[Rust Iron Hell, Fifth District, Gray Rat Gang Stronghold]
[Abandoned Warehouse, Manager's Office]
"Damn it, those guys said 10 o'clock for the trade, but it's almost time and I haven't seen a single hair of them."
"Someone! Get me more Coal Ash Stout in here, quickly!"
In the dimly lit manager's office, Mad Rat Jackx slammed an empty bottle onto the scratched metal table, shouting drunkenly towards the outside.
But what puzzled him was that he had clearly given an order.
Yet, after waiting for a while, there was still no movement from the 'little rats' outside the door, as if they hadn't heard his command at all.
This made him furious.
"Hey! You brats out there! Where's my stout?!"
Jackx's roar echoed in the empty manager's office corridor.
What he got in return was an unsettling silence.
Seeing that his words were no longer effective, Jackx immediately stood up in a rage, ready to teach those little rats outside a good lesson.
He'd make them understand the rules of the Gray Rat Gang!
He strode towards the manager's office door, the various 'homemade bombs' hanging on him clinking.
The hydraulic device on his mechanical right leg emitted an ominous 'hissing' sound.
He staggered to the door, his calloused hand gripping the doorknob.
But at that moment, the unexpected happened!
Clang!
A silver light pierced through the manager's office's rusty iron door.
And with lightning speed, it shot straight towards his head.
His instincts, honed by years of living on the edge of life and death, made Jackx react immediately the moment danger appeared.
After all, rats are best at knowing how to seek advantage and avoid harm!
Bang!
Just as the cold glint was mere inches from Jackx's nose, the miniature thrusters at the bottom of his mechanical leg instantly ignited, propelling him backward.
He narrowly dodged the 'rapier' that had pierced the door.
And Jackx, indeed worthy of being called a 'madman' who had long mingled in the Rust Iron Hell, immediately counterattacked his enemy the moment he escaped danger. Dozens of glowing red mechanical rats scurried out from his sleeve.
Portable Factory: Self-Destructing Rat Swarm!
However, just as these self-destructing rats were about half a meter from the manager's office door, a calm voice came from outside.
"Second Hand: Six Consecutive Slashes."
The clear female voice was accompanied by six silver streaks.
The old, rusty manager's office door was suddenly sliced open with six sword marks as if it were tofu.
At the same time, the self-destructing rats扑 airborne were precisely hit by these six cold lights, exploding on the spot.
Boom boom boom—!
After a series of explosions, the manager's office door, along with the adjacent wall, was blown open, leaving a massive hole.
Amidst the vast dust, a brown-haired woman in a silver-white uniform slowly stepped into the manager's office.
Her short brown hair gently fluttered in the aftermath of the explosion.
The silver-white rapier in her hand reflected a chilling light in the firelight.
"Tell me where the holy relic is, and I can consider leaving you a complete corpse."
"Holy relic? What holy relic of your Gear Church do I have here?"
Jackx looked at Vivian, the Silver Knight, who had walked into the manager's office.
He tightly squeezed a detonator in his right hand, a crazed grin spreading across his lips: "But while I don't have any holy relics, I've prepared a bunch of interesting gifts for you, you damned bald eagle! Hahahaha!"
Amidst Jackx's wild laughter, Vivian immediately sensed the chilling rustling sounds emanating from the surrounding walls.
The next second, hundreds of mechanical rats surged from all directions.
And like a black tide, they swarmed towards Vivian.
Upon reaching a certain distance... they collectively self-destructed!
Boom boom boom—!
In the deafening explosions and flashes of fire, the anime's scene suddenly entered slow motion.
Vivian slowly raised the 'Second Hand Rapier' in her hand, and special Star Energy fluctuations erupted around her body.
Click.
Accompanied by a crisp sound of gears turning, the Second Hand Rapier in Vivian's hand suddenly began to deform and reassemble.
Countless gears intertwined.
Large sections of the blade began to split and combine.
Before long, a black iron greatsword, covered in precise gears, with a dark iron clock embedded where the hilt and blade connected… appeared.
Vivian gripped the hilt with her right hand, placed her left hand on the special black iron clock, and decisively activated her Star Source ability.
[Star Energy Art – Clock in Reverse]
Amidst a strange golden fluctuation, a translucent golden force field suddenly appeared within a three-meter radius around Vivian.
And the explosive shockwaves and fragments that touched this 'golden force field' began to 'recede' at a visible speed.
They then collided with other incoming shockwaves, neutralizing each other.
Vivian's figure was completely engulfed in the blinding fire, as well as the continuously collapsing rocks and dust above her head.
When the explosion ended, the manager's office, already dilapidated from years of disrepair, was now a complete ruin.
At the same time, other areas near the manager's office were also affected by the explosion.
There were varying degrees of collapses.
In the ruins filled with dust and smoke, Jackx violently pulled off the 'explosion-proof cloak' covering him and looked up in Vivian's direction.
But the imagined scene of flesh and blood flying did not appear.
Instead, an unexpected weapon appeared in Vivian's hand.
Jackx stared in shock at Vivian.
Or rather, at the iconic 'Hour Hand Greatsword' in her hand, symbolizing a Clockwork Knight.
Suddenly, memories flooded into Jackx's mind like a tide.
The rainy night ten years ago, the same Hour Hand Greatsword, the same golden force field, and… his own neatly severed right leg.
"Hour Hand Greatsword… Are you William's only daughter?"
Upon learning this, massive green electronic patterns began to spread wildly across Jackx's face, contorting his expression beyond human recognition.
"Good, very good!"
"I was wondering where I'd get my revenge for my severed leg, now that William's dead."
"Never thought his only daughter would deliver herself right to my doorstep."
"This is truly finding what you seek without searching! Hahahaha!"
After a hearty laugh, Jackx's expression suddenly calmed.
But hidden beneath this calm was a vast, palpable killing intent!
"You little bitch, let me make you feel the same pain I suffered years ago, being hunted by your short-lived old man!"
Rumble!
A sudden, violent tremor swept through the entire abandoned factory.
Before long, a colossal mechanical rat, three stories high, covered in various green potions, half-biological and half-mechanical, suddenly burst forth from deep beneath the abandoned factory floor!
Jackx leaped onto the head of this mechanical giant rat.
His mechanical prosthetic right leg inserted into a groove on its head.
The next second, numerous data cables extended and connected to Jackx's body.
Allowing his nerves to perfectly connect with this mechanical monster, becoming completely integrated with it.
After completing all of this, Jackx looked down at Vivian from his elevated position, holding up two lit, sizzling sticks of dynamite.
With a twisted expression, he said, "Little girl, if your old man had appeared in person, I might have been wary."
"But just you… you're far from qualified!"
Jackx threw the bombs in his hands at Vivian and issued a command to the mechanical giant rat.
"Old buddy, eat her!"
Hearing Jackx's command, the mechanical giant rat let out a deafening roar.
It charged fiercely towards Vivian.
Its steel-like claws scraped dazzling sparks on the ground, and its heavy body left shattered craters with every step.
This showed the terror of this mechanical giant rat.
In response, Vivian merely calmly raised her greatsword.
A familiar, crisp ticking sound of a clock once again echoed in the vast, abandoned factory… and began to play.
[Name: Jackx (Mad Rat)]
[Faction: Rust Iron Hell, Gray Rat Gang, Deputy Leader]
[Level: Level Two – Low Tier]
[Basic Star Energy Value: 8000]
[Star Source: Automaton Type – Portable Factory]