Chapter 216: Instincts

Words : 1234 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

Chapter 216: Instincts D-29 was a mess after nearly six hours of being lugged around like baggage when it should’ve been a kite! A majestic white and gold kite! But right now, the little system was blackened with soot. It still had the after-effects from flying too close to Sid and his thrusters when it couldn’t fly without assistance. Well, technically, even now, the wobbly new mecha was still trying to extend its functions to actual movement, but it was difficult. And so every time it doubted itself, it’d bring up that fateful day when it wrestled with Sid for control. It was easy back then, so why did it have to be so difficult right now?! Regrets! Maybe it was far easier without a physical body! D-29 actually thought about disengaging the link but thought about the costs and the efforts of the Host. It was likely going to get kicked out after announcing a sudden change of mind. But who could’ve imagined that it’d be this hard?! The little system should’ve just piggybacked on Sid’s BIOS, really! However, hindsight was always 20/20, and in this case, it was even Ultra-High Definition. So, D-29 could only lament the new harsh reality. Thankfully, the Host was very generous and decided to actually add the golden trims as compensation for all the hardship. Yes, because Luca could only look at the mecha he painstakingly made and couldn’t help but think it was a ginormous piece of charcoal. But Luca kept it to himself and tried thinking of beautiful thoughts, or he might alarm the stylish D-29, who would likely collapse had it known what it actually looked like right now. So, it just promised to clean it up today and would likely install the delayed cosmetic upgrades. ’That should be good enough, right?’ Thought Luca, who was hoping for the best. In all fairness, today may not have been D-29’s day, but the next one sure was. Provided he erased the memories and logs from that afternoon. The morning was finally glorious for the aspiring mecha who really wanted a grand entrance. D-29 strode through the vast hangar, its gleaming white and gold form demanding attention with every step. It was towering and had a sleek yet angular design, which made each polished plate and joint glint under the industrial lights. It screamed elegance, especially after the golden accents traced along the contours of the self-healing armor, which only highlighted the reinforced limbs. And the same could be expected for the mecha’s core parts. A gleaming, intricate chest plate housed the core beneath, its faint hum reverberating through the hangar with each movement. While the helmet-like headpiece was regal, with sharp, upward horns that gave it a fierce silhouette. Like a conqueror. And there was no mistaking it: this biomecha was a masterpiece. Provided it could move. And if only it could dodge. For when the fabulous mecha was endorsed for calibration and assessment, it gleaned a crucial problem. D-29, as a system, was made to observe and calculate and could react based on permissions and orders. But not on instincts. It was not meant to be hit, nor was it meant to receive a beating. Much less the fist that it could see coming but magically didn’t evade. Oh shit. Thought everyone. Especially Sid, who didn’t imagine that it would be this bad! And the little system cried out in indignation! "You! How could you do that to me?!" asked D-29, who couldn’t believe it received its first case of Domestic Violence. "What do you mean?! We were asked to spar to get your calibrated statistics! What kind of stat were you trying to observe by taking that punch squarely!" Argued the flustered guardian mecha, who had not expected to encounter whatever this was. "That was painful! And even if the armor returned back to normal, that hurt!" Blasted the mecha, who was spewing words that got Kyle and Jax flinching as they looked over to their Captain. "What pain?! You don’t even have pain receptors!" Argued Sid, who never thought his revenge plan could ever end up like this! How come he sounded like a bully?! Isn’t this insane?! "How could you say that?! It’s the principle of it!" "What principle?! Since when did you have principles?!" The mechas argued, and the onlookers could only exchange glances as they wondered if this was a smart idea. "..." "..." Xavier, for the most part, wanted to get the mecha straightened up but abruptly stopped when he looked over to see a very happy chipmunk. Yes, Luca was glad. The semi-successful mecha maker thought that his friend had been so lonely as the only one who couldn’t participate like this. But look at him now, even more social than Luca when he first came out of his shell! How exciting! It was just that maybe after the little system had played enough, they could work on a few things. Like mobility, evasion, offense, defense, or, well, everything? And they did have to work on everything, especially on that non-existent fight-or-flight response! But to do this, they’re going to need a protected area for non-simulated practice. However, this was going to have to wait until Luca finished with the mecha registration. Where D-29’s only job was to lie low and not speak. And certainly not steal data from the registration office that housed the present and the past mechas of all licensed pilots. But how could the little system resist the temptation when it was something it could give to the Host as a peace offering? So, it did the deed. As the scanning device scanned the mecha space button, the part-time mecha buzzed with anticipation. The vast archive of the registration office loomed just within reach, tempting and tantalizing. It wasn’t even particularly secure—not against a system like D-29, who could slip past most barriers like a fish through water. And technically, it wasn’t stealing. It was researching. And last it knew, there was no clause stating that this was not allowed. "I’ll just... assess," D-29 justified to itself. "Evaluation. Calibration. Nothing too extreme." As the registry scanner emitted a low hum, countless files flickered past—past schematics, old test records, pilot data, and even discarded prototype logs. The temptation was unbearable. The system couldn’t help but dig in. In seconds, lines of code unraveled, and D-29 slipped past the flimsy encryption. And then— [Data Acquired.] And the researcher celebrated inwardly! But just as the little system basked in its success, the registry scanner gave a shrill beep. Scanning Complete. "Oh, no." D-29 stiffened. Did it get caught? Did someone see? And that’s when it remembered. "Just act natural." The scanner passed, and the registration officers nodded, oblivious. "See, D-29? That wasn’t so bad," Luca said cheerfully, giving the towering mecha who was squished inside a space button a proud pat. "Now you’re official!" "Y-Yes, Host!" D-29 chirped a little too enthusiastically. "Absolutely wonderful! Official! Properly documented! Completely legitimate!" And as Luca’s grin grew wider, the little system steeled itself. No one needed to know. If only one guardian mecha didn’t catch a whiff of this unbelievable heist! No! This—this! How was this even allowed?! It was a struggle, a mental anguish that the guardian mecha had to swallow as D-29 forgave him for that one punch in exchange for another crime against the crown! "!!!"

Chapter 216: Instincts

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