Acai's Sky

Chapter 967: Rusted Core: Gear Rhapsody 2

Everyone reached a tacit understanding in an instant and rushed towards the mechanical giant like two streams of light.

Tong Jiayuan raised his hand and fired three energy arrows in quick succession. The arrows split into countless light blades in the air, precisely cutting the colossus's joints. The sound of metal breaking could be heard one after another.

Ah Cai used his sword as a guide, and runes spread rapidly on the ground, forming a confinement circle, and the dazzling light enveloped the colossus.

As the battle was in full swing, a deep crack suddenly appeared in the ground, and dark liquid gushed out, emitting a disgusting smell.

The mechanical giant that came into contact with the liquid twisted and deformed wildly, and actually merged into a giant mechanical octopus. Its eight tentacles with sharp teeth swept across, leaving deep marks on the ground wherever it went.

Tong Jiayuan's pupils suddenly shrank. "It's rusty slime! This stuff can corrode everything!"

Ah Cai made a quick decision, and the sword in his hand burst into green light: "Break!"

The sword energy was like a scorching sun, evaporating the mucus into bursts of white smoke that filled the air.

However, before they could breathe a sigh of relief, a huge clock tower at the top of the gear maze in the distance collapsed, revealing the perpetual motion core inside that was running madly.

The surface of the core was covered with cracks, and dark red energy gushed out from it. Wherever it passed, the metal quickly decayed into powder, as if it was swallowed by an invisible force.

"We must repair the core before it completely collapses!"

Before Tong Jiayuan finished speaking, countless gears flew in from all directions, forming a dense gear storm that swept towards them with a roar.

Ah Cai threw out the chain to wrap around the center of the storm, pulling hard, trying to steady himself;

Tong Jiayuan and other members of the mechanical clan stepped on the rotating gears and continuously shot arrows to attack the weak points of the storm. The arrows collided with the gears, and sparks flew.

With the cooperation of everyone, the gear storm gradually disintegrated, but at this time the cracks in the core had spread halfway, and the corrosive smell in the air became stronger and stronger, as if it could suffocate people.

Ah Cai flipped open the mysterious ancient book she had obtained from Youmengfang and carefully searched for clues. Suddenly, her eyes lit up: "We need three energy sources! Light, darkness, and..."

"And the power of machinery!"

Tong Jiayuan took off the gear-shaped pendant from his waist and said, "Maybe our mechanical family's universal pendant can help!"

He inserted the pendant into the core, quickly formed seals with his hands, and countless tiny gears flew out of the pendant and began to repair the cracks in the core;

Ah Cai released both the power of light and darkness at the same time. The three energies converged at the core, forming a gorgeous energy vortex, and the light illuminated the entire space.

Just as the core was about to be repaired, a black shadow suddenly jumped out from the crack and grabbed Tong Jiayuan's pendant.

When Ah Cai looked closely, he found that it was a humanoid creature made entirely of black metal. His face was a display screen, on which garbled characters kept flashing.

"Outsiders, don't even think about ruining the master's plan!" The mechanical creature's voice was cold and distorted, like a whisper from hell.

Ah Da, who was standing beside Tong Jiayuan, had a drastic change of expression: "He is the core guardian! Stop him!"

Ah Cai immediately swung her sword, but the mechanical creature easily dodged it. The other party fired a laser back, blasting a large crater in the ground and sending debris flying.

The battle entered a fierce stage, the mechanical creatures' attacks became more and more fierce, while the progress of repairing the core stagnated.

"We can't go on like this!" Ah Cai suddenly had an idea and merged the power of light and darkness to form a chaotic energy beam.

"Try this!" She shot a beam of energy at the mechanical creature, which was instantly frozen in place.

Tong Jiayuan took the opportunity to speed up the repair and finally completed the repair before the core completely collapsed.

With a crisp humming sound from the core, the entire rusted core began to come back to life.

The rust-red sky gradually became clear, and the out-of-control mechanical creature stopped attacking and turned into scattered parts on the ground.

The mechanical creature was shattered by the impact of the energy. Before disappearing, a clear line of text flashed on the display: "Thank you...

"Acai, Tong Jiayuan and others looked at each other and saw fatigue and relief in their eyes.

At this time, the system prompt sounded:

[Ding, the player successfully repaired the perpetual motion core and gained control of the rusted core]

[Ding, rewards received: 1 Mechanical Heart, 10 Rusted Gear Blueprints, 500 Energy Crystals]

[Complete the hidden mission and unlock the mechanic profession-related branch]

Tong Jiayuan took off his helmet, revealing a sharp-edged face with a smile on his lips: "Mission completed? Still need to explore this fragment?"

Ah Cai looked at the perpetual motion core that was running again, her eyes gleaming. "Yes. But before that, I want to study these newly acquired blueprints and props first."

She opened the backpack, and the mechanical heart emitted a soft light inside, as if it contained infinite possibilities, making people want to explore the mysteries inside.

The group walked along the restored gear maze and discovered many rusted ancient mechanical devices along the way.

Elder Tong Jiazhi excitedly fiddled with the devices, occasionally exclaiming in amazement: "These designs are so ingenious! If they could be brought back to the real world, they would definitely trigger a technological revolution!"

Ah Cai observed carefully from the side and found that these devices were engraved with strange runes, which seemed to be telling the history of this world.

She took out ancient books for comparison and found that the runes recorded the process of the mechanical god creating this world, as well as the truth behind the core's rampage - it turned out that a sudden energy storm broke the core's balance, causing the mechanical creation to go out of control.

As night fell, everyone set up camp in a huge gear castle. The castle walls were covered with traces of time, and the patterns of the gears were clearly visible.

Asan put the food prepared by Tongjiajiu on the table. The aroma was so fragrant that it made people salivate.

Ah Cai studied the purpose of the mechanical heart, her eyes focused and serious.

"This thing seems to be able to resonate with any mechanical device," Ah Cai's eyes flashed with excitement, "Maybe we can use it to create more powerful equipment."

Just as they were discussing future plans, there was a sudden commotion outside the castle.

A wave of countless glowing mechanical insects came, led by a giant mechanical spider. Its eight eyes flashed with an eerie red light, like eight red lanterns, which were particularly eye-catching in the night.

"It seems we can't let our guard down just yet," Tong Jiayuan said, picking up his compound bow with a serious expression. "These guys might have been attracted here by the energy fluctuations."

Ah Cai gripped her sword tightly, and runes lit up beneath her feet. "Then let them know what will happen to those who trespass!"

Everyone once again prepared themselves in the ruins of the Gear Castle, and the battle was about to begin.

The mechanical spider launched the first attack, it sprayed out a huge metal net and covered everyone.

A Cai swung her sword at the metal net, and the sword energy cut a gap in it; Tong Jiayuan kept shooting arrows, attacking the mechanical spider's eyes.

The mechanical insects also launched attacks, some of them sprayed venom, and some fired spikes. For a moment, the castle was filled with smoke, and the sounds of metal collisions and explosions were heard one after another.