The native was named Ge Lin, and he was a member of the security team.
Normally, low-level field researchers undertook external missions. The fact that a security team member was dispatched this time demonstrated the natives' seriousness regarding this matter. It also revealed their arrogance and overconfidence towards the Reincarnators, believing that one security team member would be more than enough to deal with any Reincarnator.
If it were just an ordinary Reincarnator, Ge Lin's initial move with the weakening ring, coupled with the attractant, could have easily wiped out any Reincarnator camp.
But unfortunately, he encountered Zhang Chen.
At this moment, his AI system was issuing a series of alarms:
"Alert, target has vanished. Initiate emergency mode and disengage manual control?"
"Yes, initiate immediately!"
Ge Lin said solemnly.
This was because the natives knew that their biggest weakness in combat was not the strength of their energy grids or the attack and defense power of their battle armor, but their own reaction speed.
While strength and defense could be increased, human reaction speed had its limits.
If the human body itself was not enhanced, any advanced technology integrated into it would ultimately be restricted by reaction time.
Therefore, they developed the emergency mode.
Simply put, from the moment it was activated, humans completely lost control of their battle armor. All adaptive reactions were handled by the AI. Humans could at most issue indicative commands like "attack," "flee," or "defend."
Now, Zhang Chen had vanished into thin air, an intelligence Ge Lin had never encountered before, prompting him to immediately activate reaction mode.
*Whoosh!*
Suddenly, Zhang Chen appeared behind Ge Lin, his right hand transforming into a dagger, aiming straight for the back of Ge Lin's head.
"Another one of these brainless attacks, truly hasn't learned anything!"
Ge Lin chuckled helplessly.
Concurrently, the battle armor automatically reacted, its right hand swinging out forcefully and smashing into Zhang Chen, sending him flying seven or eight meters away.
However, his attack had used all his strength, and his body twisted with the inertia.
Taking advantage of this brief opening, another Zhang Chen emerged from the shadows, dagger in hand, thrusting towards Ge Lin's abdomen.
The AI's reaction speed was incredibly fast. With his body losing balance, he stomped his right foot hard on the ground, leaping into the air and unleashing a rapid series of kicks with both legs, sending Zhang Chen flying once more.
*Whoosh!*
*Whoosh!*
Two more Zhang Chens launched attacks simultaneously from above and below!
Ge Lin's entire body was in mid-air, with no point of leverage. As Zhang Chen's dagger was about to pierce his body, the battle armor's hands suddenly unleashed energy waves.
Using the recoil force, his body shot sideways, dodging the fatal blow!
"Hahaha, what do you think? Even if your reaction speed is enhanced, so what?"
"In the face of AI, no matter how strong the human brain is, its computational power can't match a computer!"
"Do you understand now? You have no chance of winning against me!"
Ge Lin roared with laughter.
"Hiss... this guy is indeed a bit troublesome!"
Zhang Chen stood on a distant treetop, activating Absolute Vision to observe the battlefield situation from a long distance.
This move was something he had learned from the bio-warriors.
The clones were akin to bio-warriors sharing vision. Zhang Chen, overseeing the entire situation here, could better command the clones in combat.
This way, apart from consuming a significant amount of energy, he would not suffer any damage, and it would also prevent him from impulsively unleashing powerful skills that could directly eliminate the opponent.
Zhang Chen realized that the natives did not know much about his abilities. Therefore, the fewer skills he exposed, the more advantageous it would be for him in future battles against the natives.
"Since your reaction is so fast... I'll just make your reactions useless!"
Zhang Chen's eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of a rather underhanded tactic!
"Is this all you've got? I'll kill your clones one by one and drag out your true self!"
Ge Lin boasted with arrogant laughter.
"Attack!"
He silently issued the command.
The battle armor charged forward abruptly, slamming into one of Zhang Chen's clones and knocking it aside.
Then, before the other clones could arrive, his figure surged again, his right hand extending an alloy steel blade and stabbing it fiercely into the clone's body.
*Thwack!*
The clone turned into a cloud of mist and vanished!
Although Zhang Chen possessed the ability to create clones, he couldn't perfectly replicate himself one-to-one.
The more clones he created, the significantly lower their individual combat power would be.
"So, is this all you've got? Let your true self come out and fight me!"
Ge Lin shouted at Zhang Chen, his back turned.
*Whoosh!*
*Whoosh!*
Suddenly, two more clones jumped out from the shadows, attacking Ge Lin from behind.
"Tsk, still haven't learned your lesson!"
Ge Lin sneered, and the battle armor automatically reacted, turning around and throwing a punch!
*Bang!*
The fist landed heavily on the clone, but this time, the situation seemed slightly different?!
He had expected the clone to be simply knocked away like the last time, but the opposite happened; the clone stubbornly clung to Ge Lin's right arm.
No matter how hard Ge Lin tried, he couldn't shake off the clone.
At this moment, another clone seized Ge Lin's left arm. With a clone on each side, Ge Lin's arms were immediately rendered useless.
"Don't think this can stop me!"
Ge Lin roared.
He stomped his legs on the ground, preparing to jump.
However, as he exerted force with his legs, he suddenly felt them go weak.
A clone on each side grabbed one of Ge Lin's legs.
*Thump!*
Another clone directly charged at Ge Lin's waist, slamming him to the ground.
Ge Lin now could only be described as utterly swamped.
While Zhang Chen's clones couldn't match Ge Lin's combat power individually, with five of them exerting force simultaneously, Ge Lin was rendered immobile.
If you can't even move, what's the use of having strong reaction capabilities?
At this point, two more clones rushed forward and began raining punches and kicks down on Ge Lin.
These attacks were carefully measured; their intensity was high, but none were fatal. The objective was to immobilize the battle armor.
Ge Lin was being beaten so badly he couldn't open his eyes, and the system AI kept issuing prompts:
"Detected uncontrollable chassis. Automatic exit from emergency mode, switching to manual driving mode! Please confirm!"
"Please confirm!"
"Confirm, confirm!"
Ge Lin yelled.
*Vroom!*
Before Ge Lin could even react, an energy wave shot out from the distant forest!
"Damn it, switch to emergency mode!"
Ge Lin shouted in desperation.
However, the speed of the energy wave far exceeded his reaction time.
Before Ge Lin could finish speaking, the energy wave slammed heavily into him and the Zhang Chen clones.
*Boom!*
*Poof! Poof poof!*
Zhang Chen's clones dissipated into white mist one by one.
Meanwhile, Ge Lin's mecha suffered severe damage. The armor on his chest was shattered, revealing the nano-suit he wore underneath.
"Retreat, activate teleportation beacon!"
Ge Lin struggled to his feet. He thrust his metal rods into the ground, and a spatial portal instantly appeared before him.
"Thanks!"
Unbeknownst to Ge Lin, Zhang Chen had appeared before him. He gave Ge Lin a slight smile before being the first to step through the teleportation portal.