Synchronized with the Abyss

Lu Ze was the best apprentice mechanic in the scrapyard, until he took apart a decommissioned mech and discovered a nest of living nanobots hidden inside. From then on, he became the Federation's pilot with the highest synchronization rate, and the one who had strayed farthest from being "human." The deeper the synchronization, the less human he became. But unless he went all the way, no one would make it back alive.