Mecha Chapter 53: Mutation

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo lives for the cute and fluffy interactions in this chapter ╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯

 

Yuan Xi’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the behemoth. He said two words over the comm channel, “Stand back.”

If Yuan Xi had just become the leader, there would have been some skepticism about him giving this order. But after five hours, no one questioned his orders or his commands anymore. They all knew without Yuan Xi, they’d be drowning in the thousands of bugs.

They were still freshmen; rookies with no combat experience. Even if they had the ability to fight, their will to fight was no match for that of a soldier. And for the past few hours, even if one’s heart was weak, they still fought to keep the inner circle safe.

Maybe when they’d just formed a group, they were unfamiliar or cumbersome to their temporary mecha makers. But after a few days together and the hardships shared due to the particle storm, the distance between them had been shortened. One step at a time, they became companions.

And at the moment of danger, the strongest mecha warrior, their team leader, Yuan Xi, was always at the forefront. He never hesitated in his orders, and in his fighting. The battle must not be stopped and he needed to protect the interior at all costs. No one must be allowed to escape and threaten the people inside.

In the eyes of the students, the giant white mecha stood there, silently imparting to them the strength of their will. Even against all odds, they could do it! The people inside were their companions and there was no room for error.

Gradually… the mecha warriors came to realize that it was their duty to protect their partners, their exclusive mecha makers. It was their duty to protect them. And when they thought about it… It was no longer a burden or a frustration. It was a matter of pride. The pride of a mecha warrior.

So, even if they were tired, they would still hang in there. Their view of their cold and superior team leader had gone from admiration to deep conviction. Every order from Yuan Xi was carried out immediately. 

The surrounding mecha warriors all took two steps back. Two steps was the limit. No more. Or those inside would be in danger.

Then the white mecha rose from the ground. It spun in the air and a white light covered the asteroid.

The mecha makers closed their eyes while the mecha warriors watched it through their screens. Sixteen electromagnetic particle cannons were hurtling around and shot destructive shells at the same time.

It wasn’t just the mecha makers, but even the mecha warriors froze.

A Super Particle Cannon. 

It was different from a High Energy Particle Cannon. Not to mention the devastating effects, what’s most impressive was the size of the cannon. After the electromagnetic particle cannon appeared, there was silence. There was no other life in the vicinity; the thousands of insects seemed to have disappeared from this space.

But… But… such a powerful weapon, not many mecha warriors would dare to equip a mecha with such a powerful weapon! It was not like the High Energy Particle Cannon, it had a massive power consumption and also an insane amount of energy was required. Each particle cannon consumed up to three hundred volts of energy, which was about what a Tier 1 mecha would consume in a dozen days. Not to mention the prohibitive price of a particle cannon, it was a weapon that only existed on Class A planets.

Yuan Xi sent out was sixteen canons, and that was about 4,800 Luo. A Tier 1 mecha would use this for nearly six months!

The students were thrilled. Many of them stared at the white mecha with eagerness… Yuan Xi had dared to fire sixteen Super Particle Cannons! That only meant… His energy box… It was at least a Grade 4 one! With a Grade 3 energy box of 5,000 Luo, he would be left with less than a tenth of the energy, not to mention the fact that he’d been fighting for five hours already.

Not bad for a leader. He was able to buy the hottest Grade 4 Energy Boxes that had been released on Planet Anse recently.

Mu Chen’s voice suddenly sounded over the comm channel, “There are hardly any bugs or beasts left. Everyone hurry up and replace the energy cartridges in this space of time and fix the mecha.”

Only then did the crowd recover from their shock and quickly got to work.

Yuan Xi, however, looked up at the lone shadow standing over ten meters tall in the distance. A frown creased his brow and suddenly, he said, “The insects and beasts will definitely appear again. Wang Jing, you and Wu Yong go nearby to find a place to hide. The rest of you go on full alert.”

The white mecha raised its arms and two rays of light shot off in the distance, heading towards the shadow. Two seconds later, there was a tremendous howl in the distance and the shadow came running forward.

Yuan Xi thought, a long-range sniper weapon doesn’t have much effect on this guy?

Yuan Xi had given up shooting. He drew out a black longsword. At that moment, the shadow was already in front of him and the students behind him gasped. It was a mutant bug!

The bug beast was double in size and its claws danced towards the white mecha. Yuan Xi quickly entered a series of commands and the white mecha practically circled the edge of the claws.

