Chapter 16: The Heart of the Machine, the Finishing Touch

After bidding farewell to the others, Zhou Yan took control of the divine machine in its motorcycle form and, accompanied by Luo Xuan, arrived outside the gate of the Li Huo Pavilion.

Luo Xuan glanced at the motorcycle and frowned slightly. “Does this divine machine have no smaller form? This isn’t portable enough.”

Zhou Yan shrugged helplessly. “There’s no way around it. The core of this divine machine uses a lot of materials; it’s not like conventional battle armor divine machines that are lightweight. Shrinking it down to this motorcycle form is already the limit.”

He then swung himself onto the motorcycle and turned to Luo Xuan with a smile. “But the good thing is, we don’t need to buy any transportation now. Hop on!”

Luo Xuan didn’t get on immediately. Instead, she posed a soul-searching question: “Do you have a motorcycle license?”

Zhou Yan hesitated. “Uh…”

Only then did he remember that he didn’t have a motorcycle license in this world—even though he could ride one, and this divine machine motorcycle didn’t even require manual operation; it was controlled by thought alone.

Seeing Zhou Yan’s awkward expression, Luo Xuan’s lips curled slightly as she stepped forward and said coldly, “Step back. I’ll drive.”

Zhou Yan obediently moved back a step, watching as Luo Xuan lifted her long legs and swung onto the motorcycle.

“Helmet?” she reached out her hand.

“I have it,” Zhou Yan responded with a thought command. He then saw parts eject from the side of the motorcycle, swiftly assembling into two black helmets.

Luo Xuan took a helmet and, together with Zhou Yan, put them on. She then gripped the handlebars firmly. “Don’t interfere with the divine machine using your thoughts; you’ll mess up my control. Let’s go!”

The next moment, Luo Xuan twisted the throttle, and the divine machine motorcycle shot forward in an instant. The powerful inertia and habits forged back on Earth made Zhou Yan instinctively reach out to hold the girl’s waist.

Luo Xuan’s slender waist trembled sharply as she snapped, “Why are you holding me?”

Zhou Yan immediately realized that since his physical strength had reached superhuman levels, even if they crashed, he was unlikely to be hurt.

Still, he didn’t let go; instead, he gently encircled the girl and smiled. “Drive safe, ride safe, be a civilized citizen.”

Luo Xuan felt embarrassed and annoyed but could do nothing about Zhou Yan. She lowered her head and focused on driving like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

But Zhou Yan wasn’t about to let her off easily. He touched the girl’s waist and abdomen with subtlety, whispering, “Xuan, your waist is so strong, and you even have abs.”

Luo Xuan’s ear lobe beneath the helmet flushed red, but she forced herself to speak coolly, “Boring. Stop talking.”

Zhou Yan chuckled softly and fell silent for a moment.

Just as Luo Xuan thought he had quieted down, his teasing voice suddenly sounded in her ear again:

“Xuan, where do you think we should have our date?”

Her arm twitched, almost causing the handlebars to twist askew.

Since surviving together with Zhou Yan, she had been worried he would bring this up.

Now, her worry had become reality.

“Uh…” Luo Xuan stammered unusually, “You… that’s like… like a promise before death.”

Zhou Yan gave a half-smile. “All the more reason to keep it well, right?”

He tightened his embrace slightly, pressing against her back. “Surely Xuan isn’t the kind of bad woman who breaks promises?”

Luo Xuan felt uncomfortable being so close and tried to shift her position. But the motorcycle seat was small, and her own cushion was actually quite substantial.

Her attempt not only failed but caused a slight scrape between her and Zhou Yan.

Startled, she straightened her back and said urgently, “Zhou Yan, you… move back a bit, it’s too tight!”

Zhou Yan grinned mischievously. “Then Xuan should say where the date will be first.”

Feeling uneasy and flustered, Luo Xuan blurted out, “The amusement park.”

Zhou Yan chuckled. “It’s a deal.”

Luo Xuan immediately urged, “Then move back quickly!”

“All right, all right,” Zhou Yan said with a laugh as he shifted back just a tiny bit.

