Pieces of the damaged side wing scattered in the distorted s.p.a.ce. The mental network stirred violently as the mech lost its balance. It started spinning so frantically that the self-balance system has died.

Monoeye Hawk felt as if his twenty-three pairs of precious chromosomes would be spun out. Then, the protective gas profusely filled the entire cabin, wrapping around Monoeye Hawk tightly and taking away his hearing and sight. He was stuck in the mid air totally immobile, like an insect inside an amber. He caught a glance at Jingheng Lin in a blur, and it occurred to him, "Can his lone mental power handle this alone?"

Monoeye Hawk had heard of the famous General Lin, but because the battles he fought were not as famous and important as the "Battle of the Capital", Monoeye Hawk had always thought quite low of him. He thought that Jingheng Lin was nothing more than a pretty face that the Military Commission picked out to represent them, giving his character a completely different packaging. All his deeds were just advertis.e.m.e.nt effect to cover the fact that he was, in fact, nothing special.

The urban myth of "invading fifteen mechs in one go" sounded impressive, only if one discounted the fact that his mech was Zhanlu!

Zhanlu could scare off pirates just by appearing in the battle field. Using the most elite weapon to beat off some losers should be incredibly easy to anyone who's not a loser themselves.

However, this shabby little mech was not Zhanlu. It didn't even have an AI system, and the protection system was already gone. Jingheng Lin had to take the hit they got as well as the enormous pressure from the jump. It was already very st.u.r.dy of him to not kneel down like 001. Monoeye Hawk decided to help him just for the sake of them being in the same s.h.i.+p.

Monoeye Hawk put his hand on the inner wall of the mech, and seeped into the roaring mental network to help Jingheng Lin, like a good-natured volunteer.

The mental network of the mech was more turbulent than he thought. Before he could orient himself, a piercing pain ran through his head.

"Get the f.u.c.k out!," said Jingheng Lin.

Then the mental network of the mech ruthlessly b.u.mped him out as an invader. Monoeye Hawk felt as if his head was poked by a steel needle. He almost fainted because of the pain.

Almost at the same time, Jingheng Lin forced another jump, ignoring the overheating alert and the fragmented side wing of the mech.

Monoeye Hawk's lungs were going to be squeezed out of his mouth. During his brief connection with the mech's mental network, he caught a glimpse at the second missile, which was waiting for them near their transfer point. It roared towards them, igniting the darkness,  missing them only by inches.

Two jumps almost drained all of the mech's energy. Monoeye Hawk finally managed to stand after the mech completed the jump, and the protective gas was drained out of the cabin. His ears were still humming, "You…"

"My mech, my rules." Jingheng Lin announced, "My mental network will not tolerate a second life form. This was only a warning. Next time, I'll be less gentle, and you will be brain dead."

Monoeye Hawk threatened, "When we land, I will shoot you in the head."

"Sure. You're welcome to try.", Jingheng shrugged, "It's always admirable to have dreams."

Monoeye Hawk: "..."

I want to murder him right now.

The buzz in the mech due to overheating finally quieted down. The mech started to report damages and energy crisis, repositioning the coordinates.

Monoeye Hawk thought of the thrilling double attack and couldn't help but ask, "Hey, this is your mech right? How many years have you been in the Eighth Galaxy? Did you dig up someone's grave or something? What got you such persistent a.s.sa.s.sination?"

This time, Jingheng Lin treated this old Persian cat as white noise and shut his ears. He a.s.sessed his surroundings and adjusted the route a little. He then shut down the energy system and let the mech glide freely on its own.

The ignored Monoeye Hawk was mad; this man had such an awful personality. Even looking at his back made Monoeye Hawk want to beat him up. No wonder he still had such a notorious name even after the Military Commission had hired eight hundred PR officers.

"Are you deaf or something?" The Monoeye Hawk said.

"Those were interstellar pirates," Bixing Lu glided his wheelchair out the door of the medical station.

