Mecha Chapter 22: Decision

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

The next Sunday, Luo XiaoLou left the apartment before dawn as he had a busy day and was not quite daring to confront Yuan Xi. Who knows if he was still smoking something and had gone crazy.

As a certified part-time employee, Luo XiaoLou’s communicator swiped his card and he was now free to enter the door of the Mecha R&D Department. Of course, apart from the lobby of the Mecha R&D Department, he’d have to go to Master Yan’s giant lab and the room he was assigned to clean up.

It was still early and the halls were almost empty. Luo XiaoLou walked quickly towards Master Yan’s exclusive floor, through the giant lab and into the room filled with pieces of mecha parts. He didn’t have much time, now that he could only remember a fifth of the Grade 2 parts, he felt the need to take time to review the previous twenty.

After a quick revision of yesterday’s content, Luo XiaoLou began to concentrate on reading the next part.

Although it had the Grade 1 parts as the foundation, the complexity of the construction of Grade 2 parts and the difficulty of machining and assembling them could not be underestimated. It would especially become more difficult in the later steps.

But the more Luo XiaoLou read, the more energetic he became, and he was even filled with a kind of heartfelt joy. He almost couldn’t help but go next to the pile of pieces and start assembling.

He even had another bonus. A problem he had originally encountered the day before yesterday with a Grade 1 part, which was difficult to understand in the past two days no matter how much he thought about it, was easily solved in the explanation of the Grade 2 part just now.

Luo XiaoLou’s lips quirked up a little, he might be able to make Teacher Song happy tonight. When he entered the virtual web yesterday, he couldn’t help but ask Teacher Song about the problem he couldn’t understand. Teacher Song told him to think about it first, and if he still couldn’t do it, he would get back to him.

Luo XiaoLou wanted to become a mecha warrior and finally travel the universe as a hero, but after entering the Mecha Manufacturing Department, he felt that it was more fun than being a warrior.

When he was excited, the door was knocked on twice. Luo XiaoLou was stunned and opened the door. Shen Yuan, who was wearing grey clothes, was looking at him.

Shen Yuan smiled slightly and gestured at Luo XiaoLou to come out.

Luo XiaoLou looked at the busy assistant outside and followed Shen Yuan out.

After leaving, Shen Yuan looked at Luo XiaoLou twice and raised his eyebrows, “Master was right about you, you’ve adjusted well in the past two days. On one hand, I’m excited to be in Master Yan’s lab, but on the other hand, I’m scared because of Master Yan’s harshness.”

Luo XiaoLou looked at Shen Yuan with sympathetic eyes, Brother, you are not alone. Every time I see that old man open his mouth, I have the urge to kneel…

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to dinner. Yesterday I saw you didn’t come out and Master Yan kept an eye on us. I finished early today, so I’ll show you the way.” Shen Yuan said as he walked.

“Brother Shen, may I call you that? Thank you so much, and thanks for your guidance yesterday.” Luo XiaoLou thanked from the bottom of his heart. Ever since he came to the Kane Group, all he had come into contact with was not only the strict old man who squeezed him, but also the shrewd Di Jia. Shen Yuan looked serious, but really helped him a lot.

Shen Yuan gave Luo XiaoLou a sideways glance. The young man was just as smiley as when he first arrived, with a light dimple on one cheek, and was always polite and nice to everyone.

The PDG family would support talented young people every year, and in the past, Shen Yuan himself had also received PDG’s invite.

No one was surprised that Yang Ke came. That young man had the unique pride of a talented student.

Mecha Manufacturing Department genius? Shen Yuan smiled faintly as the corner of his mouth curved.

The two of them went downstairs to the hall of the Mecha R&D Department, and many people greeted this big disciple of Minister Di Jia along the way.

“Wait for me for two minutes, I’ll go change my clothes.” Shen Yuan said.

Just at this time, a familiar figure came face-to-face with him. Luo Xiaolou frowned, yesterday’s bad memories began to rewind.

Yang Ke walked past the two men with a face of indifference. He didn’t seem to see Luo XiaoLou, but nodded at Shen Yuan.

Yang Ke thought as he walked, Luo Xiaolou is here? Aren’t the grey clothes an assistant’s uniform? It seems that the people in Class 10 will not have much success in the end.

Yang Ke moved the thought of Luo Xiaolou aside and began to think about how to get guidance from Master Yan.

In the afternoon, Luo XiaoLou continued to help out in Master Yan’s lab. To his surprise, Master Yan didn’t give him any time to get used to the process again, and the ore he was working on was a different kind.

There is also no set amount, Luo XiaoLou thought, so just like last time, he decided to finish refining all the boxes of ores on the table. His skills and experience in refining were almost nil, and it took him more time than the others to go from being overwhelmed to mastering it, and then becoming proficient.

