“So, he was forcibly disconnected from the Brain Domain link?”
Sitting behind a group of technical experts, Miss Nevi’s long hair draped over her shoulders, her expression grim. The others could only see the back of her head and nervously gauged the eldest miss’s mood.
The technical expert stuttered, “Y-yes. It looks that way, Miss Nevi…”
The golden-haired young lady’s lips twitched, and in the end, she only cursed, “Useless.”
“Call over the technical chief,” she turned back and said to her assistant. “See what he and his Mecha are up to.”
At the press conference, the person in charge faced the barrage of flashing lights with composure.
They announced that this was merely an accidental minor incident, and since it hadn’t caused any real fatalities for the time being, it couldn’t be classified as a threat to public safety.
They would upgrade the Brain Domain Mech’s control system via the built-in network to further enhance operational safety.
At the same time, they would cover all medical expenses and additional compensation for the injured parties still in the hospital, fulfilling the responsibilities of a major corporation.
The compensation was quite generous.
The other injured party was far from Xie Jianxun, so they couldn’t get any news on them, but they learned that He had escaped life-threatening danger and been moved to a regular ward.
However, he still hadn’t woken up—that was the biggest problem.
Hospital scans showed no physical injuries on his body, just some unusual hormone levels that were barely normalizing under medication.
The later conclusion was that the wound on the back of his head might have caused a concussion, and he needed more time to recover.
Public opinion and outcries were all suppressed by the massive PR machine.
Aside from those in the know, few voices paid attention to the matter anymore.
Everything seemed to return to calm.
The Brain Domain Mechs passed re-testing and continued selling like hotcakes, as if car accidents happened every day on the roads, yet people still bought cars in droves.
When Xie Jianxun went out to buy fresh ingredients, he always heard people on the roadside discussing the new-model Mechas, debating whether the Mecha League would open a new track specifically for Brain Domain Mechs.
“Are Brain Domain Mechs really that fun?”
He mulled over the matter all the way home. Ela sat at the dining table, watching him pace inexplicably back and forth in the living room.
Ela said, “If you’re so curious, why not try one yourself?”
Xie Jianxun replied offhandedly, “Civilian models are limited stock and sold out long ago…” He suddenly paused, remembering the Mecha Button that Emory had offered up earlier, and his eyes lit up.
“How could I forget!” The Little Adventurer exclaimed in surprise. “I do have one.”
Ela’s fingers, which had been fiddling with his Light Brain, paused. He casually put it back and lifted a corner of his book. “If you need it, you can go to the basement.”
Yiwen glided by leisurely from the side. “The basement is Teacher Idis’s territory, though—”
Ela: “Shut up.”
This did remind Xie Jianxun. He hesitated a bit, recalling that Yiwen had said before that when Idis was in a bad mood, he would go to the basement to be alone quietly.
That meant the basement was essentially Idis’s private domain, and outsiders weren’t supposed to enter.
But at the dining table, Ela turned a page in his book, his voice calm.
“He’s in a very stable mood right now and doesn’t need the basement for the time being.”
Ela slightly lifted his eyelids, glancing at Yiwen. The mechanical arm stiffened, then whistled and slipped away quietly. “You’re just borrowing it temporarily; he won’t mind.”
Xie Jianxun said suspiciously, “You sure know your employer well.”
He thought for a moment and came up with a fitting phrase. “Hmm, you’re good at finding loopholes.”
Ela: “…Reasonable utilization.”
Yiwen led Xie Jianxun upstairs to find Idis, bringing him a new batch of materials along with lunch.
Calculating carefully, it had been ten days or half a month since Xie Jianxun had last seen Idis.
If not for Yiwen frequently going upstairs to check on him, Xie Jianxun might have thought Idis had died in his workshop.
This time too, they pressed the call bell first and only unlocked the elevator permissions after getting approval.
Yiwen slid into the elevator and glanced back at Ela by the table, then said casually to Xie Jianxun, “After delivering food to Teacher Idis, I’ll take you to see that egg.”
