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Genius Mechanic

Genius Mechanic: Chapter 215

Slared Contaminated Zone(Star Alliance Mission)

215. Target Tug of War

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake and An Zheee

When WHG’s displacement appeared 10 kilometers above the ice cave, the attention of everyone from Dawn immediately locked onto them. Nearly four mechas had arrived, and by the time they reached the 10-kilometer mark, they were extremely close to where Alice was falling.

Wen Yi’s heart skipped a beat—WHG had really moved.

“WHG can indeed reposition above the ice layer and directly displace to Ji Qingfeng’s location, but they have to determine the coordinates,” Qi Sicheng said. “The system doesn’t show the internal structure of the ice cave. If they choose the wrong coordinates, they might displace directly into ice, and the pressure from the collision would cause immense damage to their mechas. So, they chose their displacement point based on Alice’s coordinates.”

This meant that, for safety, WHG could only select three possible displacement coordinates underground: Alice’s, theirs, and Ji Qingfeng’s.

Both Wen Yi and Qi Sicheng realized the same thing—WHG’s displacement’s distance seemed a bit short.

“They can’t reach the underground directly.” Ying Chenlin glanced upward. The mechas were still quickly heading down. “In accordance with the Alliance’s regulations, the charging time and displacement range of spatial displacement weapons are strictly regulated. The fastest they can displace is once every 10 minutes, with a maximum range of 20 kilometers.”

WHG’s weapon allowed free displacement, not targeted displacement, meaning it had to comply with these strict regulations.

Ji Qingfeng, Ying Chenlin, and the others were on the same horizontal plane, more than 30 kilometers beneath the surface of Slared’s Snowy Mountains. Alice was positioned midway. Given the characteristics of WHG’s weapon, they could indeed displace into the underground, but not in a single jump—they would need two.

Considering the direct distance, WHG’s displacement range wasn’t enough to reach either their location or Ji Qingfeng’s in one go. Their only safe displacement path was Alice’s coordinates. The gap between the two displacements would be at least 10 minutes. Choosing Ji Qingfeng’s location would not only increase the difficulty but also alert the others and cause unnecessary attention.

You Su glanced at the struggling pollutant up above and remarked, “Don’t forget, we’ve almost cut through the main roots of this pollutant.”

All around the ice cave were severed roots, and the remaining ones surrounding the Blue Heart thrashed frantically. Despite only having one main root left, the heart’s wild movements showed no signs of subsiding, as it desperately lashed out against Zhao Lejie’s shield in a final counterattack.

These desperate thrashing of the roots was destructive, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that all the active roots were extensions growing from the remaining main root. If Ying Chenlin’s assessment was correct, the vast network of plant roots that had once covered Slared’s ice cave was losing vitality. In a short while, they might lose the ability to resist entirely.

Ying Chenlin noted, “Alice is also heading down faster.”

Judging by Alice’s falling speed, the roots impeding her were becoming fewer.

Once WHG entered the ice cave, they would undoubtedly observe this. They had no time to judge or wait—E.M’s team was behind them, and Alice, a violent enforcer with rapid movement speed, was below them. WHG couldn’t displace to their destination in one go; they could only reduce the distance and displace to a suitable coordinate point.

Even after losing its roots, the Blue Heart above remained just as lively, showing no signs of withering. Ying Chenlin had just tested its surface with his Flowing Fire Sword—it was too tough, more than ten times harder than the main root. If they wanted to take this thing with them, they’d have to kill it first, or it wouldn’t fit into the storage bay.

“Don’t rush. It’s not us who need to hurry—it’s them.” Ying Chenlin switched to his Spatial Displacement Staff, keeping an eye on the movements of WHG’s other mechas. “Captain Wen, Captain Qi, you might want to test this Blue Heart. Don’t cut the last root yet—try assessing how hard the core’s surface is.”

Meanwhile, the report on the declining vitality of the Slared underground plant roots had also been transmitted to the Star Alliance’s command center. Just 30 minutes ago, their data indicated that the roots’ vitality had been steadily decreasing, as if they had lost some crucial support. Most of the plant roots showed signs of paralysis, and the number of pollutants that had been rampaging underground had also started to dwindle.

“Its vitality is gone!”

“The energy data for the root system’s surface layer is also decreasing.”

“The energy underground is still there!”

“The energy reaction at the Dawn Galaxy team’s location is increasing.”

The adjutant was surprised, “Why is it suddenly weakening?”

