Chapter 4: The Mechanical Clan’s Great City (Part 1)

“Who knows when that Hall will return? Do you really plan to wait here for three days? Anyway, we’re leaving today, haha.”
Guo Shier said this with a smile, then turned to Li Ran and said, “Brother, let’s leave today.”
Li Ran replied with a smile, “Sure, hehe.”
Ezekiel didn’t understand these human schemes at all. It took him a while to realize what was going on, and then he said, “You… you’re lying?”
Guo Shier said, “Nonsense. If not them, then who? We can’t kill them or harm them. It’s fine to annoy the Beast Tamer Clan. Would you really kill such insignificant people?”
Ezekiel still wasn’t clear and said, “You mean to annoy that bastard Hall? But… but he… he ran away…”
Li Ran said, “A monk may run, but the temple remains. It’s just that… Hall might not even want this temple anymore.”
Guo Shier said, “If you can find Hall and kill him, that’s one thing. But what if you can’t find him and he comes back? Wouldn’t that upset him?”
Ezekiel opened and closed his mouth several times before managing to say, “Would he dare to come back?”
Guo Shier retorted, “Will you stay here waiting for him to return?”
Ezekiel shook his head vigorously. Guo Shier spread his hands and said, “See? Since you won’t stay here forever, you won’t see him if he does return.”
Halechi chuckled inwardly, thinking, “Abnormal Talisman Beasts are still just Abnormal Talisman Beasts. Though they can take human form, they’re essentially beasts. How could humans be that complicated?” In truth, humans are also beasts, but of course he wouldn’t see it that way.
Li Ran said to Ezekiel, “Go after the Beast Tamer Clan members. Try not to fall into the formations here. These formations aren’t very strong—just a basic understanding of talisman formations. They shouldn’t be able to trap you. I don’t understand how you got trapped by such formations… When you can’t resist, send signal talismans quickly—send as many as possible.”
Ezekiel and Meili felt warmth in their hearts. They truly didn’t want to leave this team or their capable captain. He nodded and said, “Don’t worry. We won’t fall into traps again.”
Guo Shier said, “As long as you can control your temper and stay calm… There might be people stronger than you in this world, but if you decide to run, no one can catch you.”

Everyone urged him repeatedly, taking out their own talismans and handing them over. Ezekiel and Mei Li also accepted them without hesitation, expressing their thanks. In critical moments, talismans could indeed save lives—after all, the members of this team were all top experts, capable of dominating this world.
…
As Fat Dou Dou had just sat down, one of his subordinates screamed in alarm. He snapped angrily, “What’s the big deal?”
Then several others cried out, “They’re gone! They’ve flown away!”
Fat Dou Dou rushed out of the room and saw several streams of talismanic light streaking across the sky, already far away. In just a few moments, the lights disappeared from sight.
He couldn’t help but shout, “Who… who are they?” In truth, he already had an answer, but he couldn’t believe it.
One of his subordinates said, “It’s the people who received us just now. They’ve all flown away.”
Fat Dou Dou was stunned for a while before realizing what had happened. He wailed, “Ah? Ah… Hurry! Find someone—Hole Lord’s men! Go find them now!” He kicked his legs, and his subordinates scrambled outside, their faces pale.
The entire caravan fell into chaos, and soon someone piloted a flying vehicle toward the outskirts of the manor. Since not a single person was visible inside the manor, they realized something was wrong.
About ten minutes later, the flying vehicle returned with bad news. According to people from a nearby town, a few days earlier, everyone in the manor had left in a hurry, seemingly in panic, though they didn’t know why.
Fat Dou Dou wasn’t stupid. He had only been deceived by Guo Shier for a moment. Shouting angrily, he said, “Damn it… It’s our enemies!” Then he cursed loudly, stomping his feet and spitting. The guard captain rushed over urgently. Seeing his boss in such a state, he blurted out, “This is our luck.”
“Gah!”
Fat Dou Dou almost choked on his own spit. He stared at the guard captain intently, swallowed hard after a while, and said, “What?”
The guard captain replied, “They only stole the supplies and spirit beasts we gave to Lord Hole. They didn’t touch anything else. If we had seen through them, then… it’s very likely…” He shuddered.
Fat Dou Dou immediately understood. Cold sweat poured down his forehead. Seriously, if those people turned on them, how could their caravan possibly resist?
Wiping the cold sweat from his face, Fat Dou Dou said bitterly, “What should I do?” The value of this shipment was high, especially those spirit beasts. They had suffered a huge loss.

