Mecha Chapter 140: Effort

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Lhachril

 

Although the car-shaking exercise was rejected by Luo XiaoLou on the grounds that he had eaten too much, that night, Luo XiaoLou sadly noticed that Yuan Xi seemed even more excited, the direct consequence of which was not hearing the stubborn call of his alarm clock.

The next morning, there was a scream from the bedroom, and a few minutes later, Luo XiaoLou scrambled into the living room just as Yuan Xi was coming down the stairs from the physical training room, naked. Perhaps because he had just taken a shower, but his hair was still dripping with droplets of water that kept rolling down to his fair and sexy chest, and the ambiguous traces on it that were obviously scratches which carried a few tantalizing smells of lust.

Luo XiaoLou blushed and looked on, his words were stumbling, “Hurry – hurry up! I have class this morning. I feel sure I’ll be late…”

Yuan Xi took two steps towards Luo XiaoLou as he towel dried his hair and said righteously, “You can’t blame me for that, and I’m much busier than you. You see, even though I worked half the night yesterday to satisfy you, I still woke up early.” While saying this, Yuan Xi also put on an expression like ‘where else would you find such a hard-working man.’

Luo XiaoLou’s face flushed red as he sadly realized that he was clearly a few notches behind Yuan Xi in terms of being cheeky, and what’s more, this was completely in Yuan Xi’s true colors, indicating that’s truly what he thought!

Luo XiaoLou didn’t try to bullshit with Yuan Xi any more, just looked at Yuan Xi’s chest and gulped, then quickly walked into the kitchen. 125, who was running in small steps by Luo XiaoLou’s feet, scowled, “Hey, don’t you think you’re too embarrassed? You’re an old married couple and you’re still looking at him so lecherously. That can’t be wise behavior. You should be a little more restrained. Based on my experience, if you continue like this, you’ll soon experience the seven-year itch or a third party interfering or something.”

Luo XiaoLou stopped walking and stared at 125 for half a day before finally asking in surprise, “Is there such a thing as third party interference between mecha? Which means that before you met me, you were, in fact, dumped?”

125 sucked in a breath and stared at Luo XiaoLou in annoyance, stammering out, “Sh, what words! TV show! The experience I’m talking about is a drama! I’m simply sick of it, you porn-filled brain!”

Who is the one who is full of dog drama and porn? 

After Yuan Xi raced again, Yuan Xi and Luo XiaoLou made it to school before class. Luo XiaoLou waved and headed to the Mecha Manufacturing Department. An annoyed 125 had turned into a blue stone and looked like he wasn’t going to talk to Luo XiaoLou again for a short period of time.

After Luo XiaoLou walked into the class, several students came over to talk to him, not only because of Luo XiaoLou’s dramatic identity, but also because of the start of the new semester and the increased difficulty of the majors, especially when it came to practical topics, more people felt that they were struggling to learn and starting to fall behind.

In the past at such times, students in the next few classes would always be ridiculed and even dropped by their Teacher.

But now, no one easily took a shot at Class 10, because Class 10’s first place made the best students from the other classes lose without any temper. In this situation, spurred on by Luo XiaoLou’s results, the Class Ten students also began to rise up.

Besides, it was not easy to have a good student in the class, so how could the Class Ten students, who had been ridiculed for a year, let go of this opportunity?

Many students would make use of their spare time to discuss problems with Luo XiaoLou, and some students who couldn’t get along with him would even listen to their discussions, often finding them very beneficial. Under this culture of whole-class learning, Class Ten’s grades skyrocketed. The results of the monthly exams even made the class teacher smile, as the average grade had risen by 23 points! In any class, this was a big improvement. There was certainly no denying the fact that, the last time, the average marks were too low.

In contrast, the class teacher of Class Nine had a hard time, finding that the average score between their class and Class Ten was only five marks difference in this monthly exam, which had never happened before in the history of Saint Miro Academy Mecha Manufacturing Department. According to his observation, Class Ten was very energetic, and it was hard to say what kind of result they would get in the next monthly exam.

