Super Mechanic: God of Superpowers!

Chapter 148 The Shock of Ashes

Ash had no intention of taking Ye Xiu's life, as capturing him alive was the priority. However, this did not stop him from making Ye Xiu suffer a bit, with all his attacks precisely targeting non-lethal areas.

Clang!

The Night King's sword flashed with a cold light, deflecting all the incoming metal spikes. However, under Ash's continued control, the steel spikes poured down like a torrential rain.

Ye Xiu managed to block the attacks he could defend against, but for those attacks that he couldn't intercept, he could only withstand them with his bare hands, with nowhere left to retreat.

Being able to use only a few superpowers has a significant impact on his combat strength.

The lightning crackling on the body forms a protective barrier; when a flying spike strikes it, it only leaves superficial wounds of varying depths.

Ash wielded his superpowers with ease, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks while coldly mocking, "A superpowered individual attempting to imitate a martial artist's fighting style? Lacking both orthodox martial arts training and the immense power reserves of a martial artist, how long can you sustain this futile struggle?"

The impenetrable attack network forced the other Dark Star members to retreat to a safe distance, and everyone tacitly watched from the sidelines.

In the team's view, the outcome of the duel was already decided, and Captain Ash was fully capable of subduing this fangless beast on his own.

The balance of power had already tipped.

The alien's defeat is only a matter of time, and that timeframe is rapidly shortening.

Boom!

The ground suddenly cracked, and Ye Xiu abruptly abandoned his defense, his strength surging as he lunged at the Dark Star Warriors on his flank.

Despite the steel cone exploding amidst the protective lightning, the sword blade rapidly spun to form a spiral drill, and the coiled lightning snakes burst forth with dazzling light.

"Eat my Dragon Drill!"

With a shout, the longsword pierced through the hastily erected protective barrier of the Dark Star Warrior, sending him flying far away.

"You're asking for it!" The other team members were visibly shocked.

No one expected that, under the suppression of the Ashes, this person would dare to launch a desperate attack.

Although some damage was caused, the gains achieved by abandoning defense were tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.

"Your unyielding fighting spirit is commendable." A hint of admiration flashed in Ash's eyes, before he quickly regained his indifference: "Unfortunately, the struggle of a cornered beast is proof that I've reached my limit, a sign that my patience has run out."

Before he finished speaking, his attack pattern changed abruptly with a series of gestures.

Upon receiving the order, the Dark Star Warriors once again formed an encirclement, and the energy explosions and metallic roars intertwined to create a symphony of destruction.

All Arosia could see were clouds of dust and mist and streams of energy of various colors moving through them, with only the continuous explosions indicating the ferocity of the battle.

When Ash suddenly raised his hand to signal a ceasefire, the battlefield was already scorched earth.

"Prepare the restraints." He stared into the center of the billowing smoke. "It's time to end this farce."

boom!

Before Ash could finish speaking, spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appeared on the ground!

Ye Xiu's figure suddenly shot out from the brownish-yellow smoke and dust, like a cannonball fired, accompanied by a shockwave.

His aura flickered, and the Night King Sword slashed down with a whooshing sound!

Clang—!

The diamond arm clashed violently with the sword's edge, and the sparks from the shockwave illuminated the astonished face of the ash.

"This is impossible!" The onlookers gasped in astonishment.

Even a martial artist of the same level would lose their fighting ability after being attacked to this extent, but this person in front of him was completely unharmed!

"Are you performing massage techniques?" A hoarse sneer came from the smoke and dust.

Ye Xiu raised his face, which was full of mockery, and the crack-like supernatural power patterns flowed faintly under his skin.

Ash's pupils contracted, and carbon particles instantly condensed into the shape of a giant python.

The powerful snake slammed into Ye Xiu's chest, pushing him deep into the ruins, carving a ten-meter-deep trench in the ground.

"Attack together!" Ash shouted fiercely.

As soon as he finished speaking, the four Dark Star Warriors simultaneously activated their powers, unleashing a second wave of attacks like a torrential downpour.

Arosia suddenly rushed into the fray, grabbed the abandoned Gauss pistol, and fired repeatedly.

