Seles’s friend felt that being friends with Seles in this lifetime was truly exhausting and shortened his lifespan.
Around six o’clock, he had beautifully asked a girl out for shopping, followed by a romantic candlelit dinner. He figured the night would end with an unspoken, wonderful moment.
That was until Seles sent a message that was ambiguously tearful.
Light Brain: “Wahhh!!!”
Friend: “…”
He instantly sensed something was terribly wrong. Ignoring the girl sitting across from him at the candlelit dinner, who was curiously watching him with fork and knife in hand, he jumped up from his seat, apologized profusely, and rushed into the bathroom. He dialed Seles: “What the hell happened to you?!”
There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by the faint sound of the Light Brain being shaken.
Friend: “I warn you, speak like a human. I can’t see you shaking your head on the call.”
Seles: “He rejected me.”
Friend: “What the fuck!”
That night, he hurried back to the hotel, determined to comfort his pitiful, heartbroken bro.
When he pushed open the door, his poor little bro was lying supine on the workout bench, calmly doing bench presses. Upon seeing him enter, he merely steadily racked the barbell.
The friend rushed in and grabbed him: “What happened? Did you confess?”
“That shouldn’t be right! With your background, your looks…”
Seles silently rose from under the bench rack, his arm muscles still bulging.
A burst of fervent heat hit him in the face. He twisted his slightly grown forehead hair, thinking it must be because his hair had grown out and he wasn’t handsome enough, so Xie Jianxun had never taken a liking to him.
Seles: “No, but he definitely knew my intentions and subtly rejected me.”
The friend looked at his stoic face, hesitated to speak, and tactfully said, “Are you… this unapproachable in front of him too?”
Seles gave him a disdainful glance: “Who said that? I know how to be likable.”
The friend nearly blurted out, Then why are you always such an obnoxious prick around me?
Fortunately, he slammed on the brakes in time, preserving their long friendship.
Friend: “Did he say it outright?”
The young man rested his elbows on his knees, propping up the lower half of his face, and mumbled, “No. But he said he has a boyfriend who passed away. And here I am, alive and standing right in front of him. How am I supposed to compete with a dead guy?”
The friend paused and patted his shoulder.
He said steadily, “Your chance is right in front of you. It all depends on whether you seize it.”
Seles turned to look at him: “How so?”
Friend: “You know there’s a phrase called ‘take advantage of the vacancy’?”
“Besides… you might as well use those tickets you snatched from me!”
…
Xie Jianxun returned to the hotel. Seles had said he had something to do and gone up ahead. He checked the time on his Light Brain—it was still early—so he went to the buffet for lunch, then back to his room for a nap.
When he woke, the blanket was tangled around his stomach, exposing his fair, slender limbs.
The hotel’s constant temperature system was running steadily; there was almost no breeze, and the overall temperature was just right—not cold, not hot. So even with such minimal covers, he hadn’t caught a chill.
The Light Brain beside him buzzed; clearly, someone had messaged him.
Xie Jianxun lazily stretched his limbs. It was a reply from the call he had made earlier to Miss Holianna.
The reply was short: Don’t worry, safely returned.
Xie Jianxun breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the young lady hadn’t been mistreated on the Siphon Whale and had now safely left. He just wondered why it took so long for her to reply…
Escaping Huo Jing probably did take some time, after all. He was the infamous Great Star Pirate, not easy to shake off.
He sat up and asked if Huo Jing had done anything.
As expected, there was no immediate reply; the status at the top still showed offline.
Xie Jianxun closed the window. Just as he was about to check the news, Seles’s instant message popped up, dominating his view with its presence.
“I’ve lined up a new Advanced Mech Engineer!!!”
The excitement on the other end was practically overflowing, followed by a puppy waving a heart emoji. “I tapped my dad’s connections to get a senior mechanic—definitely better than Joseph, who’s only had a couple years of certification.”
“Don’t be too down; I’ve got you. I’ll help you find someone!”
That vibrant enthusiasm infected Xie Jianxun too, lifting his mood and sparking a bit of hope in his heart.
Seles: I took the liberty of booking the expert for tomorrow afternoon. You don’t have other plans, right?
Before Xie Jianxun could reply, the other side panicked and sent another.
Seles: No, no, I mean, you can arrange your own schedule. I’ll handle the expert; don’t worry!
Xie Jianxun felt a warmth in his heart. Kneeling on the bed, he earnestly typed word by word: You’ve helped me out big time. Thank you, Seles.
