FT DR Chapter 108: Clumsy Revenge

Chapter 108: Clumsy Revenge

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

With obstacles ahead and pursuers behind, four mechas flew towards space and converged with the support ships stationed outside the near-Earth defense line, assuming a defensive posture that surrounded the medium-sized destroyer Yan Shi was on.

Multifaceted communications continued. Jin Xuan said, “Chang Gong and Qian Hua are responsible for intercepting the Tartarus pursuers. Yin Bo and I will handle the Quadrants fleet. Yan Shi, cover us!”

“I can handle the pursuers alone,” Chang Gong said solemnly. “Let Qian Hua intercept the Quadrants with you. That’s Hannibal’s main fleet, with at least five heavy assault ships! Though it’s quite a challenge for one to face ten, the Quadrants fleet is too strong. With just two mechas, it’s like hitting a rock with an egg. We probably won’t last until the NTU reinforcements arrive.”

Jin Xuan decisively said, “No, Tartarus will send more reinforcements. This is their stronghold. We’ve taken away so much evidence; they won’t let us go easily. They’ll definitely go all out. The Quadrants are aimed at Tartarus, not us. At most, they’ll watch from afar.” Pausing for a moment, he continued, “And Yin Bo and I have guides, enhancing our attack power. Yin Bo, can Mr. Kazumi Koyama adapt to mecha combat? How’s your synchronicity?”

“We’re still adjusting. He hasn’t dealt with weapons or mechas before, and his physical condition… It’ll take some time to adapt. But our synchronicity is excellent. He’s stimulating my powers, and I’m currently very stable, with a combat power increase of over twenty percent.”

Twenty percent away from the ideal value still left some distance to cover, but such things couldn’t be forced, especially since Kazumi Koyama was just a scientist. Jin Xuan quickly made a decision, “Then it’s settled. Chang Gong focuses on heavy combat, Qian Hua on guerrilla tactics, blocking the Tartaros pursuers. Yin Bo, come with me!”

“Yes!” everyone answered loudly.

Chang Gong’s mecha joints shimmered with light as heavy weapons were fully loaded. They opened fire fiercely at the ten intelligent mechas charging towards them. Qian Hua’s mecha spun its leg engines at full speed, agilely dodging the gunfire and releasing electromagnetic lightnings at the hit enemies, not lingering in battle. It flew back within the destroyer’s protective shield, providing long-range assistance to Chang Gong’s attack.

The pursuers were taken aback, momentarily regrouping to organize a fresh assault. At this moment, the belly hatch of the NTU destroyer suddenly opened, and Yan Shi remotely controlled ten puppet fighters to fly out. They swarmed like buzzing flies, attacking the joints and energy boxes of the enemies, rendering them powerless.

In the deep silence of space, the battle unfolded with bright blue sparks occasionally bursting. The Tartarus mecha legion suffered heavy losses. However, being on their home turf with strong backup, more mechas and starships soon flew out from the damaged ports, densely attacking the defensive line organized by Chang Gong and Qian Hua.

Yan Shi once again opened the belly hatch, releasing a group of scorpion-shaped puppet mechas that formed a protective circle around the mechas of Qian Hua and Chang Gong. The three of them stood ready, prepared for the next wave of attacks.

In another direction, Rifle and Yin Bo flew towards the Quadrants fleet.

“The first to fourth engines are primary, and the fifth to twelfth engines are auxiliary, distributed here, here…” Jin Xuan hurriedly explained the general structure of the Rifle mecha to Wu Chenghe. “Photon cannon, particle gun, sound railgun, electromagnetic grenade… these are thermal weapons, while light blade, cryo blade, electromagnetic whip… these are cold weapons. You need to quickly connect to my memory area through synchronicity, don’t be afraid to stimulate me, I can handle it. Increase the mental tendrils’ power! Yes!”

Wu Chenghe’s eyes turned into vertical pupils as he tightly connected his consciousness cloud with Jin Xuan’s. His mental tendrils deeply penetrated his memory area, sharing knowledge about strategy and attack.

It was the first time Wu Chenghe had invaded his brain on such a large scale. Jin Xuan’s consciousness cloud was extremely powerful, with an astonishingly vast knowledge reserve, ranging from electronics to mechanics, from tactics to psychology… It was unimaginable how he managed to cram so much into his brain in just twenty-eight years of life!

