111. Relationship
Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake
“That’s not a pollutant.” Ying Chenlin leaned against the wall, looking down at the strange entity crawling up the stairs, “How could there be something like this below the research institute?”
However, the on-site situation did not allow the two to analyze what the entity was. The black, elongated entity quickly climbed up the stairs. Ying Chenlin and You Su had to continuously retreat due to its relentless attacks. The stairwell was narrow, and they had no weapons, making it impossible for them to resist.
You Su’s face darkened slightly. When the entity resumed its attack, he pushed Ying Chenlin upward.
“Let’s go!”
Ying Chenlin also knew that the situation was unsuitable for further observation, and he used the energy meter to light the way, quickly ascending with You Su.
The elongated entity attacked even faster, and each time the two narrowly avoided its attacks. The sharp metallic shell on its body, like a blade, left a faint stinging feeling behind when it brushed past them.
If they were caught by that thing, the consequences would be unimaginable!
You Su protected Ying Chenlin from behind, capturing the movements of the entity in the darkness. Several times, it tried to pass him to catch up with Ying Chenlin, making him frown slightly. Was this entity targeting Ying Chenlin? Or was there something on Ying Chenlin’s body?
His gaze fell on the bright spot on Ying Chenlin’s neck.
“Increase your mental power and suppress the reaction of the key.”
While running and increasing his mental power output, Ying Chenlin barely avoided the attacks of the elongated monster. Calmly, he instantly poured a large amount of mental power into the mecha key. The overheated and scorching hot key was suppressed once it received such a large amount of mental power. The black elongated monster’s reactions from behind them became sluggish for a moment. Seizing this crucial moment, the two immediately distanced themselves from the monster.
The narrow passage wasn’t conducive for combat, but the winding path blocked its attacks to some extent.
Nearly five minutes later, the two hurriedly ran from the narrow staircase to a higher place. They were now surrounded by sounds of the entity colliding with the walls.
“The door!” You Su reminded.
Ying Chenlin used the energy meter to illuminate the path ahead. When his hand touched the wall, the hidden access permission box within the wall popped out. He quickly calculated the key’s input and entered it. The hidden door opened slowly, and the light from outside shone into the narrow corridor. He left through the corner of the door, turned his head, grabbed You Su’s hand, and the pair fell into the other side of the door together.
At this moment, they suddenly heard a voice above their heads.
“Chenlin! You Ge!”
Ying Chenlin said, “Lu Xi, close the door!”
Lu Xi, who came to find them, was stunned when she entered and saw their situation. She could see something rapidly crawling up the stairs. She immediately approached to operate the door. When she pressed the button, the open door slowly closed again.
When Lu Xi clearly beheld the strange entity that was crawling up, the door suddenly closed in front of her with a loud noise, accompanied by the sound of something hitting the wall.
The moment the door was completely sealed, several people sighed in relief simultaneously.
However, the next moment, Ying Chenlin’s heart tightened again. Not because of anything else, but because there was such a thing below this research institute. What exactly had this institute been researching before?!
Lu Xi, still trembling, looked at the closed door, rushed forward to help Ying Chenlin up, and then noticed the damage to his coat. Their clothes were made of a special material that couldn’t even be cut by a knife, but now Ying Chenlin’s coat had several scratches.
“What on earth was that thing just now?”
“We don’t know.”
Ying Chenlin stood up with a wince, took out an anti-contamination agent from the medical kit, and tossed a tube to You Su.
This research institute was supposed to be a weapons research facility, but underground, there was another strange entity emitting energy reactions. He looked at the closed door and then at the corridors around the institute. He felt the need to find out what this research institute was really about.
You Su looked at Lu Xi and asked her, “How did you get here?”
“There was trouble outside, so I came in with a Gale Mecha unit to find everyone else.”
Lu Xi explained, “I saw from outside that the door of the institute wasn’t closed, so I came in and searched for you for a while.”
She had originally planned to leave, but just as she walked out, she saw Ying Chenlin and You Su emerging from the door.
“What happened outside?” Ying Chenlin was puzzled.
Lu Xi briefly described the situation outside, “A large amount of pollutants attacked, and a Frontier Army squad rushed over. The tentacle that attacked us earlier is still there, and other mecha pilots are resisting them.”
You Su and Ying Chenlin’s expressions changed slightly. They saw the situation outside when they ran out of the institute.
Pollutants had almost surrounded the base station. Ying Chenlin frowned, “This is bad.”
However, You Su’s gaze stopped on the other side, focusing on the leading mecha among the Frontier Army units.
Inside the Coria Restricted Zone’s control room, when the Gale Mecha units entered, the situation outside quickly transmitted through.
Qi Sicheng then opened the external system and saw a large amount of pollutants as well as the pollution detection systems that showed no responses. He conveyed all the information to the management bureau.
Upon learning of the situation, the management bureau immediately requested them to ensure the protection of the base station. They would try to send personnel to support them from the outside. Additionally, the management bureau also demanded they find the person who could enter the correct authorization command.
The two of them exchanged glances, thinking of the encrypted door that changed just before they entered the control room.
This abandoned base station obviously had no one guarding it. Excluding special personnel, the only ones who could enter the correct command were the Gale and KID mecha units.
