Chapter Thirteen: Launch! The Specium Ray

Through the transparent cabin wall, Shang Lu caught sight of the grimy white coat entering from afar. Old Ji had arrived—the only one in Workshop 110 who dressed like that.

“Can they see us from outside?” Shang Lu asked.

“No,” Shen Jiang replied. “What mischief are you planning?”

“This.” Shang Lu raised his middle finger sharply at Old Ji, who was climbing the stairs. “Told you to make me carry the maintenance manual!”

Shen Jiang burst out laughing.

“Ha ha ha ha ha—”

“What’s so funny?” Shang Lu rolled his eyes. “Do you know how thick that maintenance manual is?”

“Ha ha ha ha ha!” The girl laughed inside her helmet, even rolling over clutching her stomach like a giant mantis shrimp curling up.

Shang Lu thought, what’s so funny about that? What a weirdo.

“I’ll help you.” Shen Jiang raised her middle fingers at Old Ji—both hands this time.

The middle fingers quickly transformed into sniper rifles—Shang Lu mimed holding one, one hand gripping the forearm, the other pulling the trigger, the scope firmly aimed at Old Ji’s forehead, imagining countless headshots. It escalated to rocket launchers—Shen Jiang mimicked holding the launcher, one hand supporting the barrel, the other pressing the trigger, making “boom boom boom” sounds like a rocket barrage that utterly demolished the workshop.

Right then, Shang Lu realized this girl was truly delightfully crazy.

He could work with that.

Until Old Ji’s voice came through their headset: “What are you two doing?”

Both froze.

· · ·

Red and yellow warning lights spun and flashed. The metal gangway and the operational platform slowly separated. Shang Lu could hear the workshop echoing with rising alarm sirens. All personnel in Workshop 110 were rapidly evacuating as Honglian’s body was gradually unlocking; the power core test was about to commence.

“Shang Lu, the formal test is about to start,” Old Ji said over the channel. “You should disengage first. I’ll have the cockpit return to the disengagement station.”

“No need.” Shen Jiang said, “Let him stay here.”

Shang Lu was taken aback.

The girl glanced at him. “I think he could make a good co-pilot.”

Old Ji sounded puzzled on the channel. “Huh?”

“Power supply interface disconnected, switching to internal power,” Shen Jiang raised her voice, looking straight ahead as she expertly checked each window. “Boarding gangway disengaged, cabin door confirmed locked, arm one unlocked, arm two unlocked, arm three unlocked, arm four unlocked, all locks confirmed released.”

“This is the giant anti-intrusion mechanical equipment code-named Honglian, pilot Shen Jiang reporting: core computer normal, control core normal, power core normal, life support system normal, communication system normal, power system normal, hydraulic system normal, servo system normal, navigation system normal, escape system normal, weapons system empty, standard clock synchronized, gravity gyroscope reset, Riemann probe calibrated, requesting vertical transfer.”

“Vertical transfer approved.”

“Wow.” Shang Lu whispered in admiration.

“Hm?”

She tilted an eyebrow.

“Awesome.” Shang Lu gave a thumbs-up.

“Hehe.” Shen Jiang grinned.

The giant machine trembled slightly. Shang Lu noticed it began moving forward slowly, but its two long legs remained stationary—it was being towed.

The massive trailer towing Honglian was nicknamed Bixi. It was the bearing platform for the giant machine and the world’s heaviest-duty trailer, resembling a colossal turtle lying beneath Honglian’s feet. Forty meters long, thirty meters wide, three meters high, it ran on six tracks and could carry over ten thousand tons.

Meanwhile, the vertical transfer gate of the cavern opposite was slowly opening. It was the largest door in Base 151—over sixty meters tall, leading directly outside.

The gate opened, revealing the colossal divine statue hidden within the niche. Shang Lu took a deep breath, inside the cockpit looking out, seemingly level with the rolling mountain ridges. At this very moment, he felt like the god himself.

No, Shen Jiang was the true god.

Watching the girl’s movements, Shang Lu marveled at her fluid grace. She truly didn’t need a seat or control sticks—any restraint would hinder her operation.

“Cooling panels activated.”

“Supercapacitor charging.”

“Horizontal torque increased by 12%, joints of arms one and two locked.”

“Coolant turbine power at 11%.”

“Simulated control system calibration complete, neural interface connection established.”

“Ready to launch!”

· · ·

“Be careful not to damage my ground,” Old Ji warned over the channel, like a farmer tenderly caring for his crops.

“Okay—!” Shen Jiang said. “Honglian, deploy!”

It’s hard to describe the sensation of being inside the cockpit, watching the giant machine in motion. The spherical cabin offered an almost panoramic view, making Shang Lu feel like he was floating mid-air. Yet he could feel the vibrations beneath him. Honglian detached from the mobile platform, firmly planting a foot on the black crushed stone load-bearing surface, then taking step after step forward, each footfall shaking the earth. If one hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, it would be hard to believe such a colossal behemoth could walk on its own.

Imagining those working nearby, often seeing a fifty-meter-tall deep red giant stride across hills and roads, the scene must be both awe-inspiring and surreal.

“Want to try piloting her?” Shen Jiang asked. “I can let you.”

“But the control system is on you,” Shang Lu said. “You can’t just take it off.”

“Come here.”

Shen Jiang grabbed his wrist and gently pulled. Shang Lu drifted over. She pressed his shoulder, turning him to face forward, then embraced him from behind, sliding both hands under his arms.

“You can control my hands.”

The girl spread her fingers and wiggled them in front of Shang Lu.

He glanced at her. Inside her visor, her expression was like a child proudly showing off a new toy.

“I never thought the day would come when I’d be holding a naked guy in Honglian’s cockpit.”

“I’m wearing shorts!”

“A naked guy wearing shorts.”

Shang Lu carefully grasped Shen Jiang’s hands, then slowly raised his right hand—then a miracle happened. The thick, powerful right arm lifted before his eyes. As he twisted his wrist, stretched his fingers, clenched his fist, the delay was nearly zero. The arm was an extension of his own body, the limb his limb. The overwhelming power was intoxicating. Once you begin to control it, you believe you wield unmatched strength. Shang Lu marveled as he raised Honglian’s right forearm.

Then he crossed his left arm beneath the right elbow.

“What are you doing?” Shen Jiang asked, curious about the strange posture.

“Spacium beam.”

That day, people working nearby saw a deep red giant stride forward, raising its arm to fire a Spacium beam.