Genius Mechanic: Chapter 192

Agaman Sea Star Contaminated Zone (Galactic Ranking Competition)

192. Star Domain Tournament Quota

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake and An Zheee 

When Ying Chenlin woke up, he was already at the KID base.

The room was dimly lit, and the temperature system was quietly running. He glanced over at the bedside table, where his mecha key was placed. Everything outside looked just as it did when he left the base.

The fatigue in his body had lessened considerably, but his head still ached slightly. Ying Chenlin knew this was a residual effect of overusing his mental power.

The mecha key lit up, signaling a greeting from Yuan.

Ying Chenlin blinked, his memory still lingering on the Agaman Star Sea venue’s backstage. He only remembered that You Su had carried him to the lounge, nothing after that. He had already changed into pajamas, and his body seemed to have been in a medical pod, as there was a faint medicinal smell. As he pieced together the memories from his sleep, and was about to get out of bed, the bedroom door was opened from the outside, and someone entered.

The intruder moved with light footsteps, and Ying Chenlin had yet to speak.

As soon as You Su entered, he noticed the change in Ying Chenlin’s breathing pattern and paused briefly. “Awake?”

Ying Chenlin instinctively greeted him with a “good morning” before realizing he didn’t know the current time.

You Su didn’t mind his delayed reaction. He held a medical device and touched Ying Chenlin’s forehead. With a prompt sound, the device recorded all of the patient’s bodily data. “Mental power is stable. Rest for another two days, and you’ll recover.”

Ying Chenlin looked at the device in his hand.

You Su explained, “As Eric instructed, every six hours.”

Their gazes met, and as Ying Chenlin was about to remember, a hand had already extended towards him.

He took the hand without hesitation and sat up. “I’d like to take a shower first.”

The boy’s movements were still a bit slow. He took some clothes and went to the bathroom. It’s uncertain whether he was fully awake.

You Su stopped at the door, without leaving. His peripheral vision was fixed on the closed bathroom door.

Ying Chenlin’s bedroom was small, with a layout similar to You Su’s room—very simple. Everything in the room and the smart devices were clearly visible at a glance, but there were signs of life, such as a large number of drafts on a desk not far from the bed.

You Su had been here several times, and those drafts hadn’t been collected, including the components placed on the side.

This person’s life at the base was a three points and one line routine, he rarely went out, living unlike a 20-year-old.

The shower took quite a while. When Ying Chenlin emerged, his face flushed from the steam, he noticed You Su standing at the bedroom door, unmoving. One hand held a medical device, and the other was operating a holographic display, seemingly absorbed in something.

Hearing the noise, You Su’s gaze shifted from the display, and he looked up. “37 minutes. In 3 minutes, I would’ve had to come in and drag you out.”

At the mention of being dragged out, Ying Chenlin bowed his head slightly. “It won’t happen again.”

You Su didn’t respond. The boy’s hair was still slightly damp from the drying. He looked fine aside from his red skin.

He noticed Ying Chenlin carrying his mecha key and data pad. Following the usual routine, the next stop for him would be the maintenance room.

You Su said, “Not the maintenance room. Let’s go to the conference room.”

The conference room wasn’t far from Ying Chenlin’s bedroom. KID’s base was small, so it didn’t take long to walk over.

When Ying Chenlin came out of the room, You Su had already taken a few steps ahead and was standing at the corner of the distant corridor. Ying Chenlin paused slightly, and just a few steps into his walk, You Su’s pace began to move, he was seemingly waiting for him.

“I won’t faint while walking. I’m feeling much better now,” Ying Chenlin emphasized.

You Su’s gaze fell on him, with a hint of uncertainty.

But the gaze quickly moved away as You Su continued walking ahead.

Ying Chenlin lagged a few steps behind You Su.

The corridor was relatively narrow. When he looked up, he could see You Su’s back. He was tall and walked with a straight back. Ying Chenlin had a habit of observing people, focusing on their physical data, such as height and arm length, which would become a detailed template for the mechanic’s adjustments.

Today, however, when he unconsciously observed You Su, he only looked at his back.

