Exoskeleton Armor

The Basic Exoskeleton Armor could not let them cross the vast wasteland of the Cataclysm and reach the surviving stronghold of human civilization: Base City Number Three.

The remaining energy was not enough to power an aircraft, and the weapons were even more damaged. However, as survivors living outside the Base City, they certainly had ways to produce energy.

Under these circumstances, trading a piece of decent equipment for enough food to eat, using the time bought by that food to produce energy, obtaining the means to travel to and from the Base City, and getting their lives back on track was a perfectly reasonable course of action.

Li Yang's eyes lit up as he watched the woman who had appeared later on the screen remove her exoskeleton. At a glance, it looked almost like a human skeleton, without the slightest hint of bulk. Yet this very exoskeleton allowed her to move along walls and over rooftops like a martial-arts hero in a movie.

"Considering the help you've brought, I'll provide three months of food for you. Bring that Exoskeleton Armor over, along with paper instructions and a detailed introduction."

"The food I provide will be pollution-free. In return, I hope you can serve me loyally."

Li Yang controlled his voice into an lofty, superior tone and spoke casually to the two people on the rooftop.

"P-pollution-free food!"

The two widened their eyes in disbelief, then hurriedly nodded again and again, their faces brimming with excitement.

Seeing their excited reaction, Li Yang shook his head helplessly.

In this world, pollution-free food was clearly an extremely precious commodity, and things of great scarcity usually meant great value.

Using something so valuable to exchange for common items of a low level was obviously a terrible bargain.

But... this was the only thing he had.

I hope this food will let me develop smoothly.

A trace of anticipation rose in his heart. Li Yang knew very well that in this world, whose technology far surpassed Earth's, food might be the only capital he possessed.

He had to hold on to that capital.

As he pondered, Li Yang watched the woman in the video put the exoskeleton back on and agilely return to her residence to fetch the Exoskeleton Armor she had made for him. He, meanwhile, set out and brought over the four-hundred-kilogram-capacity drone he had specially modified earlier.

He then walked into the stairwell and controlled it to fly out, sending it toward the rooftop where the two slaves were.

Before long, the drone arrived. The man, who had been lying on the rooftop in a state of exhilaration, looked somewhat bewildered at the drone flying over again. He could not figure out what this lord's hobby was, but after thinking it over, he politely asked the first small drone, "My lord, the exoskeleton we have isn't made of particularly good materials. It weighs two hundred kilograms. Can this modern little toy carry it?"

Modern little toy...

"This thing has a load capacity of four hundred kilograms. Don't underestimate it."

Li Yang replied flatly. When he saw the man hurriedly nod in fear, he paid him no further attention. After waiting a while, he indeed saw the woman return with a large box.

"My lord, I made this armor myself based on the widely circulated Universal Basic Exoskeleton Model One. Limited by the materials, it isn't as powerful as the Basic Exoskeleton Model One sold in stores, but it can still provide a thousand kilograms of assistance. For use in extreme environments, it employs standard Model One Batteries. Each battery can provide one hundred hours of full-power operation, or five hundred hours at forty percent power. The batteries need to be replaced after they run out, and I've prepared twenty-five spare batteries."

"It weighs two hundred kilograms. Its material defenses can withstand an impact of five thousand kilograms of force. It's expandable, with a maximum applicable body height of two meters thirty and a minimum of one meter thirty."

The woman opened the box and pulled out a completely black, square piece of steel. She pressed a button in its center, and the square steel automatically unfolded, stretching into a skeleton-like Exoskeleton Armor. Standing before it, she smiled at the drone as she explained, while also displaying the Model One Battery—only as large as her little finger—and a stack of instruction manuals in her palm.

"Mm. Put it back in the box and secure it to the drone."

Li Yang's calm voice came from the small drone. The large drone immediately descended onto the rooftop. The woman hurriedly collapsed the mechanical exoskeleton and placed it into the box made of some unknown material, then carried the box over, set it on Li Yang's drone, tied it down with rope, and respectfully stepped aside.

"Wait here. I'll bring your food over shortly."

Once the Exoskeleton Armor had been secured to the drone, Li Yang immediately piloted it into the air. At the same time, he spoke into the first communications drone and activated the drone's automatic hovering function, leaving it behind. He then piloted the large drone back toward his residence.

On the rooftop, the woman watched the drone fly away, wanting to speak but hesitating. However, after glancing at the enslavement collar around the man's neck, she gritted her teeth and silently stood to one side. The man, too, watched the drone depart nervously.

They both knew that their lives now rested entirely on the whim of the lord who had taken away the Exoskeleton Armor. Whether he merely wanted to toy with them or intended to break his word, they would die here all the same.

"Phew. I'll repair your armor first."

The woman, Chang Yanyan, let out a long breath to ease the pressure in her heart. She walked to the large box she had brought the first time, took out various tools of all sizes, and began repairing the damaged exoskeleton on the man's body.

"The strength of these First-Level Genetic Evolvers is truly terrifying. Even wearing an exoskeleton, I couldn't resist them in the slightest."

Yu Dong exhaled and forced a smile as he spoke to the woman, revealing the various injuries on his body. Seeing this, the woman first took out medical supplies and gave him a simple treatment for his external wounds, then began repairing his damaged exoskeleton.

"Bzzzz..."

The vibration of the drone's rotors filled the air with a buzzing roar. In the empty stairwell, the pursuing zombies were killed one after another by crossbow bolts. As the large drone waited, Li Yang killed every zombie in the building, and only then did the stairwell finally become clear.

The drone then surged forward, carrying the two-hundred-kilogram exoskeleton all the way back to the rear entrance of the Gold Shop. Li Yang detached it from the drone, his face filled with delight.

He opened the box and took out the instructions inside. With both illustrations and text, they clearly explained how to start and use it, what precautions to take, how it had been manufactured, and how to repair each damaged part.

----The slave's woman had printed out every bit of knowledge she possessed about the exoskeleton.

After reading them and experimenting several times, Li Yang carried the Exoskeleton Armor into the Gold Shop and activated it. In an instant, it transformed into a two-meter-thirty-tall skeleton. Li Yang stepped into its center and activated the adaptive function. The next moment, the exoskeleton automatically contracted around the contours of his body, and Li Yang instantly became a man wearing a skeleton-like frame.

He casually threw a punch.

"Boom..."

The terrifying blast of wind from his fist sent the papers on the floor swirling into the air.