DDT - Chapter 118
Chapter 118: Interstellar ABO (3)
When she heard the news of the great General Chi's sacrifice, Yi Shuhan's mind did indeed go blank for several seconds. The panic of losing something important made her whole body tremble.
She had once thought that developing new mecha was the most important thing in her life. All this time, she had believed that what she loved most were the meticulously designed mecha born from her own hands.
It wasn't until this moment, when an unprecedented fear descended upon her, that she realized what she had always cared about was the spirited and brilliant young admiral who sat inside the mecha.
Yi Shuhan struggled to steady herself, leaning against the wall as she returned to the research lab and collapsed into her chair.
After calming down in the chair for about ten minutes, Yi Shuhan managed to clear her chaotic thoughts by regulating her breathing.
After several consecutive days of high-intensity work, followed by this sudden shock, she felt her body was far too weak. With a few light taps on the controller on her wrist, a mechanical assistant in the lab retrieved two tubes of nutrient solution from the refrigerated compartment and brought them over.
The pale blue nutrient solution had been developed by the people on the Ark during the age of interstellar travel. Extracted and concentrated, it was convenient to carry.
After the people of the Alliance established a foothold in the current star region, nutrient solutions gradually became military supplies. In the daily lives of ordinary Alliance citizens, the tasteless solution was quickly replaced by natural crops grown on the planets.
Yi Shuhan had little desire for gourmet food. Compared to the time it took to eat, she preferred to spend it on research. A few mouthfuls of nutrient solution could satisfy her energy needs for an entire day, so she saw no need to waste time on three meals to replenish her strength.
She downed the cold nutrient solution in a few gulps, which refreshed her mind and sharpened her senses. Feeling her previously lost strength return, Yi Shuhan activated the control console that had just entered sleep mode. She entered a high-level military code, bypassing the military network's first firewall under the identity of the Yi Family's Military Research Institute. Then, she ostensibly uploaded some trivial research data. Using that brief window, she infiltrated the military's internal communication channels, followed the deliberately concealed traces, and downloaded all encrypted military transmission files from the past few days, packing them onto her portable star drive.
Seeing that the research data upload was complete, she immediately logged out of the military network. The portable star drive ejected from the console.
Slipping the drive into her pocket, Yi Shuhan opened the spatial positioning system she had installed on Chi Chi's mecha. In the era of the Blue Star Alliance, the Alliance had already mastered basic space jump technology, and the new project she had been researching for the past few years was also related to spatial technology.
Chi Chi's mecha never passed through the hands of the military's mecha inspection department. The military needed to have information on all its soldiers' mecha, but with interference from Yi Shuhan and the Yi Family, they could only obtain Chi Chi's spatial positioning data. The military couldn't stop Admiral Chi from using a special mecha, but their bottom line was that it had to be equipped with the military's positioning system, just like any other mecha, for monitoring purposes.
For years, Yi Shuhan had been developing new spatial technology by collecting space jump data from the mecha. The mecha Admiral Chi was using when she disappeared had been modified by Yi Shuhan just three months ago. The Alliance's space jump technology was immature. Even with centuries of technological progress, advancing from a time when only starships could jump to the present where every mecha could perform individual jumps, the cost of a space jump remained extremely high. It also had several major drawbacks: a space jump required a waiting period and could not be performed consecutively. A mecha's power source was only sufficient to support two short-range basic jumps.
During the mecha modification three months ago, Yi Shuhan had installed the results of her Quick Space Jump research.
The Quick Space Jump was purely a life-saving measure. Admiral Chi's mecha had been newly developed and replaced a year and a half ago. Although it was already considered a top-tier mecha in the Alliance, it still couldn't withstand a Quick Space Jump. This type of jump had no waiting period, with almost zero delay, but the powerful spatial tearing force would cause the mecha to be scrapped instantly.
It was a one-time escape ability.
After finishing the modifications, Yi Shuhan taught Admiral Chi how to use the new function and repeatedly warned her not to let anyone else touch the mecha.
Chi Chi was so skilled, so powerful. It was impossible for her to die in a desolate place like the Western Star Region.
Admiral Chi could not have been killed by the Zerg.
