Special Selection

Inside the bubble, Li Yi saw the internal view of the starship, something only those with high authority could access.

The scene was fragmented, but in a fleeting glimpse, the image of a colossal monster lying on its side was seared into his mind.

That monster was truly enormous.

It was several times larger than any of the Divine Mechs he had seen in the mech reserve.

Moreover.

This monstrous creature, with a leopard's head and a serpent's body, as majestic as mountains and rivers, was bound by chains. Countless swirling vortexes surrounded it, as if its nearly infinite internal energy was being siphoned away.

"Perhaps this is the secret behind the Deep Space Fleet's inexhaustible power source."

"This might also be why the pilots of the Divine Mechs must adhere strictly to the authority rules."

As Li Yi's thoughts raced, he formed several hypotheses.

Of course, whether these hypotheses were correct could not be confirmed yet.

Perhaps this scene held another meaning entirely.

Perhaps what he saw in that instant was merely the outermost layer of the truth.

Regardless, using this opportunity to glimpse a sliver of the starship's secrets was a significant gain.

"It's a shame this bubble didn't successfully imprint the memory with the Mind Seal. I'll pick another one."

Li Yi tossed the bubble into the third pit to his left.

All memory fragments he had absorbed, or those he wasn't ready to absorb yet, were sorted by him.

Important but not urgent memory fragments were also categorized separately.

This way, when he didn't have enough time to search for new fragments, he could select memory fragments from the sorted pits to digest.

A full three hours later.

Long Denghu frowned as he watched his subordinate sweat profusely while holding the Mind Seal Pillar.

"Three hours have passed, why isn't it done yet?"

The subordinate wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Boss, I think it's almost ready."

"You think it's almost ready? You told me the same thing half an hour ago."

"It really is almost ready this time... Wait!"

"Ah, it's done, it's done, Boss, it's finished. The Mind Seal Pillar's test has passed."

As he spoke, several people clearly saw a layer of yellow light appear on the surface of the pointed, cone-shaped Mind Seal Pillar placed flat on his palm, and then disappear.

Long Denghu also breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slightly.

"Good job. Pack up, let's go."

"Yes!"

"Captain Lin, a reminder: although the seal has been implanted, we will continue to monitor it to ensure there are no issues. You must be careful not to make any mistakes."

With the order given, several people quickly departed.

Only Lin Guotao remained, sitting in a corner in silence.

He remained still for five minutes.

Suddenly, Lin Guotao chuckled lightly.

"Since you're awake, why pretend to be asleep?"

Li Yi opened his eyes, feigning surprise.

"Officer, why are you here?"

"Your acting is quite good, but don't play such petty tricks in front of me again."

"You flatter me, Officer."

Li Yi sat up and grinned.

With so many parallel memories, acting was child's play for him.

The reason he acted so poorly was simply to fit his persona.

After capturing the memory fragment where the basic rules Mind Seal was implanted, Li Yi had woken up three times. Of course, Long Denghu and the others were present then, so he hadn't opened his eyes.

But by listening to the breathing sounds of those present, he had gauged the number of people and knew the 'seal implantation' process was still ongoing.

He then instantly fell back into a dream.

This appeared on the brainwave scan as a completely normal sleep cycle.

Therefore, even the scanning equipment didn't detect Li Yi's multiple awakenings.

Through these few maneuvers, Li Yi gradually digested the implanted memory fragment while in his dream. Once he confirmed that the Mind Seal test by the monitoring department had passed, he then regurgitated the digested memory fragment, completing his deception.

That's right, all memory fragments that haven't been fully digested can be recalled.

But if they've already been digested, there's no way to do that.

If you need to be checked again next time, you just need to repeat the same operation.

At this moment, seeing Li Yi looking energetic and in good condition, Lin Guotao breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"I haven't congratulated you on winning first place in this year's Newcomer Competition yet. I've already asked Lou Cheng to attend the award ceremony on your behalf. As for the corresponding rewards, treatment, authority upgrades, and so on, they will be arranged for you one by one before the end of today."

