57. Qiu Jin
In the Sirius Star A Zone's first medical station, Ying Chenlin emerged from the examination room and was making his way to the room Sheng Xingtang had pointed out.
Just as he reached the door, he saw Sheng Xingtang leaning against it, looking somewhat exasperated as she peered inside.
Upon spotting Ying Chenlin approaching, she straightened slightly and asked, "Did you get the medication? What did the doctor say?"
With the upcoming tournament in a few days, Ying Chenlin had come for his regular check-up. "Stable mental energy. Come back for a follow-up next month."
He glanced towards the room beside them.
"They're training inside," Sheng Xingtang said, leaning against the doorframe without intending to join them. "The old man is teaching his grandson a lesson."
Inside the room were the grandfather and grandson from the Gu family.
On the day of the auction, Sheng Xingtang had helped acquire the component for Gu Xiaotian and had also investigated the grandfather-grandson duo. The grandfather, Gu's senior, was an engineer who had previously worked at a parts factory on another planet. Due to family circumstances, he had returned to Sirius Star.
His daughter-in-law had died early due to an accident, leaving behind Gu Xiaotian.
His son had incurred gambling debts, bringing trouble upon himself.
Grandfather Gu could only sustain the family by selling parts. Until his son fled, he scavenged the contaminated area for materials to craft parts and ended up contracting a serious illness due to an accident. The profiles of this grandfather-grandson pair were clean. The grandfather was an honest and diligent worker, while the grandson was praised for both his character and academics. Other than the gambling debts, there were no other blemishes.
"I checked. That child Gu Xiaotian has been cornered by debt collectors recently. He's been beaten a few times and can't even go to school. They've sold their parts, mortgaged the house, and have no place to sleep."
Sheng Xingtang looked into the room and spoke nonchalantly, "You know how kids like him are. When they take parts to merchants, they'll always be ripped off. Merchants won't let an opportunity to make a profit slip by. They come up with all sorts of picky excuses. His grandfather isn't a renowned designer, and this industry has other hidden rules besides accuracy. I bet those merchants would've mentioned it, driving them to a dead end and making them resort to attending an auction under false names."
Ying Chenlin was still holding the vial of medicine that he hadn't put away. He remained silent, just watching quietly.
"The money from selling parts covered the medical expenses, leaving a surplus. After his grandfather regained consciousness, I handed it all over to him. I didn't cover the auction fees for Gu Xiaotian. He did indeed harbor some crooked intentions. Since he's made a mistake, it's time he learned his lesson."
Sheng Xingtang continued, "Look, the old man is just getting a bit of strength back, and he's already busy lecturing his grandson. Do you want to go in?"
Through the glass window, Ying Chenlin saw the younger-than-he-remembered old man in the corner of the room. His voice softened a little. "No need to go in. Let the old man rest."
"Aren't you eager to see him?" Sheng Xingtang was somewhat surprised but still smiled. "Alright, let the old man rest. Let's go."
Ying Chenlin averted his gaze. If fate allowed, he believed they would meet again.
Inside the hospital room, the elderly man suffering from a serious illness lay inside the medical pod. Standing outside, his grandson was infuriated, gripping a support crutch that was leaned against the pod. He struck the child's hand with it. "Just sell the parts as they are. Must you sell them under someone else's name? Do you want to kill me with anger?"
Gu Xiaotian endured the blows in silence.
He did indeed make a mistake, so getting scolded was expected.
As Gu Xiaotian listened to his grandfather's voice, he suddenly heard some commotion outside. He turned his head slightly and saw someone passing by the doorway of the room. He was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly moved to the other side of the room.
His grandfather frowned. "What are you doing?"
Rummaging through his school bag, Gu Xiaotian finally took out a small memory chip. "Grandpa, I just saw Manager Shen. I need to go out for a bit! I have something to give her."
---
Exiting the medical station, the two of them were on their way to the underground hovercar parking area.
The sunlight outside was just right, and Ying Chenlin's gaze inadvertently fell on the distant skyscrapers.
Suddenly, the scenery in his field of vision warped strangely, and the scene before his eyes gradually went out of focus.
Sheng Xingtang was in the middle of talking when she noticed something and quickly reached out to steady Ying Chenlin. "What's wrong!?"
Her voice brought Ying Chenlin back to his senses. He took a moment to regain his composure and, when he looked ahead again, the previously distorted view returned to normal.
However, in that brief instant, his consciousness felt somewhat hazy.
"I'm fine," Ying Chenlin said, steadying himself.
