From the drone's perspective, beneath the sky, the ruins of buildings dozens of stories tall were covered in yellow vines like snakes, while giant trees of equal height spread their crowns in every direction.
The densely packed metal leaves resembled solar panels arranged in a circle. The air carried the smell of scorched electronics—the mechanical bio-beasts were secreting artificial proteins.
The camera rotated as the drone's view continually zoomed in. Through gaps in the forest, it was easy to see tree roots plunging into the concrete of the old city, pulverizing all kinds of metal scrap like a giant mixer before absorbing it through newly grown metal pipes.
Metal, concrete, and plant roots had fused together in a wondrous yet bizarre whole.
As the drone flew over a communications tower, the lightning rod at its peak suddenly rotated once and slowly opened. It was a sword-leaf-shaped metal flower engraved with the words "Iron Tower Co., Ltd."
'Abnormal signal detected'
'Abnormal signal detected'
'Signal interrupted'
'Signal interrupted'
Two of a drone's thruster nozzles suddenly lost control, causing its flight path to waver erratically. In the end, it plunged headfirst into the forest.
The next moment, the predators sprang into action. Iron-skinned rats crawled out of the sewers, moving as fast as lightning. The metal wheels replacing their limbs looked like self-driving roller skates from some high-tech brand.
The turbine spiders followed close behind. As medium-sized colony organisms, they were three meters long and two meters tall, with three pairs of massive mechanical pincers. Their tentacles were as sharp as steel blades, while the radioactive spider eyes on their heads resembled giant searchlights. Their powerful beams swept constantly back and forth, driving away competitors scrambling for the spoils.
A shrill whistle rang out as a centipede locomotive charged recklessly along the expressway, occasionally shoving aside the wreckage of cars scattered across it.
But the predators in the trees got there first. More than a dozen bird-shaped semi-mechanical creatures swarmed over. Their drill-like beaks expertly bored through the drone's shell and bit through the wires connected to its engine, putting it completely out of commission.
What followed was a gluttonous feast. The metal shell was like a snack, the wiring stimulating and smooth, the chips nutritious, the batteries the most popular, and the motors tough to chew but satisfyingly springy.
The camera was eventually seized by a bionic gecko and plugged into its neck. Electronic patterns on its bionic skin lit up, as if some special pairing process were underway. Soon, the camera came back to life, finding a new job after retirement.
The other two drones immediately climbed higher when they saw this. However, when the drone behind them circled a twin tower, the "vines" covering the tower's surface suddenly spread open like snake scales and began rising and falling rhythmically.
The "vines" transferred the biological signal into the building, which consisted of optical fibers, a database, and input devices.
'Electronic pairing in progress'
'Signal conversion in progress'
'Virtual intrusion in progress'
The twin towers had apparently once been a television station. They had twenty-three floors, and as the vines connected, the long-sealed backup generators suddenly began running, filling the machine room with noise. From the roof to the ground floor, screens opened one after another, displaying not commercials, but footage of the drone's flight.
Inside the television station, countless transparent workers seemed to be adjusting equipment, confirming the program, and editing videos.
At last, a screen suddenly lit up in front of a suicide victim's corpse.
"...The Sky Enforcers have launched a crackdown and issued regulations to strengthen the safety management of civilian drones and other 'low, slow, and small' aircraft. Eight types of controlled areas, including municipalities directly under the central government, have been established. Except with special approval, it is prohibited..."
As the video played, the drone farther back gave a violent shudder before abruptly changing direction and slowly landing on top of the twin towers.
Then the footage on the screen seemed to be played in reverse. Starting from the twin towers, the "drone" flew backward from the roof and headed straight for an underground facility.
Underground command center of an air-raid shelter
A worker's expression changed. All ten of his fingers suddenly split open, transforming into spider-claw-like structures as his fingertips hammered the keyboard at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
The enormous screen in front of him instantly turned red.
'Data anomaly, data anomaly—'
'Flight signal captured, virus intrusion in progress, first defensive layer compromised—'
"What's going on? How could there be a virus intrusion? Has the Mechanical Overmind discovered our operation?" The middle-aged man who looked like a supervisor exclaimed, his expression changing.
"No. The monitoring stations inside the city haven't detected any signs of the mechanical army mobilizing."
"This type of virus isn't one of the common corporate viruses, either."
Another employee also began explaining. A device resembling a headset hung over his head, its "earpieces" embedded in his ears. A small loop of wire could vaguely be seen inserted into each ear canal.
In Nightless City, this kind of device was called a "network access pod." The Knights lacked the necessary technical foundation. The old era's military technology could only access the Global Information Network and could not connect to the cyber network. What they were using now were refurbished machines bought on the black market.
These refurbished machines were powerless against corporate viruses controlled by advanced AIs.
"It seems to be some kind of wild electronic virus converted from a biological signal."
The supervisor immediately relaxed. After all, wild viruses were still within their ability to handle.
More importantly, the "Hydra" Project had not been discovered and was proceeding smoothly.
"Find the source, and find out why the drone appeared there," the supervisor ordered angrily.
