Chapter 141: Little Girl

h?

The corners of her eyes discerned a bright silhouette suddenly flashing by. The little girl shuddered in her heart. Wham! She looked back on her mech, a few new scratches were added to the body of her wounded Viridae*! She shook her head and tapped her cheeks, being the topmost student for sight examination in her group, “How could I be seeing things?” she mumbled. “What was that?” She failed to identify it at first sight. It had to be the speed of the moving object being too fast and not because of how it travelled beyond her field of attention. “Yeah, certainly!” She was very much confident of herself.

Something must have changed! This was the first speculation that popped up in her thoughts. The current situation would only put her in worse fates as time went. At this rate, inevitably she would be caught in the end! Well since she had gotten the worst situation, any changes would be a variable, a spark of hope for her to take hold of! Variables were exactly what the little girl desperately wished for!

At such perilous moment, yet she was as calm as the sea with her thoughts wondering. If both Mu and Ye Chong were aware of her thoughts, they would be pretty impressed too.

Still, a variable is a variable and this variable went beyond her calculation!

She wanted to act on something but…

Out of the blue, the Dawn mech was stoned as his hurricane attack stopped abruptly. It stood like a sculpture in the woods, an absolute activity to an absolute inactivity… which the girl could not react in time to. “Huh?” The girl was astounded, her eyes caught a few beams of pale green slashing through the bottom of the oval cabin of the Dawn mech.

?

Wait! Oh no…

Her face drained completely as she mumbled her fright, pulling her mech away from the Dawn mech, but she was too late! The Dawn mech exploded and the impact had shattered the balance of her mech. The Viridae lost control as it fell rolling like a giant boulder off the slope. The scene went spinning and her head was struck by concussion. Dizziness blanked her head, confusion seized her.

They were fighting in an opening of the woods. And the explosion directly caused a shallow dent of a diameter about 10 meter on the ground. The sound of branches breaking down and trees crashing rang throughout the forest. The trees were literally shredded, only the trunk was remained in messy cuts.

…

Ow… Oh…

She shook her heavy head, trying her best to get back into the scene. Her eyes blinked vigorously as the imagery grew clearer gradually. There was… There was a gold silhouette standing there… he seemed to be looking… at me?

She shook her head again. Her sight recovered fully and finally she identified what the gold silhouette was exactly. A mech…Mi-Miniature…mech? She could not believe her eyes. She was skeptical of what she saw, judging by the appearance and the sizing, it was a miniature mech indeed. But… was there a miniature mech this potent? That it could eliminate a Dawn mech by few slashes in dark? And that was a one hit kill too!

“No… No way. Absolutely, no way!” she muttered in disbelief, shaking her head. How could this be possible? She had been instilled with the ideology that the Sanctuary was invulnerable, unbeatable and was definitely the strongest. Even if the Sanctuary was put in comparison with the nemesis – the FMPA and the Black Coves, the Sanctuary would only be on par with them, and they could not simply destroy a Dawn mech’s armor by a few slashes.

A miniature mech? Breaking a Dawn mech with cuts? This is too ridiculous! The capacity of a miniature mech was incomparable even to a standard mech in the market! Its sole purpose was to act as a personal guard. And I had never heard of ridiculous stories about a miniature mech overcoming a standard mech, especially a Dawn mech itself! No way. Impossible. Unmöglich! There had to be someone else dealing the fatal blows, not this mech alone, I must have missed it!

But who was it? She took a look around, there was nobody else!

Ye Chong did not look down on the Guardian though. Unlike the others, he recognized the power of the Guardian right from the beginning so he had subconsciously categorized it as a Super Mech. He had never thought about how others who had yet witnessed the potency of his mech would react at first sight. Nonetheless, even if the others did not feel alarmed while seeing the Guardian right in front of them, he would be much happier, since that simply meant that the Guardian would be easily-overlooked and he would have better odds on successful assassinations.

He stared at the green mech collapsed on the ground silently, awaiting it to get up. Despite that… he waited patiently. He waited very patiently. He waited very, very patiently. The person did not seem to have moved a gear. Ye Chong frowned in his mech. Was the person so feeble that she fainted even on such a weak blow?

The golden mask on his face expressed his frowning vibrantly. Well, of course, the tiny bits of changes on expression did not escape the little girl’s certified, topmost assured sight.

So it really was him? Muttered the little girl in her mind.

“Get out!” Ye Chong had lost his patience, he began counting down, disregarding time given her to ponder, “10 seconds. Get out yourself or I’ll do it for you.” His words fell indifferently. No temper was in, as if the threatening was done like his usual dough-kneading.

Huh? Wait, um, no!

She panicked. Her sensible mind suggested her that it was in fact this golden man who destroyed the Dawn mech. The flat tone contained an indestructible confidence, which made her reassessed the ordinary-looking miniature mech in front of her.

10.

9.

Ye Chong did not expect the person’s mind to be this sensible as he counted down nonchalantly.

8.

7.

The 10 seconds lapsed like milliseconds to a person in panic of sudden changes.

3.

2…

Ye Chong’s voice was flat as always it was.

Wait!!!

To her horror, she found out how her pointless ponder had taken up too much time, the word quickly escaped her mouth, pleading for mercy.

T-1 before Ye Chong was launched.

Her face was pale; paler than the skeletons, as she saw the man in the miniature mech being still unconcerned despite his words. There were no changes on his expression at the slightest! She felt chilliness sent down to her marrows. A true fright to the spines!

In that mere second, the atmosphere mutated! Fear stormed the place. The tension… she had only tasted it once from the teacher who taught killing back in the Sanctuary.

“Your senses are much more sensible than most of the people, even more sensible than myself,” commented their teacher. “Whenever you feel a sensation similar to mine of someone’s, you’ve got to be careful. Never mess with such kind, understand?” The teacher’s eyes gazed at her and her mates like a serpent in hunt. The gaze frightened the entire group.

And the tension exerted by the teacher was much stronger in this person!

I am doomed…

1.

Ye Chong did not even bother with her plight, his body moved as soon as he finished counting.

The golden man shrouded like a wind right towards her. Her face was fully drained, as she realized there was no way she could grasp the man at this speed. “Is this … Is this a human?”

Thup. A dead silence came next.

Crack.

Clink!

Crack Crack.

Crack! A few seconds later, the sound came last.

It felt like a thunder in her ears as in great terror she discovered her cabin shaking. The armor right in front of her was cracking, the lines spread like a spider web. The last sound of cracking was the sound made when the piece of armor fell.

Clink, clank. Klank, klink, shush! The pieces of armor rained before her. The fresh air surging in teased her suffocated mind. She felt pleasant and her nerves were serene. Yikes! Through the gap she could see the golden man staring at her expressionlessly. The eyes of solely black-and-white were freaking her out for some reason. Goosebumps occupied every inch of her skin.

Ye Chong planned to use his poorly-named dagger at first. But Dagger for No.2 was a bit too much for cracking the armor. A slight cut on the pilot inside could have been fatal and definitely he did not intend to do that. He wanted not her body, but her head for the information he desired. “Oh well.” He went ahead with his fists instead. He did smash an alloy door open before but that blow wounded his fist. Thanks to the Guardian, its capability magnified his strength, so smashing the armor of Viridae open felt like a smashing plastic. His hands were covered by the Guardian, so there were no injuries as well.

Of course, it was not exactly due to the capability of the Guardian. It was also because of the materials used to build Viridae. Viridae was purely a mech for training purposes, one could imagine its material would be as brittle as plastic among the other great materials for Dawn mechs. Such a normal material, no doubt Ye Chong could break it even with his own fist. But if it was a Dawn mech, it would be a dream to even crack the armor with bare hands.

She crawled out of the mech with initiative. Seeing how the foe had behaved, it would be better for her to compromise and act along, just to guarantee her survivability… What if it enrages the foe? Any form of disobedience would be assumed as provocation for sure. And anyone could imagine what could possibly happen if the foe assumed you being disobedient. She would not want to lose her life over such foolish act.

The monochromatic sight of the Guardian was pretty bad at deciphering human’s facial features. In Ye Chong’s eyes, the girl looked like a three-dimensional avatar formed in white lines and shades of grids. It was strange, at least the lines were clear enough to roughly define the appearance of the girl.

The girl was as little as she sounded, about 13 to 14 years old. A shaggy short hair, a hollow face. She was in fact little thinner than average girls. She looked exhausted yet her eyes were lustrous. Well those were never Ye Chong’s concern. “Mhm, good physique.” He carried on looking, the muscles were of well-proportions and could be explosive at times. Obviously he could tell how the girl had undergone systematic training. Judging by the age and the rate of puberty of the girl – high score for the training course! And he was well-aware that this girl knew an important training course, yes, that technique unknown to Ye Chong where he got it from Mr. Yin. Mentalist would only teach to another mentalist. The training methodology was one to one, only the emphasis could be different. But they are commonly known to be time-consuming.

Under such a constraint of time yet she was able to achieve such a physique, impressive!

If Shang was here, he would probably begin to recite poetries about the beauty of the girl as he launched another round of commentary of the beauty. Too bad it was still a puzzling issue to Ye Chong to compute.

He stood before the little girl. “Wh-” He realized how the WH-question could be actually technical to initiate a meaningful conversation. Suddenly he did not know how he should begin.

“Mu… Mu!” muttered Ye Chong in his mind, the Orbits calling Mu, the Orbits calling Mu, “Why don’t you do the inquiry instead?”

“I am no expert in this,” Mu rejected the offer right away. “If you are indeed in need of assistance, I could call Shang for this, since he is considered more of the expert in this!”

“Shang?” He thought back the passionate lectures of tortures he received these few days from Shang, “Ne-Nevermind.” He shook his head violently, “I’ll do it myself.”

Hmmm…

Settled down, Ye Chong pondered of which WH-question to start with.

The little girl was in shock at first, but she calmed herself over the time as she saw the miniature mech man stayed already silent for a long time. The heck he wants? Mumbled the girl.

“Your name?” The words broke the awkward silence.

She was alarmed and then she reacted calmly, part of the outcome of her training came flawlessly, “Zhu Ling.”

“Zhu Lin?”

“Ling. With the ‘g’ at the end.”

“Oh I see!” Ye Chong did not have any concept on surnames, since name was merely a code for someone to address yourself at convenience.

“Position at the Sanctuary?” he asked.

“Sanctuary?” I knew it! She got the purpose of this man right away. She had pinpointed the part of her sought by this person. That means I still have something to bargain with. As long as I get this right, then my situation would be dramatically improved!

Various plans ran through her head, her lips did not stop moving though, “I am the member of the elite group in the Sanctuary!” She understood the current situation disallowed her to act hesitated. Gaining trust from the person would be her top priority.

“Elite group?” Ye Chong had no idea what group that was.

“Well, elite group is an informal way to address for the insiders.” Judging by Ye Chong’s expression, she concluded that he knew nothing about the Sanctuary as she began explaining with patience, “The formal and official name of the group is known as the Sanctuary Executive Training group, which in simpler terms mean the group for the trainees who have yet completed their training as well as their assessment. They are under the Executives.”

“Executives?” Another term first came to Ye Chong’s ears.

“Mentalist Executives!”

“What are ‘Mentalist Executives’?”

“Mentalist Executives are the internal bureaucracy formed by the advanced mentalist-pilots, mostly for fulfilling special mission or tasks with high difficulties.” Pride was heard in her words as she said it with grace.

“I see! So they are all the expert pilots of the mentalist as you said?”

“Yes.”

“And they are the ones with psychic ability?”

“Psychic ability?” The girl was confused, “The proper way to call it should be the ‘extrasensory’ of the body. It is a kind of application of mentality. And the mentalists are better experts in this compared to mentalist-pilot. It’s just that the mentalist-pilots have in-depth understanding of combats. So they are aware of how to utilize such ability at maximum.”

“Mhm, application is more of the key,” Ye Chong utterly agreed to this statement. “So you are a mentalist… or a mentalist pilot?”

“Me? I… I have not passed the assessment so I can’t be a mentalist-pilot just yet,” her words sounded flat.

“So how many mentalist-pilots are there in the Sanctuary? How about the mentalists alone?” This would be the key question of the entire conversation. At least it would provide Ye Chong something to picture about the Sanctuary’s forces.

“Abou-” She wanted to reply but Mu’s voice hurried by Ye Chong’s mind, “Ye, a mech is approaching here! And it’s coming fast!”

Chapter 142: Lifted Throughout the Journey

e Chong felt a weight drop inside him. “How many?”

