An abstract trainer who taught Charmander the Incinerate move

Chapter 222 Gender & Armed Helicopter (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Upon hearing Luca's request, an unprecedented solemnity appeared on Lao Da's metallic face.

The four propeller blades behind him unconsciously slowed their rotation speed, emitting a deep and solemn hum.

"Man, listen up. If you want to master Armament Haki, then you must first awaken your Machine Soul!"

"Machine Soul Awakening?!"

Luca's ears perked up, his blue pupils filled with utter bewilderment and confusion.

Machine Soul? What is that? Is it energy that exists within the body like aura power? Or is it an innate talent like a special ability?

Having served as a security guard at the Suanmu Farm for ten years and having roamed the Grand Line ever since, it was completely unable to comprehend this unimaginable term.

Seeing Luca's wise look that said, "I don't understand," Lao Da wasn't surprised.

"Just like me, if you can't awaken the dormant machine spirit within you, you can never become a true motorcycle warrior, never truly unleash the power of this steel body, and never be able to imbue your attacks with Armament Haki!"

"Only by awakening your machine spirit can you truly understand what 'steel' is, and truly become one of us—a glorious warrior of the motorcycle tribe!"

A true motorcycle warrior!

This powerful and glorious title instantly ignited Luca's passion!

It seemed as if it could already see itself covered in jet-black, shimmering Armament Haki, and with one swipe of its claw, all the Logia-type elemental beings and sand crocodiles would have to kneel down!

It immediately pressed on excitedly, its voice trembling slightly with longing.

"That's huge! How can I awaken my machine spirit and become a true motorcycle warrior?!"

Lao Da pondered for a moment, as if searching a vast database.

Finally, he raised his head, his eyes revealing unwavering determination, and slowly spoke.

"Man! To awaken our machine spirit, we must seek the help of the [Motorcycle King]! Only he can guide us, the motorcycle race, to find our true selves!"

Machine King!
The name struck Luca's heart like a heavy hammer, causing it to shudder involuntarily!
Although I've never heard of it before, the title alone exudes an unparalleled domineering aura of commanding thousands of steel and dominating the torrent of machinery!
This person is no ordinary being! He is absolutely a being who stands above all living beings!
"Yes, Machine King!"

Lao Da nodded heavily and pointed in one direction of the canyon.

"He's currently in the City of Time, the holy land of us motorcycle enthusiasts! Come on, Luca, I'll take you to see him right now!"

The thought of his mysterious machine spirit about to awaken and gain the power to contend with nature-type beings made Luca instantly forget the crisis on the desert battlefield. He was so excited that his tail was trembling slightly!

"Really? Let's get going!"

It can't wait to meet the legendary machine king and uncover the final mystery of its origins!
However, just as Luca and Laoda burst out of the magnificent but somewhat dilapidated metal gate of the Energy City and walked not far along a deep canyon,

"Hahahahaha—!!! Tornado! I've finally caught you! Today is your death day!"

A burst of wild, arrogant laughter, accompanied by intense electromagnetic noise, suddenly exploded from above the canyon like thunder!
Luca was startled and looked up abruptly!
On the rugged cliffs on both sides of the canyon, countless figures had appeared without anyone noticing!

The leading mechanical monster was extremely large and powerful, nearly twice the height of the other similar creatures next to it!
Its main body has a cold and heavy dark gold color. Below its huge body are four thick steel legs like giant spiders, which are deeply carved into the rock wall and are as stable as mountains!
What's most terrifying are its incredibly huge silver steel claws on both sides of its body!

The steel claws gleamed with a dangerous, cold light, their tips incredibly sharp, as if they could tear even the toughest armor to shreds with a single swipe!
Its face was covered with heavy armor, and a pair of scarlet optical eyes flashed with a cruel and tyrannical light, locked on Laoda and Luca below!
Behind this terrifying golden behemoth was an army of dozens of similar-looking but slightly smaller, jet-black mechanical spiders!
Like a pack of wolves waiting to hunt, they stood silently on the edge of the cliff, forming a desperate encirclement!
The immense pressure, like a tangible tsunami, crashed down from above the canyon!

Luca felt a sudden tightness in its chest as its keen waveguide power began to issue a frantic warning.

The golden behemoth before it possessed an energy level and a level of danger far exceeding any enemy it had ever encountered before!
It felt even more solid and ferocious than that sand crocodile!
This guy... has terrifying strength of at least level 60!
"Fuck, this is terrible!"

The giant tornado instantly recognized the newcomer, and its propellers suddenly accelerated due to tension, emitting a sharp whistling sound!
"This guy is Mechatronics, the top henchman of the Wild Gorilla! We've fallen into their ambush!"

His voice trembled slightly, clearly indicating that he was well aware of how terrifying the other party was.

"Tornado! You managed to escape from Energy City last time, but let's see who comes to your rescue this time!"

The Megalodon's roar, a sound that blended with the friction of metal, reverberated throughout the canyon.

"Crush them for me!"

"Luca! Run!"

Lao Da shoved Luca backward, his eyes flashing with a resolute will to die.

"Keep going straight ahead along this canyon and you'll reach the City of Time! Go find the Machine King! I'll hold them off!"

