Chapter 102: Energy Mines (With Many Supporting Characters)

Chapter 102: Energy Mines (With Many Supporting Characters)

The arrival of the "prisoners" didn't significantly affect Rong Mi's upcoming assessment. Each examiner had their own mecha and emergency supply space buttons, so they didn't need to rely on additional supplies from others.

The spacecraft they were using also carried extra energy, enough for their return journey even with the extra passengers.

"We'll head to the energy planet first." Despite the unexpected turn of events, Rong Mi's goal remained unchanged.

During the journey, Chen Shu and Anna spotted a few traces of Ice Butterflies and even witnessed other teams engaged in extermination efforts. However, Rong Mi didn't linger, persistently heading towards the energy planet marked on their star map.

As he gazed at the distant, crimson Ice Butterfly spiritual energy, he suddenly called out, "Chen Shu."

Chen Shu, who had just completed his reconnaissance shift and was sipping nutrient liquid, looked up at him and raised his hand to respond, "Here!"

"Did your brother and his team find anything unusual on Seiko?"

Chen Shu pondered carefully.

"My brother has indeed undergone several examinations with the Ice Butterfly Research Institute to find the point of fusion between ice butterflies and human genes, in order to prevent... such fusions from happening again. But I don't know much about these matters."

"He doesn't often talk to me about work, and I haven't probed him either," Chen Shu shared. "But I've heard that they've probably used up five or six of Seiko's heads already."

"Seiko seems rather upset."

Rong Mi fell silent for a moment, imagining that Seiko might have been headless ever since being captured by him and Lu Yi and thrown into the military prison. He could fully understand why the ice butterfly would be furious.

Rong Mi: "It's normal for it to be angry."

Ice butterflies had regenerative organs; Seiko's heads were indeed inexhaustible.

But who didn't have a temper?

Seiko was an ice butterfly that claimed to be very friendly to humans.

It only utilized its unique ability to hypnotize military personnel, infiltrating the human military... It hadn't even eaten a single person!

It adores music! Singing! The recreations of human life...

It's merely assisting its kind to coexist with humans.

Within the research facility, Chen Mo was studying the images of those unique high-level Ice Butterflies sent from the warzone.

The military researched the advanced Ice Butterflies but never paid attention to their "faces." Most of the images transmitted from the warzone were captured by energy detectors, revealing the distribution of energy fields around the butterflies, the shape and quantity of their butterfly boats, the size and intensity of spatial wormholes... Yet, the appearance of those high-level butterflies remained indistinct.

Until just now, Sun Ming, who oversaw the military assessments, called him.

"Rong Mi said they bear your face," Chen Mo frowned, tapping on the petri dish in front of him. "Their appearance is related to your genes?"

Seiko's head was placed inside the vessel.

The Ice Butterfly's psychic energy oozed out from its mouth, nose, and eyes, resembling bleeding.

Its body was still confined within the military prison. The surrounding energy inhibitors were dense, and the spatial folding devices around the cell shifted their folding coordinates every hour, leaving no chance for escape.

"Buzz! — Buzzzz—" The detached head let out an enraged howl. Chen Mo reached out to adjust a switch on the instrument, suddenly changing the concentration of the solution in the petri dish, causing Seiko to cry out in pain.

"Rude!" Seiko's head finally spoke up. "Your human military! Just as annoying as Cecil to the butterflies!"

Chen Mo: "..."

He pushed up his glasses, waiting for Seiko to vent its emotions before getting down to business.

Despite trying daily to persuade him into cooperating with Cecil, this Arachne seemed... surprisingly polite.

It would answer any question asked of it.

"They bear my face. Because Cecil also used me in experiments!" Sure enough, after its tirade, Seiko angrily continued, "Merging my mental energy with newborn ice butterflies... Cutting off my butterfly wings, extracting my heart, attempting to 'birth' more Arachnes..."

"But even if they could be successfully cultivated, they don't inherit my mental energy traits."

"While their abilities resemble those of an Arachne, they're still inferior. My ice butterfly ability has been weakened... let alone theirs!"

"Furthermore, cultivating these ice butterflies consumes vast amounts of energy... so Cecil hasn't attempted to create them for a while."

"Yet, it kept many slices of my heart." Seiko rolled its eyes, sounding annoyed. "Cut, wait for me to recover, then cut again... just like what you did!"

Chen Mo: "..."

Chen Mo sighed.

"I'm sorry to say this," he continued, "but I really can't show you any mercy."

"You're so similar to Cecil in this aspect!" Seiko found it hard to comprehend. "Why not simply cooperate with Cecil?"

"Your human upper echelons, just like our high-level ice butterflies, wouldn't be much threatened in this collaboration. There will always be lower-class humans to become our sustenance..."

"In an ideal state, there's no hierarchy among humans," Chen Mo noted down the data he had just obtained, closed the safety lid of the Petri dish, and planned to take a lunch break. "Though achieving such a state is challenging, at least... we won't knowingly walk down the wrong path for temporary peace and benefits."

