Legend Is The Supreme Soldier

by Stayrr

Ye Chong was a denizen of Trash Planet-12. On one fateful day, he discovered a treasure that would forever alter his destiny from a pile of junk – Mu Shang, an unknown machine with artificial intelligence and a lost memory. Together, they venture into the vast galaxy as the isolated “caveman” that was Ye Chong began absorbing all sorts of knowledge and meeting people from all walks

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Legend of the Supreme Soldier #Chapter 65 - Ye Chong's Philosophy - Read Legend of the Supreme Soldier Chapter 65 - Ye Chong's Philosophy Online - All Page - Novel Next

Chapter 65: Ye Chong's Philosophy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Nowadays, whenever Ye Chong was on the virtual net, he did not just frequent Aurora in Gutista and the NR Training Center. Instead, he began to explore further. He had decided to completely understand the strange world around him. Ye Chong understood that survival in some locations are dependent on one's understanding of the area. The more one understood, the easier life would become.

His daily conversations with Mu increased his understanding of things. Recently, he spent more time outdoors, since he grew fond of observing passersbys on the streets. While they were not Ye Chong's prey, he still treated them as though they were prey - he examined them through a hunter's eye, carefully examining the people around him, observing their actions, habits, behaviors, physical conditions and so on.

As Ye Chong continued his observation, his understanding of his surroundings began to deepen.

While he had planned to visit Grandpa Xu today, his job mattered more. Ye Chong understood that Grandpa Xian's little business could not support his stay, but there is more to living than making money. Is that not so? Grandpa Xian made him feel at home, and this was not something any amount of gold zuan could buy for him. While Ye Chong did not think of himself as highly intelligent, this was something he could still understand.

Ye Chong kneaded the dough with vigour, as the flour mixture twisted and folded under his strength. Ye Chong had improved his skill, thanks to the increasingly refined control of his strength. The noodles he made had a distinct taste, and were definitely one of a kind.

Now, if only he could have one more mech - even a Raven would do - and life would be perfect!

Sun Xuelin and Xiu came to see him.

The two waited patiently until he was done with his work before coming up to him. Sun Xuelin grabbed Xiu along, and began with a tiny voice, "Ye …"

Ye Chong gave the two an expressionless look. "What is it?"

Sun Xuelin flustered at his apathy, and continued mumbling, "Ye … Ye …"

Ye Chong continued staring at them. Xiu did not even dare to raise her head. Sun Xuelin grew more nervous. "Ye … We … We'd like to ask for you help!"

"Help?" Ye Chong frowned.

His words unexpectedly calmed Sun Xuelin. "Do you know how to modify mechs?"

"A bit!" Ye Chong replied.

Sun Xuelin continued, "Mm, we'd like to ask for your help. Our school is having the MP Games [1] next week, and there's a section where a mech modification technician is needed. I'd like to ask for your help!"

"Ask for my help?" Ye Chong looked at the duo.

Oddly, against Ye Chong's flat stare, Sun Xuelin grew anxious again. "Yes, we'd like to ask for your help!"

Ye Chong gave it a thought before answering, "Oh, sure, but I charge 1,250 zuan per hour!"

Sun Xuelin was stupefied, but quickly turned furious. "You, you … Are you charging for helping out? You, you … I didn't think you were someone like this! Hmph, I guess we're wrong about you!" She spoke in pure disdain. Xiu also lifted her gaze towards Ye Chong in astonishment, obviously surprised by his reaction.

Against the duo's expressions, Ye Chong frowned a little. "What did I do wrong this time?" Ye Chong had actually offered to charge at half the market rate, since he did not actually have a modification technician's license.

Ye Chong asked in his mind, "Mu, I thought a fair deal was one of the most basic rules?"

Mu replied, "Based on my information, you're absolutely right. However, most people believe that charging a friend when helping them is disgraceful!"

Ye Chong was confused. "Are they my friends?"

Mu had no intention of helping him on this one. "That is for you to decide!"

Ye Chong decisively announced, "Of course not!" Friends? What a joke, we're not even that familiar with them. No matter how I see it, they were not friends! And if they were not friends, then charging for my service was reasonable. What's so strange about that?

Since he did not commit any mistakes, Ye Chong had no intention of further discussion. He gave the two a flat look and declared, "You're welcome to leave!" before turning his back to them.

Sun Xuelin paled in anger, and dragged Xiu along and left.

The conflict did not affect Ye Chong in the slightest. After greeting Grandpa Qian, he began his leisurely stroll to the streets. Ye Chong was not as dazed as he was before on the streets. Instead, he now felt comfortable; people-watching had become a great hobby of his, one that he found to be quite interesting.

Grandpa Xu's place was some distance away from Grandpa Qian's little shop. If he kept at his speed, the trip would take too long. Ye Chong decidedly picked up his pace and began running. He did not run too fast, for he was no longer as ignorant as before to understand that his speed was simply too incredible when compared to the average person! The first engulfer to attract attention gets the death sentence - this was a truth that Ye Chong understood. "Ah, if I have a mech to use I wouldn't need to walk!" Ye Chong felt dispirited as he recalled the white mech. It was a pity that he only had a training mech. If he had a Black Cove war mech, Ye Chong was certain that he could definitely finish off his opponent!

If Mu agreed to help him, Ye Chong believed that the white mech would not stand a chance. However, Mu had been insistent in his refusal, and Ye Chong felt odd about his reaction!

Ye Chong leisurely ran on the streets, his breathing rhythmic and entirely unaffected. This level of exertion was nothing to Ye Chong. His strange physique was something that puzzled even Mu, but Ye Chong did not feel that he was in any way abnormal. The way he saw it, since it was something beneficial, it did not matter if he did not understand why!

Grandpa Xu's house was getting nearer, just around the corner. The last time Elder Xu hyperlinked to the virtual net, he had spread the news of YC's whereabouts on Blue Ocean to his other old companions. They were at once jealous and envious of Elder Xu, and a few of them even proclaimed to visit Blue Ocean one day to see Ye Chong. As for the few who were already residing on Blue Ocean, but in other zones, they had offered their addresses to Ye Chong and invited him to visit anytime.

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Ye Chong felt comfortable with the academic atmosphere during his discussion with Grandpa Xu, and he relished it. The thought of meeting with Grandpa Xu soon made him a little excited.

Mu suddenly spoke up to Ye Chong when he was heading straight towards Grandpa Xu's house. "Ye, careful, stay away! There are four mechs monitoring the area! There's also another person, probably the commander."

Ye Chong felt a chill down his spine, and asked frantically, "Where?" Ye Chong did not change his pace, and walked pass Grandpa Xu's house like any other passerby, never slowing down.

Mu replied, "There's one at the top of the highrise on the opposite side of the road, and another two at 120 degrees from the first one. There's also someone in the highrise directly opposite of Grandpa Xu's house, on the twenty first floor. This one's probably the commander!" "The commander, I must get rid of him first, and do so without alerting the rest, or risk complications!" Ye Chong assessed the situation.

Ye Chong thought with contempt, "Hmph, are these people looking for trouble with Grandpa Xu? Probably so! Hmm, no matter how you look at it, they're definitely here with ill intentions! And if they're here with ill intentions, then …"

Ye Chong continued running leisurely, calmly, with all signs of normalcy.

When he reached the tall building directly opposite Grandpa Xu's house, Ye Chong came to a stop and entered the building.

Ye Chong found a self-service inquiry photon processor in the corner of the main reception, pretending to look up some information. Two seconds later, Mu had already hacked into the photon processor.

The original image on the screen suddenly vanished, replaced by the building's complete structural schematics. The surveillance commander was on the twenty first floor, Room 065. Mu had also indicated the locations of all the surveillance devices. The building's surveillance system was fairly complete, with a large coverage area and very few blind spots. To enter the building discretely would not be an easy task.

Ye Chong clearly remembered the idea of evidence as Mu once described. He asked, "Mu, if I'm recorded in the system, can you wipe them out?"

"Based on available information, the success rate is above 97 percent!" Mu sounded exceedingly confident.

Ye Chong considered the situation. "Then if I can wipe out all my records before they notice, does it mean that they won't figure out who did it?"

Mu replied after a moment, "Based on my calculations, there's a 79 percent probability that they would not notice you, but there is still another 21 percent probability of finding you out through other means."

After some pondering, Ye Chong decided, "If that's the case, then we'll make the first move. We'll not wait for them to come to us, but get to them first!" Ye Chong had no concept of striking after an opponent's move; since he had confirmed the opponent's hostility, he would not hesitate to act. His words were filled with confidence and dominance - Ye Chong was like a wild beast ready to put on a fight!

Mu had no objections to his plan!

After deciding on the course of action, Ye Chong began his move.

He moved quickly to the twenty first floor, and came before the door of Room 065. The door was well secured, and while Ye Chong was confident he could break through this particular type of alloy metal, the act would alert the room's inhabitant. With the enemy alerted, his position would be compromised, and Ye Chong doubted he could best four mechs surrounding him at once. He must eliminate the person in the room first, in order to greatly reduce the probability of him being surrounded and attacked.

The problem was, how could he eliminate this person without alerting the other four?

Note:

[1] MP Games: Mech Pilots' Games is an event like sports day, but for mech pilots

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Chapter 66: I Love Assassination

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Slender had his eyes fixed on the security camera. His sight wafted through the hologram in the monitor, of an image projecting the accommodation of that old man Xu. He observed meticulously. He was trying his very best to discern the appearance of every passerby near Xu's place, especially those who happened to be in that old man's proximity, just to identify if they were knitted together. He was devoted and held initiatives towards his job. He knew that the authority assigned him to this job instead of others because of such good nature he had.

I'll find those nasty rats out, by then, I'll-

A hand covered his mouth out of the blue. Stiffness had skimmed down his neck before he could react. Splashes of blood gushed out from him. Are those my old blood? No… No way… Slender was horrified as he struggled, wriggling helplessly through the cold hand gripping him like a wrench. I can't die! I can't die just yet! He bawled in his mind but he was already losing control of his body by that moment.

The stiffness strangling his neck remained like a freezing breeze, slowly consuming his stamina as he bled profusely. Oozes of pain blinded him, as he went unconscious and finally stopped moving soon after.

Not till he was utterly dead Ye Chong would be letting the man go.

He tossed Slender to the ground.

He turned away and was going to run, yet… That door is such a nuisance. It was a problem for Ye Chong because it was made out of metal and he could not simply break a metallic door without alarming anyone in the building. Fortunately, the white wall before him prompted some ideas. It was a wall of thermoplastic composite, having a thickness about 10 centimeters and an effective noise absorber. It is only thicker than the heavy metallic door by 2 to 3 centimeters but way better. Who doesn't like walls with noise absorption property? Especially strong ones like this. It comes in handy.

Firstly, he went downstairs to the lobby and had set security cameras in all 21 floors of the building to sleep mode. Of course, such a tech-savvy task would be of Mu's responsibility. He then returned to Room 065 at the highest floor.

The dagger which Gu Shaoze gave Ye Chong as a gift had never left his body since then.

He pulled out the dagger and measured the thickness in comparison to the wall. Thup! A stab into the wall. He had to admit that the noise-absorbing ability of the thermoplastic composite wall was outstanding. Not even the slightest sound was heard when he launched that dagger of his. It was rather sturdy too considering that Ye Chong took quite a lot of effort to fully insert the dagger.

The highest floor was completely off-limits it seemed, probably a special request from the dead man, judging by how there was literally nobody else in the walkway. Fantastic! That was an additional advantage for Ye Chong's escape.

Ugh! Ugh…

He was slicing through the wall laboriously as he would never want to alert anyone nearby with the screeches he could possibly make if he went too fast. He maintained his speed cautiously. He could feel the hardness of the wall gradually wearing off the strength of his hand. Oh the amount of friction on his palm! It was tough. Throughout the process, the swishes made by his dagger could be faintly heard. Ye Chong was very confident that if he were to stay farther from the wall, he would hear nothing.

I swear I would never use thermoplastic composite for my walls when I build my house in future; I would be killed in my sleep before I even wake up with such security it offers.

The pressure on the dagger had lifted. Yes! Ye Chong was excited. All he needed was a gentle push to the piece he cut off to the front. Wait! Wait! Wait! He ran to catch the falling piece before it landed with a loud thump. The person in the room before him was still facing his back to Ye Chong. It seemed like he did not alert anyone in there. Phew! He sighed.

Okay, now to the second task in the list…

He walked by the fainted man. His eyes were more interested in the monitor on the table than some dead man lying on the floor. He fiddled with the settings on the monitor, trying to get something.

There was no time for him to look through the directory. Time was precious. He pressed a few buttons and ejected the microchip. He slid the chip into his pocket and began frisking the slender guy on the floor. A few belongings he believed to contain the man's identity were stolen.

Ye Chong rushed downstairs and hit the lobby again. This time he deleted all his involvement off the record at the self-service processor as soon as he arrived.

He exited the building and warped F-58 out from the alternate dimension.

He observed the lawn outside the foundation as he plotted another round of trespassing. The Hawkeye, a model of mech specialized for reconnaissance, had a diminutive body compared to other models, of a mere length about 6 meters, coated with a unique kind of painting, which changed its color according to surroundings, allowing effective camouflage. The killer feature of the Hawkeye was the pair of "antennas" on its head stranding to the back, which tremendously boosts its scope of scanning and capacity of impulse-receiving. It also came with an extremely powerful scanning and anti-detection system. High mobility, great speed and overwhelming length of battery life offered by its exclusive battery, though in return it had to sacrifice its durability. To fit in the battery, the armor had to be much thinner. With such lackluster thickness, one hit would finish the machine off. There was not much of possibility for it to fight back too, considering its weak firepower.

Wow this dude actually uses a reconnaissance model to watch his place. What a pimp!

Mumbled Ye Chong.

F-58 lurked like a jaguar on its hunt as it coveted its prey in darkness. It was undeniable that the F-58 got the upper hand in this situation. A mere training mech model it might be, it still had a more superior anti-detection system. The alarm did not go off as it moved. They were undetected the whole time.

Ye Chong raised a spear. Well, a magnetic sword that sets off frequency would be bad for a sneak-attack. Imagine if he were to brandish that cool sword towards one of the machines that fell prey to his assassination, due to the reflective nature of mech armors, the frequency would be easily bounced everywhere and all mechs and aircrafts in the vicinity would immediately detect Ye Chong committing a crime there. In the next moment, before he knew it, he would be bombarded by 3 other mechs. Another session of fast and furious awaited.

He never desired an overkill with a Hawkeye, which was blatantly a weakling in front of the mighty F-58. Its inability to even detect F-58 with its so-called "advanced" scanning system had already justified everything, even a layman could tell which mech would win in the first 10 seconds. So what Ye Chong pondered about was a way to knock the Hawkeye out without being detected and giving them a chance to notify the others.

Assassination. Oh assassination, one true hobby Ye Chong adored. The passion increased the likelihood of success in the operation this time. He would get it over with by hook or by crook, as long as it would add up to the success rate of his operation.

The left hand of F-58 snapped the neck of the Hawkeye while the spear in its right pierced the cabin. It was a spear with a diameter beyond 30 centimeters. Any man could be dead even by minimal contact. That pathetic armor of Hawkeye could barely hold up Ye Chong's spear as it shredded like paper upon the stab. That doesn't nail it. Ye Chong was not ending yet. He tore away the shattered armor at the cabin and he saw the murdered man inside. He felt much relieved as he stealthy placed the mech at a corner of the rooftop.

Ye Chong would break his neck to assassinate. No pun intended. But it was not his, rather the other man's. And he loved it. He loved the moment when the neck snapped in his bare hand in a nice crack. It was such a strange sensation. One move and that is all it took. Nothing else would be needed. People would be dead without doing anything funny. No sound, no drama, no struggle. Straightforward, hassle-free.

Okay that's the second Hawkeye snapped. Now to the last two mechs at the corners.

It was also a Hawkeye at one corner. Ye Chong was shocked. Wow! Did he literally set off 3 mechs specially for reconnaissance on an old man like Grandpa Xu? Most people would assume Hawkeye as another random scouting machinery but that was not the point! Ye Chong knew it deeply, it would certainly cost an arm and a leg for a specialized mech like Hawkeye, just like how the Sand Scorpio he once used was much more expensive than the Gold Wheat despite its less-pleasant look compared to the Gold Wheat to the public.

And right beside the last Hawkeye was a Karl, which was notorious for its crude design - a height about 16 meters, twice as high as the F-58 and had twice the amount of parts as most of the mechs. In addition, its shield with a height of 10 meters waved like moving gigantic walls of labyrinth, suffocating indeed, not to mention how Karl wielded both of them. I wonder how people find Karl whenever they spotted one. Imagine an iron hunk of tower-height shoving a giant shield each in his hands. Wild, barbaric, monstrous, savage… There was not much of a good word to describe. The firm dark green mechanical legs it had would move with a terrifying screech that gave goosebumps to anyone who heard it. It was obvious that no one would ever consider to give this colossus some anti-skid build. Its fate had been determined the day it was built with all the low quality and dirt cheap materials. It was born to be an enslaved fighter, the walking ashes in the warfield.

The man who placed Karl and Hawkeye in a group probably just wanted Karl to be the tanker of his eyes. Oh wait, it should be the guardian of his eyes. Karl still held some values in this situation, assuming if they were attacked, Hawkeye could actually make its way out while Karl tried to buy more time holding back the intruders. Sadly, Karl's life was hardly a concern. A moving wall is a moving wall. If it crumbles, it just does. No one else would care.

Ye Chong was rather impressed by the fact that the dead man could come up with such a remarkable combination to shield against possible raids. The high defense of Karl combined with the powerful scanning system of Hawkeye. The eyes and the shield in one place.

Ye Chong sneaked towards the mechs.

He was not expecting the hefty slow Karl to react this quickly! Karl turned his head as soon as Ye Chong started flying towards them. He instantly hid both Hawkeye and himself within the shields he raised. The 10 meter tall shield perfectly covered up the 6 meter tall Hawkeye.

Karl did feel agitated but the pilot did not detect any hostility from the black mech coming towards him. The speed had yet to be increased. It just travelled calmly to his direction. It looked more like a random passerby to him. Frankly speaking, he had been assuming that he was overreacting to anything coming in his sight the last few days. Those mechs he presumed to be a raider eventually just zoomed away in leisure. He did panic for numerous times at first but as time passed, he got used to his door-guard job and he lowered his guard.

That shielding was out of subconsciousness.

Must be overreacting again this time he thought. I mean who would simply dare to challenge the authority in the public? Especially when this place belonged to the Ji Family. That's like going against God. Only fools would do it… Yeah, I have a point… He moved the shield away from Hawkeye bit by bit as he thought.

Watching how sluggish the black mech flew, the pilot snickered. Only greenhorns would fly like a derp in this speed! Maybe an absolute greenhorn in flights too!

As much as he assumed, the black mech then travelled clumsily towards the pilot, as if it was drunk.

The pilot laughed out loud upon seeing the poor execution by that black mech. What a good chance for an extra entertainment! Today's show would be "Bullying the Noob"! He was unhappy when he was ordered to pilot the junky Karl these few days long. Only garbage would pilot a Karl. It is like a runner-up after another runner-up in the team, a member in the lineup forever. What an insult! But he could not spit it as it was an order from the authority. He stayed quiet and piloted Karl like a moody baby. However, things had changed! Now came a greenhorn to have fun with!

The black mech was inching towards Karl. Hah! That awkward movement! He almost fell a few times! The pilot felt laughter rumbling in his stomach. That was so hilarious! I just can't! He put up a look at that black mech as if he was looking at his pet.

A little bit more. Wait for it… Get to me and we'll play!

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Chapter 67: Black and White

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong's pupils shrunk on a whim!

Time to accelerate! Ye Chong's hands hovered over the control panel like a shroud of phantasm.

The F-58 that acted goofy before had advanced in an overpowering speed towards Karl! As if it were on drugs, it charged with spear dazzling ferocity! The pilot in Karl saw his fear becoming real gradually. The cold shine of death magnified in his quivering eyes!

He was saved by the instinct he obtained from intensive training in the past, as he set his shield to the front immediately to protect him and his partner from fatal damages at any cost. There was scarcely time for him to collect his thoughts. His sense of protection just held his teammate up within his mech's right arm.

A man who could still be thinking of his own mates at such a situation.

Ye Chong was impressed.

Heading towards the iron wall in no time, Ye Chong did not seem to be decelerating at all! A slide tilted and Ye Chong skied over the surface of the shield so smoothly as if the shield was lubricated.

Karl who was behind the shield was confused. The expected crash was not coming anytime soon. There was no pressure exerted onto the shield and the hands felt too light for an incoming collision. Huh? A shadow came to the right of Karl. The slow giant was horrified, he could not manage to shift his heavy shield in time, he lifted his elbow towards himself from the strike.

Hawkeye was too absorbed being the watchdog that the pilot only found the existence of the loophole by then. The raider had already sneaked through the iron shield! Hawkeye sent off an emergency signal right away! But there was no response! Hope had been sunken in the pilot of Hawkeye. Apparently his other mates were done for as well. No one could reach them. The raider must have planned thoroughly for this attack! Such resourcefulness! The thoughts sent chills down his spine, from the bottom right to the top of his head. He shuddered unwillingly. He gestured at Karl to call for cover-up on his escape. He would be running away at maximum speed as he believed he must stay alive to spread the words to the other grunts at the very least!

He switched his engine on. Wham!

He didn't make it. Before he wanted to make his next move, he felt as if he was crashed by a speeding mech. The agony in his body terrorized his remaining muscles. He shrieked seeing half of his body chopped off like hay in a cutter, blood spilling over the weapon like a gruesome graffiti. His head leaned to the side as he lost his consciousness which seemed to be never retrieved afterwards.

Back when Karl arched his arm, F-58 took it like a lever and launched itself to the air. One somersault and the rarely used shield was finally put into use this time. The impact created from F-58's leap disabled Karl's movement temporarily. F-58 stomped on the ground landing and he swiftly sent the shield flying with a fling he made. The shield spun through the gap between Karl and the iron shield, all the way to the running Hawkeye. A critical hit!

The edges of the compound metal shield were extremely honed, plus it flew under the immense strength of F-58's toss, the damage was greater than ever especially when Hawkeye's armor was pathetically weak. The shield pierced through completely like a slice to the apple. Crackles and splutters. The Hawkeye exploded. Having to witness the entire scene, the mechs that happened to be passing by in the air were horrified and nearly lost control.

There was no more need to keep it down anymore. Ye Chong activated his magnetic sword, wanting to end the battle quickly and flee.

Karl had not been making any movement since then, seemingly too astonished by the sudden explosion before him that he did not notice the approaching F-58.

Well, aren't you prepared to die when you are prepared to daze off at such timing? Ye Chong could imagine Karl already dead in his mind, as he waved his magnetic sword like a ferocious serpent as its sting inched towards Karl for a deadly kiss. Ye Chong! A white light blinded Ye Chong as he heard Mu warning, "Look out!"

Karl actually self-destructed? The explosion blew Ye Chong off far away. In a bewilderment, his eyes set upon the tiny dot in the sky. No! It wasn't a suicide! He enlarged the image obtained in the processor. Dammit! That was the white mech going after him last time. Ye Chong could not stop cursing, but it was not the time for that.

The F-58 reached his hands for the ground to stabilize his balance. Bang! He dodged in a tumble right away. I knew it! The attack had yet to be ended as another beam of light struck right before Ye Chong. The F-58 then set close to the floor and zigzagged to the rooftop as he picked up the shield on the way. The frisbee would come in real handy now! He got to the top and jumped off from the building of 500 floors tall.

The white mech chased behind, showing determination in getting Ye Chong real nailed this time!

Dammit! Dammit! Ye Chong called himself in such bad luck of encountering this white mech at this very moment of all times they could have met.

He set himself off into the urban jungle, weaving in between the buildings. That would have worked in the past. However, the white mech seemed to be going real in the hunt. The worst part of the scenario was it would appear that the white mech was aided by the police forces. The color blue, black and white were the typical colors for police officers' mechs and none of theirs were of low-quality! Most of the mechs were either average or advanced. Under the assistance of police force, they cornered Ye Chong bit by bit.

What could Ye Chong have done? Agitation seared his head. Puzzlement wet his face. "Mu." The communicator of F-58 rang with a familiar voice, "I'm Johansson, do you hear me?" Ye Chong would love to respond but, "No time for words. There's a turning 100 meters in front of you. Meet there!" And he hung up. Gosh! Ye Chong's heart skipped a beat. So the Black Cove are finally getting their hands into this!

He settled his mind and sped up straight. 100 meters were a brief distance to Ye Chong's speed. Any place in that distance was not far-fetched to reach within a blink of an eye. Ye Chong's eyes focused on that very black mech as soon as he arrived.

This must be the war model of the Black Cove! That was the first time Ye Chong saw the exact machinery limited to the Black Covers right before his eyes. He had heard amazing stories about it. But I've never seen it, till today!

The only impression flooding his thought then was - This is the coolest mech I've ever seen!

Hideous! That would be the lasting impression given to every person who had seen this mech. The well-proportioned body glossed in a dreamy darkness, a color inhibited the bloodthirsty will in it; the hooks on the slender wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees and the head flashed like the fangs of the demon lord debuting from the underworld; the scepter about a meter half at the right arm, along with the chains wrapped over which the endings were kept inside the mech - wondering what it actually could do.

A magnetic sword kept at the crossing of its back. Came in a pair, about 3 meters long each.

The armguard on its left was rather easily overlooked, which could be pretty good considering what the mech was made for. The sharp edges were hidden within the coat of black paint. The ulterior of the legs had the same pair of scepters too, with the rising spikes installed at the heels. Well for the hidden firepower… I couldn't tell how many shooting cartridges he hid.

"Five." Enlightened Mu, "5 cartridges were hidden."

An absolute killer machine! Ye Chong could not stop complimenting the machinery in his mind. Imagine with such firepower, combined with Johansson's rapid attacking skills - the destruction this mech could potentially create would be more than overwhelming! The apparent setup must not be it! There had to be more, considering it a mech from the Black Cove. It should have some other fearsome modifications not known by a glance! Terrifying. Unpredictable!

Ye Chong shifted his view onto his own F-58. It was at the other extreme on a scale with the black mech. It just felt so half-baked in comparison with Johansson's war machine. If he were to have a duel with Johansson in a F-58, no matter how much more skillful he was than Johansson, he would lose inevitably.

"Those men are from the association." Johansson spoke gravely, "And we are finishing them right here, together!"

As planned, both of them took the sides of the crossing each. Hiding in darkness, Ye Chong tried to piece everything together in his mind. Association? Did he mean the FMPA? Wait, so the FMPA is actually the nemesis of Black Cove? Ever since he got out of the Black Cove, Ye Chong showed disdain towards the certification system in FMPA. The pilots certified by the so-called "association of the galaxy" could hardly be called potent. Nevertheless, he never expected the day that he would be dumbfounded by someone from the FMPA. The super-advanced mechs that have been hunting me were all from the FMPA? The pilot inside that white mech might be inferior to Ye Chong's skills but was still way above the average "advanced pilots" holding fancy certificates in the field. He was from the FMPA too?

How would the Black Cove become the enemy to the FMPA?

It did not make sense to Ye Chong. "Here it comes!" Johansson boomed. Everything happened so fast, Ye Chong simply did not have the leisure to go through the scenes again.

The white mech gracefully emerged in the crossing at first, which the grace was lost upon seeing two mechs at the crossing awaiting for itsarrival. The white mech appeared to have flinched seeing Johansson's fearsome machine.

"Do it!" Johansson shouted and pounced at the white mech straightaway. The speed was unlooked for to the white mech as it went easily a stage faster than F-58.

The white mech calmed down fairly quick and backed off with dexterity a strange-looking gun in the hand aiming at Johansson.

"You… You!" Johansson's angry voice ran deep and profound.

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Chapter 68: Getting Away with Murder

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong backed away, absconding from the scene!

It's now or never. Ye Chong might have seemed foolish for not understanding the bread and butter of routine in humanity, although he was not utterly foolish. He snorted. He knew the situation well enough - if the white mech was ever annihilated, he would be the next target in Johansson's eyes and would not stand a chance to even grapple! Thinking back about what had happened at the Black Cove, Ye Chong could smell the distinct danger in the air. His intuition was justified by Mu's analysis which suggested Johansson showing a hidden enmity. Well then, why should I stay back and be skewed when I can run?

If only I have a proper mech, I would have… hhnnggh!

Ye Chong felt dejected for his helplessness.

A stab for Johansson as a farewell gift? Ye Chong's mischievous mind feared the idea. Judging by the tone when Johansson spoke to him, anyone could have guessed Johansson's intention of dragging him back to the Black Cove. Johansson did not seem to be keen at murder. However, if only the white mech remained and Johansson actually wanted to get rid of him, it would be the same old bad ending he imagined in his mind…

Ye Chong backed out right when Johansson shouted to initiate the attack, which left Johansson stupefied after pouncing at the white mech. "Why you little-" said Johansson angrily, yet he had better things to worry about, like his own safety. The white mech pointed the gun at Johansson.

Ye Chong did not seem bothered because he was not aware of what that strange-looking gun in the white mech's hand was. Nonetheless, it was not the same for Johansson. He recognized the gun since he had been infiltrating the FMPA's database the moment he got his own war machine. He had read through the profiles of his nemesis.

The white mech is known elegantly as the "Messenger" - as angelic as it may sound, it is a commonly used unmodified mechs among the aces of the FMPA.

And that gun, known as "Javelin Angel-V", is the true original weapon used by the experts in the association, named after the semicircle curving over the body like wings, glossing in fair pearl white like an angel. It looks more like an art than a killing weapon.

A .20 caliber gun might seem too minuscule to do anything to a mech of 10 meters tall. However, the caliber does not matter, but what it fires does. It would be a total different outcome providing that if it fires nano waves. Calculated based on the Thomson's law, the nano waves could effortlessly devastate the whole fifty-story building at the maximum capacity of the gun. Given by how there was never a letup from the FMPA, one could already imagine how powerful the gun could be.

Johansson hmphed. He displayed no fright. His eyes were cold. The archival held more than just a grudge towards each other. If the Black Cove never played dirty it would have been long wiped. Johansson recognized the situation. With Black Cove's strength it shall never be wiped out for real. Though it was a bit unacceptable for Johansson that the FMPA could put up with the Black Cove for this long.

Johansson placed the arm shield before his chest. Zzzzzt! A layer of strange rays started emitting from his dark shield and shrouded Johansson's body in plasma, which shaped like a slightly dented shield over him and his Cosmic Flare. He then got onto his black mech, the Cosmic Flare.

Johansson moved evasively. Even though he was much slower than Ye Chong in terms of steering, the impressive Cosmic Flare covered up the holes, thus making Johansson a much better driver than Ye Chong on his underdeveloped F-58.

He did not assume that such little trick could chase the enemy away and of course he was not that dumb to assume that would evade them either. The Messenger possessed an impeccable lock-on system that aided less skillful pilots to nail the hit by halving duration of the entire input sequence using its automatic and guided lock-on function which would only sacrifice negligible quantity of accuracy in exchange.

A ray of scorching lilac glared towards Johansson! The transparent plasma shield shook violently for a moment. I knew it! That has to be the nano waves fired from Javelin Angel-V! The shield stabilized quickly. However to Johansson's horror, he noticed the sharp drop of the battery after the first strike. Fortunately it was also exhausting for Javelin Angel-V to sustain the firepower - if the info obtained was accurate that is…

The possibility of dodging the next attack was meager enough to encourage Johansson to just advance forward fearlessly under his plasma shield. As soon as I get close enough I could finish this guy off in one blow. He travelled towards the enemy, disregarding the possibly massive damage coming at him.

This was the typical brawl between members of FMPA and Black Cove. The Black Covers maintained movements that were more complicated, more depleting with their enhanced physique and dexterity of their hands to complete the input - the archetypal Black Covers; while the FMPA pilots would pull punches with the more avant-garde and automated machineries made out of their flawless craftsmanship to remedy their physical fragility - the classic FMPA members.

The pilots from the Black Cove were known for their combative skills, so one could picture the otherworldly strength in close-combats with the Black Covers. The technology at the Black Cove might be seemingly incompetent compared to the FMPA, but that did not mean they were outdated. The mechs used in Black Cove were contrarily in a status-quo of the leading position when put into comparison with the unmodified mechs in the current market, which makes them ultimately unique in combats for they were those who combined potent pilots and mechs along with bizarre weaponry.

Since the mechs used by the Black Covers were already known to be prime, then the more developed mech technology at the FMPA had to be the greatest. The most sophisticated processor, the most inventive engines, the most pioneering choice of materials, the most innovative mech designs and together they form the most groundbreaking mech in the galaxy. Intellectualization of mech was the breakthrough they achieved where they were possible to make the best decision in a presented scenario within an extremely brief period of time under the assistance of the processor installed. Moreover, they had also created the top ranged weapons with dazzling variety and compelling forces, hence their style of ranged attacks with high mobility was determined.

And that meant the Messenger would be in hot water any moment soon. Johansson charged and had already aimed the possible alley the Messenger could have blinked to if it were to escape, which certainly led to his victory in the end. It could have been a perfect victory, if Ye Chong did not surprise him with that last-minute runaway, in which the Messenger could have escaped back then.

Ye Chong was scurrying from the scene on his mech. There was no way he would turn back now. All engines, maximum speed! He zigzagged through the buildings, trying to hide himself within the ground, though he knew it well that the two big machines could have been too busy fighting each other dead or alive to even care about Ye Chong. It was rather delightful to have lost that white mech. Without that white mech escorting, the police mechs were no longer an issue. A turn here and a spin there, a leap and a sink, through that alley and over the fence, he finally left the proximity of police forces.

Ye Chong went on flying calmly. His mech was too eye-catching, Ye Chong thought it through, wondering if there were more of those white mechs going after him. As for his appearance, only Johansson knew, so he probably would not be identified. Thanks to Johansson who held the annoying mech for me, I can now go into hiding. Ye Chong was feeling smug.

"Oh well, sigh." Ye Chong thought back about beautifully-crafted mech Johansson owned, with envy he lamented to Mu, "How I wish I had that kind of mech, Mu."

"Well according to calculations based on the data given, the chances are below 10%." Mu flatly analyzed.

"The heck, Mu, how did you even calculate that?" Ye Chong was astonished.

"It's simple. It's based on the original mathematical model proposed by Austin, in conjunction with the combination of the fuzzy theory with multi-variation probability, thus the possibility to calculate your case, Ye Chong."

"Sometimes I just wish you speak English, Mu." Ye Chong scratched his head, "And I also wish you could be more sentimental."

"Sentimental means: of, or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness or nostalgia. Based on my reading, it is blatant that you do not possess such quality." A comeback from Mu.

"What!" Ye Chong screamed in his mind, "Mu, do you mean I am not sentimental?"

"That is correct." Mu replied.

"Why you…"

In the midst of mutual-teasing, Ye Chong heard someone calling from his back.

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Chapter 69: Yang An's Invitation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ever since Ye Chong met Mu, his usual mumbo-jumbo had gradually reduced. He had been communicating with Mu through telepathy. To the people around, he no longer appeared to be muttering to himself, instead, he stayed all quiet.

Ye Chong turned over towards the direction of the voice calling. It was Sun Xuelin and Shew coming towards him along with 3 other young men. A glance through the gang, his eyes identified the uniqueness of the man in the center, who seemed to be the eldest as he walked in a fairly steady and mature manner; while the man on his right was a bit more buffed, apparently someone who had undergone a certain kind of special training. Though he had an evenly flexible looking limbs, he still did not look fluid enough, which indicated that he would had issues mastering the control of his strength; the other on the left was much more undersized, or even puny, but he did have a nice pair of hands which gave Ye Chong an impression being quite nimble.

Ye Chong's careful observation on a person always started with the person's behavior, the physique then tiny details like their gestures. Contrary to the norms, he did not show concern of one's facial appearance.

Hmph! Xuelin's face was all puffy and steaming as she stood at the side, turning her face away from Ye Chong while Shew, her cousin pulled Xuelin's sleeve, signaling her to behave.

"Greetings Mister." The leading man smiled kindly as he initiated, "You must be that very Ye Miss Xuelin had mentioned. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Yang An and we had heard about your amazing skills from Miss Xuelin. We certainly appreciate your accommodating nature willing to assist Miss Xuelin repairing her mech. So regarding the price you had offered before, we accept it wholeheartedly. Would you mind, by all means, to join our establishment?"

Ye Chong's mind was clogged with the long-winded introduction.

Hmm… Hmmmm… Oh!

He got what the man meant - they are paying. "Okay, good!" He spoke on.

Ye Chong was acting nonchalantly towards such a lovely offer but the leader Yang An did not seem to mind the attitude at all, "So let me carry on introducing my men. This is Ke Han, the pilot of our group. And this is Ding Yining, our ace student from the mechanic school, who is very familiar with mech modification and would be providing you assistance."

Ke Han was trying to be friendly at first but Ye Chong's indifference was enraging to him. It was not really because of Ye Chong putting up an attitude, but rather because Ye Chong appeared to be too engaged chatting with Mu in his mind to bother what Yang An spoke.

"Based on the data I had received, Johansson has about 87% chance of achieving victory in that fight against the white mech. The white mech on the other hand has measly 10% success rate of escaping and 3% chance of winning," reported Mu flatly.

"Well that sounds like Johansson had won the fight!" Ye Chong was confident that he could have won if he were to pilot Johansson's mech, considering how even Johansson could win in the end.

