Chapter 8 – Lu Yi

Chapter 8 - Lu Yi

Like most "Artificial Healers," Rong Mi didn't genuinely enjoy his healing ability.

This was because they had obtained such powers only after being forcibly injected with gene-altering drugs and subjected to multiple mental domain surgeries.

The aftermath of those drugs and the pain following the operations made life unbearable. Each time they used their healing abilities, their bodies would suffer discomfort.

But this time, as his mental domain had merged with the original owner's, Rong Mi didn't experience any uneasiness while healing.

The Silver Wolf was in a coma and offered no resistance to Rong Mi's intrusion of his mind.

Thus, the wolf's mental energy ocean was clearly displayed before the young man.

First, he saw a crystal-clear, ice-like, diamond-shaped phantom hanging in the center of the mental domain – the symbol of a Star Beast Spirit Contract.

It indicated that this Ice Plain Silver Wolf had already formed a pact with a human.

He softly clicked his tongue.

Rong Mi: The wolf has already been claimed by someone else.

Disappointment flickered across his face, but it was a fleeting emotion. The young man's attention was swiftly drawn to the spirit domain of the Silver Wolves.

It was an immensely vast spirit domain, a sea of silver spirits.

It was also the most devastating scene Rong Mi had ever witnessed in a spirit domain.

None of the mecha pilots he had treated before had a spirit domain that instilled such dread as this Silver Wolf's.

A healthy spirit domain would have its branches lush and intact, with energy in the sea calmly flowing.

But now, the sea was roiling with turbulent waves, its submerged energy currents colliding and forming chaotic vortexes that tore at each other. Several massive whirlpools plunged deep into the water, beyond Rong Mi's sight, parting the sea and carving out bottomless canyons within.

The spirit tree, which supplied energy to the spirit domain, rose from the depths of the sea, its branches spreading apart.

This spirit tree, matching the color of the seawater, was severely scarred.

Numerous branches were broken, floating amidst the sea, being battered and shattered by the vortexes.

Some of the branches hung askew from the tree, cracked yet not fully severed from the Spirit Tree. They clung to the remaining intact limbs in a grotesquely contorted manner, persisting in their growth and funneling energy into the sea.

The trunk of this spirit tree was encrusted with an odd, charred black, its color seeping slowly into the surrounding seawater, imbuing the silver waves with a mottled pattern.

This was the symbol of one's spiritual domain being infiltrated by Ice Butterfly's spirit power toxin.

When Ice Butterfly's vibrant crimson spiritual energy detaches from her body, it transforms into an inactive black hue, unleashing a potent venom.

The wolf had clearly sustained severe injuries during its battle with the Ice Butterfly. While its external wounds had healed, the damage inflicted upon its spirit realm had gone untreated, lingering until this very moment.

Rong Mi took a deep breath. It was a miracle that the wolf had survived until now!

The problem with Ice Butterfly's venom needed addressing, but it wasn't the most pressing issue.

First and foremost, he had to calm the Silver Wolves' energy sea.

So, his light purple spiritual energy spread across the silver expanse, gently brushing against the waves.

The moment their spiritual energies connected, Rong Mi couldn't help but softly hiss.

It was as if an electric current surged through his brain, painless yet causing a strange, numb sensation in an instant.

Rong Mi: "...."

This was an interaction between mental energies, something he had never encountered before.

However, Silver Wolves' injuries were too severe, so he didn't dwell on it and instead focused all his effort on soothing the wolf's mental sea, unraveling the chaotic whirlpools on its surface.

The convulsing Silver Wolves gradually calmed down.

At the same time, deep beneath the icy sea in a sunken starship, Lu Yi slowly opened his eyes.

This was the first time he had truly awakened since his sudden mental domain disorder had rendered him unconscious.

He could sense a unique energy slowly wandering through the surface of his mental domain.

It was an elusive feeling, as if someone was healing the mental sea of his battle pet.

