Through the harmonious and cooperative efforts of the group and the bait, Shu Bao and his team finally pinpointed the mechanical giant’s core. Observing through the semi-transparent, scorched ground, Shu Bao saw for the first time the form of the “sub brain” T33674 had described.
To his surprise, the sub-brain closely resembled a human brain. However, it wasn’t located in the giant’s head but rather beneath the ground at the giant’s feet.
If not for Yinzi’s sudden slip while breathing fire, they might have continued probing aimlessly. Who would have guessed that the mechanical giant had essentially placed its brain underfoot?
This revelation further confirmed the critical importance of the city’s foundation. The sub-brain remained hidden beneath the ground, moving in tandem with the giant. It suggested that the sub-brain was the city itself—lurking beneath the surface, roaming freely, and seamlessly drawing resources from any part of the city at will.
Once the sub-brain was discovered, the mechanical giant’s attacks became even more ferocious. Even T33674, who was assisting Fu Qing, had exhausted all their defensive ammunition. Now, Fu Qing was left to fend for himself entirely.
Fu Qing didn’t know how much ammunition the city still had in reserve. What he did know was that he likely wouldn’t last another ten minutes under this barrage.
Not far away, Shu Bao had already noticed Fu Qing’s precarious situation, but he was also firmly locked onto by the giant. The energy pillar in its hand swung faster and faster, rendering Shu Bao unable to release the three dragon hatchlings for another attack. Meanwhile, the numerous weapons aimed at him tracked his every move relentlessly.
From a distance, the Imperial squad watched the scene with a mix of regret and resignation. They had been hopeful of witnessing a miracle, but now it seemed that attacking the giant had been a reckless endeavor after all. The spatial mage in their group began chanting in preparation for an escape, ready to teleport them away as soon as Shu Bao’s team failed—lest they become the giant’s next targets.
As the butterfly-winged figure and the rodent grew increasingly fatigued, it seemed the battle was nearing its conclusion.
But just as the Imperial squad thought the fight was about to end, another figure emerged in the chaos of the battlefield—or rather, revealed themselves, as if they had been there all along.
In that instant, the squad realized that this new arrival was none other than the opposing team’s psychic mage.
The psychic mage raised their staff and a mass of white, mist-like haze rapidly surged toward the mechanical giant’s feet.
Upon contact with the ground, the white mist didn’t dissipate. Instead, it expanded further, seeping into the earth. The battlefield, which had moments ago been a site of violent conflict, was suddenly shrouded in ethereal clouds. The terrain transformed into a surreal and serene landscape.
As the mist spread, the movements of the mechanical giant slowed. It creaked and groaned, like an enormous rusted machine, before finally freezing in place entirely.
The Imperial squad stood stunned, unable to believe what they had witnessed. That terrifying monstrosity, which had seemed invincible, was taken down by just a handful of individuals! It wasn’t until long after the battle ended that they snapped back to their senses.
Their first reaction upon regaining their composure? Flee.
These people, more fearsome than the mechanical giant itself, were not ones they dared to provoke. Taking advantage of the team’s focus on cleaning up the battlefield, the Imperial squad activated their teleportation array and vanished from the steel city.
Back in the Empire, they couldn’t resist embellishing their tale—boasting about their daring escape and, of course, recounting the terrifying “butterfly-mouse duo”.
Unbeknownst to them, the names Shu Bao and Fu Qing began to spread across the Empire, gaining a fearsome reputation, to the point that they became synonymous with bedtime horror stories for children.
Meanwhile, the duo remained focused on the aftermath of the battle. With the mechanical giant completely immobilized, its energy pillar dimmed and transformed into a massive, jade-like stone.
The stone, evidently the energy source of the entire mechanoids’ ruin, had sealed itself now that it was no longer under control.
The mechanical giant stood lifeless, an enormous steel husk devoid of soul or purpose. It was hard to imagine this towering structure had been wreaking havoc mere moments ago.
T33674 was the first to approach the giant’s feet, activating their scanning function. Soon, the “sub-brain” beneath the ground became visible, now in a dull gray state rather than the pale blue hue it had displayed earlier. Clearly, Tesla’s psychic assault had completely corroded and destroyed it, rendering it functionally dead.
As T33674 observed the brain beneath the floor, they began pacing in frustration. “The flooring is impenetrable. How are we supposed to extract the brain?” they grumbled. “It seems the mechanoids accounted for the brain’s safety when they built the city, embedding it in the floor to make it untouchable, even if discovered.”
Tesla was practically sprawled on the ground, intensely studying the brain below, clearly fascinated. Fu Qing tried using wind blades on the floor, but even those, capable of breaching the mechanical giant’s defenses, only left faint scratches on the surface.
“Normal methods won’t work. This metal flooring is probably the hardest material in the universe,” Shu Bao said, tapping the ground with his claws, investigating the metal’s properties further. “But the mechanoids don’t understand magic.”
Hearing this, T33674’s hope reignited and Tesla eagerly attempted to use magic against the floor. However, as a psychic mage, Tesla’s attacks were intangible and ineffective against physical objects, leaving him at a loss.
