After Winning The Esports Championship I’m Going To Pilot A Mecha: Chapter 162

162. Sacrificial Lamb

The level of Titan combat is too high for others to join in, but aside from Ji Mingzhu’s side, several intense battles broke out at the junction of Jiusheng City and the Sky City landing point.

Pilots from various satellite cities who came to support Ji Mingzhu encountered Aberrations and the Netherworld Organization’s mech units. The Netherworld Organization’s mech units attempted to move towards Sky City amidst the chaos but were blocked by this group of pilots. With the interference of the Aberration groups, several battlefronts were established outside the Titan battlefield.

Laser beams flew everywhere, interspersed with the continuous roars of Aberrations.

“F*ck, these bastards from the Netherworld Organization…”

“Hold the line! Pilot Ji Mingzhu hasn’t backed down, so how can we fall?”

“Motherf*ckers, let’s fight them to the end!”

These pilots from other satellite cities were full of vigor. Even though they were a ragtag bunch with mech models in disarray, they managed to withstand several orderly attacks from the Netherworld Organization, surprising even Yao Xiangrong, who was commanding the battlefield.

Does this Ji Mingzhu… really have such strong appeal?

However, as time passed, these pilots gradually showed signs of fatigue. They were not a regular army, and many of their modified mechs looked old and worn from long disuse. It was already impressive that they held on with sheer momentum. As the attacks from Aberrations and mech units continued, these pilots had lost a significant number of their forces, and those remaining were mentally exhausted, struggling to hold on.

Just as they were about to collapse entirely, a loud hum from a power core came from afar, clearly audible even in the midst of the fierce battle.

The pilots looked up, and upon recognizing the newcomers and the symbols on their mechs, their spirits were immediately lifted.

“Calamity Control Bureau!”

“The Calamity Control Bureau is here!!”

“Reinforcements from the Calamity Control Bureau have arrived!!”

Many of these pilots had little regard for the Calamity Control Bureau, viewing them as the claws and dogs of Sky City and the root of the people’s oppression. Yet, at this moment, seeing the Calamity Control Bureau appear gave them a strong sense of reassurance.

The mech units arriving at the battlefield included those from the Calamity Control Bureau and some bearing the insignias of the satellite city conglomerates. They adhered to their agreement with Zuo Quanzong, no longer standing by, no longer following any side, but choosing to fight truly for humanity.

“Everyone, follow my command.”

Leading the charge was Xie Cang, the Fire Division Minister of the Calamity Control Bureau from Shangjing City. Months had passed, but the sharp, intimidating aura around Xie Cang remained undiminished. The unsympathetic Fire Division Minister scanned the battlefield, observing the Aberrations and the Netherworld Organization’s mechs, then glanced at the towering Titans in the distance. Opening the communications channel, he said in a deep voice, “Take down this trash.”

“Yes, sir!”

…

Boom!

Ji Mingzhu’s nerves were highly strained as he deftly maneuvered Zhu Jiuyin to evade the attacks from the six pursuing Titans. The fierce onslaught of Titans like Zhu Rong hindered Ji Mingzhu’s approach to Sky City.

Li Li and Zuo Quanzong watched Ji Mingzhu’s movements with bated breath. Every time Ji Mingzhu narrowly dodged a Titan’s attack, they let out a sigh of relief, their palms unknowingly drenched in sweat.

Finally, Sky City was within reach.

Even the massive Titans appeared small before the grandeur of Sky City. The fallen base of Sky City had deeply embedded itself into the ground, with half of the city submerged in the sea and the other half exposed. The towering, technologically advanced buildings stood majestically, like a city from myth built upon the sea.

The closer he got to Sky City, the more Ji Mingzhu could sense an ancient aura. Through the Titan’s empathic connection, he could feel something hidden within Sky City emitting strong pulses. These pulses made Zhu Jiuyin show signs of losing control; the cockpit began to tremble and shake, as if about to deform.

The six Titans behind him emitted ear-piercing roars, seemingly responding to a call, their movements growing increasingly frenzied!

