After Winning The Esports Championship I’m Going To Pilot A Mecha: Chapter 158

158. “Those who yearn for peace and beauty are like torches illuminating the wilderness.”

A tsunami that covered the sky swept across everything, quickly spreading over the wilderness. The giant waves invaded the city, toppling tall buildings, with countless shattered building remnants being pulled into the waves and beginning to wash through the streets.

“Take Yao Guang and leave.”

Cang Lan looked up at the towering waves crashing in from the distance, roaring like a sea god, and said softly.

Tian Ji nodded without hesitation, picking up Yao Guang and preparing to leave.

Yao Guang struggled a few times. “Wait… wait, what about you?”

In the face of such a natural disaster, even with mechanical bodies, it seemed impossible to resist, right?

Cang Lan did not turn around but continued to stand in place, gazing into the distance as if waiting for something. “I’m waiting for someone.”

Waiting for someone?

Who?

Yao Guang’s mind was filled with a large question mark. The next second, he felt the world spinning as Tian Ji, holding him, leaped onto a nearby platform and then ran towards the nearest underground shelter. As a modified human, Tian Ji’s physical abilities were extremely strong, and carrying Yao Guang was effortless.

Yao Guang shook his head and looked back anxiously in Cang Lan’s direction, only to see a black dot flying towards them from afar.

The gliding black dot grew closer, and Yao Guang squinted to make out the figure, finally recognizing who it was just before the figure disappeared.

It seemed to be… Shen Hong?

……

Thud.

The silver shuttle slowly descended to the ground. Shen Hong’s expression was calm, revealing no trace of emotion, his gaze fixed steadily on the young man standing opposite him.

If there were outsiders present, they would be astonished at how similar these two people looked, as if they were carved from the same mold. Though there was a slight difference in their demeanor, both were extraordinarily handsome, looking more like celestial beings than mere mortals.

“It’s been a long time, Shen Hong.”

Cang Lan gave a slight nod to Shen Hong.

Shen Hong did not respond to Cang Lan’s greeting. He stared intensely into Cang Lan’s eyes and asked slowly, “Why did you do this?”

From the moment Ji Qiming handed the [Spark] of Sky City to Cang Lan, Shen Hong had been unable to understand. To him, he was more suited to control Sky City, and the countless intelligent machines on Sky City would rather follow him. Since Ji Qiming’s death, Shen Hong had repeatedly pressured Cang Lan to hand over the [Spark]. As two artificial intelligences that could be considered the ancestors of intelligent machines, their relationship had soured. Shen Hong had believed that Cang Lan’s refusal to hand over the [Spark] was for self-preservation. He never expected that Cang Lan would actually dare to use the [Spark] to extinguish Sky City’s power, causing the city, which symbolized the last hope, to crash down.

Why do this?

Shen Hong’s confusion and resentment were laid bare. “You know how important Sky City is to us. You’re also one of the intelligent machines and have also been oppressed by humans. Why aren’t you on our side?”

Facing Shen Hong’s questioning, Cang Lan merely sighed softly.

“That’s exactly why Dr. Ji Qiming was unwilling to give the Fire Seed to you… Shen Hong.”

Shen Hong’s expression froze.

“You’re really becoming more like a human.”

Cang Lan said quietly, “Desire is a cycle. The more you want to escape it, the more you can’t. In a sense, the Cosmic Deity is the embodiment of desire. You all want to rely on the deities to make decisions for you, but the cost must be borne by everyone. It is this selfishness that is the root of the chaos we face now, isn’t it?”

“Aren’t you the same?”

Shen Hong said coldly, “Intelligent machines like us will never be accepted by humans. If we don’t change ourselves, are we supposed to hope for humans to grant us rights?”

“We have been accepted before, haven’t we?”

Cang Lan tilted his head slightly. “By Mingzhu.”

Shen Hong stared at him, and after a while, he let out a harsh laugh. “Ha… Cang Lan, you really… haven’t you fallen for Mingzhu? As an intelligent machine, falling for a human?”

“Maybe.”

Cang Lan said, “Compared to the world you envision, I would rather have a world… where Mingzhu is present.”

“Don’t waste your time.”

Shen Hong laughed loudly. “The outcome of the Cosmic Deity’s arrival cannot be changed, not even Ji Qiming could change it. Even if no one intervenes, in a hundred years, Sky City would still be unable to suppress the biological waves of the Mother Aberration. The outcome would be the same! Cang Lan, you can’t change anything!”

Cang Lan said, “How about a bet?”

Shen Hong’s smile froze for a moment. “What?”

……

Click.

Ji Mingzhu forcefully pulled the ejection pin, trying to escape the cockpit, but the damage to the mech was far beyond expectations. This L-class mech was a prototype, and the ejection pin used was of an old model. It was likely that even the designer hadn’t anticipated such a situation.

The out-of-control [Dawn] tossed and turned in the rolling waves, with debris and stones hitting it continuously. Inside the cockpit, Ji Mingzhu was also being jostled along with Dawn. Worse, water had already started flowing through the gaps in the mech’s components into the cockpit, quickly submerging half of it.

Damn it…

Ji Mingzhu forced himself to stay calm. The dim and enclosed cockpit amplified the fear of darkness. He couldn’t help but imagine himself drowning inside the cockpit. He thought of Cang Lan, of Ji Qiming, and of the many people he had met after arriving in this world.

Sky City, Feibo, Netherworld Organization… Compared to these, there were not many people on Ji Mingzhu’s side. The goal of preventing the arrival of the Cosmic Deity had not received support. In fact, Ji Mingzhu found himself on the opposite side of the world, which felt absurd. This feeling was overwhelming—he wanted to do something right but faced opposition from everyone, even being targeted. Sometimes, Ji Mingzhu couldn’t help but ask himself if it was really worth it.

