Desperate Counter-Kill

The Gao Gong vanished, leaving only a large pool of bloodstains on the chair.

Unit 201 immediately became alert, its visual collectors entering combat mode.

"Enemy... escaped... pursue."

As a modified unit unique to the Knight Order faction, its cybernetic eyes possessed multiple functions such as visual imaging, infrared detection, and aiming scopes. Coupled with its semi-immortal characteristic, its memory banks retained a vast amount of combat experience. Although merely a low-level unit, ordinary mech hunters were no match for it.

And in the future Hydra Campaign, these artificial soldiers would break into smaller units, infiltrating the sphere of influence of the Sleepless City. They would disguise themselves, ambush, and detonate explosives, once disrupting the factory's logistical supplies and causing considerable trouble for the pure mech legions within the city.

Even players entering the storyline, without three Level 10 characters coordinating tactically, couldn't defeat these low-level mobs—under normal circumstances.

However, players, as a species, always found peculiar ways to farm mobs.

Although this minor bug had been fixed in the later stages of the storyline, this was an early expansion pack that players hadn't even participated in yet!

As Unit 201's vision turned red, a heat source was hiding behind a nearby truck wreck, concealed by the engine's black smoke, utterly silent.

Just as his finger was about to pull the trigger, Unit 201's knee joint was violently struck. As he lost balance, the Gao Gong's figure ghosted behind him. His left hand, like a clamp, inserted itself under Unit 201's armpit. The muscles of his forearm rubbed upwards along the opponent's humerus, the heel of his palm striking the chin. The moment the fluid tube on the neck was exposed, a tactical dagger was inserted along the fluid tube into the chin.

"Fluid leakage is also an illness, treat it early. Early leakage, early treatment. Late-stage leakage won't stop."

[You have killed a Knight Order artificial soldier, EXP +100]

[You used 'Brawl', dealing 'One-Hit Kill' to the target, EXP +100]

As the opponent's fluid tube spewed out a large amount of mixed fluids, the Gao Gong didn't hesitate. He spun around abruptly, using the opponent's body as a shield, then rolled to the ground. Almost simultaneously, a barrage of bullets landed where he had been, the metal projectiles pinging off the car body in a rhythmic pattern.

The remaining three artificial soldiers' eyes lit up red, transforming into emotionless killing machines.

The two to the north, one on the left and one on the right, sought cover, their semi-automatic rifles held with extreme steadiness, spitting fire.

The one to the west, however, tossed aside his walkie-talkie. His index finger hooked onto his tactical pocket, and the 30cm dagger spun in his grip as he ran, held reverse-palmed. Ripples pulsed across his red eyes, making him look like a hunting wolf.

"Enemy, clear them out!"

"Solo tactical mode activated."

"Attack! Attack! Attack!"

In combat mode, artificial soldiers were devoid of emotion. They wouldn't die immediately if their weak points were hit, and the special metal on the surface of their heads was impenetrable even to ordinary sniper rounds—unless one fought up close, cut the wires and fluid tubes connecting the electronic brain to the flesh, and destroyed the electronic components within their heads.

However, during the players' various "suicidal" mob-farming sessions, it was unclear which genius first discovered that their optical sensors could actually be "tricked."

In the infrared world of the visual collectors, a heat source was moving at extreme speed along the cover. Two lines of fire intersected, leaving the Gao Gong with increasingly less space to dodge.

Using the gunfire as cover, another artificial soldier had already crept up behind the Gao Gong. Inside its metallic head, the high-speed sound of an engine revving suddenly erupted.

Charge mode!

The metal surface visibly reddened and heated up, and its physical functions began to escalate.

In this mode, artificial soldiers would disregard the limitations of their cloned flesh bodies, going full power to perform various dangerous and bizarre lethal maneuvers, fighting to the death.

Its pouncing speed instantly doubled!

The opponent's tactical boots stomped hard on a rock, and the entire person seemed to stretch by a third as they coiled and uncoiled, like a striking cobra.

The heat source in the visual collector suddenly split into two.

The tactical dagger, which should have pierced the opponent's neck, missed completely.

How could this be!

A flicker of astonishment crossed the artificial soldier's mind.

The artificial soldier was fast, but the Gao Gong was faster!

Unit 203's body sank as the Gao Gong's knee descended from above, slamming into its intervertebral disc and pinning it to the ground. Simultaneously, the tactical dagger was inserted into the back of its neck.

