Chapter 1 Suren Jumps Off The Airship

Suren jumped off the airship and found a hillside by the railway, where he lay down leisurely.

It wasn't long before he caught a train to Kabitron, the imperial capital.

The cities of the Mafa Empire were highly mechanized, and the most important machine providing power for production and life was the steam engine. Therefore, major cities needed to consume a lot of coal every day. After decades of development, almost all cities in Mafa were connected by a developed railway transportation network.

The railway required stops along the way, which was much slower than airships.

Suren hitched a ride and arrived at the South City Railway Station of Kabitron the next day at noon.

Although he had long known that Mafa cities were exaggerated, Suren was still shocked by the steel forest in front of him when he got off the train.

The buildings were densely packed, and skyscrapers of hundreds of floors could be seen everywhere.

Highly mechanized cities all had serious pollution, and Kabitron was no exception.

The smell of coal smoke in the air made Suren, a newcomer to this place, feel a little choked. However, because there was no humid climate like in Lingdun, there was no fog in the city, and the exhaust gas was blown far away with the towering chimneys.

The area near the South City Railway Station was renovated from an old city area that was hundreds of years old, and the planning seemed a bit chaotic. But it was this chaos, combined with the main theme of steel and steam, that gave it a heavy and rough industrial style.

In Luying, steam cars were exclusive to nobles and wealthy people, and few private locomotives could be seen on the road.

But here, everyone had one.

On the streets, there were steam locomotives speeding everywhere.

Not only traditional vintage cars, but also mechanical fleas, steam bronze bulls, steel giants, miniature airships... all kinds of weird mechanical transportation tools.

Obviously not mass-produced, but privately modified.

In Mafa, everyone had the title of "Intermediate Mechanic".

The most common shops on the street were dazzling mechanical shops.

…

"This national strength is more than fifty years ahead of Luying."

Suren walked out of the train station, looking at the street and feeling very emotional.

The wealth of Luying was concentrated at the top of the pyramid. The nobles were indeed very rich, but the common people could only be said to be struggling on the edge of survival. A textile worker in a Lingdun textile factory earning two thousand li suo a month was already a very enviable job.

But here, just looking at the mechanical apprentice recruitment notices posted on the street signs, the salary started at five thousand crowns li suo (approximately ten thousand li suo).

Mechanization greatly increased social productivity, and most labor-intensive industries were replaced by machines.

Only by solving the problem of survival can civilization enter a high-speed development path.

The gap between the two empires would be like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger.

If it weren't for traditional alchemy being relatively strong, Luying would not be able to compare with Mafa at all.

Walking onto the street, there were various brokers on the roadside.

In addition to the traditional erotic industry, there was more mechanical promotion.

"Hey, buddy, need a mechanical prosthetic limb modification? Guaranteed to be the latest technology, the most favorable price. We can also customize the mechanical arm you need..."

"The boxing mechanical arm produced by Tyson Mechanical Fighting Company is the best combat mechanical arm for hunting and fighting. For only thirty thousand crowns, you can have the power of a giant bear..."

"Leirell Mechanical Shop undertakes various mechanical modifications, artificial lungs, laser prosthetic eyes, bionic erectile tissue..."

"..."

Suren walked along the road.

In his field of vision, almost everyone had some mechanical prosthetic limbs on their bodies.

This made him feel like he had returned to old Lingdun and saw those "Steam Party" modification enthusiasts.

That's right!

These mechanical prosthetic limb technologies came from old Lingdun.

Since the King of the North Sea robbed the Black Tower Mine last time, after the mechanical prosthetic limb modification technology of old Lingdun spread, most of the technology, personnel, and equipment came to Mafa through various black market channels.

Mafa didn't have mechanical prosthetic limbs before, not because its technological level was inferior to that of old Lingdun, but because its research and development direction was different.

From the technical level of mechanics alone, Mafa was at least an era ahead of old Lingdun.

It was simply too easy for this super-high mechanical level to digest those technologies.

In just a year or two, the mechanical prosthetic limb technology was digested by Mafa, and even further developed.

Mafa people often dealt with machinery, and the rate of self-mutilation of limbs was very high. Compared with external attachments, mechanical prosthetic limbs were a more perfect substitute.

Therefore, they were very popular among Mafa people.

A sharp-eyed agent saw that Suren's "body was intact" and kept asking him.

