Mecha Chapter 91: Delegation

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Lhachril

 

Looking at the green cesium ore in front of him that had completely turned into powder, Luo XiaoLou was in a bit of a dilemma. Accidentally using Source of Consciousness caused this result. These expensive ores were what Master Yan had allowed him in order to slowly hone and learn to control Spiritual Power in three months, not for him to consume them all in half an hour…

The green cesium ore was very soft, one of the softest minerals nowadays. When people’s Spiritual Power reaches a certain level, they could control the Spiritual Power to cut the green cesium ore, but the technique was very difficult to control, so Master Yan gave it to Luo XiaoLou to practice.

As a result, Luo XiaoLou failed Master Yan’s task completely. When he was working with the material, he was thinking about how Yuan Xi swore to him that he would take him to meet his parents, and when he stopped daydreaming, he couldn’t find the cesium ore.

Even if Luo XiaoLou was a young beast, his mid-level Source of Consciousness was definitely not to be underestimated – so tragedy was brewing. Even though Master Yan would be shocked to see it, it wasn’t quite enough of a workout for Luo XiaoLou.

Luo XiaoLou frowned. Lately 125 had been complaining that he was too wealthy, because now he had forty million in his account, but he was saving up. He planned to make a mecha for Yuan Xi before the final of the mecha competition.

Since Yuan Xi wanted to win so badly, it was okay for him to help him out – Luo XiaoLou was comforted by the fact that he felt this was completely out of pure goodwill.

If he could, of course the materials should be the best, in which case his savings were far from enough. But if he didn’t buy green cesium ore, had no materials to practice with, and couldn’t get up to speed on his technique, what was he going to make the most satisfying mecha with?

125 swept the dozens of energy boxes Luo XiaoLou had just made into his stomach, yesterday’s were made to please Yuan Xi, this time they should be his. After cleaning up the table, 125 looked at the frowning owner and asked him, “What’s wrong? Don’t forget you’re an exotic beast. You have no need to limit yourself to green cesium ores. You can try cutting other harder stones.”

Luo XiaoLou perked up and surprisingly, he didn’t even lecture 125 for his rudeness, before immediately fetching a medium hardness ore. Five minutes later, Luo XiaoLou was sweating profusely as he saw a small corner of the stone was cut off onto the table, and smiled with satisfaction.

In this way, Luo XiaoLou began to try to cut and disintegrate the material with his Source of Consciousness, which was normally processed with precision instruments.

After an hour, Luo XiaoLou stretched his legs and prepared to go back to the living room. 

Luo XiaoLou was learning Level 3 materials from Master Yan, with increased difficulty and, at times, the use of Spiritual Power. This time, Master Yan did not require Luo XiaoLou to learn all Level 3 parts before starting to assemble but encouraged Luo XiaoLou to use what he had already learned! 

It was a long process to learn how to assemble Level 3 parts because of the Spiritual Power involved, but now that he was learning how to assemble a mecha, Luo XiaoLou could assemble any Level 1 or 2 mecha he wanted. Luo XiaoLou was very happy that the lab was full of parts for his Level 3 mecha. It was just that when he first learned the basic steps of assembling a mecha, the result was almost unbearable.

Now without Shen Yuan to help him, Luo XiaoLou was completely on his own, and Master Yan only threw down one sentence after looking at the finished products, “This kind of thing is probably too embarrassing for Kane to sell.” 

Luo XiaoLou’s face turned red. If he wanted to give it to Yuan Xi, he’d have to turn to 125, who couldn’t assemble a mecha like that for Yuan Xi.

125 was silent for a few seconds, and Luo XiaoLou knew it was looking for information. Sure enough, after a few seconds, 125 said, “Yes, I’ve brought out all the top level drawings – see how much my collecting will help you? But there’s too much theory involved, and the materials are hard to find, so I suggest you consult the drawings first before anything else. And I want you to know that this is not a mecha in the ordinary sense, but the highest level mecha in the Federation right now, the biological mecha.”

Luo XiaoLou was stunned, “You mean of your kind?”

125 jumped up like his tail had been stepped on and screamed, “Don’t define me as a bio-mecha! I am exotic beast mecha! Bio-mechas are not at all on the same level-“

“Okay, I get it.” Luo XiaoLou reassured consolingly, then continued what he had just said, “So why are the bio-mecha blueprints you gave me considered the highest level?”

125 looked at Luo XiaoLou for a moment and said hesitantly, “Are you going to make exotic beast mecha for Yuan Xi… I’m actually fine with it, but is Yuan Xi okay with it?” Also, it didn’t want siblings, ah, so much so that it wanted to strangle the mecha that wanted to share Luo XiaoLou’s favor.

