Chapter Thirty-Nine: Ripples Stirred

"Qin Yun!"

Longsheng was pulled upward toward the cockpit by the retriever’s winch. Shakya leaned over and reached out to catch him. Amidst the drizzling rain, their hands locked tightly together.

At the edge of the cockpit, Shakya pulled the disheveled and dirt-streaked Longsheng inside. Fortunately, the rain was not yet heavy, so although he was covered in mud and dust, he wasn't completely drenched. Shakya, however, could not spare a thought for such trifles. As she looked at him, tears welled up and spilled over her lashes.

At the very least, she had kept her promise to her friend. No matter how inadequate she felt, she had managed to protect at least one person. The cockpit hatch closed behind Longsheng.

"Uh... heh heh..."

Seeing the girl he admired holding his hands with such deep affection, her eyes still glistening with tears, Longsheng instantly forgot the pain in his hands and let out an involuntary, foolish giggle.

"Your hands... they’re torn up like this... it’s all my fault..."

Longsheng could not necessarily grasp the depth of her self-reproach. "Qin Yun... it's fine... see? I'm perfectly alright..."

There was so much he wanted to say to her, but with a formidable enemy looming, there was simply no time.

"What about Li Jiayi? She lives around here, too..."

"Don't worry... she and her father have already evacuated to safety."

Her words allowed Shakya to breathe a sigh of relief once more.

"That's good..."

Shakya wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall again. Hearing that Li Jiayi was safe had overwhelmed her with emotion. She smiled with a touch of embarrassment, wondering why she was being so tearful today; her usual composed and steady demeanor seemed to have vanished completely.

Longsheng was no fool; he understood that the one fighting the enemy and protecting the city was the girl in front of him—someone both familiar and yet like a stranger. He reached forward, gently took hold of her shoulders, and slowly pulled her into an embrace. In times like these, any woman, regardless of who she was, deserved some comfort.

"Shakya, that tree is starting to move! Look out!"

Suddenly, Ziyuan's voice echoed through the cockpit comms.

"Received..."

Shakya did not allow Longsheng to fully pull her into his arms. Longsheng, sensing the situation, wisely released her. Shakya returned to the pilot’s station, her hands gripping the spheres for the neural interface, while Longsheng stood to the side.

"Shakya...?" Longsheng had heard Ziyuan’s transmission; she had addressed Qin Yun by a different name. Was this her true name?

Ever since he had witnessed her with that group of men in black, the questions piling up in his mind were like a mountain.

As Shakya reactivated the Traum, the spherical interior of the cockpit suddenly transformed into a panoramic display. Longsheng felt as if he were suspended in mid-air.

"Whoa!" He was startled, having never witnessed such a sight before.

"Longsheng, lean against the corner and hold onto something. It might get bumpy soon."

This time, the voice from the cockpit comms was Shakya’s, yet her lips did not move.

"Nothing to be surprised about. I’m projecting my consciousness onto the machine, so you’re essentially inside my body right now," Shakya explained, feeling it was best to clarify. "I can't see the interior of the cockpit right now, so just stay quiet and don't interfere with my piloting."

It was a truly surreal sensation. Longsheng couldn't decide whether to be thrilled or uneasy. He was, after all, inside the woman he admired! But this was no time for idle thoughts. Having just narrowly escaped death, he was now the one being protected; he couldn't afford to be a distraction and lead them all to ruin. Still, for a sci-fi enthusiast like him, being able to experience riding in a giant robot was an extraordinary event in his life.

The Traum stood up and turned to face the writhing cocoon.

Nearby military helicopter squadrons circled the severed fluid and the cocoon, conducting reconnaissance and transmitting images back to base. The armed helicopters even launched a tentative attack, but they discovered with dismay that the rockets and shells were absorbed upon contact with the fluid.

It was true absorption—just as the entity had previously consumed buildings and living creatures. It seemed only the Traum’s energy weapons could do anything about it.

"Shakya, you are authorized to conduct a test attack. Hold the line until the Director returns."

"Understood..."

Shakya was less bold than before; she merely raised her right arm and fired a single probing shot at the cocoon. A sharp roar accompanied the beam of energy as it struck the target, but the expected outcome—punching a hole through the cocoon—did not happen. The energy beam was refracted by a shimmering protective layer on the cocoon’s surface, scattering harmlessly into the sky.

"Huh?! What on earth is that?"

Longsheng witnessed the eerie scene. He knew the power of this machine; after all, he had seen Shakya’s full-burst attack tear the entity in half.

"Damn it... this cocoon is clearly something different from that fluid..." Ziyuan’s voice grew tense. What price would they have to pay to win this battle?

***

High on a mountain in the suburbs of New Spring City, at a temple, two men gazed out at the city below. One was a young-looking monk, and the other was Director Qin of SCHWARZ.

"I didn't expect to encounter a new 'Kin' so soon." The Director was flipping through some documents.

"It is indeed strange. From our perspective, the evolution of the Kin should not manifest in such a way." The monk’s expression remained serene, though his eyes betrayed his bewilderment.

"No matter. If we synthesize the information in this book, we may find a strategy to defeat the enemy."

"My apologies, Master Jingci. I am truly grateful for your help this time." The monk before Director Qin possessed information regarding the Kin.

"It is most peculiar. Why is there no complete record of this enemy in the archives we have compiled?" Master Jingci sighed.

"What do you mean?" The Director knew that the records he held were quite comprehensive, passed down through generations within the ancient organization responsible for the Flashpoint Project. This new Kin was genuinely suspicious.

"I have reviewed these files and found several different Kin that each possess one of the traits of this current enemy." The monk pointed to specific sections of the documents.

"This..." For once, the Director looked genuinely shocked.

"Only by combining the power of the Root Cube with the technique of the 'Life Ripple' can one unite the soul of the pilot with the machine to achieve victory."

"Master, are you suggesting..."

The Director looked toward the city, where the Traum was locked in a standoff with the faintly glowing cocoon, its light-beam cannon having been deflected.

Just then, the white-bearded old man who taught Shakya martial arts, Master Shi, stepped out from the room behind them.

"However, with Shakya’s experience of only a month or so, I fear it will be difficult to secure a victory," Master Shi sighed, stroking his beard.

"Indeed. Merely mastering the Life Ripple is not enough to repel this enemy. Only by achieving the 'Unity of Man and Machine' can the 'Machine Soul Technique' shatter it."

What Master Jingci spoke of was something even Master Shi had never heard of.

"Machine Soul Technique? Master, is there a secret art you have yet to pass on to your disciples?"

Jingci smiled and pointed toward the distant Traum. "Can you pilot it? If so, you may use it."

"Hmm..." Master Shi closed his eyes slightly. It seemed this "Machine Soul Technique" was reserved for the pilots of these hyper-ancient civilizations; it was beyond his reach.

"Exactly. I never imagined an enemy with these characteristics would appear so soon... and approach us so stealthily." The Director sighed, turning to Master Shi. "When we dealt with that transparent spherical Kin last time, we never suspected it was the egg of this thing."

Master Jingci pressed his palms together toward the Director. "I, too, bear responsibility. According to our ancient texts, a Kin with these characteristics is usually an independent entity... I have an ominous feeling. I wish to assist in this battle."

"This... Master, how do you intend to help?"

Master Shi actually addressed this young-looking monk as his master? Just who was this man?