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Genius Mechanic: Chapter 254
Asta Contaminated Zone(Star Domain Tournament: Start)
254. Maintenance Area
Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake
Cumulative wear and tear was a type of wear and tear that could occur with the continued use of a mecha’s weapon. A weapon with ordinary foundational wear could be restored to its original state through a Medical mecha system or by repairs from a mechanic. However, repairing cumulative wear and tear was relatively more complex. This sort of wear required detailed inspections and a comprehensive overhaul of a weapon’s core, which would take a long time. The three days of maintenance provided during the Star Domain Tournament weren’t enough to repair cumulative wear and tear.
Huo Yan: “I’m not too familiar with the details of the repairs, but Tang Jie’s point is that cumulative wear and tear can’t be fully repaired in a short time. She’s suggesting we replace the weapons with the backups early.”
Ying Chenlin held the data board and pondered for a long time. “Replacing the two weapons in succession means half of the tactics we discussed yesterday will be wasted.”
Huo Yan handed over another set of data: “There’s this as well. It’s the list of all the replaceable weapons you asked the maintenance team to bring before we set off. Some of the new weapons have already passed the Alliance’s review. If we have to replace the two weapons, we still have options. Qingfeng can switch back to his Curved Blade, and I can switch to the Dissipation Shield you designed.”
The table was covered in data compiled by KID’s maintenance team, listing all the weapons that could be loaded on-site.
They, the mecha pilots, needed to finalize the weapon selections within the first two days, after which KID’s maintenance staff would handle the on-site installations and replacements.
“Using the other weapons repeatedly isn’t impossible. Let’s wait until they wake up and study what tactics to use.” Huo Yan continued. He noticed Ying Chenlin holding the data board, seemingly deep in thought. “What’s wrong?”
Ying Chenlin put the data board down and said in a low voice, “The weapons still need to be repaired.”
-*
At the Asta Contaminated Zone venue, aside from the eight main teams, other teams gradually withdrew from the Contaminated Zone.
After completing their physical examinations, YDS and the other mecha pilots returned to the rest area. The rest area was much livelier now. The teams that had participated in the competition hadn’t left yet. Most mecha pilots were sitting in their respective rest areas, their gazes fixed on the various maintenance sites in the arena, where the remaining teams were entering the preparation phase.
“Better luck next time.” YDS’ leader patted Hu Luobu on the shoulder.
Hu Luobu smiled and said, “Hey, don’t be so tense. Before we came out, Captain Ke had already analyzed everything for us. We’ll just have to step up our training when we get back.”
Wen Yi walked over and bumped fists with Ke Lin. The two didn’t speak, but they understood there were some things that didn’t need to be said.
“Next, we’re cheering for our two teams from Dawn in the second half.”
Wen Yi glanced at the screen. “Next year’s slots depend on this year’s rankings.”
Hu Luobu said, “They’ve all made it to the top eight. If Lao Zhao doesn’t work hard to secure four slots this time, it’s going to be hard to justify. He’s always bragging to me about how strong their Gale team is.”
The first half of the Star Domain Tournament was an elimination round, while the second half was similar to the ranking competition in the Dawn Galaxy Competition. The teams that made it to the top eight would compete for the new season’s top-eight rankings. These rankings also determined the number of slots each galaxy in the First Star Domain would have for the Star Domain Tournament next season.
Black Crow’s Chi Lizi asked, “What if they don’t secure slots?”
Hu Luobu: “…At most, we’ll go find Chairman Li again next year, take another trip to the Star Alliance, and get wildcard slots.”
Ke Lin explained: “Not counting wildcard slots or other opportunities to obtain Star Domain Tournament slots, for KID and Gale to secure slots for Dawn next season, at least one of the two teams must make it into the top four. The top four teams in the Star Domain Tournament each get four reserve slots, while the top eight get three slots.”
Securing a Star Domain slot becomes relatively easy after making it into the top eight. With two teams in the top eight, Dawn already had three slots guaranteed for next year. However, to obtain four foundational slots, they had to aim for the top-four.
“As for the slots, that’s another matter. If we don’t have the slots, we can fight for them.”
Wen Yi smiled: “The main thing is that this might be the closest Dawn has ever been to first place in the Star Domain Tournament.”
The Dawn Galaxy had been at the bottom of the First Star Domain’s rankings for a long time. Now, they had two teams entering the second half of the competition—KID in third place and Gale in fifth. This was their best performance in team battle history.