The group’s attention shifted to Shu Bao. The little mouse didn’t play coy. After inhaling to steady his small belly, he tapped the ground a few more times with his claws and then struck swiftly.
With a single slash, his claws punctured the floor. Another quick stroke followed and the seemingly impenetrable metal was cleanly sliced open by Shu Bao’s sharp claws!
Seeing this, everyone was stunned. They had all tried and failed to damage the floor, knowing full well how absurdly tough it was. That made Shu Bao’s effortless claw swipe even more astonishing.
Realizing his method worked, Shu Bao swiftly slashed a few more times, neatly shattering the section of flooring above the sub-brain.
As the mouse finished his work, Fu Qing couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up. At this point, he was fully convinced that his fluffy, adorable teammate was indeed a powerhouse in disguise.
Under their awestruck and slightly reverent gazes, Shu Bao coughed lightly, brushed off some imaginary dust from his fur with his paw, and spoke with feigned nonchalance. “This is called specialization. My family has been in this line of work for generations.”
Treasure-seeking mice weren’t just adept at finding treasures—they excelled at retrieving them too. Beyond their survival skills, such as burrowing, speed, and a natural gift for traversing space and time, their most prized ability was their claws. By channeling spiritual energy through a secret technique, their claws could slice through nearly anything, whether tangible or intangible.
Hearing Shu Bao’s explanation, T33674 excitedly stepped forward and shook his paw. “So your ancestors were miners too? Same here!”
Shu Bao: “…” Close enough, I guess. Still, the revelation that the semi-mechanoids descended from miners was unexpected.
Perhaps noticing Shu Bao’s surprise, T33674 explained further. In their race’s earliest recorded memories, they were prisoners of war or refugees displaced by interstellar conflicts, forced to mine resources on various planets to survive. To improve efficiency, many underwent semi-mechanoid modifications, enabling them to adapt to harsh environments.
Ironically, the humans who initially modified them were long gone, yet they survived and even developed their own civilization. After all, their semi-mechanical bodies were remarkably suited for most conditions.
After listening to T33674’s story, Shu Bao sheepishly tapped the tips of his claws together. At least my situation wasn’t that bad—just occasionally getting lost in various timelines. However, before he could share this thought, T33674’s focus had already shifted to the sub-brain.
With Fu Qing and Tesla lifting the brain from the pit, everyone’s attention instinctively turned to it.
The sub-brain bore a striking resemblance to a human brain, though it was much larger. Resting on the ground, it was nearly as tall as an adult human.
The material was peculiar—a gelatinous, elastic substance. Its semi-transparency revealed an intricate network of nerves within, resembling a web of delicate circuits.
At the lower-central region between the left and right hemispheres of the secondary brain, there was a tassel-like structure resembling a jellyfish. T33674 excitedly pointed out that this was the interface of the sub-brain—the component their race had been searching for.
However, analyzing the data within the sub-brain would be a monumental task. The group decided to find a comfortable, undamaged location to take their time with the research.
Given that leaving the Chaotic World might risk the mechanoids’ central brain reactivating the sub-brain, the group agreed that all research would need to be conducted within the Chaotic World. Fortunately, Shu Bao and Fu Qing had already prepared for an extended departure from their base and weren’t too concerned about its development in their absence.
Storing the sub-brain, the mechanical giant’s shell, and the sealed energy orb within their storage space, the group left the ravaged battlefield. They found a relatively intact villa on the city outskirts and moved in.
The similarity between the mechanoids’ city and a human city made living in the villa feel surprisingly normal. Of course, there were no non-metal items in the house. But the mechanoids’ liquid-metal beds, at least, weren’t solid iron slabs.
Once settled, T33674 and Tesla wasted no time diving into their research. Both were deeply fascinated by the sub-brain. Tesla even expressed a desire to dismantle it to examine its internal structure, a suggestion promptly vetoed by T33674.
T33674’s serious way of expressing disapproval was to display a massive red exclamation mark above his head. This habit left Shu Bao constantly craning his neck to stare curiously at T33674’s head.
Tesla, however, wasn’t offended. Instead, he used his mental energy to create a virtual model of the sub-brain, which he then attempted to deconstruct and reconstruct mentally. If he ever succeeded in reconstructing it, chances were that not even T33674’s exclamation mark would stop him from dismantling the real one.
While Tesla and T33674 focused on analysis, Shu Bao, Fu Qing, and Mr. Bait began scavenging and dismantling the surrounding area.
With the sub-brain deactivated, the mechanoids’ ruins were no longer dangerous. Yu Lingqi finally understood the joy of exploring such ruins, eagerly collecting and transporting materials. The only thing that unsettled him was how Shu Bao would always watch him with a look of gratification and encourage him, saying, “Keep working on your stamina. That way, you can run faster next time.”
Every time, Yu Lingqi would respond seriously, “There won’t be a next time.” But this only earned him a dismissive nod and perfunctory agreement from the fluffy mouse. “Mm-hmm, of course. Next time, you can just sit tight and stay put.”
Yu Lingqi: “…”
