40: Chapter 40 The Boss is Still the Smartest
The three of them exchanged glances.
They stopped paying attention to that strange gray fog.
Turning around, they walked toward the area nearby where mecha wreckage was scattered.
"Mengmeng, Da Chun, you two go check if there are any usable materials among those beast skeletons. I'll go dismantle the electronic components in the mechas," Lin Mo assigned.
"Got it!" The two responded and scattered.
Lin Mo climbed into the mecha cockpit where they had spent the night; the air inside was thick with the smell of rust and dust.
He pulled out a small knife and carefully pried at the motherboard embedded in the console.
If these motherboards and chips weren't completely corroded, they would definitely be worth a lot of money if taken back to someone who knew their value.
On Blue Star today, due to the universal awakening, certain technological developments had long since stagnated.
If one could really dismantle a complete motherboard, it would probably make those research institutions and tech companies fight tooth and nail for it.
"Boss! Come out and look!"
Just as he pried the motherboard off, Lu Mengmeng's surprised shout came from outside.
Lin Mo quickly wrapped the motherboard in cloth, stuffed it into his storage belt, brushed the dust off his hands, and climbed out of the cockpit.
"I don't know how many years these beast skeletons have been here, but there isn't even a trace of weathering!"
Lu Mengmeng was squatting beside a huge skeleton, poking the bone surface that glowed with a pearly white luster with her finger.
The skeleton was a good seven or eight meters long, its ribs spread out like a giant fan, and there wasn't the slightest crack or blemish on the bones; it was as clear as if carved from jade.
Lin Mo walked over.
Lu Mengmeng pointed at the skeleton.
"Boss, look at this. The beast's grade shouldn't be low, right?"
Lin Mo tapped it with a wrench and felt that the bone was harder than steel.
Lin Mo looked closely, his eyebrows raising slightly.
This skeleton was indeed strange.
After ordinary creatures died, their bones would weather and become brittle within a few years under the erosion of wind and sand.
Yet the skeletons before them seemed as if they had been frozen in time.
He reached out and touched the bone surface; it felt cold and hard, and he could vaguely sense a faint fluctuation of energy.
"This thing isn't simple; it's at least Grade Five or higher."
"A Grade Five beast? That's super valuable!" Lu Mengmeng's eyes lit up.
Blue Star's technology was somewhat backward, but they had developed technology related to Soul Guidance Devices.
And Soul Guidance Devices required materials from beasts.
Among them, the bones of high-grade beasts were the best materials for weapons and armor.
"No matter how valuable, our storage space is limited, and we can't pack it all back!"
"Then what do we do? It's a pity to just leave it here." Lu Mengmeng was unwilling to give up.
"I say, you Second Young Miss of the Lu Family, why are you even more money-grubbing than us?" Lin Mo glanced at her sideways.
Lu Mengmeng pouted.
"Can't help it. According to the Lu Family rules, the Lu Family's money will be my sister's in the future. I need to spend as much as I can now and save as much private money as I can, so I don't end up sleeping on the streets later."
"Get lost!" Lin Mo couldn't help but laugh and scold.
He didn't believe a single word of Lu Mengmeng's.
Father Lu and Mother Lu didn't look like such pedantic people.
Too lazy to listen to Lu Mengmeng brag, Lin Mo examined the skeleton.
"Just get the horns and teeth off and take them back; these are the valuable parts anyway."
These words woke Lu Mengmeng and Niu Dachun up.
"That's right! Boss is still the smartest!"
Lu Mengmeng and Niu Dachun responded, took out their tools, carefully climbed onto the skeleton, and began prying off the teeth and horns.
Lin Mo turned and walked to a broken chariot.
He continued to dismantle the motherboards that were still usable.
Two hours later.
Lin Mo saw that the space in his storage belt was almost full.
He called out to Lu Mengmeng and Niu Dachun.
"That's enough, time to retreat."
"Got it!" The two ran back happily.
