154: Armor combination!

Two days remained in the voyage to Blackgold Harbor.

The sea was unusually calm.

The lower deck, modification workshop.

The air here was thick with the pungent smell of machine oil and the scorched scent of metal cutting.

Sizzle—!

Blue-purple sparks burst forth, illuminating a wild-looking profile.

Xia Lai wore only a shiny black work vest, sweat sliding down her cold-white collarbone into her deep cleavage.

She bit down on a screwdriver, her gaze as fierce as if she were performing craniotomy on an enemy.

Before her, a semi-finished silver-gray Exoskeleton frame hung from a gantry.

That was the big baby she had been tinkering with for days—the [thug 02] Power Armor.

Clatter!

Xia Lai threw down the welding torch and irritably rubbed her shoulder-length short hair into a bird's nest.

"Damn it, stuck again..."

She pushed her goggles up to the top of her head.

The drill on the mechanical arm spun idly with a buzzing sound, as if it wanted to give this pile of scrap metal a physical salvation.

"Garbage algorithm! Neural synchronization rate is only 60%? Looking down on my hand speed, are you?!"

She grabbed a wrench, preparing to dismantle the sensor and reinstall it.

She had hand-crafted this Exoskeleton using black technology alloys.

Top-tier hardware!

Yet it was stuck at the final hurdle of "Man-Machine Unity."

Her neural reaction speed couldn't keep up with the output power of this steel beast.

It was like driving a Ferrari but only having a tractor's steering wheel in hand—frustrating!

"What, even our master mechanic has things she can't handle?"

A lazy voice drifted from behind.

Xia Lai jumped in startle, and the screwdriver in her mouth nearly hit her foot.

She looked back.

Chen Du was leaning against the doorframe, holding two bottles of chilled beer emitting cold mist, looking at her with a half-smile.

"Cap... Captain?"

Xia Lai instinctively wiped her face with the back of her hand, resulting in a streak of black oil, making her look like a little calico cat.

She somewhat uneasily pulled down the hem of her vest.

Usually, she could make any kind of dirty joke with her sisters.

But in front of Chen Du, she always felt a bit... off.

Especially thinking about the last accident... the aftertaste was truly endless!

"Don't be nervous, I'm here to bring some coolness."

Chen Du walked over.

He pressed the ice-cold bottle against her burning cheek.

The cold sensation made Xia Lai shrink her neck comfortably.

"Th... thanks."

She took the beer.

She downed more than half the bottle in one breath, trying to quench the heat in her heart.

"This thing is too hard to handle. The synchronization rate of the spinal nerve interface is too low. I'm planning to put it aside for now..."

"Put what aside? Strike while the iron is hot."

Chen Du set down the beer bottle and walked behind her.

His gaze swept over her sweat-drenched back, where he could faintly see that charming back groove.

"Low synchronization? It's because you only have the hardware; you're missing a bit of critical 'lubricant'."

"Lubricant? I haven't added too little..."

Xia Lai's brain hadn't caught up yet.

The next second, Chen Du pressed up against her.

His chest pressed tightly against her back.

Burning body heat transmitted through the thin fabric, like a spark falling into a haystack.

"I mean, the guidance of bio-energy."

Chen Du leaned close to her ear, his hot breath spraying on her sensitive auricle. "Don't move, relax."

"Holy crap... Captain, are you trying to use your position to sleep with your technical backbone? Aren't so many sisters enough to satisfy you?"

Xia Lai's body stiffened, but she was still talking tough.

"Although I like soft girls, if the Captain serves me personally, it's not like I can't force myself..."

Before she could finish, Chen Du pressed a sensitive spot.

Her composure instantly broke.

A familiar tingling sensation rushed up her spine straight to her head.

Looking at the face that was almost identical to Xia Mo's, Chen Du gave a light chuckle.

His large hand directly gripped her lean waist, his fingertips pressing on several acupoints at the small of her back.

"Mmph!!"

Xia Lai let out a muffled groan, her knees going weak.

The mechanical arm clattered, but it was stabilized by an entwining shadow.

"Don't move, I'll help you lubricate a bit."

