Chapter 35: Installation Process
The next three hours passed in a rhythm of careful hunting and tactical retreats. Team Seven found and engaged four more Tier 1 Rabbit Beasts, each encounter reinforcing their coordination and building their confidence. By the time 1400 hours approached—their extraction deadline—they'd accumulated an impressive collection of drops.
Lin Feng checked the time on his communicator: 1348 hours. Twelve minutes until they needed to be back at the outpost gate for extraction.
"Final check-in," he announced, activating the communicator. "Forward Outpost Delta, this is Team Seven preparing for extraction."
"Team Seven, confirm your status for extraction," the response came immediately.
"All five members accounted for, functional, no serious injuries. Seven successful engagements, returning with multiple equipment drops. Moving to extraction point now."
"Acknowledged, Team Seven. Gate will be ready for your return. Excellent performance for first deployment. Outpost Delta out."
They made their way back through the forest, and Lin Feng felt a strange reluctance as the outpost walls came into view. Six hours ago, the Land of Origin had been terrifying—an alien dimension full of lethal threats. Now, after a day of successful hunting, it felt almost familiar. Almost manageable.
That's dangerous thinking, Lin Feng reminded himself. Familiarity breeds complacency, and complacency kills.
Analysis Protocol: Mission completion assessment.
Total deployment time: 6 hours.
Total beasts defeated: 7 Tier 1 Rabbit Beasts.
Combat efficiency: 89.4% average across all engagements.
Total drops acquired: 6 Colorless Chaos Crystals, 2 White-tier components (leg component, energy core), 1 White-tier energy capacitor.
Casualties: Zero serious injuries, minor damage repaired during mission.
Team energy at extraction: Average 71% (well above danger threshold).
Overall assessment: Exceptional first deployment. All objectives exceeded.
The eastern gate opened as they approached, and they stepped through back into the safety of Forward Outpost Delta. The transition was jarring—from the wild, vital energy of the forest to the controlled, militaristic atmosphere of the human fortress.
The same officer who'd checked them out greeted them at the gate. Her eyebrows rose slightly as she reviewed their mission data. "Seven confirmed kills, zero casualties, substantial equipment drops. Either you're exceptionally skilled or exceptionally lucky."
"Coordination," Lin Feng said simply.
"Well, whatever it is, keep doing it." She handed him a data chip. "Your performance report has been logged and will be forwarded to your academy. You're cleared to use outpost facilities for the next two hours before portal return. Medical wing is available if anyone needs healing beyond what your support specialist can provide. Equipment installation chambers are in Building Three—I recommend you use them if you're planning to install any drops today."
"Thank you, ma'am."
The team made their way to the outpost's common area, a large building with tables, food dispensers, and rest areas. Several other academy teams were already there, and Lin Feng could see the difference in their conditions. One team looked exhausted, their energy clearly depleted. Another team was missing a member—injury extraction, probably. A third team sat in dejected silence, suggesting they'd had unsuccessful hunts.
Team Seven's mood was buoyant by comparison. They'd succeeded beyond all expectations.
"Food first," Chen Hao declared, making a beeline for the dispensers. "Real food, not VR simulated taste. I'm starving."
They gathered around a table with military rations—not gourmet, but substantial and designed to help pilots recover energy. Lin Feng ate mechanically, his mind already focused on the next step: equipment installation.
The White-tier leg component sat in his dimensional storage, waiting to be integrated with Logic Frame. Installing it would replace one of his existing White-tier leg components, providing a direct upgrade to movement speed and agility. According to the item's specifications, it would increase his mecha's base movement speed by fifteen percent.
Fifteen percent might not sound like much, but in combat, the difference between reaching an optimal position and being a fraction too slow could mean victory or death.
"You're going to install it today?" Tang Yue asked, noticing his distracted expression.
"Yes," Lin Feng confirmed. "The sooner it's integrated, the sooner I can adapt to the increased mobility. Plus, I want to understand the installation process before we accumulate more equipment."
"It's not pleasant," Tang Yue warned. "When I installed my first White-tier component, it felt like someone was rewiring my brain. The mental strain is significant."
"How long did it take?"
"Forty-five minutes for the integration to complete, then another two hours before I felt fully synchronized with the new component." She smiled sympathetically. "Just warning you—it's not like clicking 'install' on a computer program."
Lin Feng nodded. He'd read about the installation process in theory, but theory and experience were always different. "I'll use one of the installation chambers. Can you all manage without me for an hour or so?"
