Buzz--
Just then, the Throne, which had been covered in dust in the cabin, suddenly flashed with light, and Han Xiao, wearing the Sovereign Mecha, made a dazzling appearance.
The helmet popped open, revealing Han Xiao's face, who spoke with curiosity:
"What major discovery could it be that made you call me here?"
"You're a mechanical expert, quickly take a look at that big guy outside and see what's going on?" Aurora pointed out the window.
Actually, even without her reminder, Han Xiao noticed the abnormality of his surroundings the moment he asked the question. Following Aurora's finger, he immediately spotted the strange machine.
"Wow, it's huge! It's a fusion of biological and mechanical elements, kind of like a bio-armor, but it doesn't quite look like it... What is this thing? Where did you find it?"
Han Xiao was taken aback after just one glance.
He didn't know what this thing was either. It looked many times larger than his normal Mechanical Deity form, and it was covered in wounds, as if it had suffered all sorts of cosmic disasters.
"This is something we encountered suddenly; this space seems to be a closed domain..."
Fording then explained the whole story.
Han Xiao nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully:
"It sounds like this machine has been maintaining a strange domain, and you've accidentally wandered in. If it's mechanical technology, it's likely an advanced application of space technology, creating a constant folding field around the machine, or altering some physical constants within this domain—it's a very sophisticated technology."
"But the spaceship's detection instruments aren't responding." Aurora patted the control panel.
Let me see...
Han Xiao checked the instruments and found that they were all functioning normally. His eyes lit up.
"Hmm, either the instrument is being interfered with virtually, or the other side has some kind of amazing concealment technology. Either way, their technical prowess is extraordinary..."
Aurora's vehicle incorporated many of Jess's technological treasures, but it was now being deceived, prompting Han Xiao to immediately take it seriously.
"Could it be some kind of Cosmic Wonder?" Fording wondered.
"Don't jump to conclusions so quickly..." Han Xiao waved his hand, taking over the reins, and said, "Since the spaceship can't move backward, let's try to see if we can move forward and get closer to this behemoth."
"Are you sure?" Aurora hesitantly. "I sensed a faint life signal from it, but it hasn't responded to any of the messages I've sent..."
"Is this big guy alive?"
Han Xiao was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly became very interested.
He was very familiar with Aurora's abilities and rarely made a mistake in sensing them.
I initially thought it was just some uncivilized remnant of a massive mechanical structure carelessly discarded by some civilization or mechanic, but the fact that this machine is alive makes things a bit more interesting...
"Let's go take a look."
Han Xiao hesitated for only two seconds before making his decision and steer the spaceship forward.
As expected, this pitch-black area seemed to allow only forward movement and not backward movement, and the spaceship slowly approached its target.
As they got closer, the contrast in size became even more striking. The detailed outlines of the machines magnified in their field of vision, making them feel incredibly small.
After a while, the spaceship stopped in a long, narrow hole on the machine's finger, which looked like a huge cave that extended thousands of meters into the machine.
The hatch opened, and several people stepped off the spaceship onto the rugged ground.
The ground was a jumble of flesh and machine, one foot soft and the other hard, making it very uncomfortable to walk on.
Han Xiao squatted down, inserted his fingers into a piece of flesh, felt the texture, and observed the muscle Vein. He nodded and said:
"It contains muscle, tendons, and fat; the texture resembles normal biological tissue, not artificial or biochemical tendons..."
As he spoke, he applied slight pressure with his fingers, and a little blood seeped out of the muscle.
Han Xiao looked up and saw that there were congealed bloodstains all around the flesh and tissue, which looked dark and splattered, as if blood had been sprayed out suddenly after being slashed.
His eyes flashed, and he suddenly remembered Old Manison's Convict technology. This body was somewhat similar to the biological modification and biochemical implantation of Convict.
Just then, Fording's voice suddenly rang out.
"Black Star, I'm not feeling well..."
Han Xiao and Aurora turned to look and saw Fording clutching his chest, his brows furrowed, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
What's wrong with you?
Han Xiao's heart tightened.
He reached out and poked Fording, triggering combat information. After seeing it clearly, his expression changed slightly.
Fording's status bar now displays a negative status effect called [Dissolution], which causes him to lose 0.01% to 0.5% of his health, stamina, and mana per second. However, due to his Lucky Halo, he only suffers the weakest negative effect.
'Why didn't I have this reaction before? Could it be that this state only occurs after entering the interior of this machine?'
Han Xiao's eyes narrowed. He opened the panel and glanced at it, only to find that he did not have the [Dissolution] status, nor even a judgment prompt.
Does this effect only apply to beings below Beyond Grade A? Is it limited to living organisms or does it also include inanimate objects?
He turned to look at the spaceship parked to the side, and after a quick inspection, he discovered that the spaceship's outer armor showed a slight tendency to corrode and Dissolution. It should be noted that the materials used in this spaceship were extremely tough, even incorporating some Black Star Alloy, giving it self-healing capabilities; even this couldn't escape the [Dissolution] state...
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, a guess forming in his mind.
"This area allows only entry, not retreat, and anything, living or dead, will begin to Dissolution upon entering the machine, somewhat like a Venus flytrap. Interesting. Perhaps this is a trap drifting through space; those who accidentally stumble upon it cannot escape and become its nourishment..."
Fortunately, there was a healer in the team with plenty of healing abilities, otherwise it would have been a bit troublesome.
