142: Thoughts of the Divine Machine

The wristband vibrated, and the [Map] icon below it flickered.

Qin Jin lightly touched it, and a map appeared. Among the light dots representing evacuation points, one flickered.

At the same time.

The beam from the teleportation gate in front rose again, already touching the dome above.

Within a certain range, this scene could be clearly seen, indicating that the evacuation point here had been activated.

The teleportation gate did not open immediately. In Qin Jin's line of sight, an icon like a progress bar appeared, beginning to charge. It seemed that the teleportation gate would only fully open once the progress bar was full.

“As expected, I can’t leave immediately.”

Qin Jin murmured to himself, not feeling surprised.

Looking back at the history of the Limit Break Cup, the team competition had different modes and variations, but overall, it still encouraged combat among participants.

“This way, when someone wants to leave from a fixed evacuation point, other people nearby will also be attracted, making conflict and combat inevitable.”

“Fixed evacuation points are strategic locations, but since the commotion here is so great, it is highly probable that random evacuation points and mission evacuation points, once activated, can be left directly without much fuss.”

“This gives all participants a certain chance.”

“There are three evacuation points in this area, so it seems the number of fixed evacuation points is not small.”

Qin Jin scrutinized the map: “Blocking evacuation points is one method, but the effectiveness might not be great. According to the rules, obtaining information about this civilized ruin can also earn points.”

“Since that’s the case—”

He reached out and grasped, and source power surged, the light sword directly falling into his hand.

He inspected it and made a judgment: “An ordinary energy-based weapon, of average value.”

“Since weapons exist in the ruins, then perhaps there will also be other equipment, such as battle suits, allowing participants to arm themselves.”

Thoughts flashed through his mind.

Qin Jin glanced at the teleportation gate, which was still charging: “At least first gain a basic understanding of this ruin before trying other solutions.”

He did not hesitate. After determining his direction, he immediately left.

On the spot.

The teleportation gate’s charging ended after five minutes, and the teleportation gate opened.

Just then, a tall figure approached with heavy steps.

His face was ordinary, and his battle suit was filled with sturdy muscles. Stepping here, he saw no one around and frowned, “Ran away?”

As he murmured, he also left the spot.

Qin Jin’s figure swept through the architectural debris.

Source power spread from him to the surroundings, sensing every rustle.

The detailed rules of the team competition were numerous, but for contestants who were truly confident in their own strength, after understanding the basic rules, they didn't need to consider too much. Searching, fighting, evacuating—as long as they defeated every opponent they encountered, their gains would naturally not be small.

As he continued to advance, a line on the wristband map gradually lit up, and during the process, new fixed evacuation points were recorded by the map.

Just as he was about to pass through a crossroads, his source power subtly fluctuated. Qin Jin sensed something, abruptly stopped, and looked towards one end.

Where his gaze fell was a collapsed building, its broken walls and ruins all in disarray.

“Not above.”

His source power detected an abnormal energy fluctuation. His gaze shifted, and Qin Jin’s sight rested below the architectural debris: “It should be underground.”

Making a judgment in his mind, Qin Jin took a step, directly landing on a high point and steadying himself.

At that instant, his source power was mobilized, and in front of him, the power formed a special rune, like a cannon muzzle, with surging source power and radiating brilliance.

Source Kill Cannon!

In the next instant, the torrent of source power, constructed, surged, enveloped by thunder, directly striking the architectural debris on the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Under Qin Jin’s control, the power exploded violently. Accompanied by deafening roars, the ground exploded, and shattered stones and smoke swirled up, obscuring his vision.

Qin Jin continuously sensed his surroundings.

The ground was blasted open by him. Below the surface, there was a thin energy barrier, which shattered directly under the impact of the source power, revealing the passage below.

Qin Jin leaped up and entered through the hole he had blasted open.

The passage was entirely constructed of metal, and the walls on both sides reflected a metallic sheen.

Qin Jin walked along the passage for about ten steps, then a password-protected door blocked his way.

Since he had already entered violently, Qin Jin did not intend to waste time. He clenched his right fist, source power covering it, and with surging thunder, he directly punched out, breaking through the door.

Debris flew.

Everything came into view.

Inside was an armed underground structure. At a glance, several rooms were connected underground, with all walls made of metal. Within the rooms, there was even some equipment.

Qin Jin immediately began to explore.

Soon, he thoroughly searched several rooms.

