143: Mechanical Heart

“The team competition lasts for half a month, which is indeed enough time to accomplish many things.”

“Moreover, members of the same faction will appear in similar locations. Judging by Tian Ce Academy, if they choose to spend a certain amount of exploration time to cooperate, then they might truly achieve something significant.”

“Higher combat power means greater gains.”

After understanding the opponent's plan, Qin Chi's thoughts became much more active.

In a sense, the opponent was trying to utilize his most proficient methods, pulling this competition into his comfort zone.

His mind raced, and he looked back at Chi Wenwu, asking, “Have you found anything?”

“Not yet.”

Chi Wenwu shook his head, his gaze still rippling as he looked at Qin Chi: “Our first exploration brought us to the edge of this civilization's ruins, where high-value items should be scarce.”

“It's still uncertain whether our initial teleportation location will be deeper in the subsequent explorations.”

At this point, he seemed to realize something: “Qin Chi, did you come here after hearing the commotion?”

“Yes.”

Qin Jin nodded: “The wristband has faction information; contestants from the same faction will be sent to nearby areas.”

“Are you so certain?”

Hearing Qin Chi's words, Chi Wenwu gave Qin Chi a deep look: “Since that's the case, Qin Chi, continue searching according to your own ideas.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Jin looked at him: “What are you going to do?”

“I'm going to find the other students.”

Chi Wenwu's expression was calm: “If you hadn't arrived in time, my search would have already ended.”

“With your strength, I can't be of much help. Since that's the case, I'll do what I can.”

“I'm not that interested in advancing to the individual competition; I just want our Martial Abyss to achieve good results in the team competition. For me to find the others and arrange a way for everyone to contact each other during the next search would also be a contribution to the team.”

Qin Jin's expression remained unchanged, and he did not stop him, saying: “If you want to gather during the next search, you can make use of the fixed evacuation points.”

Chi Wenwu understood instantly, nodding in agreement: “You're right, the fixed evacuation points in an area are limited. We can definitely designate one of the evacuation points in a specific direction as a gathering place. There might be some error, but it already increases the chances significantly.”

“Additionally, it's best to find Han Miao first.”

“Han Miao?”

Chi Wenwu looked at him: “Do you mean?”

“Han Miao and I participated in an academy mission together.”

Qin Jin's voice was calm: “If we can gather everyone, with Han Miao's innate ability, our communication will be much easier.”

“I understand.”

Chi Wenwu nodded solemnly.

Under Qin Jin's gaze, he turned and left.

Qin Chi took out his wristband and checked it.

The direction Chi Wenwu chose was precisely the location of another fixed evacuation point.

“Although dangerous, it is indeed the most likely place to encounter other people.”

A thought flashed through his mind.

Qin Chi quickly left.

Within the ruined streets, scarred by devastation.

Qin Chi walked forward.

On both sides of the street, there were buildings that looked like factories in the past. On the ground, many metal-like mechanical limbs were scattered, resembling parts from humanoid or beast-shaped mechanical bodies.

“Information can also be exchanged for points. In this team competition, we also need to clarify the detailed information of this civilization's ruins and understand why it became like this.”

A thought flashed through his mind.

He took another step.

With a sudden perception, his gaze sharpened, and he looked ahead.

In this desolate street, wind and sand were swirling, and the mechanical limbs scattered on the ground trembled, then suddenly rose up,

Soaring towards the center of the street.

Under Qin Chi's gaze, a core component resembling a black box rose into the air, and from its dormancy, it suddenly erupted with energy fluctuations.

The surrounding mechanical limbs converged in an instant, also carrying rubble, and in front of Qin Chi, with the black box as the center, they assembled completely in a flash.

This was a mechanical monster over three meters tall, its body haphazardly put together, forming a humanoid shape, with broken wires and metal gaps overlapping on its body, creating a strange kind of beauty.

After forming, its target was directly Qin Chi, and its two mechanical legs, one thick and one thin, charged towards Qin Chi.

Qin Chi raised an eyebrow slightly.

“This should be a method left by the original civilization.”

A thought flashed through his mind. He manipulated his storage equipment, and with a flash of light, the previously acquired light sword fell into his hand.

The light sword flickered on and off.

Qin Chi gripped the hilt, and with a step of his right leg, his body shot forward.

In an instant, he approached the mechanical body.

The opponent did not carry a weapon; its assembled mechanical arm swung towards him. Qin Jin dodged sideways, raised his light sword, and as his origin power flowed into the light sword like a trickle, it glowed brightly, and he directly severed one of its arms.

