From the drone's perspective, beneath the sky, the wreckage of towering buildings was covered in snakelike yellow creepers, and the canopies of giant trees spread out in all directions.
Dense clusters of metal leaves resembled a circle of solar panels; the air stank of burning electrical appliances, and the mechanical bio-beasts secreted artificial proteins.
The camera panned, the drone's field of view zooming in. In the gaps between the trees, roots dug into the concrete pavement of the old city, crushing various metal scraps like giant blenders before absorbing them into newly grown metal pipes.
Metal, cement, and plant roots blended into a strange and eerie unity.
As the drone flew over a communications tower, the lightning rod on the spire suddenly spun and slowly unfolded, revealing a sword-shaped metal flower engraved with "Iron Tower Co., Ltd."
"Abnormal signal incoming"
"Abnormal signal incoming"
"Signal interrupted"
"Signal interrupted"
Suddenly, two of the drone's thruster nozzles lost control, causing its flight path to become erratic and ultimately plunge into the forest.
The next moment, predators sprang into action. A tin rat emerged from the sewers, lightning-fast, its metal pulleys replacing its legs like some high-tech brand of self-driving roller skates.
The turbo spider followed closely behind. A medium-sized organism, three meters long and two meters tall, possessed three pairs of mechanical claws, its pedipalps like steel knives, and the radioactive eyes on its head like giant searchlights, emitting a dazzling beam that constantly swirled, driving back its predators.
A sharp whistle blared, and the millipedes sprinted down the highway, occasionally pushing aside car wrecks.
But the predators in the trees got there first. A dozen bird-like cyborgs swarmed over, their beaks like power drills expertly drilling through the drone's casing and severing the motor's wiring, rendering it completely inoperable.
What followed was a feast of gluttony. The metal casing was like a snack; the wiring was stimulating and smooth, the chips were nutritious, the batteries were a favorite, and the motors were tough but chewy.
The camera was finally snatched by the bionic gecko and inserted around its neck. The electronic patterns on its bionic skin lit up, as if undergoing some special pairing. Soon, the camera was back on, a sign of reemployment.
Seeing this, the other two drones immediately ascended. However, as the trailing drone circled one of the twin towers, the creepers on the towers suddenly unfurled like snake scales, undulating rhythmically.
The creepers transmitted the biosignals to the building's fiber optic cables, databases, and input devices.
"Electronic pairing in progress,"
"Signal conversion in progress,"
"Virtual intrusion in progress."
The twin towers were likely a former television station, with twenty-three floors. As the creepers connected, the long-silent backup motors suddenly sprang to life, filling the machine room with a roar. From rooftop to floor, screens flickered on, broadcasting not commercials but footage of drones in flight.
Inside the station, countless invisible staff members seemed to be debugging equipment, confirming programming, and editing video.
Finally, in front of a suicide corpse, the screens suddenly lit up.
"...Sky Enforcers have launched a crackdown, issuing regulations to strengthen the safety management of civilian drones and other 'low, slow, and small' aircraft. Eight types of control zones, including those in municipalities, are now prohibited except for special approval..."
As the video played, the drone at the back trembled violently, suddenly turned, and slowly landed on top of the Twin Towers.
Then, as if the screen had hit reverse, the scene began at the Twin Towers, where the 'drone' flew backwards from the rooftop, heading straight for an underground fortification. A worker in the underground control center of a bomb shelter suddenly lost consciousness. Ten fingers suddenly split, transforming into spider claw-like structures, their fingertips tapping the keyboard at a speed barely visible to the naked eye.
The large screen before him instantly turned red.
'Data anomaly, data anomaly—'
'Flight signal captured, virus intrusion, first layer of defense breached—'
"What's going on? How could there be a virus intrusion? Have our actions been discovered by the mechanical mastermind?" the middle-aged man, seemingly a supervisor, said in shock, his expression changing.
"No, the monitoring stations in the city haven't detected any signs of the mechanical corps being dispatched."
"This isn't a common corporate virus either," another employee explained. He wore a headset-like device on his head, the 'headphones' embedded in his ear holes, and a small coil of wire could be vaguely seen inserted into the ear holes.
In the City That Never Sleeps, this type of device is called a 'network access pod.' The Knights lacked the technical expertise in this area. Their old-fashioned military technology could only access the World Wide Web, not the cybernet. They were currently using refurbished machines acquired on the black market.
These refurbished machines were powerless against corporate viruses controlled by advanced AI.
"It appears to be a wild electronic virus transformed from some biological signal."
The supervisor breathed a sigh of relief; after all, wild viruses were still within their control range.
More importantly, the 'Hydra' project had not been discovered and was proceeding smoothly.
"Find the source and why the drone is there," the supervisor said with some anger.
