Genius Mechanic: Chapter 67

Qiu Jin Grand Canyon Contaminated Zone (Black Hole)

67. IQ

Proofread by An Zheee and Cloud Chip Cake

The Energy Cannon compressed and struck the S-level pollutant once again. The red Artillery mecha swiftly switched between charging attacks.

As the Artillery mecha used artillery fire to close in on the S-level pollutant, it immediately changed to a Rapid-Fire Cannon.

You Su had detected the arrival of the red Artillery mecha on his radar and noticed the operator’s habits when switching Energy Cannons. He immediately understood the newcomer’s intentions.

The S-level pollutant was continuously bombarded from behind by the artillery fire, and it let out an annoyed growl. With yellow-green eyes fixed on both the prey in front of it and the one behind, it suddenly turned and charged toward the red Artillery mecha at the rear.

With the two mechas working in coordination, they quickly alleviated the deadlock above.

All eyes in the arena were focused on the newly arrived red Artillery mecha. Ke Lin furrowed his brows slightly, paying attention to the smooth operation. Was this an Artillery mecha pilot from KID, or was it someone from another team who had requisitioned KID’s mecha?

Hu Luobu saw the red-patterned KID mecha and turned to the KID pilot next to him. “Is this your team’s reinforcement? Does KID have a reserve pilot?”

The members of the KID team looked bewildered, but it was indeed their team’s mecha.

Ji Qingfeng stated truthfully, “An Artillery mecha pilot is so costly; our team’s owner can’t afford two of them.”

Lin Yao, “We don’t have a reserve pilot; we only have one mechanic.”

Hu Luobu raised his head in confusion and looked at the smoothly operated Artillery mecha. “Doesn’t your mechanic pilot a Guardian mecha?”

At this moment, the red Artillery mecha had unknowingly flown above them, and an external communication came through with a familiar voice. “How’s YDS’ energy situation?”

The YDS mecha pilots immediately responded, understanding that this person had come to provide support, and reported the energy reserves of all the mechas.

Hearing the familiar voice, Lin Yao reacted. “Chenlin!”

“It’s me,” Ying Chenlin was about to respond when the S-level pollutant had already closed in on him. He immediately said, “Lin Yao, catch!”

Catch? Catch what!?

Before the others could react, Lin Yao, piloting the Guardian mecha, had already rushed up next to him.

Following that, the red Artillery mecha passed by swiftly, and something fell from its storage compartment.

YDS’ members,  “!”

Wait a minute!? wasn’t that an energy tube???

Ji Qingfeng: “!!!”

Lin Yao activated his thrusters and swiftly grabbed the airborne energy tubes. If he couldn’t grab them, he hugged them. With quick and precise maneuvers, he secured three energy tubes. He quickly tossed them to Ji Qingfeng beside him and said, “Da Feng, catch.”

Ji Qingfeng, after catching them, wore an expression of pain. “Do you realize this is a highly volatile projectile? And can energy tubes be thrown like this? Do you know how expensive these are?”

Ying Chenlin took a moment to explain, “It’s not from our team; it’s from the Qiu Jin Management Bureau.”

Ji Qingfeng’s pained expression instantly changed, and he said, “Well, that’s different then.”

The other YDS members: “???”

Hu Luobu was shocked. “Is this about money or not?”

Could energy tubes even be thrown? If they couldn’t catch them, wouldn’t it cut off their energy supply?

Ji Qingfeng asked again, “How many tubes did the Alliance provide, and will they bill us for this later?”

Hu Luobu, “… The Alliance isn’t as stingy as you!”

As Ying Chenlin flew in the air and saw that the S-level pollutant had been drawn away by You Su’s artillery fire, he turned and flew over Lin Yao. “Lin Yao, come again!”

Lin Yao reacted incredibly quickly and had already soared up. “Coming!”

YDS: “???”

He’s doing it again!

After handing over all the energy tubes to the other mechas, Ying Chenlin quickly retreated from the area above the mountain. While hovering in the sky above the mountain, his attention was on the magnetic field sensing system inside the mecha. The disrupted magnetic fields were affecting all intelligent judgments, causing fluctuations in the energy waves emitted by the mecha pilots and attracting more and more pollutants to their direction.

