Who gave you permission to travel through time with Earth?

Chapter 22 Cyborgs

"...Well, now it's your turn to go on stage."

Fang Jin weakly waved her hand, saying that the blood tide monsters behind them were getting closer and closer, their speed exceeding their expectations. The corridors and rooms they had just passed were instantly covered in stickiness.

As for the four remaining members of the team... Fang Jin's body was overheated to the point of near collapse, Lu Chen's condition made it difficult for him to control the Holy Son's precepts, and Xu Rou was probably... basically not even worth mentioning in terms of combat power.

"Hello!"

"……OK."

Zhou Tongtong smiled and agreed, her running pace coming to an abrupt halt. The momentum caused her to carve a long gash in the metal floor! Sparks flew in all directions.

Once she had come to a complete stop, Zhou Tongtong slowly turned around, then casually ripped open her pink fleece jacket, letting the dense down fall like petals scattered by a fairy...

She's not as simple as she seems... or rather, anyone assigned to this role is anything but simple.

Although Fang Jin didn't know Zhou Tongtong's background, the fact that she could speedrun through the toy box with Lu Chen in the shortest time meant she might have unexpected strength. It wouldn't hurt to try and trick her now...

"Bang—!"

But the truth was... quite unexpected. When Fang Jin saw the tungsten-core armor-piercing bullet fired from Zhou Tongtong's palm pierce and shatter the skull of a flesh-and-blood monster, he almost broke out in a cold sweat.

What was hidden under that heavy fleece coat was not a delicate young girl's body at all, but armor with a strong heavy-duty science fiction style, with countless large-caliber guns and cannons hidden under the tightly attached metal plates!

Contrary to her initial impression, Zhou Tongtong wasn't bulky at all; on the contrary, she looked rather too young. At least 40% of her outfit was being stretched out by thin armor.

The girl's body was encased in black armor, with only a small portion of her chest, abdomen, and head exposed. Deep blue high-explosive fuel boiled and evaporated inside the pipes, transforming into powerful heat that flowed into the muzzle of the gun!

Amidst the flurry of fluffy feathers, Zhou Tongtong laughed wildly as she raised all the guns and cannons in her body! Countless bullets of various calibers, wreathed in crimson and white flames, rained down upon the surging mass of flesh and blood!

"Da da da da da da da da da—!"

"..."

To be honest, the scene was truly shocking. Fang Jin and Xu Rou even forgot to run. They grabbed a piece of soft fur that was slowly falling down and watched as its body, grazed by a bullet, burned away...

"Mechanical... an extreme method of modifying the body. Even without destroying the body's original structure, some of the people who undergo modification will be permanently turned into machines."

Lu Chen spoke up, recalling his partnership with Zhou Tongtong on the first floor, but even now, seeing such a scene still sent a profound shock through his very being.

"Similarly, because the machine has become part of the body in a sense, even if it becomes a player, it will not be recognized as an external object by the system, thus possessing considerable combat power in the initial stage."

"That's Zhou Tongtong for you... Actually, the Beast Company's instance isn't good for her. Flesh and blood monsters have the ability to self-repair, so the damage she can cause is only temporary."

"If it were a regular class, and the object could be physically touched, Zhou Tongtong's abilities would be more than enough to give her an overwhelming advantage throughout the entire dungeon map."

"..."

The other two unconsciously swallowed. This was only a limited performance. If Zhou Tongtong were given a normal dungeon environment, how much could she perform?

Even now, her firepower is already astonishing. Although she can't pierce through the blood tide like Fang Jin, the march's speed has been greatly reduced, and it can even be described as slow.

"Such modifications must come at a price..."

"It is only natural that, first of all, those who have been modified can only adapt to fixed talents, 'technological' abilities, and their bodies naturally reject other types of abilities."

"Secondly, this kind of modification is almost irreversible. Once the modified body logs in as a player, the initial template is already fixed, making it very difficult to modify the body (code) at the basic level."

"at last……"

Lu Chen paused for a moment. After all, this reason seemed somewhat mundane compared to the previous ones, but it was precisely the biggest question he had about the individual "Zhou Tongtong."

"The final difficulty is the price. Suitable materials for the modification and neural connection technology all require a lot of human and financial resources. Note that this is 'a lot' based on my view of wealth."

"Moreover, most people who undergo modifications choose only one part of their body, such as their hands, feet, or eyes, which reduces the burden slightly while preparing for the future. This is also the most cost-effective method."

"But Zhou Tongtong chose... a full-body makeover."

Her entire body has been replaced by machinery... Perhaps her internal body is not damaged, but all her internal nerves have been integrated with the exoskeleton, making her the most extreme type of cyborg.

The costs involved are extremely high, even for families like Lu Chen's, which are hard to bear. Moreover, the modification surgery itself requires the subjects to have a certain degree of "adaptability".

Furthermore, this move completely blocks her future; she will be unable to receive any gifts from the myriad worlds other than machinery and science. No one chooses... nor is she qualified to actively choose this path.

"But it's really strong..."

"Old Lu, let me ask you, is this modification technology something that already exists in our world, or is it an alien technology introduced from a dungeon world?"

"It's normal that you can't access it... Although the concept of players has become more widespread in the last fifty years, the knowledge and technology truly obtained from other worlds have always been the exclusive domain of a small group of people."

The two chatted casually, taking the opportunity to repair and adapt to their injuries. The continuous firelight in the distance cast shadows on their faces, and the wails of the blood tide monsters were truly a sight to behold.

The march was still firmly suppressed by Zhou Tongtong, making it difficult to approach. At this leisurely pace, another five minutes—no, three minutes would be enough—and they would be able to recover to the point where they could act independently...

"Click—"

Unexpectedly, before he could finish speaking, Zhou Tongtong's attack suddenly stopped. The situation was so abrupt that even the Blood Tide monsters, who were used to being attacked, were caught off guard.

"call……"

Sister Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, turned around, and with a refreshed face bathed in the morning sunlight, spoke to them with a relaxed air.

"I only have two hundred rounds left in my inventory, let's run!"

The flashing lights suddenly intensified, and the rampaging blood tide cast shadows from above. In that incredibly dangerous moment, a "Are you kidding me?" expression slowly appeared on the faces of Fang Jin and the other two...

Then his mother took off running!