Qi Sicheng muted the communication system and looked at Huo Yan. “I heard them mention Ying Songshan, and Ying Chenlin’s surname is also Ying.”
Huo Yan looked around and said, “Although I would like to give you a definite answer, as you’ve seen along the way, Chenlin is obviously unfamiliar with this base station. It’s You Su who knows it well.”
The response system inside the base station was still functioning. As they looked at this dusty control room, the restricted zone shielding system, and the abandoned base station still in operation, all their accumulated doubts gave them an extremely uneasy feeling.
“The situation in Coria’s Restricted Zone is closely related to the Frontier Army,” Huo Yan continued, “If it were just Dawn’s Frontier Army, it would be fine. What worries me is that this mission is not only directed by Dawn’s Frontier Army.”
If it were just Dawn Galaxy’s internal matter, there wouldn’t be too many restrictions.
Huo Yan had served in the Frontier Army himself and knew that many special missions in the Frontier Army would be handled across levels. On the surface, Dawn’s Frontier Army might handle it, but in reality, the orders for these missions might come from Dawn, the higher ranks of the First Star Domain or even the higher-level Star Alliance headquarters.
“The people from Coria will soon know all the details about the mecha units here. It’s not difficult for them to access the data. Information on Ying Chenlin and You Su will be presented to them. What we can notice, some people in the management bureau will only spread further.”
Qi Sicheng said, “The situation this time is a bit special. It’s safer to bring those two here first.”
If it were just the management bureau, they wouldn’t have to worry too much, but when it involved the Frontier Army, things became a bit difficult to handle. The relationships within the Dawn Mecha Alliance were simple, but the hierarchy within the Frontier Army was complex. Dawn’s Frontier Army could indeed be trusted, but they feared that this operation might involve more than just the Frontier Army, possibly with interference from higher-ups. In that case, they had to be careful at every step.
“Zhang Ge will probably inform the Dawn Mecha Alliance about this matter.” Qi Sicheng said, “Now that we don’t understand the purpose of the Frontier Army’s actions, we’ll have to wait for the results they bring.”
Seeing that both leaders’ expressions weren’t very good, a Gale mecha pilot asked cautiously, “So what should we do now?”
“You stay here and watch the control room. Contact us immediately if there’s any news.”
Qi Sicheng inputted his and Huo Yan’s light brain information into the communication system in the control room, “If there are any inquiries about Ying Chenlin or You Su, you redirect everything to us.”
The Gale mecha pilot hesitated for a moment at Qi Sicheng’s words, “Captain Qi.”
Huo Yan smiled, patting his shoulder, “Young people don’t need to be too nervous. Do it according to Captain Qi’s instructions. If there’s anything, push it to us. If they ask, say we are looking into it, understand?”
Before the Gale mecha pilot could respond, Huo Yan and Qi Sicheng had already left the control room.
Inside Coria’s Management Bureau, YDS and the Black Crow team, who had just left the secondary planets, returned to the Dawn Galaxy’s rest area. Upon entering the rest area, they learned about the many events that had occurred during their battle.
“No way? So, they intruded into the restricted zone, and now they’ve taken on a mission in the restricted zone?” Hu Luobu sighed, “How can they cause so much trouble!”
Ke Lin’s attention focused on the coordinates. He took a few steps back, looking at the staff bustling in and out of the corridor.
“The situation this time around probably isn’t that simple. Regular missions wouldn’t mobilize all Management Bureau personnel.” Ke Lin said.
The others in the rest area were also tense. The sudden mission in the restricted zone had no detailed introductions. Even Shen Xingtang and Zhang Ge were called away separately, indicating that this mission wasn’t a straightforward one. They had around a dozen mecha divisions in the Dawn Galaxy who had just finished their battles and were waiting here. There were also people from the Second Star Domain. However, until now, there has been no temporary mobilization by the Management Bureau or the Frontier Army.
“This indicates that this mission won’t easily have Alliance Mecha Divisions take over.” The leader of Black Crow’s team spoke, “Don’t forget, this place is located on the edge of the border. Other Frontier Army units should be on their way to support, but the key is what kind of mission this is?”
Jiang Simiao urgently activated the Management Bureau’s permissions. Fortunately, due to the previous purification mission, the Management Bureau had not completely shut down their permissions. Although they couldn’t use the restricted zone system, they could still use the basic system. When Shen Xingtang told him about the restricted zone, he knew that this matter couldn’t be anything good.
“I feel like we should ask our mecha division for a protective amulet or something when we go back. Why do we always end up in these disastrous situations every time?”
During the conversation, a staff member hurriedly ran in.
“I just came in from the Jump Zone and found that two squads of the Frontier Army have been stationed there.” The staff member said, “The situation doesn’t look good!”
In the opposing rest area, the leader of the Second Star Domain pushed open the door and looked outside.
“The current information we have is that Gale and KID accidentally entered Coria’s Restricted Zone.”
Their leader looked at Bai Xuyan, who was sitting beside him, “But news from within Coria’s Restricted Zone is a bit intense.”
Bai Xuyan had just returned to the Management Bureau. He asked, “Was the information from Coria sent to our Mecha Alliance?”