Looking at their expressions, it was clear they had gained a lot.
The three took out some food to heat up and ate a quick meal.
Then they carefully packed away their loot, not daring to stay any longer.
Lin Mo directly released a large, fire-red Pill Furnace.
The three climbed into it one after another.
Before closing the lid, Lin Mo took one last look at this battlefield of sand.
If there were no accidents, this place would be his treasure vault.
"Furnace Chariot!"
Lin Mo shouted in a low voice.
The fire wheels rumbled, carrying the three of them as they plunged into the gray fog of the boundary wall, disappearing at the edge of the sand sea.
However, not long after they left, a black shadow suddenly swept across the sky.
It was a strangely shaped aircraft, its silver-gray fuselage covered in signs of wear and tear.
It hovered at an altitude of three hundred meters, and the hatch at the bottom opened with a "hiss."
A dozen or so worn-out mechas slid down ropes and slammed heavily onto the sandy ground.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
As the mechas landed, they kicked up clouds of dust, their three-meter-tall bodies gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster in the morning light.
It was just that their armor was covered in scratches and dents, exuding a sense of long-battle-hardened vicissitudes.
"Sky City, this is Noah's Ark squad."
The leading mecha opened its communicator, and a steady male voice came through.
"We have arrived at the outer battlefield ruins of the Pangu Ruins and are beginning to execute the landing mission. Please advise."
"Sky City received. Noah's Ark squad, stay safe and be alert for unknown energy reactions," a cold female voice came through the communicator.
"Ark squad received."
The communication was temporarily interrupted, and a burst of teasing whispers suddenly rang out within the mecha group.
"Haha, the Captain's old habit is acting up again. Every mission, he has to hear a couple of words from Ms. Z."
"What do you know?" another mecha chimed in with a muffled voice. "I heard that during the last breeding matching mission, the Captain was matched with Ms. Z. Maybe he's caught feelings."
"Bzzzt—"
A burst of static suddenly came from the communicator, and a stern voice interrupted them.
"Shut up, all of you! The Oversight Team's monitoring system isn't just for show. If you want me dead, keep talking!"
The whispering stopped instantly, and the mecha group fell into silence.
A moment later, the leading mecha spoke again, its tone returning to seriousness:
"Alright, the mission is what matters. Disperse and search. Collect usable parts and energy crystals. Gather here in half an hour. Stay alert; the energy in this place is very unstable."
"Yes, Captain!"
A dozen mechas responded and scattered, walking with heavy steps toward the sand sea scattered with wreckage.
The creaking sound of metal joints turning and the rustling sound of sand grains rubbing together intertwined.
They also added a touch of movement belonging to the "living" to this silent battlefield ruin.
At this moment, a mecha responsible for searching the left flank walked to the place where Lin Mo and the other two had just rested.
The metal detector suddenly emitted a rapid buzzing sound.
The mecha pilot looked down and scanned, his gaze falling on the conspicuous instant noodle wrappers and empty canned food boxes on the sand, and he immediately exclaimed.
"Captain! Come over here quickly! We have a situation!"
This exclamation was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.
The dozen mechas that were originally searching in a dispersed formation instantly became alert and all grabbed their weapons.
Energy rifles and alloy combat blades gleamed coldly in the morning light as they moved to form a combat formation at top speed.
Their movements carried the tension of long-experienced battle, appearing somewhat overreactive.
"Clomp, clomp, clomp!"
The leading Captain's mecha hurried over, its heavy metal feet stepping on the sand and leaving deep footprints.
When his gaze swept over those wrappers and canned food boxes that still held residual warmth, and a piece of luncheon meat that had been bitten and discarded.
The eyes behind the cockpit observation window suddenly widened, filled with disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost.
"These... these things are fresh!"
The Captain's voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying uncontrollable trembling.
"The seal of the packaging was just torn open, and there are even fingerprints on the canned food box... This, this is actually evidence of surface human activity!"
The mecha group instantly fell into dead silence.