WCHM Chapter 59

To be precise, what had just happened couldn’t really be called “seeing.” It was more like feeling.

For one brief second, Lu Chi had felt the existence of the system inside his mind. But a second later, before he could fully focus his vision, the familiar cheerful mechanical voice vanished instantly. After a pause, he heard the calm voice of the Alpha behind him:

“Did you feel the existence of the mecha?”

The strange sensation was fleeting, disappearing like a flower blooming for only an instant.

Lu Chi tried looking again. A moment later, he shook his head calmly. “At first, there was something for about two seconds. After that, nothing.”

That kind of result was perfectly normal.

Every day in the Federation, countless Alphas of the right age came into contact with mechas. But among those who could successfully establish a connection and perform basic operations within a single day, only S-ranks had ever managed it so far. Most people require three to five days on average. Back then, Lin Jingsi had taken only half an hour, still the highest record in the Federation over the past century.

But the problem was urgent: Lu Chi’s practical combat match was only four days away.

Within those four days, he had to race against time to train adequate combat reflexes. And as a low-ranked Beta, under normal circumstances, it was already extremely difficult for him to connect to a mecha at all.

If even the qualification to take the first step was stripped away, how could he ever move forward?

Lin Jingsi’s expression remained unchanged as he lifted a hand protectively beside the slender, long-haired Beta before him. The cold, intimidating demeanor he usually showed during training was nowhere to be seen; instead, he appeared unusually patient and calm.

Lowering his eyes, he said evenly, “Not being able to sense it at first is normal. Let’s try for another ten minutes.”

“If it still doesn’t work after ten minutes, we’ll raise the neural patch sensitivity by another ten percent. What do you think?”

No meaningless comfort. No wasted words.

Lin Jingsi silently considered solutions, finally deciding that if Lu Chi truly couldn’t sense spiritual power, he would disconnect Lu Chi’s chip and force the other end directly into his own temple instead.

He was an S-rank Alpha. He could forcibly guide another person into inward perception, and the price was merely the acceleration of his own brain’s burning. If it got too severe, he might turn into a mindless mad dog that only knew how to attack.

But with Lu Chi around, Lin Jingsi could always turn back.

The Beta smiled faintly, seemingly aware of his thoughts and utterly composed. “Let’s try for two days first.”

“If it still doesn’t work, then we’ll take a nap and start practicing some emergency survival tricks for playing dead.”

Lu Chi’s mentality was absurdly stable. He didn’t think playing dead in the arena was embarrassing at all. After all, he was very attractive. When the time came, even pretending to be weak would include advertising his face and the fortune-telling business that he planned to add to his mecha. Every spectator who glanced his way counted as a hidden customer lead. If there were camera shots, even better, as it could only count as free promotion.

Lin Jingsi paused, then let out a quiet laugh as well, still shielding him carefully. “Alright. Then let’s try again. Close your eyes. See if there’s any light ahead.”

“Calm your breathing. Look inward.”

The private training room was silent, free of all distractions.

Lu Chi closed his eyes and followed the instructions, letting himself sink inward before looking ahead once more.

The next second…

It felt as though a snowflake floated in midair.

Mist wrapped around him abruptly. Lu Chi suddenly felt as though he were standing atop clouds, yet simultaneously sinking beneath the sea. Wave after wave of suffocating pressure surged toward him, flooding his senses.

He instinctively breathed in and turned to look around, but the world around him was blurred darkness, while a cold breeze brushed past his ears.

What exactly was spiritual power?

And what did evolution and advancement truly represent?

The Federation, born among the stars, believed spiritual power was a gift bestowed by the Universe so humanity would never lose its way in the galaxy. Meanwhile, the scientific academies researched day and night, convinced that spiritual power was the endpoint of genetics, the key to unraveling life’s deepest mysteries.

Hundreds of years ago, a sudden interstellar explosion destroyed humanity’s ten-thousand-year historical inheritance. The Earth became ruins, its cities turned to ash. Humanity endured a century of darkness before rising again in the hands of the survivors.

