Genius Mechanic: Chapter 123

Coria Contaminated Zone (Restricted Zone)

123. Alive

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake and An Zheee

The voices in the channel mixed, and all mechas rushed toward the entrance leading to aboveground as large chunks of falling rocks came crashing down from above. The stability that the Frontier Army had maintained for so long seemed to be on the verge of collapse after the final bombardment. No one expected Ying Chenlin to dare to step forward in such a dangerous situation, let alone resist the danger of being pierced by the tentacles, and dig out the anomalous crystal from the pollutant.

The operation of that mecha was at its limit. They watched as it darted out from behind the shield of the Tank mecha, then faced the last resistance of the pollutant, switching between its cannon and sword with an extreme operation. They never expected him to forcefully dig out the crucial anomalous crystal from the regenerating tissue of the pollutant.

This outcome was completely unexpected for them. The pollutant, after losing its anomalous crystal, did not die. Its proud regenerative ability began to weaken at this moment, and rooted in the depths of the earth, it triggered the collapse of the entire space.

In the control room, everyone snapped out of their daze from Ying Chenlin’s extreme operation to extract the anomalous crystal, and immediately threw themselves into the current rescue efforts. The base station, which the Frontier Army had struggled to maintain, was undergoing a second collapse. The Frontier Army stationed above the underground cavern was desperately using various equipment to maintain stability, especially in the room where the fusion weapon was located, where every Frontier troop held on until the very last second.

“Can the collapse be slowed down?”

“The emergency maintenance device has been activated!”

“The suspension device is activated!”

“We can’t hold the entire underground space anymore!” A staff member turned to look at Coria’s Director, “Director, the underground space is collapsing!!!”

All the mechas were positioned very close together, struggling to move out amidst the rampaging tentacles of the mad pollutant. The communication channels were chaotic, with everyone’s thoughts focused on escaping as quickly as possible, fleeing outward—

Falling debris struck the mechas underground one after another, with KID and Gale’s Tank mechas almost completely disabled. Only Lin Yao’s mecha remained, holding on out as the last line of defense. The Frontier Army’s Tank mechas flew to Lu Xi’s side, helping her fend off the tentacles, while other members of the Frontier Army opened up a safe passage for them.

Ji Qingfeng and Zhao Lejie were the first to escape to the entrance of the passage. They dragged the helpless Huo Yan, turning to look at the Frontier Army’s mechas left behind at the rear. “Damn it, no, there are still mechas back there.”

Zhao Lejie looked up, “No, if we don’t leave now, this place will collapse for real.”

If they were trapped here, with a base station pressing down on them from above, judging by the extent of damage to most of the mechas, their armor wouldn’t hold until other rescuers arrived. You could say they were at a dead end.

The communication channels crackled with noise, and Yuan’s emergency system opened the emergency cabin after the mecha was damaged, continuously releasing oxygen from the oxygen cabin. Ying Chenlin collapsed against the cockpit, his mental connection with the mecha on the verge of breaking. Despite feeling exhausted, he still didn’t close his eyes.

“…The Frontier Army is still back there.” Ying Chenlin weakly remarked.

You Su replied, “I know, it’s not the first time he’s been left behind as the final sacrifice by the Frontier Army.”

There was a breach in the internal viewport of the mecha by the contaminated tentacles, and the smell of gunpowder seemed to come in through this gap. Ying Chenlin watched as the mechas in the distance moved further away, the buzzing in his mind growing louder. Under the protection of You Su, he remained unharmed, while Theo swiftly flew past the falling rocks and tentacles, safely evacuating them.

You Su remained silent, his body inclined backwards, carrying Ying Chenlin as they broke through the danger, his right hand still holding the Sniper Cannon.

In the cockpit, the man’s expression remained as calm as ever, the scope of the Sniper Cannon opened, locking onto the Frontier Army mechas retreating at the rear amidst the falling rocks in the distance.

Theo exclaimed in an anxious voice, “This place is about to collapse, You Su. Can the passage hold?”

In the control room, all monitoring images were corrupted, and everyone could only listen to the crackling sound on the communication channel, along with the blue signals on the radar representing their own mechas. No one dared to speak on the channel in the control room. They had prepared for everything, leaving only the mecha operators to evacuate from the underground cave. Old Qiu stood in front of the control console at the last moment, his aged figure seeming to slump a bit. “Everyone must come out safely!”

All members of KID and Gale had evacuated from the core location of the cave to the entrance where they first entered. Lu Xi was the last one to come out. She turned around and saw the Frontier Army mechas behind them, which were gradually evacuating. “Hurry up!”

Upon seeing the mecha in the far back, Ji Qingfeng’s pupils contracted. “Lieutenant Lu is at the back!”

“Xi Mei, take care of Huo Ge.” He entrusted Huo Yan’s mecha to Lu Xi and turned around to rush back into the cave.

As a soldier of the Frontier Army and the main leader of this operation, Lieutenant Lu considered himself the leader of the soldiers. From entering the Restricted Zone to entering the cave, when the base station was no longer his primary target for protection, his duty as a soldier was to ensure the safety of others. He fell behind everyone, using his Energy Cannon to blast away the falling rocks, watching as other mecha pilots evacuated to relatively safe places.

“Lieutenant!” A Frontier Army member shouted.

