Late at night, in a dilapidated factory on the outskirts of Z City, a single flickering light pierced the darkness. Inside, faint crackling echoed as electric currents danced in the air. A lone figure stood at a workbench, welding with unwavering focus.
Suddenly, a mechanical voice chimed in his ear:
[Ding! Congratulations. Head module of Iron Armor MK1 successfully welded. Progress: 70%.]
"Phew…" Su Xun wiped the sweat from his brow and set the welder aside. Gazing at the suit before him, his eyes shimmered with excitement.
"At last... the foundational phase is complete. Only the power core and weapon systems remain."
Lying on the workbench was a hulking silver suit of armor—heavy, rugged, and raw in its design. Though bulky, its tightly interlocked mechanical joints radiated a powerful, structured beauty.
At the heart of this project was a miniature arc reactor—also known as a micro fusion core. It was the very soul of MK1, powered by cold nuclear fusion. Building it was the most critical and difficult phase of the entire process.
"In Iron Man, Tony Stark eventually synthesized a new element from the Space Stone to replace palladium, avoiding its toxicity. I don't have that kind of capability yet—so I'll have to stick with palladium for now. At least I'm not putting it in my chest. The risk of poisoning should be minimal..."
Su Xun's gaze lingered on the gleaming armor. His heart raced with anticipation.
"It's just an alloy suit for now, but one day, it'll evolve into nanotech."
"Alright... let's get that arc reactor done." He murmured to himself. "Still no J.A.R.V.I.S. to fetch things for me. Once I've got enough virtual points, building a smart assistant is my top priority."
"Now... where did I stash that palladium?"
He turned and walked deeper into the factory.
Su Xun had once been an ordinary high school student. At seventeen, he was on the brink of graduation. On the night of the graduation party, he had finally mustered the courage to confess to the girl he had secretly loved for three years. But fate had other plans—without warning, he was pulled into a different world.
This world was unlike his own. Here, creatures that once only existed in films and fantasies roamed freely: extraterrestrial beings, xenomorphs, insectoid swarms, spectral phantoms, and colossal sea monsters.
At present, humanity was under siege. The Zerg had descended, and mankind had no effective way to combat these alien invaders. All they could do was construct barriers, desperate to keep the monsters at bay.
But Su Xun had been given a chance—a system known as Virtual Black Tech. Through it, he could exchange virtual points for blueprints and materials from science fiction movies—everything from battle suits to war machines. With this power, he set out to forge his path of survival through technology.
Upon receiving the system, Su Xun was gifted 10,000 initial virtual points—replenishable by slaying monsters—and a unique trait called "Clarity of Mind," granting him extraordinary learning and engineering skills. With these, he acquired the MK1 suit's blueprint and rare materials, including the crucial palladium.
In the back of the workshop, Su Xun located a black metal box on a dusty shelf—it contained the radioactive element he needed. He gathered the remaining reactor components and returned to his workstation. Following the blueprint meticulously, he began assembling the arc reactor.
It was painstaking work. The reactor's design was intricate, and lacking advanced equipment, Su Xun's progress was slow—even with his enhanced intellect. Time slipped by: night turned to dawn, dawn to dusk.
Boom!
A deafening explosion shattered the city's silence, sending tremors through the ground.
Thud!
Su Xun's hand trembled, nearly ruining a critical weld. He gritted his teeth, steadied himself, and pressed on.
Meanwhile, chaos erupted in Z City. Civilians fled from the urban center in terror. Overhead, attack helicopters roared toward the heart of the city. Tanks and armored vehicles thundered down the avenues.
As refugees turned to look back, they watched in horror as the once-proud Skystair Tower—Z City's landmark—collapsed into a heap of rubble.
Then came another crack—a ground-splitting roar—and a massive ravine tore through the city, stretching hundreds of meters. Survivors near the tower vanished, swallowed by the abyss.
From the helicopters above, pilots leaned in to peer down.
In the shadowy depths of the chasm... something was moving.
"An earthquake...?"
Speculations swirled as people tried to make sense of the collapse of the Sky Ladder Tower.
"Wasn't the Sky Ladder said to have the hardest exterior and the most stable foundation of any building?"
"Must've been a case of shoddy construction."
"I bet it was a sinkhole—some kind of underground collapse."
"Look! It's all over the news!"
At this, the crowd hastily pulled out their phones, their screens flashing with headlines:
[Sky Ladder Tower Reduced to Rubble!]
[Military Forces Mobilize — Major Incident in Z City!]
[Shocking! A Gigantic Tank Beetle Emerges Beneath the Sky Ladder!]
[Insectoid Swarm Attacks! Z City in Grave Peril!]
"Insectoids? It's the insectoids!"
Fear distorted every face.
"But they weren't supposed to be able to breach the city! How is this possible?"
"Didn't Z City install an anti-insect defense net? Why didn't it work?"
All eyes turned to the city's perimeter, where towering iron walls loomed, their tops cloaked in a dense web of reinforced steel mesh.
"The net's intact… then how did it get inside?"
"The report says it tunneled up from beneath the Sky Ladder Tower!"
"Tunneled? They have that level of intelligence?"
"No time to talk—run! Z City's about to fall!"
Moo—
Suddenly, a thunderous bellow, deep and guttural like a raging beast, echoed through the city.
The sound had come from the monstrous tank beetle, now rearing up from the abyssal chasm. Raising its grotesque head, it let out another deafening roar, its body bristling as it stirred.
From beneath its carapace, a multitude of slender, bladed legs extended, gripping the edge of the chasm. The creature began to climb.
Meanwhile, the city's defense forces—the Alliance Army—had already mobilized. Missile-transport helicopters buzzed overhead, prepping for a strike.
In this world, the remnants of nations had formed into coalitions, each defended by its own Alliance Army. Z City belonged to the Huaxia Coalition.
"Unit 002, prepare to deploy thermobaric missile."
"Roger, Unit 002 standing by."
"Deploy!"
"Yes, sir!"
The missile sliced through the air, heading straight for the tank beetle.
BOOM!
A blinding white flash burst forth, followed by a mushroom cloud rising above the chasm.
"Did we get it?"
Tension gripped every soldier aboard the helicopters as they peered through the smoke.
But as the haze cleared, their hearts sank—the tank beetle stood unharmed, not a scratch on its obsidian shell.
A jagged horn now protruded from its brow, crackling with arcs of static like a taunt toward the heavens.
Just as the choppers readied for a second strike, the beast opened its maw and unleashed a stream of black, viscous fluid into the sky. Sparks danced again from its horn—the black sludge ignited midair.
Hellish flames engulfed several helicopters instantly. Before the others could retreat, another jet of fire shot upward. All were consumed.
At the same time, swarms of warrior bugs surged from the chasm.
They bore monstrous mandibles, their bodies armored in dark golden exoskeletons, forelimbs sharp as sabers.
The creatures swarmed onto the city streets, launching brutal attacks on both survivors and armored vehicles.
"Get inside the APCs!"
Soldiers scrambled for safety, but before they could breathe relief, the bugs' bladed limbs sliced the armored vehicles in half like paper. Those inside never even screamed—they were decapitated in an instant.
"Aaagh!"
"Somebody help!"
Screams echoed across the city.
Though the Alliance soldiers fought back valiantly, their weapons barely dented the agile warrior bugs or the unbreakable tank beetle.
"What do we do?!"
"It's over!"
"Z City is lost!"
Just when despair was about to swallow the city whole, a streak of silver pierced the skies.
"Look! What is that?!"