When Lin Muci lay on her bed that night, she couldn’t shake off a sense of unease. She got up, glanced at the little system, and her voice became serious.
"Ling Kuang doesn't trust... the Central Planet's military?"
"I have a feeling he's trying to make a big splash. He told me there is indeed a second Shadow Footworm, and then he chose to release it. This approach—"
Lin Muci hadn't felt this extreme sense of unease in a very, very long time.
She lowered her head, her voice turning cold.
"I don't know why he's doing this."
"What is he thinking."
"I don't understand..."
Because she didn't understand, she felt uneasy. The little rabbit hopped onto her lap, trying its best to comfort her.
"Host, since he doesn't intend to involve you, you can relax for now and see what Ling Kuang plans to do. After all, you're the one who understands him best in this world, aren't you?"
"He wouldn't do something he's not confident about. His approach might seem dangerous to others."
"But he must be confident in himself."
Lin Muci knew the little rabbit was right. She took a deep breath, feeling a cold air slowly diffuse through her core.
Lin Muci gave a wry smile.
"Alright. But I still want to go back to the mech academy to take a look. Didn't my cheap dad say the mech academy received a promising talent from those refugees? I suspect this so-called promising talent is the second Shadow Footworm!"
"He must have found some way to bypass the military's investigations."
"After all, no matter how powerful the military's investigations are, they can't compare to Ling Kuang's ability to use time power to trace back the past ten years!"
The little rabbit also thought the host's plan was feasible.
"Mm, anyway, you're a new student at the mech academy, so going to school is only natural."
...
The next day, Lin Muci took her Destiny mech to school.
She expected to have to put in some effort to meet the person she suspected of being the Shadow Footworm in disguise.
But Lin Muci hadn't expected that guy to be in the same class as her!
He was a rather handsome boy, who even seemed a little shy.
He wore a clean school uniform, his skin was excessively pale, and he was so thin that he looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind.
He seemed to be a socially anxious person, afraid of so many unfamiliar classmates, hiding in the furthest corner seat, afraid to speak.
Lin Muci's heart stirred, and she walked over to strike up a conversation with him.
"Hello, I'm Ji Xiaoci."
"I'm a new student at the mech academy."
"And you?"
"I haven't seen you before."
He opened his mouth, his face growing even paler. After a while, he quietly told Lin Muci.
"I... I'm a student from... from a very distant place."
"You haven't seen me before because I've only just started coming to the mech academy... to attend classes."
These few simple sentences seemed to have exhausted his strength.
He pursed his lips, unable to speak further, his eyes filled with bitterness. He found interacting with people to be a terrifying experience.
The girl opposite him raised an eyebrow and suddenly smiled.
Because Lin Muci wore a shielding bracelet, her true appearance was hidden from others. They only saw an ordinary-looking girl.
But as she smiled, her smile was radiant, making her seem like a blooming pear blossom. She nodded and said earnestly.
"Just started attending the mech academy?"
"From now on, we'll be classmates."
"Have you chosen your mech yet?"
He hesitated and nodded, saying in a low voice.
"I... I have."
"It's just... a bit old."
"But I like it very much and don't want to replace it. So, I'll be majoring in mech engineering. I want to, if I have the chance, collect better, better materials to personally modify... modify my mech."
When he mentioned his mech, he seemed genuinely invested. His eyes lit up, and he started talking more. It was clear this matter was extremely important to him.
Lin Muci smiled.
"You like mechs?"
"Would you like to see my mech?"
"My mech is very special. It's called Destiny."
The shy boy opposite her had intended to refuse, as in his understanding, everyone's mech was a very personal thing, and unless it was on the battlefield, it was best not to show it casually.
But looking at the girl's sincere eyes, he hesitated, then wavered.
"Can I?"
"Can I really see your mech?"
His eyes suddenly emitted a bright glow, showing his extreme curiosity about Lin Muci's Destiny mech.
"Of course."
"However, this place is too small. Let's go to the training ground. I'll summon Destiny for you to see. Come with me."
The pale-faced boy followed Lin Muci in silence.
Because his skin was so ghastly pale and lusterless, he looked like a small zombie following Lin Muci, attracting many curious glances.
When they reached the training ground, Lin Muci summoned her silver-white mech, Destiny. The boy's eyes widened abruptly, his expression suggesting fire was about to erupt from them.
"This... this mech is so beautiful."
"I've never seen such a sleek design... This mech is simply the embodiment of power and beauty. I've never seen any mech so exquisite."
He looked at Lin Muci's Destiny mech with envy.
After all, it was a divine-tier mech, and its appearance was quite impressive, indeed beautiful.
Lin Muci smiled and asked him.
"What about your mech?"
A hint of shyness suddenly appeared on his face.
The boy's voice lowered considerably as he quietly told Lin Muci.
"My mech—"
"might..."
"not look good."
"It's a very old model, and it's severely damaged. I've patched it up myself a lot, but it's still... not good-looking. Although it doesn't affect its use... but..."
"It can't compare to your mech."
He feared the girl opposite him would mock him. To his surprise, the girl smiled and clapped her hands, not seeming to think it was a problem at all.
