I am a female swordsman.

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Colossus

If you walk the dark too often, you're bound to run into a ghost.

While exploring an area suspected to be Shinra's large laboratory, Zack unexpectedly bumped into a monster!

This is understandable. Shinra Labs was initially built around Mako, which in turn was extracted from the River of Life. The energy source for the birth of monsters has indeed been verified to be the River of Life, and certain remnants of these labs are the perfect supplements for these monsters!

Even the most primitive and pathetic monster, who could be easily defeated by ordinary people, was able to rise to the level of a Tiger-level monster after obtaining the Mako Stone fragments by absorbing a huge amount of primitive energy!

Not to mention the dazzling array of experimental projects at Shinra Laboratory.

The people left, but the equipment and supplies remained.

For these eccentric individuals, Z-City, the ghost town, is a treasure trove. They don't need to confront the terrifying Shinra warriors; they only need to deal with the security agencies to obtain items related to Mako.

It's almost like a deliberately created online game instance.

The freaks can grow stronger by running dungeons (Shinra Laboratory), and these dungeons, large and small, have opening times (operated autonomously by the laboratory's AI). Within this dungeon city, there are also terrifying areas and a final boss. Thus, amidst the inexplicable chaos of this ghost town, the freaks living there have developed their own set of survival rules.

Zack was unaware of these rules.

In his mind, any monster deserves to die. When Zack reached an area that resembled the Shinra Laboratory, he saw several monsters openly planning to attack the Shinra Laboratory.

Zack, who still felt a sense of belonging to Shinra, couldn't possibly sit idly by. Even though Shinra had withdrawn from Z-City, the stuff still belonged to Shinra!

"Shameless thief!!"

The simple-minded and physically strong Zack, upon seeing the monsters, didn't even consider the practical question of why they were merely loitering there. He drew his greatsword and swung it with all his might at the leader of the monsters. It was like swinging a sledgehammer; the scene was extremely bloody and violent.

then……

"idiot!!"

"Damn humans!"

"It's over!!!!"

The mournful howls rose and fell. The first reaction of these monsters was not to attack Zack, nor was it any surprise at the sudden appearance of humans. They were completely dominated by another emotion: fear!

To Zack's astonishment, he saw a previously tightly closed steel gate in the foundation slowly open. The monsters, like shooed flies, scattered in all directions in a frenzy! Behind the steel gate, Zack saw a humanoid mech standing three meters tall. The mech's blue-green Mako patterns were steadily emitting power, and multiple scanning points emitted bursts of light.

It looks familiar!

Looking at the mech, Zack subconsciously recalled how he had been brutally humiliated by this very mech, the "Giant," during his basic training. That painful memory remained vivid in Zack's mind; there was no way he could have forgotten it.

Look, they're all raising their steel fists in the exact same pose.

'Wait! Exactly the same?'

Startled, Zack, who had initially felt no sense of danger, was enveloped by a chilling aura as he watched the silver-white mech raise its fist.

Have you ever seen a fist that travels at the speed of light?

Zack could say he'd seen it before, because in that instant, the Titan's fist transformed into light. The air around Zack roared and exploded in an instant, the entire atmosphere ignited by a powerful frictional force. The deafening roar transformed into light that shot straight into the sky, nearly sending Zack flying.

Those monsters listed as priority targets for elimination, those who violated certain rules, evaporated in the terrifying light and heat before they even had a chance to scream! Evaporated literally; the multi-headed monster simply vanished!

"Fuck me..."

Having finally come to a stop, Zack looked at the sky, blazing red from the pillar of fire, and swallowed hard. This thing... it doesn't seem quite the same as what he experienced during basic training...

Zack's memories told him, at least, that he hadn't been hit by the Titan's light-speed punch during basic training. Let alone a direct hit, even a glancing blow would have been fatal!

Does this mean that Shinra's industry here has never truly stopped?

Before Zack could even think, his vision suddenly went dark. The three-meter-tall humanoid weapon was now standing in front of him. The entire process was as nimble as a feline traversing a steel jungle, without any of the bulkiness or inconvenience of a steel construct.

"Authentication, please enter your password."