Now modifying prosthetic limbs was at the forefront of Mafa trends, and young people couldn't call themselves young if they hadn't modified an arm.

Suren was helpless with the entanglement, took off his gloves, and revealed his mechanical gloves.

These were the gloves he had made for himself to control puppets, and they were considered low-level精品 (jingpin, fine quality). Wearing them was also a way to blend in and not attract too much attention.

People in the know would understand at a glance.

Sure enough, the agent immediately knew that he had met an expert when he saw it.

He didn't bother him anymore, but looked him up and down and praised, "Yo, sir, your mechanical gloves are very well modified. Is this the latest popular Lingdun retro style? Automatic retraction elastic device, kinetic energy recovery, mechanical energy storage... Oh, this design is simply amazing!"

Suren smiled and didn't speak, and left.

Although mechanical gloves were entry-level equipment, any passerby could understand the design, which was the foundation of Mafa.

…

Suren walked out of the train station, and his eyes were filled with colorful advertising signs.

"Where are you?"

"Under the 'Carrot Gun Parts Shop' sign."

"I'm here too, I don't see you."

"I see you. Look up, I'm on the iron bridge!"

"..."

Suren looked up and saw a biker girl with short, neat silver hair, wearing liquid black leather clothes, and a graceful figure waving to him from the edge of the iron bridge.

Suren walked over and greeted with a smile, "Long time no see, Miss Nineteen."

Meeting an old friend in a strange country, Nineteen's expression was also very happy.

The corners of her mouth raised slightly in a bright arc, and she responded, "Long time no see, Suren."

Seeing an old acquaintance, Suren looked at Nineteen, and a look of doubt appeared in his eyes when he saw her exposed, metallic-looking arms.

Although he knew that she was a fully modified mechanical warrior, it was the first time he had seen her expose her semi-mechanical limbs like this.

Nineteen seemed to see what he was thinking and explained with a smile, "Bionic skin is very expensive, and it's easy to damage, and the maintenance cost is very high. I rarely wear it unless it's necessary."

"Oh, I see."

Suren listened and suddenly understood, and then sighed, "Why do I feel like you've changed so much..."

The mechanical arms were not the original "px911" model, but were obviously redesigned and manufactured.

Exposing mechanical skeletons was now a symbol of the cutting edge of fashion among young people in Mafa. Exposing them like this was also more sociable and didn't attract attention.

Suren also noticed that this long-lost old friend had changed a lot in other ways, especially in her temperament.

Before, she was really just a cold mechanical warrior, but now she was obviously more emotional.

They had a good relationship back in old Lingdun.

Nineteen looked at the probing gaze, didn't mind at all, and smiled, "I've experienced a lot of things in Mafa in the past few years, and I can't explain it all in a short time."

She mentioned it, but didn't mean to say more, got on the motorcycle parked on the roadside, and beckoned, "Let's go, get in the car. Let's find another place to catch up."

"Okay."

Suren smiled and got in the car.

The motorcycle sped away.

…

The buildings in the center of Kabitron were too high and too dense, like layers of treetops, and the road conditions were extremely complicated.

In Suren's perception, the population density was frighteningly high, at least five or six times that of Lingdun.

Like the inner city of old Lingdun, various iron bridges connected the buildings, turning the entire city into a highly layered steel forest.

The upper layers of the city had plenty of sunshine, and were full of flowers; the lower layers were dark all year round, so there were lights on 24 hours a day.

The streets were mainly blue and red, which looked very cyberpunk.

Nineteen sped along with Suren.

Before long, the motorcycle stopped in a dark alley.

Suren looked up and saw that the surrounding buildings were all more than a hundred stories high.

The distance between the buildings was no more than twenty meters, and they didn't see sunlight all year round, and the air was slightly humid.

Getting out of the car, a short-haired woman with a metal skeleton replacing her breastbone, who was modifying her motorcycle in the mechanical modification shop on the side of the street, greeted Nineteen, "Hey, Nicole, you're back!"

Nineteen also greeted back, "Mary, that old-fashioned 'u3 engine' is not suitable for your car. Are you planning to participate in the street race tomorrow night? Be careful it will blow up. I suggest you go to Tea Beard's place to take a look. I heard he got a 'Iron Leopard x-type engine', that's a good thing."

