136: God's game? Then overturn this damn chessboard!

One word, heavy as a thousand tons.

The communication cut off, and Lan Yue, along with her war beast named thanatos, silently retreated into the shadows of the dunes, disappearing as if she had never appeared.

Inside the Bridge, a suffocating silence fell.

"God's game... the right to slay a god..."

Gu Zhixia repeatedly chewed on these words.

Her phoenix eyes, usually sharp as knives, were now filled with an extremely complex emotion.

There was towering rage at being wantonly played with.

There was an instinctive wariness of that unknown "God."

But even more, there was a nearly insane, all-consuming battle intent, ignited from the depths of her bones!

Gu Zhixia, a born warrior, the ace of aces!

All her life's pride, her determination to protect her sister with her life, all her struggles and glory... in the end, were they just a boring circus in the eyes of some spectator high above?!

This was more humiliating than killing her.

"Outrageous!"

She slammed her fist hard against the metal railing beside her, emitting a dull thud!

A clear fist print was left on the railing.

"Whether it's a god, or something else..." Her voice was squeezed out from between her teeth, carrying a chilling killing intent, "No one will ever treat us like toys!"

The girl's inviolable pride transformed into the purest declaration of war at this moment.

"Ex-exactly!"

Gu Nianqiu nodded her small head vigorously beside her, her tiny body trembling slightly from fear, yet she still waved her small fists and echoed indignantly.

"Treating us like toys is too much! Even toys have dignity! Next time I see that god, I, I... I'll have big sister's mech stomp him flat!"

These childish words, trying hard to sound fierce, softened Gu Zhixia's tense pretty face slightly.

She reached out and pulled her sister tightly into her embrace, the anger in her eyes gradually settling, transforming into an even more resolute determination.

Lin Mo did not speak.

He just quietly looked at the star map marked "Throat of the Abyss."

He believed seven-tenths of Lan Yue's words.

The remaining three-tenths were reservations about her own motives.

This woman was also an unusually powerful piece on the chessboard; no one knew what her so-called "dealing with other troubles" truly meant.

Cooperating with her was undoubtedly like asking a tiger for its skin.

But now, he had no choice.

Leviathan was the first great mountain blocking their path, and for whatever reason, this battle was unavoidable.

"I need to upgrade my mech."

Gu Zhixia suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

She released her sister, turned, and walked away, her steps carrying a decisive momentum like a swift storm.

After learning the cruel truth of this world, her desire for power reached an unprecedented peak.

The humiliation of being paralyzed by a magnetic storm torpedo in the last battle was like a thorn, deeply embedded in her heart.

She would never allow her "Thunder Dragon" to have such a weakness again.

Never!

Lin Mo watched her hurried departure, her back like she was rushing to a battlefield, and did not stop her.

He knew that this proud girl needed to digest this impact, which was enough to crush anyone, in her own way, and re-arm her arrogant heart.

He turned his head and offered a comforting smile to Gu Nianqiu, who was still a little uneasy in his arms.

"Nianqiu, dinner might be a bother for you tonight."

He reached out and gently ruffled the girl's head.

"I'll go see if there's anything I can help with."

"Leave it to me, Brother Mo!"

Gu Nianqiu thumped her small chest vigorously and answered loudly, as if that could dispel the fear in her heart.

"Tonight, I'll make Brother Mo and big sister's favorite dishes!"

The huge weapon modification room was brightly lit.

The "Thunder Dragon" mech stood silently on the central platform, connected by hundreds of energy pipelines and data interfaces of various colors.

Gu Zhixia floated in mid-air, manipulating several flexible mechanical arms, carefully dismantling the reactor armor on the mech's chest.

Her expression was intensely focused.

She was completely oblivious to the fine beads of sweat on her forehead.

Those hands that once wielded a long spear on the battlefield, decisive in killing, now appeared incredibly steady and nimble when operating precise instruments.

She was attempting to perform a shallow link between the "Thunder Dragon's" energy system and the Natural Selection's upgraded antimatter energy core.

This was an extremely complex and dangerous modification.

If successful, the "Thunder Dragon" would gain almost infinite energy support, completely freeing it from endurance limitations.

But if even one step went wrong, the violent energy leakage would be enough to instantly vaporize the entire mech, along with its pilot.

"This energy circuit... the overload threshold isn't enough, it needs to be replaced with 'Krypton Fiber'..."

She murmured to herself, pulling up a complex internal structure diagram, her brows tightly furrowed.

Just then, a calm voice sounded behind her.

"Try this."

Gu Zhixia spun around, only to see Lin Mo standing behind her, she didn't know when he had arrived.

In his hand, he held a peculiar material that emitted a faint silver glow, as if solidified from liquid metal.

"Psionic Conductor (Epic Grade): Refined from the nerve bundles of void creatures, it possesses near-zero loss energy conduction efficiency, can self-repair damage, and has extremely high resistance to EMP-type attacks."

This was a top-tier material Lin Mo had just exchanged in the Gods Workshop using the rare exchange vouchers obtained after killing commanders Iron Hammer and Vulture.

Gu Zhixia's pupils instantly contracted.

With her professional eye, she immediately recognized the value of this material.

This was exactly what she most needed and lacked right now!

With it, the success rate of this modification could increase by at least fifty percent!

"I... I don't need your stuff!"

Her cheeks involuntarily flushed slightly, but her tone remained as unyielding as ever, pushing him away.

She turned her head away, avoiding Lin Mo's eyes.

"Oh? Then never mind."

Lin Mo made a move to put the material away.

"Wait!"

Gu Zhixia almost blurted it out instinctively.

Seeing the subtle smile on Lin Mo's lips, she realized she had been tricked, and her pretty face instantly turned crimson.

She snatched the "Psionic Conductor" from Lin Mo's hand, her movements a little rough, as if to hide something.

"Since you insist on giving it... then I'll reluctantly accept it! Just consider it as... as compensation for you meddling last time!"

She dropped this blustering remark, then immediately turned her back to Lin Mo, burying herself in her work again.

However, her slightly trembling fingertips and the faint blush creeping up her ears betrayed her inner turmoil.

Lin Mo smiled and didn't disturb her further.

He just stood quietly nearby for a while, and after confirming that her operations were fine, he quietly left.

In this world, some care doesn't need to be spoken aloud.