Wu Chenghe’s heartbeat accelerated, his brain throbbed. Even though their compatibility was close to one hundred percent, and they had been familiar with synchronicity for over a year, his consciousness cloud was still completely unable to bear such an astonishing capacity. Jin Xuan sensed his overload and immediately said, “Stop, you’re about to overload. Let’s leave it at this. You need to reserve some consciousness to stimulate my powers… Leave the main combat to me; you just need to assist, understood?”

Wu Chenghe took a deep breath, stabilizing synchronicity at a safe intensity. “Understood, don’t worry.”

Jin Xuan reached out and touched his head. It was already surprising how quickly Wu Chenghe could absorb so much information. Technically, he was just a twenty-year-old medical student, presumably with little knowledge of mechanics and weaponry. Yet, he seemed naturally receptive to these things. After a rough scan through synchronicity, he had grasped most of the usage methods.

A genius wife indeed raised a genius! Jin Xuan was instantly overwhelmed by a strong sense of pride.

In another mecha, Yin Bo was establishing synchronicity with Kazumi Koyama. They had only marked for less than a month, their synergy was not perfect yet. Moreover, Kazumi Koyama was a pure scholar, unlike Wu Chenghe who was somewhat exceptional. Thirty years had passed, and he had barely used a ray gun a few times, let alone those heavy combat weapons, which made him dizzy just by looking at them.

Unfortunately, Yin Bo had a natural disability in teaching, and when he tried to explain the instructions for using the mecha, it was all gibberish. Kazumi Koyama was on the verge of a breakdown, “What are you even saying? Why are the startup procedures for the main engine and auxiliary engine completely different? Why do heavy combat weapons and light weapons have two sets of control systems? Is this madness? How am I supposed to differentiate and use so many chaotic procedures in such a short time?”

Yin Bo was about to cry. He had written all the control programs for this mecha himself, and he hadn’t considered it wrong for a mecha to use multiple systems. As a snake-brained software engineer who could write system software even before he could write his own name, all systems looked the same to him, and there was no difficulty in switching between them!

He completely ignored the simple question of “what if others couldn’t use such a messy mecha”. He never thought he would one day co-pilot this mecha with his guide! Who knew he would be lucky enough to mark a guide one day, especially when he barely graduated from military school, failing the Chinese exam eight times due to his specialization? How could he have known that he would get a guide with such a messed-up brain?

“Okay,” Kazumi Koyama couldn’t question his sentinel as a guide. It was the nature of submission. He had no choice but to follow Yin Bo’s suggestion and extend his mental tendrils to connect with Yin Bo’s consciousness cloud, sharing his memories.

What kind of memories did this guy have stuffed in his brain… Kazumi Koyama had explored his memories before, but each time he only scratched the surface, never had such a deep contact. This time, as he delved into the shared memories, he discovered Yin Bo’s knowledge structure was insanely absurd. Apart from the vast ocean of information and combat knowledge, the rest was all about how to find a partner, how to strike up a conversation, how to seduce, how to get into bed, how to…

Goodness, this was outrageous!

Kazumi Koyama had only shared about thirty percent, and his face was already flushed, his fingers trembling as he gripped the seat handle. Sensing his discomfort, Yin Bo awkwardly reached out and touched his hand, stuttering, “Stay calm, it’s all theoretical knowledge. Neither of us has ever practiced on anyone else, at most, it’s just seduction… I’m so lewd entirely for the Federation, I’m great!” But he couldn’t say such words, so he relied on synchronicity.

Kazumi Koyama was thoroughly shocked by the absurd academic topic of “how to stimulate a male’s XX area to achieve QQ pleasure” in his memory. He calmly pushed away Yin Bo’s hand, “Let’s stop here with synchronicity. Just stabilize it, and I’ll try to stimulate your powers as much as possible. Let’s fight with what we have.”

He was now grateful for having a close-combat fanatic like Rifle. Otherwise, before sharing Yin Bo’s memories, he would have died of a heart attack.

After a period of rough adjustment, the two pairs of sentinel-guide pairs finally reached their optimal attack state. And after some time in flight, they finally caught up with the legendary and formidable Commander’s direct “Quadrants” fleet.

This time, the “Quadrants” fleet that came to Tartaros consisted of the first squadron. Besides the flagship and four escort ships, there were five assault ships and two supply ships. Although the lineup wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful, it was extremely efficient. Jin Xuan led the charge towards the defensive perimeter of the “Quadrants” fleet without immediately engaging in combat. Instead, he sent another communication request, stating his identity and requesting to speak with the fleet’s commander.