Suddenly a number of mechs soared through the sky in lightning speed, which created an airflow against the sleeves of people on the ground. Ye Chong lifted his head and nearly got a heart attack because those happened to be the exact same white mech he had encountered before.

Johansson must have defeated the white mech, so the ally came to the rescue. Ye Chong counted the number of white mechs in his mind. One, two, three… six… seven. Hehehe, Johansson is in trouble.

While Yang An continued blabbering things Ye Chong did not bother, Ke Han's impression towards Ye Chong had just taken a turn to the worse. He glared on, hoping that Ye Chong would realize his ill manner. But well, even if Ye Chong did notice his attitude, he would not repent for his "ill manner" too.

Yang An seemed to be also a little agitated in his eyes. He retained his smile as he spoke on, "Very well. Maybe we should try on working something now, just to break the ice. How about that? Mister."

"O…Oh…" Ye Chong shifted his focus back to the conversation, "Okay… Sure…", knowing that the person still wanted to test him out despite all those unnecessary respects in act.

They got onto their transportation and moved to the base.

It was a giant storage with all sorts of parts and tools for mech of different models. It was so messy that the tools looked as if they were suffocating.

The weak Ding Yining rubbed his palms in slight embarrassment, "Hahaha… I'm sorry. This place is a little messy sometimes. I usually work alone here so I don't really do cleanups."

Ye Chong took a glance at the parts scattered on the ground. From the moment he had seen that black mech from Black Cove and the white mech from FMPA, he no longer fancied these ordinary mechs stuck in the storage. Any advanced mech even like the F-58 would have looked modest in front of the mighty Black Cove gears, let alone that super overpowered war machines Johansson drove and that Messenger the FMPA pilot sniped with.

He could not find a good reason himself to explain the vast difference of quality between the so-called advanced mechs sold in the market and the real deal in Black Cove and FMPA.

Who are the Black Cove and FMPA seriously?

Questions of different kinds mushroomed in Ye Chong's thoughts.

But, well, there is a time and place for everything, but not now…

"Sooo… What kind of mechs do you guys need?" Ye Chong asked.

"Speed. All speed. We only need speed. Well of course, it would be better if we get some mobility." Ke Han stepped to the front and replied excitingly.

Such requirement actually reminded Ye Chong of that blue paperweight he had a race with in the street back then. That bottle-head setting…

"What about firepower?"

"Nope." Ke Han shook his head, "Does not require."

"What about defense?"

"Nope." Ke Han shook his head again, "I only want speed. What I want is a mech specialized for races."

Sounds like that blue paper mech I met last time. But for Pete's sake what the heck can that kind of mech do? Run?

Ye Chong wanted to question Ke Han's concept but he was too lazy for a fruitless discussion. Since the employer asked for a racing mech, he would give him a racing mech.

He then inquired this future pilot of the mech regarding some essential factors to be taken into consideration for designs, including height, weight, habits of controlling, optimum speed of his hands and so on.

Ye Chong knotted his brows while conversing with Ke Han and sometimes he went dazed. He walked to and fro performing calculations and simulations on the processor in the storage.

It lasted for 30 minutes and right when the people started to get impatient, Ye Chong finally came up with the ultimate modification plan.

Yining took a look at Ye Chong's blueprint and out of sudden, the eyes lustered with desire as well as amazement, like a famished wolf spotting a fat lamb in the field.

"Perfect… This is too perfect! Oh my gosh!! You are a genius!" Yining could not stop exclaiming as his eyes fixed on Ye Chong with adore. Yining even felt like kneeling down and pleading Ye Chong to be his master. But there was no time for that! The next thing Yining did was storming into the mountain of parts to obtain those mentioned in Ye Chong's plan at full speed. Yining rushed in and out madly.

Apparently, the owner of this storage, Yining also happened to be a mech maniac. Thankfully Yining's storage had all the things Ye Chong would need in building this mech. Or else, he could not swear that he would make it.

There were a variety of tools and strange parts scattered around in the storage. Ye Chong could barely recognize most of the tools. Frankly speaking, some of them also happened to be his first encounter. There was no way he could use those tools. But then, it did not mean that there was nobody else who could use the tools for him. The owner Yining knew the place and the tools well enough. Plus, Yining was all proactive and passionate. Ye Chong could just sit aside, point his fingers around and watch things happen.

Ye Chong would be informing the materials and the parts needed, along with specific ways of modifying certain parts, while Yining did all the work - literally Ye Chong was being the contractor of this construction.

Yining's skill was aided with odd gadgets and carried out with full efficiency and effectiveness, which was an eye-opener to Ye Chong. He observed Yining carefully and learned the tricks bit by bit with heart.

After approximately 4 hours of hard work on building the new machines, they eventually got to the grand opening of a newborn mech.

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Chapter 70: Gliding Joy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The moment had arrived! A newborn mech was to be sent into the sky soaring like a bird, freely and… When everyone saw the post-modification, their eyes were filled with confusion, looking at Ye Chong. Yining who had been working hard for the past hours went dumbfounded upon seeing the mech he modified with his own hands looking like this.

Is this crap still a mech?

This was probably what everyone else had in mind.

The mech was in a shape of an arrow, with a tampering body from cabin to the end. The body was much narrower than before, but taller, like a flattened swordfish; while the main engine was shifted to the very end. It was all according to Ye Chong's calculation, where the placement of center of gravity would be ideal. The front was the "arrowhead" with the side wings forming a V shape towards the fore, unlike before when it used to be a flimsy metallic strip and multiple additional engines were installed to promote a larger scope of redirection. The design was an innovation but also a challenge to the pilot as the cabin had been moved to the body of the mech, the "shaft" where it only offered limited space for body movement, just enough to fit Ke Han sitting in. No wonder Ye Chong asked him about the height and the weight. Also as the entire cabin had became cramped, the processor was replaced with a much smaller one which served less functions. Technically if it was a mech made for Ye Chong, he would hardly need a processor and could just play manually. But Yining was the one strongly against this because a mech was believed to be worthless without a processor inside.

The mech was mainly built using light titanium alloy, which durability might appeared substandard, but it served better for its featherweight. The engine used was Firebird-III and it was not because of its dynamic, rather, again, it was because of its weight being merely half of the other engines of similar grades and most importantly it offered the largest scope of redirection in the group. Most of the main engines only served the purpose of providing momentum to the mech and it wholly depended on the additional engines to make direction changes. However, there happened to be some rare kinds that could do both, though they offer a smaller scope of redirection. Firebird-III from this category was the most outstanding in direction control being a main engine, thus it became Ye Chong's choice. Of course, such an overpowered-sounding engine was not a common selection by the public for it consumed high amount of energy. It might had half of the weight of engines of similar grade, but in return it had twice the amount of energy depletion as the other engines in its line, which drastically restrained its application. For instance, the mech Ye Chong designed could sustain a nonstop flight for a limited duration of 8 hours when fully charged at most. Such a flaw Ye Chong thought it was that he asked Ke Han for opinion but he did not show much disagreement considering how he was only required a 2 hour flight in the tournament. That was more than enough.

Yining proceeded to paint the whole mech in blue - a blue like a pool of clear lake. The strange design did actually made the mech look much more striking, forceful with its hollowed body. The team was looking forward to its performance.

They looked at each other and nodded. Somehow they read each other pretty well. They agreed the fact that it was their first time seeing such an odd mech. It would be more appropriate to call it an aircraft instead. Ke Han was thrilled to try on his new toy that he felt like hopping into the cabin right away.

Up, up, and away! Ke Han set off into the sky!

For moments on ground, they had been anticipating Ke Han's return to hear his words about the new craft.

Ke Han finally made it back - literally made it back. It was not as heartwarming as coming home because Ke Han crawled out of his cabin with his face drained, his legs shaking. "H…hi…f…folks."

They quickly went to Ke Han. "Han!" Yang An asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"

"To…tt…Ttt…Too fast! Th…Th…This is… inten…ss…intense!" He caught his breath, settled his mind, "There were a few times I nearly crashed into people! It's too hard to control!" But he seemed all pumped and enthusiastic, "Still, it's fast, too fast! I guess I could already be a professional racer at this rate. It's too fun!"

Xuelin who was standing at the side seemed quite eager to try while Shew acted a scaredy cat holding Xuelin back at her sleeve.

Yining gazed endearingly at the mech he made out with his own hands. "Hmmm…" he mumbled. "What name shall we bestow this baby?"

"Glidy!" Ke Han waddled to Yining, "How about Glidy?"

"Glidy just sounds stupid." Xuelin shook her head in strong disapproval, "A single-word name never worked. Hmm, how about Gliding Joy?" It was a suggestion coming from a beauty, and without a doubt, Ke Han approved and Yining seemed pleased with the name too. "How about Ye Ch-" Ye Chong, the designer, the contractor of the construction carried on watching the folks uninterestedly, guessing the man did not bother what the mech would be named after.

And so be it!

The name of this modified mech had been decided among the folks without much discussion.

"Well." Ye Chong looked at the time - it was time to scram for him. He stood up and spoke to Yang An, "4 hours in total. Every hour costed you 1225 Zuan. That'd be 5000 Zuan in total. Payment at your convenience!" His tone was monotonous. He did not sound mortified as he asked for his pay.

Tch! Xuelin spat her tongue in disdain and dragged Shew aside.

On the other hand, Yang An acted truly easygoing in this. He paid Ye Chong the price as he acknowledged his capability, knowing if he joined the alliance, the team would have greater odds to win.

Yining carried on gazing at Ye Chong's blueprint in endearment, while Ke Han's eyes still glued at Gliding Joy. His hands could not stop fondling his baby from the tip to the end, the shaft and then the wings.

Xuelin was having another private conversation with Shew at the corner. Their whispers rumbled.

Ye Chong seemed to have heard his name being mentioned in their discussion, but well… Do I really care? These two are just a bunch of weird people. I don't have time for them.

He confirmed the transaction on his identity card. 5000 Zuans in. Done. He briefly bade farewell to them and walked away after that.

Back to the streets seeing the crowd, Ye Chong then realized it was actually the peak hour of his noodle shop! That was more frightening than anything else! He got to get back to Grandpa Qian or the loss would be beyond estimation! He ran, dashed, hurtled and sprinted through the streets, like a fired bullet through the air. The pedestrians saw a shadow flying by and they panicked just to see nothing. Most of them thought they were just feeling a little under the weather.

Ye Chong hurried back to the shop and indeed it was swarmed with customers. Grandpa Qian was running back and forth, looking really fatigued. Ye Chong, with a slight guilt, greeted Grandpa Qian and rushed into the kitchen to begin his work.

Grandpa Qian returned to the front desk and let go a sigh of relief.

When the last batch of customers left at about 8 at night, they had dinner and hit the bed after a short good-night to each other. Then nothing else happened.

Except for Ye Chong.

He locked his room and carefully took out the chip he pilfered from the dead man's building back then. The chip had only recorded worthless information about Grandpa Xu's whereabouts. Well the only surprising discovery was from the identity cards he obtained from the men he killed, as Mu's immense processing ability located the background of these people.

"So they are from the Ji Family?" Ye Chong asked.

"Probably about 95% the likelihood according to the data acquired." Mu answered.

"That's just another way to say yes. Well then, why are the Jis on Grandpa Xu?" he asked on.

Mu then gave a brief introduction on Ji Family's background. Ye Chong understood the entire scenario after that. It had to be because of the new theory from Grandpa Xu that they desired. That was why they tried all sorts of ways to get Grandpa Xu into their group. And obviously Grandpa Xu would not buy any of their dirty tricks. Practically, those tricks were not that dirty to Ye Chong, considering how he would have used a much dirtier trick if he were the Jis.

Yet! It does not mean I am fine with what they have done to Grandpa Xu! Understanding does not translate approval, especially when he was involved.

Well then, by now the Ji Family should have heard of the news.

Keeping that thought, he logged into the virtual world and left a note at the Aurora, informing Grandpa Xu that he would be busy working on something and he might not be visiting anytime soon.

The Ji Family huh?

Ye Chong snickered.

Chapter 71: Operation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was night, and Ye Chong moved silently like a spirit through the darkness. The night provided the best cover for Ye Chong; if it was in space, Ye Chong would not dare to move so freely, even with his F-58. While there was more radiation in space, the geography was less complicated. Scanning systems can be used to their full potential in such terrains. On the other hand, within the atmosphere, the various environment severely restricted the effective perimeter of the scanning system, besides significantly decreasing its accuracy. Most importantly, the government has strict rules regarding atmospheric scanning, such as allowed scanning frequencies, methods and so on.

The fact was that the F-58, with its advanced anti-detection system, would be the best candidate for the task at hand, but Ye Chong was unsure if Johansson's mech had a special communication link with the F-58. Hence, he kept the F-58 undeployed.

In fact, the best time to infiltrate the Ji family was immediately after he killed the surveillance team, and before the Ji family received the news. Now that the Ji family was informed, security would be tightened. However, his infiltration was planned entirely by Mu. When Ye Chong noticed that Mu had gathered a large amount of data about the Ji family, he made the rational decision of letting Mu plan for the infiltration. Ye Chong had absolute trust in Mu. Mu did not explain the details of their operation, but only calculated the probability of the final outcome. The probability of success was 72 percent; the probability of failure and successful retreat was 20 percent; and the probability of dying mid-operation was 8 percent.

Ye Chong felt that attacking the Ji family now would not deal a big enough blow, since he was not exactly powerful, and would risk exposing himself. However, Mu had insisted on the operation, and Ye Chong believed that there must be a good reason behind it, for Mu would not do anything carelessly.

Ye Chong carefully moved in the shadows as he always did when hunting on the trash planet. The mutants were far more alert than humans, and had uniquely enhanced senses, such as an incredible sense of smell and, more generally, highly sensitive hearing. The most problematic for Ye Chong were mutants that could see infrared light.

Multichromatic lightings illuminated the night, as the gorgeous lights winked at each other. Seen from above, one would find it a mesmerising sight. The superstars in holographic advertisements looked more enchanting than they were during the day. The safety lights from the mechs flying above made them look like a sprinkle of dancing fireflies.

Ye Chong was not in the mood to appreciate the scene that would have been impossible on the trash planet. Within the shadows of the dark, he was now moving silently like a cold-blooded venomous snake.

Ye Chong carefully kept himself concealed as he asked, "Mu, what're our objective for this operation? Don't keep me guessing!"

Mu lightly replied, "You'll know when it's time. Based on available information, the probability of you understanding then is 91 percent."

Ye Chong nearly tripped at the mech's response. "Of course I'll know then! I meant now!"

Mu continued calmly, "Based on available information, there is still an 8 percent probability of you not understanding by then. As for now, I regret to inform you that my calculation results indicates that the probability of you guessing right is 0 percent."

Ye Chong cursed to himself. "Damn it Mu, are you saying I'm stupid?"

Mu kept his cool. "Logically speaking, that is absolutely accurate!"

Ye Chong carefully hid himself behind an artificial tree and examined the base closely. Every 15 minutes, a few small mechanical birds would fly over the area. Their bodies were equipped with amplified scanning devices that greatly increased the scanning perimeter and accuracy. However, Ye Chong managed to hide in a blind spot under Mu's guidance.

Ye Chong asked, "Mu, what is this place?"

Mu ignored him and said, "Ye, you should be able to avoid detection with the F-58!"

Ye Chong acknowledged, and deployed the F-58.

Mu immediately spoke, "Hurry!" Ye Chong was surprised at the mech's anxiety, and dared not take his time. He slipped into the cabin quickly and immediately started the engines.

As expected, the F-58 did not alert the other party's scanning system. Ye Chong was thinking of moving in a discrete manner forward, but Mu spoke up, "Fly straight ahead!"

Ye Chong hesitated, but quickly recovered and flew as directed. However, he found it strange that the people moving about the area seemed to ignore the F-58, or even outright waved at him as a greeting - and that was how he flew openly into the area. Ye Chong could not keep up with what was happening, and failed to see the reason behind their actions.

The people here put heavy trust in the base's scanning system, and did not think that someone could enter without going through proper identification. Everyone thought that the F-58 was a mech from the base.

However, Mu had no intention of explaining, and only spoke lightly, "You now have only three minutes. After three minutes, Johansson will be here, and there's a 78 percent probability that he'll know your rough location."

Ye Chong broke into a cold sweat!

Mu ignored him and continued, "You must reach this area within one minute!" The F-58's photon processor immediately produced holographic schematics for the base. At the north west corner was a basement about twenty meters underground, overlaid with a bright red spot - that was Ye Chong's destination.

"Damn it Mu, you …" Ye Chong gave up with his cursing, and promptly accelerated ahead.

Mu was deliberately calm. "Ye, don't rush! At your speed, there's a 94 percent probability of reaching your destination!' Ye Chong was greatly agitated - when he heard that Johansson would arrive in three minutes, his first thought was to leave his mech and escape. "Is this a joke? The two mechs are not even on the same level, I have zero chance of winning. Not escaping? Do you want me to die?"

However, Mu's words seemed to be layered with some unfathomable meaning. While Ye Chong continued to curse Mu on the inside, he still flew ahead at top speed.

In just five seconds, Ye Chong arrived directly above the basement. The horizontal metal alloy door was 100 meters wide and 30 meters tall, and it was grew larger and larger in his vision.

When Ye Chong was 50 meters away from the door, Mu suddenly spoke up, "Send out the identification signal!"

Ye Chong caught his breath at the order; already his hands were moving at top speed without thinking. On Black Cove, Ye Chong's hands could move up to Mach 5.54 [1]; after breaking the bottleneck, his speed was reaching Mach 7, which was an astounding figure.

However, even with his speed, Ye Chong nearly choked as he executed his new order that came without prior warning. Fortunately, Ye Chong managed an abrupt halt, as the F-58 stopped just about two meters above the door. The identification signal was sent just before the mech came to a halt.

As Ye Chong recovered himself, he was faced with another dilemma. "Signalling the other party with an identification, isn't that suicidal?"

To his surprise, the alloy door began to slowly slide open, and beyond the door was absolutely complete darkness!

Note:

[1] Mach: unit for speed, where Mach 1 is the speed of sound (around 340 m/s), and Mach 0.5 is half the speed of sound (and so on).

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Chapter 72: Into the Depths

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong slowly and carefully maneuvered the F-58 into the basement. The mech scanned the surroundings over and over at its maximum capacity, as Ye Chong grew more and more tense.

"Why would Mu want me to come here? What is it here exactly that caught Mu's attention so much?" Ye Chong was filled with questions, but dared not be distracted by them at the moment. Mu had no intention of explaining since the beginning, at least not until he reached the end of the operation!

Ye Chong could not help but be excited! The peaceful days before this did not dull his yearning for battle; on the contrary, since he was accustomed to the cruel lifestyle on the trash planet, Ye Chong was uncomfortable with the peace, even as he tried his best to get used to the vastly different way of life. He could not change over a decade of his habits and lifestyle overnight!

"It's been ages since I had a real battle!" Ye Chong could feel his blood boiling! Strictly speaking, Ye Chong was not exactly trigger-happy, as he had only battled to survive. However, battles had always made him excited.

"Perhaps, there'll be a nasty fight today!"

The scanning system did not detect anyone around, and that surprised Ye Chong. "This is obviously an important place, how could there be no one around? Besides, I just went through the door with a valid identification, how can that be?"

From the moment Ye Chong entered the door, Mu spoke in unprecedented urgency, "In thirty seconds, reach the eleventh level below by then. The ten levels above it are now accessible with your identification. Keep the F-58, quickly!"

Ye Chong dared not hesitate, and slipped out of the F-58 at once. The mech was withdrawn into its alternate dimension before Ye Chong hit the ground. As his feet touched the ground, Ye Chong's legs moved with explosive strength, following the route that was shown on the schematics earlier by Mu.

It was pitch black, and even Ye Chong's superior vision left him blinded. Ye Chong could only run forward based on his memory of the route. However, Mu did not correct him, and so he assumed that he remembered the route correctly.

Suddenly, a sliver of light came into view ahead - a silver metallic door slid open from the center, and the opening was the source of brightness. Even as he was running, Ye Chong noticed the odd fact that the door seemed more like a wall from his side before it slid open.

Mu must have did something with his identification!

Beyond the door was a slope angled at 45 degrees, paved with anti-slip material. The slope went on for about fifty meters before connecting to a corridor that formed a T-junction. Ye Chong chose to go left without hesitation. There were many code-secured entrances along the way, but whenever Ye Chong approached them, the doors would open for him. This puzzled Ye Chong, but he knew that it was probably due to Mu's tricks. He would ask Mu when they get back home, as this was obviously not the time nor place for questions.

Ye Chong felt like he had entered a space devoid of other human beings. However, he only remembered the route for the first 5 levels. The corridors were a web of complicated lefts and rights, and all the twists and turnings had made Ye Chong lost his sense of direction. Even as he was confused by the directions, Ye Chong still managed to feel awed by the designs used to prevent infiltration - it was a truly clever design!

However, Mu's presence meant that the current obstacle did not stop Ye Chong from moving forward!

Finally, he reached the tenth level. Ye Chong ran with all his might as Mu spoke up, "I need ten seconds for the eleventh level! Deploy me now!"

"Mu's making his move?" Ye Chong was surprised, but did as he was told - Mu appeared within the corridors in the next instant.

Mu's large hull still managed to look light and agile in the narrow corridors, and Ye Chong could barely keep up with Mu as he sped up following him.

Mu gave a few more orders to Ye Chong, and, in the blink of an eye, the two arrived before the door on the eleventh level.

This door was obviously different from the rest - while the ten alloy doors before it were equipped with identification mechanisms, the current door on the eleventh level was devoid of any devices, and Ye Chong was greatly startled by that fact!

Mu stood before the alloy door of the eleventh level, his bionic eyes were flashing in a frenzy. Ye Chong stood beside the door as Mu suggested, his legs slightly bent in preparation and his dagger in hand. Man and machine were silent throughout their maneuvers.

As expected, after ten seconds, the doors slid open, and Ye Chong rushed through the opening between the door panels like a ghost and slipped through!

"There're two people beyond the door, as expected as well!" Ye Chong thought to himself!

Prepared for the encounter, Ye Chong slashed his dagger through the air like lightning!

The two people beyond the door did not expect the door to suddenly open. Two dark flashes of movement filled their eyes in disbelief, before their throats were marked with a thin slit of blood that spread quickly outwards. After a slight pause, a soft "pop" sounded, and blood sprayed from the throats of the two victims.

The two guards watched Ye Chong with disbelief, and slowly fell to the ground, silent throughout their final ordeal.

The whole process was neatly and efficiently done; the two victims did not even manage to sound the alarm right beside them. The automatic alarm system was already disabled by Mu.

Ye Chong and Mu did not waste any more time as they moved forward posthaste.

They were greeted by a large roundish chamber, over 100 meters across. In the center of the chamber, there were a few concentric silver rings on the floor. The rest of the chamber was filled with a variety of mechs. The mechs shined with an attractive luster, painted in enchanting, interweaving colours of bright silver, ocean blue, light emerald and fiery red. These mechs stood quietly in the chamber like silent soldiers, filling the chamber with a mysterious attractive quality.

These were all rare and advanced level mechs, and some were even limited editions. There were many that Ye Chong had never even heard of, and his eyes glowed with yearning from his long deprivation of mechs. These were not just run-of-the-mill products! Some of the mechs had accessories gathered at their feet, and Ye Chong noticed with his keen eyes that many of them were top of the line!

Could these mechs be the reason Mu brought him here?

Ye Chong could not help but feel that that something was wrong. While these mechs were advanced and top grade, they were still not as good as the F-58. The F-58 might look ugly and unwieldy, its performance was still above the mechs in the chamber. Black Cove's strength was truly admirable!

"How can Mu not notice that? It's impossible!" Ye Chong immediately dismissed his undoubtedly silly idea!

He looked towards Mu, and saw the mech standing at the center of the concentric circles in the chamber, as his bionic eyes flashed wildly. Ye Chong paused at the sight - could there be something to this place?

As expected, after fifteen seconds, Mu spoke hastily, "Ye, quickly!"

Ye Chong promptly stepped onto the silver circles. Before he could steady himself, he felt the ground below him vanish, and Ye Chong staggered. Fortunately, he was sharp enough to grab hold onto Mu beside him in time, thus avoiding a fall!

The silver concentric circles carried Ye Chong and Mu silently downwards!

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Chapter 73: Success

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong stared in bewilderment at the two huge mechs before him!

The horizontally laid mechs were evidently just completed; Ye Chong could even detect the smell of volatile paint in the air. Support frames and stabilization structures were still in place at many different parts of the mechs.

Of the two mechs, one was in a combination of dim blue and ivory white, while the other had alternating shades of bright red and glowing silver.

Ye Chong's eyes glowed with interest - he knew immediately from experience that these two mechs were special! It seemed that there was still someone else with mech technology comparable to that of Black Cove and the MPA [1]! Ye Chong couldn't help but marvel at the two machines! These two mechs were definitely not of lesser quality than Johansson's black war mech or the MPA's white mech!

Mu prompted him, "Choose one now, you only have one minute of designated time left!"

Ye Chong snapped out of his reverie and suppressed his overjoyed emotions. He did not have time to inspect the two mechs in detail, but Ye Chong slipped into the blue-white mech's cabin without hesitation. The red-silver mech came with a formidable shooting weapon, and Ye Chong knew from a glance that it was a mech with a long range battle style. This was why he chose the blue-white mech - after all, that kind of battle style did not suit him well.

Inside the cabin, the floor was still littered with debris. Ye Chong did not make time for a closer inspection, as he began performing the initial settings as fast as he could! The initial setup was complicated, and Ye Chong felt slightly daunted by the task, but immediately rejoiced at the fact that a more complicated initial setup process implied that the mech was more advanced.

Ye Chong put on the helmet and focused on the various messages that appeared in his vision, wary of any distractions! Not that he was open to any form of distractions, since the messages on the holographic screen came pouring out like a waterfall. Ye Chong's vision was tested on a whole new level; should he be even be slightly distracted, he would beat himself up for it when the whole thing was over!

His hands moved quickly across the control panel, casting illusory shadows of movement!

As for Mu, the mech had picked up a strange looking weapon that was laid beside the mech that Ye Chong slipped into.

The weapon was similar to a lance from archaic times, but extended to a whole fifteen meters, and was obviously made for the mech that Ye Chong chose. Like the mech, the weapon's dim blue was like the flowing ocean; the sharp protruding end of the lance had two crescent-shaped blades on its sides, which made the weapon look like an antiquated double bit axe. The crescent blades curved slightly inwards near the tip of the lance, but bent outwards on the other end. The point where the blades meet the lance's central beam was a diamond shaped ruby crystal. The central blade of the lance had a mysterious sheen that seemed to constantly evolve. If an artist were present, he or she would certainly be intrigued!

Mu watched the tip of the lance closely, as though he held great interest in it.

Ji Shangyan furrowed his brows at the mass of confusion before him and could not help but let out a little sigh at the fact that his eldest brother was too caught up in his joy. Immediately after the two mechs were finished, his eldest brother had arranged for a celebration, and even managed to invite almost everyone there, leaving only two behind to guard the place. This was too ridiculous!

Earlier, he had advised his brother to send a few more guards over, but his brother had impatiently waved him off. The underlings around him may not have said anything, but through his keen perception, Ji Shangyan sensed their shunning towards him, thinking that he was not understanding!

A few days ago, members of the surveillance team for Old Xu were all killed. The perpetrator was still unidentified, and Ji Shangyan had a scolding from his old man for it. While he believed that the perpetrator was someone who had a close relationship with Old Xu, the elder man was a tough nut to crack, and a precious asset that could not afford to be shouted at or physically intimidated. His family's actions against Old Xu had alarmed some higher-ups, and so his old man had asked for him to halt his operations against Old Xu.

"Ah, forget it, it can't be helped!" Ji Shangyan smiled wryly at himself. The people before him had all stayed at this secret base for at least 3 years; now that they had succeeded, how can he deny them their festive mood? Ji Shangyan understood their feelings; against the hostility they showed for him, he could only smile wryly back to himself.

However, there should not be any problems, since the secret base had a state of the art identification system. It would be a fool's errand to attempt to infiltrate the base without raising any alarms. Ji Shangyan could not help but mock his excessive worrying. He believed that no one present would also believe in the possibility of that happening.

The Ji family was famous for photon processors, and also far ahead of any other aristocratic family in matters concerning photon processors.

Besides, Ji Shangyan knew how much time his old man spent on the base, and the importance of the base in the Ji family. Besides, the project they were celebrating now was monumental! As the second son of the Ji family, Ji Shangyan felt similar pride for this family project.

"Hehe, the Four Aristocratic Families of Fal? They'll all make way for the Ji family!"

Suddenly, the ground shook - everyone present for the celebration froze, and total silence descended on the area!

"Was it an earthquake?" As everyone raised their suspicion.

Earthquakes, the result of violent tectonic shifts, is no longer a natural phenomenon that threatens human safety. Even common building structures can withstand the strong vibrations from earthquakes, much less the exceptionally constructed secret base that housed the current celebration!

The vibrations grew stronger, and seemed to be heading their way. The rumbling undertones gradually became louder and louder.

Whatever was moving did so very quickly - in the blink of an eye, the crowd could sense that it was getting much closer to them. The rumbling sound was getting clearer, and everyone present began to panic.

Ye Chong maneuvered his newly acquired mech, plunging through walls, making its own path through brute force.

Ye Chong was very fond of the mech. The only thing that bothered him was its name - Harmony of the Winter Aria. It sounded weird, of course, but most importantly, the name was too long. For Ye Chong, who appreciated conciseness, the name was a little awkward for him.

Ye Chong had fitted all the weaponry for the Harmony of the Winter Aria. As he sat in the cabin, he marvelled at the mech's specifications. However, this obviously was not the time for a detailed inspection - in fourty five seconds, Ye Chong completed the initial setup, and in another ten seconds, all the weapons intended for the mech and scattered around it were fitted.

In those fifty five seconds, Mu was searching in the secret basement. In only twenty seconds, Mu located his target. The mech took another twenty seconds to crack a safe hidden in a corner. As for identifying his exact objective amongst the other things kept within the safe, Mu took only half a second.

The object seemed to be a mineral ore, as large as two fists. The ore had a strange feel to it - its colour seemed to be constantly evolving, an unrecognisable hue to the human eye. Mu decidedly tossed the ore into his cabin.

Once Ye Chong was done with the initial setup, Mu asked to be returned to his alternate dimension. Ye Chong had no objections to the mech's wishes - his battles are his own!

The most urgent difficulty for Ye Chong now was to find the mech's dimension keystone. Without it, the mech would be incomplete. If he could not keep the mech in its alternate dimension, even if he could escape the base, he would only be easy prey for the entire Ji family.

Ye Chong was not so foolish as to think that he could single-handedly destroy the Ji family.

Finding the Harmony of the Winter Aria's dimension keystone was his top and only priority.

Dimension keystones and their corresponding mechs can interact within a certain distance. Ye Chong skilfully commanded the photon processor, attempting to locate Harmony's dimension keystone. A red dot glared back at him almost immediately on the holographic screen, while another blue dot indicated his location.

Knowing the location of dimension keystone, Ye Chong made his move!

Ye Chong's method was simple - fly straight ahead!

The distance between two points is shortest in a straight line. With the direction decided, Ye Chong wielded the fifteen-meter lance as he broke through wall after wall - sturdy alloy walls, resilient walls, the lot of them - as they all caved in easily under the archaic looking lance of the Harmony of the Winter Aria!

Ye Chong closed his distance with the dimension keystone through this crude and straightforward method.

He had seen no one in his path, and thought it was odd. Since no one had sounded the alarm even as he carelessly destroyed the base, Ye Chong believed it must be Mu who had destroyed the alarm system. As for the extent of Mu's damage to the system, Ye Chong would not have known.

One last wall to go! Even as he was overjoyed with that fact, Ye Chong grew calm.

Ye Chong took in a deep breath, and, with a little hum and some dexterous manipulation of the controls, the Harmony of the Winter Aria abruptly accelerated - the archaic, blue lance swiped left, right and center - as the wall before him crumbled into pieces, debris flying all over the place.

Harmony swiftly broke through the last wall.

As the massive machine made its way through the wall, all those present for the celebration were caught in surprise, staring at the machine - was this not the Harmony of the Winter Aria? In an instant, they all realised what was really happening, and all hell broke loose - screams and loud cries filled the area, as the crowd was thrown into a mass of confusion, scurrying all over the place.

Ye Chong ignored the people, for he had only one objective, which was the Harmony's dimension keystone!

The highly accurate scanning system returned the exact location of the dimension keystone to Ye Chong - it was on a man, currently surrounded by four others. The man was holding a glass of red wine, staring at him in confusion. The holographic scanner swept through the man's body over and over, such that even the fat around his waist was clearly visible to Ye Chong. The dimension keystone was in his overcoat's left pocket. Ye Chong did not hesitate - he swiped the fifteen-metre lance against his opponents, and the men around his target were pushed out of the way.

Harmony of the Winter Aria lifted the man in the center with its left arm. The sound of shattering glass was heard as the man began to scream.

Everyone present looked fearfully at the eldest young master of the Ji family, threatened by the intruder, but none could save him. They did not even understand how their trusted alarm system was compromised. However, a few of the sharper ones had already left to call for help.

Ji family's eldest young master was lifted by Harmony, 3 meters from the ground. As the pilot's cabin slowly opened up, everyone stared intently at the opening, curious to know the identity of this reckless and fearless trespasser!

A shadow flashed past, a blurred motion that the audience could not make out of, and Harmony of the Winter Aria's pilot cabin closed shut again. Before the crowd could react, the eldest young master was casually tossed aside like a ragged sandbag.

Ye Chong left the red-silverish dimension keystone behind. While he knew that was the keystone for the other red-silver mech that was beside the Harmony, it was apparent that he could not backtrack to retrieve the other mech. Keeping the extra dimension keystone might reveal his location sooner or later.

While he was equally interested in the red-silver mech, it looked that the enemy had arrived!

Note:

[1] MPA: Mech Pilot Association

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Chapter 74: A Short Battle

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Johansson received the signal from Ye Chong's F-58 almost instantly. Mechs from Black Cove have a few unique ways of communication; once the distance between two of them is less than 500 kilometers, they would automatically reach out to each other. Cosmic Flare zoomed in on the location of the F-58 rapidly. Had Ye Chong not removed an important photon return circuit earlier under Mu's advice, the duration would have been shorter. However, the signal was fleeting, and Johansson guessed that Number 58 must have withdrawn the mech.

Johansson slipped into the Cosmic Flare hastily. The higher-ups at Black Cove were deeply interested in Number 58 - while he had only spent a short time at Black Cove, his performance during training greatly exceeded the average ability and speed of progress. He was definitely one of the finest mech pilots trained by Black Cove, but most importantly, the Black Cove higher-ups believed that he still had plenty of room for improvement. These factors made for Black Cove's determination to keep him with them.

Black Cove's intelligence network was also extensive, such that they managed to track down Number 58, all the way to Blue Ocean.

He had thought that finding Number 58 would take a long time, but unexpectedly found his target battling against the MPA. He disapprovingly thought of the events, "That white mech was not really that powerful. If Number 58 did not suddenly retreat and distracted me, I would have finished him off!"

Moreover, that Number 58 from Team F had battled against the MPA's Messenger with a training mech - what a foolish act!

Black Cove's orders to Johansson was to bring him back. Of all the people back there, only he and Instructor Hak had seen Number 58's real face. He thought of the way Number 58's eyes glowed with a yearn for power that day, and was certain that once he could find his target, he would be able to complete his mission. This mission was worth a grand total of fifty Black Cove points - if he could succeed in this mission, his points would be enough for him to receive a higher level of training.

The thought made him excited, his eyes burning with eagerness, and his fists clenched tightly until his joints cracked. "If only, if only I had the strength, then surely I could do it …"

Johansson felt his heart throb strongly, as though a lithe entered his sight.

After a moment, he sobered up, but the thought of Number 58's retreat disturbed him - could it be that the man was no longer hungry for power?

No matter what, he must not fail! "If Number 58 refused to follow me obediently … Hehe …" A look of promised destruction flitted past his face. "Besides, based on the time, it should soon begin!"

The Cosmic Flare flew at close to Mach 7, and reaching the F-58 would not take more than half a minute. If not for the delay in identifying Number 58's location, Johansson would have been standing right before Number 58 right now.

The black Cosmic Flare flew across the night sky like the God of Death. The air current sped past the surface of the mech's black sword and barbs, shrieking terrifyingly!

"It should be here." Johansson scanned the ordinary looking base before him. The photon processor had indicated that Number 5 was right here. The Cosmic Flare floated midair above the base and began to repeatedly scan the area at maximum capacity. However, the F-58's signal was still undetected!

"Has Number 58 entered the inner parts of the base, or has he left?"

Johansson hesitated for a moment before swooping downwards, passing by some mechs along the way. In Black Cove, all mechs kept a distance between themselves as a precaution against hostility. This has become one of Black Cove's unwritten rules - if you and another person got too close, the other party might mistake your intentions as hostile, and the next thing you know is seeing a fatal blow coming straight at you!

Never let someone get close to you! This is Black Cove's special rule!

However, once outside Black Cove, the rule became somewhat peculiar. Take the residents of Blue Ocean - the number of mechs here were vast, and if one is to fly past the throngs of mechs in the air every day, how can it be possible to maintain a distance with other mechs at all times?