There was a scar on You Su’s back, from his shoulder to his waist, a very noticeable, penetrating injury. Ying Chenlin, through the layer of clothing, felt as if he could measure the length of the scar. You Su had mentioned that the scar was from an injury in a Frontier Contaminated Zone, and Ying Chenlin was curious about the kind of pollutant that could cause such a severe wound. He thought intermittently, his gaze drifting away, not really focusing on anything in particular.

Suddenly, the person in front stopped.

Ying Chenlin didn’t react in time, his feet not stopping promptly, and he bumped into You Su’s back.

You Su glanced to the side. “Stairs.”

Ying Chenlin lowered his head and saw the stairs in front of You Su.

You Su chuckled lightly. “Still not fully awake?”

Ying Chenlin nodded and then shook his head.

You Su stepped back two paces. “You go first.”

Ying Chenlin: “?”

You Su: “It’s easier to retrieve you if you fall.”

By the time they reached the conference room, Ying Chenlin’s sluggish brain started to function again. It had been a full two days since he returned from the Agaman Contaminated Zone.

Fortunately, he had been asleep during this time. Boss Zhou had ensured that the private flight route to Sirius was used, otherwise, the paparazzi at Sirius’ spaceport would have certainly exaggerated the story.

The news of KID winning the Dawn Galaxy’s ranking tournament spread across every corner of Sirius. Sirius officials had visited the KID base several times over the past few days. Various commendations and medals were piled up in the tiny trophy display case in the conference room. The topmost trophy was for the Dawn Galaxy tournament, and beneath it were awards such as ‘Sirius Outstanding Enterprise’ and ‘Sirius Honorary Mecha Base.’

The exaggeration didn’t stop there. KID’s previously ridiculed frugality on StarNet had been glorified as being frugal and efficient.

KID’s fame skyrocketed after the ranking tournament, attracting a flood of resource investors. Boss Shen’s light brain messages were overflowing every day.

And Boss Shen was too busy, as were the other KID members.

“Is Chenlin awake?” Shen Xingtang looked up from her busy schedule, seeing Ying Chenlin and You Su coming in. “Eric said you’d wake up around today. Looks like that kid wasn’t lying.”

Lin Yao said, “Chenlin! Come get your bonus! Dawn gave out a lot of prize money!”

Ji Qingfeng: “Look at you, still raving about the bonus after two days.”

Ying Chenlin looked at Huo Yan.

Huo Yan understood the look. “Don’t worry, I’m much better now. The back injury is no problem.”

Ying Chenlin was guided by Lin Yao to sit in front of the conference room. When he opened his holographic display, he saw the bonus transfer from Boss Shen. “So much?”

Shen Xingtang said, “Dawn has more money now.”

The Dawn Galaxy was quite wealthy this year, and the prize pool for the galaxy’s ranking tournament had doubled compared to last year. The prize money was just one part of it. More importantly, the winning team could choose two anomalous crystals from the current Dawn Galaxy Mecha Alliance’s anomalous crystal storage, with no restrictions on type or level.

The Dawn Galaxy had invested heavily in training mecha pilots. The prize money from the previous season’s tournament, which had been postponed, was all combined into this one. Ying Chenlin knew the prize for winning was substantial but was surprised by how generous it was. “It’s much more than what I won when I became champion.”

The prize money had increased several fold.

Ying Chenlin had used part of his prize money from individual competitions for his own medical treatment and for the regular maintenance of Yuan. At the time, he didn’t have a signed contract with a mecha base and had to handle many things on his own, which led to losses, especially given his youth.

But it seemed like Dawn Galaxy wasn’t as poor as it used to be. The prize money this time had multiplied several times over, and the trajectory of events seemed different from his previous life.

“Did you bring the big fish back?” Ying Chenlin asked.

Ji Qingfeng: “We dismantled half of it. The remaining skeleton was too heavy, so we sold it to the Dawn Alliance.”

Huo Yan: “Don’t worry, we brought back all the valuable parts.”

Ying Chenlin nodded.

The accounting was handled by Jiang Simiao and Shen Xingtang. When Ying Chenlin arrived, Jiang Simiao gave him a summary of their haul this time.

