Chapter 5
The trees in the area finally stopped growing. The huge canopy covered the sky and suns, but Si Chen didn’t feel happy about it.
The smell of vegetation mixed with the earthy smell of soil permeated the air, but it couldn’t cover up another fishy smell — the smell of evaporating blood.
The ground swelled and subsided, as if a dragon had swam through.
Si Chen looked at the ground suspiciously. He kept feeling tremors underneath.
Moss and vines covered most of the buildings. Seemingly limp plants crushed vending machines and ransacked tanks.
There was the sound of insect wings fluttering through in the air and a huge strange insect galloped across the sky.
Something he’d read in his textbook in middle school came unbidden in Si Chen’s mind. It said that long ago the planet they lived on had a civilization of insects. At that time, the oxygen content of the planet was very high and insects were the masters of the land. Perhaps the ancient legends and relics were proof that a High Dimensional Invasion had once occurred.
This High Dimensional creature looked much like a cockroach, surrounded by fist-sized juveniles. Like locusts, they ravished all the plants they passed through. They didn’t even spare a look for the people on the ground. They were after better things than the nutrient-poor meat lying there.
The leaves of the big trees were torn apart by the insects’ mandibles and red sap flowed out.
Water was the most precious resource in this area.
Si Chen walked to the side of a tree trunk and watched the sap meandering down.
Some ants have already drilled out of the soil. A dense black mass, they begun licking the liquid off the tree trunk.
He pondered for a moment and then woke up the Eternal Life Abyss who was sleeping wrapped around his wrist.
“Squeak?” The Eternal Life Abyss’ ring-shaped mouth moved.
Si Chen grabbed its body, squeezed it and pressed its protruding mouth against the sap, testing for poison.
The Eternal Life Abyss took two sips. It lived. And it looked to be in good spirits.
…
…
Two hours later.
Si Chen stood in what had been Zhuangshan District’s center. His clothes had gotten wet and then dried again.
In front of him was the faucet of a shopping mall, connected to the wall.
The shopping mall hadn’t completely collapsed and the water pipeline was still functional. But Si Chen knew that it was useless to try.
Because, over the faucet was a dried up hand.
The man who was tan like a mummy had tried to turn on the faucet. His face was completely sunken and deformed, no expression could be seen but his body language was overflowing with despair.
Small insects crawled around on his body, trying to absorb the last bits of moisture from it.
Ironically, on the corpse sprouted the green shoots of plants. After a while, all traces of this person’s existence will be wiped from the world by microbes.
Only four hours have passed since the Space Fold appeared.
Earlier, Si Chen could still hear crying and gunshots. But now all that was left was devastation. The world fell silent.
Si Chen hid himself in a place where the rays of the sun couldn’t reach. He murmured to himself, “Is this a 3A…?”
He’d been through two A-level incidents. It had been scary there, but not hopeless.
This is a High Dimensional Invasion. The most terrifying and devastating natural disaster that befalls their world.
Creatures from the High Dimension universes, from blood and fire, gain new life through plunder.
The evolution fluids had given him a body much stronger than that of ordinary people’s, able to withstand high temperature and severe cold.
But now, Si Chen only felt thin and small.
He still wanted to live.
The Eternal Life Abyss was still fine after drinking the sap so he shouldn’t die from it.
The leaves of these trees were all at the very top.
Si Chen took out the pulse cutter and climbed up the tree trunk, feeling like a monkey.
After he shredded the leaves, the juice that flowed out had a unique grassy smell.
Si Chen sniffed and found the smell a bit familiar.
He worked as a corporate slave in the research institute and often handled precious raw materials for their experiments. The base liquid of the most basic RH-type gene medicines had the same smell.
It was just that the sap had yet to be detoxified. People with poor physical fitness will probably die immediately after drinking it.
High Dimensional Invasion brings destruction but also evolution. Just like the light and dark sides of an object, there is always someone who survives the catastrophe.
Si Chen swallowed a few sips of the tree sap. It tasted like chili juice concentrate. It was painful. His mouth was burning but it alleviated his thirst.
He looked into the distance and saw a stretch of rainforest. At the end of the horizon was darkness. That must be the edge of the Space Fold.
People inside can’t get out, and people outside can’t get in.