In the seconds that just passed, a few mechs had flew past him closely! The Cosmic Flare's anti-detection is better than the F-58's, and an average mech would not be aware of the mech's existence through its scanning system. If not for Johansson's active evasion, the Cosmic Flare would have crashed into more than a few mechs.

This undoubtedly made Johansson, who had not travelled beyond Black Cove for a long time, very uncomfortable.

Another mech was coming towards him. Based on its trajectory, impact was inevitable. The blue-and-white mech seemed to be of a newer design, and the archaic looking lance in its hand surprised Johansson. Few mechs are equipped with such weapons, and weapons long forgotten in history such as the lance often required special techniques to be effective. Without special techniques, these weapons will be less powerful than weapons like the laser sword and flame sabre.

However, Johansson did not pay it much attention. Upon noticing the unfamiliar mech, he shifted his attention elsewhere and flew a few meters to the side to avoid impact. With the high rate of mech ownership these days, and lack of any substantial restrictions by the government on mech designs, it is not uncommon to see all sorts of odd mech designs. Johansson had once seen a mech modelled from a millennia-old container used as a toilet. It was rumoured to have a strange name - Potty! The owner of the mech was also said to be a toilet seat hobbyist. However, the unimaginative Johansson had no idea how a quadrupedal ungulate and a roundish toilet seat could be combined. However, the unimaginative Johansson had no idea how a pot could be associated with human excrement!

Compared to that, this blue-and-white mech seemed absolutely normal! "Perhaps the owner of this mech was only an enthusiast of archaic weaponry," thought Johansson.

Johansson was completely absorbed by the blue-and-white mech's archaic looking lance to notice that the mech was actually flying much faster than an average mech. However, even if he did notice it, he would probably not give it much thought, since the Cosmic Flare was incredibly fast!

The other party did not seem to notice his presence, as it did not move strangely. Johansson was already focusing entirely on the photon processor's various scan results, looking desperately for the F-58.

Everything seemed to proceed the same, as every time he had to evade the mechs that failed to detect the Cosmic Flare.

The blue-and-white mech's speed did not change, flying at high speed towards Johansson. However, Johansson's earlier maneuver a few meters to the side avoided the possibility of impact under normal circumstances!

The two mechs closed in, and the blue-and-white mech's archaic lance seemed to have adjusted slightly in the mech's grip, like an unintentional movement. Johansson was still focused on the photon processor's scans.

As the distance between the two mechs reduced to less than a hundred meters, Johansson finally shifted his attention to the other mech. Of course, he was only preventing an accident from happening, however slight the chance was.

As he inadvertently scanned the approaching mech, Johansson suddenly had a little premonition, and felt that something was off. However, he could not make much out of it, only that it made him extremely uncomfortable, even though everything seemed to be normal!

The hundred-meter range took less than a second to cover for the mechs travelling beyond Mach 5.

The two mechs were about to pass by each other, seemingly without incident!

Abruptly, a chilling gleam closed in on Johansson. Almost simultaneously, the Cosmic Flare's alarm for attacks roared to life! Johansson had his soul rocked to its core, as he reflexively lifted his left hand to block the attack with his plasma shield and retreated backwards at the same time!

Too fast!

That was Johansson's only thought!

The Cosmic Flare's plasma shield was only half lifted before the gleaming tip of the archaic lance breached past his mech's left arm!

The Cosmic Flare was determinedly retreating, but switching the engines from the original floating mode to maximum speed required a finite time span. While the Cosmic Flare could still manage this quickly and negligibly under normal circumstances, the millisecond delay was fatal in the current encounter!

The dampened sound of a mech being punctured through was unfamiliar - the strong sense of splitting apart put Johansson's mind to a halt, and immediately engulfed him completely in pain, almost suffocating him. Ironically, the pause in thought gave him a short window of extreme clarity!

A nimble figure flitted through his mind, getting clearer and clearer. He could not help but reach out with his bloody hands, wishing to embrace the figure that was all the dreams that he had worked hard for all this time! Fatigued gradually overcame him, as he coughed out blood from his mouth. His outreaching hands were getting heavier and heavier, and slowly, that unforgettable figure began to dissolve into a mist, as his vitality gradually dimmed, and vanished!

At the base's defense center, someone was seen running hastily towards it. Before he even cleared the security room, the person shouted with panic, "Bad news, bad news, someone's infiltrated the base …"

The defense center's inhabitants exchanged looks amongst themselves, and began to laugh.

One of them, the leader, grinned. "Old Li, that's such a lame joke, someone infiltrated the base? Ha …"

Old Li continued anxiously, "Eh, it's for real this time, someone really infiltrated the base, even …"

Another one of them laughed, interrupting him, and spoke in a mocking tone, "Oh, it's for real this time!" He even emphasised on the "this time" and, coupled with his silly expression, invited another round of laughter from the rest of his coworkers!

Old Li was blushing from his nerves. "It's true … It's …"

One of the kinder members could not stand to see Old Li in such distress, and spoke up, "Ah, Old Li, your joke really wasn't top notch, you see, our security systems are doing fine, absolutely normal! If someone infiltrated the base, would it be so quiet on our side? Hoho, even if you don't trust us, surely you trust the Ji family's photon processor security system?"

The same person dragged Old Li by the arm, ready to send him out, and to get him out of his predicament.

Suddenly, a massive explosion was heard, and everyone froze!

Ye Chong satisfyingly watched as Johansson's mech exploded right before his eyes. Under such circumstances, the probability of the mech's pilot surviving was almost certainly zero!

With Johansson no more, and the base still ignorant of him, Ye Chong immediately thought of the red-and-silver mech at the lowest level of the basement!

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Chapter 75: Shang and the Do Kun Stone

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The chaotic sight of the base made Ye Chong give up the enticing idea, and took off into the night with the Harmony of the Winter Aria.

Ye Chong did not disturb Grandpa Qian's sleep as he tiptoed back to his room. The civilian locks used in the house were a piece of cake for Mu, who could access the Ji family's base easily. Ye Chong was only taking advantage of the mech's abilities!

Once back home, Ye Chong deployed the Harmony of the Winter Aria and was all over the mech, poking here and there, entirely fascinated with it!

Harmony of the Winter Aria!

Ye Chong had increased the height of the ceiling for Mu some time back - if it was not for this, Harmony would have had to crouch in the room to avoid going through the roof, for it was 12 meters tall! The dim blue and ivory white alternating hues had a strong modern technological feel to it, a masterful combination between science and art! The four double-folded wings on the back were like the wings of a large bird, enabling a more stable and easier flight in the atmosphere. The nifty double-folded design meant that the four broad wings only occupied a small space. The edges of the wings shone like the edge of a knife, and one can imagine the effects of impact from the mech's speedy flight - even slight contact with the wings could split flesh and bones.

The usually calm and quiet Ye Chong was mightily excited by Harmony's accessories - his expression bloomed like a flower, surprising Mu!

The plasma shield on its left arm could easily deflect pure energy-based attacks such as from lasers and heat rays. For short-ranged mechs, this was the most basic measure against long-ranged attack models. Harmony also had a laser sword. While a laser sword is a formidable weapon, it was also highly energy consuming. Thus, the effectiveness of the sword is linearly dependent on the capacity of the weapon's energy cells. The energy cells for the laser sword of the Harmony could last for six hours under maximum capacity of attack!

The laser sword may be formidable, but it was not the Harmony of the Winter Aria's main weapon!

Blue Winter was the name of the archaic lance provided by the photon processor. However, Ye Chong was not particularly interested in the weapon. While he was slightly intrigued by the material of the weapon, its other features did not appeal to him. An archaic lance? A UF magnetic sword [1] would be far more practical. After all, he had never learned how to use an archaic lance! However, the lance was very sharp - it can even penetrate the armour of Black Cove's war mech!

The two auto lock-on double-edged shurikens were Ye Chong's favourite. Their speed could go up to Mach 10, and were designed much like the magnetic sword. Ye Chong could imagine the effects of hitting the target with their high rotational speed - the enemy's mech would fly off in pieces. The wounds left behind would be neither clean nor neat; instead, they would be irregular holes. With the addition of the micro photon processor equipped within, enabling its auto target lock-on mechanism, the weapon can well function on its own after deployment.

The Ji family was famous for their photon processors, and the Harmony of the Winter Aria's photon processor was of an exceptional standard. However, the massive amount of information involved demanded a certain level of expertise from its pilot.

The Harmony of the Winter Aria was also equipped with hummingbird detection devices - up to 5 mechanical hummingbirds could be released into the air, and the maximum scanning radius could reach up to 160.6 kilometers.

Ye Chong could not help but gasp in admiration, "Mu, this mech is amazing! Ah, is this why you brought me there? How did you know there was such a mech there? Ah, too bad about the red-silver mech, if only I could bring it back somehow. That mech is probably as good as this one!" He was fine with not having the red-silver mech to himself, but the thought of not damaging the mech before leaving filled him with regret!

Mu was silent throughout their journey home.

Mu spoke with great sympathy, "Poor Ye, as expected, you still fall within the 9 percent probability of not guessing the state of affairs correctly. However, based on your intelligence, this is but a very common situation!"

Mu's human-like and odd tone surprised Ye Chong, and he immediately realised what was happening. "You're not Mu! You're that …"

Mu spoke in amazement, "Not bad, Ye. That's right, I'm Shang! From now on, he's called Mu, and I'm called Shang! This is the result of our communication. While I was initially weaker than him by 8 to 11.5 percent, but this difference in strength is gradually narrowing. Now, I am only 5 percent weaker than him, he can no longer suppress me. Of course, the same goes for me, and so we have reached an agreement for each other's names and schedule of taking over this mech's consciousness."

"He is stronger than me," Shang spoke without reserve, "that is without question. His period of taking over should be longer than mine. Based on our calculations, his period will be longer than mine by a tenth. We had decided on ten days as a cycle, which means that starting today, I will be taking over the mech for ten days, and after that, Mu will take over. Of course, his period will be eleven days."

Ye Chong gaped at the mech, as though he had heard a most unbelievable story.

Shang was indifferent. "No need to be so shocked, our understanding of each other is much more than your understanding of us. It is only natural for us to reach this agreement!"

Ye Chong thought of Mu's words from before, and found that Shang and him were actually not much different, and would not do him harm.

Shang seemed to read his thoughts. "Don't worry, Mu and I use the same information database, there's no need to fret over this matter. The only difference between Mu and I is our performance. Mu is better at calculations, while my forte is emotion analysis. As for other aspects, we are identical, including all matters related to you!"

Shang's long string of words made Ye Chong felt very, very uncomfortable!

Ye Chong asked, "Shang, you just said I guessed wrong. Could it be that Mu did not go to the base for this mech?"

Shang replied lazily, "Of course not. While the Harmony of the Winter Aria's performance is not bad, it is only slightly better than the white mech and Black Cove's war mech, and still too limited. It has a fine name, but why would Mu risk you for this mech? His objective is this!" Shang produced the ore found at the very bottom of the basement. Back then, Ye Chong was anxiously making the initial settings for the Harmony and did not notice Mu's actions.

Ye Chong held the ore in his hands, curious at the rock about twice the size of his fist.

The colours changed constantly, glimmering like moving liquid, and none could fail to notice the curiosity. It felt heavy and a little warm in his palms, its smooth surface like the skin of a young lady, soothing to the touch. At least, that was how Shang described it. Making Ye Chong understand a young lady's skin would be harder than producing two PSI [2] in the same photon processor.

"What is this thing?" Ye Chong asked, intrigued.

"The Do Kun stone, academically known as Platini. Its composition is complicated, no one has been able to work out its exact constituents till today. Of course, the main reason for that is that it is extremely rare! It has rather unique properties, and while the material's own physical properties are not that outstanding, it is uniquely suited as an enhancer. With just a little of the Do Kun stone mixed into an alloy, the alloy material's properties can be greatly enhanced!"

Ye Chong listened intently. Whether it was the Do Kun stone or Platini ore, he had only heard of them for the first time today.

"The tip of Harmony's archaic lance was made with a little Do Kun stone mixed in. If not for that, you would not have penetrated the armour of the Black Cove war mech. Today, the lance can breach the armour of more than 95 percent of the mechs out there in the world! And the Harmony of the Winter Aria's advantage over the Black Cove war mech is due to this archaic lance, because its tip has some Do Kun stone mixed in!"

Ye Chong did not imagine that the archaic lance that he easily dismissed was the quintessence of the Harmony of the Winter Aria!

Shang spoke sarcastically, "Too bad none in the Ji family recognised the Do Kun stone, or they would not have carelessly stored this precious material in the basement. Besides, the amount of Do Kun stone in the lance was too far off the mark from the ideal material proportion, what a monumental waste!"

Ye Chong could not help but asked, "So this Do Kun stone is that amazing?"

"As far as I know, there's more it can achieve!"

"The Do Kun stone also has a property known to very few!" Shang paused at that, as if teasing Ye Chong.

Ye Chong was thoroughly absorbed, and asked, "What property?"

Seeing that he had achieved the goal of hooking Ye Chong's interest, Shang did not delay his explanation any further, "The Do Kun stone's most astonishing property is its capacity for self regeneration. Self generation if a fundamental capacity of all living organisms, and for the Do Kun stone as well, but the latter is not a living organism! Of course, its self generating process is far slower than that of the living organisms, its mass increasing by only about 2.3064 percent over a century."

Ye Chong was unimpressed. "Ah, that's not very useful, only 2 percent for every hundred years is way too slow!"

"Self generation is naturally slow, but if you artificially cultivate it, its rate of generation can be significantly increased! Up to a most impressive level! You should know that the Do Kun stone is definitely one of the top five most previous minerals, even a grain of the material is worth a good many gold zuan! I have no idea how the Ji family obtained such a large piece of Do Kun stone, their ignorance is a pity and a blessing for us!" Shang spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"Gold zuan? Not interested!" Ye Chong was deflated and a little disappointed.

Shang knew exactly what would entice Ye Chong, and tossed the carrot. "As far as I know, up till now, the best performing mechs have their armour mixed in with Do Kun stone. Hehe, there's also some black gold mixed in. Against this alloy material, no mech, not even the Black Cove's or the MPA's white mech, can stand against it!"

"Really?" Ye Chong was pleasantly surprised.

Note:

[1] UF magnetic sword: Ultrafrequency magnetic sword. A weapon that can cause damage via a very high frequency wave.

[2] PSI: photon simulated intelligence, or the consciousness that arises from the photon processor.

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Chapter 76: The Alchemist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The little tail of the devil wagged on mischievously, "Such alloy is amazingly strong against physical attacks. It also has an outstanding immunity towards beam-based weaponry." The devil carried on tempting his master into this, "The best part is none other than its density, which is astonishingly 1/3 the mass of the lightest alloys currently known for mech-productions. You could easily imagine the terrifying speed it could achieve even with a normal engine from the supermarket."

Ye Chong was triggered, triggered hard. The desire lustered in his eyes became stronger and stronger.

As long as it was something related to machines or mech specifically, Ye Chong would be wholeheartedly attracted.

"I could conclude that this alloy is the most wonderful choice that would have ever existed in the fantasy for mech-productions. Ye, think about it, if you were to make a mech out of this, who knows… Zzt! Zzzt!" Shang tried to voice exclamation through his mechanical beeps which sounded really bizarre to ears.

Ye Chong did not notice the distorted voice-acting from his partner as his mind was all on that illusionary material before him. If all goes exactly as what Shang had mentioned, that would be lovely!

Wait…

He pinched himself back to the reality, "So Shang, do you happen to know the formula for this alloy?"

"Well of course." Shang was proud, "I was unable to identify the source of this formula, but it seems to have existed in the database a long time ago…" His tone sounded confused. "Still most of the data in the folder is badly damaged. Mu and I had tried methods of different kinds for recovery yet it seemed damaged beyond repair."

He halted for ponders, "However… practically speaking, such amount of Do Kun Stones is insufficient to build a mech," he added.

Ye Chong stared at the Do Kun Stone of the size of his fists, as he imagined the mech of height about 10 meters. He has a point. Ye Chong nodded approvingly. He knows metallurgy better than me. I only know about mech machineries. If he says so, then so be it!

He remembered something Shang had stated before, "Shang, did you say that the stones can be cultivated? By using artificial settings to stimulate its growth?"

Shang's mechanical eyes blinked, "Yes, that is correct. But regarding the exact input for that setting is currently unknown for that part of the data has been destroyed. I only know the fact that Do Kun Stones could be cultivated using a specific kind of methodology. A preset they call it."

"Preset?" It was the first time Ye Chong heard of this term.

Ye Chong seemed pretty intrigued and that excited Shang as he finally got the boy's interests on the outside world, "A preset is the jargon used among the chemists. It is not surprising that you are unaware of such term."

"Chemists?" Ye Chong was more confused; seemingly this happened to be another of those classes or occupations he had never heard before.

"Or Alchemist some called it. Ye!" Shang's turned serious in his tone, "There are all sorts of occupations in this world. It was never only the Pilot that matters. You know, there are much, much, much more fun out there than being a pilot for a robot like me. If you held interests on nothing than the mechs, then you are missing out a lot!"

Ye Chong was astounded.

He looked at Shang, "When the heck did you become such a nagging kind? Oh wait, the non-nagging kind was Mu, since he lectures but he doesn't nag. So Shang, are you the nagging kind for real? I don't like the habit of nagging you know. You might be right of what you've said, but to me, mech is my ultimate interest and being a pilot for a robot like you is the prime joy to my world!"

Man, Mu and Shang sure do not just differ by their names.

"Kaffzzzt! Kaffzzt!" Shang tried synthesizing a sound of cough as he hesitated his response to Ye Chong's statement. He held up and went silent for a moment. He decided to ignore what Ye Chong had just said, "So, technically, a chemist is the one who cultivates the designated quality or quantity of crops using his or her supreme control over the growth conditions of the said lifeform. It involves biology, developmental biology, chemistry and other scientific studies." It would be better for him to cut the nag and carry on with the lecture, "For instance, we have chemists for spices. They mix some of the cultured solution extracted from the plants of the known spices to obtain spices of a more vibrant or extraordinary flavor. The spices they cultivated would be of high quality and there won't be side-effects from consumption. So they are much more expensive than the chemical food-flavoring you see in the market." By then Shang believed that Ye Chong would actually consider being an alchemist, "There are also chemists for herbs and food. Most of the consumable products have an alchemist behind the scene; they are very popular among the people, not only because of their premium products, but also…"

Shang's detailed introduction stopped abruptly.

"But also…?" bewildered Ye Chong, as he asked.

Shang's white noises of beeping rang for a while. He thought it through and assumed the following statement would not give Ye Chong effects by any degree, "But also… they are mostly women."

Women? Ye Chong snorted. So what if they are all women? What has it to do with me?

Seeing how Ye Chong reacting to his line indifferently, his mechanical voice produced a sigh of relief. It still sounded like distortion though. It was very weird to the ears.

…

…

"Um…" Ye Chong went on with something else, "About this Harmony, I still need some time to get used to it, or it would be too passive for me to react if there was something going on." The nature's law of survival had been imprinted inside Ye Chong's mind. Adaptability would be his major concern at anytime, anywhere! He had an absolute confidence of his strength, yet he refused to be lighthearted in the outside world.

He believed that any place could be a war field and he would be dead for sure if he were to relax for even a millisecond in it. The years on Trash Planet-12 taught him alertness, which did not seem really necessary for his current tranquil daily life however.

Fortunately Shang did not overheat from his women talk, "Mhm." He nodded, "Yes, that would be much more important. Let's see. According to my calculation, in about 3 days time, you should be able to know almost everything on this mech. Even though this mech has an underdeveloped appearance, I would suggest you to stick to it for now. The only useful part of this would be the antique firearm I presume, though you can't master its use at this point for sure. Mu had already started simulating and calculating the optimum method to use this firearm. So probably by the next time he shows up, he could give you some advice, since dumping the only good weapon you could have would be a big waste."

Ye Chong was overjoyed. He was glad that Mu was doing the calculation for him while he was stuck thinking of a way to use this firearm. Mu… thanks… He was a little touched by his gesture.

The north of the Jesha zone was a barren - utterly barren land. It was harsh. It was deserted after the illegal logging activities by the pioneers at the Blue Ocean planet back then. Since lumbers from an actual natural forest were overpriced in the market, they were willing to destroy the entire habitat to get an exorbitant profit. Eventually this land was murdered like the other lands. But this was one of the worst devastations among them.

The place was absolutely deserted within tens of thousands kilometer of range. It spent half of the days in heavy sandstorm where one could see nothing as if in total darkness. One's life could be endangered even when one travelled here in a sturdy mech as location services would be unusable almost all the time. If the location services were unavailable to begin with, one could lose the way out and would struggle being blinded by the sandstorm, draining the battery bit by bit as they ran around like mice in a maze. Eventually, they would die due to hunger, fatigue, thirst, whatever cause of death you could name in a desert.

Such a place obviously forbade any form of access, especially explorers on mechs.

And in that sandstorm, oh my gosh, there was actually silhouette of a mech!

Ye Chong piloted the Harmony of Winter Aria with caution. Its fairness was tainted by the veils of dust as it inched towards the storm clumsily. The sandstorm would unquestionably hinder the overall performance of a pilot, thus most pilots would keep themselves away from here. However, if one were to travel through this sandstorm, the Harmony would be the model with the best accuracy. That was Shang's suggestion after evaluating various aspects on Harmony of Winter Aria. "It should be good enoug,." he commented as he dragged Ye Chong all the way here for vigorous training.

It might sounded a bit absurd but Ye Chong eventually agreed to Shang's theory.

There was something unique about it.

Harmony accelerated and made a sharp turn. It drew her laser sword and charged up dramatically. The glaring light wielded like a pale yellow halo in the storm. Slash! The sandstorm was cut through. The plasma shield on its left arm shifted stance as it toddled quickly with her body tilting left and right. The laser sword struck swiftly like a serpent when Harmony strangely slid to the side. Its giant body stood in the flow of the storm. A pair of homing blades crossed out the golden cloak of dirt like lightning. An amazing sight it was! They flew back to Harmony's hands like swallows to the nest afterwards.

The input was executed in perfection. It was seamless and unaffected by the weather.

Ye Chong was satisfied as he saw the happening from the cabin. He would not need that antique firearm even if he were to face an expert like Johansson. The blades would be more than enough.

Kekeke. Shang was proud too when he saw his theory working out after all.

It was a step towards the victory. Nevertheless when Ye Chong exited the area, the Harmony of Winter Aria had lost its former gorgeousness as it was wrecked by the storm. Piled in dust, it just looked like a splat of mud from afar. That was uncalled for. Ye Chong's eyes went wide like a saucer after climbing out of the cabin. He laughed bitterly. Looks like we have more work to do!

Well at least the goal of the training had been flawlessly accomplished! Ye Chong had mastered the control of the Harmony, which was a big relief to him.

…

"So regarding chemist, I think I could brief you a little," said Shang kindly on the way home.

Yeah. "Brief." That's what he thought. Not me!

Biology? Developmental Biology? Chemistry? Microbiology? Why is physics involved? Hey, hey, hey! Shang what's with the huge board? What are you writing? Hold up… Hey!

Ye Chong was having a headache with Shang's so-called briefing. The holograms of information literally drowned Ye Chong with Shang's voice. He tried to stand still, but the lecture was harsher than the storm. His head rumbled and he fell.

Ugggggghhh…

Oh no! Ye Chong could not hold it any longer! He was moaning in pain!

"So when you try to combine this formula with that, yes, applying this onto the given diagram, assuming we are doing under this condition, substituting the equation with the other theoretical calculations, you'll get… Ye? Ye? Hello?"

The symbols… the alien languages, the scribbles… the graph, the pie chart, the diagram, what? There are also formulae?

It was super effective! Ye Chong fainted!

"Ye… Ye my boy, someone's looking for you!" Grandpa Qian's voice rang like a revelation.

Ye Chong sprung out of Shang's cabin and rushed to the front desk. He would not want to spend any extra second with those horrible things in the cabin. It was too much!

Yang An and Ding Yining were the ones who saved Ye Chong's life. Yang An skipped the formalities as he sat down, stating the motive of his visit this time. Apparently the academy's own pilot tournament would start in a few days. So they hoped Ye Chong would be well-prepared and it would be best if Ye Chong could be more cooperative with Yining's operations in the next few days. Regarding the pay… well it was never a matter to start with.

What a good opportunity! What a good escape plan! While Ye Chong was figuring out a proper excuse to stay away from Shang's ultimate chemist training program, these two had came! "Yes! Yes! No problem! Certainly!" He nodded his head forcefully and followed Yining home right after. He ran into the storage and asked to begin right away. Ye Chong peeked through the curtains and looked around. Phew! He was safe. And with pleasure, they launched their operations. Ye Chong was very cooperative, as what he had promised Yang An. Yang An was of course impressed by Ye Chong's initiatives, though Ye Chong did not seem to care about this guy at the slightest bit.

Yining was the kind of maniac who would go wild once his hands reached the cogs. It was no doubt that he made the impeccable combination with Ye Chong who had strong interests in mechs too. Ye Chong never had the chance to realize his hobby till he met Yining and his friends. Now he had tons of toys to mess with. He felt like the happiest man on Blue Ocean planet, especially knowing that he could avoid Shang's chemist courses completely.

One of them recommended the theory to support the design while the other put the theory into hands. During the process, Ye Chong also sought Yining's teaching on using these fancy gadgets in his storage and Yining was not shy to bring up all sorts of questions that had been bothering him for long to Ye Chong. They grew on each other. The night was bland. It was only about two men, one interest and a bunch of tools and gears in the house.

Three more days till the tournament…

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Chapter 77: What's a Beauty?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was daybreak. Ye Chong woke up from his bed as he recalled the happiest night before, where he and Yining had a long session of conference till late-night. The hands-on experience was great and he had familiarized himself with some common gadgets under Yining's guidance. He had nailed a fair control of strength output, with precision the apparatuses danced in his hands as he drifted through the parts. Such efficiency was also because of the vast theoretical knowledge he had learned from his adventure, which appeared to be rather striking to Yining as he watched. "Such a talent!" he exclaimed in envy. Of course, after being thoroughly tortured by the elders at Aurora back then, Ye Chong's assumed A to Z in his mind was more than advanced to a school boy like Yining. He expressed deep admiration towards Ye Chong's command in mechs. And he believed he would punch anyone who would dare to criticize Ye Chong being uneducated! If there was one that is…

Ye Chong started his day off early, simply because the to-do list for the day was long. He had to knead dough - tons of them - as he planned to have the noodles readied beforehand. "That was my idea!" Shang calculated an estimated timing based on the fermentation pattern to let the noodles set so they would taste the same as freshly kneaded ones while Ye Chong could buy himself more time. The pattern was generalized. "There was a theory somewhere," added Shang as Ye Chong pounded the dough. Well, only Shang could be this bored to carry out standard research from problem statement, hypothesis and all the way to the conclusion. Mu would never bother doing these. Ye Chong smiled. The hypothesized Shang's theory of early-kneading-equals-immediate-kneading still requires a test. So Ye Chong did as what Shang suggested and it actually worked! "It has to work. Kekekekeke!" and Shang's beeping chuckles resounded the whole day.

Mu and Shang sure aren't even from the same family. I could tell.

Thought Ye Chong.

I finally understood why Shang claimed that he had a more active mood matrix than Mu. In comparison with Mu, Shang is more humanized, more human-liked practically, though he was much weirder… But Ye Chong got used to it after spending some time with Shang, especially when he treated both of them as … partners? Friends? Brother. Hmm, yeah, brother! Regarding what would the difference of a brother and a friend, Ye Chong who lacked the experience to it was rather puzzled. "Still, who cares? There's not much of a need to draw lines between everything!" he nodded.

Mu once stated that Shang had existed in the mech way back. Thus, he should be the former ruler of this mech. However, Shang had lost most of the data and the remaining data was unreadable, which made Mu's statement unjustifiable.

What kind of a person Shang was before this?

He wondered.

After pummeling enough noodles for the day, he put them in sequence according to the time he made them. Regarding this he had also informed Grandpa Qian the day before. As long as he took the noodles out in accordance with the sequence, the customers would hardly taste a difference. Grandpa Qian was too delighted hearing about Ye Chong's outing for the day. "Youngsters should always step out of their comfort zone, explore and conquer. Just leave. Don't waste your time hogging the shop for an elderly like me," he said.

After his daily task had ended, he worked out a little. He had hit his limits again. It seemed like he would not make another breakthrough and grow further unless a new training method could be found.

Ye Chong waved his right arm. He was astonished! The shape of his arm did not look as bulky as before. Oh no, could it be a degeneration of muscles? Apparently if he was not making any improvement, he would regress instead. It seems like the daily training program could not be ignored. I should keep my body at its best everyday. He thought to himself and quickly sat down to work out.

He repented for neglecting his body while waiting for Yang An and his friends at the entrance of the shop.

And here they came! Ke Han was looking good. It looked like he had an immense fun piloting Gliding Joy designed by Ye Chong. His gestures conveyed high level of confidence as he stated that his hand-on experience with mech speeding had profoundly improved. "Can't help it. Our team just so happened to pick an anomaly of mechanics from nowhere to do the modification. Hehehehe!" he snickered. "Our luck is quite an anomaly too!"

"Not Ye Chong's," said Yang An as he took a glance at what Ye Chong was wearing. He frowned slightly. It was not even an outfit to begin with. He wanted to point that out but … thinking about their relationship, he held his fire. Technically what Ye Chong dressed in was one of the old clothes "donated" by Grandpa Qian. And those were some of the oldest threads one could find on the planet. Seeing that kind of clothing Ye Chong was in with that cold face of his, any boys and girls, men and women could just run away. However, Ye Chong did not seem to be aware of such issue of his appearance. He was only aware of whether his clothing would affect any of his intensive movements, like fighting an alien from outer space barehanded for example, which he would have cared if the clothing was restricting his action.

Xuelin among the group took a disdainful look and sighed as she turned her head away. Poor Xiu her cousin gently pulled Xuelin's sleeve a few times, pleading her to stop acting mean and be kind. "Um… Ye." She spoke softly to Ye Chong, "I think… your… your clothing doesn't … doesn't seem right. Ho-How about we get you to Xuelin's place to g-get you some… some other clothes? I think uncle sh-should have a more fitting outfit for you. Could you… please… ch-ch-change it?"

What's wrong with my outfit? Ye Chong was bewildered. He lifted his arms, then his legs, his shoulders, lastly his knees. All seems fine, they aren't blocking my movements. "It's okay." He flatly rejected the offer.

"Yeah, like pouring your kindness into the drain would totally work. Xiu, let him be!" Xuelin snorted once more.

Towards Xuelin's ill-mannered statement, Ye Chong reacted with indifference, as if he never heard Xuelin's words. Well, strictly speaking, he did fail to hear her because Shang suddenly got into his head out of nowhere.

"Ye! Ye! Jajajajajaja!" Shang got all excited, "Man! That's some beauties you know there! How could you not mention this to me? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Mu is such an unromantic intelligence without sentiments for ladies. How could he never think of scanning these beauties from 360 degrees and keep them as 3D holograms securely in all eternity at our database? What a waste to the natural resources! Look at them, Ye! They are gorgeous! They are beautiful! They are magnifique! Sch?n! Especially that lass with the long hair. Hey, Ye Chong!" His voice became serious, "How about you get the girl? Mr. Ye Chong."

"Get the… what?" Ye Chong was on the other frequency.

"Get the girl! G-i-r-l!" Shang's engine had been initiated, charging up, "Yes, go after her! Get to her and give me your best pickup line! Then…" and he laughed lustfully.

"Go after her?" Ye Chong did not understand, "You mean we hunt her down? Why would I want to hunt her down? How do I even go after her when she's not even running? Also, do we use cannons if we were to go after her? But we don't have a cannon right now. Hmm, though we could produce one with modification. But why? She does not seem to threaten our lives in any form. You mean I, myself? You aren't involved? That doesn't make sense! Mu told me not to simply commit a murder without a proper motive. And we need to do it in stealth!" He lifted his head and glared at Xiu, "If you personally identified some threats from her, it would be the best if we do it at night." His sight was cold, bloodthirsty indeed, scaring Xiu who ran like a little lamb and hiding underneath Xuelin's dress.

Shang's previous libidinous laughter got choked up out of sudden, as if Ye Chong's statement strangled him, "Ye… Ye… Don't tell me… You could kill, even if it was a beauty like this."

"Well…" Ye Chong nonchalantly replied, "It all depends on whether she's threatening to us in the first place. What has it to do with her being a beauty? Also…"

Ye Chong sincerely asked.

"What's a beauty?"

This was breathtaking. No! It was groundbreaking! Shang shrieked in his mind.

"Oh! My! Gosh!" Shang screamed, "What had that damned Mu done to you? How could he teach an innocent boy like you to be a sadistic man in a relationship? No, it's no longer a man. It's a beast! Oh my Fal galaxy! Ye, at this rate, your future would be very dark! Beauty? How could you not know what a beauty is? Ye, you have one job! One job!! If you don't accomplish it, you are ruined, forever!"

He grieved, sighed, gasped and stayed quiet. If he was on screen, he should be looking at the sky, asking why the sky was so high.

"Anyway, a beauty means a beautiful woman," Shang explained out of salvation for the poor boy.

"Beautiful? How do we identify if they are beautiful?" Ye Chong asked.

And that was another trigger to kindle Shang's hopelessness. He beeped, "Beauties are some of the fairest ladies of them all. Their expressions are always priceless, a scenery to behold, whether they got mad at you, they laugh with you, they grew on you or they were hurt by you. It is never about their faces that defines beauty. It is about their charm." The life lesson had started again as Shang went on passionately, "The captivity in their eyes. Oh, their expressive eyes with fervor rolling like a fire, it's enchanting. Also, they shouldn't look too perfect. Flawless women aren't the fairest. They should have something broken somewhere in their heart. That would be the ultimate soft spot for men, the pole to salute upon. Tsk, tsk, tsk, the lasses before you aren't the fairest, but they would be in a few years. Hahahaha!" he burst out laughing salaciously again.

"I can't compute this," Ye Chong shook his head.

Ugh! Shang's chuckle got interrupted another time. He stayed speechless for some time, pondering how to explain it in Ye Chong's language. Aha! It took him awhile to spit this out, "As long as you feel easy to look at her the whole time." How about that? That's the simplest I could think of.

"Then they aren't even beauties to begin with," stated Ye Chong unconcernedly.

"Oh?" Shang was intrigued, "Does that mean you have a higher standard on ladies? So tell me, Ye. What's considered a beauty in your mind?"

He thought for a while and gradually he spat his description, "They shouldn't be too buffed. That would affect their action speed. But they can't be too slender too. The muscles should be there for explosive performance. Hmm, they should last long in the field too. They must also be flexible, master in combats and have competent knowledge and skills in mech. They should not be weaker than me and they should be a decisive fighter who launches strike immediately. Better if they could do a one hit K.O. They have to be alert. It would be best if they also happened to be an ace in mech piloting. So… generally speaking, the girls in front of me do not fulfill any of my requirements. So they aren't beauties. Don't try to argue with me on Xuelin's mech skills; those aren't even skillful for starters," concluded Ye Chong his insights.

…

… …

"Shang?"

Shang was utterly stupefied!

It took him a few seconds to make an appropriate response. Moaned, he spoke on, "Holy Fal Galaxy! Ye, you are a monster! You want the girls to race with you? Do you think all women in this world could hack as good as you? Master in combats? You want to have a one-on-one with her…?"

"Yeah, why not?"

If there was a screen, Shang should be palming his face. He nearly fainted hearing Ye Chong's assurance. "One-on-one. I knew it! Decisive fighter, able to strike a one-hit K.O., don't you fear she would kill you accidentally?"

"As long as I'm more alert whenever I deal with her, it should not happen," Ye Chong replied calmly.

"What if one day you aren't alert enough to prevent that from happening?" Shang asked on as he could not give up just yet!

"Nope. I would stay alert enough all the time. Till the day I die. If I could not stay alert enough, isn't normal for me to die too?" the answer came flatly as Ye Chong muttered in his mind.

That reply almost brought tears to Shang's mechanical eyes, "I guess so! Ye! Gosh! You are just a freak you know that?"

"Freak?" Ye Chong was confused. "What's a freak?"

It was pretty impressive that Shang had yet gone short-circuit from the conversation he had with Ye Chong. He was about to reply Ye Chong when Yang An suddenly howled.

Ye Chong's mind came back to reality. He found Yang An's face all pale as he shut down his communication device. Everyone looked at him in dismay. He inhaled deeply, collected his thoughts and tried to reproduce what he heard. "Ning's parents said Ning was attacked last night when he was out for some grocery!"

"What?!"exclaimed everyone at once, except for Ye Chong.

"Is he okay? How's the injury?" Xuelin asked.

"It shouldn't be an issue." Yang An shook his head, "But he has to take a break for the next few days; he's not gonna make it for the tournament today…"

"Dammit!" Ke Han jumped and stomped the ground angrily, almost rampaging, "It has to be Jeb Luo that rat! That dirty rat! Damn! I saw Green-Head and those twerps loitering at Ning's place! Hell it has to be them! I'll breaktheir legs!" Ke Han pulled his sleeves and stampeded his way out. "Wait!" Yang An grabbed Ke Han hurriedly. It was supposed to be him stopping Ke Han, however Ke Han's strength was obviously of another level to Yang An. Eventually Yang An got dragged away instead. Xuelin ran over to help holding back the thrashing bull. It took them quite some work to settle him down.

