Chapter 150: Chapter 149: Everything Is Fine
Turman’s existence was like a key, allowing whoever possessed him to break through the layers of the supergiant structure and head for the very top.
According to the legends of the Gray Tide apocalypse, Turman was a descendant of Arthur Seldon. This was why he wasn’t attacked by Construction Machines and could even control the core hub.
Facing Construction Machines of various Levels, Turman’s true nature as a "key" became obvious.
He possessed extremely high-level authority, capable of suppressing other Construction Machines.
Sure enough, under Shen Feng’s guidance, two brilliant beams of light shot from Turman’s eyes. A group of new-model Construction Machines that had been charging wildly suddenly halted.
"Detected... ultra-high-level auxiliary administrator authority..."
Authority override.
At the same time, Jingwei cheered. She had already used the hijacked authority to successfully invade the new-model Construction Machines’ programming.
Soon, the Construction Machines went from murderous to docile. They walked slowly to Shen Feng, and one, in the form of a stunningly beautiful woman, opened its arms, embraced him, and wrapped its legs around his waist.
The next moment, the Construction Machine began to liquefy and merge with Shen Feng. In just a short while, it transformed again, taking on the appearance of Mike, the bald, muscular black man.
The remaining Construction Machines merged in pairs. Moments later, a dozen more Mikes stood in their place.
These Mikes glanced at each other, turned in unison, and headed for the upper levels of the supergiant structure.
"Why this bald Mike again? Is it really that fun to keep messing with people like this?" Jingwei griped, exasperated.
Shen Feng replied with a completely serious expression, "It really is."
As he spoke, he had already found a shaft and was climbing dozens of levels upward with his dozen or so Mike Robots.
The instant he landed on the next level, a group of Construction Machines that had appeared out of nowhere swarmed him, their alarms blaring as they pounced:
"Intruder detected. Commencing extermination protocol..."
"Intruder detected. Commencing extermination protocol..."
’Perfect timing!’
Far from being alarmed, Shen Feng was pleased. He immediately controlled his own Construction Machines to counterattack, beginning a reverse-invasion and conversion.
These attackers were all lower-Level, older-version Construction Machines. They were no match for Shen Feng and were subdued and converted in the blink of an eye.
Jingwei’s immense processing power and deep mastery of quantum communication, combined with the ultra-high-level authority from the Turman head in Shen Feng’s hands, made them unstoppable. Not a single Construction Machine could resist.
Moreover, unlike the previous control via radio waves, he now possessed quantum communication technology. The number of Construction Machines Shen Feng could control was limitless!
After all, communication based on quantum entanglement theory didn’t require any high-power transmission systems.
Soon, the number of Mike-shaped Construction Machines gathered around Shen Feng had grown to several hundred.
He continued upward and quickly encountered more interceptors.
It seemed as though every Construction Machine in the supergiant structure was rushing to intercept him, or rather, to intercept Mike.
But Shen Feng now possessed the Hero’s Sword to vanquish his foes. The Construction Machines were no longer a problem for him.
Attack, merge, advance, ascend.
Upward, ever upward. To the highest level, in search of sunlight and rain.
The army of Construction Machines at Shen Feng’s side grew constantly, from a few hundred to a few thousand, then past ten thousand, and then to tens of thousands.
One by one, the black, bullet-like Construction Machines leaped and climbed through the shafts of the supergiant structure. They were like a swarm of ants or a flock of geese, and Shen Feng was their ant king, their leading gander.
In a daze, he felt as if he had returned to the Iron Country in the post-nuclear apocalypse, leading the subjects of his underground kingdom back to the surface.
The Level markers he passed grew steadily higher: 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, 7,000...
Finally, after a long and arduous climb, Shen Feng arrived at Level 9,000.
Here, even more Construction Machines were waiting for him.
An uncountable, densely packed horde of Mike Robots.
After dealing with the Construction Machines in the Gray Tide Graveyard, Mike had realized Shen Feng was likely heading to the top level to find the Gray Tide’s control core. Without even taking the time to finish off the remaining humans, he had left that place, rushed into the supergiant structure, and begun his pursuit of Shen Feng.
He left behind only the bewildered survivors, who stared at each other in confusion.
Unlike Shen Feng, he hadn’t stopped to fight every Construction Machine he met along the way. Instead, he fought as he advanced, ultimately reaching Level 9,000 one step ahead and blocking Shen Feng’s path.
Level 9,000 was still not the top floor.
It was a massive platform, empty except for a series of pillars and some charging stations that arced with electricity.
This was a charging and activity area for the new-model Construction Machines.
Now, however, most of the Construction Machines here had already been devoured by Mike and converted into bald, muscular men.
