My exclusive card pool

Chapter 198 The Black Cube (Two Chapters Combined)

"We'll try to sneak past."

Wearing a yellow protective suit, Bai Qimeng spoke through her built-in earpiece, her voice ringing out on the communication channel.

“Those wandering automatons are nothing; the trouble is with the ‘enforcers’ and the ‘gentlemen’.”

"Ah."

Wang Xi had reviewed the disaster information of Old Los Angeles in the Yongxie database and had some understanding of it.

After the fall of Los Angeles, the golem monsters took over the city's ruins and began to imitate humans, playing the roles of "residents" and "law enforcers."

The robot residents wander aimlessly through the streets and alleys, seemingly harmless, but they will launch a frenzied attack once they spot a human.

The law enforcement officers are even more powerful, like lions among dogs, patrolling specific areas.

As for the Gentlemen's Group, they are like the managers and superiors of this "new Los Angeles". Their strength goes without saying, and what is even more frightening is that they seem to possess a certain degree of intelligence.

If not necessary, stealth is indeed the optimal solution.

Otherwise, if a battle breaks out, it will attract a continuous stream of mechs. At that time, being surrounded would be extremely dangerous.

"Go this way."

Wang Xi observed the surroundings and used his "Intuitive Mind (Imprint)" to avoid danger in advance. He led Bai Qimeng and Lin Xin'er through the green belt and continued along a quiet path.

Actually.

A strong sense of danger lingered within him, and his "intuitive mind" kept trembling.

The most dangerous source does not come from the surroundings...

Wang Xi subtly raised his eyes and glanced at the sky above his head.

Dark clouds filled the sky, making it gloomy.

But an entry appeared out of nowhere:
"Harpie Airship: A large war machine built by the Gear Corporation, with stealth, surveillance, and air-to-ground strike capabilities."

Wang Xi understood immediately.

In addition to deploying defenses around and at the entrance to Old Los Angeles, the Gear Consortium also arranged a giant airship to monitor the city in real time.

'Is this their trump card?'

Wang Xi said secretly.

'If we die at the hands of the monsters in this disaster zone, they'll naturally be happy to see us... But if we manage to break through to the warning zone alive, this airship will likely launch a devastating attack, burying us completely within this disaster zone.'

The deck of cards provided by Cupid Housekeeping was quite powerful, and the high-level protective suits worn by the three of them had noise reduction capabilities, so they did not make much noise as they traveled.

Furthermore, when paired with a "high-energy detection radar," it can effectively construct a three-dimensional map and capture enemy movements in real time.

With Wang Xi's "lucky charm" as a backup, the three of them safely made their way through the dilapidated and desolate streets to the old city center of Los Angeles.

I just turned the corner.

"Wait a minute!" Wang Xi reminded him.

The three stopped and tacitly hid inside an abandoned shop, peering out through the broken window.

Not far away, there was a huge square.

Behind the square stands a tall building with a black exterior and a huge red sign that reads "Los Angeles Gear Corporation Headquarters".

The square was piled with all sorts of trash, cardboard boxes, and scattered clothes, and hundreds of retro-styled automatons wandered around.

In the middle stood a towering automaton, estimated to be three meters tall, with arms as thick as a normal person's waist. It wore a dark blue police uniform, a round-topped police hat, and held a thick electric baton that crackled loudly.

Wang Xi stared intently.

"New Los Angeles Enforcer - Brutal Guard (Darkened/Nemesis/High-Rank 2/Elite)"

Two stars above the copper frame.

“That guy is not to be trifled with,” Bai Qimeng said in a deep voice. “It’s blocking the only way. If you want to enter the Gear Corporation headquarters, you’ll have to come face to face with it.”

"I'll distract it, you guys go in first."

Wang Xi suggested.

The two women exchanged a glance but said nothing.

After all, he was the strongest among those present.

"Be careful," Bai Qimeng cautioned.

"Hmm." Wang Xi responded, having already activated "Mudfrog" and quietly darted out of the shop.

Bang! !

