Mecha Chapter 77: Plan

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Lhachril

 

Coach Rocky finally said to Luo XiaoLou, “According to your rank, you’ve been placed in the eighth group. I’ll pass you a copy of the location map of each training room later. In addition, I’ll create a training schedule for you, and will give it to you the next time you come.”

Taking a glance at Luo XiaoLou and the dark blue mecha behind him, Coach Rocky hesitated for a moment and then continued, “You’re new here, so let me remind you that it’s not a good time for you to go to the challenge area. It’s best to choose the individual practice rooms and improve your abilities in every aspect first. If you really want to go, it would be appropriate to choose a member of the same group as you to cut your teeth.”

Luo XiaoLou was still basking in the excitement of driving a mecha for the first time. The feeling – it was just wonderful. It would have been his biggest regret if he had not met 125 and had to be only a mecha maker for the rest of his life.

It wasn’t until Rocky transmitted the training room location map to his communicator that Luo XiaoLou came back to his senses and realized that Rocky had given him the Group 8 training area.

Luo XiaoLou couldn’t help but ask, “Coach, what’s with this grouping?”

Rocky gave him a faint glance and said, “It’s divided according to the individual’s mecha operating ability, and divided into ten groups. The first few groups are the best mecha warriors in the club, and the later they get the weaker they are. The members of each different group have training areas specifically suited to their level.”

After saying that, Coach Rocky was afraid that this fact would discourage the enthusiasm of the student he was instructing, and was just about to tell him that he would definitely improve by practicing well.

Luo XiaoLou then exclaimed, “Divided into ten groups? Do you mean to say that there are worse ones than me?” There was actually some mortified surprise in his voice.

Coach Rocky looked at Luo XiaoLou speechlessly, his expressionless face twitching, and finally managed to say, “In fact, the last few groups are all newcomers to mecha, while most of the ninth and tenth groups can only do virtual training, but not actual practice, because they are still elementary school students or junior high school students. A lot of high school students are placed in Group 8.”

That means high school kids are better than you, get it! What the hell is there to be proud of being in Group 8! Although the last sentence didn’t come out, Rocky believed that he had expressed it with his eyes.

Luo XiaoLou pretended to cough and decided to ignore Rocky’s tone and said, “So Coach, are there many people in the first group of the club? Can you tell me some famous people? Is their training area close to Group 8’s?” Luo XiaoLou actually wanted to ask about Yuan Xi, so he could reduce the chances of an encounter.

Rocky chimed in and said, “The first group training area isn’t in this building at all, so if you want to visit it, you need to apply. As for the first group members, the club staff can’t divulge membership information. If you’re curious, you can go to the challenge area later, where it has the names of the members who opened challenge mode from group 1 to group 8. Of course, some members won’t use their real names, just code names.”

“That’s okay, I got it. Thanks, Coach.” Luo XiaoLou was relieved that he wasn’t in the same building, that would be good. Then raised his wrist to check the time on the communicator and said, “Then the training plan will be no problem. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

After exchanging contact information with Coach Rocky for each other, Luo XiaoLou left the Radiance Club.

 

Coach Rocky walked to his office with the materials in his hands and met a tall, thin middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man’s back-combed hair was shiny from excessive hairspray. His eyes narrowed when he saw Rocky, and he said with a condescending smile, “Yo, if it isn’t Coach Rocky? A new student? Which group of students are you with this time?”

Rocky paled and responded coldly, “This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Coach Todd.” 

Todd took a step to the side, blocking Coach Rocky, raised his eyebrows and said, “Hey, I heard that nowadays, the members with a good foundation are all assigned to the A level coach side, and the moderate ones are assigned to our B level side. Hey, back then, you were a Class A coach, but Coach Rocky has to admit that times have changed, and your way doesn’t work anymore.”

Rocky, still with a heavy face, looked at Todd and said, “Now it seems that Coach Todd has an easy time with so many students.”