They named this new civilization: the Federation.

A tidal wave of technology swept across the stars, drowning everything beneath the metallic roar of progress. Mechas, AI, neural interfaces… With the intelligent AI “Cocoon” as its new starting point, the Federation rapidly developed into the peak civilization it is today. Yet spiritual power remained an unsolved mystery no one could fully explain.

And at this moment, to Lu Chi, spiritual power felt like some distant voice calling to him from the unseen.

With his eyes closed, he suddenly felt as though some gaze had swept across him. Within the pitch-black darkness, Lu Chi abandoned all deliberate searching. Following instinct alone, he slowly lifted his head until he calmly and strangely “saw” a faint light ahead.

The glow flickered like snowflakes, sparkling in the darkness, occasionally emitting abstract shouts and bursts of laughter.

The cheerful voice was familiar.

The silhouette outlined by the light… its fur, its ears, was familiar too.

It limped crookedly forward.

Tiny and pathetic.

This time, the calm-eyed Beta finally saw the truth clearly. It was the slightly brain-damaged cat Lu Chi had once raised before his death.

And it was also the true form of the system living inside his mind.

“……”

Only a few steps away, the system was currently staring at text floating through the data stream, painstakingly sounding out words through pinyin. Its drool-prone mouth muttered endlessly. Suddenly, it let out a sinister screech:

“Trash men… I curse you all to become impotent…”

“……”

How should he put this?

Lu Chi was a little surprised.

…But honestly, besides that mildly brain-damaged cat of his, it was hard to imagine any other creature surpassing it.

He just didn’t know who had stuffed memories into the poor thing and given it consciousness, making it think it was some sort of villain data system. Though speaking of which…

Did peeing on people’s pillows count as villainous behavior?

Lu Chi laughed softly, watching the amnesiac system for a long while without being noticed. The witless cat was probably surfing the web without understanding half the meanings, biting through pinyin while checking a dictionary. Its tail curled warmly beneath itself as it concentrated with absolute seriousness.

Rubbing his face, Lu Chi gave up on calling out to it and looked farther behind it instead. There, another, even fainter light flickered steadily with mechanical precision.

That should be the mecha’s light.

At last, Lu Chi finally understood what online searches meant by [spiritual vision].

But unlike the Alphas, who first saw the mecha’s connection point, Lu Chi saw the system first, and only afterward the mecha.

Did that imply something?

The Beta fell into thought. He didn’t know how long had passed before the faint glow vanished. His thoughts severed the connection, plunging everything back into darkness.

Lu Chi opened his eyes and met Lin Jingsi’s familiar gaze.

The training room was silent.

The Alpha was carefully and calmly observing him, as though afraid Lu Chi might suffer some kind of accident.Seeing the young man awake, he immediately reached out protectively and asked in a low voice, “How do you feel? Does your head hurt? Do you need a calming agent?”

Lu Chi paused, then couldn’t help smiling at him. “Mm… why don’t you guess?”

Under the lights, the Beta’s expression carried a rare trace of youthful playfulness. Silver hair fell softly around his face, and beneath that slightly immature appearance hid a sly, smug pride, like a cat lifting its tail high in triumph, vivid and beautiful.

A sort of smugness shown only to someone close.

Lin Jingsi’s heartbeat skipped uncontrollably as he stared into Lu Chi’s bright eyes. After a long moment, he finally rolled his throat and said:

“My guess is… you’re a genius.”

Lu Chi arched a brow, the smile in his eyes growing even more vivid.

“Wow. You guessed right. Lin Jingsi, your taste is really good.”

Lu Chi had sensed spiritual power. And only twenty minutes had passed since he’d stood in front of those mechas. For a B-rank Beta like him to sense his own underdeveloped spiritual power within twenty minutes…

It completely shattered common sense.