Although it was good that Class Ten had a rare improvement in their grades, but if they surpassed Class Nine, how would he be able to explain this to the headmaster?! Class Ten was full of students who came in through the back door. For God’s sake, is the history of the school going to be rewritten during his time as head teacher? He didn’t want it!

So in the Mecha Manufacturing Department, with the last two classes next to each other, one could often hear ranting from their respective class teachers. The difference was that one was encouraging his students to keep working hard, while the other was pushing his students to improve.

Just as torn as the Class Nine teacher was, the Class One teacher, who had always been envied by all the class teachers, was having to defend the top two students’, Ze Ya and Shay, results after the last external grade certification exam, saying they had taken two months sick leave respectively, so they must have fallen behind in their studies. The reason for this was so strange… Was this a test for Class One? 

At the same time, this year’s Mecha Department had also achieved great results, with the average grade of Class One more than ten points higher than that of the previous Class One students.

The headmaster and the senior management of Saint Miro Academy were very happy to see this phenomenon, as no one could match the performance of Yuan Xi of the Mecha Department and Luo XiaoLou of the Mecha Manufacturing Department.

Such an identity, and such an achievement, would definitely make more people take notice of this Class B planet’s academy. And with these two individuals, Saint Miro Academy could rise to unprecedented heights. And the effect was immediate, with more brilliant students applying to Saint Miro Academy this new semester.

As the students surrounding Luo XiaoLou left contentedly, Luo XiaoLou opened his e-book and previewed what he was going to study for the day. When he finished reading it, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

Luo XiaoLou turned around and Tian Li greeted him sleepily, “Are you coming over?”

Luo XiaoLou looked at Tian Li dumbfoundedly, who looked like he was the one who over indulged last night, and asked, “Why? What’s the matter? Why are you so depressed?”

Tian Li waved his hand, “Forget about it. Mn, it’s nothing really. By the way, do you have time this afternoon to get together at my house?”

It looked like Tian Li didn’t want to talk about it, Luo XiaoLou thought about it and didn’t pursue it further. Luo XiaoLou nodded his head and agreed, thinking that he would go to Master Yan’s place tomorrow and see Mu Chen on Sunday. Reporting his whereabouts, he was now very self-conscious.

After school, Luo XiaoLou and Yates took Tian Li’s hover car to Tian Li’s house, which had become a meeting base for the three of them.

After Luo XiaoLou had his own lab and warehouse, he came over to Tian Li’s house much less often. However, Tian Li still kept the parts and tools Luo XiaoLou had, and when Luo XiaoLou saw them again, he felt very close to him. But now Luo XiaoLou didn’t ask Heavenly Winter to send junk parts to him anymore. Those low grade parts were no longer enough for his needs. Now Luo XiaoLou was more likely to buy the corresponding grade materials and make them himself.

Tian Li took out a chip and tossed it to Yates, and he laughed twice, “The latest strategy game. How about it, this buddy is righteous enough, let’s go through it later.”

Yates liked the game bins and strategy games that Tian Li had here, and when he saw the chip, the two immediately hit it off.

Luo XiaoLou looked at Tian Li and swallowed back what he wanted to say. Although Tian Li’s grades had slipped this semester, Luo XiaoLou felt that Tian Li had worked hard enough and he shouldn’t put any more pressure on him. So Luo XiaoLou just asked, “What kind of practical assignments did you do this winter break?”

Tian Li frowned and said, “My dad asked for an internship inside the army at a small place in Planet Anse. Although it’s under the military, it’s very small, and I don’t think it’s going to be easy for me to get anything done there.”

Yates slapped Tian Li, “That’s not like you. Where’s all your old forays? If you put a tenth of your enthusiasm for the game into your internship, you probably wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

Tian Li scratched his head, “It can’t be helped. I feel like I’ve put no less into my major studies. But once this semester started, my grades kept failing, and I almost started to doubt my purpose.”

Luo XiaoLou and Yates looked at each other and could only start cheering Tian Li up again, saying all they could to encourage Tian Li, but nothing seemed to work. Instead, after they stopped talking, Tian Li picked up the strategic chip in high spirits, ready to compete with Yates.

Luo XiaoLou could only interrupt the excited two again and turned to ask Yates, “Yates, what about you? What’s the winter break assignment?”