Blood spurted out!

A gust of wind struck, and the Gao Gong tilted his head back sharply. A cold glint grazed his cheek. The artificial soldier's arm twisted backward 180 degrees, lunging towards its own throat.

He could almost hear the sound of ligaments tearing.

A final burst of power before death?

The Gao Gong's vigilance intensified. His peripheral vision caught sight of the opponent's other hand reaching for a pistol from its holster. As if having eyes in the back of its head, the dark muzzle pointed directly at him.

With almost no hesitation, the Gao Gong's right hand directly covered the muzzle. The next moment, the gun fired. His hand swelled violently, the surface skin tearing open to reveal a silvery sheen.

Hiss!

While mechanical inner skeletons couldn't undergo exaggerated modifications compared to metal outer skeletons, they could seamlessly receive nerve signals, giving them an advantage in close-quarters combat. However—

It hurt so much!

[You lost 3 HP]

"Die!!"

The Gao Gong's eyes bloodshot, his muscles tensed, veins bulging. The micro-motors within his knees increased power again. Grabbing the opponent's head with his right hand, he stomped, twisted, and pulled. With a bang, the opponent's metal head, along with a cone-shaped biological implant, was ripped out.

The lower end of the biological implant was a cluster of sensor components, nerve shunt components, and chemical catalysts. Electrical sparks mixed with blood, spitting out white smoke.

[You have killed a Knight Order artificial soldier, EXP +100]

Two lines of fire immediately swept over. Fortunately, the Gao Gong was prepared. He flicked his palm, and four dark shadows shot out in four directions.

The heat sources, captured by the artificial soldiers' visual sensors, split into four and shot off in as many directions.

The gunfire suddenly became chaotic.

Gao Gong's normal attributes were already a notch above the artificial soldiers. To end the battle quickly, he used "Basic Mechanical Repair" to push his internal motor system into overload. In this state, his five main attributes increased to around 16 or 17 points, nearly double that of the artificial soldiers.

Although this state couldn't last, only maintaining for less than three minutes, it was enough.

And in the eyes of the artificial soldiers, the heat sources grew more numerous: two, then four, then eight. It was as if a special forces team had descended from the sky, surrounding them.

Among them, one heat source was elusive; every appearance brought death.

[You have killed a Knight Order artificial soldier, EXP +100]

[You have killed a Knight Order artificial soldier, EXP +100]

Until the last artificial soldier had its throat slit by Gao Gong, they never understood how these enemies, who seemed to fall from the sky, had appeared.

Hiss~ Gao Gong gasped for air. The smell of burning artificial protein wafted from him. From extreme motion to extreme stillness, some of the implanted machinery finally gave out. His elbow joint suddenly made a snap sound, like a blown-out appliance, its surface scorched black.

"Holy crap, that hurts, hurts, hurts!"

Players could adjust their pain perception, but unfortunately, NPCs didn't have that function.

Gao Gong's right hand lost all sensation and hung limply, his forearm and upper arm forming a strange arc.

Overload came with a price!

The ore fragments in his hand naturally fell to the ground.

"Heat sources" were simple, not some high-tech marvel, just ignited energy ore.

Energy ore was a byproduct of energy pollution, appearing like multicolored crystals. The simplest way to utilize it was by burning. 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 burned, besides becoming a heat source, it also emitted energy radiation. This radiation interfered with the artificial soldiers' visual capture.

—It blinded them in "infrared mode."

If you were an artificial soldier, following normal logic, you'd simply disengage combat mode and switch to normal vision.

But you couldn't.

Once an artificial soldier's combat program was activated, its infrared vision would lock. Only after all enemies were eliminated could it switch to its normal state.

The intention behind this locked mode was to stimulate the artificial soldiers' combat drive. Nobody expected this hardware issue.

Ultimately, it was because the artificial soldiers were "low-end consumables."

Low-tier soldiers weren't high-end goods; as long as they worked, there was no need to debug them so meticulously.

Gao Gong was certain that this small squad of artificial soldiers had only recently arrived in the Iron Sand Desert.

In the "Beast-Machine Disaster" expansion pack, where players were involved, the Knight Order's production line only fixed this issue after countless artificial soldiers were farmed and killed in this manner.

Indeed, the early game was better. Bugs were rampant, and gear was easy to get.