The bug beast bellowed angrily. The unretracted claw lifted a huge rock from the ground, smashing it into Yuan Xi’s mecha.

“It’s not just the size, it’s gotten stronger!” Someone shrieked.

Even the hearts of the mecha warriors began to waver. Was this still a bug beast? With such a monster, how long could they hold out?

Yuan Xi moved back quickly, almost always ducking around the bug beast. The white mecha was agile to the extreme but it also gave the group behind him a lot of trepidation. The bug beast was incredibly strong but its size didn’t affect its speed at all. However… it kept missing repeatedly and it started getting angry.

One swipe and it could be dangerous for Yuan Xi.

Luo XiaoLou was even more dizzy now and he had no idea why. He had slept for half a day without getting any better. With the way things were going, he could hardly be of any help at all.

125 had been whispering in his ear about his family and now, Luo XiaoLou was suffering from a headache. He blankly stared out before finally understanding the concern.

125 coughed, turned to look at the bug beast and commented, “This is a primary mutant. The cells covering its entire body have been strengthened. Normal attacks won’t hurt it much. Its claws and tentacles are much more powerful. Hmm… It’s finally becoming a little more watchable. Of course… It’s still not as good as our Exotic Beasts. You know, we… We… Ah. At first glance, Yuan Xi is much more powerful than that bug beast. He’s more than capable of killing it. Do not worry. It’s only a matter of time.”

As it watched its fosterer’s face darken, 125 finally realized that he was praising the bug beast. He stopped and quickly got back to the topic at hand.

At this moment, Yuan Xi once again dodged the bug beast’s attack with his strange footwork, but one of the bug beast’s claws suddenly fell forward and grabbed his black sword.

“Hey! You hold on! It won’t work even if you pinch me!” 125 yelled.

Under everyone’s horrified gazes, the white mecha still moved quickly, following the bug beast’s course. The mecha’s high frequency shifts were too fast and the bug beast couldn’t keep up. It tried to control the movement of the mecha by pulling on the sword.

However, the sword bent and it grew in length, and as Yuan Xi moved, it wrapped around the beast. Finally, the black blade flashed blue and the bug beast, wrapped up thrice by the sword, broke into four pieces and fell to the ground.

There was not another bug beast around. In the quiet of the night, there was only the sound of the wind blowing through the ruined battlefield.

Then the mecha makers inside cheered loudly. And the mecha warriors shouted over the channel… welcoming the triumphant hero.

“Team Leader! That’s awesome!”

“Team Leader!!! I will bow down at the feet of your mecha!”

“Following you was the luckiest thing that happened in this training!”

The white mecha came over to the cheers and nodded at the crowd. Then he looked into the inner circle, and after a while, he said, “If we start fighting again, the Tier 1 mecha should attack at a distance from the inside. Tier 2 or higher mecha should be on the outside with melee support.”

The students were quiet again. There must be a reason for Yuan Xi’s command. The most likely reason was that Yuan Xi, having fought the bug beast just now, had determined that the Tier 1 mecha were no longer able to withstand the mutated bug beast.

The crisis was even worse than before!

At this moment, Wang Jing’s surprised voice came over the comm channel, “Captain. Northwest. One thousand meters. There’s a cave. It’s only slightly smaller than the one we used to hide in.”

“Go there now,” Yuan Xi ordered. He could feel it. The darkness. The threat of death. 

It’s not over yet.

When they reached the cave, Yuan Xi ordered all mecha warriors to rest and regroup, and to stay alert at all times. The higher tiered mecha were to stay on the outside, while the Tier 1 mecha would be on the inside with the mecha makers behind them.

The highest tiered mecha among the rest of the mecha warriors was probably just a Tier 2 mecha. A Tier 1 mecha cost about a million federal coins, while the cost of a Tier 2 mecha would go up to five million. For a newbie, just owning a Tier 2 mecha was already pretty good enough.

Finally, Yuan Xi asked Wang Jing to arrange a group defense plan. 

They were to leave a few men on guard, and if anything were to happen, the ones on guard would call them. Most of the mecha warriors would take time to rest and then also take turns on guard duty. 

After nearly six hours of fighting, the mecha warriors were able to fall asleep almost as soon as they sat on the ground. Some of the mecha warriors took this time to go deeper inside the cave; some stole this time for dinner; and some went to their mecha makers to help fix their mecha.

