Murderous Intent, The Ten-Thousand-Meter Tower

Somewhere in the iron city.

Barton stared at the image projected from his Communication Crystal.

When he saw Black Bear No. 1 pass through the barrier and enter the Central Floating City, his eyes narrowed sharply, his face flooding with shock and fury.

He crushed the Communication Crystal in his grip, his expression twisting into something savage and cold.

"Bastards! They actually made it into the Central Floating City! There was clearly a barrier outside — how in the hell did they pull that off?! Damn it all!!"

He swept his battle-axe in a wide arc. The blood-red blade energy cleaved a crack more than ten meters long into the metal building beside him.

Just thinking about it made his blood boil — four hours left before the Central Tower would open, and in those four hours, Lu Yuan and the other two were already inside collecting resources. The rage inside him refused to settle.

At that moment, the Communication Crystal flashed white.

"Hm?"

Barton accepted the call. Bai Lin's handsome face materialized inside the crystal.

The instant Barton saw him, a mocking smirk curved his lips.

"Heh heh heh — if it isn't the noble young lord Bai Lin himself. What could possibly bring you to contact an ugly Green Demon like me?"

Bai Lin's expression remained cool and detached.

"Barton. Skip the theatrics. You've already received the news — the Night King followed that vessel into the Central Floating City."

The smirk on Barton's face stiffened, then slowly faded.

"And what of it? What are you trying to say?"

Bai Lin spoke in his usual measured tone.

"You should also know — given the Night King's strength, she could explore most of the outer towers in four hours. By the time we get in, we'll be left picking at bones."

"Hmph..."

An ugly look crossed Barton's face. "You contacted me just to remind me of something I already know? I'm not an idiot. I don't need it spelled out."

"I contacted you because I want to cooperate," Bai Lin said simply.

"Cooperate?"

Barton blinked. Even those cold, brutal eyes held a flicker of genuine surprise.

He stared at Bai Lin as though he'd just heard the punchline to a ridiculous joke.

"Ha ha ha ha!! The noble Lord Bai Lin wants to cooperate with a Green Demon?! Are you serious? All right, I'll admit — that's actually pretty funny."

Bai Lin's face showed not the slightest reaction to the mockery.

"I don't joke," he said.

Barton's laughter gradually died away.

His expression turned serious. The two men studied each other across the crystal, and silence settled over the exchange.

After a long moment, Barton finally spoke.

"What kind of cooperation?"

"Once the Central Tower opens and we've boarded the Central Floating City, we join forces to hunt down the Night King and those two humans."

Barton's brow furrowed.

"Then what?"

"Kill them," Bai Lin said.

Barton let out a short, contemptuous laugh.

"Bai Lin, have you lost your mind? Surely you don't think they have no Departure Crystals?"

Bai Lin met his gaze steadily.

"That I can handle. The real question is how to ensure the kill — otherwise they slip away."

Barton's frown deepened. He looked Bai Lin over carefully.

"You have something that can block a Departure? Lucky you."

Departure Crystals were rare enough — but items capable of interfering with one were several times more precious still.

Bai Lin didn't answer. He simply watched Barton.

"All you need to tell me is whether you're in."

Barton chuckled.

"What if they're already long gone in that vessel by the time we board?"

Bai Lin was quiet for a moment.

"If we can't find them, the deal is off."

A sharp, feral grin spread across Barton's face.

"In that case — looking forward to working together."

A cold glint passed through Bai Lin's eyes.

"Likewise."

In the outer ring of the Central Floating City stood the tallest building in the district — a ten-thousand-meter tower. Before it stretched a vast plaza, and beyond the plaza ran a street a hundred meters wide.

Black Bear No. 1 descended slowly from the air, coming to a stop twenty meters above the street.

The hatch hissed open. Lu Yuan, Amy, and Yeye dropped down one by one, landing on the ground below.

All three turned their gaze toward the plaza.

Hundreds of Mechanical Guardians were stationed across it.

The standard units stood three meters tall, clad in deep black metal plating. Squad leaders were four meters. Two guardians reached five meters in height.

At the gate stood a ten-meter Mechanical Guardian flanked by four five-meter Mechanical Hounds.

Surprise flickered across Amy's face.

"Even the regular patrol units are Second-rank Boss Grade, and the squad captains are Second-rank Chief Grade. The two commanding Mechanical Guardians are mid-tier Lord Grade. And the gatekeeper is Peak Lord Grade — with four High Lord Grade Mechanical Hounds? This deployment is absurd. The five-hundred-meter towers only had two Second-rank Boss Grade guards at their doors."

