Chapter 475: Three Mechs

t’s the red-tailed beasts!

There were 12 mechs, all different looking, fighting intensely against five red-tailed beasts. Bang bang bang! The sound of collisions never stopped. Whenever one of them crashed into the ground, it was enough to make the earth shake.

The red-tailed beasts were about the same size as the mechs, but they move more flexibly. Despite being outnumbered, they did not seem to be fighting at a disadvantage. The five red-tailed beasts evasively moved from building to building. The 12 mechs could not surround the creatures, and could only run around to keep them in sight.

Crash! Rumble! Dust was flying everywhere, as neither the red-tailed beasts nor the 12 mechs were particularly careful moving around the buildings. The red-tailed beasts were tough creatures, and the 12 mechs were also very strong. They chased each other around, destroying the buildings in their wake. Soon, all that was left was rubble.

Bong! There was a loud but dull sound. A strong wave of dust then hit Ye Chong in the face. Ye Chong instinctively shut his eyes, but he knew he was in trouble. That sound was very close to where he was. Could it be …

When Ye Chong regained his sight, his heart turned cold.

The mech laboratory was reduced to rubble. Everywhere was filled with debris, and dust was blown away from the center that was originally the lab. A red-tailed beast emerged from the dust and debris, hurling itself onto one of the mechs in the air!

“D*mn!”

Ye Chong and Shang cursed almost in sync.

Ye Chong pushed the cover away and came out. He bent over, taking cover behind the dust, and quickly entered the now defunct mech laboratory.

Looking at the microphoton repair device on the ground, or what’s left of it, Ye Chong knew that his plan had gone to waste.

He studied his immediate surroundings. Both sides were deep in the fight. The 12 mechs were strong. Perhaps they were from some kind of elite squad. Each of them could take a red-tailed beast head on by themselves.

Suddenly, Ye Chong saw one of the mechs, one in red and black, with a shield and sword as its weapon, was pinned down by a red-tailed beast. Upon closer inspection, Ye Chong recognized the pilot – it was the examiner who used an average shield-sword mech earlier that day. These two mechs were very different, as this shield-sword mech was much more advanced than the average one he saw earlier. The maroon red alloy sword looked like it was covered with blood, and the huge shield was as dark as night. Together, they made the mech look like a killer from Hell.

It was not hard for Ye Chong to recognize the similar ways these two mechs moved.

However, he was rarely over curious, and without a mech to protect himself, the current situation was dangerous for him. Since the microphoton repair device was destroyed, he should leave as soon as possible.

Ye Chong was about to leave this dangerous place when Shang suddenly spoke up, “Ye, careful, mechs incoming!”

Ye Chong quickly hid behind one of the damaged walls. Given the complicated terrain, it would be difficult to notice him, even with holographic scanning.

Almost as soon as Shang finished his sentence, three black dots appeared in the sky. They came swiftly, and Ye Chong watched them grew larger and larger. There were three golden mechs, and they were fast! Ye Chong was surprised. However, when the three golden mechs finally landed, he felt a sense of familiarity.

Where had he seen them before?

Ye Chong recalled then of the 10 golden mechs he had seen at the abandoned factory, before he entered Crysound City. No wonder they looked familiar. He had seen them before. These golden mechs had a left a deep impression in Ye Chong. They could fly up to Mach 16 within the atmosphere. Their speed was truly astonishing!

Ye Chong doubt he could make a mech that could fly so fast himself if he had not been using skeleton material to his advantage,.

The three golden mechs join the fight without delay.

The three golden mechs looked different from one another. One of them had a typical sword and shield combination; one had twin swords; the last one preferred to fight at very close range, using small weapons that looked like parrying daggers.

The golden shield was covered with dark red patterns of roses. The golden sword in the mech’s right arm was polished like a mirror. The mech was logically designed and well balanced.

It was the same combination of sword and shield, but the golden mech’s had its own fighting style. Every move was bold, quick, simple and effective. The sword and shield worked together seamlessly, as the mech pilot fought gracefully with these weapons.

The twin curved swords were four meters long, thick at the back and thinner towards the blades edge. The swords were sparingly decorated, with only a sharp point at the handles. The mech with these golden twin swords had no means of defense, opting for the more extreme choice of attack. Without proper defensive tools, it protected itself through its attacks instead. The mech was brave and aggressive. Ye Chong noticed that this particular mech’s arms must be specially designed, as they could move a lot faster than its two companions.

The last golden mech had a smaller and more compact build. Since it weighed less than the two other mechs, it could turn and move more deftly. It was similar to Ye Chong’s clown mech, but much more superior in terms of design and build material. The mech pilot behind this mech was also quick to attack, making nasty strikes and blows that kept its enemies on guard.

Three elites!

Ye Chong made a quick estimation, and his face turned serious.

If the 12 mechs earlier were considered strong, then these three mechs were absolutely masters of their art! He was also a bit shaken by the fact that these three mechs were probably from the same organization, despite their very different designs. The gold colored alloy material was like the black colored black gold, probably a special kind of alloy.

Ye Chong believed that every part of the three mechs, every curve of them, were the result of countless experimentations. The organization behind these mechs must have excellent mech manufacturing talent. These three pilots were also very gifted, and Ye Chong knew that the organization must have more than these three working for them. After all, he had seen 10 of those golden mechs flying across the sky just the other day.

Putting Ye Chong’s surprise aside, the balance of the fight outside was now changing quickly with the new arrivals.

The 12 mechs obeyed orders from the assassin-like golden mech and suddenly flew into the distance, leaving the five red-tailed beasts behind. They stopped when they were beyond the furthest of the five red-tailed beasts, and began to fly inwards. The 13 mechs formed a circular barrier, staying close to each other.

Ye Chong understood their intentions immediately.

They wanted to surround the red-tailed beasts, slowly restricting their space. Once the red-tailed beasts were forced towards the shield-sword mech and the twin-sword mech, who were at the center, these two powerful mechs would slowly kill off the creatures.

The battle proceeded as Ye Chong expected.

The 12 mechs closed in slowly towards the center, covering for each other in the process. The small-framed golden mech circled around their formation, assisting whichever mech that was attacked by the red-tailed beasts.