On the day Admiral Chi departed, she had stayed in the research institute. In her view, this trip was just a routine patrol, and she would be back soon. She never expected to receive such dreadful news.
The military's spatial locator on Chi Chi's mecha had been modified by Yi Shuhan along with the Quick Space Jump system. When the Quick Space Jump function was triggered, the military locator would be destroyed simultaneously. This was a precaution Yi Shuhan had taken in case someone in the military tried to harm Chi Chi, making it easier for the admiral to escape the grasp of any ill-intentioned individuals.
She pulled up the mecha's travel route from the system. Seeing that the system displayed one completed Quick Space Jump, she let out a faint sigh of relief.
She checked the final location, which showed the destination of the jump was a Class 2 planet in the Western Star Region called Moon Star.
Yi Shuhan transmitted the location data to her own mecha's system, shut down the research institute's control system, grabbed the finished product she had just successfully developed, and swiftly boarded her mecha.
In this era, Omegas were delicate and weak. Piloting a mecha required immense energy and stamina. Even decommissioned mecha that had been modified for performance purposes were not something an Omega could easily master.
But Yi Shuhan's mecha was different. The military's combat mecha, including Admiral Chi's, used traditional piloting methods. For Alphas with their excellent physical constitution, controlling a mecha was like wearing a giant suit of exoskeletal armor—it was an extension of their own body, as natural as moving their own limbs.
Because of their low physical grade, a mecha was like a great mountain to an Omega, making even movement difficult.
Years ago, Yi Shuhan had tried learning to pilot a mecha through simulations on the Star Network. But in reality, despite numerous attempts, each one ended with her passing out from exhaustion. She had developed mecha for years, but her thinking had always been constrained. She had considered various modification plans, even trying to build an exoskeleton support system inside the mecha. While this modification reduced some of the operational pressure and difficulty for physically average Betas, it was still unsuitable for Omegas.
She had nearly given up the extravagant hope of freely piloting a mecha like those soldiers, but then, at the age of sixteen, she met Chi, who was still an ordinary soldier at the time.
After entering the mecha, the hatch closed. Yi Shuhan skillfully started the mecha. The system control console screen lit up, various indicator lights inside the mecha turned on, and then a familiar, cool female voice echoed in the cockpit. "Mecha startup complete. Startup time: fifteen seconds. Power at 100%. Reserve power replenished. It has been sixty-three days since your last use of the Void Mecha."
Yi Shuhan disliked synthesized electronic voices; she always felt they lacked a bit of life. Her mecha had always used Chi Chi's voice source.
In the past two years, she would only secretly follow along when Admiral Chi was deployed for important campaigns. Most of the time, she was holed up in her research institute developing new technology. It had been a long time since she had touched her mecha, and she missed it dearly.
Before setting off, Yi Shuhan loaded the reserve bay with a large amount of nutrient solution and a medical kit. After a moment of hesitation, she also grabbed a handful of Purple Star Coins and tossed them into the reserve bay.
Yi Shuhan's mecha was controlled entirely by commands. Writing the command code alone had taken a full six months. In the early days, the Yi Family had considered developing mecha controlled purely by code commands. However, the code for such non-physically driven mecha was extremely complex, and operating it required immense brain processing power. Only those with S-class or higher mental power could possibly perform the necessary calculations for each step to barely operate the mecha. To Alphas and Betas, this method of operation was useless. They could perfectly control a mecha with their physical strength, so why would they expend such enormous mental effort on redundant calculations?
Initially, this type of mecha was developed with the goal of allowing Omegas with completely inadequate physical strength or weaker Betas to pilot them. Unfortunately, Omegas were weak in both mental power and stamina, and a Beta's mental power was merely at the standard level. They lacked the powerful cognitive ability to smoothly operate a code-command mecha. Those with S-class or higher mental power were often Alphas with excellent physical constitutions, who had no need for such a cumbersome control method. Therefore, after the first generation of mecha research explored this purely mental power-based operation, no one had thought to develop it further in the subsequent 400 years.
Yi Shuhan was an extremely rare Omega with dual S-class mental power. Most Omegas' mental power was around C-class. A few could reach A-class, and an A-class Omega was already a highly sought-after partner for the Alpha children of prominent families, as Omegas with higher mental power levels produced children with higher mental power.
