Gu Ya followed the sound and looked.
A dozen men rushed to Gu Ya, knelt on the ground in unison, and shouted in a babble, "Benefactor! You can't leave! The Fan Lisha mercenary organization will surely seek revenge! What will happen to us if you leave!"
Behind the men, by the ruins, stood seven or eight young women and two or three children.
They all looked at Gu Ya with eyes filled with fear and reverence, as if stepping closer would mean death at Gu Ya's hands.
"Benefactor! Our camp leader is dead! All our mechs are destroyed! Save us!"
"Please, save us, be our camp leader. You have the strength, you have a mech, we all saw it! Only you can save us!"
"We don't want to die, we don't want to be slaves!"
The men wept profusely, their cries incessant.
The tearing pain in Gu Ya's head grew stronger. He gritted his teeth, let out a yell, and his eyes rolled back as he fainted.
...
When Gu Ya opened his eyes again, he saw a sky full of stars.
Gu Ya covered his head and slowly sat up, looking around.
It was a dilapidated house with no roof, only four walls. He was draped in a coat.
Gu Ya slowly rose, stepped over a broken wall, and walked into the camp.
Inside the camp, the men were vigorously clearing the area.
The massive, dark red mech from the day before now stood proudly outside the camp.
A child timidly walked up to Gu Ya, tugged at Gu Ya's hand with a small hand, and softly said, "Big brother, please don't leave us?"
A man noticed Gu Ya and ran over with a smile, saying, "Camp leader, we can't stay here anymore. We've decided to move to another location. Come with us."
Gu Ya couldn't recall anything, muttering, "Camp leader?"
"Yes, you are our new camp leader, we all follow you."
Gu Ya held his head, unable to remember what had happened.
Why was he here?
Why did they call him camp leader?
"What happened? I... I don't remember anything," Gu Ya murmured.
The man glanced around and said softly, "Camp leader, come with me. Perhaps I can help you remember."
Gu Ya followed the man to a severely damaged house.
He searched low in the house for a long time, finally finding a ring-shaped object and a small white instrument.
"Camp leader! Last night you came to the camp and put this on our old camp leader, saying it could enter his consciousness world."
Gu Ya took the items the man handed him, looking at them hesitantly, but he couldn't recall anything.
"Camp leader, you must have amnesia," the man said.
"I... have amnesia..." Gu Ya murmured.
The man nodded and said, "Yes, your mech is keeping watch over there. You can go ask it." The man pointed to the proud, dark red mech outside the camp.
Gu Ya walked to the ancient mech, tilted his head up, and asked, "Do you know who I am and my purpose for coming here?"
The ancient mech turned, slowly squatted down, its mechanical eyes emitting a dim red glow fixed on Gu Ya, and said softly, "Master, your name is Gu Ya. As for your purpose for coming here, I am unclear."
"I have automatically stored image data about you. You can take a look."
Saying this, the ancient mech extended its giant mechanical hand, reached over the tall wooden perimeter wall, and landed in front of Gu Ya.
Gu Ya climbed onto the giant hand.
The ancient mech slowly lifted him to shoulder height and said, "There is a holographic system receiver at my neck. You can connect it with your wristband, and the image data will be automatically sent to the wristband."
Gu Ya walked to the ancient mech's neck, frowned, and looked confused. He truly couldn't remember how to operate it.
Seeing his confusion, the ancient mech carefully explained how to operate it.
After some unsuccessful attempts, several holographic videos popped up on Gu Ya's wristband.
After Gu Ya watched them all, he sat cross-legged and muttered, "My name is Gu Ya. I am a mech pilot. I can pilot a mech, and I can summon a mech."
The ancient mech said softly, "Yes, you are my master."
"Then, the girl named Ye Ying who appeared in the video, is she my lover?" Gu Ya asked.
"Yes, you told me yourself that her command is your command," the ancient mech replied obediently.
Gu Ya shook his head and said, "I can't remember at all. What does 'lover' mean?"
The ancient mech thought for a long time and said, "For humans, a lover is someone with whom you spend your life."
Gu Ya frowned, "Heh? It seems that the girl named Ye Ying and I were very close."
"I can't remember anything at all. My mind is a blank slate. I don't remember anything."
"What is this?"
Gu Ya took off a soft, metal-ring-connected rope from his neck.
The system's optical display analysis automatically appeared: [Yadaiya Language Translator]
Gu Ya raised his hand and waved it at the optical display. The display panel moved like air, impossible to grasp or shake off, shifting with Gu Ya's gaze.
