Chapter 82 - 80: Extreme Speed Hunt
After helping Zhang Yuqing put hers on as well, Lin Ye began to study the full set of Exoskeleton Armor.
Lin Ye’s fingertips brushed across the control panel on the inner side of the armor’s arm. The surface was smooth and cold to the touch.
There were no text instructions, only rows of constantly changing geometric shapes and data streams.
He reached out and tapped lightly on a rhombus-shaped icon.
HUM.
A pale blue virtual light screen instantly projected before his eyes.
[T-3 Floating Exoskeleton]
[Energy Remaining: 87.4%]
[Current Mode: Ground-Assisted Combat Mode]
[Drive Power: 12%]
[Function Modules: Flight, Magnetic Levitation, Kinetic Assist, Micro Fire Control, Self-Destruct Detonation...]
Lin Ye’s eyes lit up.
He began to test them one by one.
He discovered the armor’s interaction logic was extremely concise, designed entirely for practical combat.
A double-tap on the inner wrist switched combat modes.
A three-second long-press on a specific area brought up a detailed function list.
He could even activate certain shortcut functions with specific hand gestures.
For instance, simply making a fist instantly increased the arm armor’s power output. A surging sense of strength washed over him, making him feel as if he could easily crush steel.
Lin Ye didn’t indulge in this novel sensation for long.
What he cared about most was the floating function.
He found the module that represented "Flight."
When he tried to activate it, a powerful stream of energy instantly surged from the core engine on his back, and the thrusters on the soles of his feet emitted a low-pitched roar.
A lifting force pulled him upward.
Lin Ye’s feet left the ground in an instant.
But he immediately cut the energy output.
In that brief second of suspension, the energy consumption numbers had visibly jumped.
’This won’t work.’
Relying solely on the engine’s anti-gravity propulsion consumed too much energy. It was completely unsuitable for long-distance flight.
Lin Ye’s gaze fell on the words "Magnetic Levitation."
Lin Ye activated flight mode again. This time, he didn’t let the engine run at full power, instead diverting most of the energy to the magnetic levitation module.
He controlled his body, slowly ascending to a height of over ten meters.
Then, he shut off the main upward thrusters and leaned his body forward slightly.
He began to fall.
But during the descent, he felt an invisible force field envelop his entire body. Tiny attitude adjustment nozzles at the armor’s various joints continuously made corrections.
His rate of descent became extremely slow.
The energy consumption value was almost at a standstill.
’Gliding!’
’This is the true core of this armor!’
’Use a short burst of power to gain altitude, then switch to the near-zero-consumption magnetic gliding mode for long-distance silent movement!’
The thrusters and engine would be used when necessary to assist with gaining altitude and accelerating.
He had now preliminarily mastered this suit of armor.
Lin Ye landed on the ground.
He walked over to the sleeping Zhang Yuqing and scooped her up in a princess carry with his right arm.
Then, he picked up the spare energy module with his left hand.
BOOM!
The engine let out a low roar. Lin Ye’s figure shot up from the ground like a black arrow, soaring into the night sky.
After reaching a certain altitude, he cut the engine’s thrust, leaned forward, and became a silent phantom, gliding toward the temporary camp they had used during the day.
...
Zhang Yuqing opened her eyes.
The first thing that met her gaze was a cracked concrete ceiling.
She sat up abruptly and immediately checked her body.
Her combat suit was intact, with no signs of having been tampered with.
She let out a sigh of relief.
But the next second, she noticed something was wrong.
’My body... it feels like there’s something extra on me.’
She looked down.
A set of silver-gray, sci-fi-looking, semi-enclosed armor was perfectly fitted to her limbs and torso!
It was the T-3 Exoskeleton!
"You’re awake?"
A calm voice came from nearby.
Zhang Yuqing snapped her head up and saw Lin Ye leaning against a wall.
He was also wearing the same Exoskeleton Armor.
"You..."
Zhang Yuqing’s mind was still groggy. The scenes from before she fainted came rushing back to her like a tidal wave.
She wanted to question him, to get angry.
But she just stared at Lin Ye for a long moment, unable to finish a single coherent sentence.
