Genius Mechanic: Chapter 162

Bonus Ko-fi chapter

Kemu Cave Contaminated Zone(Galactic Promotion Competition)

162. Green Armor Beast, Mining Machine Online.

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake

“A pollutant?” The KID members simultaneously activated their pollutant detection systems. Kemu Cave had many special energy reactions, and once activated, they could see the scattered distribution of pollutant reactions. Among the numerous pollutant reactions, Lin Yao and Ji Qingfeng also detected a moving signal source on their radar.

Deep in Kemu Cave, upon detecting the red pollutant signal, the three KID members locked onto the pollutant’s position immediately, not for any other reason but because this pollutant’s value was nearly 5800, making it one of the high-level pollutants in Kemu Cave.

With a pollution value approaching 5800, this was almost an S-Level reserve ¹ level ah.

The radar signals could only show movement on a flat plane. Lin Yao looked at the pollutant approaching them and then at the vertical distance displayed on the radar, pointing out, “This thing looks huge. What kind of pollutant is it?”

Ying Chenlin had already opened the Kemu Cave database. The database recorded all types of registered pollutants in Kemu Cave. The first thing he saw was the list of pollutants in Kemu Cave. The S-Level pollutants in this Contaminated Zone had mostly been dealt with by other mecha bases during the Black Hole-triggered event. Only A-Level pollutants remained inside.

“There are quite a few A-Level pollutants here, but it’s hard to pinpoint the type of a moving pollutant…” Ying Chenlin was talking when he suddenly saw a certain type of pollutant documented in the database and abruptly looked at the ground.

Lin Yao said regretfully, “Only A-Levels… 5800 is considered a high-level mutation, right?”

Ji Qingfeng responded, “Yao Bao, are you not interested in A-Levels anymore? That’s not right. Even a mosquito, though tiny, provides some form of nourishment ² ah.”

Lin Yao pouted, “But it’s below us. I hate navigating mazes.”

But honestly, if it was just an A-Level mutation, it might not be worth the energy to search for it.

“If it’s too far, there’s no need to go after it,” Huo Yan said. “It’s a pity the maze map made by the Night Bats is limited. We don’t know if there are any bats in the upper maze space. Maybe we should use the bats to map another route. We haven’t found any exploration points below, so most likely, the exploration points are above.”

Lu Xi hesitated and said, “There shouldn’t be any bats in the higher layers. The Night Bats seem to only appear in the underground areas.”

Just as the other KID members were about to continue searching for exploration points, Ying Chenlin fixated on the moving red dot. He noticed the red dot’s movement speed in particular and brought up the maze map, using the pollutant detections to reassess the situation.

Despite the complex conditions of the pathways in the underground maze, the trajectory of this pollutant’s movements didn’t resemble the winding pathfinding from the previous Night Bats. On the contrary, while its movement speed wasn’t fast, its direction was mostly straight…

You Su had originally flown upwards, but suddenly noticed that the team’s shared channel was open. Ying Chenlin had shared a piece of data, which included a list of A-Level pollutants in Kemu Cave, with a particular pollutant marked in red by Ying Chenlin.

Upon seeing the pollutant, You Su’s thruster cut off.

Huo Yan, who was following behind You Su, noticed his actions and asked, “You Su, not going? We should head up and scout first—”

At that moment, Ying Chenlin’s voice came through, “The one directly below us might be a Green Armor Beast.”

The KID members, seeing the data on the Green Armor Beast shared in their team channel, had their eyes light up.

You Su brought up the location of the pollutant source. A mere 5800 pollutant source, not even considered S-Level.

He paused, “You mean to?”

“I’m guessing, but I could be wrong,” Ying Chenlin circled a key point in the Green Armor Beast’s data, “…If it’s a Green Armor Beast, spending some energy to find it wouldn’t be a waste, right?”

Huo Yan thought for a moment, “It could work. We do have a score advantage now.”

Hearing the anticipation in Ying Chenlin’s voice, You Su looked at the pollutant data a few more times, roughly estimating their position relative to the pollutant, “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it quickly, before it runs off.”