“They’ve been notified,” the leader closed the door and walked in. The results of this purification mission were too poor, and he noticed that Bai Xuyan’s expression had dimmed somewhat. After a moment, he said, “But we haven’t received a reply yet.”
Before he could finish speaking, an urgent message came from the Second Star Domain’s Mecha Alliance.
The eyes of all Second Star Domain mecha pilots turned towards it, and even the leader hadn’t expected contact to come so quickly. He quickly communicated with the liaison.
After a few minutes, the leader hung up the communication.
“What’s going on?” Bai Xuyan asked.
The leader looked surprised. “Just now, it was a direct communication from the Secretary of the Second Star Domain Alliance’s Chairman. He requested that we drop all joint purification mission work and prioritize assisting Coria’s Contaminated Zone in solving all issues related to the restricted zone. All dispatches are to obey Coria’s arrangements.”
What exactly was going on in this restricted zone? The Coria Management Bureau, Dawn’s Frontier Army… now even the Second Star Domain’s Mecha Alliance had personally intervened. The joint purification mission’s priority was hardly comparable to the restricted zone’s issue.
“This restricted zone is very important.” Bai Xuyan’s gaze swept towards the location of the Coria Contaminated Zone on the interstellar map, his tone pausing slightly.
“It’s crucial in the eyes of the First and Second Star Domains.”
Staff rushed in and out, and in the Coria Management Bureau’s main control room, at the end of the corridor, everyone’s expression was particularly solemn.
After reporting a large number of abnormal energy reactions to Qi Sicheng and Huo Yan, Coria’s Director immediately submitted a report on the restricted zone to the Frontier Army’s superiors, and the Frontier Army dispatched two teams to assist.
Shen Xingtang remained in the control room, while Zhang Ge had already left to inform the Chairman of the Dawn Galaxy Alliance.
Reports of various kinds popped up in the control room, and all the staff were nervously carrying out follow-up work.
“Sir, the pollution reactions are minimal, but the energy reactions are intense.”
“These pollutants are very strange. According to our analysis of the sample sent back by the Lieutenant, they have very few characteristics in common with a pollutant.”
The expressions of Director Qi and Coria’s Bureau Chief were even more unsightly than before, especially after inspecting the energy samples of the pollutants that had attacked the base station.
A staff member shouted, “We’ve successfully got a response from the station’s imaging system!”
Coria’s hurriedly said, “Quick, show it.”
As the images from the station were displayed, seeing the pollutants surrounding the entire restricted zone base station, sweat dripped from the Coria Management Bureau Director’s forehead.
“This is bad, can we hold out?”
“Holding on for half a day won’t be a problem,” Shen Xingtang spoke up. “Director, you should trust the strength of our Dawn mecha pilots.”
In the scene, the Dawn mecha pilots had quickly dispersed, assuming an absolute protective stance around the base station. Having experienced the Battle of Qiu Jin, all the mecha pilots were no strangers to the task of guarding the base station. They had successfully defended it even in the severe conditions in Qiu Jin, so temporarily handling such a matter, for mecha pilots who had experienced Qiu Jin, was not a problem.
“Old Qiu, here is the data you wanted,” at this moment, a staff member walked over and handed a data tablet to Old Qiu.
Shen Xingtang’s attention focused on Old Qiu, and after he finished reviewing the data, he looked at her. “Old Qiu, any questions?”
Old Qiu said, “Boss Shen, let’s talk privately.”
Slightly puzzled, Shen Xingtang followed Old Qiu. As soon as they got a little distance away, Old Qiu handed a data tablet to Shen Xingtang. The information on it covered everything related to Ying Chenlin and was even more comprehensive than what Shen Xingtang currently knew.
Old Qiu looked at Shen Xingtang with seriousness.
“During the Qiu Jin incident, I visited the scene. I was interested in the maintenance personnel at your base. Young, proficient in both mecha piloting and maintenance and exceptionally talented. However, his resume was too clean.”
Shen Xingtang looked at Old Qiu. “What are you trying to say?”
Old Qiu placed another resume in front of Shen Xingtang. “I wasn’t initially investigating Ying Chenlin; I was looking into this one.”
When Shen Xingtang saw that new resume, her pupils slightly contracted. The resume had no name, only an ID code.
“Individual Soldier mecha Pilot ‘Sink’. The Frontier Army and the Mecha Alliance are two separate systems, and my authority is not sufficient to access data within the Mecha Alliance. Li Jingyan has protected him well.”
Old Qiu saw the change in Shen Xingtang’s expression.
“The reason I noticed him is because of the firearms and weapons equipped on Yuan’s mecha body.”
Old Qiu recalled the sea of fire that had flashed past during Qiu Jin. “I have seen such a sea of fire in my memory once before, during the Coria Contaminated Zone incident twenty years ago. Major Ying killed the S-level special mutant pollutant [Fire], setting the pollutants ablaze. There was also a sea of fire back then.”
Shen Xingtang said, “Could you be mistaken? There are many fire-type crystal abilities, and many of them can cause a sea of fire.”
Old Qiu replied, “Others may not have noticed, but when you and Chairman Li Jingyan worked together, you concealed Sink’s identity.”
“Boss Shen, let me tell you a few more details. That fire-type crystal was taken away by Ying Songshan.”
