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Genius Mechanic: Chapter 127
Dawn Galaxy (Warmongering)
127. Personal Letter
Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake and An Zheee
The account of the energy tubes became increasingly unclear, to the point where even KID’s team couldn’t distinguish how much energy fuel was taken from the base station. Some of the energy tubes were damaged after use, and it was difficult to even retrieve the empty ones. Jiang Simiao gave up listening to the KID team discussing these matters and instead directly initiated a remote communication with Grandpa Gu, checking the inventory. With a cold face, he looked at the silent KID team.
In the end, aside from the truly unmanageable bill, there were only 75 tubes of energy fuel that could be reimbursed. The billing statement, through the hands of Gale’s team leader Qi Sicheng, was handed over to the base’s person-in-charge, Zhang Ge.
Zhang Ge fell silent as he looked at the bill, and Gale’s team members beside him remained silent too.
Zhao Lejie couldn’t understand. “How did you agree to reimburse those poor guys!?”
Zhang Ge replied, “The situation was special at the time… I thought it would be at most 20 tubes. The reporting quota from the Alliance was 20 tubes.”
Furthermore, there were people from the Dawn Mecha Alliance present at the time. Who knew that when the staff applied for reimbursement, upon hearing that the reimbursement target was KID, the Dawn Mecha Alliance only allowed reimbursement for 20 tubes. The rest of the energy tubes had to be covered by them.
Gale’s group: “…”
Gale’s team members thought back to the time when they were in the base station. In order to repay KID’s rescue efforts, they had also sent out more than ten tubes.
Gale’s Artillery pilot next to him asked, “Although one tube of energy isn’t expensive, which reimbursement tier should we follow?”
The price of energy tubes varied. Low-grade energy tubes cost 400,000 credits per tube, while the highest-grade ones could reach up to 1.35 million credits. Gale’s base was wealthy, and the base’s energy tubes were configured at the highest tier. Reimbursing at too low a tier would make them seem stingy, but reimbursing at too high a tier would make them seem foolish.
Gale’s team looked at Zhang Ge, who remained silent for a moment before saying, “We can’t appear stingy.”
The general hospital wasn’t a place to linger. Zhang Ge came to the hospital to pick someone up. After a few days of physical examinations, they all went to KID’s ward to visit the patient.
Qi Sicheng saw the pale-faced young man sitting in the medical cabin, his right arm immobile. The loose hospital gown draped over him, gave him a somewhat empty look. However, what remained unchanged was his calm and indifferent demeanor when speaking to another. It seemed he had become accustomed to the pain in his right arm and calmly accepted most outcomes.
He inquired about the other party’s injuries. The mechanical arm was damaged, and reattaching it meant having to adapt to a new arm all over again, which meant a long rehabilitation process. Before, he wasn’t clear about Ying Chenlin’s identity. Now, seeing all this, some words were even less suitable to say.
Noticing Qi Sicheng’s gaze, Ying Chenlin nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Qi Sicheng nodded in response and then turned to look at Huo Yan beside him. “I asked about the Alliance’s intentions that day. The singles tournament will go first, and the Medical mecha retrofitting will delay the competition. I expect the elimination rounds should start by the end of the year.”
“We’re not in a position to participate in the competition now,” Huo Yan declined Qi Sicheng’s offer, “Thank you, though.”
Qi Sicheng replied, “If there’s anything you need help with, you can find Gale.”
After confirming that the two injured members of KID were in good condition, Gale’s team bid farewell and set off back to their base. Before leaving, Zhang Ge handed a cheque for 50 million credits to Shen Xingtang. Shen Xingtang was stunned for a moment upon seeing this huge sum of money. Without a word, Zhang Ge led Gale’s team away.
“Fifty million!?” Ji Qingfeng exclaimed in shock as he leaned over, “How did they give such a high reimbursement?! Which tier did they use for calculation?”
Shen Xingtang replied, “Fifty million is just routine maintenance for Gale. Their base earns more than this in a month. Don’t forget how many mecha pilots they have… But Old Zhang is indeed good at making friends. When he has money, he really reimburses.”
Jiang Simiao nodded in agreement and suddenly noticed something under the check, “Wait a minute…”
As KID’s team came to terms with the fact of their net loss, they all looked at the 50 million credits cheque, but when they finished looking at the check, they suddenly noticed there was something else underneath it.