Bubbles surrounded his wounds, creating locally sterile environments. Micro-scalpels were operating on his wounds inside the bubbles, with progress bars on top that signified the progress of repair.

The cold sweat on Bixing Lu's forehead were not dried yet, making him look weak and delicate. He waved at the four students who were peeping at him from behind the door of the medical station. Then he started to introduce the historical background like a museum guide. "NSC 258, some of you weren't yet born. In May of that year, the Third Galaxy held a "Freedom Day" parade to celebrate the establishment of the Union. While the parade went through the intersection between the first and the second channel, they were attacked by interstellar pirates. At that time, the pirates used the same technique as they used here: simply put, they foresaw that their targets were going to undergo spatial transfer, so they intercepted the jump so that the mech would deviate from the original destination, and land in their trap. After one jump, it is hard for both the mech and the pilot to endure a second one. In addition, psychologically, their target would let their guard down as they just got out of danger. Many people got hit by missiles even before they realized it. It was horrific. I remember the pirate who initiated the attack was called…"

"Prince Cayley." Jingheng Lin regained his hearing. "When the Union was just established, the pirates reigned over the Eighth Galaxy but they had major internal conflict. The government was overturned half a dozen times, and the last government set their capital at Planet Cayley and called themselves "Prince Cayley". Monoeye Hawk, you started there, couldn't you remember?"

Monoeye Hawk froze.

Bixing Lu was facing away from Monoeye Hawk, so he didn't see his dad's face. He just felt that Jingheng Lin looked at him in a weirdly heavy way, as if he had a lot to say. But when Bixing Lu looked back to him, he looked away as if nothing had happened.

Bixing Lu had no idea what that was about. He sneaked a look at his own reflection on the window and felt that his sickness-stained beauty was quite attractive. It was just that the two bubbles on his head was symmetrical like a pair of horns, making him look like a cartoon character.

Because he could not get rid of the bubbles before the surgery was complete, he could only secretly adjust his posture and pinched the bubbles a bit so that he could cover them with his hair.

"Ahem...it was peaceful when we came, why did they attack us on our way back?" Bixing Lu was kind of creeped out by Jingheng Lin's stare. He rubbed his nose and laughed awkwardly, trying to break the silence. "Hopefully it's not because of my bad luck."

He did know the pirates had blown up Wotto. Jingheng Lin and Monoeye Hawk exchanged looks, keeping their own dignity and remaining silent.

Rickhead asked, "Headmaster, why is it hard for a mech to undergo a second jump?"

"First of all, a jump leads to turbulence in the mental network, which tends to break the mental connection between the mech and the pilot." The surgery on Bixing Lu's wrists were completed, and the micro-scalpel was automatically retrieved by the sterile bubble which sprayed a layer of healing spray, then it flew away. Bixing Lu moved his wrists and pointed to 001, "Look at him and you'll know the consequence of involuntary disconnection of the mental connection."

The four students looked at 001, and turned their gaze at Jingheng Lin. Now they knew who's the G.o.d to pray to before they would take an exam.

"Secondly, jumps make the mech overheat and consume a large amount of energy. Look, initially, we had 50% energy left, but after two jumps, we only have 10% left." Bixing Lu opened the interstellar map, looked up and asked Jingheng Lin, "May I have a little access?"

Jingheng Lin didn't say anything. Then the mental network that snapped Monoeye Hawk out wrapped around Bixing Lu like warm and gentle vines, inviting him in the mental network, giving him access to be the co-pilot.

Bixing Lu waved his hands and the tightly sealed hatches became transparent, allowing pa.s.sengers to see the universe from the inside.

Dizziness was the first reaction of these four students. The oval-shaped mech was rotating, but because there were devices to adjust for the rotation, pa.s.sengers wouldn't feel it as long as the mech didn't suddenly spin like a crazy gyro. However, when they looked out from the mech, the sense of rotation would come back.

Then it was fear.

There were no lights, no stars, no signs of humanity.

