Chapter 270: Unexpected Discovery
The whole world was quiet, as if creating a sufficiently peaceful atmosphere for Su Xia to break through.
On the street, two rows of mechanical warriors stood quietly in the rain, blue light flashing in their eyes, fully armed, motionless, like metal sculptures in the blurry rain.
Small, multi-legged mechanical creatures resembling spiders swarmed in from all directions, quietly climbing up onto the roofs on both sides of this old house along the cracks in the walls, water pipes, and exterior wall lines.
In the sky, more than a dozen pterosaur-like silver-white metallic creatures were hovering with their wings spread out. Their sharp wings cut through the rain curtain, and their rotating mechanical eyes took in the entire block.
In the underground world, countless worm-like mechanical monsters are waiting quietly in various pipes.
Outside this block, in the outer areas, three to five interception points are set up on each street, and heavy and huge mechanical monsters block intersections, street corners and other locations.
The rain and fog were hazy, and from a distance, the blurry figures of these monsters looked like they came from some terrifying alien world.
With the pharmacy as the center, a dragnet has taken shape.
"Oh my god, what happened?"
People were terrified. Pedestrians on the street even dropped their umbrellas and hurried back home in the heavy rain, closing their doors and windows and not daring to go out.
Even the homeless people hiding from the rain on the street corners were terrified. They huddled in the corners, covering their bodies with newspapers and cardboard, fearing that these mechanical creatures would suddenly move and attack them.
On the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, at regular intervals, human soldiers from the city defense department were carrying stance devices and waiting for orders.
Mechanicals are also psionic creatures and are affected by stance devices.
These devices will not be activated unless necessary, they only serve as a deterrent.
At the headquarters of Anluo, countless employees are working overtime to develop the "anti-position device". It has basically taken shape now, but it has not yet been miniaturized, which makes it very unfriendly to users.
The mechanical race requires that the anti-position device must be specific to each individual mechanical creature - during combat, the mechanical creature carrying the anti-position device can move freely in the position without being affected, exerting the power of psychic energy, while the enemy will be weakened to an ordinary creature.
"Master Yutuo, why don't you take action yet?"
"Wait, the city lord has his considerations. I heard that it is an internal matter of the mechanical clan and has nothing to do with us. Just watch from a distance."
The human officials of the city defense department stood on a tall building in the distance, each with a frown on their face and a worried look on their face.
In these cruel times, ignorance is bliss.
These officials know too much and think too much. It is normal for the mechanical tribe to not take action, as they can dominate ordinary people and bully others. But once the mechanical tribe takes action, the situation will be completely different.
As long as the mechanical race is willing, they can replace the top leaders of the current human puppet government at any time and support a group of new people to come to power.
"We just need to follow the adults' instructions and don't ask any questions."
They all held this plan and waited in agony for the heavy rain to end.
No one knows what Yuta is waiting for.
No one knows who the prey in this dragnet is.
Some people speculated that it was a masked monster who had disappeared for many days, while others thought it was a high-ranking member of a resistance organization. Opinions varied and there were many different opinions.
At this time on the old street, the rain water gathered into shallow streams, flowing by the feet of many mechanical soldiers.
Yu Tuo was still standing outside the window, his tall mechanical body was like a high wall. Although he didn't say a word, he felt very oppressive.
In the shop, Hong Bafu had already noticed the current situation.
Like Lan Bafu, he didn't dare to say a word, but cold sweat had already broken out on his forehead. Countless reasons flashed through his mind as to why Yu Tuo led his troops to surround the pharmacy. In the end, he stopped at a possibility that seemed reasonable but hard to believe - did his father do something big outside?
The air in the pharmacy was eerily quiet; even the sound of the chemicals reacting in Su Xia's test tube seemed so harsh.
“Squeak…”
In the transparent test tube, the turbid blue solution tumbled and sticky bubbles emerged.
Every time a bubble bursts, a wisp of light blue smoke appears, floats out of the test tube, and finally dissipates into nothingness.
