Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 149 The teacher is very disappointed in you (First update)
The familiar smell of the abandoned town outpost, a mixture of dust and engine oil, now carried an indescribable bitterness in David Martinez's nostrils.

The jolts of the Arasaka armored vehicle seemed to still linger in his bones, but what weighed even heavier was the boulder in his heart.

He returned safely, having been rescued by Mann's team from the cold laboratory trap of the Arasaka Technical Department. Apart from some weakness after being injected with sedatives, he was otherwise unharmed.

However, his confidence was shattered, like a glass cup thrown into the harsh soil and scorching sun, breaking into shards.

He lowered his head and followed behind the tall figures of Mann and Dorio toward the silent workshop.

Every step felt exceptionally difficult.

Rebecca and Pila were talking in hushed tones behind them, their gazes occasionally sweeping over David with emotions he couldn't quite decipher—perhaps sympathy, or perhaps the helplessness of "I told you so."

Lucy walked quietly at the back, her silence like a thin veil separating her from the surrounding noise.

The heavy metal door of the workshop slid open, and a distinctive smell, a mixture of ozone, coolant, and metal polishing agent, wafted out.

Chen Yu's massive torso, covered in dark red dragon-scale-style power armor, stood with his back to them in front of the main control panel. Several nimble mechanical tentacles rapidly operated on the complex interface screen, emitting extremely faint humming sounds.

A near-frozen concentration filled the air.

Mann stopped, his rough voice ringing out clearly in the empty workshop: "Boss, we're back, and we've brought David back with us."

Chen Yu's operation did not stop, and he did not even turn the scarlet optical lens towards them. Only a steady synthesized voice echoed in the space: "I have received the process briefing. There is no need to repeat redundant details."

David felt a tightness in his throat.

He stepped forward, trying to keep his voice from trembling too much: "Boss... I'm sorry, I... I was so stupid, I almost..."

He wanted to say "I almost didn't make it back," and he also wanted to express his guilt for causing the team a lot of trouble, but the words stuck in his throat, fragmented and incoherent.

Only then did Chen Yu slowly turn around.

The shadow cast by that imposing body almost completely enveloped David.

The crimson optical lens swept over David from top to bottom, without concern, without anger, without even the slightest fluctuation, as if scanning a part that had just been sent for inspection but had been found to have a design flaw.

"Stupid?" Chen Yu's synthesized voice remained steady, but each syllable sounded like a cold metal block hitting the ground. "No, your IQ has been tested and is not low. Although it does not meet my requirements, it cannot be called stupid."

Your mistake wasn't underestimating the company's malicious intent—that's commonplace in Night City. Your mistake lay in your mindset, which remains at the level of a beggar.

David was stunned. He had expected to be reprimanded for being reckless and inexperienced, but he hadn't expected it to start like this.

Mann and the others also showed some surprise.

"We are followers of Om Messiah, seekers of the primordial force and the glory of the god of all machines." Chen Yu's voice carried a solemnity akin to reciting a doctrinal text. "To pursue truth and knowledge, to analyze the laws governing all things, to shape reality, and to resolve predicaments—this is our sole mission." His mechanical fingers silently pointed at David, their sharp tips seemingly capable of piercing the air: "Your mother, Gloria Martinez, has suffered physical damage and nervous system failure, requiring specific chemicals for maintenance and repair."

This is essentially a problem of maintaining and repairing a biomechanical system.

“The knowledge system I’ve allowed you to learn includes basic biology, neuroanatomy, and the principles of chemical synthesis. These are the tools, the keys to the solutions.” Chen Yu’s tone suddenly rose, carrying an unquestionable questioning tone. “Tell me, when you learned that the drug called ‘Neurosynaptic Regenerator-IV’ was difficult to obtain, what was your first reaction?”
"Should I immediately open the data package I gave you and study its molecular formula? Analyze its synthetic route? Consider whether we can use the raw materials and equipment available at the base to try reverse engineering or find alternative solutions?"

David opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

At the time, all he could think about was how to get the finished medicine as soon as possible to alleviate his mother's pain, and he never thought that he could "manufacture" it himself.

“You don’t.” Chen Yu gave him the answer, her disappointment pouring out like molten steel. “Your thinking skipped the core steps of ‘seeking knowledge’ and ‘creating’ and slid directly to the least efficient and most passive ‘begging’—hoping for charity from an unknown ‘charity’.”

You place your hopes for solving problems on the goodwill of others, or rather, on traps disguised as goodwill.

This is not only reckless, but also a desecration of knowledge itself, and a betrayal of your underlying identity.

Chen Yu's massive body leaned forward slightly, his scarlet lenses fixed on David's panicked and self-reproachful eyes: "An apprentice of the Om Messiah, when faced with the unknown and difficulties, should first activate the core of your logic, your thirst for knowledge!"
It's about exploring the principles behind phenomena and acquiring the knowledge to create solutions!

Instead of being like a beggar reaching out in the mud, hoping for the pity of passersby!

My disappointment in you lies precisely in this—you have not yet acquired the most basic mindset of a seeker of truth: all problems, in the final analysis, are problems of knowledge.

"Only by acquiring knowledge can you control everything, including your mother's fate."

These accusations struck David like a hammer blow.

Unlike any criticism he had anticipated, this one wasn't about him getting into trouble, but rather a fundamental rejection of his approach to difficulties.

A deeper sense of bewilderment and shame, stemming from a cognitive level, surged up, making it almost impossible for him to stand.

After giving her assessment of David, Chen Yu ignored him and turned back to her research.

Seeing this, Mann stepped forward and patted David hard on the shoulder, trying to break the suffocating atmosphere: "Kid, don't be like that. Night City is like this, there are traps everywhere. Once you've fallen into one, just remember it. Be more careful next time and prepare a few more escape routes."

His encouragement was street-style, rough but practical, emphasizing experience and vigilance.

Dorothy also spoke, her voice steady: "It's good that you're back alive. Going through this will help you grow faster." Her words carried the wisdom of someone who had been through it all, but they couldn't reach the root of the turmoil in David's heart at this moment.

Pila rubbed his mechanical fingers and interjected, "Exactly! Next time someone uses this kind of bait, just tell me, and I'll check what color their underwear is!" He tried to ease the tension with a joke, but it had little effect.

Rebecca crossed her arms and snorted, "If you ask me, that wasn't harsh enough. Next time any company dog ​​dares to lay a hand on us, we'll blow up their car!" Her support was full of violent aesthetics, simple and direct, but it also failed to answer David's confusion about "seeking knowledge" versus "begging."

(End of this chapter)