IRCDM Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Strength, I Know All of It

Li Yao’s first reaction was doubt, after all, the impression of tripping over his own left foot and face-planting during the mech competition was too profound.

“I think it’s necessary to explain the current situation to you.” Li Yao clutched his hand affectionately, “We are now in the outer region, above the Dead Sea. Outside is a massive blizzard. With a little carelessness, both of us will die, the mech destroyed, and we will die together.”

Liang Huan calmly said, “Then what should we do now?”

Li Yao pointed to the metal ring on his neck and said solemnly, “You unlock this thing for me, and if I pilot the mech, we can both live.”

A glint of understanding flashed in Liang Huan’s eyes. He nodded, “Alright.”

Li Yao looked at him expectantly. Liang Huan raised his hand and placed it on the back of his neck. Just as he was about to unlock the gene lock, he suddenly stopped. “Why am I here?”

Li Yao almost choked. He snapped, “That’s not important, hurry up and unlock it for me.”

Liang Huan stared at him meaningfully. The hand on the back of his neck smoothly wrapped around his waist, pulling him up from the ground with one hand: “Your injuries are too serious. I can do it myself.”

Li Yao smiled through gritted teeth: “I’m fine, you’re no less injured than me, we have a mental link—”

“Li Yao.” Liang Huan turned to look at him, “You need to trust me.”

Li Yao: “…I don’t think it’s a matter of trust.”

Although the trust between them was pitifully small, he really didn’t dare compliment Liang Huan’s mech skills during his unstable period. The thing this person was most skilled at using his mental power for was kissing him.

Liang Huan, however, appeared very calm. He skillfully put on the combat suit, glanced at the various data buttons that Li Yao had adjusted on the central console, and raised his hand to change a few values.

Li Yao’s brain was currently like paste, but he still narrowed his eyes.

Liang Huan turned to look at him: “Is this adjustment okay?”

Li Yao nodded and instructed, “Don’t be nervous. As long as you change direction, fly over the sea, and pass through the blizzard to land, it will be a perfect success.”

A small, mechanical voice reminded at the appropriate time: “Warning: Fuel is running out. Operable time is only three minutes. Warning: The central processing unit for automatic and assisted driving functions has been damaged by radiation. Please operate manually throughout the entire process. Estimated route error is greater than 0.3%. Please refuel. Warning: Pilot 1, Li Yao’s, vital signs have dropped to the lowest level. Participation in piloting is not recommended. Warning: Temperature has dropped to minus sixty degrees Celsius. Please log out of the combat cabin in a timely manner. Warning: Pilot 2’s mental instability is severe. Mental fluctuations are too great. Participation in piloting is not recommended. Warning–”

Static

Liang Huan directly turned off the prompt button, smiled at Li Yao: “Three minutes to the shore is enough, right?”

Li Yao weakly nodded, his consciousness gradually blurring again.

Liang Huan had him sit in another intact combat cabin, half-kneeling on the ground to tighten his safety harness, gently patting his face: “Li Yao, hold on.”

Li Yao slowly blinked: “I feel very good right now, Lín Huán.”

Liang Huan manipulated the Submersible Dragon in a leap. Wind and snow roared in. In half a second, the giant mech shot out thousands of meters above the sea. The small AI forcefully broke through the closed sound permissions, saying angrily: [Warning! Currently 36,000 meters away from the coast!!!]

Li Yao suddenly woke up: “Fuck!”

Liang Huan turned his head and smiled apologetically at him: “I’m getting familiar with it. It’ll be fine soon.”

The next second, under Liang Huan’s operation, the Submersible Dragon tripped over its own left foot, falling straight towards the sea. The air pressure inside the combat cabin suddenly dropped. All sorts of random debris flew out of the broken holes. The combat cabin shook violently. Li Yao, who was originally about to pass out, opened his eyes again in despair, but was firmly restrained in place by the tightly fastened safety belt.

Liang Huan stood in front of the combat cabin with his back to him, blocking most of the wind and snow. His eyes were filled with apathetic calmness.

Li Yao belatedly realized and yelled: “You get in the combat cabin!”

Liang Huan turned his head, pointing to the button in front of him and asked: “How do I make it fly? I only know how to mentally link, I can’t feel it flying.”

