As for the nightingale, Yun Luohe didn’t bring it along. Considering how dangerous Mechanical Island might be, and the fact that she hadn’t formed a contract with the nightingale, if something went wrong, she wouldn’t be able to spare the attention. An uncontracted pet—even one with healing abilities—would be of very limited help in a crisis.Might as well let it have fun at the reef. She’d already prepared its favorite lotus seeds and corn, and let it stay in the chicken coop. Surrounded by chickens and ducks as it sang, it seemed pretty happy.Soon, Yun Luohe caught sight of the edge of Mechanical Island.From a distance, the island looked vast. The entire surface shimmered with a metallic sheen, standing out starkly under the sunlight.[Welcome to Mechanical Island…]The beach of Mechanical Island was covered in magnetite sand.The sand looked like fine, ordinary grains, but was in fact composed entirely of magnetic metallic powder. If someone carried any iron tools on them, they would be instantly sucked downward, sticking firmly to the ground—practically impossible to retrieve.Yun Luohe hadn’t been holding her hunting knife when she came ashore. But upon seeing the metallic sand, she tried to use a shovel to dig some up and take it with her. The moment she pulled out the shovel, it was magnetized, locked in place, and no matter how she pulled, she couldn’t lift it again.Lin Zhu arrived a minute later. As he disembarked, he saw Yun Luohe using a stone shovel to dig sand. He was puzzled why she wasn’t using an iron or steel one.Just as he was about to take out his own tool, Yun Luohe quickly stopped him.Lin Zhu didn’t know much about Mechanical Island either, but he’d mentally prepared himself. He knew this expedition wouldn’t be easy.So although he was surprised, he wasn’t too shocked.Yun Luohe warned, “Once we head inland, we need to be careful. Metal weapons might not be reliable here.”Lin Zhu nodded. “Let’s go while the sun’s not too harsh. I doubt we’ll be able to move around at all come noon.”If the entire island was made of metal, then under the heat it would only get hotter.Lin Zhu had brought some cooling gear this time, like heat-absorbing water basins and cooling tents.The heat-absorbing basin could temporarily reduce local temperatures by drawing out heat, and inside the cooling tent, temperatures stayed at 40°C—much better than the 55°C outside.Combined with Yun Luohe’s prepared cooling drinks, they should be able to last through the daytime heat.Beyond the beach was the Mechanical Forest.The trees in this forest were all dead and blackened, completely leafless, their branches lifeless and withered.Yun Luohe swung her axe at one—it dropped Hardwood, and in a decent amount too.As soon as they stepped into the forest, a wave of heat surged toward them. The air was stifling, like being trapped inside a giant steamer.At this temperature, chopping wood required her to drink water every ten minutes just to stay cool—it was simply not worth it.Summer was not the season for heavy labor.In just a few minutes, sweat had soaked through her back.Lin Zhu frowned and said, “These trees probably have heat-absorbing properties. They absorb a ton of heat but can’t dissipate it—that’s probably why it’s so hot in here.”“Sounds about right. Let’s hurry and get out of this forest,” Yun Luohe said. Although she hated to leave behind so much Hardwood, she reluctantly put away her axe and moved on.The two pushed forward with difficulty through the forest. The ground beneath their feet was yellow dirt, scorched by the blazing sun.Towering black trees rose around them, their twisted branches overlapping to form a suffocating black cage, trapping them inside.As they walked, Yun Luohe suddenly stopped.She had spotted a tree that was different from the rest.This tree was bronze-colored.It was wrapped in something that sparkled—some kind of metallic thread. The tree even had leaves, also bronze in color.She cautiously approached for a closer look.[Metal Tree: Chop down using an Obsidian Axe to obtain 3–5 units of Metal.]So it required an Obsidian Axe.But if it dropped Copper Ore, that wouldn’t be a loss.Crafting an Obsidian Axe only needed 2 units of Obsidian and 1 unit of Refined Steel.Yun Luohe immediately contacted Mu Zitang and asked him to craft her an Obsidian Axe.Mu Zitang worked fast—if he wasn’t free himself, he’d arrange for someone else to do it right away.In less than ten minutes, Yun Luohe had the axe in hand and went straight to chopping the Metal Tree.It took about ten strikes for the tree to fall.