Si Chen sat on the tree, looking at the scenery, when suddenly there came a violent explosion on the ground.
The ground shook so badly that the tree he was sitting on was also affected. The cutter in Si Chen’s hand fell straight to the ground.
He climbed down the tree trunk.
There was dust all around. There was a burning thickness in the air, like some kind of industrial waste gas.
Amid the pungent smell, Si Chen’s eyes narrowed, watering.
He pinched his nose.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Vbwfbcf mjwf bea bo atf ugbecv.
Lf kjr j sbecu-ibbxlcu wjc. Llr ofjaegfr kfgf cflatfg vfilmjaf cbg rtjgq jcv tlr vffq yief fsfr kfgf ilxf j rqglcu ijxf.
Lf mbeutfv eq j ilaaif yibbv jcv ribkis mgjkifv bea ogbw atf ybaabw bo atf qla.
…
…
Al Jtesjb tjv gfmflnfv jc jijgw ogbw atf fjgis kjgclcu rsrafw j wlceaf yfobgf atf jgglnji bo atf Vqjmf Mbiv lc Itejcurtjc Glraglma.
His power and mobility system allowed him flight capabilities. He had been fully capable of leaving before the Space Fold formed.
A disruption in the sunspots is the harbinger of a High Dimensional Invasion. According to the surrounding energy fluctuations, his onboard computer concluded that the danger level of this Space Fold was between 2A and 3A.
There are only two ways to break a Space Fold. The first is to wait for the energy waves of the Space Fold to be exhausted and the second is to kill the High Dimensional creature who opened the Space Fold.
Ji Chuyao was here for scientific research so the mechanical legs he had on were the light-type model.
But when he was met with strangers with tears and terror on their face running towards him, he decided to go down the wrong direction.
Ji Chuyao chose the second path: kill the High Dimensional creature in the Space Fold.
Ji Chuyao had been right in his assessment. This Space Fold did indeed have a danger level of 3A.
Only that he didn’t expect that the High Dimensional creature, “the Queen” to have already evolved to the Seventh Step of Heaven’s Stairway.
This was a civilization that was about to perish. All the intelligent beings had chosen to sacrifice themselves and use their own bodies to support and nurture the last “Queen”.
In short, Ji Chuyao had been defeated. He had fought with the Insect Queen and both sides suffered greatly.
At a critical moment, he abandoned his prosthetic lower half and then drilled out of the ground.
Ji Chuyao’s original metal mechanism connecting his prosthetic lower body had broken, exposing the wires underneath. A small electric burst would occasionally flare.
Ji Chuyao’s condition was very poor despite already having taken gene medicine for first aid. Worst of all, his mechanical body had been damaged and without his legs, he couldn’t walk.
Fortunately, the situation looked as though it was about to take a turn for the better.
According to his scanner, there was a ready-made… labor force nearby that looked easy to abduct.
The blue light in Ji Chuyao’s eyes faded into his pupils.
He looked up, looking at the person approaching and asked politely, “Hi. Can you do me a favor?”
While speaking, Ji Chuyao’s hand gently clasped the gun on his waist.
…
…
Si Chen also looked at him from a few meters away.
Si Chen has never been outfitted with any mechanical parts but it didn’t prevent him from learning the prices of these machines from the advertisements that bombarded him from everywhere.
All those who could acquire mechanical bodies were rich people. Moreover, Ji Chuyao even had a layer of expensive bionic skin all over his body. He definitely came from money.
In a Space Fold, trust between people is very fragile.
The Eternal Life Abyss wrapped around Si Chen’s wrist and roared threateningly. It sensed danger.
The atmosphere momentarily went quiet.
Si Chen replied cautiously, “I’m not an Evolutionary so I may not be able to help you much.”
Ji Chuyao actually wasn’t used to looking up to others. But now he only had half of his body left, so he could only raise his head to look at Si Chen. “You need me.”
His tone was very convincing.
“This is Level 3A. My scanner tells me that your physical fitness is between that of an ordinary person’s and an Evolutionary’s. You haven’t yet reached the First Step. This Space Fold hasn’t yet reached its most dangerous. As time goes by, your chances of survival will drop to basically 0.”
