The beating of the Emperor Engine had, at some unknown point, subsided.
In its place was Child Emperor's own heart, pounding violently with awe and shock.
"Mr. KING…" A heavy sigh escaped Child Emperor's small body, filled with an extremely complex mix of emotions.
"When… when did you know all of this?"
His tone held a trace of heartfelt reverence.
If, before, his understanding of KING's strength had remained at the level of "powerful,"
then now, he finally realized how transcendent and solitary the realm was that Mr. KING, bearing the title of The Strongest Man on Earth, stood upon!
He had been guarding the truth of this world alone, bearing an unimaginable burden that mere mortals could not comprehend!
"Hmm?"
Lin Mo looked at Child Emperor, who had suddenly changed the subject and was gazing at him with an almost worshipful look, feeling a bit strange.
What's wrong with this kid? Wasn't he just nervously analyzing data? Why is he looking at me like that all of a sudden?
And isn't this very obvious?
Although he only remembered it recently, it should still count as… just finding out, right?
"When I stepped onto that altar and saw the murals," Lin Mo answered very honestly.
"I see…" Child Emperor slowly nodded, though it was unclear if he had truly taken it in.
However, Lin Mo's honest answer was automatically deconstructed in Child Emperor's mind into a completely different version.
"So Mr. KING decided to reveal just the tip of the iceberg of the truth to me at that moment?" A storm raged in Child Emperor's heart.
His gaze grew incredibly serious, and his original plan underwent another sublimation in his mind.
He believed that KING was merely using an understated manner to conceal the long battle he had already begun.
This humility made him admire him even more.
"According to intelligence, I found that there is a Dragon-level executive in the Monster Association—the Homeless Emperor—whose source of ability is unknown, and it is highly likely that he was granted it by a god."
Lin Mo paid no mind to Child Emperor's complex internal changes. He pointed to one of the data windows and continued, "This aligns well with our deductions; his characteristics are the most obvious."
"Therefore, our primary goal is to capture him alive. He is the key to unraveling all mysteries."
"The Homeless Emperor, huh…" Child Emperor repeated softly, then said to Lin Mo, "I understand, Uncle KING."
Looking at Child Emperor's continuously tense and serious little face, Lin Mo felt the atmosphere was too oppressive.
His original intention was to use Child Emperor to sound the alarm for the Association, not to place such a heavy burden on a child.
He couldn't help but smile, reaching out to ruffle Child Emperor's hair like an elder, but halfway through, he felt it was inappropriate and pulled his hand back.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up. If I can't, there's Caped Baldy, so…"
He wanted to make a joke to lighten the mood.
In his heart, the bald demon king was the ultimate insurance, a being who could truly "hold the sky up even if it falls."
To him, this statement was a declaration of fact.
However, this seemingly normal remark instantly ignited Child Emperor's emotions.
"Please, stop making such jokes!"
Child Emperor suddenly looked up, refuting with an incredibly serious tone, his voice even a little sharp with excitement.
His fists were clenched, and his eyes flickered with a complex light.
"Mr. KING, your greatness is unique! How can you… how can you place hope in others?"
"Caped Baldy might indeed be strong, but you are facing an enemy of another dimension!"
"You have been bearing this alone. Now, please allow me, and please allow the other comrades of the Hero Association, to share this burden with you!"
His face flushed red as he continued, "Besides, I am an S-Class Hero, am I not? Protecting the world is my duty! I cannot stand by and watch you face such a crisis alone!"
Lin Mo was caught off guard by Child Emperor's sudden and intense reaction; he was completely stunned.
He hadn't expected his simple truth to elicit such a strong reaction from the child.
He looked at Child Emperor's eyes, slightly red from agitation, and could only obediently shut his mouth, swallowing all the words he wanted to say.
Alright, it seems this topic is off-limits.
To avoid awkwardness, Lin Mo cleared his throat and steered the conversation in another direction:
"Well… let's not talk about that. The atmosphere is too heavy."
"Oh, about that robot organization I mentioned earlier, how's the investigation going? Any new progress?"
Child Emperor also realized he had been a bit out of line. He took a deep breath, forcibly calmed his agitated feelings, and regained his composure as a cool-headed genius.
He shook his head, a hint of solemnity and helplessness on his face.
"Ever since you, Uncle KING, took down one of their secret strongholds last time, the Association and I have been working together, conducting carpet searches of abandoned industrial areas, underground facilities, and other regions in various cities."
As he spoke, he swiped his fingers through the air, and several document windows popped up, filled with dense reports and data.
"Our actions have indeed yielded some results. We have successively cleared three robot organizations with different codenames and obtained some of their organizational data."
"Unfortunately, these were only peripheral production factories and experimental bases, and did not touch the core, nor did we get any data about the mastermind behind it all."
Child Emperor then brought up data related to various Machine God organization strongholds, though most of it was data for producing ordinary combat robots.
There was very little detailed data on the truly threatening "Machine God" series, let alone the mysterious mastermind.
Child Emperor pointed to a tattered "Machine God" design blueprint, confiscated from a stronghold in City Y, which was a humanoid weapon full of metallic beauty, with smooth lines and precise structure.
He said with a serious expression, "According to predictions, these robots codenamed 'Machine God' series have at least Demon-level strength, and are among the best within the Demon-level."
"We analyzed the wreckage and this incomplete design blueprint, and we can predict that the basic combat power of these robots codenamed 'Machine God' series has reached at least Demon-level."
"And they are among the best in Demon-level disasters. Their armor material, energy core, and weapon systems far exceed current technological levels."
"But," at this point, Child Emperor's eyes became serious. He zoomed in on a corner of the blueprint and showed it to Lin Mo.
"According to the blueprint, everything we've seen so far is still just a semi-finished product."