Mecha Chapter 102: Lend a Hand

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Lhachril

 

Luo XiaoLou looked at the dark-faced Yuan Xi and whispered, “That – I didn’t know that Tian Li would need me at this time. He just asked me to go over and help check on Mu Chen’s mecha, if you don’t mind ….” 

Carefully wording his words to ask to help other mecha warriors fix their mecha, Luo XiaoLou felt the need to communicate well with his own mecha warrior. Hoping that Yuan Xi hadn’t heard that sensitive word ‘fear’, which was only a result of being teased a few times by Tian Li, for the sake of the man’s casual comment about face and all that.

Yuan Xi stared at Luo XiaoLou. Slightly flushed from the newly aroused lust, the person in his arms, eyes moist and bright, looked at him with caution and slight uneasiness. He was thin and weak, but the two opposite extremes of him always filled his heart with a strange feeling that could be called pity. Yuan Xi himself was at a loss in the face of such feelings that appeared more and more frequently.

When they first met, partly because he was afraid of trouble, and partly because Luo XiaoLou’s appearance was unexpectedly pleasing to his eyes- Yuan Xi hadn’t wanted to tell Luo XiaoLou this- so impulsively, he let Luo XiaoLou become his slave. Because Luo XiaoLou liked him, he accepted his feelings; because Luo XiaoLou was weak, he wanted to protect him.

Well, leaving aside the fact that Luo XiaoLou was too weak to do anything about his domestic violence. So why would he want to bring him home to show his parents, and why would he even think about getting married? Luo XiaoLou had taken care of his life because he loved him so much, but he was afraid that Luo XiaoLou would be wronged in the future?

Don’t be ridiculous, that last one doesn’t even make sense. When had he ever been so nice?

Yuan Xi stared blankly at Luo XiaoLou. Was it because it was the kind of contract that bound more than just Luo XiaoLou?

Luo XiaoLou and Yuan Xi were both still secretly glad when they went out that Yuan Xi had so easily agreed and decided to accompany him there. Although Yuan Xi’s face was still ugly, Luo XiaoLou’s mood was very good.

After arriving at the hospital next to the clubhouse and asking the consultation robot at the door, they arrived at the door of Mu Chen’s room.

Seeing the people inside, Luo XiaoLou couldn’t help but be stunned, Tian Li was there, which was no surprise, but Ling Xu and Yang Ke were actually there as well.

The people inside likewise saw Luo XiaoLou and Yuan Xi at the door, Ling Xu and Yuan Xi greeted each other, and when they saw Luo XiaoLou, they paused and didn’t speak. Mu Chen’s face was still calm, but a hint of relaxation and gentleness appeared in his eyes after seeing Luo XiaoLou.

Tian Li handed over a cup of hot water to Mu Chen, then came over to greet Yuan Xi, and in view of the owner’s presence, didn’t unashamedly hook up with Luo XiaoLou like usual, only talking about the preliminary examination of the mecha, and letting Luo XiaoLou communicate with Mu Chen on his own for the rest.

Ling Xu didn’t move a muscle, he was in the same arena as Mu Chen, he saw that Mu Chen was injured. After the General Assembly conducted emergency rescue measures, he sent Mu Chen to the hospital. This kind of injury, under the hospital’s professional treatment equipment, would probably be able to recover almost overnight.

Surprisingly, Mu Chen firmly declined the help of the organizer’s mecha maker, saying that he knew his mecha and someone could fix it for him.

After learning that his mecha maker was Tian Li, Ling Xu frowned, and was about to say that he could ask Yang Ke to help, but before he could ask, Mu Chen told Tian Li to invite Luo XiaoLou over. Ling Xu was stunned. If the last time Luo XiaoLou was chosen by Master Yan to be the mecha maker, then he would be the one to help him. It still seemed a miracle or an accident that he got third place in the Kane tournament, but this time even the other mecha warriors thought so highly of Luo XiaoLou. He went from shock to status quo.

Luo XiaoLou, really wasn’t the same person Ling Xu knew anymore. He was obviously the same person, but all of a sudden there was so much more sparkle, that even he, who was standing at a high place, started to give him some attention.

