Genius Mechanic: Chapter 140

Keze Floating Island Contaminated Zone(Galactic Knockout Competition)

140. Repeating the old trick, fattening and then slaughtering.

Proofread by An Zheee and Cloud Chip Cake

In the live broadcast room, most people hadn’t yet recovered from the attack rhythm with three shots taking out two mechas.

[What’s going on!?] [It seems like KID’s three mechas were ambushing simultaneously.]

Initially, those in the live broadcast room were unclear on how KID eliminated the two mechas until they went back and reexamined the details, noticing the situation from above.

The commentator who was closely following KID’s live broadcast said, “…KID set up an ambush here. They intentionally sent out the Stealth mecha to lure them out, then used the Control mecha’s Enhancement Cannon for output.”

Trace’s Sniper Cannon at 100% output was already terrifying, this was now combined with Lu Xi’s Enhancement Cannon and Sink’s Energy Cannon.

In this wave of attack, with a direct hit, it would basically have twice the effect of a 100% Sniper Cannon shot. In the elimination round, considering the issue of mecha score calculations, when a mecha was eliminated, as long as the interval didn’t exceed 5 seconds, the scoring system would attribute the score to the mecha that caused the last damage.

The live broadcast quickly focused on Sink, who was positioned high up. The red-and-white Medical mecha was still standing in the shadow of the skyscraper amidst the back-and-forth gunfire, without any mecha discovering him in the potential crevices and corners.

Everyone saw him repositioning his Energy Cannon, locking onto a certain dead angle in the smoke once again.

At the same time, the Medical mecha’s Energy Cannon fired again, alongside the gunfire from the other two directions, directly hitting a distant location. Taking advantage of this wave of explosions from their position, the Stealth mecha that was previously being chased suddenly shrunk into a corner of the ruins.

At this moment, those in the live broadcast room finally remembered—

[F*ck! Trace and Lu Xi couldn’t see the positions of the two mechas just now.] [It was Sink who saw them; he reported their positions to his teammates!]

In the gaps of the abandoned building, Ying Chenlin’s Energy Cannon aimed at another position but didn’t fire.

In the channel, Ji Qingfeng had already taken advantage of the opportunity to quickly conceal himself. It was now Huo Yan’s turn on the other side to speak up: “Which way should I go this time?”

You Su noticed Ying Chenlin’s hesitation, and in his distant field of view, his mecha remained still. “What are you considering?”

Ying Chenlin’s position was in the shadow of a skyscraper. He observed the movement of the mechas below, the commotion from the battle on the east side of the Old Commercial Center seemed to have diminished, which indicated something had happened. He glanced at that area seriously and, hearing the discussion within the team, gave his suggestion: “There will be more mechas on the left side.”

Huo Yan adjusted his direction and smiled. “Okay, I’ll head left then.”

Lin Yao asked, “What about me? Can’t I move too?”

“The Enhancement Cannon makes too much noise. If we fire continuously from the same position, others will probably notice our situation,” Ying Chenlin glanced at the situation to the east and wanted to speed up. “We need to change our approach.”

You Su’s Sniper Cannon was fully charged. “How do you want to play this?”

In team battles, the more dispersed the team, the less support there was. However, for Individual Soldiers, the chaos of battle was the best escape route, or rather the best area for sneak attacks. Ying Chenlin’s Individual Soldier elimination matches weren’t in large Contaminated Zones like Keze Floating Island, but he was very familiar with this type of Contaminated Zone. During KID’s internal training, he had used the same tactics with KID in the virtual battlefield.

In the abandoned city, with the alternating floor gaps, when the map refreshed on the radar, Ying Chenlin’s first impression was that this area was very suitable for creating a fragmented battlefield.

“Qingfeng can run easily because he can easily escape while concealed. A Tank’s movement speed is slow, and if Huo Ge goes up, he’ll have to endure a direct hit. Plus, we’ve just consumed two waves, so there should already be a few mechas on alert inside,” Ying Chenlin glanced at Huo Yan and Lin Yao’s positions, forming two diagonals. “We can fight, but we’re at a disadvantage.”

As soon as the disadvantage was mentioned, KID’s group immediately perked up.

After some thought, Ying Chenlin suggested, “It’s too disadvantageous to fight now. Shall we fatten them up a bit?”

