bookrandom Chapter 79 Mech Level 8.3!
Chapter 79 Mech Level 8.3!
The next day.
Chengdu Yuanfang Bureau, Modification Room.
Wang Xing is no stranger to this place.
Not long ago, he completed the Western Theater Command's modifications to his Tiger-type mech here, incorporating the Howling Tiger-patterned steel and the Storm Transmission Kit.
At this moment, the giant robotic arm inside the modified structure was suspended in mid-air, occasionally emitting a heavy hissing sound of hydraulic valves venting, and the air was filled with the burnt smell of metal left over from high-temperature welding.
"Yo, Wang Xing!"
As soon as Wang Xing passed through the pneumatic safety door, a deep and familiar voice came from behind him.
Turning around, I saw Lei Zhen, dressed in a dark blue uniform and holding a stainless steel thermos, striding towards me. This leader of the second group of the Abyss Defense Bureau still wore his signature tough smile on his square face.
"Team Leader Lei, what are you doing here?"
Wang Xing was slightly surprised.
"I specifically waited for you here."
Lei Zhen stopped and looked Wang Xing up and down, a hint of undisguised admiration and emotion flashing in his eyes. "Congratulations, Wang Xing... no, wait, should I now call you the 'Champion Wang' of the Hundred Schools Competition?"
Wang Xing blushed and touched his nose: "Team Leader Lei, please don't joke with me. I was just lucky."
"Luck? The ability to defeat the Wrathstone Mech with its Sacred Stone Body doesn't involve 'luck.' And even if there were luck involved, it's still part of strength. Why doesn't my son Raymond have that kind of luck?"
Lei Zhen laughed heartily and patted Wang Xing on the shoulder:
"Alright, enough chit-chat. The headquarters gave us an urgent order last night: your grand prize reward, the [Taibai Fusion Crystal], has been delivered to the warehouse by special personnel. Today, Old Chen, the best craftsman here, will personally handle the modifications for you."
As he spoke, Lei Zhen rubbed his hands together curiously and chuckled, "Last time you modified your mecha here, the compatibility of that Storm kit amazed me. It directly helped your mecha break through to level seven or higher. Today, you don't mind if I watch from the sidelines, do you?"
"Of course I don't mind."
Wang Xing laughed, but then sighed, saying somewhat unsure of himself, "However, Team Leader Lei, what I'm going to modify this time is only a mecha weapon. Although the Taibai Fusion Crystal is a great treasure, modifying only the weapon probably won't significantly improve the mecha's rating, and might even offer no boost at all... The data might not look good when it comes out later."
In the Federation's conventional understanding, the rating of a mech mainly depends on four major components: the core engine, the transmission system, the outer armor material, and the armor neural network.
Weapons are ultimately just external accessories and have nothing to do with the mech itself.
Even if you're wielding a planet-destroying cannon, if the mech's engine is a bottleneck, its rating won't go up much.
This was also the part that Wang Xing had the biggest reservations about when choosing this reward.
The Taibai Fusion Crystal upgrade is for the mecha tiger-striped battle sword in Wang Xing's hand. The battle sword has become stronger, but it may not necessarily have a significant effect on improving the level of the mecha.
"That's not necessarily true."
Lei Zhen took a meaningful sip of tea, his expression revealing a hint of the mystery of a veteran:
"Taibai Fusion Crystal is not an ordinary alloy ore. Within the Star Alliance, it is called 'Active Conductive Crystal.' Sometimes, the energy resonance that a top-tier weapon generates for the pilot and the mech can exceed your imagination."
"She's awake. Let's go pick up the goods!"
……
The process of picking up the goods was extremely rigorous.
In front of the secure vault deep inside, Lei Zhen and Wang Xing passed through three metal explosion-proof doors.
In front of the final safe, a fully armed major from the Yuanfang Army verified Wang Xing's identity.
"Please enter your fingerprints and undergo an iris scan."
Wang Xing stepped forward and placed his right hand on the sensor. A gentle red light then swept across his pupils.
