Chapter 551: How Could There Be a Boy Who Doesn't Like Mechs?

The black silhouette in the dust moved slowly, as if a sleeping giant beast were turning over.

The ground trembled faintly, emitting a muffled sound beneath its feet.

Meng Kexin's hand slipped under the teddy bear's armpit and grasped the little bear's leg.

The little bear's leg was short, barely longer than her fingers; beneath its soft appearance lay only a thin layer of dummy cotton, the rest being a metal steel frame.

As the dust cleared, the first thing revealed was an arm—not a human arm, but pure machinery.

Made of black metal, the arm's joints had gears turning slowly.

The gears were a dull gold, the arm's surface etched with Rune circuits, the circuit's energy a Ying Guang Lu hue, crawling across the black metal like tiny snakes.

The snakes crawled from shoulder to elbow, from elbow to wrist, coiling at the wrist into a mosquito‑coil‑shaped loop, then extending outward along the finger joints to the tips.

The energy circuit lines etched on the body were thicker and denser than those on the arm, like a repeatedly woven, unbreakable net.

Ying Guang Lu leaked from the Rune gaps, tinting the falling dust around it green, as if contaminated.

A large transparent crystal was set at the center of the chest, rotating in sunlight, slicing the light into countless tiny fragments.

It knelt on one knee, guarding Ying Duo's side like a dutiful knight.

The mechanical arm propped on the ground, its five fingers spread, gears at the joints turning and ticking like a clock, perfectly shielding Ying Duo beneath.

Ying Duo crouched beneath the mech's chest, his back against the crystal that still pulsed like a heart.

Ying Duo's hair stuck out from the brim of his hat, the Ying Guang Lu strands dazzling in the sun, and a Ying Guang Lu keyboard outlined in green floated at his side.

When the dust finally cleared, Ying Duo pressed a finger on it, and the mech retracted its energy shield.

He tapped the keyboard a few more times casually, the mech rose slowly, standing to Ying Duo's rear‑right, and Ying Duo could now stand upright.

Ying Duo stared at Chi Jinan before him, his golden eyes unblinking, especially at the level bar above Chi Jinan's head.

With the level gap gone, he finally saw no longer a string of question marks.

【Chi Jinan Lv. 54】

Chi Jinan is the only one Ying Duo has never dealt with, yet can recognize just by looking at the NPC model.

"What is that? An iron puppet you built?"

Chi Jinan let out a cold laugh. It's just some scrap copper and iron; let's see how he dismantles that iron frame!

Chi Jinan lightly tapped his toe; his speed turned him into a dark‑red afterimage in the sunlight. His right hand's five fingers were together, palm down, fingers extended, like a blade already drawn from its sheath.

Ying Duo's fingers quickly tapped a string of commands on the keyboard, and the mech's arm immediately rose, its five fingers spread, palms outward, and a shield unfolded from the palm.

Chi Jinan's Blood Crystal struck the shield; the Blood Crystal exploded on the shield's surface, shattering into powder‑like fragments, and the shield dimmed slightly from the impact.

Chi Jinan's motion did not pause; his body rotated in the air, a whipping kick struck the shield, and the shield instantly shattered into countless tiny crystal shards.

He immediately followed with another kick; this time the mech's arm blocked the blow, and his foot planted on the mech's arm thrust forcefully.

The sole scraped the shield, producing a sound; looking at Ying Duo, well protected by the mech, a gleam of unprecedented brilliance burst from his dark eyes.

His body flipped in the air and landed on a broken wall on the other side of the ruins.

As Ying Duo's fingers kept tapping the keyboard, the mech's other arm rose from his side, palm open, revealing even a hollow within.

Ying Duo's Blue Bar immediately shortened by a small segment, and the energy Cannon Barrel fired toward Chi Jinan.

Iron puppet...

Although he knows the term reveals Chi Jinan as a native of this world who hasn't seen such high tech, the familiar word still makes it hard for him not to get the wrong idea.

Dark‑red liquid flowed from the blood bag inside Chi Jinan's clothing, instantly forming a blood sphere that enveloped Chi Jinan, blocking the attack completely.

The blood sphere quickly condensed into a Blood Crystal, exploded, scattering fragments that struck the mech's legs, waist, and shoulders, targeting the vulnerable joints. Unfortunately, Ying Duo had reinforced those spots, making ordinary methods unlikely to cause effective damage.

The two exchanged a glance simultaneously; they had rarely met before, but their grudges had long been brewing.

This rare chance to fight made each want to put on a good show for the other.

The two clashed again; Chi Jinan tried to bypass the mech's defense to damage the player operating from behind, but Ying Duo himself was not easy to bully, let alone his own evasion was his strong point.

Then, during the gap when Chi Jinan launched an attack, he operated the mech to strike again; as Chi Jinan turned to defend against the mech's attack, a Cannon Barrel emerged on Ying Duo's shoulder, which he used as a melee weapon to smash Chi Jinan away.

Chi Jinan, facing two opponents, was no less capable; even when Ying Duo's Cannon Barrel struck him, he adjusted instantly after the hit, turned, and rushed the core of Ying Duo with an attack.

Ying Duo successfully dodged.

The ground kept trembling, emitting mournful wails; the clock tower's bells fell from the roof. On the ground a huge crater was gouged, producing a deep, thudding roar.

This, moreover, drew everyone's attention.

Even without the bells' thunderous crash, many people still noticed the commotion here.

Whether Ying Duo or Chi Jinan, after confronting each other head‑on, neither intended to hold back; as Chi Jinan grew more exhilarated and Ying Duo became increasingly proficient with the mech, they could no longer stop.

Everyone looking up could see Blood Crystals constantly exploding in the distance, swirling through the sky under Chi Jinan's control, like blooming blood‑colored lotus flowers, just as outsiders had nicknamed him.

"Blood Lotus".

If Chi Jinan's madness and loss of control had become routine, then who was the opponent opposite him who fought back in kind, showing no inferiority at all?

The crowd tried to make out the figure, but Chi Jinan's opponent moved so fast that only green‑glowing afterimages remained in the air.

Wait…

Green glow?

Don't blame us for overthinking; it's mainly that color, which is almost becoming the trademark of another crazy guy.