According to the backstory, all the evidence suggested that this man had "voluntarily" undergone the Black Shark Pirates' modifications.
He had originally been the biggest human trafficker in Fairy City, committing countless crimes. He had also been the Black Shark Pirates' largest supplier.
But what goes around comes around. One day, Alliance police finally came knocking. He fought desperately and managed to kill his way out, but was left almost completely crippled.
Unwilling to accept his fate, he went to the Black Shark Pirates, hoping that their past relationship would persuade them to save him.
But expect pirates to care about relationships?
Ha!
The Black Shark Pirates were more than happy to grant his wish. And so he became what he was now, neither man nor beast.
He was the most successful of the Black Shark Pirates' modified humans so far. Aside from his ability to speak, everything else about him, including his memories, had been preserved.
He had also perfectly inherited some of the powers of the Star Beast Frenzied Lion and an Insectoid. Dr. Feng, the outpost's director, called him a perfect work of art and gave him the name Modified Human No. 19.
Since he couldn't speak, nobody knew whether he was happy with his life.
After dealing with Modified Human No. 19, the group continued deeper into the Laboratory.
But they hadn't gone far when the view ahead suddenly opened up and brightened once more. They had reached another hall.
A gigantic Mecha was waiting for them in the brightly lit hall.
This was the Instance Dungeon's third boss, Giant Combat Mecha 237.
It was a large Artificial Mecha, much like the final boss in the Dark Forest. But unlike the Dark Forest's utility lumberjack Mecha, this one was built purely for combat.
It was equipped with twenty rapid-fire cannons, as well as a large number of missiles and other laser weapons.
As soon as the group entered the hall, Lin Qimeng and the others immediately split up. They clearly knew how dangerous this thing was.
Wang Qianduo didn't, though, and was mercilessly caught in the Mecha's barrage. Smoke engulfed the area where he stood, and countless explosions destroyed the passage behind him.
But when the attack was over and the smoke slowly cleared, Wang Qianduo appeared completely unharmed. A pale blue Energy Shield fully enveloped him.
"Impossible!"
Old Ma couldn't keep his emotions in check after seeing that.
He knew how terrifying this boss's damage was. At the normal difficulty level, he could withstand one round of attacks, too.
But there was no way he could do it like Wang Qianduo had, taking the boss's attacks without even having his shield broken.
Wang Qianduo heard Old Ma's exclamation, but only smiled without saying anything.
Then came another familiar burst of skill attacks, leaving the battle Mecha crippled in a single round.
The normal-difficulty battle Mecha's weakness was as obvious as its strength: after every round of attacks, it had to reload its ammunition. During that time, it could do little but take hits.
Seeing this, Xiao Hai's figure faded, then turned into a streak of black light and slipped into the shadow behind the boss.
Dark energy burst from the short sword in his Mecha's hand, and one strike finished off the battle Mecha.
The battle Mecha dropped a piece of level 10 Fine-Grade equipment, but to the group, it was still just something to sell.
"Brother Wang, what are your defense stats? NPC," Old Ma asked on the way to the next boss room, still unable to hold back his curiosity.
"And your attack, health, and mana!" Xiao Hai added.
"My attack is 339, defense 45, HP 2,700, and MP 3,500." Wang Qianduo shared his stats. Since they'd be teaming up in the future, it didn't hurt to let them know in advance.
"Holy crap! Those are the stats of a level 10 Mecha?" Old Ma blurted out when he heard Wang Qianduo's stats.
Wang Qianduo had twice his attack and health, and a fair bit more defense. His mana was on a whole other level, too.
Which one of us is the tank here—you or me?
Nobody wondered how Wang Qianduo could deal thousands of damage with an attack stat just over 300. In this game, no matter what stats a Mecha had, most of its damage came from skills.
A skill with a multiplier of several times your attack could deal that much damage... Maybe that wasn't normal, either. But Old Wang's skills were clearly no ordinary skills.
After taking down the battle Mecha, the group continued through the underground Laboratory.
The next boss was the Instance Dungeon's final boss, Dr. Feng. On the way there, they had to deal with all kinds of monsters and traps.
Even Wang Qianduo had to be careful. The monsters couldn't do much damage to him.
