Who says a sickly daughter can’t break through the weirdness?

At this moment, Xiaoxiang felt that her alloy body and built-in processor were several degrees higher than usual. She could even hear the cooling device in her body start to operate automatically.

"Stupid maid, do you know what's most special about humans?"

"..."

Xiaoxiang wanted to answer, but something seemed to be stuck in her throat, preventing her from speaking for a moment.

"I believe that what's most special about humans isn't philosophical contemplation, dopamine secretion, or neuromodulation...but the ability to become unlike ourselves for the people we care about."

Shen Qiyin's voice was as gentle as a pool of spring water.

Xiaoxiang's mechanical fingers unconsciously clenched the corner of Shen Qinyin's clothes. She felt her master's heartbeat coming through her thin pajamas.

"Master..." Xiaoxiang's voice was filled with a hint of hesitation that was not part of his programming. "If...if I really have feelings, then am I still a qualified tactical humanoid?"

Shen Qinyin chuckled, slightly distanced herself from him, and gently stroked Xiaoxiang's cheek with her fingers, looking into his eyes that reflected her face.

"You know what?" Shen Qiyin said with a smile, "What I'm most thankful for is that you're not just a qualified tactical humanoid."

"..."

The cockpit's ambient lighting flickered on, casting a warm orange light between the two of them.

Xiaoxiang suddenly reached out and carefully touched Shen Qinyin's cheek.

Her mechanical fingers gently traced the warm human skin, as if confirming the existence of something precious.

"Master, the problem I just had... seems to be a real problem for me." Xiaoxiang's voice was very soft. "Every time I'm not able to use it, my system will produce an abnormal fluctuation... like a short circuit, but different."

Shen Qiyin held her hand and guided her to place it against her heart: "Well, that's right, because you are very responsible and care about your companions. You are afraid of losing them, so you want to become better."

"Then... am I broken?" Xiaoxiang asked in a low voice, with unprecedented confusion in his tone.

Shen Qiyin smiled and shook her head, then suddenly hugged her again, quickly moved closer, and gently kissed her cold forehead: "No, you just became more like 'you'."

This sudden contact caused Xiaoxiang's entire system to overload instantly.

Her electronic glasses flashed wildly and the cooling system hummed violently.

She felt that if she didn't break free from Shen Qinyin, her hardware would be overloaded due to overheating, but strangely, she didn't want to push away this warm embrace at all.

Shen Qiyin slowly moved her fingers upwards, rubbed her slightly hot cheeks, and deliberately joked: "Xiaoxiang, your body is warm. I don't even need to turn on the air conditioner to sleep in winter. Holding you is enough."

Xiaoxiang felt the mechanical cortex on her face heating up along with the CPU. She gently took Shen Qiyin's hand and asked hesitantly, "Then, Master, can I hold you for a little longer?"

"Of course."

Shen Qiyin smiled sweetly and nodded, then hugged the other person again.

Soul Resonance: Chariot

[Level: 2 stars → 3 stars]

[Effect: Unstoppable Force (Lv. 2)]

[Unstoppable Force: Increase the strength of all your abilities by 15%]

Obtain Desire Stone: 300

[Current Desire Stone: 1300]

[Heart Flower: Stage 1, when reaching Stage 3, you can awaken a more powerful power]

The improvement of the bond was not a big surprise to Shen Qiyin.

Not only that, she also felt a little guilty for ignoring Xiaoxiang's emotions for so long.

Every time she wanted to take care of the other person, her thoughts would be disrupted by a bunch of messy things. There was no way, after all, they were really living hard during this period of time.

.....

The next day, as soon as Shen Qinyin turned on the radio, she heard Meng Jiang's complaints.

"...Damn it, that bastard caused us to lose over a dozen people, including a large number of qualified people! Qualified people are so precious these days, if one dies, there's one less. This miserable life is unbearable!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Qiyin immediately signaled to Xiaoxiang to relay the story: "Meng Jiang? What happened last night? Why are you throwing a tantrum in the channel at noon?"

"Nightingale? Oh, forget it, what else could it be?" Meng Jiang sighed helplessly and said, "Recently, a new beast has appeared in the Gyeonggi region. It's a black giant, about 18 to 21 meters tall, with thick skin and flesh, making it quite difficult to deal with.

