Thin rays of light sliced through the thick, black clouds above the Devouring Woods, sliding down as dawn broke. Gasping for breath, I stared at the thing before me, my heart pounding with excitement—the soldier had finally been created.
I spent the entire night pondering what kind of soldier could withstand the Mimics emerging from the Sea of Curse Power, beings composed entirely of curse energy.
A flash of dazzling metallic sheen swept across my cheek as exclamations erupted around me. Even 001 looked astonished, walking up to the lump of metal before us.
"Is this thing reliable?"
001 tapped on the square hunk of iron in front of her. It looked like a robot about one and a half meters tall and less than a meter wide, covered in grooves—almost like a remarkably intricate, movable box.
This idea came to me only because of something the Engineer once told me—technology is a formidable force in battle.
"Try letting it face an actual battle."
I said, knowing that the source of power was still 001. Only she could control this altered, transmuted creation. Previously, the Forsaken was just a beast, but last night I used 001's power to twist it into this form—warping its mass through creation, shaping its final form with Imaginative Genesis.
"What exactly is this thing?"
I muttered. At that moment, Rachel Lan also walked over, gazing curiously at the robot's smooth, gleaming concave surface, where a hint of black shimmered within.
"You'll find out soon enough."
"Hurry up, 001."
I grinned with pride. I'd seen plenty of sci-fi movies before, and the shape of this robot was inspired by those cinematic machines.
"Prepare for battle."
001 called out. With a sharp hiss, a burst of gas sprayed out as the robot began to transform—its base splitting open to either side, two mechanical legs extending downward. The feet were suction-cup shaped, designed so it wouldn't be easily toppled in the chaos of combat.
From both sides, two gun barrels emerged, able to rotate freely 360 degrees. At the front, a convex mirror appeared, covered in a mesh of red and black lines that now flashed with a soft crimson glow, as if signaling a warning.
"What is this thing?"
001 bent over, peering curiously into the robot's convex mirror. Everyone else stared at me in confusion, except Agent Seven, who seemed to have figured something out and walked over with a smile.
"Looks pretty impressive."
I nodded. The group was waiting for my explanation. Sylvia Blue jumped impatiently to my side, grabbing my arm, eager to hear what I had to say. Rachel Lan immediately yanked Sylvia's hand, pulling her back.
I glanced up at the sky, the sunlight glaring. On the robot's back, a long strip of fluorescent screen appeared, and at the bottom, a value was displayed—just one percent, but it was steadily rising.
Everything I've been through along the way hasn't been in vain. I felt a rush of excitement; ideas were bubbling up in my mind almost instinctively.
"This robot's power source is light."
I pointed upward as I spoke. The sun was now blinding, and the robot's power level climbed rapidly—reaching maximum in less than a minute. Everyone could feel a faint warmth nearby, waves of heat rolling off the machine.
"I've seen it before—curse power exposed to sunlight evaporates, so the robot's principle is simple: it gathers the sunlight piercing the forest canopy and converts it into lethal laser beams to injure the Mimics."
Entity 005 immediately rushed over, visibly excited.
"Is that really possible?"
I nodded.
"This only exists in fantasy, but in this world, it might just be real."
After speaking, I glanced at 001. She still looked unconvinced. Agent Seven volunteered, floating up and positioning himself a hundred meters away, opposite the robot.
"Try attacking me and see what happens."
With a creak, the robot moved at 001's command. The convex mirror on its front began to flash violently red, and the twin gun barrels at its sides started to shift, as if taking aim.
"Attack."
Two sharp, piercing sounds rang out—two beams of bright white laser shot forth in an instant. By the time everyone reacted, Agent Seven was twisting in midair, a scorched mark clearly visible across his cheek.
"Not bad, but..."
001 was about to speak, but everyone was stunned—including me. I hadn't expected such power. A finger-sized hole had been blasted beside Agent Seven's heart. The robot's intent was clear: it targeted the head and heart, his weak points.
"A bit slower and I'd be in real danger."
Agent Seven drifted back, the tiny hole in his chest slowly healing. He looked pained as he stared at the robot. Everyone noticed the display on its back had dropped to eighty percent, but with sunlight, it quickly returned to full power.
"So that means it can unleash this kind of attack ten times in a row."
Entity 004 spoke up, stroking his beard in disbelief.
"That's impressive, but the look of it leaves much to be desired."
Sylvia Blue muttered, resting her chin in her hand and giving me a thoughtful, playful glance. I looked away awkwardly—the robot truly lacked any sense of beauty. I hadn't cared about that at all; I only wanted it to be good for combat and easy to deploy on the ramparts.
Everyone crowded over with interest. Agent Seven seemed deep in thought, then asked a question.
"Can the strength of its attacks be controlled?"
I hesitated before answering.
"Honestly, I didn't think much about it. I just wanted it to have the kind of firepower you see in sci-fi movies—enough to punch through armor easily."
Agent Seven nodded.
"That's a problem. If a robot can only fire ten laser shots in a short time, that's too few. If there are too many enemies, it can't keep up. When sunlight is strong, it recharges quickly, but when it's weak, that's an issue."
Agent Seven raised a valid point—I hadn't thought it through. 001 started giggling.
"No need to worry about that. This one's pretty low quality—there are much bigger ones in the forest. We'll just make stronger ones when we need them."
I nodded right away. Agent Seven stepped in front of the robot, studying the convex mirror before asking:
"Can this thing do calculations?"
I nodded. That idea came from the custom app Luban designed for me—it can do physical calculations, instantly sensing every change in the air. Once it locks onto the enemy, it runs a series of computations and attacks.
"Still not enough. Those Mimics are made of curse energy, not brains and hearts like us. Large-scale attacks are a must. You need to keep improving it. Save the powerful ones, but the rest should be able to fire 100 to 200 laser beams per second. That way, we can instantly wipe out weaker Forsaken. Even a laser cannon would work—one massive strike to destroy a target. Otherwise, how do we deal with those black suns?"
As Agent Seven spoke, we all looked over. The black suns reappeared in every direction. I turned to see Sylvia Blue pulling Lan Ruoxi downstairs, with 001 following. Apparently, they weren't interested in mechanical things, and soon the novelty wore off.
"Don't mind them—women are like that. Anyway, what's the range of this laser?"
Entity 005 asked. I hesitated; I hadn't considered these details—the laser's power, its range per second, and a whole list of other issues. This was inspired by the laser weapon in Zhang Qingyuan's undead body. Though the form is gone, Luban's weapon still rests in my ghost domain.
Without Zhang Qingyuan's body to carry those weapons, they're just scrap metal. I can't use them anymore, but I've looked over some of the designs.
There's still a lot I need to improve. The robot's presence here is just its most basic outward form; I don't need to think about its inner workings, but the exterior must be carefully considered. Like when 001 turned me into a panda—I found it strange.
Back then, I was weak and powerless. I looked like a panda, but I wasn't quite the panda I knew. Pandas may look cuddly, but they're actually fierce. So 001 turned me into the panda she imagined.
"Make a few more tonight and test them again tomorrow. If something excels in one aspect, it will always be lacking in another. Nothing is perfect, not even in dreams."
Entity 004, who hadn't spoken for a while, muttered from the side. I looked at him; his words seemed to hint at something, but I couldn't figure it out right away.
"Still, this hunk of metal is useful. Since we know those black curse energy streams can mimic Forsaken, it's best not to rush into battle—especially the lower-numbered Forsaken."