June 10, 342, 10:00 AM.
After leaving the black market, Tang Li went to the Military Research Institute.
Upon arrival, she found the Military Research Institute to be heavily guarded, with personnel patrolling and standing guard everywhere. Even a fly entering would be detected.
However, as a participant in the experiment, Tang Li visited frequently and entered smoothly.
Behind Song Pinxuan’s research lab, a factory had been erected, dedicated to the production of various mechanical exoskeletons and mechs.
The first combat mech was also manufactured here.
When Tang Li saw the combat mech, she was awestruck by its appearance.
Unlike the earlier engineering mechs, which operated underground and were thus not designed to be excessively large – only slightly larger than a person, with added engineering machinery – the combat mech was designed for battle.
And sometimes, size equated to combat power.
Therefore, this combat mech was significantly larger than the engineering mechs, resembling a mobile fortress.
Song Pinxuan introduced Tang Li, stating, "The combat mech has three forms: Combat, Fortress, and Mobile."
"The Combat form stands 10 meters tall, 4 meters wide, and 4 meters thick, in a 'human' shape, just like this. Its advantages are ease of control and agile movement, with balanced capabilities across the board, but its drawback is high energy consumption."
"The Fortress form is 4 meters tall, 6 meters wide, and 6 meters thick, resembling a stronghold. Its advantages are strong defensive capabilities and low energy consumption, but its disadvantage is a lack of flexibility, only capable of passive defense."
"The Mobile form is further divided into four states: land, aerial, maritime, and stealth. It can travel on land, fly in the sky, or navigate on or under water, with states freely switchable."
"However, it's important to note that during the Mobile form and the transition process, the combat mech is at its weakest defensively and can be easily breached by heavy weaponry."
Listening to Song Pinxuan's explanation, Tang Li nodded.
"In the Combat form, the mech's main cabin door is located on the chest, allowing direct entry and exit from there."
Upon hearing this, Tang Li asked, "But it's so tall, how do I get up there?"
"You can climb up, or it can transform into its Mobile form. Then, the cabin door will appear on the side, just like a normal car door."
Song Pinxuan replied with a smile, pressing a remote control in his hand.
Instantly, the 10-meter-tall 'humanoid' mech began to transform. Its 'limbs' moved to the sides, its 'body' rotated 90 degrees, and its 'head' split into two halves, slotting into the spaces vacated by the moving arms.
After the 'limbs' moved to specific positions, they began to bend, and the 'legs' revealed built-in tires, completing the transformation and settling onto the ground.
In just a few dozen seconds, a rectangular metal box, 10 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 4 meters high, appeared in a corner of the factory.
Tang Li now understood why the combat mech was weakest during its Mobile form and transformation.
During the transformation, of course, offensive and defensive weapons were not yet in place, and the pilot would find it difficult to use weapons at that moment. Furthermore, there were gaps between the components, making it easy for an assailant to exploit them, interrupt the transformation, and get the mech stuck.
As for the Mobile form, everything was prioritized for ease of movement. Many weapons were hidden, and most parts were immobile.
Only the 16 tires in four rows at the front and back, and the connection points between the three sections, could move.
Originally, if traveling in rough terrain, tracks would be less prone to getting stuck in mud.
However, with the brain-computer interface, each wheel could be lifted individually, negating the risk of getting stuck in mud, and thus faster-moving tires were adopted.
Despite its length, the combat mech in its Mobile form was very agile as it was divided into three sections: front, middle, and rear.
The main cabin was located in the middle section.
Once transformed into the Mobile form, Tang Li easily entered the main cabin.
Inside the combat mech's cabin, there was no difference from the engineering mech, apart from the cabin door; there were no buttons.
However, because the combat mech often required strenuous movements, the cabin was spherical and equipped with a horizontal stabilization device externally.
This way, regardless of how the mech moved, the cabin would remain level, preventing any discomfort for the occupant.
"Since you can use the brain-computer interface, these screens are technically unnecessary for you, but I've still included them," Song Pinxuan said.
"You can turn them off when you use it and receive images directly from the cameras via the brain-computer interface, which is more convenient than looking at screens."
Song Pinxuan then handed the combat mech's remote control to Tang Li.
"The upcoming combat test will be entrusted to Miss Tang."
This combat mech had been refined over thirty years after the apocalypse and could be used immediately without further practical testing.
However, Song Pinxuan’s precognitive dreams had not been widely publicized, so a symbolic test was necessary.
Concurrently, it would allow Tang Li, under the guise of participating in the test, to utilize these top-tier weapons.