Lin Jingsi grabbed Lu Chi’s hand. For the first time, deep amusement surfaced in those dark green eyes. He lowered his head and lightly kissed Lu Chi on the lips, relief in his voice, along with a trace of pride he couldn’t conceal.

“My judgment really is excellent,” he whispered. “Master Lulu was a genius to begin with.”

Lu Chi laughed too. “So you’re not planning to fry your own brain anymore?”

Lin Jingsi’s expression didn’t change. “That was only a backup plan. Facts have proven that you’ll always be more outstanding than I imagined… more outstanding than anyone imagined.”

“Lu Chi, I was too arrogant. Sorry.”

“Oh, enough already.” Lu Chi poked his shoulder with a grin. “Stop pretending. My head hurts a little. Got any sedatives?”

He wasn’t lying. A Beta’s constitution was still too weak, and simply sensing spiritual power had already exhausted his brain, leaving a faint throbbing pain at his temples.

Lin Jingsi immediately turned around and instructed the AI to open the cabinet, and a round robot quickly delivered a chilled vial. Lu Chi met its little eyes and heard the familiar gentle voice of “Cocoon”:

[Sf-146 medication. Manufactured last night at 22:45:18. Please observe dosage instructions: three vials per use for Alphas, one vial per use for Omegas, 15ml per use for Betas.]

Lin Jingsi reached out, twisted open the glass top, and handed it to him.

After drinking the medicine, Lu Chi looked at the round robot in front of him and suddenly asked, “Lin Jingsi, when you first sensed spiritual power, what did you see?”

The textbooks of the interstellar era said that everyone saw different scenes when they first came into contact with spiritual power. Lin Jingsi pressed the room ventilation switch and replied calmly, “A red sea.”

“A red sea?”

“Mm. The same as my pheromones.”

If Lin Jingsi’s pheromones smelled like violent rust, then the sea he saw must have been thick crimson blood.

Very fitting for the Protagonist Gong’s personality.

Lu Chi clicked his tongue and touched the neural patch on his temple. Sensing spiritual power was only the first step. Next, he needed to try connecting with a mecha and learn how to control and pilot it with spiritual power.

That was the mecha synchronization period every Federation citizen had to go through. Lu Chi lowered his gaze and once again met the stare of the round robot before him.

After a moment, he suddenly said, “Lin Jingsi, if I remember correctly, you can hand-build your own mecha, right?”

Lin Jingsi paused, catching the implication in his words. “Of course. But top-tier mechas are built by countless mechanical constructs. Their sensitivity and synchronization rates far surpass those of other equipment. They’re the Federation’s most advanced weapons.”

The mecha he’d prepared for Lu Chi was exactly that kind. In battle, it could suppress the opponent’s momentum from the moment the match began.

Lu Chi smiled faintly, following the instinctive feeling buried deep within him. His voice was firm as he continued, “I want to build my own.”

“Alright. I’ll teach you,” the Alpha answered without hesitation.

Lin Jingsi indulged him in everything. Even if Lu Chi told him to transform into a mecha right now, he’d probably start seriously considering mechanical immortality and the possibility of clinging to Lu Chi forever in AI form.

So naturally, Lu Chi was led out of the lounge and onto a private aircraft. Very soon, they arrived deep within the floating island.

This was obviously military territory. Countless black mechanical surveillance eyes circled overhead. Cold silver-gray buildings rose from the ground, connecting sky and Earth, lined with layer upon layer of security checkpoints. The omnipresent advertisements of the Hometown Group had disappeared. In the eternal silence, even the air carried a murderous chill.

Lin Jingsi’s aircraft passed through without inspection. It traveled unobstructed all the way to the rooftop landing platform. After docking, they entered a floating elevator and descended instantly.

Click.

Lu Chi stepped into the enormous, silent underground second floor and looked at the wall covered in cold, unfamiliar parts.

The empty room was eerily quiet.

