IMC Chapter 88

Preparing for the expedition to the Mechanoids’ ruins required careful thought. The mouse had never directly encountered the Mechanoids and couldn’t yet feel their legendary combat prowess. However, based on the overwhelming influence they exerted, their destructive power was likely at the peak of the chaotic universe.

Against such a force, numbers were not an advantage. Therefore, the members chosen for this mission were few but highly capable. After consulting with T33674, the half-mechanoids decided to send only one person, bringing enough energy and equipment for the task.

Additionally, the most powerful ally, Fu Qing, was included. That night, the mouse entered the Chaotic World again, traveling from the Swamp Tavern to the Thick Earth Tavern via the portal.

When the mouse saw Lan Qing again, he had changed hats. The new hat was exceptionally tall, resembling the kind of hat a magician might use for performing tricks. Shu Bao felt that it wasn’t so much a hat being worn as it was hanging on his head, staying perfectly still no matter how much Lan Qing shook his head.

Lan Qing pretended not to notice the mouse’s curious gaze, warmly embracing his teammate before leading Shu Bao on a tour of the territory he had recently claimed.

“While you were gone, the Empire sent several groups to try to reclaim the mines. Now, they’ve even formed a mining team!” Since time flows differently between the two worlds, Shu Bao hadn’t been away from the Chaotic World for very long.

As Lan Qing explained, Shu Bao saw a much more polished mining team, their uniforms brighter and more splendid, working under the watchful eyes of Jinzi and magical beasts.

Jinzi, sensing something, turned around and immediately spotted the small fuzzy bundle on the ground. The golden dragon lost its composure, quickly striding over to greet Shu Bao.

Yinzi, following his brother’s lead, also walked over, ready for a hug. However, when the two dragons met, Jinzi used a wing to push Yinzi aside, then continued his rapid march towards Shu Bao, lowering his massive head.

Shu Bao patted Jinzi’s head with his claw before stepping forward to embrace him. “Jinzi, you look even more beautiful now!”

Jinzi responded with an affectionate call. Not far off, Yinzi, who had been brushed aside, took the hint and hurried over to Lan Qing, lowering his head.

Lan Qing, lifting his head to look at the giant dragon before him, quietly moved back, hiding behind Shu Bao. What was going on? Didn’t they just greet each other at the tavern?

Yinzi: “…”

After the excited reunion, the four of them began to stroll around the Thick Earth Crystal mine. Compared to when Shu Bao had left, the miners now had a noticeable sparkle in their eyes. Although their clothing wasn’t as luxurious as the Empire’s soldiers, it was far better than their previous ragged appearance.

When they saw Shu Bao and Lan Qing, some of the miners even greeted them, smiling warmly. It was clear that Lan Qing had quickly earned the miners’ affection in such a short time.

“People are so much harder to care for than magical beasts. They don’t gain weight easily. Look at the magical beasts—they’ve all gotten noticeably fatter, but the humans only gained a little weight,” Lan Qing complained to Shu Bao about the difficulties of caring for people. In contrast, the magical beasts didn’t need the snakes’ attention—they not only went out to find food on their own every day but also brought back extra food to share with other beasts or humans.

As a result, the miners had shed their initial gaunt appearance and now looked healthier, with more color in their faces.

“You’re doing great. The people back at the base haven’t gained much weight either. Maybe it’s just difficult to care for humans,” Shu Bao responded, empathizing with the struggle of caring for people.

The miners who overheard the conversation between the two: “…”. If they hadn’t been working with Lan Qing for a while, they probably would have run off upon hearing such words.

After touring the mining area, Shu Bao explained the purpose of his visit. One was to contact Fu Qing and inform him about the upcoming trip to the Mechanoid’s ruins. The other was to let him know that the Lan Snake family would soon be arriving on this planet.

When he first heard this, Lan Qing thumped his chest with his tail and assured Shu Bao that he would contact Fu Qing immediately. He would also gather useful resources and information for him. But when he learned that Shu Bao was heading to the Mechanoid’s ruins because the two princes of the Lan Snake family were about to arrive, his mood dropped.

“Sorry, it’s all my fault.” The feeling of bringing danger and difficulty to a friend was very uncomfortable for Lan Qing. He even started to doubt himself—whether he should have teamed up with Shu Bao in the first place. The Mechanoid’s ruins were obviously dangerous. If it weren’t for him, Shu Bao wouldn’t have to take such risks.

“What are you thinking? Someone’s coming to deliver an interstellar battleship, isn’t that a good thing?” Shu Bao patted Lan Qing’s lowered head with his claw. The mouse didn’t like trouble, but it was never afraid of it.

Shu Bao’s words of comfort were very effective, and Lan Qing instantly perked up. Right, so many people had already brought him things—getting a battleship wasn’t too surprising.

Because of the time flow difference between the two worlds, Shu Bao didn’t wait in the tavern for updates. He asked Lan Qing to contact Fu Qing and come directly to the base that night. They would then meet up in the Xia Wang tribe and head to the Mechanoid’s ruins together.

Lan Qing was always efficient in getting things done. Shu Bao had barely waited three days in the real world before Fu Qing arrived.

When Fu Qing arrived outside the Xia Wang tribe at night, he couldn’t help but praise the solid fortifications in front of him. There were also many buildings in the base that he hadn’t unlocked yet, looking extremely imposing.

After explaining that he was a friend of Shu Bao, Fu Qing soon met the fluffy bundle. The fluffy bundle eagerly approached him, allowing him to pet its fur. Fu Qing had to admit, the feel of the fur was superb.

