Mechanic Demon moved fast.
Really fast. One second he was there, next second ten meters away. Afterimage still hanging in the air.
"Scum. You dare block my path?"
Red light blazed in his mechanical eye. Armor on his arm split open. Blade slid out.
But it never swung.
Someone grabbed his wrist.
Old Joe's mechanical left arm.
"Twenty years," Old Joe grinned. "This arm's been waiting for this."
Mechanic Demon looked down at the hand on his wrist.
"Junk."
Power surged through his mechanical arm. The blade twisted. Drove straight for Old Joe's chest.
**CLANG—**
A wrench caught it.
Jax.
Face half a meter from Mechanic Demon.
"Your fight's with me."
Mechanic Demon's lens focused.
"You?"
Jax didn't waste time.
Revolver up. Pressed against that red eye.
**BANG—**
Bullet punched through the lens. Sparks flew.
Mechanic Demon's head snapped back. Right eye exploded. Wires hanging out. Sparking.
But he didn't fall.
His left eye—the human one—locked onto Jax.
"You... die..."
Mechanical arm flung Old Joe aside. Blade swung sideways.
Jax dodged. Not fast enough. Blade caught his arm.
Blood sprayed.
Old Joe charged. Punched Mechanic Demon's chest.
Metal screamed.
Mechanic Demon stumbled back two steps. Chest armor cracked.
But he steadied.
"Not enough."
Other arm raised. Armor split. Six dark barrels emerged.
**"My turn."**
**BRRRRRRRRT—**
Bullets poured out like rain.
Jax and Old Joe dove opposite directions.
Scavengers scattered. Hit cover.
But the doll girl didn't move.
Just stood there. Watching the bullets come.
Her doll's mouth cracked open. Smiled.
**"Yummy—yummy—"**
Bullets hit the doll. And vanished. Sucked right in.
The girl giggled.
"Uncle's bullets taste good."
Mechanic Demon's face changed.
Stopped firing. Stared at the doll.
"What the hell is that..."
The girl tilted her head.
"Mommy says you're bad."
Mechanic Demon's mechanical eye spun. Scanning.
**[Scan Result: Unknown Life Form. Threat Level: Unassessable.]**
He stepped back.
Then—
**"Mechanic Demon."**
A voice. From deep in the junkyard.
Everyone froze.
Mechanic Demon's body locked up.
The voice was calm. But it carried weight. The kind that crushed.
From the shadows, a shape emerged.
Massive head. Two stories tall. No body—just crimson tentacles below the neck.
Eyes like searchlights. Pale white. Cold.
It stopped in front of Mechanic Demon.
Looked down.
"You—want—to—kill—him?"
Mechanic Demon's mechanical legs shook.
"Ro... Root-level..."
The giant head ignored him.
Turned. Looked at Jax.
The light in its eyes softened.
"Dentist—I came—"
Jax blinked.
Then remembered.
Xiao Xiao. The Root-level monster whose teeth he fixed.
---
**[Chapter Nine · End]**
**[Ding! Achievement triggered: Root's Descent. Basic EXP +500.]**
**[Ding! Xiao Xiao's favorability toward you +50.]**