The plan worked. Ye Chong was able to witness the abilities of the two golden mechs surrounded in the center!

The golden shield-sword mech lured three red-tailed beasts towards itself, its sword swinging about like a huge shield, and the actual shield in its left hand defended itself flawlessly. By matching its pace and use of weaponry, the mech successfully drew three red-tailed beast towards itself. The three red-tailed beasts attacked madly, but the mech defended itself perfectly, blocking all of their attacks! The mech had simply warded off all the attacks from these three red-tailed beasts.

Strong! Ye Chong was impressed. He had never seen such a powerful defense. Ye Chong himself was more of an attacker, and he was always more inclined to attack, be it in hand-to-hand combat or mech battles. Even so, his defense was also quite good, mostly due to his strong determination and understanding his opponents well. However, he was still inferior compared to this golden shield-sword mech when it came to defense.

The golden mech with the two swords may attack ferociously, but Ye Chong thought the pilot was only just capable. Ye Chong’s specialty was in attacking. The mech with the golden twin swords was strong, but not stronger than himself. If Ye Chong used Han Jia, he could kill off all five red-tailed beasts himself.

The way he saw it, these five red-tailed beasts were not as strong as the six-fingered red-tailed beast he was pursuing before this.

Could it be that the red-tailed beast’s evolution increased its power not linearly, but in an exponential way? The seemingly unrelated question came to Ye Chong.

If that was the case, would the red-tailed beast also require an exponential increase in resources to evolve further up the ladder?

Suddenly, the battle that was going on faded into the background. Ye Chong was suddenly plunged into the issue that was totally unrelated to the battle in front of him.

Ye Chong had already identified the number of digits as an indication of the red-tailed beast’s evolution level. From Fei Si’s research, it seemed that these creatures needed pure energy and metal to evolve. If that was the case, there must be some kind of relationship between the power gained from evolution and the two elements that led to it.

Suddenly, Ye Chong remembered that the creature in the underground cave of that primary planet had a teardrop mineralite clutched in its hand, and seemed to realize something from it.

However, Shang interrupted right then, “Ye, they’re gone!”

Chapter 476: Only “1”

he 15 mechs had already left, leaving behind an almost completely destroyed Centuria University in the silent darkness. The red-tailed beasts were brought away, leaving no trace of their presence.

“Looks like we’ll have to figure out something else,” Ye Chong said helplessly as he looked down at the broken pieces of the microphoton repair device.

Shang offered, “Ye, you should spend more time on Muscle Man, it’s more practical that way.” The so-called Muscle Man was the experimental failure that Ye Chong got from the mech laboratory. Muscle Man was named by Mu, in the hopes that the mech would intimidate its enemies whenever it appeared. Ye Chong did not care about something as meaningless as naming his mech, so he did not argue with Shang about the mech’s name.

“Hmm, looks like you’re right.” Ye Chong nodded. It sounded like a better plan.

The trip back was uneventful. Perhaps by taking enough rest during the day, Ye Chong did not feel sleepy. Hence, he went to the mech training ground in the building instead.

The Research Consortium really made room in their budget for them. In this average building, located in this average city, the facilities provided were luxurious. Take the mech training ground. Not only was it twice as large as its average equivalent, the training ground was also equipped with many support devices. They could capture the mech pilot’s movements from any angle and relay them to the photon processor in a corner of the room, so that the mech pilot could study them and correct their movements. Besides, the training ground was equipped with a great variety of amenities that overshadowed the usual standards.

It was late at night, so the large training ground was empty. This suited Ye Chong, since he did not like people watching him while he trained.

Ye Chong withdrew Muscle Man, climbed up the mech and entered the pilot cabin.

He looked at the triangular control console and inhaled deeply, quieting his mind to begin his training.

Unlike other mech pilots, Ye Chong did not rely on particular models of mechs. Ever since he left the trash planet, he had switched from one mech to another in no time at all. Every time it happened, he would have to get used to the new mech, so the process was not unfamiliar to him. The only thing made it more difficult this time was the weird structure of the control console.

There was a solution to this problem – he could change the console for a standard one. That would reduce the time he needed to get familiar with the mech. However, that would severely affect the mech’s combat ability. The effect was severe enough for Ye Chong to throw this solution out of the window.

Start from the beginning, then!

Ye Chong looked at the triangular control console before him, his heart burning like fire! When had he ever been afraid of challenges?

He began to work. Ye Chong studied the console little by little, like a total beginner. It was like returning to his time of harsh training on the trash planet. He felt himself filled with purpose and hope.

On the empty training ground was a clumsy looking mech. It stumbled like a baby learning to walk, slowly and clumsily executing various movements. Its every move was fueled by the determination of its pilot!

Just how difficult was it to train so intensively for five hours straight?

Ye Chong was sweating all over, and panting heavily. His legs felt sluggish.

Ye Chong returned to his room and slept right away. Just 15 minutes after he returned to his room, the rest of the recruited staff began to wake up. In just a few moments, the empty training ground was full of mechs. Some of them noticed with interest that Number 231 was missing. This made the few who were curious about Number 231 disappointed. However, they quickly gathered themselves and began to train in earnest.

It was a fact of life that regardless of one’s occupation, the path towards exceptional performance was committed and harsh training. All the mech pilots here knew this, and dared not waste their time dawdling.

When Ye Chong woke up, it was already noon. According to instructions, he should head towards the meeting place. He was the last person to reach there. Ye Chong sat in the last row of the hovercar without a single word.

The hovercar started just as he sat down.

“Good day, everyone. We are now heading towards the training camp. From now on, you are the first batch of official instructors from the Research Consortium’s Crysound City branch. Congratulations for passing the tests! I’m honored to work with all of you.” The one who spoke was a bald man. The top of his head shone brightly under the hovercar’s lamps.

He laughed and said, “Almost forgot to introduce myself. I’m Senda, Mr Powell’s second, and the person in charge for this activity. If you have any questions, feel free to speak up now. Since this is our first time organizing something like this, please forgive us for any unanticipated inconveniences.”

Everyone looked at him, but no one said anything.