—

In the live broadcast room, after realizing that KID’s consecutive attacks were not random, the audience finally realized that KID was playing strategically.

In the Room 4122 live broadcast room, there were initially many people who came because of Sink’s reputation, but Sink was an Individual Soldier League player, who had now transitioned to team mecha battles. Many had heard of him but hadn’t seen his matches.

In the two categories of Individual Soldier and team battles, Individual Soldiers focus on themselves, while teams focus on the group. Many people had heard of Sink’s reputation and acknowledged his skills, but they were skeptical when he chose to play as an Assault Medical. But now, everyone had discovered that this Individual Soldier champion of the Star Alliance Tournament was not only outstanding in individual ability but could also harmoniously integrate into the chaotic KID team, known to be the most chaotic in the Dawn League.

[Sink is quite impressive.] [Who just said Sink can’t operate as an Assault Medical?]

Although KID seemed scattered, in reality, the three long-range mechas were positioned high up, while the other three close-combat mechas were all hidden among the high and low floors of the abandoned city. Just now, when Ji Qingfeng caused a big commotion, he ran towards the more chaotic positions, resulting in the ground in those areas being uneven due to the bombardment, creating many new spots for cover, and providing greater protection for KID’s close-combat mechas.

Smoke, obstacles, sniping from above…

Damn, it’s all mixed together, typical fishing tactics!

And the fish being lured didn’t even realize they were being lured, thinking there was another mecha team deliberately targeting them from different directions.

Looking at the red-and-white Medical mecha in the shadows again, no one else had anything to say. As soon as they saw his cannon move slightly, everyone subconsciously felt like he was about to aim at someone.

[…I remember when Sink played in the Dawn Galaxy Tournament, someone seemed to have evaluated him.] [His eyes are like eagle eyes. Among Individual Soldiers, the mechas he locks onto basically don’t survive.] [Now in team battles, it seems like the mechas he locks onto also…]

In the audience seats of the Keze Floating Island Contaminated Zone, Jiang Yu sat with his friends, his focus was on the KID live broadcast Room 4122. Being present at the scene allowed him to feel the atmosphere more vividly, and he naturally overheard the whispered discussions around him.

The moment he saw Sink, he knew that the mechanic he had seen at the Qiu Jin Base Station was him. Many fans were like him, they were particularly concerned about Sink and followed him here. There wasn’t much intersection between Individual Soldier and team battles. The rules of team battle competitions were different from Individual Soldier battles.

When KID officially announced Sink’s participation, Jiang Yu saw too many discussions online.

Too many fans wanted to see Sink return to Individual Soldier battles and were skeptical about his move to team battles. There were even some media personalities making random analyses.

But when he saw the scene just now, he inexplicably remembered the descriptions from other Individual Soldier veterans who had fought alongside Sink before. It’s hard to describe the sense of oppression felt in an Individual Soldier battle, but in the eyes of those veterans, Sink was such a mecha pilot, one who gave people immense pressure.

Jiang Yu reviewed many of Sink’s matches, but it was only now, when Sink stood in the shadow of the building looking out, that he felt that sensation again.

He was clearly separated from him by the mecha, but he inexplicably felt like he was being targeted.

[Wait, did Sink stop moving?] [Look at the positions of the other KID mechas. They’ve changed.]

Inside the arena, KID’s positions changed again, with the three long-range mechas still up high.

But the Tank Huo Yan and the Guardian Lin Yao were now positioned in two other directions.

The long-range Artillery and Control mechas up high also didn’t use their weapons anymore, and all of KID’s members came to a halt.

At Gale, upon seeing this, the coaching staff instantly became cautious.

“The command must have changed! This isn’t Huo Yan’s style!” The head coach observed the situation and immediately said, “KID’s tactic of dividing the battlefield before was more likely to involve pairs moving together, with the core point being Trace. But now the core point has changed, and their rhythm when dividing the battlefield has also accelerated.”

This feeling was quite strange. Those who had studied KID’s matches knew that KID’s group was very reckless in fights.

They didn’t like fighting as a team; they preferred picking off opponents one by one. 1v1, 2v2… They absolutely didn’t fight 5v5.

Now they were still reckless, but their reckless rhythm had become faster.

“Don’t you think this game is very similar?”