Yates looked at Luo XiaoLou and said with a smile, “I was considering the military, but this semester, a mercenary group handed me an invitation. They saw my ability and wanted me to go on a mission with them during winter break, so my credits probably won’t be a problem.”

Luo XiaoLou was stunned, then looked at Yates admiringly, “You can actually do mercenary missions already? But will it be dangerous?”

Yates looked at Luo XiaoLou helplessly, “Don’t you think your winter break assignment is more dangerous than all of us? You’d better think of yourself before you worry about me. Besides, I have to take the first step somewhere, or I’ll never be able to become a qualified mecha warrior in the future. If it weren’t for the fact that Yuan Xi is sure to take you on a trial mission, I’d like you to come with me so I could have a free mecha maker and we would both have credits.”

Luo XiaoLou laughed. It was true that Yates didn’t need to let anyone else worry about him. He was forever passionate about mecha, and as Luo XiaoLou had found out after meeting Yates, Yates gave more to mecha training than almost all of the students in Class One. Only when you give more can you hope to get more.

Luo XiaoLou coughed twice to get the attention of both of them before saying seriously, “Well, since we all have our own winter break assignments, let’s all take care of our own safety. Now, I have one more very important announcement to make.”

As both Yates and Tian Li looked at him curiously, Luo XiaoLou said, “This important thing is – I’m now a maker with a Rank 4 Maker’s License. Yates, haven’t you ever thought that you could ask me to make another mecha for you!? I have to remind you that this is a rare privilege, and you may have a hard time getting in line to ask for my help in the future.” 

Of course, the fact that he’d asked permission beforehand for Yuan Xi to give approval was something Luo XiaoLou wasn’t going to talk about.

Yates and Tian Li laughed hard after the shock before Yates finally held back his laughter and replied with equal seriousness, “Master Luo, it is indeed my honor. I hereby solemnly request that you help me build a powerful mecha, and then we will conquer the stars together!”

The three of them looked at each other and laughed together. Of course, the three of them never thought that Luo XiaoLou and Yates’ words would later become reality, and how many mecha warriors would hold money and materials, asking this future master to help build them a mecha, but still beg for help. Or that Yates would pilot Luo XiaoLou’s first mecha, soaring to the forefront of the battle lines and commanding the war with bravery and invincibility.

“But seriously, I’m now at a much higher level than I was originally. I can just charge you the cost to insure it’s safer, at the cost of a Tier 3 mecha, one million Federation coins.” Luo XiaoLou said with a smile, while looking apprehensively at Yates, wondering if he would say too much.

Luo XiaoLou knew full well that the proud Yates would not want charity from his friend. And to purchase a new finished product of a Tier 3 mecha would require at least ten million, a price that was indeed too high.

Luo XiaoLou was not referring to the cost of all the mecha parts, but rather the cost of the cheaper materials required. 

Most mecha makers used finished mecha parts that had been made by someone else, which saved them time and effort. While this may cost around three and a half million dollars, there was still a lot of money they could make. This was the reason why the more advanced the mecha, the more profit it made. It was just that good mecha makers were equally hard to find.

But for Luo XiaoLou, there was no question of expending energy. Compared to others, he had an inexhaustible Source of Consciousness, so making his own mecha parts from materials, and then combining them into mecha parts was more than enough. That’s why he directly proposed a cost of one million.

Tian Li drooled and looked at Luo XiaoLou, and after a long while said, “Brother, how about I change my line of work to selling mecha and buy from you? We’ll split the money 50/50.”

Yates slapped Tian Li and looked at Luo XiaoLou with emotion, knowing exactly how valuable the Tier 4 mecha Luo XiaoLou had built for himself was. Although he didn’t understand why a Tier 2 mecha made from Grade 2 parts could be upgraded to Tier 4, that didn’t stop him from cherishing his own mecha even more.

In Planet Anse, a Tier 4 mecha, however, could be sold for tens of millions. For that alone, he owed Luo XiaoLou an unknown amount. Moreover, even if he had the money, a Tier 4 mecha was hard to buy on Planet Anse.

