181: Chapter 181: Chen E Compromises

Inside the main hall of the Golden Toad City lord, fragments of jade bottles and dried bloodstains were scattered across the floor.

Cheng E stood in the center of the hall with his hands in his pockets.

He appeared calm and indifferent, but in reality, he was out of options.

Twelve Mechanical Deities were slowly closing in on him.

Zhao Kuo, Sun Ying... these former classmates were now just a group of machines without pain or emotion.

Directly in front, on a pure gold throne, Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao sat upright.

Among the fourteen demigods in the hall, none of them had breath or a heartbeat, except for Cheng E.

Cheng E stood where he was, silent in this eerie atmosphere.

Just then, a vast fluctuation of Divine Power emanated from the distant north.

A faint voice was mixed within the fluctuation of Divine Power.

"Game over..."

"Either come out and die."

"Or, I will turn this world upside down and send you all on your way."

Cheng E looked up toward the direction of the Central Plains, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.

A madman.

Lin Yuan had actually declared war on everyone.

This unbridled release of Divine Power proved that he had completely seized control of the situation in the Central Plains.

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao sat on the throne, her deep blue mechanical eyes flickering slightly.

Her internal core processor was running, analyzing the current situation.

"Target: Lin Yuan. Combat power assessment: Extremely dangerous. Survival probability: Less than five percent."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's synthesized mechanical voice echoed in the hall.

She turned her head, her gaze landing on Cheng E.

"Target: Cheng E. Abilities: Curse-Killing system, spatial escape. Combat power assessment: High."

"Simulation result: Forcibly killing Cheng E will result in the loss of three to five Mechanical Deities."

"The combat loss ratio is too high, and it cannot change the final outcome of being wiped out by Lin Yuan."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao stood up, walked to within three meters of Cheng E, and stopped.

"Cooperate, or resist." Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao stared directly at Cheng E, her voice cold. "Choose."

Cheng E looked at the woman radiating a metallic luster before him, feeling as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a dead fly.

His original plan was to take advantage of Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao being backlashed by greed, use the [Soul-Devouring Blood Curse] to control her, and turn her into a Puppet in his hands.

Who would have thought this woman would be this ruthless.

"Do I have any other choice?" Cheng E twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a bitter smile.

If they really started fighting, even if he could escape, he would lose a layer of skin.

Moreover, if they had internal friction here, Lin Yuan's snowballing speed would only get faster, and everyone would die.

"Wise judgment." Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao nodded slightly.

"But I have a condition." Cheng E reined in his smile, his eyes turning sinister.

"Due to the side effects of my status, I suffer a backlash once I overexert myself, so I basically won't participate in direct combat."

"I am only responsible for providing intelligence and covert support."

He paused, throwing out his bargaining chip.

"I haven't been idle these past few days; I've collected location information on most of the Deities in the class."

"Less than half are still alive now."

Cheng E took out a parchment scroll and threw it to Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao.

"Round up the rest of these guys, and infect them and their followers completely."

"This is the only way we can raise an army to contend with Lin Yuan."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao raised her hand to catch the scroll.

Deep blue beams of light shot from her eyes, scanning the coordinate information on the scroll.

The data was quickly categorized and analyzed in her core processor.

"Bai Ye." Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao announced a name.

"Extreme North. Divine Domain: Undead Kingdom."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao looked at Cheng E: "The compatibility between Undead and Mechanical is extremely high. Infecting Bai Ye and implanting the Mechanical Plague into the Undead system..."

"With bones and metal Fusion, the troop production speed will increase by three hundred percent. He is the optimal choice."

Cheng E rolled his eyes.

"Is your brain... is your processor waterlogged?" Cheng E pointed to the top of the scroll, "Extreme North!"

"Do you know how far that place is from here? It spans nearly half the Rubiks Cube World!"

"By the time we get there, take down Bai Ye, and complete the mechanical infection, Lin Yuan will have already led his army to flatten Golden Toad City!"

Cheng E interrupted Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's simulation unceremoniously.

"The time cost is too high; it's not worth it. We must follow the principle of proximity."

The data stream in Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's eyes flickered for a few seconds.

"Recalculating. Bai Ye plan rejected."

Her gaze moved down, locking onto a red dot on the scroll that was relatively close to Golden Toad City.

"Target: Lu Chen. Divine Domain: [Corrupted Fungal Mat]. Coordinates: Edge of the Southern Wilderness, Black Mud Swamp."

