C15 Chen's Uneasiness

The next morning, as Gu Xian remained deep in slumber, Chen rose with the dawn.

Gu Xian's Mech was still under repair after his skirmish with George and the crew, and renting a replacement would cost money he didn't have. So, for the time being, he was on a forced break.

Chen started his day by silently straightening up the house before stepping out to freshen up. With his face washed and teeth brushed, he made his way to the Mech bay, ready to pilot his machine to work.

He noticed signs that someone had tampered with his Mech. Instinctively on alert—a reflex honed in the military—Chen knew that even a minor tampering could spell disaster. It was akin to the early space shuttles, which could explode over a single loose screw.

Despite feeling unlikely to be a target, Chen meticulously rechecked his Mech from top to bottom, just to be sure.

As he worked, others filtered in, offering greetings before heading off to their duties in small groups.

After thirty minutes, the diagnostics were all clear, and Chen breathed a sigh of relief. The Explorer-12 was in perfect working order. It must have been an accidental bump, or perhaps his Explorer had been in someone's way and was moved slightly.

With that thought, Chen boarded his Mech and quietly made his way to the towering elevator.

Being mute, Chen preferred solitude over socializing, maintaining only superficial relationships with his colleagues.

Tucked in a corner of the elevator, he stood in silence, the chatter from his communicator a stark contrast to his own quiet world. He found himself missing the days when he could speak.

Chen Zhuya had repeatedly offered to fit him with a mechanical tongue or to grow a biological one through genetic engineering. But Chen couldn't shake the psychological unease such an implant would bring. Resigned to his silence, he had shelved the idea indefinitely.

The elevator dinged softly, halting at the top floor. The doors opened, and the others dispersed, snapping Chen back to the present.

He refocused and headed to his designated sector. The 50,000 square meter expanse wasn't particularly large, but with only a dozen people in Group A, it felt vast and empty.

They each had their designated territories, ensuring they wouldn't step on each other's toes.

Chen pulled out the Brilliant C-2 laser cutter and set to work for the day. But as soon as he flipped the switch, the Brilliant's glow shifted to an intense white, sending a shiver down his spine. It was common knowledge that the Brilliant should emit a red hue during normal operation; a white light indicated an overload, a surefire way to quickly render the device useless. Given its hefty price tag, Chen, ever the penny-pincher, was loath to waste money on such mishaps.

He hastily powered down the Brilliant and initiated the mech's diagnostic program. To his astonishment, the system reported that everything was functioning correctly. Had he made a mistake in the settings? He double-checked the Brilliant's power configuration. It was correct. So, was the earlier incident just a fluke?

Tentatively, he reactivated the Brilliant, only to be startled by the white beam once more. He launched the mech's diagnostic program again, his heart heavy with concern. The repeated power surges weren't random; they pointed to sabotage. Recalling that someone had tampered with his mech the day before, he wondered if they had also messed with the Brilliant's laser cutter. But to what end? Who would want to harm him?

Clueless but determined, Chen knew he had to investigate the issue with the Brilliant. Taking a deep breath, he powered it on again, despite the "all clear" signal. He had to inspect the Brilliant under these abnormal conditions, hoping to uncover the truth, regardless of potential damage. Without the Brilliant, he couldn't do his job.

The Brilliant's white beam glowed with the cool luster of mutton-fat jade, and Chen's pulse throbbed in time with the diagnostic countdown. Thankfully, since the Brilliant was merely an external attachment, the diagnostics concluded swiftly.

But Chen's relief was short-lived. The results came back normal once again. This "normal" was anything but. Had the saboteur rigged the Brilliant and the diagnostic system too? What were they after? Was Chen Zhuya the real target?

His mind began to wander before he knew it.

He wanted to inform Vian or any other engineer about the situation, but he was unable to speak; the communicator was of no use to him.

With resolve, he shut down the Molten Glory and sped toward the other members of Team A.

He quickly encountered the first person. Through gestures, the man grasped what he was trying to say and asked in astonishment, "Is there a problem with your laser cutter?"

Chen nodded and passed his laser cutter to him.

The man took it, activated the cutter, and was startled by the intense white light.

"Holy smokes, what's happening?!" he exclaimed.

The communicator buzzed with the curious voices of others.

The monotony of their mechanical work was disrupted by this unexpected event, capturing everyone's attention.

"Jia, what's the matter with you?"

"Hey, is that Chen over there with you? What's happened?"

Jia examined the laser cutter in his hand and questioned Chen, "Was it working fine yesterday?"

Chen nodded in confirmation.

"Did someone tamper with your mecha, causing it to end up like this?"

Chen nodded once more.

"Watch out!" Jia, as if facing an imminent threat, immediately shut off the laser cutter and tossed it to the ground, urgently broadcasting through the communicator, "Everyone, evacuate now!"

