Apocalyptic Mechanist Section 11

The jeep's speed suddenly surged as it hit the accelerator, eventually maintaining a speed of 180 kilometers per hour.

His gaze focused, and before long, an anomaly appeared on the wide, ruined road ahead.

The main road was blocked by countless obstacles. To pass, they would have to detour through the ruins on the right. The scattered building debris there would significantly slow down any vehicle that entered.

Trying to force me into a guerrilla fight?

Jiang Xiao slammed on the brakes. Origin Data flooded into his goggle terminal, expanding the detection range from over 200 meters to over 500 meters. The components within his goggles rapidly heated up.

Immediately, more than ten red dots appeared on the radar map.

Just as he expected, they were hidden within the buildings on both sides, waiting for him to drive the jeep into the alley.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Xiao decisively raised his sniper rifle and fired in one direction. The powerful bullet tore through the wall, and a figure scrambled out in a sorry state.

A Tier 1 Peak martial artist, similar in aura to that Viper Race pair.

Jiang Xiao assessed.

Also Viper Race.

"Hmph, I've been waiting for a long time! Come, let's fight one-on-one! Let me see what abilities a despicable human has to defeat Iron Fist!"

One-on-one?

Glancing at the ten-plus red markers that remained stationary, Jiang Xiao clicked his tongue.

"Been waiting long? What the heck, that's pretty low?"

They chose to ambush and surround me, and didn't use any ranged weapons. It seems they don't have any ranged weapons that can break through a Tier 2's defense. They must think I'm a Tier 2 martial artist?

Jiang Xiao pondered internally, but outwardly, he remained calm and collected. He tossed the sniper rifle onto the car and, holding two blades, slowly approached the Viper Race member in the alley.

"Hmph, a mere Tier 1 Peak dares to boast so much, I... What?! The Black Mech Gang?!"

Jiang Xiao, who had been walking with confident strides, suddenly looked as if he had seen a ghost. His expression changed drastically as he looked towards the rear of the building complex. Upon hearing this, both the provoking Viper Race member and the hidden ones felt their hearts skip a beat!

They instinctively turned to look behind them.

In an instant, Jiang Xiao, who had been moving forward, abruptly changed direction, charging into the chaotic building complex from the front right, Origin Data rapidly enveloping his body.

"Hahaha, the Viper Race truly has underdeveloped brains. You believed all that?"

Jiang Xiao's mocking voice echoed from afar. The Viper Race members, hidden in the shadows and drawing attention, froze. Then, boundless rage ignited within them!

BOOM!!

A two-story building suddenly collapsed, and a figure, seemingly burning with a pale brown aura, leaped out, gritting out a few words through clenched teeth: "Chase! Dead or alive!"

"Yes!"

Jiang Xiao, moving quickly through the buildings, suddenly stopped. He surveyed his surroundings, nodded with satisfaction, and then leisurely walked into a narrow alley beside him.

"Cat and mouse, I loved playing that when I was a kid."

Chapter 12: Tier 2! Elevating Life Level!

"Damn two-legged scum, how dare you toy with us like this."

"When we catch him, we'll tear his mouth to shreds!"

Two Viper Race martial artists scanned their surroundings vigilantly, their snake tails leaving clear tracks on the ground, their words filled with fury.

"Lord Guda is here, a Tier 2 prisoner without much equipment is definitely no match for him."

"Yeah, but we need to be careful. The Life Origin Energy detection terminals issued by the gang only have a range of three to four hundred meters. Be ready to hit the alarm at any moment. If that human gets close, even Lord Guda won't be able to save us."

"I understand."

The two Viper Race martial artists cautiously watched the terminal panel, ready to press the alarm to notify their comrades at the slightest sign of trouble.

A moment later, as they passed a dark alley, a voice suddenly appeared.

"Have you found that human yet?"

"No, we..."

One of the martial artists instinctively replied, then suddenly felt heat on his face. He instinctively turned his head, only to see that half of his companion's brain was gone!

Deep green brain matter and blood splattered.

Through the spray of blood, a brilliant, toothy grin came into view.

"It's okay if you couldn't find me. I came to find you."

"You..."

The Viper Race member was utterly horrified, then felt a chill on his forehead as his consciousness rapidly sank into chaos.

[Killed Viper Race Thug (Tier 1 Ordinary), gained 163 experience points]

[...]

"Over 300 experience, still need over 100 more," Jiang Xiao calculated internally, and once again turned, disappearing into the ruined alley.

Soon, a rapid sliding sound echoed, and before he could be seen, a powerful aura enveloped the surroundings.