"It doesn't look good?"
"That's okay. I think that actually looks very cool. A mech with battle scars isn't a patch; it's its glory, its medals."
"It must have gone through many battles. A mech like that has the marks of time, its own stories. No wonder you won't give it up; I understand you completely."
Her tone was filled with understanding.
Encouraged by Lin Muci, the boy finally made up his mind and immediately summoned his mech.
The mech was indeed severely damaged, to the point of being rusty. It was covered in mottled marks. He said he had patched it, but those were just some pieces of iron.
Such a mech looked like an antique that should have been discarded in a junkyard long ago.
Perhaps if it were on the street, no one would even glance at it twice. It might be taken by interstellar scavengers as scrap metal.
But the boy Lin Muci saw looked at this mech with eyes full of affection.
"I polished this mech myself, bit by bit. The parts inside were also painstakingly assembled by me."
"Actually, I shouldn't have come to the mech academy. But... the military people said I have... a great talent for mech manufacturing, so they made an exception to send me to school."
To prove his words, he said earnestly to Lin Muci.
"Don't think my mech is sloppy; it's actually very powerful!"
Lin Muci smiled, the amusement in her eyes slowly spreading, tinged with warmth. She said.
"I don't think your mech is bad; it's very cool. If you polished it yourself, I think you truly have talent."
The doubts in her heart were also resolved. No wonder this boy was specially recruited into the mech academy; it turned out he possessed talent in mech manufacturing that surpassed ordinary people.
If so, it made sense.
The boy, who was proud of his mech, quietly gazed at Lin Muci's Destiny mech, seeming to let out a sigh.
"So there really are such perfect things in this world..."
"Does everyone here have such good mechs?"
"I... I can't imagine. I used to think the outside world was in dire straits, but now it seems we were like frogs in a well."
Lin Muci shook her head and said.
"The outside world is vast. You'll get used to life here soon."
She put away her Destiny mech, intending to return to class. The boy behind her stared fixedly at her retreating back. When Lin Muci had looked at him earlier, she thought the boy was genuinely shy, but now, when she wasn't looking,
the boy's gaze revealed a very distinct look of covetousness!
...
When Lin Muci met Altesius that afternoon, he arrived in her class with his messy red hair to give a lecture.
After class, he deliberately stayed a while longer. Once Lin Muci was the only one left in the classroom, he approached her to speak.
"That child we brought from the spatial battlefield, I specifically arranged for him to be in your class."
"Our military has evaluated him. He should be an absolute genius in mech manufacturing! My goodness, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe how he managed to use those almost-obsolete scraps... to create such a powerful mech."
"The mech he built can even rival our factory's top-tier models. I can't imagine what miracles he'll create if we provide him with sufficient materials and systematic training in mech manufacturing theory."
"This child, Lan Po, has boundless potential!"
Lan Po?
Lin Muci looked at Altesius, who was so excited he was practically gesticulating, and quickly poured cold water on him.
"Have you checked his identity?"
"After all, there's already an awakened Shadow Footworm from that place... You should be vigilant about people brought from there."
Hearing Lin Muci's words, Altesius looked at her strangely. He shook his head, wearing an expression that suggested no vigilance was needed.
"Our military has scanned the bodies of these children. Their genes are very similar to ours, but—"
"Most of them are somewhat malnourished."
"Genetic reports don't lie."
Altesius narrowed his eyes and nodded vigorously, his words unusually serious.
"Moreover, his talent is exactly what our Central Planet lacks the most—the mech revolution happened hundreds of years ago. Our Central Planet's factories churn out products day and night, yet they can't produce a single mech that rivals the divine-tier mechs from the war era!"
"Because the current mech designers are a bunch of talentless hacks. Their bones aren't tough enough, and they no longer possess that kind of wild imagination!"
"If this child can grow, I believe he'll bring us surprises."
"We are in dire need of perfect mechs."
"I don't believe that no one in this world can create a mech that rivals Fen Xin!"
Hearing him say this, Lin Muci knew he was in a state of fanatical irrationality. But why was he fixated on creating a mech that surpassed Fen Xin?
Or, put another way.
Was Fen Xin truly that powerful, utterly irresistible?
She looked up.
After a moment of thought, she asked.
"Is Fen Xin that strong?"
Altesius snorted.
"Of course, it's strong. Otherwise, how could I have lost to that lunatic Ling Kuang... I would never lose to him; it must be that his mech is better than mine!"
"That Fen Xin mech is incredibly peculiar, and only a lunatic like him can pilot it!"
Lin Muci silently thought that even with bare hands, Altesius wouldn't be Ling Kuang's match. He'd probably just get beaten black and blue by Ling Kuang.
However, she wasn't so lacking in tact to say that directly to Altesius.
"So you want me to look after this child?"
Altesius shook his head.
"It's not your place to look after him. What I mean is—even though the kid looks pitiable, don't pity him too much."
"Every successful mech engineer has to go through tens of thousands of failures."
"And—don't forget your true identity. It's best to keep some distance from him."
"Although he shouldn't discover your identity."
"But it's better to be safe."
Altesius acted like a worried old father!