Chapter 116: Psychic Link

Chapter 116: Neural Link

"Of course it's me, Mech-1, you moron," the mech snapped. "And get your damn hand off my leg!"

Only then did Zhou Qin look up and notice the mech's glowing red eyes, its jaw articulating as the words came out—those words had indeed come from the robot's own mouth.

"What's going on? How can it talk?" Zhou Qin pointed at the mech in disbelief.

Ji An replied, "What kind of mech doesn't have AI?"

Kong Zhongcheng couldn't hold back any longer. "You mean like those Hollywood mechs?"

"Exactly," Ji An answered.

The mech interjected impatiently, "What kind of stupid questions are you asking? Those glorified tin cans in movies can't even compare to me. They're fake—I'm real, and a hell of a lot stronger."

Kong Zhongcheng asked, "The mechs in movies are equipped with plasma cannons. What about you? Do you have any?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the mech raised one of its massive arms. The arm began to rotate, and a cannon barrel aimed directly at Kong Zhongcheng. "Wanna taste what my cannon can do?"

Kong Zhongcheng turned to Ji An, stunned. "Does... does it really have high-energy weapons?"

Ji An nodded. "Yes, it's equipped with the latest weaponry—a high-energy particle cannon."

Kong Zhongcheng gasped. "Holy shit, this can't be real!"

The mech scoffed. "Jesus, Divine Ji, you're not seriously going to make me choose a master from among these fools, are you?"

Ji An chuckled. "Not all of them are like this. They choose you, and you choose them. If you don't like them, I won't force you."

The mech nodded its enormous head. "Fine. Let them try a neural link with me. If none of them meet my standards, I'll reluctantly pick you as a last resort."

Wan Xueying quickly grasped the key point and asked Divine Ji, "Divine Ji, this mech wasn't developed specifically for the boss? We all have a chance?"

Ji An replied, "As you can see, the mech has its own will. The selection is mutual between it and humans. Forcing a pairing would only create resentment. I won't interfere with the mech's choice."

The mech nodded solemnly. "Divine Ji is right."

Wan Xueying said, "Boss, then I won't hold back."

She stepped up, craning her neck to address the mech. "Can I sync with you?"

The mech responded, "Release your psi-energy and let me see."

A year ago, this question might have stumped Wan Xueying. But after a year of mental training, she now knew how to control her psi-energy.

The moment she released it, she sensed an invisible resistance. Her gut twisted with dread.

Sure enough, the mech immediately snapped, "With psi-energy this weak, matching with me would be a waste. You'd barely scratch my specs. No, no. Next."

Afterward, Zhou Qin and Kong Zhongcheng each attempted the neural link, but neither passed the mech's vibe check.

Finally, Gu Jinsheng stepped up. He released his psi-energy and hit zero resistance whatsoever—the link with the mech was seamless.

At first, Gu Jinsheng didn't even realize what had happened. Only when he discovered he could control the mech did it dawn on him. He felt as though he and the mech were riding the same wavelength—he was the mech, and the mech was him.

Narrowing his eyes, Gu Jinsheng, despite it being his first time interacting with a mech, his hands just knew where to go after the neural link. After a brief glance, he leaped up, stepping off the mech's knee joint and sliding into the pilot's seat.

Tch. The mech almost huffed in frustration—it had intended to give Gu Jinsheng a hard time.

This sensation was strangely magical, as if he and the mech were one.

Gu Jinsheng raised his leg, and the mech mirrored him. He raised his arm, and the mech mirrored the movement.

Glancing around the lab, Gu Jinsheng walked to the window and blasted a hole through the entire window. Then, with a flip, he leaped out from the twenty-plus-story lab.

When the mech landed, the entire building trembled. Everyone was startled, poking their heads out to see what had happened—only to find a massive figure looming below.

"Ah! What is that?"

Shrieks echoed throughout the lab building. Ji An massaged his temples in exasperation. "He never expected Gu Jinsheng, usually so composed, to lose his cool like this upon first encountering a mech."

Zhou Qin’s eyes gleamed with envy. "Divine Ji, be honest—did you pull strings for this? This mech was clearly designed for the boss, wasn’t it?"

Unexpectedly, Ji An nodded. Zhou Qin pointed at him accusingly. "Divine Ji, how could you?"

Ji An shrugged. "I wouldn’t say it was solely designed for Gu Jinsheng. It’s just that this mech is SSS-grade. Only those with compatible mental power can form a neural link with it. If any of you had reached that level, you could’ve succeeded too—but none of you did."

Zhou Qin pushed, "Then what can we do? Can we improve through training? The boss’s mental power is unmatched. On the terminal, aside from you, no one’s ever successfully breached his mental defenses. Even Han Yaokun challenged him once and failed."

Ji An remarked, "Well, we could downgrade the mech’s specs. That way, you’d be able to link with it."

Kong Zhongcheng brightened. "Really? Can you do that, Divine Ji?"

Wan Xueying hesitated. "But if we do that, wouldn’t the mech be weaker than an SSS-grade one?"

Ji An confirmed, "Absolutely."

Wan Xueying’s face fell briefly, though her disappointment was fleeting. She understood—you need the skills to match the tech. A top-tier mech was beyond their control anyway.

Ji An promised, "I’ll speed up production for mechs of varying grades. The goal is to train a batch of mech pilots as soon as possible."

Zhou Qin’s eyes gleamed. "Does that mean the entire command unit could get their own mechs?"

Ji An clarified, "Standard mechs, yes. Sentient ones? No."

Kong Zhongcheng frowned. "What’s the difference?"

