Genius Mechanic: Chapter 172

Kemu Cave Contaminated Zone(Galactic Promotion Competition)

172. Agaman Sea Star Contaminated Zone

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake and An Zheee 

When Ying Chenlin mentioned a confidential appraisal, the gazes of several nearby merchants subtly changed.

The appraiser at the front desk smiled and, after settling the appraisal fee for the four anomalous crystals with Ying Chenlin, personally walked up to him and spoke kindly, “Hello, for the confidential appraisal, please follow me to another area.”

Confidential appraisals could only be conducted privately, and the other members of KID had to stay outside.

Surrounding onlookers, already interested in Ying Chenlin’s identification of two functional anomalous crystals, now turned silent as he chose confidential appraisal. Several people glanced at KID’s mecha pilots silently.

For items from the stone gambling area, there was no need for a confidential appraisal. Norbert watched with interest as Ying Chenlin’s figure disappeared into the confidential appraisal area, blinking as he said, “Looks like Sink has something good.”

Not far away, Wu Qingshuang straightened up slightly. “Looks like KID’s background isn’t as bad as rumored on StarNet.”

Yu Su’s gaze shifted slightly, noticing that several mecha pilots in the lobby had subtle changes in their expressions. After exchanging a few words with the front desk appraiser, he quickly returned to his resting spot in the lobby to wait.

Confidential appraisals took time; he would have to wait a while.

Ying Chenlin followed the appraiser through several corridors until they entered a brightly lit room where several people were waiting.

These people, Ying Chenlin recognized as mecha pilots from E.M.

The E.M. mecha pilots seemed to have finished their appraisals and were preparing to leave. As Ying Chenlin passed by them, a man in purple glanced sideways, his peripheral vision lingering momentarily on Ying Chenlin.

Ying Chenlin continued following the appraiser. The leader of E.M. paused in his tracks.

“Captain?” one of the mecha pilots asked in confusion.

The man’s gaze, slightly cold, returned briefly. He muttered with some doubt, “A mechanical arm.”

Ying Chenlin paid no attention to the gaze behind him. As they entered the waiting area, there was a special appraisal platform.

The Hydra Association’s staff in charge of confidential appraisals nodded at him, passing over the detailed guidelines. These guidelines were similar to those of the organization Quest, responsible for testing anomalous crystals outside—they ensured no information about the appraiser would be exposed, nor would details about the anomalous crystals. All appraisal data would be destroyed after being transferred to the appraiser.

As for pricing, a confidential appraisal was significantly more expensive than the regular appraisals outside. The starting price for A-Grade appraisals was 1 million, while for S-Grade, it soared to 5 million—especially for S-Grade anomalous crystals, which started at an additional 2 million.

The staff said, “Our organization serves mecha pilots year-round. You can trust us.”

Ying Chenlin hesitated for a moment but eventually took out the three anomalous crystals. Among them, the one with the dimmest color was the dual-attribute thunder-fire anomalous crystal. This crystal had been drained of energy multiple times by Yuan, so now, the energy within it wasn’t as rich as it had been initially, though it shouldn’t have affected the crystal’s performance.

Apart from this, there were also two anomalous crystals from his father’s inheritance. One emitted a mottled light, while the other had no color at all, appearing blank and transparent.

After the identification personnel took away the three anomalous crystals, Ying Chenlin waited in the corresponding waiting area. 

With nothing else to do, he began to look at his light brain. He discovered that the others in KID were already discussing other matters in the group chat. It turns out many merchants were inquiring about the sale of his two anomalous crystals. Some merchants believed that the stone gambling area had many good items and had already rushed there to inspect the goods.

It made sense why there was such a big price difference between the two types of identification. Thinking about this, he paused slightly. These prices were similar to what You Su had told him, but how did You Su know the prices of the Hydra Association?

Ying Chenlin’s gaze settled on the light brain. Ji Qingfeng and the others were chatting in the group, but You Su hadn’t sent any messages.

Suddenly, he realized that he didn’t seem to know much about You Su. He had a special relationship with the Frontier Army and a deep understanding of the Hydra Association. As a young man in his twenties, his life experience was unfathomable.

Ying Chenlin scrolled up and saw that You Su’s latest response was over an hour ago when Huo Yan asked where they were, and You Su replied that he was at the stone gambling area.

