Watching the mouse hopping around in frustration, Fu Qing comforted, “It’s okay, we can just lift up all the floors in this city.”
Upon hearing this, Shu Bao finally calmed down. If he had initially thought that the floor in this city was special and worth taking, after personally experiencing the magic of this metal, the mouse became even more determined to take all the floors from the mechanoid city.
Although he didn’t see the expected rainbow light, Shu Bao had no choice but to accept reality. He swiped his paw and took out the three pitch-black rings from the furnace. After some inspection, Shu Bao found that all three rings still looked the same—ugly and difficult to tell which one was better looking.
In the end, he randomly picked one and then focused his consciousness into the ring to inspect its most important internal space. The moment his consciousness entered, he found himself in total darkness. His mind expanded for a long while, yet he couldn’t reach the boundary of the space.
Shu Bao stood in place for a long time, still unable to believe that he had forged an unlimited storage space! An unlimited storage space isn’t truly boundless, but one where the boundaries can’t be explored by the consciousness in a short amount of time.
However, such storage spaces are among the best of magical artifacts. Once revealed, they will attract thunder strikes. Only those who survive the lightning strikes have the right to truly exist in the world.
But the ring was already in his hands, so why hadn’t a thunder strike occurred? Unable to hold back, Shu Bao looked up and suddenly had a flash of inspiration, asking, “Does this villa have a lightning rod?”
T33674 calmly replied, “Of course, it does. This is a mechanoid city, and the damage from lightning strikes can be severe. That’s why top-tier lightning protection is equipped. In fact, the entire city has such protection, so lightning won’t strike any building inside. Besides, for both the Mechanoids and our species, lightning is also a powerful natural energy source, so if conditions allow, we collect it.”
Shu Bao, “… ” There’s such a trick in forging? In that case, isn’t a mechanoid city the perfect place to forge artifacts? As long as you produce a magical item, there’s no risk of it being destroyed by lightning!
After the shock wore off, Shu Bao couldn’t wait to try storing items into the new ring. With just a thought, he easily completed the task. On closer inspection, even the liquid metal sofa stored in the ring was undisturbed, which meant the unlimited storage space ring really worked! And it worked for all three rings!
After forging for so long, this was Shu Bao’s first real achievement. He couldn’t help but leap and jump in joy.
Watching the fluffy ball of energy bouncing on the ground, the others were all surprised. Although the mouse was furry, he was usually very composed, so seeing him hop around like this was quite rare.
Fu Qing, thinking that the mouse had failed at forging, was about to comfort him. He quickly pulled out a crowbar from his space and said, “Don’t be sad. I’ll go pry up the floor right now.”
Hearing this, Shu Bao finally calmed down. He had intended to explain, but Fu Qing acted too quickly, already flying to the villa door. When Fu Qing opened the door, bright light immediately flooded into the villa, merging with the villa’s own lighting system.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to stare outside in shock.
The buildings of the Mechanoids had long implemented automatic sound and light shielding. Since Shu Bao and the others hadn’t altered the settings, they hadn’t noticed that the world outside had changed so drastically.
Fu Qing was momentarily stunned, but after sensing there was no immediate danger, he walked outside to investigate. The others, curious about what had happened, stood up and followed him out.
Without the villa blocking their view, everyone could clearly see what was happening outside. At this moment, the mechanoid city was illuminated with lights, almost identical to the daylight when it had been activated. The only difference was that now, the light sources were coming from both the ground and the sky.
Looking up, they saw electric light rapidly falling from the endless black sky. The bolts were exceptionally thick, even faintly glowing red. Standing beneath them, everyone couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.
However, just before the lightning would have struck the mechanoid city, it was blocked by an invisible hemispherical energy shield. Immediately afterward, the massive energy contained in the lightning was diffused and dispersed.
The sky transformed into a magnificent scene, resembling a rain of lightning. The glowing lines of lightning flickered as they followed the energy shield downward, slowly falling and merging with the ground. The ground had already been illuminated by these energy points, casting an ice-blue hue across the entire city.
With the ice-blue ground beneath their feet and the falling lightning rain from above, the entire city appeared incredibly dreamlike. Shu Bao even began to wonder if they were inside a giant crystal ball. No, he thought, he had never seen such a beautiful crystal ball.
“Be careful not to touch the falling electric currents. These fine currents can’t harm the Mechanoids, but humans might still get hurt,” came T33674’s voice, waking everyone from their trance-like stupor.
Yu Lingqi, who had been reaching out to catch the lightning rain, quickly retracted his hand. Then, in line with his usual lazy attitude, he darted back into the villa. Looking at the breathtaking world outside, Yu Lingqi sighed, “I never thought the mechanoids’ home would be so beautiful. When we go back, I’m afraid no one will believe me when I tell them.”
“Any race that isn’t purely spiritual or consciousness-based needs physical sustenance, so they understand how to enjoy material things,” T33674 remarked, sensing that humans had a deep misunderstanding of the Mechanoids and semi-mechanoids. While differences in thought were inevitable between species, there was still a common appreciation for the beauty of nature and the universe.
