Chapter 168: Pride of an Advanced Civilization

Chapter 168: Pride of an Advanced Civilization

Two robots approached Lu Heng's glass chamber and emitted a scanning beam, thoroughly scanning him through the glass walls.

One of the robots then extended its mechanical arm and pressed a button in front of the glass chamber.

The glass chamber began to descend slowly.

Realizing he had been chosen, Lu Heng quickly gestured to Su Muyu and Lin Zeyu, indicating they were free to move.

The glass chamber descended into a glass elevator-like tube, continuing its horizontal movement.

After a brief moment, it reached its designated position, and a square hole opened directly above it.

The hole's sides were exactly two meters long, matching the width of the glass chamber.

The glass chamber began to rise, slowly passing through the hole and emerging onto the ground above.

Stepping out of the tunnel, Lu Heng adjusted to the light and surveyed his surroundings. As expected, he found himself in the Sykes Civilization's Mechanical Beast Arena.

This was an enormous arena, and at a glance, the spectator seats could accommodate over ten thousand people.

An arena of this caliber in the Sykes Civilization was among the top-tier ones.

On any given planet, it would be the largest beast arena.

At this moment, the spectator seats were sparsely filled with oddly shaped Sykes people, most of whom had undergone mechanical transformations.

For those seeing Sykes people for the first time, their cool-looking mechanical shells might be surprising, leading to the assumption that these transformed individuals must be important figures.

However, this was not the case.

The Sykes Civilization had gone through several phases in their mechanical transformation journey.

In the early stages of mechanical transformation, about two centuries ago, the Sykes Civilization had just embraced the trend of mechanical modifications, and citizens took pride in possessing visually appealing mechanical limbs.

Back then, acquiring cutting-edge mechanical limbs required substantial financial resources.

As the civilization progressed to the middle stages, over 90% of the Sykes population had undergone some form of mechanical transformation.

Some had modified an arm, others a leg, and some even modified organs like their ears.

By this period, having a cool-looking mechanical body was no longer fashionable.

Mechanical transformations became more diverse, branching into various schools of thought.

Some Sykes preferred transforming their bodies into beasts, insects, or even bizarre and repulsive creatures.

While the Sykes people had these eccentric preferences, they never became mainstream.

Diversity was the prevailing trend, especially with shape-shifting mechanical transformations being popular for an extended period.

As the civilization neared its late stages, two to three decades ago, the Sykes Civilization experienced a "Renaissance."

The upper-class nobility began to restore the original appearance of the Sykes people, using the most expensive biomimetic skins.

These biomimetic skins had an even more advanced version—thermoregulating biomimetic skin.

If one didn't examine the internal structure beneath the skin, the touch and feel were almost indistinguishable from organic lifeforms.

Consequently, the Sykes people with flashy mechanical modifications in the audience seats actually held lower status.

Those who appeared to have no signs of mechanical alterations were the true nobility of this civilization.

Of course, these seemingly unaltered Sykes people were also entirely mechanical on the inside, but they used biomimetic skin to appear like organic lifeforms.

Evidently, this was an entertainment event, so the audience wasn't as large, but there were still a couple of thousand spectators.

...

As the glass chamber rose, its door opened.

Lu Heng stepped out, gazing at a mechanical beast ten meters ahead of him.

This mechanical beast was incredibly robust, resembling a giant thorny rhinoceros beetle.

Standing over three meters tall on its six legs, the mechanical rhinoceros beetle's head horn was slightly raised, as if a single charge would impale its opponent and pin them to the wall.

Lu Heng knew this creature would be his opponent.

Mechanical beasts were the pinnacle of Sykes Civilization technology, so this mechanical rhinoceros beetle's combat power wouldn't be inferior to the mechanical tiger's, at least an A-class strength.

If Lu Heng went all out, he was confident he could win.

However, revealing all his cards in front of so many Sykes people wasn't a wise choice.

Moreover, the main quest didn't require winning the beast combat; it only demanded survival during the match.

After Lu Heng exited the glass chamber, the chamber behind him began to descend, sinking below the ground, and the hole closed completely.

At that moment, the beast arena rang with the sound of the match's commencement bell.

Ding...

After three rings, the previously stationary mechanical rhinoceros beetle sprang into action, charging towards Lu Heng with its sharp horn.