“I also find it familiar. This tactic of dividing the battlefield…”

“Didn’t Captain Qi mention that KID’s style of play was similar to that team on StarNet?”

The assistant coach pondered, suddenly remembering, “Wasn’t it that qpdik team on the StarNet? All the Artillery mechas were targeted at the time.”

As soon as this was mentioned, the staff at Gale immediately rushed to Chi Lizi’s live broadcast room.

In Chi Lizi’s live broadcast room, there was a recording of that match. At the time, Chi Lizi from the Black Crow, YDS from Hu Luobu, and the Artillery known to be ranked 6th from the Star Alliance, Ace, all fell victim to a trap in that match and were harvested by an unknown wild team.

The layout of the virtual battlefield’s Abandoned Bio-Factory was very similar to the abandoned city on the fourth island of Keze Floating Island now.

The tactics were the same, it was just that back then, the core mecha was the Artillery, whereas now any member of KID could become the core of this divided battlefield.

Familiar tactics, familiar battlefield division, and an incomprehensible distribution of mechas…

The head coach: “Wait a minute, I remember this match. Didn’t that wild team let their opponents consume each other before swooping in for the kill?”

As soon as this was mentioned, everyone immediately looked towards the live broadcast.

The entire city was shrouded in smoke, and the overlapping sounds of explosions made it impossible to discern how many teams were around. The smoky environment made every mecha hiding in the Old Commercial Center alert. However, KID’s Stealth mecha suddenly disappeared into the smoky ruins, and the mecha pilots who were previously chasing after the Stealth mecha couldn’t find their opponent’s position on the radar anymore.

At this moment, everyone seemed to suddenly realize the seriousness of the situation.

The appearance of this Stealth mecha was too coincidental, as if deliberately running out to attract their attention.

“Be careful, someone’s using bait.”

“Don’t reveal your position. If you see the Stealth mecha again, don’t shoot!”

All mechas instantly became vigilant, but while some mecha pilots stopped, others did not. Different battles reflected different combat philosophies at this moment; some continued to fight with determination, while others remained cautious and refrained from firing.

While the mecha pilots wanted to cautiously cease their fire, KID didn’t want them to stop.

Standing high up, Chenlin observed signs of the mecha battles on the right stopping. “Huo Ge, lure them out.”

Huo Yan grinned. “On it!”

In the thick smoke, mecha pilots seemed to notice the danger from all directions. Some mechas had already stopped firing their cannons to avoid falling into the ambushes set by another. But just then, in the center of all the teams, there was a sudden flash of blue light in the smoke.

With danger surrounding them and the possibility of ambushes in the distance, mecha pilots hiding in the shadows felt a sense of crisis when they saw the fleeting halo in the smoke. Mecha pilots might not trust the distant sound of gunfire, but they trusted their eyes, especially when they saw a faint halo in their field of vision. Some mecha pilots instinctively fired a shot in that direction.

This single shot was a game-changer. The flames of war, about to die down, were fully reignited with this shot.

In the live broadcast room, everyone saw the instigator of the conflict: KID’s Tank mecha, Yan.

The somewhat cumbersome Tank mecha lit up its shield’s halo in the smoke, ignited the flames of war, then retracted its shield and retreated without any intention of prolonging its engagement, seemingly unconcerned with the ensuing battle behind it.

[???] [This shield…? I feel like I’m back in Qiu Jin.]

Lu Xi: “Looks like they’re not fighting on the left anymore.”

Ji Qingfeng cleared his throat and commanded, “Yao Bao, activate the shield!”

KID’s long-range mechas with high ground visibility, along with the melee mechas playing it cool within the flames of war, were watching the mutual consumption of mechas in the distance. KID’s Guardian mecha Lin Yao was on the left, and Tank mecha Huo Yan was on the right. With  shield and artillery support from above, they blended into the concealed side of the battlefield, shining their lights—one on the left and one on the right.

If one side was firing, then that side wouldn’t flash.

If the other side stopped, then a flash.

If there was a flash but no movement, the long-range mechas from above wasted energy, reluctantly firing a shot to support the fire.

What kind of strategy was the least disadvantageous? It was best to resolve things with one shot, not two. If someone else could help wear your opponents down, then don’t do it yourself.

High above, KID’s Medical mecha locked onto a position and reported to his teammates on the communication channel, “A1 building on the right.”

