"Mmm, I got it."
Morin replied flatly and hung up.
A faint smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
Two billion.
The money had arrived.
Converted into experience points, that was 30,880 points.
His Mech Designer profession jumped straight to Master-level.
[Mech Designer - Master-level (20914)]
Title Buffs:
[Intelligence] +11110
[Master-level Mech Repair Skill]
[Master-level Mech Controller]
[Master-level Mech Item Draw] (A certain black-and-white Antarctic creature has called to complain that you're cheating and not giving it time to earn money!)
[Interdimensional Mech Space Ring] (Want to take it with you? It'll cost you.)
Possibly because this profession had a gacha-style draw system-no, a draw skill-there was still a number displayed after reaching Master-level.
Excess experience.
Morin didn't care.
He passed out in a very dignified manner.
Fortunately, this wasn't Siberia.
It was his own bedroom.
He had already removed all the surveillance he previously hacked and wiped every trace clean.
There was nothing left.
Naturally, this profession buffed all three base attributes.
According to the rules, each advancement meant a tenfold increase.
Before, the base value was small, so it wasn't noticeable.
Now?
The base was over a thousand.
A tenfold increase was a completely different story.
Morin had anticipated this.
That was why he chose this path.
He couldn't predict what would happen in a situation he'd never experienced.
The sound of Morin collapsing finally served its original purpose through the monitoring and listening devices installed shortly after he moved in.
They immediately detected something wrong.
"What's going on?! How could this happen?!" Qin Guang roared as he rushed in.
"I-I don't know! He just... suddenly fell," the monitoring supervisor stammered.
Everything had been normal.
So why did he faint?
What they couldn't see-
What they couldn't detect-
Was the vast mental energy radiating outward from Morin.
It spread tens of kilometers.
It enveloped the entire PPDC China headquarters.
Humans couldn't sense it.
Because they weren't the target.
The target was them.
The mechs.
Training mechs.
Active combat mechs.
Half-dismantled units.
Loose components.
The moment the mental energy washed over them, they reacted.
Some trembled.
Some malfunctioned.
Some spewed chaotic, unintelligible data.
They were greeting their controller.
Their king.
In their own way.
The phenomenon lasted only an instant.
Then the mental energy retracted.
The mechs fell silent.
They entered slumber.
Waiting.
Waiting for their king to awaken them.
To fight.
And to die.
"Medic! What's wrong with him?!" Qin Guang demanded.
"So far... no abnormalities detected," the medic replied.
"Then why did he faint?!"
"If there's nothing physically wrong... then it can only be..." The medic hesitated, pointing at Morin's head without daring to touch it.
"Get people! Take him for a full check!" Qin Guang snapped.
Anything but that.
Anything but his brain.
"No need."
"Who said no-" Qin Guang stopped mid-sentence.
Morin was awake.
"I'm fine," Morin said, sitting up and shaking his head. "Just felt dizzy. Probably overworked these past few days."
"Then you definitely need an examination," Qin Guang said firmly.
"...Alright," Morin replied after a pause.
This fainting scenario was something he had considered long ago.
He had even prepared a response-use later examinations to dispel suspicion.
But now...
A new idea formed.
One that would make everyone accept it without question.
Soon, Morin arrived at the hospital.
Qin Guang hovered the entire way.
If Morin hadn't refused outright, Qin Guang might have carried him.
Zhao Wei arrived soon after, dropping everything.
Then Song Shu.
Then Fang Xing.
Then a group of mecha designers of all ages-some barely able to walk.
Morin greeted them calmly.
He felt no discomfort.
He understood their concern.
And he didn't resent it.
There is no unconditional giving in this world.
Even parental love exists because of blood ties.
What is purity?
If someone cares because they like you, is that impure?
If they care because your work may save millions, is that impure?
If they care because you helped them, is that impure?
The reason doesn't matter.
Purity is a false proposition.
What matters is that someone cares.
Morin was a normal person.
A normal person who sometimes acted on impulse.
So he decided to deceive them one last time.
Let their perfect image of him remain intact.
He knew he'd always acted for his own benefit.
But since they believed otherwise-
One more lie wouldn't hurt.
The CT results came out.
"Director Lin? Is Dr. Kano from the Kyoto Military Region Hospital available?"
"Yes. I have an important friend."
Qin Guang was already calling the top hospital.
"He was fine a week ago, and now there's something new in his brain?" Zhao Wei grabbed the attending physician, eyes red. "Are you lying to me? Was the machine faulty?! Show me your credentials!"
"Wuwu..."
Song Shu and Fang Xing cried openly.
Two grown men.
The mecha designers reacted differently.
Some cursed fate.
Some blamed themselves for pushing Morin too hard.
Others could only sigh.
"Looks like you can't stop me from piloting a mech now."
Morin stared at the shadow on the scan.
What they saw as a tumor was merely a distortion caused by his immense mental energy interfering with electromagnetic waves.
He smiled bitterly.
"My luck's always been pretty good."
The sacrifice of a "hero."
A perfect ending.
"I told you I don't need hospitalization. Surgery? Absolutely not. If you operate on my brain, is it still my brain? I'm not going."
"Why are you all here again? Don't you have training? Don't think you're irreplaceable."
"Yes, I'm fine. Want to arm wrestle?"
"I'm really okay..."
A week later, Morin was on the verge of collapse.
Impulse truly was the devil.
Wouldn't it have been easier to leave after reaching Master-level?
Why stay and act like a hero destined to destroy the wormhole?
But the fake "tumor" was already in place.
If he left now, it would feel wrong.
If the tumor disappeared?
That would be social suicide.
So the king of mechs-
With over ten thousand Intelligence-
Was forced to lie in bed for a full week.
By ordinary people.
A whole week.
Today, Morin finally snapped.
If he'd decided impulsively, he'd see it through.
He looked around.
His face darkened.
They'd taken his phone.
After the diagnosis, the doctors narrowed it down to a few causes.
One was mental overexertion causing a lesion.
Everyone agreed.
What Morin had done required terrifying cognitive load.
Alone.
In a short time.
It made sense.
That doctor almost got exiled.
Fortunately, Morin had a conscience.
And Qin Guang was rational.
His "heroism" remained untarnished.
Another theory involved electromagnetic interference.
So Morin was sent to a sanatorium with almost no EM fields.
The residents were elderly.
All high-ranking officials.
In short-
A place unreachable without power and money.
Morin immediately complained.
"You might as well send me to a beach full of bikinis. If I'm in a good mood, I'll recover faster."
Someone took that seriously.
A group of daughters of high-ranking officials arrived.
All stunning.
The intent was obvious.
It wasn't a terrible idea.
Ahem.
Fortunately, Morin had principles.
And he didn't dare touch them.
Given what he was about to do-
And the persona he'd built-
He couldn't afford trouble.
Impulse really was the devil.
Morin cried internally.
Qin Guang and the others kept pushing surgery.
Morin refused every time.
Even if they could open his head-
What would they cut?
A spiritual body?
No.
No more regrets.
He had things to do.
Morin gestured to a young nurse.
"Get me my phone."
The nurse hesitated.
"It's fine. Tell the head nurse it's urgent."
"I am the head nurse..." she said shyly.
"Then tell the director," Morin replied calmly.
You think that twist surprises me?
How naive.
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
------------