"Lost Secrets and Tattered Armor: The Search for the Young Lady"

"Area 38 is experiencing abnormal power output. Please investigate," the computer in the captain's control room of the Ancient Bell Number commercial spaceship sounded with a disinterested tone. The captain seemed to not hear it as he placed his coffee cup aside and anxiously muttered, "Where did she go? Where did she go?"

The spaceship had left Eastwood Grand District just a month ago, but during this time, the once plump captain had noticeably lost weight. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, making him look pale and exhausted. The cup of coffee he held in his hand provided no solace.

"The situation in Area 38 is unusual," the captain's secretary spoke, breaking the silence. He cautiously looked at his boss and suggested, "Should we send an engineer to investigate?"

"Go and take a look, go!" The captain suddenly erupted in anger, jumping up like a rubber ball and pointing his finger at his secretary. "Damn Area 38! Damn 3721! I want everyone to find that young lady! Find her! We've been searching for so long, why haven't we found her?"

The secretary, well-accustomed to the captain's outbursts, remained calm and composed. He lowered his gaze, trying to maintain a sense of professionalism, and replied, "Ancient Zhonghao has a total of 42 areas. If we search all of them without missing any, it will take about five days. The problem we face now is the lack of manpower to carry out such a task. Moreover, our personnel on the spaceship are currently a mixed bunch, making it impossible to conduct a large-scale search. The spaceship's control system has confirmed the young lady's safety for the past few days, and she is indeed on board. So, Captain, please try not to worry excessively."

Before the captain could continue his angry rant, the secretary made a suggestion. "If we request assistance from the Charter Bureau to locate her, I believe it would take no more than three minutes to find her whereabouts. We could consider that option."

The captain fell into silence, well aware that the news of the young lady's disappearance reaching the federal capital would cause significant trouble. Since the spaceship's control system had confirmed her safety, he tried to maintain some calm amidst his anger and refrained from hastily filing an urgent application with the Charter Bureau.

Letting out a sigh, the captain rubbed his tired cheeks, causing his chubby face to turn slightly sour. He closed his eyes and began to contemplate. The Ancient Bell Number's current journey consisted of three tasks. The first was a friendly exchange visit between Westwood Grand District and Eastwood Grand District. The second involved the secret transportation of a special machine armor squad for the Fourth Military Region to carry out the 4427 plans. The third was to deliver the young lady to the capital star for schooling.

In the original plan, the special machine armor squad was responsible for the young lady's security defense. However, the people involved in the 4427 plans from Westwood unexpectedly had a highly skilled traitor among them, causing a drain on Ancient Zhonghao's resources and resulting in casualties for the Fourth Military Region. Colonel Lake's machine armor squad had suffered severe injuries, with some members still in a comatose state while others experienced continuous bouts of vomiting.

This unforeseen event left a significant gap in the young lady's security protection. Despite her disappearance, the Westwood side was unable to allocate sufficient manpower for a thorough search. The frustrated captain raised his voice, "What about the soldiers from the delegation? We've been searching for days, and yet we haven't found any news. Are they just good-for-nothings?"

The ship's personnel were a diverse mix, making it impossible for the Westwood side to identify who might be a Bureau of Investigation agent, an expatriate from the Charter Bureau, or even a special agent from the secret service. To discreetly search for the young lady, they could only rely on individuals from the local Westwood area. Thus, the duty fell upon a group of students from Westwood military academies who were visiting Eastwood Grand District as part of the delegation. The day the young lady went missing, the surveillance video recordings confirmed that she hadn't left the second building. Therefore, the search range was limited to the upper levels of the spaceship. It was akin to a spider moving from one branch to another on a spiderweb. How could they find the young lady if they didn't know where she had crawled to?

The secretary glanced at his boss, thinking that it was cruel to say that they had grown up eating excrement, considering that Captain Mister and himself were junior officers compared to these young soldiers. However, he lowered his head and said, "I feel like we might have missed some places."

"Expand the search range," the frustrated captain replied, his irritation evident. "But... remember not to alert too many people who are not involved."

As he finished speaking, the spaceship's communication system suddenly illuminated, revealing the solemn face of a middle-aged man. The secretary immediately stood at attention and saluted the middle-aged man on the screen, then exited the command module. The captain also stood up promptly, understanding that interstellar communications had a significant time delay. Nevertheless, he saluted with great respect and said loudly, "Reporting to Commander, there is still no news, but we can confirm her safety."