After Yuan Xi finished giving orders to everyone, he jumped out of his mecha and walked past the crowd. Luo XiaoLou was leaning against the wall on the far corner, catching his breath. They had run about a thousand meters. In order to maintain full alert, the mecha warriors didn’t come out with their partners.

Luo XiaoLou looked up at a cold-faced Yuan Xi. He was the same as before… But… But he thought Yuan Xi had an unusually beautiful face. The sweaty, messy black hair… it was sexy and pretty, and it had an innate nobility to it.

Yuan Xi looked down at Luo XiaoLou, who was smiling stupidly. He ruffled his hair with his hand and said, “You can sleep if you’re sleepy.”

Luo XiaoLou didn’t realize that Yuan Xi could see he was uncomfortable. He moved to the side, made space for Yuan Xi and whispered, “This is a dangerous situation. You’re out there fighting while the people inside are doing whatever they can. It doesn’t look good for me to sleep.”

“What can you do?” Yuan Xi interrupted him and touched him on the forehead. He paused for a second and arrogantly said, “Your energy box has been a great help — but don’t think I’m going to coddle you. No matter what you are… You’re just my slave.” In the end. It had become another ferocious attempt at sovereignty.

“Mn.” Luo XiaoLou selectively accepted only the very useful parts of Yuan Xi’s words about his energy box, and smiled at him.

Spreading out his sleeping bag, Yuan Xi asked, “Want to sleep?”

Luo XiaoLou shook his head. He wanted Yuan Xi to get some rest first. He’d sleep when it was Yuan Xi’s turn to keep watch. Besides, he had a headache and couldn’t sleep anyway.

“So… need help?”

“…No.” Is there nothing else in that head of yours but that?

However, Luo XiaoLou was dragged into bed with Yuan Xi. An hour later, Yuan Xi got up and left. It wasn’t time for him to keep watch but something was wrong outside. He could feel it.

Luo XiaoLou sat up while frowning. Another problem?

Just then… Yates squeezed in and sat dejectedly next to Luo XiaoLou.

“Your mecha is a Tier 2 mecha. Why isn’t it on guard out there?” Luo XiaoLou asked in surprise. Was there something wrong with the mecha he assembled?

“That,” Yates said, not too amused, “I spent all my money on maintenance for Knight, and then saved up to buy long-range weapons and ammunition too. I didn’t have much left so before the training, I bought a couple of cheap energy boxes from the underground market. There wasn’t much energy in them and I just ran out.”

“What were the grades of the energy boxes you bought?” Luo XiaoLou asked.

“A couple of Grade 1s.” Yates replied honestly.

Luo XiaoLou was silent for a moment. “I have two here. You take them first.” From his bag, he took out two energy boxes he had made. Not the Black Chert ones, but he still had some that were 18,000 Luo, 19,000 Luo and even 20,000 Luo.

Yates hadn’t noticed, but when he took them, he was stunned when he saw the numbers. He rolled his eyes in disbelief and read it again. His face turned red and he looked around first. 

Grasping Luo XiaoLou with all his might, he asked in a low voice, “How did you get such a fancy energy box?!” Luo XiaoLou just smiled at him and didn’t say anything. Yates mumbled to himself. “It was Yuan Xi who left it with you, didn’t he? That must be it! I… I feel a little sorry for the team leader. But… It’s so cool! I’ll go fight right away!” Yates laughed and ran back to Knight.

He’d just found out. Even among the other Tier 2 mecha… his Knight was one of the best. His long-range and short-range weapons were excellent. The long-range weapons were ones he bought with his own savings, while the short-range weapons were ones that Luo XiaoLou found for him.

And now he dug up two of these high-quality energy boxes from Luo XiaoLou! Which mecha warrior didn’t like more powerful weapons and more advanced energy boxes?

Yates called out Knight and quickly replaced the energy box. Just one would probably last him a long time. He made up his mind that after the fight, he would only return the one he didn’t use. The used one… No matter how much energy was left, he wasn’t going to give it back to Luo XiaoLou!

Outside, the bug beasts were back in the field. And unlike last time, there were two or three mutants in the mix!

When Yates left, Luo XiaoLou couldn’t care about what was going on outside. His headache had gotten even worse and he rolled over in his sleeping bag. He was the only one on the inside, and him sleeping wouldn’t bother anyone.

The cave was similar to the last one. It was deep inside, and was guarded within a hundred meters. 

 

But a hundred meters away, black tentacles, much thicker than that of the bug beast mutants, slowly poked out.