A sudden coolness on the back of her hand made her realize she had been crying without knowing it, her tears falling onto her hand.
Lu Yang took out a tissue and gently wiped away her tears.
Lu Wanqing could no longer hold back, turned and hugged her third brother, sobbing into his chest.
Three thousand years of time, she had lived in the interstellar era before, and tried not to think about Earth. But now that she had truly returned, seeing the severely polluted Earth, she couldn't control herself. Tears fell like raindrops, and her heart ached.
This was Earth!
The once beautiful Earth had become so ugly!
The ocean was so vast, and now it was a deep black. What had humanity done to this planet!
Lu Yang held her gently, saying nothing, for he knew that no words in the world could comfort such sorrow.
Lu Wanqing cried for a long, long time before lifting her head and looking at other parts of the Earth.
It wasn't just the oceans that were polluted, the land was too.
The once verdant Earth was now covered in blackness everywhere.
Yes, black.
It wasn't that there were no plants, but all the plants here had turned black, that color of pollution, giving a sense of ominousness from afar.
Just then, they saw a pair of deep green eyes in the black forest.
Lu Yang grabbed her, warning sternly, "Be careful!"
"There are still animals here?" Lu Wanqing asked in surprise, even a little happy.
She had thought that with Earth so polluted, there might be no life left, and was surprised to see life.
"Mutated animals. Very powerful," Lu Yang said.
The next moment, Lu Yang summoned his Super 3S mecha. He turned to Lu Wanqing and said, "Qingqing, get into the mecha first!"
It was too dangerous outside. He was afraid that if he fought with mutated animals, other things might harm Qingqing.
"Third brother, I have my own Super 3S mecha!" Lu Wanqing quickly replied.
Lu Wanqing took out her Super 3S mecha, then looked at Lu Yang and said, "Third brother, let's fight side by side."
Lu Yang was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
Lu Wanqing had also been practicing diligently during this time, but despite learning so much, she had no opportunity to demonstrate. Now was the perfect time.
Thinking this, Lu Wanqing got into her Super 3S mecha.
Seeing her get in, Lu Yang followed and entered his own mecha.
Facing two Super 3S mechas, the animals in the black forest showed no fear and walked towards them.
It was then that Lu Wanqing saw the full appearance of the mutated animal. It was truly... so ugly!
It had a dog's head, a lizard's body, eight legs, and two antenna-like things on its head. The only thing that matched this planet was its color, black. It was incredibly ugly!
"Qingqing, I'll fight the first one to show you. For the next one, you'll handle it yourself," Lu Yang said.
"Okay," Lu Wanqing agreed.
Lu Yang rushed out quickly, his Super 3S mecha leaping into the air. He swung his fist down, and with a deafening roar, the head of the mutated animal was flattened!
But what shocked Lu Wanqing was that even with its head deformed, the mutated animal was not dead. It was incredibly fast and leaped directly onto the back of third brother's mecha.
Lu Wanqing's heart immediately leaped into her throat, filled with worry.
However, the situation reversed dramatically the next moment. Lu Yang's mecha arm suddenly spun and, grasping the mutated animal by its tail, he swung it high into the air and slammed it down onto the ground!
Bang!
Once!
Bang bang bang!!!
He slammed the mutated animal repeatedly onto the ground until it stopped struggling.
Lu Yang's mechanical arm suddenly transformed into a sharp blade, slicing open the mutated animal's head. He reached inside and pulled out a red, round object.
Lu Wanqing hurried over, utterly amazed, and couldn't help but ask, "Third brother, what is this? A crystal core?"
Lu Yang chuckled at her question and nodded. "You could say that."
In Earth's doomsday era, many plants and animals, including humans, had mutated. Some high-level mutants had such crystal cores in their skulls, which could be used after extraction.
"How is it used?" Lu Wanqing asked curiously.
Does one eat it?
Many doomsday novels described characters swallowing crystal cores to become stronger.
"It's used as a form of energy. You can think of it like a battery," Lu Yang said.
Lu Wanqing: "???"
"Let's continue forward and see if we can find similar mutated animals. You can practice your skills too," Lu Yang said.
"Okay," Lu Wanqing readily agreed.
Honestly, she was a Super 3S mecha pilot but had never truly piloted a mecha in combat. This was probably her first time, and she was quite excited.
Lu Yang seemed very familiar with Earth. He led the way, and soon they found another similar mutated animal.
This time, Lu Wanqing knew it was her turn to practice without Lu Yang having to say it.
Inside the mecha, Lu Wanqing felt eager to try.
Lu Yang didn't rush, watching from the side.
Lu Wanqing quickly piloted her mecha and charged out. As soon as she was out, she realized how useful the Super 3S mecha was. All her reactions were almost synchronized with her thoughts. She followed Lu Yang's previous example, leaping into the air and flattening the mutated animal's head with a punch.
But this mutated animal was different from the previous one. After being hit by Lu Yang, the last one hadn't tried to escape but had jumped onto Lu Yang's mecha. This one, however, turned and ran!
Lu Wanqing's eyes lit up. Run? Not a chance!
Lu Wanqing immediately accelerated, chasing after it!
She had to admit, sitting in the mecha and enjoying the acceleration from high power was exhilarating!
Almost instantly, she caught the mutated animal, lifted it up, and slammed it down, slamming it hard until it was stunned. Then she took out her blade and cut open its head. But the crystal core inside this mutated animal's skull was green?
Although strange, Lu Wanqing still picked up the crystal core.
"A green crystal core means the energy inside is mild. It can be used to stimulate plant growth," Lu Yang explained from beside her.
Stimulate plant growth?
Lu Wanqing was shocked. There were such crystal cores?
Lu Yang looked at Lu Wanqing and said, "It won't work for cultivating ancient Earth plants, as there's a risk of mutation. But it's very effective for stimulating the growth of mutated plants."
"Mhm," Lu Wanqing nodded quickly.
With the first success, the subsequent training became much more proficient. Lu Wanqing followed her third brother, and together they searched the forest. In a day, they found four or five similar mutated animals. Apart from the first one which Lu Yang dealt with, all the others were killed by Lu Wanqing who charged forward. They harvested quite a few crystal cores, and Lu Wanqing's combat skills improved significantly.