Ye Xiu, now fused with Hot Wheels, streaked across the beach outside the Bamboo Staff with unprecedented velocity. Sand kicked up in his wake as he moved faster than the mechanical warrior had ever achieved under his own control.
"Isn't that Hot Wheels?" Gustave observed with growing interest as the blue-and-white blur rocketed past. "He seems significantly faster than usual today."
"Of course!" Luo Luo called out proudly as he bounded down the ship's gangplank. "That's because Brother Ye Xiu is controlling Hot Wheels now!"
"Ye Xiu is piloting him?" Gustave's eyebrows rose with scientific curiosity.
"Yeah—after Brother Ye Xiu puts on my Robo-King suit, he gains the ability to merge with motorcycle warriors!"
"So technically, Ye Xiu could also be called a Robo-King?"
"That's exactly right," Luo Luo confirmed with obvious satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Ye Xiu was discovering the unique sensations of inhabiting a mechanical body. The Robo-King suit's interface provided detailed information about Hot Wheels' capabilities, including what appeared to be his signature technique.
Hot Wheels launched himself skyward with explosive force, mechanical legs igniting with crimson flames as his voice boomed across the beach:
"Thunder Sky Double Kick!"
The display looked absolutely spectacular—Hot Wheels transformed into a flaming meteor streaking toward the beach's largest coconut palm with earth-shaking intensity. Both Gustave and Luo Luo watched with anticipation, eager to witness what Hot Wheels could achieve under expert control.
"ARGHHHH!"
The scream of agony that followed was decidedly less impressive than the buildup had suggested.
Ye Xiu's fusion with Hot Wheels immediately collapsed as both crashed to the sand in undignified heaps. Ye Xiu rolled across the beach like a broken tumbleweed while Hot Wheels clutched his legs, wailing in mechanical distress.
"Ahhhhhh! It hurts so much!" the robot cried, his vocal processors crackling with feedback.
The coconut tree remained completely unharmed, swaying gently in the ocean breeze as if nothing had happened.
Gustave and Luo Luo simultaneously placed their hands over their faces in secondhand embarrassment. Perhaps they'd set their expectations too high for Hot Wheels' combat capabilities. Even with Ye Xiu's gaming expertise, you couldn't make a silk purse from a sow's ear—or in this case, a formidable warrior from a cowardly motorcycle.
As Hot Wheels continued his mechanical lamentations, a single coconut palm frond—apparently loosened by the impact vibrations—detached itself from the tree with lazy inevitability.
"Hot Wheels! Look out!" Luo Luo shouted, immediately covering his eyes with both hands.
THUNK.
"Owww..." Hot Wheels' voice trailed off into electronic silence.
When the dust settled, Ye Xiu found himself spitting sand and staring at Hot Wheels' motionless form sprawled beneath the coconut tree, a fruit the size of a bowling ball resting accusingly nearby.
"This..." Ye Xiu scratched his head in profound embarrassment. "The Robo-King suit's database made the Thunder Sky Double Kick sound like some kind of ultimate technique, but I didn't expect..."
"Ye Xiu! Brother Ye Xiu! Are you hurt?" Gustave and Luo Luo came running from the ship, their concern overriding their amusement at the spectacular failure.
"I'm fine—just got a reality check about Hot Wheels' actual combat abilities," Ye Xiu replied, brushing sand from his clothes with wounded dignity.
"Hot Wheels was never much of a fighter to begin with," Luo Luo said consolingly. "But I'm impressed you managed to execute the Thunder Sky Double Kick on your first try with the Robo-Trooper's suit!"
"Maybe it's because Ye Xiu shares your gaming genius," Gustave suggested thoughtfully.
"Brother Gustave, would you like to try the Robo-King suit? Maybe you can use it too?"
"Me?" Gustave's curiosity was immediately piqued.
"Yes, why not give it a shot?"
With Luo Luo's enthusiastic permission, Ye Xiu removed the armor-like suit and offered it to the chef. However, when Gustave's fingers made contact with the advanced technology, absolutely nothing happened.
"That's strange," Gustave mused, turning the inert equipment over in his hands. "When Luo Luo handed me the suit this morning, it immediately bonded with my body like living liquid."
"Perhaps I'm simply not chosen by the Robo-King suit," Gustave suggested with philosophical acceptance, preparing to return the device.
"Brother Gustave, try putting it on manually," Luo Luo insisted with hopeful eyes. "Maybe there will be a surprise!"