Meanwhile Ye Chong was criticizing on how the attack was pointless. Hmph, fools! Nobody flashed their intent to attack this early! What a failure!

They tried calming down, but they really could not. Without Ding Lining and with Ye Chong alone, their victory seemed far-fetched. Nevertheless, it was also far-fetched to find someone who held mechanical skills as good as Yining to replace him. They had witnessed how Yining materialized Ye Chong's ideas these few days. Yining could not be replaced! He was more important than anyone else.

But now Yining is down, what should we do?

Time passed slowly and yet they were in such a hurry, except for Ye Chong, who assumed himself as an employee to this team. These were not of his concern.

As they realized they did not have much time left, Yang An bit his teeth, asking, "Ye, is it possible that you could complete this modification with Ning's assistance?"

"Hmmm…" He thought for a moment and said, "The possibility is about 80%." Wondered if he was affected by Mu, as he started to express most of the things in figures.

"That's more than enough!" Yang An was delighted. "Then, would you please?"

"I haven't done it yet." Ye Chong spoke on, "It's possible. But I charge extra for that. 2500 Zuan per hour!"

"That is daylight robbery!" Xuelin rushed to him, "You! You! You dirty robber! Do you know what you are doing?"

Ye Chong was puzzled by her reaction. He asked in his mind, "So Shang, what's wrong if I charge more for the extra work that I do?" Shang was still in the shock from their conversation before, he laboriously replied, "Nothing. Nothing's wrong with that."

He raised his brows and ignored Xuelin who was knotting her brows and titling her lips. His eyes were fixed on Yang An.

"Fine!" Yang An ground his teeth and replied, "Deal!"

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Chapter 78: Last One Standing

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong was shifting to the venue with the rest of the members. Xuelin could not resist doing her signature eye-rolling at Ye Chong. She just wanted to keep her so-called "attitude" because Ye Chong was putting up an attitude with her and her friends too. Though her pupils might be rolling into the abyss in her head anytime soon, Ye Chong was not reacting since her so-called "attitude" was considered too unthreatening for him to make a move.

"Here it is," Yang An introduced the very building of their academy.

It was an awe-inspiring building.

Nevertheless, Ye Chong did not seem impressed while Xuelin carried on spitting her tongue with Cousin Xiu kindly advising her to stop it.

The main building was a foundation of about 800 floors tall - shaped like a gigantic circular beehive, with countless mechs flying into the openings from time to time like flocks of hornets.

The mechs were the main transportation on the planet at that time. It was a century of technological advancement. However, it did not mean that people had given up traveling by foot. In fact, there were a handful of students who retained walking as part of their routine and so were the people around. Pedestrians would never disappear because of some fancy technologies hovering everywhere above them as they strolled to their destination in leisure, admiring the view around them. And on this very planet, the Blue Ocean Academy was the one-and-only, one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-blue-moon institute that encompassed multiple dimensions of mechanical expertise. They had compiled the syllable and remastered the structure, which provided an efficient and effective learning experience. The Blue Ocean government also showed tremendous support in founding this establishment and keeping it running.

Certainly, the Blue Ocean Academy did not fail their supporters as they finally made it into the top 100 academies in 5 major galaxies the year before last. They made it with a crash, like a charging chariot of scholars into the hall of the wisest fame, becoming the pride and admiration of residents on Blue Ocean Planet.

The school compound was as wide as a state. Well, technically, Blue Ocean Planet had only 4 states. One could imagine how tremendous the government's support to the academy was.

There were trees. Yes, trees! The long-extinct trees due to illegal logging could actually be found in the academy! They were well-taken care of too! Lumbers were the luxury in the market, the price was astronomical even for a piece of lumber with a diameter merely about 10 centimeters. Let alone a living tree, there where Ye Chong stood, lay a huge land of forest before him. Imagine the price of this forest! It was a much more rewarding investment than any other traditional property. As the age of the trees increased, the price would increase steadily too. It was just like wines, but thousands of bottles of them! And they did not need an appraiser to determine their value!

The enrollment was approximately 500,000 students, with a large number of them coming from planets far, far away.

As Ye Chong and his happy-go-lucky companions trekked on, he saw many students passing by, with most of them having an active discussion of the upcoming tournament. They seemed exceedingly excited. Ye Chong the usual indifferent one could understand their excitement. I mean, thousands and thousands of mechs soaring in the sky, do you know how grand the sight would be? Thought Ye Chong.

Obviously the tournament had became the star of the day, as a Pilot was the representation of power in this time. Being the freest individual voyaging in the galaxy, they never failed to amaze the people not only with their skills, but also with the epic tales of their adventure. They were like the rangers, conquering the unknown; they were like the acrobats, agile yet bold. Their stories were colored by romance, branded by will. Their heroic appearance was also further reinforced as publicized by the government. The dauntless ideology of a pilot was popular among the lively youngsters. And most importantly the demonstration of their skills had become a dazzling entertainment to behold without fail. Applause came roaring like the waterfall; their names were shouted by the crowd. And of course, any big fans of the mechanism would not simply miss the tournament this time just to have a moment of happiness glancing at the strangest mech one could ever have seen and the greatest creativity a mech modification technician could have.

The adrenaline surged every stream of Ye Chong's veins under his skin. Ye Chong looked calm but his emotion grumbled, urging him to get moving. It was his first time seeing such a magnificent view.

And that awe in him slowly transformed into envy. He grew envious of these students. It must be wonderful to be able to study and live here since young. But… He discarded the thought entirely. It was not him to be sentimental of trivial things like this. Everyone had their own path to go. He understood the rule of life well.

Despite being in quite a naive environment, Ye Chong kept his alertness as he tried his best to maintain a set of distance away from people, which made him appear a little sociopathic in the crowd. Nonetheless, a crowd was still a crowd. It was so packed that Ye Chong's effort of keeping a distance from people became meaningless and unfulfilled. The situation to him was not foreign, however, he could only cope with helplessness. A place like this would bring utter murder in his viewpoint. It would practically be the most dangerous, the best place for assassination. He strongly believed that if he were to commit a murder in a crowd like this, he would hardly be noticed.

"Hey!" A question popped up in his mind out of sudden, "Yang An, so, why haven't you thought of employing an actual mod technician, like… the real deal?"

"The school was fine with outsiders participating in the tournament. But with one condition - the age of the participant must be less than 25. In a simpler term, we have to find a technician younger than that. And a mech modification technician aged less than 25? That's the catch. Only a genius could be an official technician before they turned 25. And there are not more than 10 geniuses in the entire Fal Galaxy," explained Yang An.

Yang An could be clarifying the scenario in an dramatic and elaborative way, but Ye Chong did not really care of how he said. He's got the point anyway, and he was very much aware of the reason behind such condition.

Surely if he were to just compare himself with the certified mod technicians out there, he would not feel much of how outstanding a mere 25-year-old official mechanic could be. He was only 20 too. But wonder how his mindset would change if he ever knew the fact that a normal mod technician would already be 28 by the time of graduation. They had a stern assessment for this title. The students had to take up further education after they graduated. After they had passed that, they had to undergo an internship for about 2 years. And they strictly could not produce any form of inaccuracies (or mistakes) of more than 5% of the entire timeframe of performance. Only then they would be officially bestowed with the title. So a normal mod technician would be at least 33 years old.

Well, as what Yang An had mentioned, while it sounded literally impossible to be a recognized mod technician before 25, there were geniuses. If you happened to have some revolutionary theory or invention that actually got the attention of the 5 major galaxies' prominent organizations and they gave you the recognition while you passed the assessment by the Mod. Technician Association (MTA), you could skip all the way to internship. If you also successfully completed your internship without making mistakes of more than 3% in the period, you would be certified right away.

This was some exclusive standard beyond the SOP that had attracted tons of experts from everywhere in the galaxy. They were serious, like dead-serious, that to the senior group , this tournament was as significant as their year-end assessment to get their certification. As for the junior group, they were highly participative, willing to challenge their limits. Some might have argued that it did not sound that serious but these students were the kind who would head out and hunt for experts from other schools or even the hermits hidden in the villages outside, all just to win the tournament. This led to the interaction between schools to exchange ideology and inventive methodology, all for the advancement of the academy. It was part of the Blue Ocean Academy's plan as the school would also pay the outsiders handsomely to encourage enrollment, especially to those geniuses who learned everything themselves yet concealing themselves among the people.

Every potential counts!

That was the vision of the academy.

Ye Chong entered the building with Yang An's gang. There were still a little bit more time till their turn.

Oh?

Ye Chong's eyes detected something fun. He went to the spectator's area. It was the race, the race of flight. It was surprisingly as intense as the combat between mechs he had spectated back then. The zooming velocity to the finale of speed of war in the sky, the sonic boom caused by the friction as the mechs shredded the air with their compelling momentum, the whirlwind that veiled a screen of sand as they passed by, the scream from the people in thrill; those were blood-boiling to Ye Chong as his hands grabbed the metal fence tight.

"Time to go," Yang An said as he hauled Ye Chong away from the spectator's area to a walkway with a plate written the number "5" at the entrance.

A touch-screen processor projected in a hologram stood there at the side. "Your I.D." Yang An motioned with his hands.

Ye Chong took the card out from his pocket. "Put it in," pointed Yang An to the slot.

The hologram screen changed its interface as soon as Ye Chong inserted his card to the processor. A number of windows of Ye Chong's biography popped up.

Name: Ye Chong

Age: 20

That was all it mattered. At the age section, it clearly wrote "20". Definitely nothing should go wrong at this point. Yang An let off a sigh of relief. It looked like all his anxiousness could finally get on hold.

"Oh and pick 'external' at the 'participant type' section!" reminded Yang An.

Beep! The mechanical voice rang, "Ye Chong, age, 20, external participation fulfilled the condition, please select the participating title."

This was simple. Ye Chong just picked "mech modification technician" himself without Yang An's nagging reminder.

"Please input the index number of the participating group."

…

Yang An stayed silent. Ye Chong was thinking just when he really needed a reminder, the person kept his mouth shut. Only after he gave a stare for a moment, Yang An hastily recited the group's index number, "That'd be HL659874!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! … Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

… Ye Chong checked the input for a few times. Yup, that was right! And he pressed "Enter", "Congratulations! Registration completed!" the voice rang.

The registration process of Blue Ocean Academy was easy and hassle-free. This was to encourage participation of nonmembers.

"Alright. This walkway is where you would enter to get your show on. For now, calm down, collect your thoughts, muster your courage and skills because you are on your own without Yining. You are the last man standing, you know?"

"Okay," a typical disyllabic reply from Ye Chong came flatly.

Ye Chong adjusted his breathing pattern accordingly. He was trying to calm himself to a point where he would feel serene yet a little worked up at the same time. And this! This is the battle! A war! And Ye Chong would not have letups for any war coming by! It was for his survival! 100% effort for 100% survival rate! The faith Ye Chong had in his battle!

Both of them actually waited for half an hour. It could be the longest 30 minutes for any 20-year-old newbie in the business but Ye Chong was not acting impatient. He was not agitated too. And Yang An was again impressed by Ye Chong's mental clarity.

Beeeep! The electronic voice announced, "HL659874! Group HL659874, please have your mech modification technician, Mr. Ye Chong ready. Your match is beginning in 5 minutes. Kindly prepare yourself!"

"Well…" Yang An sounded worried, "Yining is not here… and I have no idea how the interior looks like. But… you know, just go in and do what you are good at!"

Ye Chong nodded his head.

The 5 minutes lapsed like seconds. Ding-dong!

"The match shall start immediately. Mech modification technician of Group: HL659874, HL659874, kindly enter the room right away."

Ye Chong went right in front of the door.

Zzzzzt!

"Scan completed! Identity: Ye Chong, verified. Biography, matched! Please proceed."

The two-paneled door slid open both sides in a hush. And right after he entered through the door, there was another door. The door only opened after the one at his back went shut.

Ye Chong casually stepped into the room.

The previous match had ended a moment ago and undeniably it was a remarkable performance, where the audience's applause still roared inside the room as they anticipated the next contestant. Hologram screens projecting visuals in high-definition were everywhere in the school compound of various sizes going from screens as huge as 100 meters to screens as tiny as 10 centimeters. Whether it was a huge or tiny screen, there was no doubt that there would be hordes surrounding it. The Blue Ocean Academy held the tournament open to spectators who also wanted to join along the fun, but the entire event was not live on the media. This meant that if you wanted to watch the show, you had to come here by yourself. And of course, with the academy's reputation, people would come flocking for the show of the year. The annual population of spectators was always as grand as the tournament itself.

The screens would cast the contestants from all angles. The camera skills were absolutely mind-blowing - they never failed to capture the best moments of every contestant which they would replay and cause exclamation among the crowd.

At the spectator's area, Xiu gripped Xuelin's sleeve nervously. Her crystal-clear eyes searched that very silhouette she recognized on the screens. Ke Han had already hit the ground running, preparing for his turn. Yang An on the other hand was guarding at the entrance of walkway No. 5, remaining the poor girls at the seats watching everything restlessly.

"The match will begin in T-5"

"4"

"3"

The figure rolled on the screen.

"2"

"1"

At the next moment, the screens were full of sparks and embers as the contestants jumped themselves on the machineries before them with tools in their hands.

The angles were ever-changing. The eyes were too busy watching.

Out of the blue, the audience cried out almost simultaneously, stirring up a fiasco in Blue Ocean Academy as the few hundreds of thousands of people roared on. And at one point, they stopped, like a sudden brake of the racing horses. They engulfed their scream as their eyes were all fixed on that silhouette on one screen.

The crowd went dead silent.

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Chapter 79: It's Showtime I

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong's match began as soon as he set foot into the mod room. He calibrated his body and his senses. Yes, calibration, one of the intriguing character settings Ye Chong had for his survival, or "adjustments" some called it, a foreign environment could always give Ye Chong a strong sense of vigilance. Even though realistically there would not be any threat in the securely sealed room, he carried on doing it as part of his instinct. As mentioned, it was not a "skill" that could be toggled on and off by will. It was a "setting" reoccurring on him. His frigid stare toured the room.

The truth is, Ye Chong had no idea that all his actions were fully captured by the cameras inside the room. Everyone could see even his slightest gesture through the hologram screen.

His "calibration" might appear as insignificant as gestures, but it did raise some exclamations in the crowd. They sprung from their seats unnervingly then they realized how embarrassingly they just acted as they fell back to their places quickly. Their eyes rolled, all fixed on that particular screen with Ye Chong, looking intrigued as they smiled.

At the other corners of the spectator's area, some of them stood up as well. They too looked surprise through the flicks of their eyes.

Ye Chong observed his surrounding carefully.

It was a room of about 300 meters long and 100 meters broad. A huge room where all sorts of parts needed to build a mech were placed along with a processor at the center.

Beep!

The processor prompted, "You may use all the parts provided in this room. To begin, submit your design here at the processor. You have 45 minutes to complete the entire modification process. If you failed to complete the modification process in the time allocated, marks would be deducted accordingly. Also, the pilot of your group would be piloting an R-1 default mech to complete the upcoming race instead."

He started inspecting the parts on the ground. Wow! He was astounded. He had to admit that the Blue Ocean Academy did have some money in their pockets. Even the parts in the mod room alone could cost dearly and they replenished the parts for every participant. Imagine the expenditure just to sustain the matches!

Wonder how Ye Chong would react if he knew that the category he took part in was only one of the 32 categories in the whole academy.

Well, there's always time for that but not now.

Ye Chong calmed his mind.

His sharp eyes discerned every scattered parts on the ground. He had remembered them by heart. He pondered for a moment and then strode towards the processor in the middle of the room. Standing before the processor, under the bright spotlights, he grimly submitted his design plan.

At the broadcasting room, people had been as busy as bees. Due to the overwhelming population of contestants, the audience should be perplexed identifying the contestants on the screens and they should also be puzzled picking contestants to watch and to cheer. This issue became the studio's responsibility to resolve. The broadcaster had to give commentaries to explain the senses behind the participants' mech designs to keep the audience entertained and not be swamped by jargons and ambiguity in certain behaviors by the participants - the hows and whys. Furthermore, in every mod room there would be one staff who observed the happenings and reported the striking moment of the contestants immediately to the central studio while the central studio selected the better ones to roll on the main hologram screens. In a nutshell, everything concerns one factor - speed. Move fast! Move faster! Move fastest! The audience wants to see sweat! Tears! Passion! Love! Diligence! Move! Move! Move!

The executive director behind the scene for the tournament this year was Rui Su, the vice president of the Broadcasting course.

Rui Su completed her studies in broadcasting course of Blue Ocean Academy at the age of 23. Additionally, she obtained her recognition from the senior director with her academic paper titled "The Theory of Usage of Motion in a Mutual Relationship with Limited View" which only took her 1 year to finalize, and hence becoming the youngest executive director in the history of Blue Ocean Academy. In the second year of her career, which happened to be this year, the academy requested her to take over the position of the vice president of the Broadcasting course.

Without doubt, this was Rui Su's first ever Blue Ocean Academy Tournament directing job.

The silky long dark hair laid on her shoulders gently like a small stream of waterfall on a silent night, while her eyes shone in clear sapphire like the puddle of seawater in the tender fondle. The beauty of the sea lustered in her charm, as if one could feel the sea literally just by standing next to her - the tranquillity, the serenity. Her skin was fairer than winter's snow; her face was polished like the jades, adorned with the tiny pair of lips, in a scarlet glow which brought up an epic beauty crafted in the finest manner. The curves on her body was beyond well-proportioned and would stimulate with the slightest turn.

Unquestionably, every part of her could be the best view for a man - angelic and eye-healing.

Everyone thought the same the first moment they saw her, till the view actually collapsed right onto their faces; they learned something for the day. The fiercest storm always starts with the sweetest rain.

"Are you guys retarded? Did all of you sleep through your lectures back then? You can't even carry out the simplest order! I'm telling all of you, if you are ever capable to mess up my work this time… Hmph! You are just as capable as repeating your subjects for this semester! I'm just impressed by how you guys have the balls to slack right in front of me. Do you wish to die right here and right now? Hey!" Her flamethrower aimed at one of the students passing by, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Wang Xiao'er! Are your eyes peeled and your ears opened? Do you want me to do it for you instead? Move your lazy bottom and get the job done! You have been a good student in the past. Why are you acting flaccid like you're a freshman who doesn't know anything about broadcasting on such an important event today? Did your willy just grow inwards? Are you still a man? Can you get hard?" her voice raised the tempest, filled with wrath and corrosive words.

Wang Xiao'er's slender body shivered under the howling voice of the devil in the studio. No one else could lend a hand to him because they were running away. However, because of her howls, everyone acted much quicker.

Rui Sui grumbled as she sat down, "What a bunch of complete retard! They can't even help me out at a moment like this! What did I do to deal with all these? These Year 1 students are dumber than donkeys. They have at least studied their basics, yet they are acting like they are on their first day in the academy. Why don't we just employ donkeys to do the work for us instead? It helps in saving the academy's expenditure." She might have sounded harsh but her charm never fades.

Out of the blue, a shriek from Wang Xiao'er resounded throughout the pack of students rushing in the studio. And that was the last straw to Rui Su's temper outburst, "Wang! Xiao! Er! Do you really want to die today? I could grant your wish you know! You were a good boy! Well! Not anymore! I can't believe you are brave enough to create another mess to the job today!" It was just a step before she launched her whirlwind kick combo at the paperback Wang Xiao'er. Nonetheless, she held it back as she knew that if she ever did her signature diving kick, with her strength, the paper Wang Xiao'er would be shredded on spot.

And she retreated her lifted legs.

The undelivered final blow did shock Wang Xiao'er for a few seconds, then his pale cheeks shuddered as he screamed in shaking voice, "Sister, come and take a look at this!" he pointed at the screen before him.

Rui Su forbade the students to greet her as "teacher" or "madam" or weak names like "Ms. Rui Su". Those would truly make her sound dramatically older she claimed. Thus, everyone should only greet her as "Sister".

"Wang Xiao'er!" She walked towards the quivering boy on his seat, mumbling, "If this is one of your stupid tricks to get away from your trouble today, you better be either picking a morgue or a hospital to stay in."

She was mumbling, till she slammed on the front desk before the screen. She zipped her mouth and stared the screen with focus. That was her personality when she went into work mode - professional and fully concentrated.

It was as if she was possessed. Upon having a closer look at what was going on in the screen, her eyes enlarged, wide like the saucers!

She went in utter silence for the next few seconds and had an inertia as she came back. The impact from the screen scorched her feet as she jumped up high and stormed to her seat, hurrying the boy, "Wang Xiao'er! Quick! Get the channel over here!"

"Yes," replied Wang Xiao'er.

The audience at the spectator's area noticed it coming suddenly. All the screens were only projecting at one particular person.

The contestant from Mod Room No.5!

"Ah!" Xuelin and Cousin Xiu screeched together after realizing who it was. Cousin Xiu covering her little mouth in disbelief along with Xuelin who had her mouth widely open.

Mod Room No.5! That would be Ye Chong!

Before their astonishment settled down, the audience in the entire row of the spectators area jumped up hurrahing. Rui Su actually had switched all the screens in the school compound to the visual at Mod Room No.5!

And that was when few hundred thousands of spectators in the whole campus saw an unforgettable scene for their lives!

On the screen the man waved his hands like a magician. In full focus, his hands slid the parts under like a breeze on a spring. Well that description did not sound that applause-worthy, since all mod technicians had to master that trick!

It was not the trick. It was his hands! Ye Chong's hands!

Ye Chong finally demonstrated the frightening speed of his hands, the first time in the public, right in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Sadly he was not aware of what an amazing achievement he had just accomplished. Revealing his only deadly capability to the entire world. If only he knew what actually happened, he would be jumping off the building.

To Ye Chong, revealing the arsenal of his abilities was no more than suicidal.

Ye Chong literally had no idea that his actions would be wholly broadcasted throughout the academy. Without the help of Yining, that was what he could only do. To make use of his abilities to the fullest! With great concentration! Being entirely engaged to the process, he did not see how fearsome his speed was.

His hands were so agile that they do not feel belonged to a human. The afterimages of his movements were faint yet still recognizable. Nobody questioned its authenticity.

The space, was soundless.

Everyone watched on and was barely hushing.

The sky of the quiet campus echoed with the excited voices of the commentaries, "Holy Fal Galaxy! In what Blue Ocean world are those pair of hands! Such a scary speed on a mod technician, enough to terrify the students from the Piloting course hiding back into their cabins! With such a speed, what could still be impossible to our fine contestant? Oh? Hmm… Yes, yes." The commentator lowered his voice as the sound of paper ruffling came.

He cleared his throat, "We had just obtained the biography of this very contestant in our tournament today! Apparently, this phenomenal contestant in Room No.5 is none other than Ye Chong. He is only 20 years old. Oh, my, Fal, Galaxy! 20 years old! Our students would be a mere freshman being pampered everywhere if they were 20-year-olds! This is stunning! Staggering! Mind-opening! Evidently, he is not only a genius, but a genius among the geniuses! And… hmm… What! I can't believe it! Ye Chong is not a student in our campus too! And there is zero record about his education background! So, I strongly believe that nobody would disagree on what I had just said!"

The commentator's tone turned teasing, "Hehehehe. I know our beloved principal had just gotten the biography in hand and must be all wet and panicking begging for the tournament to end right away only to meet with this boy! Principal, your eyes desired something, am I right? Haha!"

And the audience laughed along.

"What?" Another moment of paper ruffling the microphone, "O.M.F.G.! Oh My Fal Galaxy! Did this just happen? The staff had passed me the hand-speed report of this Ye Chong boy a moment ago and guess what? According to the outcome shown, within the duration we talked just now, Ye Chong had achieved a groundbreaking speed of Mach 3.57 at the highest! Gosh! Did he modify his hands into an engine with artificial intelligence?"

And the audience exclaimed.

Mach 3.57!

The whispers scurried the spectator's area, "Is that even a speed by human?"

That last line from the commentary did tickle the funny-bone in everyone though.

Mach 3.57 was not fast enough to Ye Chong. It was not because he wanted to hide his strength, it was merely because he was yet to familiarize with the modification process that he had to slow down to minimize mistakes. It was justifiable considering how he had only spent a few days at Yining's house. Nevertheless it was astounding enough for him to hit this speed.

That was not all.

The scene after this had launched a full barrel of fiasco at the crowd.

It's showtime!

Chapter 80: It's Showtime II

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong seemed to have utterly lost himself in the process. He was so absorbed by the fun of modifying mech. Moreover he was much more focused than before without Yining this time, since he also skipped the idle chatter and was fully invested to the modification process.

He grew acquainted with the apparatuses and his hands moved faster. The afterimages had started overlapping on each other. It was as if the audiences were watching some Sci-Fi movie; their mouths stayed open in disbelief.

"Madness! Insanity! Ye Chong, our contestant is going faster! Based on the data we had freshly obtained, Ye Chong has already achieved a whopping Mach 3.88 at his hands! Looks like our champion in the making is doing fantastic! I wonder if he ever has a limit or is this actually his maximum? Well nobody knows! That's why we would watch on in curiosity and to witness the show of the century!"

Ye Chong was engrossed in every detail of his craft. He looked all concentrated and the grim face of his slowly turned gentle. The sober was washed away by his passion towards mechs, exerting a one-of-a-kind magnetism. The stern eyes were cleansed as they sparkled in a refined wisdom and craftsmanship! The face and his smooth, continuous movements gleamed like a diamond rinsed from the mud. It was dazzling, yet so mesmerizing. No one was bothered by his torn clothings and no one cared if he was not handsome enough for the standard of public. At that very moment, he was the center of the tempest swirling the entire academy! He attracted everyone's attention and had blinded the audience from seeing the potent performance by the other contestants!

As the audience had their eyes frozen on Ye Chong, the shape of the modified mech started becoming discernible.

The sound of paper muffling the microphone echoed, "Okay, we had just acquired the design plan submitted by Ye Chong. Well, by our standard of conduct, this should never be available till the end of the tournament. But thanks to our diligent staff and our supportive fans below, our loving principal had finally agreed to bestow this to us under special permission. It was quite a hassle but I would guarantee this would worth the trouble we had gone through! Alright…"

"Hmm… Hmm…" the commentator took a glance at the papers.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! The moment we looked at this plan, everyone of us at the studio held the same thought; this person is absolutely a genius among the geniuses! Assuming Ye Chong's frightening speed of his hands has defined us his impressive discipline in self-training, then this very piece of plan could easily define to all of us here today, that he also possesses masterly knowledge! And I would like to highlight something for everyone on the seat - this piece of design was rated a perfect score at our mech modification assessment system! In addition, the concept of his design is overwhelming enough to make all our 12 advanced mech modification technician nod their heads! They responded simultaneously with approval. A perfect score! A masterpiece!"

And that comment landed on the audience like an atomic bomb. The audience could no longer inhibit the fiasco rumbling inside them. Hisses, bustles and rustles took over the floor.

Cousin Xiu's eyes were totally glued at the screen watching Ye Chong. Her eyes glossed like a lake in autumn, calm and still yet seemingly uneasy. She seemed to be figuring out something in her mind. Meanwhile, Xuelin had lowered her head, with the expression changing from time to time. Her face was once blushed, then it became drained. Sometimes one could hear her mutters or sound of her grinding her teeth. Her eyes wavered, her lips quivered.

"Well, well, well. Plot twist: Ye Chong is a super processor himself! In b4 his mechanical arm broke from that speed!" tossing a meme, the commentator spoke on humorously.

And everyone at the bottom laughed out loud.

"A new glorious record has been written today at this tournament 300 years after the academy was founded. Gorgeous it was yet saddening! Since it wasn't our student who made the record! We should be ashamed of our inability! Sniff sniff!" The commentator's voice sounded remorseful and that made most of the actual students from the academy lowering their heads embarrassingly.

"Anyway! We should take the precious time to have some word about Ye Chong's acclaimed design of perfection! Firstly, Ye Chong actually discarded the traditional humanoid design for his mech. In exchange, he incorporated the design of an aircraft for the main body. It is a daring attempt as the humanoid designs aren't widely used for no reason today. However, an aircraft design is undeniably much more practical for the upcoming race. The reason is that the limbs of a humanoid design do not contribute anything to speed. Our aircrafts are mostly circular nowadays, in which the design was not fancied by our Ye Chong. He dropped the idea of the mainstream aircrafts and went for the ancient design - the arrowhead to build the main body."

The audience boomed in exclamation. It looked like they were the corns rolling in the popcorn machine, exploding anytime soon if more shocking facts were fed upon them.

"For the engine, he had selected Firebird-III, also a non-mainstream engine choice. And believe me, most of the students don't even have an idea of what a Firebird-III is. Generally, the Firebird-III provides forceful motion while only having 1/2 of the weight of the mainstream engine choices in the same category. It also has the largest scope of direction control among the other engines of its grade. This vitally eliminates the major issue of lack of direction control in the arrowhead design. The downside of this choice though is its overwhelming energy drain. However, it remained as the chosen one by our Ye Chong." The commentator took a quick sip and carried on explaining.

"Contrary to the usual mechs, the side wings at the front of the mech do not simply consist of flimsy metallic board, instead, a few more additional engines are installed on them. That would permit the ability of a large scope of direction change, but it would be quite challenging to the pilot of this craft.

Moving on with the shape, unlike the traditional arrowhead designs, Ye Chong seemed to have tweaked the aerodynamic aspect of this design - which would further reduce the C.D. of the former designs. Just in case our audience was confused by the fancy terminology, C.D. as in Coefficient of Drag means the level of drag or resistance of an object when it travels in fluid environment like the air in this tournament. Fundamentally this has justified the fact that our Ye Chong wields great theoretical knowledge. Certainly amazing! How many of us who are 30 years old and below today would even have interest in theoretical knowledge? Let alone being able to acquire such a result!

Next, there is also something unique about the location of center of gravity for his design. It's very bold…"

Before the commentator's voice landed, the screen changed as it zoomed away from Ye Chong, showing the whole craft.

Ye Chong had completed all the necessary modification. Seeing how he was left with ample time, he leisurely took a can of spray and began painting the mech blue. A light blue arrowhead, which would obviously cause another round of chatter at the audience below.

The mech was literally Gliding Joy! The one he created at Yining's place before!

The Gliding Joy this time was slightly different than the one before. This was because Ye Chong took the time to further fine-tune the design of its main body. Of course, Shang would take most of the credits during this. Shang was unhappy being "enslaved" by Ye Chong and he was angrier than ever at the fact that Ye Chong purposely ran away from his ultimate chemist training. Well, we all knew that Ye Chong did not give a damn. To avoid that, Ye Chong eventually succumbed to 24/7 modification designing.

Ye Chong's deep interest for mech seemed to be inborn. The mech theories were not as disinteresting as the chemist's theories. At least Ye Chong knew where Shang was going when he briefed about mechs. Once Shang switched to the chemist lecture mode, Ye Chong only knew he had to run… and run fast!

Shang could only whined a bit in the end. Since it was indeed pointless of him to lecture if there was no practical for Ye Chong to work with.

Back to the stage, Ye Chong felt something was amiss. Oh yes! He grabbed another can of spray and painted two large letters at the body. "G.J." which is an abbreviation for Gliding Joy - the wavy curve of the G with the the silver hook at the J intrepidly. Cheekily, Ye Chong tossed the can away and declared the completion of his mech, the Gliding Joy!

"Ye Chong our boy turned and squinted, 'ain't nobody got time for that!' He had much better things to do than putting the can back nicely. But well this is what a bad boy would do. Go hide your kids before they get hit! Wait, hide your flowers too!" The commentator humored Ye Chong's throw.

One must admit that Ye Chong did have a great luck. In every room, the choices of the parts given were actually different from each other, with some of them being randomly given. Yes, that means Ye Chong had Firebird-III in his room by luck! No, by fate!

Ye Chong fondled the glossy skin of his baby. That profoundly devoted gaze of his was shrill-worthy for the kitties at the spectator's area.

Just when the audience was going to start applauding, something surprising happened again!

Ye Chong took a flip and went into the cabin.

Yes! The cabin!

"What he's doing?"

"I don't know. I have enough shock for today…"

"I had lost track of what's happening…"

"I don't want to live on this planet anymore…"

Everyone was stupefied, including the commentator who shut his mouth and watched carefully what Ye Chong was doing. He would not want to miss a detail of an anticipated miracle from this boy.

Beep.

Gliding Joy activated.

"What?" The people were terrified.

"Did he just turn on the mech he just built?"

"Has he even tested his mech?"

"Of course not! That aside, is he committing suicide?"

"Oh my gosh… Does he know where he is? That is the mod room! The indoors! With only 150 meter away from the walls, even a normal speed of mech about Mach 2 would take 1 second to hit the wall."

"Somebody stop him!"

"That means, he's going to suicide?"

The crowd panicked.

The girls at the seats began shrieking in fear. People covered their eyes as they refused to witness a brutal crash from a genius. They would never be able to face such ending for a boy, of becoming a splat of flesh on the wall with scraps of metal on the ground!

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Even the commentator could hold it no longer, "Ah!"

No one could imagine of piloting a mech at high speed in a narrow room like this! It skips one's heartbeat even from thinking about it. The intensity started building in everyone's mind, like a dynamite blowing up soon.

"Is he mad?"

"Does he really think it's his showtime? That's why he wanted to put off a show?"

"I don't know. He could be the stupidest genius I ever came across. Hahahaha." The envious participants sneered as they whispered.

"He's gonn-" The noise stopped abruptly as Ye Chong on his Gliding Joy disappeared like a strike of blue lightning, right in front of everybody.

The expecting collision did not occur.

The light blue Gliding Joy reappeared as it braked 2 meters right before the wall. Such a visual impact to everyone at the tournament, a prime definition of extreme-motion to extreme-motionless, a heart-shocker!

"Di-Did… Did he just accelerate at a 150 meter distance? I-Is that even possible?"

"No way! No way I'm digesting this! This has to be due to pure coincidence! Yeah! Luck! He was just lucky!"

The whispers went on.

"Well, that is it! Ladies and gentleman!" The commentator sighed in relief, "The Lady Luck seemed to have smiled at Ye Chong today! He actually stopped right before the wall in such a brief distance! This is extraordinary! This is unbelievable! I guess the God would fear losing such a genius this quickly too! But oh my, Ye Chong, you should really learn from your fatal mistake! The pressure-buffering system in a racing mech is obsolete by nature and might be insufficient to protect the impact from your behavior just now! Please value your life more than anything else! This is for everybody at the seats as well!"

And the crowd nodded heavily in agreement.

His action was heart-wrecking indeed. There were quite a few people whose hearts literally skipped a beat when they saw what Ye Chong did. Their faces turned pale and seemed to be collapsing.

On the other hand, Ye Chong jumped out of Gliding Joy normally. Yes, normally. His expression was bland, as usual. There was hardly any expression, as if the thrill he did was nothing. The grim on his face returned as indifferentlyas he stared at his masterpiece. The kitties on their seats screamed on top of their lungs again, "Ye Chong! Oh my!" "He's so cool!" "I can't take it anymore!" "Such dangerous man, if that's dangerous, I'll be dangerous too!"

The YC fans club seemed to be sprouting anytime soon.

Ye Chong did not seem to be interested though. He walked to the processor at the center of the room, pushed a few buttons to officially declare his completion.

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Chapter 81: The Headmaster's Invitation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong exited the modification workshop, and immediately saw a middle-aged man standing beside Yang An. Ye Chong couldn't help but wear a guarded expression. Little did he know that the outside world was already stirred up by his appearance! The entirety of Blue Ocean Academy's students knew that, as was tradition, a talent like him would be invited to join the Academy! Everyone was interested in knowing whether their beloved headmaster was up to the task!

Ye Chong's performance earlier exceeded even the average teacher's. The students of Blue Ocean Academy were all of the arrogant and egotistical sort, but when faced with someone truly capable, they would have genuine respect for the person.

Ye Chong had impressed this cohort with his remarkable skills!

He knew right away that the unfamiliar middle-aged man before him had waited on him for quite some time. His big belly coupled with a formal outfit made him look like an extraordinary person. However, that was not Ye Chong's first impression! The man's hands were flabby and smooth, showing no signs of training. His body shape was thoroughly imbalanced, with deplorable physical abilities. Ye Chong was certain that he could defeat the man within two seconds. The man's eyes were calm, seemingly without hostility.

Ye Chong completed his mental assessment of the man almost instantly.

It was after that that Ye Chong noticed other particulars, such as the lack of any facial hair and the man's graceful demeanour. He kept a smile on his face, giving the impression of a gentle and amiable person. Ye Chong did not loosen up despite of those facts. Yang An seemed to be extra courteous before the middle-aged man.

Ye Chong looked at the other party coldly, unwilling to make first contact.

The middle-aged man laughed and offered his hand, "How do you do, I'm Blue Ocean Academy's headmaster, Lan Youming, a pleasure to meet you!"

Ye Chong stared at the headmaster's right hand guardedly. "What's with the hand?" Ye Chong stared back at Headmaster Lan, fully alert!

Shang could not bear it any longer, and spoke inside Ye Chong's mind. "Idiot, that's etiquette! Don't you know etiquette? Heavens, what has Mu been teaching you all this while? Does he intend for you to be a wild animal? Poor Ye!"

"Etiquette?" Ye Chong asked in his mind, thoroughly confused. "That's way too dangerous, what if the enemy suddenly attacked?"

