Mecha Chapter 138: Gem

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Lhachril

 

For two days, Luo XiaoLou was in low spirits from being on edge. Yuan Xi tried to prolong the time he spent with Luo XiaoLou, but this only made Luo XiaoLou, who had to disguise his emotions, more mentally exhausted. Finally, after enduring until the third day, Luo XiaoLou took the letter from Yuan Xi and prepared to go to the military headquarters.

Yuan Xi found himself unable to leave because he had something to do. He looked a bit pale and urged, “Can’t you go tomorrow? I can’t accompany you today.”

Luo XiaoLou, who had been under his constant stare for two days, immediately stopped hesitating and said gently and firmly, “Today is a good day. Ahem – no, more importantly, I want to find another thing to erase my grief. You understand, at this rate, I… am very uncomfortable.”

Yuan Xi was caught stupidly in Luo XiaoLou’s black, begging and overwhelmed eyes for two seconds, when he found himself complying, “Okay. But my guard officer will accompany you there.” He gave a low curse when he realized what he had said.

That was the reason why Rod had appeared outside Luo XiaoLou’s private residence early in the morning. Although the house was small and pathetic, the person who appeared there would have paid a couple of compliments against his will because he was being pompously lorded over by the prince and refused to leave.

Understanding that his mission had been temporarily altered, Rod looked at Yuan Xi mournfully and swore that Yuan Xi had followed in the footsteps of His Majesty, the King, whose decisions could only be changed by His Majesty, the Queen. While His Royal Highness, the Prince Consort, looked nothing like His Majesty, Feng JiaLing, and he was nowhere near as strong as His Majesty, Feng JiaLing, the outcome now looked no different.

At one time he was proud to follow the determined and omnipotent prince, of course he wasn’t proud now, but – well, the King and the Prince were indeed father and son, and Rod had accepted the task with a smile on his face as he imagined a future like his father’s, as His Majesty, the King’s squire.

Luo XiaoLou and Rod went to the military headquarters, and since he was accompanied by Rod, they had no trouble at all going in.

Luo XiaoLou couldn’t stop peering out the hover car window. From time to time, he could see huge military warships and mechas flying in the sky, which were incomparable to ordinary family vehicles. The armed forces always had their hands on the most powerful machines in the country.

With that letter in hand, Luo XiaoLou was quickly taken to the military’s Mecha Research and Development Department.

Given that this was the military department, there was probably no one who didn’t know Luo XiaoLou’s special status. Everyone was very polite to him, but it was only politeness.

The one who received Luo XiaoLou was a young man in a colonel’s uniform, who smiled and said, “Your Highness Prince Consort, hello, my name is Feng Yang. We are deeply honored that you have come over.”

Luo XiaoLou replied politely as he looked around without moving a muscle, “I also feel extremely honored to be here at the military department.”

Young Colonel Feng’s eyebrows raised, and the smile on his handsome face grew brighter, “I will arrange for a soldier to show you around the place later, and then he will take you to your exclusive lab. You are free to use the lab’s equipment as you wish, and if you need any materials you can submit a list to the materials team. However, since the military department is quite strict, I would like to remind you in advance that the list of materials you need is usually submitted at the beginning of the month, and then the logistics team will be responsible for preparing it. As for the work you need to be responsible for, we will see what arrangements are made in the following time.”

Luo XiaoLou returned the same polite and sincere smile and simply said, “That’s good, thank you.”

Colonel Feng Yang then made arrangements to show Luo XiaoLou around and left the soldier to continue the tour.

No job was arranged and no treatment was discussed. Not even the time he came to work at the military department. But the lab was given and he could receive materials on a regular basis.

Luo XiaoLou smiled happily, never imagining that one day he would be able to experience the treatment of someone above him. Wouldn’t he be in the same situation now as he was when Yang Ke first entered Kane?

Polite and courteous, so that no one could find any issue with him, but also completely ignored. But Luo XiaoLou wasn’t the Yang Ke of that time. His mentality was much different. He wasn’t here to retire, nor was he using the military department as a springboard. What’s more, even Yang Ke had now found his niche and started working hard.

If most of the Federation’s best mecha manufacturing talent worked for the military, there was no reason for him to remain on the fringes. His role would always change if he tried.

If he wanted to justify standing by Yuan Xi’s side, at least in his own field, he must go to the top. He would make the mecha marked with his name the most popular creation for mecha warriors, and he would personally make the most powerful bio-mecha for Yuan Xi.

Sooner or later, he would become the best mecha maker of all time, bar none.

The little soldier leading the way, seeing Luo XiaoLou with his eyes shining brightly and his mouth curled up at the corners, couldn’t help but feel warm in his heart. His Highness the Prince Consort kept looking at him… what did he mean by smiling? I heard that the rich and powerful like to keep lovers, but he already has someone he likes!

Taking Luo XiaoLou for a brief stroll was just the most common peripheral lab. Confidential and important places weren’t there at all, which was what the higher-ups had ordered.

