363: A random touch can transform a "protagonist"

"Zzzz——"

A massive black hovercar, resembling a pitch-black coffin, sank heavily into the mud of the abandoned district.

Before the doors even opened, the suffocating scent of ozone and a murderous aura seeped through the cracks.

"Boom!"

The warehouse doors were completely shattered.

Not pushed open, but blasted to bits by a high-energy particle cannon.

Through the dust, a squad of heavily armed mechanical soldiers marched in.

Leading them was a giant of a man, two and a half meters tall, with not a single patch of flesh visible—only cold, gleaming alloy armor covering his entire body.

His right arm was a still-spinning Gatling cannon, and his left eye was a tactical scanner emitting a crimson glow.

Captain of the Company Enforcement Team—[Butcher].

"Who's in charge here?"

Butcher's voice grated like sandpaper on rust, harsh and dripping with arrogance.

His red eye swept across the warehouse, finally settling on Lu Chen behind the podium.

"Illegal assembly."

"Illegally teaching forbidden knowledge."

"According to Company Law Article 73, all of you... are to be executed on the spot."

"Click!"

The dozen or so mechanical soldiers behind him raised their guns in unison, their dark muzzles locking onto every child present.

Fear.

Like a cold serpent, it instantly slithered into the hearts of the youths.

That was the awe ingrained in the bones of Lower District residents toward the Company.

"Don't... don't kill us!"

One timid child had already wet his pants, crying and scrambling under a table.

"Shut up! Coward!"

Though his legs were trembling too, Jack suddenly stood up, blocking the child.

He gritted his teeth, his mechanical arm emitting a "creaking" sound from the tension.

"If you want to touch the teacher... you'll have to go through me first!"

"Oh?"

Butcher paused, then let out an ear-piercing mechanical laugh.

"A sewer rat with a scavenged piece of junk for an arm, daring to bare its teeth at me?"

"Are all the trash these days so brave?"

Butcher raised his Gatling arm, pressing the dark muzzle directly against Jack's forehead.

"Kneel."

"Lick my boots."

"Maybe I'll consider leaving your corpse intact."

Jack trembled all over.

The cold touch of death spread from his forehead throughout his body.

He wanted to resist, but his instincts left him frozen.

It was a level suppression, a hardware gap.

At that moment.

A hand gently rested on Jack's shoulder.

"Jack."

Lu Chen's voice was soft, almost indifferent.

But to Jack, it sounded like a lifeline grasped while drowning.

"Do you remember what I just taught you?"

"Te... teacher..."

Jack's voice was choked with tears, "I remember... but... my hardware is too weak! He has military-grade cybernetics, mine's just scrap from the dump..."

"Hardware?"

Lu Chen smiled.

Standing behind Jack, he looked coldly through his plain glasses at the arrogant Butcher before him.

"In the face of true skill."

"Hardware is just an excuse."

Lu Chen extended a finger and tapped three times on Jack's worn-out mechanical arm, seemingly at random.

"Tap, tap, tap."

With each tap, a faint, almost imperceptible golden light flowed from his fingertip into Jack's arm.

It was a piece of... **[Overclock Jailbreak Code]**, written by Lu Chen using the residual computing power of the "pangu" system.

"Now."

Lu Chen withdrew his hand, whispering softly into Jack's ear like a demon's temptation.

"Try again."

"Don't see him as an invincible monster."

"See him as..."

Lu Chen pointed to the circuit diagram still on the blackboard.

"A damn, must-solve..."

"**Math problem**."

Boom——!!!

Jack felt a "buzz" in his head.

An unprecedented, violent power erupted from that ragged arm!

The previously sluggish gears began spinning wildly, the rusted bearings emitting sharp shrieks!

That was—**full power output**!

"You..."

Butcher sensed something was wrong and was about to pull the trigger.

"Die!!!"

Jack let out a beast-like roar.

He was no longer the helpless street punk.

At this moment, he was a warrior enlightened by a god!

He swung his left fist fiercely.

That arm, which looked like it might fall apart at any moment, left an afterimage in the air!

Too fast!

So fast it tore through the air, producing a piercing sonic boom!

"Thud——!!!"

A dull, teeth-grating impact.

Under the horrified gazes of all the mechanical soldiers.

Their captain Butcher, nicknamed "Land Tank" with ten-centimeter-thick armor all over... was sent flying!

Like a baseball hit for a home run.

He crashed through the warehouse wall, snapped an outside lamppost, and finally slammed hard into that black hovercar!

"Crash!"

The hovercar dented, billowing black smoke.

Silence.

The warehouse fell into silence once more.

The mechanical soldiers who had been aiming their guns stood frozen, their processors seemingly fried.

One punch?

A kid from the dump, punching a military-grade cyborg into the air?

Is this even fucking scientific?!

"I... I did it?"

Jack stared dumbfounded at his fist.

The metal plating had cracked, revealing the still-glowing circuits inside.

But he felt no pain.

He only felt a never-before-experienced... **dignity**.

"Teacher! I did it!"

Jack turned abruptly, his eyes filled with fervent tears.

"Hmm, passable."

Lu Chen merely nodded faintly, as if what had just happened was a trivial matter.

He walked to the gaping hole, looking at the smoking hovercar outside.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Butcher struggled to crawl out of the wreckage.

His chest was deeply dented, half his face was smashed, exposing the sparking electronic brain inside.

"Mon... monster..."

Butcher looked at the youth standing in the warehouse, then at the man in the shadows.

Fear finally overwhelmed arrogance.

"Who... who are you people?!"

"Attacking the Enforcement Team... the Company won't let you get away with this! No one in heaven or earth can save you!"

"Is that so?"

Lu Chen stepped over the debris, walking step by step to stand before Butcher.

He didn't strike, just crouched down, looking down at thisdisheveled "officer".

"Don't misunderstand."

Lu Chen reached out and straightened Butcher's crooked electronic eye.

His movements were gentle, as if repairing a toy.

"We're not thugs."

"We're here... to apply for a job."

"Ap... apply?" Butcher was stunned.

"Yes."

Lu Chen pointed at the still-excited Jack behind him, then at himself.

"See."

"A student I casually taught can beat the shit out of you."

"So..."

Lu Chen leaned close to Butcher's ear, his voice low but carrying an undeniable magic.

"What do you think?"

"With my level of skill."

"Could I go to your lofty 'Metaverse Company'..."

"and be a **Director**?"

Butcher froze.

His logic core was frantically calculating, trying to comprehend this madman's thought process.

Attack the Enforcement Team, then apply to be a Director?

What the hell kind of move is this?

"Lead the way."

Lu Chen stood up, clapping his hands.

Su Qingying and Wang Peng naturally followed, flanking him like guardian generals.

"Tell your boss."

Lu Chen looked up at the sky city hidden in the clouds.

"An 'Architect' from afar has arrived."

"Bringing a gift big enough to change the world."

"Wants to..."

"**Have a heart-to-heart** with him."