You said mechs were going to fight monsters, but instead you're destroying stars with your bare

Chapter 47 If There's No Way Forward [Please Read On, Thank You]

Li Zhe found himself facing a problem.

Regardless of how many high-quality monster materials are consumed, optimize recipes and cooking methods.

The base combat strength value has always been stuck at 3.9.

It was as if it had been welded shut, completely immobile.

“Commander, according to my data analysis, you seem to have developed ‘material tolerance’.”

After a failed attempt at "nutritional supplementation," Xing's calm voice rang out.

"Tolerance... Heh, the human body is truly amazing." Li Zhe stroked his chin and pondered, "I've basically consumed all the materials dropped in the outer regions of the Steel Empire. Should I start looking for some other types of monsters to eat?"

"Given your current condition, consuming monster materials from other strange realms will not allow for further improvement," Xing replied.

"Why?"

"According to the intelligence records of the Star Mech Legion, a combat power of 4.0 is a huge threshold. Countless mech pilots spend their entire lives trying to break through this barrier. Their mechs will be forever stuck at this basic combat power, making it difficult to achieve higher levels of advancement."

"So we've hit a bottleneck!"

Li Zhe frowned.

To break through this bottleneck, conventional methods are probably no longer feasible.

"It's like when a character in a game reaches the level cap and needs to complete a breakthrough quest to continue leveling up, right?"

Li Zhe astutely pointed out the essence of the problem.

“That’s a fair understanding, Commander,” Xing nodded. “However, your ‘breakthrough mission’ has an extremely high level of difficulty.”

"tell me the story."

"As ordered."

In Xing's golden eyes, the data stream was once again running at high speed.

She retrieved information about "breakthrough in combat power" from the core database.

Based on Li Zhe's existing inventory of materials and the unique characteristics of the muscle armor, a high-speed simulation was initiated.

A moment later, a report appeared before Li Zhe's eyes.

[List of Materials for Upgrading and Breaking Through Basic Combat Power of Muscle Armor]

[Core Material: Witch's Egg x1 (Contains the power of the primordial abyss, can be used as a foundation for breakthrough)]

[Legendary Catalyst: Heart of the Magnetic Storm x1 (Activates and guides primordial power, achieving a qualitative change)]

[High-purity energy source: 100 points (can be provided by the ship spirit by absorbing the commander's sweat to ensure energy supply throughout the breakthrough process)]

[Key to Dimensions: Legendary Blue Star Mecha Material Corroded by Abyssal Rift x1 (Currently Missing)]

Li Zhe frowned as he looked at the list.

The first three materials are fine.

The "Witch's Egg" and the "Heart of the Magnetic Storm" lay quietly in the maintenance hangar, already in our possession.

As for 100 points of high-purity energy, that's simple too.

With Xing's current juicing efficiency, a couple more seconds is enough.

The only problem is this last one.

"Legendary Blue Star mecha material? What is that?" Li Zhe asked.

"Commander, please allow me to explain the 'plane resonance theory' to you."

Xing's voice carried an unprecedented solemnity.

"The world you are currently in and the Abyss Realm can be regarded as two planes in different dimensions and following different physical laws."

"Under normal circumstances, there is a solid dimensional barrier between the two, and they cannot directly interfere with each other."

"But the appearance of the Abyss Rift broke this balance."

"It's like tearing open unstable wounds on the dimensional barrier."

“When certain ‘strange objects’ on Earth—such as those with special historical imprints, carrying a strong collective will, or containing enormous energy—encounter a deep abyss rift that resonates strongly with their own properties by chance, an anomaly will occur.”

"The laws of the two planes will overlap and resonate at that instant."

"This caused the 'strange object' to be deeply eroded by the power of the abyss in a special way, eventually transforming it into a very special material."

Li Zhe seemed to understand but not quite, yet he felt as if he had grasped something crucial.

"This material is the 'key' that connects two dimensions and breaks down the barriers of combat power."

"Due to its special properties, it can give your body the opportunity to break through the bottleneck and enter a whole new realm."

Oh, I get it. So, to put it simply, it's about finding a "legendary" piece of equipment native to Earth that's been corrupted by the abyss?