He gestured for Aurora to heal Fording, Aurora he conjured a metal needle and plunged it deep into the flesh and blood on the wall, attempting to cause damage. If this large creature were a separate entity, it should be able to display combat information.
Bite!
The next moment, the panel moved slightly, and a prompt popped up.
Han Xiao opened it and his expression immediately changed.
The mecha's level, species, and abilities were all marked with question marks; only its name wasn't a question mark, but it was still unremarkable, being called [Unknown Aggregate].
--This thing is of such a high level?!
Even those like Manison and Sorokin, whose overall levels are higher than his, he can now see some of their information. But the information on this machine is almost entirely question marks, which only proves that the level difference is too great. In the currently Explored Universe, Han Xiao estimates that only Urnos has such a high level.
"What exactly is the origin of this thing...?"
Han Xiao's curiosity grew stronger.
He had no recollection of this machine. Logically speaking, something so peculiar shouldn't have been unknown in his previous life. He wondered if it had simply gone undiscovered or been secretly hidden away.
Han Xiao had no time to pay attention to Aurora and the other person, and focused on his research. He tore off a clump of flesh and tissue from the ground, broke off a few mechanical parts, and then activated the mecha's built-in material detector to perform a full scan and analysis of the two items.
Before long, two analytical reports were produced.
The first report is the analysis results of the mechanical parts, which show that the microstructure is very novel and there is no matching material in the database, proving that the material of this machine seems to be some kind of unknown alloy.
The second document was an analysis of flesh and blood tissue. No matching biological genes were detected, proving that the origin of the flesh and blood tissue was likely not from Explored Universe. However, the existence of Esper Gene was detected, which were highly matched with the Mechanic Class. Although the cell activity was extremely weak, it seemed to still contain extremely weak electromagnetic energy.
Han Xiao's heart stirred, and he tore off a lot more flesh and blood tissue for testing. Each piece contained Esper Gene and was made up of Mechanic Class cells.
"So all this flesh and blood comes from the mechanics..."
Han Xiao recalled the size of the machine and his face twitched slightly.
If the flesh and blood of the mech were from the same person, that would be one thing, but if it came from different individuals... how many mechanics' bodies would it take to construct such a massive form?
"How about we explore it and give it a try?"
Han Xiao shook his head, weighed the flesh and blood tissue in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then activated the [Bold Explorer] skill.
This skill is useless against the character itself, but this mech seems a bit different; a piece of flesh that has already been separated has a high chance of passing the detection.
As he expected, the skill activated in the next moment.
Buzz--
The world before Han Xiao's eyes suddenly changed, and a series of never-before-seen scenes began to flash back.
It was as if a starry sky was spread out before my eyes, and an incomparably glorious interstellar civilization leaped into view—fleets traversed the starry sky, their territories expanded outward, planets were transformed into colonies, cities rose from barren planets, and countless spaceships traveled back and forth between planets, presenting a scene of prosperity that seemed to rival any cosmic civilization.
However, in the next instant, a wormhole rift spanning the starry sky suddenly appeared, and an endless unknown fleet invaded in force, splashing the flames of war onto this peaceful civilization. Blood, slaughter, and screams replaced the original prosperity.
As the invaders advanced, phantom-like dark green roots emerged from the void, like straws inserted into the planets that fell into their hands. These planets melted, shrank, and decayed at a visible speed, eventually turning into liquid nutrients that were completely absorbed by the roots, leaving not a trace.
"This is..."
Han Xiao's pupils contracted.
This scene was all too familiar to him; it was practically a carbon copy of the World Tree War!
The invaders of this unknown civilization were none other than the World Tree Civilization!
Before he could think any further, the illusion before him shifted, and he found himself in a cosmic space.
A large number of mechanics gathered here, sitting cross-legged in the starry sky, followed by their respective mechanical legions, forming a spectacular formation. The outer perimeter was covered by ring-shaped mechanical devices that enveloped the area.
A Mechanical Deity suddenly appeared in the center of the crowd, unleashing a strange energy wave that enveloped the entire area and resonated with the ring-shaped mechanical device.
Suddenly, all the mechanics in the area exploded, turning into pure flesh and blood, which mixed with their respective legions. Then, they turned into torrents, all rushing into the Mechanical Deity in the center... The Mechanical Deity grew larger and larger, eventually becoming a towering machine, with flesh and metal perfectly fused together, its appearance resembling a towering mechanical giant!
Before Han Xiao could even be surprised, the scene shifted again in the next second. The giant mecha that was intact just a second ago suddenly became tattered and broken, as if it had been through countless battles. Its appearance was very familiar, and it was the very mecha that Han Xiao and his companions had encountered.
The damaged machine seemed to be scrapped, losing all power, and drifted slowly in space until it was finally captured by a giant Black Hole, swallowed up, and disappeared without a trace.
Just then, the perspective shifted to the macroscopic level again, revealing that the territory of the unknown civilization had been completely transformed into darkness, almost cleaner than the Desolate Universe Belt, with no trace of stars remaining.
The World Tree Civilization's fleet, like satisfied diners, retreated contentedly, leaving behind only an empty, dark universe.
This scene was the last image of the illusion.
Han Xiao shuddered; the skill effect faded, the illusions vanished, and his vision returned to normal.
A look of astonishment still lingered in his eyes as he muttered to himself:
"It seems we've discovered something extraordinary..."