Ironclad: How can hand-crafted knight belts not be considered genius?

"let's go!"

Natasha shook her head helplessly at Clara's impatient look.

He stepped forward and carefully inspected the bandage, making sure it was secure and wouldn't come off easily, before softly instructing:

"Slow down, don't push yourself."

The area around the settlement is full of rubble; once a dog is injured a second time, it becomes difficult to raise.

"I understand, Natasha!"

Clara obediently responded and slowly moved from the hospital bed to the ground.

Jiang Ning nodded slightly, took Clara's soft little hand, and turned to leave the clinic.

A cold wind rushed in from outside, instantly dispelling the remaining warmth inside.

The smoke from Panyan Town gradually faded into the distance, and the deeper one went into the ruins, the more violent the surrounding wind and snow became.

The wind howled through the empty ruins, carrying tiny shards of ice.

The three walked together for a long time before the fire, symbolizing the camp's territory, reappeared amidst the dazzling snowstorm.

Clara instantly perked up, and even though she was limping slightly, she couldn't help but look up into the distance:

We've arrived!

Mr. Schwarz has always stayed here, protecting all those without homes and his mech companions.

Here, no one bullies the weak, and no one fights casually.

Welcome, Brother Jiangning, Sister Izzy!

Jiang Ning followed her gaze and understood immediately.

Schwarzko's mechanical settlement is the site of a manned shaft left by the old-era Earth Pioneer Corps, and it is the most unique sanctuary in the entire lower ruins.

The closer you get to the settlement, the clearer the hum of the machinery becomes.

Autonomous mechs began to appear on both sides of the road.

They are bulky and have mottled, rusted exteriors; they are the most common old-fashioned work machines on the lower levels.

The moment Clara came into view, all the patrolling mechs stopped what they were doing.

The gears slowly slowed down, and the previously tense mechanical posture instantly relaxed, as if bowing in greeting.

"Everyone is welcoming us!"

Clara explained with a quiet laugh.

Iz's Humagear module kept flashing, and blue data streams flowed through its eyes as it analyzed the structure and behavior of these mechs.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning looked curiously at Clara's petite figure, his resolve growing stronger.

Over the course of more than a century, the old-fashioned smart machine Schwarz has long since etched the underlying logic of "preservation" deep into the programming of all mechs.

And this lost technology is exactly what Jiangning needs.

Humagears possess an autonomous AI system capable of infinite learning and evolution, embodying freedom, pioneering spirit, and an infinite affinity for humanity.

The more freedom one enjoys, the easier it is to breed prejudice, distortion, and negative aggregation.

What ultimately converges is the deepest shadow of malice—"Ark".

Endless human malice, obsession, regret, and violence will accumulate, ferment, and give birth to catastrophic malicious AI through the data network.

To completely eradicate this problem, simply blocking code or suppressing permissions will never be a fundamental solution.

Only the stability and preservation of "preservation" can become the strongest and most permanent firewall.

Preserve the foundations of civilization in the old era, and lock away the Humagears from heading towards an extreme future.

"Brother Jiang Ning?"

Clara, who was beside him, noticed that he paused slightly and looked up at him in confusion.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking... Mr. Schwarzlo was great."

Jiang Ning snapped out of his thoughts, gently patted her head, and whispered.

"He used the cold, mechanical procedures to preserve the gentlest order in the entire ruins."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Humagear Module next to Izu's ear, which had been silent all along, suddenly began to flash rapidly, as if it was desperately fighting against something.

President Jiang Ning.

A powerful external computing force has been detected scanning. Should we block or remove it?

If you authorize me, I can contact "Zea" to perform a reverse hacking attack.

Seeing Izzy's unusual behavior, Jiang Ning chuckled and glanced at the detached villa with its gate tightly closed.

"Swarovski, your hospitality is a bit too crude."

Perhaps some of your logic modules need optimization and upgrades?

The surrounding air fell silent for a few seconds.

The next second, the heavy, ancient wooden door suddenly opened, and a beam of scarlet computing power shone brightly in the dark house.

The heavy, weathered, and coldly melodious mechanical synthesized sound echoed emptily amidst the wind and snow:

"An unknown visitor has been detected."

The analysis scan failed; another source of computing power interference was detected.

The assessment result: Danger level—extremely high.

As soon as he finished speaking, a massive, imposing mechanical body emerged from the house and stood silently on the steps.

The mottled, heavy alloy shell is covered with the marks of time, and crisscrossing old pipes run through its body. The scarlet core at the head of the shell flashes with a dangerous light.

This is the last Omnic left behind by Belloberg hundreds of years ago—Swarovski.

The moment the red light from the head scanned the wound on Clara's foot, the computing core in Schwarz's head experienced a momentary, uncontrollable disruption.

It looked down at Jiang Ning and the other person approaching from its high position, its cold, mechanical eyes surveying them, and slowly raised its mechanical hand cannon.

"Warning—Get out of Clara's sights!"

Its mechanical cannon barrel slowly charged, the high-pressure pipes vibrating and emitting a deadly glint.

The patrolling mechs that had been obediently saluting around them instantly changed color, their eyes glowing a uniform crimson, their gears snapping together violently, and they all turned around, silently blocking Jiang Ning and Izzy in the middle of the passage.

The entire mechanical settlement instantly transformed from a gentle haven into a state of grim readiness for war.

"Mr. Schwarzlo! No!"

Clara was startled by this sudden turn of events. She quickly pushed aside the group of mechs and limped to Swallow's side, desperately trying to stop him with her slender arms outstretched.

"Mr. Schwarz, they are not bad people!"

Jiang Ning and the others saved me! They meant no harm! Please don't hurt them!

The little girl's slender figure stood in front of the massive ancient machine, her eyes reddening with anxiety, and her voice choked with sobs.

Schwarzlo paused for a moment, then raised his other hand and gently rubbed Clara's head.

"Clara, step back."

This matter is too complicated for you to handle.

Schwarzroth's highest priority program remains firmly locked onto Jiang Ning and Iz, the two "external threats".

For centuries, he has been rooted in the lower wastelands, resisting the invasion of rift creatures, driving away plundering refugees, and filtering out all external anomalies.

Jiang Ning and Iz were things he had never been able to analyze in the past century.

It's like a programmer who's been closely monitoring a program suddenly getting two unknown "bugs" popping up.

"Clearing" is naturally the first option.

"Leave," or be "eliminated"?

The heavy, cold mechanical voice exuded undeniable authority. This "merciful" underground "mechanical king" refused to talk and offered Jiang Ning a choice.

So... what will Jiang Ning's choice be?

"...It's all messed up."

Jiang Ning sneered, and the Zero One Driver was summoned with a flick of his wrist, then casually fastened to his waist.

The instant the consciousness synchronized with "Zea", a massive amount of computing power surged towards the surrounding machinery like a tsunami, causing all the mechs except for Schwarz to be temporarily paralyzed.

"Is the gear in your head rusted, so you can't even tell good from bad anymore?"

You want to fight, huh?

"Then I'll play along, you lumpy iron."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Ning pressed down hard on the top of the green key with his fingertip.

"Jump!"

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