Xie Jianxun was indeed drawn by the egg, saying expectantly, “How’s the egg doing?”
Yiwen: “Uh… It’s grown a bit bigger?”
Just as the elevator doors closed, Ela snapped his book shut, propped his cheek on one hand, and smoothly closed his eyes.
At the same time, in the workshop, Idis—who had been lying in the equipment tank immersed in nutrient fluid—opened his eyes.
The adult male glanced at the numbers on the dashboard, then rose from the nutrient fluid. Water splashed as the liquid slid off him. Idis maneuvered himself onto a wheelchair and sent it into the bathroom.
Moments later, a knock sounded outside. “Teacher Idis?”
As if hearing the water sounds, the soft voice of the young guest outside paused, then lowered slightly, seemingly asking someone.
“Is there a place to bathe in the workshop?”
Then came Yiwen’s mechanical female voice, lowered to sound sneaky.
“There’s a hidden door leading to a lounge and bathroom.”
Xie Jianxun’s voice even softer: “Why doesn’t he go back to the bedroom to bathe and rest?”
Yiwen: “He likes doing it this way. It seems like being in the workshop makes him happy, as if he’s grown together with it…”
Splash—the workshop door opened.
Xie Jianxun and Yiwen immediately stood at attention. The doorway was empty, but the owner of the place had clearly overheard their conversation through some means.
Yiwen let out a “Whoa”: “Did you hear that?”
Xie Jianxun: “Hear what?”
Yiwen: “He’s saying for us to get in here.”
After waiting in the workshop for about ten minutes, Xie Jianxun saw Idis emerge from the lounge.
The mecha engineer wore a loose shirt and jacket, his hair damp, looking as if he’d been roughly rinsed under the shower, exuding clear impatience.
Upon seeing Xie Jianxun, his demeanor unexpectedly softened quite a bit.
Xie Jianxun held up the takeout. “Teacher Idis, I brought you lunch.”
Idis nodded and unpacked the takeout. Without complaint, he ate right there on the workbench.
Xie Jianxun had already started wandering around, peering at the glass cabinet filled with mineral paste over here, and various new and old parts over there.
Oh, and One floating in the sealed tank nearby. Xie Jianxun walked up to it, happily greeting it, since he noticed the Mechanical Puppet’s shell was almost fully repaired.
Except it was still missing one foot.
Over there, Idis and Yiwen conversed as if no one else were present.
“How’s your Brain Domain coordination value?” Yiwen asked.
Idis said coldly, “It’s already at maximum power.”
Yiwen was shocked. “Still no successful read?”
“Only fragmented memory layers. If it weren’t illogical, I’d almost believe he popped out of a rock with no prior memories,” the mecha engineer tapped the dashboard. “Right now, the memories might be in the damaged section or hidden some other way.”
Xie Jianxun circled back from the other side, completely lost by their talk. “What are you two saying?” He scratched his chin. “Popped out of a rock?”
Idis: “That one-footed thing you stepped into the graveyard with…” He chewed for half a second, then reluctantly said, “Your boyfriend. The Memory Chip readouts are discontinuous. If we can’t connect them, there could be a series of consequences.”
Xie Jianxun tensed up. He hadn’t expected this risk. “What consequences?”
Idis: “System crash. Or… forgetting you.”
Silence fell behind him. Idis waited two seconds before turning around to see his guest standing there, bewildered and helpless, staring at him.
As if asking, You can’t save him either?
His lips moved, and finally, with utter helplessness: “So what I need to do now is attune my own Brain Domain fluctuations to his as closely as possible, then splice the memory fragments. But the prerequisite is fully repairing the Mechanical Core.”
The guest immediately brightened, no longer showing that expression.
He even eagerly came closer, presenting a pile of materials and saying he was just short a few things, but he’d gather them all soon.
After visiting the Mechanical Puppet and leaving with the empty lunchbox, Yiwen’s electronic eye on top swiveled toward him with a sigh.
