Genius Mechanic: Chapter 227

Slared Contaminated Zone(Territory-Wide Abnormal Move)

227. Support

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake

The surrounding sensory connections linked to Ying Chenlin coursed through him as he ran, utterly exhausted, and the unblocked blaring of the sirens left a ringing in his ears.

Theo’s excited voice filled You Su’s mind as he lowered his gaze. He noticed energy draining from half of the mecha’s body beside him.

Ying Chenlin leaned against the cockpit slightly, flexing his left hand to ease the frozen numbness. His peripheral vision fell on the mecha beside the screen, and he heard a faint chuckle from the man next to him. He thought he’d misheard, but in the next second, his whole mecha was instantly hoisted upward.

Hearing Ying Chenlin’s response over the channel, everyone immediately relaxed. Ji Qingfeng shouted himself hoarse, “Fly up! It’s going to collapse!”

The whole mecha was yanked upward by an immense force. You Su’s thrusters were at full power, propelling Ying Chenlin through the pollutant-enveloped temporary tunnel opening up above. As the two mechas entered the passage, the pollutants behind them were buried under a cascade of ice. Nineteen mechas squeezed into the passage.

Ying Chenlin glanced down, taking in the wreckage below.

The volcanic rock had faded to a faint red, quickly dissipating. The energy within the rocks seemed fully depleted, leaving nothing on the surface. Crumbling layers of ice continued to collapse, and the underground tremors intensified, steadily pushing toward a catastrophic collapse.

A moment’s delay, and he and You Su would have been buried below.

Relaxing his left hand, Ying Chenlin felt the powerful grip around his waist—You Su could have left without waiting for him.

High above, the Artillery mechas continued to blast forward as falling ice chunks struck the mechas in the tunnel one after another. With such intense fighting plus the retreat, the damage to every mecha was inevitably increasing.

“More pollutants coming from behind.” Chi Lizi’s Sniper Cannon fired downward, knocking the pollutants behind You Su and Ying Chenlin back. “They’re climbing up.”

“Damn it, Chi Lizi, move forward!” Zhao Lejie descended from the side, activating his shield at the rear. “I’ll cover the back.”

“Why did such a widespread collapse suddenly happen?!” Lin Yao flew the E.M Artillery to within the protective circle. “Did our energy fluid’s explosion cause it?”

“You think too highly of your energy fluid. No way it would cause something on this scale,” Bai Xuyan replied, continuing to blast from above. “Rather than the energy fluid, it’s like the entire underground is collapsing.”

As he was unable to access more information when repairing the E.M. mecha, Ying Chenlin forced himself to activate the energy monitoring system after hearing Bai Xuyan’s words. The mecha’s system flashed, indicating a large-scale energy disturbance, and the environmental report was filled with alarming red warnings.

Every environmental report nearby was filled with bad news. Ying Chenlin’s eyes scanned each detail swiftly, and he felt his heart grow colder.

“Chenlin?” Yuan sensed fluctuations in Ying Chenlin’s mental state, noticing his distress.

Ying Chenlin murmured, “Can’t find it.”

Yuan observed his pilot.

Scanning the environmental reports line by line, Ying Chenlin’s rapidly calculating mind reached a grim conclusion. “There’s no way out.”

The energy below them was plummeting towards a freezing point. Amid intense energy fluctuations, Slared’s entire underground structure was collapsing. Their escape routes were totally blocked, and the path ahead hadn’t been cleared—this was beyond facing an Super S-Level pollutant; if they couldn’t escape before the ground gave way, they’d all be buried here.

“We’ve lost contact with the outside.” For the first time, Alice’s voice lacked its usual playful tone, dropping to an icy pitch. “Before the final connection cut out, I heard intel from our allies—massive, continuous pollutant explosions are occurring on the surface.”

“When casualties from external events exceed calculated limits, the most effective response is to sacrifice the few to save the many,” Bai Xuyan said. “With the ground collapsing, we need to prepare ourselves for the possibility.”

“Bullshit,” Zhao Lejie countered, holding his shield at the rear. “Say what you want, but Lao Zhang would never abandon us. Damn, the others haven’t given up on us, and you’re already talking about giving up?”

