IWYTBW - Chapter 43

 Chapter 43

Information is as Important as Ibuprofen During Dysmenorrhea.

With a snap of his fingers, Great Dark Sky’s horizontal eye-frame lit up with a brilliant golden light, projecting a holographic image.

“This is data on mechas I’ve fought against, as well as some of the more notable pilots I’ve collected information on.”

The image showed two mechas, one shaped like a ferocious black dragon, the other ancient and imposing, with four thick arms.

“The S+ Ranked mecha, Executioner of the Black Dragon; and the S+ Ranked mecha, Saint Quadrivirtue.”

“I’ve seen the Executioner of the Black Dragon in the promotional videos for the tournament,” Yi Zhen said, automatically slipping into good student mode as soon as class began, “At the time, it was fighting against Snowstorm Wanderer... Chapter 7 reference! Aka, I gotta go back and fix names. Actually, I fear the day I gotta go re-edit the first 40 chapters… I need to make my glossary future proof at this rate...”

Something soft nudged his calf. Yi Zhen looked back to see a mechanical chair.

“Snowstorm Wanderer? We’ll talk about that one later,” Rong Hongxue said, “Let’s use these two mechas as examples. They are both top-tier in pure close combat.”

“The Executioner of the Black Dragon’s outer shell is like a ring of thorns, covered in hard alloy spikes. Its hands are designed with the concept of dragon claws in mind, used for attacking, and its fifth limb is a dragon tail that reaches a total length of fourteen meters. It represents a design philosophy for mechas in recent years: offense is the best defense.”

“Like a hedgehog? When I think hedgehogs I do NOT think ‘offense is the best defense’ lol… I think of all the cute hedgehog videos I’ve watched… and that one novel about a dude turning into a hedgehog… ” Yi Zhen asked, sitting in the chair.

“Yes, like a hedgehog,” Rong Hongxue said, “There are two ways to deal with this type of pilot. Either your mental power is strong enough to break through the cockpit’s mental barrier and directly scramble the pilot’s brain, or you use ranged attacks and kite them along, not allowing them to get close.”

“Saint Quadrivirtue, on the other hand, represents another design concept for close combat mechas: a heavy outer shell, extremely high defense, slow attack speed, and extremely strong striking power.” Rong Hongxue enlarged the image of its four arms. “This type is much easier to deal with. After all, if you can’t beat it, you can always run.”

“What if you want to win against it?”

Rong Hongxue glanced at him.

“Find its weak point,” he said succinctly, “Find the weak point, then put all your strength into it, and only hit that spot.”

Rong Hongxue seemed to remember something and slapped his palm. “Speaking of which, the Executioner of the Black Dragon... he’s quite interesting.”

Yi Zhen’s mouth twitched. Is gossiping a tradition in your company? How come even you’re starting?

“He’s also an illegitimate child,” Rong Hongxue said with his usual smile, “However, he’s an illegitimate child with an unknown mother. He also has a sister with the same level of talent as him. Although their births were not exactly honorable, they were still given the prestigious title of ‘Twin Crimson Dragons’. Many years ago, there were rumors in the court that his sister might inherit the Crimson Valkyrie and he would inherit the Executioner of the Black Dragon.”

“But...” Yi Zhen was hearing this kind of inner family secret for the first time, “The Crimson Valkyrie is in Natalia’s hands, right?”

“That’s right,” Rong Hongxue smiled, “His sister died in a warp accident. At the time, the mecha she was piloting was already the second most valuable in the family, next to the Crimson Valkyrie. Yet, it was still torn in half by the wormhole, so they could only collect half of her remains. If you ever have a falling out with AshtaerPreviously ‘Ashtale’.. On the bright side, his name was last mentioned in chapter 17, but will soon be mentioned another 150 times… , don’t miss out on the pleasure of shouting ‘Alamu’ in his face. That was his sister’s name.”

Yi Zhen: “...”

“Get lost,” Yi Zhen said expressionlessly, “Aren’t you afraid of encountering a ghost while walking at night after doing so many wicked things?”

Rong Hongxue smiled without a word. The image changed, this time displaying two humanoid mechas. One was slender like a flying egret, its elegant wings resembling flowing feathers, and its snow-white coating shimmering with a brilliant rainbow hue. The other was tall and imposing, with densely packed, phantom-colored mechanical tentacles twisting from its back to its arms.

The contrast between beauty and ugliness was so strong that they seemed like the incarnations of a benevolent god and an evil deity.