The problem is, where can you find something like this?
“This type of material is extremely rare, like phoenix feathers and unicorn horns,” Li Zhe immediately judged.

He logged into the mech pilots' internal forum, trying to find relevant clues.

However, all information about the abyssal rifts on Earth's home planet is highly classified and strictly controlled by the United Government.

There was absolutely no valuable information to be found on the forum.

"It seems that even if such dangerous 'corrosive substances' exist, they would probably be contained by the United Government immediately and would never be left to roam outside."

Li Zhe's thinking became increasingly clear.

"The most direct and low-risk way to access such containment objects is to obtain a higher status and authority within the United Government's mech pilot system."

This deduction solidified his determination to advance within the registered mecha pilot system.

“Commander, you have a memo.” Xing, like a thoughtful secretary, gave a timely reminder: “On Wednesday, June 18th, Crisis Era 1, you need to attend a mech summoning ceremony.”

The day had finally come for the official application for the mecha.

The first step to obtaining higher privileges has arrived!
……

June 18, Crisis Era 1, early morning.

Li Zhe slept in late, a rare occurrence, and woke up naturally.

Then they drove the yacht toward the temporary base of the East China Joint Defense Mech University.

At this moment, his basic combat strength has reached 3.9, just one step away from the bottleneck.

Combined with Xing's white mecha form and the dual-wielding bonus, its maximum combat power can even break through the 9.0 mark.

Looking at the entire mecha pilot community on Earth, they can be considered among the top combat forces.

But he carries too many secrets.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, the basic principle is to keep a low profile.

In the presence of outsiders, Xing would quietly attach herself to Li Zhe's body, allowing the two to communicate silently.

“Commander, according to my calculations, even if you have a peak combat power of 9.0, you still cannot unlock the ‘beacon’ to the core area of ​​the Steel Empire because your basic combat power has not broken through the 4.0 barrier.”

Xing's voice rang in Li Zhe's mind, carrying a hint of solemnity: "Breaking through the bottleneck is urgent, and judging from past data, the guards of the Steel Empire's 0th-level core area have a basic combat strength level of at least 10.0. We cannot confront them head-on."

"In short, your combat strength is not up to par, so you can't even open the boss dungeon, right?"

Li Zhe thought to himself, "Given the current situation of other mecha pilots on Blue Star, it seems that none of them have a way to break through the 4.0 bottleneck... If that's the case, under normal circumstances, wouldn't there be no hope of even challenging the level 0 boss?"

"Commander, throughout the entire universe, civilizations that have survived and developed resistance against the erosion of the abyss are extremely rare."

"The opportunities between civilizations also differ."

"A planet like Blue Star is already extremely lucky to receive limited technical support from the Star Mech Legion."

"The vast majority of planets, without even the Abyss needing to intervene, have already succumbed to endless internal strife..."

Xing's words gave Li Zhe a deeper understanding of the cruelty of this war.

The path to advancement shown on the mech pilot's panel is an unattainable dream for most people.

"If there is no road ahead, then I will explore a way out first."

Li Zhe's tone seemed casual, but it revealed an undeniable determination.

"As long as we can open the beacon leading to the core area of ​​the Steel Empire's 0th floor."

"The million mech pilots on Earth, and those who will eventually become mech pilots, will surely forge a path to survival!"

Upon hearing this, a ripple of cold logic stirred deep within the core of the star.

Her core database precisely retrieved and compared data... The probability of a planet in a similar situation to Earth successfully surviving a deep crisis is less than one in a billion.

Commander Li Zhe's behavior and speech were interpreted by Xing as a sentiment similar to "when you succeed, you should help the world" and "there is no road before the king, so you must forge your own path."

Xing can understand its logical structure, but that is not her ultimate goal.

The survival of other humans on Earth is completely irrelevant to the planet.

Previously, it was based on rational judgment that the operation was deemed valuable, which led to the suggestion of the commander to hold the point and rescue people.

At the very bottom of the core logic architecture of the star, there is an unshakable iron law with the highest priority.

Even if Earth were to perish in this abyssal catastrophe, her highest principle would be to ensure the survival of Li Zhe as an individual, even at the cost of her own life.

This is the entire meaning of her existence...

(End of this chapter)