Boom!

Zhu Rong’s solar beam shot towards Zhu Jiuyin, and the other five Titans charged forward. Ji Mingzhu tried to control Zhu Jiuyin to defend, but its movements were inexplicably slow.

Ji Mingzhu’s heart sank.

Damn…

Indeed, the launcher of the Mother Aberration within Sky City had a massive influence on the Titans. Even the restraints created by Ji Qiming seemed to be on the verge of breaking. Zhu Jiuyin started to become restless, and Ji Mingzhu could feel the Titan battling his consciousness, with countless whispers and murmurs erupting in his mind.

Just as the solar beam was about to hit Ji Mingzhu, a massive steel shield, as tall as a city wall, descended from the sky, landing in front of Ji Mingzhu!

“Pilot Ji Mingzhu.”

A stranger’s voice echoed in the cockpit, followed by another Titan descending from the sky!

The Titan from Danxin City, [Hou Tu]!

Immediately, several more Titans arrived, standing beside [Zhu Jiuyin] and intercepting the attacks from [Zhu Rong] and the other Titans.

“We come at the order of the Calamity Control Bureau to provide support.”

Another deep female voice sounded; she was the pilot of [She Bi Shi].

Ji Mingzhu was momentarily stunned and turned to look.

[Xi Zi], [Gong Gong], and [Xuan Ming] were also present.

At this point, all twelve Titans from the Twelve Satellite Cities had arrived.

“Oh my god…”

You Jia’s mouth dropped open in shock as he looked at the epic scene before him.

Not just him—through the satellite feed, countless civilians from the satellite cities also saw the gathering of twelve Titans, momentarily forgetting the tense battlefield and expressing waves of admiration.

The gathering of twelve Titans was an unprecedented and spectacular sight in history, like twelve towering mountains!

Qi Ling’s expression was grim; he had guessed what Ji Mingzhu intended to do.

Using the power of the Mother Aberration among the twelve Titans to destroy the emitter summoning cosmic deities inside Sky City?

Qi Ling didn’t know whether to admire Ji Mingzhu’s boldness or to say he was overestimating himself.

Didn’t he realize that without the [Disseminator’s] authorization, even thousands of Titans would be useless?

On the other side, Ji Mingzhu connected to the communication channel and said, “Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Please vacate the cockpit. Thank you.”

“……”

The female pilot of [She Bi Shi] frowned, “Are you really going to do this?”

With twelve Titans appearing simultaneously and the mutual influence of their force fields, they were already feeling the strain. Even without monitoring instruments, they could sense their corruption level rising sharply.

Even seasoned Titan pilots like them were struggling; how could Ji Mingzhu, who had only piloted a Titan once, handle this?

Ji Mingzhu let out a sigh and said with certainty, “Yes. Please.”

Their communication was not encrypted, so those in the virtual meeting room, including Zuo Quanzong, could hear it. Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

It seemed that Ji Mingzhu was prepared to sacrifice himself…

To face eleven Titans alone, the impact of corruption would turn Ji Mingzhu into a mindless monster within minutes. Ji Mingzhu could be considered the most extraordinary pilot in human history. His recent performance was even hard for the young Zuo Quanzong to match. If he could continue to grow, his future would be boundlessly promising.

But at this moment, he chose to sacrifice himself for everyone, willing to follow in the footsteps of the once-great Chang Bei pilot, becoming a corrupted monster to save the world. Such a person was deserving of immense respect.

No one believed Ji Mingzhu could survive. Humans, mere flesh and blood, could not avoid being affected by the Mother Aberration. In the face of Titans, individual abilities seemed insignificant.

Zuo Quanzong sighed and said softly to the people in the virtual meeting, “You should truly be ashamed.”

Even an eighteen-year-old understands the importance of stepping up and shouldering the burden for everyone at this moment. Meanwhile, these high-ranking individuals had been weighing the pros and cons just hours earlier, debating whether losing a Titan was worth it and what the loss of shutting down the launchers would be…

Even when Ji Mingzhu had just destroyed the restraints of Strong Liang and two other Titans, these people were quite dissatisfied, believing that Ji Mingzhu’s actions had caused the satellite city to lose a powerful force.