Li Yao roared: “Red button, the round one!”

Liang Huan nodded and slapped the square button. Li Yao’s vision went black. The massive mech rushed out along the surface of the water, stirring up a large wave.

Liang Huan’s hair was dampened by the water vapor. When the Submersible Dragon was about to sink into the sea, he manually operated a series of complex buttons. The nearly hundred-meter-tall mech performed an extreme spin drift in the blizzard and waves. The terrifying rotational force directly squeezed the mech’s outer shell until it deformed.

Li Yao’s nerves were tense. To be fair, the stunts he himself had performed while piloting a mech might have been even more exciting, but those were all his own operations. Now that it was Liang Huan, his heart was in his throat – he simply dared not pass out.

“Fly up!!” he yelled at Liang Huan.

Liang Huan finally pressed the button. The giant mech rose straight into the sky, he even had the time to turn his head and ask Li Yao: “After I recover my memories, what will my official position in the military be? Marshal or Deputy Marshal?”

Li Yao laughed angrily in the plummeting temperature: “You’re dreaming! You’re just a small, broken minister!”

Liang Huan stared at him quietly: “The Minister of the Mech Department is already very good. Don’t you like mechs the most?”

“Like your grandpa!” Li Yao raged, “Slow down and descend! Are you trying to fly out of the atmosphere?!?!”

Liang Huan lowered his eyes and glanced at the light screen. The various values displayed on it were soaring, especially Li Yao’s mental power, which had risen back to B-, and his heart rate was approaching two hundred.

He took out a few mental power enhancers and stuffed them into Li Yao’s mouth.

Li Yao gasped for breath, glaring at him, but discovered that he was unfastening his own safety harness. He suddenly reacted: “Liang Huan, what are you going to do?”

Liang Huan smiled slightly: “I’m going to take my Dawn Star home.”

He lifted Li Yao up horizontally. The small alarm sound became an agitated background noise in the howling waves and the biting wind. Before Li Yao could refute, he turned and walked towards the breach in the Submersible Dragon mech.

Ten thousand meters in the air, he jumped.

The behemoth fell rapidly beneath them. The firelight caused by the burning friction looked like prolonged and magnificent fireworks. Liang Huan opened the protective light sphere around him. The howling wind, snow, and scorching firelight were reflected in his eyes. He lowered his head and kissed Li Yao’s damp hair.

“Li Yao, talk to me,” he said.

Li Yao raised his hand and patted his chest: “Deliberately wearing this flashy shirt to seduce me?”

“Mm.” Liang Huan held him tighter and said in a deep voice, “I wanted to untie it by the sea, but I was too embarrassed.”

Li Yao couldn’t help but laugh: “Fuck.”

Liang Huan flattened the corners of his mouth: “I’m just not used to it.”

“You remembered?” Li Yao touched his chest a little happily.

Liang Huan lowered his eyes and glanced at him: “What do you think?”

Li Yao said listlessly: “Don’t force me at this time. I was almost scared to death just now.”

“Then live.” Liang Huan used his inner strength to protect his heart meridians, continuously giving his mental source mental power: “Lín Chén won’t allow you to remarry the Liang Huan during his unstable period. What do you think?”

“Ah?” Li Yao rested his head on his shoulder, blinking sluggishly.

Liang Huan lowered his eyes to look at him, opening his mouth with arrogance and indifference: “Who do you like better, Lín Chén or Liang Huan?”

“I…fuck.” Li Yao laughed, the blood overflowing from his nose and mouth soaked his shirt, “Are you sick?”

Liang Huan supported the back of his neck, his numb and stiff palms trembling slightly, saying seriously: “I stayed in Chuan Wu’s laboratory for two years before successfully escaping. Besides the experiments on high mental power functional disorders, the most experiments they conducted on me were mental instability tests and subsequent space experiments.”

The hand Li Yao was holding his shirt with suddenly tightened.

Liang Huan’s heart was slightly settled, and he continued: “They tried to make me able to control the mental instability value. The (Heteromorphs) left too many sources of pollution around the coordinates in space. The mental radiation of the pollution source has been fluctuating greatly. Ordinary people’s mental power is simply unable to resist. Even with mech assistance, Chuan Wu and the others wanted the experimental subject to be able to control the level of mental power himself, to adapt to the sources of pollution.”