Luo Xuan: (▼へ▼)

Just a little bit back—who are you trying to fool!?

*

Soon, the two returned to their residential community’s entrance.

Luo Xuan hurriedly jumped off the bike, removed her helmet, and handed it to Zhou Yan. “You, you park. I’m tired and will go rest first.”

Zhou Yan smiled at her. “You go ahead. I want to test the vehicle performance of this divine machine some more and will come back later. Also, this bike is a bit too conspicuous—I need to rent a private garage from the property management.”

“Remember to come back early for dinner.”

Luo Xuan nodded and quickly walked away.

After watching her leave, Zhou Yan turned the motorcycle around and headed out of the city to the nearby suburbs, parking next to a small grove by the roadside.

He surveyed the surroundings to ensure no surveillance or passersby were present.

Then, a cube about the size of a Rubik’s cube appeared floating above his hand—a blue square.

The Mechanical Heart: Modified.

A special item obtained from defeating “Justice” during his previous journey through the Calamity Realm.

It possessed the “fusion” function, allowing it to merge with mechanical creations, enhancing their performance and binding them exclusively to Zhou Yan’s mental control.

Zhou Yan had previously fused it with a motorcycle and a fighter jet from that realm, both results pleasing him greatly.

Now, he planned to fuse this small device with his divine machine to see if it could repair the divine machine’s intelligence shortcomings and boost its capabilities.

He had intended to try this after Luo Xuan and Luo Ke went to sleep at night.

But it was still early, and the divine machine had a flaw: the motorcycle form was too large to fit in elevators. Leaving it outside was unsettling.

So he decided to conduct the experiment ahead of schedule.

The next moment, Zhou Yan pressed the Mechanical Heart onto the Yinglong emblem on the motorcycle’s seat.

A message flashed before his eyes:

[Target machine’s overall rating exceeds “Standard 1 Star 0 Level,” unable to activate “Fusion.”]

Zhou Yan’s expression said, “Just as expected.”

The divine machine significantly enhanced the user’s combat abilities and employed special black technology “Divine Machine Circuits.” It was impossible for it to be a low-grade creation.

Mechanical Heart’s failure was normal.

But Zhou Yan didn’t give up.

With a thought, he commanded the divine machine to open at the Yinglong emblem, revealing a finely crafted chip.

He took a deep breath and gently placed the Mechanical Heart atop the chip.

The Mechanical Heart liquefied rapidly, merging into the tiny chip, which then transformed quickly from black to a dazzling silver.

[Fusion successful.]

Success!

Zhou Yan’s face lit up.

Unexpectedly, this backup plan truly worked.

Although the divine machine’s overall rating exceeded the Mechanical Heart’s enhancement capacity, the “operation chip” installed by the divine machinist A Guang on the Yinglong foal was a conventional creation—though high-tech, it did not match the black technology level of the divine machine itself.

Therefore, fusing the entire divine machine was useless, but enhancing this chip alone worked immediately.

He hurried to test the effect.

Zhou Yan mentally retracted the enhanced chip, then dismounted.

The next second, with a thought, the motorcycle sped off on its own, shooting onto the highway and accelerating to its maximum speed within a second, becoming a blur that covered a kilometer in less than six seconds.

In motorcycle mode, at top speed, it reached nearly two hundred meters per second—twice as fast as Luo Xuan and the others’ divine machines in second gear!

If it collided with an enemy at this speed, it would leave them bruised and battered.

Well… perhaps scattered in pieces here and there.

Naturally, the motorcycle shape was inherently more aerodynamic than a human form, so it was bound to be faster.

He issued another command.

The motorcycle swiftly transformed while racing a kilometer away, smoothly shifting into the divine machine’s mechanical horse form.

The warhorse turned nimbly, veered off into the roadside fields, and galloped forward.

Though slower than the motorcycle, it still charged back to Zhou Yan in about ten seconds from a kilometer away.

Speed—hundreds of meters per second, comparable to a conventional second-gear divine machine’s armored warrior speed.

