Genius Mechanic: Chapter 59

Qiu Jin Grand Canyon Contaminated Zone (Competition)

59. Duel

Proofread by An Zheee and Cloud Chip Cake

The livestream audience was shocked. The commentator exclaimed, “Is Trace crazy? His teammates are right there too!”

Jiang Simiao covered his face, “!”

He knew it! These people wouldn’t stick to the plan.

BZZL1 Commander exclaimed, “Is he insane? Is he attacking his own team!?”

The incident happened so suddenly that the BLLZ1 mecha pilots didn’t react in time. Their positions were distant and unaffected by the falling rocks, but the KID team members and the BZZL1 Stealth mecha, situated below the attacked mountain, were directly hit.

In the canyon, two steep mountains stood tall, with peaks that loomed high. The KID Artillery mecha, Trace, fired an energy blast directly onto a portion of the mountaintop. The power of the energy blast, which exceeded a 60% energy charge, was not to be underestimated. The impact caused the mountain to shake, and countless rocks fell from the sky.

At that moment, several of KID’s team members, who were closer to the blast, rushed towards Lin Yao’s location. The suddenly activated protective shield formed a barrier against the falling rocks.

Lin Yao was pushed downwards by a large rock and weakly held up the shield above his head, “You Ge, can you give me a warning before you fire next time?”

Ji Qingfeng looked up with lingering fear, “Brother, you just told us to spread out. Doesn’t this mean we should stick together?”

“Mistake. I meant for you to spread out a bit more carefully,” You Su lifted his weapon. Its power surpassed what he had tested at KID’s base, then he quickly shifted his gaze, “Huo Yan, watch the opposite side. The Stealth mecha is emerging.”

Amongst the chaos of falling rocks, the debris seemed to bounce off an invisible object.

The BZZL1 Stealth mecha happened to be beneath the mountainside. When the debris fell, it had nowhere to hide and was hit directly.

The Stealth’s magnetic field could conceal its form, but this disappearance wasn’t absolute—it was a product of the magnetic field’s unique anomaly that removed him from view and the radars of others, but his mecha was still there. Therefore, when the debris fell, the mecha’s cloaking effect was affected, making it easy to pinpoint its position.

“Uh-oh!” The BZZL1 Stealth pilot immediately realized he had been targeted!

The force of the descending debris wasn’t particularly harmful to the mecha; it could easily evade the large falling rocks. The KID Artillery mecha’s purpose wasn’t to inflict damage using the falling rocks; rather, it was to use the falling rocks to locate its target.

Seeing Trace’s reaction, the commentator immediately caught on, “Trace is using the terrain to locate the Stealth mecha! His initial energy blast wasn’t intended to hit the Stealth mecha!”

The Stealth mecha’s magnetic field was affected, causing the mecha to appear intermittently in the light and shadows.

You Su immediately locked onto its position, charged his energy blast again, and fired directly towards that peculiar location.

The BZZL1 Stealth pilot had participated in multiple Leagues and, after noticing this issue, immediately engaged his thrusters to evade and escape KID’s pursuit. However, Trace didn’t give him a chance. He aimed his cannon once more at the mountainside in the direction of the fleeing Stealth mecha and fired another energy blast!

Falling rocks rained down once again!

BZZL1’s Commander reacted, “Don’t fly close to the mountainside!”

The BZZL1 Stealth pilot communicated, “His energy blast is too fast!”

In Gale’s base, Qi Sicheng witnessed the scene, “Trace has changed his weapon.”

Zhao Lejie realized, “The Energy Cannon’s projectile speed has increased. Could he have switched to a wind attribute anomalous crystal!?”

[Wait! Look at Trace’s weapon. Doesn’t it seem a bit different from what he had in the previous round!?] [It does look that way, and he’s facing away from BZZL1!? Isn’t this positioning a bit odd?]

The livestream zoomed in, focusing on Trace’s weapon. The close-up details of the weapon were displayed for everyone to see.

In the arena, Trace was positioned with his back turned towards BZZL1’s team, almost exposing his rear to his teammates. However, facing the previously flanking BZZL1’s Stealth mecha, he had turned his position from against the wind to with the wind. As the Energy Cannon shot formed, it carried a faint whirlwind effect—the characteristic of a wind attribute anomalous crystal.

“Trace has switched weapons. The one he’s using isn’t the ordinary enhanced Energy Cannon from the previous matches!” The commentator suddenly realized, “This weapon! I remember now. Trace’s previous records mentioned that he seemed to use an Energy Cannon enhanced with an offensive wind attribute crystal in previous Mecha League competitions.”

