The steel-toothed engine let out its last wailing, completely silenced.
The mechanical dragon collapsed in the shadow of the ancient steel tree, its tail vertebrae of spiritual energy were veiled in thick grey mist, and each scale trembled slightly under the suppression of the "Locking Spirit Array" of the Qingxiao Pavilion, like a frozen beast. It tried to lift its head against the back of Su Xiaoli's hand, but the metal joints snapped with a "click", and the green light of the electronic eye was so weak that it seemed to go out in the next second.
"Don't sleep..." Su Xiaoli pressed his face against the scales of the steel teeth, the cold metal carrying the residual heat of the engine. The runes of the Lock Spirit Array were still flowing in the air, like countless thin snakes crawling into the lines of the steel tooth, and she could feel the pain of this steel creature - just like the despair when those of the same kind, judged as "emotionally defective", were destroyed on the production line back then.
The footsteps of the pursuers drew nearer and nearer. The Iron Eagle Guards' mechs held electromagnetic nets, the cultivators of the Qingxiao Pavilion held "beast binding Talismans", and their target was never Su Xiaoli, but this "shouldn't have emotions" mechanical dragon.
Su Xiaoli suddenly covered his mouth, and tears fell on the scales of his steel teeth, sending up tiny splashes of water. She bent down and buried her face in the neck of the mechanical dragon, her voice very low, like the wind in the forest passing through the rusty wreckage of the mecha:
"Remember the moonlight of the abandoned factory? You used your wings to shield me from falling rocks, and then you said... Metal wings can also serve as umbrellas."
Her fingertips tapped on the steel-toothed engine in a rhythm like Morse code, but only they knew the code - three short and one long, it was "Don't be afraid"; Two long and three short, "I'm here." The band's light flowed along the touch, drawing a crooked smiley face on the steel-toothed psychic crystal, wrapped in her voice frequency, tuned to a band that only mechanical beasts could recognize.
"They say we're monsters, but monsters never hurt anyone." Su Xiaoli's voice trembled, but with a stubborn tenderness, "You're not a defective piece, you cry, you hurt, you protect me... "Friend."
No sooner had the words been spoken than a faint sound came from the depths of the forest.
First, a pair of electronic eyes emerged from behind the tree - a one-eyed mechanical Wolf whose half-face armor was rusted, but slowly lowered its raised claws upon hearing Su Xiaoli's sound wave. It let out a low whining in its throat, not a threat, but a response.
Then several mechanical squirrels climbed down the vine, their tails wrapped in psychic threads, as if they were carrying straws. They nimbly hopped onto the engine of the steel tooth, gently touched the short-circuited line with the wire, and the green light of the steel tooth's electronic eye quivered and brightened a little.
Further away, a half-mechanical bear rose from the bushes. Its forepaws were the hydraulic arms of a mecha, and its hind limbs had psychic-condensed hooves, clearly a "fusion." It glanced at Su Xiaoli, then suddenly turned around and slapped the chasing electromagnetic net with its huge palm, and the metal net was instantly torn to pieces.
"They..." Su Xiaoli was stunned.
More and more mechanical beasts were pouring in from all over the forest. Mechanical birds with solar panels on their wings, mechanical snakes with crystal veins on their backs, and even a few abandoned mecha dogs dragging iron chains - all considered "failures" by humans. They surrounded the steel fangs, some charging them with their spirit energy, some tearing at approaching beast talismans with their sharp claws, and some forming a circle of lines, growling threateningly at the pursuers.
The mechanical Wolf came up to Su Xiaoli and gently rubbed the back of her hand with its nose. Her shadow was reflected in its electronic eyes, and the green light was tinged with silk... Grievance?
Su Xiaoli suddenly understood. She wiped away her tears, gently stroked the mechanical Wolf's rusted cheek with her fingertips, her voice with a wailing tone but as bright as the dawn light:
"They say... We are 'of the same kind'."
The engine of the steel tooth suddenly made a soft noise, and the green light of the psychic crystal shone again. It slowly raised its head, rubbed the tip of its nose against Su Xiaoli's hair, looked at the mechanical beasts around it, and let out a long dragon cry in its throat - not a roar, but gratitude.
The mechs of the Iron Eagle Guard were parked outside the defense line. The light of the electromagnetic cannons flickered unsteadily, but no one dared to advance any further. The cultivators of the Clearsky Pavilion, holding the beast binding talisman, looked at the mechanical beasts that were supposed to be "purified", and suddenly found that there was no desire to destroy in their eyes, only the stubbornness of guarding.
Su Xiaoli stood up, the light of the wristband interwoven with the spiritual energy of the surrounding mechanical beasts, like a warm blanket. She looked at this group of "kindred" abandoned by the world before her and suddenly laughed, but tears fell again.
So that's what it feels like to be understood.
Steel-toothed nudged her back with his head, and electronic eyes looked deep into the forest, where there was the scent of Chaos Protocol fragments and more waiting to be heard... The voice of the mechanical beast.