Lin Yao, being short, couldn’t squeeze in to see and asked, “What is it?”
Jiang Simiao and Shen Xingtang looked at the thing under the check, then looked at Ying Chenlin sitting in the medical cabin.
Ying Chenlin noticed their gaze. “What’s wrong?”
Shen Xingtang pulled out the piece of paper, “Zhao Lejie’s weapon reimbursement list.”
Ying Chenlin said, “…I seem to have promised to repair his weapons.”
KID: “…”
Shen Xingtang had many matters to deal with in the aftermath. After Ying Chenlin regained consciousness, he began to frequently go out. Jiang Simiao was busy tallying accounts and preparing all the materials and money needed for KID’s mecha repairs. The other now recovered members of KID were taken out to help. Coincidentally, the location of the First General Hospital was located on a planet with a prosperous materials market, so Jiang Simiao took Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao out every day.
In the end, there were only four people left in the hospital. Lu Xi stayed to look after Huo Yan, and the task of looking after Ying Chenlin fell on You Su.
Every time Ying Chenlin opened his eyes, he could always see the man sitting on the sofa in the other corner of the hospital room, holding a light brain in his hand, always looking at something. Until one time, Ying Chenlin saw the astronomical price of a StarNet auction on the light brain interface. After that, he never paid attention to You Su browsing on the light brain again.
The time spent in the hospital was a bit shorter than what Ying Chenlin had imagined. He lay in the medical cabin for a week, during which, apart from the doctors changing his medication, he hadn’t seen his attending physician. Ying Chenlin didn’t know the details of the surgery, but he heard that his operation had been extremely dangerous, and it was only when a medical team from the Frontier Army arrived midway that they managed to resolve the problem of the infection.
At the time, the situation was urgent, and Ying Chenlin had considered many scenarios, but the best course of action in the short term was to take the initiative.
Otherwise, given the situation at the scene, if the pollutant’s wounds healed once more, he and Huo Yan would be in an even more dangerous situation.
The new mechanical arm was made by the Frontier Army and was said to be the best technology available, several times better than Ying Chenlin’s previous one. Although the fixing device had not been removed yet, he could clearly feel that the connection between his body’s nerves and the mechanical nerves was smoother than with his original mechanical arm.
Initially, he thought it was because of the mechanical arm. Later, he noticed that during the daily medical check-ups, there was an additional item on the checklist, contamination testing. With such doubts lingering with him for over a week, the final test report was handed to him by the doctor, and the chief surgeon who had operated on him was also present.
“After the surgery, we observed for a week and confirmed that the contamination from Heterogenic’s tissue had a benign effect on you, and this contamination response will continue in your right arm for a long time.”
“Heterogenic” was the designation given by the Frontier Army to the pollutant in Base Station C-147’s underground, a special type of pollutant with high-speed regeneration.
“Its rapid regeneration has caused some deformation to your arm, but rest assured, this deformation is not malignant. It won’t grow its trunk tissue on your arm.” The doctor continued, “We obtained all the known data on this pollutant from the Frontier Army. Its tissue fluid has a benign effect on you, with an impact rate of about 0.000014%. That is, its own regenerative ability affects you.”
Ying Chenlin asked with confusion, “But wasn’t its anomalous crystal stripped from it?”
After the anomalous crystal of a normal pollutant is stripped from it, its ability usually disappears.
“It’s not a simple pollutant. It’s difficult for me to explain this to you clearly. The Frontier Army’s pollutant research team is also conducting more detailed research on it.” The doctor simplified, “Its effect on you is an active influence.”
“The infected area is in the nerves of your right arm’s mechanical arm and the severed arm section. The previous mechanical arm has been discarded, leaving only the nerves at the severed arm. Because you underwent emergency treatment at the time, the affected area is only limited to your severed arm. We performed serum treatment to prevent the spread of the contamination, but the nerves at your severed arm have already undergone deformation.”
The doctor handed him a special test chart. “Do you see it? The nerve cell activity at the site of your severed arm is increasing. This effect will have an impact on the mechanical nerves connected to you.”
Ying Chenlin didn’t quite understand the key points, he only cared about his flexibility in controlling his mechanical arm. “Will it affect my daily work?”
“No, what I mean is that this increase in activity enhances its strength.” Looking at Ying Chenlin’s tense expression, the doctor explained, “When using the mechanical arm, you’ve probably noticed that after a certain period, fatigue sets in, mental output slows down, and flexibility is restricted. This activity increase, to exaggerate a bit, means your mechanical arm shouldn’t tire out anymore.”