Ling Xu left after talking to Yuan Xi for a while longer. He was already familiar with Mu Chen, who was just a classmate to help out.

That’s when Luo XiaoLou asked, “Where’s the mecha? I’ll go back and check it out first, but I don’t know if I can fix it. If it can’t be done, it’s best to find the tournament organizer.”

Mu Chen nodded lightly, took off the light blue pendant around his neck, handed it to Luo XiaoLou, and said, “‘Bud’ is a grade four mecha. As for its damage, it’s very obvious, you can tell by looking at it.” Seeing Luo XiaoLou still frowning, Mu Chen couldn’t help but smile slightly, “I’m sure you can fix him, I believe in you.”

Luo XiaoLou looked at Mu Chen in surprise and gripped the space knob in his hand, he had obviously only met him a few times during the training. Why did he feel so familiar with Mu Chen? That feeling wasn’t bad.

Luo XiaoLou sized up the young man whose bangs covered his eyes and said, “I’ll try my best, but if not, I’ll let you know within an hour.”

“Okay.” Mu Chen said succinctly.

Luo XiaoLou hesitated for a moment and then said, “I wish you a speedy recovery.” 

This was actually a bit of an exaggeration. With the current medical level, if it wasn’t a serious injury, you could definitely recover in one night, but Luo XiaoLou was used to the old saying and didn’t change it.

Mu Chen smiled again and nodded, this time even Tian Li was a little surprised, thinking that Mu Chen was unbalanced. He was never warm and fuzzy to him, his genuine mecha maker. Mu Chen was just too impersonal to give him face even if he was listed.

Yuan Xi looked at Mu Chen thoughtfully before leaving the hospital with Luo XiaoLou once they finished discussing the construction of the mecha and some precautions.

“Let’s go back to the clubhouse. We’ll be able to rent a workroom there.” Luo XiaoLou said, concerned about Mu Chen’s mecha and afraid of delaying his game tomorrow.

Yuan Xi wasn’t too happy and complained, “I came back early today. I was hoping to stroll through Eroe City.”

Luo XiaoLou looked at Yuan Xi in amazement. It was really rare for Yuan Xi to have this kind of leisure and elegance apart from training. As a rich and powerful – this latter one he guessed – young master, it was really rare to see how Yuan Xi enjoyed life or how he wasn’t interested in it at all, apart from not doing housework and loving cakes and buying the best and highest quality of necessities as a matter of course.

Luo XiaoLou hesitated for a moment and said, “When the mecha competition is over, we still have many days of vacation left. I have taken the time off from Master Yan, so we can hang out here for a few days if you want.”

Yuan Xi glared at Luo XiaoLou, who looked at him innocently, and finally Yuan Xi averted his eyes, snorted, and said, “I’m fine with it. It’s not like I have to stay in the clubhouse all day anyway.”

Luo XiaoLou’s eyes widened in surprise and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up as he wrapped his arm around Yuan Xi and asked happily, “Are you afraid I’ll be bored?”

“Since you can’t go shopping, don’t be long-winded.” Yuan Xi rudely dragged Luo XiaoLou forward in large strides, only to blush slightly at an angle that Luo XiaoLou couldn’t see.

“Mn, thanks anyway, I’d actually like to walk around, I’ve never been in a city this big before after all. Let’s wait for the last day and stay.” Luo XiaoLou said smilingly.

Yuan Xi looked back at the dirtbag Luo XiaoLou and didn’t say anything, just tugged him to his side again.

125 on Luo XiaoLou’s chest weakly shouted, ‘I want to go shopping, and now… at this rate I’m going to be bored out of my mind.’

Luo XiaoLou casually said to it, ‘Honey, there’s something wrong with your brain structure to begin with, so maybe it can be negative or positive.’

125’s voice weakened, but it was definitely complaining about Luo XiaoLou.