"Click, hiss—"
The heavy, cryogenic explosion-proof box slowly opened, and with billowing white nitrogen mist, a rhomboid crystal, translucent throughout and with a bright silver liquid glow flowing inside, appeared before Wang Xing's eyes.
That is the [Tai Bai Fusion Crystal].
Even just being exposed to the air, the faint cold light emanating from the crystal surface caused the "Divine Tiger Particle" on Wang Xing's right thumb to tremble slightly, as if it had generated a strange sense of hunger.
"Such a heavy aura of metal and evil." Wang Xing was secretly alarmed.
……
The two carried the boxes back to the familiar modification and preparation room.
Sure enough, Old Chen, the white-haired master craftsman who helped Wang Xing with his modifications last time, was already waiting in front of the control panel.
"Old Chen, I've brought the person to you. All the things are here too," Lei Zhen shouted.
Old Chen turned around, and upon seeing Wang Xing, his previously serious face immediately filled with wrinkles: "Oh, the number one genius of Rongcheng has arrived!"
"Come on, enough with the nonsense, hoist your [Tiger-type] onto the platform and let's measure the basic data first."
Two minutes later, the 2.5-meter-tall, 2.8-ton, and agile Tiger-type mech was secured to the suspension frame by thick alloy chains.
Countless fiber optic cables and sensor wires were attached to the various joints of the mech, and the green screen on the control console immediately displayed data:
[Mech Model: Tiger Type (Beast Armor Humanoid)]
Current rating: 7.5.
[Weapon attachment: Howling Tiger-patterned Steel Battle Blade (50 kg).]
"Level 7.5, a very solid foundation."
Old Chen pushed up his reading glasses and then turned his gaze to the black battle sword that Wang Xing had taken off his back. It was several meters long.
The blade is thick and wide, covered with strange red patterns resembling a crouching tiger, exuding a sense of weight and dominance.
"Howling Tiger Striped Steel is an excellent energy-conducting metal."
Old Chen stroked the blade, his eyes becoming incredibly fanatical:
"What we're going to do today isn't simply to set the 'Taibai Fusion Crystal' into the hilt like a gemstone. We're going to use 'High-Frequency Ion Melting Technology' to completely pulverize and vaporize the entire fusion crystal, and then, in an ionic state, forcefully 'nail' it bit by bit into the gaps in the tiger-stripe steel lattice of this knife!"
Listening to Lao Chen's description full of hardcore aesthetics, Wang Xing couldn't help but feel a little excited.
"Not only that."
Pointing excitedly at the design blueprints on the control panel, Old Chen said, "I'll redraw three 'neural feedback circuits' made of superconducting nanowires inside the hilt, directly connecting them to the neuronal conduction points of your Tiger-Style Arm. In other words, after the modification, this sword will no longer be an inanimate object; it will become an 'extended skeleton' of your mecha arm!"
"This is a huge project, Lao Chen, can you handle it?" Lei Zhen asked worriedly from the side.
"Bullshit! I've been modifying mechs at the Abyss Defense Bureau for thirty years. If I could modify a treasure like this today, I'd be willing to work ten more years!"
Old Chen chuckled and cursed, then put on his radiation protection mask and abruptly pulled down the shut-off valve of the high-energy smelting furnace.
"boom--!!"
The intense, bright blue plasma light illuminated the entire workshop in an instant.
Wang Xing and Lei Zhen stood behind the thick protective glass.
Under the precise control of countless robotic arms, the Taibai molten crystal melted instantly in the ultra-high temperature electric arc, turning into a mass of liquid metal that flowed like mercury but emitted a chilling silver light.
Immediately afterwards, the high-frequency pulse laser began to roar, transforming the molten liquid abalone into countless nano-sized bright silver specks, which, guided by the magnetic field, rained down into the blade of the black battle sword.
With each burst of fire, the entire blade would emit a low, metallic wail, like that of a wild beast.
On the originally jet-black blade, the crimson tiger stripes began to come alive, frantically devouring the bright silver light.
This process lasted a full two hours.
When the plasma flames finally died down, the white mist used for cooling receded like a tide.
A brand-new battle sword floated silently on the worktable.