The short-haired woman looked suddenly enlightened, "Oh, thank you Nicole, you always seem to give me the best advice."

"Mary, you're too polite."

It was like familiar neighbors greeting each other.

Turning her face, Nineteen was already leading Suren up a rusty iron staircase.

As she walked, she explained, "That's my name in Mafa."

Suren listened and smiled, "Nicole? It sounds nice."

Nineteen shrugged.

"Clang", "Clang", "Clang"...

The old iron stairs made a lot of noise when walking on them, and there were many floors to climb.

The two had been friends who had gone through thick and thin together, and even if they hadn't seen each other for a long time, they weren't strangers.

They chatted as they walked.

Nineteen said in a non-smiling tone, "I've heard about you causing a big incident recently. The newspapers in Mafa have published it."

As she said that, her tone was slightly emotional, "Everyone is getting very powerful."

Suren also said, "You've changed a lot too."

Nineteen didn't commit, smiled, and then asked, "How is the situation with the plane invasion?"

Suren said, "It's very bad. We have to be ready to fight at any time."

Hearing this, Nineteen's eyes also changed slightly.

Speaking of this topic, she also thought of something, and said, "Recently there have been rumors on the black market that some 'outsiders' of unknown origin have come to Kabitron. They use high-level magic and have killed many people, as if they are looking for something."

Suren: "Yes. They should be invaders from the Celestial Plane."

…

After walking up seven flights of stairs, there was no road.

Nineteen leaped and jumped up two more floors, landing on a steel structure platform.

Suren also jumped over.

The two came to a house made of containers.

It felt like...she lived on an abandoned tower crane?

Nineteen opened the door and turned to invite Suren in, "Please come in."

Suren observed the dilapidated surroundings and didn't care, and walked in.

Although it was simple, the house was quite tidy.

There were not many living facilities. The house was densely packed with various mechanical tools, parts, and design drawings.

But the magical thing was that the window in the house had a perfect view of the sunlight.

Nineteen seemed very satisfied with this point, and said, "It's already very rare to have a house on the bottom floor that can see the dawn sunlight. I'm used to the laboratory on weekdays, and I don't feel comfortable in other places, so I brought you to my place."

As she said that, she added, "Don't mind that my place is simple."

Suren certainly wouldn't treat himself as an outsider, so he sat on the sofa.

Nineteen explained, "This is District C6, which is considered a civilian area of the imperial capital. There are several large light firearms factories, but most importantly, this is where the headquarters of the 'Mechanical Alchemist Guild' is located, and there is also the largest free mechanical trading market in Kabitron. Oh, and the black market."

Suren asked, "Have you been living here all the time?"

Nineteen: "Yes. It's convenient to buy materials here, and the 'Mafa Royal Mechanical Academy' is just three blocks away. I'm usually there during the day."

Suren was even more surprised to hear this. She only knew that Nineteen was in Mafa, but she didn't know that she was studying here.

He asked, "Are you studying at the Royal Academy?"

Nineteen blinked, "Otherwise, where do you think my mechanical limbs came from? I modified them myself. The learning progress is not bad, and I'm almost at the level of a 'Mechanical Master'."

Looking at her expression, Suren said, "No, I mean, can ordinary people study at the Mafa Royal Academy?"

Nineteen: "Yes, anyone can. As long as you pay enough money and can understand, you can even audit the courses of the dean of the Royal Mechanical Academy. The Harris royal family devotes a lot of resources to education, and the tuition is quite cheap. The salary level in Kabitron is also good. Even the poorest people at the bottom can learn mechanical knowledge without any barriers. If the grades are good enough, and you can develop a few patents or something at school, then there will be a generous scholarship."

"..."

Suren listened and once again sighed that Mafa's strength was inevitable.

Compared to the behavior of the nobles in Luying who wanted to monopolize knowledge to consolidate their position and thus perennially exploit the civilian class, Mafa's free learning environment was simply heaven.

…

"What would you like to drink? Beer?"

Nineteen asked, but she had already taken out a dozen beers from the storage ring, and said, "I don't usually prepare drinks here. You only told me you were coming two hours ago, so I could only buy some beer on the way to pick you up just now."

Suren didn't care, "Anything is fine. We don't need to be so polite with each other."

