Chapter 16: Meeting

Chapter 16: Meeting

This was a military spacecraft.

The interior was sparsely decorated, with all the corridor doors made of double-layer high-strength alloys. The doors were thick and offered far better protection than the armor of Rong Mi's competition mecha. They could withstand heavy firepower attacks.

At this moment, all these doors stood wide open, their surfaces covered in a layer of frost.

All the metal surfaces inside the spacecraft were frosted, clearly affected by the leakage of the pilot's mental energy. The air was frigid, causing Rong Mi to shiver.

He instinctively held Silver Wolves tighter in his arms.

When Rong Mi had treated Silver Wolves' mental domain, he'd known that the wolf's owner was severely injured, likely having experienced a mental domain disorder as well.

Under such circumstances, to still use mental energy on such a large scale... the price the pilot had to pay would be severe.

Moreover, Rong Mi hadn't seen any other personnel throughout his journey from the shuttle bay.

It seemed there were no other soldiers on this spacecraft, let alone any healers.

"Ao." The Silver Wolf let out a low growl, wriggled free from Rong Mi's arm, and leaped down, guiding him towards the staircase along one side of the passage.

They traversed the labyrinth of corridors together, heading for the spaceship's cockpit.

As they turned the corner, the air grew even colder, and the entrance to the cockpit loomed before them.

The door was ajar, and inside, slumped against the pilot's seat facing the corridor, was a person.

The occupant of the seat seemed to be waiting for Rong Mi. Rather than being oriented towards the control panel, the seat was angled towards the cabin door.

This man's mental energy flowed continuously into the spaceship, freezing much of the barren planet. He wore a pilot's helmet, but its face shield was lifted, revealing a pale, handsome face.

Rong Mi's steps involuntarily faltered.

Rong Mi: Tsk.

A handsome fellow.

Not just any good-looking guy, but the kind that made your heart skip a beat with a single glance, leaving you inwardly exclaiming, "My God, so handsome!"

The handsome pilot's condition was evidently terrible.

The man had his brows slightly furrowed, supporting his head with one hand while his eyes were tightly shut, seemingly enduring unbearable pain in his mental domain. A streak of dried blood could be seen at the corner of his lips, the only hint of red on his face.

He wore a military jacket draped over his shoulders, and the floor beneath his military boots was covered in a thick layer of frost. The hand that wasn't propping up his head rested on the armrest of the pilot seat, its fingertips also stained with blood. It was unclear where else he was injured; a trail of blood snaked down his arm and wrist, dripping from his hanging fingers onto the icy surface below.

The Silver Wolves stepped through the frost towards him. However, Rong Mi's pace involuntarily slowed.

As Rong Mi paused, the man opened his eyes.

His silver irises, identical in hue to his psychic power, held an indifferent gaze, with the dark pupils at their centers resembling bottomless abysses.

He lifted his gaze to meet Rong Mi's.

From the moment snowflakes began falling from the sky, Rong Mi had sensed an oppressive atmosphere surrounding them, as if he had intruded upon the man's territory.

Upon the man's awakening, this sensation intensified.

Rong Mi subtly pressed his lips together.

Domain.

An ability, as per legend, possessed only by a select few advanced mentalists, one that could rival the combat prowess of the Yada species.

It was also a skill lost to humanity during the Interstellar Nomadic Era.

On the "Goddess" flagship where Rong Mi resided, many had already ceased to believe in the possibility of humans manifesting domains. They viewed the scarce historical records of domain usage as mere fantasies of power from the past era.

During the Interstellar Nomadic Era, it was widely accepted that while the Yada's evolution was arduous, their abilities upon completion far surpassed those of humans.

They were, in essence, a more advanced form of life than "humans."

The man sitting before them challenged this perception with his very existence.

"Lu Yi," the man spoke briefly, introducing himself.

His voice was cold and slightly hoarse, "The starship crashed on this desolate planet due to an accident."

Rong Mi was unfamiliar with the name. It took him a few seconds to adjust to the man's unintentionally emitted icy demeanor before he nodded and introduced himself, "Rong Mi."