To protect Yi Shuhan, the Yi Family only publicly claimed her mental power was barely B-class. As for what happened at the junior military academy, all traces had long been erased.
Back then, Yi Shuhan had spent six months writing the code and another four months disassembling and rebuilding, ultimately creating a combat-grade mecha that could be perfectly operated without any physical strength.
The mecha's control interface used nine command key modules that Chi Chi had come up with. Chi Chi called it a nine-square grid. Each command module corresponded to multiple action commands. After the mecha was built, Yi Shuhan spent a month repeatedly inputting commands to operate the mecha, allowing the system to learn the command code combinations for each action. The first generation of command-based mecha was successfully born.
After seven or eight years of optimization and countless instances of tailing Chi Chi into battle, Yi Shuhan's command-based mecha was fully capable of fighting on the battlefield. It was just a pity that she was the only one who could use such a mecha.
Anxious to find her friend, Yi Shuhan didn't make any further preparations and directly initiated a space jump. A few minutes later, the entire mecha vanished from its spot. The Main Star's space monitoring bureau detected the spatial fluctuation, but since it originated from an area under the Yi Family's jurisdiction, where large and small spatial fluctuations had been frequently detected in recent months, the monitoring officer was used to it. As usual, he turned a blind eye, pretended not to see it, and deleted the detection record.
After leaving the Main Star, Yi Shuhan set the mecha to autopilot mode. After confirming the destination, she took out the portable star drive from her pocket, connected it to the mecha, and began to look through the encrypted files from the military's internal network. She found several videos.
The mecha flew for the better part of a day. Seeing that it was reaching its maximum space jump distance, Yi Shuhan decisively set the jump point to a sandy area in the eastern hemisphere of the destination, Moon Star. The last positioning information indicated it was in the desert. Once she teleported there, she could use short-range positioning to find Chi Chi.
The Void Mecha gradually slowed down, and a few minutes later, it disappeared into the vastness of the universe.
The space jump concluded, and Yi Shuhan's mecha appeared in the sky above the sands of Moon Star. The mecha dropped rapidly, but Yi Shuhan calmly adjusted its posture and stabilized it in the air.
Although Moon Star was a Class 2 planet in the west, the economic and other conditions in the western region were extremely backward, making the competition for resources on a Class 2 planet very intense. The poverty alleviation resources that the Main Star allocated to the various western planets each year were also highly contested.
Moon Star had no space monitoring bureau and no garrisoned troops. Instead, there were several local gangs, each occupying a piece of territory. The Alliance official governing Moon Star paid them no mind. Officials like him, sent to the grassroots level, were just there to build up their resumes. They would be transferred back in a few years, so there was no need to meddle. Not only could he stay out of trouble, but the local gangs would also pay him tribute every year when the aid supplies were distributed. They kept out of each other's way, and everyone was happy.
It was noon in the sandy region of Moon Star. The sky was bright, and the desert was desolate, with no one around. Before coming, Yi Shuhan had looked up information on Moon Star's desert. There were only a few root plants, no lakes, and it was incredibly dry. Fortunately, the overall temperature on Moon Star was not high, and the temperature difference between day and night was small. One could survive for a few days even without a water source.
It had only been a day since the Alliance Military announced Admiral Chi's disappearance. In the encrypted files she had hacked from the internal network, the watermarks on the combat recording videos that framed Admiral Chi's mecha had been removed, but she could see that they were uploaded to the encrypted internal network just a day ago. Because the mobile terminal of the Quick Space Jump system had an extremely high failure rate, it was already a blessing to be able to find the destination of the jump; all other information was gone. Yi Shuhan silently made a mental note of this imperfection; she decided she would find a way to solve this problem when she got back.
If Admiral Chi was still alive, she would definitely make it in time to treat her. If the mecha had been severely damaged, causing a slight delay in the Quick Space Jump command, then what she would find in a moment would be nothing but wreckage and bones.
Yi Shuhan had prepared herself for the worst possible outcome. This was her only friend. If Admiral Chi had unfortunately perished, she, Yi Shuhan, would absolutely not let those old geezers in the military off the hook!
