After Winning The Esports Championship I’m Going To Pilot A Mecha: Chapter 99

99. “Can you tell whether I’m a New Human or Old Human?”

“Boom——”

“Crackle…”

The incessant bombardments mixed with the sounds of buildings collapsing bathed the entire Yangyuan City in fierce flames.

Amidst the towering skyscrapers, Zhu Rong walked through the city, surrounded by countless mechs and circling fighter jets. Yet, no weapon or defense line could stop its footsteps. Wherever the giant passed, all the prosperity turned into rubble and debris, mingled with cries and screams from all directions. The scene looked like purgatory.

Tonight, Yangyuan City was shrouded in the night sky illuminated by the flames of war.

…

Buzz——

The Phoenix Redeemer halted on the rooftop of a tall building. The power core shut down with a slight whirring sound, and the cockpit opened, allowing Ji Mingzhu to step out.

On the rooftop, Ji Mingzhu saw Huo Zai.

Huo Zai sat in a corner of the rooftop. The hot night wind blew his clothes, giving him the appearance of a noble. A small table in front of him held a bottle of champagne and three flutes. Huo Zai raised a glass, toasting Ji Mingzhu from afar: “You’re here.”

Ji Mingzhu looked at him warily. “Is Feibo also involved in this?”

Huo Zai smiled. “Do you think Feibo is so inhumane?”

“Is it possible,” Ji Mingzhu sneered, “that I was there when you drove the Aberration tide to attack Shangjing City?”

The implication was clear: Feibo and the Netherworld Organization were birds of a feather.

Huo Zai: “…”

Though Ji Mingzhu bluntly exposed him, Huo Zai wasn’t embarrassed. He took a sip of his champagne and said, “Think what you want, but Feibo indeed did not participate in tonight’s events.”

“But you didn’t stop it either.”

“Why should we?”

Huo Zai was surprised. “Although Feibo and the Netherworld Organization aren’t allies and have even clashed in many areas, from a certain perspective, we have the same enemy, which is Sky City. Therefore, in terms of stance, Feibo and the Netherworld Organization are aligned.”

“Then why did you call me here?”

Ji Mingzhu said coldly, “I’m not aligned with you.”

“It wasn’t me who called you,” Huo Zai said. “It was someone else who wants to meet you.”

“Who?”

“Bi Fang.”

Ji Mingzhu was taken aback. He hadn’t heard that name before.

“The true leader of Feibo,” Huo Zai explained. “He’s been wanting to meet you.”

Ji Mingzhu frowned. “Where is he?”

“He should be here soon.”

Huo Zai gestured to Ji Mingzhu. “In the meantime, why don’t you sit down and enjoy the rare spectacle of Yangyuan City with me? An out of controlTitan… it’s not something you see every day.”

Ji Mingzhu ignored the invitation and pressed on, “Is Bi Fang an old human?”

Huo Zai paused, then replied, “He was.”

Meaning, like Huo Zai, Bi Fang was once an old human but had since become an Aberration.

“What exactly is going on with the out of control Titan?”

Ji Mingzhu looked at the giant in the distance, rampaging and destroying the city. “It doesn’t look like a Titan at all.”

It was more accurate to describe it as a bizarre giant creature wearing a Titan’s skin. Ji Mingzhu thought Zhu Rong now resembled an Aberration more than anything else.

“This is the Titan’s true form.”

Huo Zai followed Ji Mingzhu’s gaze and smiled. “The so-called Titan, the so-called guardian of the satellite city… are just names you imposed on it. In fact, whether it’s Zhu Rong, the Zhujin of Shangjing, or the Titans of other satellite cities, they all share one common name, which is…”

“Mother Aberration.”

A voice came from another direction.

Ji Mingzhu and Huo Zai both paused, then turned. From the other side of the rooftop, a figure was slowly ascending.

No, calling it a figure wasn’t quite right. Though it had a humanoid shape, a closer look revealed an overwhelming sense of the uncanny. It had four arms, withered and branch-like. Though it wore clothes, beneath the hem, its legs were not human but resembled tree roots, moving lightly and slowly, propelling it forward.

The sight of such a bizarre form made Ji Mingzhu’s skin crawl.

Ji Mingzhu asked, “Are you Bi Fang?”

“Yes, I am.”

Bi Fang gave Ji Mingzhu a stiff smile. His face appeared both young and old, with youthful features but skin that had tree-like wrinkles. His speech carried an unnatural stiffness. “I hope I didn’t scare you.”

Ji Mingzhu wanted to say that it was hard not to be scared by such a sight at night, but he held his tongue. Instead, he continued, “You just mentioned that Titans all have a common name, Mother Aberration. What does that mean?”

Mother Aberration was a term Ji Mingzhu had heard from Huo Zai.

It referred to the original enemy that fought the old humans, an uninvited guest that arrived with the meteor. The Mother Aberration had a powerful reproductive capability, capable of endlessly producing new Aberrations. Humans initially created mechs to combat the Mother Aberration. Eventually, the old humans discovered the location of the Mother Aberration and were on the verge of victory, only to encounter a collective mutation.

“It means exactly what it sounds like.”

Bi Fang smiled. “I think you already know the history. The Mother Aberration that came with the meteor, the creator of all new humans, is the so-called Titan.”

“You mean…”

Ji Mingzhu opened his mouth in shock. “The Titans are actually the original Mother Aberration? But… wasn’t there only one Mother Aberration? There are twelve Titans…”

“The power of the Mother Aberration was too immense. It couldn’t be killed or destroyed. To limit its power, someone created restraints to split the Mother Aberration into twelve parts. Using the power of the Mother Aberration, they created the Titans for humans to command.”

