[Similar technological constructs detected] [Synthesize?]
The Standard Template Construct sounded a notification and released six scanning beams, sweeping back and forth over the eight skeletons nearby.
The light flickered across Cheng Qi's face.
His heartbeat kept accelerating.
Ten minutes later.
Cheng Qi carried out all the remains and buried them, marking their grave with an unnamed headstone.
It was the only thing he could do for them now, and the most basic show of respect.
Afterward.
Cheng Qi looked at the ground before him, where eight sets of X-12 Extreme Warrior powered exoskeletons lay in neat rows.
After all, the Extreme Eight were legends from twenty years ago.
Since the dawn of the interstellar age, human technology had advanced by leaps and bounds. These exoskeletons were now obsolete.
They were bulky, with high-strength nylon lining inside and hefty hydraulic mechanisms outside, along with a cumbersome power battery mounted on the back.
According to the legends, one such powered exoskeleton could increase an adult's force output by 1,500-2,000 N. Its drawbacks were its overall weight and sluggish movements.
In fact.
On the garbage Earth of today, a single intact X-12 Extreme Warrior powered exoskeleton would have been enough for Cheng Qi to throw his weight around wherever he pleased.
Of course.
The exoskeletons before him were corroded and rusted in many places, battered beyond recognition. Not a drop of hydraulic fluid remained, and some of the slender hydraulic rods had become so brittle they snapped at a touch. They also reeked of corpses.
They were complete scrap.
Even if scavengers found this equipment, they would probably only strip out the power batteries. And judging by what Cheng Qi could see, those batteries, dormant for twenty years, weren't worth many credit points either.
"Eight exoskeletons."
"Enough for three rounds of synthesis."
Cheng Qi's expression was solemn. The equipment's dilapidated condition was no problem for him.
He looked forward to seeing these heroes' equipment rise from the ashes, to carrying on the legend of the Extreme Warriors with his own hands and making it shine brilliantly once more.
[Disassembling into basic units] [Beginning synthesis]
Cheng Qi raised his right hand, and the Standard Template Construct flashed dazzlingly.
One exoskeleton broke apart into specks of white light, which streamed through a silk-like channel and gathered on the surface of another.
The technological miracle unfolded once again.
The dazzling white light gradually faded.
The brand-new exoskeleton armor before him was nearly fifty percent smaller. Its lining was jet-black, and both its hydraulic mechanisms and fuel pack had become more refined. Its materials had also been upgraded. Even sitting there motionless, it radiated more than twice the combat presence it had before!
[X-55 Extreme Warrior powered exoskeleton] [Individual combat equipment. Transmits engine power to the limbs through hydraulic, electromechanical, or other transmission systems. Material: titanium-aluminum compound. Movement force output: 4,000-5,800 N]
"An upgraded model."
"Brand-new condition, smaller size, stronger materials, and twice the force output."
"Trash really has become treasure!"
Cheng Qi's heart beat faster. He had imagined what the result might be, but hadn't expected its combat capabilities to multiply.
The Standard Template Construct's synthesis didn't conjure things out of thin air, either. It seemed more like it contained the evolutionary blueprints of every piece of technological equipment, realizing those blueprints step by step through successive upgrades.
[Disassembling into basic units] [Fusing and upgrading]
After four sets of X-12s had been consumed, the second upgraded model appeared.
[XX-23 Extreme Warrior Armor] [Individual combat equipment. Conceals all strength-enhancing structures beneath alloy armor, further reducing size and substantially improving defense. All base performance increased by 240%. Adds a multi-environment respiratory adaptation system, radar monitoring system, beyond-range communications system, tactical analysis intelligence, and concealed melee weapons]
This time.
What stood before Cheng Qi was no longer an exoskeleton.
Its designation was armor!
It looked more like a humanoid robot, with no visible hydraulic mechanisms or exposed battery pack.
Its head also had a fully enclosed helmet, with diamond-shaped vision systems at the eyes that glowed a faint red.
Its black finish gave it an extraordinarily nimble, swift appearance, like a mechanical phantom capable of slipping silently through the night with explosive combat power.
An exoskeleton and fully enclosed armor were naturally on two entirely different levels!
Hiss!
The front panels of the XX-23 Extreme Warrior Armor opened to either side, revealing the space for its operator inside, like a divine weapon awaiting its master.
"Just wait a little longer, baby."
"You can get even stronger!"
Cheng Qi suppressed the urge surging inside him.
No normal man could resist the allure of a mech.
His throat was already dry, and his heart felt as if it had leaped into it.
But a second later.
Cheng Qi lost his composure. He spun around, face flushed, stuck out his tongue, and panted heavily. "Oh my god, I can't take it anymore! That's an upgraded X-12 Extreme Warrior! I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Foolish Boy stepped forward and raised a metal fist the size of a sandbag. "I can give you a punch, y'know. Help you check whether you're dreaming!"