"We'll survive," Chen Hao said through a mouthful of food. "I'm planning to sleep anyway. Six hours of constant vigilance is exhausting."
"Same," Wang Min agreed. "My nerves are shot from all the scanning and positioning."
"I'll review combat footage from our hunts," Li Xin said. "See if I can identify any technique improvements."
"And I'll be here if anyone needs healing," Tang Yue added. "Go install your equipment. We'll be fine."
Lin Feng finished his meal and made his way to Building Three. The equipment installation facility was a dedicated structure designed specifically for the delicate process of merging foreign components with soul mechas. Inside, he found a dozen private chambers, each equipped with specialized meditation platforms and energy stabilization fields.
A technician—an older man with Tier 18 visible on his badge—greeted him at the entrance. "First installation?"
"Yes, sir. White-tier leg component."
"Good choice for a first installation. Leg components are relatively straightforward—less complex integration than energy cores or weapon systems." The technician pulled up a holographic form. "I need to log your information. Name, academy, mecha designation, and component specifications."
Lin Feng provided the details, and the technician reviewed everything carefully.
"Lin Feng from National Defense Academy. Logic Frame, Tier 1, balanced-type mecha. You're installing a White-tier Enhanced Mobility Leg Component, which will replace your existing White-tier Standard Mobility Leg Component." The technician looked up. "The installation will take approximately thirty to fifty minutes depending on your mental endurance and synchronization rate. The process cannot be interrupted once begun—attempting to stop mid-installation can cause permanent damage to your soul mecha. Understood?"
"Understood."
"The process will be painful. Not physical pain, but mental strain. Your consciousness will be stretched between your body and your soul space while the component integrates. Some pilots describe it as feeling like their mind is being pulled apart. It's unpleasant but not dangerous if you remain calm." The technician's expression was serious. "Can you handle that?"
Lin Feng thought about his previous life's death—being stabbed, bleeding out in an alley, the cold darkness closing in. He'd experienced real pain, real fear, real death. Mental strain during an equipment installation, while unpleasant, was manageable by comparison.
"I can handle it," he said firmly.
"Chamber Seven is available. Inside, you'll find a meditation platform with stabilization fields. Sit in the center, enter your soul space, and begin the installation process. The chamber's systems will monitor your vital signs and alert medical if anything goes wrong." The technician handed him a small device. "This emergency button will summon help if you need it, but remember—interrupting the process causes permanent damage. Only use it if you're genuinely in danger."
Lin Feng took the device and entered Chamber Seven.
The room was small and quiet, walls lined with sound-dampening material and gentle lighting that was easy on the eyes. The meditation platform sat in the center—a circular disc about two meters in diameter, covered with intricate patterns that glowed faintly with energy. Above it, a dome of energy fields shimmered, ready to stabilize the dimensional fluctuations that occurred during installation.
Lin Feng sat cross-legged on the platform and felt the energy fields activate around him. The sensation was like being wrapped in a warm blanket, protective and stabilizing.
He closed his eyes and entered his soul space.
The infinite white void opened around him instantly. Logic Frame stood at the center, fifteen meters of blue and silver metal, the mecha that was fundamentally linked to his consciousness. He could feel it like an extension of himself—every plate of armor, every joint, every system.
His current White-tier leg components gleamed on Logic Frame's lower limbs. They'd served him well, but the new component was superior in every measurable way.
Lin Feng withdrew the White-tier Enhanced Mobility Leg Component from his dimensional storage. In his soul space, it manifested as a floating construct of light and metal, waiting to be integrated.
Analysis Protocol: Installation process initiated.
Target component: White-tier Enhanced Mobility Leg Component.
Installation location: Left leg, replacing existing White-tier Standard Mobility Leg Component.
Estimated integration time: 35-45 minutes based on user synchronization rate (49% peak).
Mental strain warning: High. Recommend steady focus and controlled breathing.
Process cannot be interrupted once begun.
Lin Feng approached Logic Frame and reached out mentally to the left leg component. He could feel it connected to him, part of the whole that made up his mecha. Now he had to disconnect it and replace it with the new component.
The process began with visualization. He imagined the connections—not physical bolts or welds, but conceptual links between his consciousness and the equipment. Every piece of a soul mecha was bound to its pilot through will and mental energy. Installation meant creating those bindings.
He focused on the existing component, willing it to disconnect.
The first connection broke, and pain lanced through his mind.
It wasn't physical pain. There was no wound, no injury, nothing his body could point to and say "this hurts." But his consciousness registered it as pain nonetheless—a sharp, tearing sensation as something fundamentally connected to him was severed.