But Sheng Xingtang's brows were tightly knitted. "Are you too tired? Did the doctor say anything during the check-up just now? Genetic diseases aren't trivial, especially considering you're still in the recovery phase. Any anomalies need to be taken seriously."
He had recently undergone a check-up, and the doctor had confirmed that his body was fine.
If one had to point out something unusual, it was the increased frequency of strange fluctuations in his mental power patterns, which had appeared in several investigations. Ying Chenlin had already experienced the potential symptoms caused by genetic diseases in his past life, but at that time, there hadn't been such strange occurrences.
As Ying Chenlin pondered, he accidentally yawned. "I might just be a bit sleepy."
Seeing him yawn, Sheng Xingtang said worriedly, "No, after the promotion tournament, I'll definitely need to recruit a few apprentices."
Ying Chenlin always liked staying in the maintenance room. If he wasn't careful, the workload would increase. They had to find maintenance apprentices to alleviate the pressure on the base's maintenance room, and she also needed to remind the doctor she had contacted previously.
"Don't refuse me either. The base's finances aren't as tight as before, and hiring people is necessary. There's also a doctor who said they'll come to the base after the New Year. I'll send a message to remind them when I get back."
Sheng Xingtang continued, "Wait here for me. I'll go to the garage and get the hovercar. Don't go too far."
After she finished speaking, she walked away. Ying Chenlin didn't move. He took the necklace from his collar, the one belonging to Yuan.
He released his mental power to communicate with his mech, but even after a few minutes, Yuan still didn't respond.
Inside the medical room, Grandfather Gu was panting as he leaned against the medical pod. Gu Xiaotian had disappeared.
He looked at the condolences placed by the bedside. Sheng Xingtang had brought them a few days ago. Fortunately, Gu Xiaotian had encountered a kind-hearted person this time; otherwise, this incident of impersonation could have caused even bigger trouble.
At this moment, a nurse entered the room and saw Grandfather Gu. She spoke, "Old sir, someone asked me to give you this."
"Something?" Grandfather Gu was taken aback. He received the storage device from the nurse and used his mental power to sense what was inside – it was the component he had sold to KID. He briefly scanned the component with his mental power and found no signs of tampering.
Grandfather Gu said, "Was it that woman who came to see me a few days ago? Why would she give me this? No, I need to meet her."
"No, not her," the nurse hurriedly stopped the elderly man from leaving the medical pod and explained, "It was a young man. He said this item would have greater value if it was returned to your hands."
Grandfather Gu was puzzled – a young man?
The nurse assisted him back into the pod. "He's probably already gone. Please don't move around."
Seeing that the elderly man wasn't moving, the nurse left the room with relief.
Sitting back in the medical pod, Grandfather Gu held the storage device in his weathered hands, his eyes slightly downcast.
KID's mecha base...?
In the underground garage, Sheng Xingtang had just arrived at her hovercar when she saw Gu Xiaotian rushing towards her.
She looked surprised. "You, kid, why are you so impulsive?"
Gu Xiaotian handed her a memory chip. He knew he had made a mistake, so he had been trying to find the person who had deceived him. He had come across them again near the place where he had first encountered the man. "I saw them again yesterday. They seemed to be leaving and didn't notice me. I secretly recorded this. I didn't know how to repay you, so I could only give you this."
Sheng Xingtang took the memory chip, unexpectedly saying, "Alright, thank you."
Gu Xiaotian lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, I'm going back to look after my grandfather."
Sheng Xingtang held the memory chip in her hand, her brow slightly furrowed.
The memory chip was quite old and not of good quality. It seemed like something Gu Xiaotian had scavenged from equipment.
As Ying Chenlin got into the car, Sheng Xingtang handed him the memory chip. "This should be from the person who incited Gu Xiaotian to impersonate you that day. The images inside are a bit blurry. When you get back, have Simiao analyze the data."
A chip? Holding the memory chip, Ying Chenlin, for some reason, suddenly thought of the component numbered 1468 that had been taken from him that day. "During the investigation, you can have Jiang focus on the Second Star Domain."
---
After the auction incident, KID became busy again.
Sheng Xingtang found a temporary remote online store customer service representative. The day after she contacted the representative, she immediately sent the data of the materials accumulated in the warehouse to the new customer service. This Zhang surname representative was incredibly efficient and sent the data back the next day, neatly organized.
"The last time I asked Ji Qingfeng to do this, he took three days and acted like he was drawing magic symbols," Sheng Xingtang said with satisfaction as she looked at the organized data. "You see, professionals are truly different."
