Upon his words,
Su Qi raised his eyebrows.
Old Wang's eyes widened even more.
Shandian stretched out a paw to stop him, but weakly let it fall, as Thunderbolt Fire shook its head at it.
"We both know how important this energy stone is to us right now."
"Thunderbolt Fire..." Shandian clenched its mechanical claws.
Su Qi, however, let out a light chuckle,
"Wait a moment."
"You're making me out to be some big bully coercing a poor girl into a sale."
He waved his hand,
"Forget the contract, this energy stone was originally picked up anyway, acquired by a fluke, and of no use to me."
"You seem to need it badly, so go ahead and use it."
Old Wang looked at Su Qi with some surprise.
To be honest,
both he and his mechanical companions had the same thought: they must get their hands on that energy stone.
They had prepared for the possibility that the other party would demand an exorbitant price.
But they didn't expect Thunderbolt Fire to be so straightforward, offering itself up as collateral.
And they never imagined Su Qi would ask for nothing in return!
"You, lad!" Old Wang gave a thumbs up, "are a good person!"
Ah,
what a relief.
This was the first time someone had called him a good person after countless instances.
It was incredibly touching.
Although his real intention was to cast a long line to catch a big fish, it didn't matter.
An energy stone was nothing to him, and a mechanical life's contract of servitude even less so. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
The Divine Machinery Kingdom had crumbled, and it was highly likely that these were the last remnants of that world.
As the sole control of the "Heart of Divine Weapon," action was naturally expected.
The Hustlers Sect did indeed need a division of Mechanical Life.
However,
Su Qi saw that Shandian and Thunderbolt Fire were not using it to restore their own energy, but instead took out a protective case, quite precise despite being amidst rubbish, and carefully placed it inside.
"You're not using it?"
Shandian shook its head,
"Someone needs it more than we do."
"In that case,"
Thunderbolt Fire solemnly said, "please come with us. Since you've given us a gift, naturally, we will reciprocate."
"Alright."
Su Qi was indifferent to their reciprocation, as the "Heart of Divine Weapon" he possessed already contained the secrets of the entire Divine Machinery Kingdom, and Xiao Meng would eventually gain control of it step by step.
He was merely curious.
For a place on the brink of collapse, the energy stone was undoubtedly like sending coal in a snowstorm, a life-saving straw, but they were not using it for themselves.
The two beings and two machines headed towards the interior.
Su Qi also saw other Mechanical Life, it was like entering a company... on the verge of bankruptcy, each mechanical entity moved as sluggishly as Thunderbolt Fire, joints creaking, energy dimly red.
"Due to the lack of energy, our companions in the base have all entered a state of extremely low energy consumption."
"At the same time,"
Shandian looked at a large number of transparent, worn-out pods, "a lot more of our companions have entered hibernation."
Su Qi glanced over them and to be honest... there was no small number of mechanical life forms underground, but the majority had entered standby, hibernation mode.
"We're all beings oppressed and hunted by the Dark Spark, and due to the lack of energy, although everyone is elite, it's becoming difficult to sustain."
Thunderbolt Fire said softly, "Falling into hibernation means it's not so simple to restart again."
"Of course, there are humans too, people from the past like Old Wang, who stand with us hand in hand."
"We also reach out to adventurers from the Present World, although our interactions aren't deep, everyone has their needs."
Indeed.
There were other humans here.
Like Old Wang, they all came from an ancient era and bore traces of mechanical modification.
Their relationships with the Mechanical Life were completely different from those of real living beings.
"Adventurers from the Present World?" someone's eyes flickered.
Many took notice of the young man that Shandian and Thunderbolt Fire, along with Old Wang, had brought.
"How did he end up here?"
They looked weary and puzzled; after all, everyone had come here after a day of mining.
However,
they did not ask further; everyone was busy assembling and adjusting, time was of the essence.
Old Wang said in a low voice, "Most of our people from the past were ordinary Sequencers; if it weren't for the modifications, we would've probably died in the mines."
He looked at the still-active mechanical life forms around, "And the rest of us are all persisting for hope."
Su Qi watched the scene and spoke gently, "So the question arises."
"What is your hope? If we're just looking at the current situation, you seem to have no chance or hope against the all-controlling Black Spark."
Old Wang put his hand on Su Qi's shoulder and whispered, "Kid, can't you... be a bit more tactful with your words?"
He gestured, "Tactful! Get it!?"
"Then I will phrase it more delicately."
Su Qi looked at them, "Even without the Black Spark intervening, you are on the brink of collapse, of self-destruction. I wondered why you don't join forces with adventurers from the Present World. Now I see clearly, Mechanical Life without energy are a hair's breadth away from becoming defunct, from destruction."
He murmured to himself, "To adventurers, benefits and value are what they need, and burdens clearly don't fall into that category."
Old Wang's eyes widened, "You lad!"
The expressions of those around were somewhat indignant.
Though Su Qi was responding to Old Wang, his voice was not concealed; it was like a sharp sword piercing through their current situation.