He then quickly lowered his head, feeling ashamed and distressed, and muttered, "Boss, I'm a damn fool."

The communication was not synchronized with real-time, and the middle-aged general's words were from several minutes ago. It wasn't aimed at the captain's self-deprecation. "Continue the search. Fireworks can be mischievous, but they consider you to be more intelligent. So, don't worry too much about her. Just remember, Fireworks must go to school in the capital. As for this missing news, make sure it doesn't leak. I don't want those skinny senior congressmen from the administration committee to cause a fuss over this matter, claiming that my Fourth Military Region is using it as an excuse to delay their proceedings."

"Yes, boss," the captain said, feeling deeply ashamed. He clenched his hand tightly, thinking about who would dare to help the young lady if they found her. Whoever had been feeding her during her disappearance would face his wrath.

Just then, the spaceship's computer made an alarming sound. "Area 38 power output is abnormal. Ground stress conditions are irregular. Suspected internal impact."

...

...

At this moment, Xu Le's determination to tear himself to pieces had subsided. Although he had always suspected that Little Watermelon had a mysterious background, he never thought that it could be connected to the upper echelons of the Fourth Military Region or the Federation. After all, he was just an orphan from the federal floor and subconsciously believed that such matters were far beyond his reach. His complete focus was now on the tattered machine armor.

A beam of light infiltrated the cabin, illuminating Xu Le as he stood at the cabin door, resembling a figure in a painting. In that moment, he realized the secrets he had concealed from himself. He remembered his teacher, his training, and his boss, Feng Yu. Overwhelmed by a flood of emotions, Xu Le couldn't control the sadness welling up inside him. He lowered his head and silently shed tears, allowing the drops to fall onto the dusty surface of the tattered machine armor.

Observing Xu Le crying, Little Watermelon hurriedly covered her mouth with her tiny hands. She didn't understand why Elder Brother Xu Le was crying, but she had read the four characters for crying in a book.

After a while, Xu Le regained his composure. He wiped the tear stains from his face with his greasy sleeves and rubbed his dirty face, trying to appear less embarrassed in front of Little Watermelon. He forced a smile and said, "Are you scared? I won't cry anymore." He was a man of his word. Since his boss had left, regardless of life or death, sinking into such emotions was no longer meaningful. He would record it in his heart and live his life well. From that moment on, Xu Le rarely shed tears, even in the pouring rain on the streets many years later.

The control chip of the M02 machine armor was damaged, and most of its functions were no longer operational. Xu Le didn't expect to be able to restore the chip in such an environment. He tried various methods that seemed clumsy but shielded the armor from reporting to the authorities, aiming to test its mobility. Since the armor had a self-check function, he was naturally excited to give it a try. Overcoming some difficulties, he sneaked into the operation cabin that lacked an access panel. Following the instructions in the manual, he searched for the control console.

Carefully entering the standing valve, Xu Le arranged his ten fingers on the simulation interface according to the fixed arrangement. However, he soon discovered that although the operation installation of the machine armor seemed usable, the signal input devices were not connected. Specifically, the simulation interface and the chip he had placed himself were unable to establish a connection. No matter how hard he tried, the entire machine armor remained motionless.

Without any other options, he had to resort to his original plan. He integrated the sensor system onto his skin surface, a system that had been mostly eliminated. Scientists had confirmed through research that no matter how well-developed a human's organic reaction speed was, using the system's planned responses would result in slower reaction times. Moreover, this control method consumed too much energy and couldn't be used for long periods. Although the M02 model retained this outdated and weak system from sixty years ago, Xu Le didn't mind sweating profusely as long as it allowed the machine armor to move.

The thick, heavy feeling of the skin and muscular tissue deceived Xu Le. He furrowed his brow, realizing that perhaps the machine armor's sensing system had issues due to the long period of damage. He attempted to move his muscles according to the nervous system's direction, but it didn't budge. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration or an instinctive reaction occurred. Xu Le clenched his lips, closed his eyes, and his waist trembled. Enormous strength surged from his waist and abdomen, transmitting directly to his arms. He grunted with effort and managed to lift his arms.

As he moved, the huge, tattered M02 machine armor groaned, making an ear-piercing noise as it slowly lifted its arms!

Under the watchful gazes of the two children, the machine armor took a hopeful step forward... and then crashed loudly to the ground!

After the loud thud, the M02 machine armor lay on the floor in front of the small girl in her white dress, scattered metal parts, and emitting wisps of smoke from its circuitry.