Consciousness sea.
Staring at the golden figure sitting cross-legged in the distance, Mo Yu's eyes widened.
How could he not recognize that golden figure's face? It was none other than the historical luminary he had always seen as his idol—Feng Qi.
This wasn't Mo Yu's first time entering the Faith Space.
Back when he was still in Dawn Academy, he had barely managed to enter the Faith Space through his own effort.
In his memory, the Faith Space seemed endless. Out of curiosity, he had once tried exploring its boundaries, but his consciousness couldn't even get close to the edge and nearly got lost inside.
Fortunately, just before he lost himself, a mysterious force sent him back.
Since then, he hadn't entered it again.
Though he knew one could borrow innate abilities from the Faith Space, the official stance had always warned of the risks. Many abilities, once used, placed enormous strain on the body—and some could even cause instant death.
So Mo Yu had never thought much about it.
And as for rumors about meeting Feng Qi inside the Faith Space, he never believed them.
But now, under the guidance of some mysterious force, he had re-entered the Faith Space—and was actually face-to-face with the idol he'd worshiped since childhood.
"Mo Yu, right? Don't space out. Do you know you're about to die?" said the golden figure with a faint sigh, pulling Mo Yu back from his thoughts.
Snapping to attention, Mo Yu looked at the golden figure and asked, "Great one, what should I do?"
"Don't call me that. Sounds weird. Just call me Qi-ge. Since I brought you here, it means I have a way to save you."
As he spoke, Feng Qi—now a golden consciousness body—reached toward the sky.
A dark green ability orb detached from the track of innate powers and hovered above Feng Qi's palm.
"This ability is called Power of Nature. It can help you rapidly heal your injuries. Take it."
With that, Feng Qi pushed the orb toward Mo Yu.
Taking the orb, Mo Yu nodded firmly, his expression emotional. "Thank you."
"No need. Once your body recovers, come find me again. There's something I want to talk to you about."
Before Mo Yu could respond, Feng Qi pushed his hand forward. A wave of mental energy swept out, sending Mo Yu's consciousness back through the path it came.
Just before Mo Yu's awareness crossed the boundary of the Faith Space, the dark green orb in his hand separated, leaving behind a phantom to follow him while the original orb returned to the track of innate powers and resumed orbiting the origin pearl.
Once Mo Yu's consciousness left the Faith Space, Feng Qi nodded to himself.
Unknowingly, he had already been staying in the Faith Space for a hundred years.
Over that century, more and more believers' minds had entered, keeping him constantly busy as a guide. He had little time for personal interaction.
Not that he didn't want to—but he couldn't be everywhere at once.
Still, now and then, he paid close attention to human seeds who had formed a faith connection with him and showed potential.
He found Mo Yu by chance.
When he saw Mo Yu undergoing mechanical modification experiments, he was reminded of his old friend Li Xingchen, who had also modified his body.
But Mo Yu's goal was much greater than Li Xingchen's.
Though the technology was still in its early stages, Mo Yu aimed for full-body mechanization—to become a mechanical lifeform. Unlike Li Xingchen's partial enhancements.
If Mo Yu succeeded, it would open up a whole new path for humanity.
Especially for those wounded veterans. Mechanized body reconstruction would give them another future—another hope.
Feng Qi cared deeply about this project.
What he hadn't expected was that the pioneer of the mechanized body project—Mo Yu—almost died during his own experiment. As someone he had marked for close attention, Feng Qi didn't hesitate to intervene.
A seed with that much potential couldn't be allowed to wither prematurely.
As he waited, Mo Yu's translucent mini consciousness reappeared in the Faith Space.
Looking at Mo Yu's excited face, Feng Qi smiled and asked, "How's your body?"
"It's recovered. But borrowing the innate ability put a heavy strain on me. I'll need some time to fully rest... Also—are you really Feng Qi? Didn't you die? Why are you here?"
Faced with Mo Yu's barrage of questions, Feng Qi nodded.
"The explanation is a bit complicated. I did die, yes. But my consciousness didn't disappear. I became the guide here, to keep believers from losing themselves when they borrow innate powers."
"Then... can you come back to life?"