He took off his glasses, pinching his nose bridge from fatigue. He had no time to engage in further meaningless arguments with Seiko.

Thanks to Rong Mi's information, they could study weapons against those 'accelerated evolving' high-level ice butterflies using Seiko's mental energy sample.

This was another urgent and crucial task.

Chen Mo had been swamped with work these past few days, overwhelmed by the sheer volume.

With numerous projects on his plate, Chen Mo was occupied with research related to Seiko, the special ice butterfly antidote for Lu Yi, and Lu Tianchen's case...

Calculating the progress of his experiments, Chen Mo exited the laboratory. Lowering his head, he took a few steps before hearing a muffled thud from the hallway.

"Bang!"

Startled, Chen Mo looked up to see Cheng Wen in her lab coat, clumsily climbing up from the floor right in front of the elevator.

It seemed she had taken an unexpected fall as she exited the lift.

"Director Chen!" Cheng Wen panted, leaning against the wall to stand, her usual composure lost as she stammered, "Director... Brother Chen!"

"There's something abnormal with General Lu's equipment! It seems like... there's a consciousness upload notification... He might... be waking up!"

Chen Mo's expression changed. He hastily followed Cheng Wen into the elevator, heading for the top floor's specialized laboratory.

The laboratory was heavily secured. After swiping through three access cards, they entered a spacious hall and turned left into a corridor, leading them to a sealed lab.

The room had no windows; instead, numbers continuously flickered across all four walls. In the center stood a massive black machine, its transparent core housing Lu Tianchen's shimmering spirit tree crystal.

The laboratory's floor and ceiling were cluttered with data cables. Chen Mo glanced at the readings on the wall, then removed two virtual reality headsets, handing one to Cheng Wen.

"He may regain consciousness, but his memories can't be guaranteed," Chen Mo said as he put on his own headset. "Nor can we ensure that his cognitive functions, language system, or sensory systems will be normal."

"He might not recognize you, ignore your questions, or communicate with you at all..."

Cheng Wen's hands trembled as she nodded, struggling to put on the headset after several attempts.

"It's okay," he reassured her hastily, logging into the lab's closed virtual network. "I don't mind."

All he wanted was to see Lu Tianchen.

Yet, he also feared this encounter.

Because up until now, Cheng Wen couldn't be certain if signing the consent form for consciousness uploading had been the right decision.

He didn't know if Lu Tianchen truly wished to be trapped within a virtual network, becoming a "ghost" online.

As the surroundings went dark and then illuminated again, Cheng Wen blinked, taking in their new environment.

In the virtual network, it was nighttime.

They had logged in within a sparsely decorated bedroom. The window was wide open, allowing the night breeze to rush in, fluttering the white curtains wildly.

Lu Tianchen sat by the window, dressed in a shirt and trousers, with his sky-blue hair billowing about. His expression was dazed, seemingly perplexed by everything around him until he heard a faint sound behind him.

Turning his head towards the bedroom door, Lu Tianchen saw Cheng Wen standing there, clad in a lab coat, accompanied by an unfamiliar man. Both were standing motionless outside the door.

In that instant, a glimmer of brightness lit up in his crimson eyes.

"…Awen," Lu Tianchen sprang up, hurriedly walking toward the door, his voice urgent, "Awen!"

Completely ignoring Chen Mo, he grabbed Cheng Wen's arm and placed his hand on his abdomen, his face fraught with anxiety. "Is it healed?! Has the Ice Butterfly's poison been completely removed?!"

"I couldn't stop it," Lu Tianchen's voice trembled as he spoke, "I'm sorry… Awen, it must have hurt… Uh!"

Before he could finish, Cheng Wen's arms encircled his body.

"…Uh!" Cheng Wen was slightly taller than Lu Tianchen. He lowered his head, burying his face in the crook of Lu Tianchen's neck, trying his best to suppress his sobs.

Cheng Wen trembled uncontrollably, barely able to keep her balance while holding onto Lu Tianchen.

His knees turned weak, causing him to sway precariously. Startled, Lu Tianchen quickly wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him closer, and exclaimed anxiously, "Ah Wen? What's wrong? Has your injury not healed yet? Where does it hurt?"

"..."

Behind them, Chen Mo wore a numb expression with his hands in his pockets, silently digesting the dose of 'dog food.' He heard footsteps approaching from behind and turned his head.

"The patient's awake?" The newcomer had a high ponytail and wore a pilot's uniform, clearly having just come down from an mech battle.

She folded her arms and peered into the room with great curiosity. "He seems quite lucid, doesn't he? His memory is intact, and all his faculties seem to be functioning normally… He's in a better state than I was when I first regained consciousness."

"Technological advancements," Chen Mo glanced at Gu Hong. "The spiritual energy crystal he left behind is more intact than yours. After all, you blasted yourself into... just a tiny fragment, the size of a fingernail."

"Second awakenings are so difficult, and mine was hardly controllable," Gu Hong shot him a withering look, saying in a displeased tone.