“…Mn, can Yuan Xi see the difference between an exotic beast mecha and a bio-mecha?” Luo XiaoLou asked. 

“This – it may not look like much of a difference, but if it’s taken to a test, it will definitely be found out,” 125 said.

Luo XiaoLou nodded and didn’t say anything as 125 followed him down the stairs with an apprehensive look on his face, all the while thinking about what attitude it would take if another exotic beast mecha came along.

At this time, Luo XiaoLou’s communicator rang, Luo XiaoLou took a look and clicked on the connection, “Manager Gao, do you want this month’s energy boxes? I will send it out tomorrow.”

Over there Manager Gao smiled and said, “Of course not. Recently Little Brother Luo has been sending them over earlier every time, and the quality is superior, and Heavenly WInter has been very satisfied. In fact, I’m looking for Luo XiaoLou today to ask you for a favor.”

Luo XiaoLou asked, “What is it?”

“Here’s the thing, we have a customer here who wants to make a mecha part, and I would like to ask you to try to do it once.” Manager Gao said.

Luo XiaoLou frowned. The most he had learned now were level 3 parts. If he were to do it, he might as well find one of those senior mecha makers. Thinking of this, Luo XiaoLou said, “Manager Gao, I’m not being modest, I’m really limited. Even if I could do it, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to make a high level one.”

Manager Gao said evenly, “Don’t worry about that, Luo XiaoLou. In fact, that client of mine has asked for several mecha makers, and you are the last one I’m asking. I have already asked all the mecha makers I can get to help, and I really can’t think of anyone else, that’s why I want to ask you to help.”

Luo XiaoLou hesitated for a moment and said, “That’s fine, I’ll try. Just don’t expect too much from me, Brother Gao.” 

Manager Gao had helped Luo XiaoLou last time and had always taken good care of him. Luo XiaoLou was too embarrassed to guarantee anything. He could still make mecha parts anyway if he didn’t look at the quality grade.

“That’s done. Luo XiaoLou is a big help to Older Brother. I’ll send someone to give you the materials and drawings after seven tomorrow night.” Manager Gao said. In fact, he was really relieved that Luo XiaoLou had agreed. It was true that the client had asked several senior fabricators to work with him, but Luo XiaoLou was the one he personally specified that he had to hire. That client was the one who bought the energy boxes Luo XiaoLou made every time at a high price, and he didn’t know if it was because of this that he was particularly interested in Luo XiaoLou.

Luo XiaoLou was stunned. Usually, Manager Gao would send the materials out express delivery, but this time he actually was sending someone over, which showed how precious that material was. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of interest. All makers looked forward to having more advanced materials to practice with, so it was naturally a good thing that this task was sent to him without having pressure.

Moreover, during these days of studying with Master Yan, Luo XiaoLou had another major discovery. That was, many of the parts in Master Yan’s works were based on the original ones, but adding his own designs and forming unique styles and attributes.

Now that his foundation had been laid by Master Yan, could Luo XiaoLou learn from him and add some of his own designs?

No matter if it worked or not, Luo XiaoLou believed in himself, and even if he was not as smart as others, he was still no worse than them. 

Luo XiaoLou turned off the communicator and turned to 125, “You mean that if I want to make a bio-mecha, I can’t find the materials right now, and can only look at the drawings?”

125 nodded and said, “According to your Source of Consciousness power, you can barely make them. Those theories are a bit difficult and I can help out on the side, but the key is the materials. In addition, you can now make up to level 3 mecha parts, and if you said you wanted to make a bio-mecha from level 3 mecha parts you’d be laughed at.”

Seeing that its master was sullen over not being able to please Yuan Xi, it was convinced this was the way he was thinking, it thought for a moment and said comfortingly, “I’ll give you the drawing first, you can drill through it and then you can build it when you have the right materials. Also, it’s recommended that you help Cloudy Sky be remodeled first. You can improve a large part of its performance.”

“…Mn.” Luo XiaoLou could only dismiss the idea of the bio-mecha, the drawings were there anyway, and sooner or later, he would be able to make the best mecha for Yuan Xi.

When Yuan Xi returned, Luo XiaoLou had finished frying all the yellow fish, and the house was filled with fragrance. Yuan Xi changed his clothes and walked into the kitchen with satisfaction.

It wasn’t until Luo Xiaolou called out to him as he set down the plates, blushing, that he walked over.

