Eat Little Almonds
Chapter 408 Shen Jianshu's Concern
"Good heavens..."
Qiao Yu smacked his lips. No wonder Huang Xiuqiang's hammer strikes hurt so much; it turned out the hammer had armor-piercing properties.
And the weapon spirit inside was a Flood Dragon, which explained why the great hammer feared his Moon Blade.
Being an A-grade equipment enhanced seven times, the Crimson Flame Hammer was stronger than the Zhulong Moon Blade in terms of pure effect.
If the Moon Blade's weapon spirit hadn't been able to suppress the Crimson Flame Hammer's, it would have been hard to say who would have won between Qiao Yu and Huang Xiuqiang.
Happily stowing away the great hammer, Qiao Yu smiled.
His trip to Mechanical Metropolis was a complete success. The Mechanical Empress was repaired, he had advanced to a high-level, and he'd snagged two A-grade equipment pieces and a new A-grade skill.
This trip was a huge win! Qiao Yu had more trump cards for his upcoming trip to the Western Alliance.
"Time to go back..."
Qiao Yu muttered to himself. Song Qingshan had only given him three days, and the time was almost up.
"Come in, little mecha~ Don't pity me just because I'm a delicate flower~ Enter my body~"
Qiao Yu even winked at the Mechanical Empress, who instantly felt a chill.
"Get lost!"
The Mechanical Empress kicked out, sending Qiao Yu flying.
"Hey, what are you doing? It's not like it's the first time I've been inside." Qiao Yu clutched his chest, his face pained. He felt like he'd broken a couple of ribs.
"Qiao Yu... you go first. I'm not going." The Mechanical Empress slowly shook her head.
"Why?" Qiao Yu was dumbfounded.
"Engineer Hua Jun should have told you. The time flow in your world is completely different from the time flow in this world."
"I originally planned to sneak out for a few months, see what your world was like, and then come back. But in the blink of an eye, a century has passed here."
The Mechanical Empress looked apologetic.
"As the Black Empress... my willfulness has caused my people too much suffering. The vast Mechanical Kingdom can't be supported by the White Empress alone. So, I can't leave again."
Qiao Yu was silent. He knew the Mechanical Empress couldn't stay by his side forever, but he didn't expect the separation to come so soon.
"Then... will we ever meet again?" Qiao Yu couldn't help but ask.
"Yes."
The Mechanical Empress smiled.
"When I find a new Black Empress, I'll come find you. Or, when you get strong enough, you can come find me."
"Okay! You can't lie to me. If you lie to me, I'll post the video of you doing the shaking flower dance everywhere!" Qiao Yu said seriously.
Mechanical Empress: "..."
Bang!
Another size 35 footprint appeared on Qiao Yu's chest.
"Alright, they're coming to pick me up. You should go." The Mechanical Empress reached out and gently touched Qiao Yu, and his injuries instantly healed.
"It's okay, I'll see you off." Qiao Yu smiled, a hint of reluctance in his eyes.
He had long regarded the Mechanical Empress as a partner he could entrust his life to. In Qiao Yu's heart, the Mechanical Empress was no less important than Ma Fei and Yang Xiangdi.
Soon, a mighty army of robots arrived at the Mechanical Metropolis.
The humans who had stirred up the turmoil were quickly suppressed, and the entire Mechanical Metropolis was restored to tranquility.
A tall robot in silver armor strode up to the Mechanical Empress and knelt on one knee.
"Welcome back, Black Empress!"
He was the strongest of this army, Marta!
With his shout, the vast robot army instantly knelt down.
"Welcome back, Black Empress!"
The huge shout echoed through the sky, scattering the clouds and revealing the blue sky.
The aura of the mechanical soldiers made Qiao Yu feel suffocated, because each of them was at least at the King rank!
Each soldier's face was filled with extreme fanaticism for the Mechanical Empress, as if she was the only true god.
That boundless ocean of soldiers, where even King-ranks could only serve as small soldiers, was terrifying.
The Mechanical Empress reluctantly turned back to look at Qiao Yu, then left into the distance, surrounded by the robot army.
"Phew!"
Qiao Yu let out a breath. All feasts must come to an end. Life was like a train moving forward, and now it was time for the Mechanical Empress to get off.
Just as Qiao Yu was about to leave the Mechanical Metropolis dungeon, a hand suddenly grabbed his neck and slammed him to the ground.
"Ugh!"
Qiao Yu opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. The wounds that had just been healed reopened, staining the ground red.
Marta, the silver-armored robot who had led the army, stared at Qiao Yu with a cold and sinister gaze.
"So you're the human Desolate Ancient Holy Body? You're pathetically weak. It's only because the Black Empress is simple-minded and doesn't understand the world that she was deceived by a waste like you for a century."
"If killing you wouldn't displease the Black Empress, I would crush you like an ant right now."
Marta stepped on Qiao Yu's chest and ground his foot lightly, and the sound of cracking bones came from Qiao Yu's body. But Qiao Yu gritted his teeth and didn't say a word.
The pressure from Marta was no less than that of Ji Pingyang. This was clearly a Saint-rank robot!
"Heh, how pitiful."