Senda did not mind it, and continued, “Since none of you have questions, then let me talk about today’s agenda. After we arrive at the training camp, we will separate into groups. You will receive your group number, and the students who attend our training camp will get to decide which group to join. Of course, each group cannot have more than 20 members. If any group reaches this limit, it will be removed from the options available for the students. Hmm, based on the number of students we have this round -” he looked over the mech pilots in front of him and grinned, “- we’ll have exactly 20 students for each group.”

As the bald man explained their itinerary for the day enthusiastically, Ye Chong did not share his sentiment. His mind was completely occupied by the triangular control console. At first, he thought the console was just weird, but his earlier exploring led him to notice that there was some kind of logic to the way the buttons were placed on the console. The stressful training exercise back then did not allow him to focus and think about it, but now that he had quieted down, he automatically began to analyze the problem again.

Once he entered into this silent mood, Ye Chong could not be disturbed. He did not hear anything that Senda was telling them excitedly.

It was not until the hovercar stopped that his thoughts were interrupted.

“Shang, what did he say just now?” Ye Chong felt lost looking at the other people moving into the training camp, and could only ask Shang for help.

“Don’t disturb me,” Shang replied impatiently, “I’m busy.” The mech resumed its silence.

Ye Chong shrugged helplessly. Luckily he was at the rear of the group, and no one noticed him. Shang had been behaving these two days, perhaps because he knew that he nearly caused trouble for them both last time. The mech was also oddly quiet. Whenever Ye Chong asked about it, he would just say that he was busy. Ye Chong did not know what the mech was busy about, and could get nothing out from Shang.

Fortunately, without the mech’s insufferable interruptions, Ye Chong felt more at peace.

The instructors entered a meeting room, where a big holographic screen was placed in the center. On it were a row of numbers running from one to 25. Soon, each of them was given a number. Ye Chong’ number was the last one – 25.

Senda stood up. “Alright, everyone. You should have your number by now. This will be your group’s designated number. Next, it’s time for the students to make their decisions.” He turned to a working staff on the side and spoke a few words, signalling that they were ready.

The staff barked an order, and the digit below each of the numbers on the holographic screen began to climb up rapidly. In just 25 seconds, Group 5 was full. The mech pilot assigned with that number grinned widely. The faster a group was filled up, the stronger the instructor was as perceived by the students.

The other groups gained more and more members, but under the number 25 was the digit “1”. This digit refused to budge.

Three minutes later, all the other groups were filled up, but Group 25 still only had “1”!

Everyone in the meeting room stared at Ye Chong. Sitting at the last row, holding the last number, with his group still not filled up, Ye Chong’s posture was calm and at ease. His expression did not change, and he stared back unfazed at everyone else.

“Oh cr*p, I was too slow! There’s only number 25 left, what do I do now?” One of the students looked devastated and upset.

Another student beside him added salt to his wound by saying, “You’re the one who’s slow to decide. I told you to be quick, but you hesitated as usual. Now you’re done for. Number 25, I heard he cheated, how else could he be hired? In any case, I’ll never join his group.”

“I should’ve just picked a random number, anything is better than this.” The student who picked 25 looked regretful.

Xi Qing looked at the two of them quietly, and turned away. He had chosen Number 25 immediately, and he was the first to do so. That was why he was the only one who was under Group 25 so far. When White found out that he chose 25, the man thought he was crazy. However, Xi Qing knew what he was doing.

He quickly went to the gathering point for Group 25.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was plain awkward. On the holographic screen, the digit under the number 25 froze at “1”. The other groups were all taken up, but even so, the digit below the number 25 did not change! The meeting room was now silent, but more than a few of them looked at Ye Chong with disdain, mockery and contempt.

What did this imply? It simply meant that the students, knowing they had no other choice, still did not want to choose Number 25. It also meant that no one believed in Number 25. Oh, that was not strictly accurate. The “1” on the holographic screen told everyone that at least one person supported him still!

Sitting in the last row, in the last place of all the groups, Ye Chong looked completely unaffected!

Chapter 477: Airhead?

he clock was ticking… so was the number of students enrolling to Instructor Number 25. The number froze for quite a while because of obvious reason – the students at first were reluctant to serve apprenticeship of this clearly impotent, air-headed instructor who got in his position probably by questionable means. But well, it was not like they had many options to begin with.

One could hear the teasing giggles and snickers resounding in the room, which Ye Chong seemed unaffected of. People might have looked down on his capabilities in teaching, but frankly they were very impressed of his high stress resistance. Most new instructors would have sunken under the table, deep into their grief if they were given a barrage of humiliation. This new instructor was rather young yet he was the same calm.

It took literally 15 minutes for Ye Chong’s group to fill up completely.

“Alright, folks, we would proceed with the stage. The consortium had assigned staffs to escort all the groups to their respective site. The instructors would then lead all trainees to the training ground. So, the instructors can now meet with their trainees. Should you have any inquiries, please come see me. I hope we would have a fruitful and joyful training here,” Senda sounded relieved. He was apparently feeling uneasy of such atmosphere.

“Follow me,” said one workman hurriedly coming from the other end. He and the other members were on standby for the escorting session.

Ye Chong responded with a nod and quickly followed. Nothing happened at the meeting room affected him actually. He was preoccupied with the unique interface of his new mech. He had been thinking the workarounds of dishing out the most damage, so he was silent the whole time.

“Well, yeah, tsk, you have been looked down,” said Shang, with an inhibited dissatisfaction. Shang was never the humanitarian with a heart of gold, it was rare to hear Shang speaking with such a tone.

“Look… down? I don’t care where they placed their eyes?” Ye Chong was not sure what Shang meant since he had never bothered to observe the meeting room.

“Not that. They are seeing nothing in you, not even your strength.”

“Oh…” Ye Chong finally comprehended the new phrase, “That’s good? Why must I have them seeing something in me? I don’t want their attention?”

Well, Ye Chong had a point. He would be better off being the unnoticed boy in the group. Shang could not really counter that argument.

“Mhm…” Shang was taking a different approach, “You are right of what you’ve said. But they aren’t paying much for us to last here you know. We need more money and you know that. At this rate we might be stuck in Gray Valley for good.”

