Gu Ya returned to his resting area, feeling a bit dejected.
He had dug a pit for himself and then unhesitatingly jumped in.
At this moment, Zhou Hu had returned victorious and was in high spirits. He grabbed a bucket of beer and chugged it down.
Afterward, he let out a loud roar: "So refreshing!"
Gu Ya hesitated internally, sighing, "How am I supposed to beat him?"
"If only I had a mecha."
Gu Ya was helpless and had to open the system shop again.
With thousands of items in the shop, his 530 system coins could only afford the upper body and lower limbs of a mecha.
The 100,000 bounty coins could only purchase two low-end, cheap mecha arms.
Arms connected to the torso were not only troublesome to install but might also be incompatible in size.
If that happened, it would be a waste of bounty coins and system coins, and he would gain nothing for his troubles.
Gu Ya then looked at the battle information board.
At the current pace of matches, the second round of eliminations would start as early as the day after tomorrow afternoon.
It was now 11:08 PM, meaning less than 48 hours remained.
In the first round, he had won through surprise.
Everyone had seen his fighting style and would surely take precautions.
Moreover, after eliminating some participants in the first round, the second round would be where true strength was tested!
It would be foolish to face off against steel with just his bare body then.
Jude without a mecha could only fool them for a while.
Gu Ya secretly made up his mind; he had to get a mecha.
He couldn't lose. He still had to save his sister.
He still had to get revenge!
...
The fifth floor of wastewater treatment area 13.
The members of the Crocodile Dao Alliance held a collective meeting.
Their leader, Wang Panpan, leaned back on a dilapidated sofa, clutching his forehead, his brows furrowed, a look of worry and annoyance on his face.
Meanwhile, Gu Youyou stood before him with her hands on her hips, scolding Wang Panpan like a teacher addressing a student.
All the members surrounded them, their faces filled with shame, as if they couldn't bear to look at Youyou.
Youyou stomped her foot angrily and exclaimed, "So, you all ganged up to trick my brother!"
"My brother was fighting desperately for me, and he thought you were trying to harm me!"
"You even threatened my life to force my brother to earn a million bounty!"
"You guys!"
"I'm so angry!"
The thin man who had first captured Youyou spoke with a helpless and embarrassed expression, "We really just wanted to scare your brother, who knew we'd run into such a tough opponent..."
Youyou shot him a glare, frightening the thin man into shutting up immediately.
A group of burly men being controlled by an 11-year-old girl was a comical and unbelievable sight.
Wang Panpan asked helplessly, "What do you want, little ancestor?"
Hearing his words, Youyou became even more angry. "What are all you grown men good for! Making me, a little girl, figure things out?"
A member said, "Boss, why don't we ask the Security Department to retrieve your mecha and lend it to Gu Ya?"
"Retrieve?" Wang Panpan questioned. "Do we have money for that?"
"Boss, we'll act immediately. We'll steal or rob!" another member suggested.
"Don't cause trouble for me!"
Wang Panpan pondered for a long time and said softly, "Alas, there's only one way."
...
The battle arena was sleepless through the night.
The third match had already begun.
And Gu Ya was still troubled about acquiring a mecha.
Nearby, a few mechanics were chatting.
"Did you hear? If a mecha is too severely damaged, it's just thrown into the mecha junkyard outside the arena."
Another mechanic chimed in, "Of course. It's become scrap metal, no point in taking it back for repairs. Might as well buy a new one."
Gu Ya's eyes lit up.
Scrap mechas, junkyards – for Gu Ya, that meant an endless supply of mecha spare parts.
It was paradise!
Gu Ya quickly asked, "How do I get to the junkyard?"
One of the mechanics looked at Gu Ya with confusion and said, "Go out the back door of the contestant lounge, turn left, and climb over the fence."
"Thank you!"
Gu Ya hurried towards the back door.
Emerging from the back door, the night wind was bone-chilling. Gu Ya tightened his clothes and continued on his way, bracing against the wind.
The arena was brightly lit at night, but it was desolate outside the walls.
The wall wasn't high, but Gu Ya hadn't eaten all day, and his body clearly couldn't handle it.
He laboriously climbed over the wall and finally saw the junkyard.
It was less of a junkyard and more of a mecha graveyard.
