Seeing his sister being bullied by the mecha mechanic, Gu Ya felt a surge of anger.
Although the feeling seemed like a lifetime ago, the original host's protective instincts towards his sister drove Gu Ya forward.
"You stole my stuff and you're trying to run! I'll beat you to death!" the man shouted fiercely.
"You stole it too!" the girl shouted angrily.
The skinny man, furious, swung his fist to strike, but his wrist was suddenly grabbed tightly by a young man.
The hand that was gripping Youyou's was also forcefully taken away by the young man.
"Who are you?" the man asked in surprise.
"I am her brother," Gu Ya replied, his tone calm yet tinged with anger.
The skinny man became even more arrogant, saying, "That's great, this little brat stole my stuff, how will she compensate?"
"Who are you calling a little brat!" Gu Ya immediately retorted, grabbing the man's collar.
At this moment, pedestrians on the street stopped to watch. Two hundred meters away, a police patrol hover-bike was parked on the roadside.
The skinny man, wary of the situation escalating and attracting the police, pulled his hand away from Gu Ya and threatened, "I've got you and your sister marked. And you remember this, I'm from the Crocodile Dao Alliance, and the Crocodile Dao Alliance always gets revenge!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Ya knew the other party was no good and that he had to resolve this matter properly.
Gu Ya turned, took the mechanical head from his sister's arms, and returned it to the man, saying calmly, "Here's your thing back, we don't want it. And, if you have a problem, come at me, don't touch my sister."
The skinny man snorted, looked Gu Ya up and down again, and turned to leave.
Gu Ya watched the skinny man walk away before turning to ask Youyou, "Are you alright?"
"You don't need to worry about me," Gu Youyou snapped back, turning and walking towards home.
Back home, Youyou locked herself in her bedroom, refusing to come out no matter how much Gu Ya called.
Gu Ya thought for a moment and then asked, "What was it you stole, uh, took today?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you!" his sister shouted angrily from inside the room.
"Maybe I would understand," Gu Ya said patiently.
"I don't believe you! You can't even tell the difference between a wrench and pliers!"
Gu Ya said, "Maybe I can help you get it, just tell me."
"The head of an auxiliary Type 015 humanoid robot. I need its 'Owl Dragon 100' self-learning integrated chip for its brain."
Gu Ya summoned the system store, visible only to him, and searched through the dazzling array of products.
Indeed, there was a chip of the same model, priced at 80 system coins.
[Purchase?]
Without hesitation, Gu Ya confirmed.
His palm suddenly felt an itch. He looked down, and the space rippled, a chip the size of a coin falling into his palm from nowhere.
[3% rare drop rate triggered, obtained the most advanced 'Owl Dragon 350' chip.]
Wow, it actually dropped the most advanced item. This drop rate was even higher than that of Master Ma's game company's rare drops.
Gu Ya knocked on the door and said, "Youyou, your brother won a chip in a bet today. See if it's what you need?"
After a long pause, the door opened a crack, and a grubby little hand reached out.
Gu Ya placed the chip in her hand, and the door slammed shut.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Gu Ya counted silently in his heart.
"Huh!?" His sister's surprised voice came, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"Owl Dragon 350! The very latest model, released just yesterday, and it costs 2000 white star coins!"
His sister burst out of the room and threw herself into Gu Ya's arms, "Brother! You've finally come around!"
"No, I don't believe you won this in a bet! You didn't sell your kidney, did you..."
"What nonsense are you talking! Brother isn't lying to you!" Gu Ya said, feigning anger.
"You're the best brother!"
Youyou excitedly ran back into her room and sat down at the workbench, getting busy.
In his memory, his sister strictly forbade the original host from entering her room. Every time he tried to clean, she would chase him out.
But this time, the door was not closed, seeming to indicate Youyou's tacit approval, giving Gu Ya a chance to enter his sister's boudoir.
Upon seeing it, Gu Ya was stunned.
The small room had three walls covered by shelves, filled with various parts.
One wall had a workbench, and in the center of the room was his sister's small bed.
A damaged humanoid robot body lay on the workbench, its upper head missing, revealing dense fine wires and intricate internal mechanisms.
Youyou was in front of the upper half of the head, soldering the chip into it.
This wasn't a boudoir; it was a small repair shop!