When Yuan Xi came back to his senses, he found that he had already helped the little slave to bring out all the food, which he had only ever done as a household chore at most. Yuan Xi stared at the food in his hands for a few seconds: red wine, cake, fish, plus a few vegetarian dishes – almost all of his favorite food, but in the end, he could not get angry, or feel resentful, and went to the table.

After Luo Xiaolou sat down, he looked at Yuan Xi, who was obviously in a good mood and so fast with his food, and said hesitantly, “Yuan Xi, I’m learning how to assemble a mecha recently. Can I borrow Cloudy Sky to have a look – of course, it’s yours! You don’t have to.”

When Luo Xiaolou was thinking about how he could better convince him after Yuan Xi’s refusal, Yuan Xie casually said, “My mecha never leaves my body, so you will need to find me when you need it and bring it back once done.”

Luo XiaoLou was a little apprehensive. After all, in the earliest days, the only thing Yuan Xi had told him not to touch was his mecha. But that was really unfair, Yuan Xi often teased him about 125. Even if 125 was just a family robot in Yuan Xi’s eyes, it’s still an ancestor.

While Luo XiaoLou was trying to figure out how to phrase his rejection in a way that would be more persuasive to him, Yuan Xi casually said, “Sure, my mecha never leaves my body.”

Luo XiaoLou was stunned for two seconds, then laughed happily. When he went to bed that night, Luo XiaoLou took the initiative to go to Yuan Xi’s side, who was in the middle of the bed, and laid against him. His mecha was on Yuan Xi’s bare chest.

Luo XiaoLou was busy asking, “Is it on you?” However, his movement to get up was stopped by two strong arms.

Yuan Xi flushed red as he glared at Luo XiaoLou, and this was the first time Luo XiaoLou had ever initiated a move on him!

Yuan Xi sucked in his breath, Damn it, Luo XiaoLou was getting better at seducing people. He endured for a moment before Yuan Xi said sarcastically in an unsteady tone, “Even if you want it, you don’t have to be so impatient.”

Luo XiaoLou flushed red for a moment, and he certainly felt Yuan Xi’s spirit against him. This was the time to tell Yuan Xi that he didn’t actually mean it. Would he be subjected to domestic violence?

Yuan Xi didn’t wait for Luo XiaoLou’s answer, but said urgently, “Since you really want it today, I’ll satisfy.” As he said that, he skillfully stripped Luo XiaoLou’s clothes.

Doing it anyway, Luo XiaoLou didn’t say anything, and being under Yuan Xi’s influence, his hands touched Yuan Xi’s smooth and soft skin, and he was also a little touched, his face gradually turning red.

Yuan Xi sneered, “Every time you’re so aggressive in bed, you’re still embarrassed.”

Luo XiaoLou glared at Yuan Xi. Who was he to be a pervert every chance he got, and still be able to push this kind of thing on him every time.

 

The next evening, Manager Gao had the materials delivered personally. They were placed in a space knob, Luo XiaoLou incidentally asked the visitor to bring the energy box back.

After taking out the material, Luo XiaoLou found that it was a golden-yellow material, and after studying it, Luo XiaoLou found that he couldn’t find it amongst the material he knew.

125 looked twice on tiptoe beside him and said, “It’s stone jade.”

“But isn’t stone jade red?” Luo XiaoLou was surprised.

“Mn, it’s a variant that can only be formed in special environments, such as hot places.” 125 said.

A variant of a seventh-grade material. Luo XiaoLou trembled a little at the thought that these materials could be worth more than his savings.

Along with the materials came a drawing of a mecha elbow joint part with a dagger on the inside of the joint, and it seemed that the part also served as a weapon.

Looking at the precious material in front of him, Luo XiaoLou fell into contemplation. If it was handled in the usual way, the equipment in his lab would be able to cast the model within a few hours. But then, would the material still have the same effect?

Luo XiaoLou thought about it. Since it was a variant of one material, he could simply treat the whole material with Source of Consciousness power and then fuse it, which would also exercise his Source of Consciousness power along with it.

After the Energy Box’s Energy Stone was treated with Source of Consciousness, its energy value would be doubled or tripled, so it might have a significant effect when applied to stone jade as well.

Luo XiaoLou felt that it was very hard to use only Source of Consciousness, and by the time Yuan Xi returned, he had only processed a tenth of it.

In the following days, apart from going to the club every day to exercise, Luo XiaoLou started to spend long hours in the lab, and after eight days, he finally finished processing all the materials. Once he became proficient, he was able to process the materials a little faster.

