Despite the thick ice shell and shell sphere blocking most of Lin Zhen’s perception of the outside world, and the suddenness of Zachary’s assault, that didn’t mean they were unaware of what was happening out there.
The sudden sensation of falling, the ice shell that wasn’t being replenished, and the constant tremors and impacts from outside—all these factors pointed to one possibility: the enemy was under attack.
This prompted Lin Zhen to quickly decide to break free immediately. He even guessed that Zachary and the others might have made a move, intending to coordinate with them for a pincer attack.
But Lin Zhen hadn’t expected that, even though Zachary and his team were members of the Interstellar Security Office and far from weak, they would still be so cleanly defeated by this pitch-black mech.
The massive block of ice that formed in an instant preserved everything that had happened like a painting.
Luotuo stared at the eerie red hue fading from the armor of his captain and teammates trapped in the ice, his eyes filled with horror and cold sweat streaming down his back.
“Flame-burning state?”
Even using the flame-burning state, they still couldn’t take down the enemy. This was definitely not someone they could handle.
“We need to get out of here now, while she’s frozen herself!” he urged in a low, anxious voice.
“It’s too late! We can’t outrun her!” Lin Zhen stepped forward and said.
“Given the terrifying mobility this mech showed when it landed, none of us have flight abilities. There’s absolutely no way to shake it off. Instead of waiting for the enemy to break free and easily catch up to us, crushing us one by one, we should try to kill her right now while we have the chance!”
Lin Zhen suddenly extended his right hand, his eyes focused.
【Metal Reconstruction】!
The star energy in his body drained wildly. His supernatural power forcibly broke through the star energy barrier inside the ice and made contact with the mech’s outer shell.
As the feedback from his power came through, Lin Zhen gained a wealth of valuable information in an instant.
The mech’s outer shell was indeed made of metal. Not just any metal—a highly special biometal.
The manufacturer had used a unique process to mix star energy metal powder into it, granting it the special property of star energy conductivity, typically only found in star energy metals.
Combining biometal with star energy metal to create an alloy that possessed the special effects of both had been a hot research topic for the past thousand years. Yet, until today, no one had achieved any truly practical results.
Except… for the mech before him!
Lin Zhen was astonished, but he didn’t forget to use his power to control the mech. His power perception tried to penetrate the outer shell and reach inside, aiming to directly destroy the core components.
But just then, an overwhelming surge of star energy erupted from within, violently shredding his perception.
Lin Zhen’s head throbbed, and a warm trickle flowed from his nose. He staggered back a step, barely suppressing the scream that nearly escaped his throat.
Looking up, he saw the two eerie red lights flickering on Dark Dust’s visor fixated on him.
“Not good!”
Lin Zhen leaped back. Sharp spears made of star energy alloy quickly formed at his side. With a wave of his hand, they shot toward the pitch-black mech inside the ice.
Crack!
Without any visible movement from Dark Dust, the ice clamping her arms and the black ropes binding her limbs shattered simultaneously.
She stared coldly at Lin Zhen and, still inside the ice, began walking toward him.
Shing!
The hastily formed third-level star energy metal spears were still sharp, easily piercing the ice like tofu. One meter, two meters, three meters…
The deeper the spears went, the slower their progress. No matter how frantically Lin Zhen poured in star energy to control them, it was useless. He could only watch as one by one they got frozen solid.
Their star energy indexes were simply not on the same level.
Lin Zhen realized this fact once again.
Dark Dust moved through the ice like a ghost, walking between the spears with deceptive speed. In the blink of an eye, one leg had already stepped out of the ice.
Just then, a graceful figure dragged a trail of red light and slashed a blood-red arc toward Dark Dust.
The hellfire on the long blade blazed fiercely. The reinforced third-level star energy metal long sword cut through the ice as easily as tofu, aiming for Dark Dust’s chest.
Considering that this enemy, named Dark Dust, might be a drone weapon controlled by a terminal, she didn’t aim for the head—a position that wasn’t necessarily a weak point.
Zzzzt!
The melted ice dripped scalding hot water.
Dark Dust watched the incoming blade. As if sensing its terrifying lethality, she paused slightly, then actively raised her right hand toward the attack.
The next second, a blinding blue light bloomed from her palm.
Ice spread outward at an incredible speed, expanding more than five times in just a few seconds.
Zi Jiu’s usual caution saved her life. The moment she saw Dark Dust’s unnatural reaction, she decisively abandoned her weapon and retreated. This barely allowed her to escape being frozen.
Now, with her back against the giant pit in Little Screw City, she stared at the massive block of ice over two hundred meters high that had almost frozen the entire forest. Her eyes were grave.
“That strike I just made was perfectly timed. Against most enemies I’ve faced, it would have cut them in half. But this time, I’m up against someone like this. No openings—or rather, her overwhelming strength is enough to cover any flaw she has.”
‘Your ability: use fire to enhance weapons. Your enemy: can fly and freeze hundreds of meters with a raise of the hand. Is this matchmaking reasonable?’
‘Same garbage matchmaking as the Sea of Stones.’
‘How are we supposed to fight this? Even if Xiao Yu comes over, she probably wouldn’t stand a chance.’
‘Don’t tell me Lao Xi is going to help again. Seeing her husband get beaten up, then suddenly breaking out of the brainwashing state or something.’
‘Don’t tell me Lao Xi is going to help again. Seeing her husband get beaten up, that’s way too cliché. Lao Zhen looks like a clown. Might as well let Lao Xi be the protagonist.’
‘Lao Xi has twice the spotlight of Lao Zhen. She’s been the protagonist for a while now.’
Anvil set Aili down from his arms. Whether from the lingering fear or from running so fast while carrying someone, his face was flushed red as he panted heavily.
“She’s a monster!” he blurted out.
“I told you we should’ve left!” Luotuo’s eyes were red. Like an animal exhibiting stereotypical behavior, he kept stroking his face even though his visor was already lowered, his voice anxious.
“The captain and the others used the flame-burning state, pushing their physical abilities to the level of a third-level fighter, and they still didn’t last half a minute. This guy is definitely at the fourth-level starcapable level!”
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