If it was love, he couldn't say for sure.
But it wasn't a complete lack of feeling either.
So Morin handled it the only way he could and left it to time.
He could always choose when to return later.
"I won't think about it for now. I'll deal with it when I come back..."
Morin pushed the tangled thoughts aside and focused on his personal panel.
The first Master-level profession he had unlocked granted him three Master-level skills and two opportunities to travel to other worlds.
One for advancing to Advanced.
One for advancing to Master.
With a single thought, Morin used one of those chances.
The scenery appeared again.
No matter how many times he saw it, it was always breathtaking.
The stars in the sky looked as if a giant hand were stirring them.
Then one star fell straight toward him.
Starlight swallowed Morin whole.
[World Selected: Pacific Rim]
[Please Select a New Profession]
[Please Select a Traversal Location]
[Please Select a Time Node]
"It seems I can choose the time node now..."
Morin nodded, rubbing his hands together as he turned his attention to the profession selection.
"Jaeger Mechanic, Jaeger Designer, or Jaeger Pilot?"
His gaze stopped on the second option.
Thinking of the massive monsters in Pacific Rim, the decision came instantly.
Jaeger Designer.
Pacific Rim was a world where an alien civilization opened a portal on Earth and sent colossal monsters through it, attempting to destroy the planet and terraform it into a suitable colony.
Humanity responded by uniting and building gigantic Jaegers to fight back.
Morin chose Jaeger Designer instead of Jaeger Mechanic or Jaeger Pilot for several reasons.
First was the skill distribution.
After acquiring many professions and their related skills, Morin had already noticed a pattern in how the system assigned abilities.
A Jaeger Mechanic would likely receive extensive knowledge of Jaeger structures, functions, and operating principles, perhaps even some piloting-related skills, similar to an auto mechanic.
That would overlap heavily with the Jaeger Pilot profession.
As for Jaeger Pilot, there was nothing to analyze.
Piloting skills would be guaranteed, and there might even be bonuses like solo operation capability.
Second was value.
After careful analysis, Morin chose the mecha designer route because design inevitably involved blueprints.
If he could fully grasp the blueprints and the underlying technology, then recreate a giant mecha in another world...
That would be an unstoppable force.
Piloting wasn't a concern.
Ordinary people needed two or more pilots to endure the intense mental synchronization strain, but Morin was different.
With his [Intelligence] exceeding 3,000, that level of mental load was trivial.
"My travel location will be any Asian country recruiting mecha designers," Morin said.
"And the time node will be one year before the main plot begins."
He wasn't sure how long constructing a mecha would take.
But when the power of the entire world was mobilized, the result would be terrifying.
One year should be enough.
As soon as Morin finished speaking, the stars ahead of him flared and engulfed his vision.
When his senses returned, he was standing on a city street.
"First things first..."
"I need to buy a phone."
Morin glanced around. No one was paying him any attention.
He stopped a passerby to ask for directions to the nearest mall. As he walked, he checked the new panel he had just obtained.
[Mecha Designer - Beginner (0/10)]
Title Bonus:
[Intelligence] • 10 (You need plenty of brainpower to develop and apply mecha knowledge!)
[Beginner Mecha Repair Technology]
(People always ask computer science majors if they can fix computers... I don't know if they can, but I'm sure a mecha designer can fix a mecha!)
[Beginner Mecha Theory Knowledge]
(To build a mecha by yourself, in addition to the necessary resources, you need enough knowledge! Including but not limited to physics, mathematics, chemistry, programming, and so on! Here, have this compressed file! Go get certified yourself!)
[Beginner Mecha Blueprint Draw]
(This function was developed by a black-and-white creature living in Antarctica. It left a message: "Young man, wanna top up your Q-coins... ahem, wanna pay to win?")
Morin: "!!!"
The mecha repair technology and theory knowledge weren't an issue.
Although the volume of information was vast enough to drown an ordinary person over several lifetimes, Morin absorbed it effortlessly.
What truly caught him off guard was the last item.
[Beginner Mecha Blueprint Draw].
From the description alone, it was obvious.
A heartless penguin.
No, a straight-up pay-to-win channel.
As long as you paid, you could draw mecha blueprints.
Fortunately, it wasn't like a certain other company where you paid a fortune and still got nothing.
At least here, payment guaranteed results.
Morin let out a sigh of relief.
Then he tried activating the blueprint draw.
[Warning: Mecha Designer experience is insufficient. Unable to complete draw. Please earn experience points and try again.]
The warning echoed in his mind.
Morin: "..."
Alright.
Definitely a penguin product.
"Can't I use experience from other professions...?" Morin asked internally.
The Daredevil system remained as heartless as ever and offered no response.
He was already used to it.
Morin entered the mall, bought the latest phone, and used the ID card stored in his system space to obtain a SIM card.
