Volume 1, Chapter 5: Seize This Thug

"A Legendary-grade skill?" Zhang Wei’s mech body couldn't help but tremble.

He knew all too well how difficult it was to obtain such skills. In his previous life, it was merely an Epic-grade skill source crystal that had led to his death. While Epic-grade items were precious, by the tenth year of the Machine Descent, their value had plummeted significantly; only truly powerful Epic-grade skills commanded high prices. However, even the most mediocre Epic-grade skill was an undisputed god-tier ability during the early stages of the Machine Descent, not to mention a Legendary-grade skill, which remained priceless and unattainable even a decade later.

"Use."

*Ding!* "Successfully learned Super Combat Power Enhancement. Base combat power +200."

"So powerful!" Zhang Wei exclaimed in delight. "Just learning a skill grants a 200-point boost to combat power."

For a veteran like Zhang Wei, such a bonus was unimaginable. An ordinary mech might not even reach 200 combat power after two evolutions. He didn't rush to feel the changes in his mech's performance; instead, he immediately checked the skill's effects.

[Super Combat Power Enhancement: Utilizes the mech's super-energy state to double its combat power for 100 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes.]

"That's insane!" Zhang Wei marveled again. "Is this the power of a Legendary skill?" His iron hand, gripping his combat blade, shook slightly. "No wonder Zhang Tao was so strong in my past life. This skill might seem modest now, but once my base combat power increases..."

200 becoming 400 was decent. But what if it were 10,000 becoming 20,000? Or 100,000 becoming 200,000? Most importantly, the skill had a long duration and a very short cooldown—a mere ten minutes.

Zhang Wei looked back. The rats in the traps were still in the process of transformation; their bodies were swelling, but they were only the size of a local dog. It would likely take another half hour for the transformation to complete.

He sat on the mountaintop, gazing into the distance. His blade was stuck in the ground beside him, and his shield lay at his feet.

"In this life, I will be invincible."

He warned himself, contemplating his path forward. As he formulated his plans and waited for the rats to mechanize, several large figures suddenly emerged in the mining area.

"Oh, it's starting. Those must be heavy-duty mechs." Watching the mechs appear in the quarry, Zhang Wei felt a flicker of envy. By his estimation, the raw dump-truck mechs stood about fifteen meters tall—five meters taller than his own. They looked much sturdier; they were undoubtedly heavy-duty models. Since his own medium-sized mech possessed a Super Matrix Engine, the standard engine for these heavy-duty ones must be even better.

"Should I dismantle one and snatch the engine?" A heated impulse rose in Zhang Wei’s heart.

The engine was the power source of a mech. It provided mobility for walking, running, and combat. After the first evolution, mechs could perform short-range thruster maneuvers, whether in close-quarters or ranged combat. For instance, if Zhang Wei were to use a thruster burst right now from the mountaintop, he could easily reach the hillside. If the engine had enough power for continuous bursts, short-distance flight would not be impossible.

"Take it!" Zhang Wei made his decision. Even though his Super Matrix Engine was sufficient, a better one was right in front of him—how could he call himself invincible if he didn't take it?

Zhang Wei stood up quickly, grabbed his blade and shield, and dashed toward the mining area at top speed.

Under the crushing force of a ten-meter-tall mech, the mountain path posed no obstacle; small trees and rocks were easily trampled. When Zhang Wei entered the mining zone, he found it in chaos. People were running about, aimlessly gathering around various models of mechs, chattering excitedly.

There were many vehicles in the quarry, with mechs of different sizes lined up everywhere. Some were already being piloted, though the skill levels of the operators were painful to watch—they stumbled about like toddlers learning to walk. Among them were some ten-meter medium-sized mechs converted from heavy trucks, but their build quality was inferior to Zhang Wei's, which was brand new.

Ignoring the chaotic crowd, Zhang Wei strode toward the nearest yellow heavy-duty mech.

"As expected, it’s five meters taller than mine."

"Holy crap, look! That big thing is moving so smoothly! Who is that?"

"My god, that machine is so cool!"

"I can't take it, I'm going home. I have a truck at home; I can pilot a mech too!"

A crowd stared at Zhang Wei with envious, burning gazes that, if they had physical temperature, would have melted his mech instantly.

"What is he doing?"

"What the—!"

People were initially shocked by the fluidity of Zhang Wei's movements, but when he raised his combat blade, the situation changed. Although Zhang Wei's mech looked smaller than the heavy-duty one, its combat power far exceeded it. After the skill boost, his combat power reached 226 points, while these heavy-duty mechs had a maximum of only 30 or 40.

Combat power was the sole metric for a mech's strength—it dictated raw power, defensive capability, speed, and endurance. Of course, combat power was not the same as actual combat effectiveness, which relied on human pilot skill, tactics, and willpower. But the heavy-duty mech before him had no pilot; its combat effectiveness was zero.

*Screech!*

Sparks flew as the blade struck the heavy-duty mech. Zhang Wei’s blade successfully carved into the machine's body.

"Without the high combat power boost, this blade wouldn't have been able to penetrate the defense of a heavy-duty mech," Zhang Wei noted. To onlookers, his actions were graceful and efficient, but only he knew that his crude, makeshift blade was not sharp at all. Fortunately, his combat power compensated for it.

"Where is the engine?"

Lacking knowledge of heavy-duty mech architecture, Zhang Wei threw his blade and shield to the ground after cutting an opening, then thrust his hands into the gap and began to tear.

He decided that if he couldn't find the engine, he would simply strip the machine down to its parts. The process of violent demolition was smooth; with high combat power came great strength and speed. Since he was tearing it apart regardless of damage, it went very quickly. In just a few minutes, the fifteen-meter-tall mech was reduced to a pile of scrap.

"Found it!" Zhang Wei grabbed the heavy-duty engine. His mech's eyes emitted two beams of light—a built-in identification skill. For mechanical items, as long as they weren't too high-grade, they could be identified this way.

[Dual-Cycle Nuclear Engine.]

"Indeed, it’s a grade higher than my original engine. Store in mech inventory."

The sub-light engine in his hand vanished. Mechs possessed internal storage space, which expanded with the size of the machine. Zhang Wei’s internal storage was about one cubic meter—sufficient for source crystals and the like. If he wanted more space, he would need to equip a cargo hold, which could only be obtained from source crystals. Ordinary crystals wouldn't yield equipment; one needed at least an Intermediate-grade crystal to find gear.

Equipment was categorized into internal and external. Internal: engines, cargo holds, and modules. External: weapons, armor, and thrusters. There were also special items, like floating cannons. Currently, Zhang Wei only had his engine and his crude weapon.

"Retreat."

Having obtained the engine, Zhang Wei didn't linger and immediately fled. He wasn't sure if that guy, Zhang Tao, was here. If he were, and he reacted, he might lead a group to surround him. Most importantly, there was no benefit in killing these primitive mechs now. There were many mechs here, and while his combat power was high, in this era of low power, numerical superiority was a significant advantage.

As for whether Zhang Tao would hold a grudge, Zhang Wei wasn't worried. Once he raised his mech to level ten, he would undergo his first evolution, which would fundamentally change the machine's appearance. Even if someone had taken photos of him now, he wouldn't be recognized later.

"He ran! He ran, what do we do?"

"Call the boss! We can't afford to pay for this big thing!"

People had not yet realized that the apocalypse had arrived. If only humans possessed mechs, there wouldn't be much turmoil. The true apocalypse would begin once animals were mechanized. But these people were ignorant; they only feared their boss would demand compensation, so they felt compelled to report it and capture the "thug."