"Can a dead Stellaron Hunter be handed over as a mission success?"
"That... is probably not acceptable." Yanqing's face showed a hint of dilemma. "While I don't fully understand how the General and the others will decide, a live capture is always far better than a dead Stellaron Hunter."
"Well, that's a bit troublesome..." Now it was Fu Zhu's turn to feel troubled. As everyone knew, capturing someone alive was much more difficult than simply killing them.
Furthermore, the original Iron Golem in his world couldn't follow its creator's commands. Even though this one had now embarked on the Path of [Erudition], Fu Zhu couldn't guarantee it would listen.
Still, Fu Zhu decided to try. He shouted at the Iron Golem, which was currently engaged in a turn-based game of "I'll slash you, you punch me" with Blade.
"Iron Golem, stop!"
The Iron Golem, which had been raising its fist to deliver another punch, immediately froze upon hearing Fu Zhu's voice. It stood motionless on the spot, completely still.
Seeing the Iron Golem actually stop, Fu Zhu couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.
It really stopped! Nous, you did a great job! I'll build more Iron Golems for you to take to your place!
A controllable Iron Golem was infinitely more useful than one that wasn't! He could even test its intelligence later. If it was high enough, Fu Zhu could create an entire army of Iron Golems. By then, they could sweep away any enemy that wasn't overwhelmingly powerful!
Blade, who was fighting fiercely with the Iron Golem, saw it suddenly stop and couldn't help but sneer.
"To actually dare pause while facing me... after you die, you can blame that man for giving you a foolish order!"
With a surge of power, Blade's sword slashed across the Iron Golem's chest. Clang! The attack still failed to break its defense, but this time, a few small cracks appeared on its body.
Seeing Blade launch a sneak attack, Fu Zhu immediately yelled at the Iron Golem again, "What the hell?! You, an old man, are sneak-attacking a newly born Iron Golem?! Keep hitting him! Just don't kill him!"
Receiving its orders, the Iron Golem once again charged at Blade with a punch. The two resumed their battle of attrition, neither willing to back down an inch.
Of course, Fu Zhu wouldn't just stand by and watch his Iron Golem take a beating. He quickly ran to a safe distance behind it, pulled out some iron ingots, and began tossing them at its back.
The moment the iron ingots touched the Golem's back, they merged into its body, and the few cracks on its surface instantly vanished.
Blade, with his sharp eyes, noticed this and couldn't help but curse inwardly. He had just barely managed to damage the Iron Golem, and in a flash, it was healed?!
Its recovery was even faster than his own undying body!
As the two fought fiercely, dozens of Cloud Knights, alerted by the commotion, arrived on the scene. They saw the Iron Golem and Blade locked in a brutal fight and immediately raised their weapons, surrounding the pair. However, they didn't act rashly, because they saw Yanqing, the General's attendant, was also present, and he hadn't made a move.
This meant the situation was likely more complicated than it appeared. As long as no civilians were harmed, it was best not to intervene recklessly.
Fortunately, this somewhat "farcical" battle did not last long. Although Blade possessed an immortal body, he could still be injured. Excessive blood loss gradually drained his stamina, and in the end, he couldn't even hold his longsword steady. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, unconscious.
Seeing Blade faint, Fu Zhu immediately ordered the Iron Golem to stop, preventing it from delivering a final punch that would have turned Blade's head into a shower of mosaic pixels.
[Achievement Unlocked: Acquaintance with Blade]
[Received: 5 Achievement Points]
Sorry about that, didn't mean to meet you this way, Fu Zhu thought, mentally accepting the system's 5 achievement points with 'apology' before nodding to Yanqing behind him.
"It's done, kid. Have your people arrest him. Aren't the Cloud Knights already here?"
Yanqing nodded and gestured to the surrounding Cloud Knights.
"Take this person into custody. Remember to guard him strictly. He will be handed over to the General for interrogation later."
"Yes, sir."
Several Cloud Knights immediately stepped forward. They shackled the boneless, limp form of Blade with their portable restraints and dragged him away.
Yanqing watched the Cloud Knights take Blade away and couldn't help but sigh. "It's just as the Great Diviner predicted. And as for my own divination..."
