Ling Cage: Enhanced Nanosteel Suit at the Start

Page 87

Closing the door shut out most of the outside noise, Chen Yuan's composure gradually faded, replaced by a deep solemnity.

He walked to the window, looking at the environment of Dragon Bone Village, which was different from that of the Lighthouse, and many things came to mind.

"Higher dimensions...system...integration..."

Chen Yuan began to reflect on himself, "What's behind all of this?"

His brain was racing as Chen Yuan tried to understand the power system of this world in a more systematic way.

"Based on the Sea-Land Alliance's classification of Awakened Ones and the current situation... the warriors in Dragon Bone Village under Boss Bai who have just awakened their life essence, such as Sui Xing and Xu Tong, are probably only at the level of first or second-tier Awakened Ones. They can deal with the pan-type Devouring Beasts by relying on experience and skills, but they are extremely difficult to deal with the mutated type."

"And the king-level Devouring Beast's strength has definitely reached the terrifying level of the fifth rank, making it easy for it to destroy a city."

"Bai herself, under normal circumstances, when injured, is probably at the peak of the fourth level thanks to her years of training and profound control over the life essence. This is already an inhuman level, but it is still not enough when facing a true monarch level."

"Only by wearing the Abyss Warrior Armor can Bai Yuekui briefly break through his limits and truly possess fifth-tier combat power comparable to a monarch. That armor... is the key. If it were Boss Bai in his prime, his strength would definitely be at the fifth tier, making him a true human monarch."

"Where is the legendary Mana Giant?"

Chen Yuan frowned. "A being that can trigger geological changes, alter landforms, and may even possess some kind of domain-specific power... that kind of being is probably at least at the seventh rank, or even higher!"

"A super-large electromagnetic cannon might be able to injure a fifth-tier monarch-level being, but against a seventh-tier Mana giant, it would probably struggle even to break through its defenses. The remnants of their bodies after death (left and right hemispheres) contain such terrifying power and consciousness..."

"What lies on the other side of the Star Vortex? Is it the lair of the Devouring Beasts? Or another strange dimension composed entirely of life essence? Or... is it connected to a planet swallowed by the Mana ecosystem?"

Chen Yuan felt as if he were staring into a bottomless abyss.

"What stage of evolution has the first Devouring Beast, Experiment 19, reached? Is it still alive? Could it have transformed into something even more terrifying, or has it already integrated into the ecosystem and become part of the will? Nobody knows."

"The once glorious Hela Empire's technology clearly touched upon the essence of life form, and they may have even conducted large-scale human modification and fusion experiments. Were they fighting against Mana, or trying to use it to further enhance themselves? Was their demise due to uncontrolled experiments, or were they erased by a higher being?"

"And eye tumors..."

Chen Yuan subconsciously touched his forehead. Oh no, if he kept thinking about it, he'd start to develop a brain.

"The fact that the eye tumor can fuse with Mark, granting him bizarre powers and regenerative abilities, indicates that it is not an inanimate object, but a sentient, selective parasite. Since it can choose Mark, does that mean that others might also have been chosen?"

"According to the Coastal Alliance squad, the mysterious Eye Tumor organization that Ice Scorpion mentioned before her death might not be unfounded. It might be a group of people whose wills have been parasitized and controlled by the Eye Tumors, a powerful kind of human—no, they can no longer be considered human. Is it symbiosis or fusion?"

Chapter 120 The Awakened Ones of Dragonbone Village

"The enhancement paths in this world are too complex: biological modification (such as certain monsters that have fused with the organs of Devouring Beasts), cyborg modification (like the people in Mechanical City), genetic modification (like the people in the Coastal Alliance or the failed products of the Angel Potion), beast-like mutations like Mark's, awakening of life essence (Bai Yuekui's route), and the technological route of system enhancement like mine..."

"The higher-dimensional existence that Boss Bai mentioned..."

Narrowing his eyes, Chen Yuan felt a chill. "If they really exist, what is their purpose? To treat Earth as a giant farm, harvesting precious 'crops' like life essence? Or is this simply a cruel evolutionary game?"