As he spoke, he discreetly scanned the military uniform the other was wearing.

It was a standard casual uniform without any badges on the shoulders, making it impossible to determine the person's rank.

However, with such a high level of mental strength and imposing presence, this individual had to be either a commander on a flagship or a key combat personnel.

Lu Yi acknowledged with a soft "Mm," not engaging in small talk. He put down his arm and sat up straight, asking directly, "Do you know how to operate an extraterrestrial B-type mech?"

Rong Mi, who was still trying to guess the man's identity, was slightly taken aback and looked at him in surprise. After a momentary pause, the young man smiled and jestingly said, "Are you trying to entrap me?"

Mechs were broadly classified into three categories: intrastellar mechs (A-type), extrastellar mechs (B-type), and dual-environment mechs (AB-type).

The mechs provided for all competitors in mech competitions were intrastellar A-type mechs, while B-type extrastellar mechs were several times larger and more challenging to operate.

B-type mechs were genuine military-controlled machines. Apart from military personnel and civilian starship fleet mech pilots certified by the military, ordinary people like the original host were generally not allowed to train to pilot them.

Lu Yi cleared his throat and wiped away the blood that had trickled from his lips. "There's a B-type mech on my starship."

"It has heavy firepower, complete inspection records, ample energy supply, and access to the military intranet," Lu Yi said calmly.

"I'll grant you temporary piloting privileges. Once we leave this star region and communication is restored, please provide the military with a detailed report of the situation on that desolate planet."

The energy field on this planet was too chaotic, disrupting all external communications.

"Your mental power can only barely suppress that high-level Ice Butterfly; you won't be able to kill it here," Rong Mi said, sitting in the co-pilot's seat opposite Lu Yi, filling in the gaps in his plan. "So your intention is to hold off the high-level Ice Butterfly here while I seek assistance."

"The high-level Ice Butterfly on this planet has already reached level five and is on the verge of evolving into an Archaic Butterfly. If one or two nearby patrol teams were to rush over hastily, their lack of experience might inadvertently fuel the butterfly's evolution. Therefore, the military will undoubtedly dispatch an experienced legion from the war zone to handle the situation," Rong Mi explained.

Moving forward, Rong Mi sat down in the co-pilot's seat across from him and asked, "How long will it take for your fleet to arrive?"

"Within two days," Lu Yi replied calmly. "The First Legion's First Squad is currently on a mission in a neighboring star region."

Rong Mi: "...So you're from the First Legion, huh."

Recalling the debt owed by his original body, he quickly whispered, "When you return, don't tell your legion commander that you met someone named Rong Mi. There's a bit of a history between me and your legion commander."

Lu Yi: "..."

Looking up at him, Lu Yi remained silent.

"However, it seems you don't plan on returning alive," Rong Mi frowned. "Even if you can endure the continuous exertion of your mental energy for two days with sheer willpower... After that, your mental domain would be utterly beyond saving."

"It makes no difference," Lu Yi's tone was cold.

His mental domain was already in dire straits.

If not for Rong Mi's soothing of the Silver Wolves' mental domain earlier, which had alleviated his condition, he might still be in a coma due to mental domain disorder, or perhaps he would have already succumbed to it.

Releasing mental energy at such intensity, whether for two minutes or two days, the outcome wouldn't differ much.

"There is a distinction," Rong Mi smiled. "If you cease your mental energy release now, I could attempt a rescue as the master of the wolves. I've dealt with my fair share of challenging patients before."

"As for the High-Grade Ice Butterfly, do you know about the insectoid hypnosis wave?"

Lu Yi furrowed his brow.

"It's something I experimented with before and used a few times, quite effective. I intended to use it just now, but you arrived in time." Rong Mi casually put on the helmet on the passenger seat. "Give me weapon operation authority, I need to establish a mental link with your starship. By the way, are the weapon systems of the starship and mecha similar?"

Rong Mi had piloted mechas and combat flyers before, but he had never operated a starship. However, based on his experience, the mental energy weapon control systems for starships and mechas shouldn't differ significantly.