Ying Chenlin was surprised. “It won’t tire out?”
“Of course, if you overuse it, signs of aging will still appear internally, but you won’t feel fatigue or numbness from it anymore.” The doctor continued, “For example, normally, using your mechanical arm for 2 hours would make your right hand feel tired and sore, but now, in terms of fatigue manifestation, as long as your right hand isn’t subjected to destructive damage, it can endure fatigue even better than your left hand and withstand higher pressure.”
Ying Chenlin’s eyes lit up. He never expected to receive such feedback, but after hearing the results, he felt a bit apprehensive. “Will this infection have other effects?”
“Not at the moment. We’re also curious about this benign infection. Perhaps it’s related to your past genetic illness, which has increased your tolerance to infection.” The doctor noticed Ying Chenlin’s increasingly bright eyes. He had also provided support in the Coria Contaminated Zone previously, and he had treated Lieutenant General Lin’s severe injuries. Even the condition of the mother of the mecha pilot before him, Shi Xuejun, was dealt with by him.
In order to cure him, he had deliberately searched for old files from 20 years ago and had spent time suppressing the cell activity with medication until he completely controlled the condition of Ying Chenlin’s right arm.
The doctor added, “Of course, this won’t change your control over your right hand. Ultimately, it’s still a machine, and in terms of flexibility, it’s not as good as your left hand. There may be some errors in operation through your right hand.”
Ying Chenlin lowered his head to look at his own hand, and after a moment of silence, he replied, “For me, this is already the best news.”
While a mechanical arm might be sufficient for ordinary prosthetic users, for Ying Chenlin, who frequently used mental power for delicate operations, he almost recorded the upper limit of his right arm’s endurance every few days. Starting from just one hour of surgery rehabilitation, it gradually extended to several hours, until he could hold on for one or two days with moderate relaxation.
But every bit of this time was carefully squeezed out by him. He had to use his right hand more accurately than others, driving with his left hand as much as possible when using the mecha, alternating between his left and right hands to increase his leverage against pollutants.
Fatigue was inevitable. At its worst, Ying Chenlin couldn’t lift his right hand for several days.
But now, according to the doctor, once he fully recovered, his use of his right arm could be more fluid. At least, he wouldn’t have to rest for half a month after a battle.
The doctor continued, “To fully recover, you need to rest completely for two months. During this time, your right hand should not touch anything until it’s fully connected, and then you can start rehabilitation. The syringes you used before need to be replaced with anti-infection ones. I’ll inform Dr. Eric at your base about this.”
Seeing hope in the eyes of the mecha pilot, the doctor finished explaining what needed to be explained and finally left a contact method for Ying Chenlin. Whenever his mechanical arm suffered destructive damage or the infection worsened, he could come directly to the First Medical Station of the Frontier Army.
“Thank you,” Ying Chenlin said sincerely.
“No need to thank me, kid,” the doctor said, looking at him. “I admire your bravery.”
He had been treating the Frontier Army for years, knowing how many sacrifices the Coria Restricted Zone had caused the Frontier Army. Therefore, he admired Ying Chenlin even more.
The doctor didn’t disturb Ying Chenlin’s rest any longer.
As the door closed, the doctor paused.
You Su slightly blocked the glass in front of the door. “What’s wrong?”
“The issue with his arm has been resolved, but his mental power problem is not my forte,” the doctor explained. “His mental power and physique’s range are quite strange. Driving beyond his rank still brings negative effects, and we can’t ignore his mental power issue just because his right arm’s problem is resolved.”
“If he pilots a mecha, you still need to keep an eye on him as his teammate.”
The doctor looked at You Su and added, “Lieutenant General Lin specifically instructed me to tell you about this.”
You Su replied indifferently, “Then you can tell him that I heard.”
“Lieutenant General Lin’s condition has improved a lot.” The doctor wanted to say more, but considering the relationship between the person in front of him and Lieutenant General Lin, he ultimately didn’t say anything else. “I’ll leave now.”
Once the doctor left, You Su returned to the hospital room and noticed Ying Chenlin looking at him.
Ying Chenlin asked, “What did you and the doctor talk about?”
You Su responded lightly, “Nothing much. Just that your medical expenses are fully covered by the Frontier Army, and you won’t need to pay for future check-ups.”
