An Object from Beyond the Heavens

The original purpose of designing giant mechs was to deal with giant monsters that could easily reach dozens of meters in height.

But this does not mean these giants lack the means to deal with smaller monsters—monsters are evolving, and mechs are upgrading as well.

"Notify all ground troops to cease all fire immediately and head to the nearest underground shelter to await further instructions." General Chen accepted the suggestion from Meng Changkong; clearing out monsters was the specialty of mechs. "Crimson Hurricane will now clear all Type II monsters within the high walls, and Raider will help the recovery team retrieve Xingtian before joining the battle."

"Xingtian?" Meng Changqing asked in disbelief.

"Understood, General." Before Meng Changqing could continue, Meng Changkong interrupted his younger brother.

"Received, mission will be completed!" Raider also provided a response.

Now that Crimson Hurricane and Raider had joined the battlefield, this crisis would soon be over.

But having giant mechs clear small monsters within the high walls comes at a price.

Starting from the second generation of mechs, all models have been equipped with small-caliber weaponry designed to deal with small monsters, striving for precision strikes against these agile things.

In the open ocean or uninhabited areas, these giant mechs can even use their full arsenal for terrifying area-of-effect strikes, annihilating these annoying "ants" in large numbers within a short time.

However, in near-shore areas or within cities, having giant mechs clear these small things requires extreme caution; if a mech were to go full-throttle with its firepower, it would cause immeasurable damage!

Therefore, when facing Type II monsters, various factions prefer to use ground troops combined with heavy firepower to clear them, rather than letting mechs rampage through the city!

But General Chen did not think so—he had always believed that human lives were more important than economic losses!

The Xuanse Cangqiong base possessed an entire line of high-wall defenses, with only the hangars and some defensive facilities located outside the walls, while the rest of the facilities were inside.

There was also a safety distance between the base and Zhenhai City, intended to ensure that if a battle occurred at Xuanse Cangqiong, it would not affect Zhenhai City as much as possible.

"General, an unknown cube has been discovered near the coast, measuring fifteen, twelve, and twenty meters in length, width, and height respectively; there are no energy or life signs."

Raider's report drew everyone's attention back to the mysterious black object that had fallen from the sky.

"If it's not aggressive, deal with it after the battle ends. All units are to maintain a safety distance of two thousand meters from the cube."

Inside the high walls, the arm of Crimson Hurricane had transformed into a rapid-fire electromagnetic energy cannon, blasting piles of Type II monsters.

Any "ants" that tried to climb onto the giant's body were killed on the spot by the high-voltage current covering its armor!

At the same time, the rain of blue fire across the sky gradually ceased, which meant the number of monsters would not increase.

"Disgusting. When the battle is over, I must give Crimson Hurricane a cleaning!" Meng Changqing frowned and stomped, crushing a dozen Type II monsters that were trying to flee.

Instantly, the feet of Crimson Hurricane were covered in viscous green liquid.

"We might not have that time. On our way back, Leviathan is still continuously firing energy attacks in all directions; otherwise, the attack on Xuanse Cangqiong wouldn't have lasted so long." Meng Changkong looked solemn, vigilantly searching for any stragglers within the high walls.

"Brother, do you mean we still have to rush to other places?"

"The probability is high. The overall number of mechs has clearly dropped, so there must be places that need our help."

"Then what if Xuanse Cangqiong is attacked again?"

"We'll be here." Raider suddenly appeared behind Crimson Hurricane, firing its small-caliber cannons at a few Type II monsters leaping about. "Since Leviathan can launch attacks this way, someone must guard the base."

"Is that mech really Xingtian? Who is piloting it? I remember that besides the General, there shouldn't be any other pilots in the base?" Meng Changqing finally asked the question he had been holding back.

"Did you forget about Bai Ying?"

"Who!? How can a half-baked amateur like her pilot a mech? Brother, stop joking with me, okay?" Meng Changqing didn't believe Liu Zhenxuan's words at all.

"Report, General. The energy radar shows only eleven Type II monsters left hiding in the buildings. Do you need Raider and Crimson Hurricane to withdraw from the battlefield?" Liu Zhenxuan reported the situation first, and only after receiving the withdrawal order did he reply to Meng Changqing, "Whether it's her or not, just go ask the General in a moment and you'll know."

Half an hour later, inside the Xuanse Cangqiong hangar.

The battle had ended, and except for those who needed to perform post-battle maintenance, everyone else had gathered here.

The still-wet wreckage of Xingtian was placed here alongside the mysterious cube. Aside from a small number of researchers surrounding the black cube, most of the others stood in front of Xingtian's body.

Bai Ying lay alone beside Xingtian's cockpit, looking dejected.

General Chen shifted his gaze away from Xingtian with a meaningful look and walked toward the crowd that was engaged in a heated discussion.

"How is it? Have you reached any conclusions?"

"A material never seen before, and the precision of the craftsmanship is beyond my level of cognition!" The lead researcher could not suppress his excitement and showed the instrument in his hand to General Chen. "General, look, every single face of it is so smooth that not a single flaw can be found! The length, width, and height—all numbers are precise to the thousandth decimal place, and they are all zero!"

"Can you contact the space station to determine its origin?" General Chen knew that since this thing fell from the sky, if anyone noticed it first, it would definitely be those guarding the heavens.

