World of Steel, Floating Cities

The carriage pressed steadily onward and soon arrived at Tianrao City's Transport Hall — a massive white structure that dominated the surrounding area.

The carriage stopped. Lu Yuan, Amy, and Wang Lingling stepped down.

A single glance was enough to take in the scale of the crowd. The area outside the hall was packed beyond measure, a sea of people stretching in every direction.

From his prior research on Tianrao City, Lu Yuan already knew that the Transport Hall contained four anchor points: one leading to White Cloud City, the grand central metropolis of White Cloud Continent; and three others connected to Lion City, Red Maple City, and Luoyue City. Luoyue City was an allied city of Tianrao City. The other two destinations represented the Lion Empire and the nearby Red Maple Empire. Using any anchor came at a cost, naturally.

Wang Lingling led them along the side of the main entrance, through a VIP passage flanked by Tianrao guards, bypassing the crowd entirely.

Not far in, they arrived at a large room. The walls here were gray — different from the pristine white of the VIP suite they had used on a previous occasion. More than twenty young women waited along the sides, and at the center of the room stood a circular zone spanning over twenty meters across, its floor covered in intricate carved patterns.

*A transport array.*

The young women all came forward the moment Lu Yuan's group entered.

"Young Miss, you've arrived."

"Young Miss, I've arranged everything with the VIP transport. Shall we proceed through here?"

Lu Yuan glanced over the assembled attendants. None of them looked older than their early twenties — young enough that outside the Talent Camp, any one of them would probably be called a genius at a regular Gene Warrior Academy. Their expressions were uniformly composed and respectful. That was no surprise. Only people of standing used VIP transport arrays.

He was the only male in the room. Standing between Amy and Wang Lingling while surrounded on all sides by young women, he felt an inexplicable sensation — something like wandering into a kingdom populated exclusively by women.

Amy looked around. "Where are Xixi and the others?"

"Xixi and her group are already inside waiting for us," came the reply.

Before the awkwardness had a chance to fully settle, the runes across the transport array lit up, and a wave of white light swept in from all sides, swallowing everything.

The sensation of the world tilting several times gave way to fading light.

Lu Yuan's vision cleared. His surroundings had changed.

"We're here. Let's move."

Red Maple City's transport terminal. The walls were still gray, the layout broadly similar — but the crowd outside was even larger than Tianrao City's had been.

Wang Lingling explained as they walked: "One of the Aier Mechanical Ruins' entrances lies in the suburbs of Red Maple City. Tianrao City doesn't have its own entrance, so all the First-Rank warriors from our side have to transmit here first. The numbers are higher than usual because of that — it's not normally this crowded."

Amy nodded in understanding.

They left the terminal without stopping and set off immediately. The entrance to the Aier Mechanical Ruins lay roughly ten kilometers southeast of Red Maple City, across an open plain beyond the city walls.

When they reached the entrance area, the scale of the gathering hit like a wall — an unbroken ocean of people stretching to the horizon in every direction.

And above it all, set against a brilliantly clear blue sky, hung a colossal city projection.

"There are so many people!" Amy exclaimed, eyes wide.

Lu Yuan's attention was somewhere else entirely. His head tilted back, gaze fixed on the sky, and something struck and still settled over him.

The projected city was vast beyond easy reckoning. As the image slowly panned and shifted, it revealed more of itself without ever reaching an edge. Steel towers rose in dense formations across the ground level. Between them, flying vehicles wove in ceaseless streams — like bees threading through a hive. Above the steel cities, multiple colossal floating cities loomed in the air, each tethered to the surface below by sky elevators that disappeared into the clouds. The level of technology on display put anything on Great Qi Star firmly in its shadow.

The projection kept moving, kept scrolling — and still no horizon came into view. The world it showed seemed genuinely without end.

Not only Lu Yuan and Amy — every Gene Warrior waiting at the entrance had their eyes lifted toward that image.

"This is the Aier Mechanical Ruins' world projection?" Amy breathed. "It looks incredible."

