Translator: CinderTL
Future City had the shortest history among the Five Great Cities.
In the new world that emerged after the cataclysm, humanity decided to slow down technological development, focusing instead on refining and perfecting cultivation studies.
During this transition, many industries faced obsolescence, particularly those related to technology.
At the time, Star City and Victory City were pioneers in cultivation studies. Vast tracts of land were repurposed for cultivation academies and research institutes.
Many tech industries found themselves with nowhere to go.
At the time, humanity had no intention of abandoning the development and application of technology.
After all, technology could support the advancement of cultivation studies and bring immense convenience to humanity's modernization efforts.
Given the unique historical context, the relatively industrially underdeveloped Future City became a new hub for various technology industries.
The Future Research Institute and the Technology Research Institute were established against this backdrop.
The Future Research Institute, in particular, became a melting pot of ideas, inheriting numerous advanced technologies from the pre-cataclysm era and emerging as the most promising research institute for technological innovation.
Over centuries of development, Future City, through the combined efforts of the Future Research Institute and the Technology Research Institute, successfully evolved into the City of Technology.
Everything here was designed for maximum convenience.
To hail a taxi, one simply tapped a button on their phone, and an autonomous vehicle would arrive promptly. After entering the destination, passengers would quickly reach their destination.
Despite the city's massive traffic volume, congestion was nonexistent.
This was because the Central Processing System tracked the routes of all vehicles and dynamically adjusted the speed of autonomous vehicles in real-time, ensuring smooth traffic flow at all times.
The city's roads were also equipped with wireless charging devices, ensuring that all public facilities remained operational at all times.
Future City boasted the highest operational efficiency among the Five Great Cities, and its solutions and technological infrastructure were subsequently adopted by the other four cities for their own upgrades and development.
Arriving at the waiting area outside the Technology Research Institute, Li Xingchen pulled out his phone and opened the ride-hailing app.
After a brief wait, an autonomous vehicle pulled up in front of him.
After verifying his identity, he entered his destination into the app.
The autonomous vehicle slowly ascended into the air.
Reaching the dense flow of traffic, the autonomous vehicle paused briefly before merging into the stream and heading toward its destination.
Moments later, Li Xingchen pushed open the door to his home.
The sprawling mansion was lavishly decorated with extreme luxury.
Sensing his arrival, the lights in the rooms gradually illuminated automatically, and the dormant Butler Robot activated, immediately springing into action.
Arriving at the metal door on the east side of the room, Li Xingchen pushed it open and entered.
Before him lay a private laboratory, its walls lined with cabinets filled with various mechanical components.
He walked to the center of the room and sat down at the high-tech experimental platform. Immediately, a screen descended from above, positioning itself at the optimal viewing angle.
After a few quick commands, the eight mechanical arms on the platform activated, reaching out toward Li Xingchen.
In less than half an hour, Li Xingchen's body below the neck had been disassembled.
Next, the mechanical arms retrieved brand-new components from the cabinets lining the walls and began reassembling him.
The slightly worn mechanical body was soon restored to pristine condition.
As the blue lights on the arms gradually illuminated, Li Xingchen, who had been in a dormant state, opened his eyes.
He glanced down at his mechanized body, his expression remaining unchanged.
Slowly rising to his feet, he walked to a corner of the laboratory.
There, a photograph rested: a picture of him and his teacher from years ago. In that photo, he was still young, with his master always there to shoulder the burdens of the world.
So many years had passed without him realizing it.
As his fingers traced the photograph, a flicker of nostalgia appeared in the eyes of Li Xingchen, the notorious figure within the Technology Research Institute.
The unwavering resolve in his teacher's eyes as he lay dying flashed through Li Xingchen's mind:
"Xingchen, I am your pledge of loyalty. Standing beside the demons is the only way to truly kill them. There's no need for sorrow."
He had personally pushed his teacher onto the execution block, sacrificing him to earn the demons' trust.
Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a flick of his fingers.
Hiss!
As he exhaled a plume of smoke, the white mist momentarily obscured his vision.
"Teacher, I see your shadow in that man. I will help him succeed."
Setting down the photograph, he turned back to the experimental platform.
He glanced at the pulsating red energy core on the right, its rhythmic expansion and contraction resembling breathing. Taking a deep breath, he tapped the screen before him several times without hesitation.
The mechanical arms whirred to life, and the restraints on the platform automatically secured his body.
Soon, agonized screams echoed through the laboratory.
When it was over, the blue energy core in Li Xingchen's chest had been replaced with the red one.
This core, personally researched by his teacher, boasted over five times the energy output of the Technology Research Institute's blue cores. However, its extreme instability meant it could explode at any moment.
From a purely technical standpoint, this energy core was far inferior to the blue energy core provided by the Technology Research Institute.
But this time, he only needed raw power, regardless of the potential risks.
Feeling the surging energy coursing through his body, Li Xingchen slowly rose from the experimental platform and strode out of the laboratory.
He glanced at the digital clock in the upper right corner.
The Dawn Army's arrival was imminent.
The black shadow's strategy was now clear: it had no intention of striking first.
In other words, as long as the Dawn Army didn't fire the first shot, even with their forces massing at the border, the black shadow wouldn't retaliate.
The reason for this was simple.
It wanted the outside world to see the Dawn Army as the aggressor, forcing them to act in self-defense.
Public opinion would then overwhelmingly favor Future City, and other cities might even be compelled to provide material support and assistance.
The pressure on the Dawn Army would steadily increase.
Domain Sleeper Factions from other cities might even be forced to send reinforcements.
After finishing his drink, he stood up and left the room.
Several hours later, Li Xingchen's figure appeared at the South Gate of Future City.
In preparation for the impending war, multiple city defense units had been deployed to the South Gate. They were stationed inside the gate, ready to respond to any attack, while nearby residents had already been evacuated.
Looking toward the city walls, Li Xingchen saw a vast array of advanced technological weaponry already in place.
His gaze then shifted to the gate itself.
Future City was protected by a wide moat, 180 meters across, filled with highly toxic substances synthesized from materials produced by the Domain Field.
Aside from methods like filling the moat, the most direct way to enter Future City was through the main road leading to the gate.
However, the gate was constructed from a mysterious metal provided by the Star City Military Department, possessing extraordinary defensive capabilities that made it nearly impossible to breach in a short time.
This was the critical point for the Dawn Army's assault on Future City.
With this in mind, Li Xingchen turned his head to look at the towering structure to his right.
There stood the control tower for Future City's South Gate, housing the mechanisms for opening and closing the gate, as well as the authorization systems for operating the city's defensive weaponry.
Glancing down at his watch, a cold glint appeared in Li Xingchen's eyes.
He knew that his individual efforts could hardly sway the course of the war.
He simply wanted to do what he could.
(End of the Chapter)
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