So when Luo Xiaolou finished processing the ore, there were not many people in the lab. Luo XiaoLou wiped his sweat and looked at the refined materials, feeling very accomplished.

The others had finally finished their work, and a few people looked at the sky outside and smiled bitterly at each other.

A middle-aged man with glasses took off his gloves and patted Luo XiaoLou’s shoulder, “XiaoLou, you are so sensible. It’s rare to see someone young stay so late. Uncle won’t nag you, young man. Someone who is willing to suffer is always good. You can learn a lot by following Old Yan and practicing hard. You will benefit a lot in the future.”

Luo XiaoLou was startled and his heart tumbled. He lightly felt that old man Yan was just as picky and grumpy as Yuan Xi, and he always had to put out all his energy to do everything he commanded. But, as this middle-aged man had said, he could learn things from here that he couldn’t learn anywhere else! 

Grade 2 mecha basic parts aside, he gained insight on the more basic knowledge of mecha raw materials that he’d always wanted to learn, and even had a chance to get his hands dirty. That was more important than anything!

He didn’t have to pay any fees and could still get paid. Where else could he find such an opportunity?

Luo XiaoLou scratched his head and expressed his gratitude to the middle-aged man, “Thank you for pointing it out, uncle.”

The middle-aged man smiled, “If you had been scolded and cried on your first day, Uncle wouldn’t have dared to give you any advice.”

The two jokingly walked out of the door of the Mecha R&D Department. Luo XiaoLou was tired today and his back felt sore. The two days, Saturday and Sunday, were simply more tiring than when he was at the mecha parts processing branch. However, until he made his way to the bus, Luo XiaoLou, who felt that he had taken advantage of a big advantage, had the corners of his mouth curled upwards.

This rare opportunity must be treasured, Luo XiaoLou decided while swallowing his heartache. He would buy all the Grade 1 mecha parts at his own expense. Even if it was only one of each kind, it didn’t matter as long as he had the chance to practice.

When he arrived at his door, Luo XiaoLou was hesitant, wondering if Yuan Xi was still angry.

After standing outside for a while, Luo XiaoLou was indignant: why was he afraid to enter his apartment, like a husband who had cheated? Of course, he was more like a wife who did not dare to enter the door after the domestic violence — hit and stop! 

Luo Xiao Lou abruptly realized what he was thinking, and his hair stood up. Firstly, he must have had a bad lunch today. Maybe that’s why things ended up like this!

He tried to pretend to open the door as usual, and found Yuan Xi sitting on the couch, watching TV like he usually did. He would habitually sit there, waiting for his food.

Yuan Xi still looked grumpy and was most likely still angry. He hadn’t even ordered him to do anything, but it didn’t look like he was going to stay mad either. He just made it clear that he didn’t want to bother with Luo XiaoLou.

Too, too good, Liu Xiaolou quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then walked to the kitchen calmly and happily. The beef had been kept in the refrigerator for a long time. He must make stewed beef with tomato tonight.

He quickly defrosted the beef, chopped the tomatoes, and put them in the multi-functional pot. In no time, the smell of meat was already wafting through the kitchen.

Rice, stir-fried veggies, shredded carrots, and egg soup. What a luxury! Luo XiaoLou couldn’t help but sigh. It had been a long time since the table had been enriched with artificial boxed lunches.

Kachack… The kitchen door opened and Yuan Xi came in with a gloomy face. Luo XiaoLou had thought he wouldn’t come to the kitchen today to supervise the work.

While Luo XiaoLou served the food with trepidation, Yuan Xi, who looked grumpy, suddenly wrinkled his nose and spoke, “What’s this smell? Not fish today?”

Asshole, we’ve had fish every day! Every day! You really don’t get tired of it! Besides, you’re not the only one who eats here!

Despite his heart’s cry, Luo XiaoLou immediately took a step back when he saw Yuan Xi angrily glaring at him, and whispered in a spineless voice, “Huh? If you insist on eating fish, I can make you another —”

Looking at Luo XiaoLou cowering more obviously than usual, Yuan Xi was stunned for a moment. He looked at the beef on his plate with resignation, and said in a slower tone, “…Forget it. I came here to tell you that I’m going to be away for a week starting tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve already asked for a leave of absence from the school.”

