In a dark room within an underground structure in Xianxia City, a solitary blue holographic screen illuminated the space.
Through the screen, Lai Yu Feng Nan gazed calmly at the person hidden in the shadows. "Stop with the petty squabbles; Divine Powers are not so easily killed. He appeared in Black Star Central Metropolis. The rest is up to you."
After a long silence, the figure in the shadows spoke with a resonant voice, "Feng Nan, we've known each other for decades. We've never seen each other in person."
"We've finally reached the final stage, and our performance is nearing its end."
"Once this chapter of the world's script turns, if you and I are still alive, let's meet."
Lai Yu Feng Nan, his expression unchanged, asked, "In what capacity do you wish to meet? As the Grand Pontiff of the Chongli Sect, or as Xianxia..."
"Feng Nan!" the man in the shadows interrupted calmly. "Let's meet as two old men, fishing, feeding birds... tending to flowers..."
A hint of a smile finally appeared on Lai Yu Feng Nan's stern face. "That is something to look forward to..."
"Ah, yes, one thing I forgot to tell you. The Kun Ga Society found me again, but this time, I don't plan to follow the script..."
"That little toy I invented still has some use."
"So, old friend, if that day comes, don't be surprised, hahahaha!"
The man in the shadows chuckled softly as well.
The holographic screen went dark, plunging the room into complete blackness.
After a long pause, the man's voice echoed again, "Shanhai City, Black Star Central Metropolis, commence action."
...
Bai Ying calmly observed Zhan Huo Ji, a man of robust build, standing a few meters away. "Go call your sister. She can prove my identity."
At dawn, as Bai Ying piloted a Black Star mecha at high speed over the outskirts of Shanhai City, she was shot down by Zhan Huo Ji's army.
The ground crew found no pilot in the burning cockpit, but instead discovered a small, entirely white cat.
To the astonishment of all the soldiers, this little white cat could speak human language.
Two hours later, Bai Ying was confined in a sturdy iron cage and brought before Zhan Huo Ji.
Zhan Huo Ji scratched the back of his head, disbelieving.
Shortly after, the door was pushed open, and Wei rushed in.
Her eyes immediately fell on Bai Ying in the cage, and she ran over in a few strides, lifting the cat out.
"Hey! Aren't you afraid she'll harm you!" Zhan Huo Ji exclaimed loudly.
"She's the daughter of Gu Ya and Ye Ying, and I was the midwife! What have I to fear?" Wei retorted fiercely.
Zhan Huo Ji scratched his head again and muttered, "I remember her as a little girl. How did she become a cat?"
"Ignorant brute!"
Wei cursed, then gently cradled Bai Ying as she walked out of the room.
"How did Gu Ya think of turning you into a cat? That's so interesting!"
Bai Ying closed her eyes, enjoying Wei's caress, and said calmly, "This body is easier to move in. Father sent me to find out the identity of the person who assassinated him. Currently, I've traced it to the Heteromorphic Mech Department; rumor has it, it's someone important."
"You study human anatomy. Can you get me access to someone from the Heteromorphic Mech Department? Preferably someone whose brain has been modified."
Wei shrugged her shoulders. "My elder brother has already reported to Xianxia, wanting to introduce me to the Xianxia Human Modification Society. There, I should be able to contact experts from the Heteromorphic Mech Department. But it will take a long time."
A tall man in military uniform walked past Wei, his eyes briefly glancing at the small white cat in her arms.
Bai Ying's eyes suddenly opened, and she poked her head out to look at the man walking by.
"Wait..." Bai Ying said softly.
The man's steps quickened, from walking to a jog, eventually stopping at the door of Zhan Huo Ji's room.
The next moment, the man pulled his hand out of his pocket and aimed it at the door.
His hand was, in fact, a 96mm caliber beam cannon!
Before Wei could react, a powerful energy beam erupted from the cannon's opening, piercing straight through the door.
The room exploded instantly, with dust and debris scattering outwards.
Bai Ying swiftly leaped from Wei's embrace, ducking to avoid the shockwave and dodging flying debris left and right, before leaping onto the man's shoulder!
"Wei! Go save your brother!" Bai Ying shouted.
The man, carrying Bai Ying, sprinted down the other side of the corridor.
Wei stood stunned for a full ten seconds, then tremblingly rushed forward.
When she saw Zhan Huo Ji lying in the rubble, with only his upper body remaining, her mind went blank.
Guards and medical personnel rushed past her into the room. After a period of frantic efforts, the medical personnel solemnly announced, "Zhan Huo Ji, deceased."
"Brother—!"
Wei's sorrowful cry echoed from behind.
Bai Ying looked back at the long corridor, then burrowed into the man's embrace, whispering, "One hundred meters to the left, then thirty meters to the right, through the ceiling ventilation shaft, finally reaching a freight elevator shaft. You can escape from there."
"Why are you helping me?" the man asked.
