Chapter 231: Pilot of Darklight

mech flew out of the dark warship. Very swiftly it arrived by Thorn’s side and seized the lifeless commander floating in space; like a bird returning to its nest, a flawless swing drew towards the opened gate.

“My lord, I have returned,” a gentle voice rang in the captain’s room.

“Mhm, discovery?” an emotionless voice stated.

“Thorn has officially deceased, caused by a recursion ray right through his heart. An immediate death. Other than the two pores about the size of fingers, numerous slashes were found over his body. He should have been involved in an intensive fight before, where his foe could be also a fighter. The speculation, my lord, is that Thorn probably had a struggling fight with an ace fighter and was then sniped by one with a superior marksmanship, thus the instant death,” the gentle voice reported serenely, although the lips were shaking when “recursion ray” was mentioned.

“Recursion? Are you sure it’s the recursion?” The warship commander’s emotionless voice was slightly quivering as he spoke.

“Yes sir,” the voice remained calm.

“Looks like our nemesis could not hold up any longer, though I wonder when did the MPA have their own ace fighters? I do feel much stranger when I realized the warship we faced was clearly not belonged to the MPA,” he scratched his chin and pondered.

“My lord, requesting a follow-up on this,” the gentle voice sounded serene as ever, while the commander could see the will of battle blazing in his eyes.

“Alright then. Better if you do. It’s been 50 years since we met the Pilot of Darklight as well as the Hunter in White. I am very much looking forward to this war. Mhm, bring Little Rock along. I will also hand you a quick transportation. Just go. Also, check out their motives for me,” the emotionless voice actually sounded concerned about his underlings.

“Thank you my lord,” the voice was filled with gratitude.

He boarded the powership, which was a boat of small diagonal, able to accommodate just two passengers. If one would relate the size of a warship to a large fish, the powership could very much be that thin bone within. Although the powership was rather petite compared to its counterparts in the armory of the Black Coves, its capabilities were not something to be shunned. It was mainly for infiltration and hunting purposes for its speed was superior while being capable of performing all kinds of turns easily. It was also installed with a massive amount of batteries to ensure sustainability in long travels. Technology-wise the Black Coves might be lagging behind compared to the R&D of MPA, but that was it. Black Coves were not incompetent at any other aspects. This tiny boat could also perform a space-jump and everyone in the Black Coves believed it to be probably the smallest spaceship that could warp through spaces in the entire galaxy.

The powership hovered out of the gate of its mothership, it then zoomed towards the Coxcomb.

One of the underlings in the captain’s room was hurrying the way out.

“Remain on our course,” the commander’s voice suddenly echoed.

“What about those privateers?” the underling was looking confused.

“Let them be. We have wasted enough time on them. Now we got to catch up, it’s all about speed,” said the commander as he rose from his seat and turned away after giving one last glance at the speeding powership on the screen. He left the room.

“Little Rock, it’s your time,” smiled Luo Wei, who had a charming smile of a late twenties that made him approaching, especially with that handsome face of his, a charmer he was. And no matter what had happened before him, he seemed to be always able to keep that serenity in his tone, which convinced the people his reliability.

“Sir Luo Wei… I… heh…” Little Rock’s face reddened. Compared to the handsome master leading the powership, the rocky boy was just an average boy. Nothing particularly attractive was found on his face. He was short and looked so puny that people wondered if he had ever eaten. But the Black Covers, despite being hefty and potent, were not looking down on this feeble boy. He was in fact, a genius, an absolute genius after all.

“Sir Luo Wei… is that…” halted Little Rock. “Is that White Hunter really great?”

“Hmmm…” Luo Wei’s voice ran deep, “It was also my first time seeing a White Hunter. They are eye-catching with their Recursion. Right, it’s a type of energy-based firearm that launches recursion rays. They are also master of ranged and extreme-ranged attacks. Rather terrorizing if you ask me. Based on the information from our heads, the grading system of MPA is the same stern as the Black Coves, while the Pilot of Darklight just so happened to be at the same level as the White Hunter. But it’s rare to have a White Hunter in MPA. Most of them were Divine in the tree. So it’s really weird to see a White Hunter here.”

“Meh,” Little Rock gave a disdained look. “That Widdy Hunter is nothing in front of Luo Wei the great. Don’t they know how great our Pilots of Darklight are? Do they think their Widdy Hunter could win us?”

Luo Wei responded that statement with a smile. He said nothing, although his mind wandered away for a sec, for he knew that it would not be possible for these people to understand the depth of the Black Coves, not even himself, probably, what he knew was a mere tip of the iceberg.

Zztt!

Shang screamed, “Wait what, those warships are leaving?”

“Leaving?” Ye Chong was also shocked by the report. Leaving the nemesis was not something the Black Covers would do.

“Wait no!” The mechanical voice shrieked, “There’s one powership coming! Man we almost got cheated. Ha! Ha! Ha! Thanks to my wisdom and amazing sight! Tsk, tsk tsk, how could they…” And Shang got vain of himself again.

Ye Chong had no word for the artificial indulgence, like for real.

On the hologram screen he saw, that particular miniature spaceship rushing its way to them. The speed astonished Ye Chong a little.

“This fast? This could already compete with a mech!”

“Ye, this is known as a ‘powership’. It’s empowered of course it’s fast. Holy Mama, Ye, we are in hot water…” Shang sounded as if his tail was snapped.

“What’s wrong, Shang?” asked Ye Chong peculiarly.

“Ye, the pilot of this ship has to be an ace. The ship is prominently used to infiltrate enemies’ bases or to perform counter strike. They would utilize the maximum force of their mech to annihilate their foes. Whoever running on his mission has to the ace of the aces, not even Thorn could be close. Ye, we had overdone it. Something big is coming!”

“A stronger foe than Thorn…?” Ye Chong’s face drained. Fighting with Thorn was already energy consuming for him. He could never imagine killing Thorn by himself. Defeating foes was a fundamentally different concept to killing them. Anyone with experience in battles would know that.

And there he came, someone stronger than Thorn.

… Are we done? No way I would win… I wouldn’t even survive… But what about Mu Shang…

“Ha!” In the midst of Ye Chong’s misery, Shang was giggling, “Ha! Ha! Jajajajajajajaja! Ye, did you get frightened? Man Ye you could be a scaredy cat sometimes! Kekekekekeke! I was just messing with you! Tsk, tsk, tsk. Ye, you were that cool and indifferent usually, never knew I would have the chance to see the true you inside. Don’t judge a Ye by his face…” The last syllable trailed off, it was weird.

“Ugh.” The veins bloated on his forehead, there were greens and some blacks. He looked around, his hands swinging, nothing throwable was found. “Ugh!” And he gave up.

Shang – probably sensed Ye Chong’s coming eruption – stated cheerfully, “Jejeje, Ye my boy, don’t panic, I have already calculated our warping point. Hah! They wouldn’t get us. Don’t even think about it!”

Beep. A fancy tap on the button.

Almost immediately after Shang’s words, Ye Chong could feel the acceleration by the Coxcomb. They had to give up… They no longer had the stamina to follow the privateers. Where would Grandpa Qian be? What about the others? Ye Chong was rational as he gave up searching for them under such chaos.

All he could do was to pray them having a good luck, a very good luck.

Beep. Beep. Tick. Little Rock’s face was grave as his eyes fixed upon the floating screen of the processor where the data was streaming in ticking beeps.

“Master Luo Wei, I have calculated their warping point. For the exact coordination, I have already submitted it through the processor,” he sounded a little tired. Shang would probably be jumping up high with his bolts raining the ground if Shang ever discovered the fact that their coordination had already been estimated with mere calculation even a second before their space-warp procedure. The world was vast and limitless, where always a new genius would appear. In whichever field one would be, there was never an absolution where one remained on the top. The superb calculating ability that Little Rock possessed was the main reason he was called to assist Luo Wei by the commander.

The Coxcomb did not realize it at all. No one would believe this tale where a person was able to calculate the exact coordination of the destination the space-jumper was heading, merely by a grip on the final data before the jumper warped out of the dimension. Not even Shang could do it, Mu was not confident to assert that too.

The Coxcomb was all torn on the outside, at least the main frames were not destroyed so it was not a problem to warp between spaces.

The Coxcomb’s momentum increased over the time and before they realized, they had already zapped out of the warping point. Phew… Ye Chong and Shang could finally have a moment to catch their breath. Be it the god of war or the greatest commander, facing two warships at once would not be an effortless task, especially when one had to face a mighty fighter and fight for one’s own life. It would be a blatant lie if one would claim to be still kicking and alive after the fight.

On the fence between death and life, humans were like ragged dolls pulled by the hidden thread from both sides. And once they escaped the dead-or-alive moment, the thread would loosen, the ragged doll would have a resting land on the fence, as reminded the flooding fatigue over its body.

“Holy Fal! Ye!” Shang was in bewilderment as he shouted, “That powership had just warped out of the point! How in Fal did they know our warping point’s destination?”

Ye Chong was dumbfounded as well, although he did not react as dramatically as Shang since he was not aware of how space-to-space connection worked.

The foe’s craft further accelerated while retaining a distance right beyond the proximity of the laser firing units. Shang was annoyed by the pesky little ship behind. We will use the electromagnetic cannons. Wait no, we can’t. This pest was too small to make the firing count, especially when it had demonstrated quite a level of piloting skill. And it remains at one point where the lasers could not reach. I’ll use Recursion then. The only thing I could have used. Still… Recursion might be great, it is not possible for it to penetrate their ship. Recursion cannon? Distance and accuracy-wise… No. And Shang gave up these ideas which seemed too far-fetched to succeed.

The powership did not seem intended of anything just yet, as it sluggishly tagged the Coxcomb along. The Coxcomb could not do another space-warp as the foe – being so close to them – could have easily disrupted their warping sequence by a simple firing or whatsoever right at that second when they accelerated.

Ye Chong and Shang looked at each other, their temper extinguished and shrugged.

“Shang, how about…” frowned Ye Chong, “I’ll go and lure them and you snipe them with Recursion.”

“Wait, let’s try the Beauty’s Secretion first.” Sneered Shang.

10 Beauty’s Secretions fresh off the pipe, heading towards the powership behind.

Ye Chong and Shang glued their eyes on the screen, fearing to miss that very moment of their life. The Beauty’s Secretions overcame the void in silence and were hitting the ship soon. “Got yo-” And the foe launched one laser firing unit and shot down all 10 Beauty’s Secretions which then vanished as a cloud of purplish mist.

“Ye, calm down, stay here,” Shang regained his calmness. “Rest yourself. You have been fighting for so long. Your stamina is fully depleted. Fight only after you have recovered. Hmph, I might be incomplete and crippled but that doesn’t mean some pesky bits could flaunt their dirty tricks in front of me!” Shang subconsciously displayed his tyranny, which was odd to Ye Chong’s eyes as he wondered… What exactly was Shang in the past? How did he behave? Was it like this?

“Keke, well the pests aren’t approaching anytime soon, anyway. Kekekeke…” The tone and the expression of Shang were giving Ye Chong goosebumps, which shattered his speculation. Maybe I was thinking too much… Yeah, Shang actually got serious and stern? It must be an illusion. Feeling defeated, Ye Chong picked a resting spot and fell asleep quickly.

It would be impossible for one to actually infiltrate the Coxcomb without being noticed by the artificial pairs, like seriously, how would that be possible? Ye Chong might not be that confident to declare Mu Shang’s detection system to be the most advanced in the world, but their system had got to be one of the most advanced. That would be convincingly undeniable.

It was a comfortable nap Ye Chong took, as he felt quite replenished when he woke up. He took some food and hydrated himself a little, “How’s it going?”

“The same.” Shang sounded bored, “That pest was just following us. Nothing much.”

“What about our current location?” asked Ye Chong.

“Cyana…” Shang said as he yawned.