“The S+ grade mecha, Rainbow Alice; and the S+ grade mecha, Hundred-Armed Titan,” Rong Hongxue said, “These two are standard ranged mechas. Using them as a standard, Rainbow Alice is equipped with a ‘Heavenly Garment’, which allows it to instantly teleport to a safe zone two kilometers away and vertically strike enemies within 600 meters. The Hundred-Armed Titan uses its mechanical tentacles as its attack weapons. Whether it’s launching missiles, plasma lasers, or directly using them as whips, the visible range of 500 meters around it is its hunting ground.”

“Very strong,” Yi Zhen said softly, “I heard that when you fought against Rainbow Alice, you damaged its Heavenly Garment?”

Rong Hongxue wanted to ask who told him that, but when he thought of his subordinates, who were all professionally competent but inexplicably loved to spread gossip in private, he also fell silent for a moment.

“It’s all show and no substance,” he said, “The best way to deal with this type of mecha is to get close and stay hidden. As long as you can disappear from their field of vision...”

He gave Yi Zhen a meaningful look. “I don’t need to say more, right?”

Yi Zhen nodded, taking notes.

Three more mechas appeared on the field, all humanoid.

One was painted a rich, blood-like color, with layered wings resembling a cluster of lily petals, and its arms shaped like sharp long blades.

One resembled the goddess of death in the dark night, with a purple and black coating. It had no wings on its back, but instead carried six giant swords of different shapes and lengths.

One wore a bamboo hat, simple and unadorned. It was the Drifting Snow that Yi Zhen had seen many times.

“These three mechas, like Great Dark Sky, are the type that can handle both close and ranged combat,” Rong Hongxue said, “The S grade mecha, Blood Lily; the S+ grade mecha, Six Swords of Sloth; and the S grade mecha, Snowstorm Wanderer.”

“Only Snowstorm Wanderer among them is special. It doesn’t equip any thermal weapons and relies entirely on the pilot’s own skill to exert its power. Even its cold weapons aren’t fixed. Whatever Li Zeyu can use, it can use. Rather than a single combat platform, it’s more like an amplifier for Li Zeyu’s personal abilities.”

Rong Hongxue looked at him, his tone unusually serious. “I know you don’t use mechas, so I’m telling you now that mechas that combine ranged and close combat are also called all-purpose mechas. If you encounter an all-purpose mecha above A grade, don’t fight it head-on. If it’s above A+ grade, run immediately, don’t hesitate. You have no chance of winning. Even if you have a one-in-a-thousand chance of winning, you’ll have to pay an extremely heavy price for that victory.”

“Lower-grade all-purpose mechas are just a jack of all trades. Due to the limitations of the pilot’s own skill, they are not as powerful as close combat mechas, nor as flexible as ranged mechas. But at higher grades, all-purpose mechas are a flexible turret, a meat grinder in encounter battles and aerial combat,” Rong Hongxue said, “Balanced development in the later stages means it has no weaknesses.”

“If I encounter one in the preliminaries, I can still run,” Yi Zhen said calmly, “But what if I encounter one in the semi-finals or finals? What do I do then?”

Rong Hongxue laughed. “When you pass the preliminaries, I’ll tell you Great Dark Sky’s weaknesses.”

“These are all large mechas. As for the remaining small mechas...” he stopped, bored. “There’s really nothing to say about them. When I participated in the preliminaries, I liked to fight small mechas the most. It was like swatting mosquitoes, one swing and a large area would be cleared.”

As he spoke, he walked up to Yi Zhen and placed something in his hand.

“This is for you.”

Yi Zhen looked down and saw a set of shimmering silver armor in the box.

Rong Hongxue said, “There are many suitable ores for making mechas. The mithril ore produced in the Warhorse Nebula has good ductility and hardness. The hydrated tungsten gold produced in the Crimson Cloak Galaxy can withstand the high temperatures of magma. The star seal stones produced in the Azoth System, with their complex and strong crystal structure, can maximize the amplification of the energy flowing through them... At least eighty percent of the mechas on the market use these three materials.”

“—But, they are all inferior to this.” He tapped the transparent lid of the box with his finger.

Yi Zhen observed the delicate armor and asked, “What is this?”

“Mineral Essence,” Rong Hongxue replied, “I watched your fight with the Ringing Scorpion. A person whose physique has been refined to A grade can be considered to have steel bones and iron sinews. If you try to face an A-rank pilot with crude, mass-produced gear, you might as well fight barehanded. ”

Yi Zhen coughed. “It must be very expensive, right?”

Rong Hongxue sighed.