“I can also tell you. Because my body has been damaged and my energy depleted, I am temporarily unable to act. But within a radius of 5 kilometers, you are the only intelligent being with a danger rating of 0, lower even than that of the juvenile Eternal Life Abyss. So I need you too.”
Si Chen looked at him quietly. “And so?”
“My name is Ji Chuyao, from the Ji Family. We can work together. I also have type A gene medicine here, which can help you get through what is to come in the Space Fold. As long as you take me to a charging station, I will give you the medicine. How about it?”
When he heard “Ji Family”, Si Chen couldn’t hold back and he had to secretly pinch his palm to control the sudden rising hostility.
He thought of his failed experiment and how he was almost made into an “academic fraud”.
Ji Chuyao felt that normal people wouldn’t reject his proposal.
He wasn’t worried about Si Chen killing him and then stealing the medicine. His reserve weapons were enough to kill 10 Si Chens in an instant. It didn’t matter even if the other party carried around an Eternal Life Abyss with him.
Si Chen was indeed tempted.
The RH type he usually buys in the hospital is the lowest-end basic product. While an A-type gene medicine is a high-end product exclusively for second-class citizens and above.
But Ji Chuyao’s smile upset Si Chen.
It was as if he knew that no one could refuse the conditions he offered. It was as if he already had him in the palm of his hand.
Si Chen took a step back. “Sorry.”
In a Space Fold, it is too dangerous to save a stranger.
He also had no way to judge whether Ji Chuyao was lying to him or not. What’s more, this person’s surname was Ji.
Seeing that Si Chen was about to leave, Ji Chuyao gave a “tsk” and stopped him. “After a while, the temperature in this Space Fold will increase drastically. You’re not an Evolutionary. You really won’t be able to make it without taking this medicine. The medicine is in my pocket Come and get it.”
Si Chen paused and turned to look at him.
Ji Chuyao had a very gentle-looking face. He looked as though he wouldn’t harm man or beast.
Seeing that he wasn’t taking any action, Ji Chuyao simply took out the medicine from his pocket and threw it at Si Chen’s feet.
Si Chen hesitated for a moment, then picked up the aluminum foil bag from off the ground.
There were two capsules in the bag; capsules which Si Chen had never seen before. But the “Serpent Staff Group” logo was printed on the seal of the capsules.
As a low-level scientific research dog of the Serpent Staff Group, he was sure that these were genuine. The price of medicine that need to be printed with anti-counterfeiting logo is often astounding.
Si Chen didn’t like owing favors.
So, he swallowed the capsule, squatted down and presented his back to Ji Chuyao. He asked stiffly, “Where is the nearest charging station?”
…
…
This mechanical man was heavier than Si Chen imagined.
As Si Chen walked on the road, every step left a deep footprint.
Ji Chuyao’s skin wasn’t natural skin and so it didn’t feel disgusting for Si Chen.
Charging stations had been the key to the wide adoption of mechanical body parts. Because of the popularity of mechanical transformation, like the vending machines, charging stations are also part of the state’s services and didn’t charge money.
The nearest charging station was two kilometers away and would take half an hour to walk.
Before reaching their destination, Si Chen had been worried that the charging station here would have been broken like the vending machines. But the facts have proven that the quality of the products produced by the Machine Core Group could indeed be counted upon.
A row of charging station were fixed onto the ground. They were even still lit. Among the ruins, it appeared like a piece of paradise.
Si Chen put down Ji Chuyao and pulled out the charging cable from the charging station.
It looked like a water pipe.
Ji Chuyao revealed the charging port on his inner thigh. He took the charging cable, and plugged it into himself.
How strange, Si Chen couldn’t help but take a second look. “Why is the charging port located there?”
Ji Chuyao explained to him, “Other areas are too exposed. It could easily be damaged or it could be inconvenient to charge. After testing, the inner thigh was found to give the most stable performance.”
Once the current connected, blue lines lit up on Ji Chuyao’s body, spreading from his wrist to his neck, like an ancient and mysterious totem.
This was a combination of technology and myth; what amazing beauty.
Si Chen pointed to the glowing lines on his body and asked, “What is this?”
Ji Chuyao replied, “My circuit board is specially set to RGB mode.”
“…”
Si Chen moved three meters away from Ji Chuyao. After taking the gene medicine, his pain eased a lot.