"Coordinates confirmed: 213.313.511, Jiangbie City of the pre-civilization era. Mission level: 'Knight.' This is a wanted mission temporarily issued by the higher-ups."
One of the workers paused, then said with a hint of awe, "It's Iron Knight—Banner!"
The final drone continued loyally carrying out its mission. Unfortunately, in this concrete jungle, there were far too many things that preyed on it.
Soon, a black shadow shot out of the forest at incredible speed, seemingly tearing through the air. After a sonic boom came another explosion. Flames scattered, and fragments of the drone rained from the sky.
In a district filled with countless drifting "red lanterns," the blood carpet on the ground slowly writhed. It climbed the high-rises and surged onto the elevated roads, sweeping over every living creature that entered the district. In the end, it converged toward the center, the flowing blood spreading across the carpet's surface like the skirt of a noblewoman.
The "noblewoman" at the center of the carpet was a monster nearly three meters tall, formed from white bones and flesh. Countless bundles of nerves made up her hair, and mechanical hunter heads hung from the ends of the strands.
If a radiation detector were activated, it would reveal that the radiation in this district was terrifyingly intense, almost reaching the center of a nuclear blast.
"Anyone who dares trespass into the domain of an A-rank Crimson Empress is practically begging to die!"
[Mission complete, reward: 1,500 experience points]
Just as the Iron Sand Desert was not a true desert, the oasis was not green, either. It was more like a small town with complete facilities. Its residents were a mixed bunch: fugitives from Mechanical City, factory mercenaries, natives of the Iron Sand Desert, artificially synthesized humans created through forbidden modifications, and metal preachers who worshipped the Church of Turing.
There were no good people here. One could even say there were no "people" at all. Every resident had implants plainly visible on their bodies, weaponized organs, and mechanical organs. Everyone looked extremely dangerous.
Anyone who could operate a shop safely here was unquestionably a ruthless powerhouse capable of holding the town in check.
The owner of Rose Gasoline Bar was a woman—and a very beautiful one at that. Her fiery red hair resembled burning flames, and her emerald eyes habitually sized people up from behind her wavy bangs. Her hot upper body was wrapped without the slightest concealment in a highly elastic tank top, revealing a generous expanse of fair skin. A waist with sharply defined abdominal lines bore a blooming, seductive black rose.
Rose Gasoline Bar provided all kinds of alcohol, bionic prostitute services, virtual experience machines, psychoactive drugs, minor bodily restoration and modification, consignment sales, and hitman services.
At that moment, Black Rose stood behind the bar, casually mixing a margarita while listening to the customers' boasts, ostentatious displays, and occasional greedy glances sweeping her way.
Every year, many people came here to seek their fortunes, including no shortage of powerful cybernetic augmenters. But familiar faces grew fewer and fewer. Ninety-nine percent of them remained here in the radiation zone forever. Only a handful of lucky ones earned enough mechanical currency to obtain a ticket into Nightless City and enjoy the life of the upper class.
Most of the time, Black Rose watched coldly from the sidelines as these idiots leaped from the radiation zone into the even more dangerous urban hell.
The monsters in the city ate people without even spitting out their bones!
Still, some idiots were rather cute. It was a pity when they died.
"Have you heard? Someone intercepted the factory's shipment in the Great Rift."
Amid the jumble of news, one piece caught her attention.
"Who would dare intercept the factory's shipment? They must have a death wish!"
"Who knows? Maybe some illegal immigrants took a desperate gamble."
"If those people want to die, they'd better not drag us into it."
A burly man with metal arms laughed.
"It's not entirely a bad thing. The factory's loaded. Maybe we can make a fortune from the bounty!"
"That's true. My exoskeleton should've been replaced ages ago. Goods from the city cost ten times as much here. Those damn corporate bloodsuckers!"
Black Rose raised her slender, arched brows, drained her margarita in one gulp, and signaled to the bartender nearby to take over. She then strode toward the back door.
Besides serving alcohol, the Gasoline Bar also offered overnight stays. After all, some activities were more suitable for the nighttime. Black Rose usually lived in the bar's basement, where there was plenty of alcohol.
Few people knew that Black Rose had another base. Its former incarnation had been an abandoned factory, which had now been converted into a garage filled with various motorcycles she had collected.
Alcohol and heavy motorcycles were the two things this woman loved most.
The moment the main door opened, a thick stench of blood rushed over her. Black Rose's expression did not change in the slightest as she directly pulled down the electrical switch.
The next moment, beneath the glaring searchlights, an unfamiliar and battered off-road vehicle appeared. Three of its four tires had blown out, and its body was covered in countless scratches and bullet holes.
A wild-looking man lay in the vehicle. He had lost one eye and one hand and was biting down on half a cigarette.
"You're here."
Black Rose swept her gaze around and said calmly, "Who gave you permission to drive this kind of junk into my garage?"
Gao Gong gave a bitter smile. "Sister Rose, could you not worry about the car right now? Save the person first."
"If I die, wouldn't you be down one car?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Gong's head lolled to the side, and he fell completely unconscious.
[Mission complete, reward: 1,500 experience points]
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