Gu Ya did not rest and went to He Cheng She, meeting with the busy Sister Ling Ling. After the siblings caught up, they hurried to the Consciousness Domain Research Department.
Watching his physical body lying peacefully in the cryogenic chamber, its vital signs completely normal, Gu Ya pondered for a while, ultimately deciding not to retrieve it.
The journey ahead was fraught with danger. Although he had a few friends to help, Gu Ya was uncertain of success.
Preserving his physical body was, at the very least, equivalent to having an extra life.
Sa Kuan quietly approached Gu Ya from behind and said softly, "Young Master, the consciousness storage devices you requested are ready for you."
Gu Ya took the three spherical metal objects handed to him by Sa Kuan.
Weighing them in his hand, Gu Ya scoffed inwardly, "If I truly fail, these little spheres will be my final resting place."
"Sa Kuan, if I don't return, seal all the technology in the Consciousness Domain and hand it over to Ye Ying," Gu Ya instructed as he prepared to leave.
Sa Kuan, understanding the implication of Gu Ya's words, nodded solemnly.
On his way back home, Gu Ya felt a sense of unease.
In truth, while he felt unease, Gu Ya couldn't feel his heart beat.
A bionic body was never as convenient as a physical one, and even the most basic physiological desires had vanished.
"To achieve a perfect consciousness return, it will take at least three days. Consciousness, once out, finds it hard to go back."
"I wonder what Ye Ying will think when she sees me in this state..."
The moment he stepped through the door, Ye Ying greeted him with a smile, but her expression froze when she saw Gu Ya in his bionic form.
They stared at each other for a long moment before Ye Ying slowly spoke, "So this is how you've returned."
"Cool, isn't it?" Gu Ya asked playfully.
Ye Ying suppressed the urge to curse and, calming herself, said, "It's... fine..."
She turned away coldly and walked into the kitchen. After a pause, Ye Ying emerged again and said, "You don't need to eat anymore, do you?"
"Are you angry?" Gu Ya asked gently, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist.
Ye Ying retorted, "Yes, I'm stuffed with anger because of you."
Gu Ya chuckled, "It shouldn't interfere, right? It's hard and unyielding anyway..."
Ye Ying became even more upset upon hearing this, stamping her foot on Gu Ya, and said, "Don't touch me tonight. We'll talk about it when you get your body back."
"Then we'll talk all night to make you happy."
Ye Ying let out a snort of laughter but still pretended to be offended, twisting Gu Ya's arm hard. "You're not even you anymore, and you still want to get intimate with me. You only want to talk when I disagree. I see right through you."
"I know, I know. We're soulmates, the kind who live above the mundane world."
...
"I knew it. If Li Fang put in even a little effort, he'd definitely beat Liu Feng," Qiao Weiwei said with a smile.
But Tao Na disagreed, stating facts. "Hmph, out of thirty matches, he only won eleven. I still have to deal with him when we get home tonight!"
Qiao Weiwei smiled helplessly and glanced at Liu Feng and Li Fang not far behind them. She turned to Tao Na and said, "Boys are so strange. They fight like life and death on the battlefield, and afterwards, they can still be shoulder-to-shoulder. Look at them, they're so close, you'd think they were conjoined twins."
Tao Na was about to speak when
her gaze was drawn to a young boy with golden hair walking towards them. She nudged Qiao Weiwei and said, "Your Little Jin Quan is back."
Qiao Weiwei immediately showed a disgusted expression, tilted her head, pretending not to see him, and pulled Tao Na forward.
"Miss Qiao, it's good to see you again." Jin Quan Ao Tian laughed heartily, revealing a row of perfectly aligned white teeth, and presented nine golden roses from behind.
Qiao Weiwei completely ignored him.
She was pulled back by Tao Na, who took the roses from Little Jin Quan and handed them to Qiao Weiwei before turning to find her own boyfriend.
"I told you, I'm only 17. Don't get any ideas about me," Qiao Weiwei said arrogantly, kicking her feet.
Jin Quan Ao Tian flashed a confident and charming smile and said, "There are times for meetings and farewells. I don't know when we'll meet again, Miss Qiao. I've come to leave a keepsake."
Qiao Weiwei hesitated for a moment, then took off the pendant her parents had left her and gave it to Jin Quan Ao Tian. "It's not valuable, but I'll give it to you."
Though this heart-shaped pendant was crafted from hollowed pure gold, its light weight made it indeed not valuable compared to Jin Quan Ao Tian's immense wealth.
Qiao Weiwei's parents had died, her family had fallen into decline, and her property had been cheated away by relatives. It was not easy for anything purely golden to remain.
Jin Quan Ao Tian knew how much this item meant to Qiao Weiwei and held it carefully, afraid of deforming its shape.
At this moment, Tao Na and the others slowly walked over.
Liu Feng asked with a smile, "Little brother, another mission?"
Jin Quan Ao Tian happily replied, "I'm going abroad with Brother Gu Ya and the others tomorrow! I heard there's a big war happening! Haha!"
"Gu Ya's back?" Liu Feng asked, a little surprised.
Jin Quan nodded, turned to smile at Qiao Weiwei, and walked away.
Watching Jin Quan Ao Tian depart, Tao Na excitedly said, "Not bad, Weiwei. You've reached the stage of exchanging gifts. There's hope."
Qiao Weiwei, however, couldn't be happy. She pouted sulkily, "I gave away what my parents left me for a few bouquets of flowers. I'm so stupid!"
"Oh, it's just a pendant. You can buy many more with the money you earn now! Besides, he's the third prince of the Jin Quan Kingdom. He'll surely give you more in the future!" Tao Na quickly comforted her.
Li Fang also chimed in, "Yeah, Weiwei. If you ask me, the stupid one is Little Jin Quan. He's already lost his heart over a mere pendant!"
Qiao Weiwei kicked Li Fang hard and exclaimed, "Who said it was a mere pendant!!"
"Look at my big mouth!" Li Fang quickly said.
As the three of them bantered, Liu Feng's thoughts drifted elsewhere.
...
The next day, Gu Ya and the others gathered at the mech hangar of the Wu He City Mech Guard.
All preparations were complete, awaiting only Gu Ya's order to depart.
Suddenly, a figure ran into the vast and towering hangar, flustered and hurried.
As they ran, they shouted, "Gu Ya!! Take me with you!"
"Liu Feng?" Gu Ya asked in surprise.
He hadn't contacted anyone upon his return; how did Liu Feng know he was about to depart?
Liu Feng reached the group, panting, "You didn't take me last time, so you can't leave me this time! I've trained for so long, I want to test my own level!"
Gu Ya hesitated. Last time, he had the assistance of the Mecha God's Relic and Hei Yang, so protecting Liu Feng was not an issue. But now, having lost his divine power, many things had become exceptionally dangerous.
Moreover, Liu Feng was not like other teammates; he was an ordinary person without high-tech or combat power for self-preservation.
Taking Liu Feng along could drag him into an abyss of no return.
Seeing that Gu Ya was not entirely agreeable, Liu Feng quickly said, "Don't worry, I'm very strong now! I can help you!"
"Liu Feng, right? Follow me," Shen Jing Ming said calmly.
Liang Yu Wei smiled and said, "Your good brother is worried about you. Take him along. With us here, it'll be fine."
With everyone speaking up, Gu Ya had no reason to refuse. He clapped Liu Feng heavily on the shoulder and agreed.
There was no time to delay; they departed immediately.
The night sky had not yet broken, and the sea of stars hung inverted.
Gu Ya, leading the mech squad, surged out of the hangar, flying towards an unknown journey.