The distance wasn’t too far, so they didn’t take a car. There were a lot of air hovers and very many pedestrians on the road. At a glance you could tell the difference between a class A planet and class B planet. As they passed by the mall, they saw a young man run out with a bouquet of flowers, hand them to his lover outside, then they hugged and kissed, and finally left arm in arm, as if even the air around them was sweetened by them.

Luo XiaoLou watched with amusement, having recently discovered that in the future, same-sex relationships and marriages were very normal and common. No wonder Yuan Xi brought him home without any pressure.

Yuan Xi followed Luo XiaoLou’s line of sight and saw the two men, thought about it, and pulled Luo XiaoLou into the nearby shopping mall.

When they both came out, they both had pale silver rings on their ring fingers. Luo XiaoLou couldn’t explain how he felt, but Yuan Xi insisted he wear a ring on his ring finger, and after protesting for half a day to no avail, Luo XiaoLou gave in.

Luo XiaoLou chose the style of the ring because the pieces Yuan Xi chose were too glamorous. According to Luo XiaoLou, the simpler the better. Finally, Yuan Xi took him into the VIP room at the jewelry counter in the mall, where the receptionist took one of these out of the safe.

Luo XiaoLou liked it very much. It was very similar to an ordinary silver ring, but he wasn’t so naive as to think that it was something that could be bought outside for a few thousand Federation dollars.

Sure enough, when Yuan Xi swiped his card and Luo XiaoLou saw that amount, he was heartbroken. They were just a pair of rings, but they were twice as much as the money he spent to sign up for the club, that was just too extravagant!

Yuan Xi was satisfied though, as he took Luo XiaoLou’s hand and looked at it several times. In the midst of Luo XiaoLou’s heartache and inexplicable joy, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed Luo XiaoLou on the lips.

Luo XiaoLou was stunned. This was still on the street! Usually, they rarely kissed except when they were in bed. It was also rare to have such a touch-and-go kiss, shallow but burning so hot that Luo XiaoLou felt his heart had already taken several shocks in one afternoon.

Yuan Xi’s eyes darkened in color as he took Luo XiaoLou’s hand in a firm grip and said in a low voice, “Let’s go to dinner first, then you can check on the mecha.”

Luo XiaoLou nodded and continued on with Yuan Xi. When he saw the mecha materials line, Yuan Xi took Luo XiaoLou in to buy a bunch more materials. Luo XiaoLou also had a few surprises. The materials here are much more complete than those in Planet Anse, and the price of the same grade materials were even lower, probably because of the abundant material resources here.

Luo XiaoLou enjoyed the convenience of the ATM for the first time, and gave all the purchased materials to 125, which was the only thing that 125 was willing to accept and would not bargain for.

When they reached the club, Yuan Xi, who had been walking in front, suddenly stopped in his tracks, then turned around quickly and pulled Luo XiaoLou into his arms, quickly ducking into the alley next to them.

Luo XiaoLou pressed against Yuan Xi’s hard, warm chest, with obviously tense muscles, and was shocked. Was something wrong? Only he was blocked from head to toe by Yuan Xi, so he couldn’t see what was going on outside.

Yuan Xi looked outside for a moment, and finally looked at a white building in the distance for a few seconds before turning on his communicator and giving a direct address.

The person paused and suggested, “We’ll be right over. Please pay attention to your own safety! Nothing is more important than your safety.”

Yuan Xi didn’t reply and simply ended the communication. Although there was no danger, Yuan Xi clearly felt that someone was spying on them. With such a change of heart, he took Luo XiaoLou directly back to the clubhouse.

After the two of them left, a few hundred meters away, in the white building, at the fifteenth floor window, a man in a white shirt quickly left that position.

Luo XiaoLou had dinner with Yuan Xi, then rented the studio inside the club. While Yuan Xi went to the recreation area not far from his studio to play ball, he instructed Luo XiaoLou to let him know when he was leaving, and he would come to pick him up.

Luo XiaoLou nodded, then closed the door to his studio and got the mecha out that belonged to Mu Chen. The dark blue mecha was about the same color as 125’s, but nowhere near as pretty.

125 was now looking with wide eyes at the ring on Luo XiaoLou’s finger, picking at it and saying, “Ahh, the secret silver ring. The material is okay. It’s barely enough for a wedding ring.”

