Chapter 613: Mechanical Dog

() Bang!

The Zeus-class starship collided with the metal planet, emitting a bang, then fell silent.

After a long while, a hissing sound came, the hatch opened, and Ye Nan stepped out with two Terminators.

“Gravity is twenty times Earth’s.” One Terminator said as soon as it stepped out.

“Not gravity—magnetic field.” The other Terminator rebutted its companion in a cold mechanical voice; at the same time, a strange device extended from its chest, piercing through its synthetic skin, beginning to scan the planet’s magnetic field.

“The magnetic field here exerts a lethal pull on our liquid metal. If not for our built-in energy collision system, we’d have been pulled apart into pools the moment we entered this planet.”

The Terminator’s companion said nothing, merely ran calculations through his smart chip, then concluded: “It’s definitely the magnetic field.”

It wasn’t surprising the Terminator made the wrong judgment—different Terminator models prioritize different functions. This one was optimized for weaponry, not reconnaissance.

“The planet’s magnetic field is highly anomalous. Your Majesty must proceed with caution.” The cold mechanical voice issued a warning; the device retracted instantly, and the flesh rippled back into place.

Unlike earlier Terminators, these are TXXX models, incorporating biotech—genes specially blended to fuse highly resilient living tissue with liquid metal, creating semi-living, semi-mechanical Terminators.

TXXX Terminators possess not only the indestructible resilience of liquid metal but also immunity to fire thanks to their organic tissue—truly without weakness.

“I understand.” Ye Nan nodded, but ignored the Terminator’s advice, striding boldly across the lifeless planet.

This metal planet differed from others: though a planet, it was utterly lifeless. No satellite scans detected biological signatures. Yet, suspecting it might be Cybertron, Ye Nan remained vigilant.

But if the planet remained silent forever, he had no choice—he’d have to lure them out. He walked openly across its metallic surface, announcing his presence: I’m here. Come and take me.

Yet as time passed, the planet remained dead silent. Only Ye Nan’s behind, the Terminators had transformed entirely into instruments, continuously gathering planetary data.

“Atmospheric composition is primarily oxygen, causing global temperature drop—deadly to life. Recommend conversion into a mechanical factory.”

“Surface contains rare metallic elements:…”

A stream of data poured from the Terminator’s mouth, constantly refreshing within its smart chip.

“Mechanical factory?” Ye Nan hesitated. “Why recommend converting it into a mechanical factory?”

“Oxygen is a natural coolant, ideal for mechanical heat dissipation needs,” replied the Terminator in its cold voice.

“Mechanical heat dissipation needs?” Ye Nan murmured, a faint smile slowly forming on his lips. “Do mechanical lifeforms even need cooling?”

“All mechanical lifeforms require cooling. The difference lies in varying resistance levels—some high, some low,” said the Terminator.

“High and low?” Ye Nan’s smile deepened.

Liquid metal melts under high heat. To solve this, the Empire infused it with living tissue, leveraging biological heat resistance to modify Terminators, making them immune to high temperatures.

But this immunity had limits. Even with modification, solar-level heat would still destroy them—yet these were Terminators.

As pure mechanical lifeforms, Transformers were less fortunate. Friction from their own movement generated enough heat to cause trouble—even if not enough to destroy them.

“If this planet is Cybertron, then all of this might finally make sense,” Ye Nan mused, chin resting on his hand.

As the Transformers’ ancestral home, Cybertron should have production lines for manufacturing them. Such lines require low-temperature environments to avoid heat damage during production—hence the planet’s frigid state.

“But what happened to these Transformers? Why haven’t they appeared?” Ye Nan muttered inwardly. “Did they leave Cybertron? Or have they not even been born yet?”

“If they left, I’ll take this planet without hesitation. If they haven’t been born yet—I’ll still take this planet without hesitation.”

As he pondered the planet, his group walked farther and farther.

