MG - Chapter 365: Repair Fluid (Patreon)

"She survived even after being blown up like that by a collapse bomb... No, wait. The first explosion probably wasn't caused by a collapse bomb."

Eden's voice came from behind Derek Su and Purple Lightning.

She surveyed the surrounding craters. The largest crater was closer to Dawnbreak, while the other two, which were nearer to Laiya An, looked like ordinary missile craters.

Derek Su turned around and saw Eden approaching with Dawnbreak on her back.

Dawnbreak had apparently received an injection of the activator as well. The cracks across her face and body were visibly less severe now, though she remained unconscious.

"Can she be saved?" Derek Su asked urgently, looking back at Laiya An.

"Hard to say."

Eden crouched beside the cockpit and examined it with a slight frown.

"It looks like this specially reinforced cockpit is the only reason she's still alive."

She didn't touch Laiya An, who had nothing left below her torso inside the cockpit.

Instead, she asked, "What's the name of her Mecha Girl?"

"Dawnbreak," Derek Su replied.

"A top-tier Mecha Girl from the PX series? Then it makes sense."

Eden nodded.

"Top-tier PX-series Mecha Girls have a unique ability that reinforces the cockpit while their special skill is active. This kind of reinforcement is far more powerful than the standard reinforcement Mecha Girls can normally provide. The downside is that once the skill is activated, they can barely turn."

"Can't turn? That's..."

Derek Su almost said that sounded like a terrible drawback.

But with both people involved still unconscious, saying it out loud didn't seem appropriate.

Besides, Stella used to be practically incapable of turning too.

"Nothing is perfect. The special skills possessed by top-tier Mecha Girls almost always have drawbacks. But no matter how severe those drawbacks are, they won't get the pilot killed. Otherwise, the skill simply wouldn't be usable."

As Eden said this, she paused and deliberately glanced at Derek Su.

Derek Su had the distinct feeling that look wasn't really aimed at him.

It was probably a jab at Stella.

He scratched his head.

"If the cockpit can actually withstand a missile, then I guess a drawback like that is understandable."

"PX-series Mecha Girls can use psychic energy to reinforce the cockpit, completely integrating the cockpit's material with psychic energy. That's the main reason it survived the explosion."

Eden continued, "You know sodium-fiber ore, right? The hardest ore in the world, and extremely difficult to mine. Just think of it this way. The instant she activates her skill, she effectively reinforces the cockpit until it's as tough as sodium-fiber ore."

That made sense.

Derek Su understood, but then he stared at Eden again.

She had acted immediately when saving the Mecha Girls.

Why did she seem strangely indifferent when it came to Laiya An?

Sensing Derek Su's gaze, Eden seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a healing Mecha Girl. I don't have the ability to save her. And I can't exactly inject her with the activator. That would kill her."

She stood up and brushed her rain-soaked hair behind her ear.

"Then what do we do?" Derek Su asked anxiously, looking at Laiya An.

The girl's condition was horrifying.

He was terrified that she might suddenly stop breathing at any moment.

But one thing was certain. In her current state, Laiya An couldn't be moved carelessly. She needed professional treatment.

"That's easy."

Eden checked the time again.

Then she snapped her fingers.

Snap!

Derek Su and Purple Lightning immediately saw a dark red object shaped like a flashbang shoot into the sky from outside Panlong Mountain.

It climbed so high that it disappeared into the clouds before exploding with a muffled boom.

A ring of dark red ripples spread across the sky.

For a brief instant, Derek Su and Purple Lightning almost felt as though the rain falling against their faces had frozen in place.

Then a burst of electromagnetic static crackled from the communicator on Eden's chest.

[Crackle... Governor, can you hear me? Crackle...]

[The electromagnetic storm bomb has been successfully launched. The Void's magnetic shield is gradually collapsing. Communications across Panlong Mountain will begin returning in stages within ten minutes.]

"I can hear you," Eden replied. "Record my current coordinates and send the nearest medical team here. Quickly."