“Cyana? Isn’t that the territory declared by the Sanctuary?”

“If the news reporter was not lying, yeah.”

Ye Chong did a stretch and swung his limbs, then performed a brief set of Lan’s martial arts techniques to warm up. And he felt his body activated on all sides, going strong.

He then deployed Han Jia from the alternate dimension and resupplied the batteries on it.

“Well, Shang, I’ll be heading out to have a look. You coming?” asked Ye Chong.

“Nah, I’m good. I just do my sniping here. It’s a shame that your materials are only able to craft a Recursion, if I have “that thing”, I would have… Hmph! Recursion is just a toy, which works on plain shooting at mech. It would not work well on anything else. Sigh, Recursion cannon could have done the trick, but the accuracy is way too low,” Shang packaged his disdain towards Recursion fancily.

“Aren’t mechs for mechs? Are we going to use a mech to fight a warship?” it sounded ridiculous to Ye Chong.

“Who said a mech is incapable of fighting a warship? Kek! You’ll know one day, of how mech and warship are inversely conditional, how one would break the condition formed by the others. Ye, be careful. Always the fiercest stays in the powership. Anything they do, you make a quick back off, and I’ll snipe him,” concerned Shang.

“Okay,” Ye Chong took a deep breath and climbed upon Han Jia.

Ye Chong flew out of the Coxcomb.

…

“Skeleton mech! It’s a skeleton mech! No wonder Thorn had a hard time fighting!” Luo Wei seemed astounded.

Little Rock – filled with disbelief – looked at Han Jia in the projection, “Sir, is this the skeleton mech the legend has mentioned?”

“Yes, should be it. Little Rock, you’ll take over the steering. I’ll have a nice talk with him,” something was shining in his gentle eyes.

“Alright,” nodded Little Rock, piloting a powership was not difficult for a little genius like him.

After being in a cold war for the past 2 days, finally something had happened to break the ice, as the mech flew out of the gate.

Ye Chong, again, had never seen such model from the Black Covers before. It was a model about 10 meter tall, likewise to other models it had a great body proportion while giving off a dark metallic glow. The slender main body gave off a vibe of elegance which reminded Ye Chong of the MPA, except well, the MPA’s mech was white while the one he was seeing glowed in black. The mech was missing the usual thorns adorned on the other Black Covers’ units, hence the texture looked rather clean and smooth. A gorgeous seamless curve could be seen over its slender legs, with a hemispheric armor piece at the knees which reinforced its imagery, reminding the foes that it was not as weak as it appeared.

The weapon installed was a pair of moon blade. A long narrow blade with outrageous curl, with the handle laid at the center. The blade body was dark, tainted. No glow could be see, although the edge of the blade was shining bright. It felt like as if a gentleman in dark tuxedo had come with a pair of silver moons, standing in the midst of darkness of the space.

Ye Chong could not help but to compliment the craftsmanship, as being experienced as a critic, his eyes lay upon every joints of the mech. It was not the weapon which amazed him. The little details could always depict the craftsmanship of the mech. And Ye Chong felt there was nothing he could nitpick on the mech hovering before him. The Black Coves was as dark as he knew, dark and bottomless, bottomless and unknown, where one could never know if a more fearsome beast would appear at some point, as these powerful pilots could be a master in certain field.

Ye Chong’s cold gaze then fell upon that strange scythe. His heart quivered. He was not fearing the unknown, rather he feared knowing that among the Black Covers, the use of a unique weapon always would be paired with a unique set of skills.

Okay… well…

“Darklight!” He heard Shang screaming, “The Pilot of Darklight!”

Chapter 232: Super Training Partner

hat mech pilot?

Ye Chong was startled. Just then, a silver light appeared before him, shining almost painfully bright. A strong sense of danger enveloped him. Almost reflexively, Ye Chong’s hands began to dance quickly on the controls. At the same time, Han Jia stepped back and raised the dagger in its hands against that silver light.

Ding! Han Jia’s daggers felt like it had hit a starship, and Ye Chong could not help but be flung backwards.

Ye Chong groaned. For every mech pilot, it was dangerous to lose control of his or her mech, no matter how fast they could recover. Ye Chong’s hands were flying across the controls. For the first time ever, Ye Chong felt that his hands were not fast enough.

Han Jia went eagle-spread, its engines firing intermittently as it came to a mind-bending stop. Then, it suddenly changed directions. This was a very difficult series of movements, executed when the mech was almost out of the pilot’s control. Ye Chong’s excellent mech piloting skills and adaptability had saved his life.

A silver crescent shone in midair, so very close to Han Jia. Ye Chong could see it clearly in all its beauty and fatality.

Ye Chong’s mind was not blank, without fear or surprise. He thought nothing, for there was no time to think of anything. His movements were all done out of instinct from his years of battle experience.

Ye Chong was also at his limit in executing that move earlier. However, the other party was not going to let him go. The silver crescent rushed to him like an incandescent wave. Ye Chong could feel the overwhelming attack coming like a sea of mercury, indefensible.

Was he really going to die here?

Ye Chong’s survival instinct could not accept that. Time suddenly stopped out of the blue. Ye Chong watched as the silver wave slowly approached him, like a movie put on slow motion. His brain turned so quickly like never before, and his hands moved crazily fast, with his calm eyes now burning with excitement.

Han Jia made an adder-style turn, but the silver wave followed it closely behind.

Thomas’s spin, T-shaped turn … Han Jia moved like a performer of a grand show, trying out all sorts of battle techniques. Nonetheless, the other party’s mech piloting skills were just as impressive, and it never once fell for Han Jia’s maneuvers. Han Jia’s movements were already at its limit, but the other party seemed to be capable of keeping with it.

Ye Chong saw that the other party still pursued him closely from behind, and he came to a decision. Han Jia stopped moving forward and began to fly backwards. Like a compressed spring being released, its body bent at the sudden change in momentum almost uncontrollably as the mech launched itself backwards at an even faster speed.

Inside the pilot cabin, Ye Chong grew pale. Han Jia’s action was putting a heavy physical burden on him.

Ye Chong’s movement surprised the other party, and Ye Chong could see that the silver wave grew hesitant. Ye Chong’s glowed as his hands executed a series of movements that he had done so many times before.

Han Jia wielded the dagger in its right hand and swiped towards the other party in the midst of the silver wave’s hesitation.

Ding! The solid hit from his dagger encouraged Ye Chong greatly. He was also to see the other party’s movements clearly for the first time! Without room for doubt, Han Jia’s other dagger struck again at an angle against the other crescent blade of the opponent.

Ye Chong’s desperate attack was powerful, so much so that it surprised Luo Wei. He almost lost control of his Darklight. This startled him, and sparked his interest for the pilot in this full-skeleton mech for the first time.

Nonetheless, with his long combat experience, he did not forcefully hold his ground, but flew backwards with the momentum.

Seeing his opponent moving away, Ye Chong controlled Han Jia to throw out two auto lock-on shurikens and immediately left for Coxcomb. Han Jia was accelerated to its maximum speed, as Ye Chong demonstrated a perfect example of cut-and-run.

Luo Wei was a little stunned to see his opponent escaping, but the two shurikens were already coming towards him. Luo Wei did not panic. As the two shurikens crossed over each other, Darklight’s crescent blade drew upwards to trace a silver arc in the air, slicing the two shurikens into clean halves in one go.

Luo Wei watched as the full-skeleton mech took the opportunity to widen the distance between them. He smiled faintly and flew contentedly back to his powership.

Little Rock looked at Luo Wei with admiring eyes and spoke excitedly, “Master Luo Wei, you’re so strong! That fellow couldn’t even fight back …”

Luo Wei smiled warmly but did not reply. While the pilot in the full-skeleton mech was not particularly skillful, his deftness and adaptability were unexpected.

Han Jia returned to Coxcomb bewildered. Ye Chong came out of the pilot cabin looking very pale and uneasy. He sat heavily on the floor and heaved a long sigh of relief. It was only then that he realized his back was wet from sweating, and the horrifying chill that came with it.

Ye Chong had escaped from death in the truest sense. He still could not calm himself down. Even though he had struggled to survive many times in the past, he had never come close to what had happened today, nearly defenseless against the situation.

“Ye Chong, you did well!” Shang’s words sounded like sarcasm, and Ye Chong could not help but roll his eyes.

However, Shang continued evenly, “Ye, you really did well this time. I didn’t know he was actually a Darklight mech pilot, or I would have stopped you from going. From your battle against Thorn yesterday, I believed that you are on the same level as Thorn now. There is a huge gap between Thorn and Darklight mech pilots. Darklight mech pilots could almost certainly kill their enemies, and you had managed to escape from one, and that really surprised me, especially those last few moves. Hehe, however, I’ve also come up with a wonderful idea!” Shang’s final words brought another chill to Ye Chong.

Even so, Ye Chong knew that he was safe just now. When he was flying back towards Coxcomb, Shang had been at the opened hatch, holding onto Recursion and aiming towards him. If he was really in trouble, Shang would make his move.

“Darklight mech pilots, in actual fact, Ye, are not very strong in Black Cove. There are many more stronger combatants above them. The MPA and the Sanctuary do not lack capable mech pilots, but I’m not so sure about the Freedom Alliance.” Shang suddenly paused for a moment before continuing, “Besides, Ye, these mech pilots are not good enough to be in the top rankings. That is another level, fit for the best of mech pilots.” Shang spoke almost melancholically.

Ye Chong listened closely, entranced by Shang’s every word.

“Ye, you still have a long way to go, if you want to truly be the master of your destiny.” Shang spoke those words with the demeanor of the wise, a strange sensation for Ye Chong. “Ye, you chose close range combat, and this is quite the opposite from me and Mu. Mu and I are good at shooting, that’s why we didn’t extend much guidance for you while you train. Fortunately, you learn quickly, and can reach your current level by learning and thinking on your own, and gaining experience in actual combat. I must say, Ye, you’re a genius in this! Now, since you have chosen to specialize in close range combat, then you must only rely on yourself to improve further.” Shang spoke seriously.

“Mu’s summaries are always so dull,” Shang said with some disdain, and Ye Chong could not help being a little frustrated with him.

“Hehe, Ye, I’ve come up with a wonderful idea.” Shang sounded almost wicked, and Ye Chong felt a sense of foreboding.

“Ye, since we don’t have a systematic way of learning, we could only rely on accumulating experience through actual combat, and slowly analyzing them, yes?” Shang lectured patiently.

Ye Chong nodded. Shang was right. Most of what he learned was from actual combat, and real battles were actually very helpful to improve one’s strength.

“Hehe, Ye, compared to average opponents, isn’t it more helpful if your opponent is strong?” Shang continued.

Ye Chong nodded. Shang was right in this too. Fighting against a strong opponent would not only allow him to realize where he was lacking, but also provide a model for him to learn from. Most of Ye Chong’s techniques were “borrowed” in this way.

Shang grew excited. “Heh, that’s right! Ye, think about it, isn’t that a strong opponent on that powership?”

Ye Chong started.

“Ye, look, what a good training partner. The man’s a Darklight mech pilot, definitely a superior training partner! Besides, we don’t have to spend a single zuan, and he’s brought his own energy cells. Hehe, Ye, where in the universe can you find such a good deal?! We have to make use of this opportunity, it’d be a such a pity to waste it. Hehe, isn’t his intention to follow us? Then let’s make the most of him!” Shang was now talking like an unscrupulous trader.

Ye Chong was hooked by Shang’s idea. If he really had such a training partner, then he would be able to learn so much more. In any case, he would definitely be able to improve himself. After that close call earlier, Ye Chong wanted more than ever to make himself stronger. The vulnerable feeling of losing control of his destiny when facing Luo Wei was horrible.