Jiang Simiao was also surprised; he hadn't expected to get such high-quality work for 3000 star coins.
He had originally thought it might be a scam, but considering the legitimacy of their material sources, there was no reason to doubt their intentions.
The Lunar New Year was spent in a rush. Ying Chenlin had been researching new weapons and needed to have the mecha pilots test them. Lin Yao had originally wanted to take Ying Chenlin to the Grand Canyon to set off fireworks, but he was dragged back by Jiang Simiao before they even left and was promptly thrust into the training room.
After the training, the information about the polluted zones for the top 16 to top 8 matches was released.
Jiang Simiao arrived in the training room with a stack of documents for a meeting. "Once we're in the top 16, most of the remaining match-grade polluted zones have been determined. The Alliance has provided a total of 8 match-grade polluted zones this time. Besides being used for the top 16 to top 8 matches, the rest of the polluted zones will be integrated into the subsequent stages. I've sent the information to everyone for you to prepare in advance."
The data about the polluted zones was placed on the table, and everyone began to flip through their copies.
Ji Qingfeng said, "It's rare. We haven't even reached the top 8 yet, and San Shui is already showing us the top 8 map."
"Well, isn't it better to be prepared?" Jiang Simiao continued, "Our match in the top 16 will take place in the Qiu River Grand Canyon polluted zone."
When Lin Yao heard "Grand Canyon," his eyes lit up. "Ah! The really big one?"
Jiang Simiao replied, "… Just so you know, you're not allowed to set off fireworks in the Grand Canyon!"
"What's wrong with setting off fireworks? It's the New Year, it's festive!" Lin Yao exclaimed with disappointment, then turned to the silent Ying Chenlin beside him. "Right, Chenlin?"
Ying Chenlin didn't say anything.
Sitting beside him, You Su noticed something strange.
Rarely did this KID actually zoned out during the meeting.
He shifted his gaze slightly and realized that Ying Chenlin wasn't looking at the Qiu River Grand Canyon; he was looking at another polluted zone.
That polluted zone was the [FS Polluted Zone].
TN:
Have you noticed how You Su seems to always be looking at Chenlin~
jjwxc tutorial.
Author Support Project
KOFI Donations using the pop-up button.
57. Qiu Jin
In the Sirius Star A Zone's first medical station, Ying Chenlin emerged from the examination room and was making his way to the room Sheng Xingtang had pointed out.
Just as he reached the door, he saw Sheng Xingtang leaning against it, looking somewhat exasperated as she peered inside.
Upon spotting Ying Chenlin approaching, she straightened slightly and asked, "Did you get the medication? What did the doctor say?"
With the upcoming tournament in a few days, Ying Chenlin had come for his regular check-up. "Stable mental energy. Come back for a follow-up next month."
He glanced towards the room beside them.
"They're training inside," Sheng Xingtang said, leaning against the doorframe without intending to join them. "The old man is teaching his grandson a lesson."
Inside the room were the grandfather and grandson from the Gu family.
On the day of the auction, Sheng Xingtang had helped acquire the component for Gu Xiaotian and had also investigated the grandfather-grandson duo. The grandfather, Gu's senior, was an engineer who had previously worked at a parts factory on another planet. Due to family circumstances, he had returned to Sirius Star.
His daughter-in-law had died early due to an accident, leaving behind Gu Xiaotian.
His son had incurred gambling debts, bringing trouble upon himself.
Grandfather Gu could only sustain the family by selling parts. Until his son fled, he scavenged the contaminated area for materials to craft parts and ended up contracting a serious illness due to an accident. The profiles of this grandfather-grandson pair were clean. The grandfather was an honest and diligent worker, while the grandson was praised for both his character and academics. Other than the gambling debts, there were no other blemishes.
"I checked. That child Gu Xiaotian has been cornered by debt collectors recently. He's been beaten a few times and can't even go to school. They've sold their parts, mortgaged the house, and have no place to sleep."
Sheng Xingtang looked into the room and spoke nonchalantly, "You know how kids like him are. When they take parts to merchants, they'll always be ripped off. Merchants won't let an opportunity to make a profit slip by. They come up with all sorts of picky excuses. His grandfather isn't a renowned designer, and this industry has other hidden rules besides accuracy. I bet those merchants would've mentioned it, driving them to a dead end and making them resort to attending an auction under false names."
Ying Chenlin was still holding the vial of medicine that he hadn't put away. He remained silent, just watching quietly.