“Ten!” Mu’s answer was a shock to Ye Chong. Ten mechs, the standard combat squad from the Sanctuary. Ye Chong was not too conceited as to believe that he could manage all ten of them single-handedly.

Zhu Ling was about to speak of what she knew when a golden figure flashed past, and by the time she realized what happened, she found herself lifted, moving quickly through the woods.

Zhu Ling was unable to open her eyes as she could hear the wind swishing past her, the headwind painful against her face. The occasional branch struck her body, delivering fiery pain that ensued. Nevertheless, she endured, and while it was quite painful, she did not even whisper a groan.

“30 degrees to the left!” Mu had chosen the best escape route for Ye Chong.

Ye Chong abruptly turned. Blood rushed to Zhu Ling’s head from the centrifugal force produced from this sudden change in direction. Her visioned darkened, and Zhu Ling finally let out a moan. Fortunately, Zhu Ling had always trained hard with her physique in excellent condition. She momentarily recovered , though amazed by what happened. From the pain of the wind brushing past her face, she could roughly make out the speed of the gold mech; the conclusion she derived from this surprised and even frightened her.

The gold mech’s speed was way faster than an average mech’s speed! How was that possible? Her mind was all jumbled up, the facts confronting her all defying everyday knowledge. Earlier, she even noticed a small detail – the mech’s turning radius was very small, and this would burden the mech pilot heavily, just like how she was temporarily in shock from the blood rushing to her head. However, the mech’s pilot had made the turn like a normal maneuver – just what kind of monster was he?

Deep in her thoughts, there was another sudden turn, and Zhu Ling’s vision darkened again, and her mind emptied!

She did not expect this to be just the beginning of an insufferable experience. The miniature mech made a series of impossible quick turns. Zhu Ling felt like she was swinging in Hell’s playground, rising and falling, to the left and to the right. She could hardly afford to groan, and her remaining instincts told her to endure with all her might.

Ye Chong did not notice Zhu Ling’s condition, it was lifted as she was in his hands. He was now entirely focused with Mu and the scenery before him. He needed to respond accurately and quickly to Mu’s instructions, as the woods were littered with obstacles – it was no easy task to move so rapidly through the woods, and even with Ye Chong’s commendable skills as a mech pilot, he dared not be careless.

The forest stretched far and wide, an unending sight of trees to the horizon. This provided ample space for Ye Chong to move.

Under Mu’s instructions, Ye Chong managed to avoid the Sanctuary’s standard combat squad as it headed towards the scene of the incident.

Just as Ye Chong was about to relax, Mu’s words made Ye Chong ran again like a beast in heat, “Ye, don’t stop, they’re following your tracks towards you. Hmm, be careful, there are three mechs keeping watch in the sky!”

Unlike normal mechs that move with their engines, Guardian’s strength came from the pilot’s own strength, with amplification. Hence, Ye Chong did not fly, but ran and leaped as he made his way forward. Through Guardian’s amplification of Ye Chong’s already superior strength, every step onto the ground brought soil flying into the air, creating a hole in the ground – his trail was marked distinctly like plowed soil. This left an easy sign for the enemy to track him.

Poor Zhu Ling. If the previous journey was unforgettable to her, the next journey was like a living hell! More speed, more impossible turns and a bumpier ride, all made her nearly lost her mind. The stress was already more than her body could take, and she had quickly fallen into a semi-conscious state.

The trees in the forest were humongous, nearly obliterating the view of the sky. Ye Chong stuck close to the ground as he charged forward, as his movements completely hidden from the skies.

Unlike Ye Chong’s desperate run forward, the seven Dawn mechs advanced carefully, as though anticipating an ambush. The squad leader in the center looked even more sombre than the rest. From the marks on the ground, it was obviously not a normal mech, its size probably similar to a human’s. This reminded him of the Sanctuary’s earlier announcement of an important fugitive, one armed with a gold miniature mech. It was similar to the current target at hand.

He immediately reported this to the Sanctuary. “For a traitor to side with an enemy …” The thought was unsettling.

From the latest intel report by the Sanctuary, the gold miniature mech had surprisingly powerful combat abilities. In the intel report, it was even advised for anyone facing the mech alone to seek help! For the veteran squad leader, this smelt like danger. It also meant that, in a one-on-one battle, the Sanctuary was not confident of victory.

This was why as Ye Chong went full speed ahead, the seven mechs behind him followed cautiously, fearing of an ambush.

Ye Chong moved among the trees like an enchanted golden bullet.

Suddenly, the view in front of Ye Chong lit up – he had left the forest. He was greeted with a wide river, which he leaped into without hesitation.

Just moments after Ye Chong jumped into the river, a large group of Dawn mechs swished past the river’s surface and entered the forest.

Further downstream, on a secluded shore of pebbles, a golden figure suddenly rose from the waters, a girl lifted in its hands, unconscious.

This was Ye Chong, emerging from his little dive. With Guardian’s protection, Ye Chong moved like a fish underwater, unlike his previous humiliating experience.

Ye Chong put down Zhu Ling from his grasp, as she landed gently on the pebbly shore. After the desperate run through the forest, at such high speeds, any branch hitting her inevitably left a rip on her clothing. After all the running, her clothes were now in tatters, and that dip in the river left her nearly naked. Zhu Ling received strict training since she was young, and her physique had matured early, with a perfect body shape. This exposed view of her would have riled up most men.

Ye Chong was unmoved by the beautiful sight. It was not that Ye Chong lacked any masculine instincts, but Ye Chong knew next to nothing about these things. The only experience he had was only that one lick of Rui Bing. Besides, in Ye Chong’s eyes, Zhu Ling was but a 3D image composed of a jumble of white lines, along with some relevant data on the side by Guardian. Under these circumstances, the only way Ye Chong could be moved was if he had reached Shang’s level of appreciation!

“Hmm?” Mu exclaimed in surprise, unusual for his calm self.

“What is it? Mu!” Ye Chong asked curiously, since not many things could surprise Mu.

“Look at that necklace on her neck!”

“Hmm, what’s wrong with that? It looks normal!” Ye Chong had no experience on women’s jewelry such as necklaces, but he still went to have a look.

Hung from an ancient-looking string was a pendant shaped like a water droplet. The pendant was an opaque gray, which was not very impressionable. Of course, Ye Chong only saw its 3D grid image.

“Is it a dimension keystone?” Ye Chong’s first guess was a dimension keystone, since many were made like pendants or ornaments, just like Mu’s.

“No!” Mu rejected Ye Chong’s idea decisively, and revealed the truth, “Based on available information, that droplet shaped pendant is made of a very rare material commonly known as Red Liquor. Red Liquor looked plain under normal circumstances, but when exposed to alcohol, it would turn a vivid red, and it was very popular among the ladies. However, it is very rare, and so, highly precious. If my information is correct, only some of the very ancient aristocratic families have these jewels!”

“Do you mean that the girl’s background is suspicious?” Ye Chong’s reaction was almost immediate.

“No, the term ‘suspicious’ feels too much like a subjective opinion! It’s not recommended! I merely believe that this person’s background has a high probability of being unusual!” Mu’s calculating words felt almost devoid of emotions.

“Hmm, it’s certainly possible, but her background has got nothing to do with us! Hmm, Mu, can Red Liquor enhance the properties of metallic materials?” Ye Chong asked. This was something he was interested in.

“There is no information on that as of yet! After all, it’s a rare material, no one would experiment on it.” Mu replied.

“Hmm, then we gotta experiment!” Ye Chong cocked his head to the side, considering the idea.

Ye Chong stooped down and took the droplet shaped Red Liquor from Zhu Ling, without any sense of guilt. To him, Zhu Ling was his prey, and anything the prey owned was now naturally his! Deep inside, Ye Chong still believed in the ways of nature.

The young lady slowly awakened, and the contents of her stomach immediately started protesting like a storm. She lurched forward and vomited for a long moment.

When they entered the river, the semi-conscious young lady was instantly awakened, and found herself underwater. She did not panic, since surviving underwater for long periods of time was part of her training.

It was far more comfortable in the water, at least when compared to the insanely rapid turns on the ground. Slowly, she realized that the mech had no intention of surfacing to breathe! While she was considered excellent in this particular kind of training, that did not mean that she could stay underwater indefinitely. Out of alternatives, she forced herself into a faked state of death.

On the shores, with stimulation of fresh air, she slowly awakened, and upon returning to consciousness, found her the contents of her stomach raging like a storm. She could not help but throw up violently, unaware of her missing necklace.

After throwing up, she finally calmed down, and Zhu Ling finally noticed that her clothing could not longer fully cover herself. The young woman was, however, unembarrassed, and acted with her usual calm.

“Alright, you can continue with your questions! But let me leave after that!” The young woman spoke calmly.

Ye Chong was impressed, but did not show it as he spoke, “Hmm, alright, then let’s continue the question earlier. How many mentalists and mentalist pilots are there in the Sanctuary?”

Chapter 143: A Sudden Thought

e Chong walked home by himself, his mind still preoccupied with the intel he obtained from the young lady earlier. He had imagined the Sanctuary to be powerful, but did not expect it to as powerful as he now knew. No wonder it could hold itself against Black Cove and the MPA! The Sanctuary’s power came from its mentalists and mentalist pilots, and this made Black Cove and the MPA wary of it.

Black Cove, MPA and Sanctuary – Ye Chong considered the Three Forces, interrelated to but independent from one another. The Three Forces had many similarities, such as mech technologies that far exceeded that of the Five Galaxies, and their total mystery, as if they came from a different, powerful and mysterious world.

As for that young woman called Zhu Ling, Ye Chong let her go in the end! While killing her was easy, Ye Chong did not really feel like killing her. He did not enjoy killing, and he had only killed others for survival. If it was not necessary, why should he kill another person? Beside, he was quite impressed by the young woman – calm, rational, and persevering, Ye Chong saw traces of himself in her!

The young woman left with a calm expression, as though she had expected to be released. After some rest, the young woman showed remarkable physical capabilities, her movements athletic, as she gradually vanished out of Ye Chong’s sight. Looking out to the empty shore of pebbles, Ye Chong could not help but sigh a little. To survive was rarely a simple task! That precious Red Liquor sat quietly in Ye Chong’s bag.

Back at Lunatic Guan’s place, Ye Chong realized that he had returned empty handed from his trip outdoors today, and smiled wryly.

Inside the house, Lunatic Guan was in a rare state of sobriety, packing her things energetically. Lunatic Guan saw Ye Chong and called to him, “Little Ye, did you see my light yellow jacket?”

“Light yellow?” Ye Chong cocked his head to its side and thought for a moment. “It’s been probably thrown out!” He was cleaning up that day, and had gotten rid of a mountain of things. Ye Chong could not recall if a light yellow jacket was one of them. However, since it could not be found, the probability of it being thrown away was high!

“What? Thrown out?” Lunatic Guan’s expression froze, and immediately turned into great anger, “How dare you throw it out! Didn’t you know I’m still going to wear it? Didn’t you know …”

“I didn’t!” Ye Chong replied calmly but clearly.

Lunatic Guan was instantly silenced, and remembered then that she had asked him to clean up the house without giving any specifications. Lunatic Guan calmed down a little and humphed coldly, “I’ll let you off this time, next time ask me before you throw anything out, don’t just throw anything away!”

“Okay!” Ye Chong replied plainly.

“I’m going out these two days, so you stay in the house. Hmm, I’ve prepared some course material for you in Room Seven’s photon processor, with detailed requirements. You’ll do a test when I’m back, and if you fail, hehe …” Lunatic Guan was obviously still holding grudge towards Ye Chong’s role in her lost jacket, and her tone was unpleasant.

Ye Chong was like a rock, unmoved by Lunatic Guan’s tone, and replied flatly, “Okay!”

“Hmph!” Lunatic Guan gave another cold humph and continued packing.

Ye Chong gathered from experience that Lunatic Guan would periodically make a long trip outdoors. During his time at Nan Nan’s house, whenever this happened, Ye Chong would have to visit earlier to retrieve the strengthening chemicals. Thus, while Ye Chong did not know where she was going, he was still not surprised at the trip.

Lunatic Guan hastily left, and Ye Chong was left alone in the house. Ye Chong enjoyed the peace. There were not too much of Lunatic Guan’s prepared materials to study, and Ye Chong mastered them all in only a few days, and spent another two days collecting plant specimens. Ye Chong now had his time to himself with his tasks completed.

Ye Chong thought of the day he worried about not having a mech for transport, and had a sudden thought – perhaps he can try making a full-skeleton mech. Once the thought occurred to him, Ye Chong could not stop thinking about it.

The thought was too enticing!

