Chapter 339: Demon Spirit Core, Unit 13's Transformation

Instead, a brand-new Teleportation Gate appeared at the ruins of Elemental City, eighty kilometers away, and people had already begun preparations for subsequent excavation work.

“The concentration of Elements in the environment has indeed decreased.”

Many top-tier experts had also successively discovered this phenomenon this morning.

When some people used their Perception to communicate with the environmental Elements, they could feel a subtle sense of separation more clearly than they could a drop in casting strength.

It was extremely unsettling.

A tangible suppressive force was affecting everyone.

“It must be that Broken Star Ring that’s causing trouble.”

Everyone was aware of its ominous nature. Just witnessing it was enough to make one’s consciousness tremble and their mind uneasy.

Now, during the day, one could still glimpse a corner of the celestial body through the sunlight when looking north.

“Something feels wrong. It’s getting closer and closer. Who knows what will happen when it’s hanging right over our heads.” This was what made everyone’s hearts pound with fear.

One thing was clear.

They needed to upgrade the crystal prism towers in the city to further enhance the various building units.

And…

They really had to check out the situation in the chasm cave.

Captain Zhang hadn’t forgotten Su Chen’s grave warning.

…

Su Chen wasn’t worrying needlessly, nor did he participate in the discussion.

He had already used his Teleportation Skill to return to the Qingye Collection campsite. Because the distance was so great, the casting time was extended to over five seconds.

Back beside his RV, Su Chen opened his palm. The Demon Spirit Core, with its glazed, glass-like texture, was emitting a deep luster.

Without any hesitation, he opened the hood of the RV and gently pressed the core into the engine.

VMM!

As it made contact with the mechanical unit, a ripple of blue Magic Power instantly spread out.

The core, as if it had a life of its own, transformed at the moment of contact with the engine. It became countless hair-thin veins that rapidly permeated and expanded along the pipes and gears, madly invading every corner of Unit 13.

The previously dormant RV began to tremble violently. Pulses of Magic Power stirred from within, and a series of low reorganization sounds came from inside the vehicle.

Gears meshed, hydraulics contracted, and panels extended. Waves of runic energy reshaped the vehicle’s body as they seeped through it.

In the cockpit, the dashboard lit up, but instead of various indicator lights, circles of flowing, runic light appeared.

A line of pale gold text appeared on the main central screen:

[Mimic Core Fusion Progress: 17%… 38%… 79%]

[Host Identified: Su Chen]

[Permissions Bound: Highest-Level Protocol Activated]

[Vehicle Traits: Body of a Magical Guide Armor, Material Mimicry, Devour and Convert]

“Going this big!”

The rest of the camp group had already set out to explore, leaving no one behind but Gong Jun. The guy had stayed up all night fiddling with the alchemy Synthesis Platform, so he’d gone to bed very late.

But the current commotion had woken him up.

Su Chen stood before the vehicle, his deep pupils reflecting the pulsating blue light of Magic Power, feeling the qualitative transformation the RV was undergoing from the inside out.

Through the Soul Binding connection, corresponding information was also being transmitted to him simultaneously.

First…

The Body of a Magical Guide Armor: As the name implied, the RV’s engine had transformed into a mechanical heart capable of drawing in Elemental Energy.

The vehicle’s frame, and even its original electrical and fuel lines, had been reshaped by Magic Circuits, with a Rune Array spreading throughout its interior.

Material Mimicry: This trait meant Unit 13 now possessed an exaggerated memory-metal-like property. The interior layout of the vehicle could be fluently reconfigured like building blocks, and even changing the chassis would be a piece of cake.

The specific flexibility of these changes would depend on Su Chen’s will.

As for Devour and Convert, this was a crucial one. It gave the RV the ability to self-evolve through ‘eating,’ allowing it to convert even scrap metal into temporary armor.

At that moment, as the fusion progress reached 100%, a soul fluctuation emanated from deep within the engine.

“Mii…”

Amidst a whisper in his consciousness, a translucent Spiritual Light emerged from the engine. In its pure energy form, it exuded a surging Spiritual Power.

It radiated emotions of submission and affection, continuously trying to curry favor with Su Chen through their Soul Contract.

