"Run!"

Qian Chengxue shouted through gritted teeth.

Su Mo knew that every second he lingered increased the risk of being captured. But without hesitation, he charged straight towards Qian Chengxue.

Seeing that Su Mo didn't heed her warning but instead came to save her, Qian Chengxue struggled even harder.

Su Mo rushed in, fiercely wielding Mo Xue, and with a few swift strikes, he cut down the civilians holding Qian Chengxue.

Qian Chengxue forcefully broke free.

Then, the two of them took off running.

The area was densely packed with buildings, resulting in a labyrinth of interconnected alleys, offering numerous escape routes.

However, no matter how they fled, the enemy seemed to anticipate their every move.

"How is it that they seem to know exactly where we're going?"

Qian Chengxue noticed something was amiss.

"This is the Mechanical Kingdom, and their main base at that. They probably have surveillance eyes everywhere. It would be a miracle if they couldn't find us."

Su Mo understood the reason, but understanding didn't diminish the sense of helplessness that washed over him.

Just then, a sound approached from nearby.

"Go! They're catching up again."

Su Mo led Qian Chengxue around another corner.

But as soon as they entered the alley, Su Mo and Qian Chengxue froze. They had run into a dead end.

Su Mo's mind went blank.

Unsurprisingly, a horde of civilians and slaughter puppet mechs rushed towards them.

However, the alley was empty.

...

The civilians and slaughter puppet mechs scanned the surroundings, confirming multiple times that no one was hiding.

Then, they dispersed to search other areas.

Meanwhile, beneath the seemingly empty alley, Su Mo and Qian Chengxue held their breaths, breathing shallowly, with a dirty young boy crouching beside them.

Just when Su Mo and Qian Chengxue had nowhere left to run, the cover of a hidden underground passage was suddenly lifted, and the boy had saved them.

Listening intently, they confirmed that the outside was quiet and that the pursuers must have left.

Su Mo and Qian Chengxue simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

"Big brother, big sister, are you two a couple?"

The boy crouching next to them suddenly asked with great interest.

The question embarrassed Su Mo and Qian Chengxue, and Su Mo explained somewhat awkwardly,

"No, we're not."

"Oh, I thought you were a couple since you seemed so close and moved so well together."

The boy said cheerfully.

Su Mo couldn't help but grumble inwardly about how mature kids these days were. But despite his thoughts, Su Mo thanked the boy politely.

"Thank you for saving us. What's your name? Are you a survivor here?"

"My name is Xin Yang. I guess I'm a survivor."

Xin Yang replied happily.

"So, you're human?"

Qian Chengxue asked in surprise.

Xin Yang shook his head, touched his forehead, opened his skull to reveal the mechanical parts inside, and replied,

"I'm also a robot."

Su Mo and Qian Chengxue were stunned, filled with confusion. They were certain that Xin Yang meant them no harm. If he were an enemy, there would have been no reason to save them. But he was a robot?

"Then why did you save us?"

Su Mo asked, puzzled.

"It's because I'm different from the robots outside. I have independent thought. See the back of my head? It's damaged here. My central conduction device was damaged in an accident and can't receive signals from the terminal. So, my personality became independent. Everyone outside is controlled by the central artificial intelligence, Quanshen (Omniscient)."

Xin Yang explained.

Su Mo and Qian Chengxue were increasingly astonished. Qian Chengxue said sincerely,

"Xin Yang, can you tell us everything that happened here from beginning to end? What exactly is going on?"

"Okay! No problem."

Xin Yang nodded emphatically.

"This is the Dragon Kingdom's Qilong (Praying Dragon) City. Our Dragon Kingdom was once the most powerful nation on this planet. As technological civilization developed, our planet experienced continuous wars, and the ecological environment was completely destroyed. Although the war eventually stopped, the living environment became increasingly harsh. Later, an extremely terrifying viral infection broke out."

"Then how did you all become machines? And what about the large number of mutated monsters outside? Some of them don't seem like they were converted from humans."

Su Mo asked, puzzled.

"It's like this. When our civilization was facing extinction, an entity from a higher dimension extended an olive branch to us. That higher dimension gave us new hope. So, our entire population entered the Star Ring and participated in the Earth Cup competition."

Xin Yang explained.

"What? You participated in the Star Ring?"

Su Mo and Qian Chengxue were speechless with shock.

"That's right, we participated in the Earth Cup, and we even managed to achieve good results. As a result, we also obtained the qualification to participate in the Sky Cup."

Xin Yang said proudly.

"Then later, did you participate in the Sky Cup?"

Qian Chengxue asked quickly.

At this point, Xin Yang shook his head, and said with some sadness, "We didn't participate in the Sky Cup. To be precise, we were deserters."

"Why?"

"Because the Sky Cup is different from the Earth Cup. The Earth Cup, to put it bluntly, is just a warm-up. Whether you win or lose, you still have a chance. But the Sky Cup is different, completely different. Although our situation was extremely bad at the time, the upper-class nobles were living very comfortably. They had money and everything they wanted. How could they be willing to take risks? So, at the last moment, they chose to escape."

"I don't know if it was because we deserted and were punished or something, but suddenly, inexplicably, many terrifying monsters emerged in the world, ones we had never seen before. We could only keep fighting back desperately, but just then, the virus mutated again. A large number of people were infected with the virus and died, and the dead began to transform into monsters. Our defense lines in various areas collapsed, and our territory continued to fall. The survivors began to flee here. We established our last line of defense here, and also built the last paradise, Qilong (Praying Dragon) City."

Xin Yang seemed to sink into deep memories.

"What happened after that?"

"You should also understand that the so-called paradise is just an isolated island. Collapse was only a matter of time. Panic spread in everyone's hearts, and just when everyone was about to break down, a mad scientist named Rhode emerged from the upper class. He took out the technology he had obtained from winning the Earth Cup and proposed a very terrifying idea: Physical suffering, mechanical ascension! In his propaganda, as long as we abandoned our physical bodies and transformed into pure machines, we could become a new race, no longer having to worry about lifespan, viruses, or harsh environments. We would usher in a new life and become the new masters of this world."

Xin Yang said in a deep voice.