Chapter 271 - Fragments

Chapter 271: Chapter 249: FragmentsThe ideal Mechanical Master: waving a hand to summon an army of mechs, transforming into an iron flood, pressing forward on all fronts, crushing every foe that dares to stand in their way like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Now, the reality of a Mechanical Master: it’s time to tighten screws.

Creak, creak.

In the three-dimensional warehouse, Li Cheng, lying on a mechanics creeper wearing a safety helmet and labor-protection gloves, turned the cross wrench to tighten the screws, let out a long sigh of relief and crawled out from underneath the cannon.

The upper part of this cannon looked quite normal, a 105mm caliber artillery with 30 times the barrel length, painted green and fitted with a muzzle brake and an automatic loader.

But on the lower part, six metal legs were installed. The legs were divided into upper and lower sections, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with motors inside that allowed movement in multiple directions.

Because it was an experimental model, a lot of electrical and data cables were exposed outside.

Coupled with the big, black, and crude rivets and steel plates, it looked far from poorly made or like it would fall apart any second; instead, it had a strangely ugly and ferocious beauty to it.

Strikingly similar to the terrifying robots from the video game "Red Alert."

"Rise, my turret!"

Li Cheng, with wrench in hand, shouted heartily, and the diesel engine inside the six-legged turret base promptly roared to life, sending up billows of black smoke.

The six legs moved slowly, supporting the turret to stand up and walk down the maintenance platform.

"What the hell is that noise?"

Gray Rain, who was doing homework in a corner of the warehouse, put down the textbook and curiously came over to check it out.

"You’ve come just at the right time, help me set up that target wall."

Li Cheng waved grandly, instructing Gray Rain to lift the steel-reinforced concrete wall from the warehouse corner into a metal frame, setting it upright on the spot.

After Gray Rain stepped back, Li Cheng made a fist and swung it downwards; the six-legged turret, which had been turned away from the corner, immediately swiveled its barrel and aimed at the target wall.

The six legs came together in pairs, forming a 120° triangle with each other, providing stable support for the turret.

Boom!

The turret fired thunderously, and the high explosive bomb struck the concrete wall, causing a violent explosion.

The deafening sound had not yet dissipated when the automatic loader loaded another shell, but this time, the turret did not fire from a stationary position. Instead, it switched back to the six-legged state and fired on the move.

The magic-enhanced recoil dampeners considerably reduced the kick.

The flexible movement of the six legs allowed the turret to traverse complex terrains, including steep slopes, stairs, and urban ruins.

"If you want to move quickly..."

Li Cheng snapped his fingers, and side armor panels on the six legs flipped up, revealing the concealed load-bearing wheels and tracks.

The center of gravity of the cannon shifted downward, now moving on tracks at speeds that could match an armored vehicle on flat terrain.

"If you want to switch the type of shell..."

Li Cheng snapped his fingers again, and the cannon’s barrel suddenly disassembled in mid-air into basic components.

Bang bang bang bang!

The parts automatically rearranged into a new configuration; the barrel grew longer, and the muzzle narrower, no longer firing solid shells, but now conical flames.

The scorching rain of fire rapidly consumed the surrounding oxygen, and the roiling waves of heat distorted the air, making the six-legged cannon seem like a beast that had burst forth from hell.

"Just now it was an incendiary launcher, now it’s a Force Field Crossbow Cannon."

Li Cheng snapped his fingers for the last time, and once again, the body of the cannon transformed.

The barrel shortened, and the muzzle widened, resembling an early mortar.

Boom!

The cannon roared, and the invisible force shot out from the muzzle striking the concrete target wall head-on.

This wall was built from C140 high-strength concrete, extremely sturdy; even after being hit by two anti-tank high explosive bombs at the same point, it had only peeled away the outer layer of concrete.

But this time, the target wall, along with its supporting metal frame, was blasted back three meters and slammed heavily against the warehouse wall.

"How about that, pretty impressive, right?"

Li Cheng showed off proudly, with a casual wave, he stowed the Magic Cannon into his Backpack.

As one of the Magic Cannon types, the Force Field Crossbow Cannon is a bit like the Air Cannon from "Doraemon," converting all projectile damage into intangible kinetic energy.

If it hits a person, it wouldn’t be just a "five-part divisible Shang Yang,"

but a direct turn into scattered Hero Fragments all over the ground.

"Pretty good."

As the Legendary Endurance King, Gray Rain had a deep understanding of durability, "But don’t most mid to high-level Transcendents have quick displacement methods?

Can this Magic Cannon really hit the target?"

"Uh..."

Li Cheng’s smile stiffened, indeed, players of this level would have various acceleration, flying, earth tunneling, instant teleportation, and teleportation skills.

No matter how quickly the cannon swivels or how accurately it predicts movement, it can’t keep up with people flying around.

"Then there’s the noise; such a loud engine, such a large target. In the open field, it may be fine, but fire it once in the city, and half the district will hear it. It draws too much attention."

Gray Rain criticized sharply: "Lastly, regarding defense, compared to the enemies at this stage, the Magic Cannon itself is too fragile.

It would be better to strip off all the armor to reduce weight as much as possible, aiming to increase the mobility speed after firing the cannon, to move further away, to fire a few more shots, and to utilize remaining value before being destroyed.

Or, alternatively, plant explosives around the Magic Cannon as a trap, and detonate them when the enemy comes to destroy the cannon."

With a primary school workbook in her left hand and an automatic pencil in her right, Gray Rain confidently spoke her mind.

The more Li Cheng listened, the more he doubted. When did this girl become so intelligent? She actually managed to articulate such a lengthy speech without a script.

Is this still Gray Rain?

He stepped forward, circled around Gray Rain, and indeed found a Bluetooth earpiece produced by Prometheus Company in her ear.

This model, a new product released last month, is versatile and powerful. It can real-time translate over a hundred languages and accents and is incorporated with an AI program capable of answering relatively complex questions.

Of course, it can also help with homework.

"Can’t you learn something useful."

Li Cheng rolled his eyes and took the Bluetooth earpiece away.

To deal with homework, Gray Rain had exhausted all her wits.

At first, she only searched for homework answers online, later learned to use mobile apps like Homework Help, and now she had moved on to using Bluetooth earpieces connected to large databases.

If she had used her intelligence on actual studying, she would have graduated from elementary school by now.

Instead, she still struggles with an e-cigarette’s instruction manual.

Boom——

In the next second, the ground beneath their feet trembled violently. The nearby shelves swayed back and forth, and a large number of goods crashed to the floor.

"An earthquake?!" Gray Rain exclaimed in surprise, "Or is someone using a building shaker downstairs?"

"No."

Li Cheng’s expression changed slightly. The three-dimensional warehouse was located in a separate space, unaffected by the outside world.

The earthquake did not originate from the outside, but from... themselves.

He became solemn, opened the Backpack, and pulled out the two Stone Slab Keys from the void.

The two stone slabs trembled violently, and the surface stone that was supposed to withstand the turmoil of time streams began to crumble and turn into dust.

Finally, all the stone material dissipated, revealing two brass gear keys hidden within.