Chen Du took out a small bottle of life essence and poured it down her spine from the collar.

As the essence moved down inch by inch, Xia Lai felt as if a layer of electricity wrapped around her spine.

It forcibly activated every one of her neural synapses.

"So hot... something is flowing in..."

Xia Lai's face was flushed, her eyes hazy.

She bit her lip hard, her fingertips trembling along.

This feeling was too intoxicating, both tingly and numb!

It's over! He's going to do that kind of thing again!

Xia Lai discovered with sorrow that she seemed to be turning straight... It turned out the feeling of being controlled by a man was actually so... stimulating?

"Now! Put it on!" Chen Du barked low.

Xia Lai was stunned for a moment.

Then she instinctively obeyed the command.

Her figure flashed as she slipped into the hanging Exoskeleton armor.

This time.

There wasn't the slightest bit of friction.

That cold steel seemed to have become her skin, even an extension of her bones!

Click—Hum!

The sound of mechanical locking was crisp and pleasant.

The lifeless armor was finally activated!

Deep blue energy flowed throughout the body, and the mechanical wings on the back snapped open!

Kicking up a gust of wind!

"It... it worked?!"

Xia Lai clenched her iron fist in disbelief.

This overflowing sense of power... she felt she could punch out the teeth of an Abyssal Demon Whale right now!

"Ha!"

She gave an excited low roar.

She turned and threw a punch at a solid multi-ton container nearby.

Boom!

The ear-piercing shriek of twisting steel rang out!

The container was like a block of tofu, blasted with a half-meter deep crater!

Terrifyingly powerful!

"How is it? Are you satisfied with the lubrication effect?"

Chen Du leaned nearby lighting a cigarette, his gaze behind the smoke carrying a hint of playfulness.

Xia Lai panted as she opened the faceplate, her face still flushed.

She looked at Chen Du with an extremely complex gaze.

There was gratitude, excitement, and a trace of something she didn't dare admit even to herself... hunger.

Hungry for his body?

"Sat... satisfied..."

She turned her head away, humming softly.

The pleasure just now, like a fusion of souls, was more addictive than mechanical modification.

"As long as you're satisfied."

Chen Du walked over and reached out to wipe the oil stain off the tip of her nose.

The action was as natural as petting a cat.

"This set of equipment is good. From now on, even if you encounter powerful enemies, you'll have the power to protect yourself."

"Alright, get some rest early."

With that, he waved his hand.

Leaving her with a dashing back view.

Leaving Xia Lai alone, clutching her still wildly thumping heart.

A long while passed.

Only then did she squeeze out a sentence with a sob:

"This damn scumbag... how can he be so handsome!!"

"Wuwuwu... Third Sister, I've failed you... I'm going to defect, straight men are really great..."

...The deck was quiet, and the warning light at the top of the mast blinked rhythmically.

Chen Du had just come up from the lower deck.

He originally intended to go back to his room to catch up on sleep, but his steps paused as he passed the ship's rail.

Someone was standing there.

Ye Qiu had changed into a pale purple silk slip nightdress.

The sea breeze was very considerate, pressing the hem tightly against her body, outlining that mature, perfectly-shaped S-curve. It was a charm a young girl could never possess.

She swirled half a glass of red wine in her hand, her gaze looking out at the pitch-black sea, revealing an indescribable resentment.

"What, does our great Doctor Ye have something on her mind too?"

Chen Du walked over and casually took the wine glass from her hand.

Using the spot on the rim with that red lip print, he tilted his head and took a sip.

"This wine has breathed a bit too long; it's a bit sour."

Ye Qiu didn't look back; she just pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses she hadn't taken off even in her nightgown.

"It's not the wine that's sour."

Her voice held no emotion, yet it carried a hint of tipsy laziness. "It's the dopamine and adrenaline secretion in my body that's out of balance."

She suddenly turned around, leaning her back against the railing.

A strap slipped halfway down, revealing a rounded, white shoulder.

"Chen Du, as the culprit, you have an obligation to treat my endocrine disorder."

"This is also... part of the emergency treatment."

By the moonlight, Ye Qiu gazed deeply at the man before her who had all the women on the ship infatuated.