Mecha Chapter 149: Crisis

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

A long distance away from the meteorite belt, Captain Kent brought the ship to a halt. He took a worried glance ahead, then said to Yuan Xi, “Your Highness, this is the second test for entering the Landa Domain, and it is even more dangerous than the outermost asteroid belt. If you don’t have a foolproof plan, it’s advisable not to enter it rashly.”

Yuan Xi was silent for two seconds as he looked ahead at the blazing fire, and asked, “How long can the Poseidon last inside?”

“Your Highness, holding out for twelve hours without any impact or damage at all is not a problem. However, you must consider that we will have to return, which means that the time taken to pass through here cannot exceed six hours.” Captain Kent replied, he had done his homework before coming, after all he was protecting the future ruler of the entire Federation.

While most people were still in shock, Mu Chen said calmly from the back, “It’s said that this meteorite belt can be crossed in about three hours if you sail in a perfectly straight line. But that’s impossible. First of all, it’s full of meteorites that are moving randomly, so it’s very difficult for the driver to avoid them. Second, the magnetic field inside is chaotic, and our detective system can’t play much of a role. This means we can only rely on the optical detective system, which is the images we see with our eyes, to determine the direction and route.”

Mu Chen paused and swept the room around, his voice still calm, “Finally, and most frighteningly, due to the complicated rays inside, our eyes can deceive us. So the meteorite flying past inside could be a complete illusion, and conversely, a safe place could also be the most dangerous place.”

There was silence in the command room, Luo XiaoLou and Shao Rong were still staring blankly at the belt of flaming meteorites in front of them, as if they were still in shock.

Yue Shang finally recovered his senses and looked over to Yuan Xi, saying solemnly, “Yuan Xi, I can pilot the warship with you.” Testing the piloting skills — Yuan Xi would definitely have to pilot it himself, no one on this battleship had better piloting skills than their top ten.

As much as Yuan Xi liked Luo XiaoLou, there was no way the two of them would ever have the chance to fight side by side. People who were too different in every aspect were simply not suited to be together. Thinking of this, Yue Shang smiled slightly.

Yuan Xi nodded, “Of course, you must go together, and also, Luo ShaoTian, Ling Xu, Shao Rong, you three will also pilot the battleship together.” Yuan Xi named the five best pilots among these people.

“Five?” Shao Rong was surprised that five was the maximum amount for a driving crew.

Captain Kent immediately said gravely, “The Prince’s decision is wise, and in such a dangerous place, a full crew is the most secure. If three of the five men are driving the correct course, then we are safe.” Even so, they might not be able to pass through the belt of flaming meteorites.

Captain Kent had made up his mind that if they didn’t reach the other side of the meteorite belt in five hours, or if the ship was badly damaged halfway through, he would persuade the Prince to return anyway. He couldn’t let them take the risk. If his piloting skills weren’t comparable to these guys, he’d even want his own men to do a test voyage first.

“Alright then, I don’t have any problem with that.” Shao Rong said with a shrug, and when it came to his own safety, he certainly wanted as much security as possible.

Yue Shang looked at the few people that had been singled out without speaking, and he had to admit that Yuan Xi had indeed made the wisest decision.

At this moment, Shao Rong suddenly spoke out, “Your Highness Yuan Xi, I may not be able to.”

A few people in the room were stunned. Shao Rong, although a bit weird, was the only one here who was only lower than Yuan Xi, he was even better at driving than Yue Shang. Furthermore, Shao Rong loved difficult challenges. No matter what, he couldn’t be the one to say no at this point.

“I might be really unfit, I’m looking out… and I feel a bit dizzy.” Shao Rong gestured at the sea of fire in front of him and said like he was suppressing something; and those with sharp eyes could even notice that Shao Rong’s hand on his side was trembling.

Yue Shang sighed inwardly and turned his attention to the baby-faced Hull.

Hull got up cooperatively, “I’ll do it, it’s just as well I don’t want to sit on the sidelines.”

Yuan Xi didn’t object, although he felt that Yuan Nuo was better suited to protect Luo XiaoLou for the time being.