"No need. Death was my choice. Becoming a guide was also my choice."
Feng Qi paused for a moment, then continued,
"Let's not dwell on that. I know you're developing mechanical body modification and have built a decent technical foundation. But there are still many challenges and problems you haven't solved. I can help you with that."
"Great One, what should I do?"
Hearing this, Mo Yu's expression shifted. He couldn't hide the excitement surging through him.
"I said stop calling me 'great one.' It sounds weird."
Feng Qi rolled his eyes and went on,
"I once had a friend named Li Xingchen. He also underwent partial mechanical limb modifications like you. The mechanical modification tech you guys recovered came from his archived research. But his technology can't meet the future standards you're aiming for, because your path is psionic mechanization. I can grant you access to a classified archive account. Inside, there are sealed records of psionic technology."
Mo Yu's face lit up with excitement, but then he seemed to remember something and asked with confusion,
"Qi-ge, why were those files sealed in the first place? That kind of important data could benefit all of Star City—maybe even all of humanity. Wouldn't sealing it away be a waste?"
Feng Qi shook his head with a helpless sigh.
"Your understanding of the world is still limited. Those psionic technology records weren't developed by humanity. They came from another powerful domain faction. That faction doesn't know we have them. If they ever find out, the risks could be huge. That's why the records were sealed away—waiting for the right time to resurface."
"Our people needed time to prepare. Star City's overall strength has steadily improved, and we're finally getting strong enough to consider making some changes. Actually, the mechanical modification tech you're using now also came from a restricted archive. Right now, only your department can access that information. All of this is for safety reasons…"
Feng Qi spent some effort explaining the reasoning behind sealing both the psionic and mechanical technology.
Now, he was ready to pave the way for Mo Yu's next leap in mechanical modification.
Though just a consciousness body, he could still communicate through the spiritual sea and guide believers through their mental link.
Giving Mo Yu archive access was just the first step.
But how far he could go—that would depend entirely on Mo Yu's own choices and effort.
…
A few hours later.
Mo Yu slowly opened his eyes.
The physical collapse had already been resolved, but the aftereffects of borrowing the innate ability had begun to show. His vital energy was drained. Intense dizziness and hunger hit him all at once.
He looked down at the fully healed wound on his chest and pushed himself up.
Under the shocked stares of his colleagues, he stepped down from the operating table, reached out, grabbed an energy pouch from the nearby tool tray, bit off a corner, and chugged the transparent liquid inside.
As the liquid reached his stomach, the overwhelming hunger started to ease slightly.
Right then, Mo Yu felt like he'd been reborn. Like he'd truly come back to life.
That night.
Mo Yu sat at his desk, eyes fixed on the computer screen, waiting for a message.
At 8:32, a friend request popup appeared in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Mo Yu didn't hesitate. He clicked it and approved the request.
A few seconds later, a chat window popped up. The sender's profile image was a Dawn flag. The username was "Menghui Chuijiao Lianying."
Menghui Chuijiao Lianying: Hello, Mo Yu. Your account has been approved. You now have clearance to access all archived data in Star City.
Mo Yu: And you are?
Menghui Chuijiao Lianying: City Administrator (smile.jpg)
Mo Yu: You're a Supreme Council member!!!
Menghui Chuijiao Lianying: That's not important. Just remember—never share your conversation with the great one, or the fact that you have this account access. Since you've earned his trust, I look forward to what you'll do next. If you need anything, you can reach me through this account.
Mo Yu: Thank you.
This time, the city administrator who called himself "Menghui Chuijiao Lianying" didn't respond.
Still buzzing with excitement, Mo Yu closed the chat window and opened the archive. After completing identity verification through the webcam, he logged into his account.
To his surprise, the archive interface had changed.
Inside the personal profile panel, his access information had been updated.
Mo Yu [Archive Access – Full Clearance]
Realizing he now had the authority to view all of Star City's sealed data, Mo Yu clenched his fist in excitement.
Opening the search function, he paused for a second, then typed in a line of text:
[The Strongest Human Technology in History!]
After a few seconds of loading, a search result page popped up.
Because he now had full database access, results included both restricted records and many that were unsealed.
