From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword-Chapter 224 - 183: The Unknown Matters

In the timeline of his previous life, there was a segment about the story of Black Feather Spirit that Lu Heng didn't know.

And in this life, no one else would ever know either, because it didn't happen.

In the previous life, the first time Yuan Yaoyao was conscripted,

her father, Yuan Hecheng, had run around trying to buy her a Skill Crystal Core, but in the end, he wasn't able to buy a high-level one, only securing a D-level Crystal Core with minimal effect.

However, Yuan Yaoyao didn't die during her first deployment to the Abyss Battlefield.

But she did die during the second conscription.

On her second deployment, she entered the same world.

When Ze Wei'er Matrix was caught by the military, she, as the Black Feather Spirit, went into battle just like this life, severing all the drones.

But she was no match for Alex Austin, and in the end, while covering for Ze Wei'er Matrix's escape, she was destroyed by Alex Austin.

After Ze Wei'er Matrix escaped, he took back the fragments of the Black Feather Spirit and then recreated the second generation of Black Feather Spirit.

Therefore, in his past life, the Black Feather Spirit that Lu Heng saw was the second generation, which looked almost the same as the first generation but was no longer the same.

In this life, because Lu Heng appeared and held off Alex Austin, Yuan Yaoyao survived.

Hence, the events of the past life did not occur.

And Lu Heng would never know of this event from his previous life; the questions he had about the Black Feather Spirit remained etched in his memory.

...

At this moment, Yuan Yaoyao was boasting about how powerful the implanted Light Computer Chip was.

She had even retracted her face shield, revealing her face, which indeed looked as it originally did, yet it was impossible to tell if it was the synthetic skin or if she hadn't undergone facial transformation.

However, Lu Heng was contemplating other issues. He pointed at her and said, "Take off the outer battle armor."

Yuan Yaoyao puffed up her cheeks and mumbled, "No."

"What's not okay about it?" Lu Heng frowned, considering how he would explain to Yuan Hecheng if she had undergone full-body modifications.

Yuan Yaoyao pursed her lips and muttered, "I'm not wearing clothes... just a tank top and..."

"Then forget it." Lu Heng simply asked directly, "Aside from the implanted chip, what else has been augmented?"

Ze Wei'er Matrix, having a basic understanding of the psychological burden humans faced toward mechanical augmentation, began to explain:

"You might have some misunderstandings about mechanical transformation; it's not for the sake of transformation itself but to enhance the operating efficiency of the individual.

"Only when the mechanical body has higher operational efficiency than the organic body, do we replace the organic body with a mechanical one.

"The original body of the Black Feather Spirit has an ability to change the malleability of metal materials.

"The strength of this ability is related to the total amount of Source Energy, and the total Source Energy is related to the total volume of the body's cells.

"Thus, preserving more cellular tissue can lead to a stronger 'Fluid Metal' ability and also enhance the efficiency of the 'Mechanical Heart' and 'Metal Ion Reduction' abilities.

"Therefore, there's no need to replace limbs at this stage. In the future, when mechanical limbs that can substitute for organic ones and improve efficiency are developed, then a replacement can take place.

"Currently, the augmentation plan I've designed involves gradually replacing the skeleton with metal to enhance the body's resistance to impacts..."

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Lu Heng raised his hand, indicating he didn't want to hear any more about his augmentation plan.

For now, it seemed that Yuan Yaoyao had not been forcibly modified, so there wasn't too much of a problem.

With only four days left before their return, it was necessary to complete the remaining Challenge Tasks as quickly as possible.

After two encounters and the memories of his past life,

one thing was certain, Ze Wei'er Matrix's technical strength had indeed reached a level where even the Sikes Civilization had no way to handle him officially.

He had just been persecuted by the military a day ago, and yet he had already comfortably resettled in a courtyard filled with many plants.

He likely hadn't been much delayed in his research projects.

Comparatively speaking, collaborating with Ze Wei'er Matrix was more efficient than working with other factions.

Moreover, due to Yuan Yaoyao's relationship, there was a natural connection with Ze Wei'er Matrix, which made things a bit more stable.

...

Lu Heng directly addressed the most important topic, asking, "Yuan Yaoyao, what is your second Challenge Task?"

Yuan Yaoyao looked at the task panel and answered, "Find the Abyss Pollution Source and eliminate it."

Lu Heng turned to Ze Wei'er Matrix and said, "We may need your help, is that alright?"

"Of course," Ze Wei'er Matrix readily agreed.

"Professor Ze Wei'er, do you have any leads on the Abyss Pollution Source?" Lu Heng asked directly.

Since Ze Wei'er Matrix could move freely while under military pursuit, his privileges within the Central System must be very high, and naturally, he could access a lot of information other people couldn't.

"Various signs indicate that labs of the Descent Faction are conducting extensive research on Demons, even mechanically transforming them. If this is related to the Abyss Pollution Source, then there's over a 70% chance that the source is within the region controlled by the Descent Faction," Ze Wei'er Matrix deduced from the information he had gathered.

"Are there any specific targets we should investigate thoroughly? We'll handle the investigation," Lu Heng asked.

"There are. If you investigate these few secret bases of the Descent Faction, you might find the answer."

Ze Wei'er Matrix provided the coordinates of several secret bases of the Descent Faction and offered to support their network system, block signals, and even disrupt the communications of the Descent Faction.

