Chapter Thirteen: The Blue Ice Sentinels

Energy crystal sources are the fourth-generation power resource introduced in the Star Wars world.

The first generation consists of common materials such as petroleum, gunpowder, and chemical agents; the second generation includes bioengineering technologies like cells, genes, and viruses; the third generation is comprised of intelligent chips and technology chips—metal-based advancements; and the fourth generation is energy technology.

This method involves crushing various crystals, placing them into reactors to extract essential energies, and then compressing them into a liquid state. The resulting energy is extremely potent. Its principle is similar to nuclear and neutron technology, but it lacks pollution and other side effects.

Mechanics rely on crystal sources for survival, but players cannot manufacture them yet—they have to exchange crystals at the city’s technology center.

“How much is left?” Wu Hua asked.

Flying Girl rapidly tapped on the remote control, calculating: “Not much, only 12% remains. We can lure monsters one more time, but the buggy can only run for 1.5 kilometers.”

Motorola replied quietly, “Let’s call it a day. We take what we’ve earned and prepare to return to the city.”

Wu Hua nodded approvingly—one should always keep a reserve for emergencies.

Flying Girl was an expert in machine modification, but her combat experience lagged far behind her older brother’s. She immediately shook her head, protesting, “No, let’s do it once more, just one last time, please?”

“Playing? You think this is fun?” Motorola scolded. “If it weren’t for Brother Bao’s marksmanship, the two of us would have been sent back a long time ago.”

Flying Girl looked completely innocent. “I know! It’s because Brother Bao is so skilled that I’m not afraid. Bro, don’t look at me so fiercely.”

Motorola could only turn to Wu Hua with a helpless look.

Seeing their hesitation, Flying Girl immediately said, “Brother Bao, don’t worry. I can modify the car once again and guarantee you’ll be amazed.”

“Oh?” Wu Hua’s interest was piqued.

Flying Girl crouched down, rummaged through her backpack, and produced a large pile of materials, including bottles and jars, as well as a blueprint. She began to assemble and disassemble according to the plans.

Motorola gave Wu Hua an apologetic look. “Sorry, my sister’s just like this. Don’t mind her. After this round of farming, we’ll leave.” He handed Wu Hua a bundle of health potions as a gesture of apology.

Wu Hua accepted without hesitation. He couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional—these potions were quite expensive. Back when he was poorer, he couldn’t bear to buy them. Now someone tossed him a bundle without a second thought.

“Once this job is done, it’s time to look for some money-making quests,” Wu Hua thought.

About ten minutes later, Flying Girl cheered, and there was a crisp snap from the ground. Wu Hua’s eyes widened as a lifelike girl warrior appeared before him.

He was stunned. This girl was indistinguishable from a real person: white blouse, blue skirt, black high boots, a golden blonde ponytail tied with a red bow, and fair, almost dewy skin. The only flaw was that her large eyes were lifeless, like stagnant water. If one didn’t look closely, they might think she was alive.

Wu Hua couldn’t help but reach out his hand.

“Don’t touch her!” Flying Girl shouted. Wu Hua jumped. “What’s wrong?”

Flying Girl explained, “It’s a mimicry produced by a disguise gene potion, effective for only thirty minutes. She’s still a robot, but her energy consumption is far less than that of the spiked car.”

“Why is that?” Wu Hua asked.

“Look at her feet,” Flying Girl replied.

Wu Hua looked down and nearly fainted—she wore a pair of pink ice skates!

Flying Girl said, “Don’t underestimate these skates. They’re powered by the energy crystal source, and their movement on snow is excellent. No booster required. I invented them and even applied for a patent. I call it the Beautiful Girl Mechanical Warrior.”

Wu Hua nodded. “Why does she look exactly like Usagi Tsukino, the protagonist of the Sailor Moon anime?”

“Yes!” Flying Girl snapped her fingers. “She is Usagi Tsukino.”

Wu Hua broke into a cold sweat.

“Usagi, go lure the monsters,” Flying Girl began to operate the remote.

With a crisp click, Usagi moved her hands, and suddenly, an MP7A1 submachine gun appeared.

Wu Hua shivered again. These past days, he kept encountering people willing to spend heavily to farm monsters and complete quests. Not only did Flying Girl use expensive gene potions to modify the robot, she even equipped it manually with an MP7A1.

