44: Chapter 44 Destroying the "Mechanical Cult"

"Boom!"

Zhao Xiaotang slammed into the enemy formation like a heavy bomb, leaving a massive crater in the ground.

A two-meter-tall cyborg cultist swung a chainsaw at her.

"Shatter for this lady!"

Zhao Xiaotang didn't dodge or evade. Relying on the passive effect of "Copper Skin and Iron Bones," she took the hit head-on with a thick alloy steel pipe.

Amidst flying sparks, her strength, which had tripled after injecting the genetic serum, erupted!

She grabbed the transmission shaft of the opponent's mechanical arm and braced her right foot against its metal chest.

"Crack—!!!"

A teeth-grinding sound of metal tearing rang out.

In the terrified (if they still possessed such emotions) gaze of the surrounding cultists, Zhao Xiaotang actually ripped that thick mechanical arm out by the root! Machine oil mixed with blood sprayed out!

"Hand it over, you!"

Zhao Xiaotang swung the severed mechanical arm and flattened another charging cultist like swatting a fly.

A violent loli, terrifying to this extent!

On the other side, the scene was completely different, filled with a cold, bone-chilling beauty.

"Frost · Sword Dance."

Su Qingqian's voice seemed to come from the Nine Netherworlds.

She wore that custom dark, high-slit qipao, her skirt fluttering in the sandstorm. Every leap and bound revealed a glimpse of dazzlingly white, firm, and slender legs, inviting endless reverie.

But for the enemies, this was absolutely a dance of death.

The Tang sword "water cutter" was unsheathed, and the surrounding temperature plummeted by dozens of degrees instantly.

Su Qingqian's movements were agile as a ghost, weaving through the paralyzed mechanical legion.

Her goal was very clear—the joints of the mechanical limbs.

The freezing sword aura swept past, and those originally hard and wear-resistant metal joints were instantly covered in a thick layer of frost. Due to thermal contraction, the metal structure became extremely fragile.

"Ding!"

With a light flick of the longsword, a mechanical cultist's knee joint shattered like glass, and its massive body collapsed with a crash.

Su Qingqian backhanded her sword, precisely piercing the chip slot on the back of its neck, completely ending its operation.

One white, one black; one ice, one fire.

Two stunning beauties were like the sharpest daggers, ruthlessly stabbing into the heart of the Mechanicus Cult, leaving a trail of broken metal parts in their wake.

...

"Heretics! You damned flesh-and-blood mongrels!"

On the command vehicle in the rear, "Zero" watched his pride-and-joy troops being slaughtered like vegetables by two women, so angry that smoke was rising from half of his mechanical face.

He never expected that the opponents not only had an electronic warfare expert capable of paralyzing their network, but also mutants with such terrifying strength!

"Activate the main cannon! Blast those two women and that vehicle into slag for me!"

Zero roared.

At the top of the command vehicle, a thick plasma energy cannon began to flicker with blinding red light, charging frantically.

"Want to play big? I'll keep you company!"

On the roof of Black Iron.

Lin Xiao had an unlit cigar in his mouth and had already sat in the console of that silver-white " 'Thor' Small Electromagnetic Railgun" at some point.

Through the tactical helmet's aiming system, he locked onto the charging command vehicle ten kilometers away.

"Competing in firepower with a nuclear-powered vehicle? Who gave you the courage?"

Lin Xiao sneered and pressed the fire button with his thumb.

"Luo Yao! Maximum power!"

"Received! Reactor output at 120%! Thor's Roar!"

"Sssssssss—!!!"

It was as if all sound in the world had vanished.

Between the two parallel rails, a blue-violet electric light, a hundred times brighter than the sun, erupted!

Propelled by the immense electromagnetic Lorentz force, a tungsten alloy projectile instantly broke the sound barrier by a factor of seven!

It tore a straight vacuum channel through the air, carrying terrifying kinetic energy that destroyed everything in its path, even creating rings of visible sonic boom clouds along the way!

"What is that..."

Zero's electronic eye captured the blue light, but its brain chip couldn't even calculate an evasion route in time.

"Boom!!!!!!"

Ten kilometers away.

That sturdy, hundreds-of-tons-heavy mechanical command vehicle was struck head-on as if by a divine hammer falling from the sky.

There was no explosion process at all.

Because the massive kinetic energy directly vaporized the command vehicle's front armor along with the plasma cannon inside!

The entire upper half was erased as if by an invisible hand, turning into scorching metal droplets and fragments flying across the sky!

