Star Forge Titan

Thinking of this, Ivan didn't bother the poor brainwashed people. Those who had been easily killed before were fine, but considering the Shattered Sun Wasteland's tragically low population base, it would be best to leave the remaining people to Chief Beta.

Brakes screeched behind him, and then a dazed Beta emerged from the cargo hold, retching as he ran out. Diana's frantic driving style was a real challenge for him. As for the instigator, Diana and Afrediya, both sitting in the cockpit, poked their heads out of different hatches and cast curious glances their way.

"It's okay, I just asked."

Before he could finish his words, Ivan felt a wave of vibration approaching at an extremely fast speed. Immediately afterwards, all the cyborgs' prosthetic eyes began to emit lightning, apparently activating some kind of remote-controlled self-destruct function.

"2, 8, 8, 7, this fluctuation... is mandatory order No. 66, avoid it quickly!" Without bothering to wipe the saliva from the corner of his mouth, Beta shouted in horror.

Then, Ivan turned his head and glanced away. Instantly, all the prosthetics that had been arcing suddenly went out. The ambient light converged into long golden needles that pierced deeply into the metal. The magic power that powered the prosthetics had been interfered with by an external force, forcing them to shut down in this way.

Alvin didn't understand the magical engineering technology of the Imperial Era, but he was able to use it.

Soul power always takes precedence over ordinary magic power, let alone the awakening power of King Uranus's soul. Activating the soul power that controls 'light' would not allow even a self-destruction, let alone a remotely controlled self-destruction.

"...Tsk, that's a bit too inhumane." Alvin cursed in a low voice.

After silently going forward to check the cyborg that nearly exploded, and hearing the theories promoted by the "Daka" organization, even the middle-aged Beta couldn't help but sigh.

"Alas, after all these years, that guy is still just as cold and mad as before," Beta sighed, his face filled with dejection and helplessness. The expressions of the cyborg soldiers beside him gradually changed, each revealing a mixture of astonishment and fear.

"Sir? Sir? Chief?" Finally, a young soldier couldn't help but shout in a low voice.

"Why did you suddenly get older?"

"You've got the wrong guy." Beta shook his head, told them to surrender to the army that would arrive shortly after, and then got up and returned to the car. His back looked very lonely and tired, as if he was carrying some invisible burden.

"Let's talk about that guy called 'Alpha'." Ivan clenched his fists, and his joints made a crisp sound like the collision of swords.

"I'm a little curious."

Chapter 220 Memory Attacks

After hearing what Ivan said, Beta stopped checking the removed prosthetic limb and a complicated expression appeared on his face.

"Alpha..."

"He is the first person I have met in this era." Beta murmured to himself, and the distant memories in his mind instantly exceeded the speed of light, and caught everyone off guard, chasing from the past that had been left behind to the present.

The vision before me seemed to blur for a moment, gradually turning into a dissolving afterimage of a bygone era.

"I am Alpha! You are Beta!" The person who spoke was a thin young man with a flawless handsome face, but his perfect facial features were not in line with his inhumanly exquisite facial features. At this moment, his face was filled with an almost crazy and wanton smile.

The distress caused by the low-temperature sealing magic has not been completely eliminated. The boy who was forcibly given the name "Beta" has just woken up. He feels that everything he sees is hazy. The light reflected through the transparent crystal container is colorful, making people feel as if they are in a dream, illusory and unreal.

More than 20 years ago, Beta, who had just been released from the cryogenic seal, met Alpha for the first time.

Memory woke up a step later than will, and all the things about the glorious past of the empire came to mind, ranging from childhood memories to the long study career, and then to wearing the golden laurel crown that symbolized the chief archivist. However, something was missing, something very important.

"My name is..." Beta looked blankly at the young man standing so close to him. The other party gave him a very contradictory impression.

"Beta, my brother, the second son of the New Humans of the Second Empire, the future general commanding the Thirteen Magical Legions. Your name is Beta!"

The extremely excited boy put his hands against the crystal container, and his handsome face was distorted into a strange shape due to the curvature of the container, but it still made Beta feel a strong sense of familiarity, like an old friend whom he often saw but could not remember the other's name.

"Brothers? I'm an only child, so I don't really understand this kind of feeling." Ivan shrugged. He noticed that Diana and Frey, who were sitting in the car not far away, were looking at this side, so he smiled and waved to them.

"No, it's not closeness. At best, it's just the...dependence of a baby bird on the first creature it sees." Beta looked conflicted, but finally he slowly spoke out what was in his mind.

"So, after seeing that guy's true nature, I chose the opposite path."

There was no time to place the captives. After disarming their self-destruct devices, the group set out again towards the industrial center. On the way, Beta began to tell the three strangers about his past with Alpha.