[Obtained: Copper Ore ×3, Iron Ore ×1, Hardwood ×1]Not bad at all.Felling one tree consumed 3 Stamina Points, and the Obsidian Axe lost 2 durability.Based on that, one axe could chop down up to 50 trees, yielding over 100 units of Copper Ore.But Metal Trees weren’t common. She had walked this far and only just found one.And searching for them everywhere would be a waste of time and energy.So Yun Luohe gave up.Maybe when autumn came, she could come back and farm this place like crazy.Still, if she saw another Metal Tree on the way, she’d chop it down.When she felled the second tree, in addition to ores, she also got a Bronze Gear and a Black Metal Shard.So Metal Trees could drop components too.Suddenly, a sound came from the distance.It grew louder.“Not good, something’s coming!” Yun Luohe stopped immediately and scanned the surroundings with alert eyes.Lin Zhu also froze mid-action.There wasn’t any Magnetite Sand here, so they could safely draw weapons—they had tested that while chopping wood earlier.The two quickly pulled out their weapons and got ready to fight.Yun Luohe didn’t summon her pets right away. If the threat wasn’t ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) serious, she’d handle it herself. It was too hot out, and unless absolutely necessary, she didn’t want Yúntūn or Roubao to come out too soon.Before long, a swarm of metallic flying insects appeared in their line of sight.These insects were made entirely of metal. Their wings buzzed rapidly, producing a shrill, piercing sound. Their eyes glowed red, and they looked extremely aggressive.“What are those things?” Lin Zhu asked grimly.Yun Luohe shook her head, her expression taut. “Never seen them before. Be careful.”She struck one down with her hunting knife. The blade let out a crisp clang as it hit the insect’s body, then cleaved it apart.The insect dropped to the ground, turning into scrap metal.That scrap metal could be smelted into Iron Ore at the forge.But killing a few didn’t help much—the swarm was massive.When one was killed, it seemed to trigger a reaction. More and more of the insects began to swarm toward them.Lin Zhu pulled out his pet satchel and summoned his companion.It was Yun Luohe’s first time seeing his pet.A flamingo.Its entire body was bright red—aside from its beak and feet, which were black. The rest was covered in stunningly vivid red feathers.Its beak was long and sharp, jet black in color, with a slight downward curve at the tip, resembling a sleek black sickle.It wasn’t afraid of the heat at all. As soon as it emerged, it let out a cheerful call. When it saw the flying insects approaching, it looked visibly displeased.Since Lin Zhu had already summoned his pet, Yun Luohe released Yúntūn and Roubao as well.Yúntūn spat out silk, binding the flying insects and tightening the threads to crush them. Roubao, meanwhile, lifted its paws and smacked them down with its pads.The coordination between Yúntūn and Roubao was seamless. In no time, the ground was littered with downed insects.All Yun Luohe had to do was collect the scrap metal from the ground.However, the metallic insects didn’t seem afraid. They nimbly dodged the silk and Roubao’s attacks, continuing to close in on Yun Luohe and Lin Zhu.They seemed to know their true targets were the humans.The flamingo suddenly charged into the swarm. Its movements were agile and swift, its head like a precision spear as it rapidly pecked at the insects.Each time its beak struck a flying insect, the creature fell, instantly turning into a pile of scrap metal.This flamingo was a bit vain—every one of its attacks looked like part of a dance.It moved with elegance, spinning and leaping. Even as it landed, it would lift its head with flair, calling out from time to time.Compared to that, Yúntūn and Roubao were downright crude.Yun Luohe didn’t rely solely on her pets to fight. She kept busy too, constantly swinging her weapon to fend off any insects that got close.She also discovered a weak spot on these insects—their abdomens had noticeably thinner metal plating.So she always aimed for the belly with precise strikes, improving her efficiency significantly.Just as the swarm was about to be wiped out, the remaining flying insects suddenly converged into one.Their bodies fused, forming a single giant metallic insect.This one was a hundred times the size of an ordinary flying insect.The flamingo craned its neck and let out another cry, filled with provocation.Roubao bared