Chapter 172: Mechanical Transformation and Power

Chapter 172: Mechanical Transformation and Power

In the second Gaia planet of the Sykes Civilization, City 3.

Lu Heng arrived at a grid house in the Gas District and slashed open the door with his sword.

Inside, Nagakawa Tomo sat by the floor-to-ceiling glass window, gazing at the neon night view outside.

"I thought you wouldn't be easy to deal with, but I never expected you to achieve this," he said.

When Lu Heng first saw Nagakawa Tomo, he was slightly surprised by the extensive mechanical modifications on his body.

Nagakawa Tomo stood up from his intelligent mobile chair and turned around, revealing his front. More than half of his torso, from the chest to the abdomen, was covered in a metallic shell.

In the main quest, there was an option to choose whether to accept mechanical transformation or not.

This main quest was essentially a free choice, as it could be completed regardless of whether one accepted the transformation or not.

Moreover, the quest description clearly stated that the mechanical transformation would be permanent and could be brought back to the main world.

In other words, even after returning to Blue Star, one's body would remain transformed.

Technologically speaking, mechanical transformation offered significant advantages.

The transformed body had a metallic shell and allowed for easy part replacement, eliminating the need for lengthy recovery periods after injuries.

Additionally, mechanical limbs could unleash power surpassing that of ordinary humans and even ordinary mutants.

These limbs could also be equipped with the Sykes Civilization's advanced technology weapons, providing a shortcut to enhancing one's combat abilities.

During the Abyssal Era, mechanical transformation was a common enhancement path.

When compared to other enhancement methods, each had its strengths and weaknesses.

The mechanical transformation path even had its exclusive rank, allowing for the unique advantages of mechanical bodies to be fully utilized.

However, most human mutants still had psychological resistance to mechanical transformation.

This was a conceptual resistance, as people often felt that their bodies would malfunction after such modifications.

In reality, mechanical transformation had already begun in the human world.

For example, inserting steel pins after a fracture, heart bypass surgery, and the use of prosthetics were all forms of basic mechanical transformation.

However, the degree of these transformations was minimal, making them more acceptable.

The Sykes Civilization's mechanical transformation technology was far more advanced, directly replacing human organs, limbs, and even critical parts like the heart with mechanical components.

Nagakawa Tomo displayed his mechanical shell with a tone of hatred, "Surprised? I underwent extensive mechanical transformation."

Lu Heng examined the modified areas of his body and realized the reason for his transformation.

The modifications were mainly concentrated on the torso, especially the abdominal area, which was entirely replaced with a metallic shell.

Conversely, the limbs had fewer modifications, with only the left hand showing a metallic shell.

Typically, humans started mechanical transformations with the limbs.

Directly modifying organs was more challenging to accept, while limb transformations were relatively easier.

Nagakawa Tomo spoke coldly, "My metallic shell is all thanks to you."

The areas he transformed were the same places where he was injured before being teleported.

Before using the Abyssal Beacon, Lu Heng had used the Wind Runner skill to stab him in the abdomen with his sword, and then followed up with a second strike.

It was only after the second sword pierced his body that he used the Abyssal Beacon to teleport to the Abyssal Battlefield.

He had suffered two sword wounds before teleporting, and although he arrived in the Abyssal Battlefield early, he was already severely injured, and his organs were damaged.

Such injuries would be challenging to treat on Blue Star.

In the Sykes Civilization, it was much simpler; he was taken to a laboratory and underwent mechanical transformation.

Therefore, the chest and abdomen were the most extensively modified areas.

Nagakawa Tomo's expression slowly shifted from hatred to a sinister smile, "Although I was forced to undergo mechanical transformation, the results were far more powerful than I had imagined."

Lu Heng had a better understanding of mechanical transformation.

The Sykes Civilization's technological level was 2.1, far surpassing that of humans.

Indeed, a 2.1-level technological transformation could significantly enhance one's combat abilities.

The transformed mechanical organs could be equipped with functional modules, and with sufficient funds, mechanical transformation provided a rapid path to power enhancement.

Even fusion cells and mini fusion bombs could be installed within the mechanical body.

Such technological advancements were like a dimensional strike to humanity.

Of course, equipping these advanced weapons required substantial financial backing.

After all, most Sykes citizens couldn't afford them, let alone an extraterrestrial being.

Although Nagakawa Tomo had managed to climb to a high position within the Exodus Faction, it was hard to determine the level of Sykes weaponry he could equip.

