Genius Mechanic: Chapter 152.1

Keze Floating Island Contaminated Zone(Galactic Knockout Competition)

152. Post-Competition Bonus

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake

The KID team didn’t linger in the Keze Floating Island’s Contaminated Zone for too long. With Shen Xingtang’s symbolic cough, everyone in KID understood the subtle hint. As soon as they left the interview room, they packed their bags and rushed to catch their flight. They left so quickly that some media personnel who were waiting outside the venue couldn’t catch them.

The Mecha League also updated Sink’s information on StarNet after the knockout matches. This once-protected mecha pilot, who had been shielded due to being underage, was now fully in the public eye.

The interview with KID was also posted on StarNet. Sink’s response regarding his retirement from Individual Soldier battles explained the reasons behind his initial retirement. Many well-known Individual Soldier professional mecha pilots on StarNet reposted the interview video from the official account. Instead of dampening the previous hype on StarNet, this interview segment not only reignited the interest of many Individual Soldier mecha fans but also focused their attention on this young mecha pilot once again.

【I’ve been catching up on KID’s previous matches on the live stream these past few days, even the footage from the maintenance area.】

【Ah, I’ve exported and watched the footage of the Qiu Jin Black Hole’s segment many times.】

【I never knew Sink could do repairs before. How old is he, and what can’t he do?】

Previously, they only focused on Sink’s achievements in Individual Soldier battles. But now, with this mysterious Individual Soldier King revealing himself, fans suddenly realized how little they knew about him. Questions arose, like what he did before participating in Individual Soldier battles, where his repair skills at KID last season came from, and when he entered KID and achieved such high-efficiency cooperation with the KID mecha pilots.

It was no longer just about Individual Soldier battles and Assault Medical tactics. It spanned both the Individual Soldier and team battle circles. With the efficient cooperation showcased in the forest’s chase battle, KID had directly entered the field of view of many mecha bases. Discussions about them had caught up with the performance of the top-performing base, Gale, in the current knockout matches.

【Have you all seen the virtual battlefield Assault Medical videos dug up by netizens? Sink might have more than one Assault Medical tactic!】

【It seems like KID’s arsenal has become more diverse.】

【Although their performance in the knockout matches had highlights and embarrassing moments that people mocked, they really put in a lot of effort.】

Sink’s Assault Medical, Lucy’s Enhancement Cannon, and the coordination between KID’s two long-range fighters, Yan’s Counter Damage Shield, and Void Shock Blade… Netizens had noticed that although KID may be poor, compared to before, their overall strength had almost doubled. Just two years ago, KID was on the verge of disbandment, but now they were determined, relying on profits from their online store to support the base. Under the radar of others’ attention, they had actually reached this level.

After seeing the backlogged information, netizens suddenly understood why KID resorted to robbing during the knockout matches.

【Sigh, climbing up from being a weak team is indeed not easy.】

【When does their online store update its stock?】

【It’s right next to the official account. The prices are slightly lower than those on the market, and from time to time, they even have high-precision parts!】

Netizens were scouring the entire StarNet for news about KID, while the focus of the major mecha bases had shifted to KID’s team cooperation.

The footage of the forest’s chase battle has been studied by countless mecha teams. Captain Huo’s team had thoroughly researched KID, but other bases’ understanding of KID was still relatively limited. They could only analyze KID’s tactics from the cooperation between their mechas.

“Are you saying that Sink was commanding during the forest battle?” A YDS mecha pilot paused after hearing his team leader, Ke Lin’s, judgment. “Lu Xi and You Su may also be possible. When we met KID in Qiu Jin, Sink wasn’t participating in the match.”

Furthermore, how long had Sink been cooperating with KID? Based on the highly efficient cooperation seen in the chase battle, with Lucy and Trace as the core points for various breakthroughs, and their speed of coordination… If Sink was in command, how did he manage to make multi-level leaps?

Ke Lin: “Many people may have the same thoughts as you. Since Captain Huo left the field, there’s no way he could command. Judging by the core level, the possibility of command lies more between Lu Xi and You Su.”

