Mecha Chapter 96: Begin

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

Luo XiaoLou was shocked and Luo ShaoTian’s inexplicable comfort directly made him feel guilty. But he also wondered whether or not Luo ShaoTian already knew who he was. As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, Luo XiaoLou’s hands stopped shaking in shock and he simply froze in his seat.

After a few seconds of blanking out, Luo XiaoLou only started thinking again when he realized that Luo ShaoTian made no other moves and closed his eyes instead.

Wait, he and Luo ShaoTian barely interacted. He did help Luo ShaoTian the last time on the asteroid, but that was when Luo ShaoTian was still unconscious, so it totally didn’t count. And then there was the chance encounter not too long ago, when Luo ShaoTian was clearly secretly stalking Luo ChengYun.

On those two occasions, Luo XiaoLou had done nothing that would reveal his identity.

Luo XiaoLou was distracted by his thoughts, unable to understand what Luo ShaoTian meant.

Luo XiaoLou was distracted on the one hand, and Yuan Nuo was staring at him, so no one spoke. Luo ShaoTian also had no intention to speak, while Su Lan only observed Luo XiaoLou.

When they arrived at the largest Mecha Association hall on Kami, Yuan Xi, Yuan Nuo, and Luo ShaoTian went to check in, while Tian Li dragged Luo XiaoLou around. The hall was divided into various areas for mecha warriors, such as technical guidance, experience exchange, mecha or material shopping, and even a place to choose a mecha maker.

Luo XiaoLou watched in amazement as the interviewees continued to walk towards the area, many of them rushing in and coming out disappointed.

At that moment, two people walked by next to him and Tian Li, and said, “See over there, they’re all mecha makers applying for jobs. There are too many mecha makers nowadays, and the level varies. Some are okay, while some have skills that can’t be seen at all, no wonder mecha warriors are picky.”

Luo XiaoLou and Tian Li looked at each other with a palpable realization that the A-Class planets might be more advanced in every way, but there was also too much competition for jobs.

Tian Li watched for a while, couldn’t stand that atmosphere, and dragged Luo XiaoLou to watch the news about the mecha competition.

Luo XiaoLou looked back at Yuan Xi and the others who were signing in for the event. He was an anonymous participant and didn’t need to sign in, he only needed to report online. However, if an anonymous user got into the Top 30, they must disclose their identity if they wanted to win a place and a prize. If they didn’t want to disclose their identity, they would be deemed to have forfeited their place.

Luo XiaoLou had never been worried about this since there were more than 7,000 contestants from all over the world, and he didn’t think he could make it to the Top 30.

In a short time, the mecha warriors there had already finished signing in, and then a special receptionist led them to the nearby clubhouse to rest. This was the accommodation arranged for them by the Mecha Association, where they would stay during the competition period. Inside the hall, there were also various training grounds, entertainment and leisure programs, etc.

Each of them received their own door cards, and the group had lunch together in the clubhouse before dispersing. Only Yuan Nuo, Yue Shang and Su Lan were still following behind Yuan Xi. 

Luo XiaoLou glanced at Tian Li and Yates who had gone far away. If it wasn’t for the fact that Yuan Xi kept holding him back, Luo XiaoLou wouldn’t have wanted to spend two nights with him.

He didn’t want to face Yuan Xi after hearing what Yuan Nuo said.

At the entrance of the room, Yuan Xi looked at Luo XiaoLou, who was clearly not in good spirits, swiped his room card, and started to kick the others out, leaving them to go to their own rooms and rest.

The smile on Yue Shang’s face disappeared as he stared at Yuan Xi, but he didn’t say anything. Su Lan was so frustrated that she was about to cry.

Yuan Xi waved his hand and closed the door in their faces.

The club had probably taken into account that most mecha warriors would bring mecha makers, and offered all the suites with two bedrooms.

Luo XiaoLou touched his stomach. He’d just had a bit too much food without having to pay for it. Besides, he had been on the ship for the past few days, so he wouldn’t be able to rest well even if he had nothing to do. Luo XiaoLou simply straightened up his manners and headed to the bathroom. Filling the tub with hot water, he began to undress.

When Yuan Xi came in, he saw that Luo XiaoLou was already naked like a white fish, and his eyes narrowed. Yuan Xi walked over and hugged Luo XiaoLou from behind with great interest, touching Luo XiaoLou’s chest and waist.