"The money from selling parts covered the medical expenses, leaving a surplus. After his grandfather regained consciousness, I handed it all over to him. I didn't cover the auction fees for Gu Xiaotian. He did indeed harbor some crooked intentions. Since he's made a mistake, it's time he learned his lesson."
Sheng Xingtang continued, "Look, the old man is just getting a bit of strength back, and he's already busy lecturing his grandson. Do you want to go in?"
Through the glass window, Ying Chenlin saw the younger-than-he-remembered old man in the corner of the room. His voice softened a little. "No need to go in. Let the old man rest."
"Aren't you eager to see him?" Sheng Xingtang was somewhat surprised but still smiled. "Alright, let the old man rest. Let's go."
Ying Chenlin averted his gaze. If fate allowed, he believed they would meet again.
Inside the hospital room, the elderly man suffering from a serious illness lay inside the medical pod. Standing outside, his grandson was infuriated, gripping a support crutch that was leaned against the pod. He struck the child's hand with it. "Just sell the parts as they are. Must you sell them under someone else's name? Do you want to kill me with anger?"
Gu Xiaotian endured the blows in silence.
He did indeed make a mistake, so getting scolded was expected.
As Gu Xiaotian listened to his grandfather's voice, he suddenly heard some commotion outside. He turned his head slightly and saw someone passing by the doorway of the room. He was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly moved to the other side of the room.
His grandfather frowned. "What are you doing?"
Rummaging through his school bag, Gu Xiaotian finally took out a small memory chip. "Grandpa, I just saw Manager Shen. I need to go out for a bit! I have something to give her."
---
Exiting the medical station, the two of them were on their way to the underground hovercar parking area.
The sunlight outside was just right, and Ying Chenlin's gaze inadvertently fell on the distant skyscrapers.
Suddenly, the scenery in his field of vision warped strangely, and the scene before his eyes gradually went out of focus.
Sheng Xingtang was in the middle of talking when she noticed something and quickly reached out to steady Ying Chenlin. "What's wrong!?"
Her voice brought Ying Chenlin back to his senses. He took a moment to regain his composure and, when he looked ahead again, the previously distorted view returned to normal.
However, in that brief instant, his consciousness felt somewhat hazy.
"I'm fine," Ying Chenlin said, steadying himself.
But Sheng Xingtang's brows were tightly knitted. "Are you too tired? Did the doctor say anything during the check-up just now? Genetic diseases aren't trivial, especially considering you're still in the recovery phase. Any anomalies need to be taken seriously."
He had recently undergone a check-up, and the doctor had confirmed that his body was fine.
If one had to point out something unusual, it was the increased frequency of strange fluctuations in his mental power patterns, which had appeared in several investigations. Ying Chenlin had already experienced the potential symptoms caused by genetic diseases in his past life, but at that time, there hadn't been such strange occurrences.
As Ying Chenlin pondered, he accidentally yawned. "I might just be a bit sleepy."
Seeing him yawn, Sheng Xingtang said worriedly, "No, after the promotion tournament, I'll definitely need to recruit a few apprentices."
Ying Chenlin always liked staying in the maintenance room. If he wasn't careful, the workload would increase. They had to find maintenance apprentices to alleviate the pressure on the base's maintenance room, and she also needed to remind the doctor she had contacted previously.
"Don't refuse me either. The base's finances aren't as tight as before, and hiring people is necessary. There's also a doctor who said they'll come to the base after the New Year. I'll send a message to remind them when I get back."
Sheng Xingtang continued, "Wait here for me. I'll go to the garage and get the hovercar. Don't go too far."
After she finished speaking, she walked away. Ying Chenlin didn't move. He took the necklace from his collar, the one belonging to Yuan.
He released his mental power to communicate with his mech, but even after a few minutes, Yuan still didn't respond.
Inside the medical room, Grandfather Gu was panting as he leaned against the medical pod. Gu Xiaotian had disappeared.
He looked at the condolences placed by the bedside. Sheng Xingtang had brought them a few days ago. Fortunately, Gu Xiaotian had encountered a kind-hearted person this time; otherwise, this incident of impersonation could have caused even bigger trouble.
At this moment, a nurse entered the room and saw Grandfather Gu. She spoke, "Old sir, someone asked me to give you this."
"Something?" Grandfather Gu was taken aback. He received the storage device from the nurse and used his mental power to sense what was inside – it was the component he had sold to KID. He briefly scanned the component with his mental power and found no signs of tampering.
Grandfather Gu said, "Was it that woman who came to see me a few days ago? Why would she give me this? No, I need to meet her."