“Right,” nodded Ye Chong, “You have a point.” Based on the information they had obtained from the virtual world, the consortium had the few exits under their enforcement, the strictest one too. It appeared to be no one could pass through the pathway without permit, not even a space rock, while only those cargos from He Yue could get the certificate of permission. Those merchants owning those cargos did not have an easy time either, as they had to undergo heavy inspections before they could reach the other side of the world. It came to both Mu and Ye Chong’s agreement that they were going to stay in Gray Valley for quite some time.

Since they would very likely be stuck for the next few months, the problem proposed by Shang would truly be a problem in no time. Ye Chong was very well-aware how it would be a trapping horror without gold in his pocket.

“They would be determining your pay based on the number of trainees who passed the final examination, and certainly the strength of these trainees too. Well, they are rather generous on that side of the payment.”

“I understand,” said Ye Chong flatly, as he caught the underlying meaning.

When Ye Chong had arrived at the site for Group No. 25, the trainees were already there, whose eyes were mostly, as one had guessed, filled with the disdain as if towards the filthiest dirt on their planet.

“Would you like to have a word? Or proceed with the training directly?” asked the worker.

“To the training ground.” Ye Chong was the decisive kind who held the virtue of “less talk, more work”.

“Hah!” One voice came from the group, “With your standards, I’m better off as the teacher. Shameless.”

“Right?”

“Who are you to teach us?” The students were seemingly reluctant to be taught by this air-headed bum from nowhere.

The working man was finding the situation awkward as he never foresaw such dramatic reaction.

Ye Chong stared at the bunch of noisy kids in their early puberty.

“What? Want a piece of me? Hahahaha!” The trainees were laughing as the fiasco intensified.

Ye Chong frowned, he was enraged not because of the humiliations, but the lack of action, time-wasting behavior of these young trainees. He could tolerate everything other than wasting time. He felt the need to take action, in order to cease such ridiculous waste of time.

Ye Chong’s step crushed the ground as he vanished.

Xi Qing, who was watching Ye Chong at the dark corner, had his heart raced. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, he was sweating as heat raided his throat.

Could it be?

His premonition was proven right as soon as he heard that loud cracking sound coming from the loudest guy in the group.

And the fuzzy silhouette of the instructor regained its structure.

Am I seeing things?

Xi Qing rubbed his eyes. His face was cold.

The guy was now in the instructor’s hand, passing out. He was the one who started the entire angry mob attack.

What?

Xi Qing could feel a never-before-experienced chillness crawling his back.

He could not believe how his eyes failed to capture the instructor’s speed. He did not manage to observe every gesture of this instructor. He did not even know how the instructor did the back-and-fro seizing. It was as if a giant skip of multiple animation frames in between.

The rascal might have started the commotion, but he was not the ordinary street bullies one would see on the street. He and the others were capable of joining the consortium training after all. These rebellious young men and women were potent to a certain extent.

The commotion died off the moment the youngsters saw their new classmate resting in the cradle of the devil. They could not remember an actual thing of the incident just now. They only could recall a shadow flashing by. The instructor soon grew alarming in the eyes of these trainees as clearly the instructor could take them out before they knew a thing.

The worker was dropping his jaw.

“Move,” instructed Ye Chong, with a glance as he walked towards the training ground with the fainted trainee in his hands.

They had to cooperate, unless they wanted to leave the world before adulthood.

Meanwhile Xi Qing was experiencing a boiling excitement in him after the sheer cold fear Ye Chong gave him. He knew he was right! He betted the right person! Expectation filled his head, as he wondered how much more surprise the instructor could bestow him.

Contrary to the other groups who were making bubbly, happy go lucky screams in their training ground, Ye Chong’s group was brewing wordless, dust-rolling intensity on the field. The other groups were sending mockery through their eyes upon finding out the center of the dullest void being Group No. 25.

“This would be the training ground for your group from now on. The accommodation locates right nearby. It should fulfill most of your daily necessities. If you have any need, feel free to call me or contact Mr. Senda. Now, if you would kindly excuse me…” The escort seemed to have an utter change in his tone after the incident.

“Thank you. Take care,” replied Ye Chong concisely.

Ye Chong was pretty happy of the size. The training ground could easily accommodate the 20 trainees he had.

The trainees were observing their new overwhelming instructor carefully, with curiosity in some of them and passion in the others.

And they would all play the Red Light, Green Light game, quickly silenced themselves into obedience the moment Ye Chong turned to them.

They were holding their breath, with fright in their eyes.

“Oh?” Ye Chong remembered he was lifting a problem and there he dropped the fainted trainee.

Thump! The trainees could hear the horrible ending of Humpty Dumpty on their mate. The problematic trainee rubbed his eyes and appeared to be under his sleeping spell.

Ye Chong decided to provide assistance in breaking the spell.

Ye Chong clipped the sleepy trainee, his eyes searched for a safe landing point. There was a pool. A perfect target. And he gave a skillful toss, lobbing the trainee.

Splash!

The eyes of the trainees enlarged drastically as they had just observed an inhumane act coming from their new instructor. Imagine they were the walking sandbag instead!

“Ah!” The trainee was instantly waken by the cold water. He quickly crawled out of the pool and dawdled towards the group, with confusion and fear in his steps.

“In your line. 5…4…,” said Ye Chong.

The trainee began sprinting, as if losing the last bus in the night. He only regained his soul when he got back to the line.

Ye Chong was silent.

The training ground was silent.

The trainees were dead silent.

They would not want to anger this instructor a little. It was irony when they just called the instructor an airhead a second ago.

…

… …

The trainees were in fear of the never-ending silence, wondering if the instructor was planning the next diabolical execution to the misbehaved.

The reality? Ye Chong was discussing with Shang regarding the minimum amount of pay he would need in order to progress, with details on the approximate number of successful trainees.

Chapter 478: Aiming High

ased on the detailed rules of payment determined by the consortium, both Shang and Ye Chong discovered that they would need at least 15 trainees to pass the examination or 7 of them with superior performance in order to attain the target income. That spelled a total challenge as it meant either the group became the top group in the entire course or both Shang and Ye Chong would have nothing. Well, if they managed to attain the target they would need not to worry of having an empty wallet for a long time, given that they did not have to pay like a king. There was also a specialized war machines given as one of the rewards by the consortium. Such model was a hard find in the market so Ye Chong could probably make a fortune out of it even if he did not intend to pilot it.

