Chapter 4

"No, not yet. It’s not time yet," Victor kept telling himself.

He refused to do anything that could potentially change the future, however low the risk.

Jeopardizing his future for those two scumbags wasn't worth it.

Victor was trying his best to suppress his rising anger, but Stanley was completely oblivious to the tension. He got off the bike with a big grin and threw an arm around Victor’s neck.

What Stanley didn't know was that when he did that, Victor's entire body trembled, and his fists clenched tightly.

He almost couldn't hold back the urge to punch the face that was so close to him.

"I brought my sister with me. Am I a great friend or what? It's up to you now," Stanley whispered in Victor's ear.

Victor took several deep breaths. In Stanley's eyes, Victor appeared very excited.

Victor forced a somewhat awkward smile.

"Hi, Susan." The words came out through gritted teeth, sounding a bit unnatural.

"Pfft, Victor, why are you so nervous?" Susan couldn't help but giggle. They had met before, and Victor hadn't been this nervous back then.

However, she had a bit of a fondness for this inexperienced young hottie, especially now that he had a bit of money.

As long as she had not drained his pockets, that fondness wouldn't disappear.

"Look at you, you're such a loser," Stanley nudged Victor's back with his arm.

The nudge wasn't that hard, but it almost ignited the rage that Victor had worked so hard to suppress.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Didn't I just say? I brought my sister to see you."

"I'm busy, look!" Victor pointed behind him.

Only then did Stanley notice what Victor was doing. It immediately made Stanley frown.

Susan screamed, her face turning pale with fright.

"Victor, since when do you have this kind of hobby?" Although Stanley wasn't afraid of rats, he felt a little uncomfortable seeing all the rats in the mousetraps.

And why were there thick metal chains on the rats?

"They're useful."

"Um, bro, this bike was bought with a loan, and I still owe some money. Can you..."

"Okay, I'll pay the rest, but not now. I'll look for you when I get back to the city in a few days. Oh yeah, your sister's not leaving that soon, right?" Victor glanced at the pale-faced Susan.

Seeing Susan's expression gave Victor a sense of satisfaction.

"My sister won't be leaving anytime soon. Okay, then it's decided. I'll wait for you to get back to the city in a few days."

Stanley didn't want to stay there any longer and couldn't wait to leave.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely look for you." A very natural smile appeared on Victor's face this time.

"I'll be waiting." Stanley patted Victor's shoulder, then ran away with Susan without saying another word.

The roar of the motorcycle gradually faded away.

Victor silently watched the two disappear into the distance. "I'll let you experience the apocalypse for a few days. I can't let you die so easily."

Humans are worth less in the apocalypse than dogs in peaceful times.

Victor knew this very well. He also knew how many people would die in the apocalypse and how much the dark side of human nature would show itself.

Squeak, squeak!

The sound of the rats snapped Victor back to reality.

Victor shook his head and smiled. "As long as they're in the city, I have plenty of ways to deal with them. The butterfly effect isn't all bad news. Susan wasn't supposed to be in Riverside City. Being able to get revenge early is a pleasant surprise."

At that moment, Victor genuinely relaxed. He continued to deal with the captured rats.

For the next few days, Victor made his home on New Wind Mountain.

Besides the captured rats, the only thing that brought Victor joy was Stanley's daily greetings.

At noon on the seventh day of Victor's rebirth, a bright flash suddenly appeared in the sky, as if the whole world was hit by a powerful flashbang.

When the humans' vision returned, the sky had turned dark, and a layer of dark clouds enveloped the entire world.

"Machines descent."

"Countdown: 3, 2, 1."

Everyone looked up at the sky in confusion as countless meteors appeared.

These meteors headed straight for Earth as if they were trying to destroy it.

"The Age of the Machines has begun."

Victor knew that these meteors were gifts to humanity because each meteor contained a Source Crystal.

These Source Crystals varied in grades. Who would get them and what type they would get depended solely on luck.

Soon, the meteors struck the land.

The expected explosions did not occur.

When the meteors revealed their true form, a message appeared in everyone's mind.

It was the mechanical civilization's reminder to humanity.