With a slight pause, he clicked on You Su’s profile picture and found that You Su’s profile page and space were blank.

Just then, the light brain in his hand vibrated, and a new message popped up in his chat with You Su. It was a private message.

[- You Su: How did the identification turn out?]

Ying Chenlin was about to reply when suddenly, the identification platform in the distance lit up, and the identification personnel nodded towards him. “Mr. Ying, this way please.”

Inside the waiting area, there was a more private meeting room.

After Ying Chenlin sat down, a formally dressed manager approached him. Three specially modeled data panels were placed in front of Ying Chenlin, all displaying golden identification marks on their main pages.

“Hello, Mr. Ying. I am in charge of the results of your identification this time,” the manager said. “The identification data is recorded on these three data panels. From left to right, they are a thunder-fire dual-attribute attack anomalous crystal, an earth attribute support-type anomalous crystal, and a wind-thunder dual-attribute attack-type anomalous crystal.”

Ying Chenlin knew about the dual attributes of the thunder-fire crystal, but unexpectedly, in his father’s legacy, there was actually a dual-attribute anomalous crystal?

Ying Chenlin took out the data panel of the dual-attribute anomalous crystal first and opened the appraisal information.

The manager timely spoke up, “We have tested many S-Grade anomalous crystals with dual attack abilities, and this anomalous crystal’s power ranks in the top ten among those we’ve tested.”

S-Grade Anomalous Crystal [Wind][Thunder], Abilities [Hurricane][Thunder]. The ability, Hurricane, can generate large-scale tornadoes, with condensed winds possessing significant destructive power; Thunder, when triggered, unleashes widespread lightning strikes of immense power.

The description of the attack-type anomalous crystal was relatively straightforward, without complex utility descriptions, only marking the attack levels of the abilities. This dual-attribute anomalous crystal was particularly special, with both abilities inclined towards large-scale attacks, and its power was extremely potent. Just by looking at the attack power of its abilities, one can predict how destructive this pollutant could be when active.

And this anomalous crystal was left by his father, Ying Lingfeng…

Ying Chenlin finished reviewing the entire set of data before turning his attention to the info on the earth attribute support-type anomalous crystal.

S-Grade Anomalous Crystal [Earth], Ability [Spatial Force Field]. Ying Chenlin was somewhat surprised to see a spatial ability among an earth attribute anomalous crystal, as spatial abilities are the least common in earth attribute anomalous crystals. KID had already obtained two spatial anomalous crystals… this type, centered around itself, was similar to the one they originally obtained from the Female Mantis, which was spatial displacement, whereas this spatial force field belonged to the category of auxiliary reinforcement.

In the current Star Alliance, there were also many spatially enhanced weapons, such as large-scale freezing effects within a spatial range, changes in wind speed within a space range, or changes in magnetic fields within a space range… There were also abilities like the Anti-Gravity Field possessed by this anomalous crystal, but this one had a broader spatial range. As a mechanic, Ying Chenlin understood the significant impact of changes in anti-gravity fields on a mecha’s movement speed and combat.

… The two anomalous crystals left by his father were both extraordinary.

“Chenlin.” Yuan’s voice appeared in his mind.

Ying Chenlin snapped out of his thoughts, placing down the data panel in his hand and reaching for the last data panel. He had held onto this dual-attribute anomalous crystal obtained from Banute for a long time now, even though it was brought out from a Sharp-Toothed Rat, Ying Chenlin always felt like this anomalous crystal had something to do with the Nine Dragon Rattan from Banute.

As soon as he opened the data panel, Ying Chenlin noticed the two words “Immortal Fire” at the forefront.

S-Grade Anomalous Crystal [Fire][Thunder], Abilities [Immortal Fire][Lightning]. The ability, Immortal Fire, can create long-lasting flames that do not extinguish, with the flames causing burning effects within their range; Lightning, a special type of thunder and lightning, cannot be captured by energy sources and possesses strong destructive power.

Long-lasting flames…? Ying Chenlin thought about how much fire attribute energy Yuan had drawn from it. This anomalous crystal hadn’t shattered even now, likely entirely due to its Immortal Fire ability.

In the Banute Contaminated Zone at that time, the two symbiotic pollutants had the abilities [Regeneration] and [Phagocytosis] ¹.