Ji Qingfeng: “Exactly. It’s not like we can’t move. If no one’s coming for us, we’ll dig our own way out.”

“All heavily damaged mechas, move to the center.” You Su released his grip on Ying Chenlin’s mecha, pushing him upward. “Mechas with minimal damage to the perimeter, Tanks on the outside. The highly damaged mechas will be shielded from the destructive force.”

Ying Chenlin paused. “You—”

“The two displacement mechas will stay in the middle,” Qi Sicheng said, understanding You Su’s plan. “Even if we reach 80% damage, as long as you’re safe, our mechas can still make it out, right?”

This shouldn’t be happening…Ying Chenlin’s gaze drifted into the distance. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Collapse is inevitable; we’re trapped from both sides. Do we have anything stronger?”

“If we want to survive, we need to create a suitable shelter ourselves. Does anyone have high-pressure-resistant equipment?”

Ying Chenlin’s mind raced, thinking about what they’d encounter during a collapse. With signals scrambled and coordinates failing, he asked, “Qi Sicheng, how many signal beacons do you have?”

“Four left,” Qi Sicheng replied.

WHG said, “We’ve got some too—fifteen.”

“We have fifty here,” Bai Xuyan added.

“Fuck! A large landlord ah ¹!” Ji Qingfeng exclaimed. “Why do you carry so many?”

Claude retorted, “You brought an energy pipeline. Is it strange we have signal beacons?”

The Star Alliance’s elite teams were equipped with devices to maintain stable communication even amid chaotic energy fluctuations. Ying Chenlin said coldly, “Hand them all over. We can’t afford to lose the signal.”

On Slared’s United Front Channel, the moment the underground team lost contact, everyone felt tight knots within their hearts. But just minutes after they were cut off, they detected a faint radar signal—the mecha signature of E.M.’s Artillery had lit up again, faint, but still connected.

The E.M. mechanic’s eyes widened. “It worked! The damaged mecha’s energy was successfully recharged, without any loss.”

“He really pulled it off…?”

“Repairs under such extreme conditions—Sink was putting his life on the line!”

“This is bad. The force from the en masse pollutant explosions is affecting the geological surface. Their location is far too dangerous.”

“Can’t we dig any faster?”

Their brief joy lasted only half a minute before a terrifying report from Slared jolted them back—there was a volcanic eruption.

“It’s not just the volcano! There’s also a large-scale avalanche in the Snowy Mountains!”

In the United Front Channel, Shen Xingtang locked onto the collapsing Snowy Mountains. Slared was originally an unstable area, and the impact from the en masse pollutant explosions had triggered consecutive avalanches. Not only that, other areas were now experiencing volcanic eruptions, fissures across forest plains, and other disasters. The chain of catastrophic events unfolded like the end of days. In less than an hour, Slared had undergone a complete upheaval.

“Many mechas were buried by the avalanche; the Frontier Army is performing rescues.”

“How can so many changes happen in under an hour?!”

“Was Chronos described as this powerful in the data?”

The Dawn members had encountered a Super S-Level pollutant before. The Black Hole’s threat to the Dawn Galaxy had been unforgettable, but even that couldn’t compare to the crisis in Slared unfolding before them. Red signals representing high concentrations of latent frontier pollutants were disappearing one after another from the radar map. Each vanishing signal meant an explosion from a self-destructing pollutant, producing an energy shockwave of terrifying magnitude on the monitoring systems.

The aftershocks even spread to higher altitudes. From the windows, they could see a variety of energy vortices forming across the skies over Slared.

“Chronos—is it truly such a terrifying pollutant?” Zhang Ge pressed against the ship’s observation window, his eyes fixed on Slared. “How could so much happen in such a short time?”

Jiang Simiao’s hands flew across a virtual keyboard, pulling up all sorts of energy information. When the data model materialized before him, his face turned instantly pale. “This level of explosions… it’s as if the entirety of Slared is being bombarded with limitless energy fluid.”

