CH 2

The voice seemed extraordinarily cold and impersonal under the weak current interference.

Lin Han froze for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and continued to listen to the other party’s previous recordings.

Regardless, there must’ve been some kind of danger.

Even though the ear-splitting noise of the mecha being cut was heard around him right after he gave his name, He YunTing’s tone still didn’t have a single ripple, echoing in the cockpit where Lin Han was alone, with a chilling air that could break his bones.

The other side didn’t elaborate, as if they didn’t intend to restore the situation to those who heard this recording, he only told the most important parts concisely.

“This isn’t a simple Star Pirate sneak attack. Because there’s no way they would have ended up self-destructing, with touch explosive bombs on the back of the battle armor. Their target was me.”

Lin Han was then completely stunned, this was completely different from what he had imagined… 

The Star Pirates were a group of poor criminals, roaming all day to do evil, much of the equipment was from robbing some small planets. If they had the back of their battle armor layered with touch explosives, then the front must have had powerful thrusters, only this way could they kill others by closing in in a short amount of time, even zero distance touch the moment the explosive was ejected — self-destruction, and then common destruction.

Why would the other side do this?

The Star Pirates generally didn’t want to cross the regular imperial army, not to mention He YunTing personally, they certainly would take a different path, doing everything in their power to avoid the military.

Now the recording was saying that they were targeting He YunTing with a kamikaze attack?

But Lin Han didn’t have time to think about this, after all, it was a touch explosive. If He YunTing was a little careless, then he would have… 

But soon, he saw the right arm broken cleanly, and all of a sudden he understood in his heart.

And He YunTing’s words also confirmed his suspicions.

“—I cut it myself.”

Sure enough, Lin Han’s thought was correct.

The right mechanical arm of M2742 was not done by anyone else, nor could it be done by anyone else; He YunTing cut it off by himself by manipulating the lightsaber of his left arm at the moment when it was touched by the explosive.

As for why Lin Han was so familiar with this system was entirely because he had been involved in it before and knew it like the back of his hand.

The recording that came through the data box didn’t sound the slightest bit emotional, as if it was recounting a trivial matter that had nothing to do with itself — calm, indifferent, and even revealing some imperceptible arrogance.

“The speed was fast enough, so I ended up with only minor injuries.”

Even if he said that, Lin Han could imagine how dangerous the moment was.

The mecha already had a self-protection system, and especially the mecha piloted by the General’s class had done a very good job in this part. If it sensed that it would be organically damaged, it would first activate the strict pilot protection measures and cut off some of its functions.

He YunTing was able to regain control of the entire mecha through his mental power in a matter of seconds, and then without hesitation, he cut off his right arm with his lightsaber, which prevented a dangerous explosion.

And as far as the blood in the cockpit was concerned, it was still inevitable that he was injured.

As for the location and the severity of his injury, as well as blood loss assessment…  the other didn’t mention it at all.

He was too aware of the power of this weapon, and if there was the slightest difference, it may make the pilot seriously injured, or even force them to retire, so it was very dangerous. Lin Han couldn’t help but frown, concerned as he listened to what the other had suffered.

But after those words, a chilling murmur of persistent sounds began to emanate from the box. There was the sound of cutting, the shattering of tempered glass, the sound of an explosion from far and near, and the dull thud of flesh slamming into something hard, and a muffled grunt from the body’s owner.

He looked at the bloodstains that still remained in the cockpit and felt a little nervous, even his breathing tightened.

Lin Han’s heart had just produced a little unexplained worry and nervousness for this General He had never met, when he finally heard the voice again after the noise. But when the other side spoke again, the words that came out were different.

“I will send the mecha to the Institute for repair as soon as I return.”

?

A few moments ago, this person had experienced a dangerous attack, but he had opened a recorded message in order to make sure the mecha was repaired?

“Please ask the mecha master to repair this mecha carefully, and make sure it’s as perfect as my cut.”

The tone was cold, and arrogant.

……?

There was a soft click, and the recording came to an abrupt halt.

The cockpit, which smelled of oil and blood, returned to silence.

Probably because He YunTing’s tone was too cold, or because he didn’t mention anything about his injury, and was directly demanding, Lin Han’s usual clear thinking was like being led up the road by road signs, but at the crossroads was thrown down, feeling a rare confusion.

How was his injury situation? The cockpit command screen was broken, had the emergency measures been activated? Was there any loss of mental energy?

He combed through his thoughts, but the only thing he could be sure of was that at least He YunTing’s life wasn’t in danger. However, he thought back to the current situation of the right arm being cut off. If it was him, he could indeed repair it, and even the harsh requirement of ‘making sure to restore it to the same cut surface as his’ was not too difficult.

Lin Han looked up and saw that there was clearly a two-pilot mecha, but only one person was driving it, and the other pilot’s seat at the back looked out of place and lonely.

The empire hadn’t had a two-pilot mecha for a long time.