Nagakawa Tomo sighed and asked, "Before I kill you, I have one last question. How did you convince Liorana Sexes? It took me a month to attain my current status within the Exodus Faction. You've only been here for a few days."

Lu Heng smiled calmly and replied, "You took a month, but I started planning a year ago, so of course, I win."

Nagakawa Tomo narrowed his eyes, unable to think of any method that could have been prepared more than a year in advance.

He didn't want to think about it anymore and shouted, "Call your two teammates here. I'll finish them all at once."

As he spoke, he slowly floated up, extending an energy barrier from within his metal shell, resembling a mechanical war god descending upon the world.

Lu Heng raised his eyebrows as he witnessed Nagakawa Tomo's floating ability.

This floating ability was none other than the anti-gravity module of the Sykes Civilization.

Indeed, Nagakawa Tomo had undergone mechanical modifications that included the installation of an anti-gravity module.

This was an extremely advanced Sykes technology.

The anti-gravity technology was a 2.0 technology, only accessible to stellar civilizations at the peak of their development.

Even within the Sykes Civilization, anti-gravity technology was still in its early stages of civilian use and not yet widely adopted due to its exorbitant cost.

The fact that Nagakawa Tomo had obtained the anti-gravity module a month in advance indicated that he had indeed accomplished a lot during that time.

After floating, Nagakawa Tomo slowly raised his hand and pinched the air.

Lu Heng felt an immense force grabbing and lifting his neck, a Source Essence ability of the Second Rank Mindbender, Psychic Force.

Moreover, this display of Psychic Force was significantly stronger than what he had shown on Blue Star.

The power exhibited by this Psychic Force was no less than that of a 60-point strength.

Furthermore, as it was a Psychic Force transmitted through the air, the strength it could exert indicated that his psychic energy was even higher.

In other words, his mechanical modification modules likely included a psychic enhancement module.

With the combination of these two modules, his combat power had increased by at least 30%, and Lu Heng had no idea what other weapon modules he might have equipped.

Lu Heng shouted, breaking free from the restraint of the Psychic Force, and slashed his sword forward.

Nagakawa Tomo raised his hand and unleashed an ion shield, blocking the sword's attack.

Another functional module, the ion shield technology was not as advanced as anti-gravity, but it had stronger functionality and extremely high defense.

After just one exchange, Lu Heng had already deduced from Nagakawa Tomo's newly exhibited abilities the presence of anti-gravity, ion shield, and psychic enhancement modules.

Moreover, these modules undoubtedly required sufficient energy support, implying that fusion cells were essential.

With these functional modules combined, any other mutant would have been effortlessly crushed by Nagakawa Tomo.

Additionally, Lu Heng discovered something even more terrifying—the person before him was not Nagakawa Tomo's actual body but a mirror clone.

Indeed, the one before him was merely a mirror clone.

The reason for this distinction was simple.

The Sykes engineer who performed the mechanical modifications seemed to lack a compulsion for symmetry, as the modifications were not perfectly mirrored on both sides.

Therefore, the asymmetry in the modified areas revealed that the one before him was a mirror clone.

After breaking free from the Psychic Force's suppression, Lu Heng used the Wind Runner skill, charging for two seconds before unleashing a lightning-fast Piercing Strike with his sword.

The sword pierced through the clone's body, shattering the mirror clone's energy.

The mirror clone exploded.

Lu Heng immediately spoke through the communication channel, "Find his real body; it should be within a three-kilometer radius."

Su Muyu had already begun the search, with the Divine Feathered Eagle swiftly scanning the area.

At the same time, Lin Zeyu's voice came through the communication channel, "Someone's coming, a human, three mutants, and they don't seem friendly."

Lu Heng rushed out of the grid house and onto the street, where he saw three approaching mutants.

Indeed, they were humans, two of them Japanese and the other a black man.

The black man had a robust build, resembling a black gorilla, with metal modifications on his arms, legs, and one side of his head, indicating he had undergone mechanical alterations.

Lu Heng brandished his longsword and shouted, "Stop! In the Abyss Battlefield, I won't initiate attacks against human mutants, but I won't hold back when retaliating."

Having experienced the Abyss Battlefield numerous times, Lu Heng had encountered all sorts of mutants.

And because he knew many secrets of the Abyss, he always believed that humans were summoned to the Abyss Battlefield to fight against the Abyss, not each other.

With this in mind, Lu Heng usually wouldn't take the initiative to attack human mutants, but if they dared to strike first, he would retaliate without mercy and be even more brutal than anyone else.