You know that Level 3 monster that the UN barely managed to destroy with cobalt bombs? This thing is probably similar to that thing. We exhausted all our means and still couldn't harm it.

Fortunately, that thing did not have a strong desire for destruction like other strange beasts. It seemed to only target those creatures that posed a threat to it. After killing several of our offensive-type people and destroying our heavy weapons, the thing retreated.

Oh, damn it, even though I was lucky enough to save my life, I still have to say, it's a damn thing that ran fast, otherwise when the strategic bombers sent by the country arrived, they would have dropped thermobaric bombs on it and killed it."

The black giant?

Uh, could it be the same monster that I killed with a single blow from my Titan last night?

Shen Qiyin rubbed her temples. Although that thing was a third-level monster and was only fit to be chopped up by Titans, such a huge monster could actually appear in multiple places at the same time.

This seems to be the first time this has happened.

The giant beast is different from the ender ghost. Although both are level three beasts, the ender ghost's ability to destroy construction equipment is not as good as the giant beast. It is more targeted at killing humans.

Shen Qinyin thought of the large strange beasts she had encountered in the Tataria Desert before, and couldn't help feeling worried.

Recently, the frequency and proportion of giant monsters seem to be much higher than before. If this continues, it won’t be long before a plot like "Attack on Titan" will be staged.

"By the way, there is something I want to tell you."

After complaining for a while, Meng Jiang suddenly changed the subject and said seriously, "Do you know? A new military faction has emerged within the official system. It can't really be called a party, but rather a group of hawkish generals and politicians who intend to forcefully intervene in subsequent military operations."

"You mean, they plan to replace the original central leadership and take power themselves?"

"That's not true. After all, these people were originally high-ranking officials. It's just that the moderates have been replaced with hawks. I'm getting off topic. What I want to say is that the current group is called the 'survivor group.'"

"Survivalists?"

"As the name suggests, any means are permitted to ensure the survival of human civilization."

"That sounds quite impressive. From a rational perspective, the apocalypse does require a strong faction to take power to ensure the survival of human civilization."

"I support your idea, but the problem is, what these guys are doing is completely contrary to survival! Do you think blowing up millions of people is enough to ensure the survival of human civilization?"

"Hmm?" Shen Qiyin couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, "What do you mean?"

Meng Jiang took a deep breath, paused for half a second, and then said angrily, "That's what I mean! Launching nuclear weapons is the masterpiece of the survivalists!

According to the information I received, the person who orchestrated all this and killed over a million civilians is Li Huaiyuan, the main leader of the Survivor faction and the current Commander-in-Chief of the Republic's frontline resistance forces. Commander Li!

"Hmm, I don't know..."

"Are you kidding me? Even before the apocalypse, Li Huaiyuan was a renowned Army General. His achievements are all mentioned in history textbooks. Didn't you study history well?"

Shen Qiyin had no time to care about the politicians in this world, but judging from the speechless looks of Lin Qiutang and Tang Miao, she was indeed "lack of vision" this time.

"That old man is simply a lunatic. How can such a madman like him control the military? I really don't know what will become of us in the future..."

"Anyway, everyone, please be careful. I have something else to do here, so I'll cut it off first."

After cursing for a while, Meng Jiang sighed and cut off the communication.

Immediately afterwards, Gray Wolf, who had remained silent on the other end of the radio, knocked on the table and used a code word to prompt Shen Qinyin to change the channel.

When Shen Qiyin entered Gray Wolf's private channel, the other party's calm voice immediately rang out: "Nightingale, I need your help with something."

"what's up?"

"I asked someone to analyze the ruins you explored before. According to the experts' speculation, there should be two more, one in the south and one in the east.

There are many troops stationed in the east, so let’s forget about it. We can explore the south in depth.

So, are you interested in going to the south to find the location of the ruins?"

Chapter 170: Killing, Doomsday Faction (7.1K)

Shen Qinyin's fingers tapped lightly on the communicator, making a slight metallic sound.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked through the glass of the Titan's observation window at the city buildings in the distance that were still bathed in sunlight.

"You have quite a network of contacts. You can find out all these things." Shen Qiyin glanced at Xiaoxiang, asking him to relay the information for her. "Do the authorities also know about the ruins?"

