It was as though replying to Wang Yixue.
The mecha spoke in a mechanical voice.
[Pilot has been inactive for an extended period; initiating novice-assist AI system.]
[Pilot may operate via voice commands, holographic-helmet eye-tracking, etc.]
[Detailed instructions have been sent to the holographic helmet.]
Wang Yixue quickly donned the helmet and finally saw the intelligent piloting guidelines.
"Hover!"
At her order, dozens of attitude-control vector thrusters fired, flipping the mecha upright.
Simultaneously, the four hydrogen engines on its back roared with fierce blue jets.
Forming tight, delicate Mach rings.
jiangtian no. 1's velocity plummeted, braking mid-air like an emergency stop.
The data panel in the lower right corner flickered wildly.
Speed 4.7 Mach.
Speed 4.2 Mach.
Speed 3.5 Mach… Speed 0—current status: hovering.
At last it hung motionless in low-Earth orbit.
"Whew—"
"It stopped!"
Wang Yixue exhaled in relief.
She looked away from the data panel and ahead.
Her pupils trembled; she shrank back.
Before her eyes floated a sapphire-blue planet.
Wrapped in a thin, pale-blue veil, crystal-clear and shimmering with rings of color.
Adrift in the deep, lonely void of space.
Seemingly within arm's reach, yet utterly unreachable.
"Is this Earth?"
The sight shook Wang Yixue to her core.
Breath ragged, she couldn't calm herself for a long while.
Mother Earth—truly beautiful!
She gazed, utterly entranced.
She didn't notice the tiny speaker icon in the lower-left corner of her visor had been flashing for over ten minutes… Zhonghai Research Base.
"Any luck connecting?"
Old Man Wang had already asked eight times.
"No. Without biometric recognition we're limited to one-way contact; only if the other side approves can we link."
Tong Yao explained patiently.
She'd just learned the gist from her colleagues.
Knowing the pilot inside the mecha was Old Man Wang's granddaughter, his anxiety was understandable.
Yet by everyone's calculations, the chance of survival was practically zero.
In other words, no one would ever accept the connection.
Most likely, no one inside the mecha was still alive.
Harsh, but it was the truth.
The briefing hall fell silent.
Only Old Man Wang's heavy, aged sighs could be heard.
The atmosphere was oppressive.
All words of comfort had been spoken; everything possible had been done.
No one could do more.
Beep—
Tong Yao's computer chimed.
The screen showed: phone call history decrypted.
"Sir, while we still can't crack the app, Yixue's smartphone and its call log are open. We now have that Master Xu's number!"
"Dial it—now!" Old Man Wang ordered at once.
"Yes, sir!"
Tong Yao saluted and placed the call.
"Sorry, the number you have dialed is out of credit. Please top up."
Tong Yao's mouth twitched; she ground her molars and recharged fifty yuan to the number.
She hit redial.
"Sorry, the subscriber you dialed is busy. Please try again later."
Tong Yao froze, then realized and said darkly,
"The guy's phone blocks unknown numbers."
"Get his IP and pull his personal records," Old Man Wang commanded.
"Understood, sir—five minutes."
After today's embarrassment, it was finally time to show her skills.
Tong Yao's lips curved in confident pride.
With her clearance and expertise, tracing someone via a number was child's play.
Her slender fingers danced across the keyboard.
Clack-clack… Meanwhile.
After calling Wang Yixue, Xu Fan washed up and headed to the derelict warehouse housing the Super-Tech Workbench Lv1.
Reason: one call had drained his phone credit.
Xu Fan asked the system if it could tweak the handset to eliminate bills—
and sure enough, for just 1 Tech Point it could.
He handed the phone to the workbench's robotic arm.
After a flurry of modifications, the shell looked the same but the innards were revolutionized.
No charging, no bills, unlimited data.
Plus a stack of slick features—anti-tracking, reverse tracing, and more—for Xu Fan to explore.
"Tomorrow I'll upgrade Mom's phone too; we'll save a fortune on fees."
Xu Fan mused.
Zhonghai Military Research Base.
Five minutes later.
"Got it!"
Tong Yao had the IP and subscriber info.
"Well done—full name and current location? Dispatch a team immediately!"
Old Man Wang clenched his fists; he wanted this Master Xu found—now.
Clack-clack…
Tong Yao tapped the keyboard twice.
A proud gleam flashed in her pretty eyes.
"According to the system, his name is Xu Tiebang and he's currently at… huh—"
Mid-sentence she froze, sucking in a sharp breath.
Her hand shot to her short hair, tugging hard.
The location had scared her stiff.
"What's wrong, Tong Yao? Where is he? We need to send someone—this Xu Tiebang must be connected to the mecha."
Old Man Hua urged, seeing her sudden silence.
"Sirs, we can't go there right now! Please don't blame me—if possible, I suggest we start with his school instead." Tong Yao shrank back nervously.
"Contacting the university will widen exposure. What did you find—spit it out!"
"Um… the system shows his current location is the Moon."
Old Man Wang: "??"
Old Man Hua: "???"
The experts: "????"
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Tong Yao looked wronged.
"I tested tons of other numbers and they were all accurate—why this one says the Moon, I have no idea!!!"
"Forget it—let me run it again!"
Tong Yao typed once more, her earlier confidence gone.
Clack!
As her last keystroke fell, the updated location appeared.
Tong Yao's face twitched uncontrollably.
She nearly fainted on the spot.
In her agitation she tore out a huge clump of hair, leaving a bald patch at the back of her head.
"L-leaders, do… do you want me to say it?"
"What do you think?"
"O-okay… according to the system, his current location is… the M78 Nebula!"
Every staffer who heard the location felt a surge of rage.