The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

The loading screen looks somewhat familiar, but there are also significant differences.

For example, the loaded identification information wasn't Jiang Chuan's name, but rather "Operator 001"... This might mean that the system wasn't connected to the network, and all the people involved in the test had a shared account called "Operator 001." Before Jiang Chuan could even think about it carefully, the operating system had already finished loading.

The dense, lingering darkness was completely illuminated when he blinked again, revealing a lush, fragrant forest. Sunlight streamed through the trees and branches, creating pathways of light; the scene before him was breathtakingly beautiful. The completely realistic virtual reality world was stunning at any time.

Jiang Chuan stood on the ground, shrouded in a huge shadow.

He turned back at the end of the shadow and saw the enormous metal legs. Then he looked up and saw the true form of the mecha. It was a humanoid machine completely armed with silver-gray metal, over fifty meters tall. Standing on the ground and looking up at this colossal existence was truly awe-inspiring.

Shining with a cold, sharp light under the sunlight, this giant, exuding a technologically aloof aura, stands tall and proud, gazing into the distance.

The words "majestic" and "domineering" perfectly describe the impression it left on Jiang Chuan at that moment.

"I thought we were already inside the mech from the start..."

Just as this thought arose, Jiang Chuan heard a roar coming from the depths of the dense forest.

Boom!

He turned around in astonishment, casting his gaze in the direction from which the loud noise came. Through the treetops, he saw a giant beast sweeping straight towards him through the jungle with overwhelming force.

[Countdown 00:01:00]

[Operator 001, please enter the cockpit as instructed].

[You have one minute to enter the cockpit. When the time is up, the mission will fail.]

Although he knew it was virtual reality and there was no real danger, the oppressive feeling of the giant beast advancing with a roar was overwhelming. Jiang Chuan didn't hesitate. He quickly climbed up the back of the mecha based on the scene in his line of sight and placed his palm on the scanning plate with the highlighted indicator.

Kaka-

As the "authentication successful" sign appeared, a series of soft, continuous sounds emanated from the back of the mech Jiang Chuan was in. The mech's armor backplate quickly opened, and a capsule-like device rose up from the spine. The capsule's entrance split open to the left and right, and Jiang Chuan, looking at the pitch-black interior, was initially curious, then gritted his teeth and immediately plunged inside...

"Om-!"

The scene before Jiang Chuan's eyes lit up again, and at this moment, his visual and sensory nerves suddenly experienced an extremely novel sensation.

It seemed that my body had become much heavier and taller.

But it has also become much stronger.

It seems that a hurricane can be stirred up with a wave of the hand, and that one can spread wings and soar with a thought.

It seemed as if he was no longer himself, but had completely transformed into that extremely powerful mecha.

He looked straight at the colossal beast, resembling Godzilla, slowly approaching him. The towering trees in the jungle no longer required him to look up; they were barely taller than his calves, like weeds. The once incredibly powerful and invincible beast no longer seemed so unassailable before Jiang Chuan…

However, Jiang Chuan didn't have time to get used to this feeling. Before he could even think about it, a new notification appeared in front of him.

The battle will begin in 48 seconds.

Do everything in your power to defeat the monster before you.

There were no other prompts or instructions.

This simple, almost careless, text prompt never appeared again after it ended.

Jiang Chuan decided not to wait any longer...

He was prepared to make a huge scene.

"bring it on!!"

He took a step forward, and the mech's massive body also took a step forward, kicking down and uprooting the jungle beneath his feet as he stepped.

After walking a few steps, I seemed to have gotten used to my body. I started to get used to that strange sense of control, and then I started running.

When this giant begins to run wildly, a storm ensues!
Sand and stones flew everywhere, and trees were blown about!
Although the mecha looked bulky, it displayed a surprising agility when it moved!
That exhilarating feeling that gets your blood pumping makes you want to scream and shout with abandon!

"Hahaha!!"

Jiang Chuan had never felt anything like this before. This fresh and unrestrained feeling caused his pupils to dilate, and an extreme fighting spirit surged from the depths of his heart, erupting with an impulse to destroy everything!

In the midst of its frantic run, the mech leaped into the air and delivered a vicious punch to the beast's left cheek!
Boom!

The metal fist made point-blank contact with the beast's face, unleashing a deafening roar!