He gained a lot, including sealed battle suits, some edible food, a diary with unknown text, energy crystals that maintained energy barriers, auxiliary mechanical arms, simple medical kits, and many tools.

Most importantly—

Qin Jin discovered a ring-shaped spatial storage equipment.

The internal space was about two cubic meters, not large, but enough to store some collected items.

However, this kind of spatial equipment was obviously also counted as loot. If defeated, it would all be dropped.

After changing into the battle suit, Qin Jin put the other items into the ring, only leaving the diary to flip through.

“It’s not the Federation’s common language.”

“However, this might be the item containing information mentioned in the rules.”

“I wonder if it needs to be deciphered to gain points. If it requires deciphering, then there must be a way to translate this language in this city, is it a translator, or something else?”

Thoughts flashed through his mind.

Qin Chi was about to leave when, sensing something, he looked upwards.

“Were they attracted by the commotion just now?”

His expression was calm as he returned the way he came.

Returning to the bottom of the hole he had entered, he lightly stepped, and his figure soared into the air, light as a swallow, returning to the ground.

Just as he came up, before he had even found his footing, a sudden mental impact struck. At the same time, behind him, a breaking sound exploded, and a figure leaped out, palm like a blade, with power attached, slashing down towards Qin Jin’s neck.

Qin Jin did not turn around, but his movements were extremely fast. With a raised hand, he blocked the opponent, and source power erupted along the point of contact. Accompanied by a dull explosion, the opponent's body was violently sent flying backward.

While flying backward, a ray of teleportation light descended, and the opponent's figure disappeared.

Something fell on the ground.

At the same time.

The mental impact arrived simultaneously. The person who unleashed the mental impact was a woman, located at the other end of the ruins. The moment their minds connected, her expression suddenly changed, and a look of fear emerged. In an instant, her wristband's judgment status dropped below 50, and both of them were almost eliminated from this exploration together.

She launched a mental attack, but when she encountered Qin Jin’s mental power, in her mental vision, it was as if she had seen a brilliant sun. Her mind could not advance an inch and was instantly eroded.

Everything ended in an instant.

Qin Jin picked up the items they dropped.

There were only a few energy chips. It seemed they had also encountered local attackers within the ruins.

His gaze swept over the place where the two disappeared: “To establish trust and ambush me together in such a short time, they can’t be strangers.”

“Are they from the same academy?”

“The ruins are vast. This is probably not a coincidence.”

“Inside the wristband, there’s even a dedicated [Faction] information section. Does this mean that when performing random teleportation, people from the same academy or dojo will be teleported to nearby areas?”

“This actually makes more sense, after all, it’s a team competition, and team members should have scenarios for cooperation.”

Making a judgment in his mind.

Qin Chi thought of more.

“Is this civilized ruin designed and constructed by the organizers themselves, or is it a true replica of a civilized ruin previously discovered by the Federation?”

“Even if it’s a replica, it should have undergone optimization in terms of power levels.”

While contemplating, Qin Jin’s footsteps did not stop.

Just then.

In front, a sudden roar erupted, echoing far and wide.

Qin Jin’s brows furrowed.

In other places, he wouldn’t be bothered by such a scene, but within the Limit Break Cup, he naturally had to join in the fun and see what was happening.

He increased his speed.

As his figure surged forward, the scene ahead gradually came into view.

As far as his eyes could see, a tall and sturdy figure stood with a retracted fist.

In front of him.

Dust rose, accompanied by the sound of sliding sand and stones, and a figure, disheveled, crawled out from within.

Qin Jin’s gaze fell upon him.

That was...

Chi Wenwu!

This generation’s genius from the Chi Family was now very disheveled. His battle suit was tattered, and bloodstains appeared. As Qin Chi looked at him, he sensed it and, seeing it was Qin Jin, his expression suddenly changed: “Qin Jin, retreat!”

“This is a third-year student from Shenji Academy!”

Shenji Academy.

One of the well-known academies in the galaxy. Although it was not among the seven major academies, it was just below them. Shenji Academy's strongest major was the Mech Department.

“Another one from Martial Abyss?”

The tall man’s expression was calm: “Since you’ve come, then none of you shall leave.”

He no longer targeted Chi Wenwu. His body turned, and he directly stepped towards Qin Jin.

Initially, he took small steps, but his speed rapidly increased as he moved forward, power surging, and an inspiring aura rising around him.