Ye Chong pondered on the idea. “Shang, your idea has a little problem. That guy can be a good assassin, but as a training partner, he won’t be so obedient.” While he really wanted to fight against such a strong opponent, he recalled how powerful that man had been, and how close he was to death. Ye Chong may want to improve himself, but he was not so stubborn as to disregard his own safety. He cannot imagine how the other party would agree to become a training partner.

Shang laughed and said, “Ye, don’t worry, whenever you go to fight him, I’ll be at the hatch. If you’re in danger I’ll shoot the guy, force him back, then he’ll not be able to harm you. Hehe, I’ll threaten him but keep him unharmed. After all, he’s your training partner!”

Ye Chong recalled then that Shang was also capable himself, even if he never seemed to act like one.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Ye Chong pondered longer, and thought of something else. “What if he refuses to come out?”

Shang replied with a sinister tone, “If he won’t come out at all, then you’ll go to his powership. If he chases us, we’ll speed up with warp jumps, hehe. Even if he can calculate where we would emerge, I can still make two continuous short distance warp jumps, then they’ll not be able to find us, plus we’ll lose our tail. However, if someone on that powership can calculate our first position, then he must have thought of this as well. If your training partner still refuses to come out, then you can start dismantling his powership, hehe, see if he’ll yield.”

Ye Chong stared at Shang for a long moment before gasping, “Shang, you’re ruthless!” Shang’s idea was really cunning. Ye Chong turned it over and over in his mind, and could not think of a reason to reject it.

Shang laughed sinisterly, “Hehehe …”

Poor Luo Wei. He had now unwillingly become a superior training partner.

Ye Chong worked hard studying Shang’s holographic recording. He analysed the opponent’s every move, even replicating Luo Wei’s two crescent blades in the metal laboratory. He repeated Luo Wei’s moves again and again, hoping to find a way to counter them.

What struck Ye Chong the most was Luo Wei’s first attack. The silver glimmer that he saw did not look particularly threatening, but the power that came with it was surprising. It was then that Han Jia suddenly lost control, leading to his narrow escape from death. For Ye Chong, holographic recordings of combat between powerful opponents were very valuable for study. He was at least vaguely familiar with Black Cove’s close range battle style from his short time at Black Cove, so battle recordings of Black Cove mech pilots were particularly valuable to him.

The MPA excelled in long range combat, hence they were not so useful to Ye Chong. The Sanctuary’s strange ways were even harder to understand, it being the most mysterious of the Three Forces. As for the Freedom Alliance, until now, Ye Chong had never seen any of them in actual combat, so he could make no reasonable conclusions about them.

Nonetheless, they must have their own merits, or the Three Forces would not even deign to notice them. It seemed that until now, the Three Forces were careful against this new arrival, the Freedom Alliance. It was thus apparent that they were a force to be reckoned with.

Ye Chong frowned in thought as he watched the holographic recording. He had only fought briefly against the Darklight mech pilot, but this short recording had taken him much effort and time to absorb and understand. In the end, however, he finally found the key.

He did not know what Black Cove called this move, so Ye Chong called it the Z-shaped draw-strike. This move traced the outline of a reverse Z, and could triple the attack power compared to a normal strike. No wonder he lost control. When Ye Chong could finally execute the move himself, he was already deeply impressed of its creator. He would never have imagined such a clever way of drawing energy into the muscles before striking.

He even tried executing the move with his bare hands. With his muscles and the Lan family’s energy control techniques, Ye Chong’s punch was packed with deadly power.

Even so, there were still many things in the short holographic recording that he could not understand. However, he can take it slowly. After all, didn’t he have a superior training partner now? The thought of Shang’s weird expression could not help but make him smile.

Han Jia and Shang stood side by side at the hatch’s opening. Shang waved with Recursion in his hand, and affected a valiant tone, “Ye, go, you have nothing to worry!”

Ye Chong was now regulating his breathing. He must forget that Shang was protecting him, so that he could enter the right combat mode quickly.

Calm with a little excitement – that was what Ye Chong thought of as the perfect mental state to be in for combat. As he regulated his thoughts, he could feel something warm flowing within him, the mental state born of a mixture of calmness and excitement.

Han Jia’s flew swiftly towards the powership that stuck like a barnacle to Coxcomb at the back.

As Shang expected, the Darklight mech came to welcome Han Jia.

Ye Chong charged without fear. He chose to be proactive this time. Luo Wei was surprised, but his eyes were calm as he countered steadily.

Ye Chong’s first attack was with the Z-shaped draw-strike.

Luo Wei was even more surprised now, but he did not receive the blow head on. Instead, he twisted oddly like a black snake and shook off Ye Chong’s Z-shaped draw-strike attack. Then, he drew his two crescent blades and aimed for Ye Chong.

Ye Chong was confounded. The difference in their strengths was too great, and he was quickly out of his depth.

Luo Wei’s eyes gleamed. He must not let go of this guy this time. He could almost be certain now that this full-skeleton mech was the one that fought against Thorn.

Just when he was about to deliver the fatal blow, Luo Wei suddenly had a strong feeling of being locked on. Black Cove and the MPA shared a deep hostility between them, and among the Three Forces, the battles between Black Cove and the MPA were the most frequent. This made Black Cove mech pilots more sensitive than usual to the feeling of being locked on. He abruptly recalled that the starship still had a White Hunter. Luo Wei felt cold sweat beginning to form on his forehead. He abandoned his plan and turned back, executing all sorts of evasive moves.

This was the best he could manage, and perhaps his best was not enough.

Curiously, however, the blue beam that he was wary of never appeared. As he flew back into his powership, he saw an opened hatch on the opponent’s starship, where a semi-concealed blue-white mech was holding Recursion, looking coldly at him.

Chapter 233: Transformation

uo Wei was vexed. He realized that something was wrong. That full-skeleton mech had come almost every day for a fight, and every time he was about to strike a killer blow, that strong deep of danger would arise within him. Once, a recursion beam had left a bruise on his mech’s cheek. He understood well that the recursion beam was a warning.

That semi-concealed mech on this strange warship was using Recursion, but Luo Wei was certain that it was not a White Hunter. White Hunters never made him feel so threatened before, and his combat instincts had never failed him.

It had been a few days, and he never noticed any other mech besides these two. Could they be the only passengers of this ship?

Luo Wei was confounded. The warship was strange, no matter how he looked at it.

To think that an electromagnetic cannon made of black gold alloy was found on this starship. He could not figure out how they whipped up such a powerful weapon. The close range full-skeleton mech and the always semi-concealed powerful mech armed with Recursion was not a duo that could be found in the MPA.

He also had reason to believe that this odd duo was not from any of the Three Forces. As far as he knew, black gold would never be lost to outsiders. Different black gold alloy could have different proportions of black gold and hence, different quality. Their properties would not be alike. The EM cannon used by the other party, however, had a high proportion of black gold, implying that they had the material in significant quantities.

Black Coves true nature was not as outsiders would imagine. Black Cove mech pilots were usually solitary, and spent most of their time training. Competition was strong within the organization, an important factor that led to powerful Black Cove mech pilots. Unless it was an order from the higher-ups, the pilots preferred not to concern themselves with other matters. This was why Luo Wei did not know the reason Black Cove was pursuing Ye Chong.

However, the odd warship before him was also very intriguing. If this was not the Cyana Galaxy, the Sanctuary’s territory, he would have called for backup. Now, however, he was stuck in this awkward situation.

The mech pilot of the full-skeleton mech seemed to be very energetic, more than he could imagine. He came for battle every day like he never needed to rest. At first, Luo Wei handled the battles easily, but the routine became harder and harder. That was when he realized that he was dealing with a genius, a battle genius.

Ye Chong had no time to think on his situation. In truth, he was spending his days in quite a fulfilling way. Aside from his daily battles, he spent the rest of his time studying the battle recordings. He must find the reason the opponent was better than him, and try to improve himself. Ye Chong had great talent in combat, and in just the span of a few months, he was able to undergo a transformation. Whenever he was busy, Shang would stay out of his way, holding Recursion in his lap while he sat by the hatch, like he was deep in thought.

Ye Chong was beginning to understand Luo Wei’s battle patterns. To him, it was not the most powerful moves that made a person strong, but solid fundamentals and excellent split decision making during battle.

Under this high pressure “training”, Ye Chong’s talents were fully unleashed. From his initial near-death experience under the opponent’s crescent blades to his current form of being able to fend for himself, Ye Chong could hardly believe how he had transformed.

Ye Chong’s pressure on Luo Wei grew stronger. Luo Wei never expected to see anyone improve so much in such a short time. Luo Wei had always been proud of his own innate talent, but even he had spent five years to rise from Thorn mech pilot to the status of Darklight mech pilot.

This mech pilot had used only a few months to improve himself from a Thorn mech pilot level to a Darklight mech pilot level. As the person who enabled this, Luo Wei did not feel any sense of accomplishment, but only despair and humiliation. This, however, had also made him more eager to win.

Every person has something they are most proud of, that they would never allow to be trampled upon.

Luo Wei ignored the mech pilot with Recursion, and fought with his all whenever the full-skeleton mech came for a fight. After the battles, he would return to his ship to study the battle recordings. He could not stand watching how his opponent improved day by day while he stagnated at his current level.

Luo Wei’s full force attacks were immediately felt by Ye Chong. However, after the initial quick defeats, he soon adjusted and improved even faster.

This situation continued on for a few more days. Luo Wei was pleased to find that he himself was also improving, at a speed that he would have been impressed with before. However, now that there was this other crazy fellow with him, he could not exactly be happy with his achievements.

Luo Wei had already forgotten his original mission. After he realized the benefits, Luo Wei put more effort into the battles. An opportunity like this was rare. In an organization like Black Cove, where strength decided one’s status, he understood the value of strength. Besides, the higher-ups did not exactly give up clear orders. He had flexibility in his mission this time, and so he indulged in the joy of battling to improve his skills.

Ye Chong’s varied and flexible combat style greatly expanded his mind, and he worked even more earnestly to train with his “partner”. The strong mech pilot never appeared again, implying that the blue beam of death never crossed the space between them again. Luo Wei believed that they had no plans of killing him in the immediate future. The other party may choose to end his life at any time, but Luo Wei did not want to miss this golden opportunity to improve himself. To him, the risk was worth it.

Luo Wei guessed right. Shang was having fun with Little Rock every day. Shang was surprised that the other party could compute his warp jump locations accurately, so he sent a message to him. This earned an unexpected reply from the other party.

Little Rock was a computation genius, and Shang was similarly capable at some level. The two of them were a good fit together. Little Rock was still young, and obviously the academic type. Once it involved his expertise, he could forget about everything else.

Thus, a strange situation arose. The enemies began to have a dialogue with each other.

Ye Chong could not fight against Luo Wei for even longer. Their battles would often take half a day to come to an end. After so many days of battle, they were now very familiar with each other’s moves, and so the battles stretched on longer and longer. However, this served to emphasise Ye Chong’s advantage in stamina. The fact was vexing to Luo Wei. How could a Black Cove mech pilot be physically weaker than another outsider? No Black Cove mech pilot would believe his story. In Black Cove, all mech pilots were physically strong, and Darklight mech pilots were the cream of the crop.

Luo Wei sometimes suspected that the fellow he was fighting with was actually a mutant.

The battle between Shang and Little Rock, however, was a game of wit and intelligence. Shang did it out of boredom, while Little Rock was too childish to let go of the fun.

In the end, both sides came to an unstated agreement of momentary truce, engaging in friendly battles of the physical and the mind.

Ye Chong enjoyed his life right now. To him, the most exciting thing was that he could clearly feel himself improving, which was what was happening most of the time now. Ye Chong did not imitate Luo Wei’s moves exactly, but introduced changes as he saw fit, making his newly learned moves different from Luo Wei’s. This was especially confounding to Luo Wei for a time. He found it hard to cope with Ye Chong’s multitude of odd moves, even though they looked very familiar to him.

