Highworker vanished without a trace, leaving only a large pool of blood smeared across the chair.
No. 201 immediately went on alert, its visual collector entering combat mode.
'Enemy... escaped... pursue and kill.'
As a modified soldier unique to the Knight Order faction, its cybernetic eye possessed multiple functions, including visual imaging, infrared detection, and a scope. Combined with its half-undead nature, its memory bank retained a vast amount of combat experience. Although it was only a low-level unit, ordinary mechanical hunters were no match for it.
In the future Hydra campaign, these artificial soldiers would break into small groups and infiltrate the territory of the 'City That Never Sleeps,' disguising themselves, ambushing targets, and carrying out demolitions. They had once disrupted the factory's logistical supplies and caused considerable trouble for the city's purely mechanical army.
Even players who entered the storyline could not kill this kind of minor monster without three characters above Level 10 working together tactically—under normal circumstances.
However, players were the kind of creatures who could always discover bizarre monster-farming techniques.
Although this little bug had been fixed by the later stages of the storyline, this was still an early expansion that no players had participated in yet!
As No. 201's view turned red, a heat source was hiding behind the wreckage of a truck not far away, concealed beneath the engine's black smoke without making a sound.
The instant its finger pressed the trigger, No. 201's knee was struck hard. As it lost its balance, Highworker's figure appeared like a ghost behind it. His left hand thrust upward beneath its armpit like a pair of pincers. The muscles of his upper and lower arms ground upward along the humerus of its upper arm, while the heel of his palm slammed into its chin. The instant the fluid tube in its neck was exposed, his tactical dagger followed the tube and stabbed into its chin.
"Leaking oil is an illness. If you're sick, treat it early. Treat premature leakage early, or you'll be leaking nonstop in the late stages."
You have killed a Knight Order artificial soldier. Experience +100
You used 'Brawling' and dealt 'Instant Kill' to the target. Experience +100
As a large amount of machine fluid mixed with other substances sprayed from the opponent's fluid tube, Highworker did not hesitate for even a moment. He spun around, using the opponent's body as a shield, then fell and rolled. Almost at the same instant, a string of bullets rained down on the spot. The metal bullets clattered against the vehicle, forming a regular pattern.
The remaining three artificial soldiers' eyes lit up with red light, transforming them into emotionless killing machines.
The two to the north searched for cover on either side, their semi-automatic rifle muzzles held rock steady as tongues of flame spat forth.
The one to the west threw aside its radio and hooked its index finger into a tactical pocket. A thirty-centimeter dagger spun once as it ran, then settled into its palm in a reverse grip. Ripples of red light spread through its eyes, one circle after another, making the whole figure look like a vicious wolf on the hunt.
"Enemy. Purge!"
"Individual combat tactics activated."
"Attack! Attack! Attack!"
In combat mode, artificial soldiers had no emotions. Even when their vital points were struck, they would not immediately die. The special metal covering their heads could not be penetrated even by ordinary sniper rounds—unless one engaged them in close combat, cut the wires and fluid tubes connecting their electronic brains to their flesh, and destroyed the electronic components inside their heads.
However, during all kinds of 'suicidal' monster-farming attempts, players did not know which genius had first discovered that their electronic eyes could actually be 'deceived.'
Within the infrared world of the visual collector, a heat source moved at tremendous speed along the cover. Two lines of fire crossed, leaving Highworker with less and less room to dodge.
Under the cover of the gunfire, another artificial soldier had already crept behind Highworker. Inside its metal skull, the high-speed sound of an engine turning suddenly rang out.
Charge mode!
The metal surface visibly reddened and heated up as the body's functions began to increase.
In this mode, the artificial soldier ignored the limitations of its cloned flesh, unleashed its full power, and performed all kinds of dangerous and bizarre killing moves. It would fight to the death without rest.
Its pouncing speed suddenly doubled!
The opponent's tactical boot stamped hard on a rock. Its entire body shot forward like a spring-launched cobra. Between one bend and one extension, its body seemed to stretch by a third.
The heat source in the visual collector suddenly split into two.
The tactical dagger that should have pierced the opponent's neck stabbed into empty air.
'How could this be!'
A trace of astonishment flashed through the artificial soldier's mind.
The artificial soldier was fast, but Highworker was faster!
No. 203 lowered its body. Highworker's knee came crashing down from above and slammed into the opponent's spinal disk, pinning it to the ground. At the same time, his tactical dagger stabbed into the back of its neck.
Blood sprayed into the air!
