The dizziness quickly receded.
When Li Andy opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on top of his two younger sisters, his knees pressed between their legs.
He lifted his head and looked around, realizing he was in another space.
This seemed to be a factory warehouse, with various metal parts piled everywhere and the roar of machinery rising and falling.
The air was also filled with a pungent smell of machine oil.
There were only the three of them around, with no sign of the Night Raven Sister or Meilin.
"Brother, where are we?" Youxi woke up, holding his arm, and tilted her head to look around.
Sophia also woke up, rubbing her still-dizzy head, and asked:
"Where are Anna and the others?"
Li Andy got up and pulled them to their feet:
"This is the second layer of the domain. Anna and the others should be fighting that thing."
Sophia's mind couldn't help but recall the gigantic figure, and she frowned:
"What exactly is that thing?"
Li Andy considered for a moment:
"Probably... a monster that wants to become human but hates humans."
"What do you mean?" Sophia frowned, not quite understanding.
Li Andy didn't explain much, continuing:
"What it is isn't important now. The priority is to quickly find the anomaly in this layer, break it, and then rendezvous with them as planned."
Sophia nodded, and after two seconds of thought, couldn't help but say:
"It feels... so much like the orphanage back then."
Li Andy paused slightly, then smiled:
"It does, but the one at the orphanage was an illusion; our bodies were essentially in a sleeping state. Here, everything is real. If we die... then we're truly gone."
Sophia pursed her lips slightly and nodded.
If the orphanage was a tutorial, then now, it was real combat.
"Youxi, have your Specters scout ahead," Li Andy said.
"Okay."
Youxi placed her hands in front of her chest and prayed softly. Two Faceless Nuns emerged from her shadow and floated out silently.
After confirming it was safe, she nodded, signaling to proceed.
As soon as the three of them walked out of the warehouse, they were stunned by the scene before them.
"This is... a military factory?"
Under the steel dome was a space the size of a plaza, with production lines of different functions dividing it like a spiderweb. Various mechanical devices were embedded like nails at every node.
From metal casting to component processing and then weapon assembly, every stage was tense and orderly.
The place was filled with busy workers, but Li Andy couldn't be sure if they were actually human.
Although they had identical appearances to humans, their eyes were dull, their expressions blank, and they merely mechanically repeated their tasks.
The only lively and agile presence in the entire scene was a mechanical monster that didn't look human at all.
The mechanical monster was perfectly round, like a clay pot with limbs.
It held a whip, constantly lashing the ground, and repeatedly uttered mechanical, monotone voices:
"Faster, faster! Too slow!"
"You useless lot, you're too slow!"
"Useless lot, you'll be eliminated!"
"Useless lot, you'll be eliminated!!"
Just then, one person's body gave out, convulsing and falling onto the production line, being dragged forward by the conveyor belt along with a pile of parts.
The light bulb on the mechanical fat monster immediately changed from green to red:
"Useless trash! Eliminated!"
It flung its whip, wrapped it around the person, then pulled back. The latter flew into the air and, with a splash, plunged into the melting furnace. Before they could even scream, they were submerged by the glowing hot iron liquid.
"Hiss..."
The three of them gasped.
Suddenly, Sophia noticed something and quickly patted the other two, pointing in one direction and whispering:
"Look over there!"
Following her finger, they actually saw Meilin!
Meilin was currently sitting at the end of a production line, wearing a uniform work outfit, working non-stop with a blank expression.
Rifles were completing their final assembly in her hands, miraculously growing four legs, and then, like hounds, jumping off the high platform and beginning to patrol everywhere.
"Work! Work!"
"Those who don't work! Are all trash!"
"Trash will be eliminated!"
Li Andy's expression immediately changed:
"They're coming this way! Quick, go!"
The three of them crouched low, moving between various containers, dodging the rifle hounds.
However, more and more rifle hounds were being produced, and the areas they could hide in were shrinking.
At a corner, the three of them bumped into a dark, gaping revolver!
Li Andy's blood surged. He acted first, lunging forward, grabbing the grip, and pressing it to the ground, aiming the barrel outwards.
But the next second, the revolver suddenly cried out excitedly:
"Waaah! Mom! You finally came to find me!"
"Huh?"
Half of the blood in Li Andy's body instantly turned cold.
This thing... was it the one he threw away last time?
The revolver twisted in his palm, constantly wailing:
"Mom! Don't throw me into the black factory. I swear, I'll never backfire!"
Li Andy's scalp tingled. He wanted to throw it away again, but the grip clung to his palm as if glued.
"No! Don't abandon me!"
The revolver's cries attracted the attention of other things.
The fat mechanical monster in the central area immediately had red lights in its eyes.
"Someone isn't working!"
"Clean up! Trash!"
Youxi, through the feedback from the Faceless Nuns, saw a large number of rifle hounds gathering and rushing towards the three of them:
"Brother!"
"I know!"
Li Andy ran while shaking his hand and leading the way.
"Andy, what's wrong with this gun?!" Sophia asked while running.
"I don't know either!"
Li Andy increased the force of his hand-shaking. The revolver directly used its trigger to hold his finger, looking as if it would never let go.
As soon as the three of them rushed out from behind cover, they saw a row of dark muzzles.
Youxi reacted quickly, having the Faceless Nuns flip up the iron plate at their feet.
"Bang bang bang!"
Dense bullets carved numerous bullet marks into the iron plate.
The three quickly hid in another container.
But the revolver was still shouting:
"Mom, don't abandon me!"
"Then you shut up!" Li Andy's teeth were itching with irritation.
The revolver immediately fell silent, its slightly bent barrel showing extreme grievance.
Just then, a rifle hound blocked the three's path, the sound of it chambering a round clearly audible.
A thought flashed in Li Andy's mind. He raised the gun:
"If you don't want to be thrown away, then cooperate with me!"
The revolver shuddered and instantly perked up:
"Oh! Yes sir!"
Its floppy gun body immediately became rigid.
Li Andy felt a subtle force helping him correct his aim.
He hadn't touched many guns in his two lives, and recently, under Aya's guidance, he had only practiced for two days. He had no marksmanship to speak of, only just starting out.
But the moment he gripped the revolver, he felt incredibly strong!
"Bang!"
Fire spewed, the bullet cut through the air, shattered the opponent's bullet, and directly entered the rifle hound's muzzle.
With a "bang," the entire body of the rifle hound exploded into pieces.
"Aren't I amazing, Mom!"
The revolver's muzzle twisted, beginning to seek praise.
"I'm a man!"
Li Andy gritted his teeth, shouting as he ran.
Another rifle hound showed its head. Li Andy raised the gun and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The bullet hit again, the gun body disintegrated, a one-shot kill.