Chu Li ran through Poy’s system self-check program and discovered that the failure to establish empathy was due to his own lack of focus. His consciousness was too chaotic, preventing the conduction plates near his head from successfully capturing his thoughts.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and cleared his brain. He quietly felt the electric current flickering through the conduction plates; the current seemed to enter his mind through his scalp, manifesting as a white wave and emitting a sizzling sound.
As the sound grew weaker and nearly vanished, he snapped his eyes open.
【Poy, take off.】
【Information received successfully. Preparing for takeoff.】
Poy suddenly soared into the air. Chu Li’s body leaned back, and his arms instinctively curled forward to protect his heart. To his surprise, the mecha’s two iron arms moved in tandem, tightly shielding its chest!
Deeply excited, Chu Li tried to rotate. The mecha rotated slowly with him. He then struck an attacking pose, and the mecha followed suit with the exact same movement.
It was a success!
He had established empathy with Poy.
He piloted the mecha, spending the entire afternoon circling the nebula and occasionally performing various maneuvers to adjust the empathy compatibility. However, Poy was a dual-pilot mecha and was very heavy; Chu Li had to use large physical movements to maintain control over it.
As the sky darkened, visibility diminished and his mental energy began to wane. Feeling his physical strength failing, he planned to do one last lap before stopping to rest.
Suddenly, a large red “X” flashed on the display screen, accompanied by the rapid beep-beep-beep of a danger alert.
【Master, the empathy system and the mechanical system are in a state of chaos. The mechanical system has been shut down automatically for you.】
Realizing something was wrong, Chu Li reached out to shake the joystick, only to find it had lost all responsiveness. Instead, the mecha let out a mechanical groan in mid-air due to his movements.
“Poy, restore the mechanical system.”
【System check: Forcing a restoration of the mechanical system at this time will cause damage to the empathy system, which will in turn affect your body and may even cause brain death.】
Chu Li hadn’t expected these two systems to be incompatible. Was it because he had lost focus when his strength failed? Or was it because he had never established a complete empathy with Poy in the first place?
“Poy, stop.”
【Master, you are currently in a high-state of empathy system operation. The mecha cannot be shut down; you must cut off the empathy link first.】
Chu Li remembered the manual stating that one must not directly tear off the conduction plates, as doing so would damage the brain. He closed his eyes, attempting to cut the empathy link through his consciousness, but at that moment, the mecha lost its balance and crashed heavily toward the ground.
The violent force of the impact felt like a giant blade piercing through his chest, and he suddenly coughed up blood. The cockpit slammed into the glass canopy, and the vibration caused the display screen to fall, pinning his knees so he could not move.
Under the force of inertia, the mecha continued to slide along the ground. The black gold dark iron collided with the red sandstone surface, sending sparks flying and creating a piercing screeching sound.
Inside the cockpit, Chu Li struggled to remain calm. His eyes remained fixed forward as he felt the current from the conduction plates near his head, desperately trying to make the mecha fly again. However, as soon as it lifted, it crashed back down heavily.
His spine felt numb from the fall, as if he were paralyzed. His entire body was frozen, and only his arms could still move.
The mecha had finally stopped “sliding” after crashing into an unknown spot, but it continued to operate, with a loud humming drone constantly emanating from the engine. Chu Li could even sense smoke rising from the engine; if he didn’t get up soon, the mecha would likely explode.
“Poy, take off.”
Poy vibrated and groaned, replying with a voice laced with static.
【Master, testing indicates the fuselage is currently unfit for flight. Please leave the cockpit as soon as possible.】
“…” Chu Li.
If he were able to leave, he wouldn’t be lying here now.
Several conduction plates on his thighs had been knocked off by the display screen. The nerves in that patch of skin felt as though they were being seared by fire, sending waves of tearing pain through him. He suspected that if he forcibly removed the plates from his head, he might truly suffer brain death as Poy warned.
He pushed the display screen aside, found the fallen conduction plates, and reapplied them to his legs. Closing his eyes, he worked hard to stabilize the chaotic empathy.
He moved his right hand, and the mecha moved its head. He moved his left hand, and the mecha moved its right leg. A moment later, he moved his right hand again, but this time the mecha’s neck moved. He didn’t know which step had gone wrong; no matter what he did, he could not control the mecha correctly through empathy.
“What on earth is going on?”
He muttered to himself. The path of using empathy to control the mecha was a dead end. At that moment, a book he had read previously flashed through his mind—How to Pilot a Mecha While Ill.
The end of the first chapter introduced a scenario where a spinal condition flared up at the same time mechanical operations failed and empathy control was impossible. He remembered it mentioned that every mecha is equipped with a disassembly button; there is a one-minute window between pressing the button and the complete disassembly of the unit.
During the first 5 seconds, to achieve its self-destruct function, the mecha prioritizes generating a protective energy shield. The pilot can follow this shield to find the energy core inside the mecha’s body.