The MP7A1 was T-shaped, only 380mm in length—about the size of a Mauser, very compact and easy to conceal. Its accuracy in rapid fire surpassed even the MP5. It used 4.6mm P-type rounds, which had limited stopping power but excellent armor-piercing capabilities—enough to penetrate even the priciest Kevlar combat suits on the market.

Yet the weapon’s shortcomings were just as obvious: muzzle energy was only 514 joules, initial velocity 720 m/s, less than the Mauser’s. Its power was unimpressive, with a magazine capacity of just 25 rounds—empty in three seconds. Overall, it was a personal defense weapon, meant to incapacitate rather than kill.

Even so, a plain MP7A1 fetched over 1,200 credits on the market, and she’d installed it on a robot—an extravagant waste, given Flying Girl’s limited knowledge of firearms.

A gun’s power depends on whose hand it’s in, not just the weapon itself.

Flying Girl learned this lesson well in the next few minutes.

Usagi’s speed was decent, thanks to the terrain. She soon bumped into a bear, but the bear was even faster.

Wu Hua and Motorola crowded around Flying Girl, watching her operate. The screen showed everything clearly: as soon as the bear closed in, Flying Girl opened fire, hoping to glue the bear in place so Usagi could escape, successfully drawing the monster.

But there was a problem: Usagi’s gun was fixed to her left hand. After emptying her magazine, her right hand performed a mechanical reloading motion, and the aim was fixed. She could only shoot the bear if they were lined up straight; weaving left or right like a toy car just wasted bullets.

Flying Girl was clearly inexperienced, anxiously pressing the remote. Many bullets missed the bear, instead shattering icicles on the bamboo with a clatter.

Wu Hua and Motorola couldn’t help but laugh.

Suddenly, Wu Hua’s smile vanished. He pointed at the screen, “Wait, rewind to that three-way junction.”

“What is it?” Motorola was puzzled.

Wu Hua said, “Didn’t you notice? Visibility was very poor at that junction.”

Flying Girl, stung by Wu Hua’s earlier teasing, replied irritably, “It’s almost dark. Of course visibility is poor.”

“No!” Wu Hua’s expression grew serious. “The mist there was pale blue, while everywhere else it’s milky white. Only that spot was blue. I trust my eyesight.”

“Oh,” Flying Girl replied grudgingly and began to guide the robot to retreat. Usagi now had three bears trailing behind her.

Wu Hua seemed to remember something and quickly pulled out his electronic map, a system-issued item that only displayed unlocked large areas.

“You took the wrong route. That’s unexplored territory,” Wu Hua shouted.

“What’s the big deal?” Flying Girl was still fiddling with the remote when she suddenly screamed, “Oh my god!”

Wu Hua and Motorola both sucked in a breath. “Great, now we’ve attracted something we shouldn’t have.”

Level 33 mini-boss, Blue Ice Guardian of the Icy Creek Path!

It looked almost human, except its entire body was formed of solid blue ice, with hands shaped like bear claws.

None of the three had any information on this monster—no player had encountered it before. That was precisely Wu Hua’s concern: with no idea of its abilities, should they risk their lives to find out?

“Bro, what do we do? My robot is going to lure it over,” Flying Girl was anxious.

Motorola was silent for a moment, then said, “Retreat. This is at least a level 33 boss. We probably can’t win.”

“But my robot is still over there! That’s twelve-unit alloy—it cost eighty thousand credits!” Flying Girl was on the verge of tears.

“We have to give it up, or all three of us will die,” Motorola said in a low voice. “What else can we do?”

“Fight!” Wu Hua suddenly declared.

The other two were stunned. Wu Hua’s eyes now shone with unwavering determination.

“Bao, you…” Motorola hesitated.

Wu Hua said coldly, “We can’t escape. Look at its speed.”

Motorola looked at the screen. Usagi was skating backward, gun blazing.

Hits from the MP7A1 on the ice bear showed about “-172” damage per shot, and the bear was immobilized—that was normal. But when the bullets hit the blue ice figure, only “-80” appeared, and the MP7A1 had no adhesive effect. Ice chips flew everywhere, but its speed barely dropped.

Now the remote began to sound an alarm: “Warning, warning, enemy will arrive in 1 minute 26 seconds.”

Flying Girl panicked, frantically pressing the controls. Shell casings from the MP7A1 streamed across the screen in a blur.

Wu Hua took a deep breath. Another brutal fight loomed less than a minute away. It seemed brute force wouldn’t work again—he’d have to rely on skill to survive.