The Red Vortex spat him out first.
Su Chen burst back into the University Plaza atop Obsidian, the Nightmare Warhorse, its hooves hissing against cracked asphalt. Every step left behind a ring of eerie green fire that shimmered like swamp-light. Blue flames drifted from its mane as if the creature were burning underwater. The temperature around it dipped; even the night wind seemed scared to touch it.
Behind him, his squad emerged one by one, looking less like survivors and more like a raid party straight out of a max-level MMORPG. Weapons drawn. Faces hardened. Post-dungeon fatigue and adrenaline mixing in their eyes.
Behind them—nothing.
The skeleton army stayed inside. Su Chen had locked the "Book of the Undead" the moment they exited. He didn't need a public parade of bone soldiers turning the campus into a panic zone.
"Y–You… you tamed that?" Saya's voice cracked. She stepped out of the truck, clutching her laptop like a life raft. Her eyes widened so hard her glasses almost slid off. "Horses do not work like this! It's on fire! That violates—no, it mocks thermodynamics!"
"It's undead fire," Su Chen replied, sliding off Obsidian with a gentle pat on the skeletal neck. "Doesn't burn unless it wants to. Physics optional."
The Nightmare snorted, dipped its head, and melted into Su Chen's shadow like ink dissolving in water.
Saya's jaw dropped. "That—That's impossible."
He didn't answer. He simply tossed her the glowing purple Dungeon Core.
"Catch."
Saya barely caught it. The heavy crystal nearly yanked her arms down.
"What—what even is this? The readings are… They're spiking! It's emitting spatial distortion. This thing is bending reality like taffy!"
"It's the Necropolis Heart," Su Chen said. "Holds an entire city inside it."
He pointed toward the Black Behemoth — their massive armored truck.
"I want that city inside the truck."
Saya stared between the truck and the core. Her brain clearly jumped fifteen layers of engineering theory in two seconds.
"You want to… expand the interior space? Like a—like a—"
"A TARDIS," Su Chen confirmed.
A manic grin slowly grew across Saya's face. Not fear. Not confusion. Full scientific lust.
"Spatial engineering… Su Chen, this is Nobel Prize plus six zeroes. We're not turning that truck into a vehicle. We're turning it into a dimension with wheels."
---
The Integration
Su Chen's preparation was simple.
He didn't just give Saya one core.
He copied it.
[Target: Dungeon Core (Necropolis)]
[Copying…]
Flash.
One became two.
Two became four.
Three spares went into Infinite Storage. One went into the Black Behemoth.
The next three hours were chaos.
Metal clanged. Sparks crackled. The air practically vibrated with the hum of spatial energy.
Su Chen carved bio-organic circuit lines using [Flesh Manipulation], weaving them into the truck's wiring like sinew and bone. The cyborg pilot's magitek knowledge made the configuration feel natural in his hands. Strange green membranes fused with the steel frame.
Saya sat cross-legged on the pavement, typing with furious intensity. Her screen filled with equations so complicated they looked like arcane spells pretending to be math.
"Stability lock in three… two… one—MARK!"
HUMMMMMM—
The Black Behemoth pulsed.
A wave of purple light washed across the truck like an aurora. The steel plates groaned, compressing inward. Shadows clung to its surface, darkening it, thickening it, making it look like a war machine built by gods who hated sunlight.
Then silence.
Saya exhaled shakily. "Interior space successfully decoupled from outer hull… Su Chen, we… we actually did it."
"Let's see."
Su Chen pulled open the truck's rear door.
Instead of darkness, a warm glow spilled out.
And there—where there should've been cramped military cargo space—was a marble hallway.
White stone, gold trim, soft lights embedded in the ceiling. The air smelled faintly of lavender and something clean, like filtered mountain air.
Shizuka stepped in first and almost tripped.
"Ehhh?! It's like a hotel lobby! It's bigger than my whole apartment!"
"No kidding," Saeko murmured, eyes scanning the hall like a warrior evaluating terrain.
Su Chen led them deeper.
Inside opened a massive living room—at least a hundred square meters—with soft couches arranged in a circle, fluffy carpets layered across the floor, and a large viewing screen showing a live feed from the external cameras.
Beyond that—
Bedroom Wing: Five luxury suites with king-sized beds.
Lab: Perfectly sterile, for Saya and Xiao Yi Xian.
Dojo: Reinforced with Mantis Chitin panels.