Gu Ya's system automatically activated. Light screens analyzing the hundreds of parts on the shelves slowly formed, appearing next to each part.
When Gu Ya didn't look closely, they would fade away, not obstructing his vision.
[Flux Capacitor Part] [Light Signal Inhibitor Part] [Left-Hand Gyro Flywheel]...
The analyses of each part flashed through Gu Ya's mind at lightning speed.
Simultaneously, another voice echoed.
[Experience +1] [Experience +1] [Experience +1]...
After Gu Ya quickly scanned the parts on the three shelves, the system suddenly announced:
[Novice Mechanic Experience Points Full, Promoted to Intermediate Mechanic]
[Novice Mecha Pilot Experience Points Full, Promoted to Intermediate Mecha Pilot]
[New Skill Acquired]
Gu Ya's brain instantly relaxed, and a warm current surged through his body.
An incredible, wondrous sensation filled him.
It was as if the entire world had become brighter.
Some formulas that had previously stumped him became simple and easy to understand, and the knowledge from school books became effortless.
When he looked at the head in Youyou's hands again, he could even identify her operational errors at a glance.
"Ah, I can never solder it properly," Youyou sighed in frustration.
"Shall I try?" Gu Ya tentatively asked.
Youyou hugged the instrument tightly, her eyes filled with disbelief, as if to say: You silly brother, I'm afraid you'll break my things.
Gu Ya smiled and said, "Don't forget, I'm the one who got you the chip, so I have operational rights."
His sister reluctantly handed it over to Gu Ya, saying, "Be slow, even though you won it in a bet, it's very expensive!"
Gu Ya put on his magnifying glasses, picked up the micro soldering iron, and without even needing the system's help, began to operate.
First, he scraped off the residual solder points on the chip's pins that were left from his sister's failed attempt. This step had to be done carefully and thoroughly, otherwise, it would cause a short circuit and burn out the chip.
Gu Ya's mind was calm, and his hands were steady, even steadier than in his previous world, which he couldn't help but marvel at.
After cleaning the residual solder points, it was time to re-solder.
This chip had 128 pins, each one-seventh the thickness of a hair, and each had to be fully soldered to the contact points without any mistakes.
The moment Gu Ya soldered the first pin, Youyou was shocked.
The technique was even more beautiful than machine soldering, and that solder point seemed to have a soul.
But Youyou didn't dare to disturb her brother. She watched quietly, occasionally wiping the sweat from Gu Ya's forehead.
Gu Ya, meanwhile, was completely immersed in the atmosphere of mechanical repair.
As time passed, Gu Ya's experience points also increased.
An hour later, Gu Ya finally put down the soldering iron and let out a long sigh.
"It's done!" Gu Ya exclaimed joyfully, as if he had completed a major project.
Youyou picked up the half-head, thinking that her brother, who had been a mechanical repair idiot for years, had become a master mechanic in just one day.
No one could believe it.
"Are you really my biological brother?" Youyou asked in surprise.
Gu Ya smiled and said, "Of course, as close as can be."
...
Late at night, Gu Ya tossed and turned in bed.
He hadn't expected the lives of these siblings to be so difficult.
Their only source of income was a bank magnetic card left by their parents, from which a mysterious account transferred 300 white star coins every month.
His sister was at a growing age and would be attending the preparatory mecha pilot school next year.
This money was clearly not enough.
The original host knew he was a mechanical repair idiot, and for his sister, he planned to drop out and work once he turned 18.
But his sister was different; she was a genius with a promising future.
She was the original host's hope.
No matter how hard it was, the original host would still support his sister's education.
Thinking of this, Gu Ya fell into contemplation.
The original host's obsession with his sister was so deep that it even affected Gu Ya.
For his own sake and for Youyou's, Gu Ya had to find a way to survive, even to break through fate.
However, what reassured Gu Ya was that next year was the official mecha pilot selection exam.
As long as he could be admitted to school, accommodation, food, and transportation would be free, and he would even receive a small salary.
Although the total amount of money would not be enough for his sister's living expenses and tuition.
But it was still more than what he could earn working outside.
When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road. The matter of money needs to be discussed further.
The most pressing matter now was to simulate mecha operation and prepare for tomorrow's one-on-one combat.
He would show Xu Jie and his lackeys that Gu Ya had changed, and that he would become even stronger!