Yates was moved as he looked at Luo XiaoLou’s worried eyes and smiled, “I’ll transfer four and a half million to you in a moment, though that’s not nearly enough-“

Luo XiaoLou and Tian Li stared at each other, and together they interrupted Yates, “Why do you have this much private money? Treat us, treat us!”

Yates laughed and threw a wink at the two of them, “Don’t keep looking at people with your old eyes. Since the mecha competition, my value has increased quite a bit. And now that I’ve quit my job at the library, I’ve started taking simple tasks, so of course my income is a lot higher than before.”

Luo XiaoLou and Tian Li immediately didn’t hold back in their vigorous compliments to praise Yates, and finally Yates couldn’t stand the two of them continuing to disgust him and promised to treat them next Monday.

Luo XiaoLou didn’t refuse the extra money Yates gave him. He had no intention of giving Yates a Tier 3 mecha, it was just an excuse to create a mecha for Yates. If he was going to make the best, he intended to build a Tier 4 mecha for Yates, and it would be top of the line.

In comparison, four and a half million was barely enough to cover the cost of materials for a Tier 4 mecha. And that was only thanks to the fact that a lot of Luo XiaoLou’s materials had been acquired from Grey Galaxy at a low cost.

After the party, Luo XiaoLou went home by himself, stopping by Miki Bakery on the way.

Luo XiaoLou now made at least four trips to the bakery every month, and it appeared on the future prince consort’s itinerary that appeared in front of Yuan Lie and Feng JiaLing.

Yuan Lie scanned the itinerary with disgust, and said with a mouthful, “Although his private life is pitifully rigid, he does have a nice hobby, and I remember Ling’er used to have one too.”

Feng Feng JiaLing looked at Yuan Lie with a raised eyebrow and didn’t say anything before Yuan Lie inexplicably started to feel guilty and then looked down at the information in his hand again.

In the evening, Yuan Xi reluctantly laughed at Luo XiaoLou’s advances, and the two of them even watched a must-see movie while eating cake. 125 movingly watched the two lovers live and die together when the exotic beast attacked, and Luo XiaoLou watched in awe as the poor exotic beast ended up being heroic cannon fodder. Yuan Xi looked with satisfaction at the way the heroine looked at the hero’s infatuation with her, just like his slave.

……

The next day was Saturday, and early in the morning, A5 sent Luo XiaoLou off to Kane. As the assistants began to prepare the needed materials, Master Yan beckoned Luo XiaoLou to follow him into the inner, separate lab.

Master Yan casually pointed across the room, “The new tea you brought back from last time tastes good.”

Luo XiaoLou muttered in his mind, If you want me to make the tea just say so, your old man was never polite anyway. Bringing two cups of tea over, Luo XiaoLou sat across from Master Yan.

Master Yan first asked about Luo XiaoLou’s study progress in the past few days and felt satisfied before saying, “Where did you find the snake vine you brought me back last time? Did someone cultivate it specifically or did it grow naturally?”

Luo XiaoLou’s eyes lit up, he laughed twice and asked, “Master, it really is good stuff? I knew it! That thing was found in the wild in Grey Galaxy, there’s hardly anyone around, so it shouldn’t be cultivated by humans.”

Master Yan first looked happy, then he showed a very depressed expression, “Grey Galaxy? Ai, it’s a pity, it’s really a pity.”

Luo XiaoLou was busy asking, “Master, what’s wrong?”

Master Yan glanced at Luo XiaoLou and threw a pile of data in front of Luo XiaoLou, who looked down and saw that it was Snake Vine’s various data, “Grade 6 material? Haha, the snake vine really is good!”

Master Yan was still in pain and hadn’t returned to his senses, and on hearing that, he only said, “If it grows, it’s more grade 6, but it’s something that can’t be found. I suspect that the snake vine you’re referring to is the Saint Vermilion Vine. When it truly grows, the entire vine turns red, the color of blood, and its hardness and pliability is hard to find anything comparable to it in the entire Federation.”

Master Yan turned to look at the increasingly lush snake vine in the Petri dish and sighed, “But the Saint Vermilion Vine can only grow naturally in the wild, and artificial cultivation is almost impossible to succeed.”