Li Yao frowned tightly.

“During those two years, most of the time I was in a state of mental instability, and even lost my self-awareness. Chaotic memories and disordered cognition can infinitely prolong time, and even death cannot be achieved.” He paused, smiling at Li Yao, “The only thing I can remember is the look in your eyes when you fired the gun.”

In the long, boundless darkness and chaos, only those eyes remained, separated by glass and nutrient solution, full of killing intent, full of pity. The pain in those eyes was no less than his, but there was no retreat or fear, supporting him through that hellish period.

He heard Chuan Wu call the other party Dawn Star.

Very appropriate.

The veins on the hand holding his clothes bulged, and he cursed in a suppressed and angry voice.

Liang Huan gently held his hand, easily prying it open, placing it on his own face, letting him feel his temperature, and said: “I don’t like to talk about these things with others. I always feel a little embarrassed.”

Li Yao’s eyes were bloodshot, and he said through gritted teeth: “I shouldn’t have shot that beast Chuan Wu. I let him die too easily.”

“Mm.” Liang Huan agreed very much, “Your New Era methods of torturing people are very clever. In the beginning, the thing I yearned for most was death, but I got used to it later.”

He tilted his head and gently rubbed Li Yao’s bloodstained palm: “Every time I couldn’t hold on, I liked to look at your eyes.”

Such a beautiful pair of eyes, such desperate pain and pity, as if they could empathize with him.

Li Yao’s jaw was tight, and tears fell along the bridge of his nose onto the military uniform.

Liang Huan patted him on the back soothingly, and said lightly: “Chuan Wu’s personality is twisted, selfish, and self-serving, but his level of experimentation is still good. Later, I had several opportunities to run, but after thinking about it, I waited until his experiment was successful.”

Li Yao asked with difficulty: “Are you sick in the head?”

“Very useful.” Liang Huan smiled, “Not only can it slightly change your appearance, but it can also control the degree of mental instability.”

Li Yao’s pupils shrank.

Liang Huan looked at him seriously: “I can enter an unstable state at any time, but at the same time, I can maintain clarity and memory, so as to control the level of mental power. In other words, as long as I enter space, I can analyze the polluted coordinates and transmit them back to the home star – I told you, don’t be too conceited. Since I dared to stop the signal tower orbit laying, I must have a way to deal with it.”

Li Yao couldn’t help but breathe heavier: “Then the coordinates of the home star that have been blocked can also be…”

“The Dawn Project II was led by me. I sincerely invited you to join in the laboratory, but you refused.” Liang Huan lowered his eyes and looked at him, “And didn’t even give me a chance to explain.”

Li Yao’s brain fell into chaos again: “That’s not right, then why did you copy the black box?”

“…Because it’s not always successful. The influence of personal subjective emotions on the degree of instability control is too great, and there is even a great possibility of losing control.” Liang Huan paused strangely, shifting his gaze unnaturally.

Li Yao suddenly reacted, even straightening up, staring at him tightly: “The day you registered your marriage, you suddenly fell into instability at the training ground. Was that a loss of control? What was your original plan?”

Liang Huan looked at him silently, refusing to answer his question: “If you want to know, I’ll tell you later.”

Li Yao’s eyes were filled with irrepressible excitement and agitation, scolding and cursing: “You originally planned to control your own mental instability to gain my trust, but seeing me was too exciting, you lost control and entered a state of mental instability and couldn’t adjust it back yourself. You dare to play with me!”

Liang Huan said calmly: “And I can’t remember it.”

Li Yao’s eyes lit up, gloating: “Ha, serves you right!”

Liang Huan looked at the E mental power that Li Yao had dropped to on the light screen, the hand holding the person was so stiff that he had lost consciousness, he said calmly: “So how have you considered the matter of remarriage?”

Li Yao smiled: “Tsk, when Commander Lin passed out, he sternly reminded me not to remarry Liang Huan. You were all faking it.”

Liang Huan’s face didn’t change: “I was just in a bad mood at the time.”

Li Yao looked at him teasingly, hooking his fingers at him: “Come on, Your Majesty, give me a kiss.”

Liang Huan’s hand holding him suddenly tightened, and the protective light sphere slammed heavily into the seabed. The surrounding light instantly dimmed, and the world seemed to return to silence.

