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Genius Mechanic: Chapter 252.2
252.2: Willingly Take The Bait.
Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake
“Wait!” Horned Dragon’s commander suddenly reacted. “Come back!”
Horned Dragon’s Stealth paused in his movements, but at that moment, he suddenly felt the ground tremble.
He quickly retreated a few steps, but the movement underground was faster than his reaction.
A red-and-white mecha burst out of the ground the moment its thrusters disengaged mid-air, and in its hand was a bizarre broom. As soon as it emerged, it locked onto Horned Dragon’s Stealth. Before the latter could use his weapon, it swung its broom. The sweeping motion sent out wind blades porting gusts of wind, sweeping Horned Dragon’s Stealth, who was about to retreat, toward the mining pit.
“A KID mecha!” Horned Dragon’s commander shouted, “Retreat immediately!”
Horned Dragon’s mecha pilots immediately opened fire, aiming all their shots at the KID mecha. Amid the barrage of fire, KID’s Guardian reacted with incredible speed. Ignoring the other mechas, it charged straight at Horned Dragon’s Stealth through the cannon fire.
Horned Dragon’s Stealth, blown away, barely stabilized himself using his thrusters. “What kind of weapon is that—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the KID Guardian’s broom swept toward him again. Its control speed was astonishingly fast, and the giant wind blades effortlessly swept Horned Dragon’s Stealth into the unbalanced terrain around the mining pit.
At this moment, Horned Dragon’s Stealth locked onto KID Guardian’s weapon and was planning to use his thrusters to evade its attack range. However, his previously functional thrusters suddenly lost control, costing him time for escape. “Damn it, is the destabilized zone this close!?”
Lin Yao seized the opportunity for another sweep. “Off you go!”
The area around the mining pit was a destabilized zone. The livestream audience watched as Horned Dragon’s Stealth entered the KID Guardian’s encirclement and was swept into the air three consecutive times by KID’s Guardian’s unreasonable broom. Carried by the winds, he was swept to the top of the mining pit… and then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, fell into the pit due to the destabilized zone.
“Horned Dragon’s Stealth misjudged the distance with the destabilized zone.” The livestream commentator swallowed hard. “He was controlled four times in a row by KID’s Guardian and swept into the mining pit.”
Horned Dragon fans: “???”
【…Dope!】
【Horned Dragon got greedy in the end! The meat of the third mining pit is untouchable!】
【Fuck, this tactic can only work once, right?】
“KID planned this perfectly. The distance of their Guardian’s ambush was just enough for a four-hit combo!” The commentator was shocked by the seamless control, a chill running down his spine. “The area they’re in is a sandstorm area, and it’s currently downwind. The wind-attribute weapon can control at a greater distance.”
Since KID took over the third mining pit, many teams had chosen to avoid it. The exact situation in this area remained unclear because other teams never approached to calculate the specifics. But now, the third mining pit’s environment had been exploited by KID to the fullest: where the downwind areas were, where the sandstone was soft, and where the destabilized zone’s distance was best calculated—all of this was within KID’s planning.
KID’s two mechas cooperated seamlessly to finish off Horned Dragon’s Stealth and showed no interest in the rest of Horned Dragon. Moving swiftly with the wind, they dashed into the mining pit, adhering to their strategy of taking down one target and retreating immediately, leaving no chance for the Horned Dragon team to counterattack.
Ji Qingfeng looked up. “Amazing ah, Yao Bao!”
Lin Yao, having swept the target up, was already running into the mining pit. “Four consecutive controls!”
【They ran away!?】
【KID is doing a hit and run ah!】
KID never intended to deal with all of Horned Dragon’s mechas—they weren’t fools. With something like this, you take one shot and run.
The two mechas charged into the mining pit under heavy fire, leaving Horned Dragon’s mechas unable to track them.
Horned Dragon had never encountered this kind of combat style before. Their Stealth falling into the pit meant entering KID’s encirclement.
“Don’t get near their Guardian; that weapon is strange! Be careful not to get blown away.” Horned Dragon’s commander quickly directed the mechas to move toward the edge of the pit. When he looked down, he saw the suspended gravel below, unable to clearly spot where their Stealth had fallen. Based on the radar readings, the enemy seemed to be right at the bottom of the pit.