Immediately afterward, Jiang Chuan engaged the beast in a fierce battle. The agility displayed by his metallic body far surpassed the beast's clumsy physique. Jiang Chuan even employed the close-quarters combat techniques he had mastered during his sparring with Li Yi, unleashing punch after punch amidst his nimble movements, causing the beast to roar incessantly and bleed profusely from its head!
The scales on the beast's body were scattered and fell off, and purple blood oozed out from beneath the scales, dripping down like a small waterfall. The eerie purple blood scorched the branches and trunks with its high acidity, making a sizzling sound, and even splashed onto the mecha, leaving marks on its metal surface...

But the monster could only threaten the mecha by spitting blood.

Under Jiang Chuan's control, the beast had no way to fight back and was simply being beaten one-sidedly...

It let out a series of pitiful cries for mercy.

……

Outside of the virtual reality, Xu Shan watched Jiang Chuan brutally beating up a strange beast, his expression somewhat surprised.

Although Jiang Chuan's physical fitness is indeed far superior to that of other testers, and he can be said to be the tester who is closest to the actual combat data after the operating system was ready, is the gap too big?

How could he adapt so quickly?

Xu Shan certainly remembered that during the first simulation test, the tester, who was rumored to be a Grandmaster-level player of League of Legends on the Chinese server, tripped over the third step after entering the insertion plug. Forget about fighting the monster, he couldn't even get up after falling, and the first round of testing ended with the monster sitting on his butt in the simulated battlefield...

While this may not have much to do with whether someone is a master in that game, it certainly suggests they have very high reaction speed and nerve sensitivity...

However, the combat capabilities that Jiang Chuan displayed at this moment were simply outrageous.

"Perhaps this is what genius is all about?"

"that is……"

"That's a bit crazy."

Jiang Chuan subjected the beast in the simulation training to inhumane whipping, or even abuse.

The scene was too painful to watch.

Xu Shan wondered if Jiang Chuan had awakened some extraordinary fetish.
Xu Shan didn't think much of it. He immediately threw himself into the data collection work, wanting to analyze and summarize the combat data obtained by Jiang Chuan as soon as possible, and see if there were any flaws in the design of the mecha itself before it went into mass production.

However, Xu Shan also knew that even if no problems were apparent now, this was, after all, a man-made creation, and various minor flaws and issues would inevitably arise once it was put into actual use. Even so, testing at this time was necessary. Especially with Jiang Chuan's astonishing combat mode, it was possible to maximize the mecha's potential and thus better identify any problems.

He looked at the various indicators on the parameter list.

"All neurological indicators are normal."

"The wear and tear is slightly greater than expected, which should be related to Jiang Chuan's combat mode, but it's not a big problem." "The level of mental pollution in deep-sea conditions is within the expected range."

"The mental energy penetration coefficient fluctuates within the range of 0.887."

"The energy system is functioning normally, the fusion reactor has reached its peak power, the energy decay rate is exceeding expectations, and the combat duration under extreme operational conditions has been reduced to 37 hours..."

"The corrosion of the external metal is negligible, and the toughness and strength are better than the standard values."

"Letting Jiang Chuan handle it was definitely the right decision."

……

Just as Jiang Chuan was conducting mecha simulation training...

Kunlun Mountains.

The three groups of vehicles were still speeding through the vast mountainous area, their wheels kicking up thick smoke as they were the only moving objects in this tranquil mountain landscape, making them very conspicuous.

By this time, the search team at the source of the beast tide had almost left the wilderness, and could now occasionally see traces of human civilization. They even traveled on the highway for a while before returning to the mountain road, where they saw many antelopes and wild donkeys. These creatures, which had not yet returned to their ancient state, still maintained their most primitive lifestyles.

As the car passed by, it caused a cloud of dust to billow out.

When the car stopped, they had arrived at the source of the Kunlun River, at the Black Sea. There stood a huge stone tablet with five large red characters that read "Queen Mother of the West's Jade Pool," with Tibetan annotations beside it. The place where the Queen Mother of the West's Jade Pool was located was teeming with waterbirds, and the lake water was crystal clear and emerald green, with auspicious vapors rising from it—truly a magnificent sight.

"Let's have lunch here before we set off again."