[Understood! Recording your coordinates now!]

[Crackle...]

[There's a medical team close to your position. I'll notify them immediately!]

Derek Su wasn't particularly impressed when he heard that.

After all, "immediately" could mean just about anything.

But the Mecha Girls of Mecha Island soon showed him exactly what Mecha Island efficiency looked like.

Less than thirty seconds later, the roar of engines came from the racetrack.

A line of functional Mecha Girls appeared at the edge of his vision.

In the blink of an eye, they had already stopped in front of Derek Su and Purple Lightning.

And it wasn't only a medical team.

They had an escort from the Armed Forces Department as well.

"Governor!"

A healing Mecha Girl disengaged deployed mode and stepped forward, reporting solemnly, "As ordered, we've already transported one pilot and one Mecha Girl down the mountain for treatment."

"Mm."

Eden knew exactly who she meant.

She pointed toward Laiya An, who was barely clinging to life on the ground.

"There's a critically injured patient here. She still has vital signs. Do everything you can to save her."

Even the healing Mecha Girls were startled when they saw Laiya An's condition.

They had already been working for some time.

The humans brought in for emergency treatment had either suffered relatively minor injuries or had lost an arm or a leg. Others had been completely incinerated and were beyond saving.

Laiya An was the only one whose four limbs had all been blown apart, yet who remained alive solely because of the cockpit.

Calling it a miracle wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Derek Su watched as the healing Mecha Girls first stopped the bleeding from Laiya An's wounds.

He had no idea what medication they were using, but when the liquid was poured over her injuries, the muscle tissue that had been soaked pale by the rain and was nearly necrotic began regaining vitality.

Next, they carefully lifted Laiya An, located the cockpit's latches, and opened it.

Hiss!

A large cloud of white gas burst from inside.

This time, Derek Su got a clear look.

Aside from the respirator, four flexible tubes were connected to Laiya An's back.

As the healing Mecha Girls disconnected them, a clear, viscous liquid seeped from the tubes.

"PX-model Mecha Girls are actually very well suited to becoming healing Mecha Girls," Eden said as she placed Dawnbreak on a stretcher and gently stroked her head.

"They can produce repair fluid, so they require almost no modification to transition into healing Mecha Girls. Ordinary Mecha Girls, on the other hand, have to endure quite a bit of modification."

"So this repair fluid is what kept Laiya An alive?"

Derek Su stared at her in surprise, his expression turning strange.

"That's right. As long as someone doesn't die on the spot, even a small amount can keep their cells regenerating."

Derek Su had actually seen this liquid before.

When he'd been injured during the training race and at the hot springs, he'd been sent to a clinic and soaked in the exact same kind of repair fluid.

Most of the enormous treatment bill back then had supposedly come from the repair fluid.

Thinking about it now, his injuries could easily have been treated with far less.

There had certainly been no need to immerse his entire body in the stuff.

Apparently, that clinic had ripped him off on treatment fees twice.

Damn it!

But now wasn't the time to worry about whether that clinic had scammed him.

Derek Su watched as Laiya An was placed inside a nutrient pod filled with repair fluid, while Dawnbreak was taken into the vehicle body of one of the healing Mecha Girls.

The healing Mecha Girls then headed down the mountain with their emergency lights flashing, escorted between two columns of Armed Forces Department Mecha Girls.

Only another squad from the Armed Forces Department remained behind, standing guard nearby.

"As communications gradually return, search and rescue operations will resume across the mountain. Don't worry," Eden said.

"If even a medical center directly under Mecha Island can't save Laiya An, then no one in this world can."

She looked at Derek Su and Purple Lightning and tilted her head.

"Come with me. We need to hurry and activate the psychic energy pulse device. It can only be activated manually."

"I didn't station any Mecha Girls near it beforehand because the Void can scan their AI Cores. Then communications were cut off on top of that..."

Eden's expression hardened.

"We can't afford to waste any more time."