59: Wang Wei's insane experiment! Turning himself into a cyborg?

On the outskirts of Black Iron City, inside a warehouse temporarily cleared by players, the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like solidified molten iron.

The choice between the 'Ascension Legion' and the 'Flesh Alliance' had already triggered a storm in the guild channel that swept through everyone.

Some players were shocked by the cold, inhumane forced modification of the Dwarf King; they considered it a desecration of life and stood firmly on the side of the Resistance.

Another group, led by tech geeks and efficiency-driven players, held the concept of 'flesh is weak, mechanical Ascension' as their creed. Their eyes shone with excitement, and they couldn't wait to swap their own arms for a pair of mechanical ones to experience the power of technology.

Neither side of the argument could convince the other.

At the center of this storm, Wang Wei (Luban No. 7) was unusually quiet.

He didn't participate in any arguments. Instead, like the most devout believer, he lay prone before a table made of scrap parts, obsessively studying the modification blueprints he had copied from the Mechanical City Management Officers.

In front of him lay a reasonably intact mechanical arm captured from battle.

It was an industrial creation forged from brass and black iron, filled with the aesthetics of violence. Every line and every gear exuded an aura that intoxicated him.

Suddenly, he stood up abruptly.

The chair legs scraped against the metal floor, letting out a piercing screech that instantly drowned out all the arguing in the channel.

Everyone's gaze focused on him.

"I've decided," Wang Wei said, pushing up his goggles which were welded with eight layers of lenses. His voice sounded somewhat hoarse from excessive excitement.

"Decided what? Engineer Wang, whose side are you on?" a player asked.

"Choosing sides?" Wang Wei gave a dry laugh, his voice filled with disdain for such a low-level choice. "Why should I choose a side when I can become an entirely new path myself?"

He slowly lifted the heavy mechanical arm, wiping away the grease with a gentle motion that bordered on caressing a lover.

"Flesh is original sin, emotion is a defect, logic is eternal."

He whispered the slogan from the promotional video, his eyes as fanatical as a pilgrim's.

Then, he turned his head and looked at Li Qiang, who was leaning against a corner wiping his power hammer with a rag, with a gaze that was unquestionable and extremely serious.

"Brother Qiang."

Wang Wei's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"I need you to do me a favor."

"Help me... chop off my left hand."

The entire warehouse instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Li Qiang's motion of wiping the hammer stopped. He slowly raised his head and looked at Wang Wei as if he were an idiot for a full ten seconds.

"Say that again?"

"I want to install this." Wang Wei lifted the mechanical arm in his hand, a mad light flickering in his eyes. "I've looked at the blueprints; the interface for the nerves and bones is at the shoulder. I can't bring myself to do it, so I need a clean, decisive cut. Your hammer is the best scalpel."

The crowd instantly exploded.

"Engineer Wang, you're crazy!"

"Brother Qiang, don't listen to him! This guy has already suffered Qi Deviation!"

"This is just a game! There's no need to go this far, right?!"

Li Qiang stood up and walked over to Wang Wei. He was a head taller than the scrawny Wang Wei, and his massive shadow completely enveloped him. He looked into Wang Wei's eyes, which were filled with fanaticism and persistence, then at the hideous mechanical arm, and finally, his gaze fell on his power hammer that could smash anything.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh. That sigh was a mix of helplessness, shock, and an indescribable... admiration.

"Damn..." Li Qiang scratched his messy hair. "I always thought I was a ruthless guy, but I didn't expect you, kid... to be a total savage."

Wang Wei's face instantly lit up. "So, you agree?"

"Can I even say no?" Li Qiang rolled his eyes irritably. "If I don't help you, you lunatic would probably try to gnaw your own arm off with your teeth. But let's get this straight: if you die, the blueprints that drop from your body belong to me."

"Deal," Wang Wei agreed without hesitation.

He quickly cleared the workbench and lay down on it, stretching his left arm out straight. He looked at his arm of flesh and blood with a complex gaze, as if saying goodbye to an old friend he had been with for years but utterly despised.

"System, lower pain sensitivity to one percent."

With a barely audible System notification, Wang Wei closed his eyes.

The players gathered around spontaneously, forming a circle. Some turned away, unable to watch, while others excitedly squeezed to the front and turned on their recording functions, ready to document this historic moment.

Li Qiang raised his power hammer.

"Asking you one last time, you really won't regret this?"

"Do it." Wang Wei's voice didn't tremble in the slightest.

Li Qiang stopped talking. He took a deep breath and activated the power hammer's energy field. The hammer head let out a low hum, and the surrounding air distorted due to the high-frequency vibrations. He didn't use it to smash; instead, he used the energy field like a searing scalpel to precisely slice through Wang Wei's shoulder joint.

*Sizzle—*

The smell of charred meat rose along with blue smoke.