“Pilot Ji Mingzhu…”

The female pilot from Shebi Shi took a deep breath, her tone filled with respect, “You are a hero.”

Subsequently, the Titan pilots no longer considered the consequences. They all ejected their escape pods, left their Titan cockpits, and activated the self-destruct programs of the cockpits.

With several explosions, the restraints of Shebi Shi, Gong Gong, Hou Tu, and Xi Zi… were all simultaneously destroyed.

Ji Mingzhu looked back at Sky City, no longer hesitating, and charged directly into Sky City.

Zhu Jiuyin didn’t know how much longer it could hold out. The closer it got to the Mother Aberration’s launcher, the deeper the impact on the Titan. Ji Mingzhu had to find the Mother Aberration’s launcher as soon as possible; there was no more time to delay.

Behind him, eleven uncontrollable Titans also began to move at the same time, racing towards Sky City along with Zhu Jiuyin!

Sky City had always been a symbol of mystery and beauty in the eyes of the public. Almost no human had ever seen the full view of Sky City, and the towering Sky City was not to be glimpsed by mere mortals. As Ji Mingzhu piloted Zhu Jiuyin, he quickly crossed the massive base island and entered the city of Sky City. The high-tech buildings and various artificial gardens inside Sky City were indeed like a paradise on earth. Although the impact of the fall had caused some damage to the city, its splendor and beauty were still evident.

At this moment, Ji Mingzhu had no time to admire. Through Zhu Jiuyin’s shared senses, he quickly found the direction of the launcher. The massive Titan rampaged through Sky City, knocking down grand and luxurious buildings. Ji Mingzhu directed the Titan in the fastest, straight line towards that location!

“Ji Mingzhu.”

Zuo Quanzong’s voice came through, tinged with deep sadness and regret, “I’m counting on you.”

“Got it, Red Guard Commander.”

Ji Mingzhu didn’t understand the source of Zuo Quanzong’s sadness and regret. He waved his hand dismissively, “I’m very busy right now. We’ll talk later.”

With that, Ji Mingzhu abruptly cut off the communication.

Zuo Quanzong: “…”

Wait, why does Ji Mingzhu still sound so energetic?

It shouldn’t be like this. Even though his adaptation is high and the degree of Aberration influence is low, under the dual impact of the Mother Aberration and the Titan’s force fields, he should be on the edge of Aberration by now…

Ji Mingzhu ended the communication with Zuo Quanzong and directly connected to Yao Guang’s signal: “Yao Guang, help me access Sky City’s network and locate the exact position of the Mother Aberration’s launcher.”

“Understood.”

Yao Guang responded, and soon the sound of rapid typing on a light brain came through the communication: “It’s at your nine o’clock direction, beneath the two main halls of Sky City. Move quickly; it seems the fall of Sky City has affected the launcher. The biological signal wavelength is now several times stronger than before…”

“Got it.”

Ji Mingzhu replied and jerked the control stick. Candle Nine suddenly made a sharp ninety-degree turn, leaping over several buildings and heading towards the location Yao Guang mentioned. The eleven Titans behind him also turned and followed. The once serene and beautiful Sky City was ravaged by the twelve Titans, quickly turning into a landscape of wreckage and ruin.

“By the way…”

Yao Guang said quietly, “On the public network, many people are already paying tribute to you. The topic of ‘Mourning for Hero Ji Mingzhu’ has exceeded thirty million DJ volumes within ten minutes…”

Ji Mingzhu: “?”

“It’s normal since people don’t know you’re a ‘Disseminator’. Logically speaking, your actions are a selfless contribution, lighting up the world.”

Yao Guang thought for a moment and said, “Given the current atmosphere, it seems a bit awkward if you don’t become the sacrificial lamb. How about…”

Ji Mingzhu responded grumpily, “…Get lost.”

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