Hu Luobu wiped his nose. “That’s right, third and fifth. Dawn isn’t any weaker than Aries, okay?”
Chi Lizi’s gaze fell on the nearby KID and Gale teams, who were neighbors in the rest area. The coach on Gale’s side seemed fine, apparently discussing details with other coaching staff. However, on KID’s side, Coach Jiang’s expression appeared very grim.
“Did something happen?” Ke Lin also noticed this and asked.
YDS’ leader said, “You didn’t watch the livestream just now? KID’s maintenance area isn’t looking great in the live updates. Two of their weapons showed signs of cumulative damage.”
He was also worried. “Gale’s equipment reserves are sufficient, so we don’t need to worry about their maintenance issues… The main concern is KID. Based on the intel we have, they only have two sets of weapons. The set they used in the Galactic Competition has probably been thoroughly studied by the other strong teams. We’re worried that their equipment reserves might cause problems.”
If KID’s equipment reserves were insufficient, the likelihood of them being targeted in the second half of the competition was very high.
In the Star Domain Tournament’s live broadcast room, as the tournament schedule entered the mid-game, everyone’s attention focused on the maintenance areas of the eight teams. Each team’s maintenance area was separated to prevent intelligence leaks. The on-site mechanics entered the base station at the same time as the mecha pilots and couldn’t observe the weapons used by the other teams in the first half. All intelligence was shared with the mecha pilots.
A large number of mechanics were engaged in meticulous work on-site. There were dedicated commentators for the maintenance process. While sensitive data wasn’t disclosed, each team’s maintenance progress was broadcasted live to all viewers of the Star Domain Tournament during the mid-game. Fans familiar with their teams could also deduce which weapons their team would use in the second half based on the appearance of the replaced weapons.
【I just saw Aegis’ area, they prepared a ton of weapons. Are they replacing everything?】
【JIAZI is swapping too. The second half has a completely new lineup.】
【This is why I love watching Star Domain Tournaments. You can see so many combinations in one match.】
【I just wonder what lineup Aegis will use in the second half. Captain Wu’s ideas are different every year.】
The mechanics’ progress in repairing mecha wear and tear was very fast. On-site, exchanges between mecha pilots and mechanics could be seen, with adjustments seemingly being made while repairing the weapons. Everyone was making modifications for the second half of the Star Domain Tournament.
The official livestream locked onto KID’s perspective, which showed that KID’s repair progress was slower than the other teams.
The other top-eight teams had practically already brought out their reserve weapon arsenals, but when the view locked onto KID, they hadn’t yet revealed the type of weapons they would use in the second half. The mechanics were still in the process of repairing the mecha bodies, and no mecha pilots could be seen on-site, as if KID hadn’t reached a unified decision internally.
In the public viewing area of the livestream, the repair progress of each mecha was displayed on virtual panels, allowing viewers to understand the current repair status of each mecha. The repair progresses for KID’s six mechas were already over halfway complete, but two mechas displayed “cumulative wear and tear” damage icons beside their weapon compartments.
The commentator analyzed, “It seems like KID’s encountering other issues. Based on the on-site data, KID appears to be dealing with cumulative wear and tear problems, but it doesn’t look like they plan to replace their weapons.”
【Is it because they’re in a resource-scarce galaxy with fewer weapon options?】
【What is cumulative wear and tear?】
【I think I saw other teams with cumulative wear and tear issues, but they didn’t repair them either.】
A weapons expert, noticing the situation in the maintenance area, explained to the livestream audience: “Cumulative wear and tear can be understood as follows: normally, a weapon’s wear rate is fixed. However, when cumulative wear and tear occurs on a mecha weapon, the wear rate over a short period of use increases. For example, if a weapon can normally last for seven days of use, with cumulative wear and tear, its usable time might shrink to four or five days.”
The commentator asked, “So, the weapon is still usable, but its durability is reduced?”
“Yes, cumulative wear and tear isn’t an uncommon issue. The probability of it occurring increases with high-frequency use. The process for repairing cumulative wear and tear is relatively complex because it involves replacing core worn-out components. You have to understand, each step in a weapon’s design has critical points. Replacing ordinary components to fix wear is simple, but replacing core components requires extreme precision to avoid overall incompatibility. Usually, it’s safer to send the weapon back to its original manufacturing workshop, where the original assembly team can handle the repair.”
The weapon expert continued, “As you can see, several teams are experiencing cumulative wear and tear with their weapons. The best approach they’re taking is simply to replace the weapon entirely.”