Luo XiaoLou gave Yuan Xi a confused glance and warned, “You have a match tomorrow, no doing it.” 

In truth, Luo XiaoLou was fighting for himself, because if they really did it, even though it might not have any effect on Yuan Xi tomorrow, the effect on him would be absolutely devastating.

Yuan Xi frowned unhappily at the ugly expression on Luo XiaoLou’s face and just said, “Okay, I know, just wash up together.”

“Is there any discomfort?” Letting Luo XiaoLou lean into his arms, Yuan Xi asked as he restlessly helped him bathe.

“Mn, no, just not resting well.” Luo XiaoLou said casually.

After a moment of silence, Yuan Xi said, “I’ll have three matches every day, and I can’t bring a mecha maker when I enter the venue. However, if you get bored and go out shopping, go with Tian Li and the others, and don’t run around alone. When the match is over, I’ll take you for a good stroll.”

“Mn, I know.” Luo XiaoLou said with his eyes closed. He would also have to go in, but not with his original identity.

When he got to bed, Luo XiaoLou pulled the covers over and went to sleep. Yuan Xi wasn’t sleepy but thought about not going out to train, and instead, cuddled with Luo XiaoLou and lay down with him.

 

Luo XiaoLou handed over the sixty energy boxes he had prepared for Yuan Xi from his backpack. He had deliberately picked energy boxes that were above 40,000 Luo since this was the best he could make.

Since it was his first time participating in the mecha competition, Luo XiaoLou was inexplicably nervous. During the past months, he would make energy boxes whenever he was free at night, and in the end, he prepared sixty energy boxes each for Yuan Xi and 125. Before he left, he even mailed about thirty energy boxes to Manager Gao, which almost paid back half of the twenty-five million he owed.

Yuan Xi received it with satisfaction and placed it inside the space button. Looking at Luo XiaoLou with a rare softness in his eyes, he hugged Luo XiaoLou and exclaimed, “Even if you only make energy boxes in the future, I will still support you for the rest of your life!”

Luo XiaoLou, who would normally be absolutely touched, couldn’t be happy at the thought of Yuan Xi’s hatred for exotic beasts. If it was for the rest of his life, he was not certain how long his life would be.

In the evening, Yuan Xi took Luo XiaoLou out to dinner while Yuan Nuo, Yue Shang, and Su Lan were already waiting outside the door.

These three seemed to have been following Yuan Xi self-consciously with him in the lead. And Yuan Nuo, probably because he hated Yue Shang, simply walked beside Luo XiaoLou.

During the meal, it was mostly Su Lan talking to Yuan Xi. Luo XiaoLou continued to eat heavily with his head down, but halfway through the meal, his plate was taken away by Yuan Xi. Yuan Xi looked at him and scolded him in a low voice, “How come you’re so stupid? At nighttime, you’re going to feel unwell again if you eat so much.”

Luo XiaoLou touched his stomach, abandoned his plate, and began to drink his soup again. Immediately, the hand he was touching his stomach with was held by Yuan Xi from under the table. Luo XiaoLou paused and then held Yuan Xi’s hand with his opposite hand as well.

Su Lan stared at Yuan Xi and Luo XiaoLou with wide eyes, unable to accept the way they got along with each other. Yuan Xi was the one they wanted to follow, and a man of his status shouldn’t put himself down to the level of a servant or even a lover. After a few seconds, Su Lan lowered her eyes again, the more spoiled and capricious Luo XiaoLou was, the better it would be, because the more he behaved like this, Yuan Xi’s parents would definitely not approve of them being together.

After dinner, they sat and chatted there. Luo XiaoLou sat for a while before getting up to go to the toilet.

As he came out of the toilet and headed back, he came face to face with a man in a high-class military uniform. Luo XiaoLou saw the clothes first, and was immediately shocked; in reality, he had only seen Major General Luo in such a military uniform.

As Luo XiaoLou raised his eyes, he was secretly relieved that it was a young man with dark hair. Luo XiaoLou reassured himself that Luo ChengYun could not be here either.

The man was unusually observant, and saw that Luo XiaoLou had stared at him for a couple of seconds after being startled by the uniform. Almost immediately, that person raised his eyes and looked over in Luo XiaoLou’s direction with discontent, so much so that Luo XiaoLou’s frightened look could not be retracted before he saw it.