But traps were another matter. Some could kill him outright if he triggered them.
I've improved a lot over the past few days. If I'd had to make this trip when I first entered the game, I don't know how many times I would've died, Wang Qianduo thought, feeling rather pleased as he looked at the traps along the way.
"Sir, watch out!"
"Look out!"
As he was thinking this, two voices rang out beside him.
Lin Qimeng grabbed Wang Qianduo, who was walking along the edge of the group. A laser then sliced down right in front of Old Wang, piercing straight through the ground.
One warning had come from Lin Qimeng, who'd saved him. The other had come from Zero.
The trap was clearly designed to kill in one hit. Fortunately, Lin Qimeng had reacted quickly. Zero could warn him, but couldn't help him directly.
"Thanks!" Wang Qianduo said to Lin Qimeng, still shaken. His smug mood had completely vanished.
That had been a quick slap in the face. He'd only just started feeling pleased with himself.
Damn!
"You're welcome. Be careful. We're almost through this stretch!" Lin Qimeng said.
After cautiously making their way through the passage, the group reached the final boss room.
The final boss, Dr. Feng, was waiting for them beside an Energy Pool. It looked a lot like the Energy Pool used for Mecha Evolution.
As soon as he saw them enter, he gave them a savage grin.
"Hahahaha! You're too late!
"My experiment has succeeded. Behold the ultimate Evolution!"
With that, he leaped into the Energy Pool, and strange energy began to shine from within it.
A ring of Energy Shields surrounded the pool. Otherwise, how could they have let him stand there acting like such a big shot?
The energy continued to shine for a full minute before the shields vanished.
A monster leaped out of the pool. Its body was covered in an Insectoid's chitinous shell, one of its arms had become a gigantic sickle-like claw, and it was a fusion of organism and Mecha.
Bio-Fusion Monster
LV10
Leader
HP 25000
MP 3000
Attack 230
Defense 40
Skills: Ambush, Flying Hook, Chain, Bio-Fusion Energy Cannon, Acid Spray, Energy Burst, Devour
"Feel the power of Evolution!" the "Mecha" before them declared. Then the hooked claw in its hand suddenly shot out toward Old Wang, but Old Wang dodged it.
This monster had actually spoken aloud, rather than using a speaker like the Mechas piloted by Wang Qianduo and the others.
Its mouth was full of grotesque organs. It could no longer be called a Mecha.
Professor Feng was a ruthless man. He'd forcibly fused a human soul, a Star Beast, an Insectoid, and a Mecha together, creating the monstrous creature before them.
Scientists with fanatical dreams could sometimes be more frightening than serial killers. To them, anything could be sacrificed for the sake of their dreams.
Nobody knew how many cruel human experiments he'd carried out to make this moment happen.
After dodging the hooked claw, Wang Qianduo looked at the monster in front of him and suddenly felt as if "someone" were crying in his ear.
The sound of weeping filled him with an extreme anger that welled up from deep inside. The feeling came on fast.
Wang Qianduo's eyes flashed gold as he flew into a rage and fixed his gaze on the monster Professor Feng had become. Photons gathered behind him as he activated Photon Ray.
The next moment, countless Photon Rays shot out. Their intense light made it hard for Lin Qimeng and the others to keep their eyes open.
For five seconds, Photon Ray swept through the entire underground space where the boss stood.
Strengthened by Fiery Golden Eyes, every Photon Ray dealt critical damage. They weren't weak-point critical hits, but the Mecha Professor Feng had become still couldn't withstand the barrage.
Wang Qianduo also felt that Photon Ray had changed somehow while he was angry, but he couldn't recapture that feeling now.
When the smoke from the explosions cleared, the boss's HP had been depleted, and he was kneeling on the ground.
He was in a terrible state, charred all over, and his hands had been blown off to who knew where.
"That was way too much!" Lin Qimeng said to Wang Qianduo, looking at the Laboratory, which had been left unrecognizable.
"Sorry," Wang Qianduo said in a subdued voice. He was still thinking about that feeling from earlier.
"What's wrong?" Lin Qimeng asked, hearing the sadness in his voice.
"Huh? Oh... It's nothing. Let's see what he dropped, then head to Hard difficulty!"
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