Li Yao kissed him, a gentle and cold kiss, touching and parting.

His mental power had finally reached its limit. He closed his eyes weakly, and the hand covering Liang Huan’s cheek slowly fell down.

“…Li Yao?” Liang Huan called out to him.

No one responded.

The light sphere was still falling rapidly. Cold seawater poured into the cracks, and Liang Huan tied the person to his body, smashing the light sphere with his elbow. The heavy body, the boundless darkness, and the approaching death made him feel like he was back in the laboratory pod.

Liang Huan closed his eyes. A feeling of fatigue flooded his body like a tide.

A glowing chip suddenly floated out of Li Yao’s clothes. The pink fluorescence was particularly conspicuous in the dark seawater. Liang Huan raised his hand and grabbed the chip, carrying the person towards the surface of the water.

A huge, translucent tentacle stretched out towards them.

Liang Huan held Li Yao tightly, grabbed the tentacle, and the tentacle wrapped around the two people. The terrifying force directly dragged the two out of the sea and placed them on the reef on the shore.

The roar of helicopters and armored vehicles came from far to near.

Liang Huan turned to look at Twilight, who was clinging to the shore, and said in a low voice, “Hide.”

Twilight nodded, and the entire (Heteromorph) became invisible, silently submerging into the seabed.

Li Yao coughed, blood and seawater mixed together. Liang Huan sealed the major acupoints around his heart meridians, constantly injecting inner strength, but the mental power value on the panel was still decreasing, finally stopping at E-, no longer displaying any values.

He carried Li Yao towards the medical vehicle that had not arrived yet.

Yue Hang dragged Wang Le Ren directly from the helicopter. Wang Le Ren screamed in fright, but when he saw Li Yao and Liang Huan, he roared: “Faster – faster!”

Huo Jie and Lang Shao moved out the most advanced medical equipment they had snatched from the military. The Silver Saddle Team quickly set up a temporary medical cabin in the blizzard. The medical experts who had been grabbed were still in a daze when they were pushed in.

Liang Huan carried Li Yao in, and someone clumsily tried to take Li Yao over.

“Brother Liang, Brother Liang, let go!”

“Director Lin, you’re also seriously injured. Please let go of Dawn Star first–”

“Someone help, drag him away, Lang Shao!”

“Let him out!”

His ears, filled with seawater, could not hear the surrounding sounds. Liang Huan placed Li Yao on the operating table, but the strength was out of his control.

“Liang Huan, let him go!” Seeing that the group of military personnel did not dare to make a move, Yue Hang rushed up and punched him in the face.

Liang Huan slowly turned his head, staring at him expressionlessly, looking like he was going to kill someone.

Yue Hang swallowed, exchanging a look with Deng Meng and Lu Biao. The three of them clumsily dragged the person out, and Huo Jie and Lang Shao were stunned for a few seconds, but still quickly rushed up to help.

The door of the temporary operating room slammed shut.

—

Liang Huan stared at the treatment device that he didn’t know when it was fastened to himself, his expression cold.

Huo Jie stood not far away, communicating with Ye Zhen: “…Yes, Deputy Director Ye, Director Lin’s vital signs are stable now, and Dawn Star is being rescued…The specific situation is not clear…Yes…Yes…”

He walked over and handed the chip to Liang Huan: “Commander, Commander Ye wants to talk to you.”

Liang Huan reached out and took it.

Ye Zhen said: “Xiao Heng has already brought people to your side. Zhao Zhiren and Xu Jiong, they were left in the military by me, we will seal off the sea area where the 3S mech is located before others…Shuai Huan said that since things have reached this point, everything will be said when you come back.”

Liang Huan said: “Has the list been shown to Shuai Huan?”

Ye Zhen said: “I’ve seen it, Boss, Lao Shen and I mean – you’d better return to the military immediately. The situation is very serious. With you in charge, others won’t dare to act rashly.”

“Mm.” Liang Huan was silent for two seconds, “Protect Shuai Huan, whoever dares to act rashly, kill them directly.”

“Boss?” Ye Zhen was slightly shocked.

Liang Huan hung up the communication.

