Mecha Chapter 115: Difficulties

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

As Luo XiaoLou was gobbling down his box of artificial rice, a short man across the table from him stared fiercely at him. Only after Luo XiaoLou kicked him away the second time he tried to grab the box of rice, did he touch his stomach, look twice at Luo XiaoLou’s half-eaten box of rice, and scold Luo XiaoLou before leaving.

The food, which Luo XiaoLou had disliked so much, didn’t taste much better, but he had eaten it well enough.

If he didn’t eat, he’d starve. If Arthur wasn’t around, there would always be someone who would try to take food away from him, even women more than men, Luo XiaoLou learned his lesson after a few meals where he’d been left hungry. Not being able to keep his food because he was weak was not to be pitied on this ship.

Luo XiaoLou had lost a lot of weight in the past two days, and his clothes had not been changed or washed for several days, so he looked disheveled. But even so, whenever Luo XiaoLou received food, in addition to those who wanted to come over and grab it, there would be women who would come up to him, willing to provide special services for a share of food.

After the first time when Luo XiaoLou couldn’t help but give half a box to a woman, the woman’s husband found an excuse to snatch the other half of the box from Luo XiaoLou, and the two of them looked at Luo XiaoLou like he was an idiot.

Luo XiaoLou also finally understood what happened to the woman he saw in Arthur’s house last time.

Luo XiaoLou felt extremely puzzled. Arthur had his own ship, and judging from the furnishings in his house, he wasn’t poor, so why were his men so downtrodden?

After two days of silent observation, Luo XiaoLou realized that the people he saw worrying about food were not Arthur’s men.

Arthur and his men were in several other pods, and the last two pods were for people who had escaped onto the ship.

Most of the people on this ship had committed crimes, or had left the upper Planet for various reasons and had to go to the lower Planet. All of the communicators were taken off before these people came on board the ship. Some had traded almost all of their money for a ticket to get on the ship, so much so that it was now difficult to feed and clothe themselves.

Luo XiaoLou finished his meal, pushed open the hatch, and walked down the corridor. He wanted to go back to Arthur’s room to sleep. Luo XiaoLou was trying to find a place to make do with a bit of backbone, but after sleeping in the corridor the first day, and getting kicked a few times and also having someone try to steal the necklace around his neck, Luo XiaoLou went back to Arthur’s room.

Arthur didn’t say much, just laughed with sarcasm and went to sleep on his own. It was rare that Arthur didn’t seek the services of another woman. Perhaps there were simply no women who could put up with him — Luo XiaoLou thought darkly.

As he passed by the parlor, a group of men were laughing inside. Luo XiaoLou was about to leave immediately when he heard someone inside say something like, “We’ll be in Arun tomorrow, boss, should we enter the port?”

Luo XiaoLou immediately pressed his ears against the door, openly eavesdropping as he felt that this matter was tangentially related to him. Arthur said that he would sweep him away when he reached a safe place, so what was this Arun, and what exactly was the situation?

There were two seconds of silence in there, before Arthur irrevocably said, “Mn, stop for half a day.”

The man who had just started to ask questions laughed gloomily, “We’ll have another good day tomorrow. I don’t know how much we’ll be able to leave this time.”

A gentle voice said, “Mn, but it’s not easy for these people to live in Arun.”

“Who cares about them, those people aren’t good people. If they can’t make it in the upper Planet, it won’t be as easy as they think it will be to escape disaster in the lower Planet. The ship still provides food now, and when they get below, they’ll know that reality is cruel in less than three days. Besides, they’ll get off the ship sooner or later, so we don’t have to worry about it.” The man from earlier said.

Luo XiaoLou started to think about how he was going to live his life, and most importantly how he was going to earn enough money for a ticket. The conversation had changed and jokes were being made inside by now. 

Luo XiaoLou walked towards Arthur’s house, and a tall man came up ahead. Luo XiaoLou had seen him around Arthur a few times. He was called Luen. “I don’t think he’s going to be able to make it,” he said. Like a tower, usually silent, but with an invisible presence around him, even the other grinning pirates didn’t quite dare to mess with him.

