"Neural synchronization protection activated automatically. Head link disconnected. Synchronization rate down to 72%."
"Warning: Head armor destroyed. Thermal vision offline. Energy radar offline. Activating backup visual module..."
Xingtian was just as its name suggested: the only exception among the first-generation mechs, with a cockpit that wasn't in its head. Instead, its cockpit sat below its chest and above its abdomen.
The reason was simple. A mech's head couldn't be too heavy or too large, which meant its defense rating was far lower than that of its torso.
So why not just put the cockpit inside the body, where the defense rating was higher?
As it turned out, humanity had underestimated the monsters' intelligence. After a few fights, they learned to target the mechs' power cores and cockpits. As a result, half of the first-generation mechs became known as "Flat-Top Lords."
Xingtian's ahead-of-its-time design made it the only first-generation mech to retire with honor.
"Cannon locked. Aim for the eyes!"
Bai Ying wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away, not when Xingtian had just lost its head.
Because of its outdated model and the fact that both Xingtian and the monster were constantly moving, Xingtian's heavy cannons could only aim roughly at medium and long range. They couldn't land a precise hit.
Now she had her chance!
The chains beneath the armor along Xingtian's back spun at full speed, and its two heavy cannons swung around to aim at the Aggregate Beast's three pairs of glowing green eyes!
"Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Blazing flames and thick smoke burst from the muzzles, sending heavy shells flying straight into the Aggregate Beast's eyes!
The Aggregate Beast let out a piercing scream. The stalemate, with its four arms locked against Xingtian's, was instantly broken.
"Die!"
Bai Ying shouted as Xingtian put all its strength into both arms and drove its wrist blades into the Aggregate Beast's chest, slicing upward through its shoulders!
Xingtian severed the monster's two thick forelimbs. They fell into the shallow sea, raising towering waves!
Before the Aggregate Beast could fall, Xingtian stepped back, bent low, and swung its wrist blades to chop off the monster's head!
The battle wasn't over. Another Aggregate Beast charged toward Xingtian at that very moment.
The two were already within arm's reach. Xingtian had no room to maneuver, so it could only raise both blades in front of itself.
The Aggregate Beast charged at full speed, ramming its hammer-shaped head into Xingtian's abdomen!
Boom!
"Neural synchronization protection activated automatically. Abdominal link disconnected. Synchronization rate down to 59%."
Even though she couldn't feel pain, Bai Ying still felt as if a speeding car had slammed into her. The violent impact nearly threw her out of the pilot's seat!
A string of dazzling sparks burst from Xingtian's waist. The clatter of broken mechanical parts sounded like a bucket of thumbtacks scattered across the floor!
"Warning: Both arm armor sections damaged by 47%. Waist armor damaged by 83%. Rocket thrusters offline!"
Even Yu Xiao hadn't expected his eight-thousand-ton mech to be knocked away like a weightless scarecrow!
If he hadn't lowered both arms at the moment of impact, he might have been snapped in half at the waist.
"Severe damage to the mech detected. Please evacuate immediately using the escape pod!"
"Not a chance!"
Bai Ying braced both hands against the cockpit console and forced herself back to her feet.
She would never allow herself to flee the battlefield. If she had to die, she would die inside her mech!
Xingtian was now battered from head to toe, every armor plate scarred from battle. The damage to its back and waist had also reduced its mobility to almost nothing.
Not far away, the Aggregate Beast roared at Yu Xiao, preparing to charge again!
It had already succeeded once. Of course it would press its advantage and destroy Xingtian for good!
This was exactly what Yu Xiao didn't want to see.
If the two sides could close the distance and fight at close range, Xingtian still had a chance to kill the Aggregate Beast.
But if it charged again, Xingtian would likely be smashed to pieces before it could cut off the monster's head. Its performance had been severely compromised, and its rocket thrusters were out of commission.
Nor could Xingtian's cannons inflict any serious damage. When the monster charged, it hid its eyes beneath its battering-ram head, leaving Yu Xiao no chance to hit them.
The best chance of success was to take out the Aggregate Beast at medium range, but Xingtian had no means of attacking it from that distance.
Green waves lapped at Xingtian's shins beneath the water. Through the backup vision in its chest, Yu Xiao looked at the monster's corpse beside him.
"Roar!"
The Aggregate Beast threw back its head and roared. It retreated a few steps, then lowered its body and charged straight toward Xingtian!
Bai Ying took a deep breath. There wasn't a trace of hesitation or fear in her red eyes.
She wanted to take a gamble: maybe she could dodge the charge and slice off the monster's head with her wrist blade as she sidestepped.
But she knew the odds were as close to zero as they could get.
Xingtian was in no condition to evade the monster's twisting charge in advance, let alone dodge it at close range!
Even so, as long as there was the slightest chance of success, she would take it!
The distance between them rapidly dwindled. The Aggregate Beast's charge only grew faster!
Just then, the cockpit blared the words she least wanted to hear!
"Warning: Synchronization rate down to 27%, below minimum piloting threshold. Mech may lose control. Exit immediately!"
Bai Ying had heard similar warnings more than ten times during training. Every time, Xingtian immediately forced all its functions offline and entered safety mode. No matter how hard Bai Ying tried to make it move, it wouldn't budge.
That was why Bai Ying couldn't go to the battlefield.
"Move, you old hunk! Move!"
Fury took over Bai Ying's mind. She never imagined that the accident from training would happen again now.