This light sword itself was too old, and its internal energy core was damaged, so Qin Chi was quite careful when using it.

The arm fell to the ground, and accompanied by the reappearance of energy fluctuations, it trembled slightly. The arm actually rose again, showing signs of reassembly.

“It can even restore itself?”

Those mechanical limbs and broken arms were of extremely low value, but the core black box undoubtedly seemed worth collecting.

He approached with the light sword, fearing that lightning and fire would be too explosive and directly destroy the black box, so he planned to dismember the opponent.

But now.

Since the opponent still showed signs of restoration, Qin Chi decisively changed his mind. The mechanical body's other arm swung towards him, but he did not dodge. His origin power surged, forming a barrier that intercepted the attack beside him.

At the same time.

Within the Spirit Void, ice-attribute spiritual power surged along his arm, and the surrounding temperature rapidly dropped. Qin Jin extended his hand, and with the attachment of power, his palm directly penetrated the mechanical body's chest, as if scooping out a heart, and he grasped the black box inside.

The moment he grasped it.

Spiritual power surged, and ice condensed on the surface of the box, freezing it in an instant. With the power blocking it, its connection with the outside world was severed. At the same time as all this was completed.

Under Qin Chi's gaze, the humanoid mechanical body collapsed with a crash. Its core was taken, and the mechanical limbs returned to their dull, ordinary appearance, clattering and clanking as they fell to the ground, making continuous noise.

Qin Chi looked at the black box frozen in an ice block in his hand.

He thought for a moment, then, without unsealing it, he directly put it into his spatial equipment.

Just then.

His wristband vibrated slightly.

Qin Jin looked at it, and the [Map] kept flashing.

He opened the map and saw that apart from his own and the fixed evacuation point's markers, a faint, different-colored marker appeared. Judging from the route Qin Chi had explored so far, it was about two thousand meters away from his current location.

“This is...”

“A mission evacuation point?”

Qin Chi reacted: “So, unlocking a mission evacuation point isn't about accepting a mission, but rather it's automatically triggered after completing a [mission].”

“A problem arises.”

“Does the host's constructed civilization ruin have any native inhabitants, like NPCs, to serve here?”

He put down his wristband and continued forward.

For others, obtaining the coordinates of a [mission evacuation point] basically meant that this search could be safely concluded.

However...

From the very beginning, Qin Chi had not considered the other two types of evacuation points.

After all, how could a single person's search compare to the combined efforts of many? It was simply a matter of fighting.

If he fought and won, he would gain the most.

For the rest of the time, Qin Chi continued his search.

This was the edge of the civilization's ruins. If one were to define it, it would be the outer [ordinary residential area].

There weren't many valuable items.

In some of the buildings that hadn't collapsed, one could find quite a few edible portable foods, which should be considered the goodwill of the organizers, as they did not intend to make things difficult for the contestants in this regard.

He searched along the way, the three-hour countdown constantly ticking.

Just as it was nearing its end.

In the distance of Qin Chi's vision, a beam of light suddenly shone into the sky, and his wristband began to vibrate.

Someone had activated an evacuation point at this moment.

This instantly was like opening a floodgate. Within a mere minute, new beams of light continuously projected into the sky, and the wristband vibrated repeatedly.

At this moment.

Qin Chi raised his wristband. On the map, four fixed evacuation points in the nearby area were recorded, all of which had been activated.

During his search, evacuation points were occasionally activated, and he had completely understood the pattern.

After a teleportation gate is activated, there is a five-minute charging period. Once the teleportation gate opens, it lasts for ten minutes, allowing free entry, and then enters a cooldown period.

His gaze swept over the evacuation points, and Qin Jin's sight focused on the one closest to him.

“This is it.”

“Let's see how my luck is.”

A thought flashed, and Qin Chi's figure shot out.

The light pillar of the teleportation gate climbed to the sky.

This evacuation point was located in front of a building that looked like a [shopping mall]. Most of that mall had already collapsed, with only a small portion still standing, about six or seven stories high. The mall was on one side of a crossroads, with many buildings around it.

Above the teleportation gate, the charging bar gradually filled.

But looking around, he saw no figures, as if no one was there. The surroundings were exceptionally quiet, almost deathly silent, with only the continuous beeping sound of charging.

Just then.

Accompanied by undisguised footsteps, a figure appeared from the end of the street and walked towards them.