“Stealth, find a way out,” said Horned Dragon’s commander.
Horned Dragon’s Stealth: “I didn’t fall all the way down. I’m coming out now.”
The fallen Horned Dragon Stealth quickly regained his composure. He hadn’t fallen all the way to the pit bottom, but had grabbed onto a conveyor belt midway, staying on the upper levels of the pit.
【Horned Dragon’s Stealth brought a displacement weapon, so he should be able to get out.】
【…No, didn’t you see Sink standing above him?】
Horned Dragon’s Stealth surveyed his surroundings, trying to find the right direction to escape the pit in. Just as he looked up, a control cannon shot suddenly came down. The Deepwater Sphere froze him in place, hitting him with continuous control. Before he could escape, KID’s Sink hit him with a long-range cannon shot, sending him tumbling down to the lower levels of the pit.
At the lower levels, KID’s Artillery, stationed by a conveyor belt, saw the falling ice ball. Their 100%-charged Sniper Cannon had been ready, and alongside Enhanced Cannon shots from another transport entrance, they unleashed an relentless, inhumane attack on Horned Dragon’s Stealth.
【…He’s completely defenseless.】
【In the pit, with two long-ranged mechas attacking from above, how is he supposed to fight back?】
【Even a displacement weapon is useless—didn’t you see how the Energy Cannon shots can knock him back?】
In the arena, Horned Dragon’s Stealth broke free from Lucy’s control using his displacement weapon, but just as he moved, KID’s higher up Steel Wind Cannon seemed to anticipate his action. In the next moment, a single shot sent Horned Dragon’s Stealth flying back to his original position.
Horned Dragon’s commander: “Can you get out? Why hasn’t your position changed?”
Horned Dragon’s Stealth: “…I’m standing here for punishment.”
Horned Dragon’s commander: “?”
In the livestream, everyone watched as Horned Dragon’s Stealth was unable to resist whatsoever. Initially, it had 30% wear remaining, but in less than ten minutes, that number had plummeted. KID’s Artillery’s offensive power was terrifying enough on its own, and with KID’s Control mecha keeping him locked down, Horned Dragon’s Stealth was totally alone, stuck at the spacious and inescapable pit bottom—a perfect target for KID.
【Too cruel.】
【If you got swept to the pit bottom, how could you survive?】
The entire Horned Dragon team gathered at the edge of the pit. They couldn’t see the situation below, but they could vaguely make out KID’s mechas through the gravel. The KID mechas openly stood by the transport entrances, ready to retreat into the pit walls at any moment. While facing off against Horned Dragon, they seemed entirely at ease, almost as if silently greeting them, just waiting for Horned Dragon to step into the pit.
“Fuck!” Horned Dragon’s commander stepped back half a step, unable to hold back a curse.
A Horned Dragon mecha pilot: “Commander, do we go in?”
“Go in my ass, are we delivering ourselves?” Horned Dragon’s commander said, “KID did this on purpose.”
Horned Dragon didn’t move, but KID spoke up.
KID’s Stealth turned on his loudspeaker, cleared his throat, and said, “Your Stealth is in our hands. Come down to fight, or abandon him. Choose one okay?”
The livestream audience watching the standoff at the upper levels of the mining pit fell silent.
“This is a threat,” the commentator said. “KID is using Horned Dragon’s Stealth to threaten Horned Dragon’s team standing at the edge of the third mining pit, issuing a challenge.”
【This is a motherfucking provocation!】
【KID… is too arrogant.】
【Even if he steals someone, why does he still have to turn on the loudspeaker to taunt them?!】
The official livestream was connected to the First Star Domain’s broadcast network. Viewers who weren’t following any particular team all gathered in the official livestream’s channel. At this moment, KID threatening Horned Dragon with a challenge was being broadcasted across the Star Domain.
On the battlefield, the standoff continued.
KID’s Stealth, Ji Qingfeng, spoke again: “I’ll give you three minutes to think it over.”
