The moment his body hit the ground, Mo Yu felt that his life was nearing its end, just like the brothers who had died in battle before him.
In that instant, countless images flashed through his mind.
He thought of his wife Yan Kong, his leader Wang Long... and his grandmother who had been waiting for him to return home.
Sadness flooded his heart.
A strong desire to survive ignited deep within him.
But he couldn't stop the darkness from gradually swallowing his vision, and soon he lost consciousness completely.
After losing consciousness, Mo Yu lost all sense of time. A violent shaking roused him from his slumber.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in Yan Kong's arms, and she was running quickly in one direction.
Looking down, he noticed that the stumps of his severed limbs were covered with a thick blood-clotting agent.
It seemed that some kind of medication had been injected into his body, and he felt his mental state become incredibly heightened.
He tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"We're almost there, hang on!"
Hearing that he had regained consciousness, Yan Kong's hoarse voice came through.
"Where's Brother Long and the others?"
"The breakout failed. We encountered a Black Wind Clan army, and Brother Long and the others stayed behind to cover us. We're heading back to the temporary research station."
As she spoke, Yan Kong's voice trembled, and her emotions fluctuated.
Mo Yu fell silent upon hearing this.
He wanted to go back and help Brother Long cover their retreat, but now, he was already useless, a burden even if he went.
"Xiao Kong, put me down."
In the face of life-and-death danger, Mo Yu let out a long sigh and made his decision.
"This is Brother Long's decision. He insisted on bringing you back to the research station. You have to survive!"
At that moment, Mo Yu didn't realize the reluctance hidden in Yan Kong's eyes as she said this.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the underground passage.
Yan Kong lifted the metal door covered in fallen leaves, and with Mo Yu in her arms, she ran into the passage, closing the door behind them.
The moment they entered the underground plaza, Yan Kong suddenly staggered, her body pitching forward.
Instinctively, she adjusted her posture, holding Mo Yu tightly in her arms, and then fell to the ground on her back.
"Xiao Kong!"
Mo Yu immediately shouted.
"I'm fine."
Yan Kong spoke, her face showing signs of exhaustion.
It was only now that Mo Yu noticed that there was a fist-sized blood hole in her abdomen, as though some force had pierced through it.
Her face turned ashen, and her condition looked very dire.
The running she had done earlier had all been supported by sheer willpower.
This discovery threw Mo Yu into a panic.
He looked around, hoping to find a medical kit to stop Yan Kong's bleeding, but then realized that all the medical supplies had been taken during the breakout. The only thing left in the underground plaza were food supplies that weren't suitable for carrying during the escape.
"Yu-ge... I might not make it."
Yan Kong tried to struggle into a sitting position, but she couldn't get up. Her abdomen continued to bleed profusely, and even speaking seemed to take all her effort.
"Don't give up, hang on. The reinforcements might be on their way."
Mo Yu crawled beside Yan Kong with one hand, shouting as her eyes began to glaze over.
Mo Yu understood that right now, her willpower was the only thing that could extend her life. If she gave in to despair, her tightly wound nerves might snap, and she might never regain consciousness again.
"Yu-ge... I just want to sleep..."
"Hang in there, Brother Long and the others should be coming soon. Just a little longer."
Mo Yu looked at Yan Kong's increasingly weak expression, and his heart filled with sorrow.
He could clearly sense her life fading away, but he was powerless to stop it.
"Yu-ge, I'll... hang on. I haven't had your child yet... if I go, grandma will blame me, won't she?"
As she spoke, Yan Kong's eyes had become unfocused, her pupils spreading and no longer able to focus.
"Xiao Kong, do you remember I promised you I would go to Winter City to see the snow?"
"I remember... I really want to go."
"Xiao Kong, we will go, just hold on, Brother Long and the others are almost here."
"Yu-ge... can you kiss me?"
