508: Conflict

The prosperity was nothing but a devil's temptation; ever since these Mech Clan members were branded, their consciousness and souls were no longer their own.

Prosperity and destruction were merely a thought away for the brand's owner.

With a thought, the Mechanical God-King quickly found his former capable subordinate, now Lin Tianwei's powerful generator—Balota.

"Balota, do you know the meaning of this Cyber Ranch's existence?"

The Mechanical God-King did not hesitate, directly asking the question he wanted answered.

He disdained to parley with Balota, nor would he, and he wasn't even afraid of being exposed to Lin Tianwei's sight; such was his pride as a God-King.

However, in response to the Mechanical God-King's inquiry, Balota seemed utterly indifferent, merely replying with a simple phrase:

"Cannot be said, cannot be said."

A Mech Clan member dared to refuse to answer his question?

The Mechanical God-King was instinctively stunned; although he knew Balota had been branded by another entity,

as the God-King of the Mech Clan, his status was extremely special to the Mech Clan, and such a situation should normally be impossible.

After all, he could be considered the origin of the Mech Clan; if not for a trace of the Mechanical God-King's original aura, no Mech Clan member could have evolved from cold machinery into a Mech Clan member.

The power of the brand was even stronger than the power of origin?

The Mechanical God-King's gaze became solemn once more, meaning the mastermind possessed a power of rules in no way inferior to his own; how could he not take it seriously?

Without chastising Balota, the Mechanical God-King chose to explore Lin Tianwei's Cyber Ranch himself.

Even if Balota said nothing, that didn't mean everything in the Cyber Ranch could be hidden from the Mechanical God-King.

The only difference was that the Mechanical God-King would need to spend more time to uncover the truth here.

For these branded Mech Clan members, they had long lost their selves and could not possibly defy the brand owner's commands.

Therefore, the Mechanical God-King would not kill Balota out of spite over such a minor matter.

Of course, the main reason was that the Mechanical God-King dared not offend Lin Tianwei, a mastermind of unknown strength, before the situation was clear.

Even if the mastermind's strength was far inferior to the Mechanical God-King's, this terrifying ability alone was enough to make the Mechanical God-King take him seriously.

The Mechanical God-King was always very patient when it came to undesirable prey; he just didn't know if his strength was enough to devour Lin Tianwei whole.

The Mechanical God-King's observational skills were incredibly terrifying; just a few hours of observation allowed him to notice a clue.

When the emotions of these cyber souls, formed from Mech Clan members, fluctuated violently, a unique type of special data representing emotion would be generated.

This data was unique and special, capable of being produced by these cyber souls but not infinitely obtained through replication.

As soon as the special data was born, it was collected by the special device beneath their feet, which appeared to be land but was actually a special data collector.

Once the special data accumulated to a certain extent, it would be transmitted through the special device to a distant and unknown destination, becoming food for some entity or a special resource with other uses.

Since the truth of the Cyber Ranch had been uncovered, the Mechanical God-King only needed to follow the guidance of the special device to easily find the mastermind behind it all.

However, just as the Mechanical God-King was about to follow the special device to get to the bottom of things, an equally towering figure instantly appeared before him.

Upon closer inspection, the Mechanical God-King discovered that this uninvited guest was also a Mech Clan member, directly confronting him in the form of consciousness data.

The one who could suddenly appear here was naturally only Lin Tianwei, the owner of this Cyber Ranch.

In fact, he had already discovered the Mechanical God-King's identity when he visited.

After all, an ordinary Mech Clan member could not bypass his Cyber Virus to enter the Cyber Ranch; perhaps only the Mechanical God-King in the entire universe could achieve this.

Having the enemy BOSS suddenly attack his base camp, this matter, while seemingly sudden, was entirely within Lin Tianwei's expectations.

He had already anticipated this day when he sent the Cyber Virus to the entire Alien Battlefield through the denilu alloy.

The Mechanical God-King was no fool; he couldn't remain indifferent to his actions, which had almost annihilated the Mech Clan on the Alien Battlefield.

The reason he didn't directly confront the Mechanical God-King was entirely because Lin Tianwei was showcasing this Cyber Ranch to the Mechanical God-King, demonstrating its uniqueness.