The request was sent to the flagship, but it was met with silence, no feedback whatsoever. The “Quadrants” fleet maintained its offensive posture. Upon detecting the approaching mecha, the two escort ships at the forefront immediately activated their weapon systems, emitting a cold glint and issuing a stern warning.

As they approached each other face to face, both sides were moving at high speeds. Jin Xuan swiftly entered the defensive line of the “Quadrants” fleet. Before the enemy could fire, the particle railgun on his shoulder was already swiftly loaded, and the muzzle flashed, attacking the two escort ships on both sides! At the same time, Wu Chenghe used synchronicity to manipulate neurons, activating a high-power field protection shield, enveloping the mecha in a semi-transparent field.

The two escort ships immediately retaliated with gunfire upon being attacked, blocking Jin Xuan’s assault. The barrage of gunfire was directed towards the mecha, and the enormous energy waves collided with the protective shield, emitting dazzling light, a stark contrast against the dark backdrop of space.

Inside the mecha’s control cabin, Wu Chenghe felt intense fluctuations. The control system displayed a continuous decay in the shield’s data, a result of energy consumption. He immediately redirected energy to replenish the consumption and maintain the mecha’s defensive state.

With defense not a concern, Jin Xuan focused on launching attacks. His consciousness cloud was stimulated by Wu Chenghe, enhancing his senses to their peak. Under his control, the entire mecha moved like a nimble dragon, swiftly dodging between the attacks of the two escort ships, launching the strongest attacks with minimal expenditure, leaving the opponents frustrated. Yin Bo seized every opportunity to plug the gaps created by Jin Xuan’s attacks, maximizing the effectiveness of the “striking while the iron is hot” tactic.

Soon, the escort ship on the right side of the “Quadrants” fleet sounded the alarm, its engines damaged. It slowed down and retreated into the midst of the fleet, while another slightly injured escort ship moved up to block “Rifle” in front.

Such intense frontal combat consumed a considerable amount of resources. Taking advantage of the enemy’s retreat, Wu Chenghe checked the energy reserves and said to Jin Xuan, “With this kind of attack, we can only support five or six rounds. They have twelve ships, and the assault ships are still behind!”

Jin Xuan’s expression remained unchanged. “Disable the field protection shield,” he ordered.

Wu Chenghe was puzzled. “What?!”

Jin Xuan manipulated the neurons to disable the field protection shield. “It was just a test run. I’ll be more flexible in the next round of attacks. We don’t need defense, only offense. Disabling the shield can save one-tenth of the energy.”

Wu Chenghe wanted to say something more but looked into Jin Xuan’s cold, gleaming eyes and remained silent. Jin Xuan’s gaze was too calm, too dominant. He subconsciously felt that he should trust him and not argue with him, wasting time.

In the blink of an eye, a new escort ship had taken position, its guns aimed at “Rifle,” while the slightly damaged escort ship on the other side also opened fire. Crossfire from both sides targeted the two NTU mechas. Yin Bo noticed Jin Xuan disabling the field protection shield and rushed forward to block the blind spots of his attacks, using his defensive capabilities to relieve the pressure on him.

Wu Chenghe maximized his mental power, precisely probing Jin Xuan’s consciousness cloud, stimulating him to the highest activity level. Jin Xuan’s eyes gleamed, and he seemed to be ignited, controlling the mecha to swiftly evade the shockwaves, maneuvering through the crossfire set by the two escort ships, and unexpectedly breaking into the defensive range of the flagship.

Capture the ringleader first! This was Jin Xuan’s consistent style. Yin Bo immediately understood his intent. Without needing a command, he followed Jin Xuan’s footsteps and rushed behind him.

As the mecha passed by the escort ship on the right side, Wu Chenghe’s consciousness cloud suddenly underwent intense fluctuations. His pupils contracted sharply, almost turning needle-like. He exclaimed, “Hannibal!”

Jin Xuan’s gaze sharpened, and he quickly decelerated, asking, “What?”

“The escort ship on the right side! Hannibal!” Wu Chenghe felt an inexplicable surge of hatred rising from the depths of his heart, completely beyond his control, as if it were an innate intuition. He abruptly withdrew one of the mental tendrils that were stimulating Jin Xuan’s potential and plunged it into his memory area, manipulating him to steer the main engine, accelerate, and fly towards the escort ship on the right side!

