The symbiotic bracelet suddenly burned hot. Not the warm kind, but a stinging, searing heat, like fire crawling up his veins. Just as Feng Hao was about to yank it off, the scene before him twisted—the mine walls turned into the white jade steps of Qingxiao Pavilion, the gravel beneath his feet became ashes of talismans, and the air was filled with a familiar, nauseating smell of burning.
"Dad!"
He saw his father kneeling at the base of the steps, his mechanical limb nailed to a stone pillar. Lei Li stood at the top, holding a golden talisman with the word "Purify" glaringly bright. "Elder Feng, do you admit your guilt?" Lei Li's voice was like an icicle. "Hiding mechanical limbs, consorting with outsiders—according to sect rules, your spiritual veins shall be severed, and your limb destroyed!"
His father didn't speak, just stared at his mechanical limb, the fragments of which were identical to Feng Hao's.
"Dad! No!" Feng Hao rushed forward, but he kept passing through his father's body.
He watched helplessly as Lei Li threw the talisman. Golden flames instantly engulfed his father's mechanical limb. Amid the sizzling sound of corrosion, the fragments let out a piercing wail, slowly turning to ashes. His father's agonized screams were drowned out by the chanting of Qingxiao Pavilion disciples.
"No—!"
Feng Hao snapped back to reality, finding himself kneeling on the ground, his nails digging into the mine's rock. The fragments of his mechanical limb were scorching, as if just burned by flames.
"Feng Hao!" Lin Banxia's sobs were nearby.
Before her eyes, the herbal workshop was burning. Iron Hawk mechs trampled the herb garden, torches ignited the drying herbs, and her father's treasured medical books curled and blackened in the fire. Zhao Kun stood in the flames, holding a bottle of symbiotic fluid, sneering as he tossed it into the fire. "Demonic arts should be burned. Keeping them only harms people."
Lin Banxia tried to grab it but was blocked by an invisible wall. She could only watch as the flames devoured her father's life's work, as her father was pinned to the ground by soldiers, his white hair glaringly bright in the firelight.
"Dad…" She sobbed, gasping for air, the bracelet burning like a branding iron, but she clenched it tightly, refusing to let go.
Not far away, Su Xiaoli's screams were heart-wrenching.
The Steel Fang in her arms was disintegrating. Golden scales peeled off, turning into specks of light and dissipating. Energy fluid flowed like a river from the broken claw, the mechanical dragon's mournful cries growing weaker until even its intact right eye turned to fragments. Su Xiaoli frantically tried to pick them up, but her fingers only caught cold specks of light.
"Steel Fang! Don't leave me!" She collapsed to the ground, hugging empty air, trembling as she cried.
Yan Yuanxiu and Chen Mohen weren't faring any better.
Yan Yuanxiu saw a grave made of code, all data collapsing; Chen Mohen's folding fan shattered into bone fragments, each inscribed with the names of those he failed to protect.
Five people, five fears, connected by the symbiotic bracelets, like a nightmare they couldn't escape.
Just then, an old voice rang out, directionless but clear in everyone's ears: "The fragments are hidden where you dare to face your fears."
It was the old dean's voice!
Feng Hao looked up sharply. The image of his father being burned was still before him, but he suddenly noticed—before the fragments of his father's mechanical limb turned to ash, they secretly flew out and landed under the old pine tree in Qingxiao Pavilion's back mountain. That was where he used to hide things as a child.
"These aren't illusions!" Yan Yuanxiu suddenly shouted, his terminal frantically recording data. "It's the forest storing data from the previous era! These fears… are real memories that were recorded!"
He pointed at the screen. "Look! In Feng Hao's memory, the fragment's landing point has coordinates! In Lin Banxia's fire, the herbal workshop's cellar is flashing! Su Xiaoli, look at the light particles from Steel Fang's dissipation—the trajectory forms a map of the safe zone!"
Lin Banxia paused, her sobs stopping.
She stared at the burning workshop and indeed saw a faint light flashing where the cellar was—the place her father hid important herbs, and also… where half of the previous era's fragment was hidden.
"Steel Fang…" Su Xiaoli reached out, trembling.