"No, not her," the nurse hurriedly stopped the elderly man from leaving the medical pod and explained, "It was a young man. He said this item would have greater value if it was returned to your hands."
Grandfather Gu was puzzled – a young man?
The nurse assisted him back into the pod. "He's probably already gone. Please don't move around."
Seeing that the elderly man wasn't moving, the nurse left the room with relief.
Sitting back in the medical pod, Grandfather Gu held the storage device in his weathered hands, his eyes slightly downcast.
KID's mecha base...?
In the underground garage, Sheng Xingtang had just arrived at her hovercar when she saw Gu Xiaotian rushing towards her.
She looked surprised. "You, kid, why are you so impulsive?"
Gu Xiaotian handed her a memory chip. He knew he had made a mistake, so he had been trying to find the person who had deceived him. He had come across them again near the place where he had first encountered the man. "I saw them again yesterday. They seemed to be leaving and didn't notice me. I secretly recorded this. I didn't know how to repay you, so I could only give you this."
Sheng Xingtang took the memory chip, unexpectedly saying, "Alright, thank you."
Gu Xiaotian lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, I'm going back to look after my grandfather."
Sheng Xingtang held the memory chip in her hand, her brow slightly furrowed.
The memory chip was quite old and not of good quality. It seemed like something Gu Xiaotian had scavenged from equipment.
As Ying Chenlin got into the car, Sheng Xingtang handed him the memory chip. "This should be from the person who incited Gu Xiaotian to impersonate you that day. The images inside are a bit blurry. When you get back, have Simiao analyze the data."
A chip? Holding the memory chip, Ying Chenlin, for some reason, suddenly thought of the component numbered 1468 that had been taken from him that day. "During the investigation, you can have Jiang focus on the Second Star Domain."
---
After the auction incident, KID became busy again.
Sheng Xingtang found a temporary remote online store customer service representative. The day after she contacted the representative, she immediately sent the data of the materials accumulated in the warehouse to the new customer service. This Zhang surname representative was incredibly efficient and sent the data back the next day, neatly organized.
"The last time I asked Ji Qingfeng to do this, he took three days and acted like he was drawing magic symbols," Sheng Xingtang said with satisfaction as she looked at the organized data. "You see, professionals are truly different."
Jiang Simiao was also surprised; he hadn't expected to get such high-quality work for 3000 star coins.
He had originally thought it might be a scam, but considering the legitimacy of their material sources, there was no reason to doubt their intentions.
The Lunar New Year was spent in a rush. Ying Chenlin had been researching new weapons and needed to have the mecha pilots test them. Lin Yao had originally wanted to take Ying Chenlin to the Grand Canyon to set off fireworks, but he was dragged back by Jiang Simiao before they even left and was promptly thrust into the training room.
After the training, the information about the polluted zones for the top 16 to top 8 matches was released.
Jiang Simiao arrived in the training room with a stack of documents for a meeting. "Once we're in the top 16, most of the remaining match-grade polluted zones have been determined. The Alliance has provided a total of 8 match-grade polluted zones this time. Besides being used for the top 16 to top 8 matches, the rest of the polluted zones will be integrated into the subsequent stages. I've sent the information to everyone for you to prepare in advance."
The data about the polluted zones was placed on the table, and everyone began to flip through their copies.
Ji Qingfeng said, "It's rare. We haven't even reached the top 8 yet, and San Shui is already showing us the top 8 map."
"Well, isn't it better to be prepared?" Jiang Simiao continued, "Our match in the top 16 will take place in the Qiu River Grand Canyon polluted zone."
When Lin Yao heard "Grand Canyon," his eyes lit up. "Ah! The really big one?"
Jiang Simiao replied, "… Just so you know, you're not allowed to set off fireworks in the Grand Canyon!"
"What's wrong with setting off fireworks? It's the New Year, it's festive!" Lin Yao exclaimed with disappointment, then turned to the silent Ying Chenlin beside him. "Right, Chenlin?"
Ying Chenlin didn't say anything.
Sitting beside him, You Su noticed something strange.
Rarely did this KID actually zoned out during the meeting.
He shifted his gaze slightly and realized that Ying Chenlin wasn't looking at the Qiu River Grand Canyon; he was looking at another polluted zone.
That polluted zone was the [FS Polluted Zone].
TN:
Have you noticed how You Su seems to always be looking at Chenlin~
jjwxc tutorial.
Author Support Project
KOFI Donations using the pop-up button.
