Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

The intentions of the other party were still unknown, but their strength was definitely formidable.

[??? (Human) (Alliance) —— When killed with "Lucky Strike", it drops: Guaranteed (Fresh Meat*1800, Bio-Component (Imitation)*150, Combat Experience 2800 points); High Probability (Mastery: Combat Specialization Layer +1, up to layer 6, Mastery: Heavy Weapon Specialization Layer +1, up to layer 6); Possible (Trait: Adaptability Implant, Trait: Biomechanical Body (False), Trait: Death Defiance).]

Just from the drop rate panel, it was no less impressive than the Blood God from before.

And it clearly stated the source of the opponent's combat power —— biochemical modification.

They followed the same combat power route as the soldiers stationed at the Root Server ruins of the Internet we explored before, just that today's technology differed greatly from that of the Golden Age.

Grey Iron City…

After becoming the team leader, Bai E unlocked quite a few privileges.

In the past few days, besides basic training, he had also gone to the citadel's Knowledge Hall to cram a great deal of common knowledge about this world.

Naturally, there were detailed records about the current world order and the nearby cities relatively close to Blackwater City.

Since the demise of the last Emperor of the Empire, the Empire was only a name, fragmented and fallen apart.

Each city governed itself, each becoming its own overlord.

In short, the Empire "went bust and split the assets"...

Of course, due to the covetous gaze of foreign races, the process of splitting assets was relatively peaceful. Each city chose different development paths according to its strategical inclinations, including its natural resources, among other factors.

Blackwater City was relatively moderate, mainly focusing on machinery and biotechnology, eventually becoming a city whose primary warfare weapons were artificial humans.

Grey Iron City, on the other hand, did not entertain the concept of artificial humans. Although their situation was not as perilous as Blackwater City's, they faced another danger — the poison fog.

Or to be precise, toxic spores.

Once a city takes root, it cannot simply pick up and leave.

The perpetual poison fog meant those born there suffered from it from a young age, with less than fifty percent of newborns surviving initially.

And even those children lucky enough to survive were not immune to the toxic fog that permeated the air. Therefore, biotechnological modifications in response to the environment were extremely important to Grey Iron City.

This was the backdrop hundreds of years ago...

Even four hundred years after the remnants of the Golden Age had been left behind, the long-term coexistence had already led to the locals of Grey Iron City developing resistance to the toxic spores. This inherited habit of body modification also continued to persist.

It was said that their body modification techniques were barbaric and wild, with the process often accompanied by unimaginable pain. Every individual lucky enough to survive the modification gained tremendous enhancements in combat strength.

Focusing on biochemical modification at their core, they had their own methods of increasing combat effectiveness tailored for bio-modified bodies.

Every one of their bio-modified warriors was regarded as a superhuman in the eyes of ordinary humans.

In fact, their goal was precisely this: to create a city-state where every citizen was a superhuman.

Apparently, so far, they had developed numerous body modification surgeries, with each completion being a leap in quality. However, according to the limited information obtained by Blackwater City — much like the limitations of the Gene Optimization Solution on the human body — there had yet to be a person who successfully underwent all the surgeries.

It was just uncertain how many surgeries this seemingly amiable Grey Iron City warrior, who was quite the manly prowess, had completed.

...

"He's lying," said the burly teammate, glancing towards a tall and thin, pale figure of indeterminate sex in the group, his eyes filled with a hint of awe.

Blackwater City was aware of Grey Iron City, and Grey Iron City also knew about Blackwater City.

Unlike Grey Iron City's absolute elite strategy, Blackwater City preferred to create a rabble.

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For any significant mission, they would definitely not just dispatch a squad of five.

The five-man squad I saw must be only part of their operation, the rest... they chose to hide.

And hiding... typically signifies malice.

"Oh?" said a gender-neutral, raspy voice that also couldn't be identified as male or female, the white-haired creature looking towards the direction of the rift, "It seems our allies don't trust us."

"But no matter..." the white-haired one extended its crimson, slender tongue and licked its lips, its gaze shining with a bloody glow, "I will eat them up!"

The boy with a telescope, who had recently joined the squad, couldn't help but shiver at these words.

Just like witnessing a human chew on duck necks, he could almost see his squadron leader crouched over the corpses of his kin, gruesomely gnawing at his own kind.

Before joining the team, he had heard that the captain he was assigned to was not normal, and now it was clear he was far from it.

"Let's go, meet them," said the only member of the team who could be certain was a woman, striding with her long legs toward the direction of the rift, "Let's see if these people from Blackwater City can be of any help."

...

Bai E saw the entirety of the opposing five-man team.

Three men, one woman, and one who was indistinguishable.

Apart from the boy who seemed nervous and timid, the other four... judging from experience, seemed to have comparable strength.

"We are all here for the base station, let's skip the small talk and get straight to the point," said the one woman from the five, stepping forward and extending her right hand towards Bai E.

Bai E looked up and asked with a smile to the female warrior who stood half a head taller than himself, "Are you the captain?"

The female warrior looked quite aged, with sallow skin, thick lips, and did not wear a full-body combat suit, but a sleeveless black jacket and shorts, appearing more like a carefree mercenary.
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"Acting captain," the female warrior turned aside, giving way to the white-haired figure whose half body was blocked by her silhouette, "She's the real captain."

The white-haired creature's eyes, hidden beneath the uneven white bangs, glanced at Bai E, a flash of dark red shooting through them.

There was no smile, nor any intention to speak.

Bai E nodded towards her in greeting, then turned his attention back to the acting captain, "Have you already figured out a plan?"

"Hmm..." the female warrior nodded, "We've been observing for two days..."

The purpose of the mechs dominating this place was the same as what they had always been doing—accumulating resources.

Or rather, mining.

Much like extracting oil, iron, rare earth minerals, and other tangible resources, within this Golden Age relic of an information base station, the mechs could also mine a resource called "Computing Power Module."

It would be crafted into "logic chips" and implanted into each new-born mech, acting as their "brain."

This was their purpose in building a fortress here.

And precisely because of this, even though the mechs' actions were equivalent to restarting the information base station, it could not be connected to the human internet network and function effectively.

It was necessary to destroy their extraction equipment to free the "trapped" base station from its cage.

Of course, understanding their purpose was just essential intelligence gathering; it was more urgent to ascertain the enemy's strength and configuration.

"They also need supplies, and the 'Computing Power Modules' they mine need to be transported to their true lair. They will have a dedicated transportation team for this task, and it will pass through here every day."

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