Chuyin frowned slightly, "Doesn't that mean we're definitely going to lose?"

"Um..."

Xing Hechou silently shook his head, not saying anything.

If it was only to this extent, how could the Shan Hai series mechs be so highly regarded by the higher-ups, recognized as the main battle weapon capable of dominating the battlefield in the next generation?

"Zhensi, hang in there..."

Below the arena, Yan Hanyan subconsciously clenched her hands, silently watching the back of the mech.

[Left arm load-bearing system damaged 71%]

[Right leg foot hydraulic drive rod damaged 54%]

[Chest armor damaged 35%]

[No. 1 and No. 3 vector jet thrusters completely destroyed]

[Mech remaining energy 31%]

Inside the cockpit of the Kui Niu mech, rapid and dense electronic mechanical sounds echoed, constantly flashing dazzling red lights of danger warnings.

The tight-fitting combat suit transmitted the damaged state of the mech to the depths of Ding Zhensi's skin in the form of a slight electric shock, accumulating into pain.

This naive young man, who not long ago was still driving an excavator, was struggling to resist Li Ang's increasingly faster strikes while fighting against the instinct to turn around and run away deep in his heart.

I can't escape, I can't escape, I can't escape!

Ding Zhensi roared, and the high-frequency cutting blade slashed down fiercely, forcing Li Ang to retreat abruptly.

However, Li Ang's upward thrust with his long spear as he left also cut off the mech's entire left arm, smashing heavily on the ground with a "bang."

"Huff, huff..."

The sound of breathing echoed in the cockpit.

Such high-intensity combat caused the mech's energy to plummet, and the system had to shut down a large number of auxiliary functions in order to maintain the mech's normal operation.

As the mental defense barrier closed, the divine pressure emanating from the opponent's body once again enveloped Ding Zhensi's heart.

Why does a weakling fight?

The sentence suddenly flashed through Ding Zhensi's mind.

When he was about to enter junior high school, he learned that the name his otaku parents had given him came from a classic anime called *Neon Genesis Evangelion*.

Although he was speechless about his anime-loving parents, out of curiosity to explore the source, he still watched the anime.

Is that it?

Such an emotion arose spontaneously after he finished watching the work.

Shinji Ikari, the protagonist of the anime, was cowardly, introverted, withdrawn, timid, and passive, always using "I'm sorry" to escape reality.

To some extent, it made Ding Zhensi, who was in his rebellious teenage years at the time, feel a little disgusted.

Shouldn't the real protagonist be decisive, resolute, brave, persevering, responsible, not escaping or being timid, and never have weaknesses?

When he finally couldn't bear it one day and asked his father, his father, wearing a T-shirt, smoking and enjoying the breeze on the balcony, told him this.

"Cough cough, you've watched that anime too, right? Do you think we gave you the wrong name? Well... actually, if you ignore the detailed descriptions in EvA and only focus on the protagonist's deeds, you can see a different Shinji Ikari.

A boy of only fourteen years old, lost his mother at a young age, was abandoned by his father and fostered in a relative's house, received a letter and came alone to the 3rd New Tokyo City, hoping to be greeted by his father, but witnessed with his own eyes unknown life forms so powerful that they could not be defeated, ruthlessly crushing the human army. And his still-yearned-for father gave him a cruel order—to pilot a giant mech, without having received any training, risking his life to fight that unknown life form.

When he came down from the battlefield, there were no medals, no flowers, no bonuses.

Instead, he continued to be treated coldly by his closest relatives, regarded as a monster by his peers, and forcibly imprisoned and watched.

He was required to continue lying in that giant machine that could devour him at any time,

Walking on the edge of life and death time and time again, defeating terrifying enemies that could not be defeated, and protecting the hope of all mankind.

Looking at the deeds alone, Joan of Arc cannot compare to one ten-thousandth of him, and the Messiah redivivus is nothing more than that."

"The real hero is not someone who leisurely and sloppily crushes the opponent when victory is in sight. But someone who can still be selfless, forgetful, and unsparing in the face of hopeless and precarious situations, sacrificing for the interests of the vast majority of the people."

"Why does a weakling fight? To protect the weaker."

Ding Zhensi couldn't quite remember the specific scene of the father-son conversation that day, but in his mind, he could still vaguely remember the myriad lights he saw overlooking from the railing.

Buzz—

The two horns on top of the Kui Niu mech vibrated, transforming back into a magneto-rheological fluid form.

Under the constraints of the strong magnetic field emitted by the mech, it appeared as millions of tiny needles.

Just when the vast majority of people thought that these tiny needles were about to be launched out as hidden weapons to kill the enemy,

Ding Zhensi in the cockpit, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealed a firm smile.

Bang bang bang!

Countless magneto-rheological fluid needles shot down from top to bottom, piercing towards the mech's chest.

The cockpit was instantly pierced into a hedgehog.

Drip, drip.

Gushing blood poured out from the cockpit, dripping on the ground along the steel needles formed by the magneto-rheological fluid.

"Hee hee—"

Ding Zhensi, whose neck, throat, body, and limbs were pierced, let out a difficult breathing sound.

Even after experiencing countless times in the laboratory, this pain comparable to being cut into a thousand pieces still pierced the soul.

The magnetic liquid exposed outside the cockpit contracted spontaneously, flowing into the blood vessels like life, and traveling throughout the body.

Attached to every corner of the internal organs, bones, and muscles, spontaneously forming countless metal parts of unknown function.

The intense pain swept through the body, and Ding Zhensi could clearly feel those parts starting up quickly, forming a coordinated and effective whole.

The heart beat with unprecedented strength,

Endless power seemed to flow from all four limbs.

Vision, hearing, and touch had never been so clear and bright.

He was no longer controlling this mech with his body, but integrated with this mech through countless magneto-rheological fluid fiber bundles extending from his head, back, ribs, arms, and feet.

"..."

Li Ang narrowed his eyes, watching from a distance.

After losing its horns, the threat level of that mech rose sharply, and it was simply incomparable to before.

*Shan Hai Jing* (*Classic of Mountains and Seas*, *Great Wilderness East Classic*): "It looks like an ox, with a blue body and no horns, one foot, and when it enters or leaves the water, there will be wind and rain, its light is like the sun and moon, its voice is like thunder, and its name is Kui."

This passage from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* flashed through Li Ang's mind, and he silently complained: "It's clearly a mech made of machinery, how can it have a setting that it can become stronger after losing its horns?

Could it really be a Kui Niu?"

His doubts were immediately answered.

The giant mech, with only one arm left, gripped the hilt of the double-headed sword with its only right arm, slowly bending down like a sprinter.