The mechanical bird suddenly flapped its wings and flew up, circling around Su Xiaoli three times. The solar panels on its wings reflected a beam of light, pointing straight to the canyon on the east side of the forest. Su Xiaoli understood - there was a "psychic lubricant" that could repair the steel tooth engine, a secret storage place for the mechanical beasts.
"Let's go!" Su Xiaoli turned over and mounted on the steel tooth, the mechanical dragon's wings, though still trembling, held her firmly. The half-mechanical bear let out a low growl and led the way into the canyon. The hydraulic arm swept through the thorns that blocked the way, and wherever the psychic hooves stepped, pale purple spiritual grass grew to mark the safe route for the companions behind.
The mechanical wolves, along with a few mecha dogs, cut behind. They deliberately rammed scrap metal in the woods to steer the pursuers in the opposite direction. One of the mecha dogs was hit on the hind leg by an electromagnetic cannon, limping and refusing to stop until it was certain that its companions were far away. Then it went into a tree hole and detonated the decoy on its body with its last bit of energy.
"They are protecting us." Su Xiaoli's fingers pierced through the gaps between the scales of the steel teeth and could feel the reflowing psychic energy inside, "just as we protect each other."
The dragon's roar became light and cheerful. Most of its psychic crystals have recovered, solar panels on its wings automatically spread out, absorbing sunlight through the leaves and resonating with the psychic lubricant, the engine sounds more and more steady, and it can even glide low.
Deep in the canyon lies a natural cave with its walls filled with spirit vein crystals and its ground piled with mechanical parts and energy blocks - a "treasure trove" for the mechanical beasts. In the center of the stone platform, there was a metal jar with a blue-purple glow in the liquid, which was the psychic lubricant Su Xiaoli was looking for.
"It's the 'symbiotic lubricant' from the previous era." Su Xiao Li recognized the logo on the jar, which was exactly the same as the pattern in his mother's notes. "It can repair both mechanical wear and spiritual vein blockage at the same time."
Just as she picked up the jar, a warning growl from the mechanical beast came from outside the cave. It was Zhao Kun's pursuers who had come around, this time with a more powerful "sonic evictor," specifically targeting the mechanical beast's auditory system. The half-mechanical bear covered its ears, rolled in pain on the ground, the mechanical birds crashed into the cave walls, and the solar panels shattered.
"Bastard!" Su Xiaoli splashed the lubricant on the engine of the steel tooth and turned to stand in front of the mechanical beast. Her wristband suddenly burst into a strong light, her voice wrapped in the light, tuned to the same frequency as the mechanical beast, and shouted to the sonic evictor:
"They aren't tools! They will hurt!"
As soon as the words were spoken, all the mechanical beasts' eyes lit up at once. The steel-toothed dragon's roar shattered the cave's crystal, the half-mechanical bear's hydraulic arm pierced the ground, the spiritual hooves stomped out an energy circle, the mechanical Wolf and the mecha dogs formed a charge formation, and even the wounded mechanical bird pounced on the pursuer's face - they understood Su Xiaoli's words and said in their own way, "We are not tools."
The sonic repeater suddenly malfunctioned. The frequency of Su Xiaoli's voice resonated with the mechanical beast, creating a reverse sound wave that bounced the energy of the expulator back. Zhao Kun's mecha screen went black instantly, and the beast binding talisman of the Qingxiao Pavilion burned automatically.
"It's impossible..." Zhao Kun's roar was filled with fear. He couldn't understand why these "inanimate creatures" would fight desperately for a girl, why there was a purer "guarding" in their actions than humans.
Su Xiaoli jumped onto the back of the steel-toothed dragon, the mechanical dragon spread its wings, and the blue-purple psychic energy condensed into a blade of light at the wingtip. She pointed in the direction outside the canyon and shouted to all the mechanical beasts, "Let's go find our companions! There's a place for everyone to live well!"
The mechanical beasts let out growls like cheers and followed Steel Tooth out of the cave. The half-mechanical bear carried the wounded companion, the mechanical Wolf led the way, and the mechanical birds formed a band of light to illuminate the path ahead. Their footsteps touched the ground and formed a wonderful resonance with Su Xiaoli's wristband and Steel Tooth's psychic power, like a team running towards hope.
Zhao Kun and the people of Qingxiao Pavilion stood there, watching the light stream composed of the mechanical beast and the girl disappear into the depths of the forest. One of the young cultivators suddenly asked, "Master, the one who hurts and protects... Are you a monster?"
Lei Li did not reply, but just put away the beast binding talisman. On his dust lay a feather of a mechanical bird, and the solar panel on the feather still flickered faintly like a star that refused to go out.
In the cave, the fragments of the bracelet that Su Xiaoli accidentally dropped were glowing, reflecting the shadows of countless mechanical beasts, gradually overlapping with the patterns of the "Chaos Protocol". It turns out that this protocol has long reserved a place for these "forgotten kindred".