Ye Ying was swift and ferocious, like a beast in the darkness.
"Clang!"
A fruit knife was pressed against Liang Yuwei's throat, its tip digging deeply but only piercing the skin. Beneath the skin lay a hard substance.
Liang Yuwei casually waved his hand, swatting the fruit knife away. He calmly said, "Gu Ya, I had no intention of harming you. Why are you so angry?"
Ye Ying shielded Gu Ya behind her, her cold eyes fixed on Liang Yuwei.
Gu Ya stated calmly, "What you hold is a threat to me!"
Liang Yuwei retracted the mechanical arm from behind him, immediately flashing to the side. He composed himself, adjusted his trench coat, and smiled politely. "The Jar of Balance, if you want it, I'll give it to you."
Liang Yuwei actually tossed the small jar directly over.
Ye Ying caught it steadily, then eyed Liang Yuwei with confusion. After much thought, she gently pressed a button on the jar.
Gu Ya instantly felt his strength return. The next second, a crimson light dagger materialized and pierced Liang Yuwei's chest.
The scorching dagger blade emerged from Liang Yuwei's back. He twisted the dagger slightly, emitting a sizzling sound.
Gu Ya's hand materialized a drop of clear liquid, which flowed along the burning dagger into Liang Yuwei's body.
"Put it away. This thing can't kill me," Liang Yuwei said with a faint smile. "Gu Ya, since I dared to come, I naturally anticipated this situation."
Gu Ya did not lower his guard, his grip on the dagger unwavering. With a slight lift, he could cleave Liang Yuwei's head in two.
"What are you here for? What is your objective?" Gu Ya asked coldly.
Liang Yuwei put his hands in his pockets, tilted his head slightly, and smiled faintly. "To help you. Or you could say, to help myself."
A few minutes later, Liang Yuwei sat at Gu Ya's dining table, opened his portable tool bag, and selected small, useful parts to insert into the wound on his chest.
With each part he inserted, a faint mechanical whirring sound emanated from his body. The wound acted like a small mouth, biting down on the parts and assembling them onto damaged mechanical structures, gradually healing the wound.
While performing the repairs, Liang Yuwei said, "This is my objective. Believe it or not, it's up to you."
Gu Ya and Ye Ying exchanged a glance. Gu Ya asked, "You mean there are dissidents within the Old Day Sect, and you've come to ask for my help in dealing with them?"
Liang Yuwei nodded in understanding. "The Jar of Balance is like a capsule; it has a duration and a limited number of uses."
"We also have the 'Instrument of Balance.' Whenever you use your abilities, the Instrument of Balance reacts. The closer you are, the stronger the reaction."
"Those dissidents want to use the Instrument of Balance and the Jar of Balance to find and kill you."
"It must seem quite sudden, right? So many enemies appearing overnight."
"But for us, the divisions have been brewing for a long time. The factional strife has intensified, reaching an unmanageable point recently."
"Some dissidents have already secretly colluded with the Chongli Sect and are planning to kill you."
By the time Liang Yuwei finished speaking, the scar on his chest had been repaired. However, the skin around the wound was charred, resembling a tattoo.
Gu Ya said coldly, "I can help you, but I have conditions. Tell me everything that can restrain me, including the principles, structure, and manufacturing methods."
"Certainly, no problem. I'll need to apply for approval from my superiors when I get back," Liang Yuwei replied with a faint smile.
"I will come to find you again, perhaps tomorrow, the day after, or even later. But it will be before those people come to kill you."
Liang Yuwei put on his trench coat and prepared to leave.
At the doorway, Liang Yuwei looked back at Gu Ya and asked a rather abrupt question: "Do you feel like you've lived a satisfying life?"
Gu Ya shook his head. "The more I know, the more I feel trapped and stuck. Only when all the difficulties are resolved do I feel satisfied."
Liang Yuwei looked at Gu Ya, nodded, and said, "Keep going. I have high hopes for you. Don't die."
That night, Gu Ya tossed and turned, unable to sleep, his thoughts becoming increasingly chaotic.
Ye Ying turned over and embraced Gu Ya from behind, softly asking, "If you want to go, you can. Don't worry about me. I'll protect Youyou and Youran."