But the rising temperature still turned his skin a deep red.
Si Chen was quite pale so the redness was made even more conspicuous. Because of subcutaneous bleeding, red patches were quickly breaking out on his skin.
Ji Chuyao felt helpless. “If it’s too hot, you can lean on me. I don’t eat people.”
What flowed in his body was not blood, but condensate that he can regulate the temperature of.
Although he has been undergoing mechanical transformation since he was a child, Ji Chuyao’s degree of mechanization was not high.
The only mechanical part he can assemble are his legs. To improve survivability, his blood vessels and skin had also been replaced.
Among the top ten heirs of the Ji Family, Ji Chuyao’s degree of mechanization was the lowest at only 37%.
The suns in the sky had shifted to the west and they would soon set. But the surrounding temperature still didn’t drop.
Si Chen sat beside him. Ji Chuyao hadn’t lied, he did indeed feel cool to the touch.
At first, Si Chen could still keep his distance. But the longer the heat persisted, the closer he got to Ji Chuyao until his whole body was practically hanging on Ji Chuyao’s body.
Ji Chuyao was still charging when the Eternal Life Abyss, who’d been wrapped around Si Chen’s wrist, suddenly crawled over, bit his fingertips and made an anxious “squeak” sound.
Ji Chuyao looked up suspiciously and found that Si Chen’s body was abnormally red.
The deteriorating environment had exceeded the limit of what ordinary people could bear.
Survival instinct made him approach Ji Chuyao.
Ji Chuyao put his hand on Si Chen’s forehead. “I still have gene medicine in my pocket, take it yourself. The temperature has reached 87.6 degrees Celsius now. Stop pretending to be tough. If you die, I’ll be troubled. There aren’t any mechanical parts here I can use as replacements.”
It would be a bit of a hassle; just a little bit.
Si Chen’s brain was having trouble thinking. He put his hand on Ji Chuyao’s waist and got the new medicine.
Swallowing the pill with difficulty, Si Chen felt like he’d been brought back to life. “Thank you.”
Although he didn’t know much about the Evolutionaries, even Si Chen knew that mechanical people with power and those without were practically two different creatures.
After charging, Ji Chuyao might not need him anymore.
Ji Chuyao looked in his eyes and replied seriously, “This is the cheapest medicine I have on me. My father is constantly scared I would get into some accident so he prepares a lot of things for me every time I go out. You’re welcome.”
Ji Chuyao needed much more electrical energy than ordinary people who’ve undergone mechanical transformation. He almost drained the entire charging station.
There were a total of 7 charging stations at this site. Si Chen asked several times and the reply he got was “not fully charged yet”.
The two stayed from dawn to dusk. Ji Chuyao seemed to have everything in his pocket and Si Chen watched helplessly as he took out a folding lamp and placed it on the ground. This new kind of lamp could not only emit light, but also generate heat.
When the two suns set in turn, the last of the light sinking into the ground, the surrounding temperature dropped sharply and a layer of frost formed on the surface of the plants.
Ji Chuyao thoughtfully switched the condensate in his body to “heating mode”. His whole body was like a moving stove, steaming hot.
After heating up his palms and the backs of his hands, Si Chen said sincerely, “Being mechanically transformed seems to be very convenient.”
Ji Chuyao agreed, “Yes and it is suitable for most people. Even if you’re not an Evolutionary, you can also have a mechanical body part installed. That’s why this is the most widely spread and most popular way of evolution. But the limitations are also obvious.”
“The biggest limitation is that you’d be burning money. Moreover, you can only ever reach the Eighth Step on Heaven’s Stairway. Once there, you’ll already have touched the apex of technology…”
While talking, Ji Chuyao suddenly cut off abruptly.
He unplugged the charging cable and his expression turned serious.
Ji Chuyao didn’t need eyes to see. He had a small scanner installed that tells him of all the dangers around.
Not to be outdone, the seriously injured “Queen” had found his location and wanted to avenge her shame of that night.
Si Chen heard some sounds, like snow rolling down the hillside during an avalanche.
Ji Chuyao: “Pick me up and run eastward, the faster the better.”
His tone was too tense, Si Chen didn’t even ask the reason and simply followed his orders out of instinct.
His own early warning system was also frantically sounding the alarm.