Wang Lingling stepped into the role of guide with a calm smile and began to explain:

"The world of the Aier Mechanical Ruins is even larger than Great Qi Star. The entire world is composed of machinery — you've already seen the steel cities and floating cities in the projection. The level of technology within far surpasses what humanity has achieved. That said, the mechanical world is far from safe. Mechanical guard units patrol every corner of it, and there are all manner of lethal traps built into the structures. But there are also opportunities — fortuitous discoveries. Those depend on luck." She gestured toward the projection. "The taller the steel tower, the more likely it holds something valuable. And the floating cities contain treasures that are more numerous — and more precious — than anything on the surface."

As she spoke, a tower rose from within the projection — erupting upward from the steel city's skyline, its peak reaching into the clouds.

At the very top of that tower, an impossibly enormous floating city was anchored.

Wang Lingling paused to let the image sink in.

"Do you see that tower? And the floating city at its summit? That is the central district of the entire Aier Mechanical World. The treasures there are the most abundant and the most precious in the entire ruins. If you have the strength, it is absolutely worth exploring."

A wave of noise rose through the crowd. Every warrior gathered at the entrance stared at the massive floating city with the same light in their eyes — the hunger to enter that mechanical world, break into the central district, seize resources, and rise.

Amy's purple eyes blazed with excitement, fixed on the colossal floating city overhead. "We have to go to that central district — it's decided!"

"All right," Wang Lingling said with a smile. "Let's move. Get into position in the transport array."

The group stepped forward together.

Time passed.

Without warning, the projection in the sky erupted — a blinding white radiance engulfed the entire projected field.

Beams of light plummeted from above, dense and countless, raining down across every steel city visible within the image. The white light consumed everything.

In the next breath, every First-Rank Gene Warrior in the gathered crowd had vanished from where they stood.

Only warriors above First-Rank remained.

Wang Lingling stayed where she was, watching the Aier Mechanical Ruins' projection dissolve slowly in the sky overhead. Then she turned and made her way back toward Red Maple City.

*Inside the Aier Mechanical Ruins.*

A pillar of light descended onto the rooftop of a steel high-rise — and then dissolved.

Lu Yuan's form materialized.

He swept his gaze across the surroundings. Steel forest in every direction, stretching without visible limit, radiating a cold that was almost physical. Far above, floating vehicles moved through the air in quiet streams. Far below on the streets, squads of mechanical guards marched in precise formation. And above even those — multiple colossal floating cities loomed, each anchored to the surface below by tremendous sky elevators.

The floating city overhead was larger than any he had ever encountered. Thousands of kilometers across, at any reasonable estimate. Genuinely beyond easy imagination.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

*So this is the Aier Mechanical Ruins. First things first — find Amy.*

He pulled out his Communication Crystal and reached out to her.

Moments later, white light flickered nearby, and Amy's figure materialized.

"Amy, you okay?" he asked.

Amy wrinkled her nose. "You really underestimate me. How could I possibly be in trouble?"

A white arrow had appeared on the Communication Crystal's surface, pointing straight ahead.

Lu Yuan nodded. "Share your location with me — I'll come to you."

"Okay."

Following the arrow, he quickly closed the distance.

Lin Xixi's group had entered before them. When Lu Yuan arrived, he found a cluster of young women assembled amid the steel skyline — and at the edge of the group, Lin Xixi stood with strands of Tianrao Purple Vine trailing behind her. Not far away, a Baro alien — tall, rail-thin, skin a deep purple — lay tangled in the vines, utterly still. The life had already left it.

The Baro were one of the races of White Cloud Continent.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze from the lifeless alien and turned to Amy.

Amy grinned and launched into introductions with her usual cheerful energy, gesturing toward the assembled warriors:

"Lei Feng, take a look! This is my adventure team — every single one of them a First-Rank peak warrior!" She indicated the black-haired young woman at the front. "This is Lin Xixi. She's my deputy team leader."

Lu Yuan nodded toward Lin Xixi. "Deputy Team Leader Lin."

