Having almost finished it, I decided it wasn't good enough, so I rewrote the whole thing, which caused a delay. But in terms of quality, I feel I’ve made significant progress.

The Bronze War-Mech didn't draw the weapon from its back; instead, it drove a punch directly toward Wubuluo. It wasn't exerting its full power; its 500-level physique was only utilizing about one-tenth of its strength.

Wubuluo saw the fist coming, and his expression shifted instantly. He scrambled to evade, his hurried movement resulting in a somewhat undignified posture. However, he couldn't afford appearances at that moment. Once clear of the punch, he quickly scrambled up from the ground, turning his back and fleeing wildly into the distance, his features contorted with resentment. He thought he had hidden his movements well enough; how had this machine located him?

...

Meanwhile, on another front, after directing the Bronze War-Mech to attack, Elvie followed Ye Chen and the others onward. Along the way, Ye Chen instructed Elvie to sink the Smelting Foundries, Machine Factories, and Armament Foundries into the city structure.

The woman asked no further questions and complied with his command.

These facilities were critically important to Ye Chen. The Smelting Foundries, where raw materials were melted down into components, were indispensable. Elvie had informed him that this city contained a total of 120 Smelting Foundries.

Besides the Smelting Foundries, there were Machine Factories: ten Silver Machine Factories, each capable of producing one Silver Mech per day, totaling ten units; twenty Bronze Machine Factories with the same output; and a larger contingent of fifty Chromium Iron-grade factories.

The most precious asset was a single Gold Machine Factory, capable of manufacturing Gold-grade War-Mechs, each boasting a 5000-level physique—an entity absolutely unrivaled at this stage, capable of sweeping aside any terrestrial monster on Earth with absolute instant kills.

However, Ye Chen did not collect all these facilities. With a massive influx of soldiers, many areas of the city were already occupied by others. In factories that had been observed by outsiders, he left them untouched, not sinking them. Otherwise, if the Huaxia Base City eventually took control of this city, they would demand Elvie relocate these assets, and if she refused, it would create friction and a host of subsequent issues.

Furthermore, this city had only been taken through the efforts of the military. It would be unreasonable for Ye Chen to strip-mine everything himself. Besides, he couldn't use it all; manufacturing Mechs required vast amounts of raw materials, and what he had gathered alone was more than sufficient for his needs.

Moreover, humanity still had to confront the Dark Creatures. It wasn't just his own advancement; the entire human race needed to improve if they were to secure a foothold on Earth. While he wouldn't adopt a stance of complete self-sacrifice to help, having gained so much himself, those who did the grueling labor should at least get to taste the spoils; that would be justifiable.

Currently, the physiques of Earth's monsters far surpassed those of humans. Even the Commander-in-Chief of the Huaxia Base City currently possessed a physique only in the sixties or seventies, while some powerful monsters boasted physiques in the hundreds. If they attacked the city, only aerial forces, coupled with nuclear weapons like guided missiles, could annihilate them.

In his previous life, the Huaxia Base City only developed rapidly after obtaining the Atlantean civilization's technology. Subsequently, base cities established by other nations would come to Huaxia to purchase powerful weaponry refined in the Armament Foundries.

Through this trajectory of development, humanity gained the capital needed to fight the monsters. If Ye Chen were to scavenge all these resources now, it would cause massive shifts in the established balance. The Huaxia Base City would only inherit an empty Atlantean city, without any combat technology, remaining weak, perhaps ultimately being annihilated by the monstrous hordes.

According to the butterfly effect, even a single nail could lead to the collapse of a nation.

For instance: a nail damages a warhorse; the injured horse is killed during battle, causing the army to be routed, leading to a lost war, and subsequently, the nation is conquered...

In the end, Ye Chen only claimed 80 Smelting Foundries, one Gold Machine Factory, eight Silver Machine Factories, 15 Bronze Machine Factories, and 40 Chromium Iron Machine Factories.

He took 80 percent.

Not long after leaving, the group arrived before the Temple of Cilen. The great hall was immensely imposing, soaring toward the heavens, forged entirely of metal and adorned with rare materials like crystal and purple copper. It exuded an aura of commanding dignity, nobility, splendor, elegance, and sanctity—a place fit for a Holy Spirit, instilling immediate tranquility in anyone who gazed upon it, much like a Buddha in Buddhism, conveying benevolence, amiability, and solemnity.

Elvie looked upon it with reverence, then halted at a respectful distance. She turned to Ye Chen and said, "You may enter. This is where Lord Cilen resides. Entry is forbidden to all. I cannot go in, and even the city's surveillance systems cannot inspect this area."