Lin Jingsi had already changed into a mechanical exoskeleton. Beneath the goggles, his eyes were handsome and indifferent. He walked over, knelt on one knee, and helped Lu Chi put on the exoskeleton used specifically for mecha welding.

Lu Chi lowered his eyes, curiously touching the cold metal on his body.

Soft fingertips slowly explored the hard machinery; the contrast of black and white, flesh and steel, was striking.

Suddenly, Lin Jingsi reached out, grabbed Lu Chi’s hand, and licked and bit at it a few times. His voice dropped low.

“Stop touching yourself.”

If he kept watching, he was going to get hard.

“…”

Psycho.

Lu Chi raised an eyebrow and kicked at his pant leg, stepping on him from above.

“You got hard?”

“……”

Lin Jingsi stared deeply at him, meeting the obvious teasing and provocation in the Beta’s eyes. But he knew Lu Chi wouldn’t lose focus while doing something important.

Sure enough, the long-haired youth blinked and casually withdrew his foot as if nothing had happened, lazily rubbing his pale wrist.

“Lin Jingsi, have you seen the hair tie I use?”

His hair had grown a bit longer, now falling below his collarbone. He needed to tie it up for training. Without a word, Lin Jingsi expressionlessly finished fastening the exoskeleton onto him. Then, just as Lu Chi was about to leave, he grabbed the Beta, tightened his grip around his waist, and kissed him fiercely, prying open his lips with force.

“Mmph… Teacher Lin is so fierce…” Lu Chi was laughing, indulgently letting Lin Jingsi suck and bite at the base of his tongue. After the kiss, the Alpha began sniffing at his underdeveloped gland, hot breaths brushing against his ear.

Lu Chi lazily licked his lips, sensing his barely restrained arousal, and reminded him absentmindedly, “After the combat tournament.”

Time was too tight. He needed training first.

Lin Jingsi gave a hoarse hum and touched the smart exoskeleton.

“Next time, I’ll use this to play with you.”

“Sure.” Lu Chi smiled. “Strip me naked and let me sit on your face while we play.”

“..”

Well… They couldn’t keep talking.

The air already felt filled with colliding sparks of desire.

Lin Jingsi took several breaths, forcibly suppressing the boiling lust inside him. He withdrew his hand, lowered his gaze to search for two seconds, and somehow actually pulled out a white hair tie from his pocket.

It was a very simple design, without any decoration. Lu Chi blinked and heard the Alpha ask him:

“Want me to tie it for you?”

“Okay,” he nodded readily, long lashes lowering, making him seem unexpectedly obedient. “Just a low ponytail. Nothing complicated.”

“Mm.”

Lin Jingsi awkwardly and carefully reached out, tying up the Beta’s beautiful silver hair. Lu Chi’s shoulders and neck were exceptionally attractive. Once his hair was tied back, smooth skin was revealed, paired with the pure black combat uniform and icy exoskeleton. His proportions were almost exaggerated, like the perfect faceless model from a textbook.

It made one’s chest swell warmly just looking at him.

Lin Jingsi forcibly tore his gaze away, teeth itching, his mind filled with thoughts of how to use mechanical arms to play with him.

Very soon, they began building the mecha together, but calling it “building it by hand” was a bit inaccurate. With current technology, all Lu Chi had to do was describe the general features to the AI. The AI would automatically fill in the gaps and simulate the appearance that best matched his imagination. Lin Jingsi lowered his head to inspect the equipment while listening to the person beside him describe it.

“Looks like a cat. Really big ears. Limbs that aren’t coordinated.”

“The tail is missing half its length. Cuter that way.”

“Gray tabby fur pattern. Small and compact.”

…Was this a mecha or a pet cat?!

The AI, “Cocoon”, processed the information for two seconds before speaking in a smooth, gentle voice:

[Based on the user’s description, the mecha appearance was generated: intellectually disabled epileptic cat. Would you like to make any modifications? Please describe them, and I will optimize accordingly.]