He hadn’t expected the people of the Mechanical Capital to be so warm and friendly. Even a friend he’d just met was going all out—finding restaurants, booking people. He must owe a huge favor to get that appointment.
Gratefully, he typed: You’ve done so much for me. You’re a really good person.
Seles: Haha, I’m naturally helpful and generous by nature… Bah! That’s not what I meant!
Seles: …
Look at him, what the hell was that?
Soon, the appointment time arrived. Xie Jianxun brought the parts and went with Seles to the Advanced Mech Engineer’s workshop.
He harbored a sliver of hope, but when the mechanic examined the Mechanical Core and shook his head, that hope cooled by half.
Mechanic: “The damage ratio is way too high. With this level of injury, honestly, I can’t think of anyone who could… Ah!”
He suddenly exclaimed, as if struck by an idea.
“Someone might be able to. That person’s a recognized genius by the Mechanics Association—might fix a Mechanical Core this damaged!”
Xie Jianxun’s heart, half-soaked in cold water, suddenly boiled over: “Who?”
Unexpectedly, Seles spoke first: “You don’t mean… Idis?”
The mechanic nodded: “That’s him.”
“But Idis is notoriously difficult, bad-tempered, and long-term employed by the City Lord’s Mansion. He lives in the City Lord’s Mansion estate as a mechanical consultant… No way to book him.”
Over there, Seles had already started making calls.
He rattled off a call to his friend. Once connected: “Can you get me Idis? Didn’t you go to the City Lord’s Mansion banquet last time?”
Friend calmly replied: “Idis only showed up once, had a drink, and left.”
Seles hung up.
Xie Jianxun was silent for a moment, then asked full of expectation: “Is there anyone else who could do it?”
The mechanic thought: “The Main Brain, maybe. The Main Brain definitely could—it’s the ultimate mechanical lifeform, intimately familiar with its own kind.”
Seles looked down and made another call.
“Hey, can you book the Main Brain?”
Faint angry roaring came from the other end: “You fucking think I’m God or something, giving you whatever you want?! If I could book it, would I still be sitting here?!”
He hung up instantly, sighed at Xie Jianxun, and zoned out dejectedly, lost in thought.
Seles grew anxious inside. He wanted to comfort him properly but felt his words were clumsy; saying the wrong thing might make it worse.
He couldn’t pull off any “taking advantage of the vacancy.” Seeing Xie Jianxun sad just made him sad too.
Moments later, Xie Jianxun felt a massive shadow loom over him.
The young man cautiously sat on the sofa beside him, glancing at his expression.
Seles: “Don’t be sad… Look, the Intelligent Mecha Academy League is starting soon. Silver Watchtower will be super lively with tons of events. Whatever you want to do, I’ll go with you.”
Seles was right. The Intelligent Mecha College League was a local highlight, a showdown between top academies, and even locals looked forward to it eagerly.
In the days before it started, crowds of out-of-towners flooded Silver Watchtower to witness the Intelligent Mecha spectacle.
Even Xie Jianxun, holed up in his hotel, noticed: more foreign tourists on the streets, and several two-meter-tall bright yellow Security Mecha patrolling crowded areas.
Seles explained they looked autonomous but were semi-auto, with electronic eyes monitoring. If the system couldn’t handle something, a safety officer would take over remotely.
These bright yellow Security Mecha maintained the city’s order and had become a scenic attraction, with tourists dragging them for photos—pitiful and helpless.
The Intelligent Mecha Academy League lasted three days total.
Seles’s friend had given tickets for the third day’s finals at night.
Spectators entered at six, match started at seven.
During that time, they could wander the front area, view player and Mecha info, or buy support items.
Seles specially pulled out his Air Sedan, smoothly ferrying Xie Jianxun to the venue.
When parking outside, Xie Jianxun peered out the window at the serpentine, endlessly long entry line, buzzing with voices—a hour wouldn’t even get you to the ticket check.
Xie Jianxun: “…”
They weren’t about to…
But Seles unbuckled, casually heading through another passage, lightly telling him their tickets allowed the fast lane.
Xie Jianxun: “…Normally, isn’t the fast lane only for S-section?”
Seles gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Seeing no struggle or objection, he bloomed with joy inside.
He smiled: “S-section is so small; reserving fast lanes just for them wouldn’t be cost-effective.”
Xie Jianxun relaxed and followed him through the fast lane straight to the A-section venue.
Entering the arena stunned him. No wonder it seated a hundred thousand; it was vast. Xie Jianxun felt like a tiny ant amid it.
Seles walked ahead and found their seats: “Xunxun! Here!”