Hearing these words, Mo Yu struggled to lift himself up. But as he leaned in to kiss her, he realized that Yan Kong's eyes had turned a lifeless grey, and the last spark of life in them faded away.
Slowly lowering his head, Mo Yu shakily kissed her lips.
As he gazed at her face, tears flooded his eyes uncontrollably.
Sadness, anger, despair... emotions of all kinds overwhelmed him. This veteran of seven years on the frontlines, whose mental defenses had always been strong, now completely collapsed.
One month later, Star City Rehabilitation Center.
The blinding sunlight outside the window roused Mo Yu from his sleep. He pushed himself up with one hand, sitting up slowly.
His right arm was covered in tubes, all connected to medical equipment.
He reached under his pillow and pulled out a group photo taken when they were promoted to an A-level Domain Combat Squad. Mo Yu's eyes reddened.
After Yan Kong died, Wang Long and the others hadn't shown up.
He had relied solely on the food resources in the underground plaza for 23 days, and when the reinforcements arrived, he was the only one left.
When he learned that Captain Wang Long and the others had all perished, his heart turned to ashes.
Love, friendship, comradeship... all of it vanished in an instant.
What kept him alive was the desire to witness the destruction of the Black Wind Domain.
After being sent back to Star City, he kept a close watch on the situation at the frontlines.
Through the news from the front, he learned that the Black Wind Domain's expansion had been repelled, but the supply zone had not pursued further to take advantage of the victory.
The official response was that three domain fields on the front lines were about to be conquered, and the Black Wind Clan's military strength was formidable. A decisive victory could not be achieved in the short term. Since the Black Wind Domain had already reduced its territory, from a strategic standpoint, no additional forces would be sent to clear the Black Wind Domain for now.
Mo Yu understood the reasoning behind the official decision.
But deep down, he could not accept it.
At that moment, however, he was just a cripple, unable to make decisions or change anything.
During his time in the rehabilitation center, Mo Yu's will slowly began to weaken.
Just a month ago, he was still dreaming of a beautiful future, even imagining bringing his child to see his grandmother's joy when they reunited.
Now, all of that had turned into smoke and dust.
At this point, he would rather return to the front lines and die fighting in the Black Wind Domain than continue to live alone in despair.
But now, he was so helpless that even standing was difficult, let alone rejoining the front lines.
At that moment, the door to the room was pushed open.
Turning his head, he saw his grandmother, her hair now graying, standing at the door, looking at him with eyes full of concern.
"Grandma."
Seeing his grandmother again after so long, Mo Yu felt his nose tingle with emotion.
His grandmother approached his bed and looked at him—his body now only half intact. Her eyes reddened, and her lips repeatedly said "It's alright," though her hands seemed uncertain about where to rest. The pain in her eyes poured out with tears.
In the following half month, Mo Yu underwent treatment with his grandmother by his side.
But during this time, he grew increasingly lost and confused.
He shared his thoughts about wanting revenge with his grandmother, but he also knew that, at the moment, he was powerless—he couldn't do anything.
One month later, his grandmother decided to take Mo Yu back home.
However, even after returning home, Mo Yu didn't change. He was still submerged in sorrow, unable to escape it.
One day, it seemed his grandmother made a decision. She dressed in a new outfit and left the house.
When she returned, she spoke to Mo Yu, who was lying on the bed in despair:
"Xiao Yu, the tragedies that have already happened cannot be undone. But I don't want you to stay in this state of despair and decay. Having a broken body is not scary. What's scary is losing all hope for the future. Originally, I thought that, since you've come home, you could live out the rest of your life peacefully without danger."
"But I know, for you, every day of life is a torment. I don't want you to waste the rest of your life like this... Today, I went to visit an old friend at the Tiger Soul Technology Department. From now on, you have three years to prepare. If your results are up to par, you'll be recruited by the Tiger Soul Technology Division. You'll be among the first batch to undergo the rebooted mechanical modification plan."
