[1] The Breaker
At the outskirts of the Crystalline Scar lay a wasteland as if scorched by fire and then frozen solid.
Fissures bled with an eerie blue glow, and the air carried a damp, acrid tang of metal.
Lin Yaoheng and Baita had barely set foot inside when they saw it—
The Breaker.
It was a grotesque fusion of man and armored behemoth, with exposed joint structures sheathed in thick crystalline plating. Its head was a warped polyhedral crystal core, refracting blinding light.
Every step it took shattered the ground beneath like fragile glass.
Hermes: [Warning—Class A infected lifeform. Core located beneath the crystalline layer at the base of the neck. Conventional weapons will not penetrate.]
Lin Yaoheng licked his cracked lips.
"Perfect time to test our new toy."
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[2] The Critical Iron
Earlier, in the ruins along the perimeter, they had unearthed a strange metallic chunk covered in odd patterns.
In R-01's hangar, Baita had forged it into a short blade—broad and heavy, with golden filaments embedded along the etched lines, wired directly into the mech's high-heat module.
Baita patted the back of the blade.
"It'll spike in temperature on command. Don't swing it around recklessly—first strike should be for the kill."
Yaoheng gripped the controls, and R-01's right arm lifted the short blade, its edge catching a shard of cold light.
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[3] First Clash
The Breaker lunged, its four limbs propelling it with the boom of a cannon. Shards of rock exploded upward, turning into lethal projectiles midair.
R-01 raised an arm to block, sparks skittering across the armor from the impact.
Yaoheng dropped the mech's stance, slipping past a tail-swipe, and countered with a high-heat punch to the creature's flank.
The scorching shockwave burned through a small patch of crystal, but a flow of internal coolant quickly sealed the damage.
Hermes: [Verification complete—standard high-heat strikes insufficient for instant kill. Recommend deployment of Critical Edge.]
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[4] The Critical Strike
The Breaker roared, foreclaws slashing straight toward the cockpit.
Yaoheng's gaze sharpened, R-01 lifting the short blade—
The mech's metal frame groaned, golden veins in the blade flaring under surging heat like molten arteries.
—In the next instant, R-01 stepped in and slashed, the edge biting into the crystalline layer beneath the creature's neck!
Heat raced along the cut like a burning fissure, tearing into its core.
With a sharp, crystalline shriek, the entire head erupted, scattering fragments that vaporized midair.
The hulking body collapsed, dust rolling in the wake of the heatwave.
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[5] Silence After Battle
Baita exhaled, a grin tinged with relief.
"First kill and it's already a clean one."
Yaoheng looked at the short blade, its edge glowing red as if just pulled from a forge.
Hermes: [Record archived—weapon performance upgradable. Recommend collecting more of this metal for enhancement.]
Yaoheng sheathed the weapon, gaze fixed on the direction of the Crystalline Scar's main core.
There, a blue-white beam speared into the sky, the ground beneath glowing on thermal scans like a diseased wound, teeming with writhing points of light—
waiting for them to step into its maw.
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[6] Toward the Core
Baita's voice was low.
"Next stop—the location of the Hermes Mother Core."
Yaoheng lifted the short blade, pointing toward the strange light.
"Let's go. Don't keep the blade waiting."
R-01's heavy steps crunched across shattered crystals, advancing toward the heart of the glow.
Hermes: [Detected—internal energy fluctuations abnormal. Recommend maximum caution.]
Yaoheng smirked.
"Good. I want to see what surprises the Mother Core has for us."