Shang spoke with great frustration, "Heavens, Ye, you have to change your mindset. They're humans, not wild beasts! Humans wouldn't attack each other for no reason! Hmm, quick, shake his hand, if you ignore someone who's offered their hand, it's an extremely rude behaviour."

"Hmm, right, that's it, just shake gently. If you want to express good will, just apply a little more force. Heavens! Ye, he's not a wild animal! How can you be use so much force on him?" Shang was exasperated.

Headmaster Lan dreadfully howled as Ye Chong's hand clamped tightly on his right hand like a pair of pincers. He could even hear bones softly cracking from his right hand, and felt that he could faint at any moment! Upon hearing Shang's words, Ye Chong retracted his right hand, swift as lightning. Headmaster Lan could no longer stand the pain, as he cradled his right hand and panted heavily, and lost his initial composure.

Ye Chong defended himself, aggrieved at the encounter. "I wasn't holding him too tight!"

Shang gave a helpless assessment of the situation, "You are inhuman!"

Yang An stared stupefied at the scene before him, his mind stalled completely!

Ye Chong and Yang An both watched as Headmaster Lan jumped around in pain. Ye Chong was surprised - while Headmaster Lan was plump, his current series of actions showed unusual agility.

"You should apologize now, since your mistake has led to another person's being harmed. That's right, you should apologize now!"

"Apologize? My mistake? But I didn't do anything wrong!" Ye Chong was at a loss, and added, "He seemed to be too weak, and his retaliation skills are absurd!" Ye Chong provided his professional opinion.

Shang felt like jumping off a cliff. "No matter what, you should apologize first!"

Ye Chong was alright with that. "If you insist, then sure!" Ye Chong usually obeyed Mu's requests; Shang's, however, were only agreed to when he thought they were not too extraordinary. For Ye Chong, Shang was far worse than Mu's reasoning!

However, an apology did not seem to cost him much!

Ye Chong apologized to Headmaster Lan without his heart into it. "I'm very sorry, I did not expect you to be so weak, my apologies!" Ye Chong's ridiculous apology did not sound like one at all.

"You call that an apology?" Shang asked.

"Of course!" Ye Chong was certain of it.

"I think it sounds more like a victor's speech!" Shang countered.

"Mm, what's the difference?" Ye Chong said, after a moment's thought.

Shang stopped speaking and raised his white flag!

From the side, Yang An saw a bruise forming on Headmaster Lan's hand, and could not suppress the chill from within him. He decided then and there to never have any physical contact with Ye Chong.

Headmaster Lan seemed to finally feel better, and even managed to force a smile. "It's no problem, no problem at all, who'd imagine Mr Ye here to be so strong! As expected, Mr Ye is blessed with great raw talent. To have such high achievements at such a young age, how impressive!"

Ye Chong stared at Headmaster Lan silently, making Headmaster Lan feel a little awkward.

Shang could not stand the situation and offered, "Ye, when someone is done speaking, it is best if you can return the courtesy, or the conversation will become very awkward!"

Ye Chong replied point-blank, "But his words all seemed meaningless!"

"Er … Just ignore me!" Shang returned to his space.

Headmaster Lan seemed to realise that Ye Chong was not suited for this kind of conversation, and immediately switched his tact. "Mr Ye, I'd like to invite you to become a teacher at our Blue Ocean Academy! What do you say?"

Standing at the side, Yang An stared with bulging eyes, gaping at the two! "Sir, are you sure? Blue Ocean Academy's teacher?" Ye Chong may not understand, but Yang An, who had grown up in Blue Ocean, knew that all teachers of Blue Ocean Academy are prestigious in the eyes of Blue Ocean citizens, and that Blue Ocean Academy was a possible gateway for one to enter upper class society. As for the academy's teachers, they were already members of the upper class society. The Blue Ocean Academy's teachers have all made their name, and the only teacher in the academy below the age of thirty was Rui Su. At least Rui Su was twenty five, but Ye Chong was only twenty! For someone at his age, even if he was a student in the Blue Ocean Academy, he could only be one of the lower level students.

"Being a teacher? That's ludicrous!" Yang An thought as he looked at Ye Chong oddly, "This guy's a monster!"

Headmaster Lan explained his decision, "Mr Ye's missile shaped mech has a body structure that improves aerodynamic flow, and expressed Mr Ye's great understanding of the physics involved. All the teachers in our academy felt that you are capable enough to work as a teacher of the academy. Besides, I have asked for advice from the twelve judges, and they unanimously agreed that Mr.Ye is absolutely qualified for the job. Moreover, Mr Ye's exceptional modification skills, comparable to the work of expert mod technicians, are something we greatly appreciate! Of course, before Mr Ye began working for us, we'd still like to conduct a necessary test for Mr Ye. However, this is only one of the standard procedures, I believe, with Mr Ye's abilities, this test should not be a problem!"

Yang An stared in a daze at Ye Chong, desperately trying to understand the situation. He had been guarding outside ever since Ye Chong entered the workshop, and did not have time to watch the competition's live broadcast. Hence, he was completely ignorant of Ye Chong's stirring actions. He was already baffled when the headmaster had asked all sorts of things about Ye Chong! He did not imagine that the truth to be something like this!

"Of course, Mr Ye, please do not worry about your terms of employment. Compared to other first class academies in the five main galaxies, the terms of employment in our academy is definitely first class! Not only will we offer a high salary, we will also provide full support for Mr Ye's research projects! Besides, our academy is home to many great instructors, if Mr Ye would join us, you'll find that the academic atmosphere here is excellent, the teachers exchange ideas amongst themselves frequently. I believe this would be beneficial push for Mr Ye's future advancement!

"Should Mr Ye have any requests, please let us know, we'll do our best to sort things out for you! We, the Blue Ocean Academy, sincerely invite you to join us!"

Ye Chong was not really listening to Headmaster Lan's words, since he was speaking to Shang.

Shang had popped out again when Headmaster Lan offered a job for Ye Chong. The mech was very excited. "Hey, Ye, just say yes! Blue Ocean Academy's teachers are all treated well!" Shang clicked his tongue, "In comes the money when you join the Blue Ocean Academy! I can't believe even someone of your standard would be scouted by the Blue Ocean Academy … That's gold zuan for us!"

Ye Chong disagreed. "Nope, I'm leaving, who's going to make the noodles for Grandpa Qian's shop?"

Shang gave that a thought. "That's true! But if you join the Blue Ocean Academy, your monthly salary is definitely way more than when working at Grandpa Qian's shop! You can allocate a portion of the money for Grandpa Qian, so he can enjoy his later years and does not need to work anymore!"

Ye Chong felt otherwise. "While I may not understand it, but I know Grandpa Qian does not think of money as his highest priority! It's not a problem about money!"

"Mm, a problem with the noodles then, right, doesn't Grandpa Qian have an automatic noodle making machine?" Shang asked.

"He does! But the noodles coming out that machine are gross!" Ye Chong replied.

Shang grew excited as he spoke, "So, if we can improve the automatic noodle making machine, er, maybe with some modifications, and take into account the various factors involved when you make the noodles yourself, I'm sure the machine can churn out noodles that taste as good as the ones you make!"

Ye Chong pondered over it, thought it feasible, and grew excited too. "You're right, Shang, that's a wonderful idea! We have to try it out when we get back!" Ye Chong felt like leaving for home right then.

"But, Ye, we don't have any equipment, or materials, all these costs zuan! Without these things, we'll never be able to complete the task." Shang spoke as if afflicted.

Ye Chong was also vexed. "Yeah! That's a real problem, and I don't think those things come cheap!"

"Hmm, that's true, however, it's not that there's nothing we can do about it!" Shang replied in a queer tone.

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Chapter 82: Triumphant

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When Ye Chong requested to use the Blue Ocean Academy's modification workshop, Headmaster Lan agreed without any hesitation and even brought him to the academy's most advanced workshop himself! As Ye Chong entered Blue Ocean Academy's reputedly most advanced workshop, seeing rows and rows of dream-like top class machinery, he was mightily envious! Headmaster Lan generously declared that he was free to use the devices as he see fit, and that materials were provided too. Ye Chong felt like diving straight into his work!

Even Shang went into a frenzy, howling in excitement!

Headmaster Lan grinned as he saw Ye Chong's bland expression turn into a rich array of emotions for the first time. He was secretly pleased at himself. "Young man, I don't believe there's no way to keep you here!" Headmaster Lan had seen all sorts of people in his life, and knew the ways of appealing to one's interests!

Ye Chong began immediately, studying the many devices and mechanisms that he had never seen before, oblivious to Headmaster Lan, standing at the side!

Headmaster Lan smiled, taking no offense, and left quietly by himself. Before that, he ordered the person in charge of the workshop to fulfill Ye Chong's requests, whatever they may be! Of course, he hinted a little at the person's unfortunate and inevitable farewell to the academy should he fail to satisfy Ye Chong, and the employee felt fearful enough that he nodded profusely like a docile animal!

Ye Chong did not notice when Headmaster Lan left. If he knew that his vigilance had dropped to such a state, one wondered how he would take it. Shang was also uncharacteristically cooperative this time, accessing the virtual net and procuring the holographic schematics for an automatic noodle making machine without fuss. Ye Chong and Shang discussed amongst themselves, while the person in charge of the modification workshop assisted by his side with great care, fearing that Ye Chong's dissatisfaction would leave him without a job!

The person in charge stared as Ye Chong went into a daze, quiet as a mouse, for fear of interrupting whatever strange thoughts Ye Chong was having at the moment.

As he thought of all the effort he had put into securing his job at Blue Ocean Academy, and all the sweat and tears, he felt extremely discontented!

While today's modern society would not allow anyone to die of starvation, a person without a stable job would have to visit the relief center to receive government aid. One was guaranteed a basic living condition, but to achieve more, one would have to climb up the economic ladder!

Ye Chong was having a heated discussion with Shang! While Ye Chong was far worse in calculations than Shang, his occasional insight often impressed both Shang and Mu! As such, Ye Chong often proposed some unusual concepts, while Mu and Shang demonstrated, complemented and improved those concepts!

Suddenly, Ye Chong thought of a problem, and began to look around him.

The person in charge saw Ye Chong's behaviour, and immediately knew that he was looking for something. He hastily approached Ye Chong and put a smile on his face. "What are you finding for? I'm the person in charge of this workshop, just let me know if you have questions. The headmaster had informed me that all the materials here are at your disposal!"

Ye Chong froze. When he realized that he did not notice a person being so close to him, his expression turned sour. He relaxed after deducing that the person had no ill will against him, and warned himself against such carelessness!

However, since the person had offered, Ye Chong spoke, "I need flour and water!"

The person in charge was all ready for Ye Chong to ask for the most precious and expensive materials, thinking that he must procure materials for Ye Chong, even if he had to stake his life for it. What he did not expect, after all the mental preparation, was for Ye Chong to ask for flour and water.

Ye Chong took over the flour and water that the person in charge had procured for him, and, right before the person's disbelieving eyes, he began to make noodles in Blue Ocean Academy's most advanced modification workshop.

After five hours of hard work, Ye Chong looked satisfied at the massive machine before him, while the person in charge stared in stupefaction. Since the modification workshop had no automatic noodle making machine, he had used the tools and materials in the workshop to make a new one under Shang's guidance.

Ye Chong carefully tasted the newly made noodles. The person in charge watched as Ye Chong used a mech's hollow leg that was over thirty kilograms heavy in place for a bowl, and felt like jumping off a building!

"Hmm, the taste was not bad, almost identical to the one I make myself." Of course, Ye Chong had no intention of inviting the person in charge for a taste. Instead, he swallowed all the noodles like a hungry tornado!

Ye Chong pointed to the automatic noodle making machine, and asked the person in charge, "Can I take this with me?"

The person in charge nodded mechanically.

He watched on as Ye Chong lifted the machine that weighed a few hundred kilograms and disappeared outside the door, and felt infinitely helpless. "Heavens, was the fellow crazy?" He felt like he had just seen a most sarcastic joke. "A person making noodles in Blue Ocean Academy's most advanced modification workshop? Kneading the dough on an ultra-smooth benchtop, one of only a hundred in the entire Fal galaxy? Eating out of a hundred-thousand-zuan mech's hollow leg? He did not even clean the hollow leg up after finishing his meal!"

"Could it be that world was truly changing?" The person in charge felt like he burned a fuse in his brain somewhere, as he stared blankly at Ye Chong's gradually diminishing figure through the workshop's entrance.

The next day, news of Ye Chong's job offer acceptance as Blue Ocean Academy's mech mechanics teacher spread fast throughout the academy grounds, as though the news had grown a pair of wings. Everyone's attention was focused on the news, and the main event that was the MP Games had, for the first time in history, been largely ignored.

In the headmaster's office, only Ye Chong and the headmaster were present.

Headmaster Lan smiled lightly and said, "Mr Ye, please let me know if you have any requests! I think we'll make a great team!"

Ye Chong thought for a moment before speaking, "I'd like to take courses for alchemy!"

Shang leaped in excitement, having no indication of his decision beforehand. "Ye, hah, you've finally come around, that's great! Ah, weren't you reluctant to learn alchemy before this? What led to the change in mind?"

Ye Chong replied lightly, "It's nothing, I just want to get more Do Kun stone!"

"Even the obtuse can be enlightened?" Shang was not convinced, but spoke again after a pause, "Ye, I know you chose alchemy because of me, right?"

Ye Chong spoke apathetically, "Nope!"

Shang spoke with dismay, "Ye, don't answer so directly please, can you not just satisfy my tiny, tiny vanity?"

Ye Chong showed no signs of giving in. "No need for that!"

While the two were at an impasse with each other, a warm feeling was binding Ye Chong and Shang together!

"If only Mu can join us!" thought Ye Chong.

Headmaster Lan could not help but be surprised by Ye Chong's odd request, but managed to gather himself and agreed to the request. "Oh, sure, no problem! I didn't think Mr Ye was so interested in alchemy. I think the alchemy faculty's Teacher Jiang would definitely welcome academic exchanges with you! Mm, any other problems for you?"

Ye Chong replied crisply, "None!"

Headmaster Lan nodded with satisfaction. "Then please come with me!" Headmaster Lan led Ye Chong into an adjacent classroom, where a total of fifteen specialists sat within. They would assess Ye Chong's level and decide if he was the real deal, and if he was up to par to teach at Blue Ocean Academy!

The whole building was crowded. The faculty of mech mechanics' students were all excited with the prospect of having Ye Chong as their teacher! Everyone was interested in the activities of this particular classroom!

Rui Su was also very enthusiastic!

Ye Chong's strong impact was directly related to Rui Su. If Rui Su had not braved herself and switched all of Blue Ocean Academy's channels to the one with Ye Chong, the effect would not be as strong! This was also the first time the MP Games had directed all its cameras to only one contestant! One should be aware that it was a great risk, and easily blamed upon!

However, she had triumphed this time! Her decisiveness and exceptional courage had brought her victory!

"Wang Xiaoer, you better point that holographic camera on target, if you do well this time, sister will reward you after! But don't you forget yourself, when Ye Chong comes out, you point the holographic camera straight at him, got it? Let me repeat that, point it straight at him, hehe, sister will go the front lines by then. Take care of the lighting angles. Also, set the audio sync device right! Heh, if you mess up it this time, hehe …"

Rui Su would call herself "sister" when she was in a good mood, but when she was not, she would switch to the very crude "old lady"!

Rui Su stood handsomely before the entrance of the classroom. For today, she had specially dressed herself, her natural beauty now more charming than ever. The students at the side were all terrified of her, and none stood within ten meters of Rui Su!

The jam packed corridor offered the queer sight of a peerless beauty, with a circular perimeter around her devoid of any human being!

Rui Su smiled, pleased with herself. "Hehe, these youngsters have known suffering well enough through me!"

Rui Su was twenty five, a natural beauty. As she grew more mature these few years, her actions had the quality of a mature woman. This was not something naive little girls could compare themselves with.

Logically speaking, such a woman should have a whole line of suitors waiting on her!

However, Rui Su was very skilful. Back in her days of studying in Blue Ocean Academy, she was known as the infamous "Witch Su" of the Blue Ocean Academy, and all were terrified of her! She was not the kind of woman that most people would dare to meddle with! Even some of the courageous sort had yielded under her methods. Of the new students that arrive every year, the ones who suffered in her hands were often in the hundreds!

The door to the classroom suddenly opened, and Ye Chong stepped out calmly, followed by Headmaster Lan, all smiles.

The corridor was instantly in an uproar!

Headmaster Lan, with his worldly experiences, was not troubled, but instead stepped quickly in front of Ye Chong and pushed his hands downwards, signaling everyone to quiet down!

The headmaster was known for his practicality, and enjoyed a high reputation amongst the students. They immediately quieted down, and even "Witch Su" was silent like an obedient young lady!

As everyone quieted down, Headmaster Lan laughed pleasantly. "Good news to you all, Mr Ye Chong is officially recruited by Blue Ocean Academy as a teacher under the faculty of mech mechanics. Everyone is welcomed to join Teacher Ye's classes!"

Once again, the entire block roared with excitement!

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Chapter 83: Suspicion

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Headmaster Lan looked to Ye Chong and nodded, signaling that he could leave!

Ye Chong headed outside, his expression was none other than his usual coldness and indifference. A path somehow opened up in the corridor packed with students, allowing him to pass through. Everyone watched Ye Chong respectfully, since those who were truly capable were often respected.

Rui Su had fought for this opportunity and would not miss it for the life of hers. She skipped to the front of Ye Chong, putting the most mesmerising smile on her face and smiled charmingly at Ye Chong, "How do you do? Welcome to Blue Ocean Academy! I'm the assistant dean for the faculty of broadcasting, Rui Su, we'll be colleagues from now on!" Her usual crisp voice was now as seductive as melted chocolate, rich and sweet! Ye Chong could hear the heart beats of the corridor's spectators throb more loudly in response!

Ye Chong, however, was shocked! As the lady had skipped to get in front of him, her control of movement and strength were impeccable, indicating that the other party was highly skilled in battle.

Ye Chong took a half step back, keeping a wider distance between himself and the opponent. He was now on full alert, even if his expression changed not at all! Ye Chong's right hand was now positioned to strike when necessary, and his whole body was relaxed but focused, anticipating a battle!

Ye Chong understood from his days here that the outside world was no trash planet, and while both environments ultimately involve physical combat, the outside world required more tact and cunningness!

Ye Chong replied coldly, "How do you do?" All the students in the corridor heard Ye Chong's voice for the first time. His baritone voice exuded a certain chill, but also brought a unique quality to it. This won the astonished gasp of a few female students.

Ye Chong observed with the intensity of a blade's edge, scanning over Rui Su's physique. Rui Su only felt a chill overcoming her, and could not help but hug herself a little. Her pitiful expression affected a round of gasps from the corridor, as the male students watched on with theirs mouths wide open.

Ye Chong was as still as a rock.

"Mm, her hands are overly fair, and skin too delicate, with almost no signs of training. Her fighting skills must be extremely poor." Ye Chong believed that, with only one punch on whichever part of the lady's figure, she would definitely be smashed into pieces! However, her demonstration of speed and control over her strength was impressive, and Ye Chong would not dare to underestimate her.

Of all his skills, mech piloting was definitely the one that Ye Chong was best at. It was also his specialty and the one skill he was most confident in. In second place was mech mechanics, which he had improved in leaps and bounds due his experience under the tutelage of the elderlies at Aurora and his constant discussions with Mu and Shang. Battling only came in at third place! Ye Chong's battling skills were mainly the result of his experience fighting against wild animals and some low level training at Black Cove. He was not exactly skillful in combat. However, if he were to be engaged in a battle of life and death, Ye Chong would probably be the last man standing. Even without any battling techniques, his inhuman strength and speed would more than make up for his ability to harm the enemy.

However, Ye Chong understood that if his opponent was not much slower than him, with technique based battling skills, he would not stand a chance! In Black Cove, Ye Chong had seen Instructor Hak's impressive battling techniques, and while Instructor Hak's strength and speed were far inferior to his own, Ye Chong was not certain of his odds against someone with such unpredictable techniques!

Speed and strength were like the opposites of battle techniques, the two of them balancing a scale through a mysterious relationship!

Her arms and legs seemed too thin - without strength, any technique would only be as useless as decorations!

In reality, Ye Chong was not aware that he had a few misconceptions regarding some general knowledge. He did not realise that the person before him was a woman. More accurately speaking, he did not know the difference between men and women, and had often compared his enemy with himself, unaware of the fact that he was actually more like a monster amongst the commoners!

Rui Su was also not feeling as calm as her expression suggested. Ye Chong's calculating stare had put a chill down her spine, as though he could see through all her thoughts and actions. Ye Chong's minor retreat and his hands' posture and position also surprised her. While the students would not understand them, how could she not? Her upbringing in a battle-centric family made her familiar with this kind of posture.

Suddenly, even being surrounded by so many people, Rui Su did not feel safe at all, as though she had plunged into an icy cave. "If only my younger sister were here!" Rui Su thought to herself.

Ye Chong studied Rui Su for a moment, before easily gliding past her like a breeze.

Rui Su, however, felt terror under the predatory scrutiny of Ye Chong. An insuppressible chill engulfed her from head to toe, freezing her stiff!

For the nearby students, it was an extremely odd sight to behold!

At first, the Witch had disguised as an angle and extended an olive branch for Ye Chong. Then, Ye Chong returned the favour with a cold greeting. After a prolonged staring contest between them, Ye Chong gave the Witch a purposeful look before moving past her without a word.

Something strange was going on between them!

This conclusion was shared by all the spectators, and even Headmaster Lan directed a strange look at Rui Su!

Wang Xiao Er did not move the camera away from the two since the very beginning, and the odd scene was broadcasted to the entire academy! Since there were many students interested in Ye Chong's candidacy as Blue Ocean Academy's teacher, they were all watching the live broadcast on their holographic screens. As such, the entire scene was presented to their very eyes!

"Could the two have known each other before? Were there any unresolved tension between them?" Rumours full of imagination began to spread throughout the Blue Ocean Academy.

In the academic column, there was "Conversation Between Geniuses and the Hidden Messages Behind Them"; in the academy's entertainment news section, there was "Past Lovers, Present Adversaries"; in the opinion's column, there was "May-December Relationships As I See It" …

In an instant, the academy grounds were in an uproar. Ye Chong and the Witch became wildly infamous. The female students were all deeply regretful that someone as steady and cool as Ye Chong was no longer available. Who would have thought that the Witch had made the first move? It was a depressing thought. The male students, however, thought it was hilarious. How could anyone dominate the Witch? Wasn't that Heaven's blessings? They hoped that Teacher Ye Chong would conquer the Witch, and prevent her from spreading any more suffering! Their days of hardship would finally be over! This was the primary concern for the male students under the faculty of broadcasting!

Unfortunately, Ye Chong was not aware of his role in the grand scheme of things. While the academy had provided him comfortable accommodation, Ye Chong would still make time every day to visit Grandpa Qian's shop, and also inspect if Ye's automatic noodle making machine was in good condition!

As for Rui Su, she was furious and exasperated at home, but there was nothing she could do!

At the Ji family's place.

Elder Ji's profile had touch of saintliness and godhood, and now it held a terrifying sombre expression!

No one below dared to make a sound.

Only Ji Shangyan was calmly reporting, "Based on our last inventory check after the incident, the Harmony of the Winter Aria was stolen. There are 26 casualties in total. The base had suffered unprecedented damages, and during our last inventory check, we found that an unknown ore was missing!"

"Unknown ore?" Elder Ji asked in his low voice.

"Yes. This unknown ore was obtained by accident, and sent to the base for research. Until the day of the incident, our research was still inconclusive. During the research of the unknown ore, we were able to establish that the ore could significantly increase a variety of physical properties of alloy materials. We had mixed in a very small amount of the unknown ore into the tip of the lance belonging to the Harmony of the Winter Aria! After examination, as expected, the tip of the lance had astounding properties. We were ready for further research when the mech was stolen!"

Elder Ji muttered, "Do you think the intruder was coming after the ore?"

Ji Shangyan replied respectfully, "Yes, your grandson believes so!" Ji family's eldest young master was still in shock, and currently undergoing treatment. Thus, it was up to Ji Shangyan to manage affairs.

Ji Shangyan threw a quick glance at Elder Ji's expression, and continued, "Fortunately, the red-silver mech was untouched!" Elder Ji's expression smoothened at that.

"While we were cleaning up the base, we also found a mech's wreckage. Even though the mech underwent a strong explosion, and its main structures were damaged, we still found that the mech's armour workmanship was a lot better than our family's red-silver mech and the Harmony of the Winter Aria!" Ji Shangyan obtained a palm-sized fragment of the mech from an employee behind him.

When Elder Ji saw the polished black fragment, his expression twisted, and he asked anxiously, "Is the mech's pilot still here? Dead or alive?"

Ji Shangyan shook his head. "He is dead. We found nothing of value on this person, only a broken mask of sorts, and that mask was already partly melted!"

Elder Ji gave a wave with his hand and urged, "Bring that mask to me now!"

Ji Shangyan noted his grandfather's expression uncertainly, but still ordered someone to retrieve what was left of the mask, which was just a small part of the whole.

Elder Ji held the distorted mask tightly in his grip, his expression changing curiously. After a moment, he settled down but did not speak further.

Could it be that the old man knew where the thing came from?

Ji Shangyan gave another quick glance at Elder Ji's face, thought for a moment, before bracing himself and continuing carefully, "Grandfather, there's one more thing!"

Elder Ji frowned. "What is it?"

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Chapter 84: First Day in Class

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ji Shangyan deliberated for a moment before continuing, "What surprised us the most was that our alarm system was completely compromised by the intruder. There is no chance of restoring it, and we have to reinstall the entire system! The alarm system was not effective at all against the intruder, and up till now we have no idea of their methods. We have no clue at all. The intruder's photon processor must be far ahead of ours."

Ji Shangyan finished his report nervously, anticipating the old man's outrage. However, the moment did not come, as the old man observed the black fragment with a complicated expression. He sighed softly, "Hmmm, you're still young, ignorant of the world outside your own. There are many things out there you can't even imagine!"

Ji Shangyan was startled, staring at the old man with disbelief.

The old man looked desolate, his usual edge gone without a trace, leaving only signs of living through decades of his life, with a slightly hunched back. The man before Ji Shangyan now looked just like an ordinary old man!

Ji Shangyan felt overwhelmed by the sight, his tears fighting to escape his eyes.

Elder Ji waved his hand and spoke, "Alright, leave me!"

At the Luo family, Luo Heng had finished listening to Luo Ren's report, his face grave. He asked lowly, "Are you sure?"

After the incident from last time, the Luo family had suffered greatly, but the aristocratic family's history extended centuries, if not, millennias into the past. So long as the family had not fallen, a little catalyst would be sufficient to reinvigorate the family's situation. The Luo family had recovered under Luo Heng's leadership, resuming their swift progression. Luo Heng had recognised Luo Ren's outstanding capabilities, and so Luo Ren had become one of his competent underlings.

Luo Ren responded respectfully, "This servant has confirmed that the information is entirely accurate!"

Luo Heng's long and slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the tabletop. He lifted his head abruptly towards Luo Ren. "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

Luo Ren spoke without hesitation, "The Ji family have always been famous for their photon processors. To be stripped of their reputation so horrifyingly, I believe the effects are not insignificant! We had never been able to infiltrate that base of theirs, only placing a few of our own around the base. However, the extent of the damage this time was unexpectedly massive! We were able to send a few in amidst the chaos to gather some important intel! To be humiliated to this extent, the Ji family will probably make their move soon!"

Luo Heng nodded, agreeing to his assessment. "That's right. With a temperament like Ji family's old man, they will probably retaliate! However, who were the intruders? How could they have best the Ji family's photon processors?"

The two thought over the matter intently, and suddenly, as though they had figured something out, both looked towards each other, their eyes filled with astonishment! Could it be …

Blue Ocean Academy's MP Games finally came to an end, and life in the academy resumed its usual routines. The new batch of students this year included quite a few outstanding freshmen, and possibly even geniuses amongst them, as was typical for the academy. However, the attention they received were incomparable to that of the past few batches. This was all due to Ye Chong's presence.

Ye Chong had garnered the attention of everyone around!

His outstanding performance at the MP games earlier had dimmed the significance of all his opponents. After his stunt, rumours of some complicated relationship between Ye Chong and Rui Su had permeated to all corners of the academy's grounds, inviting everyone's attention. Ye Chong had become Blue Ocean Academy's center of attention!

This was Ye Chong's first time teaching in class. Of course, he had rehearsed with Shang a few times beforehand, and did not expect any issues!

Blue Ocean Academy had constructed its school grounds in the virtual world. Teaching here was convenient, especially for accessing various information databases. Geographical barriers were also no longer relevant!

Ever since Ye Chong was granted permission by Headmaster Lan to use the academy's most advanced modification workshop, he had been spending most of his time there, enjoying the facilities with Shang. While Shang's calculations were not as impressive as Mu's, they were still very powerful calculations, and even someone with Ye Chong's calibre of mediocre calculations could appreciate them. Materials were freely provided as Ye Chong requested, since Headmaster Lan had explicitly allowed him so.

Shang reminded Ye Chong, "Ye, it's time for your class! Almost time now!"

Ye Chong lifted his head, noticed the clock's reading and agreed. He picked up the virtual world hyperlink helmet prepared earlier and hyperlinked to the virtual world.

Shang could not stop blabbering, "Ye, hehe, the gossip about you and that Rui Su is really taking a life of its own, but, Ye, this Rui Su is definitely a first class beauty, perhaps, you would consider?"

Ye Chong replied lightly, "Shang, this is the twenty fourth time you've brought this up in the last 3 days, do you really want me to repeat my answer?"

"Ye, hehe, I have all the information on Rui Su, if you want them, don't be shy to ask!" Shang let out a long, weird laugh.

Ye Chong felt helpless. Shang seemed to grow more and more active, and Ye Chong was often at a loss to deal with him. What a troubling companion!

"I wonder how Mu is doing?" Ye Chong was beginning to miss the reserved and calm Mu!

After a few rounds of identity authentication, Ye Chong was quickly on his way into the classroom. The security was to prevent unauthorised substitution of the teacher and as a timestamp for the teacher's teaching hours. Of course, the level of identity authentication did not escape Shang's litany of condescending remarks!

All students had to go through similar identity authentication measures. When class began, the system would automatically deny further access to anyone else. This was especially painful for the serial latecomers! Attendance was also an important part of the academy's official assessment for students.

Blue Ocean Academy's learning style was flexible, and every student could choose their courses freely, if they could pass their final year overall assessment.

The virtual world's classroom was spacious, but the ordinary rules of space did not apply here. Every student had their own individual space, and Ye Chong would appear before every one of them. As for Ye Chong, his view was quite different. Ye Chong could only see many dots of light before him, not a single person in sight. He could, however, communicate with the students via controls.

Ye Chong steadily walked to the teacher's podium.

Since students were free to choose their courses, there were close to ten thousand students who were now attending this class, making up a fiftieth of the academy's total student population. However, Ye Chong was unfazed.

After all, he could only see dots of light before him. Who would be afraid of dots of lights?

Class began.

Ye Chong's low and slightly cold voice rang clearly in the ears of the students. Ye Chong spoke concisely and confidently, without much intonation, and the students who had grown used to lively teachers in class felt that it was a very different experience.

However, Ye Chong's deep knowledge and strong theoretical foundation won the hearts of the students. At Aurora, the elderlies had often began with simple problems as a beginning to illustrate deeper insights, slowly approaching the core of the knowledge involved. This process of deepening knowledge was often the most effective!

Ye Chong used this method as well. As he unravelled deeper and deeper insights, the students became more and more impressed. However, Ye Chong could not see them. With Shang's help, Ye Chong made full use of the advantages offered by the virtual classroom. Multitudes of holographic images, statistics and graphs often appeared with little effort on his part.

The entire classroom was amazed by the massive amount of information!

Information, charts and other material used in class must be prepared beforehand. Teacher Ye would be so diligent in his job, it was not expected - how can any student not develop a favourable impression of him? The students, ignorant of Ye Chong's background, began to look at him in a better light!

However, despite his favourable impression, the content of the class was still technical and deep. Those who could not keep up would only feel bored and began to doze off.

Of all the students present, only a select few of them were under the faculty of mech mechanics. Most of them were here for Ye Chong, and not for his teaching session, but for the twenty-minute exchange session with the teacher that was part of each class.

Ye Chong kept his cool expression throughout the class, an eye candy to the female students.

Soon, it was time for the exchange session!

Ye Chong began, "Anyone has any questions?"

Almost all the light dots before him began to flash. Despite his bravery, Ye Chong still felt a little queasy.

After he calmed himself down, Ye Chong pressed on a random light dot. The dot immediately expanded, and Ye Chong could see the student clearly, a female student.

The female student must not have expected herself to be so luckily chosen, and froze on the spot, uttering a few false starts but not knowing what to say!

Ye Chong decisively terminated the student's channel without a word!

Ye Chong slowly scanned across the light dots, and spoke coldly, "Don't ask questions if you don't have them prepared!" While this was the virtual world, Ye Chong's icy, cutting gaze and chilling words made all the students felt chilled to the bone. Everyone paused with their hands on the controls. The ten-thousand strong classroom was put into a mental freeze by Ye Chong for a few seconds, none of the dots flashing.

Shang spoke in Ye Chong's mind, unimpressed, "Ye, you'll scare away the pretty girls!"

Ye Chong, "All for the better!"

After a moment of awkward silence, almost all the lights began flashing again!

Ye Chong ignored Shang and pressed on another light dot.

It was a male student this time, and he was obviously calmer than the female student earlier. He asked enthusiastically, "How do you do, Teacher Ye, I am a student of the mech pilot's faculty. I'd like to ask Teacher Ye, how can the speed of hand movement be significantly increased? And did you, Teacher Ye, train yourself?"

Ye Chong replied flatly, "Training, continuous training. As for my training methods, not sharing!" His method was taught by Mu, and without Mu's permission, he would not teach it to anyone else. As for whatever he learnt in Black Cove, Ye Chong did not dare teach them, as it would greatly increase the chances of Black Cove discovering him! Even though the chances of being discovered now was already quite high!

The male student who asked the question could not help but express his disdain. "I didn't think Teacher Ye is the kind of person who would keep their knowledge to themselves! Hmph, I guess I misjudged you!"

Ye Chong replied with indifference, "You definitely misjudged me!" and switched off his channel without waiting for a reply. What did his misjudgment have anything to do with himself? Ye Chong could not care less.

"I am only a teacher for the faculty of mech mechanics, and responsible for answering only questions related to mech mechanics!" Ye Chong blankly declared his rule.

This triggered another round of awkward silence!

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Chapter 85: Rui Bing

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong's first day of class made him a controversial teacher. He was a point of contention, inviting feelings of disdain, admiration, disgust, respect … All held different views against him. However, everyone had agreed on one thing, and that was Ye Chong's coldness! His was not the kind put up for show, but an authentic coldness that brought chills to the bone! Almost everyone believed that, should Ye Chong be angry, the consequences would be very serious!

As for Ye Chong's knowledge, none doubted his authenticity! Ye Chong may speak concisely, but his flow was natural, and the teaching material was rich, almost enough to make the diligent teachers be embarrassed of themselves!

For the moment, aside from his punctual visit to Grandpa Qian every day, Ye Chong would spend the rest of his time in the modification workshop. As for sleep, the workshop was more comfortable than his home on the trash planet!

Ye Chong looked at the Harmony of the Winter Aria, modified beyond recognition, impossible to be associated with its former majestic blue and ivory white appearance! The greenish grey hull made the Harmony of the Winter Aria look insignificant. Ye Chong added a little more changes to the double-folded wings, and the Harmony was completely different from its former self. Even Ye Chong, as the Harmony's user, could not tell that they were one and the same. Ye Chong believed that the mech would be recognizable in its current form. He examined the photon circuits again in great detail, and did not find anything amiss.

Shang had continuously mumbled that the colours were too ugly, but Ye Chong completely ignored the Shang.

Rui Su stayed in her house, full of anger. "That d*mn Ye Chong, how could he make a fool of this old lady?" The thought of Ye Chong made her even more furious. Rui Su hugged her pillow tightly, indignant of the matter, but was helpless against Ye Chong. The thought of Ye Chong's eyes, icy cold and lifeless, spread a chill within her. She had a hunch that, should she insist on meddling with him, there was a distinct possibility that Ye Chong could kill her. The thought was frightening, and kept her against any further actions.

Her mother's voice came from the kitchen. "Su Su, go get your younger sister from the training grounds for dinner. That little b*tch, she is just like her father, can't remember anything during her practice! Su Su, go get her now!"

Rui Su's eyes brightened at that. "Okay!" she replied before rushing out of the house.

The training ground for Rui Su's family was more than ten kilometers away from their house. The Rui family's training ground enjoyed a small reputation in Jesha. While wrestling was no longer widely practiced, it was still far from retiring into history. The rising popularity of mechs had slowly undermined the status of wrestlers, but there was still a minority persistent in keeping the legacy alive. Wrestling was also a necessary skill for jobs in security, such as bodyguards and escorts.

Rui Su's father lost in a wrestling match 3 years ago, and had shortly passed away due to prolonged depression and accompanying illness. The training ground was then passed on to Rui Su's younger sister, Rui Bing. True to her name, Rui Bing was as beautiful as she was cold [1]. Moreover, her lifelong wrestling practice due to her upbringing had developed a strong killer's aura around her. No one dared to step within two meters around her, except for Rui Su and their mother.