Jin Xuan’s expression changed, and he sternly asked, “What’s wrong with you? What are you trying to do?!”

With eyes fixed and seemingly immersed in immense hatred, Wu Chenghe remained silent, refusing to communicate synchronously with him. He only manipulated the mecha’s engines, racing towards the escort ship on the right side before unleashing all heavy combat weapons, fiercely attacking the enemy’s energy box position!

The situation had reversed. Jin Xuan’s control was seized, without time to figure out what had happened. Immediately, he took over the auxiliary attack position, swiftly opening the quantum field protective shield to prevent damage to the mecha. Wu Chenghe attacked recklessly, exposing the mecha’s back entirely to the attack range of another frigate. One second later, they would have been hit!

Yin Bo, noticing the anomaly from afar, shouted through the communication system, “What are you doing? Why suddenly change tactics? Aren’t we supposed to target the flagship?”

“Unexpected situation, help me intercept that frigate. Hannibal is on that ship!” Jin Xuan could only explain it to him like this.

“Damn it!” Yin Bo cursed and turned to intercept the other frigate.

Jin Xuan freed his hands to establish a mental defense, attempting to push Wu Chenghe’s influence out. But previously, he had guided Wu Chenghe into his consciousness cloud, and they were deeply connected. He couldn’t sever it unilaterally!

【Wu Chenghe! Wake up! What are you doing!】Jin Xuan had to use his commanding tone to shout at him 【Stop it! Attacking indiscriminately like this will deplete our energy quickly. There are twelve ships; we can’t afford to fight like this!】

Wu Chenghe’s pupils trembled slightly, indicating his willpower struggling against submission. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, 【Kill Hannibal!】

Jin Xuan was horrified. He suddenly realized that Wu Chenghe seemed like a different person, completely possessed, devoid of his usual calm and rationality, behaving entirely like an adolescent with delusions of grandeur!

But the power of the guide’s consciousness was too strong, especially in this out-of-control state. Jin Xuan didn’t dare to excessively use submission, fearing it would harm his brain. After much thought, he only saw one way out – capture Hannibal and blackmail the Quadrant!

At this point, stopping Wu Chenghe was no longer the best option; they had to gamble everything!

【Give me control. I’ll fight him!】Jin Xuan accepted his tactics, commanding firmly. Wu Chenghe sensed his true intentions and hesitated for a moment before handing over control of heavy weapons and activating the light weapon control system, ready to engage in close combat at any moment.

Jin Xuan was overwhelmed. He maximized the quantum field protective shield, loaded all weapons, and launched a frenzied barrage. The engines were pushed to full speed, almost reaching the frigate’s nose. Finally, they blew off the enemy’s energy box, but they were also heavily damaged. His right ankle joint malfunctioned, and he lost two auxiliary engines.

Meanwhile, Yin Bo abandoned attacking the other frigate and rushed over to cover him, continuing to provide fire support, diving into the fire and detonating two auxiliary energy boxes. The chain explosion in space caused a spectacular series of sparks, resembling fireworks on a grand scale.

The two mechas were pushed back by the shockwave from the frigate’s explosion, flying out about five hundred meters before slowly adjusting their speed and posture using auxiliary engines, hovering in space. Jin Xuan was greatly exhausted, his chest heaving rapidly. While worrying about Wu Chenghe’s condition, he saw him sitting silently, his eyes cold and sharp, but his telepathy was silent. He couldn’t help but feel anxious and worried, only remembering quantum beasts after a while. He immediately released his Barbary lion to comfort Wu Chenghe’s butterfly.

The spiritual communication between quantum beasts worked. Wu Chenghe’s gaze gradually softened, his consciousness cloud fluctuating as if engaged in a fierce struggle. Jin Xuan wanted to communicate further with him when suddenly, the mecha shook, and a black mecha giant appeared in his field of view!

It was an extremely formidable heavy combat mecha, with the Voyager Army flying lion emblem welded to its chest and a blue star with a gold border on each arm, unmistakably a General’s special mecha! It slowly flew out of the fire of the frigate explosion, protecting the evacuated lifeboats, shuttles, and fighters with a quantum field protective shield, watching them fly into other warships. Then, it changed direction and flew towards “Rifle” and “Yin Bo”!

“Hannibal! He’s really on that frigate!”

Wu Chenghe, who had just calmed down, suddenly sat up straight, as if shocked by electricity, his eyes radiating hatred. Jin Xuan felt the intense fluctuation in his consciousness cloud and immediately activated heavy weapons, heading towards Hannibal – if he had been even a little late, Wu Chenghe would probably have gone on his own!