He paused again after speaking. “But don’t forget, we first encountered Sink in the Tianyu Star Contaminated Zone, and later in Qiu Jin. His ability to command is excellent, and he’s strong in on-site combat. He indeed hasn’t played a match with KID, but his ability to respond and overall view can fully support his on-site cooperation.”

Others may think that Sink, as an Individual Soldier, couldn’t possibly take command immediately upon switching to team battles. Other teams may not be aware of these details, but they’d been through several Contaminated Zones with KID.

Sink’s overall view was excellent not only in solo battles but also when applied to commanding. This was definitely a huge threat.

“Tactics are one thing,” Hu Luobu said as he approached and heard his mecha pilots discussing, “Commanding is relatively easy to judge. What’s difficult to judge is Sink himself, and how many strategies KID will deploy with him as the core.”

With knowledge of their opponent’s tactical commanders, mecha teams can gain an advantage by targeting the tactical commanders on the scene.

Moreover, KID had two tactical commanders. Dealing with a team that had multiple commanders was indeed troublesome.

This was just one of the problems. Some people originally thought that the adaptation period for an Individual Soldier entering team battles was long. Even if there’s a threat, as long as they target Sink, they could solve the problem that was KID.

But now, Sink’s cooperation with KID was so efficient that it had not only not become a breakthrough point for KID, but had also single-handedly driven changes in KID’s lineup.

Moreover, Sink was an Individual Soldier, skilled in swords and gun-type weapons, yet in this elimination match, he brought out a Binding Lock, showing a flexibility comparable to that of a Stealth mecha.

If Sink was the Assault Medical mecha pilot who emerged from the virtual battlefield, then the problem was even bigger.

They couldn’t guess how many weapons Sink was proficient in, let alone the fact that he was also a mechanic.

The YDS mecha pilot: “…Sink is proficient in many weapons, but can KID’s resource reserves keep up with weapon changes?”

Gale’s Hu Luobu sighed, “If Sink were placed in a wealthy base like Gale, the threat would be too great.”

“Not only that.” Ke Lin pulled up the data of the other KID members, “The changes in the other KID members are too obvious.”

For example, Huo Yan, who rarely used control tactics, had brought out long-range control weapons, alleviating KID’s frontline’s weakness of having insufficient control.

Lucy, an obscure Control mecha pilot, had become the core target for many teams. Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao’s unique cooperation and resilience… Many team coaches even believed that Trace, an Artillery mecha pilot previously deemed uncontrollable, was fully compatible when within a team like KID.

Comparing the current combat styles of these mecha pilots with their previous styles, one would notice qualitative changes. Some had improved, while others had become sharper.

Ke Lin thought of Yuan, the weapon designer he had long been wary of. “This time, except for Huo Yan, the weapons of the other members of KID weren’t much different from the previous season.”

“KID still has hidden cards.”

The upcoming promotion competition won’t be easy.

—

Discussions on StarNet were increasing. When Shen Xingtang had time to check the comments on StarNet, she saw discussions about “KID being so frugal that they even economize on the new recruits’ team uniforms.” Due to this topic, KID’s chief sponsor even sent over a few extra sets of clothing.

Boss Zhou emphasized to Shen Xingtang that if they needed money, they should speak to Jian Heng.

Jiang Simiao exclaimed, “What’s going on!? At most, they should be one size larger, but several sizes larger? Are they planning to wear them until next year? Chenlin has even grown 2cm taller than last year!”

Shen Xingtang frowned slightly when she saw a picture in the discussion topic showing Ying Chenlin wearing You Su’s jacket. “I’ll bring it up in the meeting. People who don’t know might think that KID is so poor that they can’t even afford clothes.”

Last year, after the Fiarge and Qiu Jin matches under the old competition system, some investors did approach KID. However, Shen Xingtang, who had experienced the turmoil of KID’s management and sponsors running away before, was very cautious when it came to dealing with sponsors.