Old Qiu’s eyes carried a serious light, and the murky depths of his eyes were very sincere.
“I can tell you another small detail. When Sink was taken away, I was also secretly inquiring about Ying Songshan’s whereabouts.”
Shen Xingtang said, “You want to know the relationship between Sink and Ying Songshan, or rather, the relationship between Ying Chenlin and Ying Songshan?”
After saying this, there was a long silence between the two.
After a while, Shen Xingtang responded after the silence, “Sink has retired. Although he is now 19 years old and not protected by the Alliance Protection Law, his situation is special. Chairman Li Jingyan and I hiding his identity is purely a normal action.”
She paused after saying this, “As for Ying Chenlin… from what I know, he has no relatives.”
Old Qiu was slightly stunned by her words.
At this moment, while the two were talking, a staff member hurriedly ran around the edge of the door, sounding urgent, “Old Qiu! The First Star Domain’s Frontier Army Headquarters, the Dawn Galaxy Mecha Alliance, and the Second Star Domain Mecha Alliance have all contacted us!”
Old Qiu couldn’t care less about anything else. As soon as he walked out, he saw the communication interface displayed on the central screen of the control room, with those from all sides finally reaching out to Coria. Shen Xingtang followed him out and immediately noticed Li Jingyan in the communication interface, and her gaze also fell on one of the two interfaces.
From the First Star Domain’s Frontier Army Headquarters she first noticed the other party’s military rank, and finally settled on the other party’s face.
Just then, a Coria staff member exclaimed, “Oh no! That monster! Lieutenant Lu’s position is surrounded!”
“The base station detected two mecha signals! They are heading to Lieutenant Lu’s location for support!”
Shen Xingtang looked over suddenly and saw the figures of two mechas flashing past.
Inside the Contaminated Zone’s base station, pollutants had almost surrounded the entire station. Although their numbers weren’t large, these pollutants were extremely difficult to deal with.
Zhao Lejie stood in front of Ji Qingfeng. The two of them were facing the towering creature in front of them. The tentacle that had dragged away the mantis’s body before was gone, but as soon as it left, another tentacle attacked.
Zhao Lejie barely avoided the attack. They couldn’t afford to be hit by this tentacle. “This thing is much more agile than before!”
Ji Qingfeng’s Binding Lock Scythe was no longer effective. He hid behind Zhao Lejie. “This won’t work. We’re just taking hits and can’t hurt it at all.”
They already knew about this tentacle’s situation. Control weapon effects were almost non-existent against it, and the attacks from their weapons were too weak. Both of them operated melee mechas and had no advantage in close combat with this tentacle. Even if every strike landed, it wouldn’t hurt it at all.
“I’ll go! Over there!” Zhao Lejie suddenly saw something and shouted urgently.
“Yao Bao! Get down!” In the midst of panic, Ji Qingfeng glanced over and saw two tentacles suddenly darting out from the direction where Lin Yao and the Frontier Army were. The movements of these two tentacles were fast and fierce, wrapping around the scattered pollutants on the ground while fiercely sweeping towards the position of the mechas.
As soon as Lin Yao heard the sound, he immediately dropped to the ground, and the tentacle swept past his head, swiftly rushing towards another Frontier Army mecha division. Over on the Frontier Army side, where they were fending off the largest number of pollutants, they were suddenly struck by this tentacle from behind. All the mecha pilots hurriedly dodged, but one mecha still got swept away by the tentacle.
Inside the Frontier Army mecha division’s communication channel, Lieutenant Lu blasted away the pollutants surrounding him. He was leading the team on this mission, and they were essentially the vanguard squad. Out of the five-member team, two were reconnaissance mechas with slightly weaker offensive weapon capabilities. The one that had just been swept away was one of the reconnaissance mechas, which was on its first mission in the Contaminated Zone.
As Lieutenant Lu rushed to provide support, the strange tentacle suddenly swept towards the mecha, curling up slightly and binding the mecha tightly.
This scene caught the eyes of the nearby KID and Gale mecha pilots, and everyone thought, ‘This is bad!’
In the next moment, they saw the tentacle dragging the mecha backwards.
Ji Qingfeng shouted, “What are you waiting for? Don’t let that mecha be taken away!”
Zhao Lejie blocked one of the tentacles. “If it’s taken away, we won’t be able to rescue it!”
Lin Yao quickly got up and rushed over to rescue it, but he was immediately attacked by several pollutants blocking his way. Lieutenant Lu plowed through the forest, blasting away one pollutant after another, but the distance between him and the mecha kept increasing.
Just then, two mechas zoomed past him from above, and their combined firepower immediately cleared out pollutants up ahead.
The sudden support made the Frontier Army pause for a moment. The next second, they saw the two mechas swiftly cutting through the scorched forest. As their Energy Cannon and Thunder Magnetic Cannon simultaneously bombarded the tentacle, Lieutenant Lu’s gaze locked firmly onto the new arrivals. “Theo, and—”
The mecha named Theo cleared the path first, followed closely by another mecha.
The two mechas sped up together towards a certain direction, firing their Energy Cannon and Thunder Magnetic Cannon alternately. In an extremely short time, they cleared a path.