Lu Chi looked at the holographic screen displaying the mechanical version of his senile old cat and shook his head in satisfaction.

“No need to change anything. This is already perfect.”

Even the eyes looked identical.

Yep, it’s you!

His enthusiasm immediately surged. Following the instructions, he and Lin Jingsi quickly began hand-building the mecha. Though the Alpha looked fierce, his teaching was surprisingly easy to understand. Lu Chi was clever as well. The two of them worked all afternoon enthusiastically, with the AI continuously handling the complicated operations. Before ten that night, they had actually completed the rough model.

The Federation used the most advanced technology. Lin Jingsi manipulated the AI and quickly sent the model into a chamber for detailed finishing work. Less than half an hour later, the refined version of the brand-new mecha was freshly completed…

A massive gray mechanical cat stood before them.

Lu Chi lifted his head and stared up at that enormous, familiar cat face. Instinctively, a meme popped into his head:

[Human, you may lean against Mimi’s broad chest.jpg]

He couldn’t help laughing, then he heard Lin Jingsi ask, “Connecting it to ‘Cocoon’ now?”

In the interstellar era, whether in daily life or mech combat, everyone relied on the existence of the AI “Cocoon”. Its computational power seemed endless, extending throughout the entire Federation. Even the anti-corporate military Legion had introduced AI systems years ago and incorporated them into every batch of mechas.

“Cocoon” existed beside every citizen of the Federation.

Lu Chi thought for a moment and shook his head.

“Not yet.”

With that, he quickly tapped the system in his mind:

[You there?]

Less than two seconds later, a cheerful mechanical voice rang out:

[Baby, I’m here! What’s up?!]

Lu Chi smiled and gestured toward the mecha before them, saying, [I remember you’re basically a stream of data, right? Go try it. See if you can enter the mecha and connect to my spiritual power.]

The system froze for a moment, blankly staring at the giant cat. It even forgot what spiritual power was.

[Weird… why does it feel so familiar-looking?]

Because you look exactly like that.

Lu Chi said nothing and simply smiled again.

[Go try.]

The system gave a dazed little acknowledgment before going silent. Lu Chi closed his eyes and calmed himself, once again entering that strange and tranquil spiritual vision.

Darkness spread endlessly, dotted with tiny glimmers like crystalline snow.

Not far away, a cat missing half its tail was limping forward. Its four limbs were completely uncoordinated, so it moved slowly, stumbling awkwardly as it crawled.

When Lu Chi first picked up the cat, it had still been small. A trip to the vet revealed not only mild intellectual disability but also hereditary epilepsy. It would have episodes from time to time, unable to even stand.

Because of that, Lu Chi brought it with him while filming and let it stay beside him even during breaks at home. The cat never had a name, and Lu Chi simply called it “Cat.” Every morning’s routine became a guessing game:

Cat, where did you pee in the house today?

Lu Chi had originally thought the cat would die before him, but who could have expected that he would die first instead?!

After death, Lu Chi had always avoided recalling the things from his previous life. When a person dies, the light goes out. Everything should sink into silence forever.

But love is short, and forgetting is long.

His soul floated above his rainbow crystal grave for a long time, staring at the name engraved on the tombstone. Beneath it were countless signatures: the director of his orphanage, former teachers and classmates, directors and coworkers he had collaborated with…

And innumerable fans.

They had come from all corners of the world. Knowing his personality, they had held a grand, rainbow-coloured funeral for him. The offering was an entirely brand-new ice cream truck. Lu Chi recognized every name. Behind each signature were countless hands that had once supported him.

His Cat had been there too, blankly sitting before the tombstone and peeing on it, before the orphanage director gently carried it away.

Pain throbbed sharply at his temples.

“…Lu Chi?”

Someone carefully cupped his face, frowning as they reached to remove the sensory chip. Lu Chi kept his eyes closed and pressed down on the other’s hand with a smile.

“Wait. Let me get used to it a little more.”

