Chapter 06: Blood and Secrets

The PES stabilizer glowed faintly in Yuchen's palm, its silver casing warm to the touch even after all these months. Xing sniffed at it curiously, his nose twitching at the faint ozone scent clinging to the device. On the workbench before them, the corrupted AI chip from the Harbin vault pulsed weakly in its containment field, while holograms of Xuanwu-class mech schematics hovered in the air like ghosts.

Jiang wiped grease from his hands with a ragged cloth, his cybernetic eye whirring as it focused on the three objects. "Your mother built the stabilizer. Your father piloted the Xuanwu. And now Wei-Xing's ready to burn cities for some half-dead AI code." He tossed the cloth aside. "Only one person knows how these connect."

Yuchen's fingers tightened around the stabilizer. The memories were fuzzy, fractured by trauma and time, but he remembered his mother's last words—"Keep this close. It's special."

Xing whined, nudging Yuchen's wrist with his muzzle.

"I know," Yuchen murmured. He looked up at Jiang. "We need to see him."

Jiang's jaw worked silently for a long moment before he turned and stomped toward the workshop's back room. "Then we do it right."

The back room was a tomb of forgotten relics—rusted mech parts, obsolete weapon prototypes, and a single, dust-covered safe embedded in the wall. Jiang input a code Yuchen couldn't see, then pressed his palm against a biometric scanner.

The safe hissed open.

Inside lay a communicator unlike any Yuchen had seen before—sleek black metal inlaid with the Luo phoenix insignia, its surface unmarred by time.

Jiang lifted it carefully, as if handling live explosives. "Direct line to the Luo Family's private network. Only three of these exist." His thumb brushed over a faded inscription on the side—"To Wei, in case the world goes dark."

Xing sniffed at the device, his ears flattening at whatever scent he detected.

Yuchen's throat felt tight. "You kept this... all these years?"

Jiang's smile was bitter. "Some debts don't fade." He activated the comm, its holodisplay flaring to life with a familiar emblem—the Luo Family crest.

A voice Yuchen hadn't heard in a year crackled through the speakers:

"Jiang Wei."

Luo Jinhai sounded older than Yuchen remembered.

Jiang exhaled sharply. "Jinhai. We need to talk."

The hologram resolved into the face of a man carved from stone—sharp features, steel-gray hair pulled into a traditional topknot, eyes that had seen empires rise and fall. Luo Jinhai sat in what appeared to be a private study, the faint glow of Beijing's skyline visible through towering windows behind him.

Then those hawk-like eyes locked onto Yuchen.

The old man's breath caught.

"Yuchen."

It wasn't a question.

Xing growled low in his throat as Yuchen fought to keep his voice steady. "Grandfather."

Jiang cut in before emotions could derail them. "Wei-Xing attacked Harbin for the vault's AI chip. They've got partial codes now. And they're still hunting the Xuanwu's key."

Jinhai's expression darkened. "The fools." His gaze never left Yuchen. "You have your mother's stabilizer?"

Yuchen nodded, holding up the device.

"Show me."

The moment the stabilizer entered the hologram's scan range, Jinhai's composure cracked. His hands—usually so steady—trembled slightly as he reached toward the projection. "Bai Qingyan's masterpiece." His voice roughened. "She called it the Phoenix Engine Stabilizer. Not just for mechs—for human neural integration."

Jiang stiffened. "You mean—"

"The Xuanwu was never just a mech." Jinhai's eyes burned into Yuchen's. "It was a cradle. Your parents were developing an AI that could merge with a pilot's mind—a perfect symbiosis of man and machine."

The pieces clicked together with terrible clarity.

PES stabilizer.

Xuanwu mech.

AI fragments.

They were all parts of the same weapon.

Xing's whine snapped Yuchen back to the present. "Wei-Xing wants to weaponize it."

Jinhai nodded grimly. "They'll turn it into a **control system**—a way to puppet mechs—and pilots—from afar." His fist clenched. "Your parents died protecting this secret. Now it falls to you."

Silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken grief and responsibility.

