Under One Person, Engage in Black Technology

Chapter 192 Fame
The 'steel tent' that fell from the sky was truly bizarre, but for the people from the other side of Na Du Tong, at least Wang Zhenqiu and Hei Guan could roughly guess which being had summoned it.

The next stage, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will become very difficult, but at least there will be no danger to my life.

After their rapid retreat and subsequent landing, the expressions of the Na Du Tong group members were quite interesting, with each member displaying a different facet.

First, Wang Ye, the Daoist priest who was lying on the ground recovering his Qi, was very surprised by the thing that came from the sky, and his face was extremely stiff. However, he was very accepting of it, and the way he squinted his eyes made it seem as if he was saying something like, "So that's how it is."

As for Xia Liuqing and Balun, since they were complete 'outsiders' in the temporarily recruited team, they subconsciously looked at each other and told each other, 'I don't know what's above my head.'

Of course, after observing the expressions of the other guys at Na Du Tong, the two of them realized that the strange, mysterious thing above their heads was most likely an enemy. Xia Liuqing's expression turned resentful, while Baron's face showed an indescribable joy, which could be described as 'seeing a prey's desire'.

Xiao Zizai and Lao Meng, who had been observing from the sidelines, were relatively simple. Both of them adjusted their glasses and then became wary.

The most unusual were the clarinet and Wang Zhenqiu. The former frowned, seemingly deep in thought. The latter, on the other hand, laughed even more heartily, his imitation of Sun Wukong making him scratch his head, his eagerness palpable.

Of course, regardless of what this group of people thought, they dared not act rashly. The reason was simple: compared to the various strange methods that the 'Outsiders' could use, the 'Outsiders' themselves were far too fragile.

Therefore, in the eyes of those veterans who often engage in fierce battles, the most important thing in the struggle between different people is to be cautious. Gathering information before attacking the enemy's weak points is the right way to go. Before obtaining complete information, one must be extra careful.

Moreover, the group from Na Du Tong had previously fought fiercely with Village Chief Ma. Although they were the main attackers and Old Ma was the main defenders, they still expended some physical strength and energy. Waiting and stalling for a while would be more conducive to recovering their fighting strength.

But no matter what outsiders think, their inner turmoil is nothing compared to that of those who grew up in Ma Xianhong Ma Village.

Even though Village Chief Ma had been blinded by rage and anger, he instinctively calmed down after being locked in a tightly sealed, moonlight-free "dark room" by a lump of iron.

If he were to describe it himself, the feeling of being enveloped by this 'steel tent' was quite peculiar. He felt as if he were a dinosaur that had escaped from its enclosure in Jurassic Park, trapped inside a lump of steel.

Of course, as a legitimate superhuman, he felt that using movie plots as examples was a bit strange. If he were to use a more 'superhuman' way of describing him, it might be more appropriate—his current state was comparable to that of Sun Wukong, who was trapped under the Five Finger Mountain.

However, there are some minor flaws in this interpretation. In the story, Sun Wukong, who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, was pressed down by the Five Fingers Mountain, while Village Chief Ma fared somewhat better. After all... he was standing and could move freely, so his 'sense of oppression' wasn't as strong.

But then again, whatever his feelings were, he was now filled with confusion. What Village Chief Ma found hard to understand was why, given his already weakened position, those people from Na Du Tong would bother sending that iron-clad figure to control him?
'Heh, they're not going to execute me outright, are they? Aren't they afraid I'll refine this thing and turn the tables on them?'

"That's possible. The company wouldn't mobilize so many experts just for Chen Duo, would they? They're probably after my Biyou Village and the Cultivation Furnace, right?"

Just as Ma Xianhong was snorting and frowning in thought, soft lights gradually lit up inside the 'steel tent'.

Swish!
A few seconds later, as all the lights came on, the entire view of this temporarily 'closed' space was revealed.

The first thing that caught Ma Xianhong's eye was the six steel columns that were tilted at an angle to serve as beams. The rest of the structure was built layer by layer with these six steel columns as the core.