“Not good—”

Chi Wenwu’s expression changed. Without the slightest hesitation, his figure also rushed forward, shouting loudly: “I’ll help you hold him back, you take the opportunity to leave! This is a team competition. In Chi Wenwu’s view, he was already injured, and this exploration would most likely end here. Since that was the case, he might as well exert his last bit of strength.”

But...

The moment his figure moved, a mentally sculpted voice sounded in his ear.

“No need.”

That was Qin Jin’s voice.

As the voice sounded, Qin Jin advanced instead of retreating, his own power becoming active. Suddenly, his source power transformed, and his eyebrows faintly reflected a fiery color.

Nine Tribulation True Body, Heavenly Fire Body!

He had always planned his cultivation. The new Breathing Method and the cultivation of his own techniques had never stopped.

After cultivating the Fire God Method, this True Body was easily achieved. He participated in the Limit Break Cup, not without the idea of fighting against geniuses of higher grades.

The idea of tempering himself.

Flames rose.

Qin Jin’s figure rushed forward, like a brilliant flame streaking across the low sky, his right hand clenched into a fist, flames swirling.

Seeing this, the tall man was not surprised but delighted. At the same time, he clenched his fist, and as source power surged, a field of white light rose around him.

Next instant!

Two figures swept past from both sides, and in the center, they violently collided!

Fists met, powers clashed, and as the flames burned, they directly ignited the opponent's source power. In the brief stalemate, accompanied by the tall man’s sudden change of expression, a fireball tumbled backward.

The fireball crashed, violently impacting the building wall, directly penetrating it. Accompanied by a series of deafening impact and collapse sounds, he finally crashed into a pile of architectural debris after retreating dozens of meters.

It was at this moment.

Teleportation light descended, enveloping the figure.

In the brief exchange, his body was covered in scorch marks, and faintly, there was even a faint scent of cooked meat.

“How—how is this possible?!”

To the side.

Chi Wenwu’s eyes suddenly widened.

He was no longer calm, looking at Qin Jin: “Although this guy isn’t from one of the seven major academies, and Shenji Academy isn’t known for its Martial Arts Department, I’ve fought him before. He’s at least a Second Transformation, possibly even a Third Transformation!”

“He wasn’t even using his full strength when he fought me just now.”

“Qin Chi…”

“You just instantly killed him?”

“How strong are you, exactly?!”

Qin Jin did not answer.

In the Congenital Realm, the same number of transformations can still result in significant differences.

Not to mention, the power of his source power had undergone multiple refinements.

He stepped to the place where the opponent had been teleported away, his gaze sweeping, then focusing on one spot.

There.

A special brooch-like equipment lay on the ground.

Spatial equipment!

This person’s luck was clearly not bad.

After picking it up, Qin Jin mentally probed its contents.

As his mind swept through, Qin Jin’s eyebrows slightly raised, and his eyes held a subtle expression.

This spatial equipment was wider than the one he had originally acquired, yet it contained only two types of items.

One type was energy chips, quite a few of them. It seemed he had been actively searching for local attackers.

The other type consisted of various materials, mainly metal, some with fresh signs of disassembly.

Even if scanning was not possible within the civilized ruins, making it impossible to determine how many points they were worth, Qin Jin could confirm that these materials were definitely of extremely low value, possibly even unrateable for points.

Otherwise, this competition would simply be about who had better luck finding larger spatial storage equipment.

So, what was the opponent collecting these for?

Footsteps sounded.

Chi Wenwu quickly approached.

Seeing him approach, Qin Jin spoke: “You just said, where was this guy from?”

“Shenji Academy.”

Chi Wenwu was puzzled, looking at Qin Jin, his eyes still filled with shock.

Within the academy, Qin Jin’s consecutive defeats of Fang Shuo and Ye Ping’an did not shock him as much as this current scene.

However, he still added: “If you were to rank the academies in the galaxy, Shenji Academy could be in the top thirty, but their strongest major is the Mech Department. Every elite student has unique insights into mechs.”

Sensing the materials within the spatial equipment with his mind, and then hearing Chi Wenwu’s words, Qin Jin fell silent.

“What a bold idea.”

“However, the team competition lasts for half a month, and it’s not always about exploring every moment, so it might actually succeed.”

“Moreover, this civilized ruin itself might have suitable equipment, and as one delves deeper, there might be greater gains.”

Qin Chi let out a long breath.

The guy he had instantly killed clearly intended to collect materials and leverage his greatest strength to hand-build a temporary, simple mech!