Ye Chong now understood Mu and Shang’s intentions. If he had not put in so much effort into building a solid foundation in combat, Ye Chong would never be able to improve so much, so fast. Everything he learned before was now the stepping stone of his current transformation.

Ye Chong could feel his mind opening up to a whole new world of possibilities. He also came to realize how he should continue forward. Without a systematic learning history, he could only continue to train through actual combat and study his battle experiences to improve himself, until the day came that he could introduce his own system of combat.

That day was still far in the future, but Ye Chong was hopeful. This was the first time he could see his future so clearly. He believed that, with this clear goal in mind, he could pursue it with all he had and achieve it one day.

Han Jia continued to make acute angle direction changes like a mesmerizing wave, hoping to confuse the viewer’s sight. Nonetheless, Luo Wei was immune to them. After so many days of battle, he now knew that the mech was skilled at changing directions. Suddenly, Han Jia twisted and vanished from his sight. This was when visuals failed, since it could not have as wide a range as holographic scanning systems.

Luo Wei did not panic. The Darklight mech raised the crescent blade in its right hand to the back in an elusive swing. Ding! The silver crescent was met with Han Jia’s dagger. Luo Wei used the interruption to incline Darklight to its side, raising the other crescent blade and tracing another long and deadly arc in space.

Han Jia’s shield came up to meet the silver crescent, while its dagger silently went for the other party’s knees. Just when the silver crescent was about to hit Han Jia’s shield, the expected clash did not happen, and the shield missed the blade. At the same time, a silver gleam halted Ye Chong’s dagger. Ding! That was a solid clash.

They both understood that the battle had just begun.

“Ye, come back now,” Shang suddenly spoke urgently to Ye Chong. Ye Chong was startled, but did not get into a fluster. Han Jia’s daggers drew a few arcs in the air, keeping the Darklight mech at a distance. Han Jia suddenly retreated, turning back and fleeing from battle, leaving a stupefied Luo Wei behind. Why was the full-skeleton mech escaping today?

Soon, he received the same message from Little Rock, asking him to return to the ship.

“Shang, what is it?” Ye Chong asked. Shang would not have him return without reason.

“There, see for yourself.” Shang pointed at the holographic screen.

On the holographic screen was a small starship, pursued by dozens of mechs. They were all the Sanctuary’s Dawn mechs. However, the starship was as fast as the Dawn mechs themselves.

“40 Dawn mechs,” Shang announced lazily.

That made four standard combat squads, since a standard Sanctuary combat squad had 10 members.

Who could possibly demand the attention of four combat squads?

The starship had obviously noticed Coxcomb. After all, Coxcomb was so massive it was impossible to miss it. The starship immediately adjusted it course and headed towards them.

“B*stards,” Shang said, “They probably want us to fight against the Dawn mechs while they make their escape.” Ye Chong agreed, since he would probably had done the same.

The 40 mechs seemed to notice the massive starship too, but they adjusted their course towards Coxcomb as well without hesitation.

The battle force of four combat squads was not insignificant. That was why the mech pilots acted so boldly.

As they approached, everyone was struck with a cold chill. Coxcomb may look dilapidated, but that was precisely why its electromagnetic cannons could not be concealed. The dark cannon barrels were a chilling sight.

No one expected to meet a warship here.

Shang was decidedly uninterested in the 40 Darn mechs, but more intrigued by their target.

Shang immediately messaged the starship to enter Coxcomb, under the threat of the powerfully gleaming electromagnetic cannons directed straight at the ship.

For a mech like Shang to be so well versed in the art of threatening, Ye Chong sometimes wondered if Shang was actually not just a PSI.

The starship hesitated, but as Shang released two warning cannon shots, it obediently docked inside Coxcomb. The starship was small, but Shang opened a larger hatch for it just for laughs.

The turn of events was unexpected.

The warship looked weird, being so dilapidated, as though it had survived a great war.

The 40 mechs assessed the situation, aware of the power of the enemy. They noticed the warship, but knew that a warship could only be as powerful as the mechs that supported it. It was not sure that the fact a warship could overcome the agility of mechs. Besides, it was obvious that this warship had been through a lot and took heavy damage.

To them, the warship was only a show.

What caught their attention was the tiny powership beside it. As a member of the Three Forces, they knew as much about Black Cove as the MPA. They knew the real purpose of the apparently tiny powership, and the strength of its crew.

Their first response was to send out a signal to call for backup. They could only be comforted by the fact that this was Cyana Galaxy, the Sanctuary’s territory. Now, they could only hope that backup arrived sooner than later.

It was almost certainly a fact that the passenger inside the powership was not their peer, the Cosmic Flare. They had no idea who was in the ship, but they knew that they were no match for that person, even with their advantage in numbers.

The balance between quality and quantity is a peculiar thing. Sometimes, quantity can make up for the lack quality, and sometimes, it cannot.

Luo Wei was feeling calm. In truth, every Darklight mech pilot would know how to sabotage the enemy, and how to escape when faced with overwhelming enemy numbers. Besides, they were only 40 Dawn mechs. It would not be a problem for him, even before his vast improvement recently. The thought filled him with pride and enthusiasm.

Luo Wei quickly calmed his mind. This was the Sanctuary’s territory. If he could not quickly vanquish the enemy and escape, then he must be ready to face even stronger mech pilots from the other party. Escape would not come so easily then.

With that thought in mind, Luo Wei made his decision. He slipped into Darklight and exited the powership.

As Darklight came out of the powership, all 40 mech pilots from the Sanctuary froze.

Heavens, it was a Darklight mech!

This intel was also quickly dispatched to headquarters. To their horror, the higher-ups ordered them to delay the Darklight mech pilot for as long as possible, as the higher-ups had already sent out the experts to aid them. Everyone knew how dangerous it was for a powerful enemy like this to wreak havoc in their territory.

With the orders from the higher-ups, everyone came to a calm acceptance of their assured deaths. This made them calmer, especially for the more weathered mech pilots.

Luo Wei seemed to gauge their intention, his gentle eyes now shining with a cold, deadly glare. He could not spare any more attention to that weird warship behind him now.

WIth two crescent blades in hand, Darklight flew towards the mechs like an elegant gentleman.

Ye Chong and Shang were completely absorbed in the starship in Coxcomb. For safety reasons, Ye Chong had slipped into Han Jia. Shang and Ye Chong went to the docking area specially made to host small starships, and approached the small starship which silently landed in there.

“Come out.” Ye Chong’s cold voice came out through Han Jia, resonating in the docking space.

After some seconds of silence, the starship’s hatch slid open, and a person came out.

Chapter 234: Zhu Ling

he had messy short hair, with her thin and apathetic look, but her eyes were alive. Ye Chong almost feel the sharpness of her stare. Her apathetic look could not mask the strong wariness in her eyes.

“Huh?” Ye Chong could not help gasp. “Isn’t that, whatshername, Shang, what was she called again?”

“Zhu Ling, Lunatic Guan’s sister,” Shang tsk-tsked. “What a beauty, cough, last time it was Mu outside, hehe, but now that I can take a good look at her with mine own eyes, my my, she’s a beauty. Hmm, a little young, but she’s well developed, I think I see her boobs coming on well …” Shang began commenting.

Ye Chong ignored Shang’s words automatically. He noticed that Zhu Ling was unarmed, and so he slipped out of Han Jia.

“You’re Little Ye?” The girl gasped as she saw Ye Chong’s face.

“You know me?” Ye Chong was surprised. The last time they met, he was in Guardian, and she should not have seen him before.

“My sister showed me a holographic image of you,” Zhu Ling explained plainly, but the light in her eyes dimmed.

Ye Chong asked, “Where’s your sister?” No one else had exited the starship.

“Dead,” Zhu Ling’s indifferent voice was slightly tinged with sadness. The lonely droplet shaped Red Liquor hung on her neck.

Lunatic Guan was dead? Ye Chong was reminded of a beautiful and lonely figure, leaning against the door, looking outside in a daze, often with a glass of liquor in hand.

In the end, she had found her sister. Ye Chong found himself losing interest in the details of her story. He gathered himself and asked Zhu Ling, “What do you plan to do now?”

“My sister told me that if I found you, I should stay by your side. Of course, if you think it’s a bother, I’ll leave,” Zhu Ling spoke as though she was talking about something unrelated to herself.

Ye Chong gave it a thought and replied, “Alright, you can stay.” Lunatic Guan was his teacher after all, even though she never officially announced it. That was how Ye Chong had always thought of her. This was the main reason he decided to welcome Zhu Ling.

Zhu Ling still looked expressionless, her face devoid of any signs of joy.

“What are you good at?” Ye Chong asked.

“Combat,” was Zhu Ling’s concise reply.

“Where’s your mech?” Ye Chong asked.

“Didn’t you crush it already?” Zhu Ling spoke a little sarcastically. Ye Chong remembered then that he really did crush her mech back then.

“What kind of mech do you use?” Ye Chong may not have much to offer, but he still owned quite a variety of mech models at the moment.

“Anything’s fine,” Zhu Ling said, “Best if it’s the Sanctuary’s.”

Ye Chong had only a few Dawn mechs and Mu Fei’s Overwing. Ye Chong took out the dimension keystones for the Dawn mech and Overwing, and said, “These are all the Sanctuary’s mechs, pick one.”

“Overwing?” Zhu Ling stared widely with a look of disbelief.

“You know Overwing?” Ye Chong found out what the mech was called after noticing its name carved on the mech. Ye Chong had killed the mech’s previous owner in an ambush. Ye Chong had studied Overwing for a long time, but there were many things about it that he could not understand. Its structure was markedly different from what Ye Chong knew about regular mechs, with its very own system architecture. The fact that mentalists were different from regular people made Ye Chong realize that using the mech would probably require special techniques.

“No one in the Sanctuary would not recognize Overwing.” Zhu Ling did not intend to laugh at Ye Chong for his apparent idiocy, but she was still a little confused. “Why would you have Overwing? Mu Fei is well known as the master of Overwing. Did you kill him?” Zhu Ling asked, clearly surprised and suspicious.

“Yes, I killed him,” Ye Chong replied plainly.

“You killed Mu Fei?” Zhu Ling studied Ye Chong’s seemingly vulnerable physique. Ye Chong was not familiar with the Sanctuary, and so did not know how powerful Mu Fei actually was. He had zero understanding of the idea of being a trump card, and what a person bestowed with this title was truly capable of.

“Ambush,” Ye Chong explained flatly, not embarrassed in the slightest.

Zhu Ling seemed to come to a realization. To her, that seemed to be the only way to kill a trump card of the Sanctuary.

“We should leave here,” Zhu Ling said, “That Darklight mech pilot must have alerted the Sanctuary. As far as I know, Feng Su and her Wings of Nirvana are nearby, she is most likely sent here as backup.”

“Feng Su and her Wings of Nirvana?” Ye Chong asked, confused. Shang was already howling in excitement, “Ah, Ye, is it Feng Su? Wah, such a gorgeous voice, and that beautiful face. Hehe, Ye, I have her exact measurements right here, would you care to …”

Zhu Ling could not hear Shang as she replied, “Feng Su is also one of the Sanctuary’s trump cards, Wings of Nirvana is her mech. Darklight mech pilots may be strong, but they will not stand a chance against the Sanctuary’s trump cards.”

If a Darklight mech pilot was no match against the Sanctuary’s trump card, and he himself was barely even against a Darklight mech pilot, then wouldn’t he be dead for sure if he face the trump card himself?

“Feng Su is that strong?” Ye Chong remembered exchanging a few blows with Feng Su in the forest where Mr Yin lived. While her moves were difficult to anticipate, he did not feel that she was as strong as Zhu Ling described. Ye Chong believed that with his current ability, he should be able to kill her.

“Of course,” Zhu Ling gave Ye Chong an odd look, clearly not understanding his thoughts. She probed, “You fought with her before?”