The parts connected by the "board" are filled with operation panels and control components consisting of countless circuits and buttons. The overall style is just like the interior of a manned spacecraft shown in the "News Broadcast" - the intricately interwoven circuits and orderly mechanical layout are intertwined, exuding a strong sense of technology.

As everyone knows, Village Chief Ma is by no means mentally challenged. Upon seeing the room's interior, with its overly neat wiring, he instantly realized that what trapped him was not some kind of supernatural means, but a pure product of technology.

Therefore, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "What...what are all these? Are they company stuff?"

Right after he finished speaking, the 'panel' directly opposite him underwent a series of 'pleasing' mechanical transformations, revealing a screen of a suitable size.

Swish!
After the screen finished changing, it suddenly lit up.

Then, a burst of colorful, flashing 'fireworks' exploded in the center of the screen, and an icon labeled [L·tark] with a humorous little Emiya figure slowly appeared, just like the process of a computer booting up.

It's worth mentioning that although Ma Xianhong is an "extraordinary craftsman," he also grew up playing video games in a sense, so he's naturally not surprised by the content on the screen.

However, he never saw what happened next.

As the 'boot-up' screen finished playing, a face with closed eyes appeared in the center of the screen.

As the 'viewpoint' zoomed out, the 'person' was fully revealed—Lei Jun. Yes, the person on the screen, judging from his appearance, is exactly like that well-known 'entrepreneur' from Xiaomi.

Ma Xianhong... Although this village chief of Biyou Village has set up his influence in remote mountainous areas, he still surfs the internet and buys mobile phones regularly.

So, the moment he saw this image, his face began to twitch violently, and a low growl from ancient times began to emanate from his throat…

But in reality, he didn't say anything. The unusual low growl in his throat sounded as if something was choking him, perhaps because a mouthful of saliva was stuck in his throat?

Just then, Lei Jun on the screen spoke in a thick Xiantao accent.

“Mr. Ma Xianhong, please don’t be too nervous. Our outpost has sufficient defense capabilities, and your safety will be guaranteed.”

Upon hearing the other party's words, Ma Xianhong's forehead veins bulged for some reason, and he asked in a highly disbelieving tone, "Huh? So, the person who used this thing to control me is... Lei Jun? Hmm? You?"

The 'Lei Jun' on the screen immediately made a negative gesture and said, "No, I need to remind you that this is just a simulated image taken from the internet."

"It seems you're not entirely satisfied with my initial image. If you require it, I have other alternative images."

As if by some strange twist of fate, Ma Xianhong asked after hearing this, "...What other images are there?"

Lei Jun grinned, revealing eight teeth, and said, "Currently, the 'People's Entrepreneur' images I've downloaded include Ren Fei and Cao Wang. If you're interested, I also have images of beautiful female celebrities, such as Fu Er, Yang Zhen, Yi Jing, and Yang Li."

"Of course, if you have unique preferences, I can also converse with you in the guise of male characters such as Jiang Fu, Ding Zhen, Lu, and Sun Lei."

"So, what you want is..."

Upon hearing the other person's words, Ma Xianhong felt his head throbbing as if it were in a knot, and interrupted, "Ahem, never mind... no need to change it."

"What I want to know now is, what exactly do you want to do by trapping me here? Are you someone who knows everything?" 'Lei Jun' smiled and shook his head, then said, "First of all, I need to tell you that I am not 'human'."

"In terms that you can use more easily, I am an artificial intelligence, or AI."

After saying these two sentences, Lei Jun saw that Ma Xianhong was still thinking, so he didn't say anything more.

When Ma Xianhong looked up again, Lei Jun said, "To make our conversation easier, you can call me Black Wall."

"As for who sent me, I will answer that for you in a moment."

"But it's still in the 'testing' stage, and to save time, I need your cooperation in getting things done."

"Mr. Ma, please remove your useless defensive devices now."

Upon hearing the mannequin's electronic voice, Ma Xianhong smiled disdainfully. Although he still had some doubts, he did as instructed.