Yeye's expression was tranquil.

"This is the tallest building in the outer ring. Only King Grade talents and above are supposed to enter."

Lu Yuan smiled.

"Then let's pick a fight and see what happens."

"Speaking of which — you swindler! When are you giving me back my Gene Armaments?!"

Amy's eyes went wide as she stared at the armor on Lu Yuan's body and the staff in his hand.

Those were *hers.*

Lu Yuan only then realized he was still wearing Amy's Gene Armaments.

He cleared his throat.

"I got a bit used to them, if I'm honest. They're quite comfortable. Returning them now."

He pressed the Gene Armament imprints out of his Gene Chain, condensing them into orbs of light and handing them back to Amy.

Amy absorbed them, and silver armor and staff shimmered into existence around her.

Gene Armaments, once bonded to a Gene Chain, automatically adjusted to fit the wearer's physique — perfectly tailored whether worn by Lu Yuan or Amy. There was genuinely no difference in fit either way.

Amy rolled her shoulders and gave her staff a few practice swings. A small smile tugged at her lips.

Lu Yuan put on his own Gene Armaments.

Black-and-gold battle armor. A black-and-gold greatsword.

These too were Second-rank Lord Grade — salvaged from one of the Lord Grade vessels they'd brought down.

The Type SS7 Combat Armor (Second-rank 60%) and the Type LS7 Mechanical Greatsword (Second-rank 80%).

Two Lord Grade Gene Armaments, and their combined effect was staggering. His capabilities across every dimension had more than doubled.

Add the Shooting Star Insignia he'd acquired previously, and he now had three Second-rank Lord Grade Gene Armaments active simultaneously.

He did have a few more armaments that could theoretically suit him, but his body and Gene Chain weren't strong enough yet to support any additional load.

Still, three was nothing to dismiss. Lord Grade Feral Beasts were uncommon enough in the outside world, and Lord Grade Gene Armaments rarer still. Only the sheer concentration of Lord Grade Mechanical Guardians inside the Aier Mechanical Ruins made this kind of haul possible at all.

It was exactly why every First-rank Gene Warrior made the journey here. The resources were simply incomparable.

With his armaments fully active, Lu Yuan grinned.

"I'll go in first and clear the plaza."

Amy and Yeye both nodded.

Lu Yuan charged straight into the plaza. Every Mechanical Guardian in range turned immediately toward the intruder, spirit energy surging as they collectively marked him hostile and prepared to attack.

In that same instant, his eyes flashed — Mechanical Control activated.

Without Amy's Gene Armaments bolstering his Mental Power, his reach had dropped considerably. The mid-tier Lord Grade guardians were beyond his grasp now.

But everything below them? Roughly half the guardians in the plaza buckled under his will.

Hundreds of them turned on their comrades.

The suddenly-attacked guardians were momentarily thrown — but combat instincts kicked in, and they retaliated.

In moments, the plaza had erupted into internal chaos. Only the two mid-tier Lords remained untouched, standing apart from the carnage.

Both were Assault Type Mechanical Lords. One wielded a massive battle-axe; the other a heavy black iron rod.

Red light blazed in their eyes as they locked onto Lu Yuan and charged.

Then a streak of black sword light flashed past.

Yeye materialized behind both Lords.

Both their heads hit the ground at the same moment.

Their bodies stumbled forward several steps before crumpling heavily to the earth.

Lu Yuan and Amy — both in the middle of readying their attacks — froze where they stood.

Yeye tilted her head slightly, catching their stares, a faint puzzlement crossing her face.

"What?"

Lu Yuan's mouth twitched. "Nothing..."

Amy walked up quietly, admiration written plainly across her face as she looked at Yeye.

"So that's what King Grade combat power looks like. Incredible."

*She's not wrong.* Lu Yuan felt the same envy.

Reaching King Grade genes himself would probably require advancing another full rank.

That said — if they could secure the resources inside the Central Floating City, he had a feeling that refining all three of his Lord Grade genes to perfect completion wouldn't be too difficult. *Maybe there'll even be enough left over to evolve all three afterward, and then temper the Third-rank Gene Chain to perfect completion as well.*

The thought filled him with quiet excitement.

Within moments, the Mechanical Guardians had nearly finished destroying each other. Lu Yuan used Mechanical Control to have the survivors self-destruct.

From start to finish, less than a minute had passed.