Because of the disguise on his face, Luo XiaoLou usually walked around people, and unlike the sarcastic mockery of the others, Luon never took any notice of him, just ignored him.

Back inside, Luo XiaoLou sat down in the corner and began to think about what he would do later. He was definitely going back to Planet Anse, his stuff was completely gone, and 125 hadn’t made a single move yet.

Luo XiaoLou was so anxious, how to repair it was a problem, he even began to consider whether or not to consult Master Yan.

Luo XiaoLou had to admit that he was starting to miss that awful guy. Yuan Xi must have been furious that he had left with such a message, but now he didn’t know how he was doing.

Had he gone back to his home after the disappointment, or was he a little anxious and would want to find him?

After living together for a year, there was always a bond.

Luo XiaoLou rubbed his face, planning in his heart that he could go back to his home, continue working and going to school, and continue making mecha after graduation. If Yuan Xi wanted to come back, minus Yuan Xi’s family’s attitude problem, he would still agree to Yuan Xi continuing to live at home — he would be happy to let him live at home! -though it was never Luo XiaoLou’s decision to make.

They could watch TV together, have an afternoon tea, or go to a virtual net against each other, or go out to the bakery and the mall together. As for the secret of the exotic beast, as long as he controlled not to over-apply the Source of Consciousness power, and found the owner of 125 before he turned thirty, maybe he could find a way to control the transformation.

If Yuan Xi had given up, Luo XiaoLou frowned and decided to see how that worked out ……

Luo XiaoLou fell asleep thinking about it, and in his sleep he saw that he had cooked a huge and delicious meal. Just as he couldn’t wait to pick up his chopsticks, Luo XiaoLou suddenly felt like something was missing.

Looking at the cake and fish on the table, Luo XiaoLou habitually tried to place them across the table — Luo XiaoLou suddenly looked up and found a big cat staring at him angrily. As soon as he looked up, he couldn’t hold back his anger any longer and pounced on it with his paws free.

Luo XiaoLou dropped the chopsticks in his hand and screamed, then he was kicked awake.

“Get up! Time to get off the ship.” Luo XiaoLou opened his eyes as Arthur positively kicked him with a sardonic smile.

Luo XiaoLou rolled over, intending to go back to sleep, he also wanted to continue dreaming, he would have dreamed about Yuan Xi’s face in two minutes.

Arthur didn’t move his foot again, just said slowly and deliberately, “Are you not going to eat today?”

Luo XiaoLou took a deep breath as Yuan Xi’s face became clearer in his mind, he touched a hand to his face and crawled up with a grunt, heading angrily to the bathroom.

After a few bites to settle breakfast, Luo XiaoLou disembarked the ship along with Arthur and the others and all the people hiding on the ship once they reached the port.

A tall, thin young man came forward and said, “Brother Jin, we’ve brought a lot of things with us this time. How is the situation?”

The person in charge was stunned, then rubbed his hands in joy, his fat face all smiling like a flower, and said, “How can we let the Great Emperor come for nothing, all of our things have already been prepared, and all ten warehouses are piled up. Since the Great Emperor has personally come, why not go to my place and talk slowly.”

The tall and thin young man raised a smile and talked to the people behind him, Arthur and a few others left along with Arun’s men and some of Arthur’s men scattered around.

Those who had escaped were also excited to be back on land and see the light of day, and were excited to come down and circle, some were already considering just staying and living here.

Luo XiaoLou observed the surroundings, unlike Planet Anse and Kami, although they were both tall buildings, the floors were not too high, old and new, and not as dense, and further away, low bungalows could be seen. In the distance, you could still see the wild green, blue sky, and the whole port city wa idle and peaceful. One could see that this place wasn’t that backward, and the overall environment was still good.

The side of the space port was also very crowded, there were quite a few merchants gathered, and some other people were checking them out.

Luo XiaoLou was also ready to look around, he chose a more crowded direction and went inside.