A black hand, conjured from a distance of nearly thirty meters, smashed the head of a mecha into pieces with a single punch.

The electric sparks crackled, and dark brown engine oil splattered.

Wang Xi loosely clenched his fists.

The black hand then vanished, only to reappear on the other side. It reached forward and pierced through the chest of another mecha, pulling out the core containing the magic stone.

The puppet froze on the spot, and the crimson light in its eyes dimmed.

wow——

The silence was broken, immediately attracting the attention of hundreds of mechs in the arena.

A pair of scarlet eyes lit up and were fixed on Wang Xi, the uninvited guest.

"Humanity!"

"Dead enemy!"

"He must be disposed of in a harmless manner!"

The robots emitted cold, mechanical sounds and swarmed in like zombies unleashed from their cages.

The movements of these robotic puppets were extremely uncoordinated, appearing both stiff and bizarre.

Wang Xi stood still, looking around at the approaching mechanical monsters, and then he opened his mouth and blew out—

Bear!!

A fan-shaped burst of incandescent flame erupted, igniting more than a dozen oncoming mechs.

A wall of fire rose from the ground, slightly hindering the charge of the mech swarm.

But the towering law enforcement puppet remained completely unfazed, its earth-shaking steps pressing down on them.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
It passed through the white wall of fire, a horrifying, charred grin on its face, and swung its electric baton down.

boom! !

Wang Xi took off from the spot and hovered in mid-air.

The ground was dented by the stun gun, leaving a two-meter-diameter crater, with dense arcs of electricity crackling and leaping.

He looked down at the dense mass of mechs below, then glanced back at the two women hiding in the abandoned shop, poised to strike. He nodded imperceptibly, his pristine white cloak billowing behind him.

call--

Wang Xi streaked across the sky like a straight white shadow and flew towards the east side of the square.

The swarm of puppets below pursued relentlessly, some tripping over trash and suitcases, tumbling and crawling as they continued their chase.

The law enforcement robot wielded its electric baton, attacking indiscriminately and blasting away any citizen robots blocking its path, all in an effort to intercept the humans in mid-air as quickly as possible.

Seeing this, Bai Qimeng and Lin Xin'er had very expressive reactions.

"His strength has improved so quickly..."

Lin Xin'er couldn't help but sigh.

"No wonder he was able to obtain the 'Upper Three Stars' certificate and become the vice president of the Yong Association."

“If he weren’t strong, I wouldn’t have spent 20 million to hire him.”

Bai Qimeng snorted.

"Let's act quickly while he distracts the robot monster."

"Yes, boss."

The two women quickly strode across the empty square and headed straight for the building.

They arrived at the building entrance without any hindrance. Bai Qimeng took out the "identity key" she had prepared beforehand and swiped it on the device by the door.

Drip!

The gate opened by itself.

This "identity key" originated from An Haoyu, the mole within the Shining Group. Bai Qimeng orchestrated his death for this key, and now it has finally come in handy.

Just as the two women were about to enter the building, they suddenly heard a burst of gunfire coming from afar.

beep beep...

“It’s a live-fire machine gun,” Bai Qimeng murmured.

At this moment, three strangely shaped mechs appeared on the east side of the square—their lower bodies were tracked, their upper bodies were humanoid, and their arms were six-barreled Gatling guns.

beep beep beep...

The machine gun spun at high speed, spewing out flames half a meter long, and countless bullet storms whistled toward the young man in mid-air.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

However, Wang Xi was surrounded by a ring of incandescent ice, providing him with 360-degree protection. Bullets that landed on it rang out and emitted blinding sparks.

Wang Xi looked down at the three robotic puppets with a blank expression.

"γ Offensive Type Doll - Sentinel (Hostile/5-Star)"

A blank-board five-star rated machine.

His chest was also emblazoned with a mechanical ouroboros, clearly the armed forces of the Gear Corporation.

Soon, the conglomerate personnel controlling the sentries discovered that the machine guns were ineffective against the young man in mid-air. They communicated through internal communications and immediately ceased fire.