A huge mushroom-shaped cloud of dust rose on the Gobi desert!

"Beep beep beep..."

High in the air, a torso with only an upper body, dragging a piece of broken mechanical spine, was blasted hundreds of meters away by the shockwave of the explosion.

It was "Zero," who was lucky enough not to die.

At the critical moment, he activated the emergency ejection device in his head, abandoned his vaporized lower body, and used the micro-thrusters on his back to flee frantically into the depths of the Gobi desert like a stray dog.

"I will be back... The Cult... will not let you go..."

Only his weak and venomous electronic voice remained in the wind.

"Tch, ran away pretty fast. You're lucky."

Lin Xiao jumped down from the turret and did not order a pursuit.

In this desolate Gobi desert, it was common sense not to pursue a cornered enemy. Besides, leaving a survivor to report back would serve as a deterrent to other petty thieves.

"Remember to bring more 'deliveries' next time."

...

The battle ended cleanly.

The mechanical cultists, who had lost their command and were paralyzed by electronic interference, were quickly cleaned up by the combat team led by Su Qingqian and Zhao Xiaotang.

"Clean up the battlefield! All useful metal parts, chips, and energy blocks, move them all onto the vehicle!"

Lin Xiao walked off the vehicle, looking at the mechanical wreckage covering the ground, feeling great.

These were all high-quality materials for manufacturing advanced ammunition and upgrading the train! His "Matter Conversion Ammo Box" was already starving and thirsty.

"Squad Leader! You have to come and see this!"

In the distance, Zhao Xiaotang was using that oil-stained steel pipe to pry open the rear door of a surviving, heavily armored transport vehicle.

"It looks like there's a living person inside!"

Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow and walked over with Su Qingqian.

The armored door was torn open, and a turbid smell mixed with machine oil and some kind of cheap nutrient solution wafted out.

The interior of the compartment was very dim, piled with various modified weapon parts.

And in the deepest corner, a young girl was actually curled up.

She looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a dirty, oversized gray mechanic's uniform, her face covered in black machine oil, like a little wild cat that had crawled out of a chimney.

But even so, it couldn't hide her delicate features and a pair of unusually large, clear, amber eyes.

Most notably, her wrists and ankles were locked with heavy electronic shackles sparking with high-voltage arcs, the other ends welded tightly to the load-bearing pillars of the compartment.

Around her lay a pile of dismantled firearm parts, screwdrivers, welding torches, and several pieces of parchment covered in complex mechanical drawings.

"Don't... don't kill me..."

Seeing Lin Xiao and the others standing against the light at the door, the girl shrank into a ball like a quail, the shackles making a desperate "clatter" sound.

"I'm not one of those tin-can lunatics! I haven't been modified! I... I'm just a mechanic..."

"A mechanic?"

Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes, not lowering the Desert Eagle in his hand.

In this apocalypse, the more harmless someone looked, the more dangerous they often were.

"A fanatical organization like the Mechanicus Cult would keep an ordinary person? Don't they advocate 'the flesh is weak'?"

"Because... because they thought they were too slow at modifying weapons themselves, and they lacked creativity..."

The girl raised her head timidly. Although she was afraid, when mentioning her profession, her tone subconsciously carried a hint of pride.

"My name is Xiao Ai, and I'm a mechanic. They... they attacked my settlement before and found that I could assemble a pile of scrap metal into a rapid-fire machine gun, so they captured me."

"That pervert called Zero forced me to modify those ugly rotary machine guns and crawler chassis for them every day... If I didn't do it, they wouldn't give me food and would threaten to stuff me into the modification furnace..."

Speaking of this, Xiao Ai's eyes turned red, and she shed tears of grievance.

Lin Xiao and Su Qingqian exchanged glances, the wariness in their eyes easing slightly.

So she was a "technical slave" who had been captured.

No wonder this group of mechanical cultists had much stronger firepower configurations than typical raiders, and even had that special armor capable of withstanding Zhao Xiaotang's brute strength; it seemed it was all this girl's handiwork.

To be able to craft these high-tech pieces of equipment with her bare hands in the wasteland, this little girl was definitely a rare genius!

"Squad Leader! There are so many good things in this vehicle!"

Just then, Luo Yao's excited voice came from outside.

Immediately following, accompanied by the "click-clack" sound of precision hydraulics, the huge salvage robotic arm on Black Iron, which had been modified by Luo Yao, reached over from mid-air, preparing to drag this armored transport vehicle away directly.