After putting the processed materials into the casting machine, dozens of parts came out, and Luo XiaoLou began to assemble the parts. Because he was not satisfied with the results, Luo XiaoLou disassembled the parts several times, adding Source of Consciousness to each of the assemblies.

Master Yan asked Luo XiaoLou to consume all his spiritual power every day, and then continue to do so when he had enough. This used to be hard to do, but during the making of the mecha, Luo XiaoLou felt extremely tired almost every day when he left the lab.

However, every morning when he woke up, Luo XiaoLou could feel his Source of Consciousness recovering faster and faster, and it was slowly increasing, so having good materials to practice with was very important for mecha makers.

After half a month, the mecha parts were finally formed, Luo XiaoLou put them into the space knob, ready to deliver them personally.

The material was precious and had cost Luo XiaoLou so much effort, Luo XiaoLou didn’t dare to send it over by mail.

On Sunday, Luo XiaoLou told Yuan Xi that he had something to do in the morning and would go to the club in the afternoon to keep him company, and because of his unexpected satisfaction last night, Yuan Xi readily agreed.

Luo XiaoLou and Manager Gao greeted each other when he arrived at Heavenly Winter on Sunday morning.

When they arrived at the door, Luo XiaoLou was surprised to find that Manager Gao had come to greet him. The two of them walked inside laughing and talking, and Manager Gao told Luo XiaoLou that Heavenly Winter had collected some rare items yesterday, and that he could take Luo XiaoLou there to see if he needed anything.

When he arrived at the room, Luo XiaoLou handed over the space knob to Manager Gao. Although he didn’t know how to make them, Manager Gao had been in the auction house for a long time and had a good eye for identifying finished products.

When he saw the golden-colored parts in front of him, Manager Gao didn’t look impressed, but his heart was puffed out. A few days ago, those senior mecha makers who had been asked to do the same had sent parts over one after another, Luo XiaoLou being the latest and the least qualified among them.

However, Manager Gao was certain that these parts in front of him were better than the previous ones, much better. Looking at Luo XiaoLou’s smiling face in front of him, Manager Gao sighed inwardly. This young man had a boundless future, worthy of being Master Yan’s disciple, even his eyesight in picking his students was so high.

Manager Gao understood that it was not easy for mecha makers to raise their ranks, and once they had made it to their level it was inevitable that they would charge high fees for their help in making parts. But if they knew they were actually being compared to an unknown young man, he didn’t know what expression they would have.

Recovering from his shock, Manager Gao felt a vibration on his wrist, then clicked on the message on the communicator and froze.

It read, [I’m in the next room, can I come out and meet him?]

Manager Gao immediately replied, [No, it’s not appropriate. He doesn’t know.]

Manager Gao was unaware that his client had come at this time, because he had gone to pick up Luo XiaoLou outside, and the client had not greeted him beforehand. But he was a special person, and the receptionist probably took him to his room.

Manager Gao promised Luo XiaoLou to conceal his identity for him, so of course he couldn’t let the client meet Luo XiaoLou, even though that person had seen Luo XiaoLou secretly from inside, he couldn’t let them meet.

Thinking of this, Manager Gao immediately said, “Older brother here just happened to have a batch of goods, I’ll take you to have a look. As for this part, you stay here for now, until the grade is appraised, then I’ll discuss the price with the customer, and I’ll speak to you before finalizing it.”

Luo XiaoLou didn’t object and followed Manager Gao out the door. After they left, the door next to them opened and a tall, thin man walked out and headed for the coffee table. Before he left, Manager Gao purposely left the space button inside.

Even though the man had a cold expression, he couldn’t help but get excited after seeing that part. 

Luo XiaoLou followed Manager Gao to the secret room on the third underground floor. Due to Luo XiaoLou’s identity, Manager Gao chose the secret room related to mecha. This chamber was different from other warehouses, the storage equipment inside was much more advanced, and the items placed here were mostly rare.

Accompanied by Manager Gao, Luo XiaoLou wandered around the room, where there were mostly Grade 5 or 6 materials, and occasionally Grade 7 materials.

Luo XiaoLou hadn’t said a word, but since he planned to make a mecha for Yuan Xi, he could now start gathering materials. Not wanting to spend money recklessly, Luo XiaoLou picked extremely carefully. Some of the materials that would normally be tempting, but were not for high grade mecha, were painfully absent.

Before he could find the right materials, Luo XiaoLou’s eyes were drawn to a white crystal vase.

