Chapter 73: Success

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ye Chong stared in bewilderment at the two huge mechs before him!

The horizontally laid mechs were evidently just completed; Ye Chong could even detect the smell of volatile paint in the air. Support frames and stabilization structures were still in place at many different parts of the mechs.

Of the two mechs, one was in a combination of dim blue and ivory white, while the other had alternating shades of bright red and glowing silver.

Ye Chong’s eyes glowed with interest - he knew immediately from experience that these two mechs were special! It seemed that there was still someone else with mech technology comparable to that of Black Cove and the MPA [1]! Ye Chong couldn’t help but marvel at the two machines! These two mechs were definitely not of lesser quality than Johansson’s black war mech or the MPA’s white mech!

Mu prompted him, "Choose one now, you only have one minute of designated time left!"

Ye Chong snapped out of his reverie and suppressed his overjoyed emotions. He did not have time to inspect the two mechs in detail, but Ye Chong slipped into the blue-white mech’s cabin without hesitation. The red-silver mech came with a formidable shooting weapon, and Ye Chong knew from a glance that it was a mech with a long range battle style. This was why he chose the blue-white mech - after all, that kind of battle style did not suit him well.

Inside the cabin, the floor was still littered with debris. Ye Chong did not make time for a closer inspection, as he began performing the initial settings as fast as he could! The initial setup was complicated, and Ye Chong felt slightly daunted by the task, but immediately rejoiced at the fact that a more complicated initial setup process implied that the mech was more advanced.

Ye Chong put on the helmet and focused on the various messages that appeared in his vision, wary of any distractions! Not that he was open to any form of distractions, since the messages on the holographic screen came pouring out like a waterfall. Ye Chong’s vision was tested on a whole new level; should he be even be slightly distracted, he would beat himself up for it when the whole thing was over!

His hands moved quickly across the control panel, casting illusory shadows of movement!

As for Mu, the mech had picked up a strange looking weapon that was laid beside the mech that Ye Chong slipped into.

The weapon was similar to a lance from archaic times, but extended to a whole fifteen meters, and was obviously made for the mech that Ye Chong chose. Like the mech, the weapon’s dim blue was like the flowing ocean; the sharp protruding end of the lance had two crescent-shaped blades on its sides, which made the weapon look like an antiquated double bit axe. The crescent blades curved slightly inwards near the tip of the lance, but bent outwards on the other end. The point where the blades meet the lance’s central beam was a diamond shaped ruby crystal. The central blade of the lance had a mysterious sheen that seemed to constantly evolve. If an artist were present, he or she would certainly be intrigued!

Mu watched the tip of the lance closely, as though he held great interest in it.

Ji Shangyan furrowed his brows at the mass of confusion before him and could not help but let out a little sigh at the fact that his eldest brother was too caught up in his joy. Immediately after the two mechs were finished, his eldest brother had arranged for a celebration, and even managed to invite almost everyone there, leaving only two behind to guard the place. This was too ridiculous!

Earlier, he had advised his brother to send a few more guards over, but his brother had impatiently waved him off. The underlings around him may not have said anything, but through his keen perception, Ji Shangyan sensed their shunning towards him, thinking that he was not understanding!

A few days ago, members of the surveillance team for Old Xu were all killed. The perpetrator was still unidentified, and Ji Shangyan had a scolding from his old man for it. While he believed that the perpetrator was someone who had a close relationship with Old Xu, the elder man was a tough nut to crack, and a precious asset that could not afford to be shouted at or physically intimidated. His family’s actions against Old Xu had alarmed some higher-ups, and so his old man had asked for him to halt his operations against Old Xu.

"Ah, forget it, it can’t be helped!" Ji Shangyan smiled wryly at himself. The people before him had all stayed at this secret base for at least 3 years; now that they had succeeded, how can he deny them their festive mood? Ji Shangyan understood their feelings; against the hostility they showed for him, he could only smile wryly back to himself.

However, there should not be any problems, since the secret base had a state of the art identification system. It would be a fool’s errand to attempt to infiltrate the base without raising any alarms. Ji Shangyan could not help but mock his excessive worrying. He believed that no one present would also believe in the possibility of that happening.

The Ji family was famous for photon processors, and also far ahead of any other aristocratic family in matters concerning photon processors.

Besides, Ji Shangyan knew how much time his old man spent on the base, and the importance of the base in the Ji family. Besides, the project they were celebrating now was monumental! As the second son of the Ji family, Ji Shangyan felt similar pride for this family project.

"Hehe, the Four Aristocratic Families of Fal? They’ll all make way for the Ji family!"

Suddenly, the ground shook - everyone present for the celebration froze, and total silence descended on the area!

"Was it an earthquake?" As everyone raised their suspicion.

Earthquakes, the result of violent tectonic shifts, is no longer a natural phenomenon that threatens human safety. Even common building structures can withstand the strong vibrations from earthquakes, much less the exceptionally constructed secret base that housed the current celebration!

The vibrations grew stronger, and seemed to be heading their way. The rumbling undertones gradually became louder and louder.

