Mecha-Kai Species During Dimensional Travel

They had no choice but to flee headlong into the forest without looking back. As for the prey they had just caught—no way, they wouldn't dare oppose the Mecha-Kai species.

"Recycling countdown: 10, 9, 8..."

As the light sphere was grasped in his hand, a certain emotionless mechanical synthesized voice rang clearly in Xiu Er's mind.

"7, 6... New host detected. Beginning binding."

"Huh? Can this system's host just be swapped on a whim?"

Though Xiu Er had indeed considered stealing the system from this corpse, and had just done exactly that—after all, it was one possible way to survive—what she hadn't expected was that the system could actually be pulled out of the body by her, and was now even preparing to bind itself to her.

Speaking of which, can systems just be casually pulled out like that?

Back when she read those system novel stories, every single one of them portrayed things in a way that shouldn't be this pathetic. Pure fictional cosplay.

Puzzled, Xiu Er glanced again at the transmigrator's corpse beside her.

Mm... letting a host die so easily, and even scanning to find that this body had no enhancements, and naturally no weapons either—otherwise he wouldn't have been hunted down by a few Beastmen.

It seemed this system really wasn't that strong.

"Binding successful. Host detected as Mecha-Kai species. This unit will automatically transform to adapt to Mecha-Kai physiology."

Just as Xiu Er was pondering, the system had already completed the binding and began autonomously evolving into a form suited for the Mecha-Kai constitution.

Then, before Xiu Er's eyes, the light sphere merged into her hand, climbed along her arm, and finally converged at the location of her heart—or rather, this mechanical body's power core.

Immediately after, to her astonishment, in her perception, the Spirit Energy flowing through all the conduits in her body vanished, replaced by an unknown Golden Energy.

"Detected unknown energy invading this unit... Resistance failed."

This was an alert from Xiu Er's own mechanical body.

But before the unit's alarm could last long, the system's synthesized voice came again.

"Host unit has been taken over. Energy replacement successful. Otherworldly Energy fully charged."

This...?

Before Xiu Er could voice an opinion, the system once again acted on its own.

"Beginning fusion. This unit will connect to the host unit. From this point onward, it will accompany the host forever."

It was only then that, in some intangible way, Xiu Er sensed something establishing a connection with her.

What kind of feeling was that?

She didn't know. Probably something akin to the group chat nature of the original Mecha-Kai collective.

"Dimensional Device construction complete. Connected to host unit."

At that moment, Xiu Er noticed that the flat, featureless chest area of her mechanical body was enveloped in Golden Energy. After a brief few seconds of condensation, a golden rhomboid crystal was embedded beside the Mecha-Kai core, right in the center of the chest cavity.

"Modification complete. All readings normal. No adverse reactions from host."

"Dimensional Device fully charged."

With those words, the system fell silent.

All of this happened within a single minute—came fast, and went just as fast.

With the help of her Mecha-Kai body and a mechanical brain far superior to human computation, Xiu Er was able to immediately grasp the situation.

At the same time the system completed the modification, all knowledge of the system's functions was uploaded into Xiu Er's database.

Though on the surface, Xiu Er maintained a completely poker-faced expression throughout, her inner mind was far from calm at this moment.

"This is... really something else."

Letting out a sigh, the youth lifted her head and gazed at the crimson sky.

Her inorganic eyes betrayed no emotion, but in Xiu Er's heart, the hope of survival had been greatly amplified.

Now she had found a path that would allow her to keep living.

"Time to say goodbye to this damn world—though it feels like I only just arrived."

"Unknown transmigrator, thank you for the help you've provided."

Unknown transmigrator: nm

"Dimensional Device, activate!"

"Detected Dimensional Device in use. Beginning full-power operation."

The golden crystal on her chest began to radiate a golden light, which then projected in front of Xiu Er.

A golden [Gate] appeared before her.

She couldn't see what was inside, but it was certainly better than her current situation. Xiu Er had no worry whatsoever about any danger from stepping through it.

Because she had already set the destination.

The moment the [Gate] took shape, Xiu Er stepped inside without hesitation.

Her body passed through the Golden Gate. The instant she was fully inside, the gate rapidly shrank within a second until it vanished, leaving no trace behind.

At this moment, only a human corpse remained here, and in this world, no one knew what had transpired.

Volume One: Machinery and Spirits

Chapter One: First Crossing

Inside the golden Space Tunnel.

"Huh, looks like it worked."

Countless streams of data flowed through Xiu Er's mechanical eyes. The moment he entered this space, his body began automatically scanning the environment's data.