This, this reporting, you don’t have to do this at all, really! Luo XiaoLou dumbfoundedly looked at Yuan Xi, who was in a weird state today, and casually said, “Oh yeah, where to?” After the question, Luo XiaoLou wanted to bite himself to death. Why ask him where he was going? Yuan Xi, who has always been a self-proclaimed master, would surely scold him…

Thinking of this, Luo XiaoLou quickly remedied the situation, “If it’s not convenient to tell me then you don’t have to —”

Yuan Xi hesitated for a moment, but when he saw Luo XiaoLou staring closely at him, eyes moist with fear, he softened and interrupted Luo XiaoLou in a sullen voice, “There’s no inconvenience as long as you don’t tell anyone, I —” he said, “I have to go home for a while and take care of some things.”

Receiving the answer from Yuan Xi, Luo XiaoLou’s heart was a million times more surprised as he carefully watched Yuan Xi’s face. Then, he mouthed the assurance, “…I won’t tell anyone. That, it’s actually okay if you don’t tell me. “

Yuan Xi gave a low snort and turned to walk out, “I didn’t specifically tell you that. I just wanted to warn you to behave yourself while I’m gone.”

“…Err, don’t worry.” Luo XiaoLou said with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Monday morning, Yuan Xi was indeed missing. Luo XiaoLou, who was slightly uncomfortable, made breakfast for only one person, then walked to school.

In the morning, it was all basic lessons, and several classes were held together. As soon as he entered the large classroom, Tian Le waved hard at Luo Xiaolou. He had to sit next to Luo Xiaolou every time in class. Although Luo Xiaolou couldn’t learn well, he had a good learning attitude, which was very rare in Class 10.

In order to control himself, even if he couldn’t understand the class, Tian Le held his eyelids open and listened carefully with Luo Xiaolou.

After the teacher came in, all the students sat at their desks, connected to the micro-computer port and entered the virtual classroom.

In the white virtual classroom, along with the voice of the teacher, the study points of the day begin to appear in front of each student.

……

After class, Tian Le looked at Luo XiaoLou’s dense e-book and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Gee, I don’t think the students in Class 9 and Class 8 even remember it in as much detail as you do. Here, give me a copy.”

Luo XiaoLou had practiced when processing parts, and his hand speed was so fast that he could copy down almost all the text, that was only displayed for a few minutes, on the screen word for word.

Making a copy of Luo XiaoLou’s crisp notes, Tian Le leaned in, inviting enthusiastically.

After copying Luo Xiaolou’s clear notes, Tian Le came over and warmly invited, “XiaoLou, when can you come to my house? I just bought two virtual warehouses with my pocket money. We can fight with mecha. Well, if you want to have mecha parts to practice with, you can also come to me to practice. My father expanded the factory and got me a separate laboratory with at least 30 kinds of simple Grade 1 parts. Want to come over, man?”

Luo XiaoLou looked at Tian Le helplessly. You are a student of the Mecha Manufacturing Department. What kind of virtual warehouse did you buy? If you have the money, why don’t you buy more parts instead?

But when it came to this, Luo XiaoLou suddenly brightened up, “Right, you said before that your family’s company produces mecha parts? I want to buy some, can you help me contact some manufacturers that guarantee quality and reasonable prices?”

Tian Le patted his chest and smiled, “You’ve found the right person. Tell me, which kinds do you want? Write them down and this buddy of yours will find them for you.”

Luo XiaoLou shook his head, “Not several kinds, I want all six hundred kinds of Grade 1 parts. Since there are so many, you know me, the cheaper the better.”

Tian Le’s eyes began to glaze over, “What are you buying so many for?! We’ll only be reviewing ten kinds at the start of the semester. Besides, you don’t even have enough money for tuition, so where will you get that kind of money for all six hundred kinds?”

Luo XiaoLou thought for a moment and looked up at Tian Le. He said seriously, “Tian Le, I won’t hide anything from you, I just got some money. It’s not much, maybe not enough to buy these six hundred parts, but I want to buy as many as I can. As you said, it’s hard for us Class 10 students to get a good future, but if there’s a chance, I’d like to make an effort.”

Luo XiaoLou was serious about his studies, but Tian Le didn’t expect him to be serious to this extent. Looking at the determination and anticipation in Luo XiaoLou’s eyes, he couldn’t help but think of his desire to enter the Ministry.

After being stunned for a few seconds, Tian Le gave Luo XiaoLou a pat on the shoulder, “Well, you have ambition. Trust in Brother Tian. However, although our family has many mecha parts factories, it’s not easy to get a complete set of six hundred. I can take you to a big customer that works with our family, and using my dad’s face, I’m sure I can get the lowest price.”

Luo XiaoLou was overjoyed to hear that and clicked on his schedule. After checking, he found that there was no class in the afternoon tomorrow. He didn’t have any worries as Yuan Xi was away these days, so he said, “How about tomorrow afternoon? Take me over if there’s nothing else. I have to buy all the parts before I regret it.”

 

Tian Le laughed at this and immediately agreed.