Luo XiaoLou was shocked, it was almost noon and his stomach screamed, but–Arthur! Already visiting Arun Planet, apparently having forgotten about his lunch. Not only him, the people who came down from the ship were hungry.

At this moment, a woman suddenly leaned in front of Luo XiaoLou and said, “You’re following the Emperor, right, do you want to come to my house as a hired hand? Seeing you like this, there’s probably no one willing to hire you, you can stay at my house, and as long as you work well in the future, you’ll still get a meal.”

Luo XiaoLou was stunned, looking at the middle-aged woman in front of him who sized him up in disgust, working as a hired hand? He hadn’t decided what to do.

The woman stared at Luo XiaoLou for half a day, didn’t wait for his answer, seemed surprised, and said, “What are you still picky about, those of you aren’t all like that, the terms I give you are even good. So ungrateful, no one really wants you, sooner or later you’ll starve to death.”

Luo XiaoLou was choked speechless, at this moment, a group of people passed by in the small alley in front, those people were mostly tall and were lining up towards a large moving truck.

“Hmph, you want to go to the Jin family? I’m afraid I’m not that lucky, those who are strong or good looking were picked by the Jin family, you like that, you want looks but no looks, you want physical strength but no physical strength, what can you do if you go there? You’re dead to me.” The woman was still nagging, “Our family is just letting you manipulate machines to go digging underground, and we have two meals a day, so why are you picking on us?”

Luo XiaoLou was dumbfounded. Wasn’t it a bit inhumane to only manage two meals a day and look like you’re not even getting paid? Whether it was before, or after coming to four thousand years, he had never actually suffered anything, or at least never starved or froze.

After Luo XiaoLou finally got rid of the woman, his mood suddenly darkened as he walked forward again. After a few steps, Luo XiaoLou realized that there were almost no shops selling mecha, but there were quite a few materials, and they were exceptionally cheap. Luo XiaoLou touched his empty right hand, somewhat reluctant to leave.

He can’t buy materials, and besides, none of the previous materials were brought out.

Luo XiaoLou finally saw a high-class shopping street, with many shops on the left and right, and walked into the first one, where most of them were ordinary Energy Boxes, and most of them were the lowest level Energy Boxes.

Luo XiaoLou looked thoughtfully at the price twice, then, under the scowling eyes of the shopkeeper, left the shop and turned around to enter the shop next to it.

It was a half-finished materials shop, and in rare cases, there were some mecha parts for sale. Moreover, there was already a customer in the shop, but it was actually that tower-like henchman, who was receiving a secondary shoulder armor from the shopkeeper.

Occupational illness making it so, Luo XiaoLou took a second look and couldn’t help but take off, “Boss, there’s something wrong with the handling of that part.”

The boss’s face darkened, and he glared at Luo XiaoLou viciously, “What’s wrong with you, man? I’m Arun’s best material and mecha parts sales shop here, and what proof do you have to come over here and spout nonsense?”

Luen still didn’t say anything, but turned his head to look at Luo XiaoLou twice.

Luo XiaoLou took a step forward, took the parts from the boss’s hand, touched them with both hands, and then skillfully began to disassemble the parts. He also said, “Boss, the material for the exterior of your kind of shoulder armor should be a hard zirconium of a similar color, the texture would definitely be better that way.”

That boss’s eyes lit up and the fierce expression on his face disappeared as he said pleasantly, “How old is this little brother? Where? Where is the work done? You know how to handle materials?”

“I understand it a little.” Luo XiaoLou replied as he tidied up.

“So little brother used to work for a mecha maker as an assistant handling materials?” The boss continued to inquire.

Luo XiaoLou froze, thinking of Master Yan, and nodded. Other mecha makers usually didn’t waste time handling materials themselves and had special assistants to help them. Master Yan, on the other hand, was strict with him and had to handle all the materials himself.

The boss looked more kindly at Luo XiaoLou, and this was the first time anyone had been so polite to him since Luo XiaoLou’s disguise.

“So you’re new here, have you found a place to work yet?”