The overall shape of the knife has become more slender and sharp, and the originally rough, jet-black blade now gleams with a faint silver-blue metallic sheen.
The strangest thing is...
A bright silver ridge line appeared along the spine of the blade, extending from the hilt to the tip. Faint mist ionized at the edge of the blade and then dissipated.
"Phew...it's finally done."
Old Chen, somewhat exhausted, removed his mask, his face covered in sweat, but his eyes shone with an alarming brightness:
"Wang Xing, your knife has undergone a drastic change in metal density and molecular structure due to the incorporation of Taibai molten crystal. Its weight has now skyrocketed from 50 kilograms to 71 kilograms!"
Old Chen looked at him with some worry:
"A 71-kilogram heavy sword is a bit too much for your [Tiger Type]. An average Level 7 mech pilot probably couldn't even last two minutes of overloaded slashing with this sword."
Lei Zhen, who was standing to the side, also frowned slightly.
Weapons that are too heavy can sometimes become a burden.
However, when Wang Xing looked at the wild battle blade that gleamed with silver light, his eyes were filled with almost burning ecstasy.
71 kilograms?
This is a good thing!
Not only is his Qi and Blood now at level 8.5, but also, under the tempering of the Divine Tiger Treading the Abyss Technique and the Myriad Manifestations Prajna, his arms contain a terrifying divine power of nearly ten thousand jin.
The previous 50-kilogram battle sword felt somewhat light in his hands, unable to fully unleash the overwhelming power of the "Myriad Manifestations Prajna Divine Power".
This 70-kilogram heavy knife is practically a divine weapon tailor-made for him!
"Master Chen, let me give it a try!"
Wang Xing took a deep breath, strode forward without hesitation, and propelled the Tiger-type mech into existence.
The mechanical right hand of the Tiger-type mech suddenly thrust forward, its five mechanical fingers, gleaming with the cold light of alloy, gripping the brand-new battle sword on the worktable.
The instant the palm makes contact with the hilt of the knife.
"boom--!!"
Wang Xing felt a sudden explosion in the back of his head.
An unprecedented, tingling and numb sensation, like an electric current flowing through the whole body, instantly swept through the entire body along the sensory lines of neurons.
In his perception, the knife was no longer a cold piece of metal, but had truly become a part of his right arm.
The silver ridge line on the blade, composed of Taibai fused crystals, resembled a brand new meridian, frantically devouring and filtering the energy supplied by the mecha's core.
Even more amazing is...
Within Wang Xing's body, the "Divine Tiger Particle" at the tip of his right thumb seemed to resonate across the void. The surging blood and qi within his body, along with the hidden power of the Myriad Manifestations, flowed unreservedly through the metal frame of the mecha and poured into the tip of the blade!
"Sizzle—!"
At this moment, the sword in the mecha's hand displayed a terrifying sharpness in both dark gold and bright silver.
Qi and blood, along with mechs, achieved a near-miraculous and perfect unification!
[High-energy-level cold weapon detected...]
[A neural handshake is in progress...]
[Adaptation complete.]
At that very moment, the huge holographic monitoring screen above the modification room suddenly emitted a rapid red alarm.
Immediately afterwards, the previously stable data stream began to surge wildly!
[Warning! A violent fluctuation in the overall energy level of the organism has been detected!]
[Weapon system energy level upgrade... Power transmission efficiency correction...]
[Recalculating overall combat strength...]
Lei Zhen suddenly lowered his hands, which had been clasped in front of his chest, and stared intently at the screen.
The experienced craftsman's eyes widened as well.
On the screen, the numbers in the "Mech Level" column started jumping wildly.
7.5...7.8...8.0...8.2...
In the end, that bright red number froze at a position that made everyone feel suffocated.
[Overall Mech Rating: 8.3]
"Level 8.3?!"
At the same time, a hurried voice came from Xingyuan Touxi in Wang Xing's mind.
[Your mech sword has perfectly fused with the Taibai Fusion Crystal, and your mech level has now reached 8.3!]
[Note: Your HP is level 8.5 and your mech is level 8.3, meeting the dual level 8 standard, making you a formal Mech Pilot in the Big Dipper Alliance!]