The Demon Spirit Core had allowed Unit 13 to give birth to a so-called ‘Artifact Spirit.’ Not only did this grant it life, but it also gave it hazy memories and emotional fluctuations, allowing it to strongly perceive the feelings its master had for it.

“So you’re Unit 13. Hmm, I’ll just call you Xiao Shisan,” Su Chen responded.

He wouldn’t be wary of a Soul-Bound creation whose life and death he controlled.

“Mii!”

Xiao Shisan’s Spirit Body undulated as it gave a solemn nod.

“Now let’s see what your limits are. We need to figure out what Runes and equipment to feed you,” Su Chen communicated with it.

This budding new life pondered for a moment before giving a response.

It couldn’t speak human language. Its stumbling, baby-like chirps sounded like a pet, making it difficult for its master to understand.

Because of this, the little guy used the vehicle’s body to point things out, which helped Su Chen understand.

The Nether Sand Ore inside the vehicle, as well as the various elemental mineral crystals at the campsite, could all be used to strengthen the vehicle’s frame and make it sturdier.

Even more surprisingly, the Magic Guide Hub Crystal Pillar was also within its range of absorption. According to Xiao Shisan’s natural instincts, by devouring and converting it, the RV could gain a degree of its Barrier ability.

“Let’s do it, then.”

Su Chen nodded and fed one of the camp’s crystal pillars into it.

From the loot acquired during the previous raid, combining his gains with Ruoruo’s, they had obtained a total of six crystal pillars, far exceeding the campsite’s carrying capacity.

In an instant, a crystal pillar was stuffed into the RV’s core furnace. The Magical Energy contained within the pillar was drawn out, strand by strand, and forcibly dismantled by the tyrannical will of the Demon Spirit.

A full seven or eight minutes later.

A very faint, translucent force field appeared on the surface of the RV, rippling gently like water.

“It’s really happening. This is incredible,” Gong Jun, who had been watching the whole time, naturally realized what was going on.

He reached out to touch it, and his fingertip met with resistance. He could tell that a Barrier was now covering the vehicle’s exterior.

“Magic can actually be this amazing,” he sighed.

[Devouring Complete]

[Ability Gained: “Realm Shelter”]

This trait could deploy a Barrier within a 10-meter radius around the vehicle.

Besides being a powerful shield, it also had a Spiritual Energy filtering effect, blocking detection, Mind Reading, and remote-locking types of Magic.

It could even simulate the external environment, adjusting gravity, temperature, and even the refractive index of light to achieve a comprehensive real-world camouflage.

‘This is an effect the previous crystal pillars never had,’ Su Chen thought. He realized that Xiao Shisan had, to some extent, repaired the original broken components.

The Demon Spirit Core itself was a product from the Magical Guide Armor workshop on the 26th floor of the Trial Tower, so handling this type of component was a simple matter for Xiao Shisan.

“Continue.”

Overjoyed, Su Chen immediately fed it a second Magic Guide Crystal Pillar to strengthen its Crystal Barrier function.

However, this time, the absorption efficiency was much slower.

It took thirteen minutes to complete the second absorption.

After finishing all this, Xiao Shisan was exhausted.

“Mii mii…”

After a hasty farewell, the newborn Spirit Body fell into a deep sleep.

“Take your time. There’s no rush,” Su Chen said.

He had originally intended to feed it a special Rune, a ‘Soul Pocket,’ to see if it could expand the vehicle’s interior space, but given the circumstances, he would have to wait until it woke up again.

“What a treasure. This Demon Spirit Core basically granted it life. From now on, we can take the RV with us on our journeys,” Gong Jun sighed.

He was reminded of the Mountain Spirit that Yan Ziqian and the others had encountered. He never expected that even an RV could be blessed with a Spirit Body.

“It’s quite good, indeed.” Su Chen was very satisfied. The only drawback was that he couldn’t yet store the RV in his Sea of Consciousness.

That’s right…

After the Soul Binding, this big thing could indeed be stored in his Sea of Consciousness. However, due to the limited capacity of his Sea of Consciousness, it couldn’t accommodate such a heavy object. He would have to wait until his Intelligence Attribute increased.