When Yanqing remembered that Fu Xuan had said he would only suffer a crushing defeat if he sparred with Fu Zhu, he felt a bit unconvinced.
He was, after all, the Luofu's genius swordsman. Even if there was a gap between him and Fu Zhu, it couldn't possibly lead to a crushing defeat, could it?
Could it be that Master Fu Zhu's strength was already approaching the General's?
While Yanqing was lost in thought, Fu Zhu walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Kid, what are you thinking about? Is there anything else? If not, we're leaving."
Although he hadn't done much, he had been running around for half the day and was feeling a bit tired.
Yanqing snapped back to reality. Just as he was about to tell Fu Zhu that there was nothing else, his phone, tucked away in his clothes, began to ring.
He took out his phone and glanced at the message, his expression changing instantly. He clasped his fist towards Fu Zhu and the others. "Master Fu Zhu, I must ask you and your companions to accompany me to the Seat of Divine Foresight. The General wishes to see you all to discuss the matter of the Stellaron Hunter."
Hearing this, March 7th and Xing looked at Fu Zhu in unison. With Welt absent, the decision naturally fell on his shoulders.
Fu Zhu rubbed his brow with some resignation and nodded in agreement.
"Fine, but I need to call another companion."
"Of course. Master Fu Zhu, you need only have your other Nameless companion wait for us at the Seat of Divine Foresight."
"Alright."
Fu Zhu took out his phone to message Welt. After sending it, he turned around to call for March 7th and Xing, only to see that Xing had already made her way over to the Iron Golem. Using both her hands and feet, she was clambering up its body, completely disregarding the risk of her skirt riding up as she tried to scale its shoulders.
"Xing, what the hell are you doing?!"
Fu Zhu jumped in fright. He knew the Iron Golem was very "sensitive." Even a harmless snowball tossed at it would provoke a counterattack.
Fu Zhu was genuinely worried that Xing's climbing would trigger the Iron Golem's defense mechanism and get her smashed by its fist!
He knew that the current Iron Golem was much stronger than the original version. Even Blade, one of the infamous Stellaron Hunters, was seriously injured by a single punch. A hit like that on Xing's slender arms and legs...
It would be more than just a few bruises.
Fortunately, although Xing's climbing was a bit rough, the Iron Golem remained perfectly still. Seeing that she seemed to be struggling to get up, it even proactively raised its arm to give her a foothold.
With the Iron Golem's help, Xing finally made it to its shoulder. She sat down with a plop and, smiling, was about to show off to Fu Zhu when the Golem raised its other hand. In its large metal palm, it held a red poppy.
Xing leaned down to look the Iron Golem in the eyes, asking curiously, "Is this for me?"
The Iron Golem nodded slightly and extended the poppy a little further.
"Thank you!" Xing said, happily accepting the flower.
After giving the poppy to Xing, the Iron Golem then produced another one from who-knows-where, walked over to an envious-looking March 7th, and knelt down to offer her the flower.
"I get one too?"
March 7th was surprised, but she accepted it with delight. "Thank you, Iron Golem!"
Xing, perched on the Golem's shoulder, patted its head with a laugh and said to March 7th below, "March, you come up too! The other shoulder is free!"
"Can I?"
The Iron Golem proactively bent down and offered its arm as a stepping stone. Seeing this, March 7th joyfully climbed up and sat on its other shoulder.
Meanwhile, Yanqing and Qingque stood off to the side, watching the Iron Golem with hopeful eyes. Unfortunately, it didn't offer them any flowers; it didn't even spare them a single glance.
Fu Zhu watched this harmonious and loving scene and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. From the Golem's flower-giving and cooperative actions, it was clear its intelligence far exceeded his expectations. Furthermore, it considered everyone from the Express crew as its companions.
This put Fu Zhu at ease. In the future, he wouldn't have to worry about Xing and the others getting attacked by the Iron Golem if they accidentally hurt it.
There was just one thing that annoyed him.
Both of the Iron Golem's shoulders were now occupied. Where was he supposed to sit?
He didn't want to walk!
And so, Fu Zhu directly issued a command to the Iron Golem, "Iron Golem, toss Xing down for me!"