Lu Heng studied the electronic map, pondering the locations of those Descent Faction secret bases and how to start the investigation.

After discussing and setting up a plan of action, Ze Wei'er Matrix took the initiative and said, "I can provide you with some equipment and mechanical modules, do you have any requirements?"

Lu Heng beckoned to the Mechanical Tiger Anka, "Do you have an Anti-gravity Module?"

Ze Wei'er Matrix raised an eyebrow and said, "I do have Anti-gravity Modules, but your Mechanical Beast is quite heavy. Even using the same model of Anti-gravity Module as the Black Feather Spirit, at maximum power, it wouldn't be able to fly."

"Reducing gravity's influence and increasing running speed works as well," Lu Heng understood that different weights of machinery required varying power from an anti-gravity module.

The Black Feather Spirit only weighed about one-tenth of the Mechanical Tiger, so an anti-gravity module used on the Black Feather Spirit would naturally not enable the Mechanical Tiger to fly.

Xavier Matrix used electromagnetic signals to instruct the domestic robots to retrieve an anti-gravity module from the basement.

When Lu Heng took it, he saw it was a rectangular module, which outwardly didn't seem to have anything special about it.

He handed it to the Mechanical Tiger for adaptation.

The Mechanical Tiger installed it beneath the liquid metal outer shell and, after adaptation, initiated the anti-gravity module, reducing its weight to 36% of the original.

Only the weight was reduced, not the mass.

On Blue Star, mass is often equated with weight, but the two are actually different.

Xavier Matrix watched the results and said, "If we have a chance to meet again, I could make an anti-gravity module specifically for your Mechanical Beast."

Lu Heng was delighted to hear this promise.

However, making an anti-gravity module was certainly not something that could be completed in just a few days, so when he spoke of "the chance to meet again," he was referring to the next time he was summoned.

Thus, whether there really was another chance to meet was hard to say.

...

In the next three days.

Lu Heng began to investigate several secret bases of the Descent Faction around City #3.

In reconnaissance, Su Muyu was naturally the best.

For most Descent Faction bases, it was enough to send the invisible Shen Feather Hawks to fly around and then everything would be clear.

Only when faced with a base the Shen Feather Hawks couldn't enter did they need to consider other methods.

One common method was for Lu Heng to use the Illusion Pearl, disguising himself as a member of the Descent Faction and then entering the base to investigate.

In three days.

He investigated five of the Descent Faction's secret bases and found a Mechanical Demon Laboratory but did not locate the Abyss Pollution Source.

The Challenge Task required finding the Abyss Pollution Source; finding the Mechanical Demon Laboratory was useless.

It was possible, however, to hand over the investigation data to Yeliana Sikes for the Sikes Civilization to resolve the issue.

By the evening of the third day.

Lu Heng, along with Yuan Yaoyao and two others, began investigating the sixth Descent Faction secret base.

Xavier Matrix had provided the coordinates for a total of seven Descent Faction bases, so two were yet to be investigated.

This was the sixth, and if the Abyss Pollution Source could not be found here, then there was only one target left.

Of course, it was also possible there was no Abyss Pollution Source within the Descent Faction at all.

If that were the case, the Challenge Task would be impossible to complete.

Because there wasn't enough time left, with only a day and a half remaining before his return.

...

Like before, they started with Su Muyu sending out the Shen Feather Hawks for reconnaissance.

After circling the perimeter, Su Muyu said, "The security at this base is tighter than any of the previous five; I simply can't get in unless we force our way through, and that would alert them."

Lu Heng stood up and said, "Then I'll do it."

The four waited outside the base for a long time. Lu Heng needed a guard to come out so he could transform into the guard's appearance, then enter the base.

But no guard came out.

The pyramid-shaped base, silent as a tomb, had no guards coming and going even after three hours of surveillance.

Moreover, because they were robots, there was no need for any natural breaks, and they could be wirelessly charged through a network, so there was no need for the base to have any contact with the outside world.

After a moment of thought, Lu Heng said, "If that's the case, I'll just use Shadow Traversal to go straight in."

This was actually a bit risky.

Shadow Traversal was typically used as a means to escape danger; once inside, one could immediately withdraw in the face of danger.

However, if he used Shadow Traversal to enter and then encountered danger, there would be no means to exit.

"Isn't that too risky?" Su Muyu was a bit worried.

"Don't worry, I'll just make a quick round for a look, and come out in 15 seconds."

Lu Heng gave her a reassuring look, then used Shadow Traversal to dive underground, rushing towards the base at the highest speed while internally counting the time.

As Shadow Traversal only lasted 15 seconds, he had at most 7.5 seconds to turn back.

With the combined acceleration from Shadow Traversal and Windwalker, Lu Heng charged into the base at a speed of 260 meters per second.

Under Shadow Vision, as he neared the base by about thirty meters, he saw the underground structure of the base.

A single glance revealed at least six stories of underground construction.

This was the Descent Faction base with the most underground levels he had seen in all his investigations.

Lu Heng circled around a third of the underground structures, noted some exterior details, and at the 8-second mark, immediately turned back. He rushed up to the surface, finishing the reconnaissance in the last second.

"How did it go?" Su Muyu asked intently.

Whew!

Lu Heng exhaled and answered, "There are six levels of construction underground. I feel this base is likely what we're looking for, but I haven't found the Abyss Pollution Source yet. I need to change directions and try again."