Todd turned pale, grunted, and turned away. It was true that members at the intermediate or advanced level improved quickly. However, most of those members had already formed their own fixed training patterns and didn’t need the guidance of a coach, which made Todd gnash his teeth whenever he thought about it, because a coach would get a bonus if the trainee who had been coached improved their level. 

Rocky entered the office and the person inside looked up at him and smiled, “Got a new trainee? How are they?”

The serious expression on Rocky’s face eased a little. Sitting opposite the tall, strong man, he sighed softly, “It’s a novice. Although he’s a young man, he doesn’t look like a high school student anymore. His current mecha operation is still at the basic stage, and his physical strength is very poor, so it’s hard to say how much he can improve.”

The tall man comforted him, “During this period of time, the people at the top are obviously targeting you, so it’s good to have trainees now.”

Rocky pursed his lips and mmmed.

 

Luo XiaoLou found a place on the way home to change back into his clothes and remove his disguise, and came out with the Tyrannosaurus rex, 125. When Luo XiaoLou saw 125 in front of him, he wanted to talk to it and exchange tips on driving the mecha today and such.

Anyway, he probably couldn’t hold out for two days without talking to 125, so he’d better talk to him first and then take the opportunity to reason with him. I’m the master, so yes, I should be generous. As he was about to speak, 125 didn’t even look behind him, but walked away with his head held high and his tail raised.

Luo XiaoLou was stunned to see 125 walking in front of him. Pitiful, this kid held a grudge even more than him! And this AI’s new look, there’s nothing cool about the Alpha at all, okay! Even though the Alpha had morphed from perfectly dexterous and streamlined to muscle power.

125 focused his ears to listen behind, and when he realized Luo XiaoLou was following, he breathed a sigh of relief, then lifted his chin up, and walked even faster.

Luo XiaoLou only saw 125’s big tail swing back and forth from behind.

Luo XiaoLou arrived home just a little after six, prepared dinner and cleaned up the house, completely unaware that he was almost more virtuous than the housewives in the Housewives Picks which Yuan Xi had given him. Seeing that Yuan Xi wouldn’t be back for a while, Luo XiaoLou went to the lab.

125 snuck a glance at Luo XiaoLou, but then he withdrew his toes, jerked back, jumped on the couch and started watching TV.

Luo XiaoLou processed all the materials that Manager Gao had sent over to him, rushed out two more energy boxes, and found that it was almost 7:30. He put away the rest of the processed materials. He was going to make all the energy boxes for Manager Gao in the next few days, but now he had no money in his account and had no bottom line.

The first thing he needed to do was to make sure that he had the right amount of money.

When he walked down the stairs, he saw an incredibly strange scene in the living room. 125, who had shrunk to the corner of the sofa because of Yuan Xi’s return, was staring unblinkingly at the box in Yuan Xi’s hand, while Yuan Xi was holding out the beautifully wrapped box in front of him.

Luo XiaoLou heard Yuan Xi ask, “Here you go. Want it?”

125 nodded vigorously, shakily extending a paw.

Yuan Xi, with a malicious grin on his face, raised the gift in his hand a bit and continued to almost shake it at 125, “What, you don’t want it? If you don’t want it, I’ll just give it to your master.”

125 froze dumbfounded, and then suddenly jumped up fast from the sofa, and was clutching the box in its big mouth. After Yuan Xi let go of it, 125 fell to the floor, then quickly got up. When his eyes caught sight of Luo XiaoLou, 125 froze again, and then disappeared behind the door of his room with the gift in his mouth.

Yuan Xi laughed, turned around and saw Luo XiaoLou on the stairs. A rare uncomfortable expression appeared on his face, and after a few seconds, he said, “You’re so silly to have a pet.”

“…You bought a present specifically for it?” Luo XiaoLou asked in surprise, while silently spitting in his heart. Silly? Aren’t you also amused?

