Chapter 383: Mechanical Armor

At this moment, on the Covenant Platform atop the Congress, the Mechanical Steam Civilization of the Ishudars signed a treaty of equal mutual assistance with the Magical Beasts. History turned a new page.

Immediately after, the Magical Beasts demanded that humans recognize their social citizenship, grant them equality and freedom, and provide them with a large annual sum of money to play games.

The "Chronicles of Ishudar" records: The Ishudars explored the mysteries of the brain, using divine language code to program a divine contract, forming an alliance with Michael.

Xu Zhi seemed to witness a grand chapter of history unfolding. The pace of Ishudar civilization's development was incredibly fast, arguably the most exaggerated development speed he had ever seen in any race. Truly a technological civilization, marked by explosive growth.

"Proud magical beasts never yield, unless they are provided with food, lodging, and even game top-ups," Xu Zhi remarked calmly. "They, too, were seduced by the decadent human society." The remaining Rank 4 and 5 magical beasts quickly signed contracts with high-ranking humans, becoming guardian beasts for their families. These influential figures, possessing great power and resources, not only offered the best treatment but also provided environments conducive to cultivation.

"Caroline, leveraging beast tamers, has indeed ushered in her own era," Xu Zhi smiled. But he knew exactly what Caroline was up to. All these crises faced by humanity were meticulously orchestrated by her. Other powers in the Stone Wall Domain discovered the existence of Saint Emperor Michael and human civilization because she deliberately lured them, sending people into their territories to intentionally expose themselves. This instantly drew the attention of seven or eight powerful transcendent beings, akin to Saint Emperors!

"Caroline," Xu Zhi said with a calm expression, "She truly is a crazy and extreme individual. With Ishudar blood flowing in her veins, she's orchestrating a crisis of extinction, even pushing her own race to the brink, forcing two factions to unite. Then, at the most critical juncture, she stepped forward, offering the possibility of a united contract, ensuring beast tamers gained complete recognition, revealing her ultimate hand, and thus securing the highest status and power within human society."

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

However, after orchestrating all this, there would be immense side effects: being targeted by seven or eight formidable magical beast powers from a large part of the adjacent Stone Wall Domain. Could she truly lead humanity and the allied magical beasts to survive? It would be difficult! This was a double-edged sword. If she could endure and lead the Ishudars in a desperate struggle for survival, her prestige would soar. Moreover, war and oppression often spurred a civilization's rapid advancement.

Xu Zhi also made a long-overdue phone call. "It's time I took care of my own business as well," he thought, seizing the opportunity.

He strode towards the city's Veliya Mechanical Center, a towering, eighteen-story, enoki mushroom-shaped black building. This was a vast mechanical center, occupying an enormous area, backed by the unfathomable Beast Tamer Guild.

"Sir, are you here at 'Caroline Mechanical Life Company' to see mechs?" a pleasant voice rang out. It belonged to a staff member of the mechanical institute, who was exceptionally beautiful, pure and radiant, with a very attractive figure. Upon seeing Xu Zhi's appearance, the woman's eyes immediately lit up with fervor, a hint of shyness appearing on her face. Her heart pounded, and she gazed at him with infatuation.

Xu Zhi cleared his throat. This race was very direct and passionate. "I'm waiting for someone," he said. The woman paused, then quickly composed herself and offered, "Well then, handsome sir, would you like to take a look at some mechs while you wait? We have virtual joystick practice here, where you can fully experience operating various mech models."

Xu Zhi did not refuse. Subsequently, under the guidance of the sales associate, he experienced exceptionally thorough service. He even test-piloted an entry-level mech-mana suit valued at 130,000, finding the controls very smooth. Xu Zhi was even a little captivated; cars in modern society were simply pathetic in comparison. It was a very interesting experience, an alien civilization.

"It's been years, yet your charm remains, as youthful as ever," a soft voice suddenly said from behind him. It was a beautiful, fair-skinned girl with blonde hair, wearing a colorful long dress and a blue baseball cap. Half of her face was obscured, but her visible features were distinct and delicate, adorned with two cute, exquisite earrings, giving her a sweet, innocent, and naive impression.

"Sir, has your friend arrived?" The beautiful attendant was a little reluctant to leave, astonished by the newcomer's beauty. Even seeing only half her face, the attendant felt self-conscious due to her aura. She quickly handed Xu Zhi a business card. "If you have any requests, you can call this number," she whispered, "even outside of work hours."

Xu Zhi put down the virtual joystick and looked at the person behind him. "Why aren't you dressed like a hot girl anymore?"

Caroline pulled her cap lower, blinked, and subtly glanced at the retreating figure of the beautiful attendant. "I heard," she said quietly, "that innocent young men prefer mature, 'hot' women, while seasoned old men, who have seen much of the world, prefer pure and pretty, naive young girls."

Xu Zhi: "..."

What use was dressing innocently? This ruthless, mad scientist, passionate about brain research, was utterly dark inside.

"Playing with the B45K series, seventh-generation mech? Let me teach you," Caroline said, glancing over. She leaned in with a smile, looking at the control interface and starting to instruct Xu Zhi, as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time.

Xu Zhi was somewhat speechless. Caroline seemed to have reverted to her demeanor from the milk tea shop days, treating him as a close, ordinary friend, adopting her former attitude. Although surprised, it was ultimately insignificant to him. He had never appeared as a Creator God; the colossal, ten-thousand-foot giant had never descended upon this world or appeared in human sight. He had only ever appeared as a god. Yet, Levi had arbitrarily added a setting for him, believing him to be the last human of the ancient super-civilization, possessing the great power and wisdom of the previous era. So, he readily accepted this identity, which still placed him at an extremely high level, far surpassing the Ishudars' current ancient mysterious civilization. Caroline's continued calm demeanor, however, made it much more convenient for Xu Zhi to conduct his affairs.

Caroline smiled elegantly. "Tell me, great super-ancient god, what brings you to me, or to us Ishudars? We are currently facing an impending war."

"I'd like to commission a mechanical mech," Xu Zhi replied with a smile. Xu Zhi was only at Rank 6. If he wanted to freely traverse a vacuum, he would need to reach Rank 8 God, which was a very distant goal. Although he currently had no interest in exploring beyond Earth or moon landings, he still needed to plan ahead. After all, the path from Rank 6 to Rank 8 God was long and unpredictable.

Alright! To be frank, it was mostly a man's romantic fantasy. Now that this mechanical suit civilization had developed, and he found riding an electric scooter rather dull in reality, he wanted to get a mechanical Gundam-style suit, keep it in his orchard, and have some fun in space.

"Even a super-ancient god has a mech romance? So you've taken a fancy to these little toys. What kind of mech do you want?" Caroline paused, then casually fiddled with another virtual mech control panel beside her, muttering, "Even though I don't like playing with these things, they are truly powerful! Much stronger than my beast tamers..."

Xu Zhi spoke, somewhat dumbfounded, "I need a mech that can withstand a harsh vacuum environment, one where humans cannot survive."

"Vacuum? What is that?" Caroline pulled down her cap and smiled sweetly. "Is there an environment more dangerous than lava? As a scientist, I'm very curious to know what kind of environment that is." Her eyes gleamed with deep curiosity and excitement. "Vacuum? Can you take me to see it? I need to adapt to local conditions and assess the environment firsthand before I can build a suitable mech-mana suit."

Only then did Xu Zhi realize that the Lava World had no vacuum.