Guda looked at the two corpses, his gaze pausing briefly on the clean-cut edges. He said in a deep voice, "That human has a way to block detection. From now on, split into two groups. Two Tier 1 Peaks will lead six gang members. Once you encounter the opponent, press the alarm immediately."

"I'll go alone."

"Understood... Understood!"

The four Tier 1 Peak martial artists immediately responded. The rest of the Tier 1 Elite and Ordinary martial artists clearly showed nervousness and unease in their eyes.

Guda snorted disdainfully.

These guys born locally are really trash. They're this scared over a minor situation. Back when I was a space pirate, we'd charge into a four-tier powerhouse with a group attack without batting an eye.

Guda left the area decisively, not sparing another glance at the corpses on the ground.

He wasn't worried about Jiang Xiao leaving the buildings. Without the cover of the structures here, the high-altitude surveillance cameras of the Sin City TV Tower would easily spot him, and the gang would receive a private message notification.

Watching Guda's retreating back, the remaining Viper Race martial artists had no choice but to steel themselves, splitting into two groups to cautiously search the buildings.

Jiang Xiao, who had been hiding, checked his remaining Spirit Energy. Confirming that the Origin Data could still last for a while, he immediately moved in the opposite direction of Guda.

The pressure from a Tier 2 martial artist was outrageous; it was in no way comparable to a Tier 1 martial artist.

With such substantial Source Energy aura, Jiang Xiao had no doubt that even his enhanced sniper rifle's frontal assault might not be able to break through the defense. Overclocking might offer a slight chance.

As expected, I still need to kill another one to advance to Tier 2.

Then, whether it's going head-to-head with my data-enhanced body or forcing an escape, neither will be a problem!

But how should I kill him?

Two Tier 1 Peaks and six Tier 1 martial artists in a team, equipped with large-caliber ranged firepower, could actually hold out for a little while against a basic Tier 2.

Suddenly, Jiang Xiao had an idea.

He took out his portable network terminal, found the hottest live stream at the moment – the one broadcasting his encirclement – and clicked the link.

He entered and opened the comments section to start typing.

#I just saw it, a shadow flashed on the tallest building in the complex!#

Then he spammed the message dozens of times.

Afterward, he unhesitatingly rushed to an alley near the tallest building and waited quietly.

In less than a moment, Guda and a squad of Viper Race martial artists arrived, heading straight into the half-destroyed building.

Jiang Xiao immediately went into stealth mode and approached the building's entrance.

Shortly after, another team arrived quickly and entered the building one after another.

Just as the last Viper Race martial artist was about to enter the building, Jiang Xiao gathered all his strength and suddenly rushed out, finishing the opponent with a single strike.

He turned and retreated back into the distant buildings.

Listening to the furious curses behind him, Jiang Xiao couldn't hide his excitement as he weaved through the buildings and alleyways.

Finally, he found a large area of interconnected underground mall ruins and found a corner before opening his panel.

[Killed Viper Race... Gained 210 experience]

He dumped it all into Source Energy Strength!

The surroundings became quiet. Not sensing any difference, Jiang Xiao frowned slightly. Suddenly, countless warm currents erupted simultaneously from all directions of his body.

They rapidly converged towards his internal organs.

Unbearable heat exploded from within his body, his blood vessels bulging as if impacted, like molten lava surging inside.

[Player has advanced to Tier 2 Martial Artist]
[Confirmed Source Energy Strength has reached 50 points]
[Confirmed, Life Ascension conditions met, commencing Life Ascension]
[Please select Life Ascension direction:
Current Stage - Ordinary Human · Basic Pan-Human (Basic intelligent life forms within the entire universe)
Evolutionary Path → (Based on genetic potential, three routes)
1. Sub-Spirit Human (Primary Pan-Human): Spirit Energy talent significantly increased, gain Spirit Energy innate aptitude.
2. Sub-Source Human (Primary Pan-Human): Source Energy talent significantly increased, gain Source Energy innate aptitude.
3. Primary Starry Human (Primary Pan-Human): Spirit Energy and Source Energy talent slightly increased, gain Spirit Energy and Source Energy innate aptitude, increased vacuum adaptability (vacuum survival capability).]

Jiang Xiao, enduring the discomfort, was slightly stunned.

I didn't expect the system to have this function?

The Origin Data surged, and Jiang Xiao's mind quickly calmed down, ignoring the interference from the discomfort.

'The first two, significantly increasing one aspect of talent, are indeed good. However, relying on the panel in the early stages, the difference in talent seems to have little impact. The most important thing is balance. And later, to escape Prison Star, vacuum adaptability might be helpful...'

Seeing that the panel indicated there would be opportunities for further ascensions later, Jiang Xiao stopped overthinking.

"Primary Starry Human!"

[Confirmed · Primary Starry Human]