Unable to disappoint such earnest enthusiasm, Gustave donned the suit through conventional means. Unfortunately, it remained completely unresponsive to his presence.
"I wasn't selected after all," he concluded, removing the equipment with good-natured resignation.
"Let me test it with others!" Luo Luo declared, snatching up the suit and racing back toward the Bamboo Staff with determined energy.
The next hour brought systematic disappointment as every crew member—save for the mysteriously absent Moral Lord—attempted to interface with the Robo-King technology. Po's gentle strength, Tom's cartoon physics, Chu Zihang's draconic bloodline, Yang Chan's divine heritage—none could activate the suit's bonding protocols.
"How can this be?" Luo Luo's voice carried genuine dejection as his grand experiment yielded only failure.
"Luo Luo, perhaps the Robo-King suit has very specific recognition criteria," Gustave offered gently, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "I suspect it responds to gaming talent specifically, since you and Ye Xiu are both natural prodigies."
"Ye Xiu maybe that's the case," Luo Luo sighed with the weight of dashed hopes.
"By the way," Gustave continued with careful curiosity, "what made you so eager for everyone to use the Robo-King suit?"
"The reason?" Luo Luo's expression brightened as his ultimate goal came into focus. "Because I thought if everyone could use the suit, I could find a way home much faster!"
His logic was elegant in its simplicity—with multiple Robo-King suit users, he could lead the Vehicle Tribe to decisive victory over the Beast Tribe, then locate a path back to his original world. While the Gate of All Worlds provided access to many dimensions, his true home remained frustratingly unreachable.
"But Luo Luo," Ye Xiu pointed out with gentle rationality, "there's only one Robo-King suit. Even between the two of us, that's hardly enough to mount a full campaign."
"Hehe—that's because I think Tom should be able to create new Robo-King suits based on my original!" Luo Luo explained with embarrassed enthusiasm. "After witnessing Tom's miraculous abilities, I got this idea."
All eyes turned toward the cartoon cat, who had been observing the proceedings with characteristic inscrutability.
"Tom, is such a thing possible?" Gustave asked.
Tom stepped forward, accepted the Robo-King suit, and proceeded to examine it with scientific thoroughness. He knocked on various surfaces, testing material density and construction techniques. After several minutes of professional assessment, he patted his chest with confident authority and gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"That's wonderful, Tom!" Luo Luo threw his arms around the cat in pure joy, his faith in miraculous solutions once again validated.
"Luo Luo," Ye Xiu said with theatrical seriousness, "I can help you with your mission, but you must agree to one condition."
The words struck Luo Luo like a thunderbolt from clear skies. His expression crumbled as noble friendship transformed into cold negotiation. He'd thought he and Ye Xiu had developed genuine camaraderie, but apparently...
"What condition?" he asked with defeated resignation.
"Haha—the condition is very simple!" Ye Xiu's grin revealed his true intentions. "I just want you to be my training partner for dungeon runs and competitive matches!"
Far from exploiting Luo Luo's desperation, Ye Xiu—who'd bankrupted himself helping former teammates—simply recognized extraordinary talent when he saw it. His request came from genuine need for a skilled practice partner who could challenge him at the highest levels.
"I knew Brother Ye Xiu was the best!" Luo Luo's emotional whiplash from despair to euphoria would have impressed seasoned therapists.
"Players who use psychological tactics always have the darkest hearts," Gustave muttered with fond amusement, shaking his head at Ye Xiu's masterful manipulation of dramatic timing.
Tom's replication work proceeded with cartoon efficiency that defied rational explanation. Within half a day, an identical Robo-King suit emerged from his workshop—complete with every function and capability of the original.
"Brother Ye Xiu, try it now!" Luo Luo practically vibrated with anticipation.
The moment Ye Xiu touched Tom's creation, it flowed across his body with the same liquid responsiveness as the original. Every interface, every capability remained perfectly preserved in the duplicate.
"Perfect! Brother Ye Xiu, try fusing with Hot Wheels again!"
"Let me find Hot Wheels and..." Ye Xiu paused mid-sentence as realization struck.
"Hot Wheels!" both he and Luo Luo exclaimed simultaneously.
In their excitement over successful replication, they'd completely forgotten about the mechanical warrior's coconut-induced unconsciousness. Racing back to the beach, they discovered Hot Wheels still sprawled beneath the palm tree—now with a small crab perched triumphantly on his chest plate like a tiny conquistador claiming new territory.