Click! Click!
Eight holes suddenly appeared on the back of the machine, from which thick missiles were launched.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh— Twenty-four winding, incandescent bullets shot into the sky and immediately struck Wang Xi.

Boom! !

A giant burst of fire erupted in mid-air.

But when the smoke cleared, the three machines stood frozen in place, their electronic eyes zooming in and out, leaving the operators hiding behind them dumbfounded.

The young man in mid-air was clad in jet-black armor, with wisps of blue smoke rising from him, yet he was completely unharmed…

"You've taken the initiative to attack me, very good."

A calm voice came from beneath the black mask.

Wang Xi loosely clenched his five fingers and pressed down.

Miso miso miso!
More than a dozen jet-black ice swords condensed and fell like rain, piercing the three mechanical puppets like sieves.

At this moment, the arriving mechanical monsters seemed not to recognize the Gear Foundation's sentinel and swarmed to tear it to pieces.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wang Xi changed direction and flew towards the building.

...

...

After a while.

Wang Xi reunited with the two women.

"Are you alright?" Bai Qimeng asked with concern. "We just heard gunshots."

"It's nothing," Wang Xi waved his hand. "The Gear Consortium sent armed forces to try and kill me, but that's been dealt with."

He raised his eyes: "But they will not give up easily, we must hurry."

Bai Qimeng nodded and immediately took a step forward: "Come with me, their secret base is hidden underground in the building."

It's unclear how long Bai Qimeng investigated Luo City or how much information she gathered about the Gear Corporation. Despite never having been here before, she seemed quite familiar with the interior.

With her leading the way, the group soon arrived at an alloy door that resembled a laboratory.

Bai Qimeng tried using her identity key, but after swiping the card, she heard two beeps, followed by a cold, mechanical voice from the ceiling:
"Warning: The employee does not have sufficient permissions to open the door."

Bai Qimeng was stunned for a moment, then cursed, "An Haoyu is a piece of trash."

"I'll do it." Wang Xi stepped forward and kicked the alloy door directly.

Bang! !

With a dull thud, Bai Qimeng and Lin Xin'er both instinctively covered their ears.

Even the walls seemed to tremble.

Even with a kick as powerful as a cannonball, it only left a shallow dent on the door and failed to kick it open.

"The security level is quite high; they didn't even kick it open."

Wang Xi raised an eyebrow slightly.

He simply changed his strategy, placing one hand on the door, his inner magic surging forth.

Bear!!

A burning crown slowly appeared above Wang Xi's head, his eyes were blazing white, and terrifying white flames covered the entire door. The scorching heat wave hit them, causing Bai Qimeng and Lin Xin'er to retreat one after another, not daring to get close.

The alloy door quickly turned red-hot, but showed no signs of melting.

Wang Xi couldn't help but admire the toughness of the door. During the process, he also sensed that there were alloy partitions hidden inside the wall, so breaking through the wall was equally difficult.

"Imperial decree: Freeze."

Wang Xi said calmly.

In an instant, the snow flames in his palm turned into frost, and the alloy door, which had been as red as a branding iron, cooled down rapidly.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Wang Xi raised his hand, his skin stained with a layer of black, clenched his fist, and struck the gate with all his might.

Boom! !
There was a loud bang.

The alloy door, which had become brittle due to thermal expansion and contraction, was shattered by Wang Xi's fierce punch.

"Hakishi, you bastard..."

Bai Qimeng walked over slowly, and couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

"He's practically a human monster."

"Thank you for the compliment," Wang Xi replied indifferently, and immediately stepped inside.

Behind the alloy door was a spotless archive, with yellowed paper documents neatly arranged on metal shelves.

Just as Lin Xin'er was about to reach out to search, Bai Qimeng stopped her.

"Don't waste your time." Bai Qimeng pulled out a wild card that glowed blue. "These are all illusions."

The card in her hand transformed into a sophisticated 3D scanner, its pale green light sweeping back and forth in the dim space.

Suddenly, the light focused into a circle at the corner of the wall, as if it were some kind of marker.

"found it."