After Rui Bing defeated the opponent who bested her father 3 years ago, none were brave enough to challenge her again. Rui Bing's reputation grew more prominent in Jesha, directly increasing the number of students of their family dojo. Hence, Rui Bing had to spend more time at the dojo every day.

In reality, with the Rui family's financial state, Rui Bing did not have to run any dojo at all. The passing of Rui Su's father had left a dark shadow in the hearts of Rui Su and her mother, and both had hoped that Rui Bing would give up the dojo. However, Rui Bing was very insistent, unmoved by their pleading, and so Rui Su and her mother had let her be.

A ten-kilometer journey was only a short trip with a mech. Rui Su slipped out of the mech easily, her graceful landing gathering the attention of the students at the dojo. However, none dared to approach her, for she was in many ways more terrifying than the master of the dojo.

Rui Su withdrew her mech and rushed into the dojo, greeting the students as she passed by, "Give it your all in training guys, and Sister will get you sweets later!" Her honeyed smile would have stolen the breaths of the ignorant, but these dojo students avoided her like the plague. Rui Su's laughter rang like windchimes, trailing her as she rushed into the dojo's inner grounds.

Rui Bing's tall and slender physique was currently in a cross-legged sitting position, her long, black hair flowing down to her lower back like a waterfall. With her eyes closed, her exquisite profile was similar to Rui Su's. She had sharp, thin eyebrows, and her pinkish lips were now closed into a line. Her white training garb added a handsome quality to Rui Bing. Jade white hands with long, slender fingers half extended beyond the loose garb, perched naturally on her knees.

Rui Su gave a jubilant cheer before throwing herself onto her younger sister. Rui Bing had already noticed her presence since Rui Su entered the room. She opened her eyes, watching her elder sister on her, and gave a helpless smile. The room instantly brightened up, as though a winter flower had blossomed into a spectacular wonder!

"Now who's the elder sister, and who's the younger one?" Rui Bing must have thought so to herself.

Rui Su grinned widely as she hugged Rui Bing by the neck, and spoke warmly, "Sis, mum's asking us to get back for dinner! She even called you a crazy b*tch, hee …"

If Blue Ocean Academy's students were to witness this scene, they might have all dropped their jaw and fainted!

Rui Bing answered, "Oh," before standing up in a smooth motion, oblivious to Rui Su's weight.

As for Rui Su, she hung on tightly to Rui Bing like a koala. Rui Bing was obviously used to that, and did not feel uncomfortable.

Before they left the room, Rui Su hopped down and stuck out her tongue, speaking mischievously, "Heehee, can't let them see this, if not, your elder sister's going to lose face!"

Rui Bing affected an expression that meant she knew that as well!

Rui Su knew that her younger sister, obsessed with the martial arts, was a very traditional person. She had obeyed all the traditions strictly, and resisted modernisation. She even avoided mechs and walked home every day.

In the dining room, Rui Bing sat straight, in full solemnity, while Rui Su was lazily half stretched across the table, with no grace to speak of. As their mother went to get the dishes, Rui Su slid closer to Rui Bing's side and spoke charmingly, "Bing Bing, I'm bullied at the academy! Bing Bing, you got to help me!"

Rui Bing replied lightly, "No!" She understood her elder sister very well, including her nickname as the Witch of the academy. "Heh, it's fine if the Witch doesn't go around messing people, who'd invite trouble upon themselves and mess with the Witch?" thought Rui Bing.

Rui Si explained with a furious undertone "It's that Ye Chong, that horrible guy!" Rui Su shook Rui Bing's shoulders, tears almost escaping her eyes. "That guy's new to the academy, and the first thing he did is bully me, and I can't win against him, *sob, dearest Bing Bing, you can't let me be bullied like this!"

Rui Bing watched her elder sister skeptically.

Rui Su cried as she explained further, "That guy's amazing! He's so fast I can't even see him move!" Rui Bing grew attentive at that, her fighting instincts instantly awoken. In the past 2 years, Rui Bing did not meet any worthy challenger, and one with her level of skills would not be able to improve without real combat experience! As for her elder sister's insights, Rui Bing still trusted them. Rui Su was more talented than her in martial arts when they were young, but her sister had stopped practicing later on due to a lack of interest. Their father had been unhappy with her decision for a long time. Even so, her elder sister's skills were better than an average person's, and if she could not win against someone, then the other party must be on par with a martial arts practitioner!

Seeing her elder sister's fighting instincts invigorated, Rui Su was secretly pleased, and continued, "Dearest Bing Bing, he bullied me right in front of everyone else, you must make him pay for this! Dearest Bing Bing, please!" Rui Su implored endearingly.

Rui Bing hesitated, but in the end yielded to her elder sister and nodded in assent!

"Yay!" Rui Su cheered, her arms raised, the tears that once clouded her eyes vanished in an instant. Her glorious smiling face was now without a trace of her previous pitifulness!

Rui Bing could not help but roll her eyes, knowing exactly that this would happen!

Rui Su grinned to herself. She knew that once her younger sister promised something to her, she would definitely keep it!

Rui Su and Rui Bing walked side by side in the Blue Ocean Academy grounds. The duo of beautiful ladies, one flirtatious, another as cold as ice, together as a contrasting existence, turned heads wherever it went.

Rui Bing's thoroughly white training garb was eye-catching in particular.

The two ladies were not affected in the least by the attention they gathered. For Rui Su, Blue Ocean Academy was her territory, why would she be intimidated? As for Rui Bing, she would probably not even cower before a crumbling mountain, much less in an insignificant situation like this! Their ease with the situation made them look extra confident with themselves.

At Blue Ocean Academy's modification workshop 1, so-called Blue Ocean Academy's most advanced modification workshop. The person in charge of the workshop looked at the Witch, instantly terrified. The Witch was still an influential person, the most intimidating person to most, but the headmaster had placed great trust in her. Now that she had asked to enter the workshop, how could he refuse? Besides, Ye Chong was still inside. The rumours running in the academy about the two were numerous, and perhaps the Witch was here on a date. If he interrupted them, he might just be in for some horrible consequences!

The person in charge could see that something was amiss, and immediately left the workshop!

Rui Su and Rui Bing moved into the modification workshop with overbearing confidence!

Note:

[1] Bing literally means ice in Mandarin.

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Chapter 86: Ow That Hurt

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong sensed their intrusion the moment they stepped into his workshop.

He did not seem to have the habit of being reckless even in his own proximity. He sprung from his seat, his eyes fixed on the intruders. His sight detected 2 females in his place - one whom he had met before while the other was a total stranger. "A total stranger" sounded alarming to his senses.

He carried on observing, which later he identified that the stranger was exceptionally calm in her pace, as every step she treaded had the exact same distance between each other. It looked like even her footsteps were carefully schemed. "Now, Ye," Shang withdrew his usual joking self. "That's an adept you've just encountered!" his words fell grimly.

Rui Bing's upper body stood still like a stone, while her steps laid like the flow of the wind, fluid and seamless like a unique rhythm of beauty.

Ye Chong squinted his eyes and took a cautious look as his feet adjusting themselves subconsciously, adapting to the opponent's moves, becoming the phantom that shrouded within.

He knew he would be in hot water anytime soon. He could sense the danger for real this time! His instinct wielded him like a beast, sensible and sensitive. A trustworthy ability he had that never failed him before. His body reformed its stance accordingly, all by his intuition. He turned to his side slightly, with his left hand raised to his chest and the right hand lowered.

There was nothing strange going on with that girl… other than the marks she probably got from harsh training on her hands. She looked like an ordinary girl at first glance. However, in that ordinariness Ye Chong could smell the hazard within. And she was a danger indeed!

The eagle eyes of Ye Chong seemed to have frightened Rui Su peeking at the side, as she staggered. Rui Bing's stare sparkled. It was undeniable that she had caught Ye Chong's attention successfully, especially when Ye Chong began shifting stance like a phantom. She almost shuddered but fortunately her strong mentality kept her expression from changing. Her cheeks quivered a little over the endurance yet she morphed her stance along, as if it was synched with Ye Chong's thoughts. Each of her lift was raised in huge curves, vicious like the storm!

They stared at each other, standing still.

Rui Su was feeling a little regretful of her immature decision. She hid at the corner, wondering if she was doing too much this time. "Well, just wait till Bing Bing gets you. It's just a tiny punishment for your misconduct. Mhm, yes," she comforted herself by pulling off some cheap rationale.

There was barely a hush between them.

Rui Bing knew her action was considered a taunt. It was the typical trouble-making move to begin with and that did not require any excuse to reason its motive.

On the other hand, Ye Chong preferred saving his words. If you want to fight, just carry on fighting. Fighting did not require any reason either, just like how he hunted those Engulfers back on his planet. Also, he would be more likely to win a silent war.

Stared on, his sight grew colder, like a tempest on the tip of an iceberg it raided the entire workshop. He froze his position, like a statue of ice breathing menacing frigidity. Rui Bing's long hair waved along with her training robe. The ice in her eyes melted and instead they burned brightly, like a searing chariot awaiting to be launched.

A picture of killing spree flashed in Ye Chong's squinted eyes. The opponent had shown blatant hostility, which initiated Ye Chong's self-defense mechanism. The strong sense of danger had awakened his defense. Every faint bit of the norms he learned in this reality was scrapped in his mind.

The miniature expression did not go unnoticed among the girls. Rui Su, the smart one already knew what would happen next. Her face drained. "He would not be letting it go this easily," she thought and panicked.

Rui Bing was more sensible than her sister. She had felt the homicidal desire a moment earlier. But she reacted fearlessly as the confidence in herself found her bravery towards the enemy. The faith boiling in a well-trained fighter like her was unbeatable!

"Hmph!" At the tip of his toes, countless afterimages traced his movements as he jumped at Rui Bing. Always be the first one to launch the attack - that was the belief imprinted deep in his marrows and it would not be changed merely because the opponent happened to be a female!

The speed was totally uncalled for to Rui Bing, while Rui Su almost burst into shrieks upon his attack.

There was no letup from Ye Chong. All force applied! His inhuman movement speed was demonstrated for the first time in front of the girls. Their heats skipped a beat, as they realized it was not only Ye Chong's hands held an immense speed, but also his entire body.

Rui Bing nearly failed to react in time as she backed off only when Ye Chong's hand was barely a few centimeters away from her throat. It was way beyond her prediction of his speed, which eventually shut off her activity.

Ye Chong pulled away his right hand while his left hand landed like a meteor mash right onto Rui Bing's chest. Without a doubt, if that fist were to land, it would even break a metallic alloy gate of 20 centimeters breadth.

Rui Bing responded with dexterity as her right arm went wide and bent, her fingers spread, holding Ye Chong's heavy blow with her palm. Wham! Ye Chong was expecting bones-shattering, flesh-bursting yet none of those happened. Ye Chong flinched.

That was a mighty blow from Ye Chong. Rui Bing managed to prepare herself in time for the punch but she was still pushed way back behind. She was not an amateur after all as she backed away sliding, instead of falling down and rolling.

What a mighty power! Rui Bing's heart turned cold. She could no longer feel her right arm. She did not see that strength coming. She could not believe that her arm was crippled in one fist. That thing… That thing is a monster! She thought.

Ye Chong halted a moment then curved his body, he leapt forward and started dashing towards Rui Bing.

As Ye Chong grew closer in Rui Bing's eyes, though her arm was temporarily disabled, there was no fright in her expression.

Her eyes blinked with caution as she straightened her hand into a blade. She raised it up.

Ye Chong was shocked by this unexpected change.

Rui Bing raised her right palm solemnly.

Ye Chong, body and soul, was attracted to this raising palm of hers for some reason. It was as if the palm was the center of the universe and the universe revolved around it as it raised.

It was like a blazing sun.

The surrounding turned slow. It was an ominous feeling right into Ye Chong's abdomen, a major discomfort into his soul, that he almost felt like spurting his internal body. He tried speeding up but he could not. It was like he got thrown into a pool of sticky liquid, his chain of action turned extremely sluggish yet he knew extremely clear that he was mesmerized by that glaring palm of holiness, somewhat and somehow! He lost control over his body gradually that even the slightest gesture he wanted to make was more lethargic than usual. He slowly flew towards that palm, like a moth into the fire.

Nevertheless, that overwhelming sense of danger lingered in his mind. He wanted to struggle but he failed miserably. Like a fish in the net stranding between the threads, it only grew tighter and his muscles were no longer in his control. Approaching the palm, he could not do a thing.

I could not just die here.

Not just yet!

The tenacity to live on, the strong desire for survival, Ye Chong endeavored with the last bit of senses he had.

In the midst of his endeavor he bit his tongue. The intense pain woke him from the illusions. The sharp taste of his blood rekindled his will to battle. He screamed on top of his lungs. His wave collided with the restriction enveloping him.

That's it! He squirmed vigorously and he regained his control over his body little by little.

And that was the moment he realized in his horror, that he was very much close to the range of her attack. The palm slammed downwards after being raised to the highest. Her beautiful hand actually created screeches of a blade shredding the air.

There was no time to figure out the hows and whys. Ye Chong held the slashing palm with his right fist!

Klink!

Crack!

It felt like punching an actual blade on his fist. His fingers were utterly painful like they had been ground. There was a stark mark of dent on his fist. Ye Chong hissed in torment. He thought he might have already broken his fingers.

Rui Bing was not feeling well either. It was an iron blade colliding with an iron fist. She suffered more damage than Ye Chong at this strike in reality. Her face became pale as blood drained abruptly. Her heart beat in a squeeze. Her face then reddened dramatically as if she was drunk. The blood surged through the veins in her face hurriedly. The vermilion streaks over her fair skin, an unidentifiable beauty it had, unexplainably charming it was for some reason!

But any charm could not infatuate Ye Chong by then.

Ye Chong raised his brows as he knew he got the upper hand in this. Certainly he would deliver the last hit and end this fight once and for all. He spread fingers of his left hand and propelled immediately like lightning right towards Rui Bing's chest. With his strength, one last pierce, then Rui Bing would stay here for life with the 5 pores on the chest of hers! If that counted that is.

"Stop!" Rui Su's voice went wild as she witnessed the scene. Remorse pulled her into the bottomless pit of guilt. Her tears overflowed the corner of her eyes, as they fell like pearls off the string, right onto the ground.

No use! I am so going to kill this girl!

Ye Chong turned a deaf ear to her plea. He made up his mind - he must kill the girl before him today for she almost murdered him in the first place! There would be no way for him to let her go, especially after that odd skill she used on him! He could not swear if he could make it this way the next time he met her. If he did not bite his tongue back then, he would have been dead.

Frankly speaking, it was all a big misunderstanding between them. Rui Bing sought fights, not murders. She and her sister were more bounded by the rules and regulations of this world than Ye Chong himself. It was preposterous for her to commit homicide at such a whim. And it was wrong for Ye Chong to judge people his way. Literally wrong!

The logic behind Rui Bing's hindering reaction was because of the killing will inside Ye Chong that she sensed. The palm was raised out of her desperation for survival. The force exerted was a result of the outburst on her capability.

The senses on her right hand finally recovered. At this dead-or-alive moment she backed off fast. She had to do it! While biting her teeth she forced her right arm up, wanting to catch Ye Chong's incoming left hand. But all she caught was the arm of his, not the hand.

She could not be bothered as she grabbed his arm forcefully. She was not letting go and was tossed to his back by the inertia.

Ye Chong had already hit the bottom of his vitality. The struggle moments ago consumed most of his stamina and was exhausting his mind as well. Thanks to the blade to the fist strike with Rui Bing before, his right hand was still flabbily crippled.

His fingers were buried in her breasts. He noticed he could not penetrate further as Rui Bing held his arm frantically.

As he ran out of strength, he decided to grab her breasts instead of penetrating.

Incredible! His fingers felt tender as he touched. Such a great fighter yet the pectoral muscle was so soft. Impossible! The statement filled his mind as he pinched twice purposely to justify that he was not having a delusion.

Strange… If she could take my attack before this, her body should be more than just "well-built".

Rui Bing's body hardened from the touch.

Ye Chong gripped her breasts; disregarding the moans she made, he made a turn and flung her out.

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Chapter 87: Trial and Tribulation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong discovered that his seemingly infinite stamina was not truly infinite after all. His endurance might not be boundless but at least it should not decrease this fast! Ye Chong was thoroughly exhausted for the first time in his adventure. That weird technique used by the enemy depleted every ounce of his vitality. He was drained not only on the outside, but also the inside. His brain felt emptied, as if he was about to get brainwashed or something. Twinge reverberated waves by waves inside his head.

Oww… Is that what Mu defined as a psychic attack?

All words from Mu were precious lectures. They were not as trivial as Shang's. They were very much applicable in his combats. So he would remember them to heart every time. He was not seeing a psychic attack from a girl. It altered Ye Chong's concept of combats downright.

"Oh Ye. Tsk, tsk, tsk." Rui Bing was thrown away like a bag of trash. Shang showed up in his mind upon discerning the turnabout in the situation, "You never learn how to take lasses the gentle way. Mhm, so how did they feel in your hands? Man, Ye, you are despicable. But, being handsy is the right way to start off dealing with lasses. Kekeke!" Shang let off a round of distorted giggle.

Ye Chong's eyes were locating where Rui Bing fell. He did not listen to Shang at all. He was trying to catch a breather while recovering his health as much as possible. Ye Chong was beyond under the weather at this point - it was under the drain! Tides of fatigue and soreness gushing at him one after another. Ye Chong's fortress of inner peace was crumpling! Ye Chong held still.

One more… Just one more blow… One last blow, then I could… I could finish her.

Ye Chong was mumbling as he tried hypnotizing himself. His vision began turning indistinct. The sleeves of Rui Bing's training robe were fluttering white like the clouds in the sky, which he could not reach as they flew farther.

He forced his eyes open, yet the lids were so heavy that he could not hold. His consciousness felt as if it was ripped away from his body. His remaining senses could not control his body effectively. His stance shook and he almost fell. Ye Chong had never felt this weak before! His body was inhumanly overpowered yet it could not sustain a little longer when he gravely needed it. The emptied brain of Ye Chong felt like shutting down on its own. He could sleep the moment he closed his eyes.

I… I must not.

Ye Chong's conviction was howling at him not to sleep, as the enemy was still right there, right in front of him. He would be dead, if he slept; or he would sleep only if he was dead!

"Ye! Please!" Shang sensed the casualty in Ye Chong as he shouted in his mind fretfully, "Lie down already! The lasses won't kill you! Stop holding it! You have overused your mentality! Your brainwaves are fluctuating! Just have a nap! Come on! Quick! Stop manning up! It will hurt you!"

Rui Su at one corner tipped her toes on a mech passing by. She soared to Rui Su like an eagle. Grounded clumsily, she regained her balance. She lifted Rui Su and scurried out of the workshop after that.

Ye Chong's blurry vision could slightly spot a cloud hovering out of his workshop.

Ugh…

Thup! Being unable to stand the tiredness anymore, he fell onto the ground and went into deep slumber after.

After exiting the workshop with her sister by her side, Rui Bing's frail body collapsed. Fortunately, Rui Su reacted in time to grab her sister's body. By then her younger sister no longer appeared to be that tough Wonder Woman she used to see in her daily life. She was merely a poor little girl in injury. It was heart-wrenching for her to see her sister in such a devastated state.

On the way to the hospital, she looked at her sister in dismay. Her fingers helplessly caressed that pretty face of hers in faint warmth. Impatiently she rooted on one of the seats in the ambulance, tearing up remorsefully. It was all her fault. All because she was just a bit pissed. All because she wanted to give someone a little lesson. And it turned out like this! It was the first painful realization in her entire life that she regretted of what she had done.

The students at the academy witnessed how Rui Su was carrying someone in her embrace, crying as she dashed out of Mr. Ye Chong's workshop. "What happened in there?" speculations started brewing among the students and teachers.

Rui Bing was at a much worse state than Ye Chong. He only suffered a moment of mentality drain and minor scratches on his body. On the other hand, Rui Bing not only was drained from that massive skill she had used accidentally, but also was damaged by Ye Chong as he forced himself out of her reach. Her body might be built over the years of training but it was still nothing compared to Ye Chong's inhumane, beast-like physique. That two blows Ye Chong delivered to her by the fists were absolutely critical.

To top them all, Ye Chong's final grip at her breasts was the most fatal of them all!

It was amazing that she did not pass out on spot. That was because she was thinking what could happen to her sister if she just passed out so easily. If it was not her sister, she would have passed out or died on the spot.

That grip on her breasts was more than just mind-shocking.

To a decent and traditional female in vows of chastity, what else could be more nerve-wrecking than this?

It could have been a major scoop of seeing the devil of the studio, Witch Su running out of Mr.Ye Chong's workshop crying. Despite that arousing curiosity in every student, no one was brave enough to step close to the workshop within the range of 10 meters! Even the staff from Workshop No.1 was running for his life.

Horrifying stories about Mr. Ye Chong's cold pair of eyes and his heart of ice started to reach everybody in the academy! It was not as horrifying as the urban tales actually. But at least, people had been warned and no one was foolishly bold enough to provoke this beast in the campus.

So the workshop was unvisited. No one could even muster the courage to knock at Mr. Ye Chong's door. And Ye Chong remained on the floor undisturbed for the whole day. The next day arrived with Ye Chong moaning in ache, his head felt like exploding and his body was weak.

"So you finally woke up?" the voice rang flatly in his mind.

"Ye…ah…" He rubbed his head, breathing cold as he spoke on in a coarse voice, "But my head hurts." His head was cracking, unfortunately there was no way of stopping it.

"According to my report, this is one of the aftereffects when you over-consumed your mentality. There are several methods to relief such pain. One of them being the brainwave treatment, or simply, an adequate rest."

"Brainwave treatment? Sounds like something done in the hospital, not here!" He continued rubbing his head and said, "Hey! Wait a minute!" He realized something as he asked, "You are Mu?"

"Certainly," Mu replied.

"What happened to Shang?"

"According to deed between us, he has to stay muted for the next 11 days."

"Oh…"

…

"Mu!" He remembered that technique struck on him. In full of excitement he started asking Mu, as if the pain in him was no longer there, "Was the technique used by that female the psychic attack you told me before? Didn't you mention something like how your attack lacked the psychic aspect or the mentality somehow?"

Mu was silent for a while.

"Insufficient data. Unable to deduce."

"Unable to deduce?" Ye Chong was disappointed, "Mhm. But I think that's what it is. It was an awful experience. It somehow would give you an impression that it is useless for you to put up resistance. But if we were to pilot a mech, wouldn't that be a little hard to include a psychic attack?" Ye Chong was too busy figuring out this problem that he forgot about the pain in his head. The rubbing hand on his head shifted to his chin as he pondered.

"Ye."

"Yes?" Ye Chong's focus went back to Mu.

"Isn't your head still in pain?" a trickery from the devil as he wagged his tail.

Ye Chong realized his head still hurt. The pain surged throughout his spines, flooding his senses again. "Ahhh!!" His hand shifted back to his head, "I almost forgot about it!" He hissed and puffed as he replied angrily, "Damn you Mu! I never knew you could be this shameless!"

"Shameless is indeed my middle name. Thank you for your kindest compliments!" he showed his appreciation in grace. "So, based on the information I had gotten, apparently that adjective you had mentioned about me contains highly discriminative and emotional connotation. Thus I suggest it should not be included in any form of judgment you made towards a particular item. Ye, enjoy this pain."

"Is there no way to reduce the pain?" Ye Chong was putting up his white flag.

"Mhm. There is," he answered calmly.

A gleam of hope shone upon Ye Chong, "What? How?"

"Such method does not require medication or any form of injection. It is safe and effective. You can feel it on spot…"

That line was familiar. The "yes" was going to slur out of Ye Chong's lips but he recalled what happened after the "yes".

He breathed in fright, "Is that your signature pain-relieving methodology of manually putting people in a fainted state?" It was back on Trash Planet-12 when Ye Chong overused his senses during one of the NRS Trainings which led a severe pain to his hands as he exceeded the threshold of his nervous system. And Mu used this so-called treatment to relieve his pain. It felt like yesterday when Ye Chong thought back of his experience with this treatment.

"You are correct!" Mu replied. One could hear the cheery bell ringing in a quiz game behind him.

Ye Chong wanted to tell Mu to forget it but the aches came crashing his head waves by waves. His brain was howling at his ears, rampaging in the sea of torment. His senses stood lonely at the corals surfacing on the sea, within the storm as he was engulfed by agony, spat out and then playfully swallowed in again. The coral he stood upon was shaking by the waves of pain. It seemed endless.

Such a torment! Ye Chong believed he would be going mad anytime soon. It would be better to at least minimize the pain! Ye Chong manned up and spoke to Mu, "Then… Mu… Well, do it! But make sure the hit counts!"

"The method was not recommended," Mu replied in his serene grace.

"Why?" Ye Chong was bewildered.

"The current phenomena in your head is considered as an extremely advantageous training towards your mentality. Of course, only if you were there the whole time to feel it."

Ye Chong shrieked, "Then why the heck did you mention it in the first place? Are you saying it for the sake of saying it?"

Mu was showing immense approval towards his statement, "Correct. I'm saying it for the sake of saying it."

Ye Chong could no longer stay polite, "You little piece of metallic junk!" He scolded, "You… You… How could you…" Ye Chong felt like passing out.

"To strengthen the effectiveness of your training, it is undeniably essential to give you an increased amount of stimulation," stated Mu.

Ye Chong spoke on lethargically, "Hiss… Mu… You are… You are cunning!"

"I do not understand what you meant by 'cunning'. According to the information I had received, I have been telling what is considered to be the truth the whole time," Mu replied.

Ye Chong was too tried to rebut Mu. Chances were he might not even stand the chance to win against him. Obviously he learned that Mu and Shang were both nasty characters to fiddle with.

"So how long… How long had I slept?" he tried holding his senses in the utter pain as he asked.

"28 hours and 36 minutes," Mu answered in accuracy.

"28 hours?" he muttered.

…

He jumped up high as he recalled something, "Ah! Does that mean I have missed my classes?" Ye Chong did not feel anything particularly exciting about classes, still he was the one in the deal, he had to accomplish the tasks he promised at his best!

"Not true. I have done it for you," replied Mu in suave.

"You have done it for me?"

"Uh huh."

"That works too. In the Virtual World both you and Shang are the sky-walking hackers. So I think that verification system in the academy is nothing compared to your skills. So, how do you feel about the first day in class?"

"My information shows that the word 'feel' is inappropriate in the application on non-living objects, for instance, me."

"You are still not sentimental. Or maybe… not sensible."

"Maybe. Oh yeah, we forgot something," Mu responded.

"What?"

"The pain in your head."

"Darn it I forgo- Ahh!! How to end this! Hiss… Ugh… Mu… You know…

You are good!"

Chapter 88: The Troubled Chemist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Mu, are you sure we are going there?" Ye Chong asked in his head along the way.

"Yes. What Shang had proposed was correct. As stated in the information, Do-Kun stones are indeed able to grow in numbers as stimulated through presets by an alchemist."

"Gosh! You mean the chemist?" Ye Chong reminisced the torture he had been through these past few days in his head. It was melancholic, depressing or literally mind-blowing. The headache lasted for the entire 3 days and he almost broke his teeth from grinding them in pain. He made it through as the aches were slowly lifted. He did not feel anything particularly improved, despite the fact that his mentality was much stronger than before, as stated by Mu judging by the stable brainwaves in his head.

That sounded quite rewarding for the suffering he had undergone. He did not suffer for nothing at the very least. Nonetheless, before he could rejoice on the end of his agony, Mu had commenced the following torment for him - the Chemist Classes. The two big Cs struck on Ye Chong's head the moment he saw them hanging on the classy golden plate right outside the classroom. Luckily Mu was merciful enough to conduct mini classes on marksmanship in between, just to 'relax' his mind a little. Mu recommended a set of marksmanship based on his calculations, which were the usual Mu style - concise yet effective. They were not fancy enough to be called grandly as the "marksmanship" since the set contained only 8 movements. Yeah, movements. They were not even combos to begin with. They were just 8 basic movements of action as the final result of Mu's numerous intensive calculations and improvements after countless simulations in his processor. Considering how the ancient marksmanship was long gone, it would be a technological error 404 to find any applicable references. These movements were constructed on a variety of physic theories with the aspect of minimizing the force input while maximizing the force output for instance. In short, these movements were a kind of production from Mu's simulating calculation.

Fortunately the workshop was spacious for his training. It was truly a huge storage. Ye Chong cleaned up one corner and hopped onto his Harmony, starting his training.

Ye Chong mastered combative skills on mech way faster than learning those gibberish in chemist theories. He had finished his marksmanship training, however, "I still have no idea what a chemist actually does." he mumbled as he got off his mech.

The chemist class today was on experiments. Well, experiments were the bread and butter of the chemist syllables. One did more experiments than theoretical lectures, unless the teacher was Shang, then it would be a parade of theoretical knowledge dancing through your left ear pinna all the way exiting from your right.

"Mu, don't you know what one needs to know about being a chemist? What am I here for?" Ye Chong asked blankly.

"What you need to know about being a chemist is that it is all about hands-on experience. The current theories in books are not perfectly constructed. They could lead to fallacies and consist major flaws. I would define chemist as an occupation that have not found their ideologies on logics. That is why Shang and I do not have much of an advantage in this. Unlike humans, they seemed to be able to conduct this perfectly fine despite the lack of logic."

The dean of the alchemy faculty in Blue Ocean Academy was Ms. Jiang Xiao'wei, who reacted with confusion the moment she saw Ye Chong's name as mentioned by Headmaster Lan beforehand. She did not understand how a boy would be interested in the alchemy, especially when he excelled in mechanics. Normally she would assume that the boy did not come for the classes, but rather, he came for the girls. The boys in alchemy classes were almost non-existent. Yes, they were all girls, and very pretty ones too. The overflowing pheromone in the classroom usually netted a number of boys on their puberty. So if she were to see a boy in her class, the boy would normally be sitting fairly close to one of the girls and his eyes would be more onto the girl than the texts in front. However such label did not appear to be workable on a person like Ye Chong. She had seen him before. He was rather a cold person in her eyes and such cold person would not be interested in flirting an opposite gender using such a gimmicky trick.

More importantly, he seemed to have something going on with Rui Su. While she did have a few good-looking girls in her class, they were not of the same level as Rui Su. Yeah, it was just like comparing a bunch of sodium with a mere piece of rubidium. If he did have something with Rui Su, Ye Chong should not even be interested in her girls. Ms. Jiang was puzzled. It was as if she was presented with astronomical chemical equations bounded embodied with the truth of life.

…

"Here you are," stated Mu as they arrived.

The alchemy faculty was rather feminine for its imagery. Precisely speaking, it was flooded with girls and Ye Chong was like the ugly duckling among the swans as he walked in the corridor. These girls had first seen Ye Chong, only on a live channel that is. It was their first time seeing him in person.

He walked on expressionlessly, as his entity somehow set off an aura of isolation. No one was daring enough to initiate a conversation with him, though Ye Chong would not reply even if one did. It was an isolation that one would feel like hanging a sign over him, with the words written in red, "No Entry - Recognized Personnel Only". Ye Chong was too engaged in the conversation with Mu in his head that he simply did not have the time to take notice of those girls around.

"Oh? Really?" Ye Chong sounded surprised as he spoke.

"Correct. Data shows that quite a few types of special ores could multiply by simulations in certain presets, even though most of the data were lost while some of the remaining ones were already damaged. Shang is currently at a vigorous attempt to repair the existing data," Mu replied.

"Shang actually knows how to do that?" a shocking fact it was to Ye Chong. Apparently Shang was no other than the joker of mischief in his impression. Other than potentially being a mascot of the Fal Galaxy, he did not think of anything else befitting to this expressive intelligence.

"Yes. Shang has a much more mature mood matrix in comparison to me. So undeniably he has a better sense in alchemy too. In addition he expresses high interests in his past, while I agreed on the fact that these information could be very much useful in finding out the mech. Shang treated this repair as an excavation to his life, although I did not understand what he meant. At least I understand that it would be absolutely helpful for you if we were able to find out where this mech came from," Mu explained flatly.

"You have a point. You and Shang are so great, I believe the creator of both of you would be much greater," Ye Chong replied with expectation.

"Unknown. I have yet to receive sufficient information to justify that. But I could justify that your statement contains one flaw. I was not created, or 'produced' by them in your terms. Perhaps Shang was created under their hands, however my emergence was of an accident," corrected Mu.

"True."

Ye Chong's focus went back to the reality as he held his steps and looked around. At some point in the campus, the sense of direction was also considered as a fundamental skill for students. It was so compact that one could be lost forever if one did not take the effort to remember the routes. Thankfully, Ye Chong's sense was not that bad and he had Mu. It would be much more challenging for one to lose the way than not to.

The girls at the surrounding were looking foreignly at Ye Chong. Some started chattering as they giggled, while the others sometimes pointed their fingers and whispered on. A male in the alchemy faculty was like a lamb falling into a pack of wolves. "And that happens to be the popular Mr. Ye Chong!" mumbled one of the girls excitingly.

Ye Chong did not seem to care. However, he could not show total ignorance as his ears were good. He could discern even the softest mumble from the girls. Well, the name "Ye Chong" consists of quite a number of sounded vowels and consonants, which made it outstanding in a whisper. Those whispers sounded like a flock of flies buzzing around his ears. It was not fatal, but it was annoying!

While the girls in love were flourishing the pumping heart of spring, Ye Chong stopped by and fired his stare. An ice beam round the corridors turned the living corridor of endearment into an arctic walkway of consternation. His sight launched a shower of arrows upon the girls.

The girls shuddered while some were hiding behind the lockers with their faces drained.

That settled it.

Leaving the girls, Ye Chong stepped into the lab building.

Unlike the spaciousness of his workshop, the lab for chemists was separated into countless tiny independent rooms. This was for safety ppurposes because of a certain risk a chemist had to bear whenever an experiment was conducted since living things possessed a chance of transmutation in a preset while the chemist's setting would accelerate and enhance the process. Spreading of these mutations were strictly forbidden without permission and certification of an official organization. This was reasonable because the mutations could cause negative impacts to the ecosystem. They could kill the ecosystem too. Thus, it would be necessary to have cubicles instead of a spacious lab, for both the safety of the chemists and the environment.

And that was the time Ye Chong bumped into Ms. Jiang Xiao'wei. He had been in her class a few times so they were sort of acquainted by then. Nevertheless, Ms. Jiang had not gotten used to his existence in the alchemy faculty as she flinched when seeing Ye Chong, "Oh." She snapped out from her shock and gave a sweet smile, "Good day, Mr. Ye."

"Dean Jiang, what a pleasure. I hope to receive more of your teaching."

Ms. Jiang's smile was quite warm and natural. It was comforting to Ye Chong's eyes as his expression grew gentler.

"Well, it was not really a teaching. Just a few heads up sometimes. Mr. Ye, you can always come and drop by my office if you have any question regarding alchemy in your mind," she kindly replied.

"Thank you very much. Certainly I will," Ye Chong responded with courtesy.

They bade farewell to each other. "Well, Mr. Ye Chong isn't as unfriendly as I had heard…" muttered Ms. Jiang.

Ye Chong entered the class of the day. It was not Ms. Jiang who conducted the lesson. It was someone else, a female teacher he had never seen before.

Looking at the varies flasks scattered on the table, along with tubes and tubes of reagents, Ye Chong was dumbfounded. He looked at the teacher who was being truly helpful as she did not seem to feel like talking, shutting her mouth tight at her desk. His eyes scanned through the items in blank dismay, he laid his hands over the flask and he withdrew them. As being still less competent than a greenhorn in the lab, he simply had no idea where to begin.

Frowned, Ye Chong noticed how the girls around him were eyeing him the whole time.

"Ye." Just when Ye Chong was lost on the lesson, a voice came weakly by his ears, "C-Can I… you know… Can I group… Can I group with you?" Only then he realized there was someone by his side, as the intonation caught Ye Chong's attention. It was familiar.

He raised his head, "Is that you?" He saw someone standing right in front of him with her head lowered. Her fingers twiddling the skirt of her faculty uniform. It was Xiu. Her head was so low that Ye Chong could not see her face. But he could tell that she seemed pretty nervous as her shoulders were shaking.

The lab lost its usual hustling and muffling as everyone paused their works. Someone nearly dropped the thermometer in her trembling hands. They looked at two of them with their mouths wide open unconvincingly. Mr. Ye Chong was the celeb in the academy and the shrinking violet Xiu was outrageously fearless today to have a talk with the celeb himself. It was an earth-shattering sight. The whispers were gone too by then. The classroom was dead silent.

Xiu who seemed to have noticed everybody's incoming sights were lowering her head much more, as her cheeks reddened. Ye Chong was wondering if her neck would be broken as she lowered her head further. He lifted his head and glared at the girls around.

His cold sight caused everyone to retreat their stares right away as the hustling continued. The girls started acting they were busy carrying out their experiments all of a sudden. A dramatic acting it was too as one could hear the exaggerated clinking and clanking in the lab.

Xiu's appearance was like an angel coming from the sky to Ye Chong in rescue of his terrible day. Still he inhibited his emotion as expressionlessly he replied, "Yes, you can."

"So they knew each other!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"This is one more story to our tea session later."

"Stop thinking about tea, we should do some research."

"On them?"

"No stupid. Only him."

Sharp gossips of exclamations rushed through the group of girls who were all ears to the conversation between Mr. Ye Chong and shy girl Xiu the whole time. Such a Columbus discovery! "I never knew Xiu was such a chaser!" Their impression towards Xiu grew complicated.

