Mecha Chapter 54: Change

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

Luo XiaoLou had a splitting headache. It was like there was a fire burning in his head. There was something inside that was screaming and wanting to be unleashed. 

There’s no need to suppress it. That’s the real you. In the depths of his soul, there was a voice that spoke in a faint but seductive way.

Yes — there’s no need to suppress… the Blue Origin Star Exotic Beast is the oldest, most mysterious and most powerful in all the galaxies. Don’t hide it. It’s not in your nature to repress. War. Killing. Attacking. Plunder. Conquer!

Luo XiaoLou’s trembling body froze. His eyes slowly changed color. Although Luo XiaoLou was unaware of the change himself, he could feel his fingernails grow by half a centimeter in an instant, and it was incredibly sharp! And the physical discomfort… seemed to have been partially relieved.

Jesus. What’s going on here? Did he start having nightmares again?

But, why was the sound of Yuan Xi outside with his mecha warriors and bug beasts fighting for blood so clear? The shrieks of the beasts as they lay dying… the vibrations of the mecha weapons swinging through the air… even the whispers of the people left behind in the cave could be heard clearly. Some were praying, some were encouraging while others were secretly crying. In that moment, the entire cave came to life in Luo XiaoLou’s mind.

Luo XiaoLou was confused for a second. He looked out again. 

There was a beast at the entrance to the cave. It stopped for a moment. Then it suddenly spread a thousand meters in all directions and abruptly appeared in front of him.

 

Within the inner circle… the mecha’s particle cannons were firing away, while in the outer circle, melee mecha fighters slaughtered any bug beasts that got close.

Yates’s Knight executed moves that were simple and brutal, and his speed was like the wind. 

Yuan Xi was at the front of the attack. He seemed to be the White Reaper of Life. Within ten meters of him, not a single bug beast could get through. All that was left behind were just layers of corpses.

No one noticed when the white mecha paused for two seconds. However, when three mutant bug beasts rushed in… he resumed his attack.

Luo XiaoLou didn’t look any further. Because after ten seconds… the feeling of extreme comfort disappeared in an instant. What followed was an even greater surge of desire in his body. Get out. Release. Kill… kill everyone!

No one can bind us. Such blood thirst. Such a noble soul. And the man who did this… All deserve to die!

Luo XiaoLou slowly lifted his sleeping bag and stood up.

The brainless bug beasts seemed to have gotten smarter and were trying to join forces to take out the one who posed the greatest threat to them. Yuan Xi’s fingers moved very quickly, one could not see what was happening. The white mecha moved swiftly among the three huge figures.

But at this critical juncture, Yuan Xi was distracted. He stared blankly at a certain sphere in the mecha. Just a moment ago, it glowed an intense blue light but it was fading now. Despite this, he couldn’t deny that it had indeed just lit up.

It was a special detector. There was an arrow that pointed to the cave where the mecha makers were hiding! And he really felt the power of an exotic beast, strong and evil!

The first thing that came to Yuan Xi’s mind was that he had found the long-lost Blue Origin Star Exotic Beast! He thought of the people in the cave… and Yuan Xi’s face turned pale and cold.

He had to end the fight quickly, both for Luo XiaoLou and the others. He had to protect his men and his companions. He had to also kill the exotic beast!

Yuan Xi’s movements quickened again. Surrounded by the three bug beast mutants, he was already in danger. But his attack suddenly became more aggressive and triggered the three mutant bug beasts to go berserk. They swung their claws and tentacles at Yuan Xi like mad.

Yuan Xi’s white mecha looked surrounded and trapped in front of everyone’s eyes. However, the crowd was left with nothing but admiration and shock. No one would be able to remain so calm in the midst of a siege by three bug beast mutants.

Yates killed the bug beast in front of him, then flew Knight up and stabbed a mutant with his spear. Although he wasn’t sure how he would fare against such a mutant, he thought Knight might be able to survive. He was confident.