Luo XiaoLou shivered again.

The man’s sharp, cold eyes, however, had a hint of surprise when he saw Luo XiaoLou. He raised his eyebrows, and the hostility in his eyes was gone.

“You —”

Luo XiaoLou was stunned, he knew it was rude to stare, but he didn’t expect this person to talk to him for that. And what did it mean to stop abruptly?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. That, it’s just because you look like someone I know.” Yuan Xi and the others were still waiting and with the tournament being tomorrow, Luo XiaoLou didn’t want to get in trouble over a little thing, and so he was quick to explain.

“It doesn’t matter.” The man immediately said, after standing there and watching Luo XiaoLou stop talking again.

…What the hell does he mean by that? Luo XiaoLou muttered in his heart. He gave an apology to the man again and quickly left.

The man looked back at Luo XiaoLou until Luo XiaoLou walked away, then he touched the pendant on his chest and turned away.

The next morning, Luo XiaoLou woke up and the group had breakfast together. Yuan Xi, Yuan Nuo and Yue Shang were all going to participate in the competition, while Su Lan got to follow them in as a guest and watch the competition live and up close.

While sleeping last night, Yuan Xi asked Luo XiaoLou about the match, and Luo XiaoLou said he would watch the match from the TV while staying back in the room. When Luo XiaoLou said that, Yuan Xi agreed without saying anything.

As soon as the four of them left, Luo XiaoLou left the suite. After finding a nearby place to put on his mask, Luo XiaoLou headed to the door of the Mecha Association. Before going in, Luo XiaoLou contacted Tian Li and told him that he would sleep in the room all day and not to disturb him.

Tian Li said a few words to him, when a woman’s laughter came over from the communicator. It seemed that Tian Li had gone off to have some fun himself.

Luo XiaoLou laughed and entered the arena.

The first few days were all group matches, and then there would be an elimination round when there were still five hundred people left, and then the group matches would begin.

The participants who entered the Mecha Association would enter their own special lounge from the competition tunnel. The lounge drew the room number that came with it, and when they entered, the four people in the room would be a group. The day’s competition was a group match between the four people, with any two of them competing for a total of six matches.

The reason the mecha tournament was held on Planet Kami was because there were so many venues, and it was large enough to provide nearly two thousand small venues for over seven thousand people to play group matches at the same time.

When Luo XiaoLou entered, there were already two people in the lounge, one tall and fat man who was working out, and the other, a young blond man, looking at the fat man with fear.

When the two saw Luo XiaoLou enter, the fat man sneered, while the young blond man was relieved, probably finding confidence in Luo XiaoLou’s small stature.

Luo XiaoLou didn’t say anything, coming in and sitting quietly on the couch in the lounge before beginning to gently stroke the green jade.

He hadn’t had a real fight with anyone but Luca, and now Luo XiaoLou was almost thankful for Luca, otherwise he probably would have gone soft on his feet just after arriving here. Even so, Luo XiaoLou’s heart was still in a state of unexplainable nervousness.

The blond young man looked at Luo XiaoLou for a moment, then leaned in and said, “Hello, I’m Kevin, a sophomore from Planet Xeno’s Yasi Academy, where are you from?”

Luo XiaoLou lowered his hand, hesitated, and said, “I’m from Planet Anse.” His identity was all fake, so of course he couldn’t give his school name.

As Luo XiaoLou’s voice fell, the last person arrived.

The man lazily walked in. His eyes swept over the three faces, before he crossed his legs and sat on the sofa, paying attention to no one. Luo XiaoLou still didn’t say anything, while the fat man glanced at the man several times and finally grunted.

As if in response to the fat man’s grunt, the man stretched, and leaned back on the couch.

The fat man turned pale and was about to lash out, when the host appeared on the room’s electronic screen. A rather beautiful woman smiled and said, “The 121st Student Mecha Competition will begin immediately, please be prepared and abide by the rules during the competition. The group competition order will be assembled by the system at will, so to the contestants whose names are displayed on the screen, please be ready.”

Except for the last person who came in, the other three people stood up at once and stared at the electronic screen without turning their eyes away. When the beauty disappeared, two names appeared on the electronic screen: Gao Qi vs.

521.

 

What the author has to say.

From now on, it’s going to be constant chapters about matches. Also, the soldier that came out today, I’m sure you can guess who it is.