The light particles from the mechanical dragon's dissipation paused in the air, forming a simple map. One of the red dots matched the coordinates on Yan Yuanxiu's terminal.
Chen Mohen's folding fan had somehow opened. He stared at the bone fragments on its surface and suddenly smiled. "The old fox means that if you dare to face it, you'll find the answer."
He waved away the illusion before him, pointing the fan deeper into the mine. "My fragment's clue is over there."
Feng Hao took a deep breath, forcing himself to look again at the illusion of his father being burned. This time, he didn't see pain—he saw his father secretly tucking something into his chest as the talisman fell. That was where he later found the mechanical limb.
"Coordinates memorized." Feng Hao stood up. The fragments of his mechanical limb were still hot but no longer stinging. "Yan Yuanxiu, mark all the coordinates."
"On it!" Yan Yuanxiu's fingers flew across the terminal. "These memory data are fading. We need to hurry!"
Lin Banxia wiped her tears, her gaze firm as she looked at the burning workshop. "I've memorized the cellar's coordinates."
Su Xiaoli hugged the air, as if still holding Steel Fang, her voice tearful but clear. "Steel Fang says there's something at the red dot that can fix it."
The symbiotic bracelet's temperature gradually cooled, no longer burning but emitting a soft, warm light.
The old dean's voice rang out again, this time with a smile. "Those who dare to face their fears will understand the true meaning of symbiosis. Go, children. The fragments are waiting for you."
As the voice faded, all the illusions disappeared.
The mine was still the mine, but the runes on the walls were brighter, as if guiding them.
Feng Hao glanced at his companions. Lin Banxia's eyes were red, but her back was straight; Su Xiaoli was still quietly sobbing, but she tightly clutched the map Yan Yuanxiu had just drawn; Chen Mohen's fan swayed lightly, but the usual casualness in his eyes was gone.
"Let's go," Feng Hao said.
This time, no one hesitated.
The fear still ached in their hearts, but they knew those memories weren't meant to torment them.
They were meant to guide.
As the old dean said, if you dare to face it, you'll find the answer.
And the answer lay deep in the mine, in the fragments hidden by fear.
Yan Yuanxiu's terminal screen flickered, the data stream like a rushing river, connecting the coordinates from the five's memories into a star map. "Feng Hao's fragment is in Qingxiao Pavilion's back mountain, Lin Banxia's in the cellar, Su Xiaoli's…" He paused, pointing at the brightest red dot on the star map. "In the safe zone's symbiotic furnace."
"The symbiotic furnace?" Su Xiaoli looked up sharply, the air in her arms still warm with Steel Fang's presence. "That's… Steel Fang's heart!"
Chen Mohen's fan tapped the mine wall, the falling gravel hitting an inconspicuous symbol. "My clue points to the mine's core. Looks like I'll have to take a detour with you." His tone was light, but no one missed his whitened knuckles—he'd crushed three ore pieces while facing his fear.
Feng Hao's mechanical limb trembled slightly, the fragments resonating with the star map, one of the coordinates heating up. "The old dean didn't say if these fragments could be pieced together."
"Whether they can or not, let's find them first," Lin Banxia said, pulling a small porcelain bottle from her pocket and popping a calming pill. "My dad used to say, the more you fear fear, the fiercer it gets. If you stare it down, it backs off."
Her cheeks were still streaked with tears, but her eyes were bright, like needles tempered by fire.
The five followed the route Yan Yuanxiu had marked, the mine passage narrowing as the energy crystals glowed brighter. Su Xiaoli, leading the way, suddenly stopped, pointing ahead. "Steel Fang says something's 'watching' us up there."
Feng Hao's fragments immediately burned hot.
He signaled the others to stop, peeking around a rock—the passage opened into a large cavern, a massive memory crystal standing in the center, looping scenes from the previous era: a group of people around the symbiotic furnace, some cultivating spiritual veins, some building machines, others taming mechanical spirits. Everyone's bracelet glowed, like a string of stars.
"It's the previous era's symbionts!" Yan Yuanxiu's terminal suddenly beeped. "The crystal's actively transmitting data!"