Ying Chenlin frowned slightly. The sudden appearance of the Blood-Devouring Crows and the report of three S-level pollutants led him to almost certainly conclude that this situation was related to the Black Hole. Dealing with S-level pollutants was manageable, but where was the Super-S-level Black Hole? How could it be captured? How should they handle it?

He had very limited information on Black Holes, and the summary data could only provide a rough idea.

If the Black Hole appeared not only in areas with contamination levels above 6000, then the report from the future might just be a summary. Or perhaps the Alliance didn’t consider all the factors related to the Black Hole, or maybe they’ve already found a way to control the Black Hole within areas with a contamination level of 6000.

The biggest mystery was why the Black Hole appeared in Qiu Jin and not in FS. After appearing in Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, could there also be problems in FS? The contamination levels in the FS Contamination Zone were higher, with Qiu Jin Grand Canyon following closely behind. The only explanation could be that FS and Qiu Jin were relatively close to each other.

Ying Chenlin, while avoiding attacks from the S-level pollutant, continued to think rapidly. However, the systems within the mecha weren’t precise enough to capture the fine movements of the magnetic fields. They could only test a general range but couldn’t finely track the direction of the magnetic field’s movement.

They needed a solution.

In the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon main control center, all the events on the field were under their surveillance. They were particularly concerned when they saw KID’s red mecha performing high-altitude energy tube throws. The leader in charge of rear-line support had his heart in his mouth until he saw two other KID mechas catching them.

“Can’t we connect to their communication channel?”

“We can connect, but it seems like they’re using external communication… there’s no established communication channel.”

“What’s going on with these people? External communication? Are they relying on shouting for coordination?”

The person in charge raised an eyebrow. “Let’s set up a communication channel for them.”

“What’s going on with KID’s support mecha? Did KID send a reserve mecha pilot?”

At that moment, the central control room received an urgent communication request from the mecha area.

The operator responsible for handling communications hesitated for a moment. “Director, it’s a communication request from KID’s support mecha.”

“Accept it,” the director quickly responded.

Once the communication was established, they heard a young voice on the other end.

“This is Mecha KID-JUKG, KID mechanic Ying Chenlin,” Ying Chenlin explained the situation as best as he could. “Could you continuously monitor the abnormal magnetic field’s movement direction?”

Upon hearing Ying Chenlin’s name, the director was momentarily stunned, and then immediately switched to work mode. “The magnetic field has been moving, but its intensity has been decreasing.”

This magnetic field seemed to have appeared out of thin air, carrying a bunch of pollutants that suddenly appeared in Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, overlaying the existing magnetic field there and severely affecting the overall environment of Qiu Jin.

“Can you record its energy characteristics?”

Ying Chenlin said, “We might need to determine how it appeared in Qiu Jin.”

The director grabbed the communicator and continued, “We’ve been recording everything from the beginning. Now, we have Alliance experts on-site. Let me briefly explain our current analysis results. The magnetic field appeared out of nowhere, and before it appeared, Qiu Jin’s magnetic field was somewhat influenced. KID’s explosion happened precisely at the point where the magnetic force was strongest.”

In a way, many factors could cause changes in the magnetic field within the competition area, such as pollutants, battles between mecha pilots, or celestial events on the planet.

These were all minor issues that would disappear with time. However, this unique magnetic field was hidden among these changes. It had already appeared, and even because of its influence, the S-level pollutants’ responses had weakened.

If it weren’t for KID’s explosion indirectly affecting the area and the base station signal function being enhanced due to the Tianyu Star incident, the Management Bureau wouldn’t have been able to identify this strange magnetic field. They might have noticed the appearance of the S-level pollutants as an abnormal phenomenon only after the magnetic field’s influence had completely disappeared.

For the Management Bureau, it was unclear whether KID’s actions were due to good luck or bad luck. They had, however, managed to find the cause of the subsequent abnormal events in advance. What was good was that they could easily eliminate this strange anomaly.

Ying Chenlin asked, “So, you mean this strange magnetic field existed in advance?”

“Yes, it was indeed our negligence,” the director said. “Some time ago, there was a meteor impact, and Qiu Jin’s defense system intercepted a small part of the impact, causing some areas to experience abnormal magnetic fields.”