A cold, mechanical voice, leaning towards a female tone, suddenly rang out, reminding Zack to enter a password. This password was a necessary procedure for Shinra's mechanical creations when confirming the termination of an operational plan.

Angel had repeatedly emphasized to Zack during this course that the passwords absolutely had to be memorized perfectly. Because compared to adaptable humans, Shinra's mechanical creations had their programs strictly fixed to avoid crises, and if the passwords didn't match, it could lead to a lot of trouble.

The problem is, how could Zack possibly know that password?!

Execute password, terminate password, settle password. The combinations could be numbers, words, or even a string of syllables with no clear meaning, entirely depending on the user's mood.

"Authentication, please enter your password."

The relentless Titan's multiple sensors simultaneously locked onto Zack. Had Zack not been marked with the Shinra employee insignia, he would have been targeted as well. However, the network of the mechs in Ghost City seemed to be malfunctioning; no employee information had been entered, and they could only identify friend or foe through a password recognition program.

'Oops!'

Faced with the Titan's repeated statements, Zack immediately contacted Sithne.

Meanwhile, Cisner was riding her motorcycle towards Zack's location. Hearing Zack's plea for help, she quickly sought a solution. The situation was clear: if Cisner couldn't find a solution, this Shinra creation, operating strictly according to its program, would soon eliminate her beloved.

However, Cisner didn't know what the password was either, so she could only quickly flip through her previous explorations of the ghost town in search of clues.

"Authentication, please enter your password."

Meanwhile, the Titan, still waiting for an answer, had completely locked onto Zack. Even though he couldn't see it, Zack could still imagine a progress bar in the Titan's information processing center. If he hadn't been able to answer the command by the end of that progress bar, he'd probably have to fight that thing!

Chapter Eighty: Terrifying Mechs

"Identification suspended, prioritize threat handling... Unidentified individual, suspected Shinra employee, armed contact order issued. Awaiting contact between Shinra employee and mobile suit to confirm identity."

Perhaps it was the completion of the loading screen, and the awakened Colossus made its final decision regarding Zack's fate.

Zack, who was already keeping a close eye on this terrifying killing machine, felt no sense of security whatsoever. As soon as he saw the Titan seem to make a move, he became like a taut spring, stomping on the concrete beneath his feet until it shattered, and then he fled frantically to one side at a speed that compressed the air like thick slurry!

Never fight this thing in an open area!!

In the blink of an eye, Zack vanished into the depths of the dark steel forest, disappearing in a blur.

The Colossus, which was about to capture Zack and violently dismantle all his armor according to the established procedure, paused for a moment. Whether it was an illusion or not, the red light from the silver-white humanoid mech scanner seemed to have intensified slightly.

"The target has fled. Engage them!"

"The environment meets the requirements for lifting restrictions, armed authority has been enhanced, and the scope of operations has been expanded."

"Giant Warrior, move out!"

The gleaming silver machine roared into action the next moment, the shrill screams of the air foreshadowing the astonishing speed this terrifying man-made machine had unleashed in an instant. If one had exceptional eyesight and looked down from the sky above Z City, one could see two streaks of black and silver moving nimbly through the dark, complex steel space.

Using steel beams or pipes as leverage points, it moves erratically at the most tricky angles, and the deep blue-green light in Zack's eyes is spreading outward.

The Colossus, with each landing as quiet as a leopard cat, exhibits a mechanical agility surpassing that of living beings. Like a bear dancing ballet on thin ice, the stark contrast underscores its terrifying nature.

Along the way, they naturally encountered quite a few unlucky oddballs.

Zack didn't have time to deal with them, but the Titan had to take the time to raise its unlocked weapon and blast them one by one into dust with electromagnetic cannonballs.

"Zack! Boy! Can you hear me?... This concerns your life, so listen to me carefully. According to procedure, this corporate machine cannot hunt you indefinitely, otherwise this city would have been razed to the ground long ago. Without a Mako Reactor, its energy replenishment methods are very primitive. Drag it out until its energy consumption reaches a certain level, and then you can take care of it!"

Constantly dodging the scorching and terrifying electromagnetic cannonballs behind him, Zack couldn't even reply to Sisne.