His massive steel body stood firmly in front of Luca, facing the giant golden beast above, which was as large as a mountain. The four propeller blades on his back spun wildly to the extreme, stirring up clouds of dust!
"Man! What can I say?! Lightning Whirlwind Slash!!!"

Lao Da let out a roar that came from the depths of his soul. He perfectly combined the kinetic energy of the helicopter form with the power of the motorcycle warriors. The entire machine transformed into a huge orange-blue lightning tornado and soared into the sky!

That ultimate impact, embodying the Mamba Mentality and an iron will, crashed fiercely towards the giant golden beast on the cliff!

"Hmph! A little trick!"

A hint of extreme contempt and disdain flashed in the Megalodon's scarlet electronic eyes.

"Before absolute power, all is in vain! Aurora - Comet Fist!!!"

Its enormous silver steel claws suddenly erupted with a blinding light that was impossible to look at directly!

Countless cold starlight points converged wildly on it, compressing into a comet phantom containing destructive energy!

Immediately afterwards, its massive body displayed a terrifying speed completely disproportionate to its size. Its huge steel claws tore through the air, carrying an overbearing kinetic energy capable of crushing everything, and head-on clashed with the massive lightning whirlwind slash!

boom--! ! !
The orange-blue electric tornado and the silver-white comet fist collided violently like two meteors!

A terrifying energy shockwave exploded instantly, and the visible shockwave spread wildly in all directions like a tsunami, causing countless pieces of rock to fall from the rock walls on both sides of the canyon!

However, the standoff lasted for less than a second!
Click——!
A heartbreaking metallic cracking sound rang out clearly!

The lightning tornado that Lao Da had transformed into collapsed instantly, as if it had crashed into an unshakeable steel barrier!
He was sent flying back by that irresistible, terrifying force at an even faster speed than when he went there!

"Lock big!!!"

Luca, with tears in his eyes, had barely run back ten meters as instructed when he was horrified to see that familiar figure, streaked with lightning and sparks, fly past him like a baseball hit at a home run.

Then, with a loud "boom," it slammed heavily onto the road not far in front of it, even faster than it was running!

Defeated?! The difference in strength is so enormous?! Even Lao Da's all-out, self-sacrificing attack couldn't stop the opponent for even a moment?!

Luca's heart sank to the bottom in an instant, overwhelmed by boundless despair.

The Megalodon retracted its giant claws, which were emitting blue smoke, and its scarlet electronic eyes swept over the Luca below, a thought rising in its mind.

Huh?! This guy... isn't he Blue Poison Beast, one of the Blazing Tiger King's subordinates? How did he end up hanging out with Tornado from the Motorbike Tribe? There's definitely something fishy going on here... I'll have to catch him and interrogate him properly later!
Its massive body sank slightly, its four steel legs poised to pounce and crush the prisoner into scrap metal!
At this critical moment——

"Mega-Golden Beast! Take this!"

A deep, resonant roar, like the long wail of a siren, echoed from one side of the canyon!
"A shocking event—the devastating wave of destruction!!"

With that roar, a bright blue figure burst out from the side like a high-pressure water cannon!

That was a blue, sleek, police car-like motorcycle warrior—Vanguard!
His arms transformed into massive turbochargers that spun wildly, drawing upon the surrounding water energy. The two halberds in his hands transformed into a surging, roaring torrent of steel, charging fiercely towards the giant golden beast!

Almost at the same time, a roar filled with burning fighting spirit rang out from the other side!

"Thunder - Crescent Slash!!" A fiery red figure charged in like a burning meteor!
That's the motorcycle warrior in racing form—Thunderbolt!

The Guan Dao in its hand gathered violent fiery energy, forming an incomparably scorching crescent of fire that seemed capable of tearing the sky apart. With the force of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, it slashed at the giant golden beast in half!
Water and fire, two completely opposite energy properties, have now achieved a perfect tacit understanding in their will to fight against a common enemy!

The raging waves and the blazing crescent moon did not cancel each other out; instead, they cleverly intertwined to form a destructive energy whirlwind of red and blue, ice and fire, which temporarily engulfed the massive body of the Megalodon and held it in place!

"What?! What are you two doing here?!"

The Megalodon roared in surprise and rage from the center of the energy vortex, clearly not expecting these two troublesome opponents to suddenly appear.

Taking advantage of this precious break, the urgent voice of a human boy rang out.

"Tornado! Are you alright?!"

A boy nimbly leaped out from behind a rock not far away and quickly ran towards the prison cell in the deep pit, which was sparking with electricity.

The young man looked young, but his brows revealed a composure and sharpness far beyond his years, and his eyes were as bright as stars, as if he could see through all the opportunities in battle.

Most strikingly, he was completely naked from the waist up, and in his hand, he was tightly gripping a thick, long divine sword!

The divine sword has a majestic and imposing design, with two perfectly round energy amethyst crystals inlaid on either side of the hilt, releasing boundless domineering power!
Luca's aura trembled violently the moment the sword appeared!
Its eyes widened, its mind trembled, and it cried out in horror.