A debt of blood must be paid in blood! This had always been the way of their Yi Family.
Yi Shuhan tried to connect to the positioning system, but it kept showing a connection failure. She had no choice but to extend her mental power, piloting the mecha to fly a dozen meters above the ground while searching with her mind.
Finally, after more than ten minutes, in the northern part of the desert, near the border between the sands and a cluster of rocks, her mental power detected a huge, humanoid object lying on its side. With a target in sight, Yi Shuhan marked the approximate coordinates on the operation screen's map. Then, she retracted her mental power, which had been extended to its absolute limit. In just that short time, she already felt a little dizzy. This was why many Alphas dared not overextend their mental power; if used excessively without restraint, it could potentially cause brain damage.
If all went as expected, that humanoid thing should be Admiral Chi's mecha. It was just that the distance was too great, and her mental power couldn't get a clear picture of the situation.
She piloted the mecha to fly forward rapidly. As the target grew closer, Yi Shuhan finally noticed that her mecha's energy was nearly depleted after two space jumps.
Slowing down, she could now see the giant, humanoid mecha lying in the sand from a distance, its body charred black. The mecha's exterior was in tatters, looking as if a light touch could make it completely fall apart. The cockpit had been violently destroyed and seemed to have been burned out; it was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen clearly.
Yi Shuhan subconsciously clenched her fists. The closer she got, the less she could see inside the mecha, which was a grim reality. She decided to park her mecha nearby. Yi Shuhan opened the hatch and descended the ladder to the ground with a series of clatters.
The giant wreckage was right before her eyes. Yi Shuhan bit her lower lip slightly, her hands clenching even tighter.
She circled the clearly scrapped mecha. In the past, as someone who loved mecha so much, seeing one she had personally built in such a state would have caused her immeasurable pain. But at this moment, she was in no mood to feel sorry for the completely destroyed mecha. The closer she got, the more her brow furrowed. She couldn't see Chi Chi, who should have escaped, anywhere around the mecha, and the cockpit was burned to such a state. If... if she really hadn't escaped...
Yi Shuhan climbed up the mecha, using its frame as footholds. As she got closer to the scorched cockpit, her heart rose higher and higher in her chest.
Soon, she had climbed onto the mecha's chest. She stood up and walked towards the central hatch, faintly hearing a rustling sound.
The cockpit must have been burned for some time, but she could still smell a slightly pungent, burnt odor.
Yi Shuhan peered inside and saw a pitch-black figure with a head of uneven, singed hair, huddled in a corner of the cockpit, gnawing on something.
"...Chi Chi?" Yi Shuhan crouched down and called out softly, her voice trembling slightly.
Chi Junluo's stomach was growling with hunger. She had just managed to prepare the unidentifiable bird-like creature and was happily eating when she suddenly heard a trembling female voice from above her, calling her by the nickname the heroine of this world used for her. She thought she was seeing a ghost in broad daylight. The shock made her shudder, and she almost dropped the roasted bird in her hand.
In this desolate wilderness, without a soul in sight, how could she hear someone calling her?
Could it really be a ghost?
Chi Junluo didn't have the Heavenly Dao to give her a detailed introduction to this world. She hadn't seen anyone approach, nor had she heard any footsteps. She only remembered that a long, long time ago, back when she was in the orphanage in her original world, a volunteer had warned them that if they heard someone call their name in a place where no one was around, they must never turn back and never answer!
Yi Shuhan saw the admiral below her tremble slightly after hearing her affectionate call, and then she didn't move again. Yi Shuhan found it a bit strange. Could it be that she was angry, knowing she had come to rescue her?
Yi Shuhan immediately grew nervous. She remembered several years ago when she had secretly piloted her mecha to follow Chi Chi to the battlefield and was caught red-handed. Chi Chi, who had always been calm and composed, unmoved by anything, had lost her temper for the first time. Yi Shuhan still remembered her saying that the battlefield was dangerous and not a place for games. Once a mecha squadron engaged the Zerg, it was fraught with peril, and there was even a chance of harming one's own comrades...