For one, he had no suitable mech to use in the open that would not expose his identity. If his life was threatened, he would be defenseless! Hence, he desperately needed a mech, but the average mechs vendored in shops could no longer satisfy him.

On the other hand, this would also be a comprehensive test of all his knowledge and skills!

Ye Chong was decisive, and after affirming his choice, immediately went to the old man’s place. After all, the materials would have to come from him.

The old man listened to Ye Chong’s plain statement of his decision through slit eyes, and spoke after a moments’ thought, “Come with me!”

The old man brought Ye Chong to a room in the underground workshop where he usually rested. This was the first time Ye Chong entered the old man’s resting area. The room was not spacious, with only a bed and a table. There were some daily appliances in the corner of the room, and in another corner were some tools.

The old man walked to that corner to activate some concealed mechanism, and the wall behind Ye Chong slid quietly to the side. Ye Chong was a little surprised to find a secret room in here, but his expression was as inert as a stubborn rock.

Seeing Ye Chong’s calm expression, the old man’s eyes gleamed softly with pride.

The two entered the secret room. Skeletons – the entire secret room was full of skeletons! However, compared to the mountain pile of skeletons outside, these skeleton materials in the secret room were few, numbering only a few dozen. Nonetheless, Ye Chong knew immediately that these skeletons were of higher quality than the ones outside, and some were even extremely rare materials. These skeletons were undoubtedly like treasure to a skeleton carver!

No skeleton carver would be unmoved by the variety and quality of skeleton materials kept in here. At least Ye Chong was so, his expression changing for the first time as he looked at these skeletons!

“Heavens! These skeletons are amazing!” Ye Chong thought as his eyes glowed, scanning through the materials!

The old man was pleased with Ye Chong’s expression, and explained with some delight, “Every year, the Sanctuary would send some rare skeletons to me as a gift. I’ve kept them all this while, all for the sake of making a full-skeleton mech one day. Sigh, I’m old now, nothing like you young people! I have been stuck for a while now with my skills, there’s no hope left for me in this lifetime. It’s up to you now!” The old man spoke with some helplessness, his age more obvious than ever.

Ye Chong could not help but sober up from his enthusiasm.

The old man then spoke seriously, “I was going to pass on these materials to you when your skills were fully matured, but this thought of yours came earlier than I expected. As your master, I have nothing else to teach you, your accomplishments are by your own efforts, and even I have learnt much from you. Take these materials with you. You’re careful in nature, these materials will not be wasted in your hands!”

The old man’s words were sincere, and Ye Chong was touched. He gathered himself with some difficulty and managed to reply with a calm tone, “Thank you, Master!”

With the old man’s help, Ye Chong did not have to worry about materials. Initially, Ye Chong was only thinking of just making a mech of passable quality, but he did not expect the old man to provide his treasured skeletons accumulated over the years. Faced with these quality chosen skeletons materials, his initial thoughts were now abandoned, and his only intention now was not only to make a full-skeleton mech, but a top class one at that. Ye Chong even had a name ready for it – Han Jia. Of course, the name did not have any special meaning, since it was derived by Mu through a random selection algorithm. Ye Chong did not care to waste effort in this aspect. Thus, the name was decided.

The first challenge was the mech’s main body design. The mech was designed for Ye Chong’s personal use, hence it was inevitably a close range mech. Speaking of close range mechs, among all the ones that Ye Chong had encountered, the strongest would be Black Cove’s mechs. Black Cove’s mechs were the undisputed king of close range mechs.

However, it was not practical to model completely after Black Cove. While Ye Chong had spent some time at Black Cove, he had only ever played around with the F-58’s structure, and not any other Black Cove mechs. The F-58 was only used for training in Black Cove, and far inferior to the Black Cove war mechs. Besides, here on the Orbits, the Sanctuary’s men were everywhere, and they were familiar with the style of Black Cove’s mechs. He would only be targeted by the Sanctuary if he flew a mech like that outside.

Seemed that he would have to come up with something himself!

As for the engine, Ye Chong planned to remove Yu Di’s engine. While Yu Di’s engine was far inferior to Mu’s, it still managed to hold its ground when going against the MPA’s mechs. This was good enough for Ye Chong! Due to the engine’s capabilities, it could not be made entirely of skeletons. Only certain key parts of it, such as the padding, could be made of skeletons to enhance its capabilities. Besides, designing the engine was more complicated and detailed than designing the mech itself, and Ye Chong was not certain if his own engine design would be better than the work of Fred the Great.

“Best to use what I have, and add some skeleton components to modify it a bit,” Ye Chong deliberated.

Chapter 144: Han Jia

mech’s most important part were its engine and photon processor. The engine’s problem was dealt with, but Ye Chong knew nothing of photon processors. Fortunately, he did not rely heavily on them, and a simple photon processor bought from the streets was enough to satisfy him.

Besides the photon processor and engine, other components such as scanning systems were not things that Ye Chong could make himself. Scanning systems found in the market were probably not up to par, and effectively useless against mechs from Black Cove, the Sanctuary and the like. However, Ye Chong did not plan to install a scanning system. As long as he had Mu, who had the most advanced scanning system, all he needed was a device that could link to Mu via photon processor. This was not too hard for him.

However, these was all work in later stages. For now, Ye Chong must understand which materials he had for disposal. This was unique to full-skeleton mechs – they were designed based on available materials, unlike the usual method of finding materials based on the design.

Rare skeletons were often chanced upon, and so the method of choosing the right materials based on design was impractical in the process of making a full-skeleton mech. Even when using the same type of skeletons, the quality would differ, since factors such as the animal’s age and living environment would greatly affect the skeletons’ density, strength and other properties.

Looking at the myriad of rare skeletons laid on the ground before him, Ye Chong was suddenly struck with much anticipation. What kind of mech would he come up with?

As he familiarized himself with all the skeletons, Ye Chong began to design the mech. With Mu’s assistance, this process did not take too long. He also prepared a few backup schemes in case he mishandled some skeletons by accident. However, Ye Chong hoped that they would not be needed in the end.

After that, he set to work!

The early processes were mundane. Crude processing of the skeletons demanded patience. No one had ever single-handedly produced a full-skeleton mech, and Ye Chong did not expect the heavy workload. Fortunately, Ye Chong was physically well prepared. Ye Chong worked like a tireless machine, continuing on and on.

Ye Chong’s went through every step with great care, since most of those skeletons were unique, and if damaged, could only be replaced by another different one. If the replacement was in any way different to the original intended skeleton, it would reduce the overall performance of the mech. That was something Ye Chong hoped to avoid.

Every day, Hei Zi would send food to Ye Chong, but never interrupting him. Even little Nan Nan was sensible enough to not keep pestering her elder brother to play.

For an entire month, Ye Chong worked in an insane but peaceful condition. Even when it was Shang’s turn to come outside, the mech knew that bothering Ye Chong would have dreadful consequences. Hence, the mech made the rational choice of keeping quiet.

Ye Chong stared longingly at the mech.

He admired the result of his month-and-a-half of hard work, and felt a great sense of accomplishment bubbling in him. This was definitely a masterful work, an impressive work! Ye Chong was most thankful for the fact that he did not damage a single skeleton in the whole process.

The mech stood at 12 meters tall, its main body made of giant whale’s vertebrae and titan scarab’s exoskeleton, shaped like a human. Ye Chong loved Yu Di’s four-armed design, since it could effectively make use of his impressive hand speed. However, Yu Di’s four-armed designed was too out of the ordinary, and would leave a strong impression in anyone who had seen it. The Sanctuary was still searching for Yu Di. If he made a similar four-armed mech, would that not invite trouble?

Ye Chong worked around it. He thought of the Dawn mech’s two electric whips, and then of the four semi-crystallised thousand-segment worms among the skeletons the old man had given him. Ye Chong used those, but the inner photon circuits took him much effort to set up. The thousand-segment worms could not be made into electric whips, so Ye Chong attached bone spikes at the ends instead. These spikes were from the beater-eater’s back, and were quite tough. Ye Chong had punctured high-strength alloy boards with them. Besides that, the spikes were resilient, and did not break easily from bending. Ye Chong spent much time whetting the spikes, exhausting one whetting machine for each spike, a sign of the weapons’ toughness.

The four thousand-segment worm whips with spikes were kept in four concealed shooting chambers in the lower back of the mech, inconspicuous from the outside.

The mech’s named was decided early on to be Han Jia. If it were up to Ye Chong, he would probably not want to take too much trouble in naming and just call it Number 1. However, since Mu had provided the name, even if using a random algorithm, Ye Chong did not mind it.

Han Jia’s main weapon was its daggers. These were made from a fangbeast’s canine teeth, with some heavy processing. The two daggers were slightly longer than the average mech’s daggers, arching slightly and lined with natural serrated edges, with razor sharp tips. The daggers were as black as night, and as soon as Ye Chong was done making them, he found himself loving them very much!

Of all the weapons, Ye Chong found the daggers most handy, but their attack range was very limited. If only he still had Yu Di’s UF magnetic sword, the work of Fred the Great! The UF magnetic swords sold in the streets were far inferior to the original, and Ye Chong could not see himself using them.

On Han Jia’s left arm was a shield, its surface etched with scale-like patterns. It was made of iron lizard’s scales gathered on the trash planet. These scales could survive unscathed from Mu’s attack, and that left a deep impression in Ye Chong. He immediately thought of them when he began working on the shield.

After that, Ye Chong found that the iron lizard’s scales could not only shield against physical attacks, but also energy based weapons. This impressed Ye Chong. It was as if the material was destined to be used for defense shields. There was also another advantageous property, and that was its light density. This made the shield much lighter than conventional metal shields.

Ye Chong accepted Mu’s advice and made the shield with an overlapping method. This produced the scale-like patterns. Of course, Ye Chong sharpened the edges of the shield as per his habit. If he could add another function to the weapon, then why not?

Other than this, Ye Chong also removed Harmony of the Winter Aria’s two auto lock-on double-edged shurikens and attached them on Han Jia. With that, Han Jia had some limited long range attack capabilities.

Ye Chong also wanted to add some barbs on Han Jia’ shoulders, elbows, knees and feet, since they were unexpectedly useful in close range combat. However, Ye Chong rejected those in the end, since a mech like that would be too eye-catching, and that would be against his intention of keeping himself under the radar. Aside from that, it was similar to Black Cove’s style, and Ye Chong did not want to be mistaken as one of them.

Han Jia’s every detail was the result of Ye Chong’s meticulous considerations. However, in the end, Ye Chong was still quite satisfied with it.

The most satisfying feature of Han Jia for Ye Chong would be its astonishing speed!

Han Jia’s main body was made of skeletons, making it significantly lighter than metals. With the same propulsion force, Han Jia could move a good two Machs faster than Harmony of the Winter Aria! While Guardian could go up to Mach 10, it was only for a short burst. Han Jia, however, could fly at its top speed for long journeys. Compared to Harmony, Han Jia was definitely faster!

On the battlefield, just a tiny advantage in speed would provide a great overall advantage. With a speed of Mach 9, Ye Chong would definitely gain an upper hand going against the likes of the Sanctuary, Black Cove or the MPA. On top of that, with the ability of long range flight at Mach 9, it would be easier to escape!

After completion, Ye Chong used Guardian to make a thorough analysis of the mech, and fixed a few small but potentially fatal flaws.

Hei Zi gasped and marvelled at Ye Chong’s work from the sidelines. While the old man said nothing, his eyes were shining brightly, staring up to the first full-skeleton mech in history. The two of them watched the mech, fully observant, and did not notice that Ye Chong had already left.

Ye Chong was exhausted! A month and a half of nonstop working with high concentration had drained him. Once Ye Chong had finalized his mech, he could no longer bear it as he found a passably tidy spot and slept! He fell asleep almost immediately after he lay down.

When Ye Chong woke up, it was already the third day. He was awakened by hunger, his empty stomach growling in protest. Seeing some food placed beside him, Ye Chong started devouring them without hesitation. “These must be from Hei Zi,” Ye Chong thought as he ate.

After he finished, his hunger was slightly lessened. Ye Chong picked himself up and went to the now completed Han Jia.

In terms of design, Han Jia was considered sparse, with no signs of decoration on it. Nonetheless, its natural style was refreshing. In terms of color, however, Han Jia was quite a handful. Each skeleton material was in a different hue – black, white, light green, dark red … This gave Han Jia a unique enigma. Besides that, the unique texture of skeleton luster made Han Jia looked more like a carved sculpture of abstract art.