For the next 30 seconds, the mecha will vibrate violently. The pilot must use the energy core’s protective shield to smash through the weaker joints between the mecha’s segments.
In the following 20 seconds, because the mecha’s initial disassembly causes its autonomous consciousness to become confused—thinking the empathy link was never established—the pilot can then safely remove the conduction plates from their body.
In the final 5 seconds, the pilot must quickly escape.
While Chu Li was still hesitating over whether to disassemble the mecha, the fire at Poy’s engine intensified. He could no longer afford to think; he quickly threw open the protective cover and pressed the disassembly button.
Something suddenly popped out behind his waist, propping him up. It was difficult for him to turn around, but fortunately, the pilot’s seat could still rotate. He turned the seat and found a transparent black shield covering a circular object glowing with green light.
This circular object had to be the energy core.
But could this transparent black shield really smash open the mecha?
Filled with doubt, he picked up the energy core. The pressure of every passing second forced him to gather all his strength into his hands. He slammed it fiercely against the mecha’s neck. On the sixth strike, the connection point suddenly cracked open.
By this time, the fire from the mecha’s engine had spread behind him. He quickly pulled the conduction plates off his body. Although the connection with the mecha was already very weak, he still felt the tearing pain in his nerves as he removed them.
He had barely crawled five meters away when the mecha exploded into fragments with a thunderous roar. The aftershock of the explosion wasn’t massive, but it was still enough to flip him over onto the ground.
Specks of lingering fire scattered through the night like flickering fireflies in summer.
He no longer had the strength to move. He lay on the ground gasping for breath, clutching the energy core to his chest. Squinting at the sparks, a hint of a “survivor’s smile” appeared on his face.
After lying there for an unknown amount of time, his optical computer indicated an incoming call. He opened it and saw that it was from Lu Jin.
So, this man hadn’t gone missing after all.
Once the call connected, Lu Jin’s voice sounded as if it were in 3D surround sound right next to his ear as he called out his name: “Chu Li.”
Chu Li took a ragged breath. His breathing was unsteady, and the person on the other end immediately sensed that something was wrong.
“What happened?”
“Admiral, is… is Poy important?” When he spoke, he realized his voice was hoarse.
Lu Jin seemed to guess something and changed his question: “Are you injured from a fall?”
“Mm…” Chu Li spoke slowly, “P… Poy was disassembled by me.” He didn’t know Poy’s rank, but he guessed Poy must be very valuable. He was already calculating in his head how he would repay Lu Jin.
Lu Jin didn’t seem to hear the part about Poy: “Where are you hurt?”
“It seems I hurt my spine. My back feels a bit numb now, and I can’t get up.”
After he finished speaking, Lu Jin fell silent, but the call remained connected between them.
Chu Li closed his eyes. His nostrils were filled with the scent of charred metal mixed with the smell of earth, which surprisingly smelled somewhat pleasant. He took a deep breath and calmed his mind. His cranial nerves seemed to receive a signal, and a 3D virtual holographic image formed out of thin air in his mind, helping him simulate the mecha empathy connection.
Step by step, everything looked fine. So why did the chaos suddenly occur?
Could it be that Poy was not suitable for an empathy connection?
Just then, the night wind blew a small, sharp piece of debris that grazed his cheek, leaving a tiny bloodstain. He suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the fragment.
The debris, which should have been flying away, seemed to suddenly be hit by a force and paused in mid-air. In that instant, time appeared to stop, and the air turned into countless white lines. He stared straight at the fragment; his eyelid flickered, and with a bang, the fragment exploded, turning into dust that fell bit by bit.
The escaping air solidified, and the night wind ceased to move. There was only the linear motion of the dust falling down.
Chu Li blinked, stunned by the scene before him. In a daze, he recalled a scene from many years ago.
Flames had engulfed the Lower District, fierce and wanton tongues of fire coiling around everyone like monsters. Wails and screams filled the air; it was nothing short of doomsday.
A black mecha had descended from the sky, weaving through the surging inferno to rescue those trapped.
Chu Li had collapsed on the ground, choking on ash. In his blurred vision, a giant mechanical hand lifted him from the fire. Lying in its palm, he squinted his eyes open. The black mecha shimmered against the firelight; its head moved slightly, seemingly turning to glance at him before placing him in a safe zone.
It then plunged back into the sea of fire to save more desperate souls. In the eyes of those people, it was a hero sent from heaven.
However, after a short while, the mecha was damaged. Its movements became sluggish, and a nearby building suddenly exploded, burying the mecha underneath.
With great effort, the mecha managed to reveal half of its body from the ruins, pushing away the obstacles on its chest. However, a thick reinforced concrete slab on its leg held it down firmly.
The fire crept closer inch by inch, and thick black smoke swirled around. Unable to move the slab, the mecha seemed to give up its struggle, its mechanical arms falling dejectedly.