“A meteor impact…?” Ying Chenlin began, “Can you provide me with the trajectory of those meteors—”

Before he could finish speaking, the male voice paused, followed by the rapid sound of the mecha operating. He quickly continued, “We can talk about it later.”

The director reacted and looked at the virtual screen. He saw Ying Chenlin’s mecha being affected by the S-level pollutant’s extremely long forelimbs, forcing him to retreat quickly.

An operator said, “Mr. Ying has entered combat, and communications are temporarily interrupted.”

At this moment, another staff member rushed in from outside and reported, “Director, you asked me to find Mr. Ying. Coach Jiang told me—”

Before he could explain further, he looked up at the virtual screen displaying the battle. KID’s mecha was chasing the rapidly flying pollutant in a high-speed pursuit.

The director of the Qiu Jin Management Bureau’s central control room was suddenly enlightened. “Wait a minute?! Why is KID’s mechanic on the battlefield?!?”

On the battlefield, Ying Chenlin frowned as he watched the relentless pursuit of the S-level pollutant. He was thinking about how to get rid of it when, in the distance, a sniper shot hit the pollutant right on target. He raised his eyes and saw You Su, situated in the rear. Then, a long Conduction Hammer came from the side and entangled the pollutant, dragging it backward.

It was Ke Lin’s transmission Conduction Hammer.

[Invite from YDS-kelin to join the communication channel]

High-speed flight made external communication sluggish. Ying Chenlin didn’t hesitate and joined the channel. He then heard Ke Lin’s voice, “I’ve created a team operations channel. We need to find a solution for this pollutant as soon as possible.”

Ying Chenlin replied, “We must deal with it quickly. There are three S-level pollutants in the entire competition area.”

Ke Lin was surprised. “Three of them?”

Before they could exchange any more words, the pollutant grabbed Ke Lin’s Conduction Hammer, swung its body, and threw Ke Lin away with tremendous force. Its size was close to that of a mecha, but its body length was longer, and its speed and strength far exceeded that of an A-level pollutant.

This was a completely different class of pollutant from the S-level Sand Lizard they had encountered earlier. The Sand Lizard excelled in its spatial manipulation and enhancement abilities but didn’t possess much attacking power. However, the pollutant before them was incredibly fast and powerful, and each strike of its forelimbs generated a tremendous gust of wind.

Once it touched them, their mechas’ defenses would be completely inadequate.

Ke Lin frowned as he assessed the situation. In the aerial battlefield, there were only him and KID’s two Artillery mechas. He could control this S-level pollutant, but not for an extended period. He looked down at the flattened mountain below, where more and more pollutants were gathering. KID and YDS’s remaining mecha pilots were dealing with the pollutants below and couldn’t provide support.

He was a control-oriented Guardian mecha, and the key to dealing with this pollutant was to rely on KID’s two Artillery mechas.

He knew You Su’s capabilities, but he had only researched Ying Chenlin’s Guardian mecha; he had never seen him pilot an Artillery mecha.

Ke Lin had a strategy in mind. Just as he was hesitating to try it out, Trace, who was piloting the Artillery mecha from a distance, fired a shot in the direction of the pollutant. This shot used 100% energy, and the moment it hit the pollutant, it went berserk and charged toward Trace.

Inside the cockpit, Theo was focused on the field of vision ahead, with various data screens displayed. During the flight, Ying Chenlin had been continuously adjusting the operational parameters of the mecha, particularly the sensitivity, which he had set very high. This was the first time Theo had seen someone perform such intricate adjustments during flight, but Ying Chenlin seemed to adapt well to this kind of live situation.

Seeing this person adjust the values of the Artillery mecha to an extreme, lowering defense and focusing all energy on movement and attack, Theo couldn’t help but think of You Su.

You Su also liked to do this, adjusting parameters to the extreme every time.

“Is it adjusted?” You Su suddenly spoke.

Ying Chenlin, “Two minutes.”

You Su, “Guardian, can your Conduction Hammer expand outward?”

“Yes, I can coordinate with you,” Ke Lin noticed the positions of You Su and Ying Chenlin and understood. “It’s kiting right? I can coordinate with you.”

Inside the central control room, ever since they learned that KID’s mecha pilot was a mechanic, everyone had been on edge. Particularly when they saw the mecha being chased by the pollutant, they couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Initially, when they saw KID-Trace pulling the pollutant away, they breathed a sigh of relief. Little did they know that immediately afterwards, Ying Chenlin initiated a long charge and launched another attack on the S-level pollutant.