KID made a huge profit in Agaman. The carefully selected and processed pollutant materials in the mecha storage warehouse were enough to cover all the repair costs for the mechas that were damaged in Agaman, with a surplus left over.

Of course, the biggest earner was the Sea Rock Giant Fish. The Sea Rock Giant Fish was a unique S-Class material from Agaman, and it’s likely the only one in the entire Agaman Sea Star contaminated zone. Due to the scarcity of recorded data and its rarity, the materials from that fish were treasures everywhere.

Besides the fish itself, there were also the undigested A-level mutant pollutants in its stomach, which KID extracted using equipment borrowed from the Agaman Management Bureau.

The profit was so large that it was hard to calculate. Jiang Simiao had been crunching the numbers since leaving the contaminated zone, and even after two days, he hadn’t fully figured it out.

Jiang Simiao made a meaningful gesture with his fingers, “But the minimum profit is this much.”

Ying Chenlin was a bit surprised. “That much?”

Lin Yao: “We made a lot!”

“Most of the pollutants in Agaman are rare, unlike those on the Keze Floating Island you’ve been to before,” Jiang Simiao explained. “That contaminated zone hadn’t been opened in a long time, so the materials from such untouched zones are the most valuable—scarce in the market and able to fetch high prices.”

There were many valuable items, but they needed to be processed before they could be put up for sale.

The anomalous crystals and pollutant materials from the A-Level pollutants had to be handled separately. For this, KID had to rent the pollutant processing factory from Boss Zhou’s Jianheng Corporation, with Shen Xingtang negotiating an extremely low discount price. They were also discussing a co-branded partnership with Jianheng’s official online store.

“Joint partnership?” Ying Chenlin wasn’t very familiar with business matters.

“There’s too much material from the fish. We don’t have enough manpower at our base, so collaborating with Jianheng allows us to use their factory for processing.”

Shen Xingtang explained, “This way, the processing is more efficient, the money comes in faster, and we don’t need to hire too many people.”

KID was just a small base. Although processing and selling materials could be done gradually, it wouldn’t generate money quickly enough to replenish KID’s small treasury in the short term. The best approach was to collaborate with familiar partners and outsource some of the tedious processes. Shen Xingtang said, “I’ve discussed it with Boss Zhou. We’ll give them the first purchasing rights for some of the B-Class and A-Class materials. They’ve been working on a new A-Class mecha suitable for aquatic Contaminated Zones, and they need a lot of pollutant materials.”

With Boss Zhou’s help, things became much easier. KID was in need of funds, as Ying Chenlin had several weapon research and manufacturing projects that required money. Shen Xingtang had to find ways to manage KID’s internal cash flow, prioritizing the best equipment for their mecha pilots. This was the most challenging part.

Given KID’s previous preparation cycles for equipment, it was likely they wouldn’t be ready in time for the competition.

“Is it that urgent?” Lin Yao’s attention was all on the money.

Jiang Simiao smacked his head, “Of course it’s urgent! You’re going to represent the Dawn Galaxy in the Star Domain Tournament next!”

At the mention of the Star Domain Tournament, the KID members finally realized that by winning the galaxy’s competition, they had earned a spot in the Star Domain Tournament.

The Star Alliance was vast, and within its five Star Domains, the Dawn Galaxy was one of the lowest-ranking galaxies in the First Star Domain. According to the old mecha league rules, after a team completes their competition within their galaxy, the top two ranked teams would go on to represent their galaxy in the Star Domain Tournament. The KID mecha pilots had never considered this before. In the past, after finishing the galaxy competitions, they would enter the off-season to rest, leaving the Star Domain Tournaments to Gale and Black Crow.

“I almost forgot about that,” Ji Qingfeng said. “How many days do we have? I haven’t even looked into the Star Domain Tournament process!”

“The process changes every year, so it doesn’t matter if you haven’t looked into it,” Shen Xingtang said, seeing that they finally remembered the important matter. “We’ll have to wait for Chairman Li to return from the First Star Domain meeting before we know how this year’s competition will be… The process is one thing, but we don’t even know how the Star Domain Tournament will be held this year.”

Ying Chenlin was the only one among them who had participated in a Star Domain Tournament before. Hearing this, he frowned slightly and looked at Shen Xingtang.