【??? Is this a Star Alliance cop drama?】
【I’ve never seen gangsters this cocky.】
【Even in TV shows, negotiation times are at least half an hour. What can you think over in three minutes?】
【…??? Am I watching a match? What the hell is this soap opera scene?】
“Can’t give them too much time,” the commentator looked at the increasingly fierce bombardment from KID’s Artillery down below in the pit. “It seems like KID isn’t on the same page internally. While the Stealth’s up here negotiating, the Artillery below hasn’t stopped firing!”
Not only had it not stopped, it was even firing much more aggressively.
Is this how you negotiate?
Horned Dragon couldn’t tolerate such a provocation. Their Artillery immediately fired a shot at Ji Qingfeng’s position.
Ji Qingfeng: “Why are you starting a fight? You don’t want your brother anymore?!”
Lin Yao: “Yeah, for a brother, you should go all out1.”
Horned Dragon’s artillery fire continued to rain down toward Ji Qingfeng, who deftly dodged into a transport entrance while calling out, “One minute left!”
The livestream camera remained focused on the standoff between KID’s Stealth and the Horned Dragon team. In the next second, sharp-eyed viewers noticed KID’s Guardian and Medical using Ji Qingfeng’s taunting to distract their opponents, rapidly closing in on Horned Dragon’s higher up mechas under the cover of the mining pit’s terrain.
The commentator quickly exclaimed, “Wait! Sink and Yao are moving! They’re trying to ambush Horned Dragon!”
【???? Am I watching a match or a play?】
【??? KID】
【This is so dramatic. I’m dying of laughter.】
At that moment, an elimination message popped up.
[KID-Trace has eliminated Horned Dragon-phl]【So fast!?】
【A Stealth is squishy! Against KID’s high-damage Artillery, what can it do?】
The elimination message came so suddenly that Ji Qingfeng’s loudspeaker taunt was cut off mid-sentence. The KID Medical and Guardian, still in stealth mode and approaching, hadn’t even gotten close when the Horned Dragon team had already retreated several steps, pulling away from the confrontation.
At the bottom of the third mining pit, You Su swiftly eliminated Horned Dragon’s Stealth. “This side’s handled.”
KID’s communication channel was silent. Ji Qingfeng spoke sorrowfully, “Ge, next time don’t be so fast. A man really can’t be too fast.”
Huo Yan: “It was indeed a bit fast, one minute faster than I estimated.”
Lin Yao, regretfully: “Just a little more, and it would’ve entered my range.”
Ying Chenlin abandoned the ambush on Horned Dragon. “Slower is better.”
You Su: “…”
At the third mining pit, Horned Dragon, having suffered the painful loss of their Stealth teammate, did not recklessly charge into the third mining pit in response to KID’s provocation. Instead, they swiftly retreated from the area.
“KID can’t launch a sneak attack now,” the commentator said. “Horned Dragon has retreated to a safe distance. It was just a bit more, but KID’s Artillery’s actions were too fast.”
【Why did Horned Dragon retreat? KID was provoking them like that, and they endured it?】
【??? It’s a match. Why would they charge into such an obvious trap?】
【Horned Dragon was too hesitant. When their teammate was captured, they should’ve immediately gone to save them.】
【How? The mining pit is so deep!】
“There was no way for Horned Dragon to save them. If their teammate had fallen to the middle levels, they might have risked going in to confront KID and save them. But the Stealth fell to the bottom of the pit, it was too far, and they were locked down by KID’s Artillery,” the commentator analyzed, recalling KID’s operations. “They essentially replicated their chaotic battle tactics, but also had a terrain advantage compared to Horned Dragon. Either Horned Dragon’s entire team jumped down to save their Stealth, giving KID, who had eyes on the higher ground, an excellent advantage, or they faced losing a guerrilla battle.”
“If they want to fight KID, their priority has to be capturing the likes of Sink and the others on the upper levels.”
“One is KID’s Stealth with their mobility—hard to catch.”
“One is KID’s Guardian with their broom—impossible to approach.”
“The other is the Individual Soldier King Sink… he’s too strong.”
“Besides, the Stealth wouldn’t have lasted until reinforcements arrived. In the end, it would have been a 5v6, completely unwinnable.”