In a small-scale Contamination Zone like Banute, it was rare to find special anomalous plants with abilities, yet it nurtured a rare [Phagocytosis] ability plant pollutant. Ying Chenlin remembered that the shine of the phagocytosis anomalous crystal was a light pink color with tiny flashes of lightning. Perhaps the original pollutant with the phagocytosis ability rapidly grew by drawing energy from this anomalous crystal…

“The reason we classify this anomalous crystal as an S-Grade attack type is because its anomalous power ranks among the top in attack-type anomalous crystals,” the manager continued, “but both of its abilities carry unique functional effects. It’s more accurately described as a functional attack anomalous crystal.”

Ying Chenlin’s gaze lingered on the ability ‘Lightning’ following ‘Immortal Fire,’ lightning that cannot be captured by energy sources. What kind of monster was the prototype pollutant of this anomalous crystal?

“Are these types of anomalies rarely seen?” Ying Chenlin asked.

“We at the Hydra Association judge anomalous crystals not just by their abilities, but by their comprehensive data,” the manager replied. “Based on our data at the Star Alliance and the overall data from these three anomalous crystals you brought for testing today, they are all quite rare. The rarest should be the wind-thunder dual-attribute anomalous crystal, followed by this one, and lastly the spatial force field.”

Ying Chenlin looked at the three data panels thoughtfully. Suddenly, his handheld light brain vibrated in his arms.

Coming back to his senses, he opened the light brain and saw an unanswered question mark from You Su in the unclosed chat box. He switched to another page; the group was concerned about what had happened to him?

It was only then that Ying Chenlin realized he had been in this guest room for over an hour, and the manager sitting across from him had shown no signs of urging him to leave.

Seeing Ying Chenlin seemingly preparing to leave, the manager handed over the three anomalous crystals on the robot’s tray, “Hello, Mr. Ying. The appraisal process for these three anomalous crystals was complex. Our organization estimates charges of 7 million, 8.5 million, and 9.85 million respectively, totaling 25.35 million here.”

Ying Chenlin’s hand hesitated slightly before proceeding with the transfer.

—

Outside the confidential appraisal area, the longer Ying Chenlin stayed inside, the longer those outside watched.

Lin Yao said, “Do they need more money inside? Does Chenlin have enough with him?”

“It should be enough, right?” Ji Qingfeng refreshed the group messages. “He didn’t ask us for help either. Could it be they don’t allow light brains inside?”

Huo Yan crossed his arms, looking worriedly into the distance. “Let’s wait a bit longer. If it doesn’t work out, should we go in and check? Just now, didn’t E.M and their group all go in together?”

You Su lowered his head, scrolling through the messages on his light brain. He sent out two messages but received no reply.

Frowning slightly, just as he looked up, he noticed movement from the opposite corridor. A boy quickly walked out from inside, glanced to judge their location, and soon walked over in their direction.

“So long?” You Su asked.

Ying Chenlin replied, “Yeah, it took a bit more time…”

The KID members were having an exchange here, while over there, it seemed like some merchants were approaching, perhaps wanting to eavesdrop on something.

Ying Chenlin noticed that the way the people around them were looking at them had subtly changed. Huo Yan slightly blocked Ying Chenlin’s front, and the KID members didn’t linger inside the appraisal hall. As they walked out, Ying Chenlin noticed that several mecha pilots he had been interested in inside the appraisal hall were no longer there.

The Hydra Association was a special appreciation society. They relied on Old Qiu’s entry tickets to enter, while the other mecha pilots who could enter either had extraordinary status or their own network channels. Their identities were not what they were trying to investigate. What made Ying Chenlin feel the gap was the disparity between their mecha bases. It seemed like the Hydra Association was just the tip of the iceberg.

Following the KID members outside, as they passed by the stone gambling area, Ying Chenlin noticed that there were more people around the stone gambling area, including someone with golden hair.

Seemingly aware of Ying Chenlin’s gaze, Norbert raised his hand in the crowd to greet him, “Hey.”

Ji Qingfeng exclaimed, “Damn, PJT is really rich. How many did Norbert buy?”

Lin Yao looked over with envy, “I want to gamble too.”

Ji Qingfeng immediately stopped him, “Gamble what? Gambling away your entire family’s wealth! Kids shouldn’t learn such things!”

Seeing Ying Chenlin continue to look at the stone gambling area, You Su asked, “Still interested in playing?”