Yuan Xi looked over at Knight who had come to help. His eyes glowed. The gray, nondescript Knight couldn’t be just a Tier 2 mecha. Maybe it had been modified. The defense systems and weapons were far superior than that of an ordinary Tier 2 mecha.

It was not necessary for Yates’s help, but it would save Yuan Xi a lot of time. Besides, he had more important things to do, so Yuan Xi told Yates, “You take the one on the right. I’ll take the other two.”

Yates smiled. “Don’t worry, Chief. I’ll get the job done.”

 

Deep inside the cave, and in the shadows, beyond the guards who were keeping watch, the thick tentacles danced and then moved faster and faster.

It was the most powerful bug beast to appear so far. Gradually, the cave had become its territory and it had grown in strength. It had been a long time since it had last hunted. And not far away, it sensed another powerful beast.

Powerful enough to make it salivate. 

If it swallowed the beast, it would become the most powerful bug beast on the planet!

With great power comes great danger, but the beast it had sensed… It was not familiar with its own power. Perhaps it was a young one with a strong bloodline — that would be easier for it to hunt.

The bug beast controlled its movements carefully. It did not care about the small obstacles and tricks of the humans in front of it, but hunting was all about patience. It was all about making sure nothing went wrong, to get the most out of the food.

A hundred metres away, the nearest life form was its target. Other life forms seemed vulnerable but they would only be good for dessert. As for the ones outside the cave… they can be left to the newly mutated and unpredictable bug beasts.

Of course… that’s not to say that it was generous, because when it caught the meal, it would need to return to the deeper caves to digest it. 

The other beast was too far away to get a good look at, so it didn’t know how long it would take to digest it. It needed to move now. The force seemed to have become unstable again. 

Perhaps the other beast was in a state of metamorphosis. There was a lot of slime on the floor — which was the beast’s saliva; a high level beast in metamorphosis. It was at its weakest. It would also be the easiest to digest!

The beast couldn’t take it anymore and headed directly for it. In a split second, the setup within a hundred meters was destroyed. It even melted itself down to the point of being invisible. Its thick tentacles were already in the shadow of the emergency lights. There was just one meter to go… to catch the mouth-watering morsel.

At this point… except for Luo XiaoLou, everyone was staring outside. Their team leader was surrounded by three bug beast mutants. The mecha makers inside the cave had their hearts in their throats. If something happened to Yuan Xi, there would be no one left to stop the mutants.

No one noticed that at the back of the cave, Luo XiaoLou, who had been sleeping, stood up and gently stepped into the shadows.

Thick tentacles — the tentacles of the bug beast inside the cave sprung up from the darkness. As they clung on to Luo XiaoLou, a transparent shield instantly opened and wrapped tightly around him.

Luo XiaoLou was stunned by the strange movement. Slowly lowering his head, he looked at the silver chain on his wrist. It was a protective shield from Yuan Xi. 

His blue eyes flickered. Then he looked up again at the tentacles that were greedily looking for a chance to destroy the shield.

Luo XiaoLou’s left hand, unencumbered by the communicator, was raised and passed through the shield unhindered. With one hand, he grabbed the tentacle of the bug beast, which was surprised to see his hand.

His hand then tore and crushed the tentacle in one movement, and the other tentacles suddenly froze in the air. The beast was ready to howl at the cost of its delusion, but there was no chance because something burst out of Luo XiaoLou’s forehead and enveloped the whole beast. Then it was destroyed and the huge bug beast was reduced to a dried-up corpse.

Luo XiaoLou stared down at the corpse and the silver chain on his wrist. He slowly suppressed the part of his heart that wanted to break free.

He knew exactly what he was doing. He had just transformed! Damned exotic beast bloodline, it was going to get him in trouble!

And that bastard 125, why didn’t it warn him… if Yuan Xi comes to know… he will kill him! 

Thinking of Yuan Xi, Luo XiaoLou’s eyes no longer held a hint of blue. The transparent and long fingernails on the tips of his fingers were also withdrawn. 

A glance at the ground revealed that the corpse of the bug beast had disappeared, which was the guilty 125’s way of expressing its full support for Luo XiaoLou’s decision to confess. However, as a mecha with good taste, it didn’t intend to collect disgusting bug corpses and just melted it away.