“Now Jianxun thinks of you as a good person,” Yiwen said dryly. “A good person who toils endlessly, racking his brains to repair his Mechanical Puppet, even sacrificing himself—you’re really bad.”
Idis: “I never said I was a good person.”
Yiwen: “No need to adjust Brain Domain fluctuations; repairing the memory just needs the matching code… You sneaky voyeur peeking into others’ memories.”
The mecha engineer neither confirmed nor denied, coldly telling it to get out.
Yiwen sighed as it left the workshop, catching up to Xie Jianxun up front. “Jianxun, this way.”
In the next room, Xie Jianxun spotted the egg at once!
It floated in a vat of transparent nutrient fluid, uncovered, with its pointed end poking out of the liquid, lazily suspended.
As if hearing Xie Jianxun’s footsteps, it trembled slightly, swaying in the fluid.
Yiwen zipped up to cling to the nutrient vat like a curious kid peering at goldfish, draping over the edge.
“It moved! Jianxun, did it just move?”
Xie Jianxun stepped closer for a better look.
The egg had indeed grown some—from half-person height to two-thirds person height.
From afar, it looked like a plain-colored egg, but under the light, faint dark patterns were faintly visible.
Yiwen said cheerfully, “It’s gained a full twenty pounds heavier than before—now it’s a big egg! It might hatch soon.”
Xie Jianxun reached out and touched the eggshell surface.
At first contact, chilled by the nutrient fluid, it was cool. But in just seconds, the life inside pressed up against his finger, warming it quickly.
Xie Jianxun was astonished. He hesitated, then said, “He has his own consciousness!”
Yiwen tilted her electronic eye. “Yeah, even though it’s not time to hatch yet, he’s a fully developed bionic human after all.”
Next came intimate interaction time with the egg.
Since it was fully developed with stable vitals, Yiwen said it was fine to take it out of the vat.
The big egg stood on velvet cloth, swaying lightly left and right as if dissatisfied.
Xie Jianxun looked around and grabbed a cloth to wipe the nutrient fluid from its shell. Only then did it stop swaying contentedly.
Then it shook vigorously again.
Yiwen: “Time to apply the nutrient paste.” The mechanical arm darted to the glass cabinet, opened a compartment, and fetched a jar of nutrient paste and a brush.
Xie Jianxun clumsily squeezed paste onto the brush. “Like this?”
The mechanical arm praised him. “Yes, yes! Just brush it on directly!”
As Xie Jianxun worked diligently, the view suddenly darkened—the egg had leaned in itself, pointing its tip at him.
The motion was so big, it was like a mischievous kid inside begging for candy.
Xie Jianxun paused, then carefully brushed on the nutrient paste.
The semi-solid paste melted upon touching the warm shell, slowly seeping deep into the bionic egg.
Xie Jianxun squeezed more, brushing patiently stroke by stroke.
“Eat well, grow big,” he murmured. “If you travel with me later, you’ll need plenty of strength. Hmm, if you don’t like long trips, that’s fine too. I can go alone; I’ll just come back to visit often.”
The egg paused, then vibrated as if aggrieved.
Xie Jianxun panicked, thinking it was convulsing from illness. He hurriedly called Yiwen over, and they studied it for a while.
Finally, when Xie Jianxun tentatively said he wouldn’t abandon it, the egg slowly stopped twitching.
Coating an egg nearly as tall as a person was hard work.
Man and mechanical arm finished the job, returned the egg to the nutrient vat, and both sighed in relief.
Xie Jianxun pressed against the glass vat and whispered, “I’ll come visit often from now on.”
The egg heard and nudged closer, rubbing against him.
As Xie Jianxun started to straighten up, he heard wheelchair wheels rolling behind him—Idis had arrived.
He turned with a smile, beckoning Idis over. “Teacher Idis, look how much he’s grown.”
“Is this your bionic egg?”
Idis saw the egg up close for the first time. He had always left the matter entirely to Yiwen. “What breed is it?”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
What breeds did bionic people even have? They weren’t different species of animals! He faltered for a moment before whispering, “It’s said to have wings.”