The commander quickly stepped up to the energy detection platform. After most of the root system’s vitality diminished, the energy reaction from the Dawn Galaxy’s location became more apparent. His gaze rested on the mecha pilot ID Trace. “There’s only one possibility—the mechas from the Dawn Galaxy severed the connection between the roots and the core.”

The adjutant exclaimed, “Just the Dawn Galaxy? They only have 8 mechas!”

The large-scale signs of the plant root system losing vitality drew the attention of many mecha pilots, especially those fighting other pollutants underground. When the plant roots lost their resistance, they immediately noticed the issue. The energy reactions on their mecha radar slowly began to weaken, forcing everyone to focus on the prominent mecha signals beneath the ground.

The mecha pilots gathered here weren’t fools; this obvious change left only the area where Dawn was located glowing with energy.

“Is there a problem with the core of these roots?”

“The place where Dawn is located?”

“No way, just 8 mechas took down that pollutant?”

Elsewhere in the ice cave, upon receiving intelligence reports from their base, the three GBK mechas near the fault line had no choice but to increase their firepower’s output. The intensity of the surrounding root attacks gradually decreased, indicating that irreversible changes were taking place underground.

Bai Xuyan and Claude were still figuring out how to drive away the pesky mechas in front of them. Just as they decided to target the weaker flanks for an attack, the mechas guarding the top of the ice fault suddenly moved simultaneously, advancing quickly. Claude dodged cautiously, thinking they were about to pull off some tricky maneuver, only to see those mechas, shielded by the Counter-Damage Shield, brush past them in a flash.

Bai Xuyan: “?”

Claude: “?”

The four mechas from Dawn fled at lightning speed, completely ignoring the actions of GBK’s three mechas. After seizing the opportunity to break through the flank, they headed straight for the ice cave’s exit without looking back, brushing past the strong mecha teams flooding in from behind.

The strong teams, who had just escaped the entanglement of pollutants and roots, intended to check the situation over there. They had their weapons ready when they encountered Dawn’s mechas. But, to their surprise, the fleeing mechas didn’t stop, moving with such fluidity that it caused the incoming mechas to pause in confusion.

This maneuver baffled them. Several of SLY’s mechas even suspected a trap, thinking that Dawn was about to blow up energy tubes again, and activated their shields.

“What is Dawn doing?!” one of SLY’s mecha pilots asked.

A nearby mecha pilot whispered, “Isn’t it obvious? They’re running away.”

“They’re just going to ignore—”

The four mechas dashed away like a gust of wind, going in the opposite direction of everyone else. Their retreating figures were swift, moving against the flow in the ice cave with such flair that they caught the attention of the strong teams observing from above the ice.

The energy anomalies left the strong teams restless. They didn’t have time to deal with the fleeing mechas and quickly locked onto the coordinates of the motionless source below.

If the strong teams had had any reservations before, the decline in the plant root system’s vitality now made the top five teams in the Star Alliance more anxious. Other teams might not be fully aware, but they had already received intel from their own teams about the significance of the core pollutant below—a pollutant capable of converting special energy. Whether it was the unique properties of this energy conversion or the amplified effects of the transformed energy, it was an unprecedented discovery for the entire Star Alliance.

WHG also knew this. Fully aware that Dawn possessed spatial displacement weapons, they could only move towards the underground. Waiting in place would only cause them to miss the opportunity, so it was better to take advantage of the current chaos, while Dawn’s mechas were still engaged in battle with the pollutant core, and join the fray. They needed to reach a position ahead of Alice.

Spatial displacement required a 10-minute charging time. The WHG mechas didn’t wait for the 10 minutes to elapse; instead, they took advantage of the weakened plant roots and quickly made their way underground. The deeper they went, the more surprised they were by the situation—how had Dawn’s initial two mechas managed to traverse this area?

“Have Dawn’s mecha coordinates moved?”

“No, they haven’t. It seems they’re still fighting the pollutant.”

“They have displacement weapons, so we need to stay alert.”

WHG didn’t plan on using displacement weapons. Using them first would put them in a passive position, especially against enemies who also had the same capability. As the minutes ticked by, Dawn’s coordinates remained stationary. When WHG fully entered the underground ice cave, they were met with the sight of numerous roots spread across the icy red ground.

Just as WHG’s team spotted the icy surface, the sound of a Sniper Cannon shot suddenly echoed in their ears. They instinctively looked up toward Dawn’s mechas and saw a giant Blue Heart falling from the ceiling. As it crashed down, a red circle on the ground activated.

