After the alert tone, Lieutenant Gou Ye issued an order over the broadcast. "Attention, everyone. We are about to enter an Abnormal Rules zone. Don your armor and activate the Type One array. Unarmored personnel are forbidden from exposing themselves in any unsealed area."
Even as the broadcast continued, the lower section of the workstation, which was gradually reshaping and returning to position, slowly opened up the space. A flat, box-shaped Mechanical Creation rose from a designated area and slid to Ronan's feet, which were still secured by magnetic straps.
A faint chirp sounded behind Ronan's ear, echoing the device from afar and thereby confirming his identity clearance.
The Mechanical Creation abruptly transformed. Though its primary material was cold, grim metal, its intricate precision parts split apart and reassembled like a living mass of clinging slime, advancing up Ronan's legs and quickly spreading past his waist and abdomen.
The magnetic straps automatically released, making room for the Mechanical Creation. In no more than a breath, the Exoskeleton Armor had covered Ronan from head to toe and linked with the Erect Collar Machine Core attached to him.
His breathing through his mouth and nose automatically connected to the life-support module and synchronized with the external energy furnace. With every breath Ronan exhaled, the armor around him seemed to expand and contract, as though it shared the same pulse as those dozens of kilograms of metal.
"The classic seventh edition of the 'Technician' individual combat armor. Its offense and defense modules are both lopsided oddities designed around maintenance functions. A typical case where the partner gets happier than the user."
Xian Zhu gave his explanation at just the right moment. As for him, nothing had changed.
"Don't doubt it. By 'unarmored personnel,' they mean me—and himself."
Xian Zhu pointed to the "surgery"