The black man roared with laughter, "You're the bounty target! If I take you down, I can upgrade to a higher-grade fusion cell. Die!"

As he spoke, he swung his iron fist towards Lu Heng.

The iron fist on his arm was indeed made of metal, and his entire arm had undergone mechanical modifications.

With one punch, the mechanical vibrations erupted, and the elbow area had pneumatic jet propulsion, resulting in a punch force that exceeded the limit of 70 points of strength.

However, this low-tech mechanical modification was useless against Lu Heng.

Lu Heng's eyes turned cold, and without dodging or evading, he took a quick step forward, sidestepped the iron fist, and then swung his sword.

The sharp blade slashed into the man's shoulder, the Aurora Blade cutting through the metal shell and slicing into the mechanical modification module.

At the same time, lightning power erupted from the sword blade, crackling and wreaking havoc, destroying all the mechanical modules.

While mechanical modifications could enhance strength, they had a fatal flaw—they were vulnerable to lightning attacks.

The outer layer of the metal shell had anti-electric and anti-radiation treatments, capable of resisting lightning attacks from the outside.

However, the lightning ravaging from within was deadly to the mechanical body.

"Ah!"

After throwing a single punch, the black man's entire body went into a state of paralysis, and a mechanical malfunction alert appeared in his eyes.

All the mechanical modules on his body turned red, and he couldn't move, falling to the ground with a thud.

Lu Heng stepped on his head as he walked past him, "Even accepting such trashy mechanical modifications, this gorilla hasn't evolved a brain."

He stomped on the man's head, shattering it, and a piece of Source Essence was extracted.

It was unknown how lucky this black gorilla was, but he had somehow obtained a Second Rank Source Essence.

This Abyss Battlefield was a battle for Source Essence, and except for special cases, all the mutants summoned had Source Essence.

It might have been obtained by luck or by financial means.

However, judging by the black gorilla's situation, it was likely the former.

After eliminating the black man, a piece of Source Essence was extracted.

Lu Heng didn't reach out to take it because he had already achieved the Second Rank and didn't need to compete for Source Essence.

Before the teleportation, they had already discussed how to handle Source Essence during combat.

The priority was to hand over the Source Essence to Su Muyu, as she had initiated the Source Essence competition, and if she absorbed enough to reach 100%, she might complete the Source Essence fusion and obtain a job class.

Additionally, there was another possibility—if they encountered a suitable Source Essence for Lin Zeyu, they could keep it for him.

Currently, Lin Zeyu hadn't obtained a Second Rank Source Essence.

When they were on Blue Star, he really wanted to buy a suitable Source Essence with money, but there wasn't an appropriate one.

Because in the early stages of the Abyssal Descent, the skill and Source Essence requirements for firearm enhancements were enormous.

Most mutants, after obtaining Divine Energy, would first save up some Divine Energy to assimilate firearms.

Firearms were indeed powerful, the pinnacle of human technology.

In the early stages of the Abyssal Descent, cold weapons couldn't compete with firearms.

For this reason, most mutants would have firearms, and many would choose firearm enhancement skills and Source Essence.

Especially when it came to job class choices, if they chose firearm enhancement for their first rank, it would be very troublesome to change paths during the second rank.

So, those who chose firearm enhancements in the early stages would have to continue down that path during the second rank.

This led to high prices and high demand for firearm enhancement Second Rank Source Essence, making it hard to obtain even with money.

That's why Lu Heng told Lin Zeyu that he could enter the Abyss Battlefield and see if he could obtain a suitable Second Rank Source Essence.

After all, in a Source Essence competition in the Abyss Battlefield, there were many opportunities to obtain Source Essence.

After the black man's Source Essence was extracted, the Divine Feathered Eagle immediately flew over and carried it away.

Su Muyu took a look at the name of the Source Essence, which was for a close-combat job class that mainly enhanced strength, and wasn't suitable for Lin Zeyu. So, she directly absorbed it and then saw the prompt for Source Essence fusion degree increase.

[Absorb Source Essence, Source Essence fusion degree increased to 37%]



With the Source Essence absorbed, Lin Zeyu couldn't help but ask, "What job class was it?"

"Armored Warrior, a close-combat class. Want to change?" Su Muyu had already absorbed it but still teased him.

In fact, when Lin Zeyu saw the black man, he had already guessed that the Source Essence wasn't suitable for him, but he couldn't help but ask.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end