WHG had been anticipating this move. The moment Dawn’s mecha activated its displacement, they immediately locked onto Ji Qingfeng’s position. “Follow him!”

Several hovering grey-green mechas sprang into action. E.M no longer had time to wait for WHG to test out Dawn’s strategy. There had been an opportunity to probe and strategize earlier, but now that the plant roots were losing vitality, it meant the pollutant was nearing its death. A moment’s delay would see it fall into someone else’s hands.

At the exact moment E.M moved, nearly eight mechas suddenly flew through the Slared ice cave. The black mechas, bearing the Aegis insignia, hovered before the grey-green mechas, resolutely blocking E.M’s path.

Aegis, the top ranked mecha base in the First Star Domain, had remained uninvolved since the Snowy Mountains intelligence was leaked.

E.M’s captain frowned at the sight. “Wu Qingshuang.”

The black mecha hovered before E.M, and Wu Qingshuang’s voice was calm and steady. “Alex, I’m sorry, but you can’t proceed for now.”

Wu Qingshuang had recently received intel from her base. The information came from the First Star Domain’s Mecha Alliance. The intelligence about Slared’s special energy had already spread across several Star Domains. If previous skirmishes had been minor, this time the top-ranking bases had all targeted this special pollutant. Since Slared was a mission site, all rewards would belong to the team that secured it.

Until the Star Alliance officially ended the mission, whichever mecha base obtained the core of this special pollutant would hold power over the new energy resource.

Aegis had acted too late and missed the chance to secure this core.

Wu Qingshuang wasn’t naive. If Aegis couldn’t get their hands on this core, at the very least, it had to stay within the First Star Domain.

While the standoff between both sides continued, WHG had already executed a second displacement underground. As WHG’s coordinates shifted, the coordinates of the Dawn mechas in Slared’s underground also moved at the same time. Both parties relocated simultaneously, ending up not far from QgF’s location.

However, during this displacement, two mechas suddenly appeared at the rear of the ice cave.

E.M’s captain, Alex, frowned deeply upon seeing this. “Something’s off.”

Though both teams displaced at the same time, the distances differed by nearly 10 kilometers. Dawn’s mechas had arrived ahead.

“A displacement discrepancy?”

“Didn’t we calculate their displacement distance when Dawn descended to the underground before?”

“They were displacing while falling, so the signal might have been delayed due to the magnetic field. But the displacement’s distance should have been over 20 kilometers. We didn’t expect such a large discrepancy compared to WHG’s displacement’s distance.”

The discrepancy in distance between the two weapons’ displacements was notable, but not impossible to make up for. WHG had just seen the special blue pollutant and the numerous roots on the ground. This substance was likely the core of the pollutant, and the presence of pollutant energy traces on the current radars indicated that Dawn had not completely defeated it yet.

This meant Dawn’s mechas couldn’t secure the core.

In the depths of the underground, WHG had no time to hesitate. As soon as Dawn’s mechas coordinates stopped, they immediately began pursuing Dawn’s position. The activity of the underground roots was decreasing, so their advance wasn’t slow. They estimated they could catch up within 15 minutes over the 10-kilometer distance.

“Although their displacement’s distance is great, they need to use a target for offensive displacement,” a WHG mecha pilot analyzed. “Their targets can’t move 30 kilometers within 10 minutes. Even though the distance between us is only 20 kilometers, considering our advantage with free displacement—”

Before they could finish, they suddenly saw something, and WHG’s mecha pilots immediately stopped.

While mecha pilots on the ice cave observed, they were startled to see another baffling sight besides the displaced coordinates.

KID’s six mechas had displaced, but two mechas were left at their original position. They hadn’t all displaced; only six mechas had done so. This inexplicable action caused everyone to pause in confusion.

“This doesn’t make sense. Dawn has left two targets in the cave’s immediate lower level!”

And it wasn’t just two targets. After Dawn’s mechas and WHG’s mechas displaced simultaneously, besides leaving two mechas as targets at their original location, two other mechas were moving rapidly in a different direction. They were extremely fast, as if using a movement accelerator. Coupled with them being a Stealth and Control, their movement speeds far exceeded that of the moving WHG mechas, even more than twice their speed.

WHG’s mecha lineup was comprehensive, including some with slower movement speeds. Equipped with displacement weapons but lacking additional speed-enhancing weapons, their pursuit’s speed was much slower than Dawn’s mechas.