The guard captain said, “We are dealing with Lord Hall’s estate. We must report this to headquarters immediately so they can negotiate with Lord Hall…” There was a hint of pity in his eyes. Even if Fat Du Du managed to get through this ordeal, he would surely be badly injured.

Fat Du Du lowered his head in thought. He didn’t really hate Guo Shier and the others, knowing that hatred was pointless since they didn’t care at all. These people were all skilled individuals who acted alone, and no one dared to provoke them. He sighed and said, “Damn it, I… I’m so unlucky.”

…

Ezek and Meili followed the traces on the ground. The footprints left by the large group were very clear, so the two pursued them.

Yao Zebusong and the others went in the opposite direction. Li Ran, Qi Wu Zhen, and Guo Shier flew eastward.

Guo Shier said, “This area should belong to the Beast Tamer tribe. Beyond that, we don’t know whose territory it is.”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “Who cares whose territory it is!” Her dominance remained undiminished.

Li Ran smiled. He actually admired Qi Wu Zhen’s fearless attitude. It was rare for a woman to be unafraid and able to look down on everything. He said, “You’re right. We don’t need to fear anything. Hehe, let’s go!” The three left behind several rune lights in the air and vanished instantly.

The place called Sacrificial Stars was strange. As a starry sky projection, it should have been intangible, but here it was tangible. No one knew what it was projecting, and neither Guo Shier nor Li Ran could understand it. Qi Wu Zhen didn’t care whether it was real or not. As long as there was a starry sky and she could continue advancing, everything here was fine.

After several days of flying, the three arrived near a huge city. Li Ran said, “It’s a city of the Mechanical Tribe!”

In this world, no city could be built without the Mechanical Tribe’s involvement. Their strength lay in their powerful mechanical capabilities, allowing them to help anyone who wanted to build a city, as long as sufficient currency or supplies were provided. The large city before them was clearly a city of the Mechanical Tribe, as could be judged from its appearance.

The focus was on its defensive fortresses. In a Mechanical Tribe city, there were not only many fortresses but also large ones that were not sold to outsiders, designed specifically to deal with powerful attackers. However, against top-tier warriors, even these large fortresses had limited effectiveness. But how many top-tier warriors existed in this world? The number was actually very small.

Guo Shier said, “It’s truly rare to see such a large city built by the Mechanical Clan. Hehe, we’ve been traveling for days and are tired. Let’s go take a look at this city built and owned by the Mechanical Clan.” He knew that the Mechanical Clan, or rather their technological power, in the Greater World was extremely strong. Although this place was far inferior compared to the Greater World, there were still things worth learning from it.

In the eyes of the people in this world, the Mechanical Clan was the best race for building cities. This large city of the Mechanical Clan covered at least a thousand square kilometers, with towering metal buildings and countless strange vehicles speeding and flying on the ground and in the air—all of which gave Guo Shier a sense of familiarity. Earth, where he had lived in his past life, was also a planet dominated by technology. Though still far behind the Mechanical Clan, it still gave him a sense of familiarity.

The three of them hovered outside the city of the Mechanical Clan, and soon patrol vehicles approached.

Having seen this scene many times, the three didn’t pay it any attention. Those who could fly held a certain status in this world, as it represented a skill—a skill recognized by all races. This was widely acknowledged, especially during star worship; those who could fly without any tools were considered true masters.

Two patrol vehicles arrived beside the three of them. There was a platform on top of each vehicle, equipped with guns unique to the Mechanical Clan, as well as a formidable energy weapon. Li Ran immediately realized that while energy weapons were common in the Greater World, they were considered high-end weapons here. There were seven or eight fully armed patrol members on the platform, each lowering the barrel of their gun. This was a rule to avoid arousing hostility from foreign masters.

There were too many examples in this world of conflicts arising from misunderstandings, so no city would underestimate foreign masters. As long as they had no malicious intentions, they would treat them as honored guests and offer them special treatment. Thus, when Li Ran and his companions stepped onto the vehicle’s platform, they were received very politely.

“I’m the captain of the patrol team. May I ask if you gentlemen wish to enter the city?” said the captain, dressed in semi-metallic armor. He was a young man with a curious look in his eyes. Guo Shier smiled slightly and said, “We’re just passing by and want to enter the city to rest for a while. Hehe, could you please introduce this city to us?” With a glance, he realized that this man was quite young, probably no older than twenty.

The young captain replied, “Yes, this is our city of the Mechanical Clan, and it’s the largest city within a hundred thousand kilometers. Hehe, many masters live here, including those from the most famous races,” he said proudly.

Guo Shier asked curiously, “Oh? What are some famous races?”