Is this kid possessed?!

“The Rifle” suddenly accelerated, charging fiercely towards “General,” who immediately opened his thick chest armor, revealing a dense array of cannons inside, fiercely attacking “The Rifle.”

The dense barrage hit “The Rifle’s” quantum field protective shield like drops of water falling into a lake, creating ripples and emitting a faint blue light. Inside the cockpit, Wu Chenghe gathered energy to maintain the shield while stimulating Jin Xuan’s potential with mental tendrils. Despite Jin Xuan being accustomed to his stimulation, under such intense pressure, he still felt a splitting headache, with his senses extending to the extreme, even his vision tinged with a faint glow.

He endured the violent fluctuations in his consciousness cloud, suppressing his own mania, and fought against Hannibal. The gunfire from both sides collided midway, exploding and emitting dazzling lights. The remaining shots penetrated each other’s defenses, hitting the thick metal surface of the mechas, leaving gruesome scorch marks and various-sized dents.

Hannibal, seasoned from numerous battles, rising from a low-ranking officer to a General, was experienced and extremely formidable in solo combat. Jin Xuan, young and strong, with bursting physical energy and guided by a guide, reacted extremely quickly, showing no mercy, like a cunning lone wolf.

Two powerful sentinels engaged in a fierce battle in the deep space, erupting with terrifying energy, causing everyone around, including the Quadrant fleet and Yin Bo, to hesitate to approach! This bizarre scene, even during ancient China’s confrontations between armies, seemed somewhat eerie, let alone in today’s world. It was simply astounding – was this the rhythm of a private duel? Did they have some personal vendetta?

No one could answer their questions, not even Hannibal himself, who was completely baffled – when did the NTU hold such a grudge against him? Who was the mecha pilot? Why did he look like he wanted to flay him alive and eat him?

The battlefield was ever-changing. The two mecha giants fought fiercely, from long-range attacks to close combat. Soon, they abandoned heavy weapons and switched to using melee weapons – Hannibal’s mecha wielded dual swords, their cold blades shining brightly against the black void of space. Jin Xuan’s mecha held a light chain, its high-intensity magnetic waves flickering and vibrating, forming a flexible cold weapon resembling a chained whip, eerie yet formidable.

“Roar!” The Barbary lion roared loudly, “The Rifle” responded, suddenly pouncing towards “General.” With a swing of his right hand, the light chain lashed towards the opponent’s chest!

“General” swiftly dodged the chain attack with a quick sidestep, but his left upper arm was grazed, leaving a string of blackened scorch marks. It flipped its wrist, crossing the two swords, attempting to sever the opponent’s light chain! However, Jin Xuan’s speed was astonishing. His legs’ auxiliary engines suddenly activated. With a leap propelled by momentum, he landed behind his opponent. Immediately, he whipped and twisted the light chain, tightening it around the opponent’s neck, pinning him tightly against his chest.

“Roar!” The black-and-chestnut eagle emitted a furious scream. Hannibal reversed the two swords and thrust them into the metal seams of Jin Xuan’s mecha’s thighs, the blades spinning and severing its neural lines!

The neurons connected to Jin Xuan trembled with pain, transmitting the damage to his brain. Jin Xuan’s consciousness cloud surged wildly, almost into a state of mania. Wu Chenghe promptly extinguished the sparks in his mind with mental tendrils and intensified his potential stimulation.

“Roar!” The Barbary lion’s eyes turned red, its pupils dilated. Jin Xuan gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the surge of blood in his chest, and pulled with all his might –

“Crack, crack, crack…” The light chain tightened around the neck of “General’s” mecha, gradually crushing it. First, the metal shell, then the ligaments and hinges, followed by the energy transmission belts and peripheral neurons… Finally, with the central nervous system severed, the entire mecha lost all signs of life, collapsing like a pile of scrap metal, the chest energy source ceasing to function, and all engines shutting down.

Inside the cockpit, the micro-neurons connected to Hannibal slowly detached from his body, completely dead. Hannibal’s face turned pale, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, as he collapsed onto the control panel, clutching his chest.

When the neurons of the human and machine integrated heavy combat mecha die, the driver’s consciousness cloud and body suffer heavy damage. It had been over a decade, but this was the first time Hannibal had been defeated so thoroughly.

Who… was it?!

 

 

 

 

 

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