The door to the scrapyard creaked open with a groan of protest, a sound that seemed to mock the sleek, silent efficiency of the golden hovercar parked outside.
Under the cold moonlight, a figure stepped out, a stark contrast to the rusty, chaotic landscape.
Bai Tianyu.
He was the very picture of polished perfection.
A tailored suit of shimmering, self-cleaning fabric that seemed to absorb the dust and grime of the scrapyard rather than let it settle.
His shoes were a flawless, unblemished white. His hair was meticulously styled.
And his eyes, sharp and intelligent, were locked onto Zeng Haofeng.
"Zeng Haofeng," Bai Tianyu said, his voice a smooth, confident. "I must say, your work is… unconventional. I didn't expect to find the creator of the 'Thunderstrike Gauntlet' among my finalists, much less in a place like this."
Zeng stood his ground, the newly forged scabbard clutched in his hand. It wasn't a weapon, but a symbol. A vessel for his will.
"You come to my domain to mock me, mortal?" he asked, his voice a low rasp.
Bai Tianyu's mouth twitched in a faint smile. "Your domain? This is a private landfill, bought out by my company for a quarter of a million credits. As for mockery, I assure you, my interest is purely professional."
He gestured with a hand, and a small, sleek drone detached from his hovercar, hovering between the two of them.
"You are an anomaly. Your submissions were… primitive, yet strangely effective. My system flagged your energy signature, and a quick cross-reference led me here."
[System Alert: High-Grade Tech-Signature Detected. Analyzing… Threat Level: Unconfirmed.]
Pixie's voice, now a nervous whisper in Zeng's mind, was uncharacteristically subdued.
"That drone... it's a 'Warden' drone from the BaiTech Alpha series. Top-tier. Its scanners can probably read the last ten minutes of your browser history and your credit score at the same time."
Zeng ignored her.
His gaze was fixed on Bai Tianyu, a man who spoke of 'systems' and 'signatures' as if they were as natural as the Dao.
"You were the one who trapped the nanites in the server," Zeng stated, not as a question, but a fact. "With a lock tied to your own energy."
Bai Tianyu's smile widened slightly.
"Ah, so you found my little 'fob.' A digital key, if you will. Project Chimera was a failure, a brilliant idea with a flawed execution. The nanites' intelligence became a liability. But I never dispose of my failures completely. They are lessons and their code is a valuable resource."
"Your 'safeguard' is a sign of weakness," Zeng scoffed. "You feared your own creations. A true master controls his tools. He does not imprison them."
Bai Tianyu let out a soft, condescending chuckle.
"And you, I assume, are a 'true master'? You, who attempted to stop a car with your bare hands, and who builds his inventions with duct tape and discarded electronics? Your will may be strong, but your methods are… archaic."
The insult, delivered with such calm certainty, hit Zeng like a physical blow.
He felt a surge of pure, unadulterated rage.
He had stood against Archdemons and defied heavenly judgment, and yet this polished, soft-handed mortal dared to call his Dao 'archaic.'
"Your Dao is weak," Zeng roared, raising the newly forged scabbard. "It is built on fear and a reliance on outside power! My Dao… is built on myself!"
He channeled his will, not into the nanite core, but into the scabbard, the vessel he had created.
It hummed with a new, powerful energy.
He wasn't drawing on electricity from the car battery or the wires in the scrapyard. He was drawing on his own stubborn, indomitable spirit.
The scabbard pulsed with a soft, ethereal light.
It was no longer a piece of metal, but an extension of his soul.
He pointed it at Bai Tianyu. "I will break your locks and master the Chimera Project. I will take your failures and make them into my triumphs. And then… I will defeat you in your own contest, in your own world!"
Bai Tianyu's eyes, for the first time, held a glimmer of genuine surprise.
He was still smiling, but the smile was tighter now.
The Warden drone between them chirped, its cameras focusing on the humming scabbard.
"Fascinating," Bai said softly. "The system is reading an energy signature unlike anything I've ever encountered. You've somehow found a way to use pure intent to power your artifacts."
He nodded slowly, a hint of respect entering his voice.
"Very well, Zeng Haofeng. Consider this a preliminary trial. The final round of the TechStart Contest is in three weeks. The theme is 'Next-Gen Robotics.' I will be waiting. And I will be watching."
With that, he turned and got back into his hovercar.
The drone zipped back to its docking port, and the car's engine, a silent, frictionless hum, began to lift off the ground.
The door closed, and the vehicle floated into the sky, leaving Zeng alone in the scrapyard.
Zeng stood there for a long moment, the pulsing scabbard still in his hand.
He hadn't won. He hadn't even fought.
He had simply declared war, and his enemy, a mortal boy in a perfect suit, had accepted the challenge with a condescending smile.
"He thinks he is a god," Zeng whispered, his voice shaking with a cold fury. "He thinks he is the master of this world's Dao."
Pixie's voice returned, her sass replaced with a professional, serious tone. "Master... I've just cross-referenced the energy signature from Bai's 'digital key.' It's not a single signature. It's a key and a lock. It's tied to an entire network, a cloud system. To break it... you won't just have to master the nanite core. You'll have to master his entire network."
A new system alert appeared.
[New Quest: Crack the Code.]
[Objective: Infiltrate BaiTech's network and deactivate the Chimera failsafe.]
[Time Limit: 3 Weeks.]
Zeng looked down at the humming scabbard in his hand.
It was a vessel, and it was empty.
He needed a blade. A powerful, terrifying, world-shattering blade.
But this world had no divine steel.
And then, his gaze fell upon the golden hovercar, a tiny, perfect speck disappearing into the night sky.
The very symbol of his enemy's power.
His lips twisted into a wicked, triumphant grin.
He didn't need to find a blade.
He would forge it himself.
And he would forge it... from his rival's hovercar.