Yuan Xi threw a few other boxes in his arms onto the couch, “I – oh – I went shopping. That one was just part of a deal.” He was supporting Luo XiaoLou, who wanted to experience the feeling of having a child at home beforehand…

“Dinner’s ready.” Luo XiaoLou’s words woke up Yuan Xi who was sitting on the couch with a wry smile. Yuan Xi saw that there was fish on the table and immediately went back to wash up and change his clothes.

As he sat down at the table, Yuan Xi asked, “Why has that fat boy of yours been so honest these past two days?”

Luo XiaoLou laughed and took a look at the door of the room, which included a TV and internet. 125 himself had a game console and was probably playing around inside, “Having a tantrum.”

Yuan Xi’s hand with the fork moved and he sneered, “A loving mother has many defeated children.” 

“…” Is it just like you who were raised with such an arrogant and awkward personality?

After they finished eating, Yuan Xi waited impatiently for Luo XiaoLou to finish tidying up the kitchen and pulled him to the bathroom. “Help me take a bath,” Yuan Xi demanded righteously as he sat in the bath.

Ever since Luo XiaoLou had volunteered to go into the bathroom once, occasionally Yuan Xi had started making that extra request. The difference this time was that Yuan Xi also took the shower gel and helped Luo XiaoLou clean up while Luo XiaoLou scrubbed him.

As Luo XiaoLou kept ducking back, Yuan Xi glared at him, “Get over here.”

Luo XiaoLou reluctantly moved over and sat down with his back to Yuan Xi, enjoying the rare service from Yuan Xi.

Luo XiaoLou closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself as a beautiful, proud tabby cat rubbing himself behind him. His furry, fat feet had soft pads of flesh where he would put away his sharp claws so as not to scratch his owner. Taking the soft, fleshy cat feet and pressing them against his body must have been very, very-

“Ah!” Before Luo XiaoLou could even imagine what it would be like to feel good and comfortable, he was pained by the strong massage on his back.

Luo XiaoLou immediately opened his eyes, his back muscles were sore! Had it been caused by the strain of driving 125? He had only felt tense at the time, his body tensing up every time the mecha moved.

Yuan Xi was stunned, mumbling something about how soft he was, but he eased up on his hands.

 

Luo XiaoLou memorized some of the materials Master Yan had given him, before he went to bed, but it was fortunate that Master Yan had access to them.

The next day, Luo XiaoLou arrived at the Radiance Club. When he entered the personal training room, Coach Rocky was already waiting for him.

Luo XiaoLou downloaded Rocky’s training program onto his communicator. The first part of the program was the physical training that would make Luo XiaoLou’s eyes black, and then there was the practical basic training, which was subdivided into various levels, such as movements, speed, precision…and so on.

Luo XiaoLou’s jaw dropped wider and wider. Rocky’s eyebrows furrowed, worry flashing in his eyes, and asked, “What, don’t you think it’s appropriate?”

“No, no, it’s actually perfect for me, thank you.” Luo XiaoLou said. He knew his own problems himself, and since he wasn’t a Mecha Department student, his weakest point was the foundation.

Rocky instructs with secret relief, “I suggest you spend half the time each day practicing with the pre-strength training and the actual mecha.”

“Mn, I’ll train according to the training plan you gave me first, and I’ll contact you after completing each one.” Luo XiaoLou agreed.

“Yes, if you encounter any difficulties then, you can also contact me.” Rocky replied, “Also, regarding your actual actions, this microchip is for you. It’s the best mecha warrior we have. I collected it yesterday. If you watch it often, it will help you too.”

Thanking Rocky, Luo XiaoLou went to the personal training room first and plugged the microchip into the training room’s computer before starting to practice.

After a few seconds of waiting, images began to appear on the screen, and Luo XiaoLou, tired of sitting down, clicked on stereo playback.

Suddenly, a white mecha appeared in front of Luo XiaoLou, and in that instant, Luo XiaoLou had the urge to turn around and run out of the training room…