-*
Since the one time the doctor visited, Ying Chenlin felt like time in the hospital room seemed to slow down. He always hoped that after a while, he could remove the fixed device on his right hand and then test the performance of the new arm. And whether it was his illusion or not, ever since You Su started to take care of him, apart from the necessary medical staff and KID’s people, few others came by daily.
It wasn’t until Lieutenant Lu came over once that Ying Chenlin learned that when he was asleep, someone had visited several times, but You Su had stopped them at the door under the pretext of him resting.
Old Qiu had visited several times, bringing some video data, which was part of the footage about his family retained by the other party. Ying Chenlin saw unfamiliar photos and videos in the footage, as well as his parents in their younger days. There wasn’t much data he retained, some were old data files exported from the Coria Restricted Zone’s Base Station, and some were data files gathered from when Old Qiu worked with his grandfather and mother.
There was very little information about Ying Lingfeng, only occasional records from when he passed by the research institute on missions.
“The Special Forces’ missions are special, and they rarely show up in front of outsiders.” You Su noticed him checking the Frontier Army’s data. “It’s already a lot for Old Qiu to bring these. If you want to see more, you’ll have to look in the unit where your father originally belonged.”
Ying Chenlin glanced at You Su slightly, “You were also in the Special Forces before. What kind of place was it?”
“It’s completely different from the mechaAlliance.” You Su noticed his curiosity and said lightly, “You wouldn’t get used to it.”
Seeing Ying Chenlin idle in the hospital room for too long, Shen Xingtang brought a large number of procurement material lists when she came over one time.
Jiang Simiao was good at managing finances, but he wasn’t as good as Shen Xingtang at managing materials. However, because Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao couldn’t navigate through the material market, the bills they brought back from their two trips made Shen Xingtang frown.
“Why didn’t you buy the ones at a discount?” Ji Qingfeng asked.
Lin Yao said, “Buy three, get one free!”
Shen Xingtang sighed, “We don’t need such materials, and the discounted ones are most likely defective! Do you guys think that the material market here is like the material market on StarNet, going through layers of scrutiny!”
Ji Qingfeng lamented, “How come the material market on a big planet is even worse than ours on Sirius ah!”
“Sirius knows the ins and outs, they’re just afraid I’ll come knocking on their doors if they swindle you guys.”
Jiang Simiao recalled that a few times when he accompanied Shen Xingtang to the material market on Sirius, some material vendors avoided them.
“To cut unnecessary expenses, the material list needs to be reviewed before purchasing.”
In the end, Shen Xingtang didn’t give them any money. She instructed them to look at the materials, and only after Ying Chenlin had reviewed the list could they make the purchase.
Upon seeing the significant expenses required for repairing the mechas, Ying Chenlin scrutinized the material list even more carefully. While Grandpa Gu could handle the repairs for other mechadamages, Ying Chenlin needed to oversee and manage the weaponry. It was crucial to specify the materials needed during the design phase to avoid unnecessary spending.
During their encounter with GBK on Coria, Ying Chenlin had seen mechas from the Second Star Domain. With just a few mechas, the opposing side managed to hold off all their mechas and those of Gale. If they hadn’t used energy fuel and the Female Mantis, they might not have gained an advantage in the confrontation with the Second Star Domain.
There wouldn’t be any surplus energy tubes to use in the League matches. Every mecha’s equipment was explicitly regulated. Facing the mechas from the Second Star Domain in the League, they wouldn’t stand a chance in their current situation. Ying Chenlin was accustomed to solo combat, but seeing the strength of mechas from another Star Domain for the first time, their power might even surpass that of Individual Soldier pilots, and there was even a possibility that when dealing with them one plus one could be far greater than two.
Without selling their expensive S-grade anomalous crystals, their earnings on Coria this time were indeed a loss. However, the anomalous crystals still had their uses.
The spatial displacement of the Female Mantis, the wind attribute attacks of the Wind-Blade Mantis, the damage transmission of the Black Spider, along with its accompanying pollutant, the Red Spider’s venomous mist… Besides these, there was also the regenerative ability of the underground mutant mentioned by Shen Xingtang not long ago.
The Regeneration anomalous crystal, instead of being taken by the Frontier Army, was checked and then returned to KID.