The galaxy competition was held annually, with the individual and team events staggered, but the Star Domain Tournament and Star Alliance Tournament schedules were unpredictable. Typically, they occur every two years, but sometimes they happen annually. In the years when it’s held, the Star Domain Tournament usually follows the galaxy competition seamlessly, giving the mecha pilots only a month to adjust.

“With the new League’s system, the entire tournament format could change,” Shen Xingtang continued. “When we returned from Agaman, Chairman Li told me to prepare. He mentioned that there are movements within the Star Alliance, and they’re not just about incorporating Medical mechas and changing the tournament system.”

Hearing this, Ying Chenlin furrowed his brows slightly. The trajectory here was different from his previous life.

The introduction of Medical mechas and the tournament system reform had occurred in his past life as well, but it happened only after the Black Hole incident became irreversible. This time, with the Black Hole incident resolved, the system reform was happening earlier.

The butterfly effect caused by the Black Hole incident in this life had altered the course of many future events. Ying Chenlin’s understanding of the reform was based on what happened years later in his previous life. He hadn’t participated in the competitions during the year of the reform, and by the time he joined KID, its integration in the galaxy and Star Domain Tournaments had already stabilized.

Huo Yan asked, “So we won’t know when the Star Domain Tournament will take place until the meeting is over, right?”

“That’s how it seems,” Shen Xingtang said, uncertain about the situation. “We’ll have to wait for notification from the Dawn Alliance. After this tournament, you won’t have to worry about the base’s cash flow. I’ll handle it. Just rest for a few days, and then everyone will have to throw themselves into training.”

KID made a substantial profit from Agaman. After investing most of it into the base, the remainder was distributed as bonuses to the mecha pilots.

Ying Chenlin hadn’t been sitting in the conference room for long before Shen Xingtang sent him off to the medical room for a check-up.

In the medical room, Dr. Eric was watching a video when Ying Chenlin walked in. Quickly, he closed the video he had been watching for fun and handed the medical report to Ying Chenlin. The summary was simple: his mental power was overtaxed, and he needed more rest. The occasional dizziness he’d been experiencing was normal.

Confirming that everything was fine, Ying Chenlin thanked him and immediately headed to the maintenance room. He had to get back to working on weapon designs.

Dr. Eric watched him leave, then took back the data tablet with the medical report and deleted it. He turned to the curve graph displayed on a nearby virtual screen. It showed the fluctuations in Ying Chenlin’s mental power and the wave pattern of the mecha Yuan.

The recent data had been unusually stable, so stable that it seemed a bit abnormal.

-*

StarNet was still buzzing with excitement over KID’s victory in the Dawn Galaxy championship. KID’s fame was skyrocketing, attracting more and more new fans. With this surge in popularity came a growing fanbase… but KID’s official social media account remained as inactive as ever, rarely posting. When they did post, it was mostly to promote new products in their online store.

【Fuck, I don’t even buy Gale merchandise this often.】

【Upstairs, did you jump ship from Gale’s team to become a KID fan?】

【Screw off, Laozi is a universal love fan ¹. Why did they stop selling the Slinking Cuttlefish Ink Sacs? I was planning to buy a few to use in Contaminated Zones.】

【…Their online store has too many good deals. Who can resist buying?】

【I’ve been following KID’s official account for a few days… and I’ve been buying stuff every day. If you’re broke, remember to unfollow them.】

【My brother asked what I was doing, and I told him I was clearing out the shelves at Dawn’s top base.】

【You’ve got to be Buddha-like ² to follow KID. Look at Sink’s fans; they used to nag the official account for updates, but now whenever there’s a new product, they’re the first to rush in.】

Ever since KID returned from the Agaman Contaminated Zone, their online store had been restocking items non-stop. The new fans barely had time to check out the mecha pilots’ information because they were too busy keeping up with the store’s updates… and money was rolling in. The biggest spenders were those fans specifically requesting aquatic products. KID had been switching up their aquatic offerings, and though the fans couldn’t buy them all, their wallets were emptying fast.