111. Relationship
Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake
“That’s not a pollutant.” Ying Chenlin leaned against the wall, looking down at the strange entity crawling up the stairs, “How could there be something like this below the research institute?”
However, the on-site situation did not allow the two to analyze what the entity was. The black, elongated entity quickly climbed up the stairs. Ying Chenlin and You Su had to continuously retreat due to its relentless attacks. The stairwell was narrow, and they had no weapons, making it impossible for them to resist.
You Su’s face darkened slightly. When the entity resumed its attack, he pushed Ying Chenlin upward.
“Let’s go!”
Ying Chenlin also knew that the situation was unsuitable for further observation, and he used the energy meter to light the way, quickly ascending with You Su.
The elongated entity attacked even faster, and each time the two narrowly avoided its attacks. The sharp metallic shell on its body, like a blade, left a faint stinging feeling behind when it brushed past them.
If they were caught by that thing, the consequences would be unimaginable!
You Su protected Ying Chenlin from behind, capturing the movements of the entity in the darkness. Several times, it tried to pass him to catch up with Ying Chenlin, making him frown slightly. Was this entity targeting Ying Chenlin? Or was there something on Ying Chenlin’s body?
His gaze fell on the bright spot on Ying Chenlin’s neck.
“Increase your mental power and suppress the reaction of the key.”
While running and increasing his mental power output, Ying Chenlin barely avoided the attacks of the elongated monster. Calmly, he instantly poured a large amount of mental power into the mecha key. The overheated and scorching hot key was suppressed once it received such a large amount of mental power. The black elongated monster’s reactions from behind them became sluggish for a moment. Seizing this crucial moment, the two immediately distanced themselves from the monster.
The narrow passage wasn’t conducive for combat, but the winding path blocked its attacks to some extent.
Nearly five minutes later, the two hurriedly ran from the narrow staircase to a higher place. They were now surrounded by sounds of the entity colliding with the walls.
“The door!” You Su reminded.
Ying Chenlin used the energy meter to illuminate the path ahead. When his hand touched the wall, the hidden access permission box within the wall popped out. He quickly calculated the key’s input and entered it. The hidden door opened slowly, and the light from outside shone into the narrow corridor. He left through the corner of the door, turned his head, grabbed You Su’s hand, and the pair fell into the other side of the door together.
At this moment, they suddenly heard a voice above their heads.
“Chenlin! You Ge!”
Ying Chenlin said, “Lu Xi, close the door!”
Lu Xi, who came to find them, was stunned when she entered and saw their situation. She could see something rapidly crawling up the stairs. She immediately approached to operate the door. When she pressed the button, the open door slowly closed again.
When Lu Xi clearly beheld the strange entity that was crawling up, the door suddenly closed in front of her with a loud noise, accompanied by the sound of something hitting the wall.
The moment the door was completely sealed, several people sighed in relief simultaneously.
However, the next moment, Ying Chenlin’s heart tightened again. Not because of anything else, but because there was such a thing below this research institute. What exactly had this institute been researching before?!
Lu Xi, still trembling, looked at the closed door, rushed forward to help Ying Chenlin up, and then noticed the damage to his coat. Their clothes were made of a special material that couldn’t even be cut by a knife, but now Ying Chenlin’s coat had several scratches.
“What on earth was that thing just now?”
“We don’t know.”
Ying Chenlin stood up with a wince, took out an anti-contamination agent from the medical kit, and tossed a tube to You Su.
This research institute was supposed to be a weapons research facility, but underground, there was another strange entity emitting energy reactions. He looked at the closed door and then at the corridors around the institute. He felt the need to find out what this research institute was really about.
You Su looked at Lu Xi and asked her, “How did you get here?”
“There was trouble outside, so I came in with a Gale Mecha unit to find everyone else.”
Lu Xi explained, “I saw from outside that the door of the institute wasn’t closed, so I came in and searched for you for a while.”
She had originally planned to leave, but just as she walked out, she saw Ying Chenlin and You Su emerging from the door.
“What happened outside?” Ying Chenlin was puzzled.
Lu Xi briefly described the situation outside, “A large amount of pollutants attacked, and a Frontier Army squad rushed over. The tentacle that attacked us earlier is still there, and other mecha pilots are resisting them.”
You Su and Ying Chenlin’s expressions changed slightly. They saw the situation outside when they ran out of the institute.
Pollutants had almost surrounded the base station. Ying Chenlin frowned, “This is bad.”
However, You Su’s gaze stopped on the other side, focusing on the leading mecha among the Frontier Army units.
Inside the Coria Restricted Zone’s control room, when the Gale Mecha units entered, the situation outside quickly transmitted through.
Qi Sicheng then opened the external system and saw a large amount of pollutants as well as the pollution detection systems that showed no responses. He conveyed all the information to the management bureau.
Upon learning of the situation, the management bureau immediately requested them to ensure the protection of the base station. They would try to send personnel to support them from the outside. Additionally, the management bureau also demanded they find the person who could enter the correct authorization command.
The two of them exchanged glances, thinking of the encrypted door that changed just before they entered the control room.
This abandoned base station obviously had no one guarding it. Excluding special personnel, the only ones who could enter the correct command were the Gale and KID mecha units.