And at this moment, Luo XiaoLou, who had finally returned to his senses and had already been set up in his heart as a coward and useless by everyone, suddenly spoke out, “Wait, I want to say that maybe I can help too, I seem to be able to see the meteorites clearly.”

The surrounding people all looked at Luo XiaoLou in surprise, and under the gaze of the crowd, Luo XiaoLou shrank for a moment and added, “…I’m not kidding, really. I can distinguish those false illusions, and it probably has something to do with my Spiritual Power, which is better than a mecha warrior’s, even though I’m just a weak mecha maker.”

This was the real reason Luo XiaoLou had just been shocked and dazed, and found that he seemed to be able to discern which were solids and which were shadows. And with the Source of Consciousness power enhanced, he could even see the trajectory and direction of the meteorites that were moving extremely fast.

Yuan Nuo’s mouth snapped open. There it was again, weak mecha maker, he now had the urge to storm out when he heard that phrase. What exactly does it mean that you are so weak and yet you can see better than us all?

Yuan Xi looked at Luo XiaoLou, who had volunteered, for a few seconds and smiled in a rare way, “That’s simply great. So, five of us will be in charge of the pilot, Luo XiaoLou will be in charge of the direction, and Yuan Nuo will be in charge of the cockpit.”

The loyal Captain Kent immediately said, “I can stay behind and monitor the course, alerting you if there are any problems.” This kind of work was usually done by a regular crew, but Captain Kent was not too sure and was ready to take on the job himself.

Mu Chen also said at this time, “I can give Captain Kent a hand.”

Of course, Captain Kent wouldn’t have a problem with that. Mu Chen was the calmest of the lads, and if it wasn’t for him being a mecha warrior, Captain Kent might even want to cage Mu Chen to the Poseidon.

Finally, Captain Kent looked at Abel and said, “Also, the pilot’s attention must be maintained at a high level when the time comes, and unrelated personnel are advised to leave the cockpit.”

Abel paled and was about to say something when Shao Rong had risen and raised his hand, “Sorry, my condition may not be suitable for staying here, I’ll leave.”

Shao Rong had left of his own accord so Abel couldn’t even say anything. He lowered his head, suppressing his anger, and got up to leave as well. He obviously had Spiritual Power as well, but he couldn’t compare to a Senior Mecha Maker and he also couldn’t feel the meteorite’s emptiness.

Was the difference between Luo XiaoLou and him that obvious?

Yuan Xi, Luo ShaoTian, Ling Xu, Yue Shang, and Hull all sat in the pilot’s seat after they were fully prepared. Wearing their helmets, their senses were heightened and it felt as if they were one with the ship, while at the same time hearing Luo XiaoLou’s voice.

To their right, were Captain Kent and Mu Chen, also wearing helmets but not operating them, just observing the course.

Luo XiaoLou sat on the command deck behind the five, while Yuan Nuo sat on his side. There was no one else behind them, and a few meters away was the gate of the cockpit. The gate was now closed, and it would not be opened by anyone for the next six hours, except on Kent’s orders. It was also for the sake of these mecha warriors not to be disturbed by anyone else.

The rest of the crew, led by their co-captain, were prepared for all defenses, making sure they could be guaranteed to be ready to move if they were needed.

Yuan Xi looked back at both Yuan Nuo and Luo XiaoLou, and gave Luo XiaoLou a comforting and encouraging look before turning to calmly give the order, “Start up.”

The Poseidon set sail smoothly at a moderate pace, but as the belt of flaming meteorites approached closer and closer, the nerves of everyone on the ship began to tense up.

Luo XiaoLou’s voice sounded in the ears of the five mecha warriors as they entered the flames, “Turn southeast forty-five degrees, straight ahead.”

“Up twelve star miles.”

“Due south.”

“Three nautical miles back, now! Turn Southwest, One Hundred Forty Arcs…”

Luo XiaoLou swiftly commanded while his fingers kept moving on the virtual star map. As as he instructed, he also drew an instant course map which would likewise be presented on the small screen in the upper left corner of the five pilots.

