Chen Chong was stunned and widened his eyes. "Are you talking about that weapon? You're driving us to our deaths. If we forge that weapon for him, we'll be shot to death when we go back."
Upon hearing that there was a chance, Lin Qing glared at Chen Chong. "If you don't give it to me now, I will kill all of you immediately."
Wang Xiaoming spread out his hands. "If we don't give it to him, we're going to die immediately. Why don't we give it to him? If the higher-ups want to pursue this, we can just say that we lost it when we were attacked by steel beasts.
"Of course, I won't take the blame alone. Everyone, raise your hands and vote. If anyone disagrees, I'd rather die to protect the experimental equipment."
Lin Qing revealed his gun barrel, and it started rotating with a buzzing sound. Laser bullets fell like raindrops and instantly flattened a building.
"Who agrees and who objects?!"
The sound of people gulping could be heard, but no one spoke. In the end, that thing was simply public experimental equipment and insignificant compared to their own lives.
Who would risk their life to protect the empire's assets? That was insane!
Wang Xiaoming's lips curled up slightly, and he returned to his cold expression. "I'm asking everyone one last time. Is there anyone who disagrees with this?
"Since everyone agrees, don't push the blame onto me when something happens.
"Mr. Lin, please wait a moment. I need to use a machine to scan your body structure."
"Sure."
Wang Xiaoming moved the machine from the basement and scanned Lin Qing while everyone else stood far away.
This machine produced a lot of radiation and was not meant for human use. Ordinary people would suffer from liver and kidney failure, lymphoma, and bone hematopoiesis when exposed to this radiation.
"Brother, what exactly is that material? Is it very important?" In the crowd, Yang Feng asked the person beside him in a low voice.
"Rubbish. It's used in rockets and is mainly used to isolate high temperatures during launch. Its value can no longer be discussed in terms of money."
Yang Feng clicked his tongue. He was now even more curious about what kind of weapon Lin Qing was making.
A few minutes later, Wang Xiaoming finished gathering the information. "Mr. Lin, I still need some time here. Please wait a few days. Also, our food is almost gone."
"Sure, I'll send the supplies to you later."
Lin Qing never expected that the Flame Devil didn't come from Chen Chong but his student instead. He sighed.
In his previous life, Huang Quan had obtained this sword from the research institute, and the most famous person in the research institute was Chen Chong, so he naturally gave the credit to Chen Chong.
But its creator turned out to be Wang Xiaoming!
"Old Huang, bring them some food." Lin Qing turned around and looked at Huang Quan, who was busy digging out crystals.
Many steel beasts had died with the sweep from Lin Qing's laser gun, and Huang Quan was enthusiastically gathering the crystals from them.
"Okay, I'll do it right away." Then Huang Quan grumbled as he looked up, "Can you be more accurate when you shoot next time? Some of the crystals broke."
For the next few days, Lin Qing stayed at the entrance of the research institute and didn't go anywhere. With his current strength, he was no longer afraid of ordinary steel beasts.
Even if he encountered hundreds or thousands of them, he could still run if he couldn't beat them.
Occasionally, an ignorant steel beast would come over and be shot down by him. Then Huang Quan would run over and retrieve the crystal obediently. After a few days, he had gained quite a lot of crystals, but he was still unable to break through and evolve for the fourth time.
"Is this mining truck poisoned?" On this day, there was still no sign of a breakthrough even after swallowing a handful of crystals. Huang Quan sat on the ground, his eyes dull.
Lin Qing found it funny to see him so helpless. "It's normal. The bigger you are, the more crystals you need. This also shows that you have great potential."
"Why don't we exchange bodies?" Huang Quan exhaled helplessly. "Who wants this crappy mining truck? I really can't afford it."
He was the only one who knew just how many crystals he had eaten during this period of time. Lin Qing hadn't taken a single crystal and gave him them all. He even helped him hunt many steel beasts. Even then, there was no sign of the fourth evolution.
He didn't dare to imagine what it would be like without Lin Qing. It would have probably taken him several years to reach his current state.
"Young man, look in the long term. Most Motorbots haven't even evolved once. You're already very fast, especially as a large-scale mining vehicle.