"They deployed the Mana Ecosystem meme, or the system as a plug-in, and then observed what bizarre forms and abilities humans and native organisms would evolve under extreme pressure?"

Thinking about this, Chen Yuan even had a bizarre and terrifying thought.

Is everything I've done—hunting Devouring Beasts, gaining points, becoming stronger, and even trying to reverse the apocalypse—just an act performed according to some unseen script?

Are all the struggles ultimately just providing a spectacular performance or a set of valuable data for the high and mighty "observer"?

"Loongson," he murmured to himself.

“I’m here, Mr. Chen,” a calm electronic voice replied in his mind.

"Analyze and record all my thoughts just now, create an independent file, and encrypt it with the highest level. Continuously collect all information about this world, especially about the Hela Empire, Subject 19, the eye tumor... and any anomalies that may point to higher-dimensional intervention. We need to know what our real enemy is. Damn it, I feel like an idiot right now, possibly being manipulated by some being, or used as a prop in a game."

"The instructions have been confirmed. The mystery of the apocalypse in the archives has been established. Highest encryption privileges have been granted. The priority of information collection and analysis tasks has been increased. We will continue to follow up."

Chen Yuan took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing the unsettling speculations in his mind.

No matter how cruel the truth may be, no matter if there are hidden forces behind it, surviving and becoming stronger are the prerequisites for uncovering the truth behind all the mysteries.

His gaze sharpened. "Let's start cleaning up the first densely populated ecological area tomorrow."

Chen Yuan was in turmoil. He stood by the window for a long time, as if trying to blend into the deep night of Dragon Bone Village.

From the moment Chen Yuan climbed the lighthouse, the original plot had already changed, and the road ahead was destined to be full of thorns.

……

noon the next day.

Mark, Ran Bing, Mo Cheng, and Fei Xue were all ready to go.

After a night of rest and treatment with special herbal remedies from Longgu Village, their injuries were no longer a major concern.

"Lord, we'll head back to the lighthouse now."

Mark turned to Chen Yuan, his tone carrying a barely perceptible urgency.

The lighthouse had survived a major war and was in dire need of rebuilding.

As the city lord, Chen Yuan had an inescapable responsibility and could only send Mark and the others back to handle the situation first.

As long as enough points are accumulated, the lighthouse's defenses can still be repaired.

"Go."

Chen Yuan nodded, "First, stabilize the situation, appease the people, and rebuild the defenses. That's where you're needed most."

"Lord, please be careful."

"Don't worry!" Chen Yuan gave them a reassuring look.

Without further ado, the four of them simultaneously activated their mechs.

A buzzing sound rang out, and nanoparticles rapidly covered the entire body, forming a streamlined combat stance.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Four figures spewed out streams of eerie blue plasma from their thrusters on their feet and backs. A powerful anti-gravity field pushed aside the dust on the ground, and they shot into the sky like four shooting stars flying in reverse, tearing through the clouds and speeding toward the lighthouse high in the sky. Soon they turned into four points of light in the sky.

Chen Yuan watched them leave until the light completely disappeared before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

"Let's go, it's time for us to leave."

Bai Yuekui's cool voice rang out from the side, and behind her, her elite warriors had already assembled.

Wine Song, No Gate, Kolova, Breaking the Sky, Iron Swift, Amur, Shattered Star, Xu Tong, Taciturn, Xia Dou, Shandong University, Thousand Miles...

The twelve warriors, all with awakened life essence abilities, had solemn expressions, sharp eyes, and exuded a battle-hardened aura and unique energy fluctuations.

Ulan Aodeng stepped forward and solemnly said to Bai Yuekui and Chen Yuan, "Leave the village to this old man. We will activate our defenses and enter a state of silence. I wish you a successful hunt and a safe return."

Chen Yuan nodded, then silently recited in his mind: "Loongson, scan the surrounding ecological signals and plan the optimal hunting route."