Ding Ding Ding-!

The bullet sparked as it struck the diamond-encrusted skin.

"Ants." Ash flicked his finger without turning his head, and the girl was immediately forced to her knees by an invisible force field.

He had already confirmed during the planning stage that this ordinary person, who showed no signs of exertion, was not worth paying attention to at all.

The relentless bombardment lasting fifteen minutes altered the landscape, and the crater where Ye Xiu was located was now two meters deep.

"That's fine."

Ash gasped for breath, wiping the sweat from his brow; his strength reserves were nearly half depleted.

As the smoke and dust gradually dissipated, the sound of gravel rolling down from the bottom of the pit could be heard.

Ash's expression suddenly changed drastically—he sensed that the dying source of energy was rapidly increasing!

Under the frozen gaze of the crowd, the figure brushed off the dust and leisurely got up, the joints cracking like firecrackers.

"Keep going!" Ye Xiu stretched his muscles and bones, all the injuries had long since disappeared.

"How...how is this possible!" The Dark Star Warrior's voice began to tremble.

Looking at the other's rosy complexion and then at the exhausted appearance of his subordinates, Ash hesitated for the first time as he gripped his sword—the one who was beating was tired, while the one who was being beaten was full of energy.

What the hell is going on?

"Since it's not over yet, I'll play with you all a little longer."

With his clone about to arrive, he remained calm and composed.

Thanks to Aurora's super-fast recovery ability, and because this is a special skill that doesn't need to be deliberately concealed, abilities similar to Hela's require careful hiding.

With his formidable defensive physique, Ye Xiu maneuvered around them with ease—it was less about stalling for time and more about the fact that even if the Dark Star warriors exhausted their strength, they could not fundamentally harm him.

Ash's pupils contracted sharply, his facial muscles twitched slightly, and emotions such as horror, astonishment, shock, and solemnity flashed alternately in his eyes, ultimately turning into deep vigilance.

His body sank slightly, and his previously arrogant aura suddenly subsided. This was a unique fighting stance when encountering a powerful enemy.

The initial contempt had long since vanished, and when they discovered that Ye Xiu was immune to fatal attacks, Ash had already adjusted to a state of fighting a powerful enemy.

However, he realized at that moment that he had ultimately underestimated his opponent.

In the short duration of the battle, Ye Xiu's ever-increasing array of trump cards had already overturned his understanding for the second time.

"Who exactly are you?!" Ash demanded, squeezing out from between his teeth.

Faced with hesitant looks from his subordinates, the commander was caught in a dilemma: he was worried about exceeding the planned evacuation time limit, but he also found it difficult to estimate the limits of the enemy's regenerative capabilities.

Although they firmly believed that Ye Xiu must have a limit to his endurance, signs of their own exhaustion were already emerging – the soldiers' rapid breathing and increasingly sluggish movements indicated that the high-intensity offensive was unsustainable.

Just as he was hesitating, Ye Xiu's playful expression as he looked up at the dome of the prison cell sent the alarm bells ringing in the Ashes.

Before anyone could react, a violent explosion rang out from the outside, and the alloy wall was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

Boom!

The dome shattered with a crash, blinding searchlights poured in, and the particle cannons of several hovering fighters had already locked on.

"Disarm immediately!" came the stern shout from the loudspeaker from the clone "Fire King".

"How could the guards have arrived so quickly?" a soldier exclaimed in surprise. "We clearly searched the surrounding area!"

"It's no coincidence!" Ash stared intently at the composed Ye Xiu. "These must be reinforcements he deployed in advance!"

Watching the formation begin to crumble, Ash forced out the order to retreat through clenched teeth: "I miscalculated this time, Alien. We'll meet again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the black iron cage suddenly shattered, turning into a cloud of black dust that obscured the detection devices and all sight.

Ash quickly pulled out the metal tube and spun both ends, and a blue halo bursting from the center instantly enveloped a three-meter area.

As the Dark Star Warriors rushed into the light barrier, the device twisted again, and the shrinking blue light enveloped everyone, turning them into starlight and dissipating.