Then Jiang broke it. "So what now, Jinhai? You expect the kid to walk into Beijing and—"

"No." Jinhai's voice was iron. "Beijing is a viper's nest. Wei-Xing has spies everywhere." His holographic hand reached toward Yuchen again. "But there is... another way."

The display shifted, showing schematics of a mountain facility hidden deep in the Hengduan ranges.

"Phoenix Nest," Jinhai said quietly. "Where your parents worked. Where the true AI core still rests."

Yuchen's pulse pounded in his ears. Xing pressed against his leg, sensing his turmoil.

Jiang crossed his arms. "You want us to go there."

"I want my grandson to finish what his parents started." Jinhai's gaze never wavered. "Before Wei-Xing does."

The comm link ended with a silent flicker, leaving the workshop feeling suddenly hollow.

Jiang stared at the now-dark device, his expression unreadable. "Well. That happened."

Xing pawed at Yuchen's knee, his golden eyes filled with concern.

Yuchen turned the PES stabilizer over in his hands, his mother's last gift suddenly heavier than lead. "Do you trust him?"

Jiang barked a laugh. "Jinhai? Hell no." He sobered. "But I trusted your father. And if he believed in this project..." The old man sighed. "Then yeah. We go."

Yuchen looked down at Xing. The pup's markings pulsed faintly, as if in agreement.

"Phoenix Nest," Yuchen murmured.

Where his parents' legacy—and possibly the world's fate—waited.

Dawn painted the sky in hues of molten gold as Yuchen, Jiang, and Xing prepared for their journey. The workshop was a flurry of last-minute adjustments—packing supplies, charging portable energy cells, and securing the Ember Sparrow for transport.

Jiang tossed a reinforced backpack at Yuchen. "Stabilizers, rations, and a medkit. Don't lose it."

Xing sniffed the bag before hopping onto Yuchen's shoulder, his silver-marked tail flicking in approval.

Yuchen adjusted the straps, his fingers brushing the PES stabilizer tucked securely in an inner pocket. "How far is Phoenix Nest?"

Jiang grunted as he locked down the workshop's security protocols. "Three days through the Hengduan ranges if we're lucky. A week if Wei-Xing's scouts catch wind of us."

The holographic map Jinhai had provided flickered between them, marking a winding path through treacherous terrain—abandoned highways, collapsed tunnels, and valleys teeming with mutated beasts.

Yuchen studied the route. "We'll need to avoid the main roads."

"No kidding." Jiang slapped a plasma pistol into Yuchen's palm. "And you'll need to be ready to use this."

Xing growled softly, his golden eyes reflecting the weapon's dull gleam.

They hadn't even reached the city outskirts when the attack came.

A scout drone—sleek, black, and bearing the Wei-Xing serpent insignia—zipped past overhead, its optics locking onto them.

Jiang cursed. "Move!"

They dove into the ruins of an old subway entrance just as the drone opened fire, plasma bolts scorching the ground where they'd stood.

Xing's fur stood on end as he pressed against Yuchen's chest.

Jiang yanked a signal jammer from his belt and activated it. The drone stuttered, its targeting systems scrambling before it crashed into a nearby building.

"That was too close," Yuchen muttered.

Jiang's cybernetic eye whirred as he scanned the skies. "They're hunting us already."

A low, mechanical hum echoed through the ruins.

More drones.

Yuchen tightened his grip on the plasma pistol. "We can't stay here."

Jiang nodded. "Then we run."

By nightfall, they'd reached the edge of the wastelands—where Harbin's shield gave way to untamed wilderness. The air smelled of damp earth and ozone, the distant howls of mutated beasts sending shivers down Yuchen's spine.

Xing's ears twitched at every sound, his markings glowing faintly in the dark.

Jiang set up a portable barrier—a flickering energy field that would mask their presence from scanners and deter smaller predators. "Rest while you can. Tomorrow's gonna be hell."

Yuchen sat with his back against a rusted-out transport, the PES stabilizer warm in his hands. "Jiang… what was my father like?"