Hearing the wind rush toward him, Highworker abruptly threw back his head. A cold gleam skimmed past his cheek as the artificial soldier's arm twisted backward 180 degrees and stabbed toward its own throat.
He could almost hear the sound of ligaments tearing beside his ear.
'Is it making a final desperate burst?'
Highworker became even more alert. A glance from the corner of his eye showed that the opponent's other hand had already drawn a pistol from its holster. As if it had eyes in the back of its head, the dark muzzle pointed straight at him.
Without the slightest hesitation, Highworker thrust his right hand over the muzzle. The next instant, the gunshot rang out. The back of his hand bulged violently, the skin tearing to reveal a silvery-white sheen.
Hiss!
Compared with a metal exoskeleton, a mechanical endoskeleton could not undergo such exaggerated modifications, but it could receive neural signals seamlessly and was superior in close-quarters combat. It was just—
It hurt so much!
[You lost 3 health]
"Die!!"
Highworker's eyes reddened with blood. Every muscle in his body tensed, his veins bulging. The miniature motors inside his knees increased their power once more. He seized the opponent's head with his right hand, stepped down, twisted, and pulled. With a loud crack, the opponent's metal head, along with its awl-shaped biological implant, was forcibly ripped out.
At the lower end of the biological implant was a mass of sensors, neural diversion components, and chemical catalysts. Electric sparks mixed with the blood and hissed out white smoke.
You have killed a Knight Order artificial soldier. Experience +100
Two streams of gunfire immediately swept over. Fortunately, Highworker had prepared in advance. He flicked his palm, sending four black shadows flying in four directions.
In the artificial soldiers' visual collectors, the heat source split into four and shot toward four different directions.
The gunfire suddenly became chaotic.
Highworker's normal attributes were already considerably higher than those of the artificial soldiers. To resolve the battle as quickly as possible, he used 'Basic Mechanical Repair' to force the motor systems inside his body into an overload state. In this condition, his five primary attributes rose to around 16 or 17 points, nearly double those of the artificial soldiers.
Although this state could not last and would persist for less than three minutes, it was—enough.
In the eyes of the artificial soldiers, the heat sources multiplied. Two, four, eight—as if a special forces squad had descended from the sky and surrounded them.
Among them, one heat source appeared and disappeared like a ghost. Every time it appeared, it brought death.
You have killed a Knight Order artificial soldier. Experience +100
You have killed a Knight Order artificial soldier. Experience +100
Even when Highworker slit the throat of the last artificial soldier, they still did not understand where these enemies that had descended from the sky had come from.
'Hiss~' Highworker gasped heavily. The smell of burnt artificial protein rose from his body. Going from extreme motion to complete stillness had finally overwhelmed some of the implanted machinery in his body. His elbow joint suddenly snapped with a 'pop,' like an exploded electrical appliance, its surface charred black.
"Fuck, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
Players could adjust their pain sensitivity. Unfortunately, NPCs did not have that function.
Highworker's right hand lost all sensation and drooped down, his forearm and upper arm forming a bizarre curve.
Overload always came at a price!
The fragment of ore in his hand naturally fell to the ground as well.
The 'heat sources' were nothing complicated or high-tech. They were simply burning energy ore.
Energy ore was a by-product of energy pollution. It looked like multicolored crystal, and its simplest use was to burn it. A piece the size of a fingertip could burn for three days and three nights, making it the cheapest fuel in the Iron Sand Desert.
Once energy ore began burning, it not only became a heat source but also emitted a kind of energy radiation. This radiation interfered with the artificial soldiers' visual capture.
--Turning them into blind men in 'infrared mode.'
If you were an artificial soldier, then logically, you could simply deactivate combat mode and switch back to normal vision.
Actually, you couldn't.
Once an artificial soldier's combat program was activated, it locked its infrared vision until all enemies were dead. Only then could it switch back to normal.
The original purpose of this locking mode was to stimulate the artificial soldiers' desire for battle. No one had expected such a hardware problem.
Ultimately, it was because artificial soldiers were 'low-end consumables.'
Low-level troops were not high-end products. As long as they worked, that was enough. There was no need to spend so much effort debugging them.
Highworker was certain that this squad of artificial soldiers had only recently arrived in the Iron Sand Desert.
In the 'Beast-Mechanism Disaster' expansion that players participated in, countless artificial soldiers had been farmed to death in this way before the Knight Order's production line finally fixed the problem.