With Huo Yan and You Su’s agreement, Ying Chenlin proposed, “You Ge is right. How about we split into two groups?”

You Su’s movements halted suddenly.

The KID team quickly reached a consensus. Huo Yan, turning around to see You Su still at the rear, said, “You Su, over here, we go this way.”

You Su hesitated, “We?”

“Of course, we’re farther away, so we’ll go up,” Huo Yan said, not forgetting to add in the comms, “Let’s split like this: the three of us will head up, and you three go down.”

Ying Chenlin responded, “Okay.”

You Su: “…”

*Did he want to go with Chenlin?

Outside the arena, the audience watching the match noticed that the KID members had suddenly stopped moving.

【Why isn’t KID moving?】

【Aren’t they in a hurry to find exploration points? If they wait too long, BZZL1 and Black Crow will find all the points.】

【Actually, even if we count the scores, it doesn’t seem to matter if KID doesn’t find more exploration points. Their initial 6 points are too excellent.】

【6 points aren’t stable either. Once all the exploration points are found, the only way to earn points will be through battle.】

There were only 10 exploration points in the arena. Once all 10 are found, the only way to score mech points is through combat. KID’s early lead of 6 points certainly increases the urgency for the other two teams. If KID finds more exploration points, their superior score could secure them a spot in the finals.

【If they keep going up, they can fight with Black Crow and BZZL1. Why are they just standing there?】

【Weren’t they just actively searching for exploration points? Why have they all stopped?】

Neither the other teams nor Kemu Cave’s Management Bureau had anticipated a complete team wipeout in the maze.

The management staff were monitoring the situation in Kemu Cave. Several leaders stood by, watching the developments. Five exploration points in the maze had already been activated. These points were originally deep underground facilities, and considering the high concentration of pollutants at lower levels, they had placed the points higher up. They hadn’t expected KID and Giant Bear to start fighting in the lower levels, leading to Giant Bear’s complete elimination.

“This team never plays by the rules,” one leader couldn’t help but say. “The rules were designed to combine exploration with point collection, but they’ve managed to score more points than the other teams.”

Another person added, “We didn’t expect KID to completely wipe out Giant Bear.”

Or rather, they hadn’t expected any team to wipe out another team in the maze. It wasn’t a flat battlefield, and given the complex conditions of the maze, the management couldn’t have anticipated such a scenario.

The only saving grace was that the exploration points were in the mid-to-upper levels of the maze. Otherwise, with KID’s exceptional mapping skills, the competition in Kemu Cave would have ended within the three days. As the event organizers, they hoped the competition’s rules would ensure each team had ample opportunities for training, which is why they separated all team members at the start. But who could have predicted that after being separated, Black Crow and BZZL1 would head upwards while only KID and Giant Bear stayed in the middle and lower levels?

A nearby staff member noted, “The KID mechas haven’t moved for five minutes. Should we remind them?”

“Let’s not bother with KID. If they want to stop, let them stop.” The leader of Kemu Cave sipped his tea, recalling the worn-out look of the Keze Floating Island Management Bureau’s director during the last meeting and decided to play it safe, “Don’t remind them. Reminding them never leads to anything good.”

The staff member looked at the monitoring screen and, hearing the leader’s words, noticed the approaching pollutant signals. “But the noise from KID’s fight with Giant Bear was too loud, and a lot of pollutants are crawling out from underground. Shouldn’t we warn them about that?”

“Pollutants?” The leader was taken aback. “Bats?”

“Not just bats,” the staff member swallowed nervously. “We detected abnormal underground tremors recently. It seems there might be pollutants moving from even deeper levels.”

The leader paused. “From deeper levels?”

“Currently, we’ve detected an A-Level mutant pollutant on the move,” the staff quickly reported. “It’s the A-Level pollutant, Green Armor Beast.”

The leader: “Shouldn’t the Green Armor Beast be residing in the lower levels of the maze?”

The staff: “The commotion in the lower levels might have been too much. KID’s Artillery mecha was too fierce when bombarding Giant Bear.”