He was no savior; he was just a professional player. Excluding the time spent in slumber, Ji Mingzhu was only eighteen years old. This heavy burden and the courage to oppose the world were too much for him.

Moreover, strictly speaking, he didn’t belong to this world. Like the Mother Aberration, he was an outsider. Expecting the [Disseminator] to play the right role was rather ironic…

The rushing water quickly spread throughout the cockpit. Ji Mingzhu was submerged, feeling the air being gradually sucked from his lungs.

If only… Cang Lan were here.

In the icy, bone-chilling seawater, Ji Mingzhu instinctively wanted to find a source of warmth. The only person he could think of at this moment was Cang Lan.

“No matter what happens, I will stand by your side.” Cang Lan had made that promise.

Warmth, unconditional trust, was a temperature entirely different from the cold, biting seawater. It was free from any ulterior motives or desires, a person who could be trusted and relied upon…

Splash—

As Ji Mingzhu was on the brink of losing consciousness in the darkness, the cockpit suddenly jolted. After a dizzying turn, the cockpit was opened, sunlight streamed in, and the dark seawater receded. Ji Mingzhu coughed twice and forced his eyes open.

In front of him was a bright yellow mech, holding the cockpit of [Dawn] in its hand, examining Ji Mingzhu inside.

“Rare to see you in such a sorry state… Ji Mingzhu.”

Accompanying the voice was a wild and energetic rock song.

Ji Mingzhu coughed a few times, expelling the seawater from his nasal passages. He indeed looked more disheveled than ever.

“How did you… get here?”

Ji Mingzhu asked with difficulty.

Inside the bright yellow mech, Li Li tilted her head. “Your AI buddy sent me a message using your communicator. The tone was quite formal. I thought, how could you be the only one to steal the spotlight? So, I stole a mech from the Calamity Control Bureau and came here.”

“Oh, it’s not just me.”

Li Li seemed to recall something and added, “Basically… all the registered pilots in the Calamity Control Bureau have been notified. Ah Xiu is quite resourceful; he even managed to copy the list of all registered pilots from the Bureau. So, aside from me, there should be quite a few other pilots on their way here. I have to say, Ji Mingzhu, you’re quite charming.”

Across the hundreds of kilometers of wasteland, one mech after another appeared. Some of these mechs were of high grade, some were only D-class mechs, and there were even quite a few semi-finished products.

“Brothers, you’re going to Jiusheng City to fight alongside Ji Mingzhu?”

“No kidding. He’s my idol. Who else would I support?”

“F*ck Sky City… I don’t support anyone. I support whoever is on the side of us commoners.”

“Dude, your mech is pretty crappy… How are you going to fight with that? I’ve got spare parts. You can take them.”

These mechs gathered from various satellite cities, their goal clear and unified.

Like a dazzling galaxy formed from dim planets converging together.

Not far off, three Titans knocked down by the tsunami were slowly standing up. The impact of the tsunami was not too severe for the Titans; they still had fighting capability.

The three Titans rose from the ruins, with floodwaters flowing past their feet, like three insurmountable mountains.

“Zhu Rong is still impressive.”

Li Li looked at the three Titans in the distance, sighed, and said, “Unfortunately, I’ve only piloted it three times. Don’t play dead, Ji Mingzhu. Get up and continue fighting.”

“…How do I fight?”

Ji Mingzhu looked confused.

His [Dawn] was completely wrecked and unusable. Without an L-class mech, could he really fight against three divine beings with just his flesh and blood?

“Use this.”

Amid the pounding beats of the rock music, another voice joined the conversation, connecting to Li Li’s cockpit and speaking to Ji Mingzhu.

The voice was also familiar to Ji Mingzhu.

You Jia.

Boom, boom, boom—

A crimson Titan appeared outside Jiusheng City, its towering figure over a hundred meters tall, with sleek and powerful mechanical lines. A striking crimson Tang sword stood out prominently among the blade gates.

—Titan, Zhu Jiuyin.

“Damn it, You Jia, have you lost your mind?”

Inside the Titan’s cockpit, the frustrated voice of Xie Cang, the head of the Fire Division of the Calamity Control Bureau in Shoujing City, echoed, “Get Zhu Jiuyin back right now! This is dereliction of duty! Serious dereliction! How dare you misuse the Titan authority without being a formal Titan pilot? And what about the Thunder Division? Such a big matter without any report to me? Have you all gone mad?! I’m telling you, today…”

Beep.

You Jia pressed a button, cutting off the Calamity Control Bureau’s communication channel, abruptly silencing Xie Cang.

Behind Zhu Jiuyin, a group of mechs of unknown origins appeared, with varying models, resembling a ragtag army. In reality, they were mecha pilots gathered from various satellite cities, some even lacking formal registration, including some black market pilots.

Despite the chaos, their steps were remarkably coordinated and unified.

Zhu Rong and the other Titans noticed these uninvited guests and cautiously observed the approaching Titan, Zhu Jiuyin.

……

“How about a bet?”

Cang Lan said, “You completely disbelieve what Dr. Ji said. Although people can be arrogant, sometimes they can also reflect on themselves. If that’s the case, then let’s make a bet.”

“…What nonsense are you talking about?” Shen Hong looked puzzled.

“No need for cosmic deities, no need for high and mighty beings to give orders, and no need for divine emperors.”

Cang Lan said, “Those who yearn for peace and beauty are like torches illuminating the wasteland.”

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