“I was about to ask you how easy it is to find work here.” Luo XiaoLou asked as he tidied up, the skillful movement making the two people beside him look a bit too much.

“Ah, here we, ah, are rich in materials and ores, so the general hiring requirements are physical strength comes first, and the wages are not high, because there is a lack of food here, and in time it is artificial food, and the prices are much higher than outside. We don’t need mecha masters, and mecha makers here, unless they are high ranked and can report to the officer and maybe get a position.” The boss said, scanning Luo XiaoLou’s lean body, his eyes darting around and starting to make ideas.

Materials were in abundance here, but there were very few technicians, especially manpower that knew how to handle them. You know, as long as the preliminary processing is done, the price of materials won’t be this cheap. The boss was determined to keep the ugly bastard even if he raised his pay.

The part wasn’t a big problem, Luo XiaoLou reassembled it once, secretly fixed it once more with Source of Consciousness, saw that there was no more problem, and passed it to Luen. The boss also cheered up and was about to speak when Luen had already thrown down the money and dragged Luo XiaoLou out of the mecha parts shop.

“What? You’re keeping him?” The tall, thin young man who had been following Arthur raised his voice and called out, “Luen, you’re not running a fever today, are you? I don’t usually see you minding your own business. What’s going on? Didn’t the boss say to try not to bring outsiders to our place?”

Luen looked at the young man and didn’t say anything, he just looked at Arthur.

A young man with a clear brow beside that tall and thin young man said, “Li, you should cut the crap, Luen might have his own ideas, besides, we still have five days before we get home, there’s still time to think about it.”

Arthur really didn’t say anything though, he just looked at Luo XiaoLou thoughtfully and said, “Let’s go back first today, the harvest is already not small anyway. Those who want to stay, let them stay.”

That night, Luo XiaoLou asked Arthur with a palpable sense of relief, “Are the places to stay in the future similar to Arun’s?”

Arthur smiled twice at Luo XiaoLou’s words, “Arun is rich in materials, but there is a severe shortage of food, and the conditions for hired workers are tough. While there are backward places in the back, there are also high-class urban areas, but each place has its own advantages and disadvantages. Those people may not be able to survive in other places.”

“Oh.” Luo XiaoLou’s heart wasn’t in it anymore.

Arthur smiled badly, “What, starting to worry?” At this point, Arthur looked at Luo XiaoLou quizzically and asked, “Did you let Luon see your face?”

“No.” Luo XiaoLou replied.

Arthur stroked his chin, puzzled, “Then why did he let you stay?”

Luo XiaoLou didn’t say anything either, maybe because it was a small favor? Still see him as being useful. But really staying in Arun, he could probably find a job handling materials.

The ship sailed back out of the harbor and headed out into the vast universe.

 

Very far away, on another ship.

Yuan Xi looked at Su Lan indifferently and said, “I gave you power, not for you to use against my people. Su Lan, I’m disappointed. You’re not suited for this position. Give your people to Rod. In the future you will report to Anne and ask her to set you up.”

Su Lan stared incredulously, moisture slowly appearing in her eyes, holding back a choked sob as she said, “I, I didn’t make a big mistake, and I didn’t break a single discipline in doing so. Besides, at the last minute, didn’t you save him? Even if I’m really wrong, can’t we have a chance to make things right after all these years of friendship?”

Yuan Xi’s fist clenched up and dropped heavily on the table, there was a loud bang in the room and both Su Lan and Rod shuddered. Then Yuan Xi looked coldly at Su Lan, “I saved him? He didn’t come back! Even almost — your mistake may be corrected, but I may never get my people back. I don’t want that to happen again, not even once.”

Su Lan finally whimpered and turned and ran off.

Rod saw no one left or right before he said, “I thought you said you were going to wait two years before moving her?”

Yuan Xi’s face was completely gloomy, “I’m not letting her seize the opportunity after the consequences she caused, I can’t accept her.” In the end, Yuan Xi turned to look out of the window and said inaudibly low, “She touched the wrong person, I can’t let go of…” 

 

Rod looked at his master in shock, he had never seen Yuan Xi so sad.