It was Qin Jin.

[00:15:59]

He walked to this point and saw no one on the surface near the teleportation gate, which did not surprise him.

“Someone activated the teleportation gate and then hid during the charging time, not wanting to become a target for everyone, huh.”

“Perfect.”

Qin Chi's steps did not stop; he walked to the side of the teleportation gate.

The charging bar still had over two minutes left.

The fixed evacuation point's teleportation gate was a tangible structure. He leaned against the edge of the teleportation gate, his expression calm. From his spatial equipment, he took out an energy gel, and as he ate it, he nodded slightly.

“It tastes good.”

“These foods should be survival supplies provided by the organizers, not native to these ruins. They probably won't count for points. I'll try them when I return.”

A thought flashed through his mind, and Qin Chi closed his eyes to rest.

Beside him.

The teleportation gate was charging, and the constant beeping sound continued.

At the same time.

Behind the side of the teleportation gate.

In the uncollapsed part of the mall, on the third floor.

A head secretly peeked out and then withdrew.

“Where did this person come from?”

“He's crazy, isn't he? Just waiting there so openly?”

The speaker was a woman, her tone somewhat perplexed.

“Do you even need to think about it? Anyone who can participate in the Limit Break Cup is no simple character. This is clearly a master, preparing to directly block the gate and prevent others from evacuating.”

“He's really confident, huh.”

“What's the use of being a master?”

The woman who spoke earlier shook her head: “In just this short time, from what I've noticed, at least four groups of people have approached here.”

“Some are alone, some are in teams.”

“When the teleportation gate opens later, if he doesn't move aside, does he really intend to stop everyone by himself?”

“Never mind him.”

Another voice sounded: “Our goal is to evacuate. When things get chaotic later, we'll act on instinct.”

“Someone else is coming!”

Amidst their conversation.

At the far end of the street, three people formed a triangular formation, guarding their surroundings, and quickly approached.

In front of the teleportation gate, Qin Chi opened his eyes and looked.

As his gaze swept over, he made eye contact with one of the three, raising an eyebrow slightly.

He saw a familiar person.

Tian Ce Academy's Gu Xiwun!

They had a brief encounter during an academy mission. As a general-level student of Tian Ce, he also came to participate in this Limit Break Cup.

So, the two people beside him were clearly the Tian Ce Academy contestants he had gathered.

Their gazes met, and Gu Xiwun obviously recognized his identity. Qin Jin clearly saw him push up his glasses and speak softly, as if saying something.

The next moment.

The three of them, in perfect unison, simultaneously changed direction, burst with speed, and in a few leaps, had already disappeared from their original spot.

Within the street, quiet was restored.

Qin Chi withdrew his gaze.

The scene of his first encounter with Gu Xiwun flashed through his mind, and he was thoughtful.

“In your judgment, do you think you can't defeat me, or do you think it's not worth it to try and break through an evacuation point guarded by me?”

The three of them moved rapidly through the ruins, changing direction and heading quickly towards another evacuation point.

“Gu Xiwun, is it really necessary?”

Gu Xiwun led the way, and behind him, another student's voice sounded: “I agree with your judgment, otherwise I wouldn't have followed you away, but is that person really that powerful?”

“You'd rather have us go to another unknown evacuation point now than interact with him?”

“Of course.”

Gu Xiwun nodded in response, his mental power active, and he said in a deep voice: “Yuan Shen and I participated in the same academy mission with him.”

“The mission's target was a stronghold of the Evil God Sect.”

“If I were to describe it in words...”

He paused, increased his speed, and his voice carried on the wind to the rear: “The Evil God Sect stronghold in that city was clearly wiped out by him alone!”

Just as Gu Xiwun and the others left.

A tall figure approached from within the building ruins.

He also saw someone approaching and then rapidly retreating. He now strode forward, and after coming to about dozens of meters in front of Qin Jin, a boisterous voice sounded.

“No wonder you dare to guard here.”

“Being able to scare others away with just one glance, it seems—you are very powerful.”

Qin Chi's gaze fell upon him.

The newcomer was a man.

His upper body combat suit was gone, his muscular physique exposed. On his skin, faint golden patterns formed a character [Dragon], spreading across half his shoulder and back.

“If it were somewhere else, I could have a good chat with you.”

“However, I also want to guard here to earn the last bit of profit from this search.”

“It seems we'll have to fight.”

In his speech, the man looked behind Qin Chi.

There—

The charging bar was about to fill up.