Ying Chenlin hurriedly shook his head, covering his light brain slightly, “Not playing.”

This kind of luck-based gambling addiction would only waste money. Ying Chenlin had only tested those two anomalous crystals out of curiosity. If he really wanted to appraise them, he still had several that hadn’t been appraised yet.

KID’s group was financially tight, and Huo Yan, as the eldest, was well aware of this. He quickly dragged away the several curious people.

In the crowd at the stone gambling area, someone spoke up, “The people from KID have left.”

After Norbert finished selecting two anomalous crystals and looked up, he indeed didn’t see anyone from KID, “Such a pity. I wanted to talk to Sink.”

A mecha pilot nearby said, “You’re very interested in this base.”

“Of course, I’m interested in Sink and Yuan,” Norbert replied.

“I sent messages to their customer service, but they haven’t opened them yet. I should have asked for Sink’s communication number just now.”

“Just now, there were two reactions from S-Class mechas in KID. The Artillery mecha pilot who has been following Sink isn’t simple; he noticed us. And besides us, it seems like there are several waves of people inquiring about KID…” The mecha pilot glanced at Norbert as he picked up another one, eyebrows twitching, “Norbert, are 30 not enough for you?”

In the crowd, the well-informed guests had already received the message.

“KID? Which galaxy are they from?”

“The First Star Domain, Dawn Galaxy, isn’t that famous.”

“How come such a small base like this would come to the Hydra Association? Have they found out who that mecha pilot with the mechanical arm is…?”

“It took a bit of effort… but indeed, that mecha pilot’s identity is not simple.”

A merchant dug out some information, “The sole recipient of the Individual Soldier Grand Slam, Sink.”

Unaware that others were already investigating them, KID left the stone gambling area and proceeded to tour the exhibition hall again. After looking around, they either didn’t find anything of interest or found items too expensive to afford. They nearly finished their tour just as the exhibition was ending. The auction the next day had little relevance to them. Rushing to beat the closing time, and bolstered by Ji Qingfeng’s bargaining skills, they purchased another S-Grade anomalous crystal.

It was an S-Grade water-based Sea Coral anomalous crystal with the ability [Erosion], capable of dissolving most substances.

Though initially seeming of limited use, its erosion effect could also be fashioned into shield-type weaponry. Huo Yan’s Devouring Shield had been severely damaged in Coria and was no longer functional, while S-Grade Devouring abilities were exceedingly rare. While not suitable for Devouring, Erosion’s unique effect might have a potent dissolving effect on artillery-type weapons.

The Sea Coral cost nearly 40 million, causing Ji Qingfeng to wince, “We didn’t cherish the Devouring Shield back then.”

Huo Yan chuckled, “S-Grade Resilience abilities are also quite expensive because Tank mechas all demand them, and defensive types’ prices never drop.”

With money left over, KID, hoping for a stroke of luck, waited until the second day’s auction.

However, the first anomalous crystal at the auction fetched over a hundred million, significantly higher than outside auctions. The minimum price here had never been below 150 million, frightening KID, who only had just over 30 million left in their account, into leaving.

Everyone looked towards their hidden big spender, but the wind-attribute anomalous crystals auctioned here were all support or functional types. For You Su, who pursued only wind-attribute attacks, these crystals failed to pique his interest.

Surprised to see Ying Chenlin unmoved by these anomalous crystals, You Su asked, “Not interested?”

Ying Chenlin shook his head, “Too expensive.”

After witnessing a luxurious auction, KID didn’t stay at the Hydra Association’s place but spent half a day in the Silver Moon Galaxy, buying some local specialties for the other members of the KID base. Boss Zhou’s ship came to pick them up from the Silver Moon Galaxy.

Back on Zhou Boss’s spaceship, they finally summarized their gains from this trip. They bargained and bought three S-Grade anomalous crystals, while Ying Chenlin gambled on one S-Grade and one A-Grade crystal. Huo Yan knew that Ying Chenlin bought these anomalous crystals for the base, so he reimbursed him with 20 million star coins. After settling their accounts, they were left with a few million star coins.

Lin Yao: “Will we make big money in the future?”

Ying Chenlin, adding a bit to his small treasury, replied, “Maybe?”

Huo Yan encouraged, “Work harder. I heard the prize money for last season’s Star League Championship is even more.”

