Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Mechanical Arts of the Mohist School
On the highway leading to Azure City.
A pitch-black military jeep sped along, its engine roaring, the accelerator pressed all the way down.
“Faster, faster!” Lin Fan urged the driver anxiously, eyes fixed on his phone.
“Reply to my message!” Lin Fan knew that Gongshu Ming was in trouble, and it was certainly no small matter.
Suddenly—
The phone vibrated.
It was a shared location!
Lin Fan tapped it immediately and shouted, “Next exit, get off the highway, destination: ten kilometers east of Azure City, industrial park!”
Elsewhere.
Azure City Industrial Park.
Every major city’s outskirts had such an industrial park—either for proximity to the city and consumer markets, convenient transportation, or the encouragement of local policies, so the industrial park sprawled with countless factories large and small.
By day, this place was bustling.
Trucks came and went, workers were busy inside, machinery thrummed everywhere.
But at night, as the day’s labor ended and workers left, the park became eerily quiet.
Tonight, however—
The industrial park was unusually lively!
Flames shot skyward!
An entire factory seemed to have been baptized by fire, the ground charred, broken buildings billowing black smoke, the heat of lingering flames still burning.
Inside one factory—
A girl with flaming red hair tied in twin ponytails panted heavily, flames still burning on her hands, her gaze fixed on the rubble before her.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, the rubble exploded outward.
A massive steel automaton stood up from the ground and slowly stepped out.
Meanwhile, outside the factory, a dozen more steel automatons lumbered forth.
The girl tensed instantly, her voice trembling:
“Don’t come any closer!”
“I’m warning you, stay away!”
“I’m really powerful!”
Outside the factory, a boy—his whole body blackened and battered from the fire—looked at her speechlessly. “Calm down. I’m not here to capture you!”
“There’s really no need to fight me!”
The girl gritted her teeth. “I don’t believe you!”
“You’re definitely here to cut me up and study me!”
“I don’t trust you!”
She was in absolute panic.
---
She had no idea what was happening, only that somehow, she’d gained the ability to control fire.
It was a life-altering event.
But before she could calm down, three men in black had surrounded her.
She’d started running.
Fortunately, she could use fire to fly short distances; otherwise, the dozen black-clad men would have caught her already.
She’d tried seeking help, even running to the police station for protection.
But—
Those black-clad men possessed uncanny abilities as well, like gods of death, leveling the entire station.
Blood flowed like rivers!
“You’re with them!” the girl shouted.
Gongshu Ming was equally frustrated.
“Enough! I managed to mislead those guys with a few automatons, bought us this little bit of time.”
“I’m not here to mess with you!”
He tossed out an ID, which a wooden bird immediately picked up, flew into the factory, and dropped beside the girl.
“Check who I am!” Gongshu Ming shouted.
The girl shakily opened the ID.
First page:
“Gongshu Ming
Age: 18
Identity: Heir to the Mohist mechanical arts
Affiliation: First Squad, Godslayer Army!”
On the other side was a vivid national emblem.
Seeing that bright red, the girl finally exhaled deeply, her trembling body calming.
As if that red alone could give her endless security.
This was the faith of Daxia’s people!
“You’re really a Daxia official?” The girl slowly stood up, peering at Gongshu Ming through the rubble.
“Of course!” Gongshu Ming was speechless, shouting, “I’m here to protect you!”
To protect you!
At that moment, the girl, who’d been like a frightened bird, felt all strength drain from her, replaced by a sense of utter safety.
In a short time, she’d undergone a life-changing ordeal and witnessed death; now, she summoned courage and stepped out of the ruined factory.
This was the shelter of Daxia!
“So, why fight me?” Gongshu Ming shook his head helplessly, walked up to her, and pointed to the combat automaton behind her. “Get on. I’ll get you out of here quickly.”
“Once you’re at the command center, you’ll be safe.”
“Someone’s targeting you now.”
The girl nodded and moved to climb onto the automaton.
Suddenly, rain began to fall.
“Drip.”
A raindrop hit the ground.
The scent of earth filled the air, and then the rain turned urgent—pouring down in torrents!
---
The smoke-billowing factory was instantly drenched; the lingering flames extinguished.
Gongshu Ming looked up at the night sky, rain cascading like a waterfall, and murmured, “This is troublesome.”
Without hesitation, Gongshu Ming opened his phone and shared his location.
At that moment—
“Thud.”
“Thud.”
“Thud.”
Footsteps emerged from the sound of rain.
Three white men in black suits strode through the puddles toward the factory.
No umbrella shielded them, but the rain parted above their heads, as if an invisible barrier had been drawn.
One was muscular with a fierce bald head.
One had blue hair, blending seamlessly with the downpour.
The last was a slender blonde woman, her eyes gleaming with a strange light.
“A dozen combat automatons nearly held us up,” the bald man grinned at Gongshu Ming, speaking in halting Mandarin, “but it seems Mohist mechanical arts from Daxia aren’t all that impressive.”
“They’re the ones who tried to capture me! The police station—was their doing!” the girl cried.
Gongshu Ming’s face was expressionless.
But his fingers twitched!
“Boom!”
Behind him, a massive combat automaton roared forward, its metal body thundering with terrifying force, like a ten-thousand-ton beast trampling the earth, bursting through sheets of rain, charging at the three foreigners!
The ground cracked beneath its tons of steel.
But—
“Ha! Let me handle it!”
The muscular bald man grinned savagely, not retreating but rushing forward to meet the automaton!
His muscles swelled instantly, bursting his suit!
Like a human behemoth, he collided directly with the steel giant!
“Bang!”
Man and metal collided, producing a metallic clang!
“Is that all the strength you’ve got?” the bald man laughed wildly, lifting the steel automaton with ease!
But—
“You’ve underestimated Mohist mechanical arts,” Gongshu Ming said quietly.
“Click!”
The automaton, held in the bald man’s grasp, suddenly extended eight sharp spikes from its back!
They stabbed fiercely at the bald man!