Qi Sicheng muted the communication system and looked at Huo Yan. “I heard them mention Ying Songshan, and Ying Chenlin’s surname is also Ying.”
Huo Yan looked around and said, “Although I would like to give you a definite answer, as you’ve seen along the way, Chenlin is obviously unfamiliar with this base station. It’s You Su who knows it well.”
The response system inside the base station was still functioning. As they looked at this dusty control room, the restricted zone shielding system, and the abandoned base station still in operation, all their accumulated doubts gave them an extremely uneasy feeling.
“The situation in Coria’s Restricted Zone is closely related to the Frontier Army,” Huo Yan continued, “If it were just Dawn’s Frontier Army, it would be fine. What worries me is that this mission is not only directed by Dawn’s Frontier Army.”
If it were just Dawn Galaxy’s internal matter, there wouldn’t be too many restrictions.
Huo Yan had served in the Frontier Army himself and knew that many special missions in the Frontier Army would be handled across levels. On the surface, Dawn’s Frontier Army might handle it, but in reality, the orders for these missions might come from Dawn, the higher ranks of the First Star Domain or even the higher-level Star Alliance headquarters.
“The people from Coria will soon know all the details about the mecha units here. It’s not difficult for them to access the data. Information on Ying Chenlin and You Su will be presented to them. What we can notice, some people in the management bureau will only spread further.”
Qi Sicheng said, “The situation this time is a bit special. It’s safer to bring those two here first.”
If it were just the management bureau, they wouldn’t have to worry too much, but when it involved the Frontier Army, things became a bit difficult to handle. The relationships within the Dawn Mecha Alliance were simple, but the hierarchy within the Frontier Army was complex. Dawn’s Frontier Army could indeed be trusted, but they feared that this operation might involve more than just the Frontier Army, possibly with interference from higher-ups. In that case, they had to be careful at every step.
“Zhang Ge will probably inform the Dawn Mecha Alliance about this matter.” Qi Sicheng said, “Now that we don’t understand the purpose of the Frontier Army’s actions, we’ll have to wait for the results they bring.”
Seeing that both leaders’ expressions weren’t very good, a Gale mecha pilot asked cautiously, “So what should we do now?”
“You stay here and watch the control room. Contact us immediately if there’s any news.”
Qi Sicheng inputted his and Huo Yan’s light brain information into the communication system in the control room, “If there are any inquiries about Ying Chenlin or You Su, you redirect everything to us.”
The Gale mecha pilot hesitated for a moment at Qi Sicheng’s words, “Captain Qi.”
Huo Yan smiled, patting his shoulder, “Young people don’t need to be too nervous. Do it according to Captain Qi’s instructions. If there’s anything, push it to us. If they ask, say we are looking into it, understand?”
Before the Gale mecha pilot could respond, Huo Yan and Qi Sicheng had already left the control room.
Inside Coria’s Management Bureau, YDS and the Black Crow team, who had just left the secondary planets, returned to the Dawn Galaxy’s rest area. Upon entering the rest area, they learned about the many events that had occurred during their battle.
“No way? So, they intruded into the restricted zone, and now they’ve taken on a mission in the restricted zone?” Hu Luobu sighed, “How can they cause so much trouble!”
Ke Lin’s attention focused on the coordinates. He took a few steps back, looking at the staff bustling in and out of the corridor.
“The situation this time around probably isn’t that simple. Regular missions wouldn’t mobilize all Management Bureau personnel.” Ke Lin said.
The others in the rest area were also tense. The sudden mission in the restricted zone had no detailed introductions. Even Shen Xingtang and Zhang Ge were called away separately, indicating that this mission wasn’t a straightforward one. They had around a dozen mecha divisions in the Dawn Galaxy who had just finished their battles and were waiting here. There were also people from the Second Star Domain. However, until now, there has been no temporary mobilization by the Management Bureau or the Frontier Army.
“This indicates that this mission won’t easily have Alliance Mecha Divisions take over.” The leader of Black Crow’s team spoke, “Don’t forget, this place is located on the edge of the border. Other Frontier Army units should be on their way to support, but the key is what kind of mission this is?”
Jiang Simiao urgently activated the Management Bureau’s permissions. Fortunately, due to the previous purification mission, the Management Bureau had not completely shut down their permissions. Although they couldn’t use the restricted zone system, they could still use the basic system. When Shen Xingtang told him about the restricted zone, he knew that this matter couldn’t be anything good.
“I feel like we should ask our mecha division for a protective amulet or something when we go back. Why do we always end up in these disastrous situations every time?”
During the conversation, a staff member hurriedly ran in.
“I just came in from the Jump Zone and found that two squads of the Frontier Army have been stationed there.” The staff member said, “The situation doesn’t look good!”
In the opposing rest area, the leader of the Second Star Domain pushed open the door and looked outside.
“The current information we have is that Gale and KID accidentally entered Coria’s Restricted Zone.”
Their leader looked at Bai Xuyan, who was sitting beside him, “But news from within Coria’s Restricted Zone is a bit intense.”
Bai Xuyan had just returned to the Management Bureau. He asked, “Was the information from Coria sent to our Mecha Alliance?”