The leader, recalling the violent scene of Trace eliminating Giant Bear, immediately understood: “…It’s not a big problem. The lower levels don’t have our foundational facilities, and the mecha pilots aren’t down there. When they fight, they’ll all move upwards.”

Before the management staff could finish speaking, they suddenly noticed that on the competition monitoring system, the KID team, which had been stationary, finally moved. However, three of their mechas were heading upward while the other three were moving in the opposite direction, directly heading towards the lower levels of Kemu Cave.

Seeing this, the staff exclaimed, “…Something’s not right, leader.”

“KID seems to be heading downwards.”

The leader: “What are they planning!?”

【Why is KID going downwards?】

【There’s nothing down there! And didn’t they just pass through this area?】

【This is driving me crazy. All the exploration points are above. They’ve only sent three mechas up. What if they run into Black Crow? Won’t there be trouble?】

Due to their apprehension towards KID’s combat strategy in the first half of the game, not only Gale but other mecha bases in the arena also began analyzing KID’s movements.

Splitting into two teams in this situation could put the team heading upward at a disadvantage if they encounter Black Crow or BZZL1.

“Their movements are really strange.”

“Better be cautious, KID’s commander in this match seems different. They might have another trick up their sleeve.”

“They split into two teams?” At Gale’s base, Zhao Lejie noticed this with slight surprise. Given the current situation, KID had an excellent advantage. If they moved upwards and captured one or two exploration points before the other two teams, their high score would secure their dominant position. “I could understand if they were looking for exploration points, but they’ve already scouted the lower area thoroughly; there aren’t exploration points down there.”

Qi Sicheng frowned, seemingly not expecting KID to adopt such a strategy. “Six points is still an advantage. It’s possible they have a reason not to go up.”

Zhang Ge asked, puzzled, “What do you mean?”

“There are only 10 exploration points. Given the current situation, Black Crow and BZZL1 will inevitably encounter each other. Ideally, the exploration points would be divided between these two teams, and to secure a spot in the top eight, they will certainly engage in battle.” Qi Sicheng explained, “KID’s six points are relatively secure based on the current trajectory. However, their fight with Giant Bear took a toll on them. Facing Black Crow directly might not be favorable. The best approach is to let Black Crow and BZZL1 exhaust each other in the upper levels and then finish off the weakened team.”

Zhao Lejie: “Sitting back and watching the tigers fight?”

Qi Sicheng said, “If it were me, I’d do the same.”

Sink is a strong solo fighter, but he can’t maintain high-level combat for long.

From Gale’s observations of KID, their strategy of slacking off after each fight is to gain more rest time. But if that’s the case, what’s the purpose of sending three mechas upwards?

After hearing Qi Sicheng’s analysis, Zhao Lejie looked at the mechas moving in the arena with some doubt.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed a subtle change in the arena.

“Isn’t there something weird about the lower levels?” Zhao Lejie wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly had a bad feeling. “I feel like KID’s plan isn’t that complicated.”

In the cave’s slight quiet, the bats and other flying pollutants were hanging from the top. The three KID mechas, heading downward, were moving in the same direction. The deeper they went, the more pronounced the vibrations from below became.

The disturbed bats flew around as Ying Chenlin avoided the areas with significant energy reactions from the bats, leading Lin Yao into a deeper part. Their pace was swift, and avoiding the groups of pollutants made their journey downwards exceptionally smooth.

The smoother it was, the more they could feel the buzzing vibrations as they descended.

The audience watching the match immediately noticed the subtle changes in the environment, especially the vibrations causing the cave’s rock layers to crumble, filling the cave with a bizarre dissonance.

【Is the ground shaking?】

【F*ck, it looks like it. But there aren’t any mechas underground.】

【Pollutants???】

The live commentators, who had been analyzing KID’s strategy, turned their attention back to the Contaminated Zone upon noticing the vibrations in the rock layers. “There are no mechas underground. The vibrations are either geological activity in Kemu Cave or pollutants.”

As they spoke, they pulled up the competition system to check for pollutant activity at the bottom.