If an ordinary person were nearby, one puff would cause dizziness and hallucinations, and it would take a long time to wake up.
Su Xia looked focused, waiting quietly for the reaction to complete before moving on to the next step.
In his mind, the swelling feeling that was about to explode was slowly subsiding, and the ocean of knowledge calmed down and gradually settled, leaving it for him to absorb slowly in the future.
Getting closer and closer to success, almost every step is perfect.
He himself didn't feel anything, everything just happened naturally.
On the contrary, Lan Bafu and Hong Bafu, who had been watching the whole time, were worried for him. They felt so immersed in the production, as if they were the ones making the other side of the blue.
You know, even for the two of them, the success rate of creating the blue other shore is not high, and the success and failure are basically 50-50.
The second hand of the old clock on the wall ticked away, making a clear and pleasant sound.
I don’t know how much time has passed.
Finally, Su Xia completed the last step.
“Bang!”
He put down the pliers in his hand and picked up the final result.
It was a transparent glass container. The solution in the container was dark blue with some silver-white starlight floating in it. If you shook it gently, the silver-white particles would flow along with the solution like sand, like a dream, like the Milky Way on a summer night.
Done!
Su Xia exhaled slowly and came out of that state of concentration.
From this moment on, he became a true fourth-level pharmacist and reached the front of this road. Even if he laid down his weapons from then on, he could still live a wealthy life that others could hardly imagine by relying only on potions.
"good!"
Outside the window, Yu Tuo's admiring voice was heard.
The many mechanical creatures around were a little surprised, because they rarely saw Yu Tuo praising others, which represented a great honor.
In the intelligence department, Wu Zhonggui was praised not long ago, and now he brags about it every time he gets together.
Su Xia already knew that Yu Tuo was coming, and now his perception was quite sharp, so he just pretended not to see it.
He put down the glass container in his hand, faced the window, and said respectfully: "Lord City Lord, it's raining heavily outside, please come in and take shelter from the rain."
"Yes, that's exactly what I meant."
The shells of the mechanical warriors are basically made of titanium alloy. They will not rust even if they are exposed to rain all day, so this little rain is nothing.
Mechanical creatures of noble status like Yu Tuo are almost entirely made of titanium alloy. Only some special parts have more complex requirements that cannot be met by the characteristics of titanium alloy and need to be replaced by other alloys.
Yu Tuo walked into the pharmacy. His tall body looked like a giant, and his head almost touched the ceiling of the first floor of the store.
He dispatched his most powerful main body, which shows how seriously he takes this matter.
If it is an unimportant matter, just use that ordinary two-meter-tall clone robot to run a trip.
“Crack…”
Because the body was so heavy, the wooden floor on the ground actually cracked and sank, unable to bear the weight of the all-metal machinery.
Seeing this, Yu Tuo was thoughtful and whispered: "Some parts may be replaced with lighter materials to reduce energy loss, but they also need to meet the requirements of the original design..."
Hong Bafu and Lan Bafu were both very nervous and did not dare to say anything. They also did not know what Yu Tuo's mumbling meant.
Su Xia understood.
Recently, Yu Tuo has been obsessed with designing clones and is busy all day designing various drawings, modeling, material analysis, energy control, etc.
Perhaps the masked man put too much pressure on him, or perhaps he just wanted to become stronger and more perfect, so he wanted to change his current body.
"Let me see the medicine." Yu Tuo suddenly spoke.
"OK."
Su Xia moved quickly, picked up the glass container beside him and handed it to Yu Tuo respectfully.
Yu Tuo pinched the container bottle with two mechanical fingers, shook it gently, nodded slightly, and said, "Is it a hallucinogenic drug?"
"Yes."
"Very good. When I first met you, you were still an apprentice, but now you can be called a master."
"You are too kind, Lord City Lord." Su Xia was very humble. "My teacher once said that a true master always has the heart of a student."
"That's true."
Yu Tuo put down the medicine, his eyes flickering as he looked around the entire pharmacy.