Lin Feng gritted his teeth and continued. The second connection. The third. The fourth.
Each disconnection hurt more than the last. By the time he severed the eighth and final connection, sweat was pouring down his physical body back in Chamber Seven, and his mental form in soul space was trembling.
The old component detached, dissolving back into raw energy that dispersed into his soul space. One of his mecha's legs was now incomplete, the absence visible as a gap in Logic Frame's left lower limb.
Analysis Protocol: Disconnection phase complete. Time elapsed: 12 minutes.
Mental strain: Moderate-High.
Next phase: New component integration. This will be more difficult.
Lin Feng steadied himself, using the four-count breathing technique he'd taught Chen Hao. In for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. The rhythm helped center his mind, pushing back against the mental fatigue.
He brought the new White-tier Enhanced Mobility Leg Component forward, positioning it where the old one had been. The component hovered in place, waiting for him to forge the connections that would make it part of Logic Frame.
He reached out mentally, willing the first connection to form.
The pain that hit him was exponentially worse than the disconnection had been.
It felt like molten metal being poured directly into his brain. His consciousness stretched impossibly thin, extending from his physical body through the dimensional overlap into his soul space and then into the component itself. He was being pulled in three directions simultaneously, his sense of self fragmenting under the strain.
Keep going, he told himself through the pain. This is necessary. This makes you stronger.
The first connection solidified. One down, eight to go.
The second connection was agony. His vision—both physical and mental—blurred. He could feel his body back in Chamber Seven convulsing slightly, muscles spasming in response to the mental strain. But he couldn't stop. Stopping meant permanent damage. The only way out was through.
The third connection felt like it was ripping his mind in half. He heard himself scream, though whether it was in the physical world or just in his soul space, he couldn't tell.
Analysis Protocol: Warning—mental strain approaching critical levels.
Three connections established. Five remaining.
Estimated time remaining: 23-28 minutes.
User vitals: Elevated heart rate, blood pressure increasing, cortisol levels high.
Assessment: Within acceptable parameters but approaching limits.
Recommendation: Steady pacing. Do not rush remaining connections.
Twenty-three minutes. Lin Feng had to endure this for twenty-three more minutes.
He focused on breathing. In for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. The rhythm became his anchor, the one stable point in a universe of pain.
The fourth connection. He bit down on phantom teeth that didn't exist in soul space, feeling something in his jaw pop.
The fifth connection. His consciousness felt like it was being stretched on a rack, pulled thinner and thinner until it was translucent.
The sixth connection. Colors he'd never seen before flashed across his vision. Sounds that couldn't exist echoed in his ears. His sense of up and down inverted.
The seventh connection. He was crying now, tears streaming down his physical face in Chamber Seven while his mental form in soul space shook with the effort of maintaining coherence.
One more. Just one more connection.
The eighth and final connection was the worst. His entire existence seemed to compress down to a single point of white-hot agony, every nerve screaming, every thought fracturing, his sense of self threatening to dissolve entirely.
Then, suddenly, it was done.
The connection solidified, and the pain vanished as if someone had flipped a switch. The component was integrated. The White-tier Enhanced Mobility Leg Component was now part of Logic Frame, bound to his consciousness as thoroughly as his original equipment.
Analysis Protocol: Installation complete.
Total time: 41 minutes.
Mental strain: Severe (recovered).
Integration success: 100%.
Component status: Fully operational.
New specifications: Movement speed increased by 15%, energy efficiency improved by 8%, response time decreased by 0.12 seconds.
User status: Exhausted but functional.
Lin Feng opened his eyes in Chamber Seven and immediately doubled over, gasping. His entire body was soaked with sweat. His muscles ached from sustained tension. His head pounded with the worst headache he'd ever experienced.
But it was done. The installation was complete.
He tried to stand and nearly fell. His legs didn't quite respond the way he expected—the new component had changed Logic Frame's balance slightly, and his muscle memory was still calibrated for the old configuration.
The chamber door opened, and the technician looked in. "First installation completed. Forty-one minutes—that's faster than average. Your synchronization rate must be high." He handed Lin Feng a bottle of water and a small pill. "Drink. The pill will help with the headache. You'll feel disoriented for the next few hours while your brain adapts to the new component's feedback. It's normal."
Lin Feng drank the entire bottle in one long gulp, then swallowed the pill. "That was worse than I expected."
"Everyone says that," the technician replied with a slight smile. "And yet, you'll do it again when you get your next component. The power increase is always worth the temporary pain." He checked a readout. "Your vitals are stable. You're cleared to leave, but I recommend light activity only for the next few hours. No combat, no intensive training, just rest."
