The man who ran over had dark, tanned skin, a round head, no hair or eyebrows, large round eyes, and thick, rounded lips.
He looked like several stacked chocolate donuts running towards them.
"Heroes!" the man exclaimed, grabbing Shu Feizhang's hands in gratitude. "Thank you so much. Without you, we would have lost many more warriors!"
"This place is not safe! Let's return to the camp to discuss matters!"
As the invaders piloted their mechs away, Beswong felt a heavy burden lifted from his heart.
"What heroes? They're just a bunch of murderers!"
The moment the metal plate slammed down on their heads, several comrades shielded Beswong, preventing him from being crushed by the hundred-ton slab.
He used his dagger to cut open his comrades' bodies, climbed out of the pile of dead beneath the metal plate, and stepped over the river of blood his fallen comrades had formed. He found the distress signal beacon and called for his country's reinforcements.
Now, he was the sole survivor in the entire camp.
"That young man with slightly longer hair and a strong build, the woman he brought, I saw him summon the metal plate with my own eyes!"
"I want revenge! Revenge!!"
Covered in blood, Beswong's eyes blazed with fury. He leaned against the wall and slowly stood up, preparing to walk back to the second camp, dozens of kilometers away.
It was then that he saw, standing not far in front of him, a naked young man with a blank expression.
The young man stared at Beswong with eyes like a dead man and said softly, "Have you seen the Wall of Truth?"
"See your mother's ghost!" Beswong cursed, spread his arms, and charged forward, intending to choke the man.
The other man merely sidestepped, evading Beswong's grasp. Then, he stuck out his foot, tripping Beswong, and pressed both hands firmly onto his neck.
"Let me take you to see the Wall of Truth," the man said calmly.
Beswong suddenly felt a powerful energy surge into his body, almost tearing him apart!
When he looked up again, a colossal wall, like a giant mountain, appeared before him. The wall was carved with patterns entirely incomprehensible to humans.
Almost instantly, the wall vanished.
When Beswong finally regained consciousness, it was already late at night.
He tried to lift himself up but found he couldn't control his arms or legs.
Looking down, he saw no limbs at all. Countless fragments of bone and shreds of flesh were scattered on the ground around him, and his blood had been used to paint an obscure circular pattern.
He was at the center of this pattern.
"Ah—!"
A painful roar echoed throughout the camp.
As the pain intensified, a divine voice entered his mind: "Pain... so painful... this is pain... remember this pain..."
The next second, a peculiar energy, like the agony of being burned by fire, surged from his limbs.
Beswong slowly stood up.
His limbs regrew, and they were even stronger than before!
"I have been chosen!" Beswong exclaimed in astonished low tones. "I have been chosen by God!! Hahahaha!!!"
With a powerful push of his legs, Beswong emitted a crisp mechanical sound, "Zzzt—Ka!" He leaped into the sky like a ferocious werewolf.
When his feet touched the ground again, he was dozens of meters away!
"Your first mission," the divine voice reappeared. "Find me a new substitute."
...
Gu Ya and his companions flew back to the front-line camp with the mech forces of Lanlanlan Kingdom.
They were given a warm welcome as soon as they landed.
Looking at the not-so-large camp, Gu Ya felt something was missing.
"Yes, that's right. There are only mech pilots here, no cyber mechanics," Gu Ya murmured.
Inside the hangar, beneath each mech, stood only one person in a pilot's suit. They were staring at a peculiar shell-shaped device, with several cables connecting it to the mech.
In the distance, a man raised his arms, and the mechanical structure of a mech immediately materialized around him.
Judging by their practiced and natural movements, this was clearly a common technology for them.
Gu Ya murmured to himself, "Heiyang, go research their technology."
Following the "donut man," the group walked through the hangar and into the barracks.
The donut man poured them drinks and said politely, "My name is Joe. I'm from Zanbubi country in the Great Palm State. Judging by your appearances, heroes, you must be from Xianxia, right?"
Shu Feizhang eyed the drink suspiciously and said sternly, "Yes. We have important matters to attend to. We hope you can assist us."
Gu Ya took a sip of the drink and raised an eyebrow, thinking the taste was quite good. It melted in his mouth, with a faint vanilla scent and a hint of alcohol.
Mu Ye Xingchen and Shen Jingming saw Gu Ya drink and followed suit, each lifting their cups and taking a shallow sip.
Judging by their expressions, they seemed quite satisfied with the beverage.
Joe chuckled heartily and said, "You are heroes of Lanlanlan Kingdom, helping us clear out foreign enemies. Ask for whatever you require."
Shu Feizhang cut to the chase, "We are here to seek and learn the technology to summon mechs out of thin air."
Joe nodded slightly and continued, "And after you learn it?"
"Return to Xianxia," Shu Feizhang said earnestly.
Joe nodded, muttering the words "return to Xianxia" to himself. He then got up and walked to the door, saying, "I need to report to my superiors. Please wait, heroes."
As soon as Joe left, Shu Feizhang immediately snatched the cup from Shen Jingming's hand and sternly reprimanded him, "We don't know if they are good or evil. Aren't you afraid of poison!"
"Hmph..." Mu Ye Xingchen sighed faintly and said, "Old Shu, you weren't this cautious on the way here."
Shu Feizhang's face immediately darkened.
Gu Ya quickly smoothed things over, "Alright, I've tasted it, and it's not poisonous. It tastes good, you should try it too."
Mu Ye Xingchen's expression soured, and he said softly, "Did you see his expression? It was clear he didn't want us to leave the underground."
Gu Ya sipped his drink, nodding, "We've only been here for less than a day, and we know nothing about this place. We don't know if they have any sinister plans."
"Where is your pet?" Mu Ye Xingchen asked softly.
Gu Ya smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry."
Joe never returned after leaving.
The group grew impatient and wanted to go out for some fresh air.
As soon as Shen Jingming opened the door, the guards blocking the entrance quickly raised their hands to stop him from leaving.
With no other choice, Shen Jingming returned inside and told everyone, "We're being monitored."
Shu Feizhang's brow furrowed, and he worried, "Our mechs are still in the hangar."
"You don't need to worry about that," Gu Ya said reassuringly, standing up and walking to the door.
Soon, the muffled groans of several men came from outside, followed by silence.
The four crossed over the fallen guards and quickly ran to the hangar.
The hangar was now empty. Not only their mechs but also the dozens of mechs that were parked there earlier had vanished.
"Damn it! I knew it!" Shu Feizhang angrily clenched his fist and roared in a low voice, "These people had ill intentions!"
"Old Shu!" Mu Ye Xingchen said calmly, "Show the composure and courage you had when you single-handedly took over the Zhanhuo Ji unit. You're over a hundred years old, don't always act impulsively."
"We still have Gu Ya, so relax."
Just as everyone was contemplating their future path, Joe appeared with a large group of men in strange military uniforms, their eyes filled with killing intent, as they menacingly surrounded them.
"Take them down!" Joe roared.
Seventy to eighty men simultaneously tensed their shoulders. Hard, heavy exoskeleton armor appeared around them, emitting a sharp charging sound.
These men all transformed into heavy mech infantry, over two meters tall, and charged forward with their guns.
With no time to ponder why they were repaid with treachery, Gu Ya took a quick step forward, raised his arms, and spread his hands to the sky.