"A huge one," Ji An explained. "Standard mechs are dumb weapons—they only follow orders. Their responsiveness and coordination are limited. Smart mechs? Different story. They have their own intelligence and can adapt to their pilot’s combat style. Unlike standard mechs, which rely on manual input, sentient mechs neural-link directly with their pilots. Top-tier mechs react instantly—no lag. If the pilot is knocked unconscious, the AI can take over, ensuring escape or evasion to prevent capture. Standard mechs lack that capability."

Zhou Qin’s excitement grew. "Divine Ji, hook me up with a smart mech!"

Ji An chuckled. "Everyone does. But remember—it’s not just humans choosing mechs. The mechs choose their pilots too. Each AI’s got its own attitude. Even I, as their creator, can’t force one to accept a pilot it dislikes."

Zhou Qin sighed. "So I do have to improve my mental strength to earn a sentient mech’s approval."

"Exactly."

While the group talked, Gu Jinsheng had already taken the mech for a spin around the capital base. The mech was a blur—outpacing hovercars. It zoomed past, just a gust trailing behind.

Returning to the lab, Gu Jinsheng dismounted. With an effortless motion, the mech shrank rapidly, transforming into a sleek terminal that wrapped around his wrist.

The mech sneered, "What’s this useless thing on your wrist? Now that you have me, why bother with that junk?"

The moment it spoke, Gu Jinsheng felt his wrist lighten—something clattered to the ground.

Ji An picked up the broken terminal, tapping it twice to confirm its demise. He sighed. "Mech, if you didn’t like it, you could’ve just returned it. Did you have to destroy it? Do you know how much time and resources go into making one of these?"

"The mech is brand new and doesn't understand many things yet. Don't blame me for this," the mech defended itself.

Ji An chuckled. Gu Jinsheng asked, "My terminal's busted—what do I do?"

"You have the mech. When I designed the mech with AI, I integrated all the terminal's functions into the intelligence. The AI's a straight-up upgrade from the terminal—it has all the terminal's features and even more."

Gu Jinsheng nodded. "Got it."

Ji An said, "Great. In that case, Commander-in-Chief, please arrange for someone to repair the lab."

Gu Jinsheng froze, suddenly remembering that in his excitement during his first mech operation, he might have wrecked the lab.

Too sheepish to look Ji An in the eye, Gu Jinsheng quickly called for repairs.

Clips of Gu Jinsheng operating the mech were seen by many, with some even posting photos online and tagging the Command Headquarters, asking what it was.

But the Command HQ's usually chatty official page remained silent this time, as if disconnected.

Observant netizens who guessed the truth asked if it was a mech, but the Command Headquarters kept radio silence.

Soon after, they rolled out a new mech training mode in the virtual reality system, with the official website promoting it immediately.

So of course, netizens figured the earlier mech photos were just CGI, meant to hype the VR mech mode.

With all the mech hype flooding the web, many grew interested and piled in on launch day.

Weirdly, even though it's called "mech mode," there were only two mechs available—the first named "Thor" and the second simply "Mech No. 2 (Name Pending)."

Detailed descriptions of the mechs' functions, traits, and even "birthdates" were provided, making them seem real.

Clueless players rushed in, eager to try the mode, only to discover it wasn't open to everyone—there was a threshold.

You needed enough mental juice to form a contract with a mech and activate the mode.

Most struck out in their attempts.

Zhou Qin's crew and the others were also at their terminals, trying to contract Mech No. 2. Ji An had said that while humans choose mechs, mechs also choose humans—so Mech No. 2's contract was open to the entire network. Whoever could mentally link with it would become its owner.

The netizens had no idea what they were facing—or missing—but Zhou Qin and the others knew, and they were hyped out of their minds.

Kong Zhongcheng groaned, "Dammit, failed again!"

Ji An said, "Spamming attempts won’t work. One failure means failure—the mech won’t contract with you just because you keep trying."

Kong Zhongcheng replied, "I know, but I can’t give up. I really, really want a mech."

Zhou Qin sighed, "Same. This is my third failure. Who hasn’t tried yet?"

"Wan Xueying hasn’t. She was held up by work but should be here soon."

Right on time, Wan Xueying walked in, smiling. "I’m here! Anyone succeed yet?"

"Nope. Take your best shot."

"Alright." Wan Xueying didn’t expect much, but to everyone’s surprise, she succeeded on her first try.

Zhou Qin grumbled, "How’d she get it?!"

Ji An chuckled. "Because the mech likes her."

Unlike the cheerful atmosphere in the Jing City base, the HSD base was eerily silent.

Charles, unable to secure any allies internationally, was furious. He killed one psychic superpowered individual after another until, on the verge of slaughtering the entire research institute, they finally extracted information from Tang Tang's mind.

"Commander-in-Chief, Charles, we've successfully extracted information from Tang Tang's mind." Charles's single eye gleamed with an eerie light as he flipped through the documents in his hands, growing increasingly excited. By the end, he burst into laughter. "Excellent! With this, the Jing City base won't know peace again. I refuse to believe other nations won't be tempted."

"The history of the allied multinational forces is about to repeat itself. This time, China will cease to exist."

Charles immediately dialed Gu Jinsheng's video call.

At that moment, Gu Jinsheng was at the command center, overseeing the mech bonding process. Seeing the caller's name, he frowned.

Ji An asked, "Who is it?"

"Charles," Gu Jinsheng replied.

Ji An said, "What's he up to now?"

"Not sure."

"Pick it up and find out," Ji An suggested. "Now that we have mechs, it's time to settle things with Charles."

"Right." Gu Jinsheng nodded.