The most frustrated person was the director of the Agaman Sea Star Contaminated Zone’s Management Bureau. After KID hauled away a large batch of pollutants using a massive storage device, he had his staff conduct a pollution test in the competition area. By the time the report was submitted to the Alliance headquarters, news that Agaman’s high-level pollutants had decreased by 17% spread quickly within the Alliance, and the director received countless calls of condolences from other bureau directors.

That 17% reduction was due to KID’s scavenging, the Sea Rock Giant Fish devouring some of them, others perishing in battles between the mecha teams, and some being buried deep underwater due to the landslides caused by the explosion.

The head of Tianyu Star’s Management Bureau was the best at offering comfort, saying, “Hey, it’s fine, it’s only a 17% reduction.”

Agaman’s director: “…Those weren’t just any pollutants; those were high-level pollutants!!”

He hadn’t even dared to calculate the regular pollutants, afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

As for those high-level pollutants, most of them were now listed in KID’s online store. Their own bureau’s researchers had to purchase materials from KID’s store to study the local pollutants.

The online store frenzy was just a temporary distraction; KID didn’t have time to focus on it. 

They trained vigorously during the day and helped clear out stock to earn money for the boss at night. The joy of being champions hadn’t lasted long before they had to face the reality of having some money but still needing to work hard. This routine continued for about three or four days, until Shen Xingtang returned from a meeting at the Mecha Alliance, bringing news about the Star Domain Competition.

“Only one entry slot?”

Lin Yao was stunned by the news. “Isn’t the Dawn Galaxy supposed to get two slots every year?”

“There’s never been a guarantee of two slots; sometimes, we only get one.”

Shen Xingtang placed the documents on the table and explained, “And the Dawn Galaxy’s slot wasn’t just given; it was earned by Gale and Black Crow in the past.”

The Star Domain Competition was the second-largest event in the entire Star Alliance, and not every mecha team could participate. The number of slots available to each galaxy was limited. Under the old competition system, the number of slots was based on the previous season’s Star Domain rankings—higher-ranked galaxies had more slots, while lower-ranked ones could only get one or two slots at most.

The Dawn Galaxy had consistently poor performance, earning the lowest-ranked slot. Occasionally, when they performed well, they’d get two slots; when they didn’t, they’d get just one.

Last season, the Dawn Galaxy didn’t participate in the Star Domain competition, leaving them with no ranking. According to the rules, they technically shouldn’t have any entry slots, but due to the new competition system, the Star Domain organizers granted the Dawn Galaxy just one slot.

“Does that mean Lao Zhao can’t compete with us?”

Ji Qingfeng said, “I even agreed to have a rematch with them in the Star Domain competition!”

Jiang Simiao frowned, “Is the Alliance really set on this decision? Aren’t there any new changes with the new season?”

With only one entry slot, if KID didn’t perform well, Dawn Galaxy’s situation wouldn’t improve and might even get worse.

“But it’s not entirely hopeless,” Shen Xingtang said, calling everyone to the meeting specifically for this reason. “Since Dawn doesn’t have any extra slots, we’ll have to fight to earn them back.”

“Fight for slots?” Everyone at KID turned to look at Shen Xingtang. Weren’t the slots determined by the results of the Star Alliance and Star Domain competitions?

Shen Xingtang slightly lowered her gaze and placed a document on the virtual screen. The document that appeared on the screen was a special Star Alliance file; it didn’t belong to the Dawn Galaxy, nor did it belong to the First Star Domain.

You Su noticed the document and frowned slightly.

As the densely packed lines of text appeared, Ying Chenlin’s gaze followed them, eventually landing on a few specific words.

Lin Yao’s eyes hurt as soon as he saw the text, “I need a summary. I can’t understand this.”

Ji Qingfeng narrowed his eyes, “Hold on, let me take a look.”

“F*ck, it shouldn’t be that thing?” Jiang Simiao noticed a detail and quickly shook his head. “How could we possibly get involved in that? Isn’t that just cannon fodder for the strong teams in the Star Alliance?”

Lin Yao asked, “What cannon fodder?”

Shen Xingtang’s voice carried a hint of seriousness, “Have you heard of the Star Alliance’s special missions?”

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Translator Notes

1. Fan of all teams[↩]
2. Chill/laid back[↩]