Whatever was moving did so very quickly - in the blink of an eye, the crowd could sense that it was getting much closer to them. The rumbling sound was getting clearer, and everyone present began to panic.

Ye Chong maneuvered his newly acquired mech, plunging through walls, making its own path through brute force.

Ye Chong was very fond of the mech. The only thing that bothered him was its name - Harmony of the Winter Aria. It sounded weird, of course, but most importantly, the name was too long. For Ye Chong, who appreciated conciseness, the name was a little awkward for him.

Ye Chong had fitted all the weaponry for the Harmony of the Winter Aria. As he sat in the cabin, he marvelled at the mech’s specifications. However, this obviously was not the time for a detailed inspection - in fourty five seconds, Ye Chong completed the initial setup, and in another ten seconds, all the weapons intended for the mech and scattered around it were fitted.

In those fifty five seconds, Mu was searching in the secret basement. In only twenty seconds, Mu located his target. The mech took another twenty seconds to crack a safe hidden in a corner. As for identifying his exact objective amongst the other things kept within the safe, Mu took only half a second.

The object seemed to be a mineral ore, as large as two fists. The ore had a strange feel to it - its colour seemed to be constantly evolving, an unrecognisable hue to the human eye. Mu decidedly tossed the ore into his cabin.

Once Ye Chong was done with the initial setup, Mu asked to be returned to his alternate dimension. Ye Chong had no objections to the mech’s wishes - his battles are his own!

The most urgent difficulty for Ye Chong now was to find the mech’s dimension keystone. Without it, the mech would be incomplete. If he could not keep the mech in its alternate dimension, even if he could escape the base, he would only be easy prey for the entire Ji family.

Ye Chong was not so foolish as to think that he could single-handedly destroy the Ji family.

Finding the Harmony of the Winter Aria’s dimension keystone was his top and only priority.

Dimension keystones and their corresponding mechs can interact within a certain distance. Ye Chong skilfully commanded the photon processor, attempting to locate Harmony’s dimension keystone. A red dot glared back at him almost immediately on the holographic screen, while another blue dot indicated his location.

Knowing the location of dimension keystone, Ye Chong made his move!

Ye Chong’s method was simple - fly straight ahead!

The distance between two points is shortest in a straight line. With the direction decided, Ye Chong wielded the fifteen-meter lance as he broke through wall after wall - sturdy alloy walls, resilient walls, the lot of them - as they all caved in easily under the archaic looking lance of the Harmony of the Winter Aria!

Ye Chong closed his distance with the dimension keystone through this crude and straightforward method.

He had seen no one in his path, and thought it was odd. Since no one had sounded the alarm even as he carelessly destroyed the base, Ye Chong believed it must be Mu who had destroyed the alarm system. As for the extent of Mu’s damage to the system, Ye Chong would not have known.

One last wall to go! Even as he was overjoyed with that fact, Ye Chong grew calm.

Ye Chong took in a deep breath, and, with a little hum and some dexterous manipulation of the controls, the Harmony of the Winter Aria abruptly accelerated - the archaic, blue lance swiped left, right and center - as the wall before him crumbled into pieces, debris flying all over the place.

Harmony swiftly broke through the last wall.

As the massive machine made its way through the wall, all those present for the celebration were caught in surprise, staring at the machine - was this not the Harmony of the Winter Aria? In an instant, they all realised what was really happening, and all hell broke loose - screams and loud cries filled the area, as the crowd was thrown into a mass of confusion, scurrying all over the place.

Ye Chong ignored the people, for he had only one objective, which was the Harmony’s dimension keystone!

The highly accurate scanning system returned the exact location of the dimension keystone to Ye Chong - it was on a man, currently surrounded by four others. The man was holding a glass of red wine, staring at him in confusion. The holographic scanner swept through the man’s body over and over, such that even the fat around his waist was clearly visible to Ye Chong. The dimension keystone was in his overcoat’s left pocket. Ye Chong did not hesitate - he swiped the fifteen-metre lance against his opponents, and the men around his target were pushed out of the way.

Harmony of the Winter Aria lifted the man in the center with its left arm. The sound of shattering glass was heard as the man began to scream.

Everyone present looked fearfully at the eldest young master of the Ji family, threatened by the intruder, but none could save him. They did not even understand how their trusted alarm system was compromised. However, a few of the sharper ones had already left to call for help.

Ji family’s eldest young master was lifted by Harmony, 3 meters from the ground. As the pilot’s cabin slowly opened up, everyone stared intently at the opening, curious to know the identity of this reckless and fearless trespasser!

A shadow flashed past, a blurred motion that the audience could not make out of, and Harmony of the Winter Aria’s pilot cabin closed shut again. Before the crowd could react, the eldest young master was casually tossed aside like a ragged sandbag.

Ye Chong left the red-silverish dimension keystone behind. While he knew that was the keystone for the other red-silver mech that was beside the Harmony, it was apparent that he could not backtrack to retrieve the other mech. Keeping the extra dimension keystone might reveal his location sooner or later.

While he was equally interested in the red-silver mech, it looked that the enemy had arrived!

Translator’s note:

[1] MPA: Mech Pilot Association