【Does that mean these two KID weapons can’t be used anymore?】
【Great, we won’t have to see Qingf’s Mirage Chain Mace in the second half. That weapon is so evasive 1 in his hands.】
【Yan’s Counter-Damage Shield is a pity. That weapon is excellent against long-range projectiles. When used properly, it’s an offensive weapon too.】
【But KID’s pace is way too slow.】
【Slow makes sense. Their repair team is probably fixing weapons for the Star Domain Tournament for the first time, and they don’t seem very experienced.】
As the dark horse that performed exceptionally well in the first half, KID attracted a lot of attention.
In the spacious maintenance area, KID’s female mechanic stood to the side overseeing the situation. Her expression was extremely serious, but when dealing with the mecha repair plans, there wasn’t the slightest trace of panic. Even though their overall progress was slower than other teams, she led the young repair team in handling the high-intensity on-site repairs.
At this moment, everyone suddenly saw two mecha pilots from KID come out of the resting area, one tall and one short. The audience immediately understood who these two were: one was KID’s captain, Yan, and the other was KID’s Medical mecha pilot, Sink.
After the two arrived on-site, they began conversing with the head mechanic, Shen Xingtang, seemingly discussing matters related to the mecha weapons.
【Are they discussing the weapon plan?】
【Probably to switch weapons. They have no choice but to use a different strategy in the second half.】
In the slightly messy maintenance area, the two mecha pilots entered wearing their combat suits, standing in front of the spread-out repair board while discussing something. KID’s boss, Shen Xingtang, pointed at details on the repair board. After saying only a few words, Sink casually picked up an electronic pen nearby and began writing and drawing on what appeared to be a blueprint.
After the group discussed for a while, the oldest mechanic in KID also came over. The few of them stood in front of the blueprint, talking about something.
“Eh? Are KID’s mecha pilots drawing a design blueprint?” The commentator caught this detail.
The weapon expert noticed Ying Chenlin’s actions and frowned slightly as they looked at him. However, due to the livestream angle, they couldn’t clearly see the blueprint. “I’ve heard that Sink is also a mechanic.”
【Is this allowed?】
【There’s no issue with this. Don’t you see the other teams’ mecha pilots mingling with the mechanics to discuss as well? The official rules only limit the number of people, but don’t prohibit mecha pilots from interfering in the repair process.】
【KID’s progress is way too slow.】
In the maintenance area, after seeing the plan Ying Chenlin came up with, Shen Xingtang considered it and said, “Using your modification method is fine, but we need to speed up the process, and we’re still uncertain if the cumulative wear and tear issues will recur.”
“We won’t use this weapon at a high intensity in the second half.”
Ying Chenlin brought up the design draft, marked it, and sent it to Shen Xingtang. “We still have to use this weapon.”
The situation in the second half would be simpler than the first, but there would be more opposing teams, bringing more complex problems.
Ying Chenlin had discussed it with Huo Yan. What needed to be fought for should still be fought for, and they also believed in their maintenance team.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Xingtang handed Ying Chenlin’s blueprint to Old Gu. “We’ll try to repair in the direction of your plan. I’ll work on it with Old Gu. Once the engineering details are finalized, you’ll confirm them. We’ll aim to complete it in one day, leaving half a day for contingency adjustments. If we can’t solve the problem within a day, we’ll proceed with the original plan and have you switch to backup weapons.”
———
While the Star Domain Tournament was still ongoing in the First Star Domain, the competitions in other star domains had already concluded one after another.
At PJT’s mecha base in the Second Star Domain, the PJT team, having just finished their Star Domain Tournament, once again triumphed over GBK to secure the championship of the Second Star Domain Tournament. When their captain, Norbert, returned to the base, he immediately saw the coaching team in the meeting room analyzing the ongoing matches in other star domains, with the First Star Domain’s competition prominently displayed.
Norbert brushed back his blond hair, found a random spot to sit, and opened KID’s perspective. “They’re at halftime?”
“You’re still paying attention to KID?” The coach turned his head. “KID’s current repair progress is very slow. Their team seems to lack experience.”
Norbert didn’t pay attention to this; he simply opened the view and fixated on it.
The halftime repairs were already halfway through, and KID’s other mechas were still being repaired. He keenly noticed a young man in a red-and-white combat suit lingering beside KID’s Stealth mecha, seemingly observing the condition of the upper part of the mecha.