"You want revenge, don't you? Seize this opportunity and start over!"
Looking at his grandmother's gentle eyes, Mo Yu's withered heart stirred with ripples.
"Grandma..."
"Pull yourself together, don't embarrass me."
In that moment, Mo Yu knew he could no longer remain in this state of depression.
He had to pick himself up and work toward his goal of revenge.
In the days that followed, Mo Yu began studying human modification technologies.
Through the database, Mo Yu learned that the technology for human mechanization had existed over one hundred years ago.
However, at that time, Star City faced a dire shortage of resources.
Many projects were forced to halt their development, and resources were focused on a few key projects.
Tiger Soul Technology planned to restart the human modification project three years later, offering Mo Yu a rare opportunity to begin anew.
With this opportunity now in front of him, Mo Yu decided to seize it.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three years, Mo Yu spent all his time studying, except for meals and sleep.
The knowledge his grandmother had taught him when he was young laid a solid foundation, allowing him to learn efficiently.
Much of the knowledge she had taught him before had been forced and even resisted at the time.
But now, revenge became Mo Yu's driving force for learning and growth.
He longed to change his fate through knowledge.
When the evaluation came, Mo Yu was fully prepared.
Without any surprises, he passed the evaluation at Tiger Soul Technology Department and was successfully recruited into the technology division, specifically the human mechanical modification department.
For this, Mo Yu had his prosthetics replaced.
In the years that followed, he devoted himself entirely to the mechanical body modification project.
Dawn Year 100.
The third year since Mo Yu joined the Tiger Soul Technology Department.
In the silver-white laboratory, Mo Yu lay flat on the cold operating table.
After three years of research, they had organized the sealed technology files and, with the help of technicians in the department, built several large devices.
Today marked the year for testing their results.
Mo Yu voluntarily applied to be the subject for the mechanical modification of his body.
The process was bound to be risky, but Mo Yu felt that no one else was more suited to bear this risk than him.
His left arm and legs had been severed, and he could only move using prosthetics.
But prosthetics could only replace some body functions. Their practicality could never compare to full mechanical modification.
A simple comparison would be that mechanically modified limbs could provide the same tactile feedback as flesh and blood.
This technology allows the transformed mechanical body to simulate the human body's sensory functions, converting the information collected into electrical impulses that the nervous system can understand.
Compared to the flesh, mechanical modification offers numerous additional benefits.
From now on, the body will become an assembly kit, with no more concerns about physical defects. Every body part can be considered a component of the whole kit, and any part that is damaged can be replaced at any time.
As technology continues to advance, the mechanical body can also be upgraded.
The essence of human mechanical modification goes against the natural order.
But in the increasingly harsh competitive environment, the reboot of the human mechanical modification project is inevitable.
The casualty rate on the frontlines is enormous every year. In addition to the soldiers who die in battle, many others have to retire and recuperate due to physical defects.
If the technology of mechanical modification is applied, many of the societal issues faced by the world will be solved.
This is also why Star City decided to initiate the research and development of mechanical modification technology.
This is a revolutionary technology that aligns with the needs of the era.
Lying on the cold operating table, four mechanical arms began to move under the control of the technicians. They removed his prosthetic arms and legs, and then injected him with a calming medication.
By all means, the modification process should be extremely painful, and anesthesia should be used.
But there was a problem: mechanical body modification isn't the same as simply attaching prosthetics. It requires the modified person to have sensory feedback just like a real human body.
Currently, the technology isn't perfect. To achieve this, constant adjustments and calibrations are needed throughout the process, requiring real-time feedback during the modification.
Each step would only proceed once Mo Yu confirmed that he was satisfied with the results.
The first step of the mechanical modification began with Mo Yu's lost left hand.
As the four mechanical arms on the operating table tore open the closed wound, the intense pain caused Mo Yu to break into a cold sweat.
But he endured the pain.