The memory crystal's image suddenly changed.
The previous era's sky cracked open, darkness pouring out, swallowing the symbiotic furnace's light. Some held fragments to resist, others ran with mechanical spirits. The final image froze on a hand—a hand wearing the same bracelet as theirs, tucking a fragment into the symbiotic furnace, the motion identical to Su Xiaoli holding Steel Fang.
"This is…" Su Xiaoli covered her mouth, tears welling up again.
"It's Steel Fang's creator," Feng Hao's voice trembled slightly. "He was protecting the fragment."
The memory crystal suddenly shook violently, the image distorting into garbled code. A low growl came from deep in the cavern, the same "hunger" they'd felt during the mine's earlier disturbance, but closer this time, as if right behind them.
"It's coming!" Chen Mohen's fan pointed deep into the cavern. "Fast!"
Yan Yuanxiu's terminal blared alarms. "The memory crystal's collapsing! It's afraid we'll get the data!"
Feng Hao made a quick decision. "Yan Yuanxiu, copy the data! Lin Banxia, prepare the symbiotic fluid! Su Xiaoli, resonate with Steel Fang's memory, stabilize the crystal! Chen Mohen, cover me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a massive claw emerged from the darkness, reeking of blood, slamming toward the memory crystal.
"Watch out!"
Feng Hao's electromagnetic sword energy instantly shot out, colliding with Chen Mohen's fan wind, forming a light barrier. The claw hit the barrier, shaking the five, their hands numb, rubble falling from the ceiling.
"Hurry!" Feng Hao roared, the fragments in his arm wailing from overload.
Su Xiaoli rushed to the memory crystal, pressing her fingers against it, murmuring. Her bracelet resonated with the crystal, golden light bursting forth. The light particles from Steel Fang's dissipation suddenly flew out of her arms, like fireflies, entering the crystal's cracks.
"It's stable!" she shouted.
Yan Yuanxiu's terminal screen was blindingly bright, the data transfer progress bar rapidly climbing: 90%… 95%…
The claw struck again, this time with black mist, corroding the light barrier with a sizzling sound. Feng Hao's electromagnetic sword energy flickered, Chen Mohen's fan wind thinning.
"We can't hold it!" Chen Mohen grunted, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
"Done!" Yan Yuanxiu yanked out the terminal. "Data secured!"
"Retreat!" Feng Hao immediately shouted.
Su Xiaoli took one last look at the memory crystal. The previous era's symbionts were frozen in a smile. She gritted her teeth and turned, running after the others. Just as they exited the cavern, a loud crash came from behind—the memory crystal shattered, the dark claw unable to follow. The mine passage entrance suddenly dropped a stone wall, a spiritual lock Chen Mohen had secretly set earlier.
The five ran far before daring to stop and catch their breath.
Yan Yuanxiu's terminal was still hot. He opened the copied data—the star map's coordinates were clearer, even with an added line: "Symbiosis is not the power of one, but the resonance of many."
"The old dean was right," Feng Hao looked at his companions. Chen Mohen was wiping blood from his mouth, Lin Banxia handing water to Su Xiaoli, Yan Yuanxiu adjusting his terminal. Everyone looked tired, but the fear in their eyes was gone. "Facing fear isn't about bearing it alone."
Su Xiaoli looked down at the light particles in her palm, suddenly smiling. "Steel Fang says it used to think fear was bad. Now it knows, when you're scared, having someone by your side makes it not so bad."
Lin Banxia patted her shoulder, then glanced at Feng Hao. "Next stop, where?"
Feng Hao looked at the brightest red dot on the star map—Su Xiaoli's fragment coordinates, the safe zone's symbiotic furnace. "First, the safe zone. Fix Steel Fang, then split up to find the other fragments."
His mechanical limb trembled slightly, the fragments glowing softly but firmly.
When he faced his fear earlier, he not only saw where his father hid the fragment, but also the look in his father's eyes—it wasn't despair, but expectation.
Expectation that he would take the fragments and find the true path of symbiosis.
The darkness deep in the mine still roared, but the five's footsteps were steadier than before.