A day later, the results of the mech pilot test arranged by Qin Guang were released.
There was no suspense.
With Morin, the mech designer, personally designating his preferred candidates, the outcome was basically decided.
The only requirement was that Morin's chosen candidates had to be qualified mech pilots.
In theory, anyone who became a preparatory mech pilot already had the qualifications.
What they lacked was combat experience, a neural bridge partner, and a mech.
At present, China only had around ten operational mechs.
That meant only about twenty people could become official mech pilots.
Among the preparatory pilots, Fang Xing was already one of the top performers.
Song Shu also had the potential, but due to his personality and past experiences, he had been subconsciously holding back.
After Morin's guidance, he finally revealed his true strength and rose to the top tier as well.
More importantly, Fang Xing and Song Shu had completed a Pontus neural bridge test just yesterday.
A rare initial synchronization rate of one hundred percent.
That alone was a massive advantage.
Among all preparatory mech pilots, the two of them were the most suitable choice.
As for pilots from other countries?
That wasn't even worth considering.
How could a nation's mechs be piloted by foreigners?
That would be ridiculous.
As for official pilots who were already assigned to existing mechs, it was even more impossible.
In reality, many people had already discovered the side effects of the Pontus bridge and carried out extensive testing and theoretical research.
The side effects between people were already well understood.
While evidence regarding people and mechs was limited, there were still plenty of theories.
Otherwise, legends like "the pilot and the mech become one, and the mech reacts when the pilot dreams" wouldn't exist.
In China, beliefs like this had always existed.
Even in modern society, there were still phenomena that couldn't be explained.
Like how "a play can't be stopped once it starts."
The prevailing idea was simple.
Once a pilot piloted a mech in combat, a connection-a mark-was formed between them.
Similar to a magical imprint.
With mechs already being extremely scarce, no official pilot would abandon their existing mech to participate in a new test.
Every mech had to be fully utilized.
Unless the pilot's mech had already been destroyed.
And the only way a mech could be destroyed was in a Kaiju battle.
In that situation, the pilot's survival rate was pitifully low.
With the mech gone, even a single roar from a Kaiju could be fatal.
All things considered, there was no suspense at all.
Fang Xing and Song Shu became Morin's chosen mech pilots.
"Then... for the second pilot..." Qin Guang asked tentatively.
After Morin selected Fang Xing and Song Shu, he showed no intention of choosing anyone else.
Qin Guang had received a call from Zhao Wei the previous day.
Zhao Wei mentioned that Morin might want to pilot a mech himself and asked for Qin Guang's opinion.
Qin Guang hadn't answered.
Objectively speaking, just like the doctor who had conducted Morin's physical examination, Qin Guang felt it was a shame for someone with such a physique not to be a mech pilot.
But Morin's value as a mech designer was clearly far greater.
As a secretary who had to remain rational and provide objective advice, Qin Guang should have known which choice was better.
But there was one problem.
Morin was young.
When someone is young and full of passion, how could they stay rational?
Qin Guang had been through that stage himself.
He knew exactly what he had done back then.
Looking back, it seemed embarrassing, childish, even reckless.
But so what?
When you're young, you're full of passion.
A man is a boy till death.
Qin Guang asked himself honestly.
Wouldn't he want to pilot a mech, even just once?
Let alone someone as young-and as capable-as Morin.
"Just ask him," Zhao Wei had said. "Ask tentatively. You understand these things better than I do. Don't rush to object. Delay it. Time will give us the answer."
That was why Qin Guang brought it up today.
"For the second mech's pilot..."
Morin immediately caught the probing tone in Qin Guang's voice.
He understood.
It was a simple psychological tell.
He didn't even need magic for this.
For a master of psychology, it was obvious.
"There really are a lot of smart people..." Morin thought.
He decided to reveal just a little.
Enough to give them time to prepare.
"Do you know why mechs were originally designed for a single pilot?" Morin asked.
"Why?" Qin Guang replied.
"Because single-person piloting is the correct way," Morin said calmly.