[Command confirmed, searching... Beep, group mode detected, proceed with "]]

[Beep, command confirmed, environment scan complete, high planning detected...]

[Team mode activated. The host (team leader: Chen Yuan) has been automatically bound to the currently eligible combat units (Bai Yuekui and twelve other Awakened Walkers).]

[Team kill reward points will be fully distributed to the host.]

Have a pleasant hunt!

A line of semi-transparent white text, visible only to Chen Yuan, quietly appeared in the corner of his visor's field of vision.

"Let's go!"

Chen Yuan looked at Bai Yuekui, a hint of fighting spirit curling at the corner of his mouth, "Everyone, let's start clearing out the nearest Howling Canyon."

Bai Yuekui didn't waste any words. He turned and left, saying only one sentence: "Action!"

More than ten figures darted out of Dragonbone Village like ghosts, moving at great speed, and soon arrived in the vast wilderness.

……

At the entrance to Howling Canyon, the rocks appear jagged and the air is filled with a faint bromine mist and a sweet, fishy smell.

"Hiss!"

Almost the instant they arrived, familiar screams rang out from all directions.

Dozens of snake-dogs swarmed out from the shadows of the rocks and the burrows, their yellow pupils gleaming with a bloodthirsty light, charging forward with their menacing bone-spiky tentacles.

"They're here, everyone be careful."

Seeing this, Xu Tong offered a reminder.

"Hmph, let me wake them up!"

With a cold snort, the man's massive body rammed into the horde of beasts like a tank. With a simple and brutal punch, he smashed the head of a snake-dog so hard that it caved in, blood splattering everywhere, striking a vital organ directly.

Xu Tong also moved. The specially made magnetic skateboard under his feet defied gravity and floated, allowing him to move freely in this complex terrain. His speed was so fast that he left only a blurry afterimage.

His face was covered by a mask in the style of Peking Opera, concealing all his expressions. Only a pair of sharp eyes peered through the eye sockets, calmly observing the battlefield.

Just as the Earth Roar's energy blast was about to erupt, Xu Tong did not attack the Earth Roar directly. Instead, he suddenly raised the uniquely shaped source material guiding gun in his hand, aimed it at an open space in front of the Earth Roar, and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

What was being emitted from the muzzle was not an energy bullet or a physical projectile, but a highly compressed, constantly vibrating mass of life-source matter as a decoy signal.

This signal was like the sweetest poison, instantly and intensely disrupting the Earth Roar's perception.

The Earth Roar's simple, instinctive brain circuits were immediately drawn to this sudden, even more "tempting" signal source. It suddenly shook its head, and the thick energy bullet that was originally aimed at the Silent One accidentally hit the few snake dogs that were quietly approaching the Silent One.

Chapter 121 Xia Dou's Abilities

"Boom!"

A violent explosion rang out, scattering rubble and the limbs of the Devouring Beasts. The snake-dogs that had launched the attack were killed by their own companions before they could even let out a scream, and the crisis for the taciturn man was instantly resolved.

"Well done, Xu Tong!"

With a loud roar, he seized the opportunity to punch another snake-dog in front of him, sending it crashing into the pit.

Xu Tong did not respond. His fighting rhythm was extremely fast. After a successful strike, the skateboard's power exploded again, and he easily dodged the snake-dog's claws that were rushing towards his original position with a smooth "Z"-shaped drift.

During the glide, he fired the source material induction gun in his hand again.

This time, what was launched was a binding force field net composed of special energy.

The net covered the two snake-dogs charging side by side. The energy net contracted instantly. Although it could not trap them for long, it could greatly restrict their mobility, making them stagger and trip over each other, thus completely disrupting the formation of the Devouring Beasts' charge.

Xu Tong's weapons are a source-inducing gun and a flight-driven skateboard.

The primary function of the guidance gun is not to cause direct physical damage, but to emit special energy or signals to manipulate the battlefield situation, such as guiding the actions of the Devouring Beasts, attracting their attention, or suppressing them in an area.