He had to concentrate intensely, using his fixed magical energy techniques to help himself escape danger time and time again.

The brutal aesthetics of steel machinery are undeniably beautiful from afar. But when that same brutal beauty comes crashing down on you, even the most ardent man with a Gundam dream can't withstand it!

Despite being chased relentlessly and disheveled, Zack remained calm and collected, searching for an opening. Even as the shockwaves from the explosions burned his body, Zack never stopped moving. Soon, noticing a massive steel beam spanning the sky ahead, Zack immediately found a way to escape.

He unleashed several sword waves with a single hand!

This nearly transparent, highly condensed sword energy, once unleashed, shot forth and slashed into the horizontal steel beam. The sword energy easily tore several gashes in a section, and the steel beam, weighing tens of tons, began to emit a chilling, screeching sound!

Under the influence of its own gravity, the steel beams, pulled by gravity, crashed down in pieces!

Zack, seemingly oblivious to the terrifying weight crashing down from above, accelerated relentlessly forward. Meanwhile, the Colossus, close behind, rapidly analyzed the situation, prioritizing the most critical threats in the complex and ever-changing battlefield environment.

'Won't you fall behind like this?'

Zack realized that his methods had worked when he noticed that the terrifying aura behind him seemed to have paused slightly.

During Shinra's recruit training, facing the relentless pursuit of mechanical creations, the human Shinra warriors must do everything in their power to create chaos among them, as this is the only way to gain an advantage. If they can directly cause the mechanical creations to crash due to logical calculations, that would be even better.

Rumble!!!

A close call!

Zack could even feel the pressure of tons of heavy iron blocks falling rapidly above his head. With the brute force of natural descent, not to mention flesh and blood, even steel objects could be easily smashed to pieces!

"Wow!!"

Staggering back, Zack paused, watching the deafening crash of hell behind him. The Colossus hadn't given chase; the falling steel mass seemed to be causing quite a bit of trouble.

But Zack's expression quickly froze on his face.

A massive blade, nearly two meters long, suddenly emerged from the smoke and dust! The blade, with its slightly upturned tip, gleamed silver and exuded an endless, chilling aura. Even from a hundred meters away, Zack could feel the slight ripples emanating from the bright silver blade!

High-amplitude oscillating wave blade!

One of the divine weapons developed by Shinra, this thing was originally designed for engineers to facilitate cutting work in engineering. However, it is so sharp that most materials cannot withstand this high-frequency oscillation cutting method, so it was classified as a melee weapon.

Moving like waves, advancing like a pine forest!

With a flick of his wrist, he effortlessly sliced ​​down and pushed aside heavy objects, effortlessly emerging from a cloud of dust. Not even a speck of dust clung to his gleaming silver body.

A strange sense of shock appeared in Zack's eyes.

This is the beauty of body control; the control of force is neither too much nor too little, everything is just right.

"This is truly remarkable." Zack exclaimed sincerely, gripping his longsword tightly. Constantly fleeing wasn't his style; this Colossus was indeed incredibly powerful, but it seemed the program wasn't targeting him for annihilation, but rather for pursuit. This gave Zack the confidence that he still had a fighting chance.

This is definitely not a normal Colossus!

This colossus is clearly a product of human intervention; its weaponry and construction materials are definitely not standard. Is it a product of a runaway experimental AI program? Or is it a deeper secret hidden within this city?

No unnecessary words.

Having carved a safe passage through the falling debris, the Colossus charged straight and decisively towards Zack after escaping the impact zone. Its blade, so powerful it created a sonic boom, slashed mercilessly down at the longsword in Zack's hand!

Chapter 81 The Holy Lance

Clang!

The sudden clash of sword blades produced a sharp, metallic sound that seemed to tear eardrums apart! Even the air itself took on a faint cloud-like appearance, the surging energy of the clashing blades like a storm about to form! The concrete ground beneath them, where the blades struck, caved in nearly half a meter out of thin air!

The Colossus, wielding a giant blade, is larger than Zack in height, size, and weaponry.

This powerful strike, delivered with all his might, was like a warrior fighting for the gods, determined to render Zack powerless against any resistance.

But Zack blocked it!