His voice was calm as he continued, "I came here this time because of your teacher's matter."
"Lord City Lord, is there something wrong with the teacher?" Su Xia was surprised, with a hint of worry in her voice, "He went out for a walk after dinner last night, and he never came back."
"He said he was going for a walk?"
"Yes."
"You haven't been back for so long, haven't you ever thought of contacting him?"
"I tried this morning, but the teacher left his phone in his room." Su Xia said worriedly, "I can't contact him now. If the teacher doesn't come back tonight, I plan to ask the sheriff in the city for help."
"Has there ever been a case of someone not returning for a long time?" Yu Tuo asked.
"some."
Su Xia answered honestly: "The teacher has many pharmacist friends, many of whom work in small towns in the surrounding suburbs. During holidays, the teacher will contact them and occasionally visit them ."
"The pharmacist from Luoxing Town last time was your teacher's friend?"
"Yes."
Luoxing Town, where the masked man first appeared.
At that time, Su Xia had just entered the sect, and his father asked him, Hong Bafu and Lan Bafu to go to Luoxing Town to deliver medicine.
However, when the three arrived at Luoxing Town, the entire town had been engulfed in fire. Those extremely vicious mercenaries plundered the entire town, turning it into a living hell.
That was the first time Su Xia used his ability to control metal.
He used countless blood-stained metal fragments to make a mask, put it on his face to hide his true appearance, and thus embarked on a different path of resistance.
"Come here, all three of you."
Yu Tuo gave the order calmly and took out a silver-white metal bracelet with a dark screen on it.
Lan Bafu and Hong Bafu did not dare to resist and immediately came to Yu Tuo.
Judging from the current situation, today's incident must be related to Dad. The two of them, as his disciples, are unable to help and can only hope to save their lives first.
"Put on this bracelet." Yu Tuo ordered again, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"yes."
Su Xia knew what this bracelet was used for. He had seen it in the underground laboratory and in the memory of the former Commander Beifeng.
This is a test for psychic power strength, and it's very accurate.
It is said that no matter what method is used to conceal the truth, this machine cannot be fooled and the true strength will be tested.
Fortunately, Su Xia's body cannot grow normally and can only share spiritual energy with the main body. He can borrow as much as he wants from the main body.
He used to think this was very inconvenient, but now it seems to be a good thing.
He borrowed some spiritual energy, kept it fluctuating around level 1.5-1.6, then put on the bracelet and waited quietly for the result.
Not long after, a cold voice came from the mechanical bracelet.
"Level 1.5 psychic power, the threat level is not high."
At the same time, the small screen on the bracelet also gives the corresponding digital display.
Soon after, the two brothers Hong Bafu and Lan Bafu also measured their psychic strength, which were 2.0 and 1.8 respectively. They were considered strong for ordinary people, but not good enough in front of Yu Tuo.
In this way, none of the three of them could be the masked man, but they still could not escape the suspicion of helping their father.
"Behave yourself for the next two days. You will be questioned by different people." Yu Tuo put away the bracelet and said calmly, "The pharmacy business will be suspended for the time being. This place will be searched. If everything is OK, we will need to install surveillance. Do you have any objections?"
“No…no.”
Hong Bafu and Lan Bafu could only shake their heads. How could they dare to have any objections?
Yu Tuo was quite polite to them.
They also knew that they were somewhat benefited by Su Xia today. After all, Yu Tuo had always valued Su Xia.
If it were any other pharmacy apprentice, what he would face today might be a top-level VIP package of breaking into houses, arresting people, torturing and extracting confessions, and then executing them later.
The mechanical race will never reason with humans. In their eyes, ordinary humans are no different from domesticated livestock and can be killed whenever they want.
Soon, the mechanical creatures who were specifically responsible for the search entered the store one after another. Some stayed on the first floor, some went up to the second floor, and many went into the basement.
They monitored very carefully, even the cracks between the bricks in the corners of the walls were not spared.
Each area is scanned and inspected several times in succession by different mechanical creatures.