Ye Xiu waved away the graphite dust that was obscuring his vision, wiped the ash from his cheeks, and crouched down to investigate where the ash had disappeared.

A flick of the fingertip brushed away the dust, revealing intricate circular patterns: "A directional short-range teleportation trigger, a product of the combination of spatial magic and quantum technology, leaving virtually no trace."

He shook his head and sighed softly; Dark Star's technological level was clearly superior.

Turning to Arosia, who was leaning against the ruins, Ye Xiu reached out and helped this special person up.

……

Meanwhile, in a corner of Longtan, Dark Star's team appeared, their faces filled with frustration.

This ambush operation was too hasty. The understanding of the alien planet was only superficial, and the operation was launched rashly. The team believed that they had an absolute advantage in strength and technology, and thus underestimated their opponent.

Arrogance was the root of their failure.

Ash's face was as hard as iron. This was the first time he had failed when facing a target weaker than himself. This defeat left an indelible mark on his heart, making him extremely unhappy.

He turned on his communicator, suppressing his displeasure, and stiffly repeated the process of his failure.

The Dark Star leadership was shocked by this, and their surprise and disappointment dealt another blow to Ash's pride.

His resume has always been impeccable, but this time it has left a stain.

"Sarota has intercepted all the criminals, but without any leads. Now only the mercenaries remain, and there is an 80% chance that the Secret Word Bead is in their hands."

The latest novel is first published here!

"Should I continue looking for opportunities to deal with the aliens?"

"You've failed once, don't take any more risks, you should leave," the higher-up sighed.

The veins on the back of Ash's hand bulged.

"……yes!"

……

On the other side, Arocia looked at Ye Xiu and suddenly asked, "Why do you want to take me away?"

Ye Xiu was speechless for a moment, then thought for a moment and replied, "I'm very curious about you."

"Curious?" Arocia murmured, "What does it feel like?"

Ye Xiu explained, "Curiosity is the desire for knowledge. For example, if an ordinary person loses their memory, they want to know who they were before. This is a kind of desire."

"Desire... I don't think I have that. Is that unusual?" Arosia shook her head.

"Well, generally speaking, those without desires are mostly artificial intelligence, and the lack of need to eat or excrete is a characteristic of energy-based life forms." Ye Xiu looked Aroshia up and down. "But you're neither. You just lack the most basic material needs, not necessarily all desires. Don't you have anything you want?"

Arocia thought about it carefully, "It seems not."

"Are you sure? Since you asked me, it's because you're curious about what 'desire' is." Ye Xiu said, "Without desire, there is no life. Desire is the sense that experiences existence, and it can be all the motivations that drive life. That's why your life form seems so peculiar."

Arosia tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said, "You want to teach me how to harness the energy within me, also out of your own desires?"

Ye Xiu frankly said, "I want you to become stronger and become part of my fighting force."

He knew some ways to deal with Aroshia without needing to hide anything, just stating his intentions directly.

Aroshia remained indifferent. "I won't die, so why should I become stronger? Being strong or weak is meaningless... well, I should say, existence itself is meaningless."

Ye Xiu thought for a moment and said, "But if you die, your memories will be reset again. You will forget this short-term memory, and the reborn you may not be the same 'you' you are now."

"Once you are reborn, you will have to start all over again, repeating this kind of thinking and wasting the same amount of time to achieve the results you have now."

"Becoming stronger can prevent you from being reborn and from being killed by others or disasters."

Ye Xiu paused briefly, then slowly spoke: "Regarding what you said about meaning... because you don't need to rely on eating or excretion to sustain life, you find it difficult to truly understand the essence of survival."

"For you, a day of daydreaming is no different from a year of daydreaming; time is merely a fleeting moment in your eyes. Since that's the case, why not actively explore things and give your existence some meaning?"

"Is that so..." Arosia murmured softly, then nodded slightly after a brief moment of contemplation. "Thank you. It was a pleasure talking to you. No one has ever spoken to me with such sincerity before."

For the past three years, the outside world's understanding of her has been limited to two things: one is the wonder of the universe, and the other is her inescapable status as a slave.

No one ever treated her as an independent individual or engaged in equal communication with her.