That ice plain silver wolf was a mental entity he had been forced to split off seven years ago when his mental power advancement was abruptly interrupted, nearly resulting in self-destruction.

Wolves can act independently, displaying little distinction from ordinary Star Beasts in most behaviors.

However, the wolf's mind is connected to his mental domain. Its preferences and actions are subtly influenced by the deepest recesses of Lu Yi's subconscious.

In turn, Lu Yi can vividly sense everything the Silver Wolf experiences.

This is a psychic connection that cannot be entirely insulated.

When their mental bond strengthens, he can immerse himself fully in the wolf's mental domain, sharing one hundred percent of its senses.

Yet, when weakened, the sensory link can only be reduced to around twenty percent.

And when he doesn't deliberately control it, their sensory connection hovers around fifty percent.

Just like now.

Lu Yi can perceive that the unique energy infiltrating the Silver Wolf's mental sea is not particularly gentle.

The intensity of the other party's mental power is formidable, almost excessively high for a healer, yet it brings him immense comfort.

The therapist was soothing the Silver Wolves' mental sea, which in turn calmed Lu Yi's own somewhat.

It wasn't much, but it was enough for Lu Yi to regain consciousness.

The Admiral faintly furrowed his brow. It wasn't discomfort he felt, but rather a sense of unfamiliarity.

For no one had entered his and the Silver Wolves' mental domains in many years.

The First Legion had its own therapists.

According to military regulations, soldiers in the combat zones underwent superficial relaxation treatments monthly, and when injured, they paused training for recovery sessions.

Lu Yi had been wounded many times, but during his time with the First Legion, he had never undergone even a single superficial treatment.

He recalled that the last time he received a mental domain treatment was before he reached adulthood.

Back then, his mental power hadn't yet advanced to the next level, and he hadn't even entered military school yet.

At sixteen, his mental power rose from 2S to 3S, and since then, only therapists with S-class mental strength and above could enter his mental domain.

However, the number of therapists in the Human Federation was scarce, and those rated S or above were even rarer. Though therapists possessed exceptional affinity and stability in their mental power, they inherently lacked offensive capabilities, resulting in generally low strength.

The most outstanding therapist in the Federation had a mental power intensity ranging from B to A grade, with never an instance of an S-rated therapist.

Since then, Lu Yi's mental domain depletion could only be alleviated through medication.

When he applied to the military academy, the recruiter instructor had advised him to abandon his aspirations of becoming a mecha pilot due to this issue.

Mecha pilots experienced severe mental domain exhaustion and were bound to get injured.

Minor injuries could still be managed with medication, but severe ones... could only be healed by a therapist.

Lu Yi didn't agree.

His upbringing taught him that his mental power rank and intensity would only find its true purpose in a war zone.

He was destined to become a mecha pilot, a battlefield commander.

And he was willing to embrace that role.

The Lu family had been searching for a therapist capable of entering Lu Yi's mental domain, and his grandfather had even resorted to desperate measures in his anxiety.

Ironically, their efforts seemed to have accidentally struck the right note.

Lu Yi recalled the name he had heard while drifting in and out of consciousness.

Rong Mi.

This therapist, who was said to possess only a C-level spiritual strength and an overall D-grade evaluation, clearly had more to offer than meets the eye.

Old Man Lu had inquired about Rong Mi from the Rong family.

They replied that Rong Mi disliked hardship, lacked patience, had weak sense of responsibility, and had a temper, but apart from that, he wasn't a bad person with no major flaws.

Lu Yi couldn't understand how these adjectives could be associated with the young man. He frowned, recalling the scene he witnessed after the wolf detected the ice butterfly's mental energy fluctuations, left the starship alone, and hunted down the butterfly.

The spirit slot of the mecha glowed with a bright purple radiance, like a magnificent decorative pattern etched onto the black frame. Spiritual energy sparks blossomed across the snowfield, scorching the swarm of butterflies.

Despite this, an ice butterfly managed to break through and reach Rong Mi.

