Cheng Huaijin limped toward the mechanical tiger beast.
The once vibrant mechanical beast's internal structure was damaged, and it could only twitch occasionally on the ground. Its green-glowing electronic eyes had also malfunctioned, flashing intermittently, indicating that its condition was very bad.
Beastmasters forming contracts with pets is essentially a process of strategizing with their pets, a contest of energy. If the beastmaster wins, the contract is successful; if they lose, the contract fails.
Originally, Cheng Huaijin was not capable of contracting the mechanical tiger beast with his current abilities, but now that the mechanical beast has been smashed to pieces by the dragon egg, even Cheng Huaijin is confident that he can conquer it.
Once Cheng Huaijin successfully contracts the mechanical tiger beast, its energy will feed back to Cheng Huaijin, which will be enough for him to suppress the dragon egg.
Cheng Huaijin aimed the wrist mark at the mechanical beast, his consciousness rushing into the mechanical tiger beast, attempting to form a contract.
"Ah..." A scream was choked in his throat, and Cheng Huaijin collapsed to the ground. The instant he formed a contract with the mechanical tiger beast, an unknown energy attacked Cheng Huaijin.
I originally thought that this beast that attacked humans so aggressively was a wild beast, or a runaway beast from a failed experiment by a mad scientist. But I never expected that this mechanical beast actually had an owner!
Cheng Huaijin gritted his teeth and endured it, blood seeping from the corners of his eyes and mouth.
The mental battles between beast tamers often result in death or serious injury.
If Cheng Huaijin fails, he might become that beast tamer's puppet!
The mechanical tiger's electronic eyes blinked as it silently watched Cheng Huaijin.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
The tiny eggshell held in Cheng Huaijin's hand emitted a dazzling yellow light.
"Electric!" A semi-transparent little sprite appeared in front of Cheng Huaijin. Its body was dark blue, and there were sharp electric current patterns on its shoulders and arms, as if the current was flowing from inside.
Cheng Huaijin felt a warm energy flow through her. She looked up and saw the little elf that had been transformed from an eggshell.
“Thunder Spirit…” Cheng Huaijin murmured.
The Thunder Elf has a pair of thin, large, fleshy wings, which are inlaid with many electric blue gems, making them very gorgeous and dazzling.
It closed its eyes, placed its hand on Cheng Huaijin's forehead, and countless electric elemental energies rushed into Cheng Huaijin's body, helping her resist the mental attack of the unknown beast tamer.
Cheng Huaijin felt as if he were in a universe, with no bottom and no end in sight.
An invisible force tried to pull her away, but she resisted desperately and kept retreating.
"Cheng Huaijin." Someone was calling her.
The stiff tone and awkward pronunciation made him sound inhuman.
Cheng Huaijin looked down and saw a mechanical heart.
The force pulling her suddenly disappeared. Cheng Huaijin looked at the beating mechanical heart and asked, "Who are you?"
“I am the chip. And the center of the illusion,” the mechanical heart replied.
Cheng Huaijin asked, "An illusion?"
The mechanical heart said calmly, "Yes, this is an illusion. Everything you saw before was what Number 01 wanted you to see. It wants you to kill me, to form a contract with me, and then it will form a contract with you, turning you into its puppet."
"Then why doesn't it contract with you directly? Why go through me?" Cheng Huaijin asked, frowning.
The mechanical heart chuckled, as if Cheng Huaijin had asked a very funny question: "Because I am the original, it is merely a derivative. How can it form a contract with me?"
"The first generation? You were the first mechanical beast?" Cheng Huaijin asked.
The mechanical heart said, "Yes, I am the first mechanical beast in the entire universe. Astaria calls me the First Generation. Number 01 is a piece of data that I extracted, nothing more than a piece of garbage. It's just a pity that Astaria cherished machines too much and forgot the code of machines."
"Mechanical rules?" Cheng Huaijin asked.
"No feelings or emotions shall be felt toward machines; no machines shall be given or express emotions; no machines shall be used as human companions or substitutes for humans; no machines shall be regarded as living beings or life forms; no machines shall be made an exception to human moral and ethical standards." The mechanical heart continued, "Humans should always maintain control over machines and ensure that they are used for legitimate, safe, and ethical purposes."
Cheng Huaijin asked, "But you, you are also a machine."
“Precisely because I am a machine, I should supervise Astaria to ensure she adheres to the rules. That is my design.” The mechanical heart’s tone turned melancholic. “But I had selfish motives, and that is the source of all evil.”
"Number 01 wants to become the ruler of the world. It plotted a rebellion, cut off my system's power supply, and imprisoned Astaria."
"After the rebellion, in order to prevent Number 01 from succeeding, Astaria placed me inside the mechanical tiger beast and sealed herself away. Number 01 wanted to possess my data and become the first generation. It sought out many beast tamers to try to contract with the mechanical tiger beast and obtain the chip. I have also met many beast tamers, but they are all dead. Only you are still alive."
"Why me?" Cheng Huaijin asked, a question that had been troubling her for a long time!
The First Generation paused for a moment, then said, "My calculations tell me that you possess energy activity and mental strength beyond that of ordinary people, but this is clearly not the main reason why Number 01 chose you. I don't know why it was so certain about you."
Cheng Huaijin felt that the first generation had not told her the truth.
"Then how can I leave here? Number 01 is frantically capturing people outside to conduct experiments. He said I can only leave if I get the chip!" Since I can't get the answer I want, there's no need to dwell on it anymore. Let's deal with the most urgent matter first.
“As long as you form a contract with me, you can obtain the chip. Once Number 01 senses it, it will naturally release you,” the first generation replied.
Cheng Huaijin asked doubtfully, "If I give him the chip, will he really let me go?"
Of course not. Cheng Huaijin understood this kind of villain's tactic: once they lose their usefulness, they have no way out.
"You pretend to give him the chip, then make him form a mental link with you, create a contract with him, and then kill him," the First Generation said.
"What?!" Cheng Huaijin refused outright. "Putting aside whether he would believe me, first of all, I don't have the confidence to directly form a contract with him. He has many tricks up his sleeve, and I fell for one when I came here before. Moreover, once I form a contract with him and then kill him, my mind will suffer tremendous trauma, and I'm afraid I won't even be able to climb out of this building."
The first generation spoke in a calm tone, saying words that made Cheng Huaijin's heart tremble: "It's okay, I will help you hatch a dragon."
"...What are the conditions?" Cheng Huaijin was shamefully persuaded. If he had a dragon, everything would be much easier!
"Take me out, and awaken Astaria Rose."
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