Countless mecha parts were piled into small mounds.
Gu Ya casually picked up a broken part covered in dirt.
His system display immediately showed an analysis:
[Auxiliary power conduit sensor, damaged]
Gu Ya discarded the damaged part and continued walking into the junkyard.
Numerous small mounds of parts were scattered along the sides of the path. Some had already grown weeds and vegetation, indicating they had been abandoned for a long time.
At night, anything over ten meters away was invisible.
Gu Ya fumbled his way forward in the dark when a shadow suddenly flashed in front of him.
"Who's there!" the shadow boomed. It was a child's voice, but the shadow itself was colossal, a full head taller than Gu Ya.
Gu Ya picked up a pipe for defense, saying warily, "I'm here to pick up parts."
"This area is booked. Go somewhere else!"
Gu Ya ignored the person and turned a corner, heading towards a nearby pile of scrap.
However, another figure appeared, blocking his path.
Gu Ya tried to turn back, but a figure also appeared behind him.
In the darkness, three figures surrounded Gu Ya, all tall and thin.
Gu Ya couldn't see their faces clearly. He raised the steel pipe he was holding, remaining vigilant.
"Get lost!"
Strangely, the figures, despite their imposing height, had childlike voices.
At that moment, two mechas flew overhead. Their searchlights flashed, and in that brief second, Gu Ya saw the faces of the three people.
They were clearly six children, stacked on top of each other to form the tall figures.
Gu Ya lowered the pipe and said, "My name is Jude. I mean no harm. I want to assemble a mecha."
"Assemble a mecha?"
"Wait, you're... Jude from the battle arena?"
"What, Jude? The unarmored Jude?"
The children began chattering among themselves.
"Yes, that's me."
As soon as Gu Ya spoke, the six children suddenly cheered joyfully.
What were they so happy about?
"Come, come!" one child beckoned Gu Ya to follow them.
Gu Ya followed them as they ran to the center of the junkyard, where a few makeshift tents formed a campsite.
Between the dilapidated tents, a small bonfire was lit.
Beside the bonfire sat an old man in a dirty, tattered overcoat, smoking a pipe.
In front of the old man was a holographic television displaying scenes from the battle arena.
"Old Gan Tou! Old Gan Tou! Look, look, it's Jude! Jude is here!" a child excitedly ran towards the old man and shouted.
Old Gan Tou turned, squinting at Gu Ya, "What? The unarmored Jude?"
"It's me," Gu Ya replied.
Old Gan Tou's spirits immediately lifted. He quickly got up and said, "Oh my, a celebrity!"
What? I've only had one match and I'm already a celebrity?
"Your deeds are now being spread throughout all the slums. A few old friends called me earlier to tell me about you," the old man said cheerfully.
"Everyone says that by looking at Jude's attire, it's clear he comes from the slums, with no background or guild, facing steel with his bare body."
"The guilds oppress and bully us slum dwellers every day, and many suffer in silence!"
"You taught them a lesson on our behalf, and we are all very excited!"
"You are now the spiritual idol of the people of Wuhe City's slums!"
Gu Ya was shocked. It had only been less than two hours, and he was already an idol? The news spread too fast!
"Is there anything we can help you with?" Old Gan Tou asked.
Gu Ya calmed himself and replied, "Old Gan Tou, to be frank, I'm here looking for mecha parts. I want to assemble a mecha."
Gu Ya then explained his plan.
Old Gan Tou listened, stroking his beard thoughtfully, and said with concern, "This is one of Wuhe City's major mecha junkyards, parts are everywhere, we can help you look."
"The only problem is, none of us are mechanics. No one knows how to assemble a mecha!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Ya smiled knowingly and said, "Don't worry, I am a mechanic."
Old Gan Tou looked at Gu Ya, and his weathered, cloudy eyes reflected the light from the bonfire.
"I see. Good! We will help you. I'll call a few more of my old buddies, and we'll help you together!"
"Yay! Yay! Assemble mecha! Assemble mecha!"
The six adorable children cheered, jumping and dancing.
Gu Ya looked at these children, who were even younger than Youyou, and couldn't quite tell if he felt joy or worry.
Youyou, wait for me. Brother will definitely save you!