As the controller of the keys to various areas of the pharmacy, Su Xia has been following these mechanical creatures and opening the locks of every room, cabinet, and drawer for them.
Some mechanical creatures were very experienced and this was not the first time they had done this: "Everyone, be careful. Do not force your way into a closed area. There may be a self-destruct program left by the other party. Try to use the key."
There are the most enclosed areas in the basement. Su Xia followed them and opened them one by one. What they found were basically potions or potion materials.
On the second underground floor, there are various ores, wood, regular collectibles, etc.
In addition to these, there are many strange things, and one box even contains a body that looks like an alien.
When Su Xia came down for the first time, she was curious about the alien corpse, but she never had the chance to open it.
Now I finally have the key.
At the urging of the mechanical creature, he took out the key and slowly opened the box.
“Crack—”
In an instant, a thick black smoke poured out from the gap, causing Su Xia to frown and immediately take several steps back.
Those mechanical creatures did not need to breathe, and they remained standing in the same place, observing the contents of the box.
When the black smoke dissipated, what appeared before their eyes was a half-shriveled and blackened corpse. It looked like a human, but with wings on its back, a big head and a small body, very long arms, and sharp and curved nails. It was impossible to tell what race it was.
But a series of prompts appeared in front of Su Xia:
[Zerg corpses from the starry sky: After your clone devours them, you may gain unique powers]
The clone mentioned here is naturally the monster clone that is working hard to manage the two insect nests.
Su Xia's heart moved, but she didn't say anything. She just watched the robots move quietly.
Yu Tuo had ordered that if these mechanical creatures had nothing to do with his father, they could not be taken away and must remain in the pharmacy.
"It looks like a hybrid monster." An experienced mechanical creature said, "Half human, half insect. It's dead. It's a failure."
"Well, it's similar to the failed hybrids created by those private research institutes." Another mechanical creature said so.
"The paths taken by the human race and the Zerg race are all wrong. Our evolutionary path is perfect. I really don't understand why Lord Mercer would go to so much trouble to study these two races. We already know their weaknesses very well..."
A group of mechanical creatures observed the corpse casually for a while, but soon lost interest in it and asked Su Xia to open other boxes.
This process is similar to opening a treasure chest.
You never know what surprise will be in the next box.
The lighting on the second underground floor was dim. Su Xia used the light to search for the corresponding key. When he opened the seventeenth box, he finally saw something that made the mechanical creatures' eyes light up.
“This… this is…”
In the box, there lay a piece of irregularly curved metal material, with pits and holes on the outside , which looked like it once belonged to a certain mechanical entity.
"It's that metal!"
"What is the material of the surface of that spacecraft?"
"That's right, that old guy is really lucky." A powerful mechanical creature immediately closed the box and said, "Go and inform Lord Yu Tuo immediately. This box must be taken back."
"I suddenly became interested. It seems that not all the things here are useless. Let's continue opening the boxes!"
They were not in a hurry, perhaps because the mechanical race's perception of time was different from that of humans, and they were all patiently waiting for Su Xia to find the key to the box.
At this time, the mechanical creatures responsible for searching the rest of the second underground floor sent out a message.
"There's another sealed entrance in this corner, and there's a third level beneath our feet!"
After receiving this news, the mechanical creatures that were opening the treasure chests stopped.
Something surprising had already appeared on the second underground floor, so what would be on the third underground floor?
The leading mechanical creature questioned Su Xia: "What's down there?"
Su Xia shook her head: "I don't know either."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a key?"
"have."
"What are you waiting for? Let's go and take a look!"
A group of mechanical creatures pushed Su Xia and took him to the dark corner found at the entrance.
In fact, Su Xia was also quite curious.
In the past, in the entire pharmacy, only Dad had the right to go to the third underground floor. Hong Bafu and Lan Bafu, who entered the pharmacy early, had no idea what was going on down there.
Not to mention Su Xia, he has only been a beginner for a short time and has never seen his father open the last level.
So what secrets are hidden underneath?