"Thank you for your concern, sir."

Lin Guotao smiled and said:

"Especially the A-grade Assist Module, that's the most important thing. I've transferred you to the Special Selection Class for training. Remember to bring this item with you tomorrow, and the new instructor will teach you how to use it."

"Special Selection Class?"

"That's right. You already have the status of a formal Mech Pilot. In theory, you shouldn't train with those rookie reserves anymore, as it will slow down your progress."

Lin Guotao chuckled and said:

"The Special Selection Class has many senior Initial-Level or Mid-Level Mech Pilots who have trained for two to four years. In that environment, you'll surely learn more and grow faster."

Li Yi nodded, not surprised:

"Sir, what's the difference between an Initial-Level Mech Pilot or a Mid-Level Mech Pilot and an evolved human?"

"You can barely be considered an Initial-Level Mech Pilot now. Your combat skills provide an enhancement of 1.5 times or more to the Mech's combat power, and your Mech can operate for one hour. These are the basic metrics."

Lin Guotao continued to explain:

"For a Mid-Level Mech Pilot, the basic requirements are a 3x combat power enhancement, Mech operation for three hours, the ability to continuously stimulate the Mech's divinity for 3 minutes, and the activation of divine skills within a 100-kilometer radius."

"A 3x Mech enhancement from combat skills? Divine skills with a 100-kilometer radius?"

Li Yi was startled.

His current Perfect-level combat skills only provided about 1.8 to 1.9 times Mech enhancement.

How was 3x achieved?

And a divine skill radiating out to a hundred kilometers, wasn't that a bit too much?

The opponents he faced before could only project their divine skills a few hundred meters away at most, right?

Lin Guotao noticed Li Yi's surprise and said with a faint smile:

"It's not just about pure combat techniques, of course. But by being bathed in divine radiation for a long time, your reaction speed increases, your thinking becomes agile, and your physique improves. These can also enhance your combat skills and provide combat power enhancement to the Mech. As for divine skills, you'll learn them later, so I won't reveal too much here."

Li Yi nodded. That made sense; in terms of techniques, he had basically reached his limit.

If others could achieve his level of technique after practicing for a few more years, then his years of focused absorption of combat memories would have been in vain.

"What about a High-Level Mech Pilot?"

"For a High-Level Mech Pilot, the basic requirements are a 10x combat power enhancement, Mech operation for ten hours, continuous stimulation of divinity for 10 minutes, and the activation of divine skills within a 1,000-kilometer radius."

"As for evolved humans, it varies from person to person. Some evolved humans might only become Initial-Level or Mid-Level Mech Pilots, while stronger ones can even surpass High-Level and reach Celestial Rank."

Li Yi pondered:

"So, some evolved humans might have good physiques, but their combat skills never reach an enhancement of 1.5 times or more? The reason they become evolved humans is mainly due to long-term piloting of divine mechs?"

"That's right, your understanding is very accurate."

Lin Guotao praised, "To become an evolved human, one must be bathed in divine radiation for a long time to slowly break through their limits. Therefore, a skilled Mech Pilot who masters the secret to stimulating divinity can naturally become an evolved human faster."

"In addition, high-intensity Mech combat can also promote the stimulation of divinity."

"This is why we hold actual combat matches every year to increase the newcomers' contact time with their divine mechs."

"Generally speaking, newcomers who win the championship in the annual Newcomer Competition and become evolved humans within two years is considered an excellent achievement."

Speaking of which, Lin Guotao looked at Li Yi, his voice deep, "But my expectations for you are even higher. If I ask you, can you become an evolved human within a year, a Mid-Level Mech Pilot within two years, and reach High-Level within four years? Do you have confidence in that?"

"Uh... what do you mean, sir?"

Li Yi was taken aback. Why did Lin Guotao like asking about confidence so much?