They were ants on withered leaves, drifting blindly amidst the vast ocean.

And the boundlessness of the universe was infinitely more frightening than that of the ocean's.

They could see no route, no destination. Time and s.p.a.ce twisted in a way contrary to common sense. The fragile lives that were immersed in it couldn't bear to think of their destiny for it would bring them nothing but fear and despair, unconsciously trying to grab onto something, anything.

On their journey to the Toxic Nest, several of the students had fainted and they didn't feel anything. They didn't start to feel afraid until now, so they asked Bixing Lu to close the view.

"That was nothing. When the pilots connect with their mech, they have to keep an eye on their surrounding at all times. Of course, they could see further than the naked eyes, because they need to foresee any emergencies. If you can't bear it now, how are you going to get through mech operation cla.s.ses?" Bixing Lu fulfilled his wish to educate them, closed the view, and exited the mental network of the mech automatically. At the same time, he glimpsed at Jingheng Lin. Jingheng Lin was facing away from him, adjusting the route meticulously.

But somehow, Bixing Lu felt a glance that locked to him in the mental network.

The first time might have been an accident, but what is this?

The sterile bubbles on Bixing Lu's knees flew away, too. He tried to stand and found his recovery delightful, but a layer of warm sweat oozed out of his back. He doubted if he was overthinking.

The educated students didn't notice that their headmaster was distracted. They huddled around him with veneration. White was too scared to utter a word. Rickhead didn't want to major in mech operation anymore. The bold one, Mint, said, " Good thing I just plan to major in engineering. Mr. Lu, when are we going to arrive at Beijing-β?"

White asked weakly, "Mr. Lu, since we don't have much energy left, how are we going to get back?"

This short question stirred fear inside this closed isolated s.p.a.ce: Is there enough oxygen?Enough food and water? What would happen if we lose power completely? Can the mech remain intact?

The air pressure, air quality, and even the gravity from a star could be fatal to humans.

Judging by those students' physical qualities, if the artificial gravity device failed, even the loss of gravity could kill them.

"Under these kinds of circ.u.mstances, we can only count on our pilot's skills." Bixing Lu said. "If the mech can escape gravity, the uniform linear motion consumes almost no energy. So an experienced pilot would be able to find the best place to recharge, plan out a route that avoids sources of gravitation to conserve the optimal amount of energy. In mech operation, this is called 'Billiards'. Isn't it fun? Just like playing billiards?"

The four petrified students didn't find anything about it fun.

"The route is calibrated now. There's an abandoned recharge station nearby. It is right on the trafficking route of the Eighth Galaxy. Let's go and try our luck." Jingheng Lin suddenly said. The four students who've never heard B4 talk stared at him in surprise. Jingheng Lin stopped momentarily, cleared his throat, and said, almost like to comfort them, "Those stations that are "abandoned" actually often provide illegal services for the traffickers. Don't worry. We'll get there in about an hour and a half."

Now the students were not the only surprised ones. Bixing Lu and Monoeye Hawk both were surprised by his "gentleness".

Monoeye Hawk lifted his eyebrows. "Are you high?"

Jingheng Lin ignored him and walked to the map, immersed in the mental network of the mech.

Then, Zhanlu told him. "Local scan is complete."

The mech entered energy-saving mode, and the mental network went silent. Jingheng Lin sensed something, but he didn't make a sound.

"Sir?"

"...Well, say it."

"I broke into the protective device and got DNA samples from Headmaster Lu's brain. I found General Xin Lu's gene matches all criteria to be the parental gene of Headmaster Lu's. The probability of paternity is higher than the standard. General Xin Lu is the biological father of…"

Jingheng Lin suddenly felt a shortness of breath. The connection between him and the mech s.h.i.+vered violently while his body remained immobile, facing away from everyone. The fluctuations of the mental network was silently dispersed into the vast universe.

In the place without light rose a solitary tempestuous wave.

As if it was a tsunami that could neither be seen nor heard.