"Understood. Thank you."
Lin Feng made his way back to the common area, moving carefully as his body adjusted to the new feedback from his mecha. Each step felt slightly different—lighter, more responsive, as if Logic Frame's legs were coiled springs ready to release.
Team Seven looked up as he entered. Chen Hao took one look at his face and whistled. "You look like death."
"Feels like it too," Lin Feng admitted, collapsing into a chair. "Installation is brutal."
"Told you," Tang Yue said sympathetically. "It gets easier with practice, but the first few are always the worst."
"How's the new component?" Li Xin asked. There was genuine interest in his voice, the earlier tension about resource distribution apparently forgotten.
"Fifteen percent movement speed increase, eight percent energy efficiency improvement, point-twelve second response time decrease," Lin Feng recited. "I won't know how it feels in actual practice until I've adapted to it, but the specifications are solid."
"Worth the pain?"
Lin Feng thought about the forty-one minutes of agony he'd just endured. Thought about how the improved mobility would help him position better, coordinate better, keep his team safer. Thought about how every advantage mattered when survival was on the line.
"Yeah," he said. "Worth it."
Analysis Protocol: Equipment installation complete.
Logic Frame status: Enhanced.
New mobility specifications integrated.
Adaptation period required: 4-6 hours of normal movement.
Combat effectiveness: Temporarily reduced until adaptation complete, then significantly improved.
Overall assessment: Successful upgrade. First step in continuous equipment optimization path.
They had one hour before the portal would open for their return to Earth. Lin Feng spent it resting, drinking water, and letting his body adjust to the new feedback from Logic Frame. His headache gradually faded, and his coordination slowly returned to normal.
By the time they lined up for portal extraction, he felt functional again. Exhausted, mentally drained, physically sore, but functional.
"Team Seven, prepare for extraction," the outpost officer announced.
They filed toward the portal—the gate back to Earth, to safety, to their normal lives. Lin Feng took one last look at the Land of Origin through the outpost gates. The purple sky, the alien forest, the dimension that had tested them and found them capable.
We'll be back, he thought. And next time, we'll be even better.
The portal swirled before them. Lin Feng stepped through, felt the familiar sensation of dimensional inversion, and stumbled out onto Earth in the portal facility.
The sky was blue. The air was thin and tasteless after the Land of Origin's energy-rich atmosphere. Everything felt diminished somehow, less vital, less alive.
But it was home. It was safe. And they'd all made it back.
Instructor Zhao met them at the platform. "Team Seven, welcome back. Outstanding performance—seven confirmed kills, zero casualties. The outpost reported you exceeded every standard metric for first deployments."
"Thank you, sir," Lin Feng said, still dizzy from the double portal crossing and the recent installation.
"Debriefing tomorrow morning, 0800 hours. For now, get some rest. You've earned it." Instructor Zhao's stern expression softened slightly. "Seriously, well done. All of you."
The transport back to the academy was quiet. Everyone was exhausted, the adrenaline of the day finally wearing off. Lin Feng stared out the window, watching normal Earth scenery pass by, and felt the White-tier Enhanced Mobility Leg Component integrated into Logic Frame, a permanent reminder of their first successful hunt.
Back in his dorm room, Lin Feng collapsed onto his bed without bothering to change clothes. Chen Hao did the same on his own bed.
"We actually did it," Chen Hao said to the ceiling. "First deployment to the Land of Origin, and we crushed it."
"We did," Lin Feng agreed. "Team coordination worked. Analysis Protocol worked. Everything worked."
"Your new leg component working?"
"Still adapting. Ask me tomorrow." Lin Feng closed his eyes. "But yeah, it's working."
They lay in silence for a moment, then Chen Hao spoke again. "Lin Feng?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for keeping us alive today. Your tactical calls... without them, I don't think we would've done nearly as well."
Lin Feng smiled despite his exhaustion. "That's what teammates do. You kept the beasts from killing me, I kept the strategy optimal. Fair trade."
"Fair trade," Chen Hao agreed.
Within minutes, both of them were asleep—two eighteen-year-olds who'd ventured into another dimension, hunted monsters, survived, and returned victorious.
In his soul space, Logic Frame stood unchanged on the outside but fundamentally improved within. The new White-tier Enhanced Mobility Leg Component glowed slightly brighter than the surrounding equipment, a visible marker of growth.
The first equipment installation was complete. The first step toward greater power was taken.
And this was only the beginning.