Filled with anticipation, Mo Yu began to scroll through the results.
And then—he froze when his eyes landed on one particular entry.
It was a fragmented document, describing the world before the Cataclysm.
The content came from a post-Cataclysm scholar who had pieced it together through archaeological findings, uncovering fragments of humanity's pre-Cataclysm history.
Among them, he mentioned a mind-bending piece of technological advancement.
According to the scholar's notes, during his digs into the pre-Cataclysm era, he discovered that an island nation had somehow developed technology capable of stopping time.
But the technology seemed flawed—it could only be used in very specific places, like trains or schools.
As for how it worked, the scholar admitted that the details were long lost to history.
Mo Yu let out a sigh of regret when he read that.
He hadn't expected that humans, before the Cataclysm, had already developed tech that could control time. But now, that technology had vanished without a trace. It was a major loss for humanity.
He dug further into the database, trying to find more about this time-stopping tech. But there was nothing else. Mo Yu didn't keep pushing.
He backed out and typed a new term into the search bar—"psionic technology."
He hit confirm, and immediately, a series of red-flagged restricted documents popped up.
All of them were related to psionic technology.
Mo Yu's expression lit up. He quickly opened one of the files and started reading.
It was the fusion of psionics and machinery that he truly aimed for.
To him, purely mechanical modifications came with too many flaws. The most critical problem was that the human technological framework didn't necessarily work well in the domain fields. Psionics was a vital component if mechanical modifications were to go further.
In the days that followed, Mo Yu fully immersed himself in this sea of knowledge.
With access granted through his clearance account, he absorbed data and technical theories nonstop, rapidly expanding his own understanding.
Six months later.
Mo Yu decided to restart his journey into mechanical modification.
Practice had already proven that the original energy core he designed couldn't be implanted into the body.
His new starting point was clear—how to craft an energy core that could perfectly integrate with the human body.
This time, he incorporated psionic technology into the process.
After redesigning and rebuilding the energy core's mount, Mo Yu planned to fully redesign the energy core itself.
But right then, he hit a brand-new problem.
With psionic technology integrated, the energy core had become dangerously unstable. Implanting it in his body was like strapping on a ticking time bomb. It could explode at any moment.
Compressing such immense power into something the size of a fist while also keeping it stable? Current tech just wasn't up to the task.
That's when Mo Yu thought of energy fields.
By using an energy field to compress and bind the energy within the core, he might be able to keep it stable. It would function smoothly, delivering output without risk of detonating from simple impact.
After several simulations, Mo Yu managed to design an energy core bound by an energy field.
In simulation, the core was about the size of an infant's fist. But its storage capacity was ten times greater than his prototype—and it still had room for improvement.
This breakthrough got Mo Yu hyped.
But simulation wasn't reality. Building a real-world version of an energy-field-constrained core was the next big obstacle.
Mo Yu ran all over Star City, visiting material research institutes, trying to find a way to bring the design to life.
But after months of searching, he still hadn't found a solution. The plan for an energy field-restrained core was theoretically viable—but the tech didn't exist. Everything would have to start from scratch.
Feeling backed into a corner, Mo Yu thought of Feng Qi.
Without hesitation, he connected to Feng Qi through their faith link and entered the spiritual sea.
After hearing Mo Yu's design proposal, Feng Qi—now existing in spiritual form—immediately said he had a solution, but he'd need a few days to prepare.
Back in the real world, Mo Yu had no doubts Feng Qi could pull it off.
For the next few days, Mo Yu waited anxiously.
Four days later.
At the Tiger Soul Technology Branch—Mechanical Modification Lab.
Mo Yu sat at the control console, staring at the simulation data on screen. But his mind was still stuck on Feng Qi's promised solution.
The wait was grinding on him.
Just as he was about to re-enter the faith space to check Feng Qi's progress, the lab door suddenly swung open.
A little girl marched in, looking dead serious as she walked straight up to him.
Mo Yu blinked in confusion, wondering how she even got past security.
The girl raised her head and locked eyes with him. Then she planted her hands on her hips and spoke in a mature, bossy tone,
"Ahem, you're Mo Yu, right? Boss told me to come help you."