Gu Ya gazed at the clear night sky outside the window, feeling Ye Ying's familiar heartbeat against his back. He said faintly, "My father's research report reminded me. I hope the gains from my trip to Huiye City will be useful."
"If I don't handle this properly this time, I might really die."
Ye Ying gently squeezed the flesh on the back of Gu Ya's hand, whispering tenderly, "Don't say such discouraging things. You won't die."
Gu Ya turned and buried his head in Ye Ying's embrace.
The memory of having all his strength drained by the Jar of Balance sent a deep sense of fear through him.
Without the Urn of the Machine God, Gu Ya was undoubtedly like an ordinary person, with very limited capabilities.
He had to find a way to defeat his enemies even when he was restrained.
Liang Yuwei had left behind three bottles of the Jar of Balance, each with three uses, totaling nine.
Gu Ya had to utilize these nine opportunities to find and kill his enemies.
But each use meant he would temporarily lose the abilities and protection of the Urn of the Machine God.
The Jar of Balance was a double-edged sword; he had to use it wisely. Therefore, he needed to think clearly before acting.
Before dawn, Gu Ya was fully dressed and flew to the Hecheng Society.
In the consciousness domain laboratory, twelve followers were already waiting.
Sakuan walked with a limp towards Gu Ya, blinking frequently and stammering, "Young... Young master, everything is... is ready!"
His speech was like a mechanical malfunction, punctuated by frequent stutters.
His consciousness had returned to his physical body, and he had not yet fully adapted.
Sakuan's experience also provided vivid experimental material and firsthand data for consciousness research.
Gu Ya nodded, patted his shoulder, and stepped into the consciousness transmission instrument.
The massive cabin cover flipped down, enclosing Gu Ya's body. A faint blue light illuminated the cabin.
The machine began to operate. Gu Ya could hear the subtle electromagnetic sounds of each current flowing through the cables and the wave frequencies emitted by each communication. Sleepiness gradually crept in, and Gu Ya slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, the world before him had transformed entirely into code. With the slightest shift of his consciousness, the code morphed into images.
He was now within a holographic screen, his entire body composed of controllable light particles. He could feel each light particle changing with his expressions.
It felt as if his soul had been extracted and stuffed into the holographic system, and he couldn't feel the presence of his physical body.
However, Gu Ya could clearly perceive every instrument before him, its operational code, communication protocols, and back-end connections.
This feeling was wondrous and almost unbelievable. Gu Ya needed some time to adapt.
"Young Master!" Hong Fei exclaimed. She had also become one of Gu Ya's followers and had begun researching the consciousness domain.
"The experimental data is perfect!" Hong Fei said intently, staring at the display screen.
In fact, Gu Ya didn't need her to tell him that his upload experiment had been a complete success.
This was also related to his own talent.
Even without the Urn of the Machine God, he was one of the few people in the world who could perfectly upload their consciousness into a computer.
Within the holographic system, Gu Ya nodded slightly, adapting as quickly as possible to operating in the new environment.
An hour later, he had successfully infiltrated and obtained the entire holographic system of the Gu Lang Group, uncovering some unsavory secrets of the senior management.
Undeniably, in the world of computers, while he couldn't physically exert himself, Gu Ya could accomplish significantly more!
"Young Master, we will take good care of your physical body. Go with peace of mind," Hong Fei's voice transformed into lines of code, merging into Gu Ya's consciousness.
Gu Ya gave his followers a few more instructions, then flew out of the Hecheng Society building via the communication network, merging into the vaster ocean of the Wuhe City network.
"Hei Yang, how is this body of mine?" Gu Ya jested.
Hei Yang appeared behind Gu Ya, dressed in elegant attire, and smiled sweetly. "Master, it's absolutely perfect."
"Why are you dressed like a little girl? Have you developed a cross-dressing fetish?" Gu Ya turned back, confused.
Hei Yang had transformed into a girl of fifteen or sixteen, wearing a black Lolita dress and holding a small black umbrella.
Her pigtails flew wildly in the wind behind her head, and her bangs were blown upwards, giving her a cute yet slightly comical appearance.
"Master, I can be male or female, whichever you prefer..." Hei Yang teased.
"Get lost, get lost! Be serious. It's time to work."
The two "people" flew towards the data sea in the sky.
In the data ocean of the upper district of Wuhe City, there was an unusually bright spot, like the North Star, guiding Gu Ya.