Gu Ya switched his mecha to autopilot, traveling at 900 kilometers per hour.
There was no need to go too fast, as it would cause significant wear and tear on the mecha's components. At this speed, he could be back in a little over two hours, giving him time to ask Ye Ying out for a late-night snack and deliver the item to her. Gu Ya was eager to see Ye Ying and the surprised, happy expression on her face when she received his gift.
"I just remembered," Wei Ping suddenly said, "my identification and bag are in the mecha's storage compartment."
Gu Ya replied cautiously, "It's best not to go back."
"I can't!" Wei Ping stood up, gripping the back of the pilot's seat, and said to Gu Ya, "My grandmother's belongings are in there." Her tone was urgent, indicating the item's significance. If those brats had stolen it, it would have been one thing. But now that she remembered, not going back would only increase her anxiety.
"Alright, but we need to be quick. I'm worried there might be bandits there still." With that, Gu Ya changed course and flew towards the location where Wei Ping's mecha had crashed.
About an hour later, they arrived at the crash site. Gu Ya circled overhead for a while, ensuring there were no bandits, before landing his mecha. Besides sand and pebbles, there was nothing else here. The sun had already set, and the afterglow was fading. The land was dark blue, utterly silent.
Gu Ya cautiously scanned the surroundings and calmly said, "I'll help you look. You control the mecha and notify me immediately if you notice anything suspicious."
"You don't know where it is, so I should go," Wei Ping said quickly and climbed out of the cockpit. Gu Ya pondered for a moment and followed her. They quickly entered the wrecked cockpit, and Wei Ping searched frantically but couldn't find it. "That's strange, I distinctly put it here!"
Gu Ya glanced at the time; twenty minutes had passed, and his unease grew. "It might have already been taken. We need to leave quickly!" Wei Ping ignored Gu Ya's plea and continued searching.
Just then, hurried, disorganized footsteps sounded from outside the cockpit. Gu Ya was alarmed and quickly restrained Wei Ping, motioning for her to be quiet. These footsteps didn't sound like those of animals; they were the sounds of boots on the ground! This was bad! Gu Ya summoned his Cobra pistol from his Void Pack and cautiously peeked out. Suddenly, a bullet struck the steel next to his head, making Gu Ya's ears ring. More footsteps approached, accompanied by various shouts.
"Dinner is here! Get out, hahahaha!" a vile voice taunted from outside the cockpit. "The boss really planned this well, knowing they'd come back for their stuff. He told us to wait here." "And there's a little lady, hahahaha, we're having a feast tonight!"
Gu Ya activated his exoskeleton armor, leaped out of the cockpit, and flew straight up into the sky. Outside the mecha wreckage, about seventeen or eighteen people were gathered. They were all draped in tattered, coarse cloth cloaks, wore metal masks, and held rusty, modified firearms. Where had these people come from? Gu Ya was shocked. Instantly, bullets rained down on him. Gu Ya flew into the air, circled around, and then charged at the crowd, activating his mecha pilot skills. He was like a miniature mecha, felling five or six people wherever he went. The remaining bandits, seeing this, scattered and fled, hiding in the crevices of the mecha wreckage, peeking out their heads to observe.
It was not advisable to linger! Gu Ya returned to the cockpit, grabbed the terrified and paralyzed Wei Ping, and rushed out. Just then, an extremely bright beam cannon shot down from the sky, tearing through the dark blue space and hitting Gu Ya's mecha directly. The massive shockwave, accompanied by a deafening explosion, swept Gu Ya and Wei Ping back into the cockpit. When Gu Ya finally managed to stand up and look, the mecha was nothing more than a burning, empty frame.
At that moment, several searchlights shone down from the sky, illuminating the ground outside the cockpit with a blinding white light. "Get out! You killed 23 of my brothers last time, and this time I'm going to eat you alive!" a rough, deep male voice boomed from outside the cockpit.
Gu Ya calmed himself. The cramped cockpit wouldn't allow him to deploy the "Brilliant Blue Swordsman"; he had to get Wei Ping out. "Wei Ping, do you trust me?" Gu Ya turned and asked. Wei Ping was already scared stiff, nodding frantically, "Who else can I trust right now if not you?" "Good! Close your eyes." Gu Ya reached out and covered Wei Ping's eyes.