Luo XiaoLou’s eyes lit up and asked, “Master, then what are we waiting for. We’re just going to release this into the Grey Galaxy and wait for the results.”

The pained expression on Master Yan’s face intensified and he said, “That’s impossible, people from the upper and lower Galaxy aren’t allowed to come and go as they please, otherwise it wouldn’t be called smuggling. Moreover, there are many pirates in Grey Galaxy. In my capacity, the Federation won’t let me pass, not even Kane’s people. Hey, I really can’t, I can only try to simulate the wild growth environment of the St. Vermilion Vine.”

Luo XiaoLou realized that normal people couldn’t just go over to the Grey Galaxy, but Yuan Xi didn’t seem to say anything about it, and if he stole another trip, the consequences would probably be unthinkable.

Luo XiaoLou nodded in contemplation, then comforted Master Yan, “Master, you can also find a similar wild growth environment in an upper level planet. Moreover, the Grade 6 materials are already very advanced, and the snake vine grows so fast, how profitable this will be…”

Master Yan stared at the fantasy-obsessed apprentice. He wanted to throw his tea at Luo XiaoLou’s head, but was reluctant to waste it since good tea was hard to find. “Do you know the level of a full-grown St. Vermilion Vine? Grade 10! That’s a tenth-grade material!”

Luo XiaoLou stared dumbly at his agitated Master Yan, and considered talking to 125 about putting the snake vine back into Grey Galaxy for rearing. Grade 10 material – how much would that cost?

“There’s one more thing.” Master Yan, as if suddenly remembering something, slammed his face and glared at Luo XiaoLou, “Why didn’t you tell me before that it was that old thing who wanted you to be his apprentice?”

Luo XiaoLou’s heart jumped, and immediately said cautiously, “Master is discerning. It was online at that time, and I didn’t know it was Master Hebrew at all. Moreover, I refused at that time. I, myself, also thought that I was closer to your philosophy. I swear, you are the best Teacher for me…”

Only after Luo XiaoLou dryly praised his Master for half an hour and spoke a number of good words, did Master Yan grunt with a heavy face and said, “At least you have a good eye.”

After that, Master Yan endured the heartache of not being able to get St. Vermilion Vine, gave Luo XiaoLou a two-hour lecture, and then dismissively sent him out to find his own place to practice.

Luo XiaoLou thought about it, and didn’t go to the mecha manufacturing department down below, but found a lab in Master Yan’s research lab to test the data of the snake vine given by Master Yan. He suddenly thought of the mecha of Yates. If he added the Grade 6 material to the rest of the Grade 4 materials for Yates’ new mecha, although it seemed a bit wasteful, if the snake vine reproduces quickly in 125’s space, he should still have quite a bit. 

In the evening, Luo XiaoLou walked out of Kane, and as soon as he got into the car, the communicator on his wrist rang. Luo XiaoLou looked at it, and it actually showed Ivan’s name, and after he clicked it, he smiled and said, “Ivan, did you get the Energy Boxes I sent you by mail?”

Ivan let out a small sigh of relief after realizing Luo XiaoLou was still so warm to him and there was no mental pressure, and said, “Arthur gave it to me two days ago. I’m glad you remember me.”

“I don’t think I’m that forgetful. When you took me in, you instructed me to cook for you and clean the house every day, so I guess it’s hard for me to forget.” Luo XiaoLou teased.

Poor Ivan stammered, “But – but I also took you in, ah! And gave you food and drink, and a place to live…”

“All right, such a big favor I’ll remember. I gave you the Energy Boxes. Did you open it and read it? Can you read it?” Luo XiaoLou is all smiles.

The Energy Boxes Luo XiaoLou sent over ranged from five hundred to five thousand Luo. He hardly used the Source of Consciousness during the production process. Instead, he purposely used a variety of production methods in order to succeed with the least amount of Spiritual Power. This was due to the solution Luo XiaoLou came up with when he returned, considering Ivan’s young age and the fact that the lower level Planet’s people had very little Spiritual Power.

“Mn, I see, and already learned the first one…” Ivan whispered, he felt really stupid.