After Li Yu spoke, everyone got out of the car, ready to enjoy the beautiful scenery and have some food.

After getting off the bus, Zhong Huahua was indeed captivated by the magnificent natural scenery before her.

The lake surface shimmered, and across the water, one could see the undulating hills on the opposite shore. Further away, the snow-capped mountains seemed to add color to these hills. The sky was sparsely clouded, yet it felt as if it were touching the ground, like a curtain extending from behind the snow-capped mountains.

She had never seen such a sight before; even Princess Anle had never encountered such a breathtaking scene in her memory.

Wu Zhen wasn't interested in the scenery; he was only focused on making great contributions. He was aware of Jiang Chuan's third-class ranking, and being so far behind Jiang Chuan was something that the proud and ambitious Second Prince Wu Zhen couldn't tolerate.

He looked at the stone tablet, raised an eyebrow, and then turned to ask Li Yu behind him:
"Is this the Jade Pool of the Queen Mother of the West?"

"So, is the source we're looking for right here?"

"Captain, do you feel anything?"

"I have a premonition that this is the destined moment, that my life will be recorded at this moment, and in the future..."

Wu Zhen stopped speaking as Cao Zhigang turned his head and strode towards him.

Then, Li Yu's voice came through:

“I have been investigating the situation here.”

"Nothing special about it."

Li Yu's words left Wu Zhen somewhat disappointed.

Fang Yi laughed heartily: "Didn't you say you had a premonition?"

Wu Zhen argued, "Isn't this the Jade Pool of the Queen Mother of the West? With such an obvious name, it must be here. My intuition is always right!"

"Today will surely be the day I make a name for myself!"

Fang Yi sighed with emotion. It seemed that only when Wu Zhen spoke these words did they sound so normal.

Cao Zhiqiang's voice came through: "Eat! Ham and canned braised pork!"

"We've finished the self-heating rice, so we're saving the last cup of porridge for Zhong Huahua!"

Upon hearing the word "canned braised pork," Wu Zhen's eye twitched. The food had indeed been poor lately, and the canned braised pork was so greasy it was almost inedible. And coincidentally, it was this very thing that was plentiful during the last supply replenishment…

So much so that just thinking about it makes me feel nauseous...

But if it's heated up, it's actually not so bad, so he forced himself to walk towards the food area, intending to grit his teeth and finish his lunch. At least the scenery here is quite nice; if he could ignore the greasiness, he might be able to manage to finish it.

"When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first tests their will and strengthens their body..."

Wu Zhen muttered this sentence and then immediately felt something was wrong. At least there was something to eat. How could this be considered "tempering one's will"?
However, just as he inexplicably felt that he should go hungry for a couple of meals to toughen up, Li Yu, who had already walked to the small table, suddenly frowned and immediately looked up at the sky.

Zhu Chengzhu ate two bites of braised pork, barely managing to swallow it with water. Seeing Li Yu's unusual behavior, he subconsciously looked up at the sky.

"Boss? What's wrong?"

Just as he spoke, Zhong Huahua also looked up at the sky.

Li Yu's expression grew increasingly serious, and Zhu Chengzhu's question drew everyone's attention to the unusual look on Li Yu's face. Everyone looked up at the sky in surprise...

But found nothing.

Just as Cao Zhigang was about to ask something else, Li Yu, with a solemn expression, finally spoke.

His tone was heavier than ever before, tinged with a sense of shock:

"Contact Command Center! Something's happened at the Queen Mother of the West's Jade Pool!!"

Wow!

Zhu Chengzhu dropped the can of food with such force that he almost overturned the small table. He rushed to the car at the fastest speed he had ever seen, jumped into the driver's seat, grabbed the intercom, and pressed the button for the emergency contact frequency. The whole sequence of actions was so swift and dazzling... but it was too late.

The static coming from the intercom... made Zhu Chengzhu's expression extremely ugly.

But before he could inform everyone, he paused.

Suddenly, the sky... darkened.

"how?"

He approached the windshield, turned his head to look at the sky, and then gasped.

"This……"

Wu Zhen's delighted voice rang out: "I knew it!"

"I...I knew it..."

His voice, filled with surprise, quickly turned to worry. As he looked at the enormous flying ship that blotted out the sky, his expression darkened.

"What is this?" (End of Chapter)