Alpha and Beta, brothers named after the ancient words representing Sequence One and Sequence Two, first awakened in an ancient ruin. That structure, buried deep underground, was a product of the late Imperial Age, a doomsday fortress built by a civilization on the brink of collapse, and a refuge constructed at the end of the ancient empire.

Although the Empire was unable to defeat the twelve out-of-control beast gods, the over-a-kilometer-thick earth layer and multiple layers of composite armor at least allowed the shelter to survive the aftermath of the Sunshattering War. Therefore, it not only preserves a wealth of precious documents, but also contains numerous plant seeds, frozen genetic genes from various animals, and even the genetic information of the Imperials themselves.

In addition, there are more than a thousand citizens of the Empire secretly hibernating in the shelter through low-temperature sealing magic. The shelter is set to wake up everyone in batches within one year after the war is completely over. During this period, on-duty personnel will also take turns waking up to collect information from the outside of the shelter and maintain the normal operation of the entire building.

As long as nothing unexpected happened, this refuge would survive. By then, through the various materials and supplies stored within, even if the empire couldn't restore its peak strength, it could at least ensure the immortality of its civilization.

But when Beta woke up that day, the accident had already happened decades ago.

Almost all cryogenic sealing magic failed prematurely, but the special containers used to protect the hibernating imperial citizens remained unopened, and even the staff on duty who were supposed to be awakened in turn showed no reaction. The imperial citizens who woke up could only die wailing.

In the most painful and desperate way...

Young Beta followed Alpha through a series of capsule-shaped containment devices. Except for the container where he woke up, most of the devices contained a twisted and hideous skeleton.

Alpha offered no explanation, and Beta, horrified by the scene, could only hasten his pace. Although he didn't know what had happened, considering he couldn't even remember his name when he woke up, it didn't seem surprising that he knew nothing about it.

"Then what?" Alvin couldn't help but ask. He felt that the whole thing was weird and couldn't help but guess what kind of information was hidden in it.

"Then, I started conducting various experiments under Alpha's persuasion. He seemed to know what I was good at."

"Wait, wait, wait, you woke up next to a pile of dead bodies, and then decided to start doing experiments?" Afrediya, who also heard these words, couldn't help but applaud.

"Ha, it's a bit strange when I think about it now, but considering that person's nature, it seems inevitable." Beta chuckled twice, his expression showing some worry.

"Alpha is a genius yet a bit crazy. He says that since this world is no longer suitable for mortals, it's time to evolve a new, more advanced life form, allowing humans to evolve into a new species, and then build a more powerful new empire on the corpse of civilization."

"It sounds like something a villain would say." All sorts of déjà vu feelings came over him, and Ivan couldn't help but complain.

Such inappropriate words made Afrediya glare at him immediately, and she raised her elbow without changing her expression and secretly made a tactical foul.

"Ha, indeed. This extreme ideology ultimately led Alpha to create the magical beasts known as hybrids. They were created by blending the flesh and blood of living creatures with magical machinery, creating self-aware monsters. While they possessed self-awareness, their instincts were, at best, those of a beast, making them impossible to control."

"...Animal experiments, will there be human experiments next?" Ivan's expression became serious, and he looked at Beta with a scrutinizing look.

"Indeed, I realized something was amiss and started arguing with Alpha. In a fit of rage, he forcibly locked me in a sealing device. Fortunately, an earthquake suddenly struck near the shelter, and the damage caused by it happened to open up to the outside world."

"After that, Kalimue accidentally broke into the shelter and accidentally woke me up while being chased by Alpha." As if recalling something interesting, Beta couldn't help but raise a smile at the corner of his mouth, but the smile quickly disappeared.

"At the time, Alpha had already begun conducting large-scale experiments recklessly, attempting to use this method to collect enough data to develop more advanced hybrid manufacturing methods."

"To improve efficiency, he built several fully automated hybrid production lines using various magical machines within the shelter. He then continuously released the hybrid monsters he produced into the outside world in order to obtain more data."

"Looking back, although I don't know what caused it, Alpha was probably completely insane at that time. You know, almost all hybrid monsters have bloodthirsty instincts and uncontrollable natures, which would undoubtedly bring fatal dangers to many people."

"So, after a fight, I successfully disrupted Alpha's plan with the help of Kalimue, and by overloading the magic furnace, I caused the entire shelter to self-destruct and disrupt the production line."

When talking about this incident, even though many years have passed, Beta still looks frightened.

"It seems that he is a crazy and unscrupulous guy." Afrediya couldn't help but grab Ivan's hand. The power of the dragon made Titan take a breath and feel a sense of urgency about the current situation.