This was the first modification experiment, and the data generated during his modification would serve as the foundation for future upgrades of mechanical modifications.
When the nerves from the amputated arm were removed and connected to the silvery mechanical arm, the pain almost caused Mo Yu to faint.
"Calming medication!" he cried out in pain.
Hearing his call, the technician controlling the mechanical arms immediately pressed a button on the control panel. One of the arms grabbed a blue syringe from the tool tray and injected it into Mo Yu's neck.
As the blue liquid flowed into his body, the pain didn't subside, but his mental restlessness was eased.
The modification of the mechanical arm continued.
The process of connecting the nerves was a delicate task. The necrotic nerve tissue was cut away during the modification.
Several times, Mo Yu almost passed out from the pain, and the blood loss left him pale.
Fortunately, before the modification began, Mo Yu had stored a large amount of blood. This was injected into his body through a syringe connected to his right arm, ensuring that he wouldn't die from blood loss during the process.
The modification continued for half a day before the mechanical arm was completed.
Looking at the silvery mechanical arm with a metallic sheen, Mo Yu tried to grasp it. Though the tactile feedback was noticeably different from his original flesh, it still brought tears to his eyes.
This was the first step of mechanical modification in his eyes, but it was far from the end.
The future had just begun.
In the next three days, Mo Yu completed the mechanical modification of his legs.
When the modification was fully completed, Mo Yu looked at himself in the mirror, and the fighting spirit that had once burned within him reignited.
During this time, he had been constantly monitoring the situation on the frontlines.
The Black Wind Domain still hadn't been listed as a primary target for conquest.
By putting himself in the shoes of the frontline supply brigade headquarters, Mo Yu understood their decision—it was all for the greater good.
Currently, the Black Wind Clan had made no further expansion moves. Additionally, with their immense military strength, it was impossible for the frontlines to proactively engage with the Black Wind Clan.
But in Mo Yu's heart, the flames of revenge had never extinguished.
After the loss of his limbs, the path of cultivation had been closed off to him.
He had once thought revenge was impossible, but now, with the initial mechanical modifications completed, hope for vengeance had been reignited within him.
This path needed to be forged, and the road to mechanical modification would undoubtedly be full of challenges and obstacles, but he was prepared to cut through them and move forward.
Dawn Year 103.
Three years had passed.
Mo Yu lay on the operating table again, beginning a new round of mechanical modification.
After the previous round of modifications, things had gone relatively smoothly. However, in subsequent practical use, the drawbacks of the mechanical modifications had become evident.
The mechanical arms and legs, due to the lack of an energy source, needed to be disassembled and their batteries replaced after a period of use, which was highly inconvenient.
Moreover, there was another serious issue that needed to be addressed.
If the mechanical modifications were to be applied to the frontlines, the incompatibility with many domain fields had to be considered. Many mechanical modifications would lose their effectiveness within a domain field.
The only system that could be compatible with all domain fields was spiritual energy.
From this perspective, Mo Yu came up with the idea of upgrading mechanical modifications to energy-based technology.
The first direction was to create a spiritual energy core.
This core would be embedded in the body, such as in the chest, to provide continuous energy to the body's other mechanical parts.
As for the structure of the energy core, Mo Yu and his team had designed it multiple times over the three years.
The final preliminary plan was determined to be: first, to establish three autonomous formations within the core that could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; second, an energy conversion formation, which would convert the internal spiritual energy into the energy needed for the mechanical body.
For example, the vitality from his own blood and qi.
As a former blood-forging warrior, even though he was now disabled, most of the energy from his blood and qi remained within him.
This portion of energy could be fed into the energy core at a critical moment, converting it into the energy required for the mechanical body to function.
However, to complete the creation of the energy core, many structures still needed refinement.
Over the course of these three years, Mo Yu had made multiple trips to the Star City Research Institute, the Energy Research Institute, and other organizations' material departments, requesting help from each unit to assist him in creating the energy core.