Seeing that the anti-air and anti-lightning systems of the Mechanoid City ruins had been activated, T33674 lost interest. He turned around, ready to return to continue studying and analyzing the data. As he walked, he casually remarked, “This chaotic world is too dangerous. Suddenly, this powerful lightning appears. But don’t worry, the Mechanoid City’s anti-air and anti-lightning systems are very well-developed, so there’s no problem.”
Before entering the Mechanoid City ruins, the group had only heard about the strength of the city’s defense systems. Now, seeing them in action, they realized just how formidable the Mechanoid City’s defenses truly were.
This magnificent metal city is the crystallization of a dominant-level intelligent life in this universe. The complexity within is far beyond what this group of people can understand in just a short time.
When they first saw the city, they were simply amazed by its novelty, instinctively trying to define it with familiar objects. In reality, what they saw and recognized were all presumptions. Even a streetlight on the side of the road could have its own unique function and special purpose.
Shu Bao’s feelings mirrored those of Fu Qing. It seemed that both of them had a new understanding of the city.
The others either returned to the villa to continue their work or stayed inside to avoid being struck. The remaining two, Shu Bao and Fu Qing, who knew where the lightning came from, planned to take a “stroll” in the “rain”.
Shu Bao moved quickly, darting through the lightning rain without worrying about being struck. Seeing this, Fu Qing pulled out an ancient-looking paper umbrella and opened it. This umbrella was not just for decoration. Once opened, it automatically formed a protective barrier around Fu Qing.
Shu Bao, avoiding the rain, glanced around before grabbing Fu Qing’s pant leg and swiftly climbing onto his shoulder, sitting down with a plop.
Seeing the fluffy little creature perched on his shoulder with the umbrella, Fu Qing said nothing but reached out to pat Shu Bao, treating it as a “fare” for the ride.
Shu Bao uncomfortably groomed his fur. After all, when someone else is kind enough to offer a ride, it’s hard to refuse.
The two of them, under the umbrella, strolled through the ice-blue city of the Mechanoid City. Above them, the dark sky was filled with increasingly powerful lightning bolts, while above the city, there was a shield that deflected the rain of lightning and split the powerful energy.
Shu Bao crossed his arms, looking rather serious, and sighed, “Walking under the thunderstorm… this is a first for me.”
Fu Qing nodded, “Next time I undergo tribulation, you can come walk around here with me.”
Shu Bao turned his head to look at Fu Qing with a big grin, “You’re that confident?”
Fu Qing replied seriously, “I have a friend who’s an ancient fierce beast, Jiuying. When he undergoes tribulation, he can just put me on his head.”
Shu Bao stiffly turned his neck back: “…” Having a butterfly as a friend could be quite dangerous.
“Of course, don’t worry, I won’t put you on my head,” Fu Qing added, realizing his joke might not have been well-received, so he hurried to explain.
Shu Bao chuckled awkwardly, “Thanks, I guess.”
“No need to thank me, you’re much prettier than Jiuying and smaller too, you couldn’t block the thunder even if you tried,” Fu Qing said sincerely.
Shu Bao sighed, “… Don’t worry, when I undergo tribulation, I won’t put you on top of my head either!” After all, butterflies are best when slow-cooked, and direct lightning would likely burn them. Thinking about this, Shu Bao couldn’t help but irritably touch his teeth.
Upon hearing this, Fu Qing showed a pleased expression. “You’re so stubborn even when you’re scared, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll borrow something for you when the time comes.” Fu Qing generously reassured.
Shu Bao: “…” That Jiuying guy, having a friend like a butterfly, could be quite miserable.
The two continued their pleasant stroll, chatting away and admiring the grandeur of the Mechanoid City. Of course, whenever they passed by small decorations made of pure gold or rare metals, Shu Bao wouldn’t forget to gesture for Fu Qing to collect them.
Their enjoyable stroll lasted about an hour. Only when the black night sky had finally quieted down and the energy shield’s lightning had mostly dissipated did they begin making their way back to the villa.
When they returned to the villa, Shu Bao immediately tried to jump off Fu Qing’s shoulder, planning to deliver a “mouse kill butterfly” move. However, before he could even make it halfway, a pair of large hands caught him, and, unsurprisingly, he was patted once again.
This time, Shu Bao couldn’t hold it in any longer and spoke up, “If you’re going to pet me, just pet me! Why do you always pet me in reverse? You know that causes static electricity, right?”
Fu Qing showed no signs of remorse, instead replying with righteous seriousness, “Everyone pets in the normal way, so if I pet you normally, it would be too boring.”
Shu Bao: “…” Forget it. No matter how miserable the mouse was, it wouldn’t be worse than the butterfly’s friend. He’d just tolerate this strange habit of Fu Qing’s. The furball bounced back to the villa, eagerly making his way to check the three rings again.