“It’s not a gift,” he said, “I’m lending it to you. After the preliminaries, remember to return it to me.”

And then I’ll adjust a better one for you.

“Oh.” Yi Zhen was indeed much more relieved.

“Let’s go eat,” Rong Hongxue said, maneuvering Great Dark Sky to the center of the training room, “In the afternoon, I’ll teach you specific countermeasures.”

After sitting for a while, the Jade Alchemy of the Eastern Sea circulated continuously, and Yi Zhen felt a little better. Although his whole body still ached, at least he wouldn’t tremble while walking.

“Do you need me to help you?”

Yi Zhen avoided his hand. “No need, I can walk.”

Rong Hongxue withdrew his hand and slowly followed behind him. Watching Yi Zhen’s slightly off-kilter steps, he seemed to think of something and smiled.

[How was your special training with the male lead?] Tai’a asked.

“It was hard. That pervert, I think he was just taking pleasure in my injuries,” Yi Zhen said, gently sucking in his breath as he walked, “But it was also very effective. My understanding of the Illusory Body of Mo Luo is stronger now. His speed is ... How does he manage to make his moves so fast? I need to take a good look at his attack patterns when I get back. His attack angles are also very strange. I think I can absorb all of this and make them all my own...”

He walked along, muttering to himself. Tai’a said: [It sounds like you’ve gained a lot.]

Yi Zhen lowered his eyes and looked at the box in his hand.

“Can’t complain. Since he said he wants to use me, I’ll just have to show him how strong I can become.”

For the next ten days or so, Yi Zhen did not go out. He stayed in the training room with Rong Hongxue. No matter how much he disliked Rong Hongxue, he had to admit that this man was indeed quite capable.

He himself was a fast learner, but Rong Hongxue’s erudition in certain areas still shocked him. In ten days, Rong Hongxue used himself as a target, dividing the types of opponents Yi Zhen might encounter into several major categories and demonstrating how to counter them one by one. He also had Yi Zhen wear the armor made of Mineral Essence and fight against training robots. The effect was truly like cutting through iron as if it were mud. In comparison, the armor Yi Zhen had previously bought from the workshop was like layers of tissue paper.

Weapon classifications, the key points and difficulties of the twenty participating planets, the risks of teaming up with others, the risks of fighting alone, how to distinguish which were students from prestigious schools and which were not…

During the twelve days of intensive training, Yi Zhen tried his best to absorb all of this. For what he couldn’t digest, he instructed Tai’a to record everything. Anyway, the preliminaries would last for a month, so he had enough time to study hard.

After twelve days of intense preparation, the two still had their occasional frictions in their daily interactions, but compared to before, things had eased a lot. The two didn’t ‘communicate’ much, but they had indeed formed a secret alliance, recognizing that they had common interests. They no longer fought to the death on sight.

According to Luo Ruileo’s secret observations, Yi Zhen would not take the initiative to find Rong Hongxue except for matters related to his studies. Similarly, only under the pretext of studying could Rong Hongxue seize the opportunity to chat with Yi Zhen about trivial matters. The rest of the time, he would tease Yi Zhen at the dinner table, Yi Zhen would curse back at him, and he wouldn’t retort, just smile, looking like he was in a good mood.

Of course, as an observer, Luo Ruileo knew very well that this was a privilege reserved for one person only. The Great Dark Sky only showed this special, different side to this one person. If anyone saw their interaction and misjudged Rong Hongxue’s personality, Luo Ruileo could only apologize. It wasn’t the fool’s fault, but rather that his superior was too biased.

Twelve days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was soon time to announce the participating planets. Yi Zhen was ready to set off.

He had become much thinner and sharper. These days of training had made him like a roughly sharpened blade. Although it still needed to be finely honed, its gleaming edge was already somewhat intimidating.

“A-5 designated planet...Longhua.” Yi Zhen matched his preliminary exam number with the announced list and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Compared to planets that were vast deserts, eternally frozen glaciers, or 90% covered by seawater, his designated planet was quite good. The designated area for the competition was mainly jungles, mountains, rivers, and shallow seas, which was very conventional.

“Barely acceptable. Ai Ling is also assigned to this planet,” Rong Hongxue said after looking at the map, “Get ready and let’s go. I’ll take you there this time.”

Ai Ling is also on Longhua? He pulled up the specific information about this planet. The website’s light screen was scrolling through the news of the rare treasure “Tannhäuser’s Crown” being exhibited, which was the biggest headline of the month. Yi Zhen glanced at it but didn’t pay much attention.

He had a feeling that there would be many familiar faces on Longhua.

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