During this time, Mo Yu befriended a technician from the Energy Research Institute, a man with silvery-white hair.
With his help, the selected materials finally passed the preliminary simulation test for energy cooperation.
Just three days ago, Mo Yu successfully completed the creation of the energy core.
At that moment, the energy core was placed on the tool tray beside the operating table.
The shape of the energy core was irregular, resembling a compressed electric arc, rhythmically changing shapes like a breathing motion, with arcs of electricity trailing behind.
When the modification began, one of the mechanical arms grabbed the energy core.
The remaining three mechanical arms began to tear apart the flesh on Mo Yu's chest.
This modification carried far more risk than any previous ones.
Before the modification began, he had discussed with his mechanical modification team colleagues where to embed the energy core, and after much deliberation, it was decided to embed it at the center of his chest.
However, even after the embedding procedure was completed, the radiation from the energy core could potentially place a heavy burden on his body.
Mo Yu decided to take the lead, not just because no other suitable test subjects were available to collect data, but also due to his urgent desire for power.
The initial part of the surgery went smoothly.
After the mechanical arms tore open the flesh on his chest, they built the base for the energy core at the center of his chest.
Once the preparations were done, when the energy core was pushed into the chest base by the mechanical arms, Mo Yu's body suddenly shuddered.
He could feel a destructive force surge into his body. Under this influx of energy, his mechanical left hand and legs suddenly became light, and the control seemed much smoother.
But the subsequent strain on his body caused blood to seep from his skin.
This was the initial rejection process from his body.
If his body couldn't handle the pressure, there was a high risk that his bodily functions would collapse.
During the simulations, his success rate for this modification had not been high.
But Mo Yu still chose to try it himself.
If he didn't continue trying, the path of mechanical modification would be cut off here, and they had no other test subjects to continue experiments. It all depended on him.
As the rejection intensified, Mo Yu couldn't stop himself from coughing up blood.
The overwhelming nausea filled his entire body, as it seemed his body couldn't bear the energy being infused by the core.
At this point, he heard a colleague's exclamation.
The mechanical arm fell and removed the energy core from Mo Yu's chest, ending the procedure.
But Mo Yu's condition was far from good.
Even though the energy core had been removed, his body continued to deteriorate.
The rejection reaction in his body did not decrease after the energy core was removed; if anything, it grew stronger.
At this moment, Mo Yu could clearly feel his life force rapidly fading, as if he had fallen into an inescapable quagmire, his body sinking slowly.
But he didn't give up. He continued to struggle.
He couldn't accept failing this way.
In his vision of the future, implanting the energy core was just the first step of mechanical modification. There were still many plans that needed to be refined and updated in the future.
He would use mechanical modification to make himself the first super mechanical warrior in human history.
But no matter how unwilling he was, Mo Yu couldn't resist the passing of life.
This step was taken too hastily.
Just as Mo Yu felt his consciousness slipping and he was about to fall unconscious, he suddenly heard a fragmented voice echo in his mind:
"Young man... enter the realm of faith... I can save you!"
The sudden voice in his mind jolted Mo Yu awake.
After a brief moment of confusion, he suddenly realized who the voice belonged to.
Long ago, he had established a connection of faith with a great man.
But he had never truly conversed with Feng Qi, even thinking that any talk of being able to speak with Feng Qi was just a legend, a kind lie spun by the most devout followers.
He never expected to hear Feng Qi's voice himself.
Without hesitation, he held his breath and began meditating.
His spiritual consciousness began to pass through layer after layer of invisible obstacles.
The process seemed to stretch on for an eternity.
Finally, under the guidance of the mysterious force, Mo Yu's consciousness broke through the barriers of time and space and appeared in the vast spiritual sea, which resembled the starry sky.
There, between the starry sea and the golden sea, a golden figure was smiling at him:
"Kid, you've got guts. I like that!"