The young man fought the ice butterfly with nothing but a standard laser blade in his hand. Behind him, a mecha pilot, now stripped of armor protection, cowered, forcing the youth not to retreat a single step while battling the creature. He spoke no unnecessary words, single-handedly forming a defensive line.

The black mecha moved nimbly and intricately. Its blade flashed swiftly, without hesitation, fear, or any missteps.

To ordinary people, it only seemed that Rong Mi was operating swiftly.

But to other mecha pilots, they could see his precise and efficient control, as if he had merged himself with the mecha, effortlessly maintaining balance and position.

Only those who were as skilled as Rong Mi knew how much grueling training and practical combat were required to achieve such mastery.

Talent, patience, pushing one's abilities to their limits time and again, and enduring pain...

Lu Yi had gone through all of it.

He pulled out the healing device's tubes connected to his body, struggling to prop himself up into a sitting position.

The general's thoughts lingered on Rong Mi, and he swiftly recalled another matter.

The young man had once explicitly refused to join the First Legion as his personal therapist.

Lu Yi disliked imposing on others and had never inquired about the reason behind Rong Mi's refusal.

But he could hazard a guess that Rong Mi's rejection was likely due to his own disposition and the rumors about the Silver Wolves' highly aggressive nature.

And now, with Rong Mi's current action... it seemed he didn't recognize his own wolf.

One wondered how the young man would react once he learned the truth.

Lu Yi gave a soft cough.

He sensed that his mental domain had become significantly calmer after Rong Mi treated the Silver Wolves. Unless engaged in intense combat, it wouldn't go into disarray anytime soon.

However, the energy surge resulting from the mental domain's disorder had also damaged his internal organs, making even breathing a painful struggle.

The Admiral fumbled to retrieve a tube of mental strength restorative from a specially designed, reinforced medical cabinet by the bedside. He downed it in one go and then reached for the communicator on his wrist.

He lowered his head and discovered that his wrist communicator had been damaged during the chaos in his mental domain, now shattered into several pieces.

Lu Yi frowned as he stood up.

His steps were unsteady, and a wave of dizziness nearly caused him to stumble when he rose.

The Admiral leaned against the wall to steady himself, then casually draped a coat over his shoulders before unlocking the airlock of the medical chamber and heading towards the starship's cockpit.

The starship's communication system was also damaged, filled with static noise.

Lu Yi pulled out a control panel to assess the ship's performance.

This was a warship, but also an isolation vessel.

Whenever his mental domain became disordered and could potentially affect others, he would be sent aboard this ship for isolation.

During his last episode of mental disarray, when he had passed out, the First Legion's fleet had come under attack.

This starship had avoided direct fire, but in the midst of the battle, it had become separated from the fleet, drifting into the gravitational field of a desolate planet and crashing into an icy sea.

The starship remained unscathed due to its autonomous landing feature.

The communication lines were likely disrupted since the ship was submerged beneath the icy ocean floor, blocking its signals.

Thus, Lu Yi took his seat in the pilot's chair and pressed the launch button.

He had already gleaned the general situation of the planet through the Silver Wolves' perspective.

The appearance of ice butterflies in the safe zone was no trivial matter.

Neither was the fact that the low-level ice butterflies on the ground were relentlessly pursuing Rong Mi.

Moreover, when the Silver Wolves released their mental energy, Lu Yi faintly sensed an advanced ice butterfly lurking deep underground.

It was of considerable rank, at least a Level 3, seemingly in a slumber. However, with the mass death of low-level ice butterflies on the surface, disturbances within the swarm might rouse it from its sleep soon.

Both Rong Mi and the other contestants on this planet were in grave danger.

Lu Yi hoped that the patrolling squadrons and military forces in the vicinity of the planet had received the relevant information and were already initiating evacuation procedures.

However, he couldn't discern any such signs from Rong Mi's current actions.

The young man's mecha remained stationary at the edge of the icy sea, showing no intention of returning to the designated meeting point for the competition.