With the exception of the metallic shine from the titanium scarab’s exoskeleton, other parts looked like jade, or wood, and some even looked like synthetic material. The mech looked odd, but it was undeniable that such a strange mech would draw attention from everyone!

Ye Chong could not help but knitted his brows.

Chapter 145: Learning

he one thing Ye Chong wanted to avoid the most was attention. On the trash planet, the last one standing was often the one lying in the dark, waiting to ambush. The quicker one was exposed under the star’s light rays, the higher the probability of death! At the moment, if Ye Chong’s identity was discovered by the Sanctuary, he would not stand a chance.

Every part of Han Jia, standing before him, told the story of a very special mech! “What an eyesore!” Ye Chong thought.

What should he do? Ye Chong pondered long and hard. He had wanted to build a mech that could hide his identity, but had ended up with one that made him the center of attention. He could not help but smile ironically! His eyes wandered to a corner stashed with bottles of all sorts, and Ye Chong unconsciously scanned through them. Ye Chong’s vision suddenly focused on a silver bottle!

Ye Chong groaned at his own stupidity. Such a simple solution had taken him so long to reach! He picked himself up and walked towards the silver bottle!

Ye Chong looked at Han Jia, deeply satisfied!

Dazzling silver covered every part of Han Jia. The mech’s earlier modest charisma was now gone without a trace. Now, Han Jia looked like an arriviste, making a clumsy show of his wealth! A moment ago, Ye Chong sprayed a layer of bright silver paint on Han Jia. However, Ye Chong was now deeply satisfied. Even if it was him seeing Han Jia among other mechs, he would probably not waste any extra attention on the mech.

Any slightly experienced mech pilot would know that the real masters would not draw attention to themselves. Only plain-looking mechs could potentially be advanced level mechs.

Only newcomers would paint their mechs in such a dazzling style, hoping for attention.

After giving Han Jia an ugly paint job, Ye Chong heard Hei Zi calling him, “Ye, Master would like to see you!”

“Okay!” Ye Chong replied, and headed outside. Ye Chong had already locked himself as Han Jia’s user. Except for himself, no one else could examine Han Jia’s interior. This was because Ye Chong did not want Han Jia’s interior accessories to be known, since some of them were quite unsettling.

Han Jia’s dimension keystone was linked to a light green bracelet, which Ye Chong put on his left wrist. Ye Chong had wanted a ring, but considering the effect of having too many rings on his fingers’ movements, he chose a bracelet in the end.

There was one thing that he found himself quite annoyed with, and that was the fact that he could not find any brainwave activated dimension keystone in the area. All he found were old-fashioned sound activated ones. Sound activation was undesirable in terms of reaction time and discretion, and this vexed Ye Chong for a long time.

One could be sure that Han Jia was now a sight to behold. As Hei Zi entered and saw Han Jia’s transformation, he gaped widely and froze in bewilderment, speechless as Ye Chong left unnoticed!

Ye Chong went to the old man. The old man was not tinkering with his tools as per usual, but sitting before his desk in the resting room, staring into space.

Ye Chong entered and greeted softly, “Master.”

“Oh, Ye, you’re here, sit!” The old man gathered his thoughts and looked at Ye Chong, sitting opposite him and looking back at him. He pondered for a long while, speaking slowly, “Ye, did you have any episodes from your strange illness recently?”

Ye Chong shook his head. “No.” He did not understand why the old man would suddenly ask about this.

The old man looked at Ye Chong meaningfully and said, “Hei Zi said that your illness can only be cured outside the Orbits, is that right?”

“Yes.” Ye Chong nodded.

“It looks like you’ll leave the Orbits for sure.” The old man suddenly sighed.

“Yes.”

“You’re the first skeleton carver to ever make a full-skeleton mech. I was hoping you could help me teach Hei Zi, that he may reach your level one day! I know, your interest does not lie entirely in skeleton carving. Haha, I didn’t think I would be able to see a full-skeleton mech in my entire lifetime, I’m quite satisfied! However, if you’re leaving the Orbits, sigh, Hei Zi …” The old man spoke hesitantly.

Ye Chong fell silent. He understood the old man, but what could he do?

“When do you plan on taking the Sanctuary’s Trials?” The old man changed the topic abruptly and asked Ye Chong.

“After some time.” Ye Chong continued explaining, “After I spend some time on alchemy.”

“Eh, that’s good! Teach Hei Zi in the meanwhile, he may be a little opaque but he’s very grounded, and is never lazy!”

“Yes.” Ye Chong replied. Even if the old man did not say so, Ye Chong had planned to do it all along.

The old man’s expression suddenly turned serious, and focused his eyes on Ye Chong. “Ye, if you’re thinking of leaving the Orbits, never let anyone know that you can build full-skeleton mechs. Or else, you may have to live your entire life under the eyes of the Sanctuary. Of course, if it’s like that, you won’t have much to worry besides your freedom. For example, about your strange illness, the Sanctuary would never let a skeleton carver capable of building a full-skeleton mech to die of illness. As for the Sanctuary’s power, I believe you understand that completely. Haha, well, can you accept this way of life?”

“No!” Ye Chong replied decisively. Without freedom, Ye Chong could never accept it.

The old man broke into a grin. “Haha, as I guessed. But if that’s the case, Ye, you must be careful, never let anyone realize that you know how to build full-skeleton mechs. Remember, never! Or else, if the Sanctuary knew, you’ll never leave the Orbits. I’ve reminded Hei Zi, and he’d never tell anyone. That full-skeleton mech that you have, it’s best not to use it unless necessary, now that there are many who could tell the difference. Hmm, best if you paint the mech, so that it wouldn’t be so obvious!”

Ye Chong silently applauded the old man’s experience, but was also moved from the old man’s concern about him.

Ye Chong left the old man’s room and met Hei Zi again. Hei Zi gave Ye Chong an odd look. He could not understand how someone would intentionally make his own mech ugly! Besides, this was his rational Junior Brother, and that perplexed him.

Now that Ye Chong was not occupied, he spend his days revising the coursework given by Lunatic Guan. While Lunatic Guan’s threats of punishment did not bother him, he still appreciated the knowledge, since he understood that it would form part of his strength, and might one day be crucial for his survival.

For someone who valued life as much as Ye Chong, that was the most convincing reason.

Other times, Ye Chong would teach Hei Zi about the foundational theories of mechs. However, the entire system of knowledge was too vast, and Hei Zi was not as good as Ye Chong was in terms of intelligence and foundation. Hence, he improved slowly, and Ye Chong could not do much about it.

Ye Chong also allocated some time for Room 5, using the authorization password from Lunatic Guan to activate the room’s photon processor and studied the secretive news and rules related to the ancient occupation that was alchemy. As he read on, Ye Chong gradually grew terrified. The world before him was a very mysterious one, an isolated world, with its own rules and social norms.

What Ye Chong was most interested in was the abilities of some unusual alchemists from obscure branches of the field. They mostly seemed inconceivable to Ye Chong.

One such example was a branch in microorganism studies. They could grow and multiply certain types of microorganisms up to tens of thousands of their original number. There was once a person who developed a grudge against one of them, and was secretly infected with this microorganism together with a special kind of catalyst. In the blink of an eye, that person began to age and wither quickly, and died a curious death.

This narrative immediately got Ye Chong’s attention. Ye Chong was always vigilant against unknown forces . This was terrifying! Fortunately, these people were not battle enthusiasts, and had never sought conflict with others by their own initiative.

This mysterious world was mainly made up of ancient aristocratic families. Through a long history of accumulating knowledge, they could reach further depths in their field. As for those who supported academy establishments, traditional alchemists often thought it beneath themselves.

Ye Chong had never heard of the news in here. Even with Ye Chong’s boldness, he was still chilled as he read through some of the information. There were too many strange things going on!

After finishing his reading, Ye Chong felt moved. The world was a vast place. How much more remained unknown? How many worlds remained to be discovered?

Lunatic Guan finally returned, looking fatigued, worn out by the journey, her expression betrayed some sense of desolation. She saw Ye Chong and exchanged some casual words before returning to her room to rest.

The next morning, Lunatic Guan woke Ye Chong up for her so-called test.

The entire afternoon was spent taking the test.

Lunatic Guan’s face did not show any emotions, but her heart was swirling like a tsunami. The coursework she gave Ye Chong was partly meant to make things difficult for him. While they were basic knowledge, but the content was abundant. For someone without any basics in alchemy, it would impossible to master them in such a short time. However, Ye Chong had done it!

“This guy is a genius!” The thought flashed past Lunatic Guan’s mind. At the same time she found herself feeling a little excited!

She was not aware that Ye Chong was not entirely without any foundations in alchemy. Besides, the amount of information was nothing compared to what Shang had pestered Ye Chong to learn on alchemy.

Lunatic Guan nodded in approval on the surface, “Good god, your homework was done quite well! Hmm, since you’re done with homework, we’re going to continue on with the next phase of learning. This phase will focus on the basic skills in alchemy. Of course, theoretical studies will continue.

“Remember, for an alchemist, practice, is always more important than words!”

Lunatic Guan spoke her last sentence with a rare expression of seriousness.

Chapter 146: It’s All the Red Liquor’s Fault

ver since that day, Ye Chong became busier, his daily schedule jam packed with activities, as though Lunatic Guan was trying to identify his limits. As for Ye Chong, he noticed for the first time that being an alchemist placed a high demand on his physical endurance. If not for his outstanding physical strength, he probably would have exhausted himself early on.

Once again, Ye Chong’s performance was a pleasant surprise to Lunatic Guan. His seemingly frail body harboured extraordinary strength, as though he was always physically ready. Besides, he had great talent and was a quick study; his long, white fingers moved deftly, as though he was born to be an alchemist. This won much admiration from Lunatic Guan. In order to make Ye Chong “suffer”, Lunatic Guan even invested her own time in him, and spent less time in drinking. Often, she would even forget all about drinking. Of course, Ye Chong was not foolish enough to remind her of that. Gradually, Lunatic Guan had forgotten of her original intention and began to teach Ye Chong more seriously. She began to treat Ye Chong like an actual student of hers without actually meaning to do so!

With one of them teaching in earnest, and another learning in earnest, Ye Chong improved quickly!

Ye Chong could finally relax a little, since this phase of learning had finally ended, and Lunatic Guan had granted him a few days’ leave. Now, Ye Chong could synthesize his own strengthening chemical, since for a true alchemist, knowing the ingredients was enough to make the chemical easily. From the old man’s point of view, Ye Chong’s learning mission was completed.

With the rare moment of leisure, Ye Chong enjoyed his idle time by carving some little things out of some smaller skeleton pieces for practice, to keep his skills sharp. Ye Chong had no sense of aesthetics, and carved only mech models. He did not bring his carving knife with him, and used the dagger gifted to him by Gu Shaoze.

Ye Chong looked satisfyingly at the final product in his hands, and kept his dagger back into his bag. Suddenly, he noticed the Red Liquor obtained from the young woman, and thought of Mu’s description of the stone’s properties with growing excitement.

“Shang, Mu said that Red Liquor will change in color when stimulated by alcohol, is that right?”

“Hmm, based on our database it should be right! Besides, you can always experiment to find out!” Shang spoke indifferently.

“Right, I can experiment to find out. Hm, alcohol, Lunatic Guan should have plenty of it here!” Will Lunatic Guan run out of alcohol? Absolutely not.

Ye Chong found Lunatic Guan leaning against the wall, sitting on the floor with a wine glass in hand, looking outside the door in a daze.

“Lend me your alcohol!” Ye Chong felt it would better to be straightforward. While both were his teachers, Ye Chong found himself unable to treat Lunatic Guan like he treated the old man, probably due to their age.

“Alcohol?” Lunatic Guan turned to him, awakened from her reverie, and looked in surprise at Ye Chong, probably not expecting such a request from him. However, as her vision swept past Ye Chong’s right hand, Lunatic Guan’s pupils dilated abruptly, and her breathing grew heavier!

Could she have recognized the Red Liquor? This question came to Ye Chong’s mind, and his sharp eyes noticed Lunatic Guan’s jade white hands trembling a little, a few drops of alcohol spilling out. Almost simultaneously, Ye Chong took a small step forward and reached his right hand out, fast as lightning.

Drip! One of the spilled alcohol drops landed precisely on the Red Liquor in Ye Chong’s right hand. In the blink of an eye, the seemingly inconspicuous Red Liquor looked as though it was drunk, and turned slowly into a faint shade of red. This faint shade spread out like a ripple and finally covered the entire surface of the rock. The droplet-shaped Red Liquor now looked like a jade in faint red, warm and adorable.