Ye Chong nodded.

Zhu Ling found herself unable to read this student of her sister. He had fought with Feng Su before, and even killed Mu Fei in an ambush, taking Overwing for himself. This man had survived all of that.

Of course, she did not know that when Ye Chong met Mu Fei, the latter did not even have the chance of deploying his mech, and could only fight in person. Feng Su was not skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and that was why Ye Chong could escape unscathed. If Feng Su had used Wings of Nirvana, Ye Chong would have died without a proper body to show for it.

However, Ye Chong knew that Zhu Ling would not exaggerate like this. She was from the Sanctuary, and would know more about them than he. Always place importance on an expert’s opinion – that was what Ye Chong had learned from his days at Aurora.

Shang asked abruptly, “Where did you get your starship?”

Zhu Ling had noticed the damaged mech with one arm from the beginning. However, the pilot had said nothing, not even coming out of the mech, and Ye Chong did not seem keen to introduce, so she did not ask about it.

However, now that Shang suddenly spoke up, Zhu Ling did not betray any change in expression. Her years of training and planning had molded her into a person that would not lose her cool easily. Seeing Ye Chong looking at her, Zhu Ling looked back and replied, “That’s stolen from a space pirate crew.”

Shang’s question reminded Ye Chong that her starship could fly as fast as the Dawn mechs.

Shang asked courteously, “Can you bring us to them? I believe that they must have something of interest to us.”

“Alright,” Zhu Ling’s reply was simple.

“Ye, this girl is very much like you,” Shang seemed to say that with a sigh.

“Is that right?” Ye Chong replied noncommittally.

Zhu Ling quickly pointed out the location where she stole the starship, and Shang proceeded to calculate the warp jump time.

Ye Chong asked, “Shang, are we doing this for her starship’s engine?” Ye Chong recalled Shang’s words and came to this conclusion.

Shang corrected him, “Wrong, Ye, we must find the creator of that starship’s engine. That engine is special.” It was not everyday that something could earn the remark “special” from Shang.

“Ye, I finally understand something.” The way Shang talked now made Ye Chong uncomfortable.

“What?”

“No matter how powerful we are at computations, we would never be able to create as humans do. These days, as I interact often with Little Rock, I was surprised to find that humans are so much better than we are in the art of creation. And we, we can only rely on a massive database of information and run detailed computations to arrive at our deductions. We ourselves are not capable of creation.” Shang was now speaking a lot like Mu.

“You’re right.” Ye Chong accepted Shang’s conclusion easily.

“Therefore, the only ones who can surpass humans are the humans themselves,” Shang pointed out cooly, and added, “Or we will be left behind.”

Ye Chong nodded. Shang’s words were irrefutable.

“Ye, you may be talented, but your strength is finite, and you cannot be good in everything. We need more talent, coupled with my and Mu’s vast database. With these, I believe we can become stronger. That is how we will be able to control our own destinies.” Ye Chong could not deny Shang’s words.

“Shang, do you mean that we need more power?” Ye Chong frowned despite himself. He was not particularly ambitious, and he disliked doing things like that.

“No, we need a team. We need members who are strong in different fields, so that we can protect ourselves,” Shang explained.

Ye Chong asked, “Are we not capable of protecting ourselves now?”

Shang spoke cynically, “Seems to me that we’re the ones who run away every time.”

Ye Chong grew silent.

“Ye, the world is changing. The war has just begun. Ye, do you think you’ll be able to live in peace anywhere in this world?” Shang asked.

“No,” Ye Chong came to this conclusion after a moment’s thought.

“That’s right. The balance in Csebesini cannot be maintained for much longer, the peak of the war is close at hand. Ye, didn’t you notice that there are more pirates than before these days? And they’re more ruthless than ever. For now, the powers of the Four Forces are precariously balanced, but this will soon cease to be. This is only the calm before the storm. Ye, we must prepare ourselves, or we will be threatened in every moment of our lives.”

Ye Chong could say nothing to dispute Shang.

Shang continued, “Ye, if we have a warship so powerful that no one can avert their gaze against, then with you and me, hmm, and that girl, and a few more geniuses onboard, err, then we can make this our headquarters, hehe, and no one will be able to do anything to us.”

Ye Chong nodded with determination. He never liked to hand his life over to another person. Best if he could be in control of his own life.

“Hmm, if we can do that, then we can invite Bing Bing over, Xiu is also not bad. Oh, right, and Sun Xuelin, Grandpa Qian, Mrs Rui, err, and that Rui Su is also quite good looking, I’ll think about it. Ha, if we can get Feng Su here too, then it’ll be perfect, hahaha … I’ll live my days with all the pretty ladies around me, what a wonderful life …” Shang began to spiral down into his fantasies.

Ye Chong rolled his eyes. Of course the mech would return to his usual behaviour.

“Hehe, Ye, I’ve informed them that the Sanctuary’s backup are coming. With them here, the Sanctuary will be focused on them,” Shang said with an evil laugh.

As expected, Ye Chong saw that the Darklight mech was working faster now to finish off his enemies. It was clear that he was also afraid of the Sanctuary’s trump card. The beautiful and fatal crescent blades flickered in space like a swords dance.

Coxcomb had already made a warp jump towards its destination. None of the mechs paid any attention to Coxcomb. The Dawn mechs’ orders were to stall the Darklight mech. To them, it was already straining to stall the Darklight mech, and they could not spare the effort to deal with the starship. Luo Wei was also ignoring Coxcomb. The way he saw it, he was already lucky enough that the ship did not destroy him first.

Zhu Ling was already making headway with Overwing. She did not understand Overwing any more than Ye Chong, and could only figure out the mech herself. Fortunately, it was still a Sanctuary’s mech, and the similarities were there. As a member of the elite squad, she had already surpassed the abilities of any regular elite squad member long ago, but had kept her abilities hidden from view all this time.

She could have finished off all the Dawn mechs that were pursuing her if she had gotten herself a serviceable mech. To a mech pilot, a mech could make a difference between life and death.

Today, however, she received the surprise gift of Overwing. This was a mech that gained fame because of Mu Fei. To think that she could pilot a trump card’s mech! After a brief moment of exhilaration, Zhu Ling quickly threw herself completely into familiarizing herself with the mech. Experience taught her that her strength would ultimately decide her fate, no matter the situation.

Zhu Ling’s insane training surprised Ye Chong. However, he quickly got over it. He would have done the same. In any case, Ye Chong hoped that his comrades would at least be able to defend themselves.

On the other hand, Shang was trying his best to locate the space pirates that Zhu Ling had met.

Chapter 235: Lian Yue

ei De was vexed. Ever since he took over the pirate crew not long ago, all sorts of problems sprang out. Two days ago, they lost a ship to a thief, and he was only informed much later by an underling. This frustrated him to no end, since that starship was the one modified by that crazy guy, to be used for his own safety. Now they had lost a ship for no apparent reason, and it was so d*mn frustrating.

They were pirates, and they were robbed. What a f*cking joke. He dared not spread the word, however. If the pirates knew about this, he would become the butt of their jokes.

Just when he was about to search for his beloved evacuation ship, he saw that exact ship flying past him and his crew. However, Hai De did not move even a muscle.

That was because his stolen starship was keenly pursued by dozens of mechs flying behind it. Heavens, weren’t those the Sanctuary’s mechs? If any of Cyana Galaxy’s space pirates do not recognise the Sanctuary, then they might as well kill themselves first. The Sanctuary was now the true ruler of Cyana Galaxy.

Could he or she be the Sanctuary’s wanted fugitive? Hai De thought with dismay. He could only pray that the Sanctuary did not blame him for the starship. He was at least aware of how his crew would fare against them.

The matter had troubled him for days, and he was having trouble sleeping, his eyes wide open at night. The boss was not in a good mood, and the underlings stayed out of trouble for the most part. These days, the pirates behaved, careful not to provoke his ire.

Fortunately, the Sanctuary made no move against them. Hence, Hai De became more cheerful, and approved another “hunting trip”. Bored from his past few days of hiding, Hai De decided to lead the hunt himself.

It seemed that their back luck was over, as their hunt was particularly fruitful. The loot from a mid sized trading fleet would not only replenish their supplies, but also provide them with more mechs to strengthen their crew.

“As expected, surviving a great disaster would lead to good fortune …” Hai De mused to himself.

However, before he was done musing, he came to realize how when one was at the peak of happiness, disaster would follow.

A dilapidated warship suddenly appeared before the space pirates. Heavens, a warship! Aside from the Sanctuary, no one had heard of anyone else owning a warship. Even the largest pirate crews only have their own starships. Even if they have a warship, they would not dare to show it to the world. These days, the arrogant ones died faster.

In fact, Hai De did not think much of this warship. It moved so slowly likely a turtle, and looked heavily damaged. However, a warship was still a warship. The cannon barrels were a constant reminder to Hai De that the other party was not to be messed with.

“Was it the Sanctuary? Black Cove? The MPA? The Freedom Alliance?” All the major powers came to mind, but the warship did not look like any of them. Even so, he treaded very carefully.

Of course they would give way, this was a warship! Who would dare to mess with someone who dared to fly a warship in the Sanctuary’s territory? Hai De yelled hastily at his underlings – a few of the pirate ships were still anchored in the way.

The warship did not leave, but was heading straight towards them.

Hai De instantly felt that something was wrong. Was it trying to rob them? Robbing their own?

Just then, one of his underlings came to report panickedly, “Boss, bad news … Bad news, they want to speak with you personally.”

Just then, one of the pirate ships was blasted into smithereens with a thick blue beam. All the pirates froze in place, afraid to attract attention to themselves and become the next target.

The fire from the explosion illuminated Hai De’s pallor.

Ye Chong could not be bothered with the details. He left it all to Shang. This kind of intimidation act was always Shang’s favourite. Ye Chong believed that no one would lie when facing Shang.

The way Ye Chong saw it, instead of wasting time here, he should be spending time on his training. Zhu Ling was completely absorbed in her training, not concerning herself with other affairs. Compared to Ye Chong, she seemed to have a more systematic training regime. Besides, she was getting used to maneuvering Overwing, and this made her even more devoted to her training. As an elite squad member, she was definitely capable, and Overwing allowed her to showcase her strengths even more.

Ye Chong would sometimes watch her train. The mech’s wings that would never move under his piloting now came to life in Zhu Ling’s hands, performing some inexplicable feats. However, it was Overwing’s powerful movements that truly surprised Ye Chong. It moved so fast that it could even surpass Han Jia. The thought of obtaining such a powerful mech but unable to use it himself was frustrating.

Nevertheless, Ye Chong quickly got over it. The wiser way forward would be to make full use of all available resources at his disposal.

He wondered what Shang was doing to that poor leader of the pirates now. He seemed to be howling and shouting even more pitifully than that Mr Yin from last time.

What Ye Chong should do now was to organize his findings from his days training with the Darklight pilot, and train himself long enough that those new insights become part of himself.

Ye Chong’s training was finally interrupted. He knew it must be a result of Shang’s triumph.

When Shang brought a young man into Coxcomb, Ye Chong asked plainly, “Is this the guy?”

Shang gave a laugh and said, “Should be him. I didn’t expect him to be such a handsome man, hehehe. Ye, worry not, I’ve verified his identity …”

Bam! Shang let go, and the young man fell straight down, slamming straight into solid ground. He quickly stood up, and the first thing he did after was to check if his clothing was dirtied. He adjusted his clothing, looking unperturbed.

The guy’s physique was alright, seeing that he was unharmed from his long fall to the ground.

If anything, he looked like an eyesore. If not for his flat chest, Ye Chong would have thought he was actually of the opposite sex. His delicate eyes gleamed oddly, or seductively, using Shang’s vocabulary. His skin was smooth and like a lady’s, and his features were well balanced. If he wore a lady’s garments, no one would suspect him to be a man.

