Chapter 19: Into the Mech World

The next day, Friday evening.

The trio, having changed into their gear, arrived, fully prepared, at—

A garbage disposal point near their residential complex.

“Are you certain there’s a World Rift here?” Qin Jinxuan asked, her gaze fixed on Cheng Lan, a dubious expression on her face.

Following Cheng Lan’s instructions, Qin Jinxuan had changed into an entirely grey outfit: a grey jacket, grey trousers, and grey boots.

“Absolutely,” he assured her. “You’re hardly the only unfortunate soul to have been sucked into a Rift.”

Cheng Lan was similarly clad in grey. Unlike the unburdened Qin Jinxuan, he once again shouldered his oversized mountaineering pack, a compound bow strapped to its left side and a quiver to its right.

“Lidoa, adjust the radar detection range to maximum.”

“Understood! Adjustment complete!” Lidoa responded with a clear, crisp voice.

Lidoa remained in her sailor-style dress; the new clothes they had considered buying for her were simply too expensive, and Cheng Lan would genuinely regret it if they were damaged.

She, too, carried a backpack, with a compound bow and quiver strapped to either side.

“Jinxuan, summon your ice sword as well.”

“Alright.” Qin Jinxuan nodded, and the ice sword materialized, coalescing into form within her grasp.

“Excellent.” Seeing that both women behind him were ready, Cheng Lan nodded with satisfaction.

He then turned back to face the garbage bin before him, a slight smirk playing on his lips, a cold sneer forming in his heart:

‘Those mechs, they loved hunting me down in my previous life, didn’t they? Today, I’ll see who truly is the prey.’

He, Cheng Lan, held grudges.

“What’s wrong with you? That smile is eerily unsettling.” Qin Jinxuan rarely saw a smile on Cheng Lan’s face, and this particular one sent shivers down her spine.

“Nothing,” he replied, his smile fading as he adopted a serious tone. “Just thought of something amusing. By the way, you left all your electronic devices at home, right?”

“Relax, they’re all at home.”

“Good, let’s go!” Cheng Lan took a decisive step forward, his form shimmering before he vanished in front of the garbage bin.

Witnessing Cheng Lan’s disappearance, Qin Jinxuan and Lidoa exchanged a glance before immediately following suit, stepping into the Rift.

****

The instant they entered the Rift, Qin Jinxuan felt her feet give way, as though she had stepped into loose sand, immediately followed by a bone-chilling cold.

The landscape before them had transformed—they now stood atop barren sand dunes, with a high-hanging moon casting a pallid, greyish-white glow over the sandy terrain.

However, before she could fully take in her surroundings—

“Lidoa, 7 o’clock direction, 200 meters away, 50 meters off the ground, two drones. You take the left, I’ll take the right.”

Cheng Lan and Lidoa simultaneously drew the compound bows slung on the left sides of their backpacks, their right hands snatching arrows from their quivers, nocking them, and drawing their bows—

They fired!

Two black arrows sliced through the air, arcing almost simultaneously before vanishing into the night sky.

A few seconds later, Cheng Lan spoke: “Lidoa, report on the situation.”

“No radar signatures detected, preliminary assessment indicates all targets destroyed. Airspace within a two-kilometer radius is clear of other flying units.”

“Good. Wait for me here for a moment.” No sooner had he spoken than Cheng Lan’s form flickered, and he vanished into the shadows like a ghost.

A moment later, Cheng Lan emerged from the shadows, each hand clutching a small drone, both pierced through by arrows.

“Lidoa, quickly hack these two and establish a virtual airspace.”

Lidoa immediately took the two drones from Cheng Lan’s hands, a blue light flashing in her eyes.

“Virtual airspace established, spoofing information uploaded to the nearest server node.” The white-haired girl nodded to Cheng Lan.

“How long will that deception last?”

“Forty minutes at most.”

“Forty minutes…” Cheng Lan narrowed his eyes, gazing at the distant rectangular metal structure. “That should be enough.”

“Follow me.” As he spoke, Cheng Lan pulled the two arrows from the drones and returned them to his quiver.

Led by Cheng Lan, the trio swiftly ran towards the distant grey-black rectangular building.

“Lidoa, a Level 4 electromagnetic storm will pass through here in about ten minutes. Be mindful of protection.”

“Understood!” Lidoa nodded.

Noticing that Cheng Lan and Lidoa had ceased their exchange, Qin Jinxuan finally spoke: “Cheng Lan, where exactly is this place?”

From her brief observation just now, she had gathered that the three of them were in a desert. Unlike the deserts of Blue Star, the sand here was inherently grey, not merely appearing so due to the moonlight.

“This,” Cheng Lan said, raising a hand to point into the distance, “is the Mech World I told you about. Over there, that might be one of this world’s main cities.”

Qin Jinxuan followed the direction of Cheng Lan’s finger, discerning the faint outline of a massive city, from which colorful lights intermittently projected into the night sky.

“Here, you only need to remember one rule: be wary of all moving machinery except Lidoa,” Cheng Lan stated, turning to Qin Jinxuan with utmost seriousness.

“All mechs in the Mech World perceive every living organism as an attack target and will spare no effort to eliminate them. That’s why Lidoa and I had to shoot down those two drones just now.

Once we’re discovered by them, we’d get to experience what it feels like to be ensnared in an inescapable trap, surrounded from all sides.”

“If it’s so dangerous here, why did we even come?” Qin Jinxuan asked, perplexed.

“See that large black rectangle?” Cheng Lan pointed to the nearby rectangular building, a flicker of excitement in his eyes. “That’s an equipment storage warehouse. Any weapon you pull out of there will possess destructive power far exceeding anything on Blue Star.”

“One of our objectives for this trip is to ‘stock up’ there, upgrading Lidoa’s and my gear.”

“What about me?” Qin Jinxuan asked, pointing to herself, a hint of expectation in her eyes.

“You?” Cheng Lan’s body suddenly stiffened, as if he had recalled some unbearable memory. “You’ll stick to your sword, plain and simple. Do not, under any circumstances, touch these high-grade items.”

He knew full well: while Qin Jinxuan’s talent in swordsmanship was undoubtedly maximized, her aptitude for ranged weapons could only be described as a negative.

“Fine…” Seeing his resolute expression, Qin Jinxuan merely pouted and refrained from asking further questions.

“Wait a minute!” she suddenly exclaimed, her eyes widening. “Don’t tell me… there’s another task, and it involves me?!”

“Bingo!” Cheng Lan gave a thumbs-up. “Congratulations! You got it right!”

“Didn’t I say I’d find you a worthy opponent to spar with? I figured one of those gatekeepers around the warehouse would surely be a good match.”

“Ah, well…” Qin Jinxuan was momentarily at a loss for words.

She felt a mix of nerves and a subtle thrill bubbling within her.

The trio positioned themselves on a sand dune, lying prone.

They were now less than two hundred meters from the weapon depot.

Qin Jinxuan cautiously peered over the dune, observing the various mechs guarding the warehouse: humanoid, canine, airborne, wheeled…

Regardless of their form, these machines shared a common characteristic—they were all armed.

“What do we do now?” Qin Jinxuan whispered, looking nervously at Cheng Lan.

“Simple!” Cheng Lan offered a faint smile. “I have a way for us to enter the warehouse smoothly.”

“What way?!” Qin Jinxuan’s eyes lit up.

“We’ll dismantle every single one of these guardians!”