Chapter 47: The Collision of Steel and Flesh

Volume 1 “Year of Calamity”

Early the next morning, An Sheng, Nie Chong, and Skinny Monkey drove a truck carrying the All-Terrain Intelligent Robot away from the Fortress. They needed to find an open area to test the robot’s combat capabilities. They chose not to conduct the experiment within the Fortress, fearing the explosion sounds might attract Zombies and Mutated Creatures. Although Pighead Three had nearly devoured all the surrounding Zombies and Mutated Creatures, it was still necessary to take precautions.

After driving about ten kilometers, they stopped at a remote clearing. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and located roughly eight to nine kilometers from the nearest village, it was an ideal spot for testing.

Without much discussion, An Sheng immediately transformed into his Demon Form. The robot’s dead weight was simply too heavy; only by entering the Demon State could he unload it from the truck.

Skinny Monkey used a laptop to reinstall a startup program into the robot. With a “beep,” the robot emitted a cold electronic voice.

“System self-check initiated. Completion: five percent, eighteen percent… one hundred percent. Power system normal. Weapon systems normal. Autocannon ammunition remaining: eighty-three percent. Tracking Missiles: fifteen. Energy remaining: seventy-two percent! Self-check complete! Private First Class Hou Qing, All-Terrain Mechanical Soldier reporting for duty!” As it spoke, the robot even imitated humans by raising its mechanical arm to give Skinny Monkey a crisp military salute. All three of them were utterly stunned by its behavior.

Just as they were curiously examining the machine, the robot suddenly pivoted to face An Sheng’s direction, and the cold electronic voice sounded again.

“Warning! Warning! Detecting massive ‘Red Tide’ Virus signals. Preliminary analysis: Advanced Mutant identified! Activating Overload Combat Mode! All human soldiers immediately seek cover behind solid structures!”

Hearing this, An Sheng realized the grave mistake they had made. The three of them had been careless—they should have anticipated this earlier. After all, this robot was designated as an Intelligent Mechanical Soldier with the capability to distinguish friend from foe. In this post-apocalyptic world, who would be considered the enemy? The answer was obvious. And wasn’t An Sheng precisely a Mutant created by infection? In his normal human state, the robot might not have detected anything, but now An Sheng was in his Demon State, releasing massive amounts of Blood-Colored Pheromones.Without giving An Sheng any time to react, the 12.7mm Multi-Barrel Machine Gun mounted on the robot’s arm was the first to attack him. While they weren’t sure about the power of other high-tech weapons, this multi-barrel machine gun was a notorious killing machine! An Sheng remembered first seeing this type of machine gun in a Hollywood sci-fi movie during his middle school years. In it, Arnold Schwarzenegger played a futuristic Mechanical Warrior carrying a Gatling multi-barrel machine gun, sweeping the police cars below into explosive chaos—a truly shocking scene. Now, the robot wielded an even more powerful multi-barrel machine gun, with a caliber difference that wasn’t just slight. An Sheng recalled that standard Gatlings were around 7.62mm, but this robot’s machine gun had a 12.7mm caliber! This damn thing shouldn’t be called a machine gun—it was practically an Autocannon!

“Fuck!” An Sheng only had time to curse before his body swiftly darted toward the nearby mountainside. No joke—his flesh and blood couldn’t withstand the steel torrent spewed by a 12.7mm multi-barrel autocannon. Time to retreat!

In his Demon State, An Sheng’s speed was already terrifying, and after consuming the Purifier’s blood, it was almost ghostly. In just a flash, his body covered over thirty meters, taking cover behind a massive boulder. It was a protruding bluestone with strong density and hardness; bullets sparked and shattered against it, sending fragments flying, but for now, it kept An Sheng safe.

Just as An Sheng caught his breath behind the rock, the robot denied him the chance. While the Autocannon continued its barrage, a metal panel on the robot’s shoulder suddenly flipped open, revealing a mini rocket launcher. Three Micro-Tracking Missiles, trailing blazing tails, pierced through the air toward An Sheng.

