Emergency
In an emergency, Ying Chenlin nodded slightly, and his expression remained unchanged. "Hello, Mr. You."
Shen Xingtang heard this polite address and smiled. "He's not much older than you. Just call him You Su directly."
You Su looked at the repairman in front of him. The young face was indeed comparable to a child's, with a tender look, a slender figure, and an average height. Placed elsewhere, he would only be seen as an underage KID, perhaps due to just waking up, with a faint red mark on his face, accentuating his pale skin.
Apart from these, his right hand was a mechanical limb, extending up to the elbow joint, seamlessly integrating with the skin.
Although the slender arm showed a thin layer of muscles, it was evident that the opponent's physical condition was not as poor as his appearance suggested.
While he was assessing the other person, Ying Chenlin was also evaluating him.
Artillery and mecha master, the Mad Dog.
Ying Chenlin didn't know what the marked line meant, but what could be confirmed was that the person in front of him was the Artillery and mecha master, KID, who had an accident in the black hole incident in his previous life. However, why was there an additional line of text in his file?
Ying Chenlin concealed his doubts and, seeing others holding things, asked, "Do you need help with something?"
"No, we'll prepare things tomorrow." Shen Xingtang patted the KID's shoulder. "Go to sleep. You need rest for a good recovery."
After saying this, she glanced at You Su. "Pack up and go to sleep. Sign the contract when you wake up."
You Su withdrew his gaze, took the bedding, and entered the room.
Ying Chenlin did not linger; he just noticed the mecha necklace around You Su's neck when closing the door.
As the door closed, the room returned to silence, leaving only a few faint sounds.
Ying Chenlin drank some water, opened the light brain, and, following his memory, entered 'Trace' into the star network search.
Soon, a page with partial information about the mecha master You Su popped up.
During the day, outside the meeting room of the KID Base.
Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao stood together, one of them staring at the list of information, repeatedly confirming an ID. Rewind to yesterday, they were excited about the arrival of a new Artillery and mecha master in the team, but now they hoped for a chance to stop Shen Xingtang's crazy actions.
Ji Qingfeng asked the same question for the fifth time, "Did I read it wrong?"
Lin Yao widened his eyes, recognized it, and compared it with the light brain. "No mistake; it's him. He looks more difficult to deal with than a few years ago."
Jiang Simiao held the information in his hand. "Since the new mecha master came to the base, be friendly. You know our situation is difficult. Now that we finally have a new mecha master, let's adapt for a while."
Ji Qingfeng pointed to the light brain and questioned, "Sanshui, say friendly while looking at this information."
"You didn't cooperate well with him last time, did you?" Jiang Simiao raised his glasses and patiently persuaded, "Moreover, what is written in the data is five years ago. Everyone has a youthful and impulsive period."
You Su, ID Trace.
Former Dawn Alliance registered mecha master, proficient in cannon mecha, applied for retirement after six months in service, SS physique, possessed S-level mecha [Theo].
Registered as a Mecha Alliance mecha master in the star calendar year 1239, Artillery and mecha master background, active in major pollution areas all year round, acting alone. He once cleared half of a pollution area alone, becoming famous in the first star domain.
In 1240, due to outstanding talent, he was hired by the Fei Base as a Artillery and mecha master. He played as a lone wolf, had a strange personality, and was banned from the Mecha Alliance for half a year because of three consecutive penalties. Finally, he retired from Fei and did not participate in the Mecha Alliance again.
Newcomers to the Mecha Alliance might be unfamiliar with the name You Su, but they would certainly have heard of the ID Trace. His aggressive and crazy playstyle, refitting extreme cannon mecha, indiscriminately blasting through both teammates and enemies' mecha on the field, led the alliance to modify the mecha elimination mechanism, changing the damage threshold from 90 to 80. He became the first mecha master to force a restructuring of the Mecha Alliance.
Ji Qingfeng felt a chill on his back. "It seems that the teammate he blasted through last time was the stealth mecha."
Lin Yao politely asked, "Will our base be fined? We only implemented the penalty system for violations two years ago. How much was the fine for violating the league rules?"
Ji Qingfeng replied, "Currently, the highest fine imposed is 20."