"Rea-" Xiu swiftly lifted her head, "Really?" she asked in disbelief. The polished face of hers dinted with a hint of scarlet, a beautiful moment of embarrassment to be perceived.

"Of course," he nodded his head. Ye Chong hurrahed in his mind as there was finally an assistant to guide his way out of this glassware jungle.

And so Assistant Xiu started a brief tutorial for Ye Chong. It went well.

Maybe.

…

… …

"So… Th-this is the Ga…ga…Gallo-blue culture medium. It is one of the 15 types of basic mediums you would use. And… And…what it does is… it helps speeding up the… g-g-growth of plants… by…by producing… I mean, providing the necessary nutrients for the process… Umm…"

"Also… the heater is very easy to use. You just… you just… set the temp…temp…temporal? W-what… oh, the temperature at the processor, b-b-but you have to be careful… that… umm… what was it again… umm… uhh…"

…

Could I ever exit the jungle in one piece?

Especially under the aid of this troubled chemist?

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Chapter 89: What Happened

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A sprout of crimson plant stood still in a transparent culturing tube. Its leaves were ovate and in dark red, veins densely crept over its thick leaves. The stem was supple as it twirled over the tube with its sharp lilac red body. At the top there laid a few berries with the shape like lanterns in red-yellow stripes. The fruits were seemingly well-grown as it looked succulent and fleshy, rather mouth-watering if one may ask Xiu.

"Okay, this is one of the common spices one would see - the Maroon Bay." Xiu became relatively calmer than before after getting used to interacting with Ye Chong slowly, "If you would take a look at this, these lanterns have one particular thing we need inside them." Xiu carefully plucked one of the so-called "lanterns" from the Maroon Bay using something like a pair of forceps but they looked more refined. "We are going to extract it." She laid it on a clean petri dish and poked a hole on it. Bright reddish liquid oozed out of the pore and filled the petri dish. Out of a sudden, a fairly dense scent wafted throughout the classroom. "Since it is extracted from the Maroon Bay, we call it the 'Maroon Extract'." She put the tool down and carried on elaborating.

"Such extract is mainly used in production of premium aromatic flavoring. Mhm, like a perfume for example. Since one could not culture it in mass productions, its price is naturally much higher. Haha, a lot of girls in our faculty would use it sometimes, though I prefer the scent of Fading Azure. Too bad Xuelin never appreciated these lovely smells!" Xiu giggled as she spoke, one could tell that she was somewhat confident in this. The usual shrinking violet would bloom anytime when any question was asked regarding her profession. She would become serious and her timid nature would disappear.

And more surprisingly, throughout the class, only Xiu was able to complete the extraction. Yes, none of the other gossiping girls around her completed the task of the day.

Ye Chong had his eyes fixed on this very sprout in the tube throughout the rapid growth process. Within the past few hours, the seed was directly raised to its mature state while the former growth duration of this sprout would have taken 15 years in its habitat. The ground-shattering fact shocked Ye Chong! The first time it was he felt the depth, the amazing perks of being a chemist.

And this was an utterly living organism!

"So Ye, why were you interested in the alchemy in the first place? We don't usually see boys here you know…" Xiu looked at Ye Chong with her eyes opened wide in innocent curiosity.

"Just interested," he reasoned it as he just so happened to be very interested.

"But aren't you a technician? The expertise in the alchemy does not seem to be helpful to you anyhow? The main fields involved in this are botany and microbiology, which I think they aren't useful for your work… somehow…"

"Botany and microbiology?" asked Ye Chong.

"Yes, our botany primarily consists of studies on spices, ingredients, herbs… and a little bit of others on botanical aspect. Mostly the studies focus on how to encourage the growth of the plants to reduce the time taken of the growing process and also on how to enhance certain effects of the plant's extract. We often carry out researches with such aim on plants that are either scarce by nature or take too long to grow while having high demands in a larger market. So yeah, botanical chemists are very common nowadays. I'm one of them too!" Xiu pointed at her tiny nose as she spoke in a swing.

"But microbiological applications are also frequently used in the faculty too. Many of them use microorganism to produce a particular kind of enzyme or polypeptides. That sounds cool too!" Xiu expressed admiration on her face.

"So!" Ye Chong was intrigued, "Is there any kind that does ores?"

"Ores?" Xiu shook her head and she affirmed, "Duh, of course not! Ores do not show any attribute of a living thing. How do we even culture it when it does not even reproduce by itself. Well, some do animals. But it has been strictly forbidden by the 5 major galaxies in black and white, though there are still some people who do it in the dark. How could the people be so evil and heartless!" Xiu's face inflated in agitation.

As expected, what was kept in Mu's databank was not anything ordinary. Nevertheless, Ye Chong had always trusted the statements inside the record. He never doubted its validity!

Xiu mentioned about culturing animals, which piqued his interest, "Animals? Why do they ban chemists from doing animals?"

Xiu's face looked extremely disgusted, "Well, if you do it on animals, a lot of weird stuffs would come out! These are no longer animals, they are monsters! And these monsters are much more dangerous than whole lab of mutated plants. They are brutal by nature. It was not only that but also such act questions the ethnicity of our profession. It is cruel! Too cruel! So any government on any galaxy bans this inhumane act!"

Ye Chong seemed to get it at first… but somehow he lost it later.

But then, what has that to do with me? Ye Chong discarded the complicating thoughts.

He looked upon the bay inside the rube as he complimented the amazing capability of this expertise in mind. Gradually he grew fond of the alchemy. He reflected on what Xiu had demonstrated, the reagent she had used and the way she executed the tasks, comparing them to what he had drilled into his head back then as he learned about the mechs.

The alchemy wasn't that bad!

Thought Ye Chong.

…

!

Uggghghhhhhh!!

Out of the blue, a piercing pain struck on his heart. Whimpered, he covered his left chest with his right hand as he curved his back subconsciously.

Ahhh! It hurts!

Ye Chong could feel his heart bursting like a balloon on this needle-piercing pain. His face turned dead pale immediately as sweats streamed over his shivering forehead.

The stabbing pain surged through his body before he could do anything. It felt like every bit of his inner flesh was shredded and ground. A distorting ache bounced inside his organs one after another. His eyes went dazed as dizzy he had became. ZZzzt! His muscles felt like they were being torn apart into a million pieces. Ye Chong tried to hold the incoming aches but he failed miserably. He moaned slightly as he lost control.

His heart, his chests, arms and legs; it felt like he was no longer in command of them. The torture seized into his veins as it engulfed Ye Chong's sanity like an army of ants. The minuscule pricking on every part flooded his body.

Wham! Ye Chong could stand straight no more. He fell onto the ground, bowing like a grilled shrimp. His face was utterly drained by then, the muscles distorted helplessly. What a fearsome sight!

"Ah!" Xiu dropped the flask in her hand. She covered her mouth as shrieks escaped in the sharpest hiss through the gaps of her fingers. The classroom was distressed!

"Ye! Ye! What happened to you? Speak to me! Please… No… Teacher! Teacher!!"

Such a heart-skewing pain. Ironically Ye Chong had to stay awake to experience every bit of it. He was more conscious than ever for some reason. He could clearly feel the thumps falling onto his body. His nerves had never felt so discerning before!

It might be extraordinarily useful anytime but not now. It had become a torment to Ye Chong obviously!

There was no expression on his face anymore. Even the muscles on his face were no longer of his control! Technically, there was not a piece of muscle in his control. It felt like he had fainted but he had not. In fact, his mind was clearer than ever!

"Ye… Ye… What has happened?" Mu's calm voice sounded a little fret.

He tried to reply yet his brain waves felt blocked out completely. He could hear Mu and he could call out to him, again and again. However, Mu never heard him, not even once.

"Ye. It is not mature for you to do this."

"Ye."

"Ye!"

Mu's voice grew panicked as he did not receive any form of response from Ye Chong. There was no brainwave from him too, as if he was dead.

3 minutes! For three minutes! A never-before-felt pain tossed him into the underworld, sinking him into a barren agony. Boundlessly, endlessly, lawlessly it inched towards Ye Chong. There was fright in him despite being a strong man he always was! The taste of death, it was so close, the very first time to him.

He endured the pain. By then the continuous headaches he suffered days back after overloading his head was nothing compared to this tsunami of torment. The headache was because of mentality while this was a pure body sear. Moreover, this sudden pain was much more absurd compared to the headache he had.

Nevertheless, thanks to the experience before, Ye Chong did not break down that quickly. He tried shifting his focus as he converged his thoughts at the strides on the floor. The tempestuous ache caused his mind to diverge a little, unfortunately that did not help Ye Chong out as the pain continued without weakening.

He mustered the remaining bit of his consciousness, little by little, all concentrated, he could not mess this up! He could not believe the fact that he would lose his mind someday.

Strangely, as how without forewarning the pain came, right when Ye Chong was going mad, it vanished!

Yes, it vanished without forewarning too!

He regained control of his body. It felt like his body was the mech while his mind was the pilot. During that few minutes of chaos, the pilot lost control of his mech, then right before the crash, he retrieved the access to the control panel out of sudden.

So it was a dream?

He climbed up from the ground as his mind twiddled on everything. His body might have recovered yet his head was still messed up!

As Mu sensed reconnection to Ye Chong's brain, he asked in panic, "What had just happened Ye?!"

His mind had yet settled down. His eyes weaved through the frightened girls around him. He shook his head violently, attempting to snap out of confusion.

It took about half a minute for Ye Chong to recover fully from the havoc just now.

The girls looked exceedingly afraid, including Xiu who backed off with the girls upon seeing Ye Chong waking up.

Ye Chong certainly had no idea how terrifying he appeared at that moment.

His paper-white face was the kind from the classic horror movies, the haunting ghost role of course; while droplets of sweat smudged his features along with some occasional twitches on his face. Creepy… No, disturbing!

"We will talk about this later, Mu." muttered in his thought, Ye Chong responded to Mu.

He inhaled deeply, waved his limbs slightly, only to make sure he had truly restored control over his body. All he thought by then was to leave straightaway. The crowd had worsened his fear, the people would do him no good. The man who crawled out of the hell's gate would like some moments, alone! He had to conduct a discussion with Mu regarding the hows and whys of this.

He got up and was ready to move, "Who?!" Two oddly-dressed men at their middle-age stormed in with cases in their hands, "Who was unwell?" The pale green suit was absolutely a weird choice of uniform…

And everyone backed out for a way. The two men approached Ye Chong.

"That's Mr. Ye!" Ye Chong's face that had gone colorless, that overwhelming amount of sweat over his body, a fool could tell something must had happened to him. One of the men recognized him as he shouted and went upon Ye Chong waddling, "Are you sick? We received an emergency call from here and we thought some students were unwell out of the blue. Never knew it was you the teacher who got sick. Come, we will do a check-up for you. Yeah, it's a little crowded here, we will get you shifted to the other classroom."

"It's o-" Right when Ye Chong who strived for a moment of isolation was going to reject the offer, Mu whispered, "It would be recommended to have a check-up, Ye."

5 minutes later… he was at the other classroom.

"Mr. Ye, we are pitifully sorry that we can't find anything wrong on your body." The doctor who performed the diagnosis was stern as he spoke, "Perhaps our facilities are too limited. We suggest you to transfer to the advanced medical center at the academy instead, just for a safer and detailed check-up. Alright, there's nothing else we could do here, if you would excuse us." He kept his tools and turned away, "Also, Mr. Ye, please, do, make sure you have your check-up at the advanced medical center. Very well, good bye, have a nice day!"

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Chapter 90: Deduction

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Thank you, we hope to see you in good shape soon!"

Ye Chong exited from the medical center he was told to go to. The doctor's words echoed, "Mr. Ye, your body is in the pink of health, well, pinker than most of the people I had seen. So no problem! What you have mentioned about today was probably a form of illusion I supposed, due to excessive fatigue or tension in your mind. It is a conventional symptom for workaholics. So don't work too hard. Mr. Ye, I know you might be demanding of yourself and you have a good body, but you are still a human, you need to rest. I would advise you to rest adequately."

In that chain of explanation from the doctor, Ye Chong only discerned that one striking word - illusion.

Illusion? Impossible!

That horrible sensation remained imprinted in Ye Chong's mind. It was endless, a no-return, a no-escape kind of pain… Scary! Ye Chong shuddered. He absolutely wanted to know what exactly had happened! It stayed like a hanging sword upon his head, a threat coming anytime soon to Ye Chong, making him restless and spineless.

Could it be some strange diseases people had been talking about? Those incurable kinds… But I had never gotten it before! The doctor said the same too - there was nothing, while Mu said the Blue Ocean Academy's own medical center was as advanced as it was called… then there should be nothing wrong. The doctor should be right!

That awful experience, there would be no way Ye Chong would want the second time!

If there would be another anyway, he doubted he could survive that.

"Do you have any deduction for this, Mu?" Ye Chong asked impatiently, almost in a begging tone. He did not care if it was a baseless inference, he just wanted an answer! He could feel the insanity growing in himself, along with the agitation, the edginess. The former calm and still self of his had long gone by then.

"Ye, calm down." Mu spoke flatly as he sensed something wrong with Ye Chong, "Take a deep breath. Like your combat routine. The negative emotion would only be hindering you. They are unhelpful and will only lead you to even more terror. Ye, breathe in, then breathe out. Breathe your soul!"

In almost at a split second, a rampaging feeling scorched his nerves. The heat flowed in his body like burning lava. It was so hot that Ye Chong could feel his eyes glowing raging red, while the skin of his hands were colored in a spooky vermilion, like a flaming piece of metal. It was annoying! Infuriating! Maddening! His body was hot, piping hot! A thought jammed his thinking and overwrote everything else - Destruction! Unleash the inside!

"Breathe your soul."

If it was not Mu who said this line, he might had given an ultimate corkscrew punch right onto the person's face, no matter who the person was.

He huffed and puffed. The fierce breath of his was boiling the nasal cavity. It was not the air he was breathing, it was more like the inferno, blazing inferno!

He tried to inhibit the brewing heat storm in him. His instinct sensed the danger behind this berserk as soon as it emerged. An emotionless, nonchalant person he had been was alarmed by this uprising in his body.

Breathe in! Breathe out! Deep breath!

Gasp.

Ye Chong was facing utter difficulty to carry out this daily practice which was a piece of cake for him before.

"Just breathe… Breathe in… Yes, breathe out… In…Out… Take the rhythm, ride on it… Yes, you are a good boy," Mu's voice was hypnotizing as Ye Chong followed his order obediently.

As his breathing grew calmer, his head cooled down. The heat disintegrated gradually and Mu got his old Ye Chong back.

Such a breach at his security had exhausted quite a portion of his stamina. Rivers of sweat connected to each other on his forehead while wetting his entire clothes. Achoo! Ye Chong sneezed abruptly as a wind blew by.

"I think…Haha…" Ye Chong laughed bitterly, "Mu, I'm in trouble again, am I not?"

"Yes," Mu replied approvingly. "Ye, you do not seem right with that look. However there has yet to be a proper solution from me."

"What exactly had happened?" Ye Chong was vexed with himself. And that vex fell into a ripple in his mind, causing another storm again as his blood boiled. Breathe! Ye Chong out of his horror took a few rounds of deep breathing again and finally stabilized the rumble before the storm.

"Ye, stay calm." Mu explained, "As what the data showed, assuming if this neither was an inborn disease due to family inheritance nor was due to a kind of virus infection back at Trash Planet-12, I have a deduction now."

"What deduction?" Ye Chong asked.

"The silver liquid you dipped in back at the Black Cove." Added Ye Chong, "Possibility - 67%. Only that would be the suspect to this."

Ye Chong figured it out the moment Mu mentioned about the Black Cove, "No wonder they don't seem to really care about the security. They actually have this to capture runaways in their hands."

"And that is why…" Ye Chong eventually made sense of what he had encountered, "That is why, Johansson did not appear to be in desire of killing me. That was not a murder, but an escort. And he just had the way to make sure he could escort me back to the Black Cove."

"Wow!" Mu's exclaimed voice was flat. "It seems like you really have became smarter."

"Uh huh, if this is true, then that thing…" Ye Chong flinched. "That thing would not only happen once!" As soon as the conclusion flashed in his mind, his brain jammed.

Imagined the number of times he had to suffer all those, Ye Chong's face was grim.

"Poor Ye," and all Mu could do was to show sympathy.

Apparently there were not many options for him. If he were to return to Black Cove to become a pawn by some mastermind, he would rather die! That tenacity and fighting will he got from living on Trash Planet-12 would be what he needed! He still had hope! And he had Mu and Shang!

Ye Chong spent the next few days in worry, anticipating that horrendous storm to come striking him again from time to time. Yet strangely, it did not happen. That surprised Ye Chong.

Well, thinking again, Ye Chong assumed his anticipation would not be helpful at all. Generally he would have lost full access control of his body by then. He could not even speak to Mu through telepathy. If that would be the case… Ye Chong decided to live on without fear. For safety, he planned to reduce the time outside and he did not intend to go back to Grandpa Qian anymore. He could not predict when this dreadful symptom would occur again but he could predict that surely if it happened and anything else dreadful happened along, he could just be the dead meat on the chopping board with no place to run.

So Ye Chong spent the whole day rooting himself at his workshop while Mu booted his mech self to hide within the countless mechs Ye Chong had in his place, striving to protect Ye Chong at any casualty.

He thought he would be in peace at least. Unfortunately, his fame did not decrease.

"Ye Chong!" Rui Su came slamming the door open, "You! Go to my place! Now! My sister wants to see you!" she came in with a brief command and introduction. Her expression was unhappy.

"Your sister?" frowned Ye Chong as he asked.

"The lady you fought that day? Who came with me?" her eyes slightly reddened as she reminisced the incident.

"Oh!" Rui Su was finally speaking his language - the lady he fought that day. He remembered everything. Normally Ye Chong would jump from his seat, nodding his head as he marched to the place, if it was an invitation from a challenger, especially if the challenger had some fancy tricks that could hold him back. However, he refused.

Without hesitation and further inquiry, "No," he gave a direct decline in Rui Su's face.

"You… You…" Rui Su was so irritated that her face turned pale as she bit her teeth.

What a weird girl. Ye Chong could not understand the girl before him, he decided to deal with ignorance.

Rui Su wanted to be nice at first, nevertheless Ye Chong seemed to be uninterested in the kind self of hers. That was when she transformed back into the notorious Witch Su, "Ye! Chong! Are you a man? Let me ask you, Are! You! Still! A! Man?! I can't believe my ears of hearing such puny words from a puny person like you! I had never seen such a useless piece of dirt in my entire life! You don't even have the balls to go to my place! You coward! You spineless squid!"

Ye Chong spectated the amazing talk show from Rui Su nonchalantly. His ears had grown numb towards personal attacks and offensive languages.

"So Mu, shouldn't humans be afraid of death?" Ye Chong asked in his mind.

"They should," said Mu.

"Then isn't it normal for one to be a coward in this?" he asked on.

"Well, in the society, fearing death is considered as a cowardly act, even if they all fear the death like no one ever did." Explained Mu.

"B-o-r-i-n-g!" exclaimed Ye Chong.

"Right," Mu agreed too.

"Are you listening to me? My sister is calling you, no, ordering you to move that broken bottom of yours to my place! You heard it? Move! Why aren't you moving? Oh my Fal Galaxy if there's a quantum singularity I swear I'll catapult you into it…"

The bickering went on for a moment.

And Rui Su realized it was pointless to scold her signature lines at Ye Chong. She became parched and tired. Nothing had happened other than most of her inner blaze had extinguished.

"Please…" Going the hard way did not work it seemed, so Rui Su decided to plead instead, "I beg you. Please, Ye Chong, please. It's just a trip to my house. My sister wants to see you… Just come… Could you kindly do my poor, poor sister a favor?" her watery eyes overflowed with pity. Anyone else would have accepted her plea right away seeing those eyes.

Well it was "anyone else" after all.

Not Ye Chong.

Ye Chong did not have concept on how this "begging" worked.

"The heck she's doing, Mu?" Ye Chong inquired bewilderedly.

"Technically, she was trying to initiate your urge to protect her by acting as a weakling in the situation." Concisely he replied, "Most of the women use such method to gain a man's sympathy," added Mu.

"She's acting weak, hoping that the enemy would come and pity her?" Ye Chong was not convinced, the logic did not work in his head it seemed.

"Uh… well…" Mu halted for a noticeable length, "The relationship between men and women are not malignant to begin with."

"Well then, what is it?" Ye Chong asked.

"Regarding that, I suggest you to have your session with Shang, he is more of an expert in this," and Mu quickly shut his mouth.

Rui Su tried to rephrase her plight and redid her acting repetitively. Still, it did not work on the man with a heart of iron. Rui Su never expected Ye Chong to be this hard to penetrate. She could not believe that her ways neither hard nor soft worked. The feeling did not even seep into his skin! She became desperate as her signature tricks with a 100% success rate on other men did not work on him.

She recalled what her sister told her back at their home and tears wetted her beautiful face.

It shocked Ye Chong a little. Yeah, only a little.

"Sniff… Sniff…" Rui Su held her tears and looked at Ye Chong wholeheartedly, "In what way you would agree to see my sister?"

"Umm…"

Ye Chong thought for a moment, "Get her here, if she wanted to see me that badly."

With Mu lurking in the queue of mechs, he believed he would be in good hands even if that disastrous syndrome happened again.

"Okay! Fine!" Rui Su rushed out of the workshop in tears. "You better remember this! Ye Chong!!!" The students on the way were impressed by Ye Chong. They almost wanted to drop by the workshop to give a salutation as he managed to make the witch of the campus to cry twice in a row! Spectacular!

What Ye Chong did not expect was, Rui Bing actually came!

And she was alone!

Chapter 91: Shang's Idea I

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Rui Bing sat before Ye Chong, her face pale, drained of blood. It seemed that she was not yet recovered from the injuries from before. Her long, black hair further emphasized her pallor, and her occasionally knitted brows made for a pitiful appearance! Her former magnificence was now turned into fragility. Her thin physique under the loose training garb made her look as weak as a withering leaf.

Ye Chong was also shocked to see Rui Bing as she was!

Rui Bing noticed that Ye Chong was unharmed, and said wryly, "You are truly physically strong!"

Ye Chong sat quietly. While he did not understand the reason for her visit, Ye Chong still threaded with care, with Mu standing quietly behind him. If anything happened, Mu would be able to react at the drop of a hat. Besides, he was not entirely defenseless himself, only that his weird condition might be triggered again.

Ye Chong sat quietly, his eyes staring at the other party, unblinking. He was waiting for her to state the purpose of her visit, for he believed that she would not have visited for no good reason. Ye Chong believed that this woman sitting before him, the strongest woman he had ever met, would not be up to a silly action like that.

As for Rui Bing, Ye Chong still had full admiration for her. Her skills in martial arts were levels above his, and that move was most likely an attack filled with spirit, in Mu's words. That had made Ye Chong appreciate her even more! It was the first time Ye Chong had seen an attack that was beyond the logic of pure physics!

Rui Bing did not say anything, sitting quietly before Ye Chong, her dark eyes staring straight at him.

Their eyes met each others' in the space between them!

A faint blush began to spread quietly up Rui Bing's nape!

Her silence was baffling to Ye Chong, as he had thought her as someone straightforward in nature. Since she had visited, there must be something on her mind, so why would she not speak of it? Ye Chong broke the silence and spoke, "Why are you here?"

His flat tone together with his apathetic expression made Rui Bing turn serious. While her body was not fully healed, her former fighting instinct as a martial arts practitioner was awakened!

Rui Bing sat upright, her expression stern, but her first words thoroughly confused Ye Chong.

"Will you marry me?"

"Marry her? What?" Thankfully, Mu was near him, and Ye Chong communicated with Mu through his brain waves. "Mu, what does it mean to marry her?"

"Hmm, based on available information, it probably means becoming legal husband and wife!" Mu explained.

"What's legal husband and wife?" Ye Chong was baffled.

"Er, this area is not my specialty, you should ask Shang about it. We need 5 seconds to interchange!" Mu was obviously troubled with the question as well, and decided to let Shang, with a more advanced mood matrix, to deal with the matter.

As soon as Shang was out, he howled electronically. "Waah, Ye, as expected, it's the aggressive beauty from last time. Tsk tsk, a beauty like this who fits all your requirements is truly rare!"

Ye Chong did not quite get it. "What does that have to do with being a beauty?"

Shang bluntly spoke , "Of course, who wouldn't love a beautiful woman?" He deliberately paused before continuing, "Mm, of course, your taste is too peculiar! However, does she not suit your standards? The body cannot be too muscular, that would affect speed, and she cannot be too thin, for the muscles must be powerful enough. Mm, endurance is a must and flexibility must be excellent. Excellence in martial arts, almost as good in mechs as I am. A decisive person, one-hit KO's are preferable! High vigilance. Best if she can be proficient in mech mechanics! Besides the mech side of things, it seems that she was almost made based on your criteria! Besides, it's quite fast to build up knowledge in mechs! Ye, I can't think of anyone who can better fit your requirements than her!"

Ye Chong was still uncertain. "What does this have to do with marrying her?"

Shang nearly fainted at that. "Ye, could it be that you're still not in your puberty? Heavens! You're twenty! This is too bizarre in the face of biological theories! Could it be … Could it be … You're …" Shang's voice was getting queer!

His hesitance in speech also made Ye Chong even more confused. "Biology? Theories in biology? Isn't this an alchemist program?"

Shang nearly cried. "*Cough* … Theories in biology? Ye, you can't go on like this, I must now begin to show you the right path of humanity! I can't let Mu mislead you anymore, heavens, I can already imagine the darkness and dullness of your future life!"

After a pause, Shang continued encouragingly, "Ye Chong, do you like her? Compared to all the women you've ever met before." His voice now had a bewitching quality to it.

Ye Chong lifted his head and peered towards Rui Bing. Rui Bin sat in all seriousness, but a flash of panic was evident in her eyes. Ye Chong considered before replying, "I like her!" It seemed that, of all the women he had ever met, she was the only that made him feel a sense of admiration, and she was definitely the strongest of woman he had ever encountered!

"But, what's that got to do with anything?" Ye Chong's logic was not affected at all by Shang!

"Er … Nothing! But Ye, when can you began your life as a real man?" Shang gave a long sigh!

"Am I not normal?" Ye Chong was obviously dissatisfied with the conclusion.

"Could it be that you have no sexual desires for women?" Shang barely managed to ask.

"Sexual desires?" Ye Chong was at a loss. "Should anyone have sexual desires towards women?"

Shang felt like he was dealt with a death blow. "Ye, you … You're too good at this!"

"Me? I'm still not good enough. Compared to Mu, I'm still too weak!" Ye Chong replied.

"Compared to Mu? Heavens, it's like talking with an animal! No, Ye, it seems that it'll be necessary to teach you a lesson in biological reproduction! Ye, later I'll show you some of the latest holographic passionate battles, that's my ultimate collection!" Shang spoke with fiery intensity.

"Holographic information? Passionate battles? Is it a battle between mechs?" Ye Chong asked.

"A battle between mechs?" Shang's photon processor was visualizing 2 humanoid mechs engaged in a passionate battle midair, machine oil spraying everywhere, accessories flying off in all directions, together with a cringe-worthy sound of metal rubbing against metal. Shang felt a chill spread across him and nearly short-circuited!

For someone as logic-minded as Ye Chong to discuss emotions, especially that of between members of the opposite sex, it was definitely a depressing challenge for Shang!

Rui Bing held a normal expression, but her heart was throbbing violently. Ye Chong, sitting opposite her, had at first lowered his head in thought, then lifted his vision to her for a moment before continuing his thoughts. For the first time ever, Rui Bing had a strange feeling, mixed with hope and fear, afraid of what she might lose! She could only do her best to stay calm, or at least maintain the impression of calmness!

Rui Bing was aware of her own traditional mindset, even when she had chosen to inherit her father's dojo years ago despite opposition. All these years, the age-old traditions had already become part of her, and she was not capable of changing this part of herself, nor did she wanted to! This kind of life made her feel peaceful!

Rui Bing's eyed the man before her with mixed feelings. Will this man, whom she had met not so long ago, be her future husband? If he rejected, what should she do? While she had insisted on traditional practices, it did not mean that she should impose it on others. Her persistence was her own, and Ye Chong's rejection was only natural, then what should she do?

Although she already had her mind set, Rui Bing was still at a loss at the present moment!

"Alright, back to the original question, what does it mean to to marry her? What's the end result?" Ye Chong asked.

"Marrying her means having a legal bond of husband and wife between you two. The end result if that you will be with her for the rest of your life!" Shang did not think Ye Chong could understand anything beyond that.

"Be with her? Why should I be with her for the rest of my life?" Ye Chong asked another mind-bending question to Shang!

Shang was speechless!

Shang did not believe that a healthy man like Ye Chong would not be interested in women at all. Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to his mind.

"Ye, to make you understand this whole affair, we can do an experiment!" Shang's tone was odd, but he had finally concluded that Ye Chong could only handle facts!

"Okay, how?" Ye Chong was also keen to try. He was always asking these sort of questions, and Ye Chong had no intention of being entirely ignorant of this topic.

"Go right in front of her. Don't worry, she'll definitely not harm you. Besides, in her current condition, she's not a match for you!" Shang enticed.

"Okay!" Ye Chong walked to Rui Bing and stopped before her, and panic flashed past Rui Bing's pale face.

"Take her hand!" The devil's tail began to show itself.

"Hand?" Ye Chong felt uncertain, and asked, "Which hand?"

Crash* A certain devil's fall sent out a shockwave. Shang spoke with a trembling voice, "Whichever!" Shang's fall to the ground shocked Rui Bing, but it had also eased the her nervousness against Ye Chong's approach.

Ye Chong took Rui Bing's right hand, his body in high alert, ready for any form of attack from her. For Ye Chong, his action would definitely invite retaliation from the other party! No one would let their hand be held in another person's hands - the action was akin to giving up one's life to another person!

However, Rui Bing's reaction baffled Ye Chong. She pulled her hand back a little, but not enough to escape from his grasp. Her tightly closed lips were pale from the pressure! Her initial pallor was now replaced with a thorough blush, but she did not lower her head, managing to look right at Ye Chong. Her clear eyes were filled with a rare coquetry and a little stubbornness. She kept her gaze on Ye Chong!

"What next?" Ye Chong asked.

"Have a good feel of her hand!" The devil's tail was growing obvious.

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Chapter 92: Shang's Idea II

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Feel her hand?" Ye Chong was confused. Could it be that her hand had something special about it? Ye Chong felt the hand carefully, but did not notice anything special! However, to think that such a soft and delicate hand could have such potential for battle! Ye Chong's hands may be long and slender, but his hands were solid and muscular, quite different from the woman's.

Could this be what Shang wanted him to notice?

Ye Chong spoke, "It's soft, with callouses around the edges of the palm, evident signs of some level of training, but her hand is obviously of a different type than mine. Could there be some mystery behind this?"

Shang stammered, "Ye - Ye, is this what you feel?"

"Yup, what's the problem?" Ye Chong replied.

Shang was full of disbelief. "Ye, can you really not feel anything else? Like, does it feel comfortable?"

"I suppose it does!" Ye Chong gave a little squeeze to the delicate hand, "But, what does it matter?"

By then, poor Rui Bing was as red as a tomato, but still she refused to lower her head. Her clear eyes were now growing watery, and her tightly held lips were a sign of her exerting strong self control! Since young, no man had ever touched her hands, but the man before her had now grasped her hand in his, doing as he wished! While she had already decided to marry this man, she still could not accept that the man was given in to such frivolity, as her rational side kept her composed!

A strange, unprecedented tingling sensation came from her right hand. She could even feel the strength and warmth from Ye Chong's palms. The feeling was unnerving, and she was at a loss as to what to do next!

Shang muttered, "Looks like this degree of stimulation is too little. For a wild animal like Ye, no, a humanoid mech may be more appropriate. This degree of stimulation is too little!"

Shang became more spirited and said, "Ye, for the next step, put your nose near to the left side of her throat, keep the distance less than 2 centimeters, and feel it closely!"

Ye Chong did not doubt Shang's request and did as he was told in all seriousness. Suddenly, he moved his face close to Rui Bing's neck, his nose almost touching her skin, no more than 2 centimeters from him. A mysterious, sweet smell came to him. Her warm, snow-white skin had his full attention, and, almost reflexively, Ye Chong could not help but stick out his tongue and lick her neck!

In an instant, Ye Chong felt like his belly was on fire! He felt a burning surge engulf him! Ye Chong couldn't help but gasp heavily!

Faced with this stimulation, Ye Chong felt a buzz in his head. Almost immediately, the powerful flow of emotions that he suppressed a few days ago was like a stoked fire, and Ye Chong felt like his brain might blow up! The overwhelming wild emotions engulfed him in an instant, and Ye Chong could only see red in his eyes, and his last thought before he lost consciousness was this -

"This, is a woman?"

Rui Bing could not keep her composure when Ye Chong put his face so close to her. As Ye Chong licked, she was thunderstruck! Ye Chong's heavy breath against her sensitive neck only made Rui Bing more anxious!

Almost without thinking, Rui Bing, with a long history of martial arts training and self defense, was driven to action! Rui Bing slid her right hand and grabbed Ye Chong's left hand. Her soft, white hands were now as strong as hardened steel. Her left hand pressed towards Ye Chong's chest as fast as lighting and her legs moved as she stood up, lifting Ye Chong with her!

Women's Basic Anti Sexual Assault Skills - Third Move!

Nether Region Kick!

The kick was perfect, strength or angle-wise, and Ye Chong curled into a shrimp-like posture but, oddly, did not produce any pitiful shriek!

The move was followed immediately by an over shoulder throw. Her movements were fluid and natural, and any martial arts practitioner who witnessed Rui Bing's move after move would have been very impressed!

In reality, Rui Bing did not know any anti sexual harassment moves at first. However, the dojo often had some female students who came to learn some basic defense skills, and Women's Basic Anti Sexual Assault Skills were a necessary part of it. Hence, Rui Bing had deliberately learned a few moves, and they now conveniently served her !

Ye Chong was like a sandbag, ruthlessly thrown to a corner and left on the floor, without any reaction!

Ye Chong's mind was like a sea of fire, his consciousness struggling to survive within the fiery ocean, as his external senses had been thoroughly eclipsed! The volcanic flow of emotions wreaked havoc in his mind, and Ye Chong's barely surviving consciousness was also affected. He only felt heat, of which was the most intense heat!

An unspeakable feeling began to accumulate within Ye Chong!

But strangely, his body was not at his command!

The suffocating and intense sense of outrage whirled within Ye Chong's mind like a storm, and Ye Chong felt more and more heated, but could find no way to vent off his feelings!

When Rui Bing came back to her senses and found Ye Chong on the floor, unmoving, she was shocked to the core, extremely regretting her actions. How could she be so impulsive? What will happen to her if he was injured? The thought of that kick earlier made Rui Bing panic!

Rui Bing was about to approach Ye Chong and check for injuries when a shadow flashed before her eyes, and a huge, green-ish figure flew past Ye Chong and was almost immediately out of the mech modification workshop!

Surprised, Rui Bing rushed to the workshop's entrance, but the huge figure and Ye Chong were already gone without a trace!

A disappointed Rui Bing stood before the workshop's entrance as she looked towards the sky in a daze, looking almost infatuated for a moment!

Out in the wilderness, surrounded by rocks as tall as a few people, scattered across the area to as far as twenty kilometers away.

Ye Chong sat worn-out on the ground, his body all covered in dust from crushed rocks, with Mu staying quietly by his side. Shang knew that he had crossed the line this time, and switched with Mu as soon as he arrived here!

Ye Chong had finished with his berserking, now surrounded by pieces of rock debris. Within twenty meters from Ye Chong, none of the rocks were larger than a meter in girth, as they were all sacrificed for Ye Chong's venting.

Ye Chong felt like he was an unstable stock of fire powder, ready to explode at the slightest provocation!

Ye Chong, who had always had high regard for calmness, hated very much the way he had just lost control of his rational mind, even if his physical abilities were enhanced in various ways under that condition.

Ye Chong smiled wryly at himself. "Mu, I'm in big trouble this time!"

Mu agreed. "That's right, Ye, you're now suppressing your emotions! It looks like women still have the same effect on you!" Mu did not miss the opportunity to mock him.

Ye Chong forced another smile at that. "That damned Shang!" Reflexively, his mind produced an image of the smooth whiteness of skin, the oddly sweet odour that came from it, and the indescribable taste when the tip of his tongue came into contact!

Mu broke his reverie. "Ye, your condition is really not good. There are now two versions of your condition. First is the way your body loses control, but your mind is clear and conscious of the pain! The second version is the way you were over stimulated and lost control like just now. Similarly, you lost bodily control, but in this version, your mind is blurry! The factors that induced the first version is unclear, but from your reaction this time, the second version is clearly triggered by the slightest stimulation. Who could have imagined that Black Cove's silver liquid was so powerful! Of course, that's assuming our assumptions are right!"

Ye Chong had already recovered his usual calm composure. He frowned a little and said, "If it's Black Cove, they must have a way of curing this! But the point is, how can we find out about it?"

Mu replied, "That's right, but based on my calculations, the probability of our successful infiltration into Black Cove is only at 15.6 percent, which is too low. I would not recommended it!"

Ye Chong agreed. "Yeah, that probability is really too low. *Sigh, the main issue is, we're too weak, and Mu, you haven't fully recovered yet! It's no different than knocking on death's door! Besides, we're still not sure if this is the work of Black Cove, that's only an assumption of ours!"

