An Alternative Choice

Setting aside its outdated appearance, Xiao Bai felt that his mech's combat capabilities were quite solid, characterized by balanced and comprehensive performance. It could cover short, medium, and long ranges, boasting powerful propulsion, excellent mobility, and decent endurance.
What stood out most was its close-quarters combat prowess. By shedding excess weight and entering light mode, he could push his speed and agility to new heights, maximizing the destructive potential of his Chainsaw Sword and Boltgun.
Despite their age, these two weapons were forged with Paradise Technology, making them the most formidable armaments on his mech.
In summary, while still a far cry from the Great Demon Lord, Xiao Bai's mech would undoubtedly be considered mid-to-high-end within the Defense Force.
Its shortcomings lay in defense—relying solely on external armor plates and the mech's structural integrity to absorb damage, without any advanced features l ike "shields" or "force fields." The other weakness was Xiao Bai's own lack of practical combat experience; his limited training had mostly consisted of theoretical classes, meaning his manual combat skills might fall short of the mech's automated systems.
"For now, this will have to do. I'm critically low on energy..."
Xiao Bai didn't maintain the Full-Armor Form for long. The next combination would require a significant amount of energy, so after a brief show, he reverted back to the Lightweight Form.
Before beginning the combination, Xiao Bai first inventoried his surplus of finished products.
Apart from the small-caliber weapons he couldn't use, he had two newly acquired engines, one heavy reactor from Ghoul No. 2, two Energy Storage Batteries, and an extra Comprehensive Autonomous Combat Module.
The engines were straightforward; he could simply feed them to the Terror Turtle.
The Mecha's Power began to surge, eventually stabilizing at 300.
"Why did feeding two engines result in a smaller increase than feeding just one earlier?" Xiao Bai grumbled. "Is it a lack of power? Or has it become picky about its diet?"
He then looked at the remaining items.
"Let's set aside the small-caliber weapons for now; they might be useful later. But this reactor... I'm desperately short on energy for the combination, and this thing won't even fit in my system?"
"The Energy Stora ge Batteries are the same. My current 1000-point Mecha Energy limit is more than enough, especially with this unlimited Storage Space as backup. Unless I get a weapon that requires a massive instantaneous energy drain, these are just going to gather dust."
"If only there were a method like 'Feeding the Terror Turtle' to consume this surplus, or a way to dismantle them into parts and components, then use energy to reassemble them into the latest models..."
"But I don't understand mechanical structures. If I randomly disassemble them, I might end up with nothing but scrap metal..."
"Better to set them aside for now and think about it later."
After a quick assessment, Xiao Bai focused his attention on assembly.
Thanks to the increased processing power provided b y the Brain-in-a-Box, he could now preview the results of combinations in advance, no longer limited to the "blind box" approach of the past, where he wouldn't know the outcome until after combining. This allowed for more efficient allocation of resources.
After thoroughly scavenging the area, Xiao Bai now had enough materials to assemble five biological gene-related devices.
Two were related to biological mecha: the Chitin Culture Dish, which produced chitin, and the Chitin Construction Array, which shaped it. Two were for gene enhancemen t: the Gene Analyzer, which identified genes, and the Gene Modulation Module, which adjusted them. Finally, there was the Biological Cultivation Chamber, the platform that housed these devices and modules—the place where completed biological mecha emerged.
At first glance, the setup appears complex, but you can think of the devices and modules as 'brushes and paints'. The Cultivation Pod—the large test tube filled with mysterious mucus that Xiao Bai had seen in the photos—serves as the final 'canvas'.
Although there are five options, the basic Cultivation Pod must be created first; without it, the rest would be like building castles in the air.
As for the remaining materials, there are plenty of electronic components, but very little chitin—just enough to assemble one more item.
Choosing the Culture Dish seems like the safest option, as it provides more chitin. However, it's slow and energy-intensive, making it highly inefficient.
Take the lower base, for example. They operate dozens of Culture Dishes around the clock, powered by massive reactors deep underground to meet their energy demands—a luxury Xiao Bai doesn't have.
Without the Culture Dish, the Construction Array won't function, so that option is naturally out of the question.
The t wo genetically enhanced devices can be used to strengthen the physical body, and might even allow the soul to be restored. But they must be used together: without the Analyzer, it's too risky to use them, and without the Modulation Module, they're useless.
Xiao Bai read the instructions for these new devices repeatedly, pondered them carefully, and then made a peculiar choice:
"Chitin Construction Array, activate!"
A green light scanned across his chest, and before him materialized a complex network of "nerve bundles"—a tangled mass of tubes, probes, and miniature mechanical arms that trembled and writhed slightly, giving the whole thing an unsettling appearance.
Chitin Construction Array: A legacy of the lost civilization. Before Paradise devoured it, this array was used to efficiently reshape and construct biological chitin, creating distinctive bio-engineered equipment.
A smaller line below added:
They're alive! These things are alive!
"How did even a legacy of the lost civilization get involved? Is this thing really alive?"
Xiao Bai attempted to store the bizarre contraption in his storage space.
The operation succeeded, but even the icon in the storage space was wriggling slightly...
"Everyone else is just JPGs, but you had to be a GIF, didn't you?" Xiao Bai grumbled.
He then assembled the Cultivation Pod that housed this thing.
With a flicker of green light, a massive 'test tube' about his height materialized before him.
Biological Cultivation Chamber: A cutting-edge, multifunctional platform developed by the Future Evolution Society, based on Paradise Technology. It supports various devices and modules for advanced gene editing and morphological shaping.
The small text below revealed a hint of resentment and anger:
"This is the result of our entire design team's blood, sweat, and tears, and you're going to use it to help rich women lose weight? I'd rather burn it to the ground!"
"Looks like another Blueprint Equipment. And it seems there's an unpleasant story behind it?"
"If you're using it for weight loss, how are you going to get good genes?"
Xiao Bai chuckled, then tried to see if he could fit this hulking thing into his Storage Space.
In a magic-like transformation, the enormous 'test tube' shrank into a tiny icon before his eyes.
"It seems the Storage Space has no size or volume limits, but Absorption is limited. Anything beyond a certain size can't be fully absorbed; like those two Second Masters, only their contents could be extracted, leaving behind empty shells."
Xiao Bai summarized his findings, then reinstalled the array into the cultivation pod and began pondering how to obtain more chitin.

Chapter end