It came to a realization that Ye Chong’s job required commitment. The consortium would pay one handsomely assuming one managed to produce what the consortium wanted. And clearly within short term Ye Chong would not find any job with higher pay than this. Both of them agreed to this. Shang could not generate figurative funds from hacking the virtual world of Gray Valley, so it was not like those days where Ye Chong could get money from nowhere before.

15 trainees who passed the test .. or 7 of them who performed really well… Ye Chong took a glance at his students. His face was grim.

Most of these students had been trained to do battles from afar since childhood. A lot of issues would surely arise if Ye Chong conducted a melee training. It boiled down to habits eventually. They had been wired with techniques of being a pilot, they had been taught to fight with ranged weaponry.

It would not be simple to alter any habit.

Fortunately, these pilots did have a good foundation. They were capable of piloting mech skillfully, which was a relief to Ye Chong.

The trainees stood obediently in front of the grim instructor, as silence magnified their heartbeats.

“Now, I want you all to deploy your own mech and complete the obstacle course,” said Ye Chong, pointing at the obstacles far ahead. “One by one,” he continued.

So these trainees deployed their mechs. In no time the training field became a giant parking lot of mechs. Ye Chong could see mechs in all sorts of color and shapes. His eyes did catch a few to his favor. He used to pilot the aged rusty Winnie back on Trash Planet-12 everyday, bearing with the worn out seat and the glitchy interface. These youngsters were lucky to be born with a silver spoon, or… at least not born among the trash.

Ye Chong walked till the very end of the line, only to find out that all of these mechs were ranged units. It did not sound feasible to run a melee training class when they were running with firearms and launchers. He eventually prompted the training plan provided by the consortium and discovered that all melee units had been sent to the frontline recently. There was no close-combat model left and for the trainees Ye Chong had to order a new batch of mechs, probably borrowed from somewhere else owned by the consortium.

And it would take 5 days for the mechs to arrive.

“You,” Ye Chong pointed his finger at Xi Qing and said, “You would be the monitor from now on, watch the trainees on my behalf.”

Ye Chong had noticed Xi Qing from the beginning since he was the only student who was calm and silent the whole time. The dramatic nature of a child in puberty was nowhere to be found on him.

“Yes, sir,” Xi Qing accepted the assigned position which stirred envy among the other trainees.

“Start the obstacle course.”

The mechs booted and zoomed towards the starting point one after another. They accelerated over the open pathway and decelerated to make perfect dodge through the obstacles. Ye Chong was impressed. These trainees were exceptional in piloting, much greater than the average pilots in the 5 major galaxies.

Nevertheless, Ye Chong frowned, realizing that these trainees needed no close-combat models but a better physique. Their vitality could last fine in ranged battles. But when it came the clashes of iron fists, they were fragile. Constant collision and thrust were typical in mech-brawling. A pilot could still be worn down quickly under the protection of hydraulic system.

These trainees would not be able to handle it. Well, naturally it was because their physique had yet undergone a complete puberty. So Ye Chong checked out the facilities in the field. Within the next few minutes, he got an idea.

“Okay, off your mechs now.”

“Go there.”

“Grip the handle.”

“Yes. Now do as I count.”

…

… …

“Hah…,” Xi Qing rubbed his sore arms, he could feel his limbs falling off after the few days of training that felt like a walk down the hellish path. They were given heavy trainings, nonchalantly by the inhumane instructor. The list of training just increased uncontrollably while his face remained as expressionless. No one dared to speak up.

They did power training the first session, then reflexibility training the second and reaction training the third…

And Xi Qing once thought he was given harsh trainings since he was born. The term “harsh training” had been given a whole new definition after the past few days. It was tough, that he actually blanked out as he ran the pavement. He thought he was becoming a mech. A fully mechanized athlete. They had a quota, regarding the number of training they had to fulfill and people were training dead.

They were convinced that the instructor would listen to nothing else than performance, judging from his surprising act on the first day of the course. The air-headed instructor was one destructive hulk as convinced by the time he took to complete their training. The instructor took only half of the time they did to complete the training.

He was not the babysitting kind of instructor as he would leave the group at the center and pick one corner to conduct his training. That was when a few of them thought they could take some short breaks themselves.

But little they knew that, the instructor knew it. He was one with the eyes of Odin and managed to identify the slackers to chastise them. Yes, it was severe to an extend that it sent them chills simply from thinking it.

The instructor probably nearly committed several murders on one day, sworn by every trainee who witnessed the scene of “punishment”. They almost heard the siren of the ambulance wailing when they perceived the strange cracks coming from those students who turned flappy on the ground afterwards. They had recognized the cruelty of this instructor. There would be no tolerance towards misbehaving students from him.

They spent the next few days in panic, fearing that they would enrage the instructor.

The special training designed by the instructor had been lethargically repetitive. It looked simple, with only a few moves to be conducted… for the rest of the day of course. A gazillion times it felt. None of them actually fell out of the line surprisingly.

Their tenacity shocked Ye Chong as well, especially when he knew he had 3 female trainees in the line. He was expecting the females, whose vitality was genetically lower than the males, to collapse the first yet they managed throughout the entire course. He did not have them in his top 15 potential successful trainees at the beginning but now… perhaps he would need to reconsider.

Hmm…

Ye Chong had been quite busy the last few days too. He did not only carry out his own training but also pieced together the designing concept of the strange mech, particularly its interface, the efficient way to use it. Once he got the heck of it, he improved dramatically on his control. The layout was actually not an utter mess on the triangular interface. There was a sense of logic behind.

So Muscle Man had gotten less graceless, as both strength and dexterity were fully demonstrated under Ye Chong’s control. The boys and girls were fascinated by his improvement. They had never imagined a boulder to be able to move with such agility, as if they were watching a ballet performed by an elephant. It did not make sense but it just happened. The instructor was moving like a baby in the mech a few days ago, and now he was moving like an assassin from one corner to another.

They had stopped doubting the instructor’s profession. They were fully convinced by it. The air-headed instructor was no longer air-headed to them. He had ascended as an unspoken legend, well-respected by the trainees who felt pumped conducting his training.

