Chapter 6: Completion of the First Mecha Assembly

"I heard the Lin family kids have terrible aptitude; they probably have no hope of clearing their names in this lifetime."

"Yeah, it's a pity. Now both of Lin Qin's sons have gone mad. I heard they've locked themselves in the furnace room for five days straight. Especially that Lin Binbin—his temper's been really bad lately. If you see him, better stay far away."

"Exactly. Back in the day, their Lin family army was invincible warriors, how could they make such a rookie mistake?"

Another person leaned in and lowered his voice: "I heard it's because the Lin family offended someone, that's why…"

Those exiled here had no entertainment; their daily talk was mostly trivial neighborhood gossip. Especially those who once held high positions—they were the prime topic.

After a few days, everyone here knew that Lin Jiang's two brothers had gone mad from hardship. But Lin Binbin didn't care, because his first mecha was already taking shape.

"No, big brother, this part should be wider by two millimeters, and the air valve on top is too big—it might fall off later."

While Lin Xiao was just finishing adjustments, over at Cheng Mo's place, one arm of the mecha was attached crookedly—one pointing down, the other up—looking like it had epilepsy, ready to throw a punch anytime.

"Cheng Mo!" Lin Binbin called out.

Cheng Mo chuckled sheepishly, "Don't be mad, don't be mad. How about we eat first?"

"…"

Lin Binbin was completely out of patience. He took back the tools and removed the arm again.

Seven more days passed. This painful and exhausting period was nearing its end.

After more than half a month of hard work, a roughly 1.4-meter-tall mecha appeared.

The torso was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a round head tucked inside. A pair of mechanical eyes glowed dimly, as if constantly awaiting some mysterious summons.

The arms hung at the sides; Lin Binbin deliberately used solid parts and added bearings for flexibility. If this fist ever connected with a beast above F-rank, it would be quite a fight.

But there were downsides—too much material was wasted on the torso and arms, causing a sharp shortage of materials for the legs.

After agonizing for days, Lin Binbin finally found a solution: skip the legs and replace them with two rollers.

What was originally a nearly 1.7-meter-tall mecha quickly shrank to 1.4 meters, making the originally imposing machine look somewhat clumsy.

But with limited resources, this was the best they could do for now.

"All done, just the last step left."

Looking at the clunky iron machine in front of him, Lin Binbin rubbed his hands excitedly, full of joy.

All parts were assembled—over three thousand pieces joined together—and now only the energy core remained.

The core would be the metal crystal Lin Binbin scavenged from the market.

Time to assemble!

This time Lin Binbin took charge.

But when he was about to place the crystal into the slot on the chest, his hand suddenly froze.

He thought of something and quickly turned around.

To the puzzled looks of the others, he pulled out three incense sticks from his toolbox.

At the sight of the incense, Lin Xiao and Cheng Mo immediately understood and took the incense, joining him in a solemn offering.

This machine had hundreds of parts, and failure was not an option—they couldn't afford a second try.

Everything they had—Lin Binbin's, Lin Xiao's, and Cheng Mo's life savings—was invested in this, so there was only one chance: all or nothing.

"Let's begin."

The three bowed deeply to the iron clump in front of them.

Lin Xiao couldn't hold back his excitement and urged, "Come on, hurry up!"

Honestly, this machine was far inferior to the mechas made in the previous life—not only due to the blueprints but also because the precision of parts was lacking, and they only used crude iron.

Even Lin Binbin wasn't fully confident.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand.

The moment the metal crystal entered the machine, its originally dim eyes emitted a sharp light.

Slowly, the head lifted.

Buzz—

The energy activated, and a distinct smell of sulfur filled the room.

The next second, the mecha actually moved.

Its body stretched and raised its round head, looking at the three excited men.

Then, it rolled forward towards Lin Binbin's position.

At the same time, Lin Binbin's mind was hit with the system's cold notification sound:

\[ Ding! Congratulations on successfully crafting: Ancient Mecha (Damaged) ]

\[ Free attribute points gained: 10 ]

\[ Name: Ancient Mecha (Damaged) ]

\[ Type: Basic Mecha ]

\[ Quality: White ]

\[ Base stats: Defense 35, Power Level 15, Energy 350 ]

\[ Attribute penalty: Agility -10 ]

\[ Height: 1.4 meters ]

\[ Weight: 89 pounds ]

\[ Energy source: Crystal Core ]

\[ Combat consumption: 5 energy per minute ]

\[ Special ability: Thick Armor reduces physical damage by 10 ]

\[ Note: An absolute disgrace to the armor world! ]

Trash!

Lin Binbin almost couldn't bear to look.

But since it was his first fully handmade mecha, he chose to ignore the last sentence.

"Is it done?" Lin Xiao asked excitedly, seeing the machine.

Lin Binbin nodded.

"Done! Done! It really moved!"

Cheng Mo shouted excitedly, patting his cheeks to convince himself of what he saw.

They had actually built a battle-type spirit beast—a full suit of iron gear!

They'd definitely look impressive when paraded around.

Cheng Mo silently vowed to build an even better mecha someday so he could ride around without walking anymore.

Lin Xiao carefully stepped forward and gently touched the mecha's head.

The usually serious young man couldn't help but smile faintly, clearly proud of his creation.

At that moment, Lin Jiang had already allocated his attribute points.

Three went into life skills; the remaining seven went into personal attributes.

Strength +1; the other six all added to charisma.

He wasn't buying it—he believed his outstanding looks and character would win over those silly little monsters.

\[ Ding! All your attributes are positive. Rewarding a random item; drawing item, please wait... ]

\[ Item obtained: Beginner Spirit Beast Advancement Pill (Gold) ]

\[ Beginner Spirit Beast Advancement Pill: Can randomly upgrade beasts below D-rank, up to D-rank. Failure results in beast death. Use with caution. ]

\[ Spirit beast meat is delicious when cooked medium rare; sprinkle some salt for best taste. ]

Lin Binbin stared at the panel for about three seconds, heart pounding wildly.

Damn, his luck seemed to be turning around.