The evacuation alarm from the Frontier Army continued to broadcast. Numerous Frontier Army mechas were advancing in reverse across the sky, covering the retreat of the Star Alliance mechas before rushing back to support the frontline. The protective shield of Slared’s abandoned system had been activated, with blue beams from each local base shooting up into the sky, gradually forming a vast blue barrier.

In the United Front Channel, as the mecha base leaders saw this unfolding, they instantly grasped the Frontier Army’s strategy.

Slared’s abandoned system was fully activated to form a system of absolute defense; the Frontier Army of the Third Star Domain planned to trap Chronos here and use heavy weaponry to completely neutralize this Super S-level pollutant in Slared.

“Something’s wrong—” There was a tremor in the voice of a Gale staff member. “We can’t detect the signals from underground anymore.”

“No signals from underground…?” Shen Xingtang turned around in shock. “What does that mean?”

“Boss Shen, we no longer have their coordinates.”

The Gale staff member gritted his teeth, his eyes stinging. “We can’t detect any of them.”

As destructive pollutant explosions erupted on Slared’s surface, everyone in the United Front Channel lost the coordinate signals for 19 mechas underground—not just a simple communication blackout, but complete signal loss, as if the 19 mechas had vanished from existence.

Shen Xingtang’s steps faltered as she approached the monitoring console and spoke to Jiang Simiao. “Simiao, try something. Didn’t Qi Sicheng have a signal booster with him? Can we amplify the signal through his?”

“Don’t scare us…” Zhang Ge was stunned, staring at the last detected location, still less than two kilometers away. “They were just two kilometers away from breaking through. How could they lose signal now? Just give them another hour—they’d have reached the exit point by then. Jiang, hurry up!”

But Jiang Simiao’s virtual screen only displayed error reports. No matter how he tried to pinpoint any of the Dawn mechas underground, the results were either errors or total signal loss. “The surface explosions were so intense… And there are pollutants underground too. If the underground pollutants had exploded along with the surface one, they’re caught in the middle. In this state of magnetic chaos, there’s no way to locate them.”

The loss of signal report was also relayed to the United Front Channel, making the digging operation increasingly difficult.

Beyond the Snow Mountains, news from other regions was just as dire. These pollutant explosions were already unexpected, not to mention the suicide-style explosion attacks that had caught several mechas in densely polluted areas off guard. Reports of damaged mechas from various Star Alliance teams poured in, with the Snowy Mountains region particularly hard-hit.

“The damage to the mechas is beyond what we anticipated,” said one team leader. “Chronos appeared too suddenly. In a region where support systems are inadequate, we could have resisted if it were a typical Super S-level pollutant, but it unleashed a massive wave of pollutant attacks.”

“The mechas in the Snowy Mountains area are already retreating, and environmental reports aren’t promising,” another team leader added. “Considering the safety of the mechas, we’ll have to withdraw support.”

This Super S-level pollutant was beyond reason. It could manipulate time, accelerating the planet’s destruction while draining its energy.

And all of this had happened in under four hours. The rapid developments had already placed numerous mechas in danger. They had identified the issue immediately, yet the situation escalated faster than they could prepare.

“The time-based variable of this ability is too unpredictable. We can’t be sure if a devastating event will occur within the next hour while we keep digging.”

Another team leader analyzed, “Before the signals vanished, the mechas’ damage levels had already exceeded 50%. With simultaneous surface and underground explosions, even if we clear the path, they might not make it to the surface.”

With the loss of the underground mecha signals and no assurance of their safety, continuing to dig could endanger more mechas. Should this rescue mission proceed?

At this moment, another voice appeared in the unified communications channel. The mission commander of the Star Alliance, Wei Changyang, spoke up: “Loss of signal doesn’t necessarily mean the mechas are completely destroyed. Even if they reach 80% damage, they will still retain the mechas equipped with displacement weapons. As long as the displacement mechas can move, they can still be saved.”

The Star Alliance teams looked towards the Contaminated Zone, where a massive rescue ship had positioned itself directly above the caves. Commander Wei Changyang had already arrived in the area, rescuing mechas impacted at the center of the pollutant explosions.

