Chapter 174
Su Jing's mineral mecha arm tapped lightly against the metal support at the villa entrance. Pale blue energy flowed along the lines of her palm, shaking off the dust clinging to it.
She had just finished checking her equipment: the tracking laser gun was loaded with three spare energy magazines, the mining blade was tucked into her waistband, and she had 20 vials of antidote and 50 emergency ice blocks in her storage space.
Robots No. 1 and No. 2 stood on either side, their laser guns on their robotic arms set to "rapid fire." Little Jin was huddled in the heat-insulating backpack on her chest, with only her black head showing and her little nose twitching.
"Number 3 and Number 4, keep the low-temperature fog system on for 5 minutes every hour, and set the vibration sensor to maximum sensitivity. Communicate immediately if there is any abnormality."
Su Jing gave instructions into the communicator, her fingertips swiping across the abandoned city map on the screen—three areas densely populated with second-tier beasts had been marked: the abandoned city supermarket (where iron-shelled beetles gather), the office building (where windwing birds nest), and the central square (where mixed beast hordes).
“We’ll proceed in the order of ‘supermarket → office building → plaza.’ Number 1 will scout ahead, and Number 2 will follow behind me. Prioritize clearing out any beasts blocking the way, and don’t waste time.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Jin suddenly poked his head out of his backpack, his voice in his mind filled with certainty: "There's a 'hard smell' coming from the direction of the supermarket! It's the smell of second-tier metal beetles, about six of them, gnawing on the metal shelves inside, and they haven't noticed us!"
Su Jing nodded and took the lead in walking towards the abandoned city—the ground temperature was 52℃, but the mecha arm outside the heat-insulating suit was completely unaffected. The heat dissipation patterns on the metal surface conducted away the heat, and it only felt slightly cool to the touch.
The glass door of the abandoned city supermarket was already shattered, and metal cans that had been chewed and deformed were scattered at the entrance.
As soon as Su Jing stepped into the supermarket, she heard a crisp "crack" sound—next to the shelf, six second-order iron-shelled beetles were gnawing on a steel pipe. Their shells were nearly 2mm thicker than those of ordinary beetles and had a dark black sheen.
"Number 1, use the laser gun to attract the attention of the three on the left, don't kill them, I'll break their armor; Number 2, guard the door, don't let them escape."
Robot 1 immediately opened fire, and the pale red beam of light landed on the carapace of the beetle on the left. Although it did not penetrate it, it caused the beetle to turn around instantly and rush towards Robot 1.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Su Jing circled around to the right, and manganese crystal blades popped out from the palm armor of her mecha arm, infused with pale blue energy, and slashed down at the abdomen of the foremost beetle—
With a sharp crack, the beetle's shell was precisely split open. The beetle let out a piercing screech, convulsed, and collapsed to the ground. The communicator immediately popped up a notification: [Killed 1 Tier 2 Iron-Shelled Beetle, Total Kills 1/100]
Seeing this, the remaining five beetles abandoned their attack on Number 1 and surrounded Su Jing. Instead of retreating, she advanced, unleashing an energy blast from her mecha arm, sending two beetles flying with a "bang." At the same time, she drew a mineral blade from her waist and stabbed it into the head of the third beetle—the blade pierced its carapace, and the beetle died instantly.
In less than 5 minutes, all 6 beetles were killed, and the communicator popped up again: [Killed 6 Tier 2 Iron-Shelled Beetles, total kill count 6/100, obtained Heat Resistance Fragment ×1 (total 1/10)] .
"Su Jing! There are Windwing Birds in the office building! I smell 'speed'! There are about eight of them by the window on the 5th floor, staring at the beetle carcasses below!"
Xiao Jin's voice came from the backpack, tinged with wariness. Su Jing immediately led the team to the office building—the corridor was piled with rubble. Robot No. 1 used its mechanical arm to clear a passage. As soon as they reached the 3rd floor, they heard a "whooshing" sound of wind. From the window on the 5th floor, a gray-black wind-winged bird was circling low, clearly having discovered the intruder.