Farm: Soil from BTTH world, UV lamps, a micro-herb garden.
Xiao Yi Xian approached the alchemy station silently. She touched the table with a trembling hand.
"A home…" she whispered, a rare softness warming her usually calm voice.
Saeko pushed open the dojo door and walked in. She dragged her blade along the wall, testing rigidity. Her eyes lit with satisfaction.
"Finally. A place I won't accidentally destroy."
Su Chen dropped onto the sofa and exhaled, letting his muscles unclench for the first time that day.
"This is our base now," he said simply. "Travel by day, live comfortably at night. Door's bio-locked. No intruders unless they want to get turned into data points."
Shizuka spun around happily. "We're living in luxury! During the apocalypse! I feel like a princess!"
"More like a combat medic with a budget," Saya corrected, though she couldn't hide the proud smirk tugging at her lips.
---
The Roadblock
The next morning, the newly upgraded Black Behemoth rolled down the city roads, humming with hidden power.
They were heading toward the City Center Bridge—one of the major crossings out of the district.
But the moment they approached, Su Chen's expression flattened.
A barricade.
Cars, buses, concrete blocks—all piled into a makeshift fortress. Armed men patrolled the top. A dirty banner hung across the barricade:
IRON FIST BROTHERHOOD
TOLL: ALL FOOD AND WOMEN
Su Chen pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Every apocalypse gang has the creativity of wet cardboard."
"Should we remove them?" Saeko asked, already reaching for her sword.
"Hold up." Su Chen pointed. "They have a tank."
A battered but functional Type-99 Main Battle Tank sat behind the barricade like a sleeping dragon. Its cannon was already pointed at them.
A man with a megaphone stood on top of it, grinning.
"Halt! Iron Fist territory! Step out of the vehicle, hands up!"
Su Chen sighed and stepped out of the truck alone. The Indigo Sword hung at his hip, swaying with each step.
"I'm not here for you," he called out. "Move the barricade and let us pass."
The commander laughed so hard he wheezed.
"You hear that? He thinks he can order us. Kid, look at the cannon pointed at your face. You're not negotiating—you're donating. Leave the truck and the girls, maybe we let you crawl away."
Su Chen glanced at the tank.
[Target: Type-99 Tank]
[Threat Level: Medium]
[Armor: Composite Steel/Ceramic]
"I like that tank," he muttered. "Would look nice in storage."
He walked forward.
"FIRE!"
BOOM.
The tank cannon roared.
The HEAT shell screamed toward Su Chen at supersonic speed.
He didn't dodge.
He wanted data.
[Time Dilation (Self)]
The world slowed. The shell drifted like a lazy meteor.
[Indestructible Diamond Body: Golden Bell]
[Green Wood Beast Transformation: Scales]
[Bone Armor: Shield]
Gold skin. Green scales. Bone shield.
CRASH—BOOM!
The explosion engulfed him.
Smoke rolled across the road.
The Iron Fist gang cheered.
"Direct hit! He's paste!"
But when the wind pushed the smoke aside—
Su Chen was still standing.
Ten meters behind where he started.
Deep grooves carved by his heels.
Clothes burnt.
Bone shield shattered.
But his skin?
Untouched.
He dusted ash off his shoulder.
"Hm. Bee sting."
The cheering stopped instantly.
The commander choked. "He… he tanked a tank shell?!"
Su Chen vanished.
[Shadow Step]
He reappeared behind the commander, whispering:
"You ruined my jacket."
Then he threw the man off the bridge into the river like a bag of trash.
He placed a hand on the tank turret.
[Copying…]
Flash.
A second Type-99 tank materialized on top of the barricade, crushing several gang vehicles.
Su Chen climbed into the original tank and powered it with magitek-enhanced reflexes. The controls felt like part of his own nervous system.
"You like shooting?" Su Chen asked over the tank's speakers.
"Let's shoot."
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Machine gun fire shredded the barricade. Cars exploded. Men ran. No mercy, but no massacre—just enough to clear the path.
He left survivors. Not out of kindness—because running men spread warnings faster.
Su Chen climbed out, touched the tank, and stored it with one tap.
He walked back to the Black Behemoth calmly.
"Path's clear," he said into the radio. "Also picked up a new toy."
Inside the mobile mansion, Saeko watched the destruction on the camera feed while sipping tea.
"He really hates traffic," she observed.
Shizuka, spreading lotion on her face, shook her head.
"No, no. He just loves looting."