My Choice

Bzzzt!

The dim lights in the detention room began to flicker.

Bai Ying leaned against the wall. Her beautiful white hair fell over her shoulders, and her cuffed hands wrapped around her knees as she curled up and buried her head in them.

Being confined was no big deal to her. Even if they hadn't locked her in this cold room, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to talk to anyone.

Of course, no one wanted to go out of their way to provoke this neurotic girl, either.

Keeping to herself was the label that set her apart at Xuanse Cangqiong.

But Bai Ying was still devastated. Whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was Xingtian's final battle—and as his pilot, all she could do was watch from afar in the hangar.

She couldn't control her temper. Whether with words or actions, she rarely considered other people's feelings. But that didn't mean she had no heart.

Xingtian shouldn't have ended up like this. He was a retired training mech; there was no reason for him to go to the battlefield!

And even if it had come to the point where Xingtian had no choice but to fight, he shouldn't have died in a state like this!

"If only I'd been more careful during the simulations..."

Bai Ying's fingernails dug almost into her flesh. Since she'd started living alone, she'd rarely cried like this.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone rapped on the heavy alloy door. Bai Ying was so lost in her own world that she hadn't noticed the commotion growing in the corridor!

"Bai Ying, we're opening the door. Don't make any sudden moves!"

By regulation, people confined to the detention room weren't handcuffed unless they'd committed a crime.

But Bai Ying had clear violent tendencies. Even with her hands cuffed, the people outside couldn't be sure she wouldn't use some other means to attack them!

A few seconds later, the detention room door opened. Three armed guards with stun batons surrounded the girl sitting on the floor!

They didn't let their guard down just because she looked so haggard. After all, everyone at the base knew Bai Ying had a temper and liked to settle things with her fists.

The three of them had all suffered at Bai Ying's hands, too, so none of them dared to treat her like an ordinary girl.

But Bai Ying's behavior was undeniably strange.

"General Chen wants you to meet him in the hangar right away. Please get up and come with us."

Hearing someone speak to her, Bai Ying slowly raised her head. Her face was deathly pale, her eyes were red-rimmed, and tear tracks were still visible beneath them.

"Where's Xingtian?"

Bai Ying's voice trembled slightly, but her tone was so calm that it didn't sound like a question. It sounded more like a plea.

The three exchanged glances.

This was the first time they'd ever seen Bai Ying in this state. Everyone knew she was hard to talk to—and that her fists did the talking.

The three of them had all taken a beating from Bai Ying, so none of them dared to treat her like a girl.

But Bai Ying's appearance was truly out of character.

"It's because of Xingtian that he wants you there," one of them said gently.

At those words, light immediately returned to Bai Ying's eyes!

She got to her feet at once, wiped her eyes with her arm, and hurried after the three guards toward the hangar.

On the way, she noticed that the base's power system seemed to be malfunctioning. The lights flickered, the elevators were out of service, and even the electronic biometric locks had failed. The doors had to be opened manually!

The four of them jogged the whole way, yet it still took nearly ten minutes to reach the hangar control room.

"General, we've brought her!"

The moment she entered, Bai Ying rushed straight to the observation window and pressed both hands against the glass!

Xingtian was still in the same ruined state, but the reactor in his chest was running at full power!

"What have you done to him?!" This was the last thing Bai Ying wanted to see.

"Calm down!" General Chen cut her off before she could say more. "Explain the situation to her."

A technician beside him hurriedly gave her a summary.

"An unknown error occurred during Xingtian's reactor ignition, and Xuanse Cangqiong's central control system was breached. The entire base's power is now flowing into the reactor on Xingtian. If this continues, the base's power system will collapse in less than half an hour!"

"Once the power system collapses, all the automated cannons defending the base will shut down. What's more, some of our power lines connect to Zhenhai City. Xingtian may keep drawing power through the lines and drain the city, too!"

"Then why don't you unplug the cables?" Bai Ying couldn't see how she could help, but hearing that Xingtian was drawing energy actually made her feel a little relieved.

"We can't. Xingtian has transformed the cables into the same material as the reactor. We couldn't cut them even with a thermal sword!"

"What can I do?"

At Bai Ying's question, the technician suddenly hesitated.

"The base's central control system has been completely disrupted. We can't alter the circuits remotely, and there's no way to cut the power manually in time." Dr. Chris continued the technician's explanation. "From the last log we received before the system failed, the intrusion signal came from Xingtian. We need someone to establish neural synchronization with him and solve the problem from inside. You're our best candidate."

"No problem." Bai Ying agreed without a moment's hesitation.

"No, it's not that simple!" The technician finally spoke up. "This isn't ordinary neural synchronization. Xingtian doesn't have an intelligent system, but the intrusion signal came from him. That means there's something wrong with the reactor. It may be self-aware!"

"So?"

Bai Ying's calm response took everyone by surprise.

"Do you think that's the only danger? The system's out of control. If you synchronize with Xingtian, there won't be any safety protocols to protect you! Look at him!" The technician pointed out the window at Xingtian. "He's a wreck! His systems are on the verge of collapse. If you synchronize with him, no one knows where your consciousness will end up!"

"I know."

"No, you don't! Your consciousness could shift. Your mind might be trapped forever in a shattered illusion, lost for good!" The technician grew more frantic with every word. "Do you know how the test pilots of the 'Savior' mech died? They forced a connection with their mech while its system was unstable. Both of them fell into a waking nightmare, and by the time they disconnected, they'd been declared brain-dead!"

The technician kept explaining the dangers to Bai Ying, but he realized she wasn't moved at all.

Those red eyes were like an unshakable mountain, standing firm before him.

"You'll die." The technician couldn't bear to watch Bai Ying put on the helmet without understanding the danger.

But that was all he could do.

Everyone in the control room knew about the risk. He was the only one who had told Bai Ying.

"Take off her handcuffs." Seeing that their conversation was over, General Chen immediately ordered the guards to unlock Bai Ying's cuffs.

Under everyone's gaze, Bai Ying sat down without hesitation and picked up the helmet she normally used only for training.

"Thank you." Before putting on the helmet, Bai Ying turned to the young technician and smiled.

"This is my choice."