“They’ve been notified,” the leader closed the door and walked in. The results of this purification mission were too poor, and he noticed that Bai Xuyan’s expression had dimmed somewhat. After a moment, he said, “But we haven’t received a reply yet.”
Before he could finish speaking, an urgent message came from the Second Star Domain’s Mecha Alliance.
The eyes of all Second Star Domain mecha pilots turned towards it, and even the leader hadn’t expected contact to come so quickly. He quickly communicated with the liaison.
After a few minutes, the leader hung up the communication.
“What’s going on?” Bai Xuyan asked.
The leader looked surprised. “Just now, it was a direct communication from the Secretary of the Second Star Domain Alliance’s Chairman. He requested that we drop all joint purification mission work and prioritize assisting Coria’s Contaminated Zone in solving all issues related to the restricted zone. All dispatches are to obey Coria’s arrangements.”
What exactly was going on in this restricted zone? The Coria Management Bureau, Dawn’s Frontier Army… now even the Second Star Domain’s Mecha Alliance had personally intervened. The joint purification mission’s priority was hardly comparable to the restricted zone’s issue.
“This restricted zone is very important.” Bai Xuyan’s gaze swept towards the location of the Coria Contaminated Zone on the interstellar map, his tone pausing slightly.
“It’s crucial in the eyes of the First and Second Star Domains.”
Staff rushed in and out, and in the Coria Management Bureau’s main control room, at the end of the corridor, everyone’s expression was particularly solemn.
After reporting a large number of abnormal energy reactions to Qi Sicheng and Huo Yan, Coria’s Director immediately submitted a report on the restricted zone to the Frontier Army’s superiors, and the Frontier Army dispatched two teams to assist.
Shen Xingtang remained in the control room, while Zhang Ge had already left to inform the Chairman of the Dawn Galaxy Alliance.
Reports of various kinds popped up in the control room, and all the staff were nervously carrying out follow-up work.
“Sir, the pollution reactions are minimal, but the energy reactions are intense.”
“These pollutants are very strange. According to our analysis of the sample sent back by the Lieutenant, they have very few characteristics in common with a pollutant.”
The expressions of Director Qi and Coria’s Bureau Chief were even more unsightly than before, especially after inspecting the energy samples of the pollutants that had attacked the base station.
A staff member shouted, “We’ve successfully got a response from the station’s imaging system!”
Coria’s hurriedly said, “Quick, show it.”
As the images from the station were displayed, seeing the pollutants surrounding the entire restricted zone base station, sweat dripped from the Coria Management Bureau Director’s forehead.
“This is bad, can we hold out?”
“Holding on for half a day won’t be a problem,” Shen Xingtang spoke up. “Director, you should trust the strength of our Dawn mecha pilots.”
In the scene, the Dawn mecha pilots had quickly dispersed, assuming an absolute protective stance around the base station. Having experienced the Battle of Qiu Jin, all the mecha pilots were no strangers to the task of guarding the base station. They had successfully defended it even in the severe conditions in Qiu Jin, so temporarily handling such a matter, for mecha pilots who had experienced Qiu Jin, was not a problem.
“Old Qiu, here is the data you wanted,” at this moment, a staff member walked over and handed a data tablet to Old Qiu.
Shen Xingtang’s attention focused on Old Qiu, and after he finished reviewing the data, he looked at her. “Old Qiu, any questions?”
Old Qiu said, “Boss Shen, let’s talk privately.”
Slightly puzzled, Shen Xingtang followed Old Qiu. As soon as they got a little distance away, Old Qiu handed a data tablet to Shen Xingtang. The information on it covered everything related to Ying Chenlin and was even more comprehensive than what Shen Xingtang currently knew.
Old Qiu looked at Shen Xingtang with seriousness.
“During the Qiu Jin incident, I visited the scene. I was interested in the maintenance personnel at your base. Young, proficient in both mecha piloting and maintenance and exceptionally talented. However, his resume was too clean.”
Shen Xingtang looked at Old Qiu. “What are you trying to say?”
Old Qiu placed another resume in front of Shen Xingtang. “I wasn’t initially investigating Ying Chenlin; I was looking into this one.”
When Shen Xingtang saw that new resume, her pupils slightly contracted. The resume had no name, only an ID code.
“Individual Soldier mecha Pilot ‘Sink’. The Frontier Army and the Mecha Alliance are two separate systems, and my authority is not sufficient to access data within the Mecha Alliance. Li Jingyan has protected him well.”
Old Qiu saw the change in Shen Xingtang’s expression.
“The reason I noticed him is because of the firearms and weapons equipped on Yuan’s mecha body.”
Old Qiu recalled the sea of fire that had flashed past during Qiu Jin. “I have seen such a sea of fire in my memory once before, during the Coria Contaminated Zone incident twenty years ago. Major Ying killed the S-level special mutant pollutant [Fire], setting the pollutants ablaze. There was also a sea of fire back then.”
Shen Xingtang said, “Could you be mistaken? There are many fire-type crystal abilities, and many of them can cause a sea of fire.”
Old Qiu replied, “Others may not have noticed, but when you and Chairman Li Jingyan worked together, you concealed Sink’s identity.”
“Boss Shen, let me tell you a few more details. That fire-type crystal was taken away by Ying Songshan.”
