Steel Ghoul

Using the energy he had gathered earlier and the repairs he had made to his legs, Xiao Bai regained some mobility. He carefully slid down from the "halfway point" of the mountain, moving on all fours.
He dared not move too abruptly; his physical injuries were severe, and his white, tight-fitting combat suit was stained with dark red patches of blood that had seeped through.
"Hold on!" Xiao Bai muttered to himself as he stepped toward another nearby mountain of junk. The green light reappeared before his chest and swept across the debris.
Now that his vision had been restored, Xiao Bai could clearly see several "Crystal Chunk"-like patterns fly out from the light and merge into his chest.
Ding! Mecha Energy Absorbed: 2
And then?
Is that it? Not even a single part?
Though he was already a mecha, Xiao Bai still felt a sense of numbness wash over him...
Why is this drop rate even worse than a gacha game?
Again!
Ding! Mecha Energy Absorbed: 1
Ding! Recyclable Part Absorbed: 1
Not bad. This is better. Keep going!
No usable resources detected. Please continue your hunt.
Damn it!
After Xiao Bai's relentless efforts, he quickly scoured the dozen or so nearby junk piles. While he didn't find any major treasures, he managed to gather plenty of energy and spare parts. With the Panel's assistance, the Training Mecha no longer looked quite as coffin-like.
Although he still hadn't found materials to repair the damaged hull, leaving it battered and exposed with many parts and cables visible, the lock-level camera had been fixed. The resolution was no longer limited to 800x600 pixels.
The Life Support System began operating at full capacity, effectively halting the deterioration of his physical injuries. He could clearly feel his breathing and heart rate stabilizing, making him feel less like a corpse.
As for the rest... there didn't seem to be much left to repair.
As the first mecha most young people could get their hands on, the Training Mecha was infamous for its weak power, poor endurance, paper-thin armor, and processing power that barely rivaled an abacus. Its only weapon was a training-grade paintball gun.
And it was completely out of ammunition...
The only thing not worth criticizing was the Life Support System, which met military-grade battlefield first aid standards. That's what had kept his physical body functioning for so long.
Although his condition had improved significantly, Xiao Bai remained vigilant. To fully recover, he needed to find a "Medical Module" and the corresponding treatment liquid.
As for his soul... that seemed far more complicated, and he couldn't afford to worry about it right now. For now, this state was manageable, and controlling the mecha felt almost like an extension of his own limbs.
He wondered if this could be considered textbook "Human-Machine Unity"?
That was a realm typically reserved for high-ranking Mecha Warriors, achievable only with advanced control systems.
As he pondered, Xiao Bai's acoustic monitor picked up the rumbling noise growing louder.
Peering out, he saw the thirty-meter-tall Recycling Robot, driven by its tracks and five pairs of road wheels, had approached within a hundred meters. It was already processing nearby scrap.
With each swoop of its rust-streaked, massive clamshell bucket, it could instantly reduce a mountain of trash by several meters.
The grinder on its chest, gaping like a beast's maw, devoured the debris voraciously, resembling a steel ghoul feasting in a graveyard.
Previously, due to poor resolution, Xiao Bai couldn't see clearly. Now, he realized that this Recycling Robot before him was significantly different from the ones he remembered.
It was noticeably larger and more robust, covered in a layer of glossy black armor plates. Several self-defense weapons had also been added to its body, including self-defense machine guns, shock guns, and even small-caliber rockets.
In comparison, the Training Mecha was only two meters tall, one of the smallest even among small mechas. Beside this behemoth, it looked as delicate as a foxtail grass.
Xiao Bai had been considering whether he could absorb the Recycling Robot. After all, one that was still operational should yield more resources than the motionless ones, right?
But the sight of these weapons instantly shattered his illusions.
Why would even a Recycling Robot be armed?
As Xiao Bai pondered this, the Recycling Robot suddenly stopped its work. Its self-defense weapons sprang to life, training their barrels on the pile of junk where he was hiding. Then, a loudspeaker blared:
"Warning! You have entered a military restricted zone. Please immediately leave the area."
"Wait! I'm injured! Quickly, call a doctor!" Xiao Bai shouted.
But the Training Mecha's speakers were still broken; the machine definitely couldn't hear what the soul was saying.
"Repeat... immediately... leave... or... face... forceful... removal."
Its voice suddenly became choppy, like the speakers had suddenly malfunctioned.
Unfazed by the threat, Xiao Bai braced his feet and forcefully kicked off, instantly retreating several meters and using the mountain of junk to shield himself even more.
Seeing his sensible reaction, the Recycling Robot retracted its weapons and resumed its "feast."
"Hmph~ Can't even speak clearly. I'll dismantle you sooner or later," Xiao Bai muttered under his breath, then casually "rifled through" the junk pile in front of him, finding two recyclable parts.
He couldn't use them immediately, but he wasn't worried about wasting them. He'd just store them in his Storage Space for when he needed them.
Xiao Bai didn't dare to swagger around as he had before. He hid in place for a long time, confirming that no one was coming to arrest him, before cautiously moving in the opposite direction of the 'Ghoul'.
He posed another soul-searching question:
"What's going on here? How did a mecha graveyard become a military restricted zone?"
In this era of mecha fever, mecha had permeated every industry and aspect of life. Countless units were decommissioned daily, making mecha graveyards a common sight. Why would such a place be restricted?
Moreover, aside from its massive scale, this place didn't seem like a dedicated storage site for decommissioned military mecha. Many were antique civilian models, which explained why they were so difficult to sell.
"Come to think of it... the time here..."
Xiao Bai looked up at the sky. Ever since his vision returned, the sky had been a dull, twilight hue, the limited light flickering as if it might vanish at any moment.
But after so much time had passed, the sky still hadn't changed?
"Frozen Time is the defining characteristic of Paradise . Could this place also be a Paradise ?"
"Using a vast, flat, and stable Paradise like this as a waste processing station? Wouldn't it be better to build skyscrapers here?"
Xiao Bai sensed something amiss about this graveyard.
Normally, Paradises are dangerous and volatile. Not only must one contend with various Demonic Beasts , but they also have to withstand harsh environments and even the risk of Collapse and disappearance.
The most treacherous of these are called Abysses , where a separate set of 'game rules' divorced from reality prevails, making them exceptionally perilous.
In contrast, safe and stable Paradises are rare, considered precious land resources. Even for production and research, such land is insufficient—so why would it be used for waste processing?
"This graveyard is truly extraordinary!"

Chapter end