Wang Wei's left arm was severed at the shoulder and fell to the ground.

Throughout the process, Wang Wei didn't even frown. He used his remaining right hand to prop himself up, staring intently at the smooth wound on his shoulder that had been instantly cauterized by the high temperature, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

"Perfect. The cross-section is absolutely perfect. Quick! Bring the new arm over! The neural connection ports are activating; we can't miss this window!"

The scene that followed was chaotic yet filled with a certain sense of sacred ritual.

Under Wang Wei's shouting and direction, several Mechanist players scrambled to lift the heavy mechanical arm and align it with Wang Wei's shoulder.

Connecting circuits, tightening mounting bolts, and implanting the power core.

When the final neural interface cable was plugged in, a series of dazzling electric sparks suddenly burst out.

Wang Wei's body convulsed violently. The health bar above his head instantly bottomed out, only to be stubbornly pulled back by the effects of a healing potion.

He slowly sat upright on the workbench.

The left side of his body was no longer flesh.

"Activate," Wang Wei commanded in a dreamlike voice.

*Hum—*

Accompanying a low hum of electric current, pale blue energy circuits instantly flowed through the entire mechanical arm. Those metal fingers, forged from an unknown alloy, first twitched stiffly, and then suddenly clenched into a fist filled with a sense of power.

Wang Wei raised his new host, a look of rapture on his face.

"It's a success... it's alive..."

With a thought, the metal fingers began to transform flexibly. The tip of his index finger split open, extending a ten-centimeter laser cutting blade shimmering with red light. His middle finger turned into a high-speed rotating screwdriver. In the center of his palm, a small hole even opened, where a ball of unstable plasma energy was gathering.

"Holy shit..." a player couldn't help but swear.

Wang Wei stood up, walked to a thick alloy wall, and raised his hands.

*Boom!*

A small ball of white plasma shot out, instantly melting a fist-sized hole in the wall.

Immediately after, a hidden compartment popped out from his wrist, and a row of miniature steel needles shot out like a rainstorm, turning another distant target into a sieve.

He had become a mobile, humanoid armory... Meanwhile, in the core space of the Dimensional Hub.

Su Mu was sitting with his legs crossed, eating potato chips while watching the "live broadcast" on the light screen with great interest.

He laughed out loud.

"Interesting, so interesting."

He shook his head, his face full of approval.

"I only gave them a stage, and these players started dismantling themselves to try and become part of the stage. This kind of chaos and evolution spontaneously created by the players is ten thousand times more exciting than any script I could design."

Wang Wei's actions undoubtedly opened a door to a new world for all players, especially the tech geeks.

"However, I can't let them keep running these dangerous underground black clinics forever. It's time... to make it more standardized, and a bit more expensive."

Su Mu waved his hand casually, bringing up the System backend and starting to write a new version update log.

Just as the players in the Black Iron City warehouse were still shocked by Wang Wei's mad actions, a solemn System notification rang out in everyone's minds simultaneously.

[Ding! World progress advanced. V3.1 version 'Heart of Steel' is now live!]

[New System Unlocked: Player Body Modification]

[The shackles of flesh have been broken! Combining the technology of another world with the courage of the fourth calamity, you will have the opportunity to transcend mortal forms!]

[Rule: Players can now collect 'Design Blueprints' and 'Required Parts' to undergo mechanical or biological modifications at designated safe workshops by paying a certain amount of Contribution Points as a 'System Surgery Assistance Fee'.]

[Warning: Modifications are irreversible. There is a risk of surgery failure, which may lead to unpredictable consequences such as permanent attribute reduction or special negative statuses. Please choose your path of evolution carefully. Flesh is weak, but steel also rusts.]

This announcement was like a heavy bomb exploding among the player base.

The arguments vanished instantly.

In their place was an endless, even more fanatical discussion.

No one cared anymore about whether modification was right or wrong. Instead, they began to frantically discuss what parts they should swap to be the coolest and strongest!

The forums were instantly flooded with posts.

["Counting Down the Top Ten Mechanical Prosthetics Worth Installing! Number One is Actually..."]

["Begging a big shot for a tank tread blueprint! I want to swap my legs!"]

Li Qiang looked at the System announcement, then at Wang Wei, who was excitedly testing the strength of his new arm by twisting a steel pipe into a pretzel. He rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.

Undoubtedly, this arm was too practical. It could fight, repair, and defend—it was practically a must-have Divine Artifact for traveling and plundering.

He leaned in close to Wang Wei, a thoughtful, mischievous smile appearing on his face.

"Engineer Wang, tell me... can every part of the body be swapped in this modification?"

"Theoretically, yes," Wang Wei replied without looking up.

Li Qiang's eyes instantly lit up. He pointed to his chest.

"Then if I install a high-power searchlight right here..."

The smile on his face grew brighter and brighter.

"Would I never need to carry a flashlight again when walking at night?"