"Yeah, I felt so nervous after I figured out that Alpha wasn't dead. If that guy was really behind everything, more than a decade of preparation would be enough for him to drag the entire wasteland into the abyss of destruction." Beta gritted his teeth.

"That's right, so we should speed up." Alvin nodded.

As if to echo his words, accompanied by a roar of the engine, the magic vehicle driven by Diana immediately began to accelerate.

Chapter 221 Division of Labor and Cooperation

"It's so quiet." Sitting in the fast-moving magic vehicle, Alvin couldn't help but exclaim.

"The previous few attacks were probably just tests." Afrediya held her chin and thought for a moment, then guessed a possibility.

"The enemy found that ordinary soldiers could not cause any obstruction, so they did not send follow-up troops."

"Oh, it seems that Alpha's madness is quite rational," Ivan said, his expression unfazed. Fleur was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. It was unknown why the Demon King had such a low sense of humor. Of course, it might just vary from person to person.

While this discussion was taking place, the pale blue magic vehicle left a large area of ​​ruins behind it.

The previous three waves of ambushes were more powerful each time. In the end, heavy magical weapons with area killing capabilities were used to try to destroy Ivan and his group, including their car and the three surrounding blocks.

However, when His Majesty the Demon King was in school, he chose the field of defense as his major. The ancient dragon form that he inherited and awakened was famous for its high blood volume and extraordinary adaptability. Even in the extreme environment of high temperature and high pressure in the depths of the earth, he could swim two or three times back and forth.

In short, Afredia, using simple gestures and chanting, unleashed a rapid protective barrier, blocking all attacks. The enemy, in despair, saw the large (in various senses) dragon lady with twin horns take a deep breath.

After a burst of "Ahhh", even without activating the ancient dragon form, the high-temperature gravity turbulence composite dragon breath spewed by Afrediya still completely turned the city ahead into a large ruin.

But compared to the entire Iron Lake City Industrial Complex, this little damage was nothing. To be called a "city," this industrial zone naturally covered an astonishing amount of space. Without a map or guide, it was easy to get lost, and it might take weeks to find the way out. Fortunately, Beta's memory contained relevant information, including not only road information but also the locations of several key departments of this large industrial base.

Therefore, before the operation began, Alvin and his companions had already made a division of labor.

Feeling the vehicle's speed suddenly drop, it meant that several people had arrived at the designated location.

Alvin raised his hand and pointed at a giant boiler in the distance that was as tall as a thirty-story building. The various metal pipes attached to its surface were even thicker than the crude oil pipeline.

"Frei, Diana, the central main magic furnace and the ten auxiliary magic furnaces are all handed over to you."

"No problem," Frey agreed, pulling out a golden staff that looked a bit like a hammer. Such a classic color scheme undoubtedly revealed a common quirk of dragons, but now was not the time to complain about such things.

"Yeah." Diana in the cockpit was as silent as usual, but her actions were enough to tell everything.

The silver-haired girl pulled the joystick, causing the vehicle to switch to combat mode. The eight-legged, pale blue magical vehicle then reassembled its limbs, raising its torso. Its outer armor slid and engaged, releasing various weapons. The entire vehicle quickly transformed into a humanoid magical weapon resembling a heavily armored soldier.

At this moment, the magical weapon's sturdy left arm was clad directly with a conical metal spear, a faint blue light emanating from the seam running through the vertebral column, clearly no melee weapon. On the right arm was a "small" round shield, also radiating magical light. Considering the size of the magical weapon, the actual size of the shield was not small. The faint light emanating from it outlined a larger circular shape. In addition to the physical defense of the sturdy armor, it also served as a magical barrier. The weapons rising from the back of each shoulder also had various functions such as detection, interference, interception, and stealth. They were composite armor designed by Ivan based on the functional modules of modern main battle tanks.

"The mana furnaces in the industrial area can absorb mana from the surrounding environment. Activating active absorption mode can also artificially create a low mana environment. This will affect normal spellcasting and mana recovery, and even reduce the mana recharge of magical weapons. Please be aware of this."

Beta emphasized again the characteristics of the super-large magic furnace in the industrial area with a serious face, and was also amazed at the amazing hands-on ability of these outsiders.

Although he provided some help in magic engineering during this period, it was really unbelievable that an engineering magic device could be transformed into a qualified mobile magic weapon in just a few hours.

Moreover, the entire transformation process was carried out in a way that Beta could not understand at all. The young man reshaped the already shaped and solidified metal parts into another shape with his bare hands, just like kneading plasticine. It was completely against common sense.

After watching the two ladies go and destroy the magic furnace, Alvin and Beta continued to move towards the center of the industrial area.

"There's no car to take." The black-haired boy joked, then revealed his fighting body of more than three meters.