The Black Armor, half-shattered, offered little defense, so removing it wouldn't matter. Even if this so-called 'artificial intelligence' was a company conspiracy, it didn't matter; he had already lost the moment the Devouring Beast was defeated.

He wanted to see what this 'Lei Jun' was up to.

To his surprise, after he scattered the beads of the Black Armor on the ground, several mechanical arms descended from the surrounding steel panels, and grooves appeared under his feet to hold him in place.

"Hmph, what are you doing? Trying to humiliate me?"

Upon hearing Ma Xianhong's words, Hei Qiang paused for a moment in a 'humane' manner before replying, "I'm sorry, but the operation we are currently performing is not intended to 'humiliate' you."

"As per your master's orders, in order to assist you in the upcoming battle and for evaluation purposes, we are preparing to equip you with the highest quality... mass-produced [protective artifact]."

"Asking you to remove the [garbage] product is merely to complete the wearing process."

Ma Xianhong wasn't stupid. Although the artificial intelligence in front of him was speaking in a cryptic way, he still understood three things.

First, this 'steel tent' seems to be... part of his group.

Secondly, this 'artificial intelligence' called the Black Armor garbage and said it would get itself a new set of protective magic artifacts.

Third, it seems like I can still play one more match.

Before he could even ask a question, he saw the robotic arm begin to attach the 'equipment' to his body.

In just five or six seconds, most of the components of the "People's Brand" Mark 7 steel armor, which was entirely produced in-house and developed internally, were put on by Ma Xianhong with the help of the robotic arm.

During this time, although Ma Xianhong felt somewhat uncomfortable, he did not choose to resist. Because he could also see that what this so-called 'black wall' was putting him in was definitely not... [torture instruments], or some kind of item used for torture or execution.

When the final step was completed, and Ma Xianhong obediently had the mask of the steel armor fastened to him by the robotic arm, and when the HUD interface lit up alternately in front of him, he was stunned again.

The reason was simple: he seemed to have figured out what kind of thing the robotic arm had put on him.

In particular, when he looked ahead, he discovered that the screen had unknowingly turned into a mirror, reflecting his current 'appearance'.

Seeing Ma Xianhong standing there dumbfounded, 'Black Wall' explained, "Mr. Ma Xianhong, my master [Liu Ke] asked me to give you a hint..."

-

Ta. Ta. Ta.
The workshop where Ma Xianhong repaired furnaces in Biyou Village was about ten steps above the ground.

After finishing his conversation with Zhang Chulan, Liu Ke slowly left the room and walked down the steps.

His sneakers were extremely lightweight, but in this quiet moment when you could hear your own breathing, the sound of his footsteps, even from dozens of meters away, was incredibly clear to everyone in the group.

Liu Ke himself noticed that after he appeared, everyone present looked at him in a very cooperative manner.

However, it doesn't matter. This is what he wanted anyway, and he was supposed to say a few words anyway.

But before that...
"One minute is a bit slow. Let's reduce the projection calibration time of [Veronica Modified] to thirty seconds. Otherwise, it will be too late in an emergency."

"Yes, Master, the relevant records have been prepared and feedback has been provided. According to calculations, under standard conditions, if it is set to [thirty seconds], there is still room for further improvement, but the stability will be reduced accordingly."

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now."

After briefly explaining things to the black wall in his mind, Liu Ke looked at the scattered temporary workers.

He cleared his throat, tested his voice, and finding that his volume wasn't loud enough, he took a deep breath, raised his voice, and said loudly, "Gentlemen, let's all..."

At this point, he glanced at Bear Grylls and Xia Liuqing, then corrected himself, saying, "Oh, sorry, to correct you, we've met most of the time."

“I know why you’re here. And some of you already know what I want to do.”

"Then I'll make a decision first: I think Ma Xianhong and his Biyou Village are quite good. Since that's the case, I've decided to help him out."

"To put it more bluntly, didn't the board of directors tell you to destroy Biyou Village? Fine, you and Lao Ma continue fighting. Whoever wins the second half, the village will be under their control."

(End of this chapter)