The desert, moistened by rain, had lost its initial sweltering heat, but those Machine Lifeforms still roamed the area, patrolling their territory.
Xia Yu, dressed in simple casual clothes and carrying his backpack, walked through this barren desert.
If not for the surrounding desert, his appearance could have easily passed for a tourist.
Popola and Devola guarded him from the front and back. Although he had emphasized that there was no need to be so nervous, the twins insisted that the surroundings were dangerous and they had to stay fully alert.
The twins didn't want to be so tense either, but since a certain human acted completely defenseless, they could only do this to ensure Xia Yu's safety.
The desert had no buildings to confirm directions, but the twins had built-in maps in their systems, so there was no need to worry about getting lost. After some thought, the twins decided to head to the forest at the end of the desert first.
The forest had large animals that could serve as food and a source of pure water. To ensure the human could survive safely, they had considered every aspect.
Trekking across the desert was a tedious process with no shortcuts.
The twins were long accustomed to walking, and Xia Yu had just strengthened his constitution, so none of the three felt particularly exhausted.
Despite that, facing their fragile creator, the twins still slowed their pace as much as possible. If Xia Yu hadn't insisted he didn't need a break, the twins even planned to rest every ten minutes.
After all, their fragile creator had only just woken up and was suddenly trekking through a desert; it seemed unreasonable no matter how they looked at it.
"Watch out!"
On the way, Popola in front suddenly reached out to block him and drew her weapon. Devola in the rear also entered a state of high alert, shielding the Xia Yu who needed protection.
A moment later, Xia Yu also noticed the hidden Machine Lifeforms. He lacked the signal sensing of an Android, and the Machine Lifeforms had no so-called soul or spirit, so he was half a beat slower.
"Clang, clang..."
The sound of mechanical friction echoed from behind a sand dune. A patrol of Small Stubbies suddenly appeared, and besides them, there were even several Small Bipeds.
Small Bipeds had more sophisticated bodies compared to Small Stubbies. Although they still looked like clockwork toys, their strength was not to be underestimated.
"Devola, protect the Lord!"
The moment the voice fell, Popola's figure flashed and disappeared from where she stood. In the next instant, the Small Stubby at the very front had already been split in two by her sword.
Facing Machine Lifeforms with toy-like bodies, Popola, with her sophisticated human-like structure, was clearly better suited for combat, even if she wasn't a combat-specialized Android model.
The magnificent battle was like a gymnast dancing. With just a few flashes, the Small Stubbies were completely destroyed.
Only then did the Small Bipeds react. They opened their chests, and black-red energy bullets instantly poured out while they swung their mechanical arms to attack.
But Popola dodged the sluggish bullets with a few leaps and lunged forward with her blade.
Occasionally, when a bullet was unavoidable, it was sliced in two by the sharp blade, turning into dissipating energy that vanished into the air.
"Swish—!"
Arriving in front of a Small Biped, Popola swept her sword across. The alloy body was easily cut open, transparent synthetic fluid spilled everywhere, and the red-lit eyes on the round head flickered out unwillingly.
A battle that could hardly be called a battle ended within a minute or two. Standing still as she sheathed her sword, Popola let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they hadn't encountered any troublesome Large Bipeds; otherwise, the battle wouldn't have been so one-sided.
"A splendid battle. Very well done."
Xia Yu stepped forward while clapping. Hearing Xia Yu's praise, Popola's simulated heart throbbed. This was an indescribable emotion; she felt as if her system was even lagging a bit.
Fortunately, the human didn't continue his praise; otherwise, Popola felt she would need to cool down like Devola. Humans seemed to call this cooling method a'Steam Girl'?
Xia Yu looked at the wreckage of Machine Lifeforms all over the ground and, after thinking for a moment, decided not to let it go to waste.
As a hamster-type player, he didn't want to let even wreckage go. He would send it to AI Xia Yu; with the other's technology, they should be able to develop corresponding energy weapons.
While thinking, Xia Yu took off his backpack. The purpose of this backpack was now apparent; he could use it as cover to send things out via Red Envelopes.
As Xia Yu began stuffing the wreckage into his backpack, the twins wanted to come over and help, but Xia Yu simply waved his hand, telling them to just wait on the side.
As piece after piece of wreckage was collected into the backpack by Xia Yu, the twins' expressions shifted from initial helplessness and indulgence to gradual astonishment.
Popola, Devola: Σ(д)
Popola: Where is that wreckage? Why hasn't the backpack gotten bigger? Why is the human so calm!
Devola: I don't know either! The human is so skilled. Is it just that we're too ignorant!
Popola, Devola: As expected of a human!
After a brief exchange of looks, the twins gave up thinking. As expected of a human, he had once again done something they completely couldn't understand.
"All done!"
When the last mechanical chip was put away, Xia Yu took a deep breath. He felt more refreshed than ever before. Did he really have a hobby for scavenging?
No, no, no. Xia Yu quickly denied the thought. How was this scavenging? He just didn't want valuable recyclables to be discarded... Wait, isn't that just scavenging!
Xia Yu helplessly covered his forehead. Fine, scavenging it is. At least this scrap isn't dirty.
"Let's go."
Glancing at the twins who were still dazed, Xia Yu called out casually. The dazed twins snapped out of it with a start and quickly followed, though their eyes still drifted toward Xia Yu's backpack from time to time.
Before long, the three encountered another squad of Machine Lifeforms. This time, a Large Biped appeared among them.
It was a Machine Lifeform twice the size of a typical Small Biped, with a much higher level of sophistication. It not only had joints and fingers but also held a special poleaxe weapon.
The moment they saw the Large Biped, the twins' expressions grew serious. While it wasn't impossible to deal with, it would take a considerable amount of time.
However, in the next moment, the twins no longer had to worry, because an Android suddenly appeared along with these machines and launched an attack on them.
Although they didn't know why this Android was so severely damaged, it was clearly a combat model, and its combat strength was much higher than theirs.
The combat power of the white-haired Android that suddenly appeared was almost overwhelming against these Machine Lifeforms. With every slash, a Machine Lifeform would explode on the spot.
Not even a minute had passed before the Machine Lifeform squad, which the twins found somewhat troublesome, was easily taken care of by the white-haired Android.
After cutting down all the Machine Lifeforms, A2 glanced at the three people she hadn't seen before and intended to leave immediately.
She was an avenger and didn't want to get too involved with others.
"Wait." Seeing the combat-type Android about to leave, Popola felt a surge of anxiety. This Android was much stronger than them and could definitely protect the human better.
"We need you to help us escort the Human Lord!"
A2, who had intended to leave, suddenly paused. She whipped her head around to look at Popola, her voice filled with disbelief: "Human!"
"That's right." Popola breathed a sigh of relief. With this combat-type Android, they finally wouldn't have to worry about the human's safety every single second.
Seeing that A2 was still full of disbelief, Devola also stepped forward and said, "This is the Human Lord. We need to go to..."
"Swish—!"
Before she could finish her sentence, a blade wave suddenly whistled past Devola, its target being none other than Xia Yu behind her.
"Human!!"
A2's voice rang out through gritted teeth, her eyes a swirling mix of love and hate, pain and loneliness.