“The Frontier Army is establishing the nearest jump point to the rescue site underground. Our support ships have reached the airspace above the Snowy Mountains,” Wei Changyang’s voice remained calm. “Even at 80% damage, as long as they can get out, the Frontier Army’s mobile starship will be able to provide rescue immediately.”

Within the Third Star Domain’s Frontier Army, a unified communications officer stared at the complex detection systems in front of him. Emergency reports had already been submitted to the Frontier Army headquarters. “Are the calculations accurate?”

“They are.” A soldier, feeling heavy-hearted, replied, “Slared cannot be saved. The other Frontier Armies in Dongnuo Galaxy have already been instructed to close off all flight paths around the chaotic galaxy and evacuate citizens.”

The officer asked, “Was this relayed to Commander Wei?”

“It was. The Commander’s first directive is a full evacuation.” The soldier read out the received order, “The Commander said, ‘Slared is going to be destroyed; we’re out of time.’”

—

Directly above the caves in Slared, Alex’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly upon receiving the unified channel message. But they quickly tensed again. “Dig faster; we’re out of time.”

Two Tanks from Aegis held the outer perimeter, with Wu Qingshuang and Huo Yan protecting the excavation team from both sides. However, the shockwaves from the successive self-detonations of pollutants in the distance had begun to sweep in. The entire landscape of the Snowy Mountains within Slared was unrecognizable, shrouded in thick smoke and dust. Vibrations loosened the snow layers, and extensive sections of the snow-covered mountains were collapsing, triggering a massive avalanche that was hurtling uncontrollably towards the area where most of the mechas were located.

“Avalanche!” Wu Qingshuang shouted, “It’s coming right towards us!”

An avalanche—!

While mechas could fly to higher ground to avoid it, what would happen to the tunnel they’d dug out? If it got buried, wouldn’t all their efforts be wasted?

“All Artillery, follow me.” Alex redirected his Sniper Cannon. “Target the left-angled mountain and blast it to divert the avalanche.”

The Artillery mecha pilots from several elite teams moved with impressive speed. As Alex spoke, they immediately left the protection of the Tanks, taking advantage of the collapsing snow on the nearby mountain to buy time.

As the mechas underground were scrambling to escape upward, those stationed above hadn’t fully given up. Everyone was working to open up an escape route for the mechas below as much as possible.

“Everyone else, keep digging,” said an SLY mecha pilot.

GBK added, “We can still keep going here, but is there enough time? Can they see us?”

They had lost the underground signals, and the mechas underground couldn’t see theirs either.

This meant that those underground had entirely lost track of their location, making it impossible to pinpoint the best timing for displacement.

*Boom, boom, boom—*

In the midst of everyone’s conversation, the surrounding pollutants self-detonated once again, and the energy waves generated by the explosions knocked the protective Tank mechas onto the snow. Alex, leading the Artillery mechas, unleashed their full power on the mountain to the left. The collapsing rock and debris forced the avalanche to change its downward path, but it wasn’t over yet—the pollutants continued to explode.

For the third time, Huo Yan was thrown to the ground by the shockwaves, and a damage report from his mecha popped up. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his back, he looked up to see several other mechas knocked down by the relentless blasts. WHG’s other mecha pilots had surrounded the excavated cave, deploying specialized weapons to create a barrier, shielding the cave from the collapsing avalanche.

Then, suddenly, a powerful explosion echoed from above.

The blast winds swept out, and everyone looked up to see that airborne pollutants had also started self-detonating. The aerial explosions impacted many mecha pilots in the process of evacuating, and the resulting energy vortex swept the Frontier Army’s starship to the side.

In mid-air, Wei Changyang steadied his mecha and looked up sharply as he noticed more explosions higher up. “What’s happening?”

A signal from the Frontier Army came through: “Commander, a large number of pollutants are crashing into the defense system and detonating around it!”

The defense system, designed as the last line of defense against Super-S-Level pollutants and heavy weapons, was critical. Wei Changyang’s brows furrowed deeply. “Inform the rescue team mechas to evacuate—Chronos is trying to escape. We can’t hold the underground any longer.”

“Evacuate!?” Alex frowned in disagreement, “We still have half an hour.”

Frontier Army soldiers landed near the cave, where a temporary jump point was ready for the Star Alliance teams to retreat.

