Master of Science and Technology - Chapter 56

Translator: Fan | Editor: Darling

Ye Zan had seen that these two Bronze Terracotta Soldiers had not been damaged from early on; naturally, he would not be ambushed. However, from a technical sense, those grenades had not gone to waste. Though it did no noticeable damage to their armor, the symbols on the Bronze Terracotta Soldiers seemed to dim.

Even without precise calculations, you could tell that Ye Zan’s explosives had an eighty percent chance of breaking the symbol’s protective barriers. However, Ye Zan didn’t wish to destroy such valuable resources. Rather, he wanted to capture them whole, especially after seeing their demonstration of Sword Flashes.

Facing the incoming Bronze Terracotta Soldiers, Ye Zan calmly raised his arms and shot out a dart from his armor. With two explosive “Ping”s, two silver nets shot out, moving to cover the two Puppets. These nets were made of the same high-durability nanomaterial as the spider’s webs; their lines stronger and thicker.

Before, when sparring with them, Ye Zan had already received all the statistics he needed on their strength. By calculation, it would be impossible for them to escape the bonds of these nets.

However, these two Bronze Terracotta Soldiers were much more developed in intelligence in contrast with their wooded counterparts. Seeing the incoming nets, they simultaneously raised their swords, sending out two Swords Flashes.

Although the Sword Flashes were sharp, they were still not enough to break the nets. However, the force of the attacks were enough to block the nets, sending them off in another direction. Thus, the Bronze Terracotta Soldiers were able to avoid capture, moving quickly to attack Ye Zan. One at front and one at back, their twin swords mercilessly crashed towards Ye Zan.

“(´இ皿இ｀) They’re pretty smart!” Ye Zan cursed, moving to avoid the coming blow. Turning his body, he sent a punch, blocking the second blade.

After avoiding the attacks, Ye Zan rushed between them, facing their chests. Speeding up his armor, he used the back of the plating to crash into them. With a “Kang”, the Bronze Terracota Soldier was knocked some hundred meters, landing to a tumble on the ground.

There, two Mechanical Spiders stood waiting, spewing two webs onto them. The Bronze Terracotta Soldiers were unable to use their Swords Flashes in time, becoming trapped in the nets. If they didn’t struggle, perhaps they would have a chance at escape. However, their intelligence was noticeably too low for such decisions.

Actually, you couldn’t blame their intelligence for this predicament. Even an average person would find it hard to keep calm when covered with a net. These Bronze Terracotta Soldiers began wrestling as soon as they had been covered. Quickly, they were entangled, like they had tried to tie themselves up.

On the other side, after that Bronze Terracotta Soldiers had been knocked out, another had directed an attack at Ye Zan, forcing its sword to his neck. Ye Zan caught this attack with his hands. With a kick, he knocked the Soldier’s sword-bearing arm. However, Bronze Terracotta Soldiers didn’t have the physical weakness of humans. Even though Ye Zan had exerted a lot of force with this kick, he was still unable to knock off the symbols protecting the Puppet.

However, while kicking the Bronze Terracotta Soldier, Ye Zan had averted his palms. Using a simple martial arts technique, he was able to remove the sword from the grasp of his opponent. The sword fell on the ground, its body warped and twisted. On it, you could see imprints left from Ye Zan’s palms. The material was not of good quality.

After taking the sword, Ye Zan quickly stepped back. At this time, two Mechanical Spiders swept in, having quietly been waiting for this moment. After Ye Zan retreated, two webs flew at the Bronze Terracotta Soldier. Yet, another one had been captured.

Ye Zan had finished with his two opponents. However, there were still two sparring with the Mechanical Spiders not far away. In a short amount of time, the two Bronze Terracotta Soldiers had already destroyed twenty-some Mechanical Spiders.

Of course, with the addition of Ye Zan, these remaining two were also quickly captured, laying in endless protest. Ye Zan wasn’t so concerned with the demolition of the Mechanical Soldiers. He needed only to pick up the broken parts and put them back together. It wouldn’t take much time.

But, after capturing the four Bronze Terracotta Soldiers, Ye Zan faced another problem. They were captured, yes. But how would he conduct tests on them in the future? He couldn’t do research through the nets. Plus, the Puppets didn’t have brains. He couldn’t insert disks and control them from there.

Furthermore, from his lack of knowledge concerning these mechanics, Ye Zan was unable to dismember the core of the Bronze Terracotta Soldiers. If he tried doing it forcibly, he ran the risk of destroying them. That was too wasteful.

Thinking, Ye Zan decided to keep it for now. If this was a research facility for Mechanical Puppets, then there should be evidence from the former Realm Master.

Thus, Ye Zan ordered the mechanical spiders to add a couple of nets to the four Bronze Terracotta Soldiers; preventing any chance of escape. They were then lifted again by the robots into the dimension.

The area was quickly cleared. No matter if it was Mechanical Puppet parts or mechanical spiders, anything of value was taken. Reorganizing his group, Ye Zan walked across the area with two mechanical spiders before him. They arrived before a palace-like structure on the opposite side of the field.

This palace wasn’t grand. It had the air of a courtroom set as a temple. However, there was an area within it that had a preserved structure. Ye Zan could tell that there was something valuable in it. 

The door to the main wing was still tightly shut. Two mechanical spiders, one on each side, slowly opened the door. Looking within the wing, there were no statues set up for worship. On the contrary, there were carelessly thrown tools, with some random Mechanical Puppet parts. It looked to be the former site of a workshop.

Everything in the wing was covered with a heavy coat of dust. Who knew how long it had been since someone had come in here? Those Mechanical Puppets probably did not have spiritual defenses on them. No matter if they were metal or wooden, they were all already rotting, without any use. Solely because of the movement of the slight crack of the door, there were some shelves that collapsed. Following this was a chain of crashes. The entire wing was brought up in a storm of dust.

Waiting for the dust to fall, Ye Zan took off his armor and strode into the wing. But, taking a walk around, he did not find anything of value. Apart from a box left in the corner, there were only a couple deplenished beast Cores. 

“I’ve miscalculated. Let’s go look somewhere else.” Ye Zan looked around him, helplessly shaking his head, taking the mechanical spiders with him to the other wing.

Quickly, Ye Zan turned to another room in the wing. From the windowless frame, he could tell that it should be an office. However, this time, Ye Zan did not recklessly open the door. There were probably important resources here. He couldn’t risk destroying them like he did in the main wing.

Standing outside of the office, Ye Zan brushed his chin. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He had an idea.