Luo XiaoLou turned around and headed out.

Yuan Xi finally killed the last of the bug beast mutants. He then said something to the crowd and quickly flew to the cave. The rest of the bug beasts, even without him, could be handled by the others.

Yuan Xi rushed into the cave and then, to his astonished eyes, Luo XiaoLou’s sleeping bag was empty. There was no one on it!

At that moment, a frightening chill appeared in Yuan Xi’s eyes. Then he rushed further into the cave. The rock walls were filled with a disgusting stench. Yuan Xi’s hands trembled and he gripped the energy beam dagger tightly in his hand.

Yuan Xi found Luo Xiaolou halfway into the cave. The transparent shield glowed with a warm, yellowish light; it was warm and inviting. It was the same feeling Luo XiaoLou gave him, which was why he finally chose this as a gift.

Luo XiaoLou looked at him in surprise and dismay, then ran over. Yuan Xi helped Luo XiaoLou close the shield, then hugged him.

Both of them were overwhelmed with happiness. One for the loss and the gain; and one concealing himself for the sake of survival.

They hugged for a while. Luo XiaoLou, regaining his senses, quietly pushed Yuan Xi away. He cried out in a frightened voice, “I… I was scared to death! God, you have no idea. You have no idea how scary that thing was. If it wasn’t for the energy shield… I’d have been eaten by them by now!”

Yuan Xi was still holding Luo XiaoLou tightly. He didn’t intend to let go even though someone had come in from behind. He looked Luo XiaoLou up and down with a frown. Satisfied that there were no wounds, he finally asked, “Them?”

Luo XiaoLou couldn’t quite avoid Yuan Xi’s gaze. With difficulty, he continued, “Yes, yes, the first one seemed to have tentacles.” Luo XiaoLou continued with difficulty. “I was dragged in by the tentacles. When I was about to be eaten, another one came out from behind. I didn’t see what it looked like, but the one with tentacles immediately abandoned me. It started attacking the one behind it. Then they both went further in together. I… If it was just me… I would have been eaten… I would have been eaten before you could get here. You… you know… You know how vulnerable I am. I’m so vulnerable…”

To eliminate any suspicions on him, Luo XiaoLou, who had just killed at least one Level 4 mutant on his own, stammered in an effort to discredit himself.

The ice in Yuan Xi’s eyes slowly melted away. He snorted and touched the head of Luo XiaoLou, who hadn’t stopped talking since he saw him. He said, “I know how weak you are. Of course, I know best.” After a pause, Yuan Xi whispered, “But… I will protect you from now on.”

Yuan Xi embraced the small body in his arms. The angry shock from when he entered the cave had turned to full blown joy. He narrowed his eyes, “So,” he said proudly. “So… you’re my man. You’ve made the best choice you’ll ever make in your life.”

Asshole… I didn’t have a choice… You made the choice… Luo XiaoLou acted like he was in shock while he lifted a table in his mind.

Yuan Xi managed to control himself by staying by Luo XiaoLou’s side for sometime to eliminate his fear, before walking inside. Although he didn’t want Luo XiaoLou to leave his side, it would be cruel to take Luo XiaoLou along with him now — the poor, weak thing. The poor little guy must have been terrified.

Ten minutes later, Yuan Xi came back with a dark face. His instincts and the detectors showed that there was nothing alive in the cave. The cave was empty of all life, and the two damn monsters had run off to who knows where. 

He deeply regretted not having caught and killed the legendary exotic beast. But Luo XiaoLou was still around… which was great.

 

In a place somewhere else, 

A person said in amazement, “Why…? There was nothing in that area?”

The man next to him was clearly more surprised than the first man who spoke. “But…” he exclaimed, “that’s impossible! On this planet, no one can escape your eyes.”

The first man was silent for a moment. “Even if it was an accident, they still avoided the mutation crisis. We underestimated them.”

“Then what?”

“Anyway, we must make sure they don’t go back alive.”