"This is amazing. Can humans see this thing?"
The ancient mech didn't understand what Gu Ya was saying and asked, "Master, what are you talking about?"
"There's a blue glowing panel in front of me, and it automatically displays some text explaining the object in my hand," Gu Ya said.
The ancient mech turned its massive head to look at Gu Ya and said, "Master, perhaps only you can see it."
"You are different from other humans, you are unique."
Gu Ya slapped his head hard and said, "I can't remember anything, it's like there's a wall in my mind. I know there's treasure behind the wall, but I can't get past it."
Gu Ya took out the head ring and the instrument again, "Consciousness Visualization Instrument." He pondered for a while, hesitantly put it on his head, and held the instrument.
"Then how is this thing used?"
The optical display analysis automatically appeared: [Use Code Tampering Skill]
"Huh? Skill? Code... Tampering?"
As soon as Gu Ya finished speaking, his mind buzzed.
The world instantly went black.
Boundless darkness appeared again.
"Ahhhh!" Gu Ya yelled a few times, quickly took off the head ring, and the dark red armor exterior suddenly returned.
"Whoa! That was close. What the heck is this? I'll never wear it again." Gu Ya said, wanting to throw it away, but then he thought better of it and put it in his outer coat pocket.
"I have skills? Wow, I suddenly feel very strong!"
Gu Ya thoughtfully placed his hand on the ancient mech and said, "Code Tampering."
Lines of dark red code appeared on the optical display analysis, scrolling rapidly upwards.
"Master, you are observing me," the ancient mech said.
"Ah? Haha, is that so?" Gu Ya smiled, released his hands, and scratched his head, feeling embarrassed. He continued, "I am a mech pilot, so I must have a mech too, right?"
"Master indeed possesses the most advanced mech in the world."
"Wow! The most advanced mech in the world. What does 'in the world' mean? It sounds very powerful! Then where is my mech?"
The ancient mech remained still for a long time before saying, "I don't know. You suddenly conjure mechs. It's like summoning me."
Gu Ya let out a "Hmm!" and extended his hands forward, thinking, "Mech, mech, mech, bring my mech here..."
After calling out for half a minute, Gu Ya finally gave up.
"It seems I must recover my memory. How can I recover my memory?"
At this moment, everyone from the camp gathered beneath the mech, all carrying large bags. They had apparently finished gathering.
"Camp leader, take us with you!"
"Camp leader, please don't leave us! If you leave, we won't survive a week!"
"We beg you, if we leave the camp, we will only die. Only by staying together do we have a chance to survive."
Gu Ya looked down at them. Only by recovering his memory could he know why he was here, and perhaps they could help him.
"Alright!" Gu Ya shouted, and said to the ancient mech, "Take them up."
More than ten minutes later, over twenty men, women, and children were all seated on the shoulders of the magnificent ancient mech.
Each of them was secured by a rope tied to their waists, the other end tied to the mech's armor to prevent them from falling. The children were individually tied to the men.
As the ancient mech's exhaust slowly sputtered, a strong wind blew, and everyone flew towards the sky.
The camp grew further and further away.
The hills that appeared tall up close also became small, like tiny mounds.
It was not until dawn that the ancient mech slowly landed.
According to one of the slightly older men, this place was a bit further from other mercenary camps and relatively safer.
After everyone landed, they began to search for a more concealed location to establish a new settlement.
Gu Ya continued to sit on the ancient mech, guarding the people around.
Everyone searched for a full day, and as evening approached, they finally found a suitable location.
It was a low-lying area, densely wooded, and difficult to spot from the air.
At the lowest point of the low-lying area was a pool of fresh water, with very clear water. Two small streams converged here, merging into one that flowed out of the mountain hollow.
Not far from the pool, on a slightly higher gentle slope, was a cave that could accommodate over a dozen people. The cave entrance was covered by vines.
Even with the intense midday sun, the cave remained cool.
The oldest of the survivors was twenty-seven, and the youngest was seven.
They were all young and strong, and they worked efficiently.
Before midnight, everyone had cleaned the cave, and they could finally make do with it for the night.
Gu Ya and the ancient mech talked all day, gradually understanding this world and the history of the Yadaiya region.
The ancient mech only recorded images from the time it existed. From its "birth" until now, it had only appeared less than ten times.
Gu Ya also learned how to stow and summon the ancient mech.
But that was all. He still had no clue about why he was here or how to recover his memory.
Furthermore, there was another matter that greatly puzzled Gu Ya and had been troubling him.