Not to mention the fact that a two-pilot mecha was more than twice as difficult to manufacture and design as a single-pilot mecha, and that it was far too difficult to find two pilots with matching mental abilities, not to mention an absolute understanding of how to navigate.

In addition, He YunTing’s extensive battle achievements over the years had turned the empire into an absolutely resilient and powerful being. Gradually, the two-pilot mecha was no longer a necessity in the military, and the mass-produced single-pilot mecha had become mainstream.

Lin Han was just about to try to see if it could be activated, but just two steps before the starter, the record box that had just returned to silence, but hadn’t been closed yet, re-emerged with that voice.

“That’s right.”

Lin Han stopped moving at the sound, thinking the General had something else to say about the damage to the mecha.

He YunTing on the recording continued, “When the mecha is overhauled, please get the best mecha master at the Institute, no one else.”

Lin Han, the best mecha master at the Institute, “……”

His mood was complicated.

Lin Han’s heart felt strange, but he didn’t have any resentment. He was judged to be too obsessed with mecha, but that was what he liked to do, and that was all he would do. He checked the data box to make sure there was no additional information, and re-recorded the new data he had observed.

In addition to cutting off half of his right arm, the entire back of the mecha had been hit hard, and based on the marks and damage left behind, it was likely that the explosion had still occurred. Despite the best efforts to avoid it, the massive shockwave had shattered the screen and part of the console, which was where the pilot’s injuries should have come from.

Small external damage and simple wiring connections could be fixed quickly, but the most critical was the core operating system and the part of the spiritual interface.

The workload was huge, but Lin Han didn’t feel bored.

Someone once commented about him, “It’s a shame that it’s an Omega who has such spiritual power.”

If one looked at the M Galaxy, the number of Omegas was already scarce, and there were only a few who could enter the institute. As for the Omegas with high mental power, the entire empire could count them on one hand.

Most of the SSS level mental powers were top Alphas, who could use it to harness the highest level mechas, but such a once-in-a-lifetime chance fell on an Omega like Lin Han.

As everyone knew, mental powers weren’t the same as physical ability.

An Omega’s physique was like a delicate flower in a hothouse, and even though their mental strength allowed them to do complicated mental work, when it came to physical strength, they were weak, and couldn’t even drive the most basic mecha.

Lin Han, in particular, when he entered the Institute, his physical strength rating was D-, and from time to time he had to take nutritional supplements, shattering everyone’s illusions about whether the SSS-class Omega would have physical miracles.

Lin Han looked at the time, and at the pile of parts he had just dismantled in front of him, so he didn’t go home and stayed in the repair room. The huge mecha he was accommodating covered a large area, and a man in a white uniform was constantly operating the lift to run back and forth, the large space only echoed with his voice and the cold mecha.

This was the most calming moment for him.

He didn’t like the sound of people, they were too loud, and especially felt abrasive to his ears—

—

Around the time he first entered the Institute, he didn’t know when, or maybe it was overnight, Lin Han suddenly felt that everyone around him had become noisy. There were small voices in his ears, but when he turned his head, it was obvious that no one was talking. Lin Han felt distracted and felt that the voices were like ants scratching his eardrums, constantly stabbing him in a subtle manner.

One day, he was talking to Shen XiuNan as usual, when he touched his hand and accidentally heard his inner voice.

That day Shen XiuNan was still smiling and talking with him, and his hand was only touched before moving away, but Lin Han’s ears heard the other’s familiar voice — 【We’re going to eat noodles tonight.】

Later, Lin Han asked several colleagues to verify, and the results were invariably the same.

He had the so-called ‘mind reading’ ability.

No matter who it was, as long as Lin Han touched the other person’s hand, that person’s current thoughts, in the other person’s voice, would naturally appear in his ears. Fortunately, mecha weren’t like this. They were quiet with a cold tenderness that belonged to metal and machinery alone.

From that day on, he began to wear white gloves, and didn’t take them off until it was necessary, turning into a person who people said was ‘incredibly clean’.

—

Lin Han was busy all night, his physical strength was too poor, and he was extremely focused. By the time he made the initial repair plan, a lot of time had passed. As soon as he relaxed, the drowsiness that had been suppressed by his mental energy washed over him.

Lin Han wanted to go back to his research room to rest, but he was so exhausted that he ended up cupping his gloves and leaning back in the pilot seat of the cockpit, quickly falling asleep.

The next day, he was woken up by Shen XiuNan knocking on the cockpit hatch.

Shen XiuNan had long been accustomed to this workaholic and looked at him helplessly, “Didn’t I give you nutrients last night? How late did you stay up?”

Lin Han didn’t answer, put on the gloves before adjusting his uniform, before he met Shen XiuNan reproachful eyes and felt slightly guilty, so he softened his tone and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“You,” Shen XiuNan sighed, then didn’t hide the envious look in his eyes, shaking the exquisite envelope in his hand, “The General’s celebration party invitation. From the entire Institute, only you were invited.”