This was his bargaining chip with the Mechanical God-King.

After the Mechanical God-King had already seen through the truth of the Cyber Ranch, Lin Tianwei showed no fear, choosing to confront the Mechanical God-King, a God-King feared and revered by all Cosmic Beasts.

The reason he thought Lin Tianwei was a Mech Clan member was purely an illusion caused by the Mechanical God-King's shallow knowledge.

Even the Mechanical God-King didn't know that this world possessed such an outrageous existence as Lin Tianwei, who, despite being a biological entity, could cross the chasm between biology and machinery, transforming into powerful data like a Mech Clan member.

No sooner said than done!

The moment Lin Tianwei appeared before the Mechanical God-King, the Mechanical God-King unhesitatingly made his move against him.

The amount of data contained within the Mechanical God-King's body did not appear massive, but it was actually compressed from countless data.

With a slight raise of his hand, a giant hand covering the sky instantly materialized and quickly reached out to grab Lin Tianwei.

Negotiate?

How could the Mechanical God-King be someone anyone could negotiate with? Unless Lin Tianwei proved he had the qualifications to stand and discuss matters with the Mechanical God-King!

Excellent!

Facing the giant hand that the Mechanical God-King extended towards him, Lin Tianwei's eyes showed no fear, but rather excitement.

This was the Cyber Ranch, his home turf; even the Mechanical God-King couldn't make him retreat!

With a thought, Lin Tianwei didn't even need to raise his hand; he conjured an equally terrifying giant claw in the void.

Carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth, the giant claw unhesitatingly swung towards the giant hand.

Bang.

With a loud crash, the giant claw and the giant hand collided violently, stirring up a sky full of data streams.

These data streams were incredibly terrifying, instantly causing a dreadful disaster in the Cyber Ranch.

Some weaker cyber souls were instantly annihilated, merely brushing against them.

However, just as this collision was about to cause an even more terrifying disaster, a massive cube suddenly appeared, directly sealing the giant claw and the giant hand within it, instantly isolating the aftershocks of their collision.

Not only that, the cube began to shrink at a visible speed, quickly coming into conflict with the giant hand and giant claw imprisoned within it.

This cube appeared simple, yet it contained a power capable of annihilating data; the giant hand was utterly unable to resist it and was quickly annihilated under the cube's assault.

The situation of the giant claw, however, was completely opposite; not only was it not annihilated, but it actively integrated into the cube, becoming part of the cube's power.

As the cube shrunk to its limit, under the combined encirclement of the giant claw and the cube, the giant hand representing the Mechanical God-King finally vanished into thin air, completely disappearing within this Cyber Ranch.

"Mechanical God-King, if you are a friend, please do not do anything that could easily cause misunderstandings between friends."

"If you are an enemy, then don't blame me for showing no mercy."

Facing the terrifying Mechanical God-King, Lin Tianwei took the initiative, directly issuing an ultimatum.

This was his territory, his incredibly important Cyber Ranch.

If the Mechanical God-King dared to act recklessly here again, he wouldn't mind letting the Mechanical God-King witness his power.

God-King level data, just thinking about it made Lin Tianwei drool.

Facing Lin Tianwei's reprimand, the Mechanical God-King remained expressionless, merely staring intently at Lin Tianwei,

as if intending to see through Lin Tianwei, to understand why he had the courage to challenge him.

Finally, for some reason, the Mechanical God-King's expression softened considerably, and he praised loudly:

"I didn't expect that I, the Mechanical God-King, would encounter such a formidable Cosmic Beast like you after being away from the Alien Battlefield for a while. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared."

"Since that's the case, let's sit down and talk."

No sooner had he spoken than the Mechanical God-King waved his hand again, and this Cyber Ranch, which originally belonged to Lin Tianwei, instantly changed, automatically generating a magnificent palace.

The Mechanical God-King, turning the tables, actually said "please" to Lin Tianwei before entering the palace first,

as if he were the master of this space.

Facing the Mechanical God-King's actions, Lin Tianwei laughed heartily and said:

"This is my territory; it should be me, the host, who says 'please'."

"Mechanical God-King, rest assured, I will certainly entertain you, my esteemed guest from afar, well."