"Hum—"

The claw tip of the mechanical arm, full of metallic texture, stopped in mid-air, its dark blue coating refracting a charming luster under the sunlight.

At this very moment, Xiao Ai, who had been curled up in the corner crying like a pear blossom in the rain, suddenly stiffened.

Her large amber eyes widened instantly, and her tears "whooshed" and vanished.

She stared fixedly at the mechanical arm stopped in mid-air, not even bothering about the gun in Lin Xiao's hand, as if she had been hit by a binding spell.

"This... this is..."

Xiao Ai muttered to herself, and then she lunged from the floor toward the door!

"Clatter!"

The heavy electronic shackles yanked her hard to the ground, but she didn't care at all. Ignoring the bloodstains on her wrists, she desperately reached out her oil-stained little hand, wanting to touch the mechanical arm.

"Oh my god! Is this a polymer memory metal coating?! And this hydraulic transmission ratio... This is at least pre-war military-grade data modeling!"

"This wiring! This joint engagement precision! It's too perfect! This is simply a work of art!"

Xiao Ai was like a fanatical fan who had just seen a stunning beauty, or rather, an obsessed "mecha-girl otaku."

Stars not only appeared in her eyes, but her breathing even became rapid.

Lin Xiao watched the girl who had suddenly fallen into a state of madness with black lines on his forehead.

What happened to that pitiful look from just a moment ago? Isn't this change of face too fast?

Subsequently, Xiao Ai's gaze crossed the mechanical arm and saw Black Iron, which stood like a steel fortress not far away.

She saw the "Thor" electromagnetic railgun on the roof that was still emitting wisps of white smoke, saw the Swarm Drones hovering in mid-air and flashing with cold light, and felt the faint energy shield enveloping the train even more.

"Gulp."

Xiao Ai swallowed hard.

She clasped her hands together, knelt on the carriage floor, and looked at Lin Xiao with the fanatical eyes of a pilgrim, her voice trembling.

"That cannon... is it the electromagnetic rail principle that uses Lorentz force for acceleration?! And that light screen... is it a nuclear-powered force field generator?!"

"Oh my god... who modified this train? God, I am willing to trade all the luck for the rest of my life for a chance to study it!"

She raised her head and looked at Lin Xiao pitifully. The fear in her eyes had long since flown to the nine heavens, replaced by a kind of fanaticism and desire that one could not refuse.

"This... this is the perfect structure! Big Brother... can... can I touch it? Just one touch!"

"I promise to be very gentle!"

"..."

Lin Xiao's eye twitched twice. Although he knew she was talking about the train and the mechanical arm, why did it sound so wrong?

"Hmph humph! How about it? Shocked by this genius's masterpiece, right?"

Luo Yao didn't know when she had run over, hands on her hips, arrogantly puffing out her not-yet-fully-developed little chest, her tactical smart glasses flashing with a confident light in the sun.

"That cannon and the mechanical arm were installed by the Squad Leader and me, piece by piece, with our own hands!"

When Xiao Ai saw Luo Yao, it was as if she had found a kindred spirit, her eyes shining.

"You're a mechanic?! That's amazing! How did you solve the overheating problem of the superconducting coil?!"

"Ahem."

Lin Xiao coughed twice, interrupting the cross-server communication that the two tech nerds were about to start.

He stepped forward, raised the Desert Eagle in his hand, and aimed at the electronic shackles on Xiao Ai's wrists.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two gunshots precisely shattered the lock cores of the shackles.

Xiao Ai rubbed her reddened wrists and stared blankly at Lin Xiao.

"Although you are noisy, my vehicle is indeed still missing a laborer who understands mechanical modification."

Lin Xiao put away the gun, looked down at the girl covered in machine oil, and revealed a kindly, capitalist-like smile.

"Get on the vehicle, little stutterer."

"From today on, you are requisitioned by me. Work for me to pay off your debt, room and board included."

"As for you wanting to touch those treasures..."

Lin Xiao turned and walked toward Black Iron, leaving behind a domineering back. "Do a good job, you can touch them all you want."

Xiao Ai was stunned for a full three seconds. Then, she let out a deafening cheer.

She didn't even want those precious drawings anymore, she just scrambled out of the transport vehicle like a mud monkey, following behind Lin Xiao with a happy trot.

"Long live the boss! Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

On this wasteland, some people worry about food, and some people kill for survival.

But for Lin Xiao, this was just an infinite journey of constantly collecting top-tier equipment and top-tier "crew members."