Ye Chen frowned. After a moment's thought, he turned to Bailong, Mo Feng, and the others: "Wait here. I'll be back soon."

Bailong gave him a concerned look and instructed, "If there's danger, let us know."

Ye Chen nodded and turned toward the great hall. Just then, a heavy, booming footfall echoed, like massive stones dropping, striking the soul. It approached rapidly, and before long, it appeared before the group.

It was a mech standing three zhang tall, plated entirely in white-gold. Its eyes, originally crafted from sapphires, now glowed with a crimson light as it strode toward Ye Chen and his companions.

Ye Chen sensed something was wrong and quickly retreated a few steps, positioning himself next to Elvie. Elvie observed the white-gold mech, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. "A Quasi-Gold-grade War-Mech? Why is your system emanating feelings of hatred, destruction, and rage? You will trigger the system laws and self-destruct."

As she spoke, she stepped forward, raised a slender, pale finger, and a glimmer of golden light emanated from her fingertip. The informational symbol labeled "Temporary Assignment" shot toward the Quasi-Gold-grade War-Mech, penetrating its system to issue a command.

"Hmm?" Elvie suddenly frowned, then her expression shifted slightly. "Anti-device? Are you a mech modified by Qiluo?"

"Roar..."

The white-gold War-Mech let out a low growl. In response to Elvie’s question, it offered only a massive fist, which struck Elvie squarely. With a deafening boom, she was hurled backward, her beautiful figure slamming into a steel tower nearby, embedding itself in the metal wall in the shape of the character ''.

It was only when Ye Chen heard the sound of Elvie impacting the metal wall that he reacted, a flicker of shock in his eyes. He hadn't expected Elvie, the intelligent goddess, to be sent flying by a mech manufactured under her own control—it was unbelievable.

But he didn't dwell on it. He'd had a bad premonition the moment he first saw this mech. Now, as reality struck, he immediately roared at Bailong and the others: "Run!"

Mo Feng was the second to react. The usually calm and detached expression on his face suddenly turned grim, his eyes flashing with sharp light. He gave his wrist a sharp flick, drawing an energy pistol, and fired two shots at the white-gold mech, the bullets converging from left and right to seal off their escape route. He then rapidly retreated, barking a sharp command to Bailong, Zhuge Fan, and Yue Heng beside him: "Escape!"

Bang! Only one of the two energy projectiles struck the white-gold mech, exploding on its chest, but it left no mark, not even a scorch. Perhaps the mech had calculated the energy of the bullets and determined they posed no threat, choosing not to jump away to evade them.

At this moment, Bailong and the other three snapped back to awareness. Shocked, they swiftly turned and fled. Although they didn't know what happened or why the mech had betrayed Elvie, the machine's ferocious demeanor made it clear its intent was to kill them.

"Roar!" The white-gold mech roared and gave chase toward Ye Chen and the others. Just then, Elvie, still lodged in the metal wall, sprang out. Her form blurred as she shot forward, intercepting the white-gold mech. She turned back toward Ye Chen and the others, urgently shouting, "Go! Escape! This Quasi-Gold-grade War-Mech has reached 2000-level physique! As an intelligent lifeform, my physique is only 1000-level, but my defense is 10,000-level, so I cannot destroy it, but it cannot harm me either. Don't worry about me; just flee!"

Her words were incredibly fast, covering the entire message in less than a second. She immediately turned back toward the white-gold mech, throwing herself onto its massive forearm to impede its advance, simultaneously attempting to communicate with nearby Silver Mechs to come to her aid.

The white-gold mech roared, moved to a nearby structure, and kicked the forearm Elvie was clinging to against the building. With a deafening thud, a high-density metal-steel tower was dented inward. A concrete structure would have been shattered into rubble.

Elvie sustained tremendous impact from this strike, yet she remained physically unharmed, acting as if nothing had happened, still clinging tightly to the white-gold mech's forearm. For her, any attack inflicting less than 10,000 levels of damage was essentially negligible, owing to her extremely unique physical composition—low strength, but astonishingly high defense.

Run, run, run!

Not far off, Ye Chen and the others sprinted at full tilt, covering the length of a six-thousand-meter street in mere blinks of an eye, yet they dared not relax their guard. Their minds were completely taut, knowing that if their less-than-100-level physiques could achieve such speed, a machine with a 2000-level physique would be far superior.

"To the Temple of Light!" Ye Chen suddenly stated rapidly, directing his path toward the Temple of Light.

Bailong and the others quickly grasped his meaning. Through the city's system, Elvie could monitor any location instantly. If they entered the Temple of Light, Elvie could activate the protective shield around the temple to resist the white-gold mech.