In the apocalypse, I hoarded goods and handed over my storage space to the government.

Kunlun Base, three underground levels, Hangar No. 0.

Dozens of academicians in white coats gathered in the center of the hangar.

Any one of them would be a figure who occupies half a page in the Great Xia textbook.

But at this moment, all the old professors held their breath, their eyes burning as they stared intently at the enormous thing in front of them.

Lu Yuan stood in front of the main control panel, his eyes behind the AR glasses bloodshot.

He hadn't slept for thirty-six hours.

"Mr. Lu, all parameters have been calibrated. We can begin the wake-up process."

A senior researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences strode over, his tone respectful.

Lu Yuan ignored the pleasantries and typed a series of commands on the virtual keyboard.

"Full power wake-up!"

hum!

With a deep and textured mechanical roar, the once silent hangar was instantly illuminated.

In the center of the hangar stood a six-meter-tall steel giant, its armor gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen.

It is no longer the bare skeleton it once was, but covered with layers of composite armor, exuding the oppressive atmosphere of the ultimate industrial civilization.

"This is... 'Cheng Ying'?"

Academician Wei Jianguo gripped the railing tightly, his voice trembling.

On the back of the mecha, ten second-order crystal cores are embedded in the energy furnace in a ring array.

At that moment, the crystal core simultaneously lit up with a faint blue light, and energy instantly flowed throughout the body via the translucent conduction channels.

"Code name 'Chengying', the first crystal-powered all-terrain tactical mech of the Great Xia Dynasty."

Lu Yuan turned around, his voice hoarse and slightly cracked, but it carried an undeniable pride.

"It stands 6 meters tall and weighs 18 tons. It uses a 'crystal fusion array' as its core drive."

Weapon system: The right arm is equipped with a man-portable electromagnetic railgun with a muzzle velocity of up to Mach 6;

The left arm is equipped with a three-meter-long high-frequency oscillating combat knife, which vibrates at a frequency of 30,000 times per second.

Shoulder-mounted six-barreled electromagnetic railgun, firing at a rate of 6,000 rounds per minute, unleashing pure energy.

He pointed to the mecha's broad chest area.

"At its core is the neural interaction system. It enables zero-latency synchronization between the pilot and the mech."

"Tap, tap, tap."

Jinlong strode over, dressed in a tight-fitting black neuro-sensing suit.

He saluted the group of academicians, his eyes burning with fervor as he stared at the mecha below.

"Report! Special Forces Captain Jin Long is ordered to be the first test pilot and requests permission to board the aircraft for a test drive!"

His eyes now lacked their usual composure, replaced only by the fervor of a warrior.

For a soldier, a tank is a man's romance, but this mech is a man's life!

Jinlong stepped into the elevator and entered the futuristic, fully enclosed cockpit.

"laugh!"

The hatch slowly closed with a reassuring click.

"Neural connection initiated, synchronization rate loading..."

On the large screen of the main control panel, the data stream was jumping wildly.

10%...45%...82%...

"The synchronization rate has stalled at 88%!"

Lu Yuan stared at the screen, his brows furrowed slightly. "Team Leader Jin, take a deep breath, don't resist the system's neural connection!"

The numbers continue to climb.

It stopped at an astonishing 96 percent.

"A 96% synchronization rate!"

Wu Jiayong stepped in front of the screen.

"This response speed has overcome the latency barrier of mechanical control; it's completely as if you're controlling your own arm!"

Inside the cockpit, Jinlong felt countless subtle electrical signals traveling up his spine to his brain.

In that instant, he felt his body disappear.

Instead, there was a heavy, cold, and destructive steel body.

"roar!"

Jinlong let out a low growl instinctively.

Inside the underground hangar, the still steel giant suddenly opened its eyes, its blood-red electronic eyes flashing brightly.

Bang!

The mecha took a step forward, its eighteen-ton body landing on the special steel plate ground, stirring up a ring of fine dust.

"It moved! It really moved!" an elderly academician exclaimed.

Despite its enormous size, its movements were not at all bulky or sluggish!

Jinlong swung his right arm in the cockpit, and the mech simultaneously made a perfect hook punch. The fist sliced ​​through the air, creating a sharp sonic boom.

"All departments, record the data!" Chief Engineer Wu shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Hydraulic feedback is normal!"

"Energy conduction efficiency of 97.2%, perfect!"

"The driver's heart rate is rapidly increasing, already exceeding 150!"

In the scene, the tactical mech slowly draws out its massive high-frequency vibration blade from behind.

hum!

The moment the blade is activated, the surrounding air is visibly distorted due to high-frequency vibration, producing a buzzing sound that tickles the eardrums.

Jinlong piloted the mecha, slicing horizontally across a homogeneous tank target plate half a meter thick in front of him.

laugh!

There was no loud impact as expected.

That cut was like slicing into a piece of warm butter; the thick steel plate was severed in two in an instant.

"Oh My God……"

A collective gasp filled the hangar.

This destructive power would be absolutely unilateral slaughter against second- or even third-tier mutated beasts.

The test continues.

At the edge of the field, several homogeneous armored steel plates, each ten centimeters thick, were pushed onto the track by heavy machinery and lined up in a row.

"Team Leader Jin, shut down the weapon systems."

Lu Yuan spoke into the microphone, "Now, let's test the destructive power of a conventional physical impact!"

"clear!"

"Chengying" slightly bent her legs, and the crystal array was running at full power.

The mecha stomped its right foot heavily on the ground, leaving a spiderweb-like crack in the concrete floor.

Its massive body, propelled by the recoil, unleashed an initial speed like a sports car, hurtling straight toward the armored steel plate in front.

As it approached its target, the mech pulled its right arm back, and using the momentum of its charge, its iron fist, forged from special alloy, slammed out without any fancy moves.

There are no tricks involved.

Purely a violent outburst.

"Clang! Boom!"

A deafening roar echoed through the underground space.

The ten-centimeter-thick armor plate dented in the center, and then the edges were torn off.

The audience was silent.

The elderly academicians gaped, forgetting to breathe.

Wei Jianguo swallowed hard and turned to look at his assistant:

"Based on the combat data from Kunlun Base, what is the defensive limit of a typical Tier 2 Strength-type mutant beast?"

The assistant rummaged through the tablet and replied, "It's roughly equivalent to a five-centimeter homogeneous steel plate."

Wei Jianguo stared at the large hole and murmured:

"So, even without any weapons, this mech can kill a second-tier mutated beast with a single punch using only its powered ramming ability?"

"The reality is only more brutal than this," Lu Yuan nodded in agreement.

A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted from the observation deck.

"Good! Good! Good!"

The military representatives were green with envy, wishing they could take the prototype back to their own theater of operations on the spot.

With this thing, the soldiers on the front lines no longer need to use cannonballs to fire at those high-level behemoths.

Humanity has finally acquired the ultimate weapon to take on monsters one-on-one.