Although there hasn't been much news about You Su in recent years, someone who plays with the core weapons of S-level mecha until they are scrapped doesn't seem like a good character. Shen Xingtang mentioned that You Su always played by his own rules, doing things based on his interests and hobbies.
Thinking to this point, Jiang Simiao suddenly felt a bit tight around the waist and nervously looked towards the meeting room door.
Inside the meeting room, people crowded outside the half-open door. Shen Xingtang, with no expression on her face, looked at You Su and pointed to the clearly written contract. "Let's make it clear. If you violate the rules, you pay the fine yourself. The base won't reimburse you because we're broke."
You Su signed his name. "Is repairing the mecha reimbursed?"
Shen Xingtang said, "The base is responsible for the mecha. What's wrong with Theo...?"
You Su pulled off the mecha necklace from his neck and placed it on the table. When the S-level mecha Theo was placed on the table, it still lit up friendly. However, despite shining, Theo didn't make any sound. You Su explained simply, "In the border pollution zone, I was ambushed by a super S-level mutated pollutant."
Hearing "border pollution zone," Shen Xingtang took a sharp breath.
Up to now, the Star Alliance, with five star domains in its territory, has conquered the galaxies included in the star domain. The Star Alliance consists of five major star domains, each managed by the highest executive officer and their affiliated joint management. They friendly maintain the interstellar alliance.
In the current era of peaceful development, with the prevalence of mecha, the only unstable factor is the pollution zone.
The initial responsibility of the Mecha Alliance was to ensure the safety of the pollution zones within the Star Alliance territory by the mecha pilots of each base. While the Mecha Alliance League is well-known for its mecha competitions, the primary task of professional mecha pilots on duty is to assist the managers of each galaxy in maintaining the living environment.
This includes periodic purging of the pollution zones.
Through purging, some resources are used for the development of the Star Alliance, and it also stabilizes the rapid mutations in the pollution zones.
Mecha pilots can enter ordinary pollution zones, which have management bureaus for regular inspections and maintenance to ensure that the pollution zones do not interfere with the normal lives of citizens. Mecha pilots are free to enter and collect resources.
There are two types of pollution zones that mecha pilots are not allowed to enter casually: high-risk pollution zones and border pollution zones.
High-risk pollution zones are areas of unpredictable high risk, with pollution values above 6000. The opening time requires multiple evaluations by the Star Alliance, and in most cases, non-duty mecha pilots are not allowed to enter.
Border pollution zones are areas currently not under the management of the Star Alliance, unknown regions located outside the five major star domains of the Star Alliance, illegal areas, where the strength of the pollution sources cannot be estimated, and it is heavily guarded by the mecha forces of the Star Alliance military.
Shen Xingtang didn't expect You Su to dare to enter such a place alone. Going to such a place, any slight mistake could cost him his life, let alone a mecha.
"You really are crazy." Shen Xingtang pinched her brow. "I will keep an eye out for S-level materials for you, but it's not guaranteed. I'll do my best."
You Su didn't pay much attention to it. "Can you handle the mecha for the league?"
"We have spare A-level mecha in the base. It's still possible to upgrade them to competition level now." Shen Xingtang thought about it and felt a headache again. The mess was too much. Seeing You Su finish signing the documents, she packed up and said, "Let's go, check the repair room."
In the repair room, Ying Chenlin had just come down from the mecha cockpit.
Last night, KID brought in new recruits. Today, the repair room was quiet, and even Ji Qingfeng, who occasionally liked to visit, did not come.
Ying Chenlin checked several competition-level mecha. The most severely damaged ones had already been repaired, and the crucial components of the core had also been replaced. After double-checking, when he was about to manually initiate the self-check program, he suddenly saw several drafts piled on the side of the program platform.
The drafts were messy, with some data recorded on them, in Shen Xingtang's handwriting.
In addition to the data, there were fine 3D weapon diagrams with annotations and circles. Clearly, the owner of the drafts was busy with this matter.
The basic parts of KID's mecha and the repair work were resolved, but there was a bigger problem—the leakage of mecha confidential data by the previous base repairman.
Each mecha had precise system core data, containing vast amounts of information from the mecha's basics to its massive core. Once leaked, it would be equivalent to exposing the mecha's weaknesses for others to exploit. These weaknesses were not visible weaknesses but rather points that could be calculated in advance through data, such as the vulnerable mecha plates and weapon attack intervals.