And this was not on a smooth road but over rough terrain.

Zhou Yan’s understanding deepened.

What the divine machinist A Guang meant by “astonishingly powerful” was not just the battle armor provided—though those were top-tier—but the true strength lay in the “mount” itself.

In vehicle mode as a motorcycle, it could reach near-flying ground speeds, maximizing Zhou Yan’s long-distance travel ability.

In mount mode as a dragon horse, while not as fast as the motorcycle, it could still achieve speeds comparable to a second-gear armored warrior on “first gear,” better suited to complex terrain and close-quarters combat with its rider.

If not for the limitations of this world’s intelligent technology level preventing a fully compatible smart chip, this would be a super divine machine far surpassing ordinary top-tier models.

That was why the divine machinist had said, “If it can be used smoothly”—he himself knew this divine machine had flaws.

For a normal armored warrior to unleash the mount’s power, they needed incredible conscious control.

Even so, limited chip computing power caused latency, making precise control difficult.

Perfectly operating the Yinglong foal required anticipation of opponents’ moves and enduring delay—an impossible task.

But Zhou Yan, relying on the Mechanical Heart’s optimized chip, had filled this sole gap.

The optimized chip had three effects.

First, it accepted Zhou Yan’s mental commands with zero latency, solving the divine machine’s biggest problem.

Second, it granted the mount considerable autonomy, no longer requiring Zhou Yan’s full control.

For example, previously, Zhou Yan had to control tire rotation and steering precisely, but now, he only needed to issue a simple “reach this destination” command, and the divine machine could navigate on its own.

Lastly, it significantly extended the remote control range.

Before using the Mechanical Heart, Zhou Yan’s mental control radius was limited to five meters.

Therefore, Luo Xuan, Chu Wan, Wu Wanqing, and others always kept the divine machine close during duty or necessary moments; otherwise, it was difficult to summon the divine machine to them.

Now, he could mentally control the chip from nearly infinite distance, effectively gaining unlimited remote command over the divine machine.

Of course, he couldn’t remotely activate second gear, as that required continuous mental energy supply only feasible at close range.

Thus, by using a single artifact from the Calamity Realm, Zhou Yan successfully completed the missing piece of this top-tier divine machine’s puzzle.

It was a “finishing touch” that triggered the Yinglong foal’s super-evolution.

Zhou Yan retracted his scattered thoughts, transformed the divine machine back into motorcycle form, and began the return journey.

He was already looking forward to the day he would fight using this divine machine.

Tomorrow or the day after, he’d find Chu Wan, that seasoned driver, and have some fun.

See if his mount could deliver a fierce kick to that woman’s backside.

*

Wing City, somewhere.

A middle-aged man closed the book in his hands and looked at the tablet on the desk before him.

The screen displayed a photo of a tall girl with a high ponytail.

He took the tablet, silently scrolling through the pictures and related files.

Moments later, he looked up and smiled at the respectfully attentive subordinate before him. “Not bad. You arranged this this morning, and it’s done by afternoon.”

The subordinate lowered his head but smiled. “You flatter me, Master Hall Leader. My role was minimal; mainly it’s thanks to your deep roots in Wing City over the years.”

He continued, “Our people near the Li Huo Pavilion quickly uncovered Luo Xuan’s employment details.”

The middle-aged man nodded, then looked down at the tablet again. “Both Luo Xuan and Zhou Yan have joined the Demon Exorcism Division. It might be difficult to act immediately, but her younger sister is a breakthrough.”

He looked up at his subordinate with a smile. “Arrange for someone to kill Luo Ke while she and her assistant are on duty—kill her right at home.”

The subordinate nodded obediently, then asked, “No need to capture her? She could be used to threaten Luo Xuan.”

The middle-aged man sneered and shook his head. “No need. She’s just a fledgling genius. After this ‘big operation,’ her fate is death.”

He put down the tablet and said calmly, “Let her experience the pain of losing a loved one once more before she dies.”

“This is the little punishment the Chonghuo Society bestows for disrupting our plans.”

***

Chapter Two is here!