"Go out and take a look. Who can fight as well as you? You're practically invincible among those of the same level. If you can still evolve rapidly like this, you're really not giving anyone a way out."
Lin Qing was very envious of Huang Quan for having such a powerful weapon like this mining truck. Only those who had experienced the Cataclysm understood how important a good foundation was.
Ordinary people didn't have vehicles, so the fate awaiting them was death, hunger, and cold.
Although motorbikes, tricycles, and vans didn't have to worry about food and water, their combat strength was limited. They were at the lowest level of Motorbots and were cannon fodder on the battlefield.
The middle-rank Motorbots included family sedans, light trucks, cars, and so on. Their abilities were ordinary, and it was difficult for them to improve further. Only a small portion of them could stand out, but most of them would be mediocre for the rest of their lives.
Heavy trucks, large excavators, cross-country vehicles, and bulldozers were high-end powerhouses. Only Motorbots of this level could settle down in this world of chaos.
Meanwhile, people who were mining dump trucks, helicopters, and large yachts such as Huang Quan had explosive power from the beginning, so they were extremely popular wherever they went.
"I know I'm improving fast enough. After all, haven't I been hanging out with you every day, only to be completely defeated?"
"Heh, then I'll try my best to improve more slowly next time."
"Uh… forget it. I don't plan to be with you when we get to Qingzhou. Out of sight, out of mind. I don't feel any sense of accomplishment from acting cool with you around."
He was 20 meters tall and weighed more than 200 tons. He could crush a building with a single punch. Who wouldn't shower him with praises when they saw him?
However, Lin Qing had defeated him eight times in a single day, causing him to be almost traumatized.
"Don't. Qingzhou is your territory. I still need your protection there."
"Get lost. I don't want to see you."
As the two of them were talking, the bulletproof glass door of the research institute opened. Yang Feng and Wang Xiaoming walked out with dark circles under their eyes. Meanwhile, the rest of the researchers were lying on the ground and taking a nap.
They hadn't slept for the past few days and nights in order to forge this weapon. All of them had cooperated with Wang Xiaoming to assist him.
"Try it out and see what its effects are like."
Wang Xiaoming exerted all his strength to carry the sword forward. It was 2.5 meters long and completely black. It was circular on one side, while the other side had a dragon's head with its mouth wide open.
"Are you sure you're not lying to me? Where's the sword?" Lin Qing was dumbfounded, as there was only a handle but no blade.
Wang Xiaoming replied with a mysterious smile, "You'll know once you try."
Lin Qing held the handle of the sword effortlessly. It was very light and weighed at most 300 kilograms. It felt pretty good in his hand, but there was no blade.
"There's a red switch on the handle. You need to push it up."
Following Wang Xiaoming's instruction, Lin Qing gently pushed the switch up. The next second, half of the crystal energy in his body was extracted and channeled into the sword handle through his arm.
A huge beam of light shot out from the ferocious dragon's mouth. It finally stopped when it reached a length of eight meters and formed a red blade.
From the looks of it, the red sword had a single edge, and the tip of the sword slanted upward. It was very simple but also very strange.
Wang Xiaoming took a few steps back as a scorching heat wave hit him in his face. "This sword will absorb the crystal energy of its owner. After the energy is converted by an internal device in the sword handle, it will turn into a scorching hot blade. Actually, the blade isn't a physical substance but a beam of light with a high temperature and density.
"The blade has three tiers. The first tier has a temperature of one thousand five hundred degrees Celsius, the second tier has a temperature of five thousand degrees, and the third tier has a temperature of ten thousand degrees."
This was a laser weapon. Although it was a piece of high-end technology, it was available in many countries. However, the difficulty of making this sword lay in the heat-resistant material of the handle, as well as how to integrate it with the crystal in a Motorbot's body to supply energy.
At present, Wang Xiaoming was the only one who could make this kind of weapon. Even Chen Chong, who had mastered the condensation of titanium, could not do so.
"Nice!!" Lin Qing was excited as he held the sword in his hand, dashed to a three-story building, and slashed diagonally.
The fiery-red blade flashed and disappeared without a trace as it cut the three-story building diagonally, causing half of the building to slide to the ground, revealing the living room, bedroom, and bathroom inside.