Before KID could agree, they were approached one by one, as if they were high-handed. For example, a combat suit manufacturer approached KID, asking the mecha pilots to wear their clothes for the competition. However, the quality of the combat suits provided was inferior, even compared to a company like Jian Heng, a mecha manufacturer. KID was indeed short of money, but Shen Xingtang would not compromise the safety of the mecha pilots.

After that refusal, there was even more negative publicity about KID in the industry, some of which came from former sponsors who had run away.

Shen Xingtang didn’t have time to pay attention to the many discussions and probes on StarNet. This new tournament format, probably due to their outstanding performance in the elimination rounds, coupled with KID adding Sink as a key player, led many investors who were previously watching from the sidelines to come knocking on KID’s door.

“I heard Mr. Zhou also increased the sponsorship money?” Jiang Simiao remarked.

“Yeah, the A-grade Binding Lock and Energy Cannon that Chenlin used this time are weapons made by their company. Also, because of Chenlin, they’ve received quite a few orders for Medical mecha-style weapons recently. They said they’ll provide us with the maintenance fees for our mechas, so we can ask whenever we need it,” Shen Xingtang explained.

“Mr. Zhou is a good person, but our current problem is that making S-grade weapons requires a lot of funds. Mr. Zhou provides us with avenues, but we can’t just keep asking for money for everything, can we? Money relationships can be settled, but favors are hard to repay,” he added.

“Let’s talk about sponsors once our ranking improves,” Shen Xingtang continued. “The prize money for the elimination rounds has also come in. Once the materials are sold in the online store, our cash flow won’t be tight anymore.”

Their gains from Keze Floating Island were also considerable, and they had managed to weather the difficult money-spending period after leaving Coria.

At this moment, Gu Xiaotian emerged from the maintenance room. “Tang Jie, you’ve come at the right time. All the materials in our online store have been sold out.”

“So fast?” Shen Xingtang was surprised. The materials from Keze Floating Island were generally basic, mostly materials available on the market, so they should have sold relatively slowly.

“I’m not sure either. We got a lot of new customers as soon as we opened the store, and Zhang Ge and I sold off all the materials while organizing them,” Gu Xiaotian explained.

Upon hearing this, Shen Xingtang thanked Gu Xiaotian for his hard work.

While the KID mecha pilots were training, Ying Chenlin had returned and checked his body. Since the prize money from the elimination rounds had come in and a lot of materials had been sold, Shen Xingtang finally had some spare funds to distribute bonuses to everyone. The entire KID team was overjoyed, and Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao immediately went online to look for discounted materials.

Ying Chenlin was about to decline the bonus he just received when Shen Xingtang handed him another red envelope. 

—

In Gale’s base, the tactical research meeting for all teams in the elimination rounds had just concluded.

Zhang Ge hurried into the office with a cup of hot tea, and as soon as he turned the corner, he noticed the interns running over, saying that KID’s online store had distributed bonuses.

On the light brain message was a transfer notification from Shen Xingtang, clearly marked with the word “bonus”.

“Still remembering to give bonuses, Shen Xingtang, this woman still has a bit of conscience,” Zhang Ge remarked with deep emotion as he looked at the bonus, nearly two months’ worth of salary, with dark circles under his eyes. “And it’s quite a substantial amount.”

The intern said, “I asked their customer service representative, Xiao Tian, and apparently, they didn’t receive as much as you did. Zhang Ge, your position in Boss Shen’s heart must be high.”

Zhang Ge: “…”

“Really?” 

The intern nodded.

Zhang Ge felt even more complicated after hearing this. When he lowered his head, he saw a soft article push notification pop up on the light brain—

#Reviewing the Events of KID Over the Years#

#Behind The Contaminated Zone Robbery—How Much Did KID Earn In This Operation#

Zhang Ge: “…”

Indeed, this bonus carried quite a weight.

Author’s Note:

Intern: So, are we taking this money?

Zhang Ge: …

TN:

NEXT ARC: KEMU CAVE CONTAMINATED ZONE (GALACTIC PROMOTION COMPETITION)!!! Looking forward to more of KID’s shenanigans~

It’s my birthday! Double updates as my gift to you guys. Enjoy~

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