Next to him, a doctor was injecting him with concentrated mental power enhancers and high mental power functional disorder inhibitors, and boldly said: “Director Lin, your situation is not optimistic either. Your mental power is in a state of great disturbance, and the high mental power functional disorder has reached its peak. It is best to enter the treatment pod for treatment.”

“No need, I know.” He raised his hand to signal the other party to shut up.

The other party immediately dared not persuade him anymore.

The people of the military’s Silver Saddle Team and the medical team were busy. On the side of the Eastern Third District Administrative Court, Deng Meng and Yue Hang exchanged glances.

“What is Director Lin’s position?” Deng Meng asked in a low voice.

Yue Hang said: “I heard them say that Liang Huan was originally the Minister of the Mech Department.”

Deng Meng widened his eyes in shock: “The Mech Department? The one directly under the Marshal and Commander…the Mech Department?”

Lu Biao couldn’t help but say: “Is Brother Liang so awesome? Boss, you were really fierce just now, you actually punched Brother Liang.”

Yue Hang: “…”

“I don’t know if Brother Li has anything to do.” After being shocked, Deng Meng fell into deep worry.

He was originally handling work in the Eastern Third District Administrative Court. A few hours ago, he suddenly received an emergency communication from Liang Huan, asking him to bring Wang Le Ren to a designated location in the outer region at all costs. Although he was confused, he still unconditionally executed Liang Huan’s order. To be on the safe side, he also insisted on bringing Yue Hang and the Divine Seal Team over.

Facts proved that this decision was correct. The environment in the outer region was unimaginably harsh. Without Yue Hang and the Divine Seal Team, he and Wang Le Ren would not have reached their destination at all.

And those people in the military opposite them looked much more powerful than them, with armored vehicles and medical vehicles neatly arranged, as well as the most advanced treatment pods and medical equipment, but those people seemed to be very afraid of Liang Huan.

The legendary Silver Saddle Team, each one was more powerful than the last. Those people actually drove armored vehicles directly into the sea in the blizzard.

Deng Meng was shocked for a moment, but still plucked up the courage to walk to Liang Huan’s side: “Brother Liang, Dean Wang said that Brother Li’s surgery won’t be over for a while. Brother Li is lucky and will definitely be fine, why don’t you go into the treatment pod first.”

Liang Huan said: “I’m fine. Twilight is hidden nearby. Let Yue Hang take people to pick him up, and don’t let the people in the military find him.”

Deng Meng nodded: “Okay, I’ll do it right away.”

Liang Huan suddenly stopped him: “Don’t publicize my identity in the military for now. We’ll talk about it later.”

Deng Meng nodded briskly.

The temperature in the temporarily built shelter was acceptable. Liang Huan stared at the operating room opposite, his mind in a mess.

The reaction time that Li Yao gave him was too short. From the time he learned that the black box did not exist in the Dawn Laboratory, all the preparations were too hasty. Notifying Huan Zan and Ye Zhen, getting the list, deciding to save Li Yao, mobilizing the Silver Saddle Team and the Mech Department, contacting Deng Meng to bring Wang Le Ren to the outer region… he didn’t even have time to think too much.

The guess that “the black box may not exist” had been proposed long ago, but most people in the military thought that this guess was too unrealistic, including Liang Huan himself – in the military’s view, the signal tower orbit had completely collapsed, and it was already a miracle that Li Yao was able to come back alive. They hoped that Li Yao would be able to hand over the black box, find out the real reason for the failure of the Dawn Project, and get a truth.

And Liang Huan himself didn’t care about their truth. He and his subordinates hoped more to find the coordinates of the new star from the black box. Regarding the situation that “the black box does not exist”, they had made corresponding plans, but Liang Huan once determined that this did not conform to human nature and opposed it.

Naturally, the subordinates did not favor this plan, and no one thought that Li Yao brought back the core receiver, including the (Heteromorph).

Detecting the signal tower orbit in space, Huan Zan and Ye Zhen and others were overjoyed. They and Liang Huan quickly changed the plan, sparing no effort to cooperate with the Dawn Star to successfully access the main signal tower orbit, activate the new coordinates of the home star, and receive the correct coordinates of the new star.

Everyone defaulted to Li Yao’s sacrifice – including Liang Huan himself.

This was the most beneficial approach to the overall situation, the great and willing sacrifice of the Dawn Star, the new hope that countless people had worked hard for many years, almost without any hesitation or hesitation.