At the KID base, the anomalous crystal harvested by Qiu Jin had already begun being forged into a weapon. It wasn’t a bad thing that the Devouring Shield was damaged. Previously, using the special anti-damage effect of the Eight Vines in the Qiu Jin Contaminated Zone, Ying Chenlin designed an anti-damage shield that could replace the Devouring Shield for Huo Yan’s use when he returned.
However, these were far from enough. They didn’t have extra money to purchase more anomalous crystals, so they could only design weapons based on the limited resources and anomalous crystals they had. Ying Chenlin had seen the designs of Bai Xuyan’s Artillery mecha and the dual Ice weapons of the Control mecha from the Second Star Domain. They not only used their weapons’ abilities but also created a suitable combat environment using their weapons.
According to Gale’s statements and Ying Chenlin’s prediction, the mecha bases of other Star Domains had ample funds. A mecha might have multiple spare weapons, and before the mechas entered the arena, mecha pilots didn’t know what weapons their opponents would use… If they always used the same set of weapons, it would put the team in a passive position, especially with the introduction of Medical mechas in future game formats, the margin for error would be higher, and the difficulty of the competition would also increase.
KID’s current situation was not good. In addition to designing weapons and improving mecha performance, they also needed to provide multiple backup options according to the combat style of the Medical mecha system.
So you could say KID’s current situation has not improved at all; they were still very poor, and they even needed to spend more money to purchase suitable anomalous crystals. If they truly want to compete, it shouldn’t be limited to just within the Dawn Galaxy; they need to go to a wider range of Star Domains and Alliances to obtain better resources through a virtuous cycle.
But now, all they could bring out was one set of weapons.
If you wanted to submit them for the Star Alliance League, their weapons would be completely inadequate for combat.
Ying Chenlin sent the required material list to Jiang Simiao for procurement, thus searching for data on Medical mechas.
You Su noticed his movements and saw him exporting data on Medical mechas, still modifying the blueprints. “Medical mechas?”
“Yeah, buying a Medical mecha is too expensive. We can modify one into it based on the mecha models in the base.” Ying Chenlin had his own plans. He had prepared many designs; originally, he planned to transfer Yuan’s intelligence to the new mecha. Now that he could barely pilot Yuan, there was actually a better plan. “The modification costs will be lower, and we’re short on time; we need to prepare in advance.”
These preparations lasted for more than half a month. When Ying Chenlin could leave the medical station’s monitoring room, someone from the First Star Domain’s Frontier Army came.
Regarding Ying Chenlin’s inheritance, he needed to go to the Frontier Army to complete the procedures.
The Frontier Army’s headquarters was near the medical station, and everyone else had other things to do that day.
Under Shen Xingtang’s instructions, the only person accompanying Ying Chenlin was You Su.
The security within the Frontier Army was strict. After passing through many checkpoints, they finally arrived at the conference room of the First Star Domain’s General Army.
There was no one else in the conference room, only Ying Chenlin and You Su. After a while, a soldier arrived and asked You Su to leave.
Furrowing his brows slightly, You Su instructed Ying Chenlin before leaving, “I’ll be back soon, if you have any questions wait until I come back.”
Not even two minutes after You Su left, another door in the conference room opened.
A man of high rank and authority walked in, and Ying Chenlin was slightly surprised when he saw him.
Seeing Ying Chenlin’s reaction, the middle-aged man replied, “I had him leave. He’s not suitable to be present.”
Ying Chenlin looked at the man in front of him, who bore a resemblance to You Su, and a possibility flashed through his mind. “Lieutenant General Lin?”
Lieutenant General Lin did not deny it and had a soldier hand him a new data tablet.
In front of Ying Chenlin was an inheritance list. Glancing at it, he noticed that this list had several more items than the one on the data tablet in the hospital room… and at the end of the list were several special items.
“The inheritance procedure for your father’s legacy is complex.” The man lowered his gaze slightly. “Child, you need to carefully examine this list again.”
Ying Chenlin was slightly startled, his gaze stopping at the end.
Among the newly added items were two special S-grade anomalous crystals and two handwritten letters.
“Two handwritten letters, one of which is a letter left by your father.”
Lieutenant General Lin said, “You need to understand your father.”
Author’s Note:
Advance congratulations to Ying Bao for unlocking his special inheritance √
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they lowk (poor) nepo babies
Huh, wonder why he especially emphasized needing to understand Ying Lingfeng? Some special reason?