Chapter Fifty-One: The Awakening of Mu

Many readers have mentioned that the lack of chapter titles feels unfamiliar, so from now on, I’ll add a title to each section. These recent chapters haven’t been written well, but I don’t plan to revise them—I’ll keep moving forward! Also, I’ve changed the update times to noon and 7 p.m. every day. Sunday is a strong promotion day, six thousand words a day, so I hope everyone will continue to support me!

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This was Ye Chong’s third month in Black Point. Today, his task was to collect black gold ore. Black gold ore was a specialty of Black Point, distributed throughout the asteroid belt surrounding the area, and extremely difficult to harvest. Mining ships couldn’t even enter the asteroid belt; only mechas could make their way inside. Scanners were useless here, so only holographic lenses could capture the ore, and the rest depended on the human eye. In truth, this was a comprehensive training project, not only testing a pilot’s driving skills, but also their eyesight, and bringing the ore back was no easy feat.

Black gold ore yielded very little and was mainly used to produce the black masks worn by Ye Chong and the others.

Ye Chong’s F-58 mecha, like the others in Black Point, was a black humanoid model, but because of Ye Chong’s exceptionally fast hands, his mecha had been modified to enhance several functions.

To be honest, Ye Chong had made tremendous progress these past few months. Most importantly, he’d begun to understand combat techniques, rather than relying on intuition and experience as he had before. He also realized that the basic training given to him by Mu wasn’t as useless as Hak had claimed—in fact, it was quite effective. Ye Chong had little knowledge of ancient martial arts and wasn’t particularly interested in them; for example, he hadn’t found any use in the breathing techniques taught by Hak. On the contrary, Mu’s basic training and steel ball exercises had proven more useful. After much effort, Ye Chong had finally broken through the long-standing bottleneck of ten steel balls. But the effects of the silver liquid were truly obvious, and its exquisite sensation was intoxicating!

He’d seen Hak in action—impressive, yet Ye Chong was faintly disappointed. If Hak faced Mu, Ye Chong believed Hak wouldn’t be able to withstand Mu’s breathtaking thrust!

Mu, when will you wake up? I miss you so much! Ye Chong silently recited in his heart.

Suddenly, darkness fell before his eyes, and Ye Chong snapped back to attention. He watched as the rocks ahead grew rapidly larger, and his heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly manipulated his mecha, narrowly avoiding a collision.

It seemed the black gold ore in this area had already been mined out; he’d have to venture deeper.

Ye Chong piloted his mecha cautiously into the depths of the asteroid belt.

He flew deeper and deeper, but along the way, he couldn’t spot even a trace of black gold ore. Apparently, luck was against him today.

Frustrated, Ye Chong was about to turn back when a massive chunk of black gold ore, nearly two meters in diameter, entered his field of vision, speeding toward the depths.

Ye Chong’s spirits lifted. Without hesitation, he pushed his mecha to full power and chased after the huge ore.

Suddenly, the mecha shuddered violently. Ye Chong felt as if it was out of his control, dragged forward by a powerful force.

Ye Chong immediately sensed danger. He reversed the engines, desperately trying to fly backward and break free from the pull.

But fate was unkind. Despite his efforts, his mecha kept inching forward, even with the engines at maximum output!

When Ye Chong finally saw what lay ahead, he was terrified. All around him, countless fragments were converging toward a single point not far away; as he watched the swirling stones, Ye Chong realized what he’d encountered.

A stone vortex! This was definitely a stone vortex—the most dreaded phenomenon in the Elma region. Because of its existence, few dared to venture deep into Elma.

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No way! How could he be so unlucky? Ye Chong lamented internally.

He struggled to escape the grip of the stone vortex, but nothing he tried had any effect!

As the vortex grew larger and clearer before his eyes, Ye Chong realized just how immense it was; he was pitifully insignificant in its presence.

A profound sense of helplessness welled up from deep within.

Was his fate to be torn apart? After years of fighting destiny, he still couldn’t escape its clutches! Endless sorrow rose in Ye Chong’s heart.

“Idiot! What are you daydreaming about? Waiting to die?” Suddenly, a voice resounded in Ye Chong’s mind.

Ye Chong froze, then was overjoyed. “Mu, is that you?”

“There’s no time to chat. Now, move at a nine-degree radial angle and initiate dual-directional micro adjustments!” It was Mu! Ye Chong would never forget that voice!

Suppressing his excitement, Ye Chong’s hands flew over the controls. He never doubted Mu’s guidance. If there was anyone he trusted most in the world, it was Mu.

Ye Chong’s hands moved at their fastest; the breakthrough in his steel ball training immediately showed its effect. His hands’ afterimages were no longer mere wispy shadows, but almost tangible.

The F-58 mecha suddenly changed direction, rapidly making small lateral adjustments. It looked like a black fish desperately trying to break free from a fishing line, swerving left and right. Miraculously, the F-58 managed to inch away from the stone vortex!

Ye Chong’s confidence soared.

“Now adjust to eight degrees and repeat the maneuver!” Mu’s voice sounded again.

...

Ye Chong panted heavily; the operation had drained most of his strength, but fortunately, he had finally escaped the stone vortex!

“It seems you’ve improved lately,” Mu remarked coolly.

Still caught between the thrill of survival and the joy of hearing Mu again, Ye Chong replied, “Yes, I’ve been training at Black Point, and I’ve learned a lot.”

“Black Point?” Mu’s tone shifted slightly.

Ye Chong began recounting his experiences since waking up, and Mu listened carefully, occasionally asking questions.

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When Ye Chong finished, Mu was silent for a long time.

“Is there a problem?” Ye Chong asked, puzzled.

Mu paused before speaking. “The Black Point you mentioned may be problematic.”

“Problematic?” Ye Chong asked, confused.

Mu didn’t answer directly, but instead asked, “Yezi, did they give you this mecha?”

Ye Chong nodded. “Yes, the mecha’s performance is excellent. It even held up in the stone vortex, which surprised me!”

“Remove the seventh photon panel under the control console and inspect it carefully,” Mu’s voice was always calm and unhurried.

Ye Chong did as instructed, carefully examining the panel. He trusted Mu wouldn’t speak without reason. Sure enough, something was amiss—there seemed to be a photon circuit capable of transmitting signals, which shouldn’t be there.

Ye Chong might lack social experience, but he wasn’t stupid. In fact, he was quite clever. Once he thought about it, he understood immediately! Without hesitation, he used his tools to erase the circuit; he had no intention of being monitored.

“Relax, that was the only spot. I’ve already checked for you,” Mu said leisurely.

Ye Chong responded with a simple “Oh.” He wasn’t really angry at Black Point’s little trick; after all, he’d learned plenty from them, and nothing in this world came for free. Still, he did miss the taste of the cafeteria’s food and licked his lips in nostalgia.

“Yezi, you said you also soaked in some kind of silver liquid.”

“Mm, do you think there’s a problem with that too?” Ye Chong was clearly startled.

“Quite likely!” Mu made no effort to spare Ye Chong’s feelings, speaking bluntly.

“Damn Black Point…” Ye Chong was about to glare in their direction to express his anger, but then panicked. “Mu, I think we’re lost!”

“I noticed long ago,” Mu replied lazily.

“What should we do then?”

“Based on general experience, anything that happens around you is basically impossible to predict!” Mu declared.

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