Amidst the gunfire from other battles, KID once again fired three consecutive shots, eliminating the mechas on the right side of the A1 building.

[KID-Lucy has eliminated Spirit Deer-bbn] [KID-Sink has eliminated Spirit Deer-kbn]

…

The people in the live broadcast room were dumbfounded, and the commentators who were analyzing the game didn’t expect things to develop in this direction. Earlier they thought that KID’s strategy was to use bait to assess their opponents and attack them accordingly.

But now they found that KID didn’t want to engage directly. They waited until the others had fought enough, then, using Lu Xi’s Enhancement Cannon’s effect, three of them simultaneously fired, wiping out the mechas about to retreat.

[WTF, can they still play like this?] [Won’t they be discovered? How can they fire so much without any mecha finding their location?] [This is unbelievable.]

Naturally, KID’s people wouldn’t be discovered because they changed positions after firing three shots.

Ying Chenlin naturally wouldn’t stay in one place waiting to be discovered. He, You Su and Lu Xi were in different directions, simultaneously firing to create confusion. However, this confusion only worked intermittently. Once was a coincidence, twice would draw attention, and by the third time, other mecha pilots would find their position. So they wouldn’t stay in the same location after firing more than three shots.

If initially, the only suitable hiding spot was their original position, under the continuous barrage of gunfire, the entire abandoned city’s Old Commercial Center had completely transformed. Bullets had punctured skyscrapers, and leveled small buildings, and the roofs of mid-level buildings were littered with broken pillars and rubble.

By the time the ambushed mecha pilots realized what was happening, it was too late.

After the bombardment, the abandoned city’s Old Commercial Center had gained many obstacles.

And in these, Ying Chenlin and his two companions had already identified the next hiding spot while waiting to snipe.

They couldn’t find the location of KID’s mecha pilots, and could only watch elimination messages pop up in the continuous intervals of gunfire.

Outside the arena, in KID’s rented lounge.

On the table, two mecha keys were leaning against each other, watching the live broadcast on the screen.

Theo said disdainfully, “If it were me in there, that building on the left would be gone by now. No, if You Su were piloting, I could knock down several buildings with one shot. Yuan, what about you? How many buildings can you take down?”

Yuan had been quietly watching the game, but upon hearing Theo’s words, he looked at the screen and said weakly, “…I should be able to take down that signal tower?” 

Theo looked at the signal tower in the distance, which seemed to be larger than the buildings around it.

Gu Xiaotian watched as the skyscraper on the screen collapsed amidst the artillery fire and shivered, “Is the real League battlefield this dangerous? Buildings can collapse…”

Jiang Simiao, leaning back in his chair with an expressionless face, calmly poured himself a cup of tea. “What’s there to be afraid of? The ones firing aren’t—”

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Lu Xi’s Enhancement Cannon shot flying over to the adjacent building in the screen, directly leveling its roof.

Gu Xiaotian: “?”

Jiang Simiao took a sip of tea, his voice gaining a bit more confidence. “No need to panic, we’re not the only ones firing.”

In the KID channel, amidst the chaotic gunfire in the distance, Lu Xi’s Enhancement Cannon once again toppled a building.

Lin Yao looked in its direction enviously. “It must be cool to be able to fire.”

Huo Yan suggested, “Want to practice firing when we get back?”

Lin Yao, inherently incompatible with artillery weapons, sighed, “If only I could practice and get good at it.”

Ji Qingfeng, idle and watching for a while, remarked, “Xi Mei has gotten stronger.”

Lu Xi, feeling uneasy after firing so many times, voiced her concern. “Are we being too bad?”

“There’s no distinction between good and bad here. Winning the game is the priority. Aren’t we also taking risks to draw fire?” Ji Qingfeng replied.

He added, “Besides, women who aren’t a little bad aren’t loved by fans. Right, Chenlin?”

The Medical mecha, observing from a high vantage point, heard this and responded, “Hmm, there’s a mecha on your end trying to escape.”

As soon as he finished speaking, behind the Medical mecha, the Sniper Cannon shot of an Artillery mecha tore through the smoke, grazing over Ji Qingfeng’s mecha’s head. With a direct hit, it eliminated the mecha trying to escape, single-handedly taking out the opponent with one shot.

You Su remarked, “Gone.”

