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A boy in a blue cape and a robot.

They slowly climbed along the ridge to the summit of the garbage mountain and looked down from above.

The guileless Nanny Robot slowly raised a brass middle finger toward the foot of the mountain.

"That dumbass?"

E Luo tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes. "Not even a missile killed him, and he found himself a new robot?"

His face was full of disdain, as though he had just discovered that the cockroach he thought he had slapped dead had somehow crawled out between his fingers and was flaunting itself before him again.

E Luo lowered his head and searched the ground, suddenly fixing his gaze on a heavy steel pipe.

He bent slightly, his mechanical arm working as he picked up the pipe, which weighed over a hundred pounds. He hefted it in his hand, spat, and walked toward Cheng Qi.

"Don't do anything rash."

A heavily nasal voice came from inside the white tent. "That should be the kid who crippled Hyena from Bar Street."

"Lord Pig?"

E Luo looked puzzled. "This kid doesn't have a single cybernetic modification. Does he really have that kind of combat power? Or is he relying on that brand-new Nanny Robot?"

Two mechanical tentacles lifted the tent flap.

A bizarre, enormous figure slowly emerged.

He was a gigantic fat man with a bald head gleaming with grease. His upper body was bare, his torso like a small hill, with layers of fat piled across his belly.

He had no lower body. In its place was a sixteen-legged mechanical spider. Its legs were precise and flexible, and those mechanical tentacles handled every movement the gigantic fat man made.

"You've got some ability, young man. Join me."

Lord Pig looked up. Though he stood at the foot of the slope, his expression was lofty and superior. "I need people right now."

"Did you hear that, you little garbage worm? Lord Pig is willing to give you a chance!"

E Luo's eyes shifted as he looked at Cheng Qi. "Just a month ago, Lord Pig successfully gathered every part of the BE33 Combat Spider and transplanted the whole thing onto himself."

"Lord Pig isn't just my boss now."

"He's also the strongest fighter in B24 District!"

"Even the Scavenger Alliance can't do anything about him!"

E Luo lifted his chin. "Join us, and you can do whatever you want in B24. And as your senior, I'm generous enough not to hold our past grudges against you!"

"That lousy spider makes him the strongest fighter?"

"You won't hold our past grudges against me?"

"Sorry, but I, Cheng Qi, am not remotely that generous!"

The boy frowned at the hideous Lord Pig. "I wondered why E Luo had suddenly become so brazen. Turns out he found someone to back him up. Lord Pig... what a perfect name. A pig, a big one, that looks a little like a person."

"Motherfucker."

E Luo gripped the steel pipe and knitted his brows. "Got a death wish?"

The fat on Lord Pig's face quivered, but he remained utterly confident. "Little brat, you have no idea what combat power means, or just how valuable these spider legs of mine are."

"If you don't obey me, you won't survive."

"Since you have a little talent, I'll give you one last chance."

"From now on, hand over every valuable piece of garbage you find. I'll give you a ten-percent commission."

"Think carefully before you answer. If you upset me, you'll never get another chance to scavenge."

As he spoke,

one of the gigantic fat man's mechanical tentacles snaked out and snatched the JI34 Nan Chip from E Luo's hand. He then opened the pouch at his waist and placed the chip inside.

Cheng Qi's gaze sharpened.

Inside Lord Pig's pouch, he had spotted the head of a small mechanical dog.

It seemed not to have completely lost power yet. The heavy-metal detector on the tip of its nose was still blinking faintly.

Looking closer, he saw a smear of bright red blood on its head.

He remembered Xiao Qiong dragging the bathtub, and the small mechanical dog behind her pushing it with its head.

Cheng Qi's pupils contracted sharply. "Where did that mechanical dog come from?"

"What if I told you an admirer gave it to me?"

"Would you believe me?"

Lord Pig gave a mocking smile.

Then he looked at Cheng Qi and spoke almost earnestly. "Kid, if you want something, you have to take it. That's how you survive on Garbage Earth. Once you join me, you can take whatever you want, too."

E Luo also smiled contemptuously and muttered, "What a shame. That woman was good in bed. I used to visit her all the time. From now on... tsk, tsk. Good thing there's still that little girl. Give her a few more years, and she'll be ready to lose her virginity, too."

Just then,

Cheng Qi heard a faint sound behind him and slowly turned around.

Xiao Qiong had climbed to the summit of the garbage mountain too, a hemp rope tied around her waist as she dragged the bathtub someone had torn apart.

The little girl's hair was disheveled, her eyes bloodshot. She held half a shriveled apple, and two clear trails of tears ran down her weather-beaten face.

"They killed Mommy."

Xiao Qiong's voice was like a sharp sword, crossing the few meters between them and piercing Cheng Qi's heart.

As he looked at Xiao Qiong's frail, helpless figure,

a shadow slowly clouded Cheng Qi's eyes. Beneath that darkness, anger began to rise.

He turned back and stared straight at Lord Pig, all warmth gone from his eyes.

The First-Generation Muon Catalyst creaked in his grip.

At the same time, his thumb moved the slider forward, inch by inch.

Blue light gradually shone from the crystal-like device, growing brighter and brighter.

"What, you want to fight me?"

"You ungrateful little bastard!"

Lord Pig's smile finally vanished, and his expression slowly turned vicious. "Do you really think those garbage weapons you scavenged can hurt me?! Idiot!"

This turn of events seemed to suit E Luo perfectly. He grinned savagely. "Lord Pig, I've hated this kid for ages. Why recruit him? Just kill him!"

"Die!"

Killing intent flashed in the gigantic fat man's eyes.

A piercing metallic grinding came from the mechanical spider beneath him.

Ten mechanical tentacles abruptly rose. Their joints opened and interlocked, extending in an instant. Their sharp tips crossed more than ten meters and stabbed toward Cheng Qi from every direction!

The fury in Cheng Qi's heart erupted at that very instant.

In a flash, he pushed the First-Generation Muon Catalyst's energy slider to 60%!

A dazzling streak of blue light instantly burst from the sword-hilt-shaped device.

The Ultimate Warrior Powered Armor flowed along Cheng Qi's neck, unfolding a holographic panel before his eyes.

"Massive energy fluctuation detected."

"Operator has a chance of sustaining recoil damage."

In an instant, the Ultimate Warrior Powered Armor unfolded and covered Cheng Qi's arms.

At the same time, memory metal barbs sprouted beneath Cheng Qi's feet and drove several meters into the ground. Eight support arms extended from him, arranged in a semicircle to brace his body firmly.

Cheng Qi could clearly feel the tiny muons inside the handheld device undergoing an astonishing reaction.

The Muon Technology System was gathering terrifying power beyond compare.

Hum!

The light released by the First-Generation Muon Catalyst instantly extended into a blue particle beam hundreds of meters long. It cleaved the dim sky like a colossal sword reaching into the heavens.

The recoil pressing against his hands was as crushing as a mountain.

Cheng Qi had no choice but to grip it with both hands.

The fury in his heart overrode everything else. With a roar, Cheng Qi raised the weapon high and brought it crashing down!