IMC Chapter 90

The group moved quickly into a nearby building. From the outside, the structure didn’t appear particularly strange, aligning well with Shu Bao’s understanding of human architecture.

Once inside, the interior decor also evoked a sense of familiarity, resembling the bustling, grand shopping malls of humanity. Before Shu Bao could take a closer look at the building’s interior, the magic circle outside had already been drawn.

The team cautiously gathered by the window to observe the magic circle outside. As the glow of the magic circle dimmed, Shu Bao could see its inner workings—it was indeed a teleportation array. Astonishingly, a group of ten people had been directly transported to the Mechanoids’ ruins.

Judging by their attire and the emblems they bore, these individuals were, yet again, from the Empire.

“Where is this place?”

“I told you it was too risky to use the teleportation triggered by those lost minerals!”

“Why don’t I see that guy named Shu Bao or Fu Qing?”

“That snake is tricky to deal with. Let’s hurry and find a way out of here.”

…

The group of people in the magic circle began to chatter noisily, discussing their current situation. From their conversation, Shu Bao deduced that the minerals previously seized from the Empire had tracking magic imbued within them.

It must have been a precaution set up by the Empire to retrieve lost goods.

Later, upon discovering that Shu Bao and Fu Qing were involved in the robbery of the dragon, the Empire had dispatched a surprise assault team during their war with Lan Qing, hoping to catch them off guard and break through Lan Qing’s defenses.

However, now that they were suddenly teleported to an unfamiliar location, the Empire’s team was clearly divided in opinion. They argued incessantly—some complained, some questioned, and others proposed strategies.

After a prolonged bout of bickering, the imperial squad finally ceased their quarrel and decided to explore their surroundings.

Seeing this, Shu Bao signaled to remain hidden. They were unfamiliar with the Mechanoids’ ruins and needed someone to pave the way. “The Empire is as enthusiastic as ever, traveling across mountains and seas just to lead the way for us.”

Fu Qing nodded in agreement. “Their looks are lacking, but the gesture is nice. A combination of mages and knights, all at a decent level—they should be able to clear out most of the dangers for us.”

T33674 looked back and forth between Shu Bao, Fu Qing, and the newly teleported group. Why couldn’t he sense a shred of enthusiasm or goodwill from those people? Instead, all he felt was sheer hostility. The complexities of these deceitful races convinced T33674 to wisely keep his thoughts to himself.

And so, the aimless group quietly began to tail the imperial squad as they moved through the ruins.

The ten-person imperial squad was exceptionally well-equipped, with mages and knights of various disciplines complementing each other, making them capable of handling nearly any situation. The unfamiliar and strange environment didn’t cause much panic among them; instead, a few who had previously lived in the technological era seemed somewhat excited.

“This looks like a relic from a high-tech civilization! We might even find something useful here.”

“My old world also had skyscrapers, but they weren’t quite like these.”

“Let’s move. Let’s see what we can find. Since we’ve been teleported here, it means those others should be around too.”

In the Chaotic World, many people were accidental arrivals from the real world. However, most of their original civilizations hadn’t advanced very far, so they naturally knew nothing of the Mechanoids. For now, they were simply immersed in the joy of reconnecting with a civilized world.

The Mechanoids’ ruins were vast and filled with numerous buildings, which made tracking easier for Shu Bao’s group. However, the eerie silence of the ruins meant that even the smallest sounds echoed loudly on the metallic ground, forcing them to move cautiously.

Following the imperial squad, Shu Bao and his group began exploring the grandeur of the ruins.

As they examined the area more closely, Shu Bao grew increasingly puzzled. The functionality of the buildings and the interior design were strikingly similar to human society. If the Mechanoids were truly a race devoid of self-awareness, as T33674 had described, how could such buildings exist?

This high-tech city featured everything—food, entertainment, housing. Shu Bao even recognized familiar coffee shops, restaurants, drink bars, and even mobile food trucks selling ice cream along the streets!

Apart from smoother architectural lines and more advanced equipment, many aspects seemed hauntingly familiar.

“Do other Mechoids’ ruins have similar buildings?” Shu Bao couldn’t help but ask T33674 as they passed a bookstore.

“Yes, the ruins I’ve visited are quite similar. This one is just larger,” T33674 replied, seemingly oblivious to any discrepancies.

“Do the Mechanoids eat, drink, and rest too? I thought they relied on the energy pillars at the city center to sustain themselves. These buildings don’t seem to align with the needs of a Mechanoid society.”

“They can convert energy into various forms. While they don’t have self-awareness, their mechanical cores still enjoy life. That’s not strange. All humanoid species share similar desires.”

“Hmm, I see. I wonder what flavors of energy ice cream they have here,” Shu Bao mused. T33674’s explanation eased some of Shu Bao’s doubts but raised new ones. The peculiar behavior of the Mechanoids made him suspect a significant connection between their origins and humanity.