What they found was a massive energy reaction. Seeing the energy reaction stunned the commentators, who immediately switched the livestream view to focus on the area near the pollutant.

What they saw was a large pollutant lurking underground.

The pollutant was covered in a green shell, its massive body curled up inside the cave. At that moment, most of its body was embedded in the cave wall, using its sharp claws to dig. The excavated minerals fell at its feet, and it grabbed the brown ore, gnawing on it while continuing to dig, quickly opening two more cave passages.

【What the hell is this…?】

【An A-Level mutant reaction. It looks like a Green Armor Beast.】

【Green Armor Beast? A pollutant in Kemu Cave?】

【Yes, where do you think Kemu Cave’s pollutants come from?】

The Green Armor Beast is a native pollutant of Kemu Cave, living in the cave’s lower levels for years. It’s one of the reasons for Kemu Cave’s unique terrain. The Green Armor Beast’s levels range from C to A. They feed on the minerals in Kemu Cave and love digging.

These pollutants have strong instincts when attacking but also have dormancy periods.

During dormancy, they dig a hole for themselves and can sleep for a long time. But once they wake up, they have an enormous desire to attack, which they alleviate by eating voraciously. Their primary target for feeding is the cave’s minerals.

These types of pollutants are particularly troublesome, which is why, when establishing underground base stations in the Kemu Cave Contaminated Zone, they avoided the Green Armor Beast’s territory to prevent the base station facilities from being gnawed on like minerals by the Green Armor Beasts.

These highly aggressive pollutants are best avoided; getting too close can easily make you their target.

The audience thought the same, believing KID wouldn’t be foolish enough to approach the pollutant source after spotting it. That was until they realized KID’s direction hadn’t changed, and they were getting closer to the Green Armor Beast.

【Wait a minute? Their direction?】

【??? Sink and Yao’s are heading in a direction straight towards the pollutant!】

At that moment, Sink and Yao, moving downward, were the first to reach the corner of the area where the Green Armor Beast was located. As their searchlight swept in that direction, the massive body of the Green Armor Beast appeared in front of the two mechas.

Before the audience could react, the Green Armor Beast immediately noticed the nearby mechas. It locked onto KID’s mechas as attack targets with larger energy reactions from a distance. Its forelimbs pulled out from the cave wall, and its eyes glinted with a cold, eerie light under the searchlight.

Then, it charged fiercely towards the positions of KID’s two mechas.

The Green Armor Beast, a large pollutant with highly destructive scales, had tremendous ramming power when unimpeded. In just a moment, it rapidly closed the distance with Sink.

As the Green Armor Beast launched its attack, Sink’s Rapid-Fire Cannon was already aimed at it. In the next second, a concentrated blast of fire roared towards the Green Armor Beast.

“Holy crap, it really is a Green Armor Beast!” Lin Yao exclaimed excitedly as he ran.

Ying Chenlin said, “The run was worth it.”

Ji Qingfeng: “Where is it, where is it?! I’m coming right away.”

As KID started fighting the Green Armor Beast, the viewers in the live chat were stunned.

【Did they really come all this way just to fight the Green Armor Beast?!】

【I have a bad feeling about this. This scene looks very familiar to me.】

【To the person above, it does look familiar. I suggest reviewing the Qiu Jin League.】

【What happened at Qiu Jin? Why do people in KID’s livestream always mention Qiu Jin?】

Mentioning Qiu Jin instantly brought back memories for the fans.

“KID’s mechas charging towards the Green Armor Beast’s position, isn’t it exactly the same as when they charged towards the Blood-Devouring Crows in Qiu Jin? Back then, the Blood-Devouring Crows appeared right in front of them before they charged. Now, the Green Armor Beast is so far away from them, and they have to run all the way from the middle layer to the bottom layer to catch it?”

【I know KID has a bad habit of chasing pollutants for resources, but they didn’t even move for those bats. Why are they fixated on this one!?】

【Don’t you understand KID? They always go for the expensive ones.】

【The Night Bats are cheap, but Green Armor Beasts are expensive.】

【The Night Bats: How rude.】

“What on earth is KID doing!?”