The transformation did not end there. The red hue turned darker and darker, and in the span of a few minutes, the Red Liquor turned from light red to a ghoulish dark red. The pendant now looked like a drop of fresh blood, moist and dazzling.

With all his attention focused on the Red Liquor, Ye Chong did not notice Lunatic Guan’s expression changed drastically as the Red Liquor transformed! Lunatic Guan stared fixedly at the Red Liquor in Ye Chong’s hand, her face full of disbelief, and her expression unreadable.

The Red Liquor seemed to come alive in Ye Chong’s hand, spreading warmth like a real droplet of semi-coagulated blood. Ye Chong could not but marvel at the sight! Who knew what other secrets the material had to offer?

Just then, Ye Chong smelled a thin, fragrant scent, and froze. Of all the changes that Mu mentioned, this scent was not one of them. Ye Chong held the necklace to his nose. “Hmm, not the pendant. Ah, so it’s from the old string. But this smell is really nice, it makes me feel very peaceful.” Ye Chong thought to himself.

“Isn’t it a nice smell? That string may look inconspicuous, but it’s actually made of sky lantern grass, a strong material, and upon contact with heat, it releases a fragrant smell that has a calming effect, and is quite rare!” Lunatic Guan’s words came slowly.

“Sky lantern grass?” Ye Chong lifted his head, and was surprised to find Lunatic Guan’s face as pale as a sheet, her eyes staring fixedly at the necklace in Ye Chong’s hand.

“What’s with her?” Ye Chong wondered. While he did not understand the situation, he still noticed something unusual about Lunatic Guan.

“Sky lantern grass is endemic to the planet Guang Hua. The locals treated it as a sign of peace and harmony, and like to use it for decoration. For the alchemists there, it is also an excellent ingredient.” Lunatic Guan’s soft words reverberated throughout the room, but her eyes never left the necklace on Ye Chong’s hand.

Ye Chong offered his hand out and held the necklace before Lunatic Guan.

Lunatic Guan hesitated, as though struggling with herself, the mist in her eyes gradually accumulating to a bursting reservoir, and tears rolled down silently along her pale cheeks. Her lips were now bloodless from her tightened mouth, as she reached out a trembling right hand and slowly approached the necklace held in Ye Chong’s right hand.

As the tips of her fingers touched the droplet-shaped Red Liquor, the sensitive Ye Chong noticed her body shook a little. This made Ye Chong fully realize that the necklace and Lunatic Guan had a very deep relationship.

Receiving the necklace from Ye Chong, Lunatic Guan finally could not hold it any longer. Her left hand moved to cover her mouth, and she began to sob.

Ye Chong left quietly.

Back in his room, Ye Chong spoke to Shang.

“Shang, do you know what’s going on?” Ye Chong expressed his confusion. Through it all, he understood nothing.

“Based on her actions, she probably has a very deep history with the necklace!” Shang’s reply came like a sigh.

“History?” Ye Chong still did not quite understand.

“She’s probably some relative of hers.”

“Relative? How did you know?” Ye Chong asked in bafflement.

“Sigh, how can you not understand something so simple? Sigh, I suppose so, a guy like you probably will not spend time on watching movies and the like, it’s only natural that you cannot understand! However, do you have any better guess?” Shang spoke derisively.

“No!” Ye Chong’s answer was brisk.

“And there you have it!”

“Shang, are you sure you’re alright?” Ye Chong asked out of concern. As he had gotten used to Shang’s usual non-stop blabbering, Shang’s quietness now was a little unsettling.

“Problem? Me, having a problem? The probability for that is very small. Even a logical mistake that is fatal for the average PSI is not all that fatal to me. So, about this, you don’t have to worry, Ye. As for my current state, that’s because I and Mu are trying to recover some damaged data. 90 percent of our resources are currently spent there.” Shang explained.

“Damaged data? It is from before?” Ye Chong asked.

“Yes. We found that some of them could potentially be recovered, and so we had tried various methods of recovery, but the results do not seem good!”

“Oh, don’t rush yourselves!” Ye Chong could only console them.

Knock knock! The sound came from the door.

With Ye Chong’s hearing sense, he could already hear Lunatic Guan’s footsteps. Her act of knocking, however, was a surprise to Ye Chong, since barging in seemed more of her style.

Lifting his head, he saw Lunatic Guan entering the room with her eyes red and swollen, with wet tracks on her face. Lunatic Guan came in and immediately questioned, “Where did you get this necklace from?”

“Where did I get it from?” Ye Chong was about to answer, when all of a sudden he realized that his relationship with Guardian would be exposed. Ye Chong reacted vigilantly and opted for silence. Lunatic Guan was not someone he trusted, not like with Hei Zi and the old man.

“Tell me!” Witnessing Ye Chong remaining silent, Lunatic Guan grew anxious.

Ye Chong kept his silence, knowing that this would better serve to protect him.

Something flashed past in Lunatic Guan’s eyes, and she spoke in a sigh, “Are you really not telling?”

Planning to keep his silence, Ye Chong suddenly noticed his vision getting more and more blurry, and colors began swirling around as Shang’s panicking voice came from somewhere far away. Ye Chong was still in a daze, not realizing what was happening. He was about to call for Shang, but he blacked out.

Lunatic Guan looked at Ye Chong, lying on the floor, and sighed delicately, “Little Ye, I don’t want to do this, but if you’re not telling, I’ll have to make you!”

Lunatic Guan immediately shut all the doors outside and, ignoring Ye Chong on the floor, hastened to the innermost room and removed a few bottles of reagents from the shelves in a corner.

Lunatic Guan focused intently, her hands moving at a dazzling speed. If Ye Chong were awake now, he would definitely be impressed by Lunatic Guan’s deft and precise movements. Before long, she had a bottle of light purple reagent before her.

Carefully holding the reagent against the light, she could see a few thin silver lines in the light purple reagent.

“This should be right!” Lunatic Guan muttered to herself.

She dashed towards Ye Chong, crouched beside him, and place the bottle of reagent before Ye Chong’s nose before removing the bottle cap. Light purple mist rose from the opening, scattered with fine silver sparkles. The mist swirled like an enchanted snake and found its way into Ye Chong’s nostrils.

Lunatic Guan’s misted eyes flashed with regret, but it was immediately replaced by certain determination.

Chapter 147: A Gift from Lunatic Guan

e Chong forced his eyes open… his pounding head felt heavier than the meteorite. It was cracking so hard that he could literally hear the cracking sound in his head. “Ow…” He managed to get up, though laboriously he did, as he attempted to get his mind clearer, he shook his head forcefully like swinging the wrecking ball.

“I did not expect you to stay in one piece. Such miracle,” teased Shang.

“The heck happened, Shang?” Holding his throbbing head, he expressed his doubt in his mind right away.

“Mhm, it’s a pity for I don’t have much information regarding this in my databank so I can’t give you an explanation, although she did leave you with something, a gift, perhaps it could be an aid for you. Tsk, tsk, tsk, Ye, your alertness had been degrading quite badly these few days. Don’t tell me it was because of a lack of stimulation of bloodiness for your bloodthirsty self? Yikes, you are indeed a beast who lived on its instincts, Ye. I did not see it coming, the day where you actually get snuck upon by a lass. Tsk, tsk, tsk, oh my Fal galaxy, please don’t tell me you actually had some chemistry occurred between her inside you? Hmm, even though this is quite understandable, I think…” The motivational talk had commenced once again, under the supreme enlightenment of Shang…

Ye Chong tried standing up. It was supposed to be a simple action yet it was so energy consuming that he almost collapsed again. The heck in Orbits that Lunatic Guan had done to me? I could not move a muscle… I could not feel my strength. Waking up seemed to be the greatest challenge ever to Ye Chong currently.

?

His eyes discerned a piece of microchip laying on the table nearby. That should be it, the gift which Lunatic Guan left for Ye Chong, as mentioned by Shang. He grabbed the chip and inserted it into the processor sitting at one spot of the room. A visual of Lunatic Guan was projected on the hologram after that.

“Oh, my Little Ye, my Ye boy, Zzt I simply did not foresee these much of surprise from you. Mhm, I had gotten what I wanted to know from your mouth. Zzt Thank you again, Ye my boy. If it wasn’t you, I would have taken forever to find my beloved sister. Zzzt The good old me is in search of my younger sister now! Zzzzt

Zzzt Hehehe, Ye, my sweet, my lovely, you are greater than I had ever expected. Looks like I had really underestimated you way too much. Zzzt Kekeke, you know it by heart, that I always have something for potent men like you. Zzzt

Regarding that necklace, don’t worry, Zzzzt I’ll have it, in exchange for a little~gift~ I left~ for my s-w-e-e-t Ye boy~ You would love it! Zzzt Yes, yes, I finally got some clues on my sister’s whereabouts and I’m not letting it slip through my fingers. Zzzt Also, Ye, again, thank you for saving my sister, even though you did not intend to save her.

Zzzt Lastly… Hmmm, what should I say to conclude this love letter to my boy? Okay.

Take care, my juicy fruity pie! Zzzt Oh, I almost forgot, I hope that you would learn from your lesson after this. Always be alert when you’re facing ones from the Alchemy, Zzzt be it like an old but charming lady like me, promise me, okay? Kekekekekekekekekekeke!”

Lunatic Guan was holding her glass in the visual, cheekily she swung her glass, a gesture for her version of “cheers” to end her regards. The visual was immediately terminated afterwards. And right when Ye Chong was going to leave, Zzzt! The processor prompted, “More data has been discovered, perform Reading?”

Ye Chong was stupefied at first and he quickly regained himself, “Yes. Perform Reading!”

Reading…

1% ))))) 15% ))))) 40% ))))) 75% ))))) 100%

Reading complete!

Ye Chong finally understood what the so-called “gift” from Lunatic Guan was after the processor had done playing everything. The chip generally contained the entire syllabus of the Alchemy course for Ye Chong, with every single section prepared wholeheartedly by Lunatic Guan herself. And Ye Chong, without doubt, could master the course all by himself with the help of this chip, although… “Man, this is quite a long course…” The size of the syllabus was beyond his expectation, it was large… larger than Trash Planet Ye Chong assumed, for one second. He hurriedly skimmed through the course structure and he reached for the eject button, “Hold up!” Lunatic Guan’s visual jumped at him.

What else does she want to tell? Ye Chong’s head was jammed with bewilderment.

Unlike the visual before, the Lunatic Guan in the hologram this time was sterner than her usual self, “Little Ye, technically, I actually did not have the intention of providing you the following information… but you are my only student, my only apprentice to my succession while you seemed to be in quite a sticky situation. Thus, I decided to keep this for you, although I’m not certain if it would be useful for you, hopefully it would at least. However, there’s one thing you have to remember by heart, likewise to my other advice before, this is equally important – do not, never ever be overly dependent on it. The only thing you could depend on is the knowledge you mastered all by yourself, no aid, no shortcut, nothing else. You have great talents, I must admit. If you keep up the good works, you would one day indeed, surpass me and become the best chemist in history of alchemy. Kek… though I don’t think I’ll live to witness that…” Her smile was bitter, bitter than the white wine on a funeral night.

“I know, Ye my boy, you want to leave the Orbits. Kekekeke, wonder why would I know? Well, you would know it after learning everything I have tailored for you. If you got out successfully, yes, Ye my boy, ‘if’ you got out, could you please… do this good old me a favor, head to L. Shaft City on Planet Guang Hua for me? It’s Line Shaft City in full… And remember! It must be done only after you finished my course. While… for me… I don’t think I would ever be able to leave this place… My only last wish was to see my sister again. Mhm, Little Ye, may the odds be with both of us! Oh yeah, please don’t forget to tell your master the formulae of the strengthening liquids he wanted, that was probably what he really expected you to learn from me anyway! Don’t disappoint him!”

The voice of her last syllable trailed off as the visual vanished instantly. Beep. A window prompted on the processor, “The Guan’s Automatic Analysis Mechanism has been activated. Please insert the main ingredient and final request.”

Ye Chong’s eyes were fixed at the demonstration on the hologram in blank dismay.