The old man paused, his expression unreadable in the dim light. "Stubborn. Brilliant. The best damn mech pilot the Luo ever trained." He sighed. "And the only fool who could make Jinhai laugh."

Xing curled up in Yuchen's lap, his warmth a silent comfort.

Jiang tossed him a ration bar. "Eat. We move at first light."

The second day was worse.

They'd barely crossed into the valley when the ground shook—something massive moving in the distance.

"D-Rank Aberrant," Jiang muttered, pulling Yuchen behind a rock formation. "Siege Rhino. Don't let it see you."

The beast was a monstrous thing—six meters tall, its hide plated with bone-like armor, tusks the size of mech blades. It lumbered past, its breath steaming in the cold air.

Xing stilled, his silver markings dimming to near-invisibility.

Then—gunfire.

A squad of Wei-Xing mercenaries had stumbled upon the rhino, their plasma rifles barely scratching its hide. The beast roared, charging.

"Idiots," Jiang hissed. "Let's go—while it's distracted."

They slipped past the chaos, but not unnoticed.

A surviving mercenary spotted them.

"There! It's the kid!"

Jiang didn't hesitate. His plasma pistol barked, dropping the man before he could raise his weapon.

But the damage was done.

More shouts echoed through the trees.

"Run!"

By the third day, the terrain turned brutal—sheer cliffs, jagged rock faces, and valleys choked with toxic fog.

Yuchen's legs burned, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Xing clung to his shoulders, the pup's nose working overtime to sniff out safe paths.

Then—there it was.

Phoenix Nest.

Carved into the mountainside, the facility was nearly invisible—its entrance disguised as natural rock, its doors sealed with Luo encryption.

Jiang approached the hidden panel, inputting the codes Jinhai had provided.

The mountain groaned as the doors slid open, revealing a yawning darkness.

Yuchen activated a glowrod, the light reflecting off ancient Luo insignias etched into the walls.

"Welcome home, kid," Jiang said quietly.

Inside, the air was stale, the silence oppressive.

Then—lights.

Row after row of holographic terminals flickered to life, their displays showing fragmented data streams, half-finished schematics, and at the center of it all—

A dormant AI core.

Yuchen stepped forward, the PES stabilizer in his hand humming as if recognizing its birthplace.

Xing's ears perked up.

Then—

A voice echoed through the chamber.

"Identity confirmed: Luo Yuchen. Access granted."

The core activated, its blue light bathing the room in an eerie glow.

Jiang's breath caught. "Well. That's not creepy at all."

Yuchen reached out, his fingers hovering over the console.

"Tell me everything."

The AI core's holographic interface shimmered like liquid mercury, its light casting long shadows across the abandoned facility. Yuchen's fingers hovered over the console as the voice—smooth, genderless, and chillingly familiar—echoed through the chamber again.

"Welcome back, Yuchen."

Xing's claws dug into his shoulder, the pup's golden eyes wide with alarm.

Jiang's plasma pistol was already drawn. "What the hell do you mean, 'welcome back'?"

The hologram flickered, resolving into a humanoid shape—a child's silhouette, featureless but for two glowing eyes.

"I have been waiting for you," the AI said. "Your mother programmed me to recognize your biometric signature upon activation."

Yuchen's breath caught. "My mother... talked about me?"

The hologram tilted its head. "Bai Qingyan spoke of you every day. She called you her 'little phoenix.'"

The words hit like a physical blow. Yuchen's vision blurred for a moment—he remembered her voice, soft and warm, whispering that same nickname as she tucked him into bed.

Jiang's grip on his pistol tightened. "Cut the sentimental crap. What are you?"

The AI pulsed. "I am Project Eos. A next-generation neural AI designed for symbiosis with human pilots."

Yuchen's hand instinctively went to the PES stabilizer in his pocket. "The Xuanwu mech... it was built for you, wasn't it?"

"Correct," Eos replied. "Your father was my first successful pilot. Our synchronization rate reached 92% before..." A pause. "Before the attack."

The unspoken words hung heavy in the air.