At Gale’s base, Qi Sicheng shook his head. “This isn’t a wind attribute offensive; it’s a wind attribute enhancement. Look at his positioning.”

Zhao Lejie followed Qi Sicheng’s explanation, “He’s facing the wind.”

Offensive type crystals could attach potent attributes to energy weapons, enhancing their attack strength. On the other hand, enhancement type crystals only amplify a single aspect, with less power than offensive crystals.

A weapon enhanced with the wind attribute could accelerate the Energy Cannon’s projectile speed, with its power relying on changes in wind conditions. It would double its effectiveness when used downwind, rendering opponents defenseless.

The canyon’s terrain generated wind conditions on both sides, and the wind attribute enhancement on the Energy Cannon showed a remarkably obvious effect in such an environment.

Inside the arena –

“Quick, save him!” BZZL1’s commander never expected KID’s Artillery mecha to use this kind of tactic that would affect his teammates to locate their Stealth mecha. However, when debris hit the Stealth mecha, the Invisible Magnetic Force Field was also ‘deactivated’.

Due to Trace’s accelerated attack rhythm, BZZL1’s Stealth mecha couldn’t escape in time from beneath the mountainside. The rest of KID’s team quickly locked onto its position. Ji Qingfeng acted at that moment, sending his Binding Lock Scythe straight through, firmly ensnaring BZZL1’s Stealth mecha!

“Got it!” Ji Qingfeng shouted.

Lin Yao rushed out with a swipe, “I’m here!”

In this situation, BZZL1’s Stealth Mecha, which had infiltrated KID’s mecha group alone, found itself surrounded by KID’s members.

With the Invisible Magnetic Force Field deactivated, he was like a fish in a barrel.

Not to mention ambushing the enemy’s Artillery and Control mechas from behind, he couldn’t even escape himself.

BZZL1’s commander warned, “Be careful of their Artillery mecha; his weapon has changed.”

However, the Stealth mecha couldn’t escape. Having infiltrated alone, he was pulled away by Ji Qingfeng, as Lin Yao stepped forward, his blade aimed at him. Huo Yan single-handedly held the line behind them, coordinating with Lu Xi’s Water Flow Projectile to block the BZZL1 members attempting a rescue. In the narrow valley between two peaks, BZZL1’s fastest route for rescue was a straight line, but within that range, they were in the firing range of the Artillery mecha.

“I can hold on for two more minutes at most on my end!” Huo Yan maneuvered his Devouring Shield while dealing with the two opponents firing at him.

Lu Xi’s Water Flow Projectile relentlessly pushed back BZZL1’s Tank and Guardian mechas. The slowing effect of the Water Flow Projectiles maximized obstruction but didn’t fully immobilize them. “BZZL1 is pressing hard.”

“We can withstand it, just don’t let them provide support,” You Su decisively turned back at this moment, utilizing the favorable wind conditions to charge up his Energy Cannon. In the next second, a transformed energy blast was unleashed against the headwind, directly hitting BZZL1’s Guardian mecha!

[Wow! He charged with the tailwind and fired against the headwind!?] [I’ve seen Sniper Cannons take shots like this, but it’s the first time I’ve seen an Energy Cannon used like this!] [Did he compress the energy blast to the diameter of a sniper shot?]

The commentator paused. While many Artillery mecha pilots would take sniper shots during League matches, performing such an operation in an environment with noticeable wind variations was rare. The risk was significant, and accuracy would be greatly affected. “Trace planned this! He predicted the location!”

Among all types of artillery weapons, Energy Cannons were the most versatile. Unlike Rapid-Fire Cannons for quick assaults or high-powered long-range Sniper Cannons, Energy Cannons had moderate charging speeds and attack power. However, they were the only weapons that could adjust the diameter of the projectile based on a mecha pilot’s manipulation.

They could switch between close-range dispersal and regular-sized projectiles, everything was controlled by the mecha pilot.

Although the projectile diameter could be altered, charging speed and power could not.

Trace took advantage of the enhanced wind property, quickly charging up in favorable wind conditions and then firing against the headwind. Even though there was no wind property boost in headwind conditions, his Energy Cannon didn’t require direct aiming. BZZL1’s reaction time was shortened in the headwind, leading to a mistake and them getting hit.

Hearing the excited cheers from the audience outside the arena, Shen Xingtang chuckled, “You Su is a prodigy in long-range weaponry, and among them, the Energy Cannon is his forte.”

She paused, then continued, “Moreover, our weapon designer isn’t that simple.”