“Fantastic! Magnifique! Ye, this Lady Guan is marvelous! See! Ye, like what I had told you earlier, Lady Guan is absolutely a beauty who wields both appearance and wisdom! Tsk, tsk, tsk, I can’t believe there are humans able to produce such a self-analytical system. Genius I must say! And very gorgeous too! Ye, how many times have I suggested you before? You should have hooked up with her! But did you listen to me? Nooooo! Great, guess what? Such a bright and demure lady had gone to nowhere! Tell me where are you going to find a replacement?” Shang sounded truly agonized in his tone…

The words obviously did not go through Ye Chong’s mind. In actuality, he was utterly dumbfounded by the invention, as never once in his life he would see someone being able to make something like this, especially when it was based on expertise of alchemy. And no chemist gain their skillfulness from text books, they have and always have been gaining it from experience, since a majority of the concept behind the working of alchemy was unknown to mankind, they could solely depend on their experience to identify a certain kind of pattern, formula, combination that would work in consistency. And this was why those ancient families of aristocrats stood a better chance to dig much deeper into this profession than the folks, as their forebears had accumulated much more experience as well as expertise throughout the ages.

The program before Ye Chong however, had broken the thumb rule of the field. Ye Chong could be a total illiterate towards the workaround of processor but for the basic fundamentality of it, he knew it better than anybody else. This program was unquestionably the outcome of a kind of calculation, with basis on a kind of known theory, an identified pattern, a string of formula and they were clear, clear enough to run a program. If it was a fuzzy theory founded by experience, there would be no way for a motherboard-and-circuits to process it and provide calculated judgement based on requests.

How would such innovation not shock our Ye Chong? Right when everyone else in the galaxy assumed how a chemist was built upon experience than knowledge, this half-drunken, half-mad, half-conscious drinker namely Lunatic Guan had already hit the core of the whole profession!

“Mhm… Ye. So she wanted you to go to Planet Guang Hua. By common sense, that should be where her home was located. Well, Ye, how about we just hit the road, get to her place and see if there were any close relative like her sisters for instance, be them younger or elder, you could consider taking them if they were not bad. Sigh… By the way, such a perfect lass isn’t something you could see on the street everyday, Ye… Gosh, my heart, my pitiful heart, all shattered into a milky way of depression,” he carried on his own play, Shang cried out in pain.

“Hmm, so how does this mechanism work? I wonder…”

Those cheesy lines did not reach Ye Chong though.

Ye Chong was excited after the shock. He could not wait to validate the capability of the mechanism, as he connected the processor to the analysis system as instructed by the manual.

“There’s always one thing I wanted to know,” muttered Ye Chong as he pulled out the Do-Kun stone from his belongings. As what Mu Shang had stated before, this stone was certainly rare and chances were Lunatic Guan might had never come across such piece before. Only an unknown sample could effectively trial the applicability of the Guan’s automatic analysis mechanism.

The moment he took the stone out, the room was tinted by its ever-changing color and glow with a kind of fluidity.

He carefully placed it into the machine and he selected Cultivation with Presets at the Cultivation Methodology section, with the final request being “to achieve growth”.

Tick. Tick Tick! Beep!

The machine started running as few mechanical sounds were heard, a variety of data were refreshing rapidly. Sadly like Lunatic Guan had mentioned, he had yet mastered the very gist of alchemy, he only managed to recognize the meanings of a few variables shown in the data. The mechanism was running and morphing… And Ye Chong had the slightest idea on what was going on. “The only thing you could depend on is the knowledge you mastered all by yourself, no aid, no shortcut, nothing else,” Lunatic Guan’s voice echoed in his head. Well it seemed like there was assuredly a need to master the syllabus in the chip. Ye Chong made up his mind.

Beep Beep Beep. Beep.

10 minutes or so had lapsed, the morphing process in the program finally ended. A result was projected on the screen along with mechanical voices briefing the content, “Request achievable. Ingredients required : Kong Stone, Milles Radices(grass), Sand of Rolling Tides, Softening Factor #13, Fique Crystal…”

Ye Chong had no idea what he had just heard, as his eyes went large like saucers. Other than the softening factor, the remaining materials sounded alien to him. No way he would be able to validate the reliability of the machine under a scenario like this.

Nonetheless, the fact that the mechanism was able to produce such result was convincing enough to Ye Chong.

After a bit of pondering, he was still keen to insert the entire content of this chip right into Mu Shang. Imagine if he accidentally dropped it somewhere someday, there would be no cure for him to remedy his tormenting regrets.

Judging by Lunatic Guan’s words, it seemed like she had known quite a few stuffs about Ye Chong himself. The heck happened? Ye Chong was left in the dark. He was only sure of the fact that that bottle of Red Liquor had something to do with Lunatic Guan. She said she was in search of her sister… Could that Zhu Ling, the girl he met that day be her younger sister? Ye Chong tried to recall the impression she left in his mind… but then… “Man, it’s like two different persons from a total different corner of galaxy… are you sure they are related…?”

Ye Chong deployed Shang and rolled into the cabin. He inserted the chip right into the processor next, since to Ye Chong, there was no other safe place like Shang’s databank in this world.

“So Shang…” Ye Chong initiated, “What had happened when I was unconscious?”

Mu Shang had always been conscious all times, everything in Ye Chong’s surrounding would never escape their detection.

“See it yourself. I can’t explain it,” said Shang as he played back the imagery he detected.

The hologram was of high-definition, crystal-clear it was in recording everything that had happened to Ye Chong. In the visual, Ye Chong suddenly collapsed… That was the moment Lunatic Guan stormed into the room and had produced a very strange kind of purple reagent. And Ye Chong was very confident that he did not recognize that reagent. He then saw Lunatic Guan hung the tube of reagent right below his nose.

And that was when the creepiest moment happened. Ye Chong, despite being unconscious, sat up, in the state of trance, his eyes were soulless and Lunatic Guan began asking a few questions. Ye Chong answered all her inquiries sincerely and immediately. Throughout the process, Ye Chong looked empty on his expression, his eyes zoned out completely, literally like a puppet on strings. His mouth would utter the answer obediently.

Creepy! This is too creepy!

The visual sent chills down to his spines. He could blatantly feel goosebumps came rolling all over his body uncontrollably, while his head was running cold.

This is too scary!

[*] Translator’s Note:

Milles Radices literally meant Multiple Roots in Latin, which was the original name of the plant in Chinese 多根草 (Many-Roots-Grass). As most of the terms in science today are made in Latin, we decided to stick to Latin naming too.

Chapter 148: Fading Out

t was the first time Ye Chong witnessed the potency of a chemist. And he was the lab rat too, which was not really a glory experience to be remembered, though he did not lose anything specific during the process. In spite of the fact that he was barely injured, he still was quite dismal, as he truly disliked such sensation of being not the master of his own life for once. The worst part was, the incident had justified the truth that his alertness had dropped this harshly. If he was able to deploy Shang in the nick of time, it would have turned out to be a total different story, yet out of ignorance and hesitation he forsook the very last opportunity to make a turnabout in this.

Well, self-reflection aside, Ye Chong indeed had to make a change in his original plan. Formerly, Ye Chong simply planned to learn alchemy, the basic from Lunatic Guan at least. Then he would try applying a trial at the Sanctuary to make way out of the Orbits. Assuming he failed the trial, he would plan for an alternative. The catch was none other than exiting the Orbits itself. The Orbits, as everyone had known before, was a place one could enter easily but not a place one could also exit at ease. Every spaceship that had entered the proximity of the Orbits would be locked up by the Sanctuary. Some may suggest to leave without a spaceship, but those were the dreamers who had no idea what retardation in the Haleyson they had just suggested. Even if Ye Chong made it back to Red Giant, the outermost planet of the Orbits, it would still be far-fetched as the closest course to the outside was long abandoned. You could try waiting at the spot for a spaceship to pass by but the probability would be lower than seeing a meteor shower in a black hole. You would die before the spaceship appeared, if it would ever appear that is.

And the situation had changed drastically for Ye Chong. He had to advance the date of application trial.

Lunatic Guan had utterly destroyed the entire databank in all processors at her place before she left. It was saddening for Ye Chong as the destruction also involved the apparatuses and reagents for the professionals. They might not be some rare stuffs like the Do Kun stone, but Ye Chong understood the fact that utensils and chemicals this many would easily cost him an arm and a leg. And sadly Ye Chong had never tasted the dazzling pouches of fortune before to afford these again.

He made his way back to the old man’s home and informed him that Lunatic Guan had left. “Well…” The old man sighed, “She is also a person of misfortune.” That was the only statement coming from the old man, who seemed to know something in the dark. Ye Chong did not muster sufficient curiosity to further inquire about it however.

“This is the formula for the strengthening liquid,” said Ye Chong as he took out a piece of chip.

“Pass it to Hei Zi,” waved the old man as he turned away and continued working on his task at the board.

Easier said than done… Hei Zi’s understanding was truthfully terrible as he remained in confusion even after Ye Chong gave him the exact formula to produce the liquids. “Can’t help it…” Ye Chong eventually taught him on how to produce the strengthening liquid repetitively.

As usual, they had a dinner that night. Nan Nan was giggling while chewing her food. She was so happy to see her Big Brother returning. She could not stop telling Ye Chong how much she missed him.

…

In the middle of the night, Ye Chong took a look around this heartwarming place. Little Nan Nan should be in her dream, chasing the bad doggie away maybe, while Hei Zi… wonder what he was doing… and the old man, he should be rushing his work at the workshop underground. Amidst silence he put a chip containing basic mech mechanic theories on the table. This was the only thing useful to Hei Zi he believed he could have left him. And on top of Little Nan Nan’s bed, Ye Chong quietly placed a red bone hat, which every layer of painting coated, every piece of bones connected was by his own hands.

“Ye, are you sure you aren’t biding farewell to them?” asked Shang softly.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Ye Chong replied flatly as he turned away from home, walked into the darkness, heading to the nearest Sanctuary.

“Why… Why not?”

“…” No word was heard from Ye Chong, as he hurried his way.

… …

“Hmmm…” Lied on the bed, Yan Bingxuan was reviewing the entire incident. Rather restless he had been, as the operation of finding out the rumored thief to the Sanctuary before had caused chaos in the Orbits. And on top of that, the thief rumored by the insiders had yet to be caught, while there was a new rumor recently, claiming that a pilot had been murdered by the thief himself. He was amazed however, considering how great the thief was for he was able to steal things from the Sanctuary, managed to escape in grace from the Sanctuary while keeping the insiders of the Sanctuary this worked up to capture him. He should be no commoner. Frankly speaking, he did not really believe that rumor of pilot inside the Sanctuary being killed. He had tried applying being a pilot of the Sanctuary back then and of course, he failed miserably. Pathetically he only managed to become a patrolman at the area in the end. How could the pilots, the chosen one after the tedious trials, be slaughtered this effortlessly? Thought so in disdain, no way the specialized pilots would be overcome by a trash from the outside.

Nonetheless, thanks to that thief, if it was not because of the search that time, I would never know that filthy goat Ge had actually gotten an apprentice himself! Yan Bingxuan thought of that fine young man. He might be a bit slender compared to the blacksmith in the Orbits, but he was absolutely a talent for the skeleton artistry. Yan Bingxuan did not foresee this filthy stubborn old man was capable of finding such a good apprentice. Hehe, this is a kind young man indeed, for he actually gave me such a big gift. Up to this time, I remembered the face of the authority when they received those 3 mechs. Rumor said that the mechs were even tested out by the ace of the Sanctuary, the famous Madam Feng Su herself. Such an honor! Ge that old goat said this was just the mech in production. But even a mech in production gave me promotion 3 times in a row. Everyone was eyeing me with envy! Thinking so, the patrolman was proud. Such a lovely hen that laid the golden eggs. I must keep this old hen carefully if I want to prosper. Yang Bingxuan could already see his bright future glowing in the twinkles of Venuses, as he drooled in greed.

But dammit I must say, it seemed like there’s a quota to my luck! And apparently I had ran out of luck! Right after I got promoted as a chief patrol, things happened at my place! A traitor from the elite group had sneaked to my area and caused havoc. That traitor actually got rid of my entire team, escaped and killed one of the pilots! Goddammit! Had this world really changed? We now could see a traitor in the Sanctuary? And the traitor was also the nobility from the elite group? Had this traitor gone nuts?

Elite group, gasp, the elite group… It even gave Yan Bingxuan a shudder from thinking of how the person was from the elite group alone. That is a freaking monster from the elite group! And I am nothing but a little patrolman who could barely swear at a gangster on a train platform! I would be gashed upon immediately and become a filler of its bloody fangs! Yan Bingxuan was definitely a tough-looking guy outside, but he was a delicate boy inside. And most people would be deceived at first glimpse. He was alarmed especially after seeing the team of Dawn mechs who came to his aid. He could not imagine how a powerful mech these many could barely catch even a piece of the foe. Seriously, he was glad that he never encountered that monster alone.