He ran his fingers along his golden hair. Fortunately, Ye Chong was steady enough to not openly gape at him.

The man finally realized Ye Chong’s presence, and gasped, “Ah, handsome, I didn’t think there’d be someone handsome here, I like it.” He stepped swiftly to Ye Chong, his delicate eyes studying Ye Chong carefully, his slender fingers making to give Ye Chong a warm welcome.

Just when his fingers barely touched Ye Chong, Ye Chong’s made a move with his right hand, and the man was back at Shang’s feet like a sandbag.

Ye Chong asked Shang, “You’re sure this is the one?”

Shang gave another laugh. “He’s called Lian Yue, an interesting person.”

Ye Chong was indifferent. “Do what you have to.” He then casually made his way to the alchemist laboratory.

Just then, Lian Yue looked up from the floor, his face full of disbelief and he spoke, “You, you would really hit me?”

Just then, Zhu Ling exited the mech training room. She was drenched in sweat, and her tight-fitting combat uniform accentuated her body’s curves. Sweat rolled down along her cheeks to her sharp chin, and dripped down to the floor. Her face was blushing from her vigorous exercise, making her even more attractive.

Zhu Ling took a glance at Lian Yue on the ground. Of course, it was a short glance.

“Wah, a beauty! Is this heaven? There’s a handsome man and a beautiful lady. Hey beauty, wait …” Lian Yue moved so deftly like he was not hurt at all, quickly making his way before Zhu Ling, his face wearing an expression of flattery as he held onto Zhu Ling’s hands. “My beauty …”

Zhu Ling glared coldly at the guy who appeared out of nowhere. She planted a heavy right kick into his abdomen, sending him back to Shang’s feet even faster than the last time.

Zhu Ling did not look back at him as she returned to her room.

A long moment passed before Lian Yue finally lifted his face, looking very sorrowful and full of disbelief. “You, you would hit me too?”

To Lian Yue, this was a most memorable occasion. All this while, he had always been fawned upon due to his looks, and no one had ever really hit him. Today, however, he was hit, twice. Truly, this was a heavy blow to both his body and soul.

Nonetheless, when Lian Yue saw the metals laboratory and modification room, his eyes shone as brightly as when Ye Chong and Zhu Ling when they first saw them. The look on his face when he caressed those world class instruments was enough to make Ye Chong cringe and leave the laboratory.

Shang spent his days with Lian Yue in deep discussions. One could hear the occasional lewd laughter resonating about the Coxcomb, as the starship finally lived up to its name.

However, this became a problem for Hai De and his pirate crew. The warship had essentially anchored itself at their base, and seemed reluctant to leave. The pirates were all anxious. While they had the advantage in numbers, Hai De knew that his underlings were just a motley crew, all scared to death. Besides, who knew what was inside the warship? It could be a full army of mechs. Best if they be cautious.

As for his meeting with the one-armed mech, it was hellish. He would prefer to never relive it ever again.

Chapter 236: Reorganization I

ian Yue was a genius in mechanics – such was Shang’s conclusion. Rarely did Shang offer such high praise for any one person, so Lian Yue must be the real thing. Ye Chong no longer concerned himself with Coxcomb’s engines. Better to let the expert onboard handle it rather than someone amateur like him.

Ye Chong was trying to figure out how to improve Han Jia. While Han Jia performed well, it was only on par with Darklight. Shang mentioned that there were many other more powerful mechs. More importantly, Ye Chong noticed the disparity between Overwing and Han Jia.

This made Ye Chong feel a great sense of urgency and danger.

Ye Chong believed that full-skeleton mechs could do so much more, and there should be space for improvement. For starters, the mech should have better automotive power. Without a good engine, Ye Chong would be limited in the mech. Han Jia was now using the engine from Yu Di. In fact, the engine had performed well, but compared to Overwing, it was still not good enough.

Speed was crucial, often deciding the fate of the mech pilot.

However, this was not an easy problem to solve. Ye Chong was not familiar with engines. It was an entirely different field for him.

In other aspects, like the mech’s structure, reaction speed and protective armor, Ye Chong could offer more improvements. In reality, Black Cove’s mechs were the simplest amongst the Three Forces. However, this did not mean that they were less powerful, since that was a matter of the mech’s battle capacity.

Ye Chong’s experience fighting with the Darklight mech told him that experts were more well versed with their weapons. The Darklight mech had blocked almost all of his own attacks with that pair of crescent blades. Ye Chong’s strategy was decidedly different – he would often block attacks with different parts of his mech. This was related to the training he grew up with. On the trash planet, before he found Mu and Shang, all his combat strategies were self taught from experience. They continued to heavily influence him today. Luo Wei, on the other hand, received training from Black Cove’s system since young, so he was already used to that combat strategy.

To Ye Chong, after a certain level of proficiency, mech pilots would be differentiated by their physical prowess and combat insights. Advanced mechs moved faster, and required advanced maneuvering skills. The stress on the human body would also be heavier. For example, Han Jia’s high speed abrupt direction adjustments could squash the heart of an ordinary mech pilot.

Hand speed was also another factor. When a mech changed course, the mech pilot must be able to enter the commands fast enough. In reality, this was an important barrier that prevented mech pilots from advancing further.

Of course, these were all skills. Having them did not mean that the mech pilot was excellent. Making the right calls based on the circumstances, predicting the opponent’s next step, quick strategizing for battle and so on were all inner qualities of a good mech pilot.

Ye Chong possessed all these qualities. His body was strong, and he had never really reached his physical limit. At least, Ye Chong never had any bad experience from piloting mechs. As for Ye Chong’s hand speed, it was mostly the mechs he used that limited his piloting. Ye Chong would only move his hands at his fastest when in danger, and often in those cases, he would find his mech unable to keep up with him.

In terms of skills, Ye Chong possessed enough of them to warrant him for a more advanced mech.

However, Ye Chong could not for the moment think of any other mech better than Han Jia that was suitable for him, other than the ones from Black Cove.

Would Black Cove give one to him? That would be laughable. Black Cove would not negotiate, but Ye Chong himself was also not someone keen in using words to solve problems. If there was any way to procure a Black Cove advanced level mech, Ye Chong would definitely strive to achieve it. However, Black Cove was too strong for him.

For some reason, he had offended all of the Three Forces. It seemed that only the Freedom Alliance was the only power that he was not involved with.

Ye Chong shook his head and dismissed all these impractical ideas. Better for him to make his own modifications on Han Jia. It was a pity that the mech was limited by its skeleton materials. Skeletons were in some sense a one-time material – once it was shaped, there was not much room for adjustments.

If Ye Chong was not satisfied with Han Jia, he would have to redesign and rebuild the mech. He still had many skeletons materials, and most of them of high quality, with excellent properties. After such a long time, he had many new ideas. However, without a good engine, all of them would be worthless.

In the end, Ye Chong reluctantly set aside his project.

These days, Lian Yue seemed to have received some kind of shock. Every day, he would stare sharply at the holographic screen with reddened eyes, mostly in a trance. Ye Chong took a glance, and found the holographic screen to be filled with all sorts of engine schematics.

Lian Yue would occasionally laugh madly, his handsome features distorted into a pitiful state. Even his gleaming, delicate eyes were now often in a daze. Saliva would drip from the edge of his mouth without him noticing.

The man was obviously not normal. Aside from Shang occasionally entering the room, Ye Chong and Zhu Ling kept away from him. Fortunately, whether it was the mech or the humans onboard Coxcomb, they were all psychologically strong, else the intermittent eerie laughters coming from metals laboratory would have scared the living daylights out of them.

Ye Chong considered his next steps.

First, he must fix Coxcomb’s engines, or they would not be able to go anywhere. Now, he must wait for Shang to lay out the general reparation and modification plans.

Ye Chong believed that Lian Yue was definitely capable, but he also knew that what Shang had in his database was very little compared to the vast amount of information available in the Five Galaxies. No matter how good Lian Yue was, he might not be able to do much in the meantime.

As for how Shang managed to convince him to cooperate, Ye Chong believed it would not be an issue. No one understood better than him of Shang’s prowess in the realm of psychology. In this field, Shang was definitely far superior than Ye Chong. Ye Chong did not know what Shang had offered to Lian Yue, but he would not waste time to find out more.

Once Coxcomb was repaired, Ye Chong planned to head straight to planet Ming Hong, and find out the truth about Papa.

Chapter 237: Reorganization II

hang finally came up with the warship’s modification and restoration plans.

However, when Ye Chong examined the huge schematics, even his strong mental fortitude gave way. This was not modification and restoration, this was rebuilding the warship from ground up. The last time Ye Chong installed the electromagnetic cannons and the laser guns, he was thoroughly exhausted. This new project would take Ye Chong at least a few years to complete.

Shang seemed to be able to read Ye Chong’s mind, and laughed as he explained, “Ye, no need for you to do the work yourself this time, hehe, we have all the labour we need.”

Starships were necessary for the space pirates for transport. Almost all pirate bases would have at least a few shipyards, with plenty of capable technicians. Besides, with Lian Yue hanging around the place for so long, he knew exactly who could be “convinced” to help.

Hai De’s base was well equipped with relevant facilities. Since they were only a small pirate crew, they could not afford to continuously buy advanced mechs from smugglers. Besides, the loots they acquired varied – sometimes it would be something like ores, worthless to their buyers, but a waste to be thrown away. Hai De chose to spend some money on metal forging equipment to make some of their own tools. Nevertheless, they lacked the necessary talent, and rarely needed the metal goods anyway, so the ore were mostly kept in their stowage area, accumulating over time. Fortunately, their base was spacious enough, and Hai De need not worry about it.

Now, though, all these equipment were taken by Shang; even the ores were all removed. Hai De was extremely cautious of the one-armed mech. Moreover, the ores were worthless to him, being kept for long at their base and taking up space. Hence, he agreed to hand them over without hesitation.

Shang also had a list of names given by Lian Yue to him, all of them pirates who would serve as good labour. The list was a problem to Hai De, since many of the people mentioned were bad tempered. He feared that some of them would kick up a fuss and raise havoc.

Just then, two mechs flew out of the dilapidated warship.

Hai De flicked his gaze towards them. This was his first time seeing mechs other than the one-armed mech from the warship. At the sight of the two mechs, Hai De’s eyes widened in horror. His face contorted, blood draining from his cheeks, and his legs trembled.

When the one-armed mech was finally done talking, Hai De quickly took the list with him and vanished out of sight.

Noticing Hai De’s shock, Shang touched where his one arm ended abruptly and after a long moment, finally spoke bitterly, “I may be one-armed, but I’m not really one-armed!” Once, there was a movie called One-armed Soldier that was so captivating it became an instant classic, marking the beginning of an era of movies featuring gay characters. As a movie fan, Shang did his research in these subjects.

Hai De’s mind was now completely occupied by a single thought – the clown mech! It was the clown mech! That funny looking colourful clown-like mech was a symbol of death and despair. The one the space pirates called Clown of Darkness that walked between the shadows, was the mech that killed the pirate leader and escaped unscathed despite all the security measures – a super assassin.

The clown mech was a hot topic amongst the space pirates.

“Heavens, why am I so unlucky, to meet this legendary dangerous character?” Hai De groaned to himself.

He also finally knew what the warship was called – Coxcomb. To think that Coxcomb was actually a warship. Hai De suddenly remembered that since the Clown of Darkness and Coxcomb were here, then that Blue Ray of Death super sniper mech pilot should also be here. He did not recall seeing the mech though. On the other hand, the mech with the strange wings beside the clown mech did not match the legend – wasn’t the Blue Ray of Death armed with a huge sniper energy rifle?

“Wait a moment, energy gun?” Hai De recalled that the one-armed mech had a huge energy gun slung on its back. He shuddered and nearly tripped himself.