Bai Ying did not answer. Code flashed rapidly in her pupils.
In the man's eyes, code also flickered rapidly, mirroring Bai Ying's.
Under Bai Ying's control, the man successfully escaped the building, boarded a pre-arranged hovercar, and flew into the sky.
Fifteen minutes later, on the outskirts of Shanhai City, the man contacted his superior through a hidden secure communicator.
"Agent 85*****9, from the Heteromorphic Mech Department's 3033 Dispatch Team, reporting. Mission complete. Target, Zhan Huo Ji, is dead."
"Heteromorphic Mech Department received. Initiating Protocol 5 Concealment. Self-destruct in thirty seconds. Countdown begins, 30... 25... 20..."
Bai Ying jumped out of the man's embrace and placed her small paws on the communicator's receiver.
Code flashed rapidly in her eyes as she frantically searched for the address on the other end of the communicator.
The Heteromorphic Mech Department had hidden the address very cleverly, with over eighty thousand disguised access routes.
Bai Ying's brain computed rapidly, sifting through the communication pathways.
"10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1!"
"BOOM!"
The man exploded into a mist of blood on the spot!
Bai Ying was thrown back several meters by the shockwave. She slowly climbed to her feet, shaking off the dirty flesh and blood.
Without looking back at the gruesome scene behind her, she turned towards Xianxia and murmured, "I found you, in Xianxia City..."
Then, using all four paws, she turned and sprinted towards the hovercar, heading back into Shanhai City.
...
Gu Ya looked at his hands and clenched them lightly, his entire body rapidly transforming into flesh.
"Phew!! Every time I transform, it feels like every cell in my body is being squeezed dry, leaving me weak..."
Liu Feng joked, "You mean kidney deficiency? Hahaha! Hey, brother, what does it feel like to transform into a mechanical body?"
Gu Ya glared coldly at Liu Feng, then turned to Ye Ying. "Do you feel this way? This is a side effect of the Mech Blood Factor, right? How do I replenish my energy?"
Ye Ying smiled. "Eating, nutritional fluids, solid energy. The more you consume, the more cellular energy you have. The longer you can maintain your transformation."
"I thought it would be without such restrictive conditions, like the Mech God's Urn. But, it's not bad either."
As Gu Ya spoke, he walked towards the holographic screen, turned it on, and connected to Xian Wangchuan.
"Tell me about your situation. How is the emotional state of the city's populace?"
Seeing Gu Ya's restored vigor, Xian Wangchuan breathed a sigh of relief. "The emotions of Black Star's citizens are relatively stable."
"However, some extreme nationalists are planning resistance. We have dispatched personnel to monitor them secretly."
"Also, our hidden agents have finally made contact."
Gu Ya nodded in reassurance. Some lingering issues were finally being resolved.
for the past few hours, he had been trying to adapt to his new body.
With the assistance of Xian Wangchuan and Wu Ji, the control of Black Star's second-largest news media by Bai Zhan Hen, and the miraculous avatar's consciousness data controlling intelligence and public opinion,
calming the populace was not an issue.
Now, the only thing troubling Gu Ya was the whereabouts of Lai Yu Feng Nan and his Black Star main forces.
Could it be Black Star Mountain again?
Just as Gu Ya was deep in thought,
an unsettling "buzzing" sound, like the roar of over a dozen mecha motorcycles, suddenly erupted outside the room.
Before anyone could react, the room door was suddenly kicked open, and three figures in full exoskeleton armor burst in, aiming their guns at Gu Ya and firing!
As the bullets left the barrels, Gu Ya rapidly mechanized his body!
Ye Ying, at the same time, pulled Liu Feng behind the alloy dining table to take cover!
The explosive bullets impacted Gu Ya's body, creating small pits of varying depths, but they could not penetrate his form.
The assassins discarded their firearms, their arm armor unfolding to reveal portable beam cannon barrels!
Gu Ya lunged forward rapidly, his arms turning into blades. He swiftly sliced through the outer armor of one assassin, grabbed the assassin's arm cannon, and aimed it at the other two.
"Bang! Bang!" Two shots!
The chests of two assassins were blasted with large holes.
Ye Ying swiftly flew forward, her arm blades extending and piercing into the body of the assassin controlled by Gu Ya.
Within half a minute, Gu Ya and Ye Ying had killed the intruders.
"Are you alright!" Ye Ying asked anxiously.
Gu Ya suddenly hugged Ye Ying and leaped behind the alloy dining table.
"Boom!!"
The three assassins exploded on the spot, obliterating everything in the room.
When the smoke cleared, the alloy dining table was reduced to scrap.
Gu Ya shielded Ye Ying and Liu Feng with his body, his mechanical back scorched pink by the shockwave and intense heat.
"It's safe. But!"
Gu Ya, smoke billowing from him, his eyes filled with killing intent, stood up steadily. "I will kill the mastermind."