"If even I can find out, how could the authorities not know about it? I noticed there was an earthquake in the Tianshan area a while ago—you know about the Tianshan area, right?"

"I know there's a huge mountain range in the north of the Republic. The highest peak is over 6500 meters above sea level, and there are many tourist attractions there."

"Yes, it's that place. After the earthquake, a huge cave ruin appeared out of nowhere. It couldn't be a natural product, but a man-made one. The things inside are basically similar to what you described last time."

"That's it..."

Shen Qinyin touched her chin and thought to herself that it was true.

She had previously speculated that there should be several more ruins of this kind, but she didn't expect that the gray wolf would confirm her speculation so soon.

After thinking for a moment, she asked Xiaoxiang to continue asking: "Since you have ideas about the ruins, why don't you send someone there yourself?"

"My people aren't that powerful," Gray Wolf replied without hesitation. "Nightingale, you've surprised me many times, so I believe in your abilities. In my opinion, you're the only one who can accomplish this mission without sending out the official elite investigators."

"I'll think about it, but first I have to ask, what kind of reward do you want this time? This information shouldn't be free, right?"

"Don't be nervous. My information isn't accurate enough to help you find the ruins. If you can't find them, you'll have wasted your time and effort. But well—"

Gray Wolf changed the subject and continued, "If you really find the ruins, I need you to tell me what's inside and the exact coordinates. If there's no danger, I'll send someone there."

"Ha, I knew you, an old fox, had your own agenda. So you're treating me like a pathfinder?"

"What does it matter? Although you are the first person to venture into danger, if there is any treasure in the ruins, you will also be the first to try it. Benefits always come with risks. I don't need to teach you this principle."

Shen Qinyin chuckled, her fingers tapping rhythm unconsciously on the console.

After a moment, she turned to look at Xiaoxiang and nodded at him.

The latter immediately understood and said, "Gray Wolf, you are really calculating, but you are right, high risk, high reward. I also want to stretch my legs, so let's go and take a look at the ruins."

......

In the southern part of the Republic, somewhere in Yunnan Province.

In the early morning, the rainforest was covered with a mist that seemed to never dissipate.

Yunnan is located in the southwest and is mainly covered by rainforest swamps. It has a humid climate and is prone to swamps and miasma.

This province has the most rainforest in the Republic. The entire province covers an area of ​​just over 3000 hectares, nearly one-third of which is covered by rainforest.

A huge Titan stood in the rainforest, and the sunlight shining through the gaps cast dappled shadows on the Titan's cold armor.

Shen Qinyin squatted in the shadow of the century-old tree, raised her fingers, and gently stroked the strange raised patterns on the surface of the trunk.

It's been five days.

It took them three days to reach Yunnan Province and another two days to explore the surrounding area.

Unfortunately, nothing was found.

The entire southern region is quite large, and it was thanks to Titan that Shen Qiyin was able to narrow the location to Yunnan Province.

To be more precise, it should be thanks to the sword core and the light cannon core.

After arriving in the southern region, the further south you go, the more special energy fluctuations will appear in the two cores brought out from the ruins.

This mysterious energy fluctuation was like a compass, guiding Shen Qinyin and the others towards their destination.

Originally, Shen Qiyin thought that as long as she followed the instructions, she would be able to find the ancient ruins smoothly, but strangely, after entering the rainforest, the core energy fluctuations disappeared.

Without the guidance of the core, Shen Qinyin and the others had no choice but to explore and wander aimlessly in the rainforest like headless flies.

Night falls again.

The huge Titan stood in the forest, and the searchlights on both sides dispelled the darkness, becoming the only bright light in the thick black fog.

At the same time, in a small village hundreds of miles away.

A dozen jeeps were driving fast on the foggy road.

The shells of these modified jeeps look dirty and broken, and their bodies are covered with scarlet and bizarre graffiti: twisted skulls, naked girls, and all kinds of vulgar words.

The scariest thing is that the roofs of these jeeps are equipped with more than a dozen colorful lights made from skulls.

The colorful lights shining from these heads look extremely creepy.

If any sharp-eyed survivors saw this convoy, they would definitely recognize it—

This is the convoy of the cult lunatics called "Doomsday Cult"!

“Wuhu!!”