Chapter 828 - 184: Mechanical Heart
That day.
Outside the Anshan settlement was Zhang Pudu’s yelling, many people watching with wide eyes, holding their breath.
Some wanted to laugh but held back, afraid of retribution later.
The forums were also filled with Zhang Pudu’s shouting, with many watching this spectacle, mostly entertained, while some settlement leaders felt a chill behind them and instinctively touched their backs.
To pull or not to pull, that is the question.
Even if they don’t pull, once Su Changxing arrives, it will still be pulled, and they’ll endure an extra beating.
The gains and losses within are quite worth considering.
Soon, Hua san withdrew, Zhang Pudu lay on the ground motionless, as if he had lost all his strength, with fresh blood on his backside and the surrounding ground, looking rather frightening.
But for a Tier Eight Extraordinary, these injuries weren’t fatal, just severe.
Su Changxing turned and said to Hua san, "Go pull the tree out."
Hua san nodded, took big strides towards the settlement, his figure turned into a blur, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Then came several loud noises from within the settlement, accompanied by flying stones, causing the entire Bronze Tree to start shaking violently.
"Can you still stand up?" Su Changxing looked at Zhang Pudu lying on the ground and said with a smile.
Zhang Pudu staggered as he got up, an embarrassed expression on his face: "I can, I can."
He indeed looked miserable, still far from dead, Hua san’s strength completely avoided his vital areas.
Su Changxing looked at him with appreciation: "You’re so cooperative, I’m very pleased."
How could he not cooperate? Not cooperating would mean getting beaten to death!
Zhang Pudu muttered inside, not daring to show it, forcing a smile: "Of course, of course. Our settlement actually always wanted to join Seventeen, we just never had the chance."
"Is that so?" Su Changxing knew these border settlements were mostly fence-sitters, siding with whichever is stronger.
This is also their survival strategy.
"And that Bronze Tree did not help you advance?"
Hearing Su Changxing suddenly say this, Zhang Pudu froze for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, it seems due to my position, when advancing to Tier Eight, it was too hasty."
In the past, given harsh circumstances, everyone was trying to get stronger, using any means to advance to Tier Eight.
However, Zhang Pudu’s Tier Eight position is Gatekeeper, a Lower Rank, which makes his advancement difficulty great.
"The only way is promotion." Su Changxing pondered and said.
Zhang Pudu sighed: "But the opportunity for promotion is hard to come by, entirely dependent on luck."
They can only rely on Doomsday Game to offer task rewards for promotion, which are rare, making it very difficult to encounter.
Their Extraordinary system is entirely based on the Doomsday Game, especially for position promotion, or else it can’t be completed.
Su Changxing sighed: "Seems the Doomsday Game is no different from this Inheritance Tree, just a different form of existence."
Zhang Pudu didn’t quite understand what Su Changxing meant, only nodded repeatedly.
Su Changxing saw his expression and smiled, speaking softly: "Help me with something, afterwards I have a way to help you advance, how about it?"
Hearing this, Zhang Pudu froze, a look of delight on his face, tentatively asked: "Really? Leader Su, just tell me what you need, if I can do it, I will."
Su Changxing took out a jet-black stone from his pocket and handed it to him: "This is a High Tier Source Stone, capable of accumulating more Mysteriousness, allowing advancement even as a Lower Rank."
"However, how to proceed will be told only after you complete the task."
Zhang Pudu took the Source Stone handed by Su Changxing, showing a cautious expression, asked: "What’s exactly required of me?"
...
Following the established route, Su Changxing made his way to the next settlement, where he saw the giant Bronze Tree in the center slowly collapsing.
"They knew I was coming, so they uprooted it first."
Seeing the Bronze Tree fall, Su Changxing didn’t plan to go further, instead took Hua san and continued onward.
They headed northward, passing five or six settlements, and those who didn’t voluntarily uproot their Bronze Tree within were beaten by Hua san.
Such carnage made the subsequent settlements calm down, at least voluntarily uprooting the trees, as they’d be uprooted anyway, why endure a beating?
Thus, Su Changxing’s advancement became faster, at least not having to stop and deal with these strange trees.
Chenzhou and Huazhou are adjacent, with Huazhou also being the frontline, all wars concentrated here, somewhat agreed upon, preventing further war escalation.
After all, they are somewhat of the same race with historical connections.
From afar, Su Changxing could smell the smoke of war in the air, the scent of fire, blood burning, like icy flakes swirling in the wind.
Despite Chenzhou appearing stable now, the war in Huazhou has grown exceedingly brutal, so much so both sides feel it’s time to stop.
Meanwhile.
Zhang Pudu dressed exactly like Su Changxing appeared near a settlement, not approaching, just showing himself for the people in the settlement to recognize.
"Boss, what are we doing?"
A woman holding Hua san asked confusedly.
Zhang Pudu turned to her, saying irritably: "Don’t ask too much, just do."
It’s dangerous, disguising as Su Changxing, potentially attacked by outsiders, while not having Su Changxing’s power.
However.
He had no choice but to take risks, not simply out of fear of Su Changxing but also to advance.
Power is like a drug, an addictive poison, once tainted, pursued recklessly.
Settlements often aren’t tight-knit because they are both Extraordinary and Players, driven by any means to complete Doomsday Game missions, leading to many uncertainties.
Despite being the Anshan settlement leader now, once someone surpasses him, his position is at risk, and the consequence might be dire.
So he’s urgently strengthening himself.
Su Changxing afterward accelerated his departure from Chenzhou, letting Zhang Pudu impersonate him, drawing others’ attention, making them believe he remains in Chenzhou.
This is to create an information gap, making Chenhe think he’s unlikely to reach the frontline, and then suddenly strike them unprepared.
At this moment.
Su Changxing stopped, holding a golden, ceaselessly rotating heart.
It’s the Mechanical Heart designed by Eric, which Su Changxing replicated within Pocket Galaxy, injecting a substantial amount of Demon Blood into the core for power.
He plans to install the Mechanical Heart on Hua san, allowing quicker and stronger power consolidation.
Compared to simply transmitting energy through rune paths, having the heart as a core for aggregation is like adding a miniature nuclear power plant within Hua san.
However.
This was only theoretical, imagined by him, potentially failing.
If failed, Hua san’s body and soul might completely collapse.
The Mechanical Heart designed by Eric inherently has significant flaws, constantly draining the soul.
Only strong souls can withstand such loss; compared to Mi, Hua san’s soul is absolutely weak, even fragile.
To compensate for such defects, he replaced the soul loss with Demon Blood, also providing greater energy for the Mechanical Heart, unleashing terrifying power from Hua san.
Su Changxing held the golden, smoothly spinning Mechanical Heart, walking to Hua san, calmly said:
"It might fail, I’m not very confident, but for the coming battle, I must take this risk."
"If it fails, I can only say sorry, Hua san."
Hua san looked up at Su Changxing, rarely smiling: "Master, you needn’t apologize to anyone, I trust you are always right."