Just as Hu Luobu had managed to block the avalanche, he heard the latest directive: “Damn it! Why are we stopping the digging! Lao Zhao and the others are still down there!”

Huo Yan’s heart sank. “Do you have a signal booster on you?”

“I do,” Hu Luobu replied. “Captain Qi gave me a few when we were at the base station.”

“Drop all of them down there.” Huo Yan kept his mind clear amid the chaos. “There can’t be no signal underground. Without a signal, they won’t be able to get out.”

Seeing the Dawn Galaxy’s two mecha pilots’ actions, Wu Qingshuang calmly explained, “The signal limitation isn’t just our issue. Even with a strong signal here, if the mechas underground don’t have boosted signal capacity, they won’t receive our boosted coordinates.”

“At this point, it’s not even about digging. Even if we manage to break through, without a signal, they still won’t be able to get out.”

WHG said, “Without a signal, we can’t determine the ice layer’s position.”

“Huo Ge—!”

Upon hearing the shout, everyone looked up. A heavily damaged mecha arrived at the cave entrance under the cover of Frontier Army soldiers. Lu Xi had fought her way over after eliminating the Pale Butterfly, covered in marks from pollutant explosions, with a damage level reaching 60%.

Ke Lin, covering her, said, “We came as fast as we could. Any other options?”

“Commander, the S-Level Pale Butterfly has been killed. During the evacuation, Dawn Galaxy’s mecha pilot Lu Xi refused to retreat.” A soldier flew to Wei Changyang’s side, reporting, “She said she’s the target point, that she can serve as a fixed coordinate, and came over despite our attempts to stop her.”

The situation around Slared was worsening. Lu Xi had covered enough distance to be the target point, and it was no longer a question of just digging.

As other mecha pilots on the periphery continued to evacuate, Wei Changyang hovered high above, watching the mecha pilots below who refused to leave until the very last second. “How long to establish a strong signal?”

“We’re unsure of the precise range. A strong signal would cover a wider area,” the soldier replied.

“I’ll mark the distant location,” Wei Changyang said, marking a spot on the radar. “If there’s a problem with the underground energy source, all mecha pilots except the Frontier Army are to leave immediately.”

Huo Yan looked at Wei Changyang in surprise.

Then, from the previously unreachable underground, a faint signal suddenly appeared.

Weak and barely visible, it began to brighten little by little—the coordinates of mecha pilot Sink, located 21 kilometers below the surface.

“There’s a signal—!” Hu Luobu shouted at the top of his lungs.

As it appeared, all the mecha pilots simultaneously looked at the coordinates. The signal flickered, and after a brief surge, dimmed again. Alex immediately called SLY’s Stealth mecha, and without hesitation, the Stealth mecha activated its booster and led Lucy down.

“Target point, this way!” SLY’s Stealth mecha called.

Lu Xi hurried to keep up, and as the two mechas quickly reached the designated position, Sink’s coordinates, located 21 kilometers below, remained stationary.

Ke Lin, stunned, said, “They’re not moving—they haven’t detected our coordinates!”

Meanwhile, in the distance, the Snowy Mountains began collapsing once more as an avalanche surged toward them.

Here it comes again… couldn’t it hold off just a bit longer? The coordinates had just appeared.

A soldier reported, “Commander, the avalanche can no longer be diverted!”

“Everyone else, go,” Wei Changyang’s tone brooked no argument. “I am the commander of this Star Alliance Special Mission, and I am responsible for overseeing all rescues. All mecha pilots are to evacuate; leave the rest to me and the Frontier Army.”

“Team 1, cover the mecha pilots’ retreat. Team 2, split into three groups to block the avalanche,” Wei Changyang commanded swiftly and precisely. “Team 3, come with me. Set up a 50-meter strong signal area centered around Sink beneath the cave. Lucy, maintain distance—I’ll handle the farthest coordinates.”

The other mecha pilots started to speak.

“Youngsters, trust me,” Wei Changyang continued, “I come from the Frontier Army, and in a battlefield like this, we know better than anyone how to handle this.”

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Translator Notes

1. Big/conspicuous spender[↩]