Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 51 Self-service Supermarkets

"Warning: Unauthorized intrusion detected. Execution procedure."

The speaker unit of the enclosure produces a series of distorted synthesized bass frequencies.

The piston-driven heavy foot slammed forward, causing the metal floor to tremble.

The steel behemoth, covered in rust and oil, hurtled toward Rhodes and his two companions.

The hydraulic linkage hissed, and the massive iron fist pushed aside the air, crashing down with heavy wind pressure.

"Avira!"

Without Rod saying a word, the silver-gray armor rushed into his field of vision, blocking his way.

"I am coming!"

Avira let out a battle cry, bracing her hands against the inner grip of the tower shield, her boots shattering the floor tiles, her entire body almost nailed to the ground.

"when--!"

The loud bang of metal colliding almost ruptured eardrums.

The construct's iron fist slammed heavily against the front of the tower shield, sending crimson sparks flying.

Avira groaned and slid backward several meters, her combat boots scraping across the metal ground with a screeching sound and leaving burn marks.

The surface of the steel tower shield, which was labeled with the "[Structured and Dense]" attribute, significantly improving its durability, was now dented with a shockingly deep mark.

Chiba leaped down from the crossbeam, the several throwing knives in his hand turning into cold light, aiming straight for the gaps in the armor of the construct.

"Ding!"

The throwing knife struck the heavy helmet, making a crisp sound before bouncing off and tumbling through the air before falling to the ground.

Not a single scratch was left on that heavily oxidized alloy armor plate.

"Damn it! How come this guy's skin is so tough?!"

"It's made entirely of alloy and has the ability to absorb kinetic energy; your knife wouldn't even be enough to tickle it!"

Rod touched the ground with his toes and retreated rapidly, quickly creating a safe distance.

His hand hovered above the hilt of the sword, but he never actually gripped it.

The [Hard Shell] attribute that appears in the field of vision not only signifies defensive power, but also absolute suppression of ordinary physical attacks.

If this finely crafted longsword were to be used to strike, it would be of no use other than chipping and dulling the blade.

To kill it, you need to use your brain.

Rhodes's gaze passed over the indestructible torso and locked onto the space between the construct's alternating legs.

There, several thick drive shafts were exposed outside the gaps in the armor plates, spinning rapidly with the rhythm of footsteps, stirring up black oil stains.

That was its only mechanical weakness.

"Avira, hang in there! Draw its attention!" Rod reached into the side pocket of his backpack and pulled out a roll of silvery-gray metal wire. "I never thought I'd need it here."

This is a high-strength alloy cutting wire that he spent a lot of money to recycle at a scrap yard. It was stripped from a scrapped industrial-grade cutting machine, and the word "[tough]" shimmered in the dim light.

"Hey! Big guy! Look this way!"

Avira raised her shield again to meet the attack.

This time, she no longer passively defended herself; instead, she turned sideways and slammed the edge of her shield into the construct's knee joint.

Although the heavy impact failed to penetrate the armor, it successfully disrupted the balance of the construct itself.

The killing machine let out a furious mechanical shriek, clumsily turned around, and swept its arms horizontally, trying to smash the ignorant flea into a pulp.

opportunity!

Rhodes' [Swift Steps] ability took effect, instantly channeling a light, nimble power into his legs.

His figure left a blurry afterimage. Taking advantage of the huge gap in stiffness caused by the construct turning around, he slid almost flat on the ground, quickly rushed forward, and squeezed into the dead corner between the construct's legs.

This is a location in the center of a meat grinder.

Above him was a steel body weighing several tons, and hydraulic lines roared in his ears. The slightest deviation would result in his sternum being crushed by heavy foot clamps.

Rhodes' eyes remained expressionless, and he tried his best to remain calm.

He quickly wrapped the alloy wire twice around the exposed drive shaft on the left leg of the construct, then rolled on the spot, using the momentum to throw himself at a rusty load-bearing column next to him. The specially made metal barbs instantly bit into the column.

"run!"

Rod shouted and lunged to the side, using his body to roll away from the danger zone.

Upon hearing the sound, Avira instinctively withdrew her shield and retreated.