Ji Qingfeng changed his tune, addressing Lu Xi. “See, Xi Mei, you just blow up buildings, but You Ge is the kind of bad guy who doesn’t even spare his teammates—”

Suddenly, there was a loud thud, and a hole appeared at Ji Qingfeng’s feet.

Ji Qingfeng stepped back two steps. “Ge? A man who isn’t bad isn’t loved by fans.”

Ying Chenlin glanced slightly behind him at the Artillery mecha. “We can conserve energy.”

You Su’s tone was casual. “Oops, slipped.”

[How many mechas has KID eliminated?] [I’m numb, okay, I can’t count them.] [My god, KID’s command is too ruthless.] [They’re just wiping out mechas left and right, I thought this was a virtual battlefield.] [They’re just wearing the mechas down and taking them out.]

In the Contaminated Zone, KID’s six-member team felt uneasy. They had stirred up such a big situation, discreetly eliminating several mechas with just a few shots and claiming the mecha points. In just a few hours, the entire Old Commercial Center had completely transformed. With collapsed buildings and flattened structures, the 73 mecha teams originally positioned here were reduced to only 25 in the blink of an eye.

Of these vanished teams, two-thirds were eliminated by KID, while the remaining one-third were taken out by other teams.

[Team KID[6/6] Location (Fourth Island). Current arena stats: Teams 400/485, Mecha Pilots 2241/2910] [Current team ranking: 001, Mecha eliminations: 189]

And the count of 25 was gradually decreasing. What was once a bustling battleground had become KID’s unilateral harvest ground. Mechas with high wear and tear became easy targets in their eyes—fatten them up, then slaughter them. No one dared to imagine that on the first day of the competition, 485 teams would be reduced by so much.

In the live broadcast, viewers watched as KID effortlessly claimed all the mecha points, catapulting to the top of the real-time rankings for the entire Keze Floating Island Contaminated Zone. The surviving mecha pilots in the Old Commercial Center realized something was amiss. The opportune mecha teams had swiftly fled the troubled area, but some mechas were still caught up in the conflict.

The audience in the live broadcast watched KID, witnessing how the Old Commercial Center transformed from a place of gunfire and chaos to one shrouded in thick smoke, eerily silent like a ghost town.

Initially worried about KID’s fate, they now feared that other mechas might come in to provide targets for KID.

“Seems like there are no more mechas,” Ji Qingfeng remarked.

“Don’t rush, someone should be coming,” Ying Chenlin’s gaze fell on the eastern side of the Old Commercial Center, where there was a tall signal tower. While battle erupted on their side, activity on that side had diminished, and now it could be considered quiet.

Ordinary mecha teams would avoid areas with intense crossfire and head toward the center of the battle, usually seen as difficult prey.

You Su suggested, “Go out and fight, or lure them in and kill?”

[Sh*t, I just checked Fire Beacon’s live broadcast angle. They’re heading towards KID.] […?] […I have a bad premonition.]

The audience in Room 4122 fell silent.

In the distance, the six-member team of Fire Beacon had already started advancing towards the Old Commercial Center following the directions on their map. Even before reaching the Old Commercial Center, they could see thick smoke filling the streets, drifting over the Old Commercial Center. When the wind blew, it carried a somewhat desolate atmosphere.

The mecha pilots of Fire Beacon noticed this scene and became cautious. The distant streets were in chaos, as if they had just experienced arson and looting not long ago. The few remaining mechas on the ground had all activated their 80% damage protection shields, waiting for the Mecha League’s rescue team to come and evacuate them.

“Captain, something doesn’t seem right!”

“Isn’t there supposed to be an intense firefight here? Why aren’t there any mechas in sight?”

In the exclusive live broadcast room for Fire Beacon outside the arena, the team’s fans also became alert upon seeing this situation. However, before they could be alert for long, a large wave of new viewers suddenly flooded into the live broadcast room.

The fans of Fire Beacon: “?”

[Don’t enter the commercial district, run fast!!]

Just then, in the chaotic streets,

A red-and-white Stealth mecha stood atop the ruins, shouting through a megaphone towards the Fire Beacon mechas in the distance: “Hey, brothers ahead, come on in ah!”

Author’s note:

Fire Beacon: ? (cautious)

KID: Come on, come on (beckoning)

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