The early stages of a game really were the best. Bugs were everywhere, and equipment was easy to farm.
Highworker pulled a cigarette case from one of the dead. On it, a bionic woman covered in tubes struck a coquettish pose.
'Smoking is harmful to your health. Seagull No. 2's virtual experience machine will bring you a higher level of spiritual enjoyment.'
"What shitty advertising."
With a cigarette clenched between his teeth, Highworker awkwardly gathered the spoils with one hand. His consciousness began to blur again.
In his current condition, let alone an artificial soldier—even an ordinary person could beat him to death.
This game's realism lay in how the lower your health, the worse your condition became.
That was also why Highworker had been forced to gamble.
It wasn't as if there was nothing to gain. Highworker casually picked up a gun, and the system panel automatically identified it.
Name: Assaulter Category: Kinetic submachine gun Quality: Common Weight: 2.8 kg Caliber: 7.62 mm Basic Attributes: DPS: 156 (damage per second) Attack Power: 16 Rate of Fire: 8.89 attacks/second Magazine Capacity: 35 Effective Range: 120–220 meters Scope Slot: Empty, Attachment Slot: Empty Description: This is a weapon with decent performance. Apart from being unable to hit anyone, everything else about it is pretty good.
"Bullshit. Where do you think we are, the Mother City? You want me to add a cybernetic attachment, install an intelligent targeting template, and maybe mount a miniature rocket launcher too? Dream on! This is the radiation zone, the frontier. Firearms themselves are hard currency here, okay?!"
Highworker complained about the system while lovingly running his fingers over the gun's grip.
"These guns are obviously military weapons privately sold by overseas arms factories. Good stuff!"
After searching around and confirming his haul, he had four Assaulter submachine guns, four bulletproof vests, five pistols, and five daggers. Submachine guns sold for 100 mechanical coins on the market, and ones made by this kind of arms factory could add at least another 50. Pistols went for 50 to 60. Including the bulletproof vests and daggers, the total haul was worth a little over 1,000 mechanical coins.
Mechanical coins were the specialized currency of the Iron Sand Desert and could be used to trade with the factories.
At Gasoline Bar, a tube of nutrient paste cost only one mechanical coin, while an anti-radiation drug cost ten. If they did not spend extravagantly, a mechanical hunter's monthly living expenses came to only 100 mechanical coins.
The original host's earnings from one normal mission were about the same. Often, when a mission failed, he not only received no money but also had to pay to repair his equipment.
However, according to the original host's memories, that provisional citizen certificate had cost him a sky-high six-figure sum!
Whenever he thought of that, Highworker felt so distressed he could barely breathe.
Oh, he had a mechanical heart. He could not feel heartache.
"This mission definitely reeks of something fishy. Someone pulled strings with the Knight Order and specifically targeted me!"
"Just wait. Once I investigate and find the mastermind, I won't let a single one of them off!"
Thinking about repairing his mechanical body made his already depleted wallet bleed heavily again, and Highworker's heart began to ache once more.
"I wonder if this can be sold."
Highworker glanced at the four metal heads in the back seat. These 'soldiers' were all in a state of hardware damage, but they could still be used after some repairs. The companies in the city should be interested in the Knight Order's biotechnology. If he could sell them, that would be another source of income.
"No. 203, respond. No. 203, respond!" A rough voice came through the radio.
"I don't buy insurance or houses, I don't take out loans or apply for cards. This call is being recorded. Scammers, get lost."
"Who are you?"
"I'm your never-before-met father," Highworker introduced himself as he opened the hood.
The Knight Order's vehicle was a disguised off-road vehicle powered by an extract of energy ore. Its motor system and onboard energy system resembled the electric vehicles from his previous life, though the motor was a size larger. The 'battery' looked like a high-tech steam engine. Its surface had a cold metallic texture, countless tubes extended from it, and the flow of gas could be faintly seen within, giving it a strong wasteland aesthetic.
With the bonus from his mechanical modification knowledge, he quickly understood the principles. He opened the trunk, found the tools, skillfully separated the circuits, and inserted three black rubber-sheathed cables. The other ends were inserted into the connectors on the insides of his knees and wrists (one was broken).
After the circulatory system had been modified, the heart was no longer a vital organ—although being stabbed through would still cause severe injury—but a large battery.
And this was only the first step in the original host's ambitions.
The original host's ultimate goal was to replace every human body part on himself with electronic organs and bionic components, evolving from a human form into a pure mechanical being.
In his eyes, mechanical bodies were the strongest!