Then, ornately shaped light-forged armor flew out from the casually drawn circle, quickly attaching itself to various parts of his body, completing his armor. Adhering to the guiding principle of "as long as I'm not embarrassed, I'm not embarrassed," he had adapted to the armor's somewhat chuunibaku appearance. Actually, it was... just a bit embarrassing.

Turning his head away from Chief Beta's surprised gaze, Ivan activated the newly installed air flow engine within the lepton space. With the added bonus of this special space structure, even without activating the giant god form, he could greatly utilize the spatial control capabilities of the Pluto combat agent.

Soon, a transparent spherical force field, similar to the distortion of air caused by high temperature, enveloped the two of them.

With an initially insignificant thrust, the transparent sphere unexpectedly passed through all matter in front of it, accelerating forward like an invisible ghost. Using hyperspace navigation, aided by the aerodynamic engine, Irwin successfully achieved a method of movement once thought only of science fiction.

An ordinary wastelander would likely have mistaken this for some special flying magic, but Chief Beta, armed with pre-war knowledge, found it a bit confusing. Even a high-ranking transcendent shouldn't possess this ability, right?

Forget it, they are family anyway, no matter what.

Beta found that he seemed to be gradually getting used to the outrageousness of these outsiders.

"Be careful, I know that Alpha is not someone who gives up easily. Or rather, his paranoia is no different from that of a madman." With a dark expression, Chief Beta cursed and subconsciously covered his chest. The feeling of the hard object touched by his left hand brought some relief.

Although the outsider's strength was formidable, he would not place all the burdens on the young man. As an Imperial who had survived into the wasteland era, some responsibilities belonged to him.

"Okay." Alvin didn't notice Beta's change of mentality. He now focused all his attention on controlling the space.

It must be admitted that even with the assistance of the air flow engine, as a novice "driver", he still had to concentrate fully.

Otherwise, you may accidentally cause a "car accident".

But car accidents aren't something you can avoid just by being careful. There are always those with underdeveloped brains who behave in ways that aren't human.

Just like now...

Chapter 222: Curvature Navigation

The so-called hyperspace navigation is based on the principle of the curvature engine in science fiction works.

Simply put, it is to distort the space around the spacecraft through some method, thereby forming a "warp bubble" or "cavitation" that wraps the spacecraft.

With this "cavitation bubble" as the coordinate center, the space in front is compressed, while the space behind is stretched. As a result, even if the spacecraft itself is not in relative motion, the "surface" tension generated by the difference in space between the front and the back will cause the spacecraft trapped in the cavitation bubble to continue accelerating forward, reaching "subluminal" or even "superluminal" speeds.

In this process, since it is not the movement of objects but the displacement of space, the matter blocking the front will not form an obstacle, and it can even achieve an effect similar to "passing through a wall".

Honestly, it's incredible that a Titan could accomplish this function as a single entity.

Suspended in the spherical bubble, Beta couldn't help but raise his hand and then put it down, then raise it again and then put it down again. This set of repeated body movements fully demonstrated the specific meaning of the word "wanting to say something but stopping".

"Isn't that too exaggerated?" Finally, the middle-aged imperial survivor couldn't help but ask the question.

"It's okay, I've tried it before." Alvin answered briefly.

"That's good." Beta twitched his lips and didn't ask any further questions. After all, it was common sense for normal people not to disturb the driver while driving.

At this moment, Ivan was manipulating the space bubble for slow, hyperspace travel. This method consumed far less energy than expected, but required complete concentration to maintain stability. Therefore, he didn't elaborate. The so-called "previous experiment" involved launching an arrow from a planet's surface into outer space using warp speed. Technically, this hadn't even completed animal testing.

Well, sometimes knowing too much isn't always a good thing. At least, Uncle Beta seems at ease now.

But as the two men advanced in silence, Ivan suddenly sensed some external force disturbing the surrounding space. This was truly unexpected; even in space, only massive celestial bodies and certain special circumstances could cause such disturbances.

Therefore, the sudden change caused the two of them to instantly eject the "cavitation bubble" and terminate the hyperspace navigation state.

Fortunately, Ivan reacted quickly, activating his ultimate skill, Force String Domination, using his exquisite fist technique to transfer the reaction force to the ground he first touched. The high-rise building where the two men were located was instantly destroyed, with a large amount of building debris scattered across the ground like collapsing building blocks, and a clear, radial pit was formed in the center.

"What happened?" Beta knelt on one knee. Although he didn't understand the specific situation, his rich experience in wasteland survival made him draw his weapon at the first moment.

"Someone has disturbed the spatial dimension." Alvin's expression became very serious. The last time he encountered a similar situation was when he accidentally discovered the heavy star crystal.