Chapter 244: Profound Dark-2 Brings Changes

One week after the Profound Dark-2 launch event, changes began to occur at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The first to feel it were the delivery riders.

At 7 a. m., the delivery station on the East Third Ring Road in Yan Capital.

Twenty-six-year-old delivery worker Li Qiang stood before the brand‑new 'Flying Feather‑1 Model' delivery mech, his eyes wide.

The mech stands 2.2 meters tall, bright yellow all over, with retractable carbon‑fiber wings on its back.

Most striking is the leg‑mounted vector thruster, which enables short‑range jumps between buildings.

"Is this thing… really for us to use?" Li Qiang turned to ask the station chief.

Station chief Lao Wang, cigarette in mouth, slapped his shoulder with a chuckle: "Xiaoqiang, the times have changed. Once the Profound Dark‑2 battery spreads, mech costs drop by seventy percent!"

Headquarters directly bought fifty thousand units; our little station got twenty of them, and we no longer need to rent them as before. You're the first batch at our station to earn the operator's license, so you can start using it today.

Li Qiang swallowed and climbed into the cockpit.

As the hatch closed, the panoramic display lit up.

The control interface is as simple as a mobile game: a virtual joystick on the left steers direction, and a few buttons on the right—accelerate, jump, pick up, deliver.

"Beginner guide mode activated," the AI voice said gently.

"Today's first order: pick up from Zhang's Breakfast and deliver to Room 1703, 17th floor, Jinmao Building. Distance 2.3 km, estimated time 4 minutes."

"Four minutes?" Li Qiang exclaimed, "I used to take fifteen minutes on my electric bike!"

"Please fasten your seatbelt and get ready to depart."

Li Qiang pressed the start button.

The mech's leg thrusters emitted a faint hum, then——

Whoosh!

He was pressed into his seat as the scenery outside flew backward.

The mech weaved nimbly along the sidewalk, automatically slowing to avoid pedestrians, and at intersections it jumped straight up, tracing an elegant arc over traffic.

Two and a half minutes later, the sign of Zhang's Breakfast came into view.

The mech slowed and pulled up smoothly at the shop's entrance.

The shop owner, Auntie Zhang, poked her head out, stared at the mech for a moment, then broke into a grin: "Yo, Xiaoqiang, you've upgraded your gear? This big guy's handsome!"

"Auntie, is the Jinmao Building's jianbing guozi ready?" Li Qiang asked.

"It's ready!" Auntie Zhang handed over a thermal bag.

"You're putting it in the mech's pickup compartment, right?"

Li Qiang took the food, and the mechanical arm precisely placed the thermal bag into the mech's front‑mounted temperature‑controlled cargo hold.

"Order confirmed," the AI prompted.

"Target: Jinmao Building. Suggested route: climb the exterior wall to the 17th‑floor window."

"Climb, climb the building?" Li Qiang blinked.

"The Flying Feather‑1 Model is equipped with magnetic suction climbing feet, allowing it to scale glass curtain walls vertically—faster than waiting for an elevator."

Li Qiang gritted his teeth: "All right, let's give it a try!"

Five minutes later.

Jinmao Building, 17th floor, Room 1703.

White‑collar worker Xiao Zhang was pounding out a PPT at his desk when he suddenly heard a knock on the window.

He looked up to see a bright‑yellow mech perched outside the window, its mechanical hand tapping the glass in a rhythm.

"Holy shit!" Xiao Zhang's coffee almost spilled from his hand.

A line of text lit up on the mech's chest display: "Your delivery has arrived; please open the window."

Xiao Zhang opened the window.

The mechanical arm extended the thermal bag, adding a voice line: "Eat the jianbing guozi while it's hot. Enjoy your meal~"

After speaking, the mech performed a backflip, unfolded its side carbon‑fiber wings, landed smoothly on the ground, and vanished between the buildings in an instant.

Xiao Zhang held the jianbing guozi, stood dumbfounded for a full minute, then pulled out his phone to post to his Moments: "My takeout was delivered by a mech…… This world is too surreal."

The attached picture shows the mech's back as it flips through the window.

Ten minutes later, the post had garnered three hundred likes and fifty comments:

"Which delivery service? I want to order too!"

"How much is the delivery fee?"

"Same question!"

Xiao Zhang replied: "The delivery fee is still three yuan, just like before.

At the same time, on the Yan Capital Second Ring Auxiliary Road,

Traffic officer Lao Chen also switched to new gear today.

"The 'Duty Performer‑2 Model' police mech stands three meters tall, black‑white painted, with arms that can switch to various tools:

a speed gun, an alcohol tester, and even a retractable temporary barrier launcher.

At 8:30 a. m., the morning rush hour.

A truck hauling building materials was illegally parked in the bus‑only lane, its driver scrolling short videos inside the cab.

Thump‑thump‑thump.

The vehicle window was knocked on.

The driver looked up and saw a mech bending at the waist, its optical sensor aimed straight at him.

"Comrade, you can't park here," the mech's speaker blared in Lao Chen's voice, "Please drive away immediately."

The driver curled his lip and slowly started the vehicle.

Just after going out ten meters, the mech suddenly accelerated, catching up in a few steps, and the mechanical arm gently lifted.

The whole truck was lifted off the ground thirty centimeters.

"Hey hey hey! My car!" the driver panicked.

"Don't worry, I'll move it to the correct spot." Lao Chen operated the mech, steadily placed the truck in the roadside parking spot, then took out a ticket printer.

"Illegal parking, deduct 3 points, fine 200. Be careful next time."

The driver received the ticket, watching the mech turn to handle the next violation, the whole person still in a dazed state.

On the nearby bus, passengers held up their phones and frantically filmed.

"Police mech! Lifting the truck with one hand!"

"This law enforcement efficiency……awesome!"

"Who would dare violate the rules from now on?"

Lao Chen returned to the intersection command post, the mech's built-in communicator rang.

Lao Chen, there's an accident on Xizhimen Bridge, two cars rear-ended, blocking three lanes, hurry over to handle it.

Received.

The mech's leg thrusters ignited, Lao Chen directly leapt onto the five-meter-high overpass, sprinting along the rail, reaching the accident scene in thirty seconds.

Only to see the two drivers still arguing at the scene.

"You braked suddenly!"

"There's an electric bike ahead, how am I supposed to go!"

Lao Chen walked over, the mech's arms extended, one hand on each vehicle, gently pulling them apart.

Amid the piercing metal scraping sound, the two entangled vehicles were forcibly separated.

"Stop arguing, you both have dashcams, right? Accident liability will be determined later." Lao Chen pulled up the accident handling interface.

"Now first move the vehicles, don't block the road."

The two drivers looked at the three-meter-tall mech, and both obediently shut up.

Five minutes later, the road resumed smooth flow.

Lao Chen leaned against the mech, took a sip of tea from his thermos, and remarked: "Before handling such an accident, at least half an hour of traffic jam was needed. Now... five minutes and it's settled."

Statistics show that since the trial of police mechs in Yanjing, the violation rate during peak hours has dropped 80%, accident processing time shortened by 90%, and the average patrol area per traffic officer has expanded threefold.

What makes Lao Chen happiest is: the mech has an internal air circulation system, so he no longer has to inhale car exhaust every day.

At ten o'clock in the morning, a high-end residential area in Shanghai Pudong.

Fire Squadron Captain Liu Gang was inspecting the newly issued Blazing Fire Vajra fire mech.