Xiao Xiao was currently talking with Han Qiuli, surprise evident on her face. She held a jade pendant in her hand, the very same one she had found in the underground complex earlier. Han Qiuli also held a jade pendant, almost identical to Xiao Xiao's. The two were engrossed in conversation about the pendants, even exchanging them to examine them more closely.
Ye Feng glanced at the undeniably deceased Xu Kuang in the distance, then turned back to Xiao Xiao. After Xu Kuang had injected the illusion beast-type enhancement serum and transformed into a hell three-headed dog, he seemed to have sensed something from Xiao Xiao. He had disregarded Han Xingxing and shifted his target to devour Xiao Xiao, muttering something about "premium delicacy." From Xu Kuang's actions at the time, Xiao Xiao's attraction to him was so intense that he couldn't help but drool. His gaze was like that of an addict, confined for a long time, suddenly encountering their drug.
Han Xingxing had just told Ye Feng that Xu Kuang had "kindly" given him the unfinished Scarlet Blood Serum, allowing him to successfully transform into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. This was likely so that after transforming into a hell three-headed dog, he could absorb his power, which was related to the abilities of the illusion beast-type enhancement serum. Xu Kuang had likely spared Xu Xiong and Tie San for the same reason.
"What is Xiao Xiao's situation exactly?" Ye Feng's brows furrowed deeply. Recalling their first encounter, Ye Feng also found it strange. At the time, he had felt a peculiar sense of familiarity, as if he were seeing a relative. Although pity for a fellow survivor was a factor, Ye Feng had mostly brought Xiao Xiao along because of that strange sense of familiarity. Xiao Xiao, too, seemed to instinctively trust Ye Feng.
"Big brother, what are you thinking about?" At this moment, Xiao Xiao walked over and greeted Ye Feng.
"Uh, nothing much~" Ye Feng shook his head gently. "Xiao Xiao, you don't seem very happy? What happened?"
"Big brother, I don't know where Foteji ran off to. I didn't have time to look for it during the battle, and now it's disappeared~" Xiao Xiao scanned the surroundings, her expression quite melancholic.
"Uh... maybe it went to eat some bugs or something..." The battle had been quite fierce, with many unexpected turns of events. Ye Feng hadn't noticed.
"That seems likely~" Xiao Xiao wasn't dwelling on it. She sat next to Ye Feng. "Big brother, the jade pendant I found in the underground complex turned out to be my sister Han's mother's遗物 (yíwù - relic)... That hell three-headed dog was a big bad guy, he..."
...
The next day,
On a high peak within the Tyrannosaurus Rex base, in a villa.
Xiao Xiao was curiously walking around, enjoying the view from high above. Ye Feng, meanwhile, was studying the silver phantom mecha, trying to see if it could cloak, but he hadn't achieved anything. On the other side, Han Xingxing had gathered some of Lin Xiaofang's遗物 (yíwù - relics), buried them along with the thigh bone Xu Kuang had brought out, and held a funeral. However, only Han Qiuli, Han Xingxing, and a few close individuals attended.
"Bang~ clang~ ping~ clatter~" Ye Feng was dragging a mecha brought by Mech City the previous day when two figures caught his attention.
"Huh?" Ye Feng looked with surprise at Han Xingxing and Han Qiuli approaching him. They had just attended a funeral this morning, and it wasn't even noon yet, yet they were back?
"Young friend Ye, in this doomsday, many people end up as exposed corpses in the wilderness. Let it go!" Han Xingxing spoke first, seemingly sensing Ye Feng's confusion.
"Oh, alright~" It made sense. Ye Feng then took out his Tang dao and began to dismember the mechas of Chu Sheng, Zheng Baowen, and others. He wanted to study the "fire seeds" within them. Specifically, he needed to conduct some experiments to confirm the records about fire seeds in the "Fire Seed Records."
"Whoosh~ whoosh~ whoosh~!"
"Clang! Bang~ Bang~!"
At this moment, several rays of light flashed from Han Xingxing's hand, and four or five mecha fire seeds landed on the ground.
"Young friend Ye, I killed a few people from Mech City earlier and collected their mecha fire seeds. If you want them, I'll give them to you!" Han Xingxing pointed to the round, metallic objects on the ground, etched with runes.
"Oh, okay~!" Ye Feng didn't refuse, as he indeed needed these things.
"These mechas are quite strange... I used to think mechas relied on their high-strength defense and heavy weaponry..." Ye Feng mumbled, recalling the battle with Chu Sheng and the others yesterday, as he was dismantling a mecha. "I didn't expect them to be related to Arcane Energy as well... and the Arcane Energy glow they emit is different..."
"It's the Armorer!" Han Xingxing chimed in.
"Armorer?" Ye Feng turned his head, looking at Han Xingxing with some confusion.
"Yes!" Han Xingxing nodded. "Ordinary mechas, or mechas below the Yellow Rank, fight in the way we generally understand mechas to fight. Mechas above the Yellow Rank, in addition to the advantages of ordinary mechas, also incorporate Arcane Energy Needles. Arcane Energy Needles are output by the mecha's fire seed and are a peculiar form of Arcane Energy. They are extremely fine silver needles with strong penetrative power. They are highly effective against Arcane Energy cultivators and against monsters that are difficult to damage with bullets or artillery. Fighting in this manner consumes a large amount of Arcane Origin Stones within the fire seed, so it's generally not used lightly!" Han Xingxing explained rapidly to Ye Feng.
"The reason why these Arcane Energy Needles outputted by the fire seed exhibit different colored glows is because of the different Arcane Energy attributes of the Armorers who crafted the mecha!" Han Xingxing added after a pause. "Zheng Baowen's green and Chu Sheng's red were caused by the different Arcane Energy attributes of their respective Armorers!"
"You know quite a lot about mechas," Ye Feng said, looking at Han Xingxing with surprise.
"Ahem~" Han Xingxing coughed lightly, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Young friend Ye, this is not a secret in the world of Remnant Fire. People in large human survivor bases basically know... And ever since the Shadow Expedition Team from Mech City attacked us a few years ago, and it was discovered that Xu Kuang had connections to Mech City, I've been investigating them for a long time." As he spoke, Han Xingxing glanced at Han Qiuli, who was chatting happily with Xiao Xiao not far away.
"My word..." Ye Feng was speechless.
"By the way, you mentioned before that not only Mech City, but other major powers are also secretly searching for the Fire Seed Records. What's the situation with them?" After a moment, Ye Feng asked about something he was quite interested in.
"This... I can confirm that the seven major powers on the continent and the overlords of the sea are all secretly searching for this Fire Seed Records! Some I've only heard rumors about and am not entirely sure!" Han Xingxing hesitated slightly before answering.
"Seven major powers? Overlords of the sea?" Hearing this, Ye Feng's interest was piqued, as he didn't know much about the world of Remnant Fire before and was often bewildered.
"Young friend Ye, have you never heard of them?" Han Xingxing looked at Ye Feng with great surprise, as Ye Feng appeared to be a very seasoned explorer, and he had come from a very distant place...