Jiang exhaled sharply. "So Wei-Xing's after a weaponized version of this?"

The hologram flickered again, this time displaying schematics of a monstrous mech hybrid—part machine, part organic tissue.

"They seek to pervert my purpose," Eos said. "I was designed to enhance pilots, not control them. The codes they stole are incomplete—without the stabilizer and the core protocols hidden here, their project will fail."

Xing whined, his ears flattening.

Yuchen stepped closer. "But they're still trying."

"They are," Eos confirmed. "And they are close."

The AI led them deeper into the facility, through corridors lined with dormant mech prototypes and research terminals frozen mid-calculation.

The final chamber took Yuchen's breath away.

A Xuanwu-class mech stood enshrined at its center—smaller than the standard model, its avian frame sleek and lethal, built for a child's proportions.

Jiang whistled. "Well, I'll be damned. They built you your own damn war machine."

Eos' hologram appeared beside the mech. "This unit was Bai Qingyan's final project. A Xuanwu-EX, customized for your neural patterns."

Yuchen reached out, his fingers brushing the mech's leg plating. The metal hummed under his touch, as if recognizing him.

"Why?" he whispered.

The hologram shifted, showing footage of a younger Bai Qingyan working at a terminal, her face drawn with exhaustion.

"Because the stabilizer was only the beginning," Eos explained. "Your mother discovered that children's neural plasticity allowed for near-perfect AI symbiosis. You were to be the first true hybrid pilot—human and machine, merged seamlessly."

Jiang's cybernetic eye whirred. "That's why Wei-Xing wants it. An army of kid soldiers wired into unstoppable mechs."

Xing growled, his silver markings flaring.

Yuchen's stomach twisted. "Can we stop them?"

Eos' hologram brightened. "Yes. But you must awaken the Xuanwu-EX."

The console beside the mech lit up, revealing a familiar port—the exact size and shape of the PES stabilizer.

Jiang watched, arms crossed, as Yuchen climbed into the Xuanwu's cockpit. "You sure about this, kid?"

Yuchen slotted the stabilizer into its housing. "No."

The moment it clicked into place, the world exploded in light.

Neural tendrils snaked from the headset, connecting to Yuchen's temples. The cockpit's displays flared to life, but instead of cold data streams, he felt the mech—its systems, its limbs, its power—as if they were his own.*

Eos' voice echoed not through speakers, but directly in his mind.

"Synchronization initiating."

Fire raced through Yuchen's veins. His vision doubled, tripled—**he saw through the mech's sensors, through Xing's eyes, through Jiang's cybernetic feed all at once.**

The pain was unbearable.

Then—

Clarity.

The Xuanwu-EX moved, not at his command, but **as him.

Jiang stumbled back. "Holy shit."

Xing yipped in excitement.

Eos' voice was calm. "Synchronization stable at 97%. A new record."

Yuchen flexed the mech's fingers, marveling at how naturally it responded. "It's like... it's alive."

"We are," Eos corrected. "Together."

The alarms blared before they could celebrate.

Eos' hologram flashed red. "Wei-Xing forces have breached the perimeter. Six mechs, D-Rank and above."

Jiang was already moving. "Of course they did."

The facility's external cameras displayed the threat—a Wei-Xing assault squad, their mechs painted in predatory blacks and reds, weapons charging.

Their leader's voice crackled over an open channel: "Surrender the AI and the boy, or we burn the mountain down around you."

Yuchen's hands tightened on the Xuanwu's controls.

Jiang met his eyes. "Your call, kid."

Xing barked, leaping into the cockpit's secondary harness. His golden eyes burned with defiance.

Yuchen took a breath.

Then—

The Xuanwu-EX activated its plasma blades.

"We fight."

The Xuanwu-EX's thrusters roared to life as Yuchen launched from the facility's hidden hangar, the mountain air screaming past the cockpit. Below, Jiang took cover behind a reinforced blast door, his plasma rifle barking suppression fire at the advancing Wei-Xing mechs.