After Horned Dragon retreated, the remaining KID mechas reached the outskirts of the mining pit. Once KID’s Stealth confirmed Horned Dragon had left, he and KID’s Guardian tacitly returned to their original positions. One jumped back into the pit to set up an ambush, while the other transformed into the appearance of Horned Dragon’s Stealth mecha, once again lying in wait in the sandstorm area.
The livestream audience: “???”
【WTF, he bumped into Horned Dragon’s Stealth earlier?!】
【I didn’t notice. It seems he dodged when Horned Dragon’s Stealth was about to attack him? Was that when he touched them?】
【But what’s the point of him turning into Horned Dragon’s Stealth? Horned Dragon is ranked fourth; even after losing one mecha, the others won’t target him.】
In KID’s resting area, Jiang Simiao, sitting calmly in his chair, saw the question marks in the livestream. “That’s not necessarily true.”
“Why? Previously, YGY was because they were weakened, but Horned Dragon’s record is great, right?” Gu Xiaotian asked in confusion.
Horned Dragon’s record was indeed excellent. Even after losing one mecha, they still had five remaining. Other teams wouldn’t easily target Horned Dragon.
“The other teams aren’t fools. Before, Horned Dragon’s last refreshed position was near the third mining pit. The closest coordinates to the third mining pit belong to our KID.” Jiang Simiao continued, “Now that a Horned Dragon mecha has been eliminated, the teams following the standings will assume that KID fought Horned Dragon, and that we eliminated one of their mechas.”
“When two teams engage, there will always be damaged mechas retreating. In such cases, other teams wanting to pick up scraps or join the chaos will come over to check.”
Jiang Simiao said full of confidence: “Back then, the decision to let Da Feng bring this weapon was precisely to use it for chaotic battles.”
In the livestream, the audience didn’t believe KID’s Stealth turning into a Horned Dragon mecha could lure other teams to the area. Yet, in less than half an hour, they witnessed another team arrive at the third mining pit, using the same probing strategy as Horned Dragon. When they saw KID use the same trick to send that team’s mecha into the pit, the audience was dumbfounded.
【How the hell could this happen!?】
【KID just secured two mecha points like that!?】
【Wait, Horned Dragon worked too!?】
The commentator: “KID hasn’t fought any other teams recently. Only four teams know about their weapon capabilities. Knowing they have these two weapons, how could anyone fall for it?”
But the key point was that KID had been playing passively for too long, staying at the bottom of the pit. On the battlefield, all teams were enemies, and information wasn’t shared.
Now, most teams trying to probe KID or pick up scraps hadn’t yet faced KID’s punishment.
The commentator was silent for a moment before continuing, “Seeing one of Horned Dragon’s mechas alone, the other team probably thought Horned Dragon had fought KID and wanted to sneak around for kills… It’s all KID’s Stealth being too good at acting.”
On the battlefield, Ji Qingfeng, the negotiation expert, spoke again, “We’ll give you ten minutes to consider.”
【…Ten minutes!】
【Horned Dragon: This is too much.】
【Why the double standards!?】
On the podium, the Star Domain Tournament leaders had complex expressions. Staff from the Asta competition’s organizing committee were running back and forth, and the committee director was in a difficult position.
“Should we keep broadcasting?” A staff member noticed the official livestream’s popularity rising steadily. “Director, viewership has increased by two points.”
The organizing committee director wavered between popularity and saving face: “…”
“Still inexperienced,” a Dawn leader muttered, glancing at the faces of the organizing committee staff. He quietly complained, “Clearly, they haven’t been following our Dawn Galaxy’s competitions. What’s wrong with external voice tactics? Verbal strategies are still strategies. They can’t afford to play 2, so they sulk?”
Li Jingyan glanced at him. “Didn’t you keep filing reports to revise the competition rules during the Keze Floating Island matches? You even voted in favor.”
The Dawn leader’s face stiffened. That did sound familiar.
Li Jingyan asked, “Do you still want to change it now?”
The Dawn leader: “…”
Author’s Note:
The Dawn leader: Love and hate are mixed together.
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KID just gets funnier every chapter