Nineteen smiled slightly, and said as she opened a can of beer for him, and also opened a can for herself, "There's no scenery to admire in Kabitron. The whole city is a huge industrial base. The view from this window is already most of the city. I'm usually used to the laboratory, and I don't feel comfortable anywhere else, so I brought you to my place."

As she said that, she added, "Don't mind my simple place."

How could Suren mind these things? He also felt that this kind of private space was more suitable for catching up, but what he was more curious about was, was Nineteen drinking beer?

He asked directly, "Can you drink beer now?"

Suren remembered that super mechanical warriors only needed to supplement the brain with a little glycogen, and the power source was also energy crystals.

As for alcohol and food, they were completely superfluous.

Nineteen: "Yes, I have to pretend to be a normal person. So I got myself a 'prosthetic stomach', so I can usually eat."

She knew what Suren was curious about, and when she spoke, she directly unzipped the leather jacket on her chest, revealing the snow-white bionic skin.

Then she opened her chest cavity and pointed to the dense mechanical internal organs, and said, "This is the [Gluttonous Bionic Stomach Pouch], the latest black technology in Mafa, and it cost me more than 300,000 crowns."

Suren's mind froze slightly when he saw her open her chest cavity like this.

Nineteen then said, "Of course, this is a mechanical limb for life. I also have a combat limb that I can replace at any time. The technology in Mafa is too far ahead of old Lingdun, and the upper limit of the mechanical armor can reach the quasi-ninth level combat power. And I was lucky before, and I found a scrapped Major General-level armor on the black market. I also developed a new type of bionic skin, and the defense ability is very good. I have modified these technologies on my own mechanical body, and now, I have about the sixth-level combat power..."

Suren heard the subtle loneliness in Nineteen's tone.

Now that the plane invasion was a foregone conclusion, as a member of the Dawn Group, she wanted to help.

But it seemed that she felt that she was not strong enough to help.

…

In fact, when the Mirror Organization rushed out of the Black Tower, Nineteen knew that the highest level professional in this world was the ninth level, and she deeply realized her own inadequacy.

Super mechanical warriors were originally mass-produced products for legion warfare, and the individual combat power was only around the third or fourth level.

Moreover, she could not improve her combat power by cultivation.

But the ceiling of mechanics was not low.

As long as there were strong enough mechanical limbs, the combat power could be greatly increased immediately.

It was just that Luying did not have that condition at all.

So she came to Mafa to study mechanical technology and wanted to become stronger.

She had been staying until now.

Moreover, Nineteen did not know that she herself had a different place from other mechanical warriors.

Suren had a purpose for coming to Mafa this time, which was to find her specifically.

When talking about the topic of combat power, Suren also thought of something, and asked meaningfully, "Have you felt very lucky and have a high learning efficiency recently?"

Nineteen did not know why he suddenly asked this question, and said in surprise, "Yes. How did you know?"

Suren showed a meaningful smile and said, "I think you may have awakened a very rare talent."

Hearing this, Nineteen blinked in confusion: "Huh???"

…

In the past, Duke Raphael chose the most direct way to speed up the research progress in the experimental stage of "Neuro-Mechanical Technology", that is, to carry out a large number of human experiments.

Use a super-high experimental base to screen out experimental subjects with high neuro-mechanical tolerance, and then conduct follow-up research on the survivors.

Nineteen was once the most perfect experimental subject in old Lingdun.

No one knew why she was so special before. Even Dr. Banks did not find out why, and only guessed that it was a probabilistic special case.

But later in Lingdun, after Suren met the old cowboy detective duo, Amelia's 【A-028-Justice Angel】 talent made Suren guess the real reason.

In the early stage of the experiment, the first batch of super mechanical warrior experimental subjects would be injected with "x serum" in order to enhance the survival rate of the human body after nerve stripping and reduce rejection.

According to Dr. Banks, Nineteen was the most perfect experimental subject, and it fused successfully without any畸变 (jībiàn, distortion).

This was exactly the same as Amelia's situation.

And 【A-028-Justice Angel】 was a talent with the soul as the carrier.

In other words, even if Nineteen lost her flesh and blood body, the impact would not be great.

Moreover, since Mr. Mirror chose her as a member of the Mirror Organization in the first place, he also foresaw something else. And not just her mechanical warrior's combat power.

This talent was very rare and few people knew about it.