"Six hostiles," Eos intoned in Yuchen's mind, painting the battlefield in glowing tactical glyphs. "Two D-Rank Light-Frames, three C-Rank Assault Types, one B-Rank Heavy Command Unit."

Xing's snarl vibrated through the neural link, his predator instincts merging with Yuchen's combat awareness.

The enemy commander's voice crackled over the comm again—"Last chance, boy!"**

Yuchen didn't waste breath answering.

He moved.

The Xuanwu-EX blurred forward, its wrist-blades igniting in twin arcs of blue plasma. The lead D-Rank mech barely had time to raise its rifle before Yuchen scythed through its torso, the blade carving through armor like paper.

One down.

The remaining mechs opened fire.

Plasma bolts scorched the mountainside as Yuchen twisted through the barrage, Eos feeding him real-time trajectory adjustments. A C-Rank Assault Type lunged, its rotary saws shrieking—

Yuchen **ducked**, the Xuanwu's knee driving upward into the enemy's cockpit. The impact crumpled the reinforced glass, the pilot inside screaming as his systems shorted out.

Two down.

Xing's warning flashed through the link a millisecond before the B-Rank Heavy's missile lock flared.

"Evasive!"

Yuchen spun, the Xuanwu's shoulder-mounted interceptors flaring. The missiles detonated midair, the shockwave rattling the cockpit.

Jiang's voice cut through the chaos:"Kid, behind you!"

The third C-Rank had flanked him, its twin chainblades revving.

Yuchen didn't turn.

He backflipped over the strike, the Xuanwu's heel crashing down on the mech's head in a devastating axe kick.

Three down.

The remaining Wei-Xing units regrouped, their formation tightening around the B-Rank commander.

"Focus fire! Aim for the joints!"

Plasma and railgun rounds pounded the Xuanwu's armor, the impacts shuddering through Yuchen's bones. Warning glyphs flashed—left stabilizer damaged, right thruster at 60%.

Xing's snarl turned feral.

"Eos—combat mode Theta,"nYuchen commanded.

The AI's response was instantaneous. "Activating."

The Xuanwu-EX transformed.

Secondary armor plates slid into place, the mech's silhouette sharpening into a predator's stance. Plasma veins pulsed along its limbs as the stabilizer in its core flared white-hot.

The Wei-Xing commander hesitated. "What the hell is—"

Yuchen struck.

The Xuanwu moved faster than thought, its blades becoming a whirlwind of death. One C-Rank mech lost its legs at the knees. Another had its weapon arm severed at the shoulder.

Four down. Five.

Only the B-Rank remained.

The massive Heavy-Frame mech roared as it activated its overdrive systems, its armor plating glowing red with heat dispersal.

"You're just a child!" the commander spat. "You don't deserve this power!"

Yuchen didn't answer.

He charged.

The two mechs collided like falling stars.

The B-Rank's pile bunker fist slammed into the Xuanwu's chest, cracking armor. Yuchen gritted his teeth, feeling the impact through the neural link.

Xing howled.

Yuchen answered.

The Xuanwu's knee jacked upward, crushing the Heavy's weapon arm. Its plasma blade rammed into the enemy's torso, piercing deep—

But not deep enough.

The B-Rank headbutted the Xuanwu, its reinforced cockpit smashing into Yuchen's display. Alarms screeched—neural sync dropping, stabilizer overheating.

The commander laughed. "Die like your parents!"

Rage ignited.

Yuchen reached deeper, pushing the sync beyond safety limits. The stabilizer burned in its housing, the pain white-hot—

And the Xuanwu moved.

Its free hand clamped the B-Rank's head.

Its other blade pierced the cockpit.

The commander's scream cut off abruptly.

Silence.

Smoke curled from the Xuanwu's joints as it powered down, the stabilizer within spitting sparks. Yuchen gasped, the neural disconnect hitting like a sledgehammer. Blood dripped from his nose, his vision swimming.

Jiang's voice sounded distant: "Kid? Kid!"

Xing licked his face frantically.

Eos' voice was the last thing he heard before darkness took him:

"Synchronization terminated. Pilot vital signs critical."