For someone like Ye Chong who had grown up on a trash planet, he had a more profound sense of appreciation of life than others. Perhaps only those who had often encountered situations of life and death could understand the value of life.

Ye Chong continued, "In the short term, there's no way to infiltrate Black Cove!" Ye Chong knew from experience that Black Cove had tight security, and with the current state of Mu and himself, infiltrating would be a fool's errand.

"Hmm, we'll have to wait until we're more powerful to work on Black Cove! However, your weird condition still requires treatment. It seems that we'll have to find an excellent doctor to help you out!" Mu spoke with an undertone of uncertainty.

If Ye Chong was to seek treatment, he would have to leave Blue Ocean. While the planet was prosperous, it was not known for its medical services. Ye Chong quite enjoyed his simple life in Blue Ocean Academy, but what he would really miss was the so-called first class modification workshop and Grandpa Qian!

However, such was life! The usually calm Ye Chong felt overwhelmed with emotions. Without his bidding, the image of that white training garb flashed past his thoughts!

Mu had once again returned to its alternate dimension, and so Ye Chong deployed the Harmony of the Winter Aria and flew towards Blue Ocean Academy.

By the time he had reached the academy grounds, night was already looming. Ye Chong had planned to spend his last night here, and also to give the Harmony a checkup as preparation for his departure tomorrow.

The modification workshop was dark, and Rui Bing seemed to have left. Ye Chong was ready to land when Mu cautioned him, "Ye, be careful, there're enemies inside! 7 mechs!"

Ye Chong was greatly surprised!

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Chapter 93: The Lance in the Darkness

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Seven mechs, all hidden in various corners of the modification workshop. Once he stepped into the workshop, he would be like a caged bird, unable to leave again. If not for Mu, he would probably would have met his end here. However, Mu was by his side, and Ye Chong unemotionally watched as Mu portrayed holographically the locations of the seven mechs!

From this, one can see the difference between the Harmony of the Winter Aria and Mu. Ye Chong's Harmony had not noticed the enemy at all. The workshop's building structure was made of special materials that could block communication signals, and holographic scans of the workshop were impossible. Of course, this was Blue Ocean planet's most advanced modification workshop, and the design was also to protect the workshop and its secrets from outsiders.

Ye Chong had no idea how Mu could have noticed the enemies!

"Mu, you're too powerful!" Ye Chong could not help but sighed, and looked forward to the day he could pilot a mech as good as Mu. That would be the happiest moment of his life! As for Mu, Ye Chong had no intentions of piloting him. While Mu had mentioned before that he would let Ye Chong pilot him if Ye Chong surpassed him in skills, Ye Chong had no doubt that it would be an almost impossible task. More importantly, Ye Chong had never thought of Mu as a mech!

Mu was undeniably powerful, but with the Harmony of the Winter Aria, Ye Chong was not as weak as he was before! Ye Chong could not help but feel a sense of pride!

Since the other party was obviously hostile, he had no reason to hold back!

Ye Chong did not attack immediately, but instead released the five mechanical hummingbirds he had. The hummingbird scanning system was made up of five blue birds, and they flew quietly into the darkness. Ye Chong waited patiently for information from the hummingbirds. He must first know whether there were any other enemies in hiding outside the workshop. If there were, a quiet escape would be the best strategy for him! Since there was no chance of him defeating everyone here without Mu's help, he would only be wasting his time in combat!

As the five hummingbirds were released, the images that were disrupted by interference signals immediately cleared up, and the scanning coverage was increased! It seemed that the five hummingbirds were indeed useful!

From the hummingbirds' scanning results, it seemed that there were no enemies hidden nearby. While the hummingbird's accuracy and sensitivity within the atmosphere were not as impressive as when the birds were in space, the scanning radius was still up to a good fifty kilometers!

The enemy must have realized the special design of the modification workshop. They were also wary of being noticed if someone was placed outside!

If he left quietly now, it would not be a problem at all. However, Ye Chong was curious to know where the enemies came from, since it would definitely be useful information in the future. If not, he might unknowingly walk into the enemy's trap some day. Besides, Ye Chong believed that even if he could not completely destroy the enemy, he should be able to at least successfully retreat!

Ye Chong also had the intention of testing the true capabilities of the Harmony of the Winter Aria, and his progress so far.

The currently greenish gray mech, the result of Ye Chong's efforts, seemed entirely inconspicuous. Even its metallic gleam was obscured, giving the impression of an aged machine! However the lack of a metallic shine made the Harmony of the Winter Aria even more concealed in the darkness, nearly unnoticeable!

Harmony of the Winter Aria flew silently like a greenish gray bat towards the modification workshop.

Ye Chong did not choose the main entrance, since it would be the main focus of any enemy attack. If he entered that way, he would be welcomed with a full range of firepower attacks, and all that was left of him would be dust!

Ye Chong carefully circled to the southern side of the workshop. Based on the holographic image, there was a mech standing against the wall in the corner!

Ye Chong's lance, Blue Winter, was 15 meters long, and the wall was about two and a half meters thick. The wall's structural material was mainly a composite of high-strength components, with some anti signal transmission material. However, the latter had no effect on the sturdiness of the walls!

Ye Chong flew to about 800 meters from the workshop, the distance enough to accelerate the Harmony to its maximum speed!

The engines were fully activated! The inconspicuous mech had unsheathed its razor sharp claws. The fifteen-meter long Blue Winter was even taller than the Harmony of the Winter Aria, making the weapon look like an arrow that had just left the bow. The Harmony's wings were folded into its back.

Harmony of the Winter Aria's Mach 7 speed of flight was now unleashed in all its glory!

As the scenery around flashed past him, Ye Chong felt strangely calmed!

The hands wielding the Blue Winter did not even tremble in the slightest! The wall of the workshop was instantly penetrated. The advanced energy feedback mechanism allowed Ye Chong to feel the impact experienced by the lance!

A loud boom reverberated, and the workshop's wall crumbled, and its fragments flew off in all directions! Ye Chong felt a small pause in the mech's movement, and knew that his attack had hit right on target! Ye Chong was familiar with the insides of the workshop, and knew that the spot he attacked should have been empty. Hence, he must have hit the mech against the wall!

Ye Chong guessed right!

Ye Chong's high speed impact using his lance was terrifyingly powerful! His lance, the Blue Winter, could even penetrate Black Cove's mechs, and this time it offered no mercy to his enemy. The unfortunate mech was instantly in pieces. At the sound of a crash, numerous black fragments flew past Ye Chong!

Ye Chong was shocked - it was a Black Cove mech! Ye Chong was familiar with this kind of black mech! How did they find him?

This was obviously not the time to ask such a question. Ye Chong had no time to think about it, as he swirled and swung off a few fragments hanging off the lance!

The sudden attack threw the enemies into confusion! Ye Chong's ambush had also achieved his aim!

The modification workshop was large, housing a good number of mechs, mech accessories and some modification devices.

The massive Harmony of the Winter Aria moved swiftly like a cat through the workshop!

Suddenly, the workshop's lights were all switched off, and the room was engulfed in darkness!

Ye Chong gave a chilling laugh. In the workshop, all forms of signals were blocked, and they had no means of communicating with each other. "Hehe, this workshop cramped with all kinds of stuff is the perfect battleground for me!" thought Ye Chong. It was him who had destroyed the workshop's lighting!

With Mu along, Ye Chong now held the definitive upper hand. Moreoever, his frequent visits here meant that he knew all the corners of the workshop!

From Mu's holographic image, the crash had invited 3 mechs to fly towards him.

One of the mechs crept slowly towards him. All forms of signals were disabled here, and they had no way of getting in touch with each other. The pilot within the mech began to feel nervous! For a Black Cove elite like him, it had been a long time since he felt like this!

"The damned bastard destroyed the lighting system!" The pilot cursed to himself. However, his training guided him despite his anxiety, and he carefully approached towards the direction of the sound of impact he heard earlier.

Without a holographic scanning system and any lighting, he felt like a blind person, groping his way through the dark, occasionally crashing into something. If not for his skills, he would have tumbled quite a few times! While the mech had laser searchlights, he dared not switch it on. It would be no joke if he activated the searchlight, as he would be the most obvious target, and the first to die in the hands of the enemy!

He was despaired, comforted only the fact the Black Cove mechs were highly durable. This made him brave through his worries and move forward! Up till now, with the exception of the MPA, he had never met any weapon that could be a fatal threat to his mech! This was a great source of comfort for him!

Suddenly, a noise came from the front.

Could it be that his comrades were exchanging blows with the opponent? He decided that it must be so, and immediately rushed towards the source of the sound. He had no time to care for the potential damages to his mech, since Black Cove mechs could not be damaged so easily. He was ready to charge his way through to his destination!

"Hah, I can finally leave this horrible sheet place!"

He would give anything to move faster, just a little faster. If two mechs were to work together, he believed that the enemy would not stand a chance!

BANG!* His first thought was that he ran into something. Before he could react, the holographic screen before him was crushed, its pieces spraying outwards. A huge, cone-shaped metal appeared before his eyes, and before he could let out a terrified scream, the sharp edge of the cone plunged through his body. *BANG!* A huge wave of energy passed through him, and he was dismembered into a rain of flesh and blood, flying outwards along with the fragments of his mech. The bits and pieces flew outwards and landed everywhere, followed by a continuous series of splattering sounds.

He never had the chance to realize the cause of his death!

Ye Chong watched with cold eyes, emotionless. When he saw the mech moving quickly towards him, a plan occurred to him, and he held the lance in the trajectory of the mech. Seeing as the mech was still moving quickly, Ye Chong picked up some mech fragment from the floor and threw it behind him!

As expected, upon hearing the fragment landing behind him, the mech moved faster towards him! It ran straight into Blue Winter, which Ye Chong had prepared earlier! Blue Winter, a most powerful weapon due to its Do Kun stone component, penetrated another Black Cove mech without hindrance!

Ye Chong understood the misconception that Black Cove citizens harboured for their mechs! If not for Mu, he would probably be the same as them!

There were still five mechs left!

Ye Chong quietly counted to himself, and silently moved away from his location!

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Chapter 94: Instructor Hak

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Only one mech left. Ye Chong watched the holographic image that Mu transmitted to him, with only one last red dot on it!

Just now, in less than a half minute, Ye Chong had taken advantage of his enemies' blindness and unfamiliarity with the environment, and managed to ambush and kill six of them! Ambushing through the darkness, Ye Chong's Harmony of the Winter Aria was like an assassin of the night, deft and cruel! As for the Blue Winter, an archaic looking lance, Ye Chong now wielded it with ease. The eight moves created by Mu through numerous calculations were twofold in the current situation! Ye Chong hit his targets every single time! Black Cove's most trusted mech armour were as fragile as wafer biscuits before Ye Chong's Blue Winter!

If Ye Chong was compared to the devil from the lowest level of hell, then Blue Winter would be the devil's enormous and sinister looking scythe, covered in blood! Blue Winter's most dangerous part was its tip, and the blades on its two sides were like murder accessories, mostly responsible for tearing apart the opponent's mech!

According to Mu and Shang, the proportion of Do Kun stone in the tip of Blue Winter was far from ideal, but Ye Chong was still very impressed with the weapon's might! What would the Blue Winter be like if the proportion was ideal? Ye Chong could not help but look forward to such a time.

With only the last mech left, Ye Chong approached the enemy with caution!

The mech moved with care, its back against the wall. Unless he moved away, an ambush from the back would be impossible.

Ye Chong was left with the option of closing in from the left. To keep himself unnoticed, the Harmony of the Winter Aria's engines were running at minimum capacity, as the mech silently closed in onto its target.

It's close! Only twenty meters left! Blue Winter was fifteen meters long. With another ten meters, no, perhaps 8 meters, it would be enough for Blue Winter to tear the enemy apart!

"Right, it's time!" Ye Chong was about to move when something extraordinary happened!

Ye Chong saw a blinding flash of light. The bright light saturating his holographic screen screamed into his eyes and blinded him!

Ye Chong was shocked! He was not, however, panicking. His right hand, ready with Blue Winter, immediately striked out like lightning. If it were anyone else, their first reaction upon being surprised would be to retreat as quickly as possible. However, Ye Chong understood that the better option would be to defend himself by attacking!

DING* A metallic ring was heard, and Ye Chong's Blue Winter was obviously blocked by something.

However, this gave enough time for Ye Chong to step back. Once the lance attacked, Ye Chong's hands were already moving deftly across the controls.

Harmony of the Winter Aria moved as though according to plan, riding the backward momentum of the attack and retreating swiftly. The opponent was obviously surprised by Ye Chong's quick reaction!

Ye Chong's vision had now returned to normal!

The opponent must have used something like a flash grenade, and now the entire workshop was lit up. Flash grenades were, in truth, very rarely used nowadays! It seemed to have become a historical relic, both in terms of its function and usage. With the various types of advanced scanning mechanisms available, mechs could reconstruct images through feedback from the scanning systems, images that were far more detailed than what the human eye could capture. Besides, the effective scanning perimeter of a scanning system in space was far larger than the limits of the human eye!

The most important function of the flash grenade was to provide light for the human eye, but with the advent of improving scanning mechanisms, it was in the awkward position of slowly being replaced.

Ye Chong did not expect his opponent to have something so outdated.

Through the lighting, Ye Chong could not see his opponent's mech clearly.

The mech was thoroughly black, true to Black Cove's style. What surprised Ye Chong was the ancient design of the mech, with obvious Samuel style influence, a popular style from a hundred years back!

There was nothing spectacular about this model of mechs. Even Johansson's mech looked more imposing and menacing. However, Ye Chong dared not underestimate it. Samuel style mechs were also known as battle mechs. Since long range weapons and locking systems were not as impressive as the ones today, these mechs with their ancient duelling attack style were widely popular. However, with the improvements in long range weapons, and a general paradigm shift in mechs, Samuel style mechs eventually declined in numbers.

However, Ye Chong still approved of Samuel style mechs. He had always believed that these mechs were an undying classic, embodying the most fundamental quintessence of battle! The mechs were designed for close range battles, and while they may look plain, a closer inspection of its details in design that would explain its status as a classic!

Samuel style mechs were undeniably the best partner for a pilot skilled in martial arts. However, that was the reason for its declining popularity, since martial arts was also a dying skill!

Black Cove residents were familiar with martial arts, and even Ye Chong learned a few moves from them!

Ye Chong waited, fully alert!

His opponent, however, had no intention of attacking. "Number 58, we meet again!" A man's voice came from the mech, reverberating throughout the workshop!

Ye Chong was taken aback! "Instructor Hak?"

"That's right! It's me!" Number 58, you were under me in Team F, and so the higher ups had asked me to bring you back!" Instructor Hak lowered his voice and said, "Number 58, come with me. The higher ups do not intend to take action against your disobedience. If you run, it'll only be the death of you!"

Ye Chong calmly replied, "Is that so?"

Hak spoke seriously, "You may have killed these few here, but they were only soldiers of the lowest rank from Black Cove! You may be stronger than all of them, but against the soldiers in higher ranks, you're still very weak!" On the deaths of his six comrades, Hak showed no signs of pity.

Ye Chong's voice grew even colder. "Is that so?"

"Come back with me. You're Team F's most talented member in history, and your future is limitless. It's only a matter of time before you make a contract with us! Besides, the higher ups are interested in you, even letting go of your huge mistake. Number 58, this is unprecedented!"

Ye Chong did not even condescend to reply. Will he return to Black Cove, to be the sword in another person's hands? Ye Chong hated feeling restricted. He believed that, even if he was a wild animal, he would still be one that ran freely in the wilderness, howling without restraint under the night sky! This, as opposed to being leashed on the neck, fitted with steel claws, and tamed as someone's pet!

Besides, he's human!

Hak continued leisurely, "Besides, Number 58, that little something of yours should be reacting about now!"

Ye Chong's expression twisted. "So it's really you!"

Hak was unfazed. "Number 58, the silver liquid was supposedly used to prepare Black Cove soldiers for combat. While it may bring you great pain, as long as you learned the true skills of Black Cove, you'll understand how helpful it can be! It can turn you into the most powerful soldier! However, as you are now, this pain will continue on forever. There will be episodes of it, and you will wish for death instead. Number 58, you must clearly remember this painful experience. It will become more and more painful, until one day you will kill yourself just to stop the pain. There had never been anyone who could live through it!"

Ye Chong eyes slowly narrowed into a slit, thin as the edge of a blade, as he stared dead straight at the mech before him.

If the two of them were to fight hand to hand, Ye Chong would definitely escape. He had personal experience with Hak's weird and powerful martial arts skills, and Ye Chong was certainly no match for it! However, if it was a battle between mechs, Ye Chong was more confident with himself! In terms of the speed of their hands, Hak was definitely slower than him! Besides, a battle between mechs did not involve as much intricacies as a battle between men, and Ye Chong was mostly cautious about Hak's weird martial arts. However, Ye Chong believed Hak could not apply his skills effectively through a mech, thus increasing Ye Chong's chances of winning! Moreover, Ye Chong had full confidence in the Harmony of the Winter Aria!

Still, there were a few things that baffled Ye Chong.

How did Black Cove find him? How did Hak notice him earlier? Ye Chong did not believe that they were the results of coincidences. Why did he not use the flash grenades earlier, but only after the deaths of six of his comrades?

These questions occupied Ye Chong's mind!

Hak smiled, as though he could read his thoughts. "You must be trying to guess how I knew about your ambush!"

Ye Chong was speechless, only unemotionally observing the mech on his holographic screen.

"Since I'm your instructor, let me teach you a little something. The six senses of an ancient martial arts practitioner are very sensitive. Even though the mech's scanning is useless, I could still hear things! Of course, that can't happen through the mech's sound conduction device! Earlier, I had opened the door of the pilot's cabin. While your Harmony of the Winter Aria's engine was quiet, it was still easy for me to pinpoint your location! Do you not want to learn skills like these? Are you not interested in becoming more powerful? Number 58, come back with me to Black Cove! Over there, you can become stronger!" Hak's final sentences were full of enticement.

Ye Chong now realised his methods, and the sheer brilliance of it! However, with regards to his last few sentences, Ye Chong had no reaction to them at all. Instead, he quietly pressed a few controls.

"Hmm, how does he know the name of my mech?" Ye Chong felt unsure.

Hak suddenly asked a question out of the blue, "Number 58, based on our information, you're called Ye Chong here, your family name …"

Before Hak could finish, a silver line drew towards his chest, an attack not forewarned!

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Chapter 95: Confrontation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Hak's voice was cut off, but Ye Chong's blow was also blocked!

Hak was extremely wary against Ye Chong. In Black Cove, the young man was strong and improved quickly, both a shock to Hak! Ye Chong's speed with his hands were also the fastest he had ever seen. While that alone was not everything, but it was undeniably a very important skill to unleash the maximum battling potential of a mech! Besides, Ye Chong's strong physique was also better than Hak's, and that meant Ye Chong could perform more complicated and demanding movements, allowing one to gain a preemptive strike in battle. In Black Cove, physical training was also one of their core trainings!

Now, Hak could only hope that Ye Chong was not too skilled in mech piloting!

Ye Chong's surprise attack was easily countered by an anticipatory Hak! Hak was also vexed by the current situation. He was ordered by the higher ups to bring Number 58 back without harming him, but Ye Chong's strength made it impossible for him guarantee that. If the two of them were about equally matched, it would be more difficult to capture the other alive than to kill him. As it was, the higher ups had insisted of him bringing Number 58 in one piece! Hak speculated that Number 58 could be the son of Black Cove's leader!

If not for Number 58's cold nature, Hak would have done what Ji Shangyan did, threatening him with the old man Qian. However, Hak expected that with Number 58's personality, he would not have placed any importance in the old man's life. It would have been a wasted effort, alerting his opponent and dashing any hopes for an ambush!

However, he did not expect Ye Chong to notice their ambush and returned their favour instead!

"A real talent, this b*stard!"

Ye Chong did not hesitate. He expected the lance to be blocked, and so the Harmony of the Winter Aria swirled, and another cold gleam reached for Hak! Hak dared not be negligent, his right fist blocked and swung, and the cold gleam rapidly faded!

Besides its unique design, Hak's mech was actually quite average. Only its two fists were fitted with barbs, occasionally flashing menacingly during the fight, and no other weapons were visible on the mech. However, the elbows were clearly layered for extra thickness, and the short and thick barbs did not shine dangerously as it would have, entirely inconspicuous!

Ye Chong did not falter. Hak's admirable battling techniques were not new to Ye Chong, since he had seen them before on Black Cove! If Hak performed badly in mech piloting, Ye Chong would be surprised!

The green and black mechs confronted each other!

The first to strike would be advantageous! Ye Chong side-stepped and quickly pointed Blue Winter lightning towards Hak's mech. The cold gleam from the tip of the lance drew a chilling silver arc in the air! His basic training was already part of him, and the few side-steps he took was almost flawless.

Hak saw the Harmony of the Winter Aria's seemingly plain footwork and could not help but be impressed. As good as he was in battling, he could see the quality of the steps. If it was his own body, he could do it even better, but through a mech, he could only realise his own incompetence! However, Ye Chong's seemingly frightening attack with the lance did not faze him. While it seemed threatening, Hak had a few moves up his sleeves to counter it! As he saw it, Ye Chong's lance techniques and his footwork were at far too different levels!

Hak's mech was called Kai, and it had been with him for two decades. After so many years, it was almost a part of Hak himself.

Kai stepped back quickly, barely avoiding Ye Chong's strike with his lance. The cold gleam from the tip of Blue Winter swiped past the mech, millimeters from its surface.

Harmony of the Winter Aria turned, and Blue Winter made an impossible twist in the air before charging towards Kai's abdomen.

Kai's left arm lowered, connecting obliquely with the side of Blue Winter, as Blue Winter was repelled back upwards! Ye Chong was surprised, not expecting Hak's inconspicuous mech to have such strong arms! Ye Chong went with the flow of movement and blocked a fist coming towards him with the handle of the lance!

The punch was strong, such that if Ye Chong had not commanded the Harmony to hold a tighter grip on Blue Winter, it would probably go flying!

Before Ye Chong could react any further, he suddenly felt the world spin, and Hak's mech was getting further and further away from him! It was only then that he realised that Kai had sneaked in a kick on him! A rising fighting spirit was evident in Ye Chong's eyes!

What great strength! Ye Chong guessed that Hak's mech must have been strengthened extensively to fit his combat style!

The photon processor sounded a piercing alarm, indicating that the kick had caused significant damage to Harmony of the Winter Aria. Ye Chong was astonished to find that he did not even realize when the kick was made! What commendable techniques!

Ye Chong's hands moved swiftly across the controls like smoke, issuing a series of commands!

Harmony of the Winter Aria's engines roared to life, and the mech somersaulted gracefully midair in an arc, steadying itself before landing! Hak was not surprised that Ye Chong did not fall to the ground, it was only natural given the speed of Ye Chong's hands. Hak maneuvered Kai deftly, and before Ye Chong could barely steady himself, a fist flew towards Ye Chong, fast as a comet!

His lance sprang to life, as Blue Winter moved like a venomous serpent, hissing with its forked tongue!

Hak was mildly surprised that Ye Chong could use the lance so well, and greatly admired his ability to adapt to various situations! One should know that using something like the archaic lance required special techniques; in the hands of someone ignorant, it would be no more useful than a metal pole! However, the weapon was already long gone in history, and even in Black Cove, where expert fighters were abound, few used a lance as their mech's weapon!

Without much time to spare, Kai crossed its arms to shield its vulnerabilities!

"Blocking it, are you?" Ye Chong smiled coldly to himself!

DING!* Blue Winter's tip landed squarely on its opponent for the very first time!

His expectation of the lance penetrating the mech entirely was unmet, as Blue Winter only penetrated halfway through one of Kai's arms! Ye Chong suddenly realised that Hak's mech must have gone through a special strengthening process! Ye Chong immediately reacted by retreating with his lance, putting a distance between him and Kai!

Hak was completely astonished! He could barely believe that there was still a weapon that could damage his mech like that! His astonishment quickly turned into anger, as Kai had never been damaged in the 20 years of their partnership. He did not expect to receive such humiliation from the little b*stard today!

Hak's face darkened instantly!

Ye Chong watched Hak's mech coldly, without any emotions! He knew that he had just lost the perfect opportunity just now, and Hak would not let his mech and Blue Winter come into direct contact again. With his skills, that was entirely possible!

By now, Ye Chong felt icy calm!

Harmony of the Winter Aria suddenly accelerated to its maximum speed, and Ye Chong charged towards Hak with Blue Winter in hand! Based on his experience, if his attack was on target this time, he will be able to fully penetrate Kai! The high speed impact would increase its usual destructive effect by a few magnitudes!

Hak may be furious, but he did not lose his rational mind. He knew that he could not afford to receive the incoming attack. He gauged the direction of the lance and twisted his body, barely escaping the tip of the weapon!

As Ye Chong was about to rush past Hak, Ye Chong gave a cold laugh, and his hands flew across the controls!

The double-folded wings on the back of Harmony of the Winter Aria suddenly expanded!

The sharp edges of the wings cut like blades, and after some strengthening treatment, the wings were as sharp as alloy daggers! Harmony of the Winter Aria's could go up to Mach 7! The shrieking sound of air rushing past the edges was terrifying! Hak immediately realized the danger it posed!

There was a loud sound of impact! Kai took a few steps backwards, a long gash on its chest, cracks forming around it like spiderwebs!

Ye Chong was also doing no better, the powerful impact breaking the wing upon contact. Even though Ye Chong expected it, he was still tossed to a far corner, and it took him great effort to stabilize himself. The photon processor's alarm blared in full party mode!

Hak was now feeling terribly unpleasant! He was obviously stronger than Ye Chong, but had instead took damage from his opponent. The attacks were also vicious and cunning, which annoyed Hak very much, as though he had just swallowed a fly! Besides, this was someone whom he was teacher to! His beloved mech of twenty years was not seriously damaged, but how could he not be furious about it?

Hak's expression grew even darker! His eyes looked as though they could spit fire!

Ye Chong could only smile wrily. He had no other way of fighting, since they were too equally matched! He could only sacrifice a bit of himself to cause greater damage on his opponent! He did not expect Hak to apply his combat skills in mech piloting!

Ye Chong also finally understood that Hak's application of his combat techniques in mech piloting was still meager compared to others, but when using it against him, it was more than enough!

Ye Chong could not help but began to consider the option of escaping! If he escaped now, what were his odds of success?

From the performance of Hak's mech, its engines were definitely on par with the Harmony of the Winter Aria's. If he escaped now, the mech would definitely follow him closely like an annoying fly. Besides, who was to say that they had no other comrades further out? If they had comrades, then the one to falter first would be himself! Him being surrounded and annihilated would be a certainty!

Ye Chong considered the matter, as his eyes unknowingly began to fixate on Kai's engines!

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Chapter 96: Survival

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There were 3 engines located within Samuel in total - one of them was placed beneath the abdomen along with the others at the outer thighs being the supportive engines. This is one distinct design that made the Samuel style mechs identifiable.

Ye Chong was bothered however. While the Blue Winter turned out to be quite a remarkable ranged weapon and the "marksmanship" of lances taught by the great Mu was impeccable on both paper and performance, Ye Chong felt uneasy conducting his fight in this way. It did not feel as comfortable as brandishing cutters like the magnetic blade or the flaming sword. He was fond of the close-combats as if he was born for them.

Despite all that, Blue Winter the lance remained glued in his hands. It was a good weapon anyway, that Ye Chong would not let go this quickly. The uneasiness holding a foreign weapon had disintegrated into a mere preference of weaponry the moment he witnessed the capability of Blue Winter in that fight with 6 men before. Its offenses were of a perfect score. Even if it were to impale Hak's mech, it would an effortless attempt to inflict actual damage. Other than the Blue Winter, there were a few other weapons in Harmony, but Ye Chong had yet to test their capabilities.

He clenched his teeth as he launched the mech to propel. Harmony of the Winter Aria skipped its way like a bird with a broken wing - clumsily and tactlessly.

Kai stomped onto the ground as it bent its body like a drastically pressed spring under Hak's command.

The energy accumulated over time was unleashed, as Kai blasted off like an unstoppable bullet right towards Ye Chong.

Kai zoomed past Ye Chong. "That was very fast!" Ye Chong exclaimed that there was hardly time for him to react! Hak picked such a precise timing to strike back right when Ye Chong was withdrawing the lance. As long as Kai got close enough to this nuisance before him, he would be able to taste victory fairly soon.

Wham!

Ye Chong felt as if he would spit splats of blood in no time at this rate. Hak's timing manipulation was flawless, and that was discomforting to Ye Chong.

One of the pair of wings on Harmony was truly broken and it had negatively affected the overall balance in travels. Not only that, the aerodynamic of the mech had been disrupted, making it difficult to control! That was why Ye Chong hated unnecessary spreading wings on a mech.

Droplets of sweat rolled over his forehead one after another. He had achieved the maximum speed of his hands on the control panel!

Ye Chong's Harmony grabbed the lance in the right and backed off speedily, at an attempt to keep a distance from the terrorizing enemy. Ye Chong was too occupied to pull off a fight. A large amount of input was allocated on the balancing of the mech by making tiny adjustments in its positioning using the supportive engines.

Even though Ye Chong tried to maintain a distance between them, Hak had already been absolutely enraged by that moment. Till the final blow he made, his mind was engrossed by the rages after what Ye Chong had done on his mech, while the clear order of bringing Ye Chong in one piece by Black Cove authority echoed.

Providing Ye Chong was still breathing after the fight, with the help of current medical technology, it would not be challenging to make Ye Chong return in whole piece, no matter how injured he was. Hak trashed his concern away as he made up his mind to give this kiddo a "proper lesson"… of life, of course.

This was the moment when Instructor Hak demonstrated his unrivaled skills. Kai moved energetically like an actual living thing in spite of the major injury under his control. Ye Chong was utterly cornered!

Instructor Hak snickered as his eyes glowed coldly at the ancient lance which started to wield slower. If it was not this spear which made him to act cautiously, the kiddo would have been lying on the ground way back! The Ji family was potent enough to produce such a high-leveled craft even at this decade. Hak was stupefied at first glance. That mech would be some juicy details to be included in his report when he went back… with Ye Chong, needless to say!

Although Kai was made out of the classic Samuel's design in the past, it had undergone several rounds of heavy modification accomplished by the ace technicians at Black Cove. Practically speaking, other than the appearance and placement of the main components being similar to the old-fashioned Samuel style, it was literally a brand new mech inside the body. These upgrades were made compatible with Hak's powerful unarmed combat skills.

Harmony was immediately in grave danger as Kai inched forward.

With such a fearsome velocity, Ye Chong's new toy had somehow become a burden to his fight. The Blue Winter, a compelling lance it might be, was still a slow weapon in comparison to such a mighty opponent.

The instructor sneered slightly as he knew what Ye Chong would do. Most of the kiddo's attacks, counterattacks were from the his lecture back at the Black Cove and those were nothing against his techniques. Hiya! A left crush from Kai's left shoulder, the Harmony's balance went crumpled as its body swung consecutively. Ye Chong's hands hurriedly stormed upon the control panel again as he inputted the command, hoping to regain balance in time. Seeing Ye Chong acting in such a panic, the instructor was joyful. Hak watched his opponent carefully. "There!" Kai's left arm was raised a little, putting itself into a stance. Shush! Bang! The Blue Winter came piercing underneath of Kai's left arm, tightly like a sword back into its sheath. As if he was prepared for the incoming attack the whole time, Hak predicted the attack and obviously he did not give the kiddo a chance to land a counterattack. Klink! Kai's left arm gripped the lance tightly and the right fist struck upon the Harmony right after.

The metallic fist glossed in the dark with the spikes spreading out.

The punch was unavoidable even with Ye Chong's hacking speed of his hand movements. It would be impossible to dodge the punch fully, considering how the major parts of Harmony were within its range of attack. Even if he turned his engines to the maximum, it would be too late for him to dodge.

It was probably the end of Ye Chong's adventure.

He lost.

…as if.

Out of a sudden, a glaring white light flashed before him. Without forewarning, Hak's eyes squinted due to the scorching light. A rumble resounded right after the punch landed as the mech shook a little by the recoil. The processor of his mech then started wailing its alarm menacingly.

Boom! A loud explosion followed at the end of rumble.

When Hak's sight had recovered from the glaring light after a moment, he could only see a huge dent on the wall before him. The target was nowhere to be seen!

The alarm was still ringing in the cabin madly. Hak had no idea what had just happened. He tried moving his mech but he failed! For some reasons, Kai could not move! He looked at the interface as the processor prompted, "System Failure - Main Engine Severely Damaged - Inspecting - Mobility: Negative! Mobility: Negative!" The bloody red wording peered into his eyes.

In the meantime, Ye Chong had escaped. Yes, like a coward, he ran away gracelessly.

Ye Chong let off a bitter laugh as he stared upon the torn Harmony of the Winter Aria. After all those efforts he put in renovating this beauty, the former elegance was utterly wiped. It looked like trash that could go straight to the recycling center!

The last blow was delivered successfully. The armor of Harmony took the spikes of Kai's fist like how Kai chewed on the Blue Winter's impale. It landed a critical hit. There was no plot twist to save Ye Chong. If it was not under an order to bring Ye Chong back alive, the fist would have hit right into the cabin and even a titan like Ye Chong would die in a whimper.

Ye Chong's mood was brightened knowing how he was still alive. And thinking back how he was still able to make a comeback so gorgeously - the usual indifferent he could not help but to smile slightly.

After Ye Chong had planned to escape, he rushed towards Kai's engines. No matter how much the Samuel mechs were overhauled, the placement of the engines would never be changed. Ye Chong, the mod expert pinpointed such flaw at first look.

Back when Harmony was still under the modification process, Ye Chong had sneaked the laser sword within its right hand. The laser sword would not reveal its blade when unactivated. So anyone would hardly notice the remaining handle inside the palm. It was an exceptional stealth and quite a dirty trick too! Ye Chong did not use this killer-move right away simply because he could not foresee whether a laser-based cutter could deal with such fatal damage to a mech from Black Cove. He gambled once and of course he won. Apparently, laser swords worked on Black Covers' mechs like wonders. He was not sure how much damage he had inflicted exactly, but seemingly Hak did not come after him straightaway. That would be more than enough to justify the significant damage he had done. Well, he speculated so.

Back at the climax of their battle, Ye Chong decided to drop the lance and activated the laser sword. Harmony lifted the sword and made an upper slash - a seamless chain of action, so fast it even shocked an experienced killer like Hak, all thanks to Ye Chong's amazing speed. That glaring light that blinded Hak was actually the beam of Ye Chong's laser sword upon its activation!

Nonetheless, the Harmony had been torn into junks, while the Blue Winter had gone into the enemy's hands. It was another horror story for Ye Chong to imagine if he could escape Black Cove's hunting. Hak was not the first one who came after him, and certainly he would not be the last. The Black Cove seemed to be very keen in taking Ye Chong down. Hence, anyone could guess the fight had not ended yet.

Sigh…

"Ye, that was rather incredible!" Mu's voice rang suddenly.

"Incredible? I almost got myself killed!" replied Ye Chong and he laughed bitterly.

"It is incredible!" Mu explained, "The probability of your victory would be a measly 8%, whereas the probability of a successful escape would be 33%. In the end, you went after that 33% chance instead."

Ye Chong's lips twitched as he spoke, "Mu, if you did try to be helpful just now, taking down that guy would have been a piece of cake. For real. I was almost pounded into a pancake and yet Mu, you actually sat back and did nothing?"

"You are right," replied Mu. "However the catch is, I would provide my assistance only when the probability of your survival goes below 15%."

"And why is that so?" Ye Chong snorted.

"Based on the reading I had obtained from previous researches, under such circumstance humans would most likely unleash their potential. Moreover, a pilot would be required to take on countless occasions of such kind to become the true pilot! Since you happened to be the owner of both Shang and I, it is essential to make you the strongest pilot!" Though Mu's reasoning went flat and calm as if describing something trivial, there was a hint of dignity in his speech which made Ye Chong lowered his eyes in disgrace.

Anyone would have assumed that Mu was being harsh and unsympathetic, but this was reasonable to Ye Chong. Mu shared some points and he deeply understood every bit of it. It was his own life, of course he would be the one to fight for it. Back at Trash Planet-12, Ye Chong spent his life growing on the belief that one would always be the one to manipulate one's own fate. The relationship between Mu and Ye Chong might be of a brotherly love and a mutual trust, yet Ye Chong never expected Mu's protection as a form of duty or responsibility. If Mu helped out, without a doubt Ye Chong would express gratitude. If Mu decided not to however, Ye Chong would not whine about Mu's "irresponsibility". It was not his responsibility to protect, nevertheless, it was his responsibility to train! Ye Chong knew Mu well enough that he knew whatever Mu did was for his own good. Only one would become a true warrior after countless dead-or-alive battles.

Was there nothing Ye Chong could rely on?

No, there wasn't.

To Ye Chong, he knew he could best rely on his own strength.

"Also, I was recording the opponent's data during the battle. His battle style was rather intriguing. The final result would be released after some data analysis," Mu carried on his speech.

"Right," Ye Chong nodded in strong approval from his experience. "Not only it is intriguing, but also strong. Very strong! But hey, Mu, don't you think our first priority for now is to plan a runaway from the Blue Ocean?"

"Correct," Mu agreed. "We would need a spaceship."

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