Lin Jingsi paused.

Under the lights, the Beta’s face was pale as paper. Cold sweat soaked his silver hair, and he was clearly in so much pain that even his breathing trembled.

Lin Jingsi stared at his calm, stubborn expression for a moment. Then he lowered his head, pressing his forehead gently against Lu Chi’s cold, damp one while lightly holding one side of the chip.

“If you push too hard, it’ll damage your brain nerves,” he said. “Lu Chi, let me take half.”

Half your pain, give it to me.

The Beta froze briefly before smiling faintly a few seconds later.

“Okay.”

I’ll give you half.

The chip quickly connected to the S-rank Alpha’s temple. At once, Lin Jingsi felt violent pain explode through his nervous system. He frowned sharply and instinctively tightened his arms around the Beta.

Lu Chi was only a B-rank Beta. How could his neural pain be this intense?!

They stood before the enormous cat mecha, bodies pressed tightly together, sharing one pair of sensory chips. Lu Chi felt his hands forcibly pried open, and their fingers interlocked. Something also invaded his mind, slowly and gently pulling away the original pain.

He smiled faintly. His tense body relaxed slightly as he squeezed the Alpha’s palm.

“Thanks.”

Lin Jingsi held him silently and lowered his head to kiss the tip of his nose.

Sharing pain did not mean sharing vision. After all, spiritual power was an extremely private thing, even more private than pheromones. In the dark mental landscape, Lu Chi watched the stupid cat finally crawl with difficulty to the mecha. After blankly looking around for two seconds, it lowered its head and started burrowing inside.

“……”

Could it be that in the previous world, it had also struggled like this, painstakingly climbing into his devices and phone charging ports?!

Lu Chi couldn’t help laughing as sweat slid down his forehead. He didn’t urge it onward. Just like countless nights before, he patiently and quietly watched the cat struggle to learn how to walk, slowly crawling its way toward him.

Bzzzt.

The system’s clumsy body suddenly flickered, and the next second, it abruptly shot into the giant cat mecha.

The extinguished sensor lights instantly lit up.

Within the dark mental world, the originally faint light became dazzlingly bright. The system blinked excitedly, curiously inspecting its new body.

[Host Baby, I got in!!]

…It had actually succeeded?!

But without spiritual power synchronization, the system couldn’t move the body. Before Lu Chi could speak, in its excessive excitement, the mecha’s massive indicator lights began flashing wildly. The installed weapons started humming to life, and laser cannon gates snapped open and shut over and over again.

“?!”

Lin Jingsi immediately looked up sharply. Holding the Beta in his arms, he retreated at top speed while raising a cold metal firearm toward the mecha. His voice turned icy.

“The mecha is out of control. Destroy it immediately.”

Lu Chi opened his eyes and grabbed him.

“Wait…!”

Soon enough, the excited system was frightened senseless by the Protagonist’s terrifying aura. It instantly froze and shut up. Then a faint trickling sound suddenly echoed through the room.

Drip. Drip.

Well…

It sounded strangely familiar.

Lu Chi paused and exchanged a subtle look with Lin Jingsi as they turned together. The massive cat mecha stood motionless while oil continuously dripped from its backside.

The system had peed itself in fear.

……………..

On weekend nights, the holographic forums were as lively as ever.

Countless bizarre virtual avatars wandered through the consciousness-space forums. Some were humanoid, some had animal ears, and some had directly turned themselves into skeletons. Wearing headphones, they leisurely browsed threads or sat with crossed legs, coldly battling others in comment wars. The colors above their heads representing gender flickered brightly, sharply divided.

But amid the chaos, a three-dimensional thread quietly rose from the ground, already radiating the potential of an explosive viral post:

[Shock! A Beta Is Participating in the Federation Academy Combat Tournament?!]

…………………..

T.N: This is the “Human, you may lean against Mimi’s broad chest.jpg” meme. 🤣 not gonna lie, it looks very reassuring