Suren still asked the old cowboy before he knew that this A-level talent had a "halo of angelic blessing" in addition to the bursting sense of justice.

Hidden high luck value, high understanding, high potential.

This talent sounded very empty, as if it did not increase the actual combat power at all.

But in fact, it was very strong.

Once this talent was awakened, as the incarnation of justice, it would not be eroded by evil.

To put it simply, it had a hidden attribute of "turning bad luck into good luck".

Suren then understood that Amelia, the Justice Miss, had been constantly courting death, and the reason why she could live so long was not because of anything else, but because of the talent's hidden "high luck value".

Nineteen was the same!

She had been chased and killed countless times in old Lingdun and had not died. All the signs indicated that it might be because of this talent.

Moreover, "high luck" also allowed her to have better opportunities and opportunities than others.

…

Nineteen heard Suren's explanation and then recalled her various experiences along the way, and it seemed that there was indeed a mysterious force in the dark that was blessing her.

Thinking that it was the reason for the talent.

She was also very emotional, "So that's how it is..."

Mass-produced mechanical warriors originally did not need any talent abilities, after all, the body was completely mechanized, and even if there was a talent, it would be damaged by most of it.

Nineteen was obviously in a good mood. Knowing that she had this rare talent, it seemed that she was no different from a normal person.

At this time, Suren then said, "By the way, I have a very special mechanical part here that you may be able to use."

As he said that, he took out a pair of golden wings.

【War Angel Golden Wings (Remnants)】

Detailed explanation: A part of the 'War Angel' mechanical armor forged by the dwarven god general for the ancient mechanical god race; even if it is broken, it still retains divine power and has extraordinary combat effects; damaged state, needs to be repaired;

This was one of the "divine forbidden objects" found in the mirror library in Lingdun before.

Suren had carefully studied the runes on it and confirmed that these wings were "god-level" mechanical fragments.

However, the problem was that the technical level of this thing was too high and it could not be repaired at all.

Moreover, no flame of any high temperature could melt it. The flame sealed by the 【Vulcan's Furnace Lamp】 could be melted, but Suren did not have any certainty of being able to repair it, and did not dare to melt it randomly.

Thinking that Mafa's forging level was high, there might be a possibility of repairing it.

"This..."

As soon as she saw these wings, Nineteen could not move her eyes at all, as if she had seen a colorful glow in her eyes.

She gently stroked the wings, and the cold touch slid across her fingertips, as if she had touched her own skin, and felt a kind of soul-level fit, and murmured, "I...I seem to think these wings are very familiar."

Suren looked at the glow anomaly and was also slightly surprised. This was the movement that he had not been able to make after studying for a long time.

But he was not too strange, but instead felt relieved.

In the myths and legends handed down from the classics, many ancient artifacts were exclusive items forged according to bloodline characteristics.

Like a 【Thunder Hammer】 in myths and legends, it was rumored that non-thunder bloodline inheritors could not even pick it up.

Suren thought that if Nineteen had the 【Justice Angel】 talent and was a mechanical body, she might be compatible.

He did not expect that he had guessed correctly.

Suren smiled and said, "Long time no see. This is a gift for you."

Nineteen said in surprise, "A gift for me?"

Even if it was a remnant, how could she not know that the rank of the golden wings was frighteningly high, and it was definitely a treasure.

She was overjoyed for a moment.

She was a little at a loss, but when she looked at Suren's completely indifferent expression, the words that came to Nineteen's lips were swallowed there.

After pondering for a moment, her complex mood turned into a relieved smile, and she said lightly, "Thank you."

Suren smiled and looked at her, raised the beer can, "Cheers."

Treasures were only valuable in the hands of useful people, not to mention that they were given to friends, and he would not be stingy in this regard.

Nineteen raised her cup and clinked, "Cheers!"

The two drank a few cans of beer and chatted about some old topics.

At this time, Nineteen thought of something: "By the way, Suren, didn't you ask me to pay attention to some intelligence? The other day, I happened to hear that someone on the black market was offering a reward for information about the 【Ouroboros Fragment】. But after hearing you say that the intelligence involved was very big, I didn't dare to contact it rashly. But there happens to be an 'illegal modification party' tonight..."

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Thanks to 'Happy Villain' 500, 'Flame Red Snow', '20190625124300306', '20210301106468265758'... Thanks to the support of the four of you.