"Location confirmed, 213.313.511, Ebetsu City, pre-civilized era; mission level 'Knight', a temporary wanted order issued by higher-ups."
A staff member paused, then said with awe, "It's the Iron Knight—Flag!"
The last drone continued faithfully fulfilling its mission, but unfortunately, in this concrete jungle, it faced too many nemeses.
Soon, a dark shadow shot out from the forest at a speed so fast it seemed to rip through the air. After a sonic boom, another explosion followed, flames scattered, and drone debris rained down from the sky.
In a neighborhood dotted with countless "red lanterns," a blood carpet slowly swayed on the ground, climbing up the tall buildings, surging onto the elevated roads, and sweeping away every creature that invaded the neighborhood, finally converging in the center. The flowing blood coated the carpet like the hem of a noblewoman's skirt.
The "lady" at the center of the blanket was a nearly three-meter-tall monstrosity, composed of bone and flesh. Countless nerve strands formed her hair, and at the ends of her hair hung the heads of mechanical hunters.
A radiation detector would reveal that the radiation level in this neighborhood was terrifyingly high, approaching that of a nuclear explosion epicenter.
"How dare you even trespass into the A-rank Scarlet Queen's territory? You're courting death!"
[Quest Completed, 1500 Experience Points Reward]
Just as the Iron Sands Desert isn't a true desert, the Oasis isn't green. It's more like a well-equipped town, home to a diverse population: fugitives from the Mechanic City, mercenaries from the factory, native Iron Sands residents, forbidden synthetics, and Turing-following metal missionaries.
There were no good people here, or even "people" at all. Every resident was covered in visible implants, their weapons organized and their organs mechanized, giving them a formidable appearance.
Those who could safely open a shop here were undoubtedly the most formidable of the locals.
The owner of the Rose Gasoline Bar is a woman, a strikingly beautiful one at that. Her fiery red hair resembles a blazing flame, and her emerald eyes are accustomed to gazing at people through her wavy hair. Her fiery upper body is unabashedly clad in a high-stretch, tight-fitting tank top, revealing a swathe of whiteness across her chest. A voluptuous black rose blossoms from her waistline.
The Rose Gasoline Bar offers a wide selection of drinks, bionic prostitutes, virtual reality machines, psychotropic drugs, minor body repair and modification services, agency services, and assassin services.
At this moment, Black Rose stood behind the bar, casually mixing a margarita, listening to the boasts and boasts of various patrons, and the occasional greedy glances.
Every year, many come here to seek their fortune, including many powerful cybernetic modifiers, but familiar faces are becoming increasingly rare. Ninety-nine percent of them remain forever in this radiation zone. Only a lucky few will earn enough mechanical coins to buy a ticket to the city that never sleeps and enjoy a life of luxury.
Most of the time, Black Rose stood by and watched coldly as these fools leaped from the radiation zone into the even more dangerous urban hell.
The monsters in the city devoured humans without leaving any bones behind!
However, some of these fools were quite lovable, and their deaths were a pity.
"Have you heard? The factory's goods were intercepted in the Great Rift Valley."
Amidst the chaotic messages, one caught her eye.
"Anyone who dares to intercept the factory's goods is courting death!"
"I don't know, maybe some stowaways taking a desperate risk."
"Those people are courting death, so don't let us get involved."
A burly man with a metal arm laughed. "It's not all bad. The factory is so wealthy, they might be able to earn a huge bounty!"
"That's true. My exoskeleton should have been replaced long ago. The goods from the city are selling tenfold here. Those damn corporate vampires!"
Black Rose raised her thin eyebrows, gulped down her margarita, signaled the bartender nearby to take her place, and strode to the back door.
Besides serving drinks, the Gasoline Bar also offers overnight stays, as some activities are more suited to nighttime. Black Rose typically resides in the bar's basement, where she has a plentiful supply of alcohol.
However, few people know that Black Rose has another base, formerly an abandoned factory, now converted into a garage where she houses her diverse motorcycle collection.
Alcohol and heavy-duty motorcycles are this woman's two favorite things.
As the door opened, a strong stench of blood washed over her. Black Rose's expression remained unchanged as she flipped the power switch.
The next moment, beneath the glaring searchlights, a strange, battered SUV appeared. Three of its four tires were blown, riddled with scratches and bullet holes.
Lying in the car lay a feral man, one blind in one eye, one hand broken, a cigarette half-smoked in his mouth.
"I'm here."
Black Rose glanced around and said calmly, "Who allowed you to drive this garbage into my garage?"
Gabe Steele gave a wry smile, "Sister Rose, can you please not rush to talk about the car? Save people first."
"If I die, you'll be one less car."
As soon as the words fell, Gabe Steele's neck tilted, and he completely fainted.
[Mission Completed, Reward: 1500 Experience Points]
(End of Chapter)