Blue Ray of Death … Could that guy be the Blue Ray of Death? Hai De felt like he was living a dream – not a good one, but the mother of nightmares. Hai De swallowed heavily. These two characters were not known to be merciful. He should tread with care, or else … He felt around his throat with his fingers, as though he could feel a chill cutting across.

Ye Chong and Zhu Ling exited Coxcomb because the modification works were too extensive, and it was getting very uncomfortable inside. Lian Yue still holed up in the metals laboratory, enduring the loud noise around him as he worked non-stop everyday for some unknown project. Ye Chong grew a little respectful of his determination, even though he was not interested in whatever project he was up to.

For safety reasons, Ye Chong and Zhu Ling exited the warship in their mechs. Han Jia was a touchy subject, so Ye Chong decided to use Puppet in the end. He was not aware that the word of the clown mech and the Blue Ray of Death had already spread out far and wide even though it was only recent news.

As Puppet appeared, Ye Chong noticed curiously that the people busily working around suddenly stopped and looked at him with terrified eyes. Clangclangclang! Heavy objects fell to the ground, and the men quickly picked up what they had dropped and scattered away, like they were running for their lives.

Ye Chong looked at their reactions curiously, unable to understand.

In just one day, the clown mech and the Blue Ray of Death became the dominating topic of conversation for Hai De’s pirate crew. No one dared to step within 100 meters of Ye Chong. As for Shang, his constant movement around the base made all the pirates extra nervous. The days went by with nerve crushing intensity. Shang quickly noticed the fact – nasty as he was, he realised this was actually quite fun. Hence, for the time being, the pirates spent the followings days in absolute fear.

This had the unexpected result of greater labour efficiency. The pirates worked so hard that Ye Chong thought they looked like they were building their own warship.

Shang had divided the warship modification works into many tiny compartments, such that the pirates would ever only know what they did themselves, and not what their comrades were doing.

Ye Chong and Zhu Ling had already made themselves familiar with the pirate base. The base was well concealed from unwanted attention. The main entrance was hidden within a large valley. If the pirates had not led the way, Ye Chong believed that he might not be able to find it.

“This base is not bad,” the thought came unbidden to Ye Chong’s mind. If he installed some firepower here, then it would be a very good defensive position. A well-concealed and well-defended base was hard to find. Besides, while the space pirate here were not so strong, they obviously had a long history in this place. This was apparent from the construction of the base. The base was a large hole dug out of the ground. While it was not as magnificent as Nine Gates of Daylight, it was still quite impressive. It took a lot of work to build this place. Ye Chong estimated it to be the combination of effort from at least a few generations of space pirates.

Ye Chong was always on the move – from galaxy to galaxy, or from planet to planet. At some level, Ye Chong, Mu and Shang were just like the space pirates.

“If only I have my own base,” Ye Chong suddenly had this thought.

Ye Chong may not realise it, but this thought was a step forward in his mindset. He was finally starting to be more proactive in facing this chaotic world.

Unfortunately, Ye Chong did not pursue that thought. It was only a sudden thought, one that he quickly abandoned. “Best to leave this kind of vexing problems to Shang,” thought Ye Chong. He scanned the area, assuring himself that there was no danger nearby.

Zhu Ling flew in Overwing, following the clown mech from behind. Its light green wings made it look like a green bird. The mech danced easily in the sky, moving in the hands of an expert pilot as it trailed behind the clown mech, looking all too comfortable with itself.

Ye Chong could only feel jealous of her. The clown mech was worlds away from Overwing’s standards. Seeing Zhu Ling flying Overwing made him feel threatened. Ye Chong dared not imagine how Overwing would be like with Mu Fei in the pilot cabin. He felt lucky that Mu Fei was not in Overwing when he tried to kill him.

It was obvious then that no matter how capable a mech pilot was, he or she would still be vulnerable without a mech. The best way to kill a mech pilot was to do it before he or she slipped into a mech.

Finished with their survey of the area, Ye Chong and Zhu Ling prepared to return. Just then, Ye Chong suddenly heard Shang speaking, “Ye, come back quick, hehe …” Shang sounded overjoyed.

Ye Chong did not hesitate. The clown mech made a graceful turn in the sky and headed straight for the pirate base, with Overwing close behind.

Chapter 238: Reorganization III

t’s an engine – that was what Ye Chong identified at first glance. The circuit partially visible over the silvery main body, the seamless arc, the condensed structure, those were the charmer in Ye Chong’s eyes. He was not that well-versed in engine expertise, but it would not stop him from loving this particular engine. He was convinced, utterly convinced, of the liveliness running deep down in the thumping mechanical arteries on the entity, although it might be a mere glance he took.

“Shang, where is this from exactly?” Ye Chong was feeling peculiar. Anyone would have felt peculiar if one hefty thing suddenly popped out of nowhere, especially when this was not an engine for mechs, rather it was for spaceships.

“Oh my Ye…” Lian Yue seductively approached, “This? You like this? It’s my masterpiece, you like it? If you like it, I could g-i-v-e it to you. Only for you, as I am… well… hmm… for you.” His eyes were lustrous with an alluring glow.

“I prefer guns,” flatly he replied, which shattered the loving expression on the handsome face of Lian Yue. “Oh?!” He was stunned at first, then his eyes burst with a blazing passion as they looked upon Ye Chong endearingly. If one were to give a close observation at the features of Lian Yue, one could see some unknown liquid tainting the corner of his slightly opened lips. Ye Chong was finding this anomaly somehow bizarre to him. It almost felt as if a carnivore was eyeing its prey.

The bizarreness sent chills to his spine, goosebumps lumped over his skin. This guy has some issues…

Disregarding the peculiarity, he shifted his attention back onto the engine.

Shang then introduced, “Ye, this is Lian Yue’s reworked design on the engine in accordance with the blueprint found in my databank. Even though the engine is 10% less efficient than the MPA main warship unit, the required materials to build this engine has become much more less demanding, which could be replaced by most common materials. Theoretically it is also more agile in making turns. Well, this is the first product we have developed, fresh from the oven, we still need a test drive for this.”

Ye Chong’s large eyes swung over Lian Yue at the side. I never expected this strange person to be so skillful! I have seen the print Mu Shang provided before, those lines and circles were as if heavenly sent for me, I could not even identify where the exhaust was located.

Ye Chong had the talent and skill in technical field, so he could naturally understand what the strange guy had achieved. The strange guy should have a great foundation in his skills and a daring personality to attempt the new, for he was able to gain senses over all the design plans while giving them the necessary tweaks to renew the design. The creativity was something really uncommonly precious to Ye Chong. It only took an engine and 3 minutes for Lian Yue to ascend as one of the greatest persons in Ye Chong’s mind. Ye Chong was one believer of strength speaking louder than words after all and the strength Lian Yue demonstrated was more than enough to win over his respect.

And Lian Yue stood there proudly.

Zhu Ling’s expression remained unchanged, although the emotion was brewing inside her. She had not been exposed to the components of a warship, but she could tell so much just from seeing that mech with missing arm alone. She speculated and wondered, “A technique of MPA? Where in the 5 galaxies they got this? And this person with questionable gender was actually a super expert? I mean the person would have gotten the Master title in the Sanctuary with such craftsmanship.

Provided that her sister had not shown Ye Chong’s face clearly on the projection Zhu Ling once was given, Zhu Ling would have suspected that Ye Chong was in fact an apprentice under her sister’s teaching. Those two were the mysterious. The pilot of that handicapped mech had never left the cabin. This is too weird, I could not imagine a pilot living inside a mech for almost eternity. He is living inside, I had never seen him coming out for food or hydration…

And the potency that Ye Chong demonstrated had gone beyond her sister’s description.

Her head was rumbling yet her mouth was sealed tight, as experience advised her to stay silent at all cost. That unnecessary curiosity of hers would only make her death worse. Being as alert as Ye Chong, she remained silent.

Lian Yue was passionate towards both Ye Chong and Zhu Ling, but strangely he acted as if he saw a black hole when it came to Shang. He would suddenly become docile and kind, which Ye Chong really wondered what Shang had done to the strange kind. But whenever he inquired Shang regarding this, “Hehehehehehehe!” Shang would unleash a kind of incomprehensible grin.

The engine was called “Gandhanra”. The name was given by its creator, Lian Yue. The concept of this naming was apparently based on a myth from the ancients where there was one goddess whose appearance was beautiful and angelic, captivating and loving. Whenever she glided past the sky, petals of flowers would shower the ground as the gorgeous symphony for the angels would be rung. Shang, the poet of the team, was extremely satisfied towards the given name. So the engine retained its exotic name.

The largest shipyard at the pirates’ base was filled with busy engineering units flying around, where sometimes the bright light of laser welding could be discerned. The site was livelier than ever, which people at first glance would have assumed it being some major construction happening under the sponsorship of a large company. The workers were working hard, sweating blood, dripping life, without a rant, without a word. The blood and sweat were to keep their life. These works were nothing compared to their own life.

The progression was rapider than Ye Chong had expected, as he was a little unsettled when he was informed that the ship had been completed.

Right before the newborn gigantic craft the group of pirates stood tidily in a row. They were viewing, they were observing, but they did not seem to be at ease. Their expression told worries and agitation as if they were facing the ultimate enemy on their final cruise.

Shang made a quick inspection on the entire warship. The construction had been completed. To ensure airtight confidentiality he actually broke the whole construction into different parts and let the pirates to take each of them. So what the pirates were fearing was Shang’s inspection on their work performance, where there could be consequences for the underperformed works.

The clown mech was leading the entire team, where its members feared to even lift their eyes upon. Their stares were illustrating the clown mech as if the reaper with spears rather than a machine.

Men would only be left with frailness after they lost their bravery.

Regarding that winged mech right next to the clown, it was something that no one would dare to look down upon, despite its ridiculous appearance had been an ongoing subject brought up the pirates during their mundane cruise. Well it was evident for the winged mech was being able to stand right next to the notorious clown killer. No one would believe that it was claimed to be harmless.

“Mhm.” Shang pondered, “Pass.” The syllable was the most gorgeous tone the pirates believed they had ever heard in their life, where a loud sigh of relief could be heard in the shipyard.

Ye Chong was really curious of the Coxcomb’s appearance after the makeover since he was absent throughout the construction. Shang was the director of everything.

“Go!”

Under Shang’s call, every pirate got onto the engineering mechs and started moving again, as they rose like a swarm of bees, flying towards the supporting stand.

“Pull!”

And the support was dismantled into million pieces which the pirates dropped to the side right after.

The Coxcomb had been reborn, with a brand new appearance.

Chapter 239: Reorganization IV

he long body of the ship exerted a kind of personality of the MPA. Unlike his former hefty body, the Coxcomb had undergone a successful diet, where his length had been reduced to 3 kilometers, with a flatter, condensed appearance and two supportive engines at both sides to achieve agility.

The dark crimson body was not the result of normal painting, rather it was finished with a particular kind of alloys which mostly were made out of the uncommon mineralites Ye Chong had collected over the course. The bright red alloy was tainted by the color of black gold in the end, thus the darkened hue. Shang said such type of alloy was quite above the standard for it would have superior performance in defending against energy-based firing. Under most circumstances, such alloy would only be found in the shield of advanced mech models. But Ye Chong had an inventory full of the necessary mineralites, so Shang just dumped the choices into the pot and coated the entire body of the ship with it.

It would probably take 3 electromagnetic firings on the same exact spot from the MPA in order to have a chance to penetrate the armor.

As expected from a warship, its body contained a much more seamless design which reduced the air friction providing an amazing performance even when traveling within the atmosphere. Moreover, they had a masterpiece from a master craftsman, namely Gandhanra the exclusive engine. Ye Chong started to get excited over the ship’s capability on the move. No aperture could be identified on the body. The entire weaponry, including the lids, had been concealed. And Shang reported that they had actually further strengthened the offense of the ship, where the number of electromagnetic cannons had been increased to 88 along with additional installments of the laser firing units. Shang believed he could slaughter any reckless pilot who dared to approach the Coxcomb in his or her mech with the help of his 500 laser firing units.