Standing nearby, Chu Li watched this in extreme anxiety. A raging fire stood between them, and he couldn’t cross it. Yet, his gaze, fixed on that concrete slab, seemed to turn into a physical force that tore through the flames and slowly… lifted the slab upward.
But it soon fell back down, striking the energy core on the black mecha’s chest and carving a jagged L-shaped mark into the energy block.
As if driven by a primal instinct of his race, Chu Li did not hesitate. He concentrated his mental power once more and moved the slab away, inch by inch.
Afterward, the black mecha escaped the fire and hovered in mid-air for a moment before disappearing into the sky, which was burned red by the flames.
…
Thinking of this, Chu Li picked up Poy’s energy core. Under the dim moonlight, a faint, jagged L-shaped mark was indeed visible on the energy block inside the transparent protective shield.
Suddenly, the sound of military boots stepping on red sand and gravel echoed. A cold aura, cutting through the smell of charred metal, rushed toward him, instantly pulling Chu Li back from his memories.
His eyes moved, and the dark night sky above was blocked by Lu Jin’s looming face.
Lu Jin leaned down and, without a word, reached out to check the condition of his tailbone.
Chu Li furrowed his brows in pain. Lu Jin’s hand paused for a second, and his voice carried a trace of nearly imperceptible relief: “One segment at the end of the coccyx is dislocated.” Fortunately, it wasn’t a life-threatening injury.
Lu Jin picked him up. Chu Li wanted to say something about Poy, but Lu Jin didn’t even glance at the scrap metal nearby, carrying him directly into the house.
A medic arrived quickly. As his tension eased, drowsiness followed, and he fell into a deep sleep.
When he regained consciousness, it was already the next day.
He woke up with a start from a nightmare. First, he dreamed that he had broken his spine, and Evans was stepping on his fractured tailbone, mocking him for being a paralytic who would never enter the military.
Then he dreamed he had missed the testing time and was blocked outside the examination hall, with endless darkness shackling him from behind.
Consequently, when he woke up, there was still a lingering fear in his eyes, and fine beads of sweat stood on his nose.
He turned his head and saw Lu Jin sitting nearby, still wearing the black military uniform he had on when he left. His silhouette blended into the night outside the window.
“What time is it?” Chu Li asked hurriedly.
“Five o’clock.”
There were still four hours until the exam.
Chu Li let out a soft sigh and touched his tailbone. The dislocated part had been reset, but his whole body was in pain—muscles aching, bones numbing.
He asked Lu Jin: “Admiral, is there any painkiller?”
As if he had expected the request, Lu Jin glanced at the syringes sitting by the bedside. Besides painkillers, there were bone enhancers: “Injections have side effects; this is just an exception.”
Chu Li nodded quickly: “I understand. Thank you, Admiral.” After a moment of thought, he added: “Admiral, I want to go practice my perception again.”
Lu Jin’s dark gaze bore down on him: “You’re still injured.”
“I’m fine. There’s a problem I didn’t quite figure out, and I’m afraid I’ll encounter it during the exam.”
“Chu Li, it wasn’t your fault. Poy is not suitable for empathy training.”
Chu Li opened his eyes wide and looked at him in surprise.
While Chu Li was asleep, Lu Jin had already viewed the video and data from Poy’s recorder. Chu Li’s methods were correct.
The reason for the chaos between the mechanical and empathy systems was that Poy was originally built as a simple mechanical mecha, and the empathy system was added later.
After the empathy system was installed, it was discovered that Poy’s medium-heavy mecha attributes made it difficult to achieve perfect compatibility with a pilot—unless the pilot was highly experienced and possessed exceptionally strong empathy abilities.
For a novice like Chu Li, his performance had already been excellent.
Lu Jin explained the situation to Chu Li. Chu Li’s expression remained conflicted; he said nothing, his mind still reconstructing the scene from the crash.
Recalling something, he subconsciously murmured: “If only one could achieve remote empathy with machines…” That way, there would be no need for conduction plates, and the type or material of the mecha wouldn’t matter.
“Such a capability exists,” Lu Jin said suddenly, the shadow of his cap hiding those pitch-black eyes. A vision of the raging fire flashed through his mind—red-hot steel bars crashing onto a mecha’s leg, and a black hand pushing against the steel but failing to move it.
The mecha’s thermal insulation layer had melted under the high temperature, and the energy source on the display was screaming a warning of depletion. Smoke surged into his nose through the gaps, and his consciousness gradually blurred. Just when he thought he would die in that fire, the steel bar pinning his leg suddenly moved on its own.
The mecha flew out of the flames and looked around. Aside from the child he had just rescued, he saw no one suspicious.
Later, he went back to research the records and learned that it was called Super-Sensing, an ability humans cannot possess. Only certain high-level exotic beasts possess Super-Sensing.