He didn’t know why he felt comfortable with the bottle’s contents, but when he saw that bottle, he subconsciously stopped and stared at the name on the bottom, Luo XiaoLou asked, “What is this Spiritual Power Enhancer for?”

Manager Gao immediately smiled and said, “Little Brother Luo really has an eye. This is one of the most precious items in the entire chamber. This kind of Spiritual Power Strengthening Agent is useless for ordinary people to buy. But to mecha masters who can apply Spiritual Power, it is a priceless treasure. Although it is called Spiritual Power Enhancer, it is not the Spiritual Power that strengthens the mecha, but the mecha itself. By fusing this liquid into the mecha part and then reinforcing it with Spiritual Power, the strength and sturdiness of that part will increase by at least eighty percent, and if the Spiritual Power is strong for the master, the improvement will be even more.”

Luo XiaoLou’s eyes lit up, although it wasn’t a mecha material, since he couldn’t make a mecha right now, he also had the idea to transform and strengthen Yuan Xi’s Cloudy Sky first, he was busy asking, “How much is it?”

Manager Gao held up a finger and said, “A bottle is ten million.”

Luo XiaoLou was dumbfounded. He had thought that the maximum was 10,000. But the pitfall was that this small bottle would probably only strengthen half a mecha arm at most, if he wanted to strengthen an entire mecha, how many bottles would it take?

Naturally, Luo XiaoLou had no idea how surprised other mecha makers would be if they knew his thoughts. No one would buy such a precious substance to strengthen an entire mecha shell, most would use it to strengthen their weapons or armor. Even the most extravagant mecha maker or mecha warrior wouldn’t have the idea of slathering reinforcement all over a mecha.

Besides, not every enhancement would be successful, and mecha makers with less Spiritual Power or erratic control would even use several bottles to enhance a weapon.

Luo XiaoLou swallowed, and with a hard swallow, asked, “How many bottles are here now?”

Manager Gao smiled slightly, he knew Luo XiaoLou would buy it from the moment Luo XiaoLou asked, and immediately said, “I only have three bottles here, the price of this is high, but it’s not astronomical. Even if it is rare and not easy to find, there’s still a price for it.”

“Then can I have them all?” Luo XiaoLou asked nervously.

“Of course, these arrived yesterday, and have yet to be claimed. And with the friendship between Luo XiaoLou and Older Brother, you can take as much of this stuff as Older Brother has. However, this kind of stuff doesn’t count as materials, and the entry price is extremely high, so Older Brother can only give you a 15% discount.” Manager Gao said.

“That’s no problem.” Luo XiaoLou said smilingly, his mood soared when he bought something good, “Also, I would like to ask a favor from Older Brother, I need about fifteen reinforcing agents, so please be sure to let me know when you have them in the future.” Luo XiaoLou calculated, after strengthening Cloudy Sky, fifteen would be about right. Although he didn’t have the money now, but let’s book it first, maybe he’ll have the money by then.

“Okay, you wait for my news, and when we have it, I’ll save it for you first.” Manager Gao said gleefully.

Luo XiaoLou had thirty million in his arms – no, three bottles were gone, leaving him with another eleven million in his account. And because twenty million of it was an advance, Luo XiaoLou couldn’t count on the income the energy box would bring in for the next six months or so.

“By the way, 125, do you need these?” Luo XiaoLou asked.

125 grunted with hatred and called, “You finally thought of me, I’m really moved to tears – you know I’m the one who’s your foster.”

“Well, I see. It looks like I’ll be saving up for Cloudy Sky and your enhancements for a long time to come.” Luo XiaoLou said with a sigh, wondering if there was a place to buy lottery tickets in the future society. It was clear that he had worked very hard to earn money, but it still wasn’t enough.

125 grunted, turned into a green Tyrannosaurus rex and rode on Luo XiaoLou’s shoulder, and said, “I’ve already been enhanced by something better, so don’t worry about it. But – as my master, I probably need to be loved from all sides, especially psychologically.”

“……”

 

Manager Gao returned to his room, looked at the man, bowed, and said, “It’s not that I don’t want you to meet him, it’s just that he doesn’t want people to know that he made those things, and I’m afraid that such a meeting won’t bring good results.”

The man nodded and tapped his fingers on the table, “We’ll talk about that later. First send the part for appraisal and see what grade it is.”

Manager Gao said, “Although it looks good, after all, it’s a young man just starting out, we can’t get our hopes up too much.”

They were both a bit restless as they waited while the part was sent off for appraisal, the man even more so as he couldn’t stop pacing back and forth.

At this moment, the door opened and the assistant ran in with the appraisal results.