125: drifting

[Consciousness Space]

An unknown amount of time passed before Han Chengyu's consciousness slowly gathered in a warm void. The first thing he felt was a deep, bone-weary exhaustion, as if his entire Soul had been drained and then forcibly stuffed back in. Dazed and sluggish, even thinking felt slow.

"Uh... System? Why do I... feel so sleepy? It's like... I had an extremely tiring dream, but it doesn't feel like a dream..." His thoughts came in fragments.

[host, you are awake.] The System's voice remained steady, yet seemed to carry a hint of barely perceptible weakness.

[In the final moments, to guide the energy and reconstruct Lu Jianchuan's life Foundation, preventing his Foundation from collapsing, you expended too much of your consciousness Origin.

Even with my full assistance in sharing the computational load and maintaining stability, this kind of microscopic manipulation involving the essence of life placed a burden on your spirit far beyond the norm. Deep sleep is a necessary process for consciousness self-repair.]

"I see... What about him..." Han Chengyu was most concerned about that stubborn police officer.

[Based on analysis of the last fuzzy signal transmitted by the Unit and subsequent limited information accessed from the public network, Aptitude Holder Lu Jianchuan is confirmed alive.]

The System gave a definitive reply.

[He is currently in the medical center affiliated with the original GUPA Base. His vital signs are no longer critical, and he has entered a long-term recovery phase. However...]

"However what?"

[All residual evo factor potential within his body was, in accordance with your decision, fully utilized for emergency repairs to his life System, which was on the verge of collapse. This means he has temporarily lost the ability to resonate with the armor and guide evolution.

The Unit's binding with him has entered a minimal 'Dormant Observation' mode.

According to retrieved encrypted communication fragments, there is internal disagreement within his organization. Some personnel advocate for research into his 'special physiological state after losing power,' but this proposal has been strongly vetoed by the Advanced member codenamed 'Golden Bone,' in alliance with other forces.

The current resolution is to ensure his normal life and safety as a 'former Aptitude Holder' and meritorious personnel.]

"Alive... that's good. Becoming an ordinary person, living a peaceful life... perhaps that's the best outcome for him." Han Chengyu felt a mix of emotions—relief, reflection, and a faint sense of loss.

Everything they had experienced together seemed to have faded away with that explosion. "So... what do we do next?"

[The mission is not yet complete. According to the core protocol, after the Unit's binding with the previous Aptitude Holder enters dormancy or is dissolved, the 'Aptitude Holder Re-search' procedure will automatically execute.

Currently, we are in a passive drifting state to conserve energy, awaiting protocol condition triggers—either contact by a new potential Aptitude Holder individual, or after a preset time, I will initiate a Short-range Jump to transport us near a high-potential individual.]

"So, we're waiting now?"

[Yes, host. Please maintain a low-consumption state of consciousness and await an opportunity.]

[Real World · Downstream of an Unknown River]

Through the Unit, Han Chengyu vaguely sensed himself rising and falling with the water's flow. After drifting for an unknown duration, the current slowed, and the Unit was washed into a corner of the riverbank piled with garbage and mud.

A pair of dirty, slightly large-knuckled yet unusually agile small hands pushed aside the foul-smelling rotten vegetable leaves and plastic bottles.

Fingers, hesitant and wary, touched the cold "Watch Casing."

"Huh? What... what is this?"

A childish voice, lacking the vitality typical of its age, sounded. The accent was mixed, as if deliberately imitating the local dialect, yet still carrying a subtle trace of foreignness.

It was a boy who looked about ten years old, small and thin, dressed in tattered clothes that barely covered him. His face was smeared with grime, his eyes flickering between wariness and a faint curiosity. With effort, he pried the "Watch" half-buried in the mud, wiping it hastily on his equally filthy pant leg.

He froze.

The object in his hand was utterly different from anything he recognized as "valuable" or "trash."

The streamlined dark silver metal Watch body had an extraordinary texture, encircled by a ring of deep blue light strips pulsing at a slow, breathing rhythm. At its center was an interface that appeared to be glass but was actually scrolling with fine data streams like a waterfall.

It was too clean, too beautiful, too... "out of place here." The boy's eyes widened, reflecting the deep blue glow. He had never owned anything truly his own, complete and beautiful. This sudden discovery was like a faint yet piercing light shining into his gray world.

He jerked his head around, nervously scanning the empty, dirty riverbank and the dilapidated buildings in the distance, like a startled small animal. He didn't see the fierce figure who often watched them, prone to beatings and scoldings.

His heart pounded in his thin chest. A strong thought seized him: Hide it! Can't let anyone see! This is... mine!

He looked down again, greedily eyeing the Watch, then without hesitation, as quickly as possible, lifted his ragged shirt—beneath it were even more shocking signs of emaciation and old injuries—and pressed the cold, mysterious "Watch" tightly against his dirty chest skin, tucking it into a nearly non-existent hidden pocket he had secretly sewn into the inner layer of his clothes.

He even pressed down hard, making sure it wouldn't fall out or show a noticeable shape through his clothes.

After doing all this, he let out a breath, a mix of fear, excitement, and a strange satisfaction from having his own "secret" for the first time.

"It's mine..." he murmured to the air in a barely audible whisper, a flash of almost fierce protectiveness in his eyes. "Won't tell anyone! Never say it, even if I die!"

Finally, he warily glanced around, then like a wisp of gray smoke blending into the shadows, swiftly and silently left the garbage pile, disappearing into the depths of the intricate, musty-smelling alleyways.

Inside the Consciousness Space, Han Chengyu felt the faint body heat transmitted through the clothes—tinged with fear and obsession—and the System's subsequent prompt:

[Contact confirmed: Life individual. Initiating preliminary scan...]

[Scan complete. Target: Human male juvenile. Physiological age approximately 9-11 years. evo factor concentration: 0.002% (recessive, far below activation threshold). Vital signs indicate long-term malnutrition and minor old soft tissue injuries. Mental state assessment: Highly tense, showing significant post-traumatic stress characteristics.]

[Conclusion: Does not meet Elementary Aptitude Holder binding criteria. Maintain observation, awaiting protocol trigger conditions?]