“Good, good for you Ivan. You know, you’re only eleven years old. A lot of kids your age can’t support themselves yet, but you can help Arthur make Energy Boxes now.” Luo XiaoLou quipped with a smile.

There was a long pause there before a small voice asked, “So, that, do you really think so…”

Luo XiaoLou didn’t mince his words of praise, “Of course. I didn’t learn to make Energy Boxes until I was eighteen. You’re already amazing. Don’t worry, you learn slowly in order, and by the time we meet again, you might already be able to make Advanced Energy Boxes.”

Ivan giggled over there, and after a while, he said, “Ah, right, I’ll tell you one more thing. Arthur and the others have circled nearly half a million square kilometers of the wilderness into the city in order to expand their base. When you come back next time, you’ll find that the place has changed dramatically.”

Luo XiaoLou exclaimed, “Really? They are building a city?” Thinking about the wild scenery, Luo XiaoLou actually felt a little regret in his heart.

Ivan said, “It’s still under construction, but the city is already big enough. Arthur said it’s for the future. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but there’s a lot of vacant land now, and a lot of mountains. Arthur might rent or sell some of the land because there’s so much land that we don’t know what to do with at the moment. But real estate development isn’t exactly booming right now, so-“

Luo XiaoLou was looking out of the car window and chatting with Ivan, when he heard this, he suddenly had a flash of light in his head and said out loud, “Wait! Ivan, did you just say that you can sell land?”

“Yeah, but there’s no use for it at all.” Ivan was surprised by Luo XiaoLou’s excitement.

“Well, then, can I rent the hills we went to last time?” Luo XiaoLou asked quickly.

“I guess so, last I saw, no one was interested in that place yet. The houses are hard to build.” Ivan said.

Luo XiaoLou was overjoyed and asked excitedly, “Ivan, do you think Arthur would agree if I wanted to rent it?”

Ivan froze and asked, “What are you renting that place for? As you saw last time, that hellhole is nothing. Do you want to buy and sell food? But there are already several large food growers.”

“I have another plan, ask for me quickly. Ivan, help me.” Luo XiaoLou said.

“All right, wait. Hey, Arthur, I have a question for you!” Ivan shouted as he ran outside.

Luo XiaoLou waited excitedly, Ivan didn’t keep him waiting too long and a moment later had replied, “Arthur just said no. He said he hates people outside of Grey Galaxy. He only rents to people from Grey Galaxy, but if you come over, he’ll consider it.”

Luo XiaoLou was depressed, “How is that possible? I’d like to immigrate over there, but the formalities are impossible. It’s not like you don’t know.” Complaining about Arthur’s carelessness, Luo XiaoLou suddenly had a change of heart and said, “Ivan, I’ve thought of a way, but I might need your help.”

Ivan was busy nodding, “Go ahead. If you can, I’m certainly willing to help you.”

“Can I rent that place in your name? Arthur says I can’t, not with that in mind and I’m having trouble finding time to take care of it myself. If you can help me, I’ll pay for it and you’ll look after it for me, but of course you can pay someone to look after it with you, but someone you can trust.” Luo XiaoLou asked eagerly.

Ivan laughed, “Well, Arthur should agree to this. I think he’s just having a tantrum. I’ll ask again.”

A little while later, Ivan did indeed have good news for Luo XiaoLou.

“But, what are you going to do?” Ivan asked oddly.

“Remember what you have there most – materials, so I’m going to rent those hills to grow materials.” Luo XiaoLou said excitedly, the quality of the material there was much better than that of the superior planets, and quite productive. Luo XiaoLou had long been envious. Now there was this opportunity, how could he easily miss it.

What’s more, there was also the matter of the snake vine that Master Yan spoke of. He wanted to plant it himself first, and if he succeeded, he could even give Master a surprise. Although Master Yan couldn’t go to the lower level planet himself, he could totally operate it through Ivan.

Ivan was also pleasantly surprised, “Why didn’t I think of that? Well, I’ll help you, so I can learn quite a bit.”

 

“That’s not all, if you’ll help me, half of the materials produced will be yours.” Luo XiaoLou said with a smiling face.