This meant that in 15 minutes, WHG could cover 10 kilometers, while KID’s two high-speed mechas could cover over 20 kilometers.

Moreover, with Dawn’s mechas leaving two targets and the targets being unclear, they had no way of determining Dawn’s potential movement strategies in the next 15 minutes.

The WHG mecha pilots were stunned, gritting their teeth. “We’ve been set up.”

On the ice cave’s surface, the strong teams watching this scene were instantly struck with realization and goosebumps. Dawn’s commander was playing a risky and bold game, daring to act like this against the Star Alliance’s third-ranked team, WHG.

The PJT mecha pilots stationed at the Snowy Mountains’s peak shifted. Several pilots looked toward their leader, Norbert.

Norbert looked up wearily and dismissed the special intelligence from his starship, but had no intention of intervening. His attention was fully on the tug-of-war over the coordinates in the underground. “Dawn’s commander knows how to play.”

“They set up two targets simultaneously. One is capable of high-speed movement, while the other remains stationary 30 kilometers away. The main team stays put after displacing.” Norbert observed the situation and continued, “The two high-speed mechas can easily create a gap during the charging time for WHG’s displacement. Essentially, when both sides have displacement abilities, WHG can only displace 20 kilometers, but Dawn can use the real-time movement situation to select between two positions.”

WHG had no choice but to follow the mechas and head towards the pollutant’s location.

When the PJT mecha pilots heard Norbert’s comment, they immediately looked at the coordinates underground. “Does Dawn have such a bold strategy? If I remember correctly, Alice is still following from behind, right?”

“So their strategy is feasible, but it has a time limit. The time limit is the time Alice takes to catch up to the rear target,” Norbert observed the ongoing battle below with admiration. “Dawn is very clever and daring. WHG is going to be at a disadvantage this time.”

The urgency of the chase was clearly part of Dawn’s plan.

A mecha pilot said, “But what are they stalling for? Alice is about to catch up.”

Norbert suddenly said, “They’re buying time to kill the pollutant. The radar shows no changes in energy, indicating they’ve cut the main root but haven’t fully killed the pollutant yet—about the timing issue.”

At that moment, the coordinates of Dawn’s mechas in the field changed again. WHG had no choice but to follow the Blue Heart energy using Sink’s coordinates. To their surprise, halfway through their pursuit, Dawn’s mechas initiated another displacement, further increasing the distance between them and WHG, displacing to the Qsc and Qingf’s position even further ahead.

“???! They displaced again!”

“How is that possible? The displacement should take 10 minutes, right?!”

“Dawn’s weapon’s displacement time is 5 minutes…?”

“That can’t be right. I remember Dawn might have used this displacement weapon to shorten task times before.”

“I noticed that too, but I didn’t pay much attention before.”

“The displacement’s distance exceeds 30 kilometers, with a 5-minute charge time… This is the first time I’ve seen such a spatial displacement weapon.”

All the mecha pilots present knew KID had displacement weapons. They had previously captured glimpses of Dawn using the weapon, but such a small galaxy wasn’t worth their focus. They invested more resources into strong teams and only knew Dawn had a displacement weapon without calculating its range and time.

However, after the recovery of the Slared radar signal, they could accurately track Dawn’s coordinates. Dawn’s movements weren’t very frequent, so they hadn’t calculated the time. Now it was clear that the weapon not only had a long range but also had its charging time reduced by half.

The difference in the utility of the displacement weapons between WHG and Dawn was stark. Dawn’s spatial weapon was so versatile, allowing them to exploit even the most obvious flaws to the fullest.

Spatial displacement was rare, with WHG’s weapon being one of the few renowned ones in the Star Alliance. Now, a more flexible and tactically suited weapon had emerged.

Among the experts present, their first thought was about the weapon’s designer.

“Who is the designer of this weapon?”

“The difference is too significant; the idea of targeted displacement stands out too much.”

A 5-minute targeted displacement was incredibly flexible. As Dawn displaced, Qsc and Qingf in the field displaced again, while the two mechas left at the original Blue Heart roots’ location, Lizi and Yao, started moving towards Dawn’s location.

Dawn had set up two targets: one was the Stealth mecha Lizi and the Guardian mecha Yao, who remained in place, and the other was the control mecha Qsc and Stealth mecha QgF. The common point among these four mechas was their higher movement speeds. The former was slightly faster than WHG’s mechas in a chase, while the latter, equipped with a speed enhancer, could create a larger gap when pulling away.