“I’m going to disappoint you, it’s not a wedding ring. It’s still unknown if we’ll be together in the future.” Luo XiaoLou said rather sentimentally, God knows, the moment he put the ring on, he was still moved for a while. In his last life, but he hadn’t been able to wear the engagement ring yet.

“You mean you’ll buy another wedding ring in the future? Can I have this when the time comes? I’ll keep it safe.” 125 said enthusiastically. It was interested in all things shiny.

“…No, you can buy one for yourself, if you want.” Luo XiaoLou said, while hoping that the internet would only sell the cheapest silver rings, because 125 would also use his money if he bought one.

125 stared incredulously at his miserly fosterer and shouted, “What am I buying a ring for? Am I going to give it to another mecha?”

So what do you want to collect rings for?

Luo XiaoLou didn’t argue with it anymore and started to check the mecha with the equipment he rented from the workshop… it was only a Class 4, but the way it was assembled was somewhat ingenious. And, as Mu Chen said, the damage was indeed obvious.

The right arm of the mecha, along with a chunk of the right chest, was almost shattered. The damage was too great to be repaired in a day or two. Or in other words, a large number of mecha parts needed to be replaced.

Mu Chen obviously didn’t want to replace it, and he gave it to Luo XiaoLou, naturally hoping that Luo XiaoLou would fix it for him.

Luo XiaoLou put down the instrument in his hand. If he used the Source of Consciousness, he could indeed complete this repair. But why did Mu Chen know that he could fix it? Just by virtue of being Master Yan’s disciple, he judged that he could fix things that ordinary high level mecha makers couldn’t?

Further, it’s likely that Mu Chen already knew the extent of the damage to his mecha, and he deliberately didn’t let anyone else inspect it so that if it was repaired in a short period of time, neither his mecha nor the person who helped him repair it would be noticeable.

Should I help him fix his mecha?

Luo XiaoLou hesitated, analyzing it carefully for a while, and then felt that since he was holding the name of Master Yan’s disciple, he wouldn’t reveal his identity even if he showed that he possessed a slightly more powerful Spiritual Power.

Moreover, Mu Chen had always made a good impression on him, not to mention having a connection with Tian Li. After deciding, Luo XiaoLou contacted Mu Chen.

“I’ve seen the mecha. I can fix it, but the timing of one night might be a little difficult. I don’t think I’ll be able to give it to you until about the morning after tomorrow.” Luo XiaoLou said, even if he was helping to fix it, he didn’t want to expose his strength too much.

Mu Chen simply said, “That’s fine.”

The two of them were silent for a while before Mu Chen smiled shallowly and explained, “I have a spare mecha over here, but it’s newly assembled and is a loaner. I’m not very skilled, but I can still survive a day of hard work. I’m pleasantly surprised that you can fix it for me. Thank you.”

Luo XiaoLou’s heart was relieved, thinking that it must be easy for Mu Chen to speak and let his guard down, smiling now and formally agreeing to do so.

Luo XiaoLou was just about to fuse with the Source of Consciousness when he placed his hand on the almost shattered mecha’s arm. A sudden flash of light came into his head.

He thought of the enhancement plan that had been put on hold, which Luo XiaoLou hadn’t given up since being rejected by Yuan Xi. One, because he couldn’t let go of those expensive enhancements, and two, it was the only thing he could do to help Yuan Xi now.

Luo XiaoLou could only use the few Level 6 and 7 parts he had to practice in the last few nights, one of them was successfully strengthened, the other one was not upgraded much. The only consolation for him was that it didn’t fail, since the level of the part didn’t decrease. There would be no failures.

Just like he didn’t need to increase the success rate, his Source of Consciousness was a guarantee in itself. Whereas the secondary reinforcement could only be done from the inside of the material after breaking the mecha, wasn’t now the perfect opportunity?

Luo XiaoLou looked at Mu Chen’s mecha and considered it for a long time, but in the end didn’t resist the temptation. He had 125 get out another third of the bottle of Intensifier, mix it with the potion, and then lock the door and start strengthening it.

