Harvesting Resources

Coordinates confirmed...
Program executing...
Anchor point established.
Estimated contact time: 48 hours.
As lines of text appeared on the massive 'ship anchor', its originally dull gray surface began to shimmer with a mysterious blue light. The surrounding light started to distort and ripple, as if the anchor were truly being dropped into water.
The distortions grew clearer and more pronounced, gradually forming into swirling vortexes. Colors blended unnaturally, creating an otherworldly spectacle.
Now, Xiao Bai only needed to touch the 'ship anchor' to reach the other side.
Since the final outcome was to devour the opposite side, he didn't need to worry too much about the countdown. Once the time ran out, a new area would be added to the outskirts of his own 'Paradise', allowing him to fly back directly.
However, if the result of the contact was destruction or being devoured, he'd need to time it precisely. If his 'Paradise' vanished, he'd be trapped forever in the alternate space.
"Then let's go."
Xiao Bai performed one last check of his equipment. He had already transformed into his Full-Armor Form, his Physical Body was strapped to his back, and the Little Milk Cat was nestled in the cockpit, taking a nap.
He reached ou t and touched the "ship anchor" before him. His vision instantly stretched and distorted, like a high-speed rewind. When it returned to normal, he found himself in an abandoned city, standing atop a crumbling skyscraper. The ship anchor hovered behind him.
The view was expansive, revealing the first rays of dawn peeking over the distant horizon. Yet time seemed frozen, preserving this place forever in the darkest moments before sunrise.
Around him lay vast ruins of buildings and scattered wreckage hidden in the shadows. Only a few sturdy skyscrapers remained, standing defiantly like unyielding warriors, hinting at the former prosperity of this place.
Sparse raindrops drifted down from the sky, trickling along the broken walls and shattered remains to form streams that scattered and disappeared into the surrounding darkness.
Xiao Bai activated his Scanner. The area was roughly the size of a single urban district, consisting of only five city blocks. He quickly scanned the entire area, leaving numerous markers of varying sizes on both the small and large maps.
"Hmm? No enemies? I thought this place had the Cluster Rule?"
"The outermost district has a lot of recyclable parts. Let's check that out first."
Xiao Bai activated his propulsion system, and just as he lifted off, he heard faint movements beneath him.
The streets below, piled with rubble and debris, suddenly began to regain their vitality. Silhouettes rose from the ground, and pinpoints of red light flickered in the darkness, as if something were awakening, opening crimson eyes one by one.
The maps before Xiao Bai—both the small one and the large one—began to flash red, and red arrows representing enemies materialized thickly, nearly covering the entire interface.
"So many?"
The Scanner revealed the complete forms of the creatures in the darkness.
They retained vaguely human outlines, but their bodies and limbs had undergone extreme mutations. Some organs had atrophied or swollen grotesquely, while others twisted into bizarre configurations at their joints. Still others were covered in a slick layer of keratinized skin.
Certain organs and body parts emitted a faint, pulsating red glow, flickering rhythmically in the darkness like breathing.
The long-dormant Simulation Question Bank suddenly popped up, inviting Xiao Bai to answer:
"Wild Mutants have appeared. What should you do?"
"A. Show compassion; B. Panic; C. Open fire; D. Pat and feed"
"Who came up with this heaven-defying question?"
"Wrong answer. The correct answer is C: 'Fire at Will.' Mutants are the most common low-level demonic beasts in Paradise . They're slow, weak, and unintelligent, rarely posing a serious threat. Just eliminate them quickly."
"Are you sure? Because the ones here seem a bit different."
Xiao Bai muttered under his breath as his mech tilted slightly to the side, narrowly avoiding a 'bullet' that whizzed past.
But then, more and more mutants began spewing various liquids and solids from their distorted organs—some like acid, others rocks and debris—all aimed at knocking Xiao Bai out of the sky.
Though these attacks couldn't truly harm him, their increasing frequency forced Xiao Bai to climb higher to avoid being grazed.
In the distance, more red lights flickered to life in the darkness, gradually forming a narrow river of crimson. It was as if the entire 'city' was awakening to drown the intruder Xiao Bai.
"There must be at least eighty to a hundred thousand of them. If this were a standard mech, we'd be in real trouble. We'd run out of ammunition and energy for sure and be worn down to nothing."
"But..."
"I'm not short on ammunition!"
Xiao Bai laughed, swapping his shoulder weapons for a howitzer and a large-caliber rocket launcher, and began his barrage.
With 200 points of Processing Power, Xiao Bai's Fire Control System instantly calculated the optimal trajectories and impact points, ensuring every shell and rocket struck the densest clusters of Demonic Beasts, maximizing carnage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening explosions shook the ground, sending dark green blood and fragmented remains of Demonic Beasts flying in all directions, finally restoring the ruined city to its rightful silence.
Just three rounds of fire, consuming a negligible amount of ammunition, left only a few stragglers beneath him.
"Even mowing grass wouldn't be this fast," Xiao Bai remarked, lowering his altitude. He then used the Close Defense Machine Guns mounted on his elbows to mop up the remaining scattered beasts before beginning to scan the area with a green light.
Biological Chitin Absorption: 1
Recyclable Part Absorption: 1
Life Energy Absorption: 1
Though the Demonic Beasts were weak, their yield was surprisingly good. Each corpse provided him with 1 unit of a single resource. Compared to scavenging junk piles, this was far more efficient.
The sheer quantity of resources was staggering, making it an absolute windfall—especially since these were exactly the foundational materials Xiao Bai desperately needed.
"Monster grinding is still the fastest way to farm..." he mused. "The chitin and life energy aren't surprising, but why are there parts here?"
Xiao Bai picked up a few fragments of the Demonic Beasts by hand and stored them in the Mech's ammunition depot, planning to analyze them with the Gene Analyzer back at base.
Without scouring the area completely, he took off again, heading toward the incoming 'resources' converging from other directions.
He needed to clear out all the mobile 'resources' before the two Paradises fused. Otherwise, letting them scatter would just be a waste.

Chapter end