"What's going on? What's going on?" The shock was palpable, and the voices over the communicator grew gravely serious.

"Someone messed with Chen's laser cutter yesterday. I don't know what's wrong with it, and I can't gauge the level of danger, but this doesn't look good. It's possible the cutter has been rigged into a laser bomb. We need to evacuate the building now! Danger, danger!"

Everyone gasped and ceased their activities. They evacuated the building swiftly and in an organized fashion, not daring to remove their mechas.

Chen was encircled by his colleagues as they communicated with each other.

"Chen, have you ticked anyone off lately?"

Chen shook his head.

"Who could be out to get you?"

"We're quite a distance away now; should be safe, right?"

"We need to report this to Vian. It might not be a personal attack on Chen, but against our engineering team. It just so happened to involve Chen's mecha."

"Exactly, we must inform Vian."

Vian arrived quickly and inquired, "What's the problem here?"

Jia, the first to engage with the situation, stepped in for Chen and recounted the events flawlessly.

Vian listened, his brow furrowing like a miniature mountain range.

Who was dissatisfied with their acceptance of this project, intent on targeting them?

Or was it a personal vendetta?

Tampering with mecha components was strictly forbidden, a careless move could spell disaster.

A sudden insight struck him, and he blurted out, "Gu Xian!"

"Gu Xian?" The name took everyone aback, Chen most of all.

"Yes, I witnessed Gu Xian meddling with Chen's mecha yesterday. If there's an issue, it has to be him." Vian's statement left him momentarily perplexed. "But that doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make sense?" The group was intrigued.

Due to Gu Xian's special status, George had sworn those present to secrecy, leaving them unaware of Gu Xian's true identity.

But Vian was in the know.

If Gu Xian had wanted to harm Chen, why bother with the mecha? A direct confrontation would suffice; Chen was no match for him, not by a long shot.

Maybe the sickle hadn't been turned into a bomb after all.

Vian's expression softened slightly. "Let's just bring Gu Xian in for a chat."

The consensus was clear. "Bring in Gu Xian for questioning."

Meanwhile, Gu Xian was still asleep.

He had re-entered the Eon Training Camp just the day before, absorbing new skills from the 'little ghost.'

The Eon Training Camp might only represent a fraction of the Eon Mech civilization, yet it held its most precious and fundamental secrets.

To Gu Xian, these revelations were both utterly novel and profoundly impactful.

He dove in wholeheartedly, feeling like an ant unveiling the vast tapestry of a civilization.

He succumbed to sleep only when exhaustion took over, following the scientific rationale that sleep serves to sift and solidify the information encountered while awake.

As he was reinforcing the mech civilization's history he'd learned, he was abruptly awakened.

"Vian's looking for me? Asking why I wanted to hurt Chen? What reason would I have to hurt Chen?" Gu Xian was baffled. "When did I ever harm Chen?"

The man had no clue, simply shrugging with a look of helplessness.

He was part of Team B. Most of Team B had been playing cards that morning, and stirred by the commotion, they curiously trailed behind Gu Xian.

Every single resident of 33 Bay Road ended up gathering at the base of the steel tower.

"Gu Xian, did you mess with Old Chen's mech yesterday?" Vian, clad in his Pioneer-12, confronted Gu Xian, who was without a mech, his confidence bolstered.

"Yeah." Gu Xian openly acknowledged. Such matters couldn't be concealed, and he hadn't planned on hiding it.

"Did you tamper with Old Chen's laser cutter?"

"Yeah."

"Good. What exactly did you do?" That was the crucial question. Everyone instinctively leaned in, eager to hear the answer.

"I modified some of the internal structures and upgraded the energy exchange system, boosting the power output of the Molten Light by nearly double," Gu Xian reflected. The energy exchange had increased from 30% to 50%, roughly a twofold enhancement.

"Doubled the power?"

"Modified the Molten Light C-2?"

"He must be bluffing."

"How could that be?"

"If such a modification were possible, the Molten Light's manufacturers would have done it by now. Where would they get such technology?"

"He's definitely bluffing."

"No way, it's utterly impossible."

The consensus was whispered through communicators.

Vian alone knew Gu Xian's true identity and didn't believe this killer king would deceive him on such a matter.

Maybe Gu Xian had learned a similar technique in another galaxy and had indeed made the modification.

If the Molten Light could truly be modified, wouldn't that mean their project completion rate would skyrocket?

Vian felt a surge of excitement.

He wouldn't pay extra to expedite the project, but if he could easily accelerate the pace, who wouldn't want to finish sooner?

Finishing early meant moving on to the next project, and that was worth millions of star dollars.

He cautiously inquired, "Are you telling the truth?"