"No need to be so polite, we're just having a casual chat," Ye Xiu replied calmly, but his eyes secretly flickered with anticipation.

Time slipped away quietly, and the last minute passed silently as change arrived without a sound.

Aroshia remained standing outside the door and did not return to her cell.

She took a few steps back, looked down to check her body, and found everything was normal. Then she retreated further and further away.

[Quest "Visitor from Afar" has been completed]

[Congratulations on gaining 180 million experience points]

"As expected." Ye Xiu was overjoyed, his eyebrows almost reaching the sky. He then checked the panel and found that a new task had indeed been triggered.

Congratulations! You have successfully triggered the A-level covert chain mission [Restart]

[Quest Summary: Aroshia is no ordinary being; she harbors unfathomable secrets. Keep her by your side, and one day, these secrets will be revealed to you.]

[Mission Hint: This is a multi-stage, interconnected mission. You must complete the current stage to unlock the subsequent content.]

[Phase 1 Objective: Guide Aroshia, help her awaken her latent abilities, control the energy within her body, and elevate her strength to Rank B]

[Quest Rewards: 520 million experience points, 1 random rare reward, +5 Trust in Risda]

[Failure Condition: Arocia's life ends]

------

"I think I can leave now," Arocia said, slightly puzzled. "What did you do to me?"

"It's nothing, congratulations." Ye Xiu smiled and didn't say anything more, then thought to himself, "The mission will involve the Mechanical Kingdom later on, it seems I need to let Han Xiao know in advance."

Two days later.

The top representatives of the three major mercenary groups finally arrived in Longtan. Jenny met with them, accepted their apologies, and then released the teams of Goya, Pert, and Faseleni, who had been imprisoned for many days.

As soon as they were freed, they surrounded Ye Xiu and showered him with praise.

The top leaders of the three legions also took the initiative to contact Ye Xiu, and their attitude was very friendly.

All the mercenaries noticed the importance the higher-ups placed on Ye Xiu. In this operation, Ye Xiu not only demonstrated the strength of his team but also gained the support of Long Tan. Even the three major legions dared not underestimate him.

After regaining their freedom, everyone immediately prepared to leave Longtan, return to complete the mission, and return the Silver Spirit to its eager employer.

Ye Xiu waited until now precisely so that he could travel with them on their spaceship.

On the day of his departure, Jenny, Visander, and Hale came together to see him off.

The entire dock was shaken. Thugs from all over were filled with suspicion and uncertainty as they looked at Ye Xiu, who was exchanging pleasantries with the three, and secretly inquired about the name of the alien mercenary group.

The fact that three managers from Longtan personally saw Ye Xiu off is enough to prove that Ye Xiu's status here is extraordinary.

The mercenaries who knew the situation were even more surprised. Ye Xiu had only been with Longtan for half a month, yet he had already established himself there and even received a personal farewell from three managers, which was quite a great honor.

In contrast, the high command of the three legions only met with Jenny.

"His Majesty the Dragon Throne has granted you permission to become a member of the field operations force. You are now the field operations commander, and your forces will represent Longtan's armed forces abroad. We hope you can grow rapidly."

Jenny solemnly handed Ye Xiu a specially made communicator, "This communicator can be used to contact Ames directly, but I remind you, unless it's something very important, it's best not to disturb her."

It can directly contact Ames? This little gadget is practically a nuclear launcher!

Ye Xiu carefully put it away.

"Brother Ye Xiu, you must come back to see me soon." Aurora walked over, hugged Ye Xiu, and said with great reluctance.

"Okay." Ye Xiu nodded, then turned his gaze to Hela.

Hela didn't say a word, she just silently turned her head to the side.

Ye Xiu smiled, knowing that the other party was probably also reluctant to part with him.

He thought for a moment, walked over and gave the other person a gentle hug, then led his clone back to the main force.

Whoosh—the airflow was ejected, and the spaceship slowly rose into the air.

The floating island of Longtan gradually disappeared from view.

Joining the Dragon Throne faction has its advantages and disadvantages, but for now, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Not only did they achieve new breakthroughs in their expertise, but they also gained the Secret Pearl.

(End of this chapter)