MG - Chapter 379: Cupping Therapy (Patreon)

As it turned out, Luna really was dependable.

She did more than simply report that the toxin had become stronger.

The moment she informed Torch, she began making arrangements.

"Mr. Su, Governor Torch already knows about Stella's condition. She takes this very seriously and has specifically invited you to Resort Island. There's a research institute there as well."

"Can't she be treated here?" Derek Su knew Stella was feeling miserable and did not want to make her travel any more than necessary.

"I'm afraid not." Luna shook her head. "The other poisoned Mecha Girls will also be transferred to Resort Island for centralized treatment, accompanied by their pilots. I hope you'll understand."

"All right." With Luna putting it that way, Derek Su could only agree.

He had already learned from her that Torch was currently the only person capable of treating this toxin. In other words, the treatment technology was effectively monopolized by Torch.

What else could he do? He could only follow the Governor's arrangements.

"The vertical-takeoff fighter jet is ready. You can take Stella to Resort Island first. I still need to reorganize transportation for the other Mecha Girls and their pilots based on their individual conditions."

Derek Su fell silent for a moment. "Could we switch to a helicopter? I get airsick..."

"Don't you want your Mecha Girl to recover as soon as possible?"

That one sentence crushed all of Derek Su's resistance.

Well, someone had to bite the bullet.

"Fine... I'll get on the plane right now!!"

Gritting his teeth, he marched downstairs with Stella as though he were heading bravely into battle.

...

Mecha Island, Xinyan Research Institute.

Eden lay completely naked and face-down on an examination table, exposing her smooth, pale back. Her breathtaking curves were enough to make even another woman stare, yet Torch beside her remained completely unmoved.

"Pathetic. A single General-class Hunter managed to injure you? You're getting worse with age."

As she spoke, Torch pressed a small cup-shaped device onto Eden's back. It resembled a glass cupping cup, except that it was connected to electronic equipment. With a soft hiss, part of the air inside was drawn out and the cup sealed tightly against Eden's skin.

"I was careless." Eden had no intention of arguing with Torch. She simply indulged whatever Torch said without getting angry.

"Tch!" Torch snorted and placed a second cup on Eden's back. "If I'm guessing correctly, Panlong Mountain was attacked because the people up there got careless, right?"

"It was the Serpens Space Station. The other stations had nothing to do with it," Eden replied calmly. "Tania already destroyed that Void warship. They tried to transmit information back to their homeworld, but they never got the chance."

"Don't dodge the real issue." Torch rolled her eyes and deliberately slapped another seven or eight cups across Eden's back until they were packed together. "Am I talking about the Void warship? That's not the important part. The important part is that the Techmasters' Alliance is full of useless idiots, and the Human Federation isn't much better. We'd be better off relying on ourselves instead of humans. For example, we could develop..."

"You aren't still researching AI piloting cores, are you?"

Eden cut her off. "You've already pushed the Techmasters' Alliance close to the limit of what they'll tolerate. I know you look down on them, but you need to understand that more than half of the forces currently protecting Earth belong to the Techmasters' Alliance. Two-thirds of those people have also signed Core Contracts with Mecha Girls. What happens if all of them start causing trouble?"

Torch went quiet.

Without a word, she continued covering Eden's back with cups.

She even stuck one on each side of Eden's butt.

Finally, Torch took a deep breath. "First, I'm not continuing the AI piloting-core project. AI cores can't use psychic energy. Without psychic energy, they can't pilot Psychic Energy Mechas, and there aren't enough compatible Mecha Girls anyway. Second, if the day ever comes when I'm trapped between you and the Techmasters' Alliance and become a thorn in their side, I won't make things difficult for you."

"What do you mean?" Eden rolled over and frowned.

"Nothing much. I'll just resign as Governor."

Torch pushed Eden back down. "The toxin isn't out yet, so stop moving around. Speaking of which, Derek Su really did us a huge favor this time. I never expected the Void to mix Shadow Steel fragments into spatial collapse bombs. And judging from your body alone, I honestly couldn't tell that the Shadow Steel toxin had grown stronger.

"If he hadn't contacted Luna and alerted me, we might not have realized anything until it was too late. The toxin can now do in half a day what took an entire month during the First Great War!"

Eden's expression gradually softened as she listened.

She smiled. "Derek Su has always been the kind of pilot people can rely on."

"Just like her?"

Her.

Eden's gaze drifted for a moment.

Her former pilot had been the most gifted girl of the Spirit Race.

She was born with a 100% synchronization rate with any Mecha Girl and could operate a Psychic Energy Mecha the moment she touched the controls, without any training whatsoever. Yet even someone that extraordinarily talented had still been brutally killed by the Void.

"Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned her."

The apology did not sound especially sincere.

Torch was already focused on Eden's back.

Deep-blue toxin had begun collecting inside the cups.

This detoxification method had been inspired by human cupping therapy, although the technology involved was far more advanced and even required the use of psychic energy.

"It's all in the past now. The Spirit Race is gone. What matters is finding a way for the rest of our people to keep living and for the Zuanka civilization to continue."

Torch said nothing more, and Eden also fell silent.

They remained that way until all the toxin had been drawn out.

Torch removed the cups from Eden's back one by one. Just like ordinary cupping, the treatment left marks on a Mecha Girl's skin. Humans might need ten days or half a month for such marks to fade, but a Mecha Girl could recover completely within a day.

Eden frowned. "What are the two cups on my butt for? Was there toxin there too?"

For a moment, her vision practically went dark.

"Oh... I have a thing about symmetry. I had two extra cups, so I figured I might as well stick them on you."

Torch pulled out her phone, took a photo, and showed it to Eden. "See? Perfectly symmetrical, right?"

Eden: "..."

Ten minutes later, Eden got dressed and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

She looked at Torch, who was collecting the extracted toxin. "I'll be away for a while. Tania plans to send Carter to a military tribunal, and the Techmasters' Alliance will definitely interfere to protect him. This is a good opportunity to put pressure on them."

"Sure, sure." Torch did not even raise her head, as though the toxin in the test tube was more interesting than Eden. "Go ahead. Don't worry about things here~"

"Then I'll leave the poisoned Mecha Girls to you."

"No problem. Easy."

Eden turned to leave.

"Oh, right. Let me handle the Awakening Ceremony the day after tomorrow too."

Torch dangled the test tube and gave Eden an almost shy smile, though her eyes were full of cunning.

"I've already assigned my people to handle that. You don't need to get involved."

Eden rejected her without leaving any room for negotiation.

"Tsk. Boring." Torch curled her lip in disdain.

Eden put on her hat, waved goodbye without turning around, and left the laboratory.

Creak—!

Torch stared at the closed laboratory door.

With her hands clasped behind her back, a sinister smile slowly appeared on her face.

"Hehe. The Techmasters' Alliance can just wait to come up empty-handed this year..."