She frantically slapped the control panel, hitting the restart button dozens of times in just a few seconds!
"Move! Now!"
Xingtian moved.
Just not in the way Bai Ying had hoped.
The power core spun beyond its safe limit, and the heat nearly turned the entire cockpit into an oven.
An invisible force seized Bai Ying's body—she had been taken hostage by the mech once again!
Xingtian turned and rushed toward the Aggregate Beast's corpse lying beside it. It grabbed one of the beast's spiked tails and cut it off with a single slash.
If any part of an Aggregate Beast was as hard as its head, it was its spiked tail!
Xingtian gripped the tail tightly in its right hand and channeled all its power into its arm. Then it swung the tail at the charging Aggregate Beast!
The thick, powerful tail cracked through the air like a sturdy whip and struck the back of the Aggregate Beast's head!
Smack!
The charging Aggregate Beast pitched headfirst into the sea beside it, sending up a massive splash!
Xingtian caught the tail as it swung back. Its tip was already coated in green fluid—its strike had torn deep into the Aggregate Beast's flesh!
Having already landed a hit, Yu Xiao had no intention of stopping there. He swung the tail again and again, beating the monster around the head as he advanced.
By the time Yu Xiao reached the Aggregate Beast, the sub-monster was barely alive, its flesh mangled and bloody!
Without hesitation, Yu Xiao drove his wrist blade into the Aggregate Beast's head and ended its life!
"Severe damage to the mech detected. Please evacuate immediately using the escape pod!"
Fire rained down from the sky. Monsters and artillery fire filled the area both inside and outside the high walls.
The barrier around Zhenhai City in the distance was still holding on, but fine cracks had already appeared across its blue energy shield.
Dragging his battered body, Yu Xiao walked toward the hangar one step at a time.
Xingtian was on the verge of collapse, and the damage to its power core had become irreversible. Without immediate modification, it would be nothing but scrap metal within two hours.
"Severe damage to the mech detected. Please evacuate immediately using the escape pod!"
The alarm rang again and again inside the cockpit. Bai Ying stared at the mech overview glowing red across the control panel and suddenly felt something lodge in her throat.
But just as the pilot and mech reached the hangar entrance, the ocean behind them stirred again.
"Unknown energy fluctuation detected. Energy level: 4." The system's voice came from Bai Ying's communications device. Xingtian's energy radar had long since been destroyed.
"Bai Ying! I order you to evacuate the mech right now! A level-four monster we've never seen before is merging!" General Chen's voice was so loud he nearly made Bai Ying's ears ring.
"Not a chance." After a long silence, Bai Ying forced the words out through clenched teeth.
If anyone else had said that, perhaps Bai Ying wouldn't have resisted so fiercely.
But General Chen's order was uniquely grating to her. Anger and defiance instantly took over her mind.
"This is an order!"
Bai Ying cut off communications with the command room. She knew she and Xingtian were the only ones who could stop this monster now.
She and Xingtian were the final line of defense. If she evacuated now, every person at the base would be slaughtered by the monsters!
Bai Ying couldn't accept that ending. She had become a Tieyu to protect those who couldn't fight back against the monsters!
Even if it cost her life.
A dozen Type II monsters, all glowing green, were merging offshore. But unlike an ordinary Aggregate Beast, the process wouldn't be completed in a few seconds.
As if to protect itself from interference, several new Aggregate Beasts emerged around the Fusion Entity!
"Three minutes left..." Yu Xiao looked at the countdown to his delivery with a bitter smile.
He didn't know if he'd really smiled. He had no body, and Xingtian had no head. But in his imagination, he really had smiled.
"Warning: Neural synchronization link disconnected!"
Bang!
Xingtian tore off the armor around its cockpit and scooped Bai Ying out of the pilot's seat!
Bai Ying hadn't even processed what was happening. She was so astonished that her mind went blank!
"How is this possible..."
By the time she came to her senses, Xingtian had placed her inside the empty hangar!
"How is this possible..."
Everyone in the command room, now down at the safety level, had witnessed the unbelievable sight. General Chen stared at Xingtian's enormous silhouette against the setting sun and remained silent for a long time.
Yu Xiao walked step by step toward the shore. Memories etched deep into Xingtian's frame kept surfacing before his eyes.
He saw monsters trample cities flat, hundreds of thousands of people dying overnight;
He saw flames rise into the sky, people and land sink beneath the sea;
He saw mechs fight monsters, and pilots remain inside their cockpits forever;
He saw himself lying in the hangar, alone, hailed as a legend.
"What is the purpose of building mechs?"
In a daze, Yu Xiao thought he heard Xingtian asking him that question.
"Power core limiters unlocked. Cooling system shutting down..."
Clang!
Several enormous cooling tanks fell from Xingtian's frame. Their once-transparent glass was already clouded by steam, and the ice-blue liquid inside was boiling!
"Warning: Power core output exceeds maximum rated capacity. Mech is melting!"
Yu Xiao could feel his alloy armor twisting and deforming from the heat. Freed from its limiters, the power core was like a sun on the verge of exploding, frantically pouring its overflowing energy into the mech!
The scorching heat, like molten lava, dyed Xingtian's twin blades red. Smoke billowed up around its body—the flames were too fierce even for steel to withstand!
Behind him lay a teetering city, a defense line on the verge of collapse, and countless people who needed protection.
"Fight until the very end."
He didn't know whether the thought belonged to Xingtian or to himself. But at that moment, they had become one.
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