Humanity's initial design purpose was autonomous offensive weaponry."
"But they feared the emergence of a 'robot crisis.' So..."
Gu Ya nodded and commanded, "Open your cockpit."
The ancient mech tilted its head slightly and inquired, "Cockpit? What is that?"
"Uh..." Gu Ya was embarrassed.
Ye Ying giggled softly and said, "Are you an idiot? It said it's an autonomous offensive weapon, how could it have a cockpit."
Gu Ya turned to Ye Ying in disbelief. When did this girl learn the word "idiot"?
"Master..." the ancient mech slowly raised its head, closed its two enormous eyes, paused for a moment, and said, "You've installed the most advanced Owl Dragon 350 chip for me."
"And my body..."
The ancient mech moved its body slightly and continued, "Many technologies are new to me; I feel more agile."
Gu Ya grinned wryly and said, "Is that so? Who made me your master."
"There's one more thing, Master..." the ancient mech opened its eyes, fixing them on Gu Ya again, and said, "From your words, I can tell that I wasn't 'created' by you."
Gu Ya replied boldly, "Yes, I have cheat skills; I just bought it."
Upon hearing this, the ancient mech softly posed a thought-provoking question: "Then, could this cause temporal event disturbances?"