The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

"For freedom!" a hoarse shout rang out.

It was the young man [Z-316] who had previously handed the chip to Kyle.

He somehow found a high-strength alloy crowbar and used all his strength to jam it into a crucial conveyor belt gear.

With a "click," the entire conveyor belt came to an instant halt!
His actions were like the first stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples.

Dozens of believers, who were also deemed "unqualified" but still retained the last shred of humanity, were momentarily stunned, but then a flame of resistance ignited in their eyes.

They grabbed anything they could use as a weapon—discarded parts, dismantled pipes—and launched what could be described as a suicidal riot!

"Warning! 'Logical disorder' has occurred in the recycling area! Initiate 'Cleanup Procedure'!"

Dozens of hidden doors opened instantly from all sides of the cave, and squads of "maintenance guards" wielding vibrating energy cables swarmed in, their target the rebels.

A battle with an extreme disparity in strength erupted in this underground temple.

Z-316 and his companions mustered their courage, but their flesh and blood and rudimentary weapons were no match for the well-trained and well-equipped guard. In a single exchange, several men were knocked down, bound, and dragged toward the furnace by energy cables.

"Kyle, Roca," Shen Ge's voice came through the walkie-talkie at that moment: "Go, add fuel to the fire."

"Roger that!"

The two brothers could no longer contain themselves. Two black afterimages descended like divine soldiers from the sky and fiercely broke into the battle!
The capabilities of the "Predator-III" were on full display at this moment.

Kyle moved like a ghost, his high-frequency cutting blade drawing deadly arcs in the air. With each flash, a member of the "Maintenance Guard" was cleanly decapitated or cut in half at the waist.

Roca was even more direct. Like a humanoid heavy tank, he unleashed a full-power ramming attack, sending a row of guards flying. His chain-cutting spear swept out, instantly clearing an area.

Their appearance left the already desperate rebels speechless, and they erupted in thunderous cheers.

This unexpected "reinforcement" instantly attracted the majority of the underground area's defenses. A piercing alarm blared throughout the cave, and more guards were rushing from the upper levels.

While Kyle and Roca drew the attention of the defense forces, Shen Ge's gaze was already fixed on the pulsating furnace of flesh and blood.

He saw that after the furnace "digested" the flesh and blood of those believers, it would purify it into a "strange energy liquid" that emitted a faint glow, and then transport it upwards through a huge pipe made of translucent crystal located directly above the furnace, leading to the top of the clock tower.

"Found it, the 'esophagus' of the false god." Shen Ge's figure instantly became illusory under the effect of the invisible strange domain's "collapse".

He pierced directly through the outer wall of that incredibly sturdy crystal pipe and silently merged into it.

Inside the pipe is a torrent of energy made of flesh and blood, surging upwards at an extremely high speed. This torrent is a deadly poison to any living organism.

However, when this torrent swept over Shen Ge's body, its strange energy was absorbed by his "devouring" power.

Shen Ge followed the pipe all the way to the top of the clock tower.

……

The top of the clock tower.

There were no opulent decorations or sacred altars here. There was only a huge, cold, circular machine room that resembled a morgue.

In the center of the computer room, a huge transparent container with a diameter of over 100 meters occupies the core position.

The container was filled with a pale blue life-sustaining fluid, and thousands of human brains, still pulsating slightly and sparking with electricity, floated inside.

Countless delicate crystal optical fibers extend from the nerve centers of each brain, eventually converging at the top of the container to form a massive and sophisticated "biological server"!
This is the "mastermind" of Clockwork City!
Above the server, the ancient and solemn Bell of Order, radiating boundless pressure, floats silently. Every imperceptible tremor of its bell seems to be drawing upon the wisdom and souls of the countless minds below.

Before the "mainframe," a figure dressed in a black robe that was quite different from the style of Titan-7, with a simple brass mask on his face, stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching a huge holographic screen in front of him.

On the screen, the "Iron Heart" main system is showing a false impression of being defeated.

"Chaos will eventually succumb to order..."

Beneath the mask came a satisfied yet contemptuous sigh: "In ten minutes, this interesting 'biological toy' will become my most perfect collectible."