The sky darkened. Cybertron revealed a ruined landscape: massive metal debris lay scattered, gradually frosting over in the night’s cold, the ground turning slick and treacherous.

“The planet’s temperature has plummeted—nearly as low as the Moon’s surface,” the Terminator scanned the climate and reported to Ye Nan. “Under these conditions, I recommend immediate return.”

“Why return?” Ye Nan asked, his expression puzzled.

Cold temperatures did affect the starship slightly, but insignificantly. Besides, they’d traveled through empty wastes—no one would dare touch the Zeus-class starship left standing. Besides…

“My starship isn’t easy to steal,” Ye Nan murmured.

The starship itself had super-strong defenses. Its internal AI-controlled robots didn’t recognize strangers. Anyone who breached it would be met by Terminators who’d never spare an invader—being riddled with holes would be the best outcome.

Last time, if Ye Nan hadn’t ordered it and given his wristwatch to Lu Ke, Lu Ke would never have gotten the starship—it would’ve been a fantasy.

Squeak! Squeak!

The Terminator said nothing, but emitted two strange sounds, then stopped.

“Strong magnetic interference disrupted his sensors,” the other Terminator said in the same voice, replacing the one that had squeaked.

“Strong magnetic interference? You mean someone couldn’t hold back and acted?” Ye Nan’s voice held no panic—only a subtle thrill.

Yes, thrill. After so long, he’d finally encountered something alive. Not necessarily human—perhaps just a mechanical lifeform. But what did it matter? Any lifeform meant he could extract intelligence.

“Unclear,” the reconnaissance Terminator shook his head. “The strong magnetic field disrupted my sensors. I can’t confirm whether my readings are accurate.”

“Tell me,” Ye Nan asked, intrigued.

“A dog,” said the Terminator.

“A dog?” Ye Nan blinked.

“A dog-shaped object without life—likely a mechanical lifeform. But I detected no smart chip response. Possibly shielded,” the Terminator said.

“Mechanical lifeform. No smart chip response.” Ye Nan seized those two phrases and immediately deduced the identity of the intruder.

Mechanical lifeform with no smart chip response—only one thing fit: a Transformer.

Transformers, of course, were mechanical lifeforms. And since their power and intelligence came from the Spark, not smart chips, the absence of chip signals was perfectly normal.

“Looks like our guest has arrived. But why a dog?” Ye Nan pondered. “Logically, it should be an Autobot or a Decepticon.”

“Could Decepticons be dogs? No, that doesn’t make sense. If it’s a dog, it should be an Autobot. No, that’s wrong too. Transformers are mighty—why would one be a dog?”

The more he thought, the more confused Ye Nan became. According to the original plot, the intruder shouldn’t be a dog—certainly not a mechanical dog—unless something had changed.

“Change. Yes—change.” Ye Nan’s eyes lit up. In the original plot, mechanical dogs didn’t exist. But now the plot had deviated—every narrative had been forcibly terminated. The old memories were unreliable.

Woof! Woof!

Several dog barks issued from the mechanical dog’s mouth, as if threatening Ye Nan.

Before Ye Nan stood a mechanical dog, half a meter tall and one meter long, covered in thick metal, its two red electronic eyes sweeping repeatedly over Ye Nan and the two Terminators.

“Mechanical dog,” Ye Nan whispered, testing.

Woof! Woof!

The mechanical dog barked twice more, then stepped back two paces, growing more alert.

“Which of you can translate its language?” Ye Nan glanced left and right, finally turning to the two Terminators.

He couldn’t understand the mechanical dog. His mental powers had no effect on mechanical lifeforms. So he turned to the Terminators—after all, both were intelligent lifeforms; surely they shared a common language.

“I need time,” said the reconnaissance Terminator. Its chest rippled, and a device extended outward.

The device was a tube, its top capped with a metallic cover.

“I need your help,” the Terminator added. The other Terminator said nothing, stepping forward immediately. (To be continued.)