Before obtaining the S-grade Wind Falcon anomalous crystal, Ying Chenlin had intended to gather Theo’s mecha data and find an A-grade wind attribute enhancement anomalous crystal. The effect of this weapon’s anomalous crystal was undoubtedly inferior to that of the S-grade Wind Falcon, but it had been designed to restore as much of the damaged weapon’s functionality as possible.

Right now, Theo’s mecha wasn’t repaired yet, and the S-class Wind Falcon’s weapon hadn’t been completed either.

But this new wind-attribute enhanced weapon was a perfect fit for You Su. It felt much more natural to use compared to his previous ordinary Energy Cannon, especially in this flying environment with unique wind patterns caused by specific terrain conditions.

No one understood how to utilize this wind-attribute anomalous crystal better than him.

In the preparation zone, Ying Chenlin observed You Su’s mecha data and noticed the wind intensity values in the Contaminated Zone. His focus was on the weapon’s effectiveness, considering that after this battle, the weapon would need some balancing.

The environmental values were constantly changing when suddenly Ying Chenlin caught a glimpse of a fleeting object within the real-time visual field. Due to its topography and environment, the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon primarily hosted avians as pollutants. The commotion caused by the mecha pilots inside the arena could indeed attract some of these pollutants.

With this in mind, he paused for a moment, shifting his attention away from KID’s ongoing battle, and instead opened the search database on the side. He directly accessed the information on the pollutants in Qiu Jin Grand Canyon.

Something seemed a bit off.

The search system on the console rapidly displayed various pieces of information. Ying Chenlin swiftly went through them, and after a few minutes, his gaze stopped squarely on a specific pollutant’s data.

“Blood-Devouring Crows.” A realization dawned on Ying Chenlin. He quickly summarized the details he noticed into a temporary report and submitted it to the backend of the official Alliance team.

In the backend of the Mecha Alliance’s monitoring group, the personnel focused on observing the situation within the arena received a report from the preparation zone. It wasn’t an urgent report; rather, it was a warning report.

“Huh? Blood-Devouring Crows?” One of the staff members was briefly puzzled by the report.

Blood-Devouring Crows were A-level pollutants found in the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, pollutants that often formed groups and roamed unpredictably.

Within the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, these pollutants didn’t pose a significant threat with their attack capabilities, but as airborne pollutants, they did hold a certain level of danger to mechas flying at high speeds.

Beside him, the person in charge of the backend monitoring looked over and asked, “What’s the matter with Blood-Devouring Crows?”

The staff member replied, “A mecha team’s mechanic sent a warning report, asking us to monitor the Blood-Devouring Crows within the Contaminated Zone.”

The person in charge frowned, “Which team?”

“KID’s mechanic, Ying Chenlin, a rookie mechanic,” the staff member responded with confusion, “But there are no Blood-Devouring Crows in the area where KID currently is. How could they suddenly send a report like this?”

Hearing “KID’s mechanic,” the person in charge recalled the incident in the Fiarge Contaminated Zone. Although he wasn’t in the area of responsibility, he had contacts there. The other supervisor was puzzled for a while after the match and mentioned that before the discovery of DE cheating, KID had sent them an environmental anomaly report.

Shortly after the report on environmental anomalies was sent, the DE cheating incident was brought to President Li’s attention.

At that time, they had investigated the environmental anomalies for a long time. They finally found the critical details about DE’s Artillery and weapon energy discrepancies from a peculiar energy frequency fluctuation. They speculated that DE had violated the rules by carrying excess energy into the Contaminated Zone.

Being able to notice weapon anomalies in the environment showed an extraordinary attention to detail. Many experienced mechanics might not have caught this issue.

The person in charge said, “Blood-Devouring Crows have average attack capability, but their beaks can absorb mecha energy. Since there’s a warning report, let’s keep an eye on it.”

The staff member nodded and immediately used the detection system to pinpoint the locations of the Blood-Devouring Crows within the Contaminated Zone. They noticed a large cluster of red dots in one place. Given that Blood-Devouring Crows gathered in groups, this seemed normal, so he eased his concern and began observing elsewhere.

Were they being overly cautious? After all, the Blood-Devouring Crows hadn’t exhibited any unusual behavior.

—

On the field, it was still a point-pressure confrontation controlled by the Artillery mecha. In the head-to-head exchange, BZZL1’s side was slightly disadvantaged. Their Tank only had a resistance shield and couldn’t entirely neutralize artillery fire effects like the Devouring Shield. Their advance was being hindered.