During that time, Luo XiaoLou got to know the personnel in charge of the materials. Finally, after taking Luo XiaoLou to the lab that belonged to him, the soldier left as quickly as possible.

Luo XiaoLou wasn’t dissatisfied though. He had gone out to relieve his stress. Now he was in a much better mood. The place was nice and so were the people, whether it was the fox-like Colonel Feng or the rabbit-like Private Carew.

Looking at how much time he had left in the afternoon, Luo XiaoLou simply made a few Grade 4 mecha parts in the lab, and although he was already a Rank 4 mecha maker, he hadn’t really made many Grade 4 mecha parts.

After walking around, Luo XiaoLou discovered another problem. Maybe a Rank 4 mecha maker was good enough in Planet Anse, but inside the military department it was a different story altogether.

Even their assistants were all kinds of people with professional qualifications, and several team leaders’ assistants were even Rank 4 mecha makers. The military was euphemistically expressing to Luo XiaoLou that it didn’t need Luo XiaoLou’s current low ranked skills. Even if he was working as an assistant to a senior R&D staff, he wasn’t skilled enough.

Luo XiaoLou wasn’t discouraged. There were always surprises, and he wouldn’t remain at the Rank 4 mecha maker stage. At his current physical age, he had plenty of time.

Luo XiaoLou used the Source of Consciousness to make a Grade 4 part using Grade 2, 3 and 4 materials respectively, and then tested the performance of the parts. It turned out that the performance of the Grade 4 materials was much better. He didn’t bother to test it with Grade 5 materials, because in Luo XiaoLou’s eyes, making a Grade 4 part out of Grade 5 materials would be a waste.

When he returned home in the evening, Yuan Xi had arrived home first, and Luo XiaoLou told him that everything was fine. Yuan Xi was satisfied that Luo XiaoLou’s safety was guaranteed, at least at the military headquarters.

Yuan Xi leaned back on the couch and said with a thoughtful look, “Also, the engine you let me try out last time, mn, is still… okay. Although I can’t say how, the previous Grade 4 engine can’t compare to it at all.”

Yuan Xi had to believe, at this point, that the person he had chosen might really be a genius at mecha manufacturing. But he decided not to compliment Luo XiaoLou lightly, lest he get his tail up in the air or get any ideas he shouldn’t have. Although Yuan Xi felt that there was absolutely no one better than him, Luo XiaoLou’s words when he met his parents always nagged at him. It was simply unbelievable that there could be anyone better for Luo XiaoLou than him!

Hesitantly, Yuan Xi asked, “How the hell did you do that?”

Luo XiaoLou excitedly examined the engine that was being used, explaining with a mouthful, “Yes – an improvement method, learned at Grey Galaxy, that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned. I can’t believe that the Federation is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.”

Yuan Xi’s face turned ugly. He didn’t want Luo XiaoLou to think that way. The thought of Luo XiaoLou’s trip away from home made him furious.

Luo XiaoLou was sensitive to this, and he added begrudgingly, “Of course, I’ll be traveling all over the Federation with you accompanying me in the future.”

Yuan Xi glanced at Luo XiaoLou and asked, “Can you improve the grade of that engine?”

Luo XiaoLou guessed what Yuan Xi was planning and narrowed his eyes, then smiled, “Right now I can’t make a Grade 9 engine yet, and it wouldn’t be economical to replace Cloudy Sky’s engine with a grade 4 engine. But I’ll try my best, and sooner or later, I will help you make a Grade 9 engine.” That’s not all, I’ll give you an even bigger surprise, a completely different Cloudy Sky, Luo XiaoLou thought in his heart.

Yuan Xi couldn’t help but hug the smiling and proud Luo XiaoLou over and rubbed him twice. He felt that Luo XiaoLou was really getting more and more erotic after confirming the marriage, but he still endured and said, “There’s no hurry. When are you going to the military headquarters? If the time is convenient, I’ll drop by.” At the same time, he sighed in his heart that it’s still early – Father is right, married men don’t have it easy…

Luo XiaoLou scanned his class schedule, “Wednesday or Thursday afternoon, I don’t have classes on those two days.” Since the military didn’t require him to work any specific hours anyway, Luo XiaoLou decided to go whenever it was convenient for him.

Luo XiaoLou didn’t care that he was being snubbed by the military. He even used the time to create a batch of Grade 4 parts and Energy Boxes to give to Arthur, who had prudently chosen to mail them. Even quicker, he received the large batch of highly valuable materials that Master Maku sent Luo XiaoLou after he had finished his appraisal.

Luo XiaoLou was extremely satisfied, and planned to familiarize himself with the Grade 4 mecha parts as soon as possible before he left for his mission, and to make more Energy Boxes.

At that moment, Manager Gao contacted Luo XiaoLou and said with a bitter smile, “Your Highness, I really didn’t expect your identity. I will calculate your balance, send you the bill, and if there are no objections, I’ll send you the money.”

Luo XiaoLou was confused and said in surprise, “Manager Gao, what do you mean? You’re not going to take my Energy Boxes?” 