In the next second, both of KID’s mechas quickly flew into the air.

The red mecha’s flying speed was even faster than when it had entered the battlefield. In its high-speed flight state, it didn’t use the long-charge Energy Cannon anymore. Instead, it switched to a Rapid-Fire Cannon with a shorter charging time and faster attacking rate. The Rapid-Fire Cannon, when used during high-speed flight, had significantly reduced accuracy due to the constantly changing wind conditions.

However, the moment the first projectile from the Rapid-Fire Cannon was launched, the red mecha raised its weapon higher, and the trajectories of the projectiles in the air overlapped precisely, hitting the S-level pollutant with pinpoint accuracy.

On the other side, KID’s Trace captured the moment of impact and, while the S-level pollutant was distracted, timed a charged shot perfectly, following Ying Chenlin’s rhythm and firing at the pollutant.

On the StarNet broadcast, all the viewers focused on the Qiu Jin area noticed that a large number of pollutants were gathering in Area A-14. The accumulation of pollutants had made the situation uncontrollable. Qiu Jin was originally a high-risk Contaminated Zone, and the pollutants inside were only cleared during matches. Now, influenced by the changing environment, the pollutants were going wild.

When they shifted their attention to Area A-14, they could see two red mechas flying swiftly through the air.

These two mechas were separated by more than a kilometer in the air, yet their coordination was seamless.

One flew on the left side of the pollutant, drawing its attention, while the other attacked. Their collaborative roles shifted rapidly between the two of them.

[My goodness… they’re so fast.] [I’ve been keeping an eye on this Artillery mecha for a while. Is it KID’s substitute?] [KID doesn’t have a substitute, right? This person is incredible. Maintaining such accuracy while flying, are these two guys demons?] [It’s terrifying. I’ve seen that S-level pollutant almost grab them several times.] [Is this an Artillery mecha? This is the first time I’ve seen an Artillery take on something head-on.]

In the Gale base, Qi Sicheng affirmed, “This person should be KID’s mechanic.”

Zhao Lejie had observed his combat up close in the Tianyu Star Contaminated Zone and had seen Ying Chenlin’s exceptional proficiency with the Light Blade. He said in amazement, “He’s great with Guardians, but this is an Artillery, right?”

“He has a weapon on his left hand, and unlike Trace, he’s continuously using the Rapid-Fire Cannon,” Qi Sicheng watched their movements, “When he piloted the Guardian mecha, he used a Thunder Magnetic Cannon, and back then, his Thunder Magnetic Cannon’s accuracy was close to 100%. The Rapid-Fire Cannon has a charging speed similar to the Thunder Magnetic Cannon, so it’s not surprising he can use them.”

Zhao Lejie couldn’t blink his eyes; he didn’t want to miss any of the action. “But this is quite a jump. One’s close combat, and the other is long-range. Moreover, his right arm is mechanical. Can he handle such high-precision combat?”

In team battles, close combat and long-range mechas were entirely different in nature, from the fundamental design of the mechas to their weaponry.

Not only did they have to adapt to different weapons, but also to the different styles of mecha operation, which was not as simple as changing weapons.

“He won’t be able to hold on for too long; high-intensity combat demands a lot of physical stamina,” Qi Sicheng said in a deep voice. “So Trace’s speed has also been increased. They want to finish this quickly.”

But most importantly, it was Ying Chenlin’s talent. His talent was exceptionally high.

“Talent. Ying Chenlin’s talent is incredibly high,” Qi Sicheng sensed a strong presence. In just a few months of not seeing Ying Chenlin in action, he could perceive a devilishly fast rate of improvement in his operations.

Outside the General Bureau meeting room, Shen Xingtang was holding a light brain, her attention focused on the cooperation inside the arena.

She knew Ying Chenlin was a retired Individual Soldier mecha pilot, and during his active duty, he had a high level of operational skill.

However, when she saw this level of coordination, she couldn’t help but admire Ying Chenlin’s adaptability. Individual Soldier mecha pilots typically balanced their mecha’s parameters, not favoring exceptionally high defense like Tank mechas or high output like Artillery mechas. This balance allowed most Individual Soldier mecha pilots to carry both close combat and long-range weapons to deal with various unexpected situations.