The Dawn mechs eventually retreated with an follow-up order from the higher-ups, “Stay alert! Any happening, report us at first moment.” Patrolman Yan was well-aware of the order. He was the obedient listener, the Mr. Yes in the team. He did not give a damn in reality however. I’m not that stupid to stay at the deck when the ship is sinking. My life goes before anything else!

The havoc has been resolved now… and I could rest for a bit. I know, I know, I had ranked up too quickly. Everyone is pissed, everyone is waiting to see me humiliated. If I don’t be a little bit more careful, I’ll be kicked off my seat and be wheeling down the hill.

Now, let the patrolman get his rest…

Phew…

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Just when he thought he could catch his breath for a second, the communicator on the table rang. A hiccup occurred inside him for some reason. He did not feel right with the incoming call.

“H…Hello. Yes…”

…

“What?” He was ultimately shocked by the report from his subordinates.

… …

This was the first time Ye Chong paid the local Sanctuary a visit. The building was not dramatically adorned and appeared to be a house made out of bricks, like most of the residences in the Orbits, just that the Sanctuary was much larger in comparison. The walls outside were layered by some unknown vines of fresh greenness, which gave the building a sense of Mother Nature.

He arrived at the lobby after the entrance. There were 4 pillars standing at the center of the lobby and similar to the walls outside, they were all covered up in vines of the same kind too. The lobby appeared to be rather spacious as not many people were there. Judging by how the communicator was the only hi-tech thing in the lobby, it looked like the Sanctuary was resistant towards technologies… Mumbled Ye Chong in his mind.

A counter sat right at the opposite of the entrance. A young man was at the counter and he seemed… to be… asleep? Habitually Ye Chong’s steps fell so light that the man did not sense his existence even when he was standing right beside the counter.

“Such a lazy bum. Show some respect to your own occupation will you?” Shang commented in dissatisfaction.

Ye Chong lifted his finger and knocked on the table twice.

“Aagrnanlxz!” The sleeping beauty had been waken up, in shock, as he mumbled some gibberish, rubbing his bleary eyes and took a look around in astonishment. The eyes of the sloth converged at Ye Chong at last. “Agoanmdwe!” Another gibberish as he jumped up from his seat, realizing he was on a duty at the moment. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Sir… Sir… I wonder if you have anything I could help you with?” Seemingly the young man was new at this Sanctuary, seeing how he retained that shunning humbleness in him.

Practically the young man was intrigued too, since people rarely visited the Sanctuary. The visitors mostly would be some mentalist or mentalist-pilots, coming for work, while the man before him was obviously neither of them. He might be a novice patrolman at the Sanctuary, he still could spot the difference. Mentalist would always put on a green clothing while the pilots would be in their tidy pilot uniforms instead, with an expression of pride. The visiting man had none of those, he was showing indifference… which looked like those old mentalists… but he was not wearing any pale green clothing that the young man could know of.

Moreover, it was midnight. What in the Orbits would this man come to the Sanctuary at a timing like this? Very curious, the young man was curious.

“I would like to apply for the Level 5 trial at the sanctuary,” his request came flatly.

“What?” Boomed the young man, in panic he responded, “Ah. Um, oh, uh, a moment please.” The young man clumsily stampeded towards the communicator at the side and rang to the chief patrolman. Stuttering he reported to chief.

Ye Chong’s sensitive hearing had heard every single word uttered by the young man. He found that avoidant eye contact and shrinking posture of the young man while on the communicator to be quite interesting.

“Such a scaredy cat. You could have tried acting professional,” Shang gave another disdainful remark.

Yang Bingxuan piloted his mech and rushed all the way to the Sanctuary. No doubt his curiosity aroused by surprise was nothing lower than young man on duty. Ye Chong and Shang on the other hand did not get all the hassle and drama occurring around them, since they did not have an idea on what a Level 5 Trial actually was. And Yang Bingxuan, being a patrolman for the past 10 few years, had his first time witnessing someone requesting a Level 5 Trial. Back in the days when the Level 5 Trial was first introduced at the Sanctuary, people flooded the center to apply. At the eg, only 2 persons had passed; the following year had one before and nobody else after! That was the time when people realized how challenging it was to pass the trial. “Don’t even think about it if you aren’t even the master in your field!” said everyone upon mentioning the trial, which was the direct cause to the drastic decrease in applicants of the following years.

So one year, Yang Bingxuan took over as the patrolman and… well, no one had ever come and apply for the trial. He did overhear stories of one doctor applying for the trial few years back from the other area, though he was disqualified at the very last day.

Whoever desired to be an applicant must have not only the courage but also the great confidence in his or her own capabilities. “When in the Orbits did we even have those kinds of people in our area? And I don’t even know them?” Yang Bingxuan was dying to know.

Chapter 149: Question

an Bingxuan pushed the door open. A rather willowy silhouette was on his feet at the vacant Sanctuary lobby. He struck Yan Bingxuan as being familiar but… the patrolman could not recall whom the silhouette reminded him of. This should be the one applying for Level 5 Trial I supposed? But why does this man look no stranger to me? Yan Bingxuan felt weird…

“Good day!” The young man got up gracelessly upon seeing Yan Bingxuan, “Chief!” The salutation went courteously.

As a response, the chief nodded in dignity as he trotted towards Ye Chong. All the time he had been wondering what in the Orbits a man sought such trial with difficulty at such a timing and “Ah!” Yan Bingxuan was astonished when he recognized who the applicant was as he got closer.

“Good day,” nodded Ye Chong in respect as he greeted, “Uncle Yan.”

“Oh it’s Ye, my little blacksmith in training.” His expression turned gentle right away, “What’s with the visit on such a late night? Do you have anything in request? Do word it if you wish. I would not treat your request with informality, as long as it’s within my capabilities,” he smiled as he spoke, yet his inside was screaming in terror, for elderly’s sake don’t tell me this is the applicant for the Level 5 Trial!

“Thank you for your kind words. Yes, I do have something to do,” responded Ye Chong, “I would like to apply for the Level 5 Trial at the Sanctuary,” he said calmly.

“Le-Level 5 Trial?” Pretentiously the patrolman reacted with shock as he spoke on in flowery concern, “What had made our blacksmith think of the Level 5 Trial so suddenly? Was it a little bit too early for now? So you wanted to leave the Orbits? Oh, Little Ye, Little Little Ye, did you bump into some troubles recently? If you did, you could have told me everything! I’ll solve it for you! If anyone with blind eyes had offended you, tell your Uncle Yan and let your Uncle Yan to settle him for ya, all for justice, for our boy.” The gravel had been slammed on the table of his Honor, undoubtedly the patrolman was very much not delightful of this request. Ye Chong was a hen that laid golden eggs! Nobody would be delightful to see their money-printing machine simply flying away!

But then, regarding how Ye Chong had the desire to leave the Orbits, he did not express much worries. Psh, you want to pass the Level 5 Trial of the Sanctuary? What do you think this is? Playing house? How long have you been with Ge that old goat? How much have you learned? And you wanted to pass Level 5? In your dreams, boy. Not even your master, that old goat could pass if he came and applied for it!

In his opinion, Ye Chong’s failure was inevitable, though it would be another story regarding if he would return to his area afterwards… All he was concerned about was if Ye Chong wanted to leave his area, there would be no way for him to stop that from happening. Ye Chong had yet mentioned this but obviously this had become a bad beginning for him.

“No, uncle. I just wanted to apply,” Ye Chong did not change his mind.

“Ye, boy, you got to think it through. Don’t be hot-headed in this. You do have the bravery to try challenging the trial but you must know that you would be given punishment if you failed the trial accordingly. And chances are you would regret it for the rest of your life! So you have to be really, really sure you wanted to take on the trial. Why don’t you head home and discuss it with your master first?” It would be pointless for him to beat around the bush at that moment, he decided to go straight to the point instead.

“Oh, save the discussion. I’m making an application now.” Ye Chong’s expression remained unchanged, probably was not because of how he was confident on passing the trial but how he simply did not have any other choice. The killing syndrome inside him had been inactive for quite sometimes. Maybe it was due to the effect after learning meditation or it was due to his mere luck. There could be a cure everywhere else but not here. Only if he would leave the Orbits as soon as possible, the syndrome could be eliminated. And the single thing that stood in his way out was this trial. So, by hook or by crook, he would take on the test.

The patrolman was helpless in stopping Ye Chong, since beating around the bush and ordering him straight up did not work at all. He did not dare to try doing anything funny ever since, considering how the Sanctuary had been treating the applicants very solemnly. He could be skewed if he tried to fiddle with Ye Chong! Well, he could not understand the whole point of setting up an unnecessary trial for residents to exit in the very first place. This was not only unnecessary, but also would cause the reduction in the number of talents within the Orbits. Those who could succeed in the Level 5 Trial must be the greatest master in their fields. And the Sanctuary was letting these people to leave the place? Would that not be a major loss to the Orbits itself? Ugh, I seriously don’t get it, I wonder which elderly had hit on his head to make such a flawed system.

Of course, these rants were just rumbling inside the patrolman, no way he would have the courage to spit them out.

Seeing how determined Ye Chong looked, the patrolman could only do as he requested. He begged to the Orbits that Ye Chong would fail the trial and stay here after… “Hah!” he laughed as he went tapping Ye Chong’s shoulders, “You are a young man indeed, having the drive to overcome everything in sight! Uncle Yan certainly admires fine young man like you! Never mind, it’s okay if you failed, you could try it again. As long as you are here, Uncle Yan would be positive of this!”

Ye Chong reflexively dodged the his hands at first, but that would look really rude, so he pulled himself back roughly in the end and let the tapping happen. “Thank you Uncle Yan.” His face was grim. “A moment please, my boy!” He headed to the communicator.

“Yes, good evening, sire!” Yan Bingxuan reported to the higher-up through the communicator, mentioning there was an applicant currently at the lobby. “Okay, Ye. All set!” Shut the communicator, he turned to Ye Chong, “The authority would send a spaceship to pick you up later. I’m not sure where exactly they would trial you, but the men on the spaceship should be telling you what to do.”

Ye Chong nodded his head in understanding. The Level 5 Trial did look like not a simple test indeed, as the location was not known to everyone, not even the insiders at the Sanctuary. Intriguing… the reason behind this.

Ye Chong picked a chair nearby and sat down. The wooden chair was unexpectedly not as comfy as the cheapest chair in the 5 major galaxies. And Ye Chong spent the next 3 hours on such chair, which was impressive to the patrolman as Ye Chong had barely changed his posture ever since. It was a rare sight to see an active young man like Ye Chong being able to be this undisturbed and patient. I do expect much from you, Ye. You would one day become something.

Certainly Ye Chong was calm, he had been exchanging words with Shang inside his head. “You see, love is a kind of necessity in everyone’s life and the only necessity in the history of humankind to be able to replace eating, drinking or even sleeping.” Shang was performing a kind of “mentality modification” inside Ye Chong, or in his language, “paradigm rebirth”. Ye Chong would be naturally disinterested of it, but it did become an average entertainment while waiting for his ride.

“Ye, tsk, tsk. You understood my words?” Shang grew excited as he saw how the mechanical boy finally showing interests to his affectionate insights of life, he started to get more elaborative over the time, he would includes stories, quotations and even a play during his lecture, which Ye Chong found out quite a number of weird stuffs inside… Like in stories Shang had told, those capable men must have a woman at his back. Mhm, some of them even have more than one woman at the back. Well, that… that’d be weird. Why must a man have a woman at the back? I don’t have a woman at my back you see. But I’m not dead and I’m kicking alive! Oh, is it a kind of timed bomb in humanity? A hidden threat I couldn’t see? Hmm… Which field though, Shang, the biology? Or medical biology?

Asked Ye Chong sincerely to Lecturer Shang.

“Ts…” Shang lost the mood to tease, as he sounded depressed, “Ye… How could man live without a woman?” His words were coated with oily tears, “How could a man still be a man without woman? Biology? Medical biology? Screw those stupid pigs! I had never ever heard of this crap in my life. How would this be related with biology or medical biology? Ye, this is instinct, the nature of humanity! Nature! Instinct! Do you even understand what those words mean? What? You! You are a beast! You are a bloody beast! …”

Ye Chong did not compute the dramatized words from Shang … am I not a human? Other than the strange fact that I don’t really get muscles, my anatomy looked exactly like a human… but why would Shang say I’m a beast? Gasp… Mu did a better explanation at my inquiries, simple, straightforward and would never be misleading, unlike Shang. I sometimes wish he could speak English.

At least the in-depth discussion worked like a charm. Those difficult wordings from Shang made Ye Chong felt time flew. He did not feel the boredom of anticipation, even if he was good at it. Waiting was never a pleasing experience to anyone.