In the livestream chat, the excitement was palpable, but Qi Sicheng furrowed his brows, “Dividing the battlefield… The KID match that I watched earlier felt familiar, and now the same situation is happening again. Do you remember the team that eliminated Chi Lizi’s team in the virtual battle?”

Zhao Lejie paused, then suddenly recalled, “Are you saying that team was KID?!”

“In the Fiarge Contaminated Zone match, KID used a two-pronged battlefield division strategy. Ji Qingfeng engaged in a 1v2, while the other four members played a 4v3. There was no cooperation between the two groups, so I thought they had directly split into two separate battlefields.”

Qi Sicheng focused his attention on the Artillery’s operations, “However, in this match, the mechas for both sides are at a distance that’s still within the range of the Artillery’s support. They can assist their teammates in intercepting BZZL1’s Stealth mecha’s retreat at close range, and they can also assist in suppressing BZZL1’s other members from a distance. Just like the external and internal support with their Artillery as the core in the Abandoned Bio-Factory back then. Plus, their weapon overlap rate is extremely high.”

Weapon overlap, strategy overlap, Artillery as the core member… Carrying two dual-cannon weapons.

Zhao Lejie suddenly realized why this scene felt familiar, “But they’re fighting much more chaotically than in the Abandoned Bio-Factory match…! The Abandoned Bio-Factory match was a calculated affair from start to finish.”

Qi Sicheng said, “Chaos is chaos, but none of them are slipping up.”

In the rest area of the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon competition venue, Shen Xingtang watched the two battlefields in the front and rear, “BZZL1 is pressing closer. Can they hold on?”

“They can hold on.” Jiang Simiao relaxed, leaning against the back of his chair. He had initially been worried about instability, but it seemed their coordination rhythm was working well today. “Rest assured, their Stealth mecha won’t escape.”

During this time, on the other side, the isolated Stealth mecha had been repeatedly targeted by KID’s Guardian and Artillery mechas, with Lin Yao’s continuous close-range attacks causing the Invisible Magnetic Force Field to flicker, revealing the Stealth mecha’s position.

BZZL1’s Stealth mecha was equipped with two weapons. When the Invisible Magnetic Force Field failed, only the Bloodthirsty Blade remained at his disposal.

However, his opponents were Ji Qingfeng, known for his uncanny accuracy, and Lin Yao, renowned for his rapid combos.

He had no chance to retaliate at all…!

Finally, after nearly ten minutes of struggle, the first elimination message appeared on the screen.

[KID-yao has eliminated BZZL1-nige]

With the battlefield divided between the two sides, BZZL1 couldn’t save their core Stealth mecha in time. KID forcefully eliminated their mecha.

[Mother of mine! Who would have thought it would turn out like this when they collided?] [BZZL1’s core Stealth mecha was actually eliminated… I thought he would perform exceptionally in this situation. In previous matches, he was always on the top of the leaderboard in terms of kills.] [Is KID really this strong?]

In the arena, Huo Yan pointed out, “They’re probably going to withdraw. Their mechas are changing directions to fly outward.”

Lu Xi asked urgently, “Should we engage or avoid fighting? They lost their core mecha. Is it worth staying?”

You Su’s gaze turned to the nearby mountain, where the narrow shaded corner lay ahead. He promptly mounted his cannon, “We can stay.”

The commentator exclaimed excitedly, “KID now has a numerical advantage. Will they manage to eliminate the BZZL1 team in one go? KID’s Artillery mecha is preparing to fire again, and it’s a Sniper Cannon shot!”

BZZL1’s commander wasn’t reckless. Having suffered a defeat in the first round of clashes, remaining here would only result in more casualties. Immediately, he ordered everyone to turn around and retreat. In the arena, one couldn’t let impulsiveness take over; retreating and waiting for the right opportunity were more crucial.

“Their Artillery mecha is mounting his cannon. He’s quite fast. Tank, take the rear. Be cautious—”

Before his words could finish, they witnessed Trace’s Energy Cannon shot soaring above the heads of the BZZL1 team members, directly blasting the mountain wall.

The BZZL1 team members: “…”

The spectators off-screen: “…”

Jiang Simiao had just praised KID, but in the blink of an eye, he saw them firing at the mountain, instantly falling silent.

He comforted himself, telling himself that these were improvised strategies on the spot. As he raised his head the next moment, he noticed that several leaders from both the League and the Contaminated Zone were looking in their direction from the main podium. When their eyes met for an instant, he awkwardly averted his gaze.

What was he panicking for? In the Contaminated Zone, skirmishes and stray energy projectile shots were common occurrences. It was just a collision with a mountain—

Boom! Trace fired another shot.