The first phase of his training course had ended. Ye Chong was astonished by the commitment of these trainees who had completed everything from A to Z. He acknowledged the difference in terms of standards between pilots of Gray Valley and others from the outside. These pilots from the Gray Valley were far more superior than all those so-called heroic young pilots he faced back in 5 major galaxies.

Well, Ye Chong could not observe much changes on his trainees’ physique. It was expected since the physical training would be carried out throughout all phases of the course. But he knew that these trainees had changed, their physique had certainly improved to certain extend, at least ready for a mortal combat.

The mech units Ye Chong ordered had already arrived for quite some time, while the other groups had already initiated their pilot training.

“Very well, we would be conducting mech training today.” Ye Chong could hear the squeak of excitement coming from the trainees the moment the keywords were uttered. They were going to make a leap of joy but their feet jerked upon seeing the expressionless instructor.

Kids were still kids… after all.

Sighed Ye Chong, seeing the blatant smiles on the children.

They were good pilots yet they remained as a group of undisciplined children. Compared to the Sangs, Ye Chong could not talk battle spirit or fighting will or the royalty of being a soldier serving their own survival. Back on those days, he would only need to give a word then the Sangs would conduct the training themselves. Well he could not expect much. They were children and they were not meant to be made into soldiers. Also, Ye Chong’s training course was too packed to include discipline training.

“Now, in line, take your new mech,” said Ye Chong upon leading them to the storage.

The machines were glowing in cold metallic colors, like a line of resting beast awaiting for release. The trainees could feel the whispering growls from the lifeless machinaries.

“Wait! That’s D-6!!” screamed one of the trainees.

Chapter 479: D-6

mech was usually meant for combats – treading the war field, firing missiles and lasers to annihilate the enemies – unless it was a non-combat model, a more commercialized unit, like an engineering model for example, instead of weaponry it was “armed” with ore detecting mechanism as well as the other devices; the maintenance model was equipped with professional maintenance tools and was meant to repair all sorts of damage on a mech or a spaceship. There was also the rescue units which, as the name suggested, was created for rescuing wandering pilots sending SOS signals.

There were a good array of professional models yet most people associated mech with combats, which was true to a certain extent. It was always war the mechs created in the galaxies but well, similar to the professional models, there were different kinds of warring models in the market. There were ranged units, melee units, supportive units, crowd control units, short-ranged assassinating units and so on. The list could go forever.

Most of these units could serve well in a battlefield. But there was hardly any of them which was made for pure massacre that lived up to the “less on the fancies, more on the blood” spirit – a mere killing machine with simplistic design, which would make the other advanced models look like the Knock-Down Hitman. Usually the real killing machine could only be seen in the dark, under development of well-funded organizations and would not show up at the war field easily. It was the monster, furnished with irregular weaponry, the questionable weapons threatening to all civilizations, which stirred up debates upon introduction.

It was uncommon at the market even in Gray Valley, let alone the 5 major galaxies, not even the war-competitive society in He Yue galaxy had such model flying around freely.

As the introduction led, D-6 came into your imagination. Yes, as you would have guessed, D-6 was the model, a true, pure murdering model. The concept of its design had always revolved about maximizing destruction.

“D-6. A humanoid melee attacking model, fast in both mobility and reaction, created solely for the combative members of the consortium.”

The brief introduction was confusing to Ye Chong. There was nothing helpful in the one-liner. Well, he was a mech artisan, a mech maker, he needed no manual to pilot D-6. His understanding was far more in-depth than the others, that he could identify the capabilities of the unit at first glance.

Ye Chong was a little astounded, as he did identify the complete bloodthirstiness in the design. The designer, to pursue greater mobility, forsook a portion of the mech’s protection capacity. The cabin exterior was flimsy, that Ye Chong doubted if its pilot ever survived in the missile shower. The offense was different too. Unlike most melee attackers, it was not holding an alloy sword but a pair of knives – made out of unique minerals, with an ominous curve. There was no shield, as mentioned, a weaker defense. An all-out offensive unit with additional mechanisms hidden somewhere on the body. Ye Chong had yet figured them out but surely those were not meant for salvation.

Ye Chong realized something when he looked at D-6.

What would these trainees become?

They would probably end up at the war field anyway.

Ye Chong was not being sentimental but somehow there was something heavy in his chest. The design of the mech was radical yet it was a superior unit in fact. The catch was, it was not meant for beginners, it would require a more exceptional, experienced handling or it would only drive the pilots to destruction itself, before creating any. Ye Chong would not be convinced that there was nobody, in the entire well-established researching organization, who had realized the problem that they should not provide a D-6 to a bunch of children in the early puberty. Ironically, there he was, with his bunch of children in their early puberty, standing by a line of D-6s.

They probably needed more force, and they needed it fast.

Ye Chong shook his head. That was never his problem, neither it was part of his decision. “Take your mech, pick any,” he said before he left the room. “Xi Qing, watch your classmates.” The students seemed really eager to try.

He sauntered on the empty training ground, as his ears perceived fading heyhoos probably from his trainees who just got their new toys. He stopped at one random point and sat on the ground. His eyes were lifted upon the murky day, his soul wandered somewhere.

…

…(Meanwhile)…

Xi Qing was caressing his new D-6 in simmering exhilaration. From today onwards, he would be the sole owner of this unit. He was not one who was born with a silver spoon. His first mech was a birthday present from his uncle 5 years ago. He had always wanted a brand new mech of his own. He trained hard since he was much younger. He was a quick-learner so he performed much better than the majority of his age despite the more inferior model he possessed.

The motive he participated this training course was simple. He was eyeing the rewards. One of the scarcity would also be scarce of options. The consortium offered a lot, the consortium would be his only hope to ascend into something. The entry requirement of the consortium recruitment was harsh, that one should give up if one was an average resident in the Gray Valley.

So Xi Qing was enthralled when he saw the recruitment announcement. Certainly his strength was incompetent compared to the adults but he considered himself exceptional enough to have at least caught the authority’s attention. And yes, he was right, he passed the entry test. He was almost there. He would embark on his career working in the top-notch organization after this training! He knew, the recruited would eventually be in the war field. It was never a white-collar occupation to begin with.

It was a treacherous path. But his heart, the will of a youth, thirsted for an adventure, advancement, an opportunity to mark down his own history!