The pirates seemed to be truly exhilarated as they had been mesmerized by the appearance of the Coxcomb at first sight. It had the most low-profiled design yet it was so eye-catching at the same time. They could not lift their eyes away. Weaponry-wise they had yet witnessed the power of the guns and cannons in action, but judging by the strong respect coming from Ye Chong and Shang towards the weaponry, they were fully convinced that the ship would be an ultimate killing machine. They were feeling proud since obviously it was the outcome of their handwork over the past few days – although none of them owned the ship.

The letters of the “COXCOMB” were not visible within the dark red body, yet they would be glaring at you the moment you switched on the lights, as they stood pompously at the front of the ship, along with the oversized illustration of a beauty Shang painted at the side. “Kekekekekekeke!” Ye Chong was finding the beauty in her suggestive posture to be rather familiar. After a moment of searching the similar image in his head, the beauty turned out to be Feng Su from the Sanctuary.

The posture was a nose-bleeding choice while her expression was enticing as her body curved into something that men could feel their arteries hardened upon sight.

“Kekekeke!” Chuckled the artificial indulgence in distorted mechanical voice, “Ye, this is made based on actual data alright? I still could remember the time when I fully scanned and analyzed every spot of her data, trying to re-sculpture this beauty in the posture I had always wanted. Kek! Not too shabby isn’t it? Her curves.”

Zhu Ling was going to roll her eyes but she was so lazy that she just gave a disdainful glance. I never knew this pilot on the mech could be this disgusting, shameless and low! Although I must admit the illustration was pretty good, I had seen Feng Su in person before, well not in such look. And the illustration had actually captured Feng Su’s charm and depicted it vividly in her moves. Thought Zhu Ling.

Ye Chong, as usual, showed ignorance towards Shang’s rhetorical question as he got onto the clown mech and boarded the Coxcomb first.

The interior of the Coxcomb seemed to have receive a major reorganization. The inner structure had been extremely strengthened, which had narrowed the accommodating space. Well it was still more than enough to take everyone on board.

In the gaze of the pirates, the Coxcomb finally departed! Well of course, the Coxcomb had been fully supplied with necessary resources before departure. Hai De could feel his insides dying as he bade a silent farewell at the resources of the entire base when he was moving boxes and boxes of them onboard. What an ironic torture.

At least the trouble was going to leave! Hope rose like the morning sun high in the heart of every pirate, “Before we go, according to our terms and conditions…” Shang was beeping something horrible, a gag order precisely speaking, it was so threatening that the pirates almost had an urge to sew their mouths for the rest of their life, they really feared of the forbidden secrets coming out from the mouth carelessly.

Ye Chong, once he got back to his own spaceship, started to get busy again. He first headed into the alchemy lab, as the supply of Beauty’s Secretion was nearly depleted since the last war, so he got to undergo another round of mass-production.

Lian Yue, on the other hand, took a sweet dive into the metallurgy lab and modification room. “The two rooms are mine, thank you very much,” he stated sassily. Zhu Ling retained her stern training routine. Lian Yue would be a super workaholic when he lost his head over his invention but he spent his free time with Zhu Ling whenever he got some, as he would act like a kitten growling around her. Zhu Ling was annoyed to the other end of the galaxy of course, as she imagined Lian Yue in countless pieces if he ever did that on her territory.

Lian Yue absolutely had as much interest on Ye Chong, well… till the one time a dagger slid through his fragile grimace and tightly struck on the door. Lian Yue had been missing in front of Ye Chong ever since.

The Coxcomb carried on sailing smoothly, with the destination being the Rainbow planet in the Fal galaxy. Gandhanra was as superior as expected, as Shang carried out all sorts of acceleration test and turning test, which the outcome impressed Ye Chong. The Coxcomb had forsaken his former sluggish self and had become an acrobat in the space. Ye Chong could not imagine the foe locking on the Coxcomb on a rampage.

“Ye. Come over. Fast,” interrupted Shang, when Ye Chong was producing Beauty’s Secretion.

The few words of Shang had summoned everyone to the captain’s room.

The largest projectors in the room were projecting two Dawn mechs chasing a powership. Ye Chong recognized the powership. It was the ship piloted by that Darklight Pilot. Few days back he had been fighting with the pilot continuously, so its imagery had been imprinted in his head.

“Wait, 2 Dawns?” Ye Chong was skeptical of what he saw, as the sight was ridiculous with two substandard Dawn mechs chasing a powership containing one of the most skillful pilots who – contrary to his expectation – was running gracelessly.

“Nothing strange,” Zhu Ling seemed to have gotten Ye Chong’s implication. “That Pilot of Darklight should have been defeated by Feng Su.”

The overhaul the Coxcomb had undergone was so major that the two Dawn mechs and powership could not recognize as they accelerated, assuming him to be a random passerby.

“Given that the Pilot of Darklight was not piloting the ship, it should be Little Rock inside,” stated Shang. “Ye, why don’t we save him? He’s quite good you know.”

“Good?”

“Right. He’s a genius in calculation.”

“Genius?” Lian Yue who was standing by Zhu Ling snorted, “Such convenience, we would soon see geniuses sold in different packs at the local convenience store soon. Like when did genius become so common that a random person zooming in the space could be one? I ca-”

“Shhh…”

Something on the projection caught Ye Chong’s attention.

Chapter 240: It’s All the Beauty’s Fault!

owership was not that inferior in race with mechs but one could clearly see piloting-wise the two Dawn mechs were much better than the powership, as they were traveling in recurring curves, trying to pounce upon Little Rock.

Yet they failed.

Little Rock’s performance was a shocker.

The 2 Dawn mechs, being unable to finish their prey, tried their deadly best to pin the nuisance down as they attempted several times of neutralizing the ship by smashing from both sides.

The reason Ye Chong got astounded by Little Rock’s performance was because he was able to escape from each grip despite his second-class piloting skills.

Whenever the two Dawn mechs were approaching him from both sides, the powership would act like a little fish on detection as it squeezed out of the tiny aperture it found.

The happening also astonished Zhu Ling, since it was considered pretty rare to see a non-combat member being able to remain unharmed throughout the chase by 2 Dawn mechs.

Zzzzzt! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!

The projection was then flooded by countless ever-changing data streams. Ye Chong’s face flexed, as judging by that one moment of what he saw, the escape routes of powership could have been completely blocked, remaining one single chance to run away by flight. Shang then illustrated the escape route with a red line on the map, “Theoretically, this is the one and only escape path. Anywhere else the ship would bump into the mechs again,” stated Shang and anyone could have imagined the fate of the unarmed ship by then.

Ye Chong understood the fact that it was Shang who added the flooding data streams on the screen, while that escape route was the result of his intensive calculation in the briefest time possible.

Well only Ye Chong understood the intention of the projection, since he was highly sensitive towards data streams after deploying the Guardian for some time. That was why he got it in one glance, while his rapport with Shang affirmed his deduction.

Almost immediately after Shang had drawn the red line, Little Rock started traveling exactly on the line, as he made out from another grip from the two mechs.

This would be a perfect runaway. Ye Chong tried imagining himself in Little Rock’s shoes, he believed that he could not be as perfect as Little Rock if he were to pilot that ship. It was not something he aced in, impeccable accuracy in immediate calculation.

Little Rock was a genius in fact, for he was able to perform such complicated calculation in such short amount of time. He’s intelligent!

The 2 Dawn mechs did not seem to be in a hurry however, as the prey they were hunting turned out to be quite entertaining to their taste. They tried forming another grip afterwards, gently and leisurely.

Little Rock – who seemed to have noticed the Coxcomb at one point – made a sharp turn and flew towards the Coxcomb.

The turn he made attracted the attention of both Dawn mechs over that strange spaceship as its color turned out to be rather refreshing, which they, of course, were unafraid of. Those who probably went jumping around in their cabin would be the real coxcombs upon seeing the illustration on the ship, while the pilots of the Dawn mechs were some bums from some countryside called the Sanctuary. Seeing the silhouette of a person painted on the ship, they were unimpressed.

The two Sanctuary pilots were showing sympathy towards this pretty good-looking spaceship, since it would be eviscerated soon once the powership got there. Well, future plan aside, it would be more important to seize that powership before it went to somewhere else. They seriously never expected the powership to be this peculiar in movements. The pilots once assumed the powership was piloted averagely but somehow it always managed to squeeze out from their grip.

What a weird boat.

The 2 Dawn mechs passed the dark crimson spaceship by. The heavenly appearance of the absolute beauty struck upon them.

It was a relief that the dark red spaceship had yet taken an action. They were already prepared for their next grip, while handing their final salutation towards the pilot of the powership. They could feel the wisdom in Feng Su’s order by then. She was great for she was visionary. Such non-combat member, once seized, would be way stronger than a bunch of mechs if they used him at the right place.

Wait, Feng Su? Hmm… Something seemed to have flashed in their mind. Master Feng Su… the long naked legs sprang in their heads, M-Master… the lustrous wink appeared, Feng… the cherry lips pursed sweet, Su…

… Ah! Both of them screamed almost together as they realized what had been going on!

That damned!! Wrath seared their rationality as they ditched the speeding ship and headed towards the dark red spaceship in sharp curves.

As they were approaching, the spaceship got larger in their sight, the illustration of the beauty grew clearer.

I knew it! It’s Master! It’s our great lord, the wisest Feng Su, the most gorgeous ace pilot in the Sanctuary, the goddess in the heart of all male pilots and ours! This is preposterous! This is blasphemy! How dare this ship tainting our goddess! Both the pilots were agitated.

If they ever had the chance to pull this junk back to the Sanctuary, they swore, upon the innocence of their ace pilot, that no matter how sturdy this junk was, it would be obliterated in the flames of all male pilots!

But they did not have the time for that, as their rages were overflowing soon. They would not want this eyesore to exist, not even a second more!

“Hmm…” Seeing the two Dawn mechs abandoning the powership and heading towards the Coxcomb instead, Ye Chong was feeling weird, “What’s going on?”

“Maybe they were finding the Coxcomb to be too handsome…” muttered Shang. Well those were merely Dawn mechs, something whether Ye Chong or Zhu Ling could have taken down easily.

“Yes, very true,” nodded Lian Yue intensively as Shang was so precise at his description. “Yes, yes, yes,” Zhu Ling, beside the nodding vanity, stepped to the front and stood up straight in pride.

“Hmph.” Zhu Ling glanced at Ye Chong, “You could never imagine in the Sanctuary how popular the Winged Nirvana herself, Feng Su is. Spraying that kind of imagery of hers on the ship is obviously a direct call for war to the entire Sanctuary.”

“Ohhhh…” Shang giggled, “I never knew our Feng Feng was this loved by the people…” The artificial indulgence was laughing shyly. “Hahahaha…”

Ye Chong gave an eye-on at Shang, “Ha… Ha… Ha.” And Shang laughed awkwardly like a child being stared over his spilled milk.

…

The dark crimson spaceship was gigantic but well to those mentalist pilots from the Sanctuary, it was nothing but an empty vase, which could be completely smashed in no time as they believed, their confidence rose high.

Wham!

Something was felt slammed upon their mechs, as their eyes fell on the screen confusingly. There was nothing?

Are we imagining things?

Although they were given a shocker for a moment, they did not stop, as they flew towards the spaceship in full speed.

As they approached the ship they could finally take a clear look over the illustration of Feng Su. The exotic expression on her face was heart-skipping for them. The anger was pumping their heart hard. How could this happen to our great lord! Our Winged Nirvana, Feng Su was not to be tarnished by something like this! How dare the owner hurled such insult on her! Unforgivable!!

And they formed a plan quickly, striving to give the owner of the ship a life lesson.