Gu Ya accessed the system store and purchased an exoskeleton armor. Suddenly, a white light emanated from Wei Ping's body, and armor components attached themselves to her. Finally, Wei Ping was covered head to toe in exoskeleton armor. "No time to be amazed, we need to escape!" Gu Ya said quickly. "This uses the eye-scanning function; you select options with your gaze," Gu Ya explained rapidly. "Now, activate the flight function." Wei Ping learned quickly. Suddenly, red light bands illuminated her armor, and faint blue flames erupted from the jets in her feet. "Good! Now charge out with me!" Gu Ya pulled Wei Ping along, and they charged out of the cockpit like two mechas, their footsteps spewing flames.
The bandit mechas saw them flying out and immediately charged forward. The massive air currents made it difficult for Wei Ping to maintain stable flight. Gu Ya tightly held Wei Ping's waist and said, "Excuse me," as he led her in a dive, evading a bandit mecha. "We can't rely on this to escape, can we? We can't fly as fast as mechas!" Wei Ping shouted. The bandit mecha executed a sharp turn and charged directly at them. Gu Ya was about to summon the Brilliant Blue Swordsman when, at that moment, dozens of ropes were suddenly shot from the hands of the bandits on the ground. The ends of the ropes were barbed harpoon-like steel needles. Dozens of ropes immediately snagged the two of them. Gu Ya reached out to pull, but more harpoons shot out, like a large net, capturing them and forcibly dragging them down from the sky.
As soon as they landed, dozens of bandits surrounded them, firing bullets wildly. The exoskeleton armor offered good bulletproof protection, but it couldn't withstand the onslaught of bullets. Worse still, while the bullets could deflect some of the impact, the pain was unbearable. Gu Ya still had the "Pain Immunity" skill, allowing him to endure for a while. But Wei Ping was just a young girl. The impact of the bullets and the binding force of the ropes prevented Gu Ya from moving freely. Soon, the bandits swarmed them, firmly restraining them.
"Hahahaha! We've got some meat! We've got some meat!" "Kill the man and eat him, we'll take the little lady back to have our fun before that! Hehehehe." "We're blessed, we're blessed! Tonight we feast, tell the brothers in the camp, we're drinking our fill tonight!" More than a dozen hands forcibly stripped Gu Ya and Wei Ping of their exoskeleton armor, bound them with ropes, and carried them away. The bandits laughed evilly and wildly, while Wei Ping cried out in terror for help. Gu Ya roared in anger, swinging his fists. A bandit rushed over and injected Gu Ya with a tranquilizer, causing him to immediately pass out. They were tied to the legs of the bandit mechas, which then flew into the sky, heading towards the mountains. Wei Ping's spirit completely broke. She slumped her head, motionless, as the strong wind buffeted her. Due to his "Pain Immunity" skill, the effects of the tranquilizer on Gu Ya weakened rapidly. By the time Gu Ya fully regained consciousness, they had been brought to the bandits' camp. What kind of evil place was this? The camp was surrounded by huge wooden walls. Along the walls stood over a dozen tall poles, each with a mangled human corpse hanging from it. The corpses, silhouetted against the flickering campfire, created a terrifying scene. Dozens of bandits surrounded them, staring at them with evil eyes. Some were already making lewd gestures. They were like a pack of demons. The large bonfire burned beside them, making Gu Ya feel feverish, his skin almost bursting. Wei Ping curled up weakly in Gu Ya's arms. She had stopped crying; her eyes were vacant, staring blankly as if she were a corpse. Fortunately, the bandits hadn't touched her yet, and her pilot suit was intact. Enduring the intense heat, Gu Ya accessed the system store, purchased a small knife, and secretly began cutting the ropes.
"Boss! The little lady is for you first!" a bandit's voice called out. "I want to eat that man alive! Starting with his toes, then his fingers, force-feed him wine, and make him watch himself being eaten!" another bandit shouted. "Hehehe, why the rush? We can have fun with the man too." But soon, the area around the camp was enveloped by a mysterious and unsettling sound. Gradually, the sound grew louder, as if some colossal entity was wriggling outside the wooden walls. The bandits stopped shouting and turned to look. In the areas beyond the reach of the campfire, a massive dark silhouette slowly emerged. All the bandits' eyes widened as the silhouette revealed itself. The dark silhouette continued to emerge, growing taller and taller. Its enormous head was like a hammer, and the fragile wooden walls were like nothing in its presence. Suddenly, the silhouette opened two massive orange eyes, parted its mechanical maw, and let out a soul-shattering roar: "Waaaaagh!" The roar stunned everyone present. One bandit shouted in panic, "Snake! A bi-big big snake!!!"
"What an unfortunate coincidence!" All the bandits were shocked by the angry and ferocious voice and turned around. Gu Ya stood steadily, his exoskeleton armor back on. "Who told you to encounter me." Gu Ya's eyes were reflected red by the campfire.