Regardless of which target Dawn displaced to, the remaining target would quickly adjust its position. The distances between the two targets and the midpoint were kept outside WHG’s displacement range. Dawn had complete control over the tug-of-war with a 5-minute charge speed, and they could use this tug-of-war to further separate Lizi and Yao from Alice.

While the weapon was excellent, the true threat was the strategist behind the tug-of-war.

Dawn was showcasing an incredible tactic right under the noses of the strong teams.

“I really like KID, and now I like Dawn even more. Sink’s spatial displacement weapon must have been designed by Yuan!” Norbert stood up, saying, “WHG can’t compete now. It’s a matter of whether anyone can crack Dawn’s tactic or catch up with Dawn in this tug-of-war.”

Seeing their leader stand up, a nearby mecha pilot asked, “Captain, are we not going to grab that rare energy?”

“Not anymore. We can’t get it, and it could damage my relationship with Sink,” Norbert looked at the four Dawn mechas that had escaped among the strong teams, “I want to be a bodyguard. I can’t let Wu Qingshuang get ahead.”

A bodyguard?? The PJT mecha pilots were taken aback. “A bodyguard for what?”

Norbert said, “I want a high-level VIP.”

The mecha pilot: “……??? Captain, what high-end VIP can’t you recharge?”

Norbert shot him a look of annoyance. “KID’s online store.”

In the ice cave, GBK’s captain, Claude, who was rapidly moving downwards, remarked, “No wonder you lost to them in Coria.”

Bai Xuyan found it hard to respond. He didn’t want to admit it, but had to concede that the current tactics were exceptionally brilliant. “Their tactics are stronger than before.”

Back in Coria, Dawn was just a group of mecha pilots who fought independently, reckless rather than strategic, and disruptive. But now, since their schemes against SLY and GBK, they had been operating under the radar of every team, coming up with no coincidences or luck—playing tricks on all the strong teams.

In the ice cave underground, the Blue Heart lay on the icy surface, its hard exterior scarred but still retaining a powerful jumping ability.

As multiple coordinates moved on the radar, Yuan’s Flowing Fire Sword pierced one of the Blue Heart’s scars. As it was forced in, blue blood sprayed all over his mecha. The pilot’s expression remained calm as he ignored the various mecha coordinates, finally focusing on the higher E.M mechas.

Meanwhile, in a gray-green mecha, E.M’s captain, Alex, frowned deeply. The intelligence information was released by E.M, and the plan to take advantage of the strong teams was theirs as well. Recently, they had even sent a mecha with special stealth capabilities to follow WHG into the ice cave, waiting for WHG to catch up to Dawn for a counter-ambush.

But now, Dawn had thrown the whole plan into disarray.

His gaze was fixed intently on one of the mecha coordinates. “Sink.”

Author’s Note:

I have seen some little cuties expressing issues with the rhythm, so I’ll give you a little rundown.

After the Galactic Tournament, there are the Star Domain and the Star Alliance tournaments. These two events are very compact and won’t have the small-scale events (eliminations, advancements, rankings) seen in the Galactic Tournament.

If we jumped straight into these next two tournaments, there would be a flood of teams, names, and so on, all of whom are strong. This could lead to one-dimensional or minor characters appearing as mere tools.

Also, in terms of time, KID wouldn’t have had the opportunity to stockpile a lot of resources during the Star Domain and Star Alliance Tournaments—this would disrupt the time logic.

Previously, in the Galactic Tournament, teams from Dawn appeared on Tianyu Star and Coria, so readers are already familiar with them, and their personalities are generally known.

In this chapter set in Slared, aside from GBK’s Bai Xuyan and PJT’s Norbert, who might be somewhat familiar, the rest are new characters, leading to a chaotic and confusing appearance.

This subplot mainly aims to build up Dawn and KID’s preparedness, which will help with smoother narrative development later on. It will also add more details about You Ge’s background and a bit about Xiao Ying’s mother.

So, there are many elements being laid out, and I’m also tying up previous foreshadowing. It may seem slow, but it’s normal as several storylines are unfolding (including emotional subplots(bitter)).

The story is now over halfway done, and I’m trying to speed up the writing! I’ve been working hard to catch up on the drafts.

There are many plot points, so if it seems frustrating, you might try reading it in two-day chunks to follow the continuity.

If you're enjoying the story don't forget to support the author! You can also support me on KOFI for site maintenance, raws purchase or as an energy boost~ 

 

 

 

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