"One person and one machine can achieve perfect operational fusion."
"But the Pontus neural technology-" Qin Guang frowned, about to object.
"The Pontus neural bridge connects two pilots' neural systems and shares the massive neural load required to pilot a mech," Morin explained.
"One controls the left brain, the other the right."
"In theory, if synchronization is perfect, it can achieve a result close to single-person operation."
"But in reality," Morin continued, "two people are still two people."
"Even if their thoughts align, they are still different individuals."
"It's like having two voices in one head."
"Even if they agree, you can still feel the difference."
"But a mech is only one entity."
"I..." Qin Guang hesitated. "I still don't quite understand the practical difference."
"That's normal," Morin said. "I'd be surprised if you did."
"With current technology, that difference doesn't really matter."
"But for me," he added, "if I have the chance to eliminate it..."
"I'd be very happy to."
"...An obsessive-compulsive tendency?" Qin Guang finally said.
Morin laughed.
"Let's call it that."
"The second mech will be designed for a single pilot."
"As for the pilot, I'll upgrade the neural technology."
"But the cost will increase."
"Manufacturing costs."
"And the difficulty of finding a suitable person."
"I understand," Qin Guang said.
That was enough.
No further explanation was needed.
They both understood what a single-pilot mech implied.
Qin Guang's response was deliberate.
He said "I understand," not "I agree."
Because he had other thoughts.
Single-pilot mechs weren't unheard of.
Morin's implication was clear.
A single-pilot mech was superior.
It was just that with current technology, the difference wasn't obvious.
It could even be dangerous for the pilot.
But what about the future?
If future technology allowed single-pilot mechs to vastly outperform two-pilot ones...
And if they could find someone capable of handling it...
Wouldn't that be perfect?
Qin Guang wasn't qualified to make that decision.
And even if they failed to find someone suitable-
There was still Morin.
They wouldn't be able to refuse him.
"This slightly alters my original plan," Morin thought.
"I originally planned to design a two-person mech with a single-person piloting mode."
"But this works too."
"Letting them know in advance gives them time to prepare mentally."
"And it makes my job easier."
"I can increase space utilization."
A two-person mech with a single-person mode was very different from a pure single-person mech.
Space utilization.
Functional redundancy.
Everything changed.
Now that he only needed to design a single-person mech-
That was good news.
No designer wanted flaws in their work.
Especially when it was something meant for themselves.
Being forced to add unnecessary components just to accommodate others was unpleasant.
"Since they're probing, it means they've already considered this idea and are struggling with it," Morin thought.
"I also mentioned upgrading neural technology."
"If they manage to find a pilot..."
"Even if I never let them pilot it, giving them hope increases the chance they'll approve the single-pilot project."
After settling the pilot selection, Morin ate a meal and returned to his lab.
He came out in the afternoon.
Ate again.
Then went back in.
He didn't return to his residence until late at night.
Sleeping was impossible.
After spending another twenty experience points, Morin appeared in the office of the leader of Moscow's "underground kingdom."
He needed information.
He had to admit.
The intelligence network was impressive.
He hadn't expected to get so much information so quickly.
Russia had been in economic decline for a long time.
Its wall plan was already quietly underway.
It reminded him of a dark joke.
A news report once said the pandemic caused Russia's economy to regress twenty years.
Russia's response?
"Isn't that good news?"
In short, the situation wasn't great.
That was why gangs existed.
They had to sell something to stimulate the economy.
As for the deeper details-
Those were all Morin's own settings.
And the gaze of the God of Censorship was already upon him.
Naturally, Morin obtained information about the bases.
As for whether anyone would discover it?
Why would he care?
At worst, "Ethan Hunt" would become wanted for a while.
With Morin's hypnotic abilities, controlling key personnel was trivial.
Once the location was found-
He was already more than halfway there.
Find Advance chapters
And for More Fan fiction
👇
👇
[Support link: pat reon.com/RioRaRyu]
------------
More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 250 power stones = Bonus Chapter
Give me more Power Stones
------------