Gao Gong patted down the bodies of the fallen and found a cigarette case. On it was a picture of a seductive bionic woman covered in tubes.

Smoking is harmful to your health. Seagull No. 2 Virtual Experience Machine brings you higher spiritual enjoyment.

"What a load of crap."

Gao Gong lit a cigarette, awkwardly gathering loot with one hand. His consciousness began to drift again.

In his current state, he wouldn't be able to fight even a normal person, let alone artificial soldiers.

The game was realistic in how your condition deteriorated as your health dropped.

This was precisely why Gao Gong had to take the gamble.

It wasn't a total loss, though. Gao Gong casually grabbed a gun, and the system panel automatically identified it.

Name: Assaulter Category: Kinetic Assault Rifle Quality: White Weight: 2.8kg Caliber: 7.62mm Base Stats: DPS: 156 (Damage Per Second) Attack: 16 Rate of Fire: 8.89 rounds/sec Magazine Capacity: 35 Effective Range: 120~220 meters Scope Slot: Empty Plugin Slot: Empty Remarks: This is a decent weapon, aside from its inability to hit anything.

"Bah, where do you think this is, the Mother City? You want me to add a cybernetic implant, a smart template, maybe even a micro-rocket launcher? Dream on! This is the radiation zone, the frontier! Firearms themselves are hard currency, alright!"

Gao Gong muttered his complaints to the system while affectionately caressing the gun's grip.

"These guns are clearly military-grade weapons privately sold by overseas arms factories. Good stuff!"

After searching the area and confirming his haul—four Assaulter submachine guns, four bulletproof vests, five pistols, and five daggers. The submachine guns were priced at 100 Mech Coins on the market, but these factory-produced ones could fetch at least an extra 50. Pistols were 50-60. Including the bulletproof vests and daggers, the total haul was a little over a thousand Mech Coins.

Mech Coins were the exclusive currency of the Iron Sand Desert and could be used for transactions with factories.

At the Gas Station Bar, a tube of nutrient paste cost only 1 Mech Coin, and an anti-radiation pill was 10 Mech Coins. If one wasn't extravagant, a Mech Hunter's monthly living expenses were only around 100 Mech Coins.

The original owner's earnings from a normal mission were only this much. Many times, not only would they not get paid for failing a mission, but they'd also have to pay to repair their equipment.

However, in the original owner's memories, that Reserve Citizen Certificate had cost him a sky-high six-figure sum!

Thinking of this, Gao Gong felt a pain so intense he couldn't breathe.

Oh, he had a mechanical heart, so he couldn't actually feel pain.

"This mission is definitely rigged. Someone bribed people in the Knight Order to target me specifically!"

"Just you wait. Once I investigate clearly and find the mastermind, I won't let a single one of them go!"

The thought of repairing his mechanical body and his already depleted wallet bleeding again made Gao Gong's heart ache once more.

"I wonder if this can be sold."

Gao Gong glanced at the four tin heads in the back seat. These 'soldiers' were all in a state of hardware damage. If repaired, they could still be used. The corporations in the city would likely be interested in the Knight Order's bio-technology. If they could be sold, it would be a nice little income.

"Unit 203, respond, Unit 203!" a gruff voice came from the walkie-talkie.

"Don't buy insurance, don't buy a house, don't get a loan, don't get a card. All the above calls are being recorded. Scammers, get lost."

"Who are you?"

"I'm your father, whom you've never met," Gao Gong introduced himself while opening the car hood.

The Knight Order's vehicle was a disguised off-road vehicle that ran on extracted energy minerals. Its electrical and vehicle energy systems were very similar to the electric cars from his previous life, but the motor was larger. The 'battery' resembled a high-tech steam engine, with a cold metallic texture on the surface and countless pipes extending from it, vaguely showing gas flow. It had a distinct wasteland aesthetic.

With the knowledge boost from Mechanical Augmentation, he quickly understood the principles. He opened the trunk, found his tools, skillfully separated the circuits, and plugged in three black rubber-sheathed cables. The other end of the cables was inserted into the access ports on the inside of his knees and wrists (one of which was broken).

After the circulatory system was modified, the heart was no longer a vital organ (though being stabbed through would still cause severe injury); it had become a large battery.

And this was just the first step in the original owner's ambition.

The original owner's ultimate goal was to replace all the human parts on his body with electronic organs and bionic components, evolving from a human form to a pure mechanical being.

In his mind, a mechanical body was the strongest!