Only when Qin Ze approached the aircraft did he realize just how battered it was.
The outermost paint and skin had all fallen away, exposing the internal frame in many places.
Thick black smoke billowed from the tail. The engine seemed to have broken down.
Something like this could still fly. It really was technology from decades into the future.
The cockpit door was still tightly shut, and the pilot hadn't come out.
"I'm here to save you! Are you still alive?"
Qin Ze shouted from more than ten meters away.
But even after he called out several times, the pilot never answered.
Qin Ze pulled out his hand cannon and edged forward.
Through the transparent cockpit cover, Qin Ze saw the state of the pilot inside.
The pilot had been reduced to a white skeleton, held firmly against the flight seat by his seat belt.
His head lolled to one side, his hollow eye sockets staring straight at Qin Ze.
Qin Ze frowned deeply.
Judging by the skeleton's current state of weathering, the pilot had been dead for at least fifty years.
Yet a bomber without a pilot could still take to the skies and carry out a bombing run.
The thought gave Qin Ze goosebumps.
"This world is creepy everywhere you look."
"Could it be a world of Cthulhu evil gods? Those Mutated Ones are all their minions."
"The aesthetic really is a bit similar."
"There's a hole in the cockpit cover. That's how the pilot was shot dead."
"My advice is to retreat first."
"This subject seconds the motion."
"You're not even a first-level martial artist. Don't be so thickheaded."
Qin Ze was starting to lose his nerve.
"Ah~"
A little poop-yellow head suddenly peeked out from the other side of the bomber.
Its large, lively eyes blinked as it looked curiously at Qin Ze.
"An aberrant!"
Qin Ze hurriedly backed away, aiming his hand cannon at the head.
But unlike the Mutated Ones Qin Ze had encountered before, this little fellow showed no desire to attack.
He had several fingers stuffed into his mouth, and his face was full of innocence. He looked every bit the curious baby.
"How... did... you... come... out..."
The little fellow mumbled a few words indistinctly.
An aberrant had spoken!
The diary left by the previous administrator had never mentioned that Mutated Ones could speak.
"I..."
Qin Ze was just about to try communicating with him when he suddenly noticed more than a dozen adult Mutated Ones around him.
The aircraft had smashed a large crater into the ground.
Qin Ze stood inside it, completely surrounded by the Mutated Ones outside.
Only then did he realize that he seemed to have stumbled into the Mutated Ones' lair.
"Wait a minute!"
Qin Ze raised both hands high, doing his best to look harmless.
Like the little fellow, the Mutated Ones around him didn't attack Qin Ze.
Compared with the Mutated Ones in the shelter, their faces showed a wider range of emotions, and their eyes were only slightly red. They stared at Qin Ze as if he were a giant panda on display.
"Outside... danger... underground... safe..."
The Mutated Ones stammered, and Qin Ze couldn't make sense of it even after listening for a while.
Bang, bang, bang, bang-
A sudden series of explosions rang out, and the Mutated Ones outside the crater burst into clouds of bloody mist one after another.
The little fellow beside the aircraft was also sent flying by the shockwave, rolling off who knew where.
Looking at the mangled flesh strewn across the ground, Qin Ze swallowed.
Am I this badass now? Killing with my mind?
Whoosh-
A white figure descended from the sky.
"Eleven low-level Mutated Ones found outside Jiang City. All have been eliminated."
She was a tall, mature beauty in a cool suit of white mecha armor.
Her features were exceptionally well-defined and exquisite, as though she had stepped out of an anime.
The moment Qin Ze saw her, he thought of that big sister from the 3D zone.
"Huh?"
Only after the mature beauty had reported the situation on-site did she notice Qin Ze beside the aircraft.
"I'm not with them!"
Qin Ze hurried to speak, afraid she might blast him with a cannon.
The mature beauty's beautiful eyes widened. "A human!"
Qin Ze: ?
Wasn't it obvious?
The mature beauty strode up to Qin Ze, her beautiful eyes full of curiosity and excitement.
Qin Ze, on the other hand, was a little flustered.
The mature beauty composed her pretty face and introduced herself:
"Humanoid combat weapon, designation BT-21."
"I'm the last of the first batch of BT-series weapons."
Qin Ze replied, "Hello, my name is Qin Ze."
So this was the Sky Island humanoid combat weapon mentioned in the previous administrator's diary.
Judging by her appearance alone, she was almost identical to a human. There was no way to tell she was a robot.
Unable to make sense of the situation, Qin Ze decided to retreat first.
He still wasn't quite mentally prepared to make contact with the local natives.
Especially since he was still just a weakling.
Wouldn't it be great to come back prepared next time, with a whole crowd of clones?
"I just remembered I forgot to turn off the gas at home. Let's chat another day."
Qin Ze turned to slip away.
BT flashed in front of him, blocking his path.
"My lord, please don't wander around. There are many Mutated Ones nearby."
"I've already contacted all the combat weapons in this area. We'll escort you back to Sky Island together."
Qin Ze was embarrassed.
This was a bit troublesome.
Sky Island was the local natives' headquarters, and he didn't want to go there yet.
"A Soul Orb?"
As Qin Ze was wondering how to politely decline, he suddenly spotted a gleaming Soul Orb hanging from BT's chest.
BT noticed Qin Ze's gaze and took off the Soul Orb.
"Would you like this, my human lord?"
Qin Ze nodded, his breathing gradually quickening.
"Can you give it to me?"
"Of course."
BT handed the Soul Orb to Qin Ze. "This came from the last abyssal beast I killed. I took it from its corpse as a memento."
"There are many more on display in the Sky Island Museum."
There are more on Sky Island?
And lots of them?
"When will the main force arrive? I can hardly wait to meet my fellow humans," Qin Ze said with righteous conviction.
Guys, who gets it? I'm about to pick up a bunch of Soul Orbs for free.
BT smiled. "Please wait a moment. They'll be here soon."
Qin Ze examined the Soul Orb in his hand. It was slightly heavier than Miss Devour's.
A closer look revealed tiny electric serpents coursing through the Soul Orb. It also gave his hand a slight shock, leaving his palm tingling.
An S-rank Soul Orb!
Qin Ze's heart surged.
If an outsider hadn't been present, he would have wanted to have a clone devour it on the spot.
What kind of ability would it be?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
White figures descended from the sky one after another.
They wore the same standard-issue mecha armor as BT. They all looked different, but every one of them was beautiful.
Qin Ze wondered if whoever had made them had some sort of peculiar fetish.
When sculpting their appearances, their creator had made them all female.
What are they, valkyries of the battlefield?
"May I touch you?"
A girl asked cautiously.
Faced with those eager gazes, Qin Ze couldn't bear to refuse and nodded. Everyone immediately crowded around him, as though they were petting a cat at a cat café.
BT-21: "When are we leaving?"
Qin Ze reluctantly extricated himself. "Let's go now."
Once each clone had a Soul Orb, wouldn't they ascend on the spot?
When I unleash a hundred abilities, I wonder how you'll deal with them?
Beep, beep, beep-
The valkyries' detection radars suddenly let out a piercing alarm.