It would be worth, regardless of the danger threatening his life out there. Xi Qing believed so his hands stroke the machinery. D-6 was standing there soundlessly yet it seemed to breathe homicides. It was love at first sight for Xi Qing when Ye Chong lifted the gate of the storeroom.

Xi Qing might not have the money to shop at the mech market but he had professional understanding of it and absolutely he recognized to what category the D-6 belonged immediately. “The consortium is sure generous in this. They actually gave trainees a D-6!” whispered Xi Qing in exclamation. The consortium produced all types of mechs but they would not put everything on sale for the public, like D-6 which was purely for their own army. It was efficient in destruction, though not as notorious as the other known units, well-recommended by most experienced pilots. In the black market, the price of a D-6 could probably purchase a dozen of planets or a bag of dwarf planets. The letter “D” meant nothing else than Death, not exclusive to the foes clearly.

“Everyone, on your mech, the training ground. Three minutes!” said the instructor coldly through the communicator.

And they leaped into the cabin clumsily upon waking up from their daydream.

20 D-6s formed themselves into 4 tidy lines on the training field. It looked like a great formation of war field, except it appeared like a silly parking lot to Ye Chong the war savvy. He could identify a range of openings in this slightly rectangular formation, as he stood at the front in Muscle Man.

“Into 4 teams. From today onwards you’ll remain in your current line. Other than the daily physical training, I’ll also conduct lectures on mastering this mech you are piloting,” said Ye Chong.

The trainees were excited. They had been bored by the repetitive physical training to death. And there was finally a change.

Klink! A loud noise interrupted Ye Chong.

The wall behind Ye Chong was cracking and falling.

“Watch out!” shouted one trainee who perceived the premonition.

A dusty mech emerged from the rubble and zoomed towards the instructor. Nobody could react in time, other than the real soldier in the field.

Ye Chong was far more experienced than all the trainees in fights. The moment he heard the clinking and thumping he had already laid his eyes on the projection. Muscle Man was indeed an experiment unit, but it was creation of probably a genius. The detection on the unit was impeccable. It might be a failure by the consortium but it was an expensive, exceptional failure.

Ye Chong knew there was a mech coming for him.

It was a D-6. And it was not a raid, judging from its orbit. It looked more like a machinery going out of control.

Ye Chong had two options. Th first would be to make a simple dodge. That would be undesirable as the mech would crash into the formation of his trainees after he made the dodge and escaped the accident professionally. None of his trainees would be able to dodge in time.

So he was left with the second option.

Muscle Man drew a half-circle with its right leg, leading to a twist and a sink to the earth. The mechanical structure descended with the arms slightly curved over its body, leaving the two giant palms open at the sides.

Ye Chong expressionlessly added more commands.

Now!

Afterimages of his hands slid over the interface.

Crash!

The uncontrollable D-6 crashed into the hand of Muscle Man.

An accident would happen soon.

D-6 first collided with the right hand. The conservation of momentum had dented every part of the palm. Muscle Man immediately held the bottom of D-6 with its left hand.

The engines of both its arms were launched straightaway. The mechanical legs were exerting greater strength on the ground which burst into splattering mud as the legs submerged.

“Ah! Ahhh!” The pilot of D-6 felt a jerk and an uplifting force and began screaming in fear. D-6 then zoomed through the small gap and past Muscle Man’s back.

There was another mech! Ye Chong was shocked as he saw a mech rapidly approaching in the detection system.

Such speed. Ye Chong squinted his eyes, trying to make out the appearance of the mech. But it was too fast, he could only perceive the red color.

Was that a raid?

Muscle Man withdrew its legs and its arms reformed into a battle position, like a mechanical jaguar, ready to pounce.

Chapter 480: Crazy Training I

e Chong watched emotionlessly as the mech closed in on him. He was ready to launch his attack once his opponent was within range. However, to his surprise, the mech spread its wings and swooped up, grazing past Ye Chong’s head.

What was that about? Ye Chog looked at the rapidly climbing mech, unable to comprehend the pilot’s intention. Muscle Man could only fight on the ground, and was useless in aerial battles. Still, Ye Chong prepared himself. Muscle Man’s right leg pushed backwards, and the mech leapt forward and turned around, adjusting its position.

The anticipated aerial attack did not occur. The mech in the sky changed its course and flew towards the damaged D-6.

The mech was quick, and caught on to D-6 soon enough. Its two mechanical arms rested lightly on D-6, then its wings angled to make a U-turn in the air, and the two mechs ended up landing somewhere not far from Ye Chong.

“So it’s going to rescue D-6,” Ye Chong thought to himself. After ascertaining that the mech was not hostile, Ye Chong resumed a more neutral stance.

Now, he could finally examine the mech that appeared out of nowhere. It was in gold and light red, giving off a feeling of elegance and magnificence. The mech’s body was slim and well balanced, with a strong sense of femininity. The wings on its back were composed of small and colorful feather pieces, like a pair of rainbow wings. The left arm had a diamond shaped shield, while a laser sword’s hilt was secured to its right leg, near the knee.

It was rare to see protective fins on close range mechs. Usually, protective fins were used for to stabilize atmospheric flight, and long range mechs would definitely benefit from them. For close range mechs, however, large and vulnerable fins would become easy target. Besides, since close range mechs were built to be physically stronger, they were often much heavier than long range mechs. The mech in front of Ye Chong was clearly designed for long ranged combat.

This long range mech was actually used for close range combat. Ye Chong could already guess who it was – it must be one of the instructors from a nearby training ground. D-6 should be piloted by one of the instructor’s students.

“I’m so sorry. My student lost control of his mech and interrupted your group, please accept my humblest apologies,” a pleasant female voice said.

“Oh, it’s alright,” Ye Chong replied calmly. It was as he expected.

“I am Group 16’s instructor, Shen Ruxue. I don’t know your name yet. Perhaps you’ll accept my invitation to dinner as re-compensation,” from the mech’s audio broadcast came a mellow female voice. All of Ye Chong’s students who overheard her looked jealous of him. Shen Ruxue had gathered the most attention amongst all the instructors, since she was the only woman instructor, and a beautiful one at that. Many students were eager to join her group, but before they could, the 16 spots were snatched up very quickly.