Marta looked at Qiao Yu's desperate resistance and sneered, then kicked Qiao Yu away.
"Get lost! If I ever see you again, even if it incurs the Black Empress's wrath, I will kill you!"
"A lowly human dares to try to approach the noble Black Empress. What a fool's dream."
Marta turned and slowly walked out of the city, preparing to catch up with the main force.
As he walked, Marta realized that a shadow had fallen over his head.
"Huh?" Marta raised his head in confusion and saw a huge hammer appearing above him, hurtling down with a violent heartbeat!
And the person wielding the hammer was none other than Qiao Yu, whom he had just regarded as an ant, covered in blood!
"You tin can ambushed me and thought you could just leave? Are you bullying an honest man! Take my Honest Man's Hammer!"
At this time, Qiao Yu was seriously injured, and his Berserk state had reached its peak.
With the Crimson Flame Hammer's added 1500 attack power and the Yin-Yang Conversion's double attack power, Qiao Yu's attack power was now close to ten thousand!
Even a King-rank would tremble at this strike.
Unfortunately, Qiao Yu was facing a true Saint-rank.
"Heh, an ant trying to shake a tree. Overestimating yourself."
Marta raised his hand and caught the hammer almost effortlessly.
His mechanical compound eyes were already filled with killing intent. Since this lowly human didn't know what was good for him, he might as well send him to be reincarnated!
Just as Marta was about to strike, a violent burst of flame erupted from the Crimson Flame Hammer, engulfing him completely.
"Damn it!"
Although the flames couldn't hurt Marta, they were enough to burn all the clothes off his body. Caught off guard, Marta was burned in a very sorry state.
When he put out the flames, there was no sign of Qiao Yu. After swinging the hammer, Qiao Yu had directly opened the light gate and slipped out of the Mechanical Metropolis dungeon.
"Human Holy Body! If you dare to appear in the Mechanical Kingdom again, I, Marta, will kill you!"
Marta's mechanical body was trembling with anger. Since his creation, he had never been made to look so pathetic.
"Marta, is it? I'll remember you. You wait until I reach the Saint-rank, and I'll tear you apart and sell you to the scrap yard by the pound."
Back at Jing University, Qiao Yu couldn't help but curse.
This Marta was a lunatic who had suddenly jumped out and seriously injured him.
Besides, when had he abducted the Mechanical Empress? It was a great injustice. The Mechanical Empress had insisted on following him! How could he be blamed?
"What's wrong? What are you muttering about? Did you run into trouble?" Shen Jianshu, holding a thermos cup, appeared silently by Qiao Yu's side like a ghost.
"Damn it! Professor Shen, what are you doing here? You scared me to death!" Qiao Yu couldn't help but say.
"Scared to death? That's good. I'll turn you into an undead creature. With your physique, you'll be incredibly strong as an undead warrior!" Shen Jianshu's eyes lit up.
Qiao Yu: "..."
"Alright, I'm just kidding. Old Song has made all the arrangements. He's just waiting for you to come back. Get ready to go! No, get ready to set off!"
Shen Jianshu picked up his thermos cup and took a sip of hot tea, hiding the reluctance in his eyes.
"So soon? Can't you wait for me to say goodbye to Yang Xiangdi?"
Smack!
A white bone dragon tail slapped the back of Qiao Yu's head, and Shen Jianshu's forehead was covered in black lines.
"My little ancestor, this is sending you to the Western Alliance as an undercover agent and to hide from Bai Ze. Did you think you were going on vacation? Say goodbye? The fewer people who know about this, the better!"
Qiao Yu rubbed his nose sheepishly. He then realized that Shen Jianshu had already sealed off the area, and there was not a soul around.
"If that's the case, let's go!"
Qiao Yu took out the mask that Song Qingshan had given him and put it on his face. Instantly, his appearance changed to another gloomy one.
He was no longer Qiao Yu, but Warde烙·Tian'e!
Shen Jianshu nodded in satisfaction and said,
"Not only does your appearance have to change, but your necromancy and your sword must never be used unless it's a matter of life and death! The people of the Western Alliance have studied those things thoroughly. Once you use them in public, your identity will be immediately exposed!"
"Don't worry, Professor Shen, I understand." Qiao Yu nodded.
"Also, the language used in the Western Alliance is completely different from ours. You have to be careful not to expose yourself!"
"Okay, Professor Shen."
"By the way! You'd better not use wood-based magic either, because you used wood-based magic in the combat competition before. It's easy to arouse suspicion!"
"Okay... Professor Shen."
"And and..."
Shen Jianshu chattered on, seemingly wanting to say more. Qiao Yu reached out and gave the thin old man a big hug, saying in a firm tone,
"Don't worry, Professor Shen. Don't worry, I will definitely come back alive!"
Like the silkworm that spins silk until death, and the candle that weeps tears until it turns to ash, Qiao Yu could clearly feel the old man's concern for him.
Shen Jianshu's hand holding the thermos cup trembled slightly, then he reached out and gently rubbed Qiao Yu's head, pretending to be relaxed as he took a sip of hot tea.
"Be careful in everything over there."
"Yeah! When I go back to Great Xia Ancient Country, I will definitely bring you back a few hot foreign chicks to repay you!"