"Distance from Golden Toad City, 5,700 kilometers."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao provided the conclusion: "This is the closest target currently, and it possesses the potential for rapid troop production."

Cheng E glanced at the coordinates and nodded.

While it was the closest, it was still ridiculously far.

Several Deities around Golden Toad City had long since been killed or assimilated by Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao using various means in the past few days.

The rest were all just struggling to survive in remote corners.

"Him it is." Cheng E put his hands back into his pockets. "When do we set off?"

"Now."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao turned around, facing the twelve Mechanical Deities.

"First Squad, initiate stealth mode. Target: Black Mud Swamp."

She did not mobilize the 200,000-strong army of Golden Toad City.

The army's marching speed was too slow and could easily expose their target.

The combat power of fourteen demigods, as long as they didn't encounter a monster like Lin Yuan, was enough to sweep through any stronghold.

"Lead the way." Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao issued the order to Cheng E.

Cheng E didn't waste words; his body turned into a mass of gray mist, speeding toward the south.

Blue tail flames shot out from under Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's feet, and the twelve Mechanical Deities followed closely behind.

Edge of the Southern Wilderness, Black Mud Swamp.

This place was shrouded in dark green toxic miasma all year round.

Deep in the swamp, a camp built from fungi and rotting trees was hidden in the mud.

Lu Chen sat on a giant mushroom in the center of the camp, resting with his eyes closed.

His Divine Domain was [Corrupted Fungal Mat], which allowed him to rapidly breed fungal followers by devouring corpses.

Relying on this ability, he had established his territory in this swamp.

Under his command, he had gathered over 120,000 rotting corpse beasts covered in poisonous mushrooms.

"Rustle, rustle..."

Suddenly, a faint sound of footsteps came from the toxic miasma on the outskirts of the camp.

Lu Chen raised his head, Divine Power surging within him.

"Who!" he shouted sternly.

The toxic miasma was torn open by an invisible force.

Cheng E, wearing a black trench coat, walked out slowly.

"Hello." Cheng E greeted him.

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, then recognized Cheng E.

"Cheng E, what are you doing here?" Lu Chen frowned, looking at him vigilantly.

In this Rubiks Cube World, there was no friendship to speak of among classmates.

Everyone was a competitor, and being jealous of each other upon meeting was the norm.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just a guide." Cheng E shrugged and stepped aside.

In the thick toxic miasma, thirteen cold metallic figures slowly emerged.

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao walked at the very front.

The twelve Mechanical Deities fanned out, blocking all of Lu Chen's escape routes.

Lu Chen widened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the faces of Zhao Kuo, Sun Ying, and the others.

"Zhao Kuo? Sun Ying? You... how did you become like this!"

Lu Chen's voice carried unconcealable shock.

These former classmates in the class had now turned into cold lumps of iron.

His gaze finally fell on Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao.

That metallic face made him gasp.

"Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao? You... you even..."

Lu Chen felt his brain couldn't quite wrap around it.

He knew Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao's Divine Domain was Mechanical Plague.

But turning classmates into Puppets, and even modifying herself into a machine—this was too perverted.

"Lin Yuan is on a killing spree in the Central Plains, and you aren't going to deal with that fattest, craziest guy."

"Why come to this remote corner to look for me!"

Lu Chen didn't understand.

Ignoring the biggest threat to come and squeeze him, a soft persimmon.

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao ignored Lu Chen's roar.

Her mechanical eyes scanned the entire camp, data streams jumping rapidly.

"Environmental detection: High concentration of corrosive toxins. Corrosion rate on metal armor: 2.1 percent."

"Enemy forces: 121,400 rotting corpse beasts. Combat power assessment: Medium."

"Directive: Full suppression, capture the target alive."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao couldn't be bothered to explain to Lu Chen how terrifying Lin Yuan was, nor did she care to explain why she had to take him down first.

In her logic, Lu Chen was just a tool for troop production.

Tools don't need to know why.

"Kill."

The mechanical voice fell.

The twelve Mechanical Deities behind her instantly erupted into action.

Zhao Kuo's massive metallic body charged into the swamp like a war chariot.

Liquid metal spread from under his feet, directly solidifying and shattering large swaths of the Corrupted Fungal Mat.

Sun Ying slipped into the shadows, turning into a silver data stream, weaving through the swarm of rotting corpse beasts.