Old Qiu’s eyes carried a serious light, and the murky depths of his eyes were very sincere.
“I can tell you another small detail. When Sink was taken away, I was also secretly inquiring about Ying Songshan’s whereabouts.”
Shen Xingtang said, “You want to know the relationship between Sink and Ying Songshan, or rather, the relationship between Ying Chenlin and Ying Songshan?”
After saying this, there was a long silence between the two.
After a while, Shen Xingtang responded after the silence, “Sink has retired. Although he is now 19 years old and not protected by the Alliance Protection Law, his situation is special. Chairman Li Jingyan and I hiding his identity is purely a normal action.”
She paused after saying this, “As for Ying Chenlin… from what I know, he has no relatives.”
Old Qiu was slightly stunned by her words.
At this moment, while the two were talking, a staff member hurriedly ran around the edge of the door, sounding urgent, “Old Qiu! The First Star Domain’s Frontier Army Headquarters, the Dawn Galaxy Mecha Alliance, and the Second Star Domain Mecha Alliance have all contacted us!”
Old Qiu couldn’t care less about anything else. As soon as he walked out, he saw the communication interface displayed on the central screen of the control room, with those from all sides finally reaching out to Coria. Shen Xingtang followed him out and immediately noticed Li Jingyan in the communication interface, and her gaze also fell on one of the two interfaces.
From the First Star Domain’s Frontier Army Headquarters she first noticed the other party’s military rank, and finally settled on the other party’s face.
Just then, a Coria staff member exclaimed, “Oh no! That monster! Lieutenant Lu’s position is surrounded!”
“The base station detected two mecha signals! They are heading to Lieutenant Lu’s location for support!”
Shen Xingtang looked over suddenly and saw the figures of two mechas flashing past.
Inside the Contaminated Zone’s base station, pollutants had almost surrounded the entire station. Although their numbers weren’t large, these pollutants were extremely difficult to deal with.
Zhao Lejie stood in front of Ji Qingfeng. The two of them were facing the towering creature in front of them. The tentacle that had dragged away the mantis’s body before was gone, but as soon as it left, another tentacle attacked.
Zhao Lejie barely avoided the attack. They couldn’t afford to be hit by this tentacle. “This thing is much more agile than before!”
Ji Qingfeng’s Binding Lock Scythe was no longer effective. He hid behind Zhao Lejie. “This won’t work. We’re just taking hits and can’t hurt it at all.”
They already knew about this tentacle’s situation. Control weapon effects were almost non-existent against it, and the attacks from their weapons were too weak. Both of them operated melee mechas and had no advantage in close combat with this tentacle. Even if every strike landed, it wouldn’t hurt it at all.
“I’ll go! Over there!” Zhao Lejie suddenly saw something and shouted urgently.
“Yao Bao! Get down!” In the midst of panic, Ji Qingfeng glanced over and saw two tentacles suddenly darting out from the direction where Lin Yao and the Frontier Army were. The movements of these two tentacles were fast and fierce, wrapping around the scattered pollutants on the ground while fiercely sweeping towards the position of the mechas.
As soon as Lin Yao heard the sound, he immediately dropped to the ground, and the tentacle swept past his head, swiftly rushing towards another Frontier Army mecha division. Over on the Frontier Army side, where they were fending off the largest number of pollutants, they were suddenly struck by this tentacle from behind. All the mecha pilots hurriedly dodged, but one mecha still got swept away by the tentacle.
Inside the Frontier Army mecha division’s communication channel, Lieutenant Lu blasted away the pollutants surrounding him. He was leading the team on this mission, and they were essentially the vanguard squad. Out of the five-member team, two were reconnaissance mechas with slightly weaker offensive weapon capabilities. The one that had just been swept away was one of the reconnaissance mechas, which was on its first mission in the Contaminated Zone.
As Lieutenant Lu rushed to provide support, the strange tentacle suddenly swept towards the mecha, curling up slightly and binding the mecha tightly.
This scene caught the eyes of the nearby KID and Gale mecha pilots, and everyone thought, ‘This is bad!’
In the next moment, they saw the tentacle dragging the mecha backwards.
Ji Qingfeng shouted, “What are you waiting for? Don’t let that mecha be taken away!”
Zhao Lejie blocked one of the tentacles. “If it’s taken away, we won’t be able to rescue it!”
Lin Yao quickly got up and rushed over to rescue it, but he was immediately attacked by several pollutants blocking his way. Lieutenant Lu plowed through the forest, blasting away one pollutant after another, but the distance between him and the mecha kept increasing.
Just then, two mechas zoomed past him from above, and their combined firepower immediately cleared out pollutants up ahead.
The sudden support made the Frontier Army pause for a moment. The next second, they saw the two mechas swiftly cutting through the scorched forest. As their Energy Cannon and Thunder Magnetic Cannon simultaneously bombarded the tentacle, Lieutenant Lu’s gaze locked firmly onto the new arrivals. “Theo, and—”
The mecha named Theo cleared the path first, followed closely by another mecha.
The two mechas sped up together towards a certain direction, firing their Energy Cannon and Thunder Magnetic Cannon alternately. In an extremely short time, they cleared a path.