Lieutenant Lu looked up at the collapsing cave. The range of the pollutant’s roots was not limited to the cave. Its roots might have already extended to the exit. He realized something and shouted anxiously, “Leave now! The passage is collapsing—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the falling rocks from above and the tentacles on the left quickly attacked. Lieutenant Lu hurriedly avoided the tentacles, but it was too late for him to lift his cannon to smash the falling rocks. Seeing that he was about to be hit by the rocks, memories from eight years ago suddenly flashed in Lieutenant Lu’s mind.

This scene of him being alone and helpless seemed to be from eight years ago, when he was a rookie in the special forces and came to the Restricted Zone to execute a mission with his commanding officer. In the end, his commanding officer stayed behind to cover him forever eight years ago.

As the falling rocks were about to hit, at this critical moment—

A beam of light shot out from an Artillery mecha more than fifty meters away, precisely hitting the falling rocks above Lieutenant Lu’s head. The huge rocks shattered into several pieces right in front of Lieutenant Lu. At the same time, a Binding Lock Scythe pierced through the debris, wrapping around the right hand of Lieutenant Lu’s mecha, swiftly passing through the attack, ultimately shattering completely.

“KID! What are you doing back here?” Lieutenant Lu exclaimed in astonishment.

“Damn it, Laozi’s Binding Lock is completely busted this time!” Ji Qingfeng maxed out his thrusters. “A real man never explains why he saves someone. I can’t stand it when someone looks even more handsome than me. Laozi is going to be the most handsome one who saves people.”

But before he could finish his words, a sniper shot from afar grazed Ji Qingfeng’s head and hit the falling rocks behind him. Ji Qingfeng exclaimed, then immediately rushed ahead of Lieutenant Lu, clearing the way. “You Ge!”

At this moment, sniper shots from afar continued to rain down, shattering the rocks above the fleeing two mechas.

The white mecha’s Sniper Cannon was aimed precisely, each shot blasting open the path ahead of Ji Qingfeng.

Lieutenant Lu saw the white mecha in the distance, seeing the person holding onto Ying Chenlin’s mecha with one hand and charging the Sniper Cannon with the other. He looked at the figure, as if seeing the unruly young man from eight years ago in that mecha.

There was never a shortage of geniuses in the training camp. But since joining the army, Lieutenant Lu had only seen You Su dare to wield dual-artillery weapons and rampage through the camp.

Ji Qingfeng: “You Ge, left side!”

Upon hearing Ji Qingfeng’s voice, You Su immediately targeted the left side.

Amidst the chaos, his hand handling the Sniper Cannon was exceptionally steady, even with the other hand holding onto another mecha.

Lin Yao guarded the entrance of the passage. “Hurry up, Da Feng!”

Zhao Lejie looked up as the once-safe passage began to collapse. “Seriously? Is the passage dug by scrapping my shield so unsustainable?”

Through the viewport, Ying Chenlin saw bursts of fire lighting up the increasingly dark environment. The voices in the communication channels gradually grew quieter.

The buzzing in his ears continued unabated. Ying Chenlin closed his eyes, seemingly hearing the rhythmic vibration of the mecha’s cockpit.

That was from the other mecha holding onto him, the steady and orderly pounding brought an inexplicable sense of security, reminding Ying Chenlin of the man’s firm footsteps in the mecha’s cockpit at the Qiu Jin base station.

Everyone had to survive, no one could die.

The mecha in his arms completely lost its mental support. You Su seemed to hear the faint gasping in the chaotic channel disappearing. He frowned tightly. “Ying Chenlin?”

There was no response in the communication channel.

Ji Qingfeng and Lieutenant Lu rushed into the passage, one after the other. The collapse of the cave was imminent. All the mechas maxed out their thrusters at the same time, flying forward rapidly in the narrow passage, one after another.

The Frontier Army shouted, “Hurry!”

“All thrusters at maximum, forward, through the passage,” Huo Yan’s voice, full of vitality despite his back pain, cut through the crackling electricity, resonating in everyone’s ears.

The rumble of falling rocks, urgent calls to clear the way with gunfire, and fifteen mechas escaping amidst the collapse.

Hundreds of meters deep underground, there was only one long and endless tunnel. The whole world seemed to shake, leaving almost everyone’s mind blank. When Lieutenant Lu turned around, he saw the passage collapsing less than 5 meters away. Death had never been so close to him, but when he looked up, he could see, beyond three or two mechas, the black mecha held by the white mecha.

The black mecha’s thrusters were all extinguished, and the entirety of the mecha’s lights didn’t illuminate, only the green anomalous crystal held in the mecha’s hand emitted a glow, as if it were the only light in this dark path.

Everything was different from eight years ago.

Above ground, several Frontier Army mechas remained at the open passage.

Inside the control room, the staff disconnected from the underground and communicated through the screens of the Frontier Army mechas waiting outside, keeping a close watch on the other side.

Qi Sicheng and his teammates also arrived, and with a glance down, they could see the massive opening leading underground. At that moment, the beam of a searchlight passed through the underground and illuminated the surface, and the first mecha emerged from below.

“They’re coming out!”

With the first, there came the second.

Gale’s Artillery mech exclaimed, “Is this the hole dug by the deputy captain?”

“He dug a good hole,” Qi Sicheng looked up at the several mechas flying high above.

One after another, the mechas were battered and bruised, some being dragged, some with extinguished thrusters… it seemed like being reborn after a calamity and flying towards a better horizon, contrasting with the slightly lit orange sky.

Lieutenant Lu’s voice reappeared on the channel: “Report—All fifteen mechas have successfully evacuated.”

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