Lin Ye didn’t wait for her to organize her thoughts and spoke first.
"If I had told you beforehand that the spider legs contained a neurotoxin that induces a deep sleep, would you have eaten them?"
"You wouldn’t have."
"And seeing you refuse to eat, the person who wanted you to test for poison would have become suspicious."
"Those people aren’t fools. If they had even a shred of doubt, they wouldn’t have taken the bait."
"I was actually watching from nearby the whole time. Even if they hadn’t made you eat them, if you had just left the spider legs behind, they wouldn’t have been able to resist eating them themselves."
"Having you test for poison simply sped up their demise."
Zhang Yuqing was speechless.
She thought about it carefully.
Although she had been used as bait and gotten a scare, she had come out of it unscathed.
Everything had been within Lin Ye’s calculations.
Not only had she not lost anything, but she had also had an unprecedentedly good night’s sleep. She woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy.
And in return, they had obtained two complete sets of T-3 Floating Armor.
And a replaceable energy cell.
’When I think about it that way... I really have nothing to complain about!’
"Since you’re awake, let’s not waste any time."
Lin Ye stood up and placed his long spear onto a magnetic slot by his side.
"Let’s keep moving while it’s still dark."
"Now?!" Zhang Yuqing was stunned.
Lin Ye shrugged. "If you’re scared, you can stay here. I’ll come back for you at dawn."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Zhang Yuqing gritted her teeth and stood up as well.
She didn’t want to be left behind by him again.
One after the other, the two of them once again blended into the deep darkness of the night.
This time, their division of labor remained the same.
Zhang Yuqing was in charge of luring the monsters.
Lin Ye was responsible for the kills.
But with the assistance of the Exoskeleton Armor, everything was different.
Zhang Yuqing no longer had to run for her life. She just had to activate the short-range thrusters on her boots to burst forward at incredible speeds, effortlessly toying with the monsters.
And Lin Ye’s hunting became even more terrifying.
A Level 12 mutated giant crocodile shot out of the water, snapping at Zhang Yuqing.
Lin Ye’s figure darted out. The Exoskeleton Armor on his right arm went to full power, and the long spear in his hand came crashing down with a sonic boom that tore through the air!
BANG!
The giant crocodile was instantly pierced through. Zhang Yuqing followed up with her sword, finishing it off completely!
As they continued to kill monsters along the way, Lin Ye discovered that as long as he participated in the battle, even if he didn’t deal the final blow, the system would still grant him experience.
Full experience, at that.
After all, Zhang Yuqing didn’t have a system, so the experience couldn’t be split with her.
According to the competition rules, however, points from a cooperative kill were split evenly between the two of them.
「An hour or so later.」
Lin Ye had now completely figured out this suit of armor.
He even discovered a hidden fire control system on the arm’s control panel.
He just had to tap the panel twice quickly with his little finger.
"Rapid-fire mode activated."
A cold, mechanical voice prompt sounded.
The armor on his forearm split open, revealing a dark gun barrel within.
Fifty special armor-piercing rounds, enough to tear through the defenses of most mutated beasts.
Lin Ye once again marveled at the beauty of technology.
’I’m a low-budget Iron Man now!’
With two sets of "godly gear," their hunting efficiency increased exponentially.
Their stamina consumption was minimized, while their killing efficiency was maximized.
They were like two tireless killing machines, unleashing a bloody storm in the dark ruins.
It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that Zhang Yuqing’s Spirit finally reached its limit, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Lin Ye took her back to the shelter.
Gazing at her sleeping profile, Lin Ye didn’t linger for a moment. He turned around again and disappeared alone into the night.
’Rest?’
’Not an option.’
The god-tier mechanic, [Healing out of combat], had turned him into a perpetual motion machine.
He didn’t need to sleep.
As the first hint of dawn appeared in the eastern sky,
Lin Ye ran his spear through the head of the last mutated wolf.
A crisp notification sound rang in his mind.
[Ding! You have leveled up to Level 14!]
[You have gained 1 Skill Point!]
[You have gained 1 Free Attribute Point!]