The glory of the old era no longer exists.
Only the remains of machinery.
And silent dust.
Together, they bear witness to the former prosperity.
The yellow sands howled with the rising wind, crashing against the walls of the energy company's buildings, shattering into pale whirlwinds that dissipated in the air.
Xu Xi had previously read some materials, and the Saiding Energy within was quite remarkable, spanning multiple fields such as material science, energy, and aerospace engineering.
It was a military-industrial enterprise ranked among the top hundred in the federation.
Its strength and depth were beyond Xu Xi’s imagination. Even the anti-gravity airships in the city center were one of Saiding Energy's products.
However, even the federation itself had perished, let alone an energy company.
A century of devastation had reduced Saiding Energy to ruins, transforming it into a junkyard where intelligent machinery roamed.
“Drip——”
“Drip——”
When an intelligent machine detected Xu Xi'spresence, two electromagnetic cannons popped out from the shoulder of his powered armor and obliterated it on the spot.
“Master, dangerous target eliminated. You may proceed.”
“Well done, Ailei.”
Xu Xi praised his own machine servant.
He took a step forward.
Gently scooping up,
He rummaged through the shattered remains of the intelligent machine.
He picked up a few intact components and stored them in his portable storage device.
Then, Xu Xi took out the main weapon of his powered armor, a massive Gauss electromagnetic grenade gun, and fired a shot directly at the ruins of the energy company.
A forcefully blasted opening was created, allowing him to proceed.
“Oh, jackpot.”
Xu Xi stopped.
In the darkness of the ruins ahead, a pair of red eyes suddenly lit up, external manifestations of electronic eyes blinking.
…
【You’ve been studious and diligent, and in the span of several years, you’ve analyzed and learned the majority of items in the laboratory】
【You realize that if you want to continue improving yourself, you need to acquire more mechanical items to generate more mechanism resonance】
【There are only two paths before you】
【One, explore the federal ruins, searching the wasteland for the brilliance of the past】
【Two, defeat different intelligent machines and gain knowledge from the mechanical remains】
【You choose to pursue both, simultaneously】
【You put on your powered armor, and with Ailei’s assistance, you leave the laboratory. You clean up weak intelligent machines along the way, collecting valuable remains, while heading toward the ruins of an energy company to start your exploration】
【Your luck is... peculiar】
【Upon entering the energy company, you encounter a large pack of mechanical hounds. These were the security intelligent machines of Saiding Energy, and also one of the main reasons for Saiding Energy’s downfall】
【You apply mechanism enhancement to your powered armor. With the assistance of Ailei’s AI, you manage to win, though it’s a hard-fought victory】
“Click!”
The grenade was loaded.
As Xu Xi pulled the trigger, the massive electromagnetic grenade pierced through several mechanical hounds.
Then, he swung the sturdy gun body with tremendous force, smashing the wall and squashing more hounds in the process.
More weapons.
More targeting.
All assisted by Ailei.
When the battle ended, the noisy battlefield fell quiet. Xu Xi gazed at the pile of mechanical remains and couldn’t help but frown.
“This was more troublesome than I expected...”
“With just this powered armor, I’m still too weak.”
Xu Xi clenched his fist, feeling the enhanced power of the armor through mechanism amplification, and compared it to the flood of intelligent machines he had once witnessed. A sigh escaped his lips.
This science fiction-themed simulation was different from the previous three, where personal prowess could gain an advantage.
In a technological world,
The individual is merely a negligible part of the civilization.
The tide of machinery is endless.
Relying solely on Xu Xi himself, it’s difficult to deal with so many intelligent machines.
“Well, the old saying goes, you need magic to beat magic. I guess I should follow the local custom and use a sea of troops to defeat a sea of troops,” Xu Xi pondered, continuing his advance.
The most powerful aspect of technology is its astonishing productivity.
Xu Xi wasn’t sure
Whether those rebellious intelligent machines possessed the ability to produce independently.
But even with their existing numbers, the sheer amount is an astronomical figure he cannot confront. Unless Xu Xi can command an equally endless army of intelligent machines.
Or, he truly recreates personal might in this world, achieving mechanical ascension.
“Tch, neither option is easy...”
Xu Xi kicked open the door, entering the energy company in a more brutal manner.
He didn’t have a solid plan.
This post-apocalyptic world is full of enemies, no allies, no resources. It’s a matter of taking things one step at a time.
Click.
Click.
Accompanied by the thundering footsteps.
Xu Xi rapidly advanced, breaking into the core area of Saiding Energy’s buildings.
“Master, I’ve scanned the surrounding terrain and generated a visual map. Please check it.”
“Thanks, Ailei.”
Calm voices echoed, keeping Xu Xi alert of his surroundings, accompanied by minor changes in Ailei’s facial expressions.
Xu Xi nodded, after examining the internal structure of the energy company, he slightly identified the direction and headed toward the more core area.
The path was dark and dim, filled with dust that clouded the vision.
But the high armor of the powered armor.
Made Xu Xi fearless of any danger.
He charged forward, crushing numerous human bones and machines, ultimately blasting through a titanium alloy door.
“Ailei.”
“What is it, Master?” Ailei displayed a puzzled expression on her interface.
“I think... I can give you a new home.”
Xu Xi said, lightly tapping the right side of his helmet, activating the headlight of the powered armor.
The light, incandescent and white, illuminated the metal object buried under layers of debris in the dark ruins. Its color was pale, its shape exquisite.
Xu Xi recognized it.
It was the pinnacle of human federation’s wisdom.
An excellent supercomputer.
However, Xu Xi couldn’t be certain if this computer could still be used.
The ravages of time, as well as the previous intelligent machine rebellion, might have severely damaged the computer, making it unusable or reducing its performance.
“Ailei, scan…”
“No, forget it.”
Xu Xi spoke, intending to let the machine servant check it.
But he realized.
This was a ruin, lacking the necessary tools and energy. Even if Ailei was an awakened AI, she couldn’t inspect the computer.
“Could it be… that I need to move this supercomputer back, just like I moved the production machines before?”
Looking at the supercomputer, which occupied a significant area.
With a volume like a small mountain.
Xu Xi suddenly fell silent.
It seemed, there was a bit... rather difficult?
Xu Xi stepped forward, moving aside the cluttered items, clearing out the massive supercomputer below. The thick layer of dust was the mark of time.
Can it be repaired? Can it be moved? Can it be used?
Xu Xi frowned, deep in thought, his worries so evident that his loyal machine servant wished to ease his burden.
“Master, actually I can…”
In Xu Xi’s helmet view, Ailei’s micro-expression blinked.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