What?! He's the Machine King?! The Ultimate Wave Sword in his hand... its energy reaction is more than ten times stronger than the one I got from GSD! Just one glance and my body started reacting; its power... is probably not to be underestimated!
"Naked!"

The giant tornado in the pit struggled to lift its head, and upon seeing the boy, its voice was filled with surprise.

"What are you doing here? We were just on our way to the City of Time to look for you, and we never expected to run into you here!"

The man known as the Naked Machine King spoke very quickly and with a solemn expression.

"I'm on my way to Energy City to inform you! I just received urgent intelligence that one of the Beast Clan's War Kings, the [Blazing Tiger King], has personally led a large army straight to Energy City! The situation is extremely critical! I didn't expect to sense your ambush by the Megalodon on the way!"

"What?! The Blazing Tiger King is personally leading the team?!"

Upon hearing this, Lao Da's fuselage shuddered violently, and even the electrical sparks became more rapid.

But he forced himself to calm down and suddenly pointed the robotic arm at Luca, who was staring in disbelief.

"Naked! I understand the situation! But we'll talk about that later! Please help this brother first! It possesses the noble bloodline of our motorcycle clan, please guide it and awaken its motorcycle spirit!"

Upon hearing this, Machine King's sharp gaze immediately turned to Luca, scrutinizing it from head to toe like a scanner.

A strange look quickly appeared in his eyes, as if he were pondering something.

A moment later, Naked spoke, but his question caught Luca off guard.

"Luca, before you awaken your machine spirit, I must ask you a question—do you know your true gender?"

"Sex...gender?"

Luca was completely bewildered by this abrupt and philosophical question, his dog face showing utter confusion.

It subconsciously recalled: the Red Dragon General was male, and Master GSD sounded male, so it must be male too...

So it answered somewhat uncertainly.

"Grandpa...is it?"

Naked shook her head in surprise, but said with certainty.

"wrong!"

"wrong?!"

Luca gasped, as if some fundamental aspect of his understanding had been shaken. Could it be...?

"Could it be... that I'm female?!"

Naked sighed again, saying in a tone that implied "you're still too young."

"Still not right! Luca, it seems you're too bound by the constraints of carbon-based life forms! As a member of the soon-to-awaken Motorbike Tribe, your gender is far more free than you imagine! It cannot be defined by a simple binary of male and female!"

Luca was completely bewildered; his brain was completely overloaded.

"No...not male...not female? Then...what is it?"

Naked didn't explain further, but slowly raised the majestic and imposing "Ultimate Wave Sword" in his hand, his expression solemn.

"Next, I will use this energy stick to inject my [Machine King Energy] into your body! This energy will help you break through the illusion of flesh and blood, recognize your true gender, and awaken your dormant machine soul! Luca, are you ready to awaken?"

Although he didn't understand it at all, Luca felt the solemnity and power in Naked Words.

It immediately straightened its back, raised one paw to its forehead, made what it considered the most standard military salute, and roared in respect.

"Always be prepared!!!"

"it is good!"

A glint of light flashed in his naked eyes, and he no longer hesitated.

He gripped the Energy Light Rod tightly with both hands, and the energy amethysts embedded on the bottom left and right sides of the rod instantly burst out with a dazzling light like the sun!

"Motorcycle Power - Strike!"

Buzz - boom! ! !

A massive, white energy torrent, composed entirely of data streams and steely will, suddenly erupted from the top of the Energy Divine Light Rod, instantly connecting Naked and Luca like a bridge across time and space!
The immense power of the machine surged into Luca's body like a floodgate opening!

"Ooh o ...

Luca felt that every cell, every waveguide, and every wisp of consciousness was being frantically cleansed, reconstructed, and sublimated by this external energy!
Its body, washed by the pure white energy beam, emitted a roar that was a mixture of meaningless pain and pleasure!

Its consciousness seemed to be extracted from its body and ascended to a strange space—the motorcycle space!
Here, there are no physical constraints, only the most primal mechanical resonance!
Just then, a deafening roar of propellers came from afar, clearly penetrating the deepest recesses of its consciousness!

Boom boom boom——!!!
In the center of this space, an armed helicopter was slowly landing, its cold rotors stirring up endless storms!
At that moment, Luca had a sudden inspiration, and all his past confusion instantly became clear!
The massive helicopter shape, the call of the energy city, the resonance with steel within his body... all the clues finally connected to form the complete answer!
It saw it clearly!

I have seen the true form of my soul!
That has nothing to do with male or female; it transcends the understanding of carbon-based life forms and belongs to a higher level of life—the way of multiple genders!

My gender is... an attack helicopter!!!

An unprecedented power erupted from the deepest part of Luca's soul!

In the world of Beast Machines, Luca's body, with its eyes closed, suddenly erupted with a soaring deep blue light!

A terrifying aura, filled with the roar of metal and the rumble of propellers, erupted from its center, like a primordial beast awakening!
The boulders in the canyon trembled under this imposing force!

At this moment, Luca finally awakened the machine spirit that had been dormant within him for so long. It broke free from the shackles of flesh and blood and became a true—motorcycle warrior!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Are there any monthly passes left?
(End of this chapter)