He seemed to have absolute confidence in the "heaven" he had created and the traps he had set, completely unaware that a figure had silently appeared behind him.

"Collectibles?"

A calm voice rang out in the room, instantly freezing the man in black robes in place.

“I’m afraid your ‘collection room’ isn’t big enough,” Shen Ge said casually.

The man in black robes suddenly turned around, and his eyes, hidden beneath his brass mask, revealed a stream of data mixed with extreme shock and disbelief.

His mainframe didn't issue any alarms, and his "order" domain didn't even ripple. The man in front of him just appeared out of thin air!

"Who...are you?" he asked in a trembling voice. For the first time since he took this form, his voice showed a change in emotion called "horror".

"The leader of the collectibles you desire." Shen Ge's figure solidified from the illusion, and the terrifying magical power of an eighth-tier Ghost King spread out, instantly sweeping across the entire top of the clock tower!

At that very moment, the "order" network that spanned the entire Clockwork City was thrown into deadly chaos due to the violent fluctuations in the black-robed man's will!
Inside the "Iron Heart," Hephaestus, upon receiving Shen Ge's signal, immediately pressed the main switch for a counterattack.

The "undercurrent" program, which had previously been disguised as "captured data," suddenly broke out in the core area of ​​the Clockwork City's main brain like the most deadly virus!

The massive docking probe of the "Iron Heart" immediately transformed from a docile "data channel" into an "energy cannon".

A strange energy shockwave, combining the boundless vitality of the [Root of the World] with the domineering and corrosive characteristics of the "Reaper," blasted into the heart of Clockwork City through the pipes.
Boom!

The Synchronization Altar of the "Heart of the Gear" exploded into countless flying parts in an instant.
Titan-7's perfect platinum body was also thrown away by this sudden surge of energy, and countless sparks erupted from its energy core in its chest.
The Iron Heart's counterattack has begun!

On the outer shell of the living alloy, the "armed breeding" system is fully activated.

Thousands of dark gold turrets, massive chain-cutting arms, and eerie energy emitters resembling sea monster tentacles "grow" from every corner of the city!
In an instant, ten thousand cannons roared!
A devastating barrage of firepower, like a torrential downpour, launched a saturation attack on the Clockwork City Guards, who had just reacted and were trying to organize a defense, as well as the surrounding buildings!
"Stop them!" Titan-7 roared after a brief system reboot. He led his elite "Royal Guard" into battle against the "Raiders" legion emerging from the "Iron Heart"!
Meanwhile, at the very top of the clock tower, a battle on an even higher level has already begun.

"Heretic! You have desecrated the order!" The man in black robes recovered from his initial shock, replaced by boundless rage.

He raised his hands high, as if embracing the entire sky.

"The bells toll for me—[Silence]!"

when--!
The Bell of Order rang out its first majestic chime.

An invisible ripple containing powerful and strange energy instantly spread out, attempting to strip away and prevent the flow of all strange energy within Shen Ge's body!

"I see." Shen Ge had always been puzzled as to why the fleet was able to suppress the seventh-tier Deep Sea Monster King with the sound of the bell.

It turns out that the [Clock of Order] is actually a high-level weird energy equipment, possibly even made from a seventh or eighth-tier weird corpse. Therefore, it can suppress the weird energy of a seventh-tier weird king and prevent the opponent's weird energy from operating.

If Shen Ge were still at the seventh level, upon hearing the bell, he would likely be suppressed and silenced, thus unable to use abilities related to supernatural powers.

Unfortunately, he's already at level eight.

When he could sense the principle behind the activation of the [Clock of Order], the Evil Eye had already seen through its essence, making it impossible for it to influence him anymore.

Then, Shen Ge opened his own domain of mystery.

The [Silence] law, which could instantly turn any seventh-tier Ghost King into a mortal, was absorbed by the Ancestor's strange and endless "devouring power" the moment it touched Shen Ge's domain, just like a stream flowing into the sea.

Instead of silencing Shen Ge's bizarre abilities, it became a "nutrient solution" to replenish them.

