"Tsk... this force is really hard to control."
Lu Tianming gritted his teeth, looking at the Strike Suit's current leg with some difficulty.
At this moment, the Striker's leg was almost reduced to a blackened skeleton exposed to the open air... If converted to human terms, it would be like having bare bones visible.
The previous energy concentration to enhance power had been too intense, ultimately causing a chain explosion upon release... The Duel was directly blown away, but its leg also suffered considerable damage, with the outer armor directly torn off by the explosion... it actually served somewhat like a fragmentation grenade.
Lu Tianming felt a piercing pain... He even vaguely had the illusion that his own biological leg had been blown off.
This was the drawback of forced self-linking. When directly piloting the Strike, according to Lu Tianming's perception, he actually shouldn't feel pain - only a kind of 'damage' report information would be transmitted, mainly allowing damage perception without suffering from the pain.
Thinking about it, this made sense... Otherwise, when Xia Chuan replaced body components before, wouldn't it have been like performing surgery without anesthetic? He'd be lucky not to have died from the pain.
However, when Lu Tianming linked with his biological body, similar drawbacks would appear. When the 'damage' information flow passed through his brain, it mistakenly triggered the pain perception part of Lu Tianming's brain, supplementing the 'missing' pain sensation for him.
It was just absurd...
Therefore, Lu Tianming only felt terribly frustrated - he had to endure suffering that even Xia Chuan didn't have to experience. What a life this was.
"All three enemy machines have retreated, and the Eighth Fleet is about to arrive... Tianming, we've won!"
Mu's voice came through the communication channel, filled with barely contained excitement. Not only was Lu Tianming fine... he had nearly counter-killed one enemy, which greatly surprised and pleased Mu.
"Yeah, that's right..."
Lu Tianming nodded somewhat weakly, replying with a smile. After that last strike, he felt completely drained... with an indescribable sense of weakness.
His gaze then fell on the text appearing on the screen, his thoughts shifting:
"Has the physical carrier of the Mobile Suit's consciousness been repaired?"
[Repair completed, but consciousness link is still being reestablished]
[Detected consciousness stability declining. Continuing in this state may lead to consciousness dissociation. Preparing to restore conventional link mode for you.]
Restore it, restore it... Anyway, that idiot Xia Chuan is safe now, and there's no need for me to endure this headache-inducing DEBUFF while pushing forward.
Come to think of it, did my Resonance Level just drop below 100%? This system must have some bug... How can my resonance with myself drop below 100%? That's somewhat ridiculous.
Lu Tianming took a deep breath, feeling somewhat drowsy, so he simply opened the communication channel and connected to Mu's line.
"Mr. Mu?"
"Hmm? I'm here, what's the matter?"
Mu was still immersed in the joy of victory. Seeing Lu Tianming suddenly establish communication, he didn't immediately understand what was happening.
"Could you ask the Archangel to prepare some blood packs? I feel a bit anemic."
"Ah?"
Mu was momentarily stunned, only then noticing through the video that Lu Tianming's condition was completely abnormal...
His eyes were bloodshot, blood even seeped from their corners, and fresh blood from his nose flowed uncontrollably. The entire face shield was filled with floating crimson droplets.
"Hey! Don't fall asleep, Tianming, can you hear me?! I'm taking you back right now—maintain consciousness and whatever you do, don't sleep!"
Mu was startled. Lu Tianming's current condition couldn't even be described as terrifying... His face was deathly pale, looking as if he were just one step away from death.
While maintaining communication with Lu Tianming, Mu piloted the Zero toward the Strike Suit and simultaneously opened a channel to the Archangel, transmitting a message:
"Get the medical team ready immediately! Lu Tianming's physical condition is critical!"
"...What's the rush? It's not like I'm going to bleed to death from a nosebleed."
Lu Tianming looked exasperated... Strictly speaking, his body should be relatively safe. It was just that all this blood on his face was quite alarming, especially with the floating droplets sticking to his face shield. Anyone unaware might think his brain had exploded.
"...Are you really okay?"
Mu remained somewhat skeptical, but seeing that aside from the frightening amount of blood on his face and his poor mental state, Lu Tianming didn't seem to be in immediate life-threatening danger.
"If you fly steadily, I should be fine."
Lu Tianming said jokingly. Mu nodded half-convinced, then steadily launched a wired anchor to latch onto the Strike Suit, beginning his role as a cosmic tow truck.
Seeing the Strike Suit operating smoothly, Lu Tianming relaxed, leaning back into the pilot seat. He calmed his mind and began reviewing the residual streams of information in his consciousness.
During the earlier connection... a portion of information had indeed flooded his brain, giving him new insights into this peculiar link.
Meanwhile, Yzak's situation wasn't much better either. Lu Tianming's earlier kick had dented the cockpit hatch.
The deformation from this dent directly affected the hydraulic rods' operation, forcing the crew to forcibly remove the hatch. There was no doubt... if the Strike Suit hadn't exploded due to energy overload earlier, Yzak might have been crushed into pulp along with the hatch.
"Dammit... Is that Strike Suit pilot insane?! Using such a dangerous attack method!"
Supported by Nicol and Dearka, Yzak floated out of the cockpit, still cursing and complaining.
The earlier explosion had shattered his face shield, with flying glass fragments cutting his face... His current condition was similar to Lu Tianming's—also covered in blood, perhaps even worse.
"Yzak, stop talking for now... The priority is to get your wounds treated in the infirmary..."
Nicol said with concern, worried that continued speech might cause facial muscle movement to push any remaining glass fragments deeper into the wounds, causing further damage.
Understanding Nicol's meaning, Yzak took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger. Composing himself, he went with the ship's medic to the infirmary for treatment.
Watching Yzak leave, Dearka sighed helplessly, then turned to look at the footprint on the Duel's cockpit hatch... Just seeing it made him shudder involuntarily.
"Wasn't Miguel also killed by similar means? We thought the Strike Suit had run out of weapons, but it punched him in the chest and then threw a knife to finish him off..."
He couldn't help but recall the combat footage of Miguel's death that he had watched countless times... Now he somewhat understood how Miguel must have felt back then.
This time, all the weapons - guns, knives, shields - anything that could be held had been knocked away. Even the hands normally used to execute skills were being guarded against... Yet the Strike Suit could still turn around and deliver a kicking technique.
Probably when Miguel was shot down earlier, he must have thought 'An MS can throw knives?' - that kind of worldview-shattering realization.
"Yes, we thought we had collected all the data on the Strike Suit... But who would have thought this guy always keeps coming up with new moves."
Nicol nodded in deep agreement. That white figure was like an undead, omnipotent demon - no matter how they calculated or how hard they tried... it seemed they could never truly damage it.
You have to understand, this time they even used high-voltage cables, yet the Strike Suit still somehow miraculously won what should have been its final battle.
He was starting to doubt... was this MS called Strike really an enemy that could be defeated?
Just how many more hidden, unrevealed special weapons did it possess?