Bai Qimeng strode towards the location marked on the scanner, tapping her fingers lightly on the wall, producing a hollow echo.

Wang Xi stepped forward, placed his palm against the wall for a moment to feel it, and then suddenly pushed hard.

With the roar of machinery, a hidden metal door slowly opened, revealing the deep elevator shaft inside.

The three exchanged a glance and stepped into the elevator without hesitation. The elevator descended at an unusually slow speed, seemingly not powered by electricity, and it took a full three minutes to stop, accompanied by the clicking sound of gears turning.

When the elevator doors opened, a pungent smell of engine oil mixed with a strange odor of some kind of chemical agent hit us.

"What is this?" Lin Xin'er covered her mouth and nose, looking around. The entire underground space was made of high-strength alloy, and the walls were covered with complex pipes and wires.

Several emergency lights hung from the ceiling, emitting a stark white light.

"This way, follow me." Bai Qimeng walked clearly toward an office at the end of the road.

She skillfully took out her identity key and inserted it into the card slot.

The door lock made a soft click.

“Found it.” Bai Qimeng took out a bookmark-shaped data core from the safe, her eyes gleaming with victory. “Some of the evidence against the Gear Corporation in the fall of Los Angeles is here.”

Just then, Lin Xin'er suddenly noticed something, quickly walked away, and called out, "Come and see this!"

Wang Xi and Bai Qimeng followed the sound.

They soon arrived at the laboratory next door.

The sight before them stunned them—in the center of the empty laboratory, a pristine white bathtub stood out starkly.

A constantly rotating purple vortex floated above the bathtub, emanating ominous energy fluctuations.

"The entrance to the 'Puppet Master's' labyrinth has always been right here." Bai Qimeng murmured in disbelief.

But at this moment.

Wang Xi suddenly tensed up.

—"A stroke of genius (branding)"

A strong sense of danger washed over him, and he looked up at the ceiling as if he could see through the rock and metal walls to the dark clouds hanging over the old city of Los Angeles, where a giant airship with a diameter of over 100 meters dropped a cylindrical bomb.

"Oh no!" He grabbed the two women's wrists. "The Gear Corporation plans to blow this place up!"

Boom! !

Almost at the same instant, the entire underground space began to shake violently.

The metal panels on the ceiling began to twist and deform, and a piercing alarm sounded throughout the laboratory.

"Let's go, let's hide in the maze!"

Wang Xi made a quick decision and pulled the two of them towards the bathtub.

At the last moment, he activated the power of the "Crown of the End," transforming it into an ice shield that enveloped the three of them before leaping into the purple vortex.

hum-

The world was spinning.

The three of them fell heavily into an unfamiliar space.

When their vision returned, they found themselves in a huge room made up of countless gears.

"Wow!" Bai Qimeng scrambled to her feet, clutching her chest, her face flushed. "That was thrilling and exciting!"

Wang Xi thought to himself, "What a crazy woman."

At this moment, Lin Xin'er took a deep breath, looked ahead in surprise, and hesitated before asking, "What... is that?"

The three of them looked up.

Directly in front, a pitch-black cube nearly ten meters in length, width and height stands silently, its surface adorned with dark red lines.

Wang Xi's pupils contracted slightly as Caius's prompt appeared before his eyes:
"α Special Type Machine - Titan Unit-01"

"The first giant robot designed and created by Gippetta Tesla, the chief designer of the Clockwork Kingdom, can be piloted by humans, solely to defeat the corrupted... Initially, Gippetta's ideal pilot was his son Pinocchio, but unfortunately... Pinocchio had not returned by the time of his death."

"I understand!"

Bai Qimeng suddenly seemed to understand something.

She stepped forward slowly, her hand trembling as she reached out and gently stroked the cold surface of the cube: "This must be what the Gear Corporation wants, and the secret they've been trying so hard to keep hidden all these years!"

Wang Xi did not answer.

His gaze fell on a groove at the bottom of the cube—its shape seemed to be a keyhole.

'Could this black cube be a treasure chest?'

The Gear Consortium is missing a key!

(End of this chapter)