At this time, except for Luo XiaoLou’s voice, the entire cockpit was quiet, but no one would feel that way. The overwhelming flames and meteorites forced them to concentrate harder than ever before. Some of the meteorites looked like they would slam straight into the ship, but Luo XiaoLou’s command would arrive as they subconsciously tried to react and dodge after seeing it. Most of the time, this instruction was not what they had expected, or even the opposite. However, it was good because after they followed Luo XiaoLou’s instructions, they found that it was completely correct. At least the battleship had not suffered any damage so far.

Both the pilot and the inspector were relieved, it seemed that Luo XiaoLou’s words were true.

However, this had invariably made driving more difficult. Not only did the pilot have to make the appropriate commands as fast as possible, he also had to fight his own judgment. It was so difficult that even Captain Kent and Mu Chen, who was in charge of monitoring, were sweating like crazy.

Yuan Nuo also stared at the big screen in the middle, he could only see the almost seamless meteorite belt. However, even though they were moving at top speed, he didn’t even hear any meteorite hitting the battleship.

As expected of his cousin, he had good eyes…

Sitting in the cockpit, it was hard just to control not screaming and disturbing those driving the cockpit, and Yuan Nuo admitted that Captain Kent’s decision to let the uninvolved personnel leave had been a very sound and wise one.

“Turn due west thirty degrees!” The sweat continued to slide down Luo XiaoLou’s forehead, but he didn’t dare wipe it off. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, seeing clearly and giving instructions in time were two different things, and it really wasn’t an easy job. He had to keep going like this for a few hours, and while three hours of straight sailing could have taken them through the meteorite belt, now, an hour later, they hadn’t made it a fifth of the way.

God, could they really cross the meteorite belt in six hours?

“Sixty degrees southeast, down!”

Luo XiaoLou licked his lips after making a command, he wanted to drink water. Meanwhile, his hand that had been marking the course on the virtual star map was stiff as hell. At this moment, Luo XiaoLou suddenly heard a voice in his ears, “Such a good opportunity, kill them… kill them…”

Luo XiaoLou stiffened and felt cold all at once. The seven people in front of him were all concentrating and busy, and Yuan Nuo beside him kept his eyes on the big screen. Behind him, there shouldn’t be anyone at all. Moreover, this person, it seemed, was communicating with him through his consciousness just like 125!

“Due south, thirty degrees up.” Luo XiaoLou continued to give instructions. He didn’t turn his head and he couldn’t take his eyes off the big screen.

In the midst of extreme tension, Luo XiaoLou felt unprecedentedly calm as he controlled the Source of Consciousness to extend backwards. There was actually a person two meters behind him!

How the hell had this person gotten in after Captain Kent himself locked the hatch? What’s he up to?

Luo XiaoLou’s brow furrowed at what the person had said, to kill these people. There was no way he could warn Yuan Nuo when he couldn’t turn his head or move his fingers.

But leaving such a person in the cockpit was undoubtedly very dangerous.

Then finish him off with the Source of Consciousness force! In any case, he couldn’t let anything happen to these people or to the ship, or no one would survive.

“Radius fifty star miles, southwest arc length seventy star miles around.” After making the order again, Luo XiaoLou suddenly got a little dizzy. If he was distracted like this any longer, he would definitely make a mistake.

That person must be removed immediately.

Luo XiaoLou gathered his Source of Consciousness and was about to attack when he felt a familiar hunk standing between him and the person behind him.

125, lifted his chin and stared at the person behind Luo XiaoLou, his consciousness saying to Luo XiaoLou, “Leave this man to me. Listen, boy, make one more move and I’ll make sure you become a collector’s item in my warehouse.”

At the same time, the man actually stopped moving slowly forward.

Luo XiaoLou let out a sigh of relief and continued to direct, hoping that Yuan Nuo would quickly realize that there was someone behind him.

In the next room, Shao Rong covered his face with one hand, his cheek constantly twitching as he scanned the screen in front of him and lowered his head; a suppressed laughter suddenly emitting from the room where there was only one person.

“So exciting, this feeling… I sure can’t stay there.”