“Not bad. I’m curious to know… is this kind of ‘clock’ something that everyone who believes in the new god has, or is yours the only one?” Shen Ge asked, voicing his doubts.

But he preferred to believe the latter; otherwise, the new god worshipped by the New God Cult would be nothing more than a seventh-tier magical artifact, which would be too boring.

"How is this possible?" came an incredulous exclamation from beneath the black-robed man's mask.

“Your ‘order’ and ‘silence’ are too fragile. Besides, this is essentially a piece of weird energy equipment.” Shen Ge shook his head, and his figure disappeared from the spot in an instant.

"The bell tolls—[Decomposition]!" The man in black robes rang the bell again.

An even more terrifying force, seemingly capable of directly reducing matter to elementary particles, enveloped the space where Shen Ge was about to appear.

However, Shen Ge appeared behind him, as if she had already foreseen his actions.

The power of [decomposition] was completely blocked before it could even penetrate the defense of "not leaving the Ghost Domain".

"Do not--!"

The man in black robes turned around in horror, only to see Shen Ge raise his hand, causing the air to tremble, as if something had turned into a sharp blade, stabbing towards the "biological server" in front of him.

"boom!"

In an instant, thousands of brains turned into blood plasma and gushed into the pipes below, destroying the "main brain" that kept the entire city running.

"Aaaaah! Noise! ​​You damned noise!" The man in black robes went completely mad, recklessly activating the strongest power of the [Clock of Order].

"The bell rings! [подчиняться (obey)]!"

A shockwave, inaudible yet capable of striking the human spirit, suddenly erupted!
This is the ultimate form of mind control; it aims to completely erase Shen Ge's self-awareness, turning him into an absolutely obedient puppet!
However, Shen Ge stood still, raised his hand to pick at his ear, and said with great disgust, "It's a bit noisy."

“If I didn’t want Hephaestus to try and install the Bell of Order on the Iron Heart, I would have dismantled it right now.” Shen Ge’s words were full of provocation, but even after the black-robed man used his last resort, he was still unable to do anything to him.

In the past, it was the man in black robes who instilled deep despair in others. But at this moment, he also experienced the oppressive feeling of struggling to breathe in the face of absolute power.

Shen Ge used an invisible barrier to envelop the [Clock of Order], then released his own eerie domain, creating an eerie energy storm atop the clock tower.

In the air, a huge dark vortex appeared out of nowhere and roared out at the top of the clock tower!

"No... I am the order! I am... God..." The black-robed man's wailing, along with the broken "biological server" behind him that was still gushing blood, was swallowed up by the dark vortex.

……

The bells stopped ringing.

The "rules" that kept the entire Clockwork City running also vanished.

The city descended into unprecedented chaos, as countless believers awoke from their numbness, staring blankly at their unfamiliar mechanical bodies and the city that had come to a standstill.

The battle on the sea had long since ended. Titan-7, having lost its connection to the mainframe, and its guards had become a bunch of soulless steel golems, easily subdued by the raiders.

Shen Ge's figure slowly descended from the top of the clock tower and returned to the bridge of the "Iron Heart".

“My lord, we…” Hephaestus rushed forward excitedly, his eyes filled with admiration.

Shen Ge interrupted him, looking at the Minister of Civil Affairs who had been reluctant to let go: "Alai, this city is in your hands. Unite with those rebels and help them relearn how to be 'human.' Those who are willing to join Iron Heart, after passing the security test, it is up to you to decide whether to approve their joining."

The "Iron Heart" already has a complete system; what it lacks most now is "population." These half-human, half-machine beings are no different from Hephaestus and his group back then.

As long as we can build an "iron heart," everyone is a talent we can recruit.

Then, Shen Ge raised his hand, and an invisible hand, formed from nothingness, "plucked" the [Clock of Order] from the air, which was shrouded by an invisible barrier, and placed it on the deck.

“Hephaestus, this is a good thing. Based on my initial assessment, it's at least a seventh-tier or higher level of psionic equipment. Let's see if we can install it on the ‘Iron Heart’ and use it for our purposes,” Shen Ge said. (End of Chapter)