Published: February 13, 2025
Zizikaba and Ye Zhongming exchanged a glance, both seeing each other's helplessness.
Could such a random selection of targets still lead to unexpected events? When they came out, they noticed that many residents of Divine Artisan City, specifically members of the mechanical legion, were busy patrolling, setting up checkpoints, or handling transportation. What was this fully armed squad doing here?
“Long Butai, this is an opportunity to enter the second level. You’re not thinking of backing out now, are you? If it weren’t for your compatibility with the 'Ming Yuan' mechanical battle armor being over sixty-five percent, reaching a good level, do you think this mission would have fallen on you? Acting like you’re not home won’t work; we all know you’re in there.”
The voice from outside came again, laced with impatience.
Mission? Ye Zhongming touched his face, gestured to Zizikaba, and then walked towards the mechanical battle armor he had restored earlier.
Zizikaba grabbed Ye Zhongming, the meaning clear: What do you want to do?!
Ye Zhongming shrugged; his intention was obvious—he planned to impersonate this Long Butai and enter the mechanical battle armor.
Zizikaba shook his head.
This action was too dangerous.
The fully armed members of the mechanical legion outside possessed considerable strength, especially the one asking the questions, who was clearly a master. Otherwise, the two could have broken through the wall behind them at the first opportunity.
Although the wall was made of metal, it couldn’t stop them.
The reason they hadn’t left was that they realized the person knocking was a master. Once they made a move, this person at the door could rush in and entangle them immediately.
This was Divine Artisan City; if they couldn't escape in a short time, they truly wouldn’t be able to leave.
But was Ye Zhongming's approach the best?
Zizikaba didn’t think so.
There were too many uncertainties.
If Ye Zhongming entered that mechanical battle armor, there was an immediate risk of being discovered. Who knew if there was some kind of identity recognition system inside?
Moreover, Zizikaba knew that Ye Zhongming was an exceptionally skilled artisan, one who ranked just below the divine artisans. Give him a little time, and he would definitely be able to replicate this mechanical battle armor.
But it wasn’t feasible now. Ye Zhongming had only a rough understanding of this mechanical battle armor. Even if there was no identity recognition after entering, could he pilot it? According to the person outside, they were likely going out to perform a mission, which surely wasn’t as simple as just driving the machine around a couple of times—the chances of blowing his cover were too high, almost guaranteed.
Additionally, the voice was a significant issue; impersonating someone else could not involve silence. The moment he spoke, he would undoubtedly be discovered.
In that case, it would be better to adopt the simplest method—stay here and remain silent, which would still allow for some chance of passing unnoticed.
“Long Butai, I’m going in,” the voice outside grew impatient, ready to break down the door.
“Coming.”
Under Zizikaba’s watch, Ye Zhongming entered the cockpit of the mechanical battle armor and successfully closed the cockpit, stepping towards the door as he spoke.
The voice... was metallic.
Zizikaba quickly darted to the back, quietly listening as Ye Zhongming walked out and swiftly left with the squad.
After that, he could only return to camp alone to wait.
...
On the other side, Ye Zhongming moved through Divine Artisan City, following the squad.
His boldness in impersonating Long Butai was indeed risky, but it wasn’t as perilous as Zizikaba thought.
First, Ye Zhongming's artisan skills were far beyond what Zizikaba believed.
Although he had only studied the mechanical battle armor for a short while, his understanding of such things was already profound.
Perhaps it was due to the lower levels of the two types of mechanical battle armor he had seen; their structures weren’t overly complicated. Even though he still hadn’t figured out the core components, he had hands-on experience with most other parts, mastering not only manufacturing but also piloting.