That time, Yi Shuhan had truly been frightened by Chi Chi and had returned to the Main Star, feeling wronged.
Later on, to prevent Chi Chi from discovering that she was secretly following her to the battlefield, after building a new mecha, she erased all of her mecha's information from it. Even if their two mecha were right next to each other, as long as Chi Chi couldn't see it with her own eyes or sense it with her mental power, she would never discover that her mecha was following her.
Besides, with so many mecha on the battlefield, she wouldn't be able to spot her anyway.
Now she had secretly snuck away from the Main Star again, coming all the way to the Western Star Region to find her. Would Chi Chi be angry again?
Yi Shuhan's heart was filled with apprehension. Seeing Chi Chi with her head down, not saying a word, she had no choice but to jump down herself. No matter what, she was here to help Chi Chi now. Whether Chi Chi was angry or not was no longer important. What mattered was her physical and mental health. Attacked by the comrades she had entrusted with her back, who knew how sad Chi Chi must be feeling?
Chi Junluo clutched the bird in her hand, planning to leave this strange place as soon as the ghostly voice stopped. She had completely forgotten that a long time ago, she herself had been someone else's bedside ghost.
By the time she cleared her head of all the jumbled thoughts, she realized the voice was gone. Just as she was about to relax, she saw a pair of military boots made of an unidentifiable material appear before her eyes.
Yi Shuhan jumped into the cockpit, walked over to the figure sitting in the corner, crouched down, and called out again, "Chi Chi, don't be angry. I only came to find you after I heard the news of your disappearance. Come out with me first. Those bastards in the military..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the person before her lifted her head. Yi Shuhan saw her move and was about to rejoice when she saw the familiar face. A hideous scar ran from her left cheekbone and left eye, extending back into her scorched hair. The burn scar was covered in charred blackness, dried blood, and a lot of sand. Her left eye was lost in the mangled flesh, indistinguishable.
Her once bright and spirited eyes were now dull and lifeless. Although her right cheek had no obvious injuries, it was also smudged with a lot of black ash.
The person before her remained silent, but Yi Shuhan felt her eyes sting. Then, her vision blurred, and warm liquid streamed down her cheeks.
As the young lady of the Yi Family, this was the first time in her life she had ever cried.
It wasn't that she had never seen Chi Chi injured and in a sorry state. No matter how severe the injury, Chi Chi had never cried out or uttered a single word of pain, just like now.
But the Chi Chi sitting in the corner in front of her felt different. There was an indescribable feeling; Yi Shuhan seemed to see a sense of bewilderment on her face.
Hastily wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, Yi Shuhan then noticed the unrecognizable creature Chi Chi was clutching tightly. Was that what Chi Chi was eating just now?
Yi Shuhan's heart ached. Her hatred for those bastards in the military intensified. There was no time to think about anything else now. The wound on Chi Chi's face needed to be treated as soon as possible, and who knew if she had other injuries on her body.
With Yi Shuhan's help, Chi Junluo stood up. She still couldn't figure out the situation. This pretty girl in front of her seemed to know her, and from what she said, she seemed quite familiar with the original owner of this body. Chi Junluo opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but found that she couldn't utter a single word.
It was like adding frost to snow.
In her mind, Chi Junluo berated the unreliable Heavenly Dao once again.
What kind of mess was this?
As the pretty girl helped her climb out, Chi Junluo saw a very tall, humanoid thing standing not far away. It looked quite similar to the one she had just climbed out of, though it seemed a size smaller than the burned one.
The pretty girl was a head shorter than her and looked delicate and weak. Chi Junluo gestured that she could walk on her own, then climbed down under the pretty girl's worried gaze.
Yi Shuhan looked at the great General Chi trying to be strong and felt a headache coming on. This person was still so stubborn. Couldn't she just relax for once?
Seeing Chi Chi start to sway after just a few steps, Yi Shuhan quickly went down to support her.
The two of them moved to Yi Shuhan's mecha. Chi Junluo looked at the ladder leading up and felt a bit dizzy.
Yi Shuhan helped her onto it. Chi Junluo was about to express that she felt unsteady and might not be able to climb, when she saw the pretty girl tap a thin screen on her left wrist a few times. The ladder then steadily lifted both of them up to the hatch.
