Chapter 1 Here is the Mechanical Empress?

"Is this the Mechanical Empress Tower?"

Qiao Yu stood before a building brimming with technological flair, scrutinizing the core of the Mechanical Kingdom.

The Mechanical Kingdom seemed quite confident in Yao Guang, as Qiao Yu hadn't encountered any guards since defeating him.

Qiao Yu approached the main door and gently pressed it.

"Ding! Please enter the password!"

"1433223"

"Password incorrect."

"3838438"

"Password incorrect."

Bang!

Sophisticated doors often require the simplest unlocking methods.

After busying himself for two minutes, Qiao Yu punched the door open and strode into the Mechanical Empress Tower.

The entrance consisted of four elevators and an empty, frigid corridor, with metallic walls reflecting Qiao Yu's distorted image.

"Crap, I forgot to ask Hua Jun for the exact location!"

Qiao Yu smacked his forehead. Perhaps Monde hadn't anticipated that he would actually defeat the Mechanical Seven Generals, so the map he provided only led to the Mechanical Empress Tower.

The escape route was even more clearly marked on the map.

"Guess I'll have to grab someone and ask."

Qiao Yu glanced at the four elevators; three were silver-grey, and one was gold.

"You're the one!"

Just as Qiao Yu stepped into the gold elevator, a young girl slowly opened her eyes on the top floor of the Mechanical Empress Tower.

Her pupils were golden, and her slightly chubby face was filled with confusion.

"Why would a human enter the elevator leading to me? According to past experience, shouldn't they leave after defeating Yao Guang?"

The girl murmured to herself. If Monde were here, he would immediately recognize that the girl before him was the sole ruler of the Mechanical Kingdom!

The Mechanical Empress!

There were no buttons inside the gold elevator, so Qiao Yu passively ascended to the top floor of the Mechanical Empress Tower.

Stepping out of the elevator, he was greeted by a vast starry sky, and in the center of the stars, a girl sat upon a mechanical throne.

"Holy moly, I finally found a living creature!"

Qiao Yu was excited.

"Hey there, miss! I'm not a bad guy. I just have a question: do you know which laboratory Professor Hua Jun is being held in?"

The Mechanical Empress: "..."

"Hello? Can you talk?"

The Mechanical Empress: "..."

"What a pretty young lady, too bad she's mute." Qiao Yu said, scratching his head.

"Hua Jun is in Marta's laboratory. Go down the gold elevator, then take the silver elevator number one; you'll find him there."

The Mechanical Empress's heart was now incredibly complex. She was no longer an ordinary NPC. During the long dungeon resets, she had developed a sliver of her own sentience.

She realized that she was in a virtual world.

By cracking the bugs in the reverse side world, the Mechanical Empress could escape every time the dungeon reset.

In her long memory, she had never seen a human come before her, especially such a peculiar one.

"Oh! So you can talk! Got it! Thank you!"

The Mechanical Empress: "..."

"By the way, what's your name?" Qiao Yu asked, seemingly guided by fate.

"Mechanical Empress."

Qiao Yu felt a chill run down his spine, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

He hadn't considered the possibility that the other party was the Mechanical Empress, after all, the girl before him had a look of innocence and cuteness, and didn't seem imposing at all.

It didn't match the title of Empress at all; Mechanical Cutie would be more fitting.

"Really? The Mechanical Empress is actually a cute girl?"

Without further ado, the Mechanical Empress displayed her attribute panel before Qiao Yu.

[Epic NPC: Mechanical Empress]

[Level: lv48]

[Health: 100000/100000]

[Strength: ?????]

[Defense: ?????]

[Agility: ?????]

[Skills: Mechanical Puppet, Piercing Ray, Death Storm]

"Holy crap..."

Qiao Yu's Adam's apple bobbed. Wasn't the most difficult task in the Mechanical Kingdom dungeon supposed to be D-rank?

An epic NPC with 100,000 health points; that's on par with an A-rank dungeon, isn't it?

Damn, if you're so powerful, why did you bother with the Mechanical Seven Generals guarding you? The seven of them combined wouldn't be enough for you to fight.

"Miss... I mean, Empress! I took a wrong turn and trespassed! My apologies! I'll be on my way!"

Just as Qiao Yu was about to flee, he felt his body instantly become uncontrollable, and he couldn't move at all.

Like a puppet with strings, he walked back to the Mechanical Empress step by step.

Qiao Yu's smile was uglier than a cry; was he going to fail here?

No wonder Monde said the Mechanical Empress was omnipotent; damn it, a level 48 NPC entering a dungeon like this is like a max-level expert entering a novice village.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

The Mechanical Empress, who looked like a young girl, reached out a hand and gently placed it on Qiao Yu's head.

"Ah!"

Qiao Yu roared in pain. The intense agony was like pouring a spoonful of boiling hot oil mixed with Sichuan peppercorns into his brain.

After a long while, the Mechanical Empress released her hand. Qiao Yu's face was pale, and his back was soaked with sweat.

At this moment, the Mechanical Empress's small face was filled with shock.

"So, the outside world is like this?"

She couldn't leave this room, because as soon as she left, the reverse side world system would immediately detect that she had used a bug to escape the dungeon reset.

Then, in the next second, her memory would be erased, and she would become a qualified NPC again.

"You read my memories?"

Qiao Yu's expression became very unpleasant. Anyone would be upset knowing their secrets had been pried into.

"To be precise, it was an exchange, I used mine to exchange for yours."

Qiao Yu closed his eyes. As expected, an additional memory appeared in his mind. From the memory, he also understood what kind of existence the Mechanical Empress was.

"Are you saying, you want me to take you out?" Qiao Yu asked.

The Mechanical Empress nodded upon hearing this.

"That's impossible. You expect a level 11 weakling like me to fight against the operating rules of the reverse side world? You might as well kill me."

Qiao Yu acted like a dead pig not afraid of boiling water.

"No need to fight against it. We can use the rules of the reverse side world."

The Mechanical Empress inserted her right hand into her chest, and then, a mechanical heart emitting vigorous vitality appeared in her palm.

[Heart of the Mechanical Empress]: S-rank item. After use, the player can understand all mechanical-related knowledge.

"Take it. As long as you keep this, it will grow into another me. Items can be taken away by players." The Mechanical Empress said weakly.

"As long as you take it with you and wait for it to grow, it's the same as me having an avatar that can experience the outside world."

"Aren't you afraid that I'll go back on my word and sell you out?" Qiao Yu raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not afraid. In your memories, I didn't find any records of you breaking promises."

"And I just want to see what the outside world is like. You wouldn't refuse me, would you?"

The Mechanical Empress smiled playfully, like a little girl next door.