“Missiles!” An Sheng, hidden behind the rock, couldn’t see what was happening, but Nie Chong, standing behind the robot, saw it clearly. Helpless, he could only shout to warn An Sheng, though his alert came too late.

“Boom~ Boom~ Boom~” With three violent explosions, the large bluestone where An Sheng had taken cover was blasted into rubble. Despite their small size, these missiles packed tremendous power; Nie Chong roughly estimated that the force of one Micro-Tracking Missile was at least equivalent to an 80mm mortar shell, if not greater!

The explosions kicked up billowing dust, obscuring An Sheng’s condition at the epicenter from Nie Chong and Skinny Monkey. Nie Chong yelled at the top of his lungs, “Monkey, find a way to shut this bastard down! An Sheng! An Sheng! Are you okay?”

“Don’t shut it down—let it keep going. I’m fine!” An Sheng’s magnetic voice rang out from within the dust. Though the situation was unclear, his tone suggested he wasn’t seriously harmed.At this moment, An Sheng, caught within the blast radius, was left covered in dust and grime. Yet to his relief, aside from being dazed by the shockwave, he had sustained no significant injuries. A metallic sheen glimmered across his skin—a new ability he had gained after devouring the Purifier named Chen Mu: metalized skin! However, this was An Sheng’s first real-world test of this power, and the experience was nerve-wracking. Had his body failed to withstand the missiles’ force, he would have been dead already!

In truth, there was another crucial reason for An Sheng’s disheveled state: he had been caught off guard without any preparation. Had he been ready, given the robot’s reaction speed, landing a hit on him would have been far from easy. But perhaps this was for the best—wasn’t the purpose of their mission to test the robot’s combat capabilities? This certainly provided a clear demonstration of its power. That was also why An Sheng had stopped Nie Chong from shutting down the robot. Little did he know, his decision would soon cost him dearly!

After several failed attacks, the intelligent Machine Warrior activated its most powerful weapon—the Particle Cannon! The steel plate on the robot’s chest suddenly ejected, revealing several pipe-like instruments beneath. Flickers of blue electricity danced between the pipes, growing increasingly intense. About five seconds later, a beam of blue-white light, radiating scorching heat, shot toward An Sheng.

An Sheng only saw a blinding flash before a searing, violent force sent him flying backward. The beam propelled his body through the mountain, carving a path forward until he vanished from sight. Just as Nie Chong and the others moved to investigate, a muffled explosion echoed from the hole blasted by the beam. The shockwave sent dust, debris, and soil spewing from the opening, the tremendous force hurling Nie Chong—who had approached to check—several meters back, landing him headfirst in a patch of dry grass.

Without pausing to assess his own injuries, Nie Chong scrambled to his feet and ordered Skinny Monkey to shut down the robot. That beam had to be the Particle Cannon, but its power was far beyond expectations. Now wasn’t the time for awe, though—An Sheng’s fate remained unknown?!

Setting everything else aside, Nie Chong sprinted toward the cave entrance, shouting An Sheng’s name.

“An Sheng! An Sheng! An~~”

“Stop yelling, I’m not dead yet.” From deep within the cave hollowed out by the Particle Cannon, An Sheng’s magnetic voice echoed. Judging by the sound, the tunnel stretched at least twenty meters deep.

“Damn, I’m just glad you’re alive! You scared me to death! Now get out here!” Nie Chong was utterly terrified—had anything happened to An Sheng, he wouldn’t have known how to face the survivors back at the Fortress.”I can’t fucking go out right now. Do me a favor and find me some clothes!” The Particle Cannon was immensely powerful, but An Sheng was no pushover either. At the critical moment, his body surface became completely covered with sharpened skin. He also had to thank the Purifier’s powerful Deification Factor—otherwise, with a mere mortal body, An Sheng would have long been blasted into mincemeat by the Particle Cannon. However, while An Sheng’s body remained unharmed, the intense heat from the particle beam was no joke. His clothes were completely incinerated under the scorching high temperature, leaving An Sheng stark naked exposed to the air. Although he had transformed into Demon Form and differed from humans, the essential parts hadn’t disappeared because of it. This scene was truly too embarrassing for An Sheng to speak of.