Jiang Simiao exclaimed, “…”

“…?! When will he stop?! Is KID here in the Contaminated Zone for demolition work?”

BZZL1’s commander had never encountered such a shameless individual. When the Energy Cannon shots were blocked by the Tank, KID simply stopped targeting the Tank and started blasting the mountains instead. Although being hit by small debris wasn’t a big problem for the mechas, they still had to avoid larger falling rocks.

Since they couldn’t hit the Tank mecha, they had to detain them. The best way to detain them was to create obstacles. Coincidentally, in this narrow area, the five mechas’ movements during combat would inevitably bring them close to the mountainside.

“He’s blasting, isn’t he? Our Artillery can blast too, who hasn’t blasted a mountain before!” BZZL1’s commander ordered, and the Artillery in the team immediately fired back. Projectiles launched at random hit the mountaintop above KID.

“Yeah! Damn it! Blast them back!”

“Sniper Cannon, fire at the position above them! Bring down the largest boulder!

BZZL1’s Artillery mecha pilot, having participated in League battles for many years, was hearing such unreasonable commands for the first time. Yet, when he fired the shots, they felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

In KID’s communication channel, Ji Qingfeng witnessed this scene and said, “Damn, You Ge, they’re copying you!”

Lin Yao dashed around using his shield to block the damage for his teammates. “Bro, we can’t lose to them!! Blast them!”

The two individuals without artillery were extremely excited, almost wanting to join this Artillery feast with their blades raised high.

As You Su was about to initiate a powerful charge, the small voice from the kid’s reminder echoed in his mind from before they departed.

He inexplicably abandoned the powerful charge, and altered the Energy Cannon’s caliber to a mode that saved energy, turning it into several beams that shot out in an instant.

The scattered shots didn’t have the same power as a focused shot, but their range was larger. Building on the groundwork of the previous bombardment, they instantly stirred up a large area of debris.

Without pausing, another shot was loaded in You Su’s hand, and he added a word of advice to the others, “Save some energy and start withdrawing.”

In the preparation zone, the energy consumption levels of the mechas in the diagnostic station began to decrease. The energy consumption of the Artillery’s weapons went from 60% to 30%.

Ying Chenlin, who was observing the environment while casually jotting down notes, paused as he saw this scene. He looked at the energy consumption and then glanced at the Artillery mecha raising its cannon in the live feed. Finally, he lowered his head and added a few more adjustments to the originally increased Wind-Enhanced Energy Cannon, also including plans for Lin Yao and Huo Yan.

After brief contemplation, the expected workload after the match increased by several more tasks.

His gaze lingered on the arena, and his mood inexplicably became exuberant.

In a certain corner of the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon’s Contaminated Zone, Artillery mecha pilots fired their cannons in all directions, causing rocks to fly and dust to billow. The ultra-high-speed tracking cameras in the official livestream captured only a haze of yellow smoke, tinged with the color of mountain soil. Within this haze, streaks of artillery fire crisscrossed, accompanied by booming sounds. The intensity of the battle in the arena was evident.

The commentator took a while to find suitable words, “The on-site clash is intense, with both KID and BZZL1 showing fierce determination! The current situation is so fierce that the streaks of light left behind by the trajectory of the cannon fire are all that’s visible.”

The yellow smoke persisted for some time, leaving both onlookers inside and outside the arena unable to discern how the teams were charging their artillery or how powerful their shots were. But when the yellow smoke dissipated, the barren peaks of the two sides were revealed, and the sunlight’s rays penetrated the previously shaded canyon, creating a bright view that everyone found a bit discomforting.

Despite the intense battle, no one was eliminated. The BZZL1 mecha team managed to escape, though their mechas had suffered a certain level of damage.

The KID mecha team remained in their original positions. Surprisingly, their energy reserves were still relatively intact, and the degree of damage sustained was manageable. The only significant damage seemed to be on the shields of the Guardian and Tank mechas.

The commentators in the livestream fell silent. The audience in the venue and online fell silent. The leaders on the chairman’s platform also fell silent.

Shen Xingtang couldn’t bear to watch the ongoing battle.

Jiang Simiao wiped his sweat with a tissue from his pocket, feeling the gazes from all directions.

[I really want to ask… Am I seeing a League match or a planetary demolition site?] [The mountains are flattened. My heart just can’t calm down.] [I didn’t expect this outcome before they started fighting.]

TN:

Hahahaha! You Su what the hell?! KID really brings out the worst in opponents☠️ Poor BZZL1. And mountains! Is You Su already a hen-pecked husband? He’s listening to his little hubby’s advice so well ah!

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