"That wouldn't send me into a dream. It'd send me straight into a grave."
Cheng Qi turned back, pressing both hands downward as his expression grew solemn again. "Keep synthesizing!"
What would eight X-12s ultimately become?
What would it be?
Cheng Qi was more excited, nervous, thrilled, and crazed than he had ever been!
[Disassembling into basic units] [Fusing and upgrading]
"Synthesis failed... all the materials got smashed to bits."
"Foolish Boy, get lost."
[Synthesis successful] [XXX-01 memory metal Extreme Warrior powered armor]
Cheng Qi's pupils contracted slightly, then dilated. "Memory metal armor? Isn't that the concept model the Galactic Science Alliance proposed recently?"
A concept model.
Put simply, some of its theoretical foundations were still at the conceptual stage, so it couldn't actually be manufactured.
But in terms of scientific and technological prospects, it was achievable. It would simply take an unpredictable amount of time.
Such concepts often represented the future, aspirations... and dreams!
In other words, human civilization had yet to manufacture this equipment!
[This technology originates from a level-two civilization database]
The Standard Template Construct's latest notification left Cheng Qi stunned.
Technology from a level-two civilization?
Human civilization had already surpassed its Earth-era level of 0.7, vastly improved its energy efficiency, and begun interstellar travel. It was now roughly a level-1.5 civilization.
A level-two civilization might seem only 0.5 higher, but it wasn't as simple as addition and subtraction.
For humanity to advance from a level-zero civilization to a level-1.5 civilization capable of fully utilizing its home planet's energy, counting from Australopithecus onward-walking upright, using fire, making and using tools, and so on-had taken a full four million years!
And beyond that, every leap in level required an immense span of time.
What was a level-two civilization's technology like?
Could this... represent the pinnacle of level-two technology?
[The criterion for advancement to a level-two civilization is more efficient energy acquisition, such as using a Dyson Sphere to fully harness the energy of its home star] [Advanced civilizations also have finite resources and energy. Different constructs receive different amounts of research effort]
"So that's how it works."
Cheng Qi looked at the XXX-01 Extreme Warrior armor before him.
It was incredibly lightweight, even somewhat thin, like a dark silver bodysuit without gloves or foot coverings. It had no head armor, either.
"Hello..."
"Baby?"
Cheng Qi swallowed, extended a finger, and gently touched the XXX-01 before him.
Whine!
In that instant, ripples spread across the dark silver armor's metal surface like liquid. They rapidly expanded, producing a high-frequency vibration, and transformed into rapidly shifting geometric shapes, like raging waves in miniature.
A second later.
Those surging geometric shapes began to flow, racing along Cheng Qi's finger and spreading over his entire body.
Cheng Qi was utterly shocked.
That metal, which looked so incredibly hard, had turned into liquid?!
Like a thin undergarment, the XXX-01 memory metal armor slipped beneath Cheng Qi's clothes and swiftly covered his torso.
At the same time, a precision metal barb suddenly flipped out at the back of his neck, at the top of his spine. Its densely packed, hair-fine hooks pierced his skin with a sharp click.
"Holy shit!"
Cheng Qi cried out in pain.
Foolish Boy saw it all clearly.
It was as if a silver venomous snake had suddenly flipped out behind Cheng Qi's neck and bitten down without warning or mercy.
Cheng Qi felt a stab of pain at the back of his head. An electric current struck his brain, leaving him blank and numb.
Immediately afterward.
An irresistible force surged through Cheng Qi's limbs, forcibly stretching them out until his body formed a spread-eagled shape.
Then his arms and feet began bending forward and backward at extreme angles, as though under rigid external control.
Crack!
Crack!
The sound of bones cracking erupted from inside Cheng Qi's body.
"Can't you be gentler? My first time hurts like hell!"
Cheng Qi's features twisted.
Crack!
"Aaaah!!!"
Cheng Qi felt as if he had been brutalized for more than two hundred years.
In reality, only a dozen or so seconds had passed.
At last, the sensation of conflicting forces struggling against each other gradually faded, replaced by a feeling of complete control.
The XXX-01 memory metal armor seemed to have completed its initial matching process and fully relinquished control.
Cheng Qi's gaze sharpened. Inexplicably, he felt a powerful new confidence in his control over his body.
Suddenly.
Cheng Qi sprang straight up from a standstill, executed a perfect backflip, rotated a full 360 degrees, then landed on one knee with his fist driven downward.
Boom.
The ground trembled!
Amid the smoke and dust, he slowly raised his head.
This feeling...
It was as if he had been granted ferociously overwhelming strength, lightning speed, and the precision of nanowave radar.
In short, one word.
-Powerful!
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