As he continued deeper, the tunnel's terrain began to tilt at an unsettling, sharp angle.
The surrounding rock walls showed increasingly obvious signs of artificial excavation.
The peculiar scent in the air grew thicker, instilling an involuntary sense of dread.
After an unknown duration of descent, the view ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a colossal underground cavern, grand beyond imagination.
This place had been converted into a crude monster stronghold, where dozens of monsters of various shapes gathered and roared, filling the air with a violent aura.
"It's like a monster spawn point outside a beginner village," Lin Mo calmly assessed.
"Little King's" scanning system marked the approximate level, energy reactions, and potential threat of all the monsters in data form.
His objective was clear: find the path to deeper levels.
Soon, at the other end of the cavern, he located a more robust passage, fortified with stacked rocks.
Unlike the other entrances, several monsters with noticeably stronger auras guarded it, their energy reactions appearing deep yellow, far surpassing the pale white of the surrounding "fodder."
Clearly, that was the core area of this stronghold.
To pass, he would first need to clear the obstacles along this path.
While a direct assault was feasible, Lin Mo wanted to test the limits of "Little King's" performance, especially the stealth and assassination system meticulously designed by Child Emperor.
"First, I'll clear out the 'minions' on the periphery to warm up and also test the feel of the weapon system."
Lin Mo made his decision.
His gaze locked onto a lone target at the edge of the stronghold—a mantis-type monster nearly two meters tall, with two giant bone scythes for forelimbs.
Under Lin Mo's control, "Little King's" figure moved silently.
It completely concealed itself in the shadow cast by a massive stalactite.
Then, it skillfully circled behind the mantis monster, without alerting any other monsters throughout the entire process.
With a thought from Lin Mo, the armor on its right arm quietly slid open, and a pale blue particle sword, about a meter long, instantly popped out, making no sound.
"My experience in games tells me that a successful backstab deals double damage."
A faint smile touched Lin Mo's lips.
"Whoosh!"
The particle sword, carrying a faint energy glow, precisely pierced the mantis monster's back of the neck, instantly destroying its core.
The mantis monster didn't even have time to let out a cry of agony; its flailing giant scythes froze mid-air, then its entire body went limp, crashing to the ground, completely devoid of life.
The entire assassination was clean and fluid, like flowing water, not drawing the attention of even a single surrounding monster.
"Beautiful," Lin Mo praised inwardly.
Child Emperor's sword felt excellent.
He repeated the process, using the terrain and shadows to eliminate the perimeter sentries of the stronghold one by one.
"Little King's" movements were like a ninja's, circling behind enemies, waiting for a red dot to appear, then performing a "shinobi kill."
However, as he prepared to go deeper, something unexpected happened.
Just as he activated the particle sword, preparing to use the same trick on his next target, a dog-like monster in the stronghold, with exceptionally keen senses of smell and perception, suddenly lifted its head.
It twitched its nose, then let out a frantic bark towards the shadow where Lin Mo was hidden!
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"
This sudden barking instantly shattered the stronghold's tranquility.
Almost simultaneously, a massive Demon-level monster that had been dozing in the center of the stronghold was startled awake.
It was a rhino-type monster over five meters tall, covered in rock-like carapace, and it abruptly turned its head, its single eye glowing with a tyrannical red light.
"Exposed," Lin Mo's eyes showed no ripple, "Then we switch to Plan B."
Since stealth failed, he could only force his way through.
"Roar—!"
The rhino monster let out a deafening roar, taking heavy steps, and charged fiercely towards "Little King's" hidden position.
The ground trembled slightly under its stomping.
"Target: Demon-level monster. Preliminary analysis: Extremely high defense, devastating charge. Scanning for weaknesses... abdominal carapace joints, single eye."
Before Lin Mo's eyes, lines of crimson data rapidly appeared.
Faced with this destructive charge, Lin Mo chose not to retreat.
He maneuvered "Little King" not to retreat but to advance, and at the moment it was about to be hit, the machine suddenly slid sideways, its thrusters briefly firing, elegantly dodging the rhino monster's collision by a hair's breadth.
"Boom!"
The rhino monster crashed into the rock wall, creating a huge dent, with shattered rocks scattering everywhere.
The instant it turned, Lin Mo had already switched weapons.
"Weapon system switch. Right arm, compressed particle cannon, mode adjusted to 'Rapid-fire Mode'!"
"Little King's" right arm armor transformed, the muzzle extended, and blue electrical arcs danced within it.
"Da da da da da!"
Without giving the rhino monster any time to react, a barrage of highly condensed blue bullets instantly fired like a storm, precisely striking the relatively softer carapace on the rhino monster's abdomen.
The impact of the explosions made the rhino monster stumble backward, letting out painful roars, but its defense was indeed astonishing; the rapid-fire mode failed to penetrate it.
"Its defense is indeed very high... In that case, let's try this."
Lin Mo's gaze sharpened, and he switched attack modes.
"Switch to 'Cutting Mode'!"
A continuous high-energy particle beam shot from the muzzle, transforming into a large blade, and as the rhino monster attempted to charge again, it precisely sliced across its forelimb joint!
"Sizzle—"
Accompanied by a grating sound and a smell of scorching, one of the rhino monster's front legs was actually severed! Its massive body lost balance and crashed to the ground.
The surrounding minor monsters were terrified by this horrific sight, retreating repeatedly, not daring to advance.
"It's over."
Lin Mo gave it no chance.
He calmly pulled back, the muzzle of the particle cannon on its right arm glowing brightly, beginning to gather astonishing energy.
On the energy display before Lin Mo's eyes, the machine's energy value was rapidly decreasing at a visible rate, instantly evaporating forty percent.
"'Charged Penetration Mode'!"
"Fire!"
A particle beam, thicker than any previous attack, trailing a destructive wake, directly struck the fallen rhino monster's massive single eye!
Subsequently, the rhino monster's enormous head, along with the rock wall within a dozen meters behind it, was completely pierced by this single shot.
That arrogant Demon-level monster, unable to even let out a final cry, completely lost its life force.
From the Demon-level monster's unwillingness and astonishment, energy value +1500!
One hit kill!
The monsters in the entire stronghold fell into a deathly silence, followed by immense fear engulfing the remaining monsters.
They looked at the unscathed black robot as if seeing the Grim Reaper descend.
Lin Mo ignored these minor monsters; he controlled "Little King" and walked directly towards the cleared passage.
As he passed, the monsters frantically made way for him.
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