Seeing this, as a Stealth mecha pilot, Norbert immediately recognized what Sink was checking based on his actions.
His movements appeared to be observing the left side of the mecha, but his focus seemed to be on the weapon compartment. He opened the weapon section’s status and saw the annotation for cumulative wear and tear.
On the screen, the young man seemed unconcerned about the engine oil staining his combat suit and climbed up to the upper part of the mecha’s left arm multiple times during his actions, seemingly recording data.
“Huh?” Norbert was slightly surprised at this sight.
At that moment, a middle-aged man who had just entered through the door abruptly stopped behind Norbert.
He looked at the young man’s movements on the screen and suddenly asked, “Is this mecha pilot a mechanic?”
Norbert raised his head. “Professor Mervin.”
Professor Mervin was PJT’s chief weapons designer and had been invited by PJT’s head coach to attend the meeting.
The nearby head coach, hearing the two conversing, quickly approached. “Did you notice something unusual?”
“Sink seems to be attempting to repair the weapons with cumulative wear and tear,” Norbert said.
“Weapons with cumulative wear and tear can’t be repaired within three days,” the head coach said. “I’ve confirmed this with our mechanics.”
Norbert gave a brief acknowledgement and caught a glimpse of Professor Mervin still observing Ying Chenlin on the screen, as if studying something.
“Professor Mervin?” Norbert asked curiously.
“He’s not repairing the cumulative wear and tear. Repairing cumulative wear and tear isn’t difficult, but it’s impossible to complete within three days.” Professor Mervin focused on the young man’s actions on the screen. “From what I observe, it looks more like he’s confirming the pathways of the mecha arm’s metal nerves and component connections.”
PJT’s head coach said, “Modifying the mecha? That’s impossible. The League will have audit teams present.”
“It’s not a modification,” Professor Mervin explained gently, “it’s replacing parts to adjust the distribution of force, reducing the wear and tear on the weapon during the mecha pilot’s use.”
Professor Mervin saw the young man inside had already come down from the left arm of the mecha and moved to the right arm. “The basic manifestation of cumulative wear and tear is an accelerated rate of damage, but continuing to use this weapon isn’t difficult. It can be done by either replacing a component or reducing the force exerted by the machine.”
The head coach asked, “Can you explain it in simpler terms?”
“Simply put, for example, if part A of this weapon is the core cause of the cumulative wear and tear, I can change the direction of the force exerted by the weapon-mounting arm on the weapon, distributing the force originally applied to part A across other components, thereby slowing down the onset of cumulative wear and tear.” Professor Mervin said, “This repair method can temporarily improve the weapon’s usability.”
As for the wear and tear caused to the other components, there was no need to worry. A comprehensive repair could be carried out after the competition, though the repair time would be longer.
The head coach said, “There’s actually such a repair method?”
“This is very difficult and requires the mechanic performing the repairs to be extremely familiar with the mecha pilot’s operating habits.”
Professor Mervin chuckled lightly upon hearing the head coach’s comment. “Mistakes in modification will affect the mecha pilot’s operation… Besides, adjusting the force between the weapon and the mecha isn’t that simple. Even the top mechanics at PJT wouldn’t dare guarantee completing such modifications within three days. It requires a deep understanding of the weapon’s design process to know where to make adjustments without compromising weapon performance or affecting the mecha pilot’s operation.”
“KID’s weapon designer must be present on-site.”
Professor Mervin looked to the side. “Without the designer on-site, no one would dare attempt such an operation.”
Norbert and the head coach’s expressions changed slightly upon hearing this.
The head coach turned and ordered the staff, his tone cold, “Bring up the images from KID’s maintenance site.”
Professor Mervin asked, “What’s the matter?”
Norbert swiped through the footage and replayed an earlier segment, seeing the young man’s actions in front of the engineering drafts. “I think I’ve figured something out.”
TN:
No surprise~ Fanboy Norbert being the 1st to figure out who Yuan is is very on brand xD
NEXT: THE BATTLE FOR THE STAR DOMAIN’S TOP DOG ARC BEGINS 🎊
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- From HiNative: The term “玩赖” (wán lài) is a colloquial expression in Chinese that combines the words “玩” (wán) meaning “to play” or “to fool around” and “赖” (lài) meaning “to be evasive” or “to shirk responsibility.” When used together, “玩赖” conveys the idea of someone avoiding or dodging a situation or responsibility in a playful or nonchalant manner.[↩]