Luo XiaoLou split his Source of Consciousness into two parts, a small portion of Source of Consciousness wrapped around the entire mecha, and the other began with the broken mecha arm, guiding the reinforcement in and then fusing it.

This was different from the last time. Luo XiaoLou’s Source of Consciousness had to enter the mecha from the broken side, which was more difficult. After the last Source of Consciousness power burst, the Source of Consciousness power increase was finally evident today.

Luo XiaoLou knew that it was time to run out of Source of Consciousness power.

In the midst of this hesitation, Source of Consciousness was still flowing into the mecha. After five minutes, Luo XiaoLou realized that he had already exceeded that line, and the Source of Consciousness power showed no sign of running out.

Luo XiaoLou was stunned and delighted. The mecha trembled, and Luo XiaoLou immediately closed his eyes and calmed down to continue strengthening.

Four hours passed, and Luo XiaoLou finally stopped.

His arms and legs were trembling and his head was beginning to hurt, which was the phenomenon of Source of Consciousness exhaustion.

125 helped put away Mu Chen’s mecha, then wiped Luo XiaoLou’s sweat and stammered, “Your Source of Consciousness power has reached a high level.”

Luo XiaoLou smiled, it seemed that Luca had invariably really helped him a lot. As he was about to speak, 125 suddenly put down the towel and gallantly ran towards the door.

After opening the door, Yuan Xi was standing outside, but seeing Luo XiaoLou sitting on the floor, Yuan Xi was first stunned, then he became angry, “What the hell are you doing?!”

Damn, even he himself couldn’t bear to let Luo XiaoLou get so tired, that Mu Chen was really no exception.

“If you’re not careful, Spiritual Power is heavily consumed.” Luo XiaoLou said carefully. This reason should explain why Mu Chen’s mecha had raised its level. Yes, when Luo XiaoLou finally withdrew his Source of Consciousness, Mu Chen’s dark blue mecha had been raised from a Class 4 Medium to a Class 5 Medium.

He had succeeded. The dark blue mecha’s restoration was complete, leveled up and even more eye-catching, which could be used as a surprise for Mu Chen.

“Even if it’s your hobby and profession, I want you to ensure your safety and health first in the future.” Yuan Xi angrily walked in and picked up Luo XiaoLou and walked out.

Because of Luo XiaoLou’s condition, they went back to their room for dinner, and both Yue Shang and Su Lan looked a little unnatural as they were denied access.

Luo XiaoLou finished his dinner and contacted Yates on his communicator while Yuan Xi was surfing the internet. “I heard from Tian Li. Congratulations on today’s promotion.”

Yates hem and hawed a few times and said, “I’m in the training room.”

Luo XiaoLou simply admired him. Even Yuan Xi, during the competition, hadn’t gone back to training. Every time, he ate, surfed the net for a while, and then he would sleep.

“You also pay more attention to resting. By the way, send your mecha to me tonight.” Luo XiaoLou said, while thinking about how to persuade Yates if he didn’t agree. After all, Yates needed his mecha for training now too.

Yates said, “Okay.”

Luo XiaoLou was stunned again, not smiling, and asked, “Not worried at all?”

Yates laughed cheerfully, “Why should I worry about you? You assembled that mecha. Besides, I’ll let you use anything you want besides the mecha.”

Luo XiaoLou smiled and sighed, deciding to surprise Yates tomorrow when the strengthening was complete. After all, it had been hard enough to get this far with his Level 2 mecha, and moving forward in the mecha competition would be too difficult. It had been hard enough to get this far.

After contacting Yates, Yuan Xi actually came down from the virtual net early as well.

Seeing Luo XiaoLou’s sleepy appearance, he hugged the person over and said, “Go to bed early today, and don’t force yourself if you’re still like this tomorrow. You don’t need to work so hard, I can lend my spare mecha to Mu Chen.”

Luo XiaoLou said in a daze, “Oh, the one I helped you assemble?”

 

Yuan Xi smiled proudly, “Of course not, I’m keeping that one for myself.”