"We've already asked. They said it was dropped from Eden."

"Eden..." General Chen rubbed his stubble with his hand.

He knew that it was an experimental unmanned space city that the Star Ring Alliance had only sent into low Earth orbit two months ago. However, due to the conflicting ideologies between the Watchman Alliance and the Star Ring Alliance, the intelligence and information of the two sides were not shared at all.

However, saying information was not shared was actually a very euphemistic way of putting it; the opposition between the two alliances was almost comprehensive, and the fact that they hadn't engaged in a full-scale war was already the best-case scenario.

When Xuanse Cangqiong was attacked, it was hard to say whether Eden dropping such a thing from orbit was an act of providing help in a time of need or adding insult to injury.

"Has their industrial technology already surpassed ours by this much?" General Chen put on the gloves provided by the researcher and touched the smooth surface of the cube.

It was indeed, as they said, refined to a staggering degree.

"Apologies, General. As far as I know, the technological level of the Star Ring Alliance is incapable of manufacturing something of this caliber." The researcher took a deep breath, as if about to announce something important. "Forgive my ignorance, but I don't think this cube is something that humans could have created..."

After the researcher said this, the entire hangar fell into a deathly silence.

It was not that they did not believe his words, but rather that the only alien species humanity currently knew of were the monsters that crawled out of the sea.

If this thing dropped from Eden was also not a man-made object...

The way everyone looked at the cube turned eerie, as if this square, black pillar were some Pandora's box capable of destroying the world!

Several young men who had been touching and prodding the cube earlier took several steps back in succession.

"You can spend so much time studying a broken pillar, so why aren't you thinking about how to repair Xingtian?"

Bai Ying, who had been silent until now, broke the silence in the hangar.

This was the first thing she had said voluntarily since being ejected from the cockpit by Xingtian.

No one knew what kind of changes and torment she had endured during this time.

The nightmare-like memories that haunted her played on a loop—if only Xingtian could have done this ten years ago...

Even though she had vented her hatred on this old machine like an unreasonable child, using it in a retaliatory manner, Xingtian had still saved her.

At the thought of Xingtian's tragic figure in the sunset, Bai Ying could no longer bring herself to hate him.

Many people cast their gazes toward the girl with her head bowed, but no one responded to her.

"He is lying right here! Ever since you fished him back, he has just been lying here!" The girl's emotions grew increasingly agitated, like a volcano about to erupt.

"Miss Bai, I think the priority of the cube..."

"Priority?" Bai Ying did not give the other party a chance to continue. "Of everyone present, whose life wasn't saved by Xingtian!"

"My life, my brother's life, the two soldiers' lives—none of those were given by Xingtian!"

The girl's red pupils shifted instantly to the blonde-haired Meng Changqing.

"Don't think everyone will indulge you, you little lunatic. Now is not the time to hold a memorial service for this old antique!"

Facing Bai Ying's stare, Meng Changqing glared back without a hint of mercy.

"Quiet!"

General Chen let out a sharp shout, stopping the tense confrontation between the two. "Bai Ying! Go back to your dormitory and rest right now!"

"You have the least right to say that! Do you even have a conscience toward Xingtian? If back then..." Bai Ying choked up halfway through her roar, tears welling up in her eyes.

General Chen did not respond, merely staring at the emotionally unstable Bai Ying with a stern expression—no one knew what this dignified general was thinking at that moment.

At this time, a wrinkled middle-aged man slowly took off his hat and walked over to Xingtian.

"Child, there is no need to repair Xingtian anymore."

He was Lao Yu, Xingtian's maintenance technician. From the moment Xingtian left the factory, he had followed the machine into battle, stitching up the giant's wounds.

In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed.

He knew well that things were not like they used to be; using the money meant for repairing Xingtian to buy a new mecha was the best choice.

"You have already proven yourself to be a qualified pilot. The Alliance will assign you a more advanced mecha so you can continue to fight."

"No." Tears slid down Bai Ying's face, her body trembling uncontrollably. "No, you don't get to decide!"

In fact, when Bai Ying said this, the crowd surrounding Xingtian could not hide the sorrow on their faces either.

"Lao Yu." General Chen, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke. "Does the base still have spare parts for Xingtian?"

"There is one set left, but they are just like the ones on Xingtian—all old relics." Lao Yu rubbed his moist eyes with a bitter smile. "Back when Xingtian hadn't retired yet, they were just kept here in the hangar."

"Then take them out and replace them for Xingtian. If there are any parts still missing, make a list and report it to me."

General Chen's words left everyone present stunned!

"General..." Lao Yu's body trembled slightly. "Do you really intend to fix Xingtian?"

Everyone knew what that meant.

Xingtian was just an old, first-generation mecha. Spending the budget on Xingtian was a waste for the budget-strapped Xuanse Cangqiong.

"Lao Yu, you are one of the people who has been with me the longest at this base. Do you remember how we pulled through ten years ago?"

Images of Xingtian flashed through Lao Yu's mind—back then, the people had truly regarded Xingtian as a hero!

"War requires more than just personnel and equipment; it requires courage, persistence, and faith." General Chen still remembered those words from his commander ten years ago.

"Those who possess these qualities are heroes, whether they are human or a mecha." General Chen gazed at Xingtian's massive frame with a deeply profound look.

"Lao Yu, we need heroes."