Lu Heng moved with agile footwork, dodging with relative ease due to his high agility.

While dodging, Lu Heng also observed the Siks spectators in the audience.

It was obvious.

This was a common entertainment event in the Sykes Civilization, where mechanical beasts brutally slaughtered organic lifeforms.

The highlight of such competitions was witnessing how the mechanical beasts tore apart organic life, showcasing the strength of their mechanical bodies.

However, today's match was not what the audience had expected.

The mechanical rhinoceros beetle launched several attacks, but none of them hit Lu Heng.

The spectators wanted to see the mechanical beast tear apart the flesh and blood of its prey, to witness a gory scene with blood and flesh scattered everywhere.

Yet, Lu Heng kept dodging, running swiftly on the ground and walls.

Each charge from the mechanical rhinoceros beetle would leave a large hole in the wall, but it never managed to touch Lu Heng.

Boos echoed throughout the audience, and they began to curse and disparage the company that had manufactured the mechanical rhinoceros beetle.

...

While Lu Heng was entangled with the mechanical beast, in the Beast Warehouse, Su Muyu took out her crossbow and shot an arrow into a corner of the glass cabin, piercing it through the Molten Armor effect.

Then, she released her Source Energy, summoning a Divine Feathered Eagle.

The eagle entered an invisible state and began to explore.

By the time it had finished exploring the entire structure of the Mechanical Arena, the match outside had also concluded.

The audience erupted in a chorus of boos.

Lu Heng had prolonged the match for a full thirty minutes until the end.

During this process, his Body Technique proficiency increased by 125 points.

Lu Heng treated the mechanical rhinoceros beetle as a training partner for his Body Technique, dodging and weaving around it without ever being touched.

After the match, Lu Heng was not returned to the original Beast Warehouse but was instead brought to a spacious office.

Inside the office, a Siks with no visible signs of mechanical modifications and a pair of blue eyes asked, "Are you an intelligent being capable of communication?"

Lu Heng nodded, "Yes."

"Good, then are you a demon?" the blue-eyed Siks continued.

"No," Lu Heng denied.

"Then why did you appear here?" the blue-eyed Siks asked further.

"Do you have any information about the Abyssal Battlefield's conscription?" Lu Heng was unsure if the Sykes Civilization was aware of the conscription rules of the Abyssal Battlefield at this point in time.

In his previous life, Lu Heng's first encounter with the Siks world was a year after the Abyssal Descent.

By then, the Sykes Civilization had some understanding of the Abyss.

And the Siks were also subject to the conscription of the Abyssal Battlefield.

According to the conscription rules of the Abyssal Battlefield, all intelligent life from worlds invaded by the Abyss would be conscripted.

For this reason, Lu Heng always felt that the conscription of the Abyssal Battlefield was like a form of support for worlds invaded by the Abyss, with the purpose of uniting these worlds to fight against the Abyss together.

Therefore, the Siks would also be conscripted, but the exact time when this began was uncertain.

"I see. Then, which world do you come from?" the blue-eyed Siks asked again.

"The human world."

"What are the stellar coordinates of your world?"

"I'm afraid I can't disclose that information," Lu Heng replied, not wanting to reveal the coordinates of the sun, as it might lead to unknown events in the future.

"How far has the Abyss invaded your world?" The blue-eyed Siks asked critical questions.

"In the seventh month of the invasion, Abyssal Rifts have appeared," Lu Heng answered, providing only the information he deemed safe to share.

After speaking, Lu Heng wanted to gain this person's support, so he said, "I'm here to help you. I hope we can fight against the Abyss together."

The blue-eyed Siks laughed and said, "You're mistaken about one thing. Our civilization is powerful and doesn't need assistance from others."

Lu Heng frowned, once again feeling the arrogance of the Sykes Civilization.

Indeed, the Sykes Civilization was arrogant, especially in front of the human civilization, where it displayed a high level of pride.

The Sykes Civilization had already reached a level of 2.1 or higher, far surpassing the human civilization's 0.8 level. They had transcended stellar civilization and were advancing towards galactic civilization.

According to the classification of civilizations, a level 1.0 civilization is considered a planetary civilization, capable of fully utilizing the resources of its planet.

Human civilization on the Blue Planet has not yet completed its planetary development, and there are many resources that remain untapped.