Ji Qingfeng asked, “When we return to Sirius, can these star coins buy discounted materials?”

Lu Xi: “Things in the Fifth Star Domain are too expensive. We should check out the materials market.”

Meanwhile, KID, with nothing else to do, started planning during the return journey, almost transparently managing the remaining few million star coins. After sorting out their finances, they didn’t forget Jiang Simiao’s request to watch the videos of the other teams’ qualifying matches.

When Ying Chenlin and You Su returned to their room on the spaceship, it was already late. You Su went to shower first, while Ying Chenlin sat on the bed, contemplating the vast universe around him.

He absentmindedly stared at the scenery outside for a while, then snapped out of it and poured out several anomalous crystals from the storage device.

The two anomalous crystals given by Ying Lingfeng fell beside his legs. Ying Chenlin used his hand to push them aside. For some reason, when the appraisal results came out, he particularly wanted to see his father—not just to satisfy what others said about him, but to truly see the man.

When You Su finished showering and came out, he saw Ying Chenlin lying on the bed. “Go take a shower.”

Ying Chenlin didn’t respond. You Su paused in drying his hair, then walked over and realized Ying Chenlin had already fallen asleep.

The kid slept curled up. There were several anomalous crystals still by his side, as if he hadn’t had time to put them away.

So tired?

Seeing this, You Su frowned slightly, walked over, and placed the several anomalous crystals neatly on the bedside table. He then pulled over the nearby blanket and covered Ying Chenlin.

At that moment, a few drops of water accidentally dripped off his hair onto Ying Chenlin’s face.

You Su’s movements paused, his gaze fixed on Ying Chenlin’s face.

Time passed for a while, and the person on the bed didn’t wake up.

You Su half-closed his eyes and gently wiped away those few drops of water.

Ying Chenlin was sleeping particularly well. When he woke up, he noticed the blanket on himself. He glanced sideways slightly and saw the anomalous crystals on the bedside table, and noticed You Su’s bed was already empty nearby.

He picked up the anomalous crystals and walked into the bathroom, where he encountered a tall figure.

The man stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, shirtless, with a large scar clearly visible on his back.

Upon hearing movement, he looked back, “Awake?”

Ying Chenlin nodded, his gaze inadvertently stopping on the scar on You Su’s back.

However, the man quickly finished washing up, pulled on a thicker shirt from behind, covering up the scar, “Finish washing up and change into thicker clothes. We’ll be disembarking soon.”

Boss Zhou heard that KID needed materials and enthusiastically took them shopping while passing through a galaxy in the First Star Domain. KID’s money was completely exhausted before returning to Dawn, and Shen Xingtang, unsurprised by this result, thanked Boss Zhou a few times and dragged all the KID members to the meeting room.

The local specialties purchased from the Silver Moon Galaxy were already divided among the base upon arrival. Jiang Simiao heard that Ying Chenlin had gambled with stones and Ji Qingfeng had argued and bargained with others, thinking that if this group of people did the same in the Dawn Galaxy, they would have made headlines long ago.

Shen Xingtang remarked, “They still have a conscience, knowing to buy local specialties.”

KID felt guilty, unwilling to admit they had only bought the cheapest items.

Jiang Simiao abruptly pointed to the virtual screen, displaying a vast blue sea in front of everyone, “Specialties bought, appreciation event visited. It’s time to talk business.”

Lin Yao asked, “Did the Frontier Army issue another bonus?”

Shen Xingtang remained silent.

Ji Qingfeng: “This place is quite beautiful. Is it possible that our base funded a team building trip?”

“Why would there be bonuses and funding for trips!? We haven’t disturbed you while you were outside these past few days, but you mustn’t forget about the ranking matches after a few days out.” Jiang Simiao pointed to the sea area, speaking sternly, “This is the Contaminated Zone for the next match, the Agaman Sea Star Contaminated Zone.”

“Congratulations, this Contaminated Zone was carefully selected by the Alliance.”

Jiang Simiao’s tone didn’t reveal whether he was pleased or sad, “99% of this Contaminated Zone is water, you could say there’s no land.”

KID’s mecha pilots: “?”

TN:

End of arc. Next chapter marks the beginning of the Ranking Competition.

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Translator Notes

1. Phagocytosis is the process by which a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle, giving rise to an internal compartment called the phagosome.[↩]