Chapter 423

"What are you yelling about? What 'high-level expert'?"

"Whoa, this is truly a top-tier expert—such raw power, even a certified mech technician couldn't achieve this. Could this be an elite mech master?"

"Who are you talking about? Where is he? Let me see too!"

"What's going on? Did I hallucinate, or are you all insane? Are you saying that's a Tǔlóng Basic Model mech?"

"It does look like a Tǔlóng, but this kind of performance? No way is it a basic model—this must be a customized mech with massive internal modifications, just externally mimicking the 'Tǔlóng I-Type.'"

……

In the Fuben communication group, a storm of heated discussion erupted—some screamed in shock, others refused to believe it.

At this moment, Wang Yu, under the support of terrifying psychic power, synchronized his nervous system with the mech to an extreme degree, achieving a near-perfect human-mech unity, pushing the Tǔlóng I-Type's performance to its absolute limit.

The normally clumsy black mech now moved like the wind—nimble and swift, leaping seven or eight meters high, its golden serrated blade wrapped in psychic energy, flickered so rapidly it became a blur, invisible to the naked eye.

With such extraordinary performance, the nearby Jīzhì beasts couldn't withstand a single slash.

Where the golden flash of cold light passed, all Xīngyún beasts were severed in half before they could even close in, unable to launch any attack.

At that moment, a piercing shriek came from behind the beast horde—a vast white sonic wave swept across half the battlefield.

Whether Jīzhì beasts or human mechs, all were thrown off-balance after the sonic wave passed; some mechs with fragile exteriors emitted black smoke from their joints.

The smallest drones exploded into fireballs the instant they touched the sonic wave, and the higher-flying Jīzhì beasts likewise tumbled to the ground.

In an instant, the entire battlefield air emptied—except for the massive spaceship.

Inside the mech, Wang Yu, enveloped in psychic energy, felt a sudden deafening buzz in his ears—as if a sharp object had stabbed his skull. His eyes flashed with coldness; he crossed the golden serrated blade before the mech's chest and peered through the window toward the source of the shriek behind the beasts.

This sonic wave meant little, but the terrifying psychic force embedded within it was no weak force—nearly equal to that of a Level-Three Psychic Master.

Almost simultaneously, a golden light surged upward from behind the beast horde.

Within the golden light flew a miniature Jīzhì beast, entirely radiant gold, only one-third the size of the others, wearing a tall golden crown, flapping its wings toward the massive spaceship.

"Jīzhì Beast Leader"

"What's going on? The leader usually appears only in the final ten minutes—why is it showing up now?"

"No idea. Did someone change the script and bring out the boss early?"

"What do we do now?"

"Stop thinking—just one word: 'Fight.' It's just a game—who's afraid of whom?"

In the Fuben communication group, the players erupted into chaos.

"Whoosh!"—a dozen or more mechs immediately launched into the air, charging straight toward the golden Jīzhì beast.

To ordinary players, "Star River" was just a game—they felt no fear whatsoever.

The next instant, the golden Jīzhì beast shrieked again, unleashing another massive white sonic wave that swept across the battlefield.

At such close range, most of the mechs flying toward the golden Jīzhì beast burst into smoke and crashed down; the rest staggered, dizzy and unsteady, unable to fly properly.

Meanwhile, mechs on the ground with long-range weapons either pulled out massive cannons or activated shoulder-mounted floating cannons, unleashing torrents of bullets and dense beams of light at the airborne golden Jīzhì beast.

But the golden Jīzhì Beast Leader merely spread its wings.

"Puff."

A pale white energy shield erupted from its body, swelling like an inflating balloon until it grew to the size of a building.

All ground-based attacks struck the white shield—projectiles bounced off, energy beams dissolved instantly, none of them so much as trembling the barrier.

"Why is the Jīzhì Beast Leader releasing a force field barrier right at the start?!"

"Everyone pay attention—this thing is incredibly tough. Normal attacks are useless. Only elite-level mechs' attacks have any effect; only Star-class mech masters can fight it normally."

"Are you kidding? We're a ragtag team—how could we possibly have an elite mech master? We're lucky if we have even a few certified ones."

"In past clears of this Fuben, players always dragged out the Jīzhì Beast Leader and only won when time ran out. Now that the leader's appearing this early, we're definitely not clearing this—get ready for total annihilation."

Outside, the mechs on the battlefield kept relentlessly attacking the so-called "force field barrier," while the Fuben communication group filled with wails of despair.

They weren't mourning failure to clear the Fuben —they were mourning the certain destruction of their mechs. Repairing them would cost a fortune in merit points.

At that moment, Wang Yu, observing the golden Jīzhì Beast Leader from below, suddenly narrowed his pupils.

Above, the golden Jīzhì beast shrieked, spread its wings—and the massive pale white shield shattered into countless glowing particles, cascading like a tidal wave toward Wang Yu's position.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Explosions erupted one after another across the ground.

Countless giant white orbs burst open, causing the earth to churn violently, sending up mushroom clouds of dust.

Countless mechs and Jīzhì beasts were vaporized in this massive area attack, as if the apocalypse had descended.

Those players farther away, barely escaping the blast, stared in stunned silence from within their mechs.

Most had never witnessed such devastating area-of-effect destruction before—every one of them was terrified.

The golden Jīzhì beast didn't stop. Its golden feathers bristled as it spat out another dozen massive ring-shaped sonic waves, all striking precisely at Wang Yu's former position, kicking up even larger dust clouds.

The golden Jīzhì beast still stared intently downward, as if facing a mortal enemy, ignoring all other mechs and the airborne spaceship.

"Whoosh."

Finally, the white light below faded and vanished—yet a shockwave erupted from a single point, sweeping outward in all directions, clearing away mech debris, Jīzhì beast corpses, and even the rolling dust.

When the ground cleared again, a massive crater, nearly a li in diameter, now yawned at the center.

Standing at the crater's center was a pitch-black mech, arms raised high, fingers spread wide.