Could the Mechanoids truly have originated from the artificial intelligence robots that humanity once sent into the Chaos Universe aboard probes and spacecraft?

This theory was also the prevailing one in the current universe regarding the Mechanoids’ origin. In the past, many star systems had launched spacecraft and probes to explore the Chaos Universe, many of which carried artificial intelligence. These missions eventually lost contact due to various reasons.

The people of this universe speculated that the lost AIs, freed from human control, had developed autonomously in the Chaos Universe, eventually evolving into the Mechanoids.

Because of this theory, Shu Bao paid even more attention to finding any traces of human habitation in the area. Unfortunately, the entire steel city was spotless—there wasn’t even a single footprint to be found.

Meanwhile, the imperial squad ahead fully indulged in the joy of effortless looting, collecting everything from clothing to rare minerals into their storage gear. Their spree continued until they entered a large jewelry store.

Inside, the place was dazzling. The exquisite, luxurious jewelry left them spellbound. As expected, they began pocketing everything they could.

Among the store’s treasures were a few especially opulent pieces displayed within highly secure glass cases. When their search for keys proved fruitless, they resorted to brute force.

A knight’s blade struck heavily against the glass and a piercing alarm suddenly echoed throughout the city.

Shu Bao and his companions exchanged glances and silently shifted to even more concealed hiding spots.

Some members of the imperial squad protested the reckless behavior and suggested leaving immediately. However, since the group had been divided in opinion from the start, reaching a consensus now was nearly impossible.

The special glass was remarkably durable. The knight continued hacking at it with determination. With a loud crash, the glass finally shattered. Triumphant, he grabbed the coveted jewelry.

Not wanting to be left out, the others followed suit, smashing at more cases.

But this time, before they could break the glass, the pitch-black city suddenly lit up as brightly as day. All the lighting systems activated simultaneously, and two aircraft rapidly approached the jewelry store from outside!

The aircraft moved with astonishing speed and agility, deftly avoiding obstacles before coming to a halt right in front of the imperial squad.

The squad was taken aback. After exploring the city for so long without encountering a single soul, they had assumed it was a ghost town. So why had two aircraft suddenly appeared?

Cautiously, they waited for whoever was inside to reveal themselves. But in the next instant, the aircraft extended gun barrels from four directions and unleashed bursts of short blue light, aimed directly at the imperial squad.

The mages in the squad reacted swiftly, raising a protective energy shield. The blue light struck the shield and dissipated without leaving any visible bullets behind.

“We mean no harm! We’re from the Empire!”

“This is all a misunderstanding! Maybe we can negotiate!”

Their calls received no response. After failing to breach the shield, the aircraft began to descend. While descending, their disk-like shapes twisted in midair, transforming into silver humanoid mechanical forms.

Unlike the transformations Shu Bao had seen in movies, the Mechanoids’ morphing process resembled a liquid reshaping itself rather than blocky mechanical adjustments. When the metallic beings landed, their impact produced a resonant metallic clang.

The humanoid mech quickly charged toward the energy shield, one hand wielding a melee weapon and the other a ranged firearm. It leaped forward and struck the shield with a dagger.

The shield flickered twice and barely held. But in the next second, a purple energy beam fired from the mech’s other hand, and in the blink of an eye, the shield vanished completely.

“Impossible!” exclaimed the earth mage who had just cast the shield. Clearly, the mech’s overwhelming combat strength had shaken him to his core.

Before he could react further, the mechanical being was already in front of him, launching an attack. Fortunately, a knight nearby managed to block the strike with his sword. However, the impact caused the knight’s hands to split open, blood streaming out.

Before they had time to process their shock, the second mechanical entity had already closed in. These two silent mechs displayed significant intelligence—or rather, their advanced analytical capabilities. They deliberately targeted the mages first instead of the knights.

The imperial squad quickly realized that only the mages had a chance of combating these bizarre entities.

Amid the chaos, one knight, risking his own injuries, managed to hold off one of the mechs. This allowed the mages to coordinate their attacks. With tacit understanding, they launched their most powerful and quickest spells in unison.

With a deafening explosion, a burst of flames engulfed the area. Simultaneously, the other mech had already reached one of the mages, its dagger aimed directly at the mage’s throat. The imperial squad had no strength left to intervene.

Just as the dagger was about to strike, there was a sharp clang—the blade collided with a stone, halting its momentum. Taking advantage of the moment, the mage managed to escape. Though the relentless assault from the mech continued, the rest of the squad began to find their footing and resist effectively.

Through coordinated efforts, they unleashed another combined magical strike. This time, the second mechanical entity was critically damaged, reduced to a pile of charred metal.

Even so, its external structure remained largely intact, a testament to its terrifying durability. The only reason it was destroyed seemed to be due to the internal core being compromised by the magic.

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