Unable to determine how much data the former repairman leaked, all KID could do was to redo the mecha's weak points. This was a huge workload. Even if it could be completed before the start of the season, the coordination issue between the redesigned mecha and the mecha pilot was also crucial.
During this time, he noticed that Shen Xingtang frequently communicated with two mecha pilots in the base. He knew she was worried about the weapons, and she even consulted the mecha weapon designer with the drawings a while ago.
Ying Chenlin picked up the drawings, glanced over the details on the draft, and turned to the last pages containing the data information of the two A+ mutant energy crystals KID obtained recently.
After testing, the two crystals were the Devouring and Regeneration abilities. However, compared to the S-level Devouring, the Devouring effect produced by the flower bud was weaker. On the other hand, the Regeneration ability of the Nine Dragons Vine was stronger than the registered plant-type pollutant with Regeneration ability recorded by the Star Alliance.
Looking at the drawings, Shen Xingtang planned to keep the Devouring ability as a weapon. However, she was unsure how to proceed with the Regeneration ability.
The core of mecha weapons nowadays is the energy crystal. The characteristics of the energy crystal can bring excellent effects to the weapon. For example, using the Devouring energy crystal to make a shield-type weapon can effectively absorb frontal damage, making it the top configuration for tank mecha.
But the status of the Regeneration energy crystal is a bit awkward. Its main use on weapons is the cyclic regeneration of mecha reserve energy, and using it on offensive weapons is equivalent to wasting the core energy slot.
Now it was the end of September, and the team mecha competition's off-season would end in November. Redesigning the weapons for each mecha was unlikely, and even if Ying Chenlin did it, he felt the time was too tight.
Thinking to this point, Ying Chenlin casually picked up the electronic pen next to the program platform.
He opened the 3D weapon system next to the program platform, quickly sketched the initial shape of the weapon, which was a combat blade for Ji Qingfeng's mecha.
After contemplating for a moment, he drew a curve downwards from the tip of the blade, changing the straight blade into a curved one.
Complete redesigning was impossible, but changing some core data based on the weapon style, making the exposed data ineffective...
This was relatively simple.
Outside the corridor, Shen Xingtang led You Su to the repair room. "Four competition-level mecha have been repaired. What's left is the core data. During this time, I'll pay attention to the materials and see if I can help you replicate Theo's weapon style, making it more comfortable for you to use."
Of course, the best way is to let You Su drive his own mecha, but Shen Xingtang is not sure if he can repair the S-level mecha, and besides, the materials are not enough now.
Before she could finish her words, the light brain in Shen Xingtang's pocket rang. Seeing this, she hesitated for a moment. "You go in and take a look first. I'll take the call."
You Su pushed open the door and, as soon as he entered, saw a figure not far away with his back to him.
A young man was sitting in front of the program platform, seemingly sketching or writing something.
You Su didn't walk in but stopped at the entrance. His gaze swept from top to bottom, observing for only a few seconds. The young man at the program platform noticed the movement, turned his head, and looked over.
Ying Chenlin had also noticed the footsteps behind her. At first, she thought it was Shen Xingtang coming over until she saw the man at the door. The man was dressed in a simple gray casual outfit today, much cleaner than his dusty appearance in the early morning. He had a stern face, nearly two meters tall, and had an indescribable temperament, like a mercenary mecha pilot who frequented the pollution zone, lacking the proper training of a mecha pilot from the formal league.
A bit careless, but for now, his behavior seemed normal, with no signs of "madness."
Ying Chenlin stood up. "Mr. You."
You Su looked at him, lips slightly parted. "JD1456."
When Ying Chenlin heard the mecha number, her eyes moved slightly, and her eyebrows wrinkled unconsciously.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the corridor, followed by the urgent alarm in the base.
The two of them looked at the warning light in unison. Shen Xingtang pushed open the half-closed door of the repair room, her expression serious. "There's an impromptu mission. We need to go to the pollution zone on Tianyu Star."
The Tianyu Star Pollution Zone Management Bureau notified that anomalies were found in the Tianyu Star Pollution Zone, with a large number of detection devices malfunctioning and personnel losing contact. Now, they requested assistance from the KID Base mecha pilots.
As the alarm sounded, the other three people in the base quickly rushed over.