"Number 2, use the energy blast from the mech arm to hit the windows and force them out;
I'm using a tracking laser gun to lock them in, to prevent them from flying too high.
Su Jing raised the laser gun, and the tracking core on the gun body lit up with a pale blue light, aiming at the window on the 5th floor.
Robot No. 2's mecha arm gathered energy, and with a "bang," the energy impact struck the window frame, sending shards flying. The eight wind-winged birds were startled and flew out, rushing towards Su Jing's direction.
A pale red laser beam, trailing a pale blue contrail, precisely struck the wing of the foremost wind-winged bird.
With a "sizzle," the bird lost its balance and crashed heavily into the stairwell. The remaining Windwing Birds attempted to flank and ambush from behind, but Su Jing's mecha arm suddenly swung out, creating an energy shockwave that blocked them in mid-air. Robot No. 1 seized the opportunity to finish them off, shooting down three more.
In less than 10 minutes, all 8 Windwing Birds were killed. The communicator notification read: [Killed 8 Tier 2 Windwing Birds, total kill count 14/100, obtained Heat Resistance Fragment 1 (total 2/10)].
Over the next three hours, Su Jing led her team to clear out the second-tier beasts in various parts of the abandoned city: 15 iron-shelled beetles in the abandoned streets were frozen with low-temperature fog (quickly made from ice blocks taken from space) and then killed one by one.
Ten wind-winged birds in the park were trapped using a tracking laser gun in conjunction with the energy net of the mecha arm;
The 22 mixed beasts in the abandoned factory (15 beetles + 7 windwing birds) allowed Robots 1 and 2 to surround them in a fan shape, while Robots 1 and 2 launched a surprise attack from the side, using their mining blades to kill any lone beasts.
As the sun began to set, Su Jing arrived at the central square—
This area is home to the last 29 Tier 2 beasts (18 Iron-Shelled Beetles + 11 Windwing Birds), making it the most densely populated area in the entire ruined city.
"Number 1, take 10 ice blocks from space, make low-temperature fog, cover the west side of the square, and freeze the beetle's legs;
Number 2, guard the east side to prevent the windwing birds from escaping;
I'm in charge of the central herd; prioritize killing the Windwing Birds, then deal with the beetles.
The low-temperature fog quickly spread to the west side of the square, freezing the legs of 18 iron-shelled beetles and making them move slowly.
Su Jing fired her laser gun continuously, shooting down 11 Windwing Birds within 10 minutes. The communicator indicated a cumulative kill count of 91/100.
She used the manganese crystal blade on her mecha arm to slash and kill the remaining beetles one by one. When the last beetle fell, the communicator screen lit up with a pale green light: [Killed 18 Tier 2 Iron-Shelled Beetles, accumulated 100 Tier 2 Monster Kills, and collected 10 Heat Resistance Fragments. All can be combined in the system interface to synthesize a "Tier 3 Heat Resistance Suit".]
Features: Heat resistant temperature up to 90℃, heat insulation effect improved by 50%, compatible with mineral control abilities.
"Finally, we've gathered them all!" Su Jing breathed a sigh of relief, put away the laser gun, and prepared to lead the team back to the villa.
Just then, Xiao Jin suddenly bristled, its little paws gripping Su Jing's collar tightly. A voice in its mind's eye cried out in alarm, "Su Jing! There's a 'malicious smell'! Not the smell of a beast, it's human! It's in the abandoned building north of the square. The smell is so strong, it's like it's watching our space!"
Su Jing's heart sank instantly. She immediately ordered robots No. 1 and No. 2 to assume a defensive posture, with their laser guns aimed at the abandoned building to the north.
She looked in the direction Xiao Jin indicated. The building was pitch black, and she couldn't see anyone, but she could vaguely feel a gaze locked on her—a gaze filled with greed, clearly after her space or equipment.
"Don't show your face. Let's retreat slowly and talk back at the villa." Su Jing lowered her voice and led the robot and Xiao Jin toward the exit of the square.
On the way back to the villa, Xiao Jin was still saying intermittently, "That 'malicious smell' followed us for a while, and then stopped at the intersection... It seemed like there were other people's smells too, more than one!"
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