The vehicles each person owned had been transformed into their personal mecha.

That was the only message.

Victor was excited. This wasn't the first time he was experiencing this.

"Mecha Core."

A core Source Crystal that looked like a black gemstone appeared in Victor's hand.

"Merge."

Following Victor's command, the black heavy-duty truck that had been sitting still suddenly began to undergo a massive transformation.

In less than five seconds, a ten-meter-tall, jet-black heavyweight mecha appeared before Victor.

The mecha looked ferocious but carried a sense of violent beauty.

"It's beautiful," Victor exclaimed.

While Victor was admiring it, a black light shot out of the mecha's chest. Victor was enveloped in the black light and his body instantly disappeared.

A moment later, Victor regained consciousness.

His body had merged into the mecha's cockpit. The cockpit was completely filled with a flesh-like substance. His body was resting with his eyes closed within this mass.

Victor's consciousness could no longer sense his physical body. Instead, he had complete control of the mecha. The mecha was now his body.

"Menu."

Two beams of light shot out from Victor's eyes, and the beams formed a light screen in front of him.

[Mecha Form: Starter Form]

[Mecha Level: 1]

[Weight: 21 Tons]

[Type: To Be Selected]

[Standard Power Configuration: Super Matrix Engine]

[Equipment: None]

"The standard power configuration is a super matrix engine?" Victor was a little surprised. He hadn't expected that.

The engine was the mecha's power source, and the quality of the engine was very important to the mecha.

A super matrix engine could be considered one of the best engines for starter mecha. Even after one or even two evolutions, ordinary mecha might not have this kind of engine.

The most basic engine was just a single-core engine, and the power was distinguished by its cylinders.

Above the single-core engine was the matrix engine, and above the matrix engine was the super matrix engine.

"Select close-combat mecha."

"Ding! Selection successful."

A voice appeared in Victor's mind, and changes happened in the menu.

[Mecha Form: Starter Form]

[Mecha Level: 1]

[Weight: 21 Tons]

[Combat Power: 20]

[Type: Medium-Weight Close-Combat]

[Standard Power Configuration: Super Matrix Engine]

[Equipment: None]

Victor closed the menu with satisfaction. He was very familiar with all of this, and there was nothing to be surprised about.

The only stat that measured a mecha's combat power was the combat power stat. Victor was very satisfied that a level 1 mecha could have 20 points of combat power.

A lightweight or rudimentary mecha might not even have 10 points of combat power.

"A mecha needs to reach level 10 to evolve for the first time. Mine is currently level 1. My hope lies in these rats."

Victor looked at the rats he had captured.

The rats were twitching on the ground. Their bodies were transforming, but it would still take some time before they became completely mechanized.

"I'll go to the mountaintop."

Victor decided to use this time to climb the mountain and get that Source Crystal.

The ten-meter-tall, imposing black mecha picked up the saber and shield that Victor had prepared.

[Ordinary Alloy One-Handed Combat Saber]

[Combat Power +3]

[Ordinary Alloy One-Handed Combat Shield]

[Combat Power +3]

"They're indeed worthy of the word ordinary."

After picking up the weapon and shield, Victor immediately ascended the mountain.

Victor had piloted mecha before, so he was skilled and it did not feel awkward at all.

Other people would probably need a long time just to adapt to their mecha.

The ten-meter medium-weight mecha raced up the mountain path as if it was running on flat ground. Victor reached the summit in just a few minutes.

At the top of the mountain, the Source Crystal that Victor had been yearning for was shining with a beautiful rainbow glow.

Seeing the gorgeous colors, Victor was thrilled.

"I knew the grade of this Source Crystal would be high, but I didn't expect it to be this high."

Rainbow-colored light meant legendary grade. Source Crystal grades were divided into ordinary, intermediate, advanced, epic, and legendary, from low to high. As for whether there were grades higher than that, Victor didn't know. He hadn't encountered them in his previous life.

Victor didn't bother admiring the Source Crystal. Without wasting any time, he picked it up from the ground.

"Ding! Obtained legendary skill, Overdrive Combat Power Enhancement."