Because Yi Shuhan's mecha didn't require physical controls, the cockpit was more spacious. After helping Chi Junluo sit down in the seat, Yi Shuhan circled around her and found that most of her injuries were burns. Fortunately, the combat suit's fireproof function was barely adequate, so the burns on her exposed left face and the back of her hands were the most severe.
While operating the mecha to transfer the medical kit and nutrient solution from the reserve bay, Yi Shuhan said to Chi Junluo, "Chi Chi, can you move right now? Take off your combat suit. I'll help you treat the wounds on your body first."
A stoic Alpha like the great General Chi would definitely not want someone else to help her undress.
Chi Junluo sat dazedly in the chair, watching the nameless pretty girl pointing around inside the cockpit. Then, a small door opened at the far end of the cockpit, and a silver box and a small case emitting a cold mist were transported out.
Yi Shuhan was still a little shy. No matter what, she was a proper Omega. Openly asking an Alpha to undress inside her mecha felt a bit unnatural. Thinking of her Omega identity, Yi Shuhan vaguely felt she had forgotten something important but couldn't quite recall what it was.
Having studied physiology and hygiene at the junior military academy, Yi Shuhan knew that she and Chi Chi were not too different in appearance, but Chi Chi was an Alpha, after all. Yi Shuhan felt she needed to be a bit more reserved.
She didn't want Chi Chi to think she was a promiscuous Omega.
Yi Shuhan, who had no other friends and had never watched any of the Alliance's romance dramas or movies, had completely failed to realize that the extent of her concern for the great General Chi had long surpassed the bounds of ordinary friendship.
Chi Junluo watched the girl rummaging through the medical kit on her own, not even looking at her. She wanted to speak but couldn't, feeling aggrieved for the first time. As someone who had been to several worlds, she actually didn't know how to take off this so-called combat suit she was wearing.
Chi Junluo, completely bewildered, fumbled around on her body for a long time, only to discover that this combat suit was a single piece. She couldn't find a seam. How was she supposed to take it off???
There were, however, a few button-like things on her body. Chi Junluo hesitated, wondering if she should press one to see what would happen.
Yi Shuhan estimated the time and figured that no matter how slow Chi Chi was, she should have finished undressing by now. She tapped the light screen on her left wrist a few times, activating the mecha's medical system. The medical system could directly assess a patient's injuries, performing a thorough internal and external examination. Only a mecha like Yi Shuhan's, which wasn't meant for combat, would have such systems. A mecha like Chi Chi's would want every function to have immense destructive power; installing a medical system would be a useless waste of space.
Chi Junluo was still trying to figure out the stubborn combat suit on her body when she heard the faint sound of machinery. She looked up and saw several strange mechanical arms reaching towards her menacingly.
Chi: ???
Medical System: ???
Yi Shuhan was crouched in the corner operating the medical system, but it kept displaying that the subject was refusing examination. She asked Chi Chi to cooperate, but heard no response. Yi Shuhan's heart tightened. Could she have passed out?
She quickly turned her head, only to see the great General Chi, still fully clad in her combat suit, having a staring contest with the medical system's scanner.
Yi: ???
"Chi Chi?" Yi Shuhan raised her voice.
Chi Junluo, who had been lost in her own thoughts, was startled by the girl's shout. Her hand shot out and slapped two buttons on her waist.
A metal plate-like object shot out from the combat suit on her arm, grazing the hair on Yi Shuhan's shoulder and embedding itself deep into the cockpit wall. The moment the metal plate passed by Yi Shuhan, a faint golden light flashed in her hair, unnoticed by anyone.
Yi Shuhan swallowed. She turned her head stiffly to look at the weapon from the combat suit, which was designed to deal with the Zerg, with only its tip visible on the wall. She felt a little wronged. Even if Chi Chi was in a bad mood or angry, she didn't have to scare a delicate Omega like her. As expected of a stoic Alpha, she didn't know how to be gentle with a lady at all.
Yi Shuhan turned back, about to say something comforting, when she saw the combat suit peeling off the great General Chi's body like an onion.
Two bewildered people: ???
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