“They’re going all the way there to find the Green Armor Beast?”

In the KID rest area, Jiang Simiao paused slightly with the teacup in his hand. “Xingtang, really?”

Shen Xingtang replied calmly, “Can’t say for sure.”

In Gale’s base, Zhao Lejie stood up abruptly upon seeing this. “Are they serious?! The Green Armor Beast is just an A-Level pollutant.”

Qi Sicheng’s previous analysis of KID was completely invalidated, and he remained silent for a moment before saying, “But the Green Armor Beast’s claws and teeth are very sharp… sharp enough to dig through rocks.”

Naturally, the KID team knew the usefulness of the Green Armor Beast, otherwise, they wouldn’t have rushed over upon seeing the pollutant signal from afar.

As soon as Ying Chenlin noticed the Green Armor Beast catching up, he immediately increased the distance between himself and Lin Yao. “Lin Yao, lead it forward.”

Like other pollutants, the Green Armor Beast would chase after energy sources. Ying Chenlin reduced his energy response and retreated to the upper cave. Seeing Lin Yao leading the Green Armor Beast away, he judged the distance between himself and Ji Qingfeng.

“Qingfeng, let’s lay in ambush ahead,” Ying Chenlin said.

Ji Qingfeng followed the map and changed directions upon hearing Ying Chenlin’s words. “Got it.”

Encountering Green Armor Beasts and killing them isn’t easy, and KID might not even enter Kemu Cave again for years.

Most importantly, this pollutant could dig through walls, making its sharp claws too precious to be used solely as weapons.

Judging the distance of the energy response, Ying Chenlin browsed through the database, which was filled with detailed information on the Green Armor Beast. It seemed that the Kemu Cave Contaminated Zone had also been troubled by these pollutants. As he flipped through the data, he paused slightly when he saw the scales mentioned in the data on the Green Armor Beast. “Qingfeng, the Green Armor Beast doesn’t have scales on its neck.”

With this statement, Ji Qingfeng understood.

The cave witnessed the pursuit between KID and the Green Armor Beast, leaving the commentators in the live broadcast puzzled. Even though they knew about KID’s habit of chasing after pollutants with resources, they didn’t expect them to come all the way underground to kill the pollutant, only to run away as soon as they encountered it. Is this supposed to be a kill or not?

The commentators continued their duty: “Very well, now we see Yao and the Green Armor Beast still struggling, while QingF and Sink have already taken a detour.”

【KID’s fans are also puzzled by this scene.】

【Don’t they start collecting resources as soon as they meet? Why are they running away now?】

Zhao Lejie suddenly felt a familiar feeling creeping up. “Can it be?”

The chase continued, and as Lin Yao led the Green Armor Beast farther away, there was a subtle change in Ying Chenlin and Ji Qingfeng’s positions. They moved faster than the Green Armor Beast, quickly reaching the cave ahead of it. Just as Lin Yao led the Green Armor Beast in that direction, a Stealth mecha descended from the sky onto the Green Armor Beast. The Binding Lock in his hand wrapped around the Green Armor Beast’s neck securely, getting stuck in the area without scales.

The live broadcast room: “?”

Qi Sicheng said, “Does it look familiar?”

The entirety of Gale’s base fell into silence when they saw this. Too f*cking familiar.

The staff of the Kemu Cave Contaminated Zone’s Management Bureau had a bad feeling when they saw this scene, and their leader, holding a cup of tea, turned into stone on the spot.

The next moment, Ji Qingfeng grabbed the Green Armor Beast’s neck and aimed its head at the cave wall.

The Green Armor Beast struggled, its front claws and scales scraping against the wall, directly scraping off a layer of translucent ore.

Ji Qingfeng confidently sat on the Green Armor Beast. “Let’s go, son, let’s do some mining for dad.”

Author’s note:

The live broadcast room was stunned by this move.

Gale, who had ridden the mantis car before: …F*ck

(Traditional skills, nothing more)

TN:

Daddy Feng is back!

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Translator Notes

1. Preparing to advance to S-Level[↩]
2. A little is better than nothing[↩]