Xing, who had been sitting on the Golem's shoulder posing for a picture with March 7th, suddenly heard this. Before she could say anything, she felt the collar of her shirt being grabbed from behind and was unceremoniously tossed to the ground.
"Ouch! Old Bro, what was that for!"
Xing landed on the ground and rubbed her sore bottom, glaring resentfully at Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu just chuckled. As expected, his commands had the highest priority!
Then, with the Iron Golem's help, he took Xing's former spot.
Xing's eyes widened. She shot up from the ground and said defiantly, "Old Bro, you're cheating! Besides, why would a guy do this to his own sister?! You're a boy, what's wrong with letting me sit up there?!"
Fu Zhu lifted his chin and said smugly, "I made the Iron Golem, so I get to enjoy it. What's wrong with that?!"
Xing shot Fu Zhu a universal gesture of friendship. Then, her eyes darted around mischievously. With a sudden burst of energy from her legs, she leaped high into the air and latched onto Fu Zhu.
"I don't care, I want to sit too! So I'll just sit on your shoulders!"
In the end, Fu Zhu sat on the Iron Golem's shoulder, and Xing sat on Fu Zhu's shoulders, the three of them forming a "small tower" several meters high.
March 7th, sitting on the other side, rolled her eyes slightly and muttered, "So childish."
Yanqing, standing on the ground, had to crane his neck to look up at the trio, a bead of sweat dripping from his forehead.
"So... Master Fu Zhu, can we set off now?"
Fu Zhu and Xing nodded in perfect sync and replied in unison.
"Depart!"
With a wry laugh, Yanqing shook his head and led the way, the Iron Golem following closely behind him.
The group proceeded towards the Seat of Divine Foresight in this bizarre formation, attracting countless stares along the way. While this made the slightly thin-skinned March 7th blush, Fu Zhu and his sister quite enjoyed the attention.
Qingque, who had been following alongside them as their designated photographer, couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"They always say city folk know how to have fun, but I don't think they have as much fun as you all..."
Outside the Seat of Divine Foresight.
After receiving Fu Zhu's message to gather at the entrance of the Seat of Divine Foresight, Welt had dropped what he was doing and rushed over.
What he hadn't expected was that while he was still contemplating how to establish contact with the Luofu's official authorities, the three youngsters had already managed to speedrun a Stellaron Hunter?!
This left Welt completely stunned when he received the message, but he quickly felt a sense of pride in their actions.
Just as Welt was thinking about praising the three of them when he saw them, and maybe asking what they wanted for dinner as a reward, he spotted Fu Zhu's group approaching in a very peculiar manner.
Welt looked them over from top to bottom. After a long silence, he finally asked, "What... are you all doing? And who... is that?"
Welt had seen many intelligent machines in his time, but he couldn't be sure if the white automaton before him was a new friend Fu Zhu and the others had made on the Luofu.
The trio quickly scrambled down from the Iron Golem. Fu Zhu smiled and introduced the Iron Golem to Welt.
"Uncle Yang, this is a bodyguard I built back on Jarilo-VI, the Iron Golem. When I first made it, it caught the eye of both Qlipoth and Nous. Nous then borrowed it for a period of observation and just sent it back to me on the Luofu a little while ago."
"So that's how it is."
The Iron Golem also walked forward and offered a poppy to Welt.
Welt was a bit surprised. He didn't take it immediately, instead glancing at Fu Zhu with a questioning look.
Fu Zhu explained the Golem's behavior again.
"It's expressing its friendliness to you, Uncle Yang. Because of Nous's blessing, the Iron Golem is quite intelligent. It just can't speak. Giving you a poppy means it considers you someone to be protected."
After hearing Fu Zhu's explanation, Welt finally reached out and took the poppy from the Iron Golem, saying a word of thanks, but his eyes remained fixed on the automaton.
The more Welt looked, the more admiration he felt.
"Everyone, shall we go in? The General is waiting," Yanqing prompted after a moment.
The group then started heading into the Seat of Divine Foresight. However, Welt lagged a few steps behind, sidling up to Fu Zhu. After a moment's hesitation, he asked.
"Fu Zhu, can you build other types of robots?"