Sure enough, he saw Lu Yi nod.

Rong Mi let out a soft sigh of relief.

"I see... This starship has a remarkable auxiliary boost for mental power. That's great! As long as the amplification is strong enough, taking down a Level 5 Ice Butterfly won't be an issue!"

Lu Yi had never heard of such a hypnotic wave before.

However, given Rong Mi's display of unique abilities during the Ice and Fire Tournament, he didn't question it but instead tapped a few buttons.

"New mental power waveform detected — Mental power waveform recorded in database — Please enter the name of the connector —"

"Rong Mi."

With the youth's words, a purple mental energy linked with the starship's mental power system.

Lu Yi said, "I can't stop the transmission of mental power."

"I know you're worried," Rong Mi said casually. "The starship's mental power conduits can take in multiple types of mental power simultaneously. As long as our mental powers aren't so incompatible that they repel each other... Ouch..."

As he spoke, Rong Mi's purplish mental tendrils intertwined with Lu Yi's silvery ones.

A tingling sensation shot up his spine, catching Rong Mi off guard, making him shiver.

As a healer, he had touched the mental energy and domains of countless individuals.

But the sensation of touching Lu Yi's mental energy... was entirely different.

It was like being zapped by something.

Not painful, just a bit peculiar.

Exactly the same as when he had probed the Silver Wolves' mental seas.

Rong Mi: "..."

"Does your mental energy come with an electric shock? You and the wolves are all..."

The young man mumbled softly, oblivious to Lu Yi's movements beside him.

As Rong Mi's mental energy flowed in, Lu Yi's body trembled slightly, and his fingers instantly tightened around the armrest of the driver's seat.

Lu Yi: "…."

According to the records, Rong Mi's compatibility with Lu Yi's mental energy was roughly sixty percent.

Due to its high intensity, Lu Yi's mental energy had a strong repelling force. In theory, as long as a stranger's mental energy matched his by one percent or more, their energies should not repel each other. But for Lu Yi, this was not the case.

Whether it was one percent, ten percent, or thirty percent... any foreign mental energy that approached his mental tendrils would be instinctively and uncontrollably pushed away by Lu Yi, resulting in rejection. This was why Lu Yi had just told Rong Mi that he wouldn't stop the transmission of his mental energy.

Despite the sixty percent compatibility, Lu Yi still believed that Rong Mi's mental energy couldn't coexist with his through the pipeline.

But Rong Mi's mental energy merged with his without any hindrance.

Not only did they merge, but there was even... a slight electric shock-like reaction after the meeting.

This indicated an incredibly high level of compatibility between the two streams of mental energy.

It was possible that... they were almost at a hundred percent compatibility.

Violet spirit energy coursed through the conduits, the two forces gravitating towards each other, intertwining in a natural spiral pattern.

Before Rong Mi's eyes, the view of space outside the starship materialized. The young man grumbled softly with a hint of displeasure, "You're so cold."

A luminous purple glow flickered across the spirit energy grooves on the exterior of the starship, revealing a purple triangular pattern of spirit energy encircling the vessel beyond the silver loop.

"Ease up, it works better when we're closer," Rong Mi observed the depths below. "Let's descend. Are you alright? Be careful not to lose control and crash the starship."

"No worries," Lu Yi replied calmly, guiding the starship downward.

"I was planning to use this tactic before meeting you," Rong Mi explained. "But hypnotizing an advanced Ice Butterfly takes some time. I was worried that my mecha's energy would run out before I could complete the hypnosis, and it would simply crash into pursuit mode. All those participating mecha pilots' warships would have been doomed too... Your freezing move really saved me."

Rong Mi spoke while keeping an eye on the situation below. "Hold on for now. I'll save you in a bit."

"Don't give up," he emphasized. "You're the master of that wolf, right? If you were to die, the wolf's spirit domain would be in trouble as well."

Lu Yi: "…"

Lu Yi glanced at the wolf by his feet, not offering a clear opinion.

" Illuminate the area with a strong beam," Rong Mi squinted. "Descend a bit more slowly, I think... I can see that massive creature."