With every flash, dozens of rotting corpse beasts were sliced into pieces.

"You are bullying people too much!" Lu Chen roared, slapping his hands onto the mushroom beneath him.

"Divine Skill: [Fungal Tsunami]!"

The entire swamp boiled.

120,000 rotting corpse beasts crawled out of the mud, the poisonous mushrooms on their bodies bursting, spewing green toxic spores into the sky.

These spores had extremely strong corrosive and parasitic capabilities, surging toward the Mechanical Deities like a blanket.

Lu Chen had the territory advantage and a massive number of followers; he was confident he could block this wave of attacks.

However, he underestimated the terror of the Mechanical Plague.

The green toxic spores landed on the Mechanical Deities' armor, emitting a hissing sound of corrosion.

But the nanobots on the armor's surface activated rapidly, quickly repairing the damaged parts.

The toxic spores could not penetrate the armor at all, let alone parasitize.

It was a natural counter to biological toxins.

"Damn it! Tear them to pieces for me!" Lu Chen once again urged his Divine Power.

The swarm of rotting corpse beasts was like a green tsunami, submerging the twelve Mechanical Deities.

But only a few seconds passed.

"Boom!"

An electromagnetic pulse cannon exploded from the center of the swarm, clearing a large area.

The Mechanical Deities displayed an absolute crushing posture.

Every attack was an optimal solution calculated with precision, and each strike could take the lives of hundreds or thousands of followers.

Lu Chen's defensive line was collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"No, I can't hold them off!" Lu Chen bit his tongue, preparing to use his trump card to escape.

At the critical moment, a cold aura suddenly locked onto his Divine Fire.

Cheng E, who had been hiding in the shadows, made his move.

A gray, withered coin had appeared above Lu Chen's head without him knowing when.

"Divine Skill: [Coin of Decay]."

The coin sank into the center of Lu Chen's eyebrows.

"Ah—" Lu Chen let out a miserable scream.

He felt his life force being drained away, and his Divine Power circulation became sluggish.

In this brief half-second opening, Sun Ying's figure appeared behind Lu Chen, a metal dagger piercing directly through his shoulders, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Zhao Kuo walked up and stomped on Lu Chen's legs, breaking them.

The battle ended.

From the moment Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao issued the order to the moment Lu Chen was completely subdued, the whole process took less than three minutes.

The remaining 60,000+ rotting corpse beasts lost their Deity's command and were running around in the swamp like headless flies.

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao walked up to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen lay in the mud, covered in blood, his legs broken in a twisted posture.

He looked at Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao, who was looking down at him, his eyes full of despair.

"You... you bunch of madmen..." Lu Chen panted weakly.

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao didn't waste any words.

She raised her right hand, her palm splitting open, and thousands of mechanical flying insects poured out, rushing directly at Lu Chen's face.

"No! Get away! Ah—"

The Mechanical Plague entered his body.

The flesh on his body began to harden, turning into cold metal.

The fear and unwillingness in his eyes gradually solidified, finally turning into two emotionless red lights.

The thirteenth Mechanical Deities, assimilation complete.

As Lu Chen was completely mechanized, the connection between him and his followers changed.

In the swamp, those 60,000+ rotting corpse beasts that were still running around suddenly froze.

The poisonous mushrooms on their bodies began to wither and fall off, replaced by layers of gray-black metal scales.

The rotten claws and teeth turned into sharp alloy blades.

Semi-mechanized followers.

Over time, it wouldn't be long before these 60,000 followers completely turned into metal monsters.

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao looked at the brand-new Lu Chen before her and issued an order.

"Remain in the Black Mud Swamp. Utilize the characteristics of the [Corrupted Fungal Mat] to devour all biological resources in the surrounding area, fully assimilate followers, and expand the army."

"Deadline: three days, expand the army to 200,000."

Lu Chen knelt on one knee in the mud, his scarlet mechanical eyes flickering.

"Directive confirmed, executing."

Vice Monitor Chu Xiaoxiao turned her head and looked at Cheng E, who was walking out from the shadows.

"Next target."

Cheng E looked at the rotting corpse beasts on the ground that were rapidly becoming metallic and swallowed hard.

This efficiency made one's scalp tingle.

He took out the parchment scroll and glanced at it.

"East, 3,000 kilometers. There is a large canyon. There is someone hiding there who plays with bugs."