"Sincerely hoping Rong Mi's endeavors will proceed smoothly," she muttered, casting another glance at the room. She patted Chen Mo's shoulder and commented, "Hey, your new researcher seems to lack mental fortitude."

"It seems like he's unconscious."

Inside the room, Cheng Wen had already collapsed on the ground, unconscious. Lu Tianchen held her, his face filled with panic as he looked toward the door.

"Is there a medical robot here?" Lu Tianchen shouted at the stranger by the entrance, "Is there a doctor?"

As he spoke, he reached for his communicator, intending to call for emergency services.

Chen Mo sighed and stepped into the bedroom.

"It's due to excessive emotional turmoil," Chen Mo lifted Cheng Wen's wrist, checking the mental link data on her communicator, "There's no need to call for an ambulance."

"There are no medical robots here, and there shouldn't be."

"You should remember everything," Chen Mo said, his voice low as he supported Lu Tianchen's shoulder, "Think carefully, back at the Ice Butterfly Symbiosis Association's amusement park base."

Lu Tianchen: "…"

For a moment, Lu Tianchen froze.

The chaotic memories since he woke up finally began to coalesce into a coherent narrative.

This was his former bedroom on Capital Star, but it had been a long time since he last set foot in it.

Ever since... that butterfly's voice started echoing in his mental domain.

"…Yes," Lu Tianchen muttered in response.

He was still somewhat dazed.

The reason why Lu Tianchen didn't recall all this immediately was because he felt an unusual lightness in his body; the corrosive pain he used to feel every time he regained consciousness was gone.

The incessant buzzing of the Butterfly no longer rang in his ears.

And the cramped surroundings of the amusement park base were replaced by a different scene.

"You're very strong," Chen Mo said. "To endure the pain of the Butterfly's assault and maintain your consciousness..."

"I'm already dead," Lu Tianchen interrupted Chen Mo.

He didn't know why he could still think, nor did he know where he was, but he suddenly tightened his grip around his arms.

"And what about Awen?!" Lu Tianchen's voice trembled with profound fear. "Awen is here too…."

"He's still alive," Chen Mo pointed at Cheng Wen and then at himself. "We're both living beings."

He stepped aside, revealing Gu Hong behind him.

With one hand in his pocket, Gu Hong waved casually at Lu Tianchen, speaking candidly, "The two of us, on the other hand, are deceased."

"This is a space created after consciousness uploading."

"If you wish, you can live here indefinitely."

"Of course, once you adapt, you won't have to stay in this enclosed space all the time. You can enter the Star Network… just like how you used to put on a helmet to connect to it back when you were alive."

"You can even have holographic projections and interact with reality." Gu Hong continued, "As long as you install the necessary equipment in the interaction area, or if your family… your loved one wears the equipment, you can see and touch them."

"The simulation programs in the Star Network are so advanced now that they can even replicate the taste of food. Honestly, sometimes I forget that I'm just a virtual being."

Lu Tianchen was stunned for a while, completely unprepared for the revelation that the Human Federation had developed such a risky technology.

"It can be considered a reward," Gu Hong smiled. "Because you bravely fought against Chengdie and were unwilling to accept your own death."

"I know you'll need some time to process all this information, but... there's an important matter. The military needs your assistance." Chen Mo tapped his communicator, sending the news of Lu Tianchen's awakening to Zhang Lingyu.

"The military wants to know the type of energy ore you were exposed to before being infected by Chengdie, as well as the exact location where you obtained that ore," he said seriously, activating his communicator to display their identities to Lu Tianchen as a form of introduction.

"If you don't mind... I believe we need to hold a meeting with the high-ranking officials of the military," he suggested.

Lu Tianchen: "…"

Lu Tianchen gently caressed Cheng Wen's cheek.

"Sure," he agreed. "After Awen wakes up."

"The energy ore you mentioned... it's a special kind of ruby, isn't it?"

"I traded for it on a planet within the war zone, but I heard its origin is at the edge of the war zone, even further beyond the defensive lines."

As he had relived the beginning of his misfortune countless times, he described it effortlessly and smoothly.

He chuckled wryly.

"Awen said the color of my eyes is very attractive."

"I bought that crimson gemstone to make a pendant for Awen, so she could wear the symbol of my color close to her heart."

Lu Tianchen opened the star map and pointed at a spot with his finger.

His fingertip circled the edge of the territory managed by the First Legion.

"The person who sold me the gemstone mentioned it was roughly in this location. He said the stone was a keepsake that a family member brought out from the battlefield. He no longer wanted it."

Chen Mo: "..."

Gu Hong: "..."

The two exchanged glances, their hearts sinking slightly.

That area contained several planets, including the AE sector of the Third Warzone. However, one of those planets was an energy planet... the very one chosen by the military for assessment.

"The military has thoroughly verified the competition assessment sector," Chen Mo furrowed his brow. "There should... be no issues."

"Consult the Supreme Commander's intentions, and it's best to inform the candidates," Gu Hong folded his arms, speaking calmly. "Even if there aren't any problems, two fragments of mental energy have already appeared in the nearby area."

"It's always better to be prepared," he added.