The construct lost its close-range target, and the logic core determined to pursue it. The massive hydraulic power drove its left leg to take another step forward.

However, the taut alloy wire was instantly tightened into a straight line.

"collapse--"

The sickening sound of metal tearing echoed throughout the workshop.

The alloy wire with the [toughness] attribute did not break; instead, the already decayed drive shaft of the structure could not withstand such a huge shearing force and twisted and deformed instantly.

With a scream of metal twisting and deforming, the bearing shattered.

The high-speed gear set suddenly meshed and misaligned, the internal pressure exceeded the critical point, and countless precision parts exploded like shrapnel, shooting into the surrounding walls.

The steel giant, having lost its balance, completely collapsed.

"Boom—"

The several-ton body crashed to the ground, sending dust and rust flying everywhere.

The massive body slid forward due to inertia, crashing into two abandoned lathes one after another, with loud clattering sounds of twisting metal echoing, until it finally came to a stop after hitting a wall.

Its cooling grille detached due to the impact, exposing a glowing red-hot power core inside, radiating high temperatures.

That location is the marker for [core overheating].

"This is your Achilles' heel."

Rhodes charged forward again from the smoke and dust, his longsword finally unsheathed, and without any hesitation, he stabbed it fiercely at the overloaded energy source.

"Sizzle—"

The longsword pierced through the core, and the highly heated fluid instantly vaporized.

The red light suddenly went out, the construct twitched twice, and the light-sensing elements in its eyes went completely dark, turning into a pile of cold scrap metal.

Silence returned to the workshop, except for the crackling sound of the gradually cooling structure contracting its metal.

Rod drew his longsword, the blade stained with black engine oil and coolant, slightly damaged from contact with the high temperature.

He swung his sword to shake off the stains, sheathed it, and walked up to Avira.

"How's the shield?"

"It's dented in by two or three centimeters, and the grip is loose." Avira looked down at the tower shield in her hand, her brow furrowed slightly. "This shield saved my life. If it were a regular wooden shield, that punch would have killed me."

"Go back to Torinshu and have him reinforce it for you." Rhodes patted the deformed shield. "Consider it a work injury, it'll be reimbursed by the company."

Upon hearing "reimbursement at public expense," Avira's tense lips relaxed slightly.

"Thanks."

On the other side, Chiba was circling the fallen construct, his pupils reflecting a greedy green light.

"Good heavens... this is an antique from the Carlton era!" She tapped the heavy armor plate with the hilt of her dagger. "The formula for this alloy has been lost to history! Even if you dismantle it and sell it for scrap metal, this suit would be worth at least 20 gold coins! And the power core inside, although it's broken, if you sell it to those dwarf scholars for research..."

She quickly calculated the exchange rate and market price in her mind, her breathing becoming rapid.

"Rhodes, we're going to be rich! This trip will earn us more money than I do selling intelligence for a month!"

"Dig out the core, and that sensor too. The armor plates are too heavy to carry. Don't forget, the mission items we have are the main prize; don't let small things cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture."

Rhodes chose to simply and directly strip away the [Hard Shell] attribute, then bent down and picked up the heavy crate of the mission objective.

He looked around the silent workshop.

To the average person, this place is a forbidden wasteland filled with deadly traps.

But in Rhodes' eyes, who possessed the system of entries for everything, every object in his field of vision displayed detailed parameters and value tags.

This is a huge self-service supermarket.

All the mechanisms are precision parts waiting to be recycled.

All enemies are walking, expensive resource depots.

However, now is not the time to reap the rewards. They are carrying crucial and heavy mission items, which will affect their mobility in subsequent operations.

"Pack your things and prepare to evacuate."

Rod turned and headed towards the exit.

"This is only the first level. Due to the high-temperature steam, alchemical bombs, and autonomous constructs, not many adventurers have explored this area before."

"Don't leak any information about this place after we get out. There's even more good stuff waiting for us down there once our equipment is upgraded... We need to hurry."

Chiba stared at that figure, and the image in her mind that had almost ruined her gradually crumbled, transforming into a true guide who could lead her to find gold in the ruins.

She tucked the dagger back into the belt on the outside of her thigh, a bright smile spreading across her face.

"Yes, boss!"