When Ying Chenlin originally carried the Thunder Magnetic Cannon and a Light Blade, she knew he could operate both close and long-range weapons. But now, seeing him use long-range weapons, she witnessed a different aspect of Ying Chenlin’s combat skills. His attack posture had changed, and he maintained a nearly terrifying precision. This level of operational skill was rare among Individual Soldier mecha pilots in Dawn.

In the arena, the battle’s pace never slowed down. Ke Lin was responsible for slowing down the pollutant, and his Conduction Hammer, when expanded, created a magnetic effect that could control the pollutant for one or two seconds. This helped alleviate the pressure on the two mechas in front.

Pollutants like this, with enhanced speed and strength, were easier to handle than ability-enhanced pollutants. To deal with them, the Artillery mechas needed to keep their distance and effectively kite them.

When the pollutant chased one mecha, it was the other mecha’s turn to engage in combat. However, this kind of battle was rapidly changing, and the rhythm between the two mechas had to be maintained consistently. They needed fast flight, quick charge-ups, and the highest possible hit rate in such an atmosphere.

Ke Lin was following them, reducing the intervals of control, and he could clearly feel the pace accelerating.

The confrontation between the two mechas and the S-level pollutant reached its peak with each volley of projectiles.

You Su’s abilities weren’t surprising, given his resonance with the S-class mecha, Theo.

However, for KID’s Ying Chenlin, this kind of data was entirely unexpected in his initial observations.

The speed kept increasing, and Theo’s perspective shifted along with it. At one moment, it almost felt like it was You Su sitting in the cockpit.

“Something’s not right,” Ying Chenlin suddenly said.

You Su replied, “Its speed has increased too.”

Their attack rhythm was getting faster, but the S-level pollutant’s speed was also rising.

At this moment, the pollutant let out a roar and, at an incredibly fast speed, charged towards You Su.

You Su decisively gave up charging and brushed past its claws. The sharp wind that swept by made him furrow his brows involuntarily.

Ying Chenlin suddenly said, “It’s observing us.”

S-level pollutants had intelligence and abilities far beyond A-level ones. This pollutant was gradually breaking through its limits and observing their combat rhythm as they fought.

In the next second, the S-level pollutant’s long limbs swung again, sweeping toward You Su’s mecha.

Recognizing the familiar combat rhythm, just like when he was in the Frontier Contaminated Zones previously, You Su asked, “Are you saying this pollutant appeared here out of nowhere?”

Ying Chenlin replied, “Yes.”

“In that case, I might know where it came from,” You Su’s tone turned cold. “This thing’s intelligence is similar to the pollutants in the Frontier Contaminated Zones.”

The Frontier Contaminated Zones… The channel fell silent for a moment.

That was a place rarely ventured into by mecha pilots, always under strict military control.

You Su asked, “How much longer can you hold on?”

Since the battle began, Ying Chenlin had been using his left hand, and with prolonged high-intensity combat, he was already feeling fatigued in his left hand a minute ago.

Mid flight, he swiftly switched to his right hand for control, and the empathetic pressure from the weapon immediately transferred to his right hand.

Ying Chenlin calmly replied, “30 minutes.”

—

In the distance, inside the central control room of the Tianyu Star Management Bureau, several staff members were busy. Virtual screens displayed densely packed data, all related to environmental data on Tianyu Star over the past few months. From the time of the accident to now, the Contaminated Zone had been under investigation for source tracing.

At this moment, the staff received a communication request from the Contaminated Zone Control Center. “Hello, this is the Tianyu Star Contaminated Zone’s Control Center—”

Before they could finish speaking, the leading researcher appeared on the screen, looking anxious. He interrupted, saying, “Immediately send an urgent report to the Alliance.”

“We’ve detected abnormal pollutant energy reactions on the body of the Sand Lizard. After matching environmental power reactions and analyzing pollutant residue, we’ve concluded that the environmental response on the Sand Lizard’s body doesn’t match any environmental conditions within the Dawn Galaxy, including Tianyu Star.”

The researcher’s expression was grave. “We speculate that this Sand Lizard may have come from a Frontier Contaminated Zone.”

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