The spaceship had arrived to pick him up.

It parked right at the outside of the Sanctuary. A pale green spaceship it was. It did not have a metallic texture, it looked more like a spaceship made out of plants. The design of the spaceship struck Ye Chong however, as it looked similar to Gliding Joy he had designed for full speed before, just that it was much bigger in size, not as narrow as Gliding Joy. The placement of the engine was also different, it was installed at the end of the spaceship, unlike Gliding Joy which had its engine at the front.

It was a kind of miniature spaceship and it could take on 3 passengers at most. A meaty man hopped off the cabin and walked towards Ye Chong and Yan, “May I ask, which one of you is Mr. Ye Chong?” Ye Chong observed the man quietly as he made remarks regarding his physique. No doubt the body was of top quality and had undergone systematic training. His eyes were sharp, he should be a man in combats. Ye Chong was right. Inside this miniature spaceship there were two other men, one being the pilot and mechanic, the other being combat squad member for security enforcement.

“Me,” answered Ye Chong briefly.

The buffed man was slightly astonished by Ye Chong’s appearance. He took a glance and the apparent age was surprising to him. But he reacted professionally, “Greetings, Mr. Ye Chong.” He reached his hand out politely, “I am sent by the Sanctuary to escort you to the venue for the Level 5 Trial.” He gestured next, “Please get on board now.”

“Okay.” Ye Chong nodded and he stepped into the spaceship right away.

The beefy man rolled into the cabin and got into his position. He made a nod to the pilot and the spaceship zoomed into the sky.

The man had hardly spoken a word with Yan Bingxuan back on the ground.

Ye Chong got to his seat and took a look around the interior of the spaceship. It was rather crammed for a spaceship. There was no window for one to check the outside. To preserve the space, there seemed to be nothing else than some basic facilities inside the spaceship. No adornment, no fancy speaker, no tray, no bar.

Ye Chong estimated the maximum distance the spaceship could travel and calculated the success rate of hi-jacking and escaping with the ship. “Negative,” he concluded, the spaceship was solely for short distance travel and it could not perform a space warp apparently. And he could never leave the Orbits without using the space warp mechanism.

Well, does that mean the venue of the trial is pretty close to the Orbits? The Sanctuary actually sent a miniature spaceship to pick me up? Wondered Ye Chong soundlessly, as according to what he was aware of, there was no sound base nearby for a spaceship to stop by!

Then where the heck are we heading to?

Chapter 150: Onto the Nast!

he spaceship travelled steadily. “Shang… Shang!” Called Ye Chong in his mind, “Check out the course we are traveling… and detect the surrounding while you are at it!” exhorted Ye Chong.

“What…” yawned Shang.

“Don’t worry. Already doing it. Don’t have to remind me,” spoke Shang slothfully.

The two men from the Sanctuary had presented excellent discipline. They had not even uttered a word ever since Ye Chong got in. So Ye Chong decided to close his eyes and have his mind rested for the moment.

They had already traveled for 30 minutes. The pilot was indeed outstanding at his skills. The spaceship traveled in consistent stability and the orbit did not fluctuate just because it was an easily-flipped miniature spaceship.

“Yawn…” Shang’s voice came laboriously, “Ye, there’s a major spaceship coming ahead. Would you like to hear more about it?”

Ye Chong could feel the obvious deceleration of the spaceship right at that moment. “Hmm.” he pondered and replied, “Never mind. Just keep an eye on it. Shang, do you notice anything peculiar of that ship?”

“Peculiar? What do you expect? A ship filled with lassies? Wait, let me scan this ship and… Hm?” Shang choked his word out of sudden.

“What was it?” Ye Chong was shocked.

“This spaceship is in-built with jammers. My signals were all dispersed and I could not perform any kind of detection. The armor of the spaceship was made out of strange metals too. Ye, have a nice trip and good luck. Heh!” Shang acted helpless as he stated. Even though there was no screen to view Shang’s expression, Ye Chong did somehow have an urge to punch this metallic junk back to Trash Planet. But of course it was just an urge, there was always a time and place for that but not now, simply not now. Their difference in strength was still there, Ye Chong understood that this would be just another round of Shang flaunting his strength if he would ever raise his fist.

“Ye, we are heading into the inside of the spaceship.” He might be a joker, but he still informed Ye Chong everything he detected.

Ye Chong felt the inertia not too long later. The spaceship jerked and stopped.

“Mr. Ye, you may get off board now,” invited the beefy man on the assistant pilot seat.

He got off the ship and took a glance at where he was.

As what Shang had stated before, this should be the interior of the spaceship. He landed on a dock apparently. Its full metallic texture emphasized its steadiness and security. There were numerous other platforms at the same axis of his. And every platform was connected with a metallic bridge about a size that could fit two persons. At the other end of the bridge there lay a round pale green sealed gate.

The moment Ye Chong got off the ship, he spotted a lady standing by the bridge. And of course… “Ye! Ye! Ye!” The signature Shang’s commentary began… with his dramatic hurrah out of amazement, “Wowie, would you look at that Ye? It’s a beauty! Quick, move your stupid eyes there! It’s a beauty standing there and she wants you to check her out! I never knew there would be a beauty on a metallic cold ship like this! I’m such a fortunate one! My life is completed! Gosh! Oh seniorita… Tsk, tsk, tsk, look at that, Ye, look at that! That well-sculptured face of hers, that expressive eyes of hers, that curvy-as-her-body nose of hers, that sparkling cherry lips of hers, that wavy glossy hair of hers. Mhm, mhm, mhm! This should be a gentle, loving sweetie! Ye, let me tell you, a lass like this would be the best for marriage. Look at that extra THIC-”

Ye Chong’s mind:
> Ignore

The very first moment Shang shrieked, he decided to shut down his senses. Sometimes he really wondered if Shang would state someone being a beauty as long as that someone was biologically a female. Ye Chong tried to check this girl out with his viewpoint.

I’ll pass. This is not a female in combats. That was the first conclusion he got after a glance.

The arms were slender and tender as hell, like the twirling noodles he saw in the hot pot back then. He seriously doubted if those arms could take 10% of his usual strength. There were no callus… no cuts… While for the physique, it was completely covered under that oversized one piece of hers, so Ye Chong could not tell. Her long hair reached her waist, waving as she moved. No fighter would have the hair this long. This would be dangerous in combats, it could even kill them! And her posture, what’s with her posture? She was standing with her hands crossed in front of her body. Any sane fighter would keep their hands always at the sides, letting it down naturally so they could react to any sort of casualties in time. That oversized one piece was a failure, it did not benefit the combats. Most fighters would prefer tights instead.

“Good day, Mr. Ye. Welcome on board to Nast. I am Wei Xi, your attendant. I’ll be taking care of your everything before the Level 5 Trial. May you have a good trip,” bowed Wei Xi, she looked serene but Ye Chong could see the shock flashing in her eyes the moment she saw him.

“I see. Thank you,” nodded Ye Chong as he replied monotonously.

Shang should be having short-circuits in his system, “Oh… Zzzt my Zzzt … That voice! That angelic voice!”

“It’s my pleasure to serve you sir. Please follow me,” beamed Wei Xi at Ye Chong, she turned away and walked towards the sealed gate in pale green. Ye Chong followed her closely.

A corridor was behind the gate. It was a long corridor lit all the way to the end by a row of white lights on the ceiling. It looked quite refreshing for some reason.

Wei Xi gradually slowed her steps and let Ye Chong walk by her side.

She turned her face to Ye Chong, “I simply did not expect Mr. Ye to be this young.” Dimpled as she spoke on, “It was surprising to me.”

“Oh,” flatly Ye Chong’s reply came, “really?” His expression was unchanged.

“Well, yes. Other than the doctor we attended last time for the trial, the rest of the applicants were of age above 30. From my observation, Mr. Ye, you should be not even 20 I suppose? Yet you have the courage to face the Level 5 Trial. Impressive!” Wei Xi nailed her awe perfectly.

“Oh? Really?” Ye Chong still was nonchalant.

“Oh? Oh?!” Shrieked Shang inside him, “Gosh, Ye, is this your way to reply a lassie?”

“Mr. Ye, could you tell me what your occupation is?” she asked out of curiosity.

He staggered out of sudden. Which occupation should I say…? Pilot? Modification technician? Mech mechanic? Chemist? Skeleton Artisan? I think I had quite a lot of titles in hand…

Somehow Wei Xi sensed the hesitation and inconvenience from Ye Chong’s reaction, “Well, if you are not comfortable to mention it, it’s okay, really!” She waved her hands, signing she was fine.

“Skeleton Artisan.” After a moment of consideration, he picked Skeleton Artisan.

“Skeleton… Artisan? Such a strange occupation, Mr. Ye. I had never heard of it before. But it sounded amazing,” Wei Xi expressed her adoration again.

Wow, she could know I’m great by my words? Ye Chong took an odd gaze at the female before him. Weird, very weird indeed!

Sensed the gaze from Ye Chong, Wei Xi quickly lowered her head. Soon her face was completely red, of scarlet that could drip sweats like her blood.

He did not understand the whole situation… but he did not have the interest to further investigate it. He withdrew his gaze and went back to looking at the front.

“Such a cute, adorable lassie! I like it!” And Ye Chong was wondering if Shang could break through the space-time continuum and jumped out from the alternate dimension without the keystone, judging by the amount of excitement in his words.

They held their conversation and walked on together.

They hit the end of the corridor and was faced by another sealed gate. Unlike the gate before, this gate required identity verification.

“Oh?” Wei Xi seemed to have noticed something while both Ye Chong and she stood by the gate, waiting for it to open, “A moment please!” As she realized that it was her mistake, she ran to the door and performed verification.

Beep. Identity Verified. Gate Opening.

“Please,” she lowered her body as she gestured Ye Chong to make his entry.

After the gate there was a foyer inside. Under the hemispherical dome numerous sets of table-and-chair were placed. To Ye Chong’s surprise, they were all made out of wood. A cabinet sat at one corner of the wall contained various beverages.

Contrary to the emptiness Ye Chong expected, there were quite a number of people in there. Two to three of them sat together on one set of furniture. They were either drinking silently or exchanging conversation softly. The foyer was so quiet that Ye Chong could imagine Shang’s scream shattering the glasses.

No doubt Ye Chong’s arrival had attracted the attention of people around. And simultaneously all of them looked surprised in their eyes. This should be because of my age… I think. He took a glance and as expected, the guests consisted of elderlies. No wonder he became the center of attention at the foyer. Ye Chong did notice there were a few bulky men in their thirties among the group of guests however. Judging by their physiques, they had to be the combat squad members.

Under the guidance of Wei Xi, Ye Chong reached one seat at the corner and sat down.

“Mr. Ye.” Briefed Wei Xi softly, “You would be led to your room a moment later. The ship would take about 13 days to arrive at its destination. The guests around you are like you, they are the participants for the Level 5 Trial as well. Should you have any request, please inform me. If it was within my capabilities, I would fully assist you in fulfilling your kindest request. I must also inform you however, for your own safety and the best traveling experience, kindly treat the other candidates with courtesy and keep a distance from them, considering how some of them could be potentially shady characters. If you ever felt your life being threatened or your routine had been put under dispute, kindly contact me. Should you have any form of conflicts with the other candidates, please be informed that both you and your counterpart would be disqualified immediately and you might be severely punished under the terms of the Sanctuary.”

Demurely her lips grooved as she mentioned all precaution as well as rules and regulations in one go.

Ye Chong responded with an approving nod, while analyzing the information he had gotten from Wei Xi. She said 13 days, that means the destination should be very distanced away… Well she might be bluffing to confuse the passengers, to mislead them so that they could not figure out the exact location of the venue. Apparently the crew did not intend to let us know our location. Too bad the ship was installed with jammers and Shang could not bypass them somehow.

“The f*ck did you say!”

“So what? Loser!”

Right at this moment, quarrels were heard nearby as two passengers were standing against each other.

Their argument became louder and they sounded extremely angered by each other. Not too long later, they lifted their fists, initiating to fight.

The other passengers evacuated themselves hurriedly as they did not want to be involved in this.

Wow.

Ye Chong was interested to watch an actual combat between the experts. He was astounded by the skills. Their techniques were of superior standards. Ye Chong could not imagine himself fighting against them. His skills were much inferior compared to these real deals.

So this is the standard of a Level 5 candidate? Ye Chong started to treat this trial seriously.

“Oh dear…” knotted Wei Xi’s brows as she pulled out the communicator at her side and mumbled a few words.