Lin Yao: "Huh? Tianyu Star Pollution Zone?"
Ji Qingfeng: "Isn't that place far from us? How can we qualify to go in? I remember the nearby mecha bases are Gale and YDS. If we go there, won't we be competing with them for resources?"
The Tianyu Star Pollution Zone, located on the edge of the Dawn Star System in the first star region, is a Level 4 pollution zone with an average pollution value of over 5000. It is filled with Class A pollutants. Due to its unstable pollution values over the years, it has always been controlled by the Central Pollution Zone Management Bureau of the first star region and has been closed year-round.
Such controlled pollution zones are only open when the pollution exceeds the expected values, allowing professional mecha pilots of the Mecha Alliance to enter for cleanup. The last time the Tianyu Star Pollution Zone was open was during the team battle league as a designated pollution zone for the league.
Due to its long closure, the resources inside are particularly rich, making it a target of attention for various mecha bases.
Ying Chenlin often heard about the Tianyu Star Pollution Zone in her previous life because it often opened as a designated pollution zone during the top eight of the league. However, it was only temporarily open, so why would they be chosen for a temporary mission this time?
Jiang Simiao, who happened to be asking the same question, voiced his doubts.
"Why is it temporarily open?" Jiang Simiao asked, "Even if it's open, they won't notify us, right? There are so many bases ahead of us, and they should prioritize sending tasks to the top eight bases."
"Tianyu Star Pollution Zone has undergone temporary changes. The pollution values in the area are fluctuating, and most of the detection systems have malfunctioned. The mecha pilots and repairmen who entered for maintenance lost contact with the management bureau. Since the bureau can't handle it, they are requesting assistance from the Mecha Alliance," Shen Xingtang flipped through the messages on her light brain, sighed, "As for why they gave the task to us, it's because of Huo Yan and Lu Xi." Huo Yan and Lu Xi are the other two mecha pilots from KID Base.
Ji Qingfeng: "Huh? I didn't hear that they have relatives in the bureau."
Jiang Simiao was speechless. "Even if they have relatives, it's unlikely to be our turn."
Shen Xingtang glanced at them with a serious tone, "It's because among the disconnected mecha pilots, there are these two."
Lin Yao: "Wow, they went to Tianyu Star for vacation!"
Shen Xingtang almost had no words for these two jokers. She explained, "Huo Yan and Lu Xi happened to pass by the area on their way back. Because of the bureau's temporary summons, they went there."
All mecha pilots in the Mecha Alliance bases have the responsibility and obligation to respond to the temporary summons of the Pollution Zone Management Bureaus in various star regions to solve pollution source problems and maintain a peaceful and stable living environment in various regions of the stars.
Because Huo Yan and Lu Xi were temporarily summoned nearby, Shen Xingtang also received a task request from the Tianyu Star Management Bureau, so now they have to hurry to the Tianyu Star Pollution Zone for a mission.
"What are you still standing there for!? Bring your mecha and equipment. The mission is urgent, and we have to go to the Tianyu Star Pollution Zone right away." Shen Xingtang looked at You Su, who hadn't moved. "Have you chosen your mecha? If not, just pick one, and let's go."
Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao quickly jumped
up and ran towards their own mecha. They were excited about the mission, but also somewhat regretful. "Hey, why did I buy something to eat if I knew I would go out? I thought I could eat leisurely today."
"Stop complaining. This is a task, not a picnic." Shen Xingtang urged them to hurry.
Ying Chenlin's gaze fell on You Su. "JD1456, are you ready?"
You Su nodded slightly. "Yes."
"Then, let's go!" Shen Xingtang looked at the four mecha that were already ready to go, nodded, and said, "Set off!"
As soon as the team left the base, they activated the mecha and flew towards the Tianyu Star Pollution Zone.
The sudden task disrupted their original plan, but for a group of young mecha pilots, the excitement of going to a designated pollution zone for a mission outweighed the regret of not having a leisurely day.
While flying towards the Tianyu Star Pollution Zone, Ying Chenlin's mind was filled with thoughts. The unexpected mission might have something to do with the mysterious force that she suspected. She decided to observe the situation carefully during the mission.
The Tianyu Star Pollution Zone, with its turbulent history, was once again destined to become the stage for a new battle.