Ye Chong looked at the time, and declined, “Sorry, I’m busy.” In fact, he was getting rather impatient. His entire training schedule was jam packed, there was no time to spare. Now, this instructor from Group 16 was saying all these useless words. To him, it was just a waste of time.

“A pretty lady!” A joyful voice appeared in Ye Chong’s mind. Ye Chong sighed inside. As expected, she had gotten Shang’s attention! He knew that Shang was far more interested in beautiful women than he was, and could be very stubborn about them. More importantly, Shang’s blabbering never failed to tire his listeners, and even Ye Chong could not take him on.

“Wah, Ye, it’s a real pretty lady. Heavens, finally, something interesting in this dark existence of ours! Yes, her measurements, body shape, weight, it’s all in my archive now. Ye, she’s asking you out for dinner, what an opportunity, go for it! Why not?” Shang was practically shouting in excitement.

Ye Chong kept his mouth shut and ignored Shang.

Shen Ruxue did not expect that Ye Chong would reject her. She was slightly taken aback, but quickly replied with some anger in her tone, “I see, you don’t think I’m worthy. Then consider my invitation a shameless attempt. Goodbye!” With that, she lifted that damaged D-6 and took off, flying towards a neighbouring training ground.

“Sigh, Ye, don’t be so rigid! Wow, look at these numbers, it’s wonderful, her measurements are almost perfect, she’s definitely first class!” Ye Chong could imagine Shang shaking his huge mechanical head, blinking his blue bionic eyes erratically as he muttered indulgently.

A thin smile appeared on Ye Chong’s lips, but he ignored the mech still, and focused on his new students.

“Everyone, get familiar with your mechs. You must at least pass Level 3 of the directional change arena.”

Ye Chong’s cold voice echoed across the training ground. All his students gathered themselves and quickly moved their D-6’s towards the directional change arena, forgetting whatever nonsense ideas they were having.

“Ye, what do you think about that Shen Ruxue’s capabilities?” Shang knew exactly how to gain Ye Chong’s attention.

As expected, Ye Chong began to rewind his memory to what happened earlier. He thought about it for a moment and replied confidently, “She’s good. But I don’t know what else her mech was capable of.” Ye Chong may not have fought against her before, but he could still tell that Shen Ruxue was a top notch mech pilot.

“I see, such a competent pilot. Ye, you have to watch out,” Shang switched the topic so quickly that Ye Chong though it odd.

“Why?”

“She’s strong, much stronger than her initial performance suggests. Besides, I suspect that she’s trying to get closer to you,” Shang analyzed calmly, unlike his usual exaggerative self.

“Trying to get closer to me?” Ye Chong was shocked.

“Yes. I noticed something before the accident occured. Hehe, that pretty girl was having a practice battle with that D-6. That D-6 lost its balance because of a direct attack from her. They were about 571 meters from the perimeter fence when it happened. With her skills, she was definitely capable of stopping the D-6 before it crashed into the fence. However, she let the D-6 went down anyway. This means that she’s planning something.” Shang sounded so cold and calculative now that Ye Chong thought he sounded like Mu.

“Why would she do that?” Ye Chong stroked his chin, deep in thought.

However, Shang replied irresponsibly, “How would I know?” Then, he suggested slyly, “Sigh, Ye, talk to her when you have the chance, what’s the harm in that, hehe …”

Ye Chong was completely unmoved by Shang’s suggestion, and returned to his job.

Ever since the wall fencing was damaged, no one came to repair it. Students from both groups kept quiet about the incident as well, and did not report it to admin. Of course, Ye Chong thought it was a bother to do such a thing, while his students hoped against hope for the wall to be torn down, so that both groups could train together! Strangely, no one from the other group reported the damaged fence to the staff as well.

Hence, the two groups began to interact more frequently. Mechs would occasionally be seen flying through the hole in the wall to meet their friends on the other side. Ye Chong did not bring up the issue. If his students followed his training schedule, he saw no reason to interfere with their personal time.

That was what Ye Chong believed in. He would practice with Muscle Man every day, and would often be the last one to leave the training ground. The students grew respectful of their reserved instructor. The man might not be particularly strong, but his determination alone was a rare quality. Of course, Ye Chong did not know that he had inspired his students. Ye Chong grew more and more familiar with Muscle Man, to the point where he knew that he would be able to win against the instructor in the sword-shield mech!

The students imagined that their instructor was like a monster machine that never tired. His training routine was always so dry, and his moves were too simple and straightforward. However, the instructor repeated his training every day for tens of thousands of times.

They did not know how strong their instructor was in combat, since they had never had combat training so far. Their instructor had only asked them to repeat the most simple exercises.

However, even these simple exercises nearly drove them crazy!

At first, they were asked to crash their D-6s right into some targets, and repeat the crashing until all their targets were destroyed.

This simple training became a torture to every student. They had to watch their target grow larger and larger in their eyes before crashing right into it. The fear involved was enough to make one hesitate. At first, many students would close their eyes at the last moment before they crash. Moreover, these high speed crashes were still dizzying despite the protection offered by the mech hydraulic suspension systems. Often the students would throw up violently right after they exit their mechs. However, their instructor was not known for mercy.

Done throwing up? Get back to crashing!

Even Xi Qing vomited all over himself, his face pale from the ordeal. This crashing training went on for three days, and the students crashed into their targets for many, many times. The fear that initially haunted them soon turned into numbness.

This crazy training shocked the students who came over the fence from Shen Ruxue’s group. It was quite some time before any of Group 16’s students dropped by for a visit.

After the first step in their training, they were asked to fly their D-6s at high speed towards a target, make a turn when reaching 3 meters away from the target, then slash out with a sword and hit said target. What Ye Chong asked for was simple – sufficiently high speed and accuracy in hitting the target. Sufficiently high speed referred to the maximum speed of the D-6. Accuracy in hitting the target meant hitting no further than 10 centimeters off center.

The training was so difficult that the students could only gape in disbelief. Most of them cursed their insane instructor quietly. Who in the galaxy would fight against an enemy at their maximum speed? After all, the faster a mech was moving, the harder it was to pilot it. 10 centimeters? Were their enemies going to be flies?

However, upon seeing their instructor’s apathetic expression, the students braced themselves for this impossible training.