Did you find a better source?

Manager Gao was even more surprised than Luo XiaoLou, “Are you going to continue to sell your Energy Boxes to Heavenly Winter? But in your capacity as…” When he found out he was the prince consort, Manager Gao was prepared to never get the premium Energy Boxes again.

In Manager Gao’s eyes, the Federation’s prince consort would never be short of money, and to save face, Luo XiaoLou shouldn’t be able to sell Energy Boxes to Heavenly Winter anymore.

“Of course, I never intended not to offer them to you.” Luo XiaoLou affirmed, while muttering, “Even a prince consort needs to live, ah.” Well, it was true that Yuan Xi’s paycheck was in his hands, but he had no intention of being kept by Yuan Xi. In fact, up until now, Yuan Xi had cost him more money, Luo XiaoLou thought proudly.

“Great!” Manager Gao called out excitedly. These days, he had been thinking about how to compensate the long-term custom Energy Box customers. That Luo XiaoLou would actually provide Energy Boxes really surprised him.

“I’ll mail all the Energy Boxes from the last few months in the next two days. Also, Brother Gao should still call me Luo XiaoLou.” Luo XiaoLou stated. Even with the income from the Grey Galaxy side now, Luo XiaoLou didn’t want to give up the Manager Gao resource. Besides the high profits, being able to buy a lot of strange goods from Manager Gao was also something Luo XiaoLou valued.

Manager Gao’s hand landed on his heart, and he relaxed quite a bit. His mind was suddenly lively again, “No, no, there is no need to change the name, but my enthusiasm for you will not change because of your identity. Also, since you are already a Rank 4 mecha maker, why don’t you start selling your mecha parts from now on? You know, in a B-class planet like Planet Anse, Grade 4 mecha parts aren’t cheap, and you can even take some custom commissions.”

Luo XiaoLou slapped his head. He was just thinking about giving the mecha parts to Arthur and the others, forgetting that Manager Gao also accepted mecha parts. Of course, the price on Arthur’s side was obviously much higher, but Luo XiaoLou readily agreed. He had to make quite a few Grade 4 parts, anyway, in order to practice and increase his proficiency. Also, the Grade 4 parts for Arthur and the others were given to them because Master Maku was going to transform them into bio-mecha parts, and he was going to strive for the most standard level.

But the ones given to Tian Dong didn’t have that level of concern, and Luo XiaoLou immediately thought of simply packing the Grade 4 parts he had made these days along with the Energy Box for Manager Gao.

Those Grade 4 parts included some of his creations that had failed when making bio-mecha parts, and although they had failed as bio-mecha, they were still much better than simple Grade 4 mecha parts. There was no need for such parts at Master Maku’s place, they only needed the most ordinary ones, because Luo XiaoLou’s bio-mecha improvement technology was still immature, while Master Maku could completely transform the most ordinary Grade 4 mecha parts into the best bio-mecha parts.

“Fine, I’ll send over the mecha parts I made myself first. Same as in the past, don’t mention my name.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the package.” Manager Gao didn’t expect not only to not lose Energy Boxes, but also to get a surprise. Even if they didn’t mention Luo XiaoLou’s current status, being Master Yan’s apprentice alone would be worthy of a good haul.

After Luo XiaoLou finished talking to Manager Gao, he packed up his things and sent them to Heavenly Winter. But this time, Luo XiaoLou had marked all the Grade 4 mecha parts with an inconspicuous letter L in the corner.

After Luo XiaoLou sent the stuff out, he left it behind in his mind. Anyway, Manager Gao would transfer the money he was entitled to to his account. That’s why Luo XiaoLou liked Manager Gao, and why he never had to worry about it.

In addition, besides the increasingly heavy study load, Mu Chen also found Luo XiaoLou and asked him for help, and Luo XiaoLou had no time to focus on anything else.

Manager Gao was pleasantly surprised when he received those parts, all Grade 4 parts!

A Rank 4 mecha maker couldn’t always make Grade 4 parts, but mainly Grade 2 and 3. No mecha maker could guarantee that he would never make a mistake, and a success rate of 50 percent or more was considered very good.

And the higher the grade, the lower the success rate. Just like for a Rank 9 mecha builder, it was not easy for him to build a Tier 9 mecha.

After testing all the parts, Manager Gao immediately greeted the regular VIP members, who, in his eyes, would not want to miss these parts. Most of the big customers felt that the Grade 4 parts rating was still a bit low, but a few bought them.

 

Half a month later, in the military department, an old man was waving his fist, “What are you waiting for? If others can buy it, why can’t we? Go bid on it! Go get it! Grab everything you can find!”

 

The people below looked at each other, while the few who were ordered by the old man to grab the auctioned items began to look sad. Those mecha parts had only been on the bidding site once, and after they noticed the discrepancy, they hadn’t appeared again. They were all divided up among internal customers, and Heavenly Winter refused to provide any information on the maker and the internal customers who bought those parts.