No sooner had he spoken than, without any apparent action from Lin Tianwei, the magnificent palace before them instantly vanished, replaced by a forest, a vibrant forest.

Along with the forest, two enormous thrones were generated, tall enough to accommodate the massive bodies of Lin Tianwei and the Mechanical God-King.

Facing Lin Tianwei's seemingly provocative action, the Mechanical God-King nodded slightly and said:

"In that case, I was indeed a bit presumptuous."

Without annoyance, the Mechanical God-King simply sat down.

Most creatures respond better to softness than to hardness; the more assertive Lin Tianwei appeared, the less the Mechanical God-King dared to act rashly.

Conversely, if Lin Tianwei had shown too much fear, the Mechanical God-King's attitude towards him would not have been so amicable.

What's more, Lin Tianwei wasn't afraid of the Mechanical God-King at all.

The Mechanical God-King seemed powerful, but in the realm of data, he might not be Lin Tianwei's opponent.

Leaving aside other things, with just the cyber souls in this entire Cyber Ranch, Lin Tianwei was fully qualified to contend with the Mechanical God-King.

However, this would reset the results of Lin Tianwei's hard work over several months, so he wouldn't directly take action unless absolutely necessary.

Moreover, he still had a collaboration he wanted to discuss with the Mechanical God-King.

Without time to waste with the Mechanical God-King, Lin Tianwei directly got to the point and asked:

"May I ask why the Mechanical God-King has traveled so far to visit my home?"

Looking at Lin Tianwei, who was fully exhibiting his role as host, the Mechanical God-King said noncommittally:

"How can you still ask me why? I just want to seek justice for my clan members, for the Mech Clan you enslaved."

"Shouldn't you give me an explanation!"

As he spoke, a powerful pressure emanated from the Mechanical God-King.

It was a data-level pressure, possessing the ability to suppress all data creatures.

Affected by the Mechanical God-King's pressure, all the cyber souls living in the Cyber Ranch trembled, prostrating themselves on the ground, submitting to this absolute ruler of the Mech Clan.

Even though they already bore Lin Tianwei's brand, they still couldn't control this instinctive fear, this fear from the data level.

However, facing such terrifying pressure, Lin Tianwei remained calm and unaffected.

What did the Mechanical God-King's data pressure have to do with Lin Tianwei? He wasn't a true data creature.

But the Mechanical God-King's actions made Lin Tianwei realize that this game had not yet ended.

If he failed in this invisible game, even with invaluable bargaining chips, he wouldn't be able to get a good price from the Mechanical God-King.

Lin Tianwei was completely unfazed by the Mechanical God-King's pressure, merely retorting indifferently:

"Oh, I wasn't aware that the Mechanical God-King cared so much about these ants."

"If the Mechanical God-King minds, I can directly erase the brands on them and return them all to you."

"However, in return, you must also pay a price."

"They are my spoils of war, after all; no one can take them from me for free."

No sooner had he spoken than a powerful aura surged from Lin Tianwei, as if the King of Beasts was looking down upon the earth, making all beasts submit!

The moment this aura appeared, it clashed with the aura emanating from the Mechanical God-King.

The result of this seemingly unequal contest was a fierce stalemate, with neither side gaining an advantage.

That Lin Tianwei, seemingly of a lower realm, could contend with the Mechanical God-King in terms of pressure was simply inconceivable.

This confrontation ultimately ended with the Mechanical God-King voluntarily retracting his pressure.

Lin Tianwei's judgment was correct; the Mechanical God-King's lingering presence here, without directly unleashing a massacre, naturally had its reasons.

The greatest possibility was undoubtedly his coveting of Lin Tianwei's mysterious and unknown power.

If Lin Tianwei had shown even a slight weakness, the Mechanical God-King would have directly and violently suppressed Lin Tianwei, using Lin Tianwei's body as a medium to explore the secrets he desired.

In the end, it was Lin Tianwei who proved himself with his incomparably powerful strength, earning the right to negotiate with the Mechanical God-King.

Facing the assertive Lin Tianwei, the Mechanical God-King finally chose to sit down and talk, saying:

"You shouldn't be a true Mech Clan member." (End of Chapter)