After inserting it and connecting to the internet, he headed back the way he came.
Since China was his starting location, the system had thoughtfully provided him with 100,000 RMB in cash.
What a pity I can't use this to pay to win directly...
Morin searched online for the nearest place recruiting mecha designers.
While checking his system space, he noticed something missing.
There were no mecha designer certificates.
Combined with the explanation attached to [Beginner Mecha Theory Knowledge], the reason became obvious.
The importance of this profession was on an entirely different level.
This was about the survival of all humanity.
Mecha designers, especially.
Finding people capable of mental synchronization was difficult, but with Earth's population, it was still possible.
But a mecha designer?
That was a treasure among treasures.
Knowledge couldn't be rushed-at least not with this world's level of technology.
Anyone capable of designing mechas was a top-tier talent, and their information would be archived at the national level.
The mecha project wasn't new.
By the time the main plot began, multiple generations of mechas already existed.
Every qualified designer had long since been scouted and gathered.
The number of people holding mecha designer certificates was extremely small.
If another one suddenly appeared...
Even if the system made the certificate impossible to verify as fake, who would believe it?
It would be like someone with a bank balance of one thousand suddenly having an extra hundred million.
It would shine too brightly.
So the system gave Morin the knowledge and forced him to get certified himself.
Less suspicion that way.
Morin checked his ID.
It belonged to someone from a remote mountainous area, with all documentation perfectly valid.
As for where his knowledge came from...
There were always self-taught geniuses in this world.
A twenty-something mastering physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, and more?
Unusual, but not impossible.
That explanation should... probably... maybe... work.
With that thought, Morin looked up at the sign in front of him.
Pan-Pacific Defense Corps (PPDC) Tianjin Branch.
He walked inside.
Even though it was only a branch office, it was crowded.
Morin waited in line before finally reaching the front desk.
While waiting, he quietly listened to the surrounding conversations.
Aside from a few people seeking compensation for Kaiju-related property damage, the rest were there for one reason.
Mecha pilots.
"Hello, how may I help you?" the receptionist asked.
"I want to join the PPDC," Morin replied.
"Are you applying to become a mecha pilot or something else?" she asked out of habit.
"If it's a mecha pilot, we'll arrange a full physical examination. After passing, you'll be sent to the training base, and once training is complete-"
Since the appearance of the Jaegers, the mecha pilot profession had exploded in popularity.
First, the dream itself.
What man didn't want to pilot a towering, powerful, steel giant?
Second, the benefits.
In this era, mecha pilots were global celebrities.
Every battle drew the eyes of billions.
Victory brought worldwide cheers.
Death brought worldwide mourning.
They were heroes acknowledged by the entire planet.
Of course, these heroes faced life and death daily, carried immense responsibility, and fought on the front lines until they fell.
But who didn't harbor a hero complex?
Especially the young.
That was why most applicants came for the pilot position.
Naturally, only a tiny fraction were accepted.
Physical and mental strength were just the baseline.
Finding two people who could synchronize mentally and endure the neural strain was extraordinarily rare.
There was a shortage of mechas.
And an even greater shortage of pilots.
That was why, upon seeing Morin's face, the receptionist automatically assumed he was here to apply as a pilot.
Even though Morin's actual age was already in his thirties or forties, his [Physical] attribute made him look no different from when he first transmigrated.
Early twenties.
Even bone-age testing would show the same result.
His aging had slowed.
As for whether a medical exam would detect abnormalities, Morin had tested that long ago.
Once blood or tissue left his body, it immediately returned to a normal state.
No signs of slowed cell division.
No accelerated healing.
He didn't understand the principle behind it.
It likely involved things beyond his current access.
But that was fine.
Knowing the result was enough.
He would learn the rest eventually.
"No," Morin said, shaking his head.
"I don't want to be a mecha pilot."
"I want to be a mecha designer."
"Okay, you can go to-what?" the receptionist replied automatically, then froze.
"What did you just say?"
"I said," Morin repeated calmly,
"I want to sign up to be a mecha designer."
Silence.
No laughter.
No ridicule.
That kind of stupidity only existed in cheap novels.
At most, people would think it privately or whisper behind his back.
No one wanted to offend someone like that openly.
Still, every gaze locked onto Morin.
Mecha designer.
The term itself carried weight.
Even rarer and more valuable than a mecha pilot.
A mecha designer was someone capable of independently completing a Jaeger's core systems.
Neural interfaces.
Life support.
Power cores.
A person like that should not look like a young man in his twenties.
Strange looks gathered, but no one spoke.
The silence spread outward, rippling through the hall.
Like a classroom suddenly going quiet without a teacher present.
Everyone was confused.
Morin ignored it all.
He simply watched the receptionist.
And waited for her answer.
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