Si Chen picked him up and rushed away without looking back.
If he had the attention left to spare, he would have found that Ji Chuyao who he was carrying in his arms, had raised a hand and that his fingertips had begun to glow.
Ji Chuyao had just been charged and a blue halo lit up on the surface of his body.
This halo spread up layer by layer along the backs of his arms and in the end, even the sides of his face was covered with a beautiful gleam.
There was a blue light in his eyes. It wasn’t that his pupils were glowing but his eyes were reflecting the light in his hands.
Before, Ji Chuyao had joked with Si Chen and lied to him that these lines were light-emitting circuit boards.
In actuality, this was proof that he had already embarked on the path of evolution.
A sandworm burst out from where they had just been standing, letting out a deafening shriek.
Then came the second and then the third. Each one was tens of meters high, with sharp barbs on their surfaces and circles of spiraling fangs growing in their mouths.
This was the top predator of this ecosystem, the Insect Queen of the sandworm race.
The Queen originally had nine bodies but now only three remained.
Si Chen’s pupils constricted. It was the first time he’d been faced with such a monster. The huge insect looked like some king descending upon the world.
The Eternal Life Abyss burrowed completely under Si Chen’s clothes, shivering while sticking to his collar, making a trembling “squeak”.
It was saying, “Run, Mom, quick!”
A black hole appeared in Ji Chuyao’s palm.
This was the ultimate weapon he rarely ever used. But after entering this Space Fold, he had already taken it out a total of seven times.
He killed off one of the Queen’s body for each of the previous six times he’d taken it out.
The blue light flared, illuminating the sky as bright as day.
Si Chen heard the huge roar of the machine running at high speed.
Ji Chuyao’s body was too hot.
This indescribable electric stream definitely didn’t belong among a human being’s great powers.
A hole appeared where the beam of light penetrated.
The tiny beam of light precisely sniped at the Queen’s brain that controlled her body.
The sandworm let out a piercing scream.
The hole appeared insignificant compared to its huge body but one of its insect bodies still collapsed. Thick, dark green blood sprayed out from the wound.
It couldn’t understand. Ji Chuyao had already been completely spent before so how was he still able to muster up such great High Dimensional power?
Ji Chuyao raised his hand again, aiming at the queen’s remaining bodies.
Before the light appeared, the Queen’s two huge cylindrical bodies went back underground and fled in a panic.
Ji Chuyao’s raised arm suddenly dropped. His whole body was covered with sweat.
His hands were shaking from overuse.
Ji Chuyao lowered his head and glanced at where their bodies touched. “Sorry, I’ve burned your skin off. The gene medicine should be able to repair it. If not, I will find someone to graft you a new one after qw make it out.”
Just now, Ji Chuyao’s body overloaded and had run at such a high temperature that it caused Si Chen to be severely burned. His skin had unfortunately melted.
Si Chen felt the pain belatedly. There were even traces of charring on his body. “I’m fine.”
He took out the pulse cutter and cut away the sticky skin.
His was a body of flesh and blood, so it was inevitable that there would be some pain. Si Chen shed some physiological tears. His arms twitched but his expression remained exceptionally calm.
Ji Chuyao stared at the water gliding down his face and turned his head in confusion.
There seemed to be a strange feeling in his heart but this emotion was so strange that he couldn’t grasp it.
So Ji Chuyao gave up thinking.
Right now, there was another thing that bothered him even more.
His power core had shattered.
Ooohhh this is interesting, I’m interested to know how the Lil snakeu will stay wi si Chen and if he will burrow into him.
Thnx ya for the chappiiee~
Well that sure is inconvenient
ML used mechanical body, it was super effective!
lol I was wondering how the relationship between mc and ml would develop knowing that mc has a strong dislike for human touch. Now I know.
it’s like a strange mix of sci-fi cultivation and pseudo unlimited flow… and i love it
I really like how the world building is done. Just a few chapters and it feels complex and realistic.
Thanks for the translation!!!!!!
Well. Ouch! Ty for the update 🤣❤️
This is so interesting. I feel bad for ML and MC. MC skin melted off and he has to carry a very heavy ML whom has no legs currently.
😭 this situation can’t get any worse- right?
He kind of reminds me of Genos from One Punch Man