Lin Xixi looked him over carefully, her expression calm and a little appraising. "Miss Amy told me you were quite strong — she even made a personal trip to pick you up. My teammates and I have been curious about what you can do."

"We're in the ruins now," Lu Yuan said, smiling. "You'll see for yourself soon enough."

Interest shifted across Lin Xixi's face. She gave a short nod. "Then I look forward to it."

A beat.

"Though — safety first."

She held him in that measuring gaze a moment longer, then turned away.

Lu Yuan took stock of the team around him. Impressive, by any measure — the oldest among them looked barely past twenty, and every one of them was at First-Rank peak. Outside the Talent Camp, they'd each be called a genius. As adventure teams went, Amy's was genuinely high caliber.

He was short on Spirit Crystals right now. Resources had to be the priority.

He made his preparations, walked to the rooftop access door, and pulled it open.

Beyond it was a staircase descending into the building's interior, each step fitted with interlocking gear-work.

He went down.

The staircase branched before long. One path continued downward; the other ended at a closed room door.

He wasn't about to pass that up. From what he'd read before coming here, any room in these buildings might contain treasure — or mechanical guards, or traps. Either way, worth the look.

He pushed the door open.

The room inside was far larger than it appeared from outside — close to five hundred square meters. At the very center, three blue vials rested quietly on the floor.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and walked over to pick them up.

**Ding!!**

Information surfaced in his mind.

**Spirit Power Gene Fluid (First-Rank):** *Contains abundant Spirit Power. Drinking restores Spirit Power; can also be used to temper genes.*

The Spirit Power held within each vial was roughly equivalent to a hundred First-Rank Spirit Crystals — and it was gentler, easier on the body to absorb.

His mind went to the Moonstone Spirit Essence he'd obtained back in Sandy Rock City. The only real difference was that this was a product of technology rather than a natural treasure. In terms of what it offered, the two were in the same league.

*If this is what the ruins have on offer... I should be able to temper the Seed of Nature gene all the way to completion before I leave.*

He opened one vial and drank it. The Spirit Power swept through him in a smooth surge, and he absorbed it completely within a few breaths — cleaner than raw Spirit Crystals, with none of the usual friction. He was running low, and this was exactly what he needed. Without hesitation, he opened the remaining two and drank them as well.

*Hopefully there's more like this elsewhere.*

He searched the rest of the room. Nothing. He left with some reluctance, channeling the absorbed Spirit Power toward planting the Seed of Nature within himself as he stepped back to the staircase.

He continued downward.

At a corner on the stairs below, a figure appeared — a Kaman in black leather armor, heading up toward him.

Both stopped at the same instant and stared at each other.

*Another tough one?*

A vicious grin spread slowly across the Kaman's stone-gray face. He tightened his grip on the twin short swords at his sides and fixed Lu Yuan with a contemptuous leer.

"Human. Running into me is your bad luck."

White light flared across the Kaman's body. In the space between moments, he blurred into an afterimage and lunged, the movement startlingly fast.

Surprise flashed through Lu Yuan's eyes. *That speed is comparable to a peak First-Rank elite warrior.*

He channeled Crimson Copper Light, a shimmer of deep crimson flowing across his skin — and held still.

Both short swords landed squarely against his neck.

**Clang!**

The blades rang out as though they had struck a steel plate. Neither drew blood. Neither so much as marked the skin.

The grin on the Kaman's face locked in place. His eyes dropped slowly to the swords in his hands, going wide — as if his mind simply refused to accept what his hands were telling him.

Lu Yuan's fist was already in motion.

An immense surge of force rolled outward. The Kaman felt the air shift, felt the weight of something terrifying bearing down — barely caught the blur of shadow before a burst of searing pain erupted in his skull, and then there was nothing at all.

**Ding!!**

Lu Yuan glanced down at the body on the stairs, a faint thread of anticipation in his expression.

The corpse dissolved into white light and disappeared without a trace.

Brief disappointment flickered across his face.

*Dropped nothing.*

He shook his head and kept moving.

The staircase wound all the way down to street level.