Bi Fang explained, “Therefore, the Titans never truly belonged to Sky City or the New Humans. A Titan without its restraint shows its true form.”

Ji Mingzhu collected himself. “But… why would the Netherworld Organization do this?”

“Before answering that question…”

Bi Fang smiled. “Ji Mingzhu… or rather, I should call you Tian Shu. I’ve heard Huo Zai mention your name many times and have been quite interested in you. Today, I arranged this meeting with Huo Zai for this opportunity.”

“Me?”

Ji Mingzhu’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think we have much to talk about.”

“I understand that you don’t trust us yet.”

Bi Fang nodded. “But I believe we share the same goals and ideals, both striving to make this world a better place.”

Ji Mingzhu let out an unrestrained snort of derision.

Bi Fang’s claim was absurd. Everything Feibo had done was far from creating a “better world.” What gave him the confidence to say such things?

Bi Fang, undeterred by Ji Mingzhu’s open mockery, continued seriously, “Don’t you think this world needs a rebirth?”

“Look at the current state of this world,” Bi Fang said, gazing at the city. “Oligarchs dominate, chaos reigns, a few hoard wealth while the majority struggle to survive. The Immortals, who should have the power to manage everything, don’t care about the world outside Sky City. The artificial intelligence only wants to control the world, not caring if it’s in ruins. Life forms born from data lack empathy and compassion… isn’t this absurd?”

“We, the former Old Humans, are merely casualties of the Immortals’ ambitions,” Bi Fang continued. “New Humans and Old Humans kill each other on the ground while Sky City watches coldly… no, more accurately, Sky City wants both New and Old Humans to vanish, so the Immortals can dominate the world. To them, the suffering on the ground is nothing more than a show.”

“So you fight Sky City this way?” Ji Mingzhu retorted. restraint

“We are merely seeking rebirth.”

Bi Fang said, “All rebirths are built on destruction. The New Humans don’t belong here and never should have existed. But the true enemy of Feibo isn’t these New Humans. Whether it’s me or the leader of the Netherworld Organization, we both know our common enemy and are using our own methods to declare war on the High Priest in Sky City. Only when Sky City falls can New and Old Humans sit together and discuss a peaceful future.”

Ji Mingzhu didn’t agree with his statement. “So, the way to resist Sky City is to let the Titans go berserk?”

“It’s a necessary means,” Bi Fang said. “Neither the New Humans nor the current Aberrations can threaten Sky City. The only way is to let the Mother Aberration revive.”

“Revive?”

“Yes.”

Bi Fang nodded. “The Mother Aberration is the seed of the ‘gods.’ When the Mother Aberration revives, the world will undergo a reboot. This was the conclusion reached by the Old Humans on the meteorite. However, at that time, there were disagreements among the Old Humans, and ultimately, the destructive faction gained the upper hand. People didn’t want to give up what they already had and chose to declare war on the Mother Aberration. The result was clear: the Old Humans failed.”

Ji Mingzhu remembered what Yao Xiangrong had said when terminating the agreement. The Titans didn’t belong to anyone; they belonged to their “god”… was he referring to this?

“The Immortals, New Humans, and Old Humans are like three people gambling at a table,” Bi Fang said. “But the Immortals hold chips that the other two sides can’t compete with. Conventional methods are no longer possible to win on this gambling table. There’s only one way: to reassemble the Mother Aberration, overturn the table, and start anew.” Bi Fang continued, “For this, all sacrifices are worth it.”

After finishing, Bi Fang looked at Ji Mingzhu and asked, “And you, Tian Shu… what’s your choice?”

Facing Bi Fang’s invitation, Ji Mingzhu took a step back and shook his head.

“It’s fascinating, but I don’t agree.”

Ji Mingzhu reopened the cockpit of the Phoenix Redeemer. He thought for a moment and said to Bi Fang, “Do you think of yourselves as saviors?”

Bi Fang was taken aback.

“Sacrificing this, saving that, giving up the small to save the big… who do you think you are?”

Ji Mingzhu glanced at the city deeply entrenched in the flames and said slowly, “What makes you so special compared to those who lose their lives in battle? You bleed when injured, you die when killed. Why should you decide how the world will turn out? What gambling, what victory…”

Ji Mingzhu sneered, “In my opinion, if there were fewer people like you, who think you’re so self-righteous, the world would be much more peaceful than it is now.”

Hum—

The Phoenix Redeemer started up. Ji Mingzhu sat in the cockpit. Before the cockpit closed, he asked back.

“Whether New Humans or Old Humans, do you really see such a clear distinction?”

Ji Mingzhu pointed at himself. “I’m standing right here. Can you tell if I’m a New Human or an Old Human?”

Bi Fang and Huo Zai were stunned at the same time.

Before they could understand the hidden meaning in Ji Mingzhu’s words, the next second, the cockpit of the Phoenix Redeemer closed, and the shockwave from the activation of the mecha made them step back. Then, the fiery mecha leaped like a meteor towards the ground.

TN:

See! See! See! They even want the rumbling. Awakening Titans sleeping in the “walls” to destroy the world for the betterment of their own people!

If you're enjoying the story don't forget to support the author! You can also support me on KOFI for site maintenance, raws purchase or as an energy boost~ 

Join discord to get notified whenever a new chapter is uploaded since I'm  incapable of keeping up with a schedule~