its teeth and let out a few angry meows. It was irritated.These things were tough to deal with and couldn’t be eaten—it was frustrating.Yúntūn, on the other hand, didn’t seem bothered. It had just munched on some scrap metal from earlier and found the taste rather enjoyable.So when the giant metal insect appeared, Yúntūn looked excited.It sprayed a massive web that bound the creature’s legs, and then its body began to expand in size.Upon seeing the enlarged Yúntūn, the giant insect appeared to realize the danger and tried to flee—but it was already firmly entangled. There was no escape.Yúntūn opened its mouth wide, pinned the insect down with its claws, and bit into it—crunching and chewing, piece by piece, until it swallowed the entire thing.The flamingo’s eyes widened—it was clearly the first time it had seen such a brutal way of eating.Roubao watched with annoyance. “Meow! Meow!”It was clearly upset that only Yúntūn got to enjoy the feast.But these foul-smelling, rock-hard metal insects weren’t its thing. Earlier, when Yúntūn was chewing on one, it had secretly taken a bite—and the taste was awful.Yet Yúntūn was eating with such relish, crunching away loudly.All Roubao could do was run over to Yun Luohe. “Meow! I’m hungry!”Lin Zhu glanced at Yun Luohe, unsure whether she could actually understand what Roubao was saying.Yun Luohe pulled a piece of smoked fish from her backpack. “Here, eat.”The flamingo walked over to Lin Zhu’s side and began preening, smoothing out the feathers that had gotten ruffled earlier.Soon, Yúntūn finished off the giant flying insect.It returned to its normal size and landed on Yun Luohe’s shoulder. “Hehe, Hehe, I’m full!”Yun Luohe said, “Good. If you’re full, do you want to rest?”Yúntūn rubbed against her happily. “I want to stay out here with you.”—Just as they were about to exit the forest, they came upon a grove of metal trees—and at the center stood an enormous giant metal tree.A dense metallic thicket surrounded a towering 30-meter-tall metal redwood.After a quick discussion, Yun Luohe and Lin Zhu decided to focus on the giant one and ignore the rest—it wasn’t worth the time to cut them all.But after studying it for a while and learning nothing, they just started chopping it down.The two of them swung their axes at the massive trunk.After more than ten minutes, both were drenched in sweat, but they finally felled the tree.Its trunk was made entirely of black metal, which could be dismantled into over a hundred Black Metal Shards. Inside, it held coolant fluid, which needed to be stored in containers made of heat-resistant glass.Even the roots were useful—they were electrical cables, highly versatile.The two decided to split the loot first, then rest on the spot for a bit.But just as they began collecting materials, they discovered a subterranean cavern beneath the massive tree.A staircase woven from thick, tangled roots spiraled downward. The view into the cavern looked filled with hidden danger.Yun Luohe stood at the entrance and used [Scanning Eye] to inspect the interior—but saw nothing.It was pitch dark down there.She reached out with her senses but couldn’t detect any lifeforms.Then again, this was Mechanical Island. If anything was down there, it was likely mechanical in nature.“Are we going down?” Lin Zhu looked at Yun Luohe.“Let’s replenish our supplies first. Restore stamina.”Cutting down that massive tree had worn out the Obsidian Axe, and once they entered the cavern, they’d likely need more obsidian tools.Yun Luohe needed to contact Mu Zitang for more equipment.She shared her thoughts with Lin Zhu and said, “Half an hour later, we head down.”Lin Zhu checked the time. “Alright.”He also needed to restock a few things.So he set up the cooling tent and invited Yun Luohe inside for shade.Once the tent was pitched and they brought out food and drinks, surrounded by pets on all sides—it almost felt like a casual camping trip.Except that both of them looked a little worn out, sweat streaming down their foreheads.Lin Zhu traded supplies with Yun Luohe for food. He ate one of her seafood salads and drank a cold beverage—it was indescribably satisfying.He couldn’t help but ask, “Your cooking skill is level 5 now, right?”Yun Luohe nodded. “Mm, just leveled up recently.”Lin Zhu nodded and pulled out a pile of materials to trade for two more bottles of cold drinks. He couldn’t help himself—in this kind of weather, you couldn’t survive without a few cold beverages.

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