"Stabilizing the dimensional channel. Please refrain from any unnecessary actions with the Dimensional Device until stabilization is complete."

The system integrated into his body reminded Xiu Er while maintaining the passage.

"What would happen if I did?"

Though Xiu Er had no intention of courting death by touching the Dimensional Device at this moment, curiosity drove him to pose the question to the system.

"According to this unit's calculations, if the host were to use the Dimensional Device without authorization during stabilization, there is a high probability of triggering a spacetime disturbance, causing the destination of the crossing to become a random world."

Sounded pretty dangerous.

Xiu Er logged this warning into his database as a reminder not to do so.

Looking at his surroundings—an endless expanse of Golden Energy with nothing else in sight—the system continued reporting the stabilization progress in a synthesized voice inside his mind.

He was curious whether the system possessed its own consciousness.

But before Xiu Er could ask, as if anticipating the question, the system immediately responded.

"Detected host inquiry. This unit is not equipped with a personality module. Everything is merely simulation. Please do not harbor unnecessary doubts about this unit."

"This unit has fully merged with the host and will accompany you until the end of time. Therefore, please trust this unit."

"And your previous host?"

Xiu Er was, of course, referring to the previous transmigrator. This system originally belonged to that unknown traveler, only to be stumbled upon by Xiu Er later.

"The previous host died from an attack by inhabitants of a different world due to insufficient personal strength. This unit has no comment on this matter."

"Furthermore, the previous host ignored this unit's warnings first, making unnecessary moves that led to spacetime disruption, ultimately arriving in that world."

"Conclusion: This unit bears no fault whatsoever."

Well, so that guy brought it on himself.

Whether randomly ending up in Game Life Zero was unlucky enough, or being stuck as a human—still, his own luck wasn't much better. Only by sheer fortune did he pick up this system in the end. And all of this was because that transmigrator's reckless actions sent the system there, letting him snatch it up.

With that thought, Xiu Er pressed his palms together, closed his eyes, and offered sincere thanks to that transmigrator.

Thank you, unknown traveler.

"Dimensional channel stabilization complete. Beginning dimensional wall breach."

The next second, a violent shockwave surged from ahead.

"-[Codex Opening]-[No Passage]-"

This was a defensive armament of the Mecha-Kai species. As the armament activated, a golden spherical particle membrane enveloped Xiu Er.

"Impact successful. Dimensional wall breached. Successfully arrived in the new world."

And so, Xiu Er used the shield to easily block the damage from the shockwave.

"Although the shockwave from breaching the dimensional wall is not harmless, its level of danger is negligible."

"It can be confirmed that within a fully stabilized dimensional channel, there is no danger."

"Is that so?"

"Just consider it a personal habit of mine."

"Confirmed. Recording this into the database. No further reminders will be given on this matter."

"Link confirmed. Channel stability safe. About to open the [Gate]. Please prepare."

The system's notification ended, and a [Golden Gate] identical to the one he entered through appeared before Xiu Er.

Filled with excitement, Xiu Er stepped forward into the gate.

"New world, here I come."

'So the plot's only at this point.'

Looking at the purple armored girl wielding a great sword before him, Xiu Er sighed inwardly.

His lifeless mechanical eyes stared straight at her.

Under that gaze, the purple-haired girl felt pressure and gripped her greatsword tightly.

All around were ruins of buildings destroyed by unknown causes, and Xiu Er was currently atop a pile of rubble, looking down at the girl below.

Without any clothing to cover her, the mechanical parts of Xiu Er's body were fully exposed to the other's view.

The armored girl raised her greatsword, its tip pointing directly at the inhuman being above.

"You... are you here to kill me too?"

Time went back a few minutes earlier.

When Xiu Er passed through the [Golden Gate] and looked around, she found herself high in the blue sky.

"Date A Live" was the destination Xiu Er had chosen for this trip.

Actually, there was no grand reason for picking it—just that when making the choice earlier, this was the first thing that came to mind, because this anime was his gateway into the world of 2D.

After arriving in this world, Xiu Er knew his ability as a Mecha-Kai species—

to analyze and replicate enemy attacks.

So, the purpose of coming here was naturally the power of the spirits in this world, and then he began to wonder: could he really replicate the spirits' abilities?

After all, they were from different energy systems. Thinking this, Xiu Er's curiosity grew, and he set himself the next task.

"Get in contact with those spirit girls."

Coincidentally, while flying through the sky, Xiu Er detected a high-energy reaction.

Spatial Tremor.

A disaster unique to this world.