Zhang Hao hurried after them. The group looked both ridiculous and adorable. The eight-inch-tall little robots ran alongside the others like people, their ranks neat and their steps in sync. Their stubby little legs moved at a furious pace, or they wouldn't have been able to keep up.
The area here was about the same size as the Main Bridgehead, quite spacious. Since Zhang Hao was now controlling a two-foot-tall robot, his field of vision had shrunk considerably, making the surroundings seem enormous. The machine bug he'd controlled earlier had been especially huge.
This bridgehead had only four sides. By the rules of the Space-Time Bridgeheads, it was considered rather low-level, with only two short-range portals. The portals were especially small, just three feet tall—about a meter—which would make it difficult for a normal person to pass through. But the little robots had no trouble.
Even this little robot left Zhang Hao marveling. The technology here was so advanced. He'd barely seen a fraction of it, and he was already deeply impressed.
According to Mifeng, they had arrived in the future, and this place should have some kind of connection to their homeland through a Space-Time Line. He would have to take a good look around and see what this world had to offer.
After the short-range teleportation, a passage appeared. Looking back, Zhang Hao saw that it was indeed glittering with golden light. Without a soul imprint, even if someone dug away the gold, there would be no bridgehead behind it—only soil and rock.
It was an unusual passage. Rock walls surrounded them, and the cramped tunnel was only a meter high and a meter wide.
The tunnel slanted upward. As they hurried along, Zhang Hao realized he could run quite fast. This little robot was remarkably nimble.
The smaller robots struggled more, but they all did their best to keep running. They looked incredibly cute.
After a while, they reached a small open space of about eight square meters. A crowd of robots quickly filled the cramped area.
A golden rope descended from above. Mifeng grabbed it, and it began to rise slowly. Zhang Hao followed suit, then the eight-inch robots grabbed on one after another. Looking up, Zhang Hao saw a Hole Entrance above them.
The rope hauled a long string of little robots upward at a furious pace.
Zhang Hao couldn't help thinking that with such a hidden route, even if there were enemies, they would never find the bridgehead. The way up was even narrower, with a winding passage. He clung tightly to the rope, but much of the time his body kept bumping against and scraping along the rocky walls.
The passage twisted upward. It took nearly five minutes before Zhang Hao saw a glimmer of light. Until then, everything had been pitch-black.
They reached another tiny room. Mifeng was at the front; as soon as he entered, he let go and dropped to the floor. Zhang Hao followed, then the little robots. Mifeng said, "We're finally back!"
He reached out and tapped the wall several times. One section of it lit up.
It looked like some kind of computer to Zhang Hao, so he asked curiously, "Great Master, what is this?"
"Nothing much. You're all undocumented, so I have to forge identities for you. That way, you can enter this world's virtual network and then get into the large bases controlled by humans. If you barge in without an identity, you'll be blown to pieces. Mecha warriors are generally in great danger out in the wild."
"Once you have identities, you'll be able to enter the human world without any trouble."
"Great. Give me a different name."
"There's no need. The two worlds can't connect, so changing your name would be pointless."
Zhang Hao didn't insist. Mifeng was right. As far as this world was concerned, he was a newcomer.
In fact, the only ones Mifeng needed to register were Zhang Hao and the three souls that had reached Elite Level and become mecha warriors. The rest were pseudo-intelligent machines. These pseudo-intelligent machines were far superior to real intelligent machines. As long as they had the special identification information used by humans, human mecha wouldn't attack them.
Curious, Zhang Hao asked, "Aren't you afraid they'll see through your forged identities?"
"No. Their technology is inferior."
Zhang Hao was speechless. It seemed that the technology Mifeng possessed and understood was more advanced—much more advanced. Compared to him, Zhang Hao's homeland was probably a technological wasteland. No wonder making money came easier to Mifeng than picking it up off the ground.
A moment later, Mifeng had finished creating identification documents for the four of them: Zhang Hao and the three souls who had stood out from the crowd and qualified as elite warriors capable of using mecha skills.
Zhang Hao asked, "Great Master, do you have an identity document here?"
"Me? I don't need one!"
Zhang Hao was speechless. This guy was unbelievable. He'd been just as brazen back on Blue Star.
"Then where are we?"
"The Underground Base. It's also an underground fortress, where the secret base is located. There's no passage connecting it to the outside world, only short-range teleportation gates. The technology behind these gates is beyond this world's understanding."
Zhang Hao's little head shook from side to side. He understood now just how confident Mifeng was. The technology he controlled had to be incredibly advanced.
"Let's go!"
They soon entered passageways that were like a maze. Many were specialized tunnels that Zhang Hao guessed he couldn't fit through. Whenever the other little robots passed these narrow passages, five or ten at a time quickly disappeared inside. Since Zhang Hao stayed close behind Mifeng, he didn't get lost.
By the time Mifeng led Zhang Hao to a room, three little robots were following behind them. They were the three with the strongest souls.
The room wasn't large, but it contained ten upright transparent cabinets. Zhang Hao had no idea what they were made of; they glowed with a blue light. A person stood inside each cabinet. Zhang Hao could sense with his soul that they weren't living people, but robots, just like the body he was currently inhabiting.
Six male robots and four female robots.
Mifeng skillfully pressed the buttons beside the cabinets. With a series of hisses, the cabinets suddenly released a cloud of white gas. Every robot had its mouth open, making for a rather eerie sight.
Then Zhang Hao saw the back of Mifeng's little robot's head open. A transparent beetle flew out and entered one of the robots through its mouth. The open-mouthed robot soon closed its mouth, stepped out of the transparent cabinet, picked up the little robot, and pressed it against its abdomen. A panel in its belly opened, and the two-foot-tall robot was stowed inside.
"Pick one for yourself."
Mifeng chose a burly, middle-aged robot with a thick beard. It stood two meters tall and looked exceptionally strong.
Zhang Hao looked through the cabinets one by one, immediately ruling out the women. Even though they were robots, he wouldn't choose a female body.
Soon, he settled on a young man who stood one meter and ninety-five centimeters tall. He liked the man's face: sharp as if carved by a knife and chiseled by an axe, with strikingly defined features and a resolute, determined look. Satisfied, Zhang Hao pressed the button, then guided the soul-crystal beetle up. It entered the man's mouth and crawled through his throat to his brain. Once it activated, Zhang Hao finally felt happy.
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