Three people. One enormous plaza. Cleared.

His eyes shifted to the central gate — the Peak Lord Grade Mechanical Guardian and its four High Lord Grade Mechanical Hounds — and he brightened.

"Yeye, feel like taking the Peak Lord? Amy and I will handle the four High Lords."

Yeye gave a small nod.

"Sure."

Amy looked eager to get started.

Without the Lord Grade armaments they were now wearing, Lu Yuan and Amy would have been hard-pressed against even a low-tier Lord. But with this gear, facing High Lord Grade opponents didn't trouble either of them in the least.

Amy moved first. Hundreds of Tianrao Purple Vine tendrils shot outward in every direction, spreading toward the four Mechanical Hounds.

Both the Hounds and the Mechanical Guardian snapped to alert.

Red light blazed in their eyes as they snarled and charged at Amy.

As mechanical lifeforms, speed wasn't their strong suit. Even the Mechanical Hounds — the faster of the two types — still fell short of Lu Yuan's current pace. The Mechanical Guardian was slower still.

While they bore down on Amy, Lu Yuan struck — Mechanical Control seized one of the Hounds and rewrote its targeting. In its perception, the Hound beside it was now the enemy.

The two Hounds immediately turned on each other.

The remaining two were already tangled in Amy's Tianrao Purple Vines, thrashing desperately. The vines coiled tighter with each passing moment — even their mouths, which could launch spirit energy projectiles, were eventually sealed shut.

At the gate, black sword light rippled across the Peak Lord's Crystal Shield in rapid succession. The shield shuddered violently, resonating with thunderous booms as the guardian was driven back several steps.

Yeye appeared before it, black blade in hand.

"Intruder — eliminate!"

The guardian bellowed and surged forward, its greatsword blazing with sword light as it slashed down.

Yeye's expression didn't change. Her body dissolved into a cascade of afterimages, slipping effortlessly through each strike. At intervals, black sword light flickered out and landed on the Crystal Shield with precision.

She drew the guardian gradually sideways as they dueled, keeping its attention fixed entirely on her.

On the other side of the plaza, Lu Yuan had already reached the two Vine-bound Hounds. His greatsword rose and fell in heavy, relentless strokes.

They couldn't fight back. It didn't take long.

He turned to the two Hounds that had been locked in combat with each other — both noticeably battered. Amy's vines wrapped around them before they could recover, and Lu Yuan finished the job in a few more swings.

By the time all four Mechanical Hounds were down, Yeye was already walking back toward them.

Behind her, the Mechanical Guardian lay collapsed on the ground, its frame carved up by dozens of vicious sword marks.

Amy's eyes lit up, a wide grin spreading across her face.

"That was almost too easy."

Lu Yuan chuckled, then glanced at Yeye.

"Only because Yeye held down the Peak Lord. If it had been just the two of us dealing with all of them, I don't think we'd have come out on top."

He was honest with himself about where he stood. In a straight fight, he and Amy together couldn't beat a single Peak Lord Grade Mechanical Guardian. Amy was only at the early Second-rank stage, and Lu Yuan's three genes weren't fully tempered — he hadn't even reached early stage — which meant that even equipped with Lord Grade Gene Armaments, defeating a Second-rank Peak Lord in a direct confrontation was a different matter entirely.

Soon, orbs of light rose from every fallen guardian.

The three of them gathered everything up. For now, it all went to Lu Yuan for safekeeping — Amy and Yeye didn't know each other well enough yet, but both trusted Lu Yuan without question. The arrangement satisfied everyone.

Not that this was the moment for distribution anyway. The ten-thousand-meter tower still hadn't been explored.

"Let's head in."

Lu Yuan pushed the doors open with a grin, eyes bright with anticipation, and stepped through first.

Amy scrambled after him, barely containing her excitement.

Even Yeye, for all her habitual composure, couldn't quite hide the glimmer of anticipation on her face as she followed.

A ten-thousand-meter tower. Not even the iron city below could boast heights like this. Whatever waited inside had to be extraordinary.

The interior structure was no different from the other buildings — the same general layout, just at an impossible scale. Lu Yuan craned his neck back and could barely make out the top of the staircase.

"How many rooms are there?" Amy asked, gazing upward.

"Nine," Yeye said.

"That's *it*?"

Amy's face fell.

Lu Yuan frowned slightly. "Let's go up and see first. Nine rooms doesn't mean the contents aren't valuable."

Amy sighed, then relented with a nod.