Civilization 2.0, on the other hand, represents a stellar civilization, a level of advancement capable of fully utilizing the resources of a star.

In other words, for human civilization to advance to 2.0, it needs the technology to harness the sun's resources effectively.

The Sykes Civilization has already achieved stellar civilization status and is now progressing towards galactic civilization. Although they have only taken the first steps in this development, their civilization is far more advanced compared to human civilization.

As a result, the Sykes Civilization does not merely act arrogantly towards human civilization but holds this attitude towards all lower civilizations.

Lu Heng frowned and said, "The Abyss is not as simple as you think. It's not just a matter of having slightly more advanced technology to deal with it."

"Really?"

The Blue-Eyed Sykes laughed and said, "If that's what you believe, then I'll show you an interesting fight."

With that, he brought Lu Heng back to the Mechanical Beast Arena.

However, this time, Lu Heng was not thrown into the arena to fight the mechanical beasts but was taken to the spectator seats.

At that moment, in the arena, a mechanical beast was battling a Winged Demon Overlord.

The Winged Demon Overlord flew into the air, roaring as it launched an attack on the mechanical beast.

The mechanical beast unfolded its wings, but instead of flying, it revealed thirty miniature missile launch ports and simultaneously fired thirty mini fusion bombs.

Guided by the fire control radar, all thirty mini fusion bombs hit the Winged Demon Overlord.

The Winged Demon Overlord was blown to pieces, its fragments scattering across the ground, leaving no intact body parts.

The Blue-Eyed Sykes turned to look at Lu Heng and laughed arrogantly, "Do you understand now? Demons, to us, are no different from your humans; they are merely toys for our entertainment."

After witnessing the battle between the mechanical beast and the Winged Demon Overlord, Lu Heng said nothing.

Based on this fight alone, the Sykes Civilization's technological prowess is indeed impressive, as their mechanical beasts can effortlessly annihilate demon overlords.

This is a fact.

However, Lu Heng had visited the Sykes Civilization's capital star in his previous life, and at that time, the capital star was already severely polluted by the Abyss.

The Descension Faction, Salvation Faction, and Exodus Faction were in constant conflict, and internal rebellion plagued the civilization.

Demons within the Sykes Civilization were becoming increasingly powerful, and the civilization was on the brink of collapse from within.

If the timeline were to follow the same path as his previous life, the Sykes Civilization would not escape the fate of being invaded by the Abyss and eventually falling into decline.

Lu Heng had witnessed the Sykes Civilization's demise, and the attitude of this Sykes Blue-Eyed noble sharply contrasted with that experience.

In truth, Lu Heng had much to say and wanted to persuade the noble to reconsider the terrifying nature of the Abyss.

However, Lu Heng knew deep down that his words would be futile.

In the eyes of the Sykes, humans were merely beings from a lower civilization, and they did not hold them in much higher regard than insects.

Therefore, the Sykes would not heed human advice, especially this Sykes Blue-Eyed noble, who was even less likely to listen.

Lu Heng had no interest in continuing his persuasion.

Sometimes, in such situations, one can only respect the fate of others.

Even if one were to offer advice, it should be directed towards willing Sykes listeners.

Lu Heng considered this and asked, "Can I apply for a visa? As an envoy from another civilization."

In his previous life, there had been individuals who obtained visas from the Sykes Civilization, allowing them to travel freely on Sykes planets.

Of course, this was on the condition that they abided by the Sykes Civilization's laws.

The Blue-Eyed noble laughed and refused, "You're just a beast in the arena. I'm talking to you out of pure curiosity. Would your civilization issue visas to animals in a zoo?"

As expected.

Lu Heng was not overly surprised and said no more. Soon after, a robot summoned by the noble escorted him back to the Beast Warehouse and locked him in the glass pod.

Upon returning to the Beast Warehouse, Su Muyu and Lin Zeyu were still there.

The three of them began discussing plans to escape the Mechanical Beast Arena.

Initially, Lu Heng had hoped to communicate with the Sykes noble and obtain a visa to leave the arena freely.

Unfortunately, this attempt was unsuccessful.

So, they had no choice but to escape.

After deliberating, they decided to first use the Divine Feathered Eagle to disrupt the arena's power system, then release the most aggressive beasts from the Beast Warehouse, and finally, amidst the chaos, make their escape from the arena.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end