After saying that, Xie Jianxun heard nothing more from Idis.
He turned back in confusion and found the mechanic’s gaze fixed rigidly on the eggshell, as if he had spotted something extraordinary.
Xie Jianxun: “…What’s wrong?”
Idis looked away and denied it. “Nothing. It will hatch soon. A newborn bionic person is a blank slate—they possess basic knowledge but don’t know how to use it. You’ll need to spend time teaching it.”
No.
The brain domain fluctuations were different.
But why did he sense that same eerie, familiar feeling on this egg? Just like the first time he saw that Mechanical Puppet.
…
Xie Jianxun was completely unaware of Professor Idis’s inner thoughts.
His daily routine these days consisted of reading through the textbook material he needed to learn each morning and asking Idis about anything he didn’t understand.
Then he followed Idis in the workshop for lessons, watching firsthand as he fused a pile of materials and repaired the Mechanical Puppet’s body to perfection.
At first, Idis’s attitude had been somewhat politely distant.
But as they grew familiar—extremely familiar—Professor Idis stopped holding back. He bluntly said that Xie Jianxun’s intelligence was only a tiny bit better than those university students under him, and he couldn’t even handle something this simple.
If the top-scoring students from Silver University’s flagship program heard that, they would probably burst into tears on the spot.
Xie Jianxun wasn’t intimidated. He immediately retorted that Idis was taking things too much for granted. From this step to that step—the thought process was so unconventional; how could an average student come up with it?
Worried that his height gave him insufficient presence, he even propped himself up on Idis’s desk, looking down at him from above.
Idis sat in the wide wooden chair behind the desk and tilted his head up to meet his gaze.
Xie Jianxun drawled, “Professor Idis, go live your life hugging those genius ideas and formulas of yours.”
With that, he jumped down from the desk, tucked his textbook and notebook under his arm, and trotted off with quick steps to beg Yiwen for food.
He left the mechanic sitting there alone, head lowered as he glanced at the string of notes he had written.
A moment later, he revealed a faint smile.
During the time Xie Jianxun stayed at home, Ela mysteriously disappeared again.
He asked Yiwen, but she just hemmed and hawed, saying Ela had gone out on some business. Xie Jianxun pulled a face like his teeth ached.
“Honestly, everyone in this house is so mysterious, one after another.”
The Little Adventurer muttered to itself while picking up rice from the porcelain bowl with chopsticks—in response to repeated pleas from Yiwen and Xie Jianxun, Mr. Idis had finally shown mercy and installed a cooking module. From then on, the house had hot meals that weren’t takeout.
Yiwen was busy in the kitchen now. That slender, elongated Mechanical Arm of hers could surprisingly lift pots and wash dishes with ease.
“It’s either this one who’s never around or that one running off every day,” Xie Jianxun shoveled a couple of bites of rice. “If you told me they were plotting some secret gathering, I wouldn’t even doubt it.”
“Probably researching the universal formula for geniuses.”
The voice came from behind him. Idis had arrived in the dining room.
Yiwen emerged from the kitchen and diligently served him a bowl of rice.
Probably? What kind of probably was that?
Xie Jianxun held back, maintaining a respectful expression toward his teacher out of deference.
At the very beginning, judging by his appearance and their initial brief exchange, Xie Jianxun’s first impression of him had been quite good.
He had thought Idis was a rare, elegant, and steady gentleman.
He hadn’t expected that, upon closer acquaintance, his true nature was no different from the scoundrelly men Xie Jianxun had known before.
Idis tapped the table.
“Instead of pondering that, you should think about what you’ll pay me as compensation once the repairs are complete.”
Xie Jianxun’s shoveling slowed. He asked a foolish question: “…Haven’t I paid you yet?”
Idis gave him a wordless look and emphasized, “No money needed. I want something unique—a gift. Like your first independently completed design sketch.”
A ‘graduation design.’