Shu Bao led Fu Qing into the tribe. Although this beautiful teammate had grabbed the entire mouse in the handshake, which made Shu Bao a bit uncomfortable, he didn’t mind since it was a rather pleasant butterfly.

“Where’s Lan Qing?” Shu Bao asked. Only Fu Qing and Lai Fu had arrived; he didn’t see the snake teammate or Jinzi.

“The Empire has officially sent troops to reclaim the mining area. Lan Qing and Jinzi couldn’t break free, so I came on my own. There are also some resources Lan Qing prepared here,” Fu Qing explained. What he didn’t mention was that he had been spotted by the Empire while riding a dragon to the tavern. Combined with the involvement of Jinzi at the mining area, that’s what prompted the Empire to send troops to the Thick Earth Gobi.

Hearing that the Empire had sent troops, Shu Bao couldn’t help but worry if his snake teammate and Jinzi would be able to hold their ground.

“Don’t worry, Lan Qing is at the bottleneck of his transformation. His strength far exceeds what it used to be. In fact, this battle might be the opportunity for him to break through the bottleneck and fully transform into a true dragon!” Before coming, Fu Qing had secretly checked Lan Qing while he was asleep, removing his hat. Lan Qing’s power was already sufficient; it just needed the thunder tribulation to complete his transformation. If the Empire was lucky, they might even get to see firsthand what a terrifying thunder tribulation of the Eastern dragon was like.

When Shu Bao heard that his snake teammate was finally going to undergo his transformation into a true dragon, he stopped worrying. “Since that’s the case, let’s set off. After all, we’re heading into the Chaotic World, and time is tight.”

Although there were still decades left in the real world, the team was heading into the Chaotic World, where time flowed differently. A month spent in there might translate to a year or even several years outside.

Fu Qing, being a person of action, immediately nodded in agreement and followed Shu Bao to meet their teammates.

The rest of the team in the Xia Wang Tribe had already made preparations. The group wasn’t large; besides Fu Qing, Shu Bao, and the two dragons, there was also Yu Lingqi and his dragon, with the remaining members being T33674 and Tesla.

Since they needed to locate the Chaotic World’s rift during the day, everyone went to rest after greeting each other that night. At the break of dawn, they gathered together, ready to set off.

Except for Yu Lingqi, who had been forced to join, everyone was full of energy and eager to begin the mission. Yu Lingqi’s inclusion was due to the necessity of bringing his fragile dragon along. Without him, no one else at the base could control a dragon.

Before leaving, Shu Bao had already sent the two high priests and Ru Su to persuade the Long Tribe to surrender. Upon learning that their deity had been captured by the opposing side, the tribe lost their will to resist, and the surrender negotiations went smoothly.

However, integrating a tribe was never an easy task. The two priests and Ru Su had been busy for days. Now, as Shu Bao prepared to leave, the Xia Wang tribe members were reluctant to see him go. They didn’t know how long their deity would be away.

“Lord Deity, please be sure to stay safe. We will wait for your return, you don’t need to hurry back!” the Xia Wang high priest anxiously reminded.

“Yes, don’t worry about the tribe. By the time you return, the tribe’s integration will be complete!” Ru Su assured Shu Bao.

Even though they were worried, Shu Bao still followed the others as they left the tribe. They rode on the giant dragons, heading toward the direction from which the Half-Mechanoids had once escaped through the chaotic rift.

As the tribe grew smaller and smaller in the distance, eventually disappearing over the vast land, Shu Bao couldn’t help but sigh deeply. “I hope that when we return, everyone will still be healthy and plump, and no one will have starved or grown thin.”

T33674 spoke up from the side. “With the current daily energy intake of the tribe members, it’s unlikely that they’ll lose weight.”

Shu Bao nodded. “Then I can rest easy.”

Fu Qing, however, couldn’t help but feel a little perplexed: “…” As a builder of the base myself, how does it seem like the difference is so stark?”

Tesla, equally baffled: “…” So, getting fat really wasn’t just my imagination.

While Fu Qing was questioning his own abilities as a builder, T33674 had already begun educating the team about the Mechanoids.

“The Mechanoids are also a species with a shared consciousness, but their shared consciousness is different from ours. Their consciousness is controlled by a mechanical core, which is the earliest form of artificial intelligence. This core is protected by the Mechanoids. As long as it isn’t destroyed, the Mechanoids cannot be destroyed. However, the Chaotic World we are going to is incapable of transmitting signals between the real world and the Chaotic World. Therefore, the Mechanoids in the Chaotic World essentially loses its brain, and is no longer controlled by the mechanical core…”

T33674 continued describing the existence, basic appearance, elemental composition, and social structure of the Mechanoids, also mentioning several specific planets where the Mechanoids resided. Those places were almost like forbidden zones, likely because the mechanical core would also be protected there.

As a native of the Chaos Universe, T33674’s account was even more detailed, providing valuable insights that benefitted Fu Qing and the others. While listening to the information about the Mechanoids, the group continued heading toward their target coordinates.

The danger posed by the Mechanoids didn’t make the group feel afraid; instead, it only heightened their anticipation of encountering them. The only one who was truly troubled was Yu Lingqi, who felt increasingly fearful as he listened. He was just a small-time streamer hoping to ride on some popularity, so why had he been forced to join such a crazy mission? The only silver lining was that his livestream should have gained significant attention, just as he had hoped.

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