Mike had learned his lesson from last time. All his Construction Machines stood packed densely together, making it impossible to tell which was the main one.
He felt more powerful than ever before. His clones already numbered nearly half a million, and that number was still slowly increasing.
Soon, he would assimilate every Construction Machine.
As for those barely surviving humans, they would become his playthings, an amusement to keep him from getting bored while he ruled the world.
But as he watched the identical bald, muscular men pouring endlessly from the shaft, Mike still felt a pang of frustration.
That damned Asian kid was a constant source of rage.
The next moment, Mike was about to let out a furious roar.
Just then, Shen Feng—in Mike’s form—strode forward, surrounded by his own host of Construction Machines. He looked at the dense crowd of Mike Robots opposite him and said in feigned astonishment:
"You’re copying me!?"
"I..." Mike didn’t even get a word out before he was choked with rage. All his clones’ eyes widened in absolute fury.
This sharp-tongued Asian kid was treating everything like a joke, making him feel utterly mocked.
But the very next instant, he suppressed his anger, a grim smile spreading across his faces. Countless Mike Robots instantly charged toward Shen Feng.
’Anger is useless. Kill him, and this will all be over.’
He was the former underground Emperor of New York. While he could be momentarily distracted by his opponent’s petty tricks, it never lasted long.
He had now completely seized the initiative.
Just like his past self, this Asian kid’s greatest weakness was his main body.
Mike’s main body was just a single, easily hidden brain. But this Asian kid’s main body was his entire physical form, which would be much easier to find!
’As long as I find the kid’s main body and devour it, this will all be over for good!’
In the vast, open space of Level 9,000, the two sides surged toward each other like black tides, like two black armies!
Just then, Shen Feng’s Construction Machines suddenly changed form mid-charge. They once again merged in pairs, transforming into a configuration of one bald, black man riding on the back of another.
With a ripple of movement, the Construction Machines on the bottom morphed into the shape of warhorses, turning the pairs into lancers in heavy armor!
And the faces of these lancers were all identical to Shen Feng’s.
The Mike Robots all sneered in unison and said with one voice:
"Nothing but a circus trick!"
The next moment, a two-handed greatsword appeared in the hands of every Mike Robot.
Then, the two sides finally crashed into each other, beginning a brutal, close-quarters slaughter!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The sound of violent impacts rang out. Some Construction Machines even saw their Nanomechanical Clusters temporarily disintegrate from the sheer force of the collision before re-forming.
Shen Feng controlled around a hundred thousand Construction Machines, but the number of Mike Robots was far greater.
In the blink of an eye, the situation had devolved into several Mike Robots ganging up on a single one of Shen Feng’s Construction Machines.
At this point, they had completely abandoned their fixed forms. The nanomechanical beings constantly shifted into various shapes, attacking and destroying each other’s internal structures.
Tigers, leopards, wolves; cavalry, samurai; tanks, cannons; Elves, Beastmen; Devils, Angels; giant serpents, mad dragons—and so on and so forth. They even conjured images of various mythological creatures as they fought.
Combat between Construction Machines of the same Level was simple: use your own Nanomechanical Cluster to trap the enemy’s, then continuously break down their body.
All Nanomechanical Insects shared a base protocol that prevented them from devouring one another. Therefore, all they could do was surround each other and dismantle their opponent’s macroscopic structure!
The numerical advantage gradually became apparent. The Construction Machines controlled by Shen Feng were continuously dismembered and surrounded. In an instant, only about ten thousand remained, cornered in the center by a massive number of Mike Robots. They seemed to be in mortal danger!
A look of delight appeared on the faces of all the Mike Robots. As long as they kept dismantling their opponent, they would eventually find the Asian kid’s main body, which they could then directly devour and assimilate!
He was already in an invincible position!
Just then, the remaining ten-thousand-plus Construction Machines under Shen Feng’s control suddenly gave a mysterious smile and asked in unison:
"Do you like lullabies? Want me to sing one for you? Oh, and there must be soft lighting..."
The next moment, a soft light began to flash from the eyes of these Construction Machines at a specific frequency. They then opened their mouths in unison and began to chant a song from the East in what seemed to be mysterious Chinese:
"Son... son... I am your father..."
Although he couldn’t understand what they were singing, Mike’s main body suddenly felt that the soothing light, paired with the music, gave him an immense sense of comfort.
It was as if he had returned to his childhood, to a certain afternoon spent sunbathing with his father on a beach in California. That was back when his father hadn’t yet died in a car crash...
"...The sea breeze blows over your body. Beside you is your father, whom you trust and who loves you dearly. At your feet is a cute little puppy, occasionally licking the top of your foot. Your mother brings you juice. You take a sip and feel very sleepy, about to drift off... Sleep... sleep... everything is fine..."