Sacrifice Li Yao alone in exchange for the bright future of mankind.

He was sitting in the off-road vehicle, not yet recalling the bits and pieces of getting along with Li Yao during his unstable period, but a sense of unwillingness arose from the bottom of his heart.

Perhaps the eyes in the darkness were too dazzling, or perhaps Li Yao’s farewell was too free and easy.

He didn’t even understand why he had to come back, but when he saw Li Yao lying in the combat pod, riddled with holes and covered in scars, the reason became less important.

A person came out of the operating room.

Before the people around him could react, Liang Huan had already gotten up and strode over.

Wang Le Ren was also looking for him.

“How is it?” Liang Huan’s voice was very steady, at least it sounded that way.

Wang Le Ren was silent for a moment: “Very pessimistic. He was rescued too late. Although you have tried your best to maintain his mental source activity according to my suggestion, the space radiation brought by the so-called signal tower orbit is too strong. He can persist until now all thanks to his own will. Anyone else might have…If it weren’t for you constantly stimulating his mental power, he wouldn’t have been able to hold on until we arrived.”

Liang Huan looked at him calmly: “What do we need to do now?”

Wang Le Ren said: “He has drifted in space for a long time, and his brain and body have been severely damaged. He was able to survive all thanks to his 3S+ level. According to the information you provided, Chuan Wu once tried to extract the black box from his body, but in fact, it enhanced the degree of fusion between him and the signal receiver – at that time, Chuan Wu should have realized something was wrong and had to carry out (Heteromorph) gene modification to save his life.”

He said with a solemn expression: “Now he has suffered too much radiation, and the signal receiver in his body…his gene mutation is serious. Usually speaking,Different (Heteromorph) gene modification is the last chance for humans to save their lives, but he has already used it.”

The temperature in the room was slowly rising, but Liang Huan felt like he was in an ice cellar.

Wang Le Ren said: “The activation level of the new coordinates is within 60%, maybe there is still salvation, sorry.”

Liang Huan’s fingers hanging by his side convulsed unnaturally, and he said in a hoarse voice: “I came back too late.”

“Your military is for the future of mankind. Every decision may change the direction of the future. No one will blame you.” Wang Le Ren looked at him, feeling pity, and said, “The data you sent to me when you rescued him from the combat pod…you should already know the answer. Later, you have also tried your best to maintain his mental power. It’s just one step late.”

“Liang Huan, go in and see him.”

Liang Huan’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, and he took half a step back uncontrollably, but he quickly calmed down again. He tightened his shoulders and back and asked Wang Le Ren: “Before, the (Heteromorph) modified genes saved him. Does Chuan Wu still have a way?”

Wang Le Ren regretted: “Chuan Wu is already dead, even if he is still alive, the possibility of having a way is very small–”

Liang Huan raised his hand to stop him: “Let me think.”

Wang Le Ren looked at him hesitantly: “Your situation is not good now, you may die at any time.”

Liang Huan shook his head and said calmly: “Take Li Yao back to the base. Chuan Wu is still alive, he will definitely have a way.”

Wang Le Ren gritted his teeth: “Okay, we’ll try.”

—

The medical vehicle broke through the blizzard at an incredible speed and rushed towards the East District Base.

Li Yao lay lifelessly in the life-sustaining treatment pod, and the treatment equipment entangled on his body was dazzling. Only a faint undulation remained on his chest.

Liang Huan sat next to him, carefully clutching one of his hands, not even daring to inject inner strength into him casually.

He stared fixedly at Li Yao’s undulating chest. Overwhelming fear swept through every inch of his blood, but his eyes were calm to the extreme. In his mind were the bits and pieces of getting along with Li Yao during his unstable period, the tit-for-tat exchanges with Li Yao after the end of the instability, and the eyes that supported him to live through those long, silent pains at the beginning.

If he could have remembered the memories of the unstable period one day earlier, if he hadn’t been so conceited back then and hadn’t denied that guess, if the corresponding plan had been more detailed, if he could have been one step faster—he should have directly stopped Li Yao.

…………

Liang Huan silently looked at the person in the treatment pod, and placed his own transparent chip next to him.

“…Li Yao, it’s not shining again.”