65. Magnetic Field
All eyes were focused on the mountain that had been flattened. The once battlefield now appeared completely different, with YDS's control and artillery mechs nowhere to be seen, leaving the entire space eerily deserted.
"They've been buried!?"
"No elimination notifications... but with the mountain destroyed like that, they're probably buried underneath."
In the ongoing league, no one had seen such a hardcore battle scene.
The mountain had collapsed, burying two mechs.
Being trapped under falling rocks, it would take some time for the two YDS mechs to emerge.
"What exactly is this... Let's slow down and replay the scene." The commentator, shocked at first, quickly regained their composure and immediately replayed the astonishing scene. Upon close examination, just as two sniper shots collided, KID's control mech, Lucy, fired a projectile at a critical moment, one that had never been seen before. The projectile generated a strange vortex upon impact.
In the Gale Base, Qi Sicheng reevaluated, "No, it seems like it's not an attack weapon."
A mech pilot next to him stood up and pointed at the vortex. "Captain Qi, why do I feel like it's using the energy released when the sniper shots collide?"
Zhao Lejie wondered, "Enhancement weapon?"
Outside the arena, Shen Xingtang attentively observed the situation inside, understanding it perfectly.
Naturally, it wasn't an attack weapon; it was a control-enhancing weapon created using S-class Centennial Orchid. The reason it had such a powerful effect was that Lu Xi's fired projectile had harnessed the energy generated by the explosions of the two artillery mechs.
The S-class Centennial Orchid's ability, "Quicksand," was too limited in ordinary scenarios; it required a sandy environment to unleash its maximum potential, forming a sandstorm-like effect.
Quicksand could only be turned into a regular control weapon, similar to slowing down projectiles, which seemed too simple and didn't fully utilize the special properties of S-class anomalous crystals.
So, when designing this weapon, they spent more time focusing on how to maximize the use of "Quicksand" to harness external environmental conditions to increase its power.
Finally, the weapon designer had noticed another unique aspect of "Quicksand," which was the small sand tornadoes that Centennial Orchid had once used to defend against attacks. These were essentially reversed variations of Quicksand, relying on the sandy environment of the Tianyu Star and strong wind currents to create such a powerful attack effect. This raised a new possibility—could Quicksand increase its power not by using a sandy environment but by utilizing external conditions?
Ying Chenlin had employed various methods, ultimately using the vortex-concentrating energy of Quicksand to create this control-enhancing weapon, the "Energy Enhancement Cannon."
The projectiles fired by the Energy Enhancement Cannon had no significant offensive effect, and its control effects in non-sand environments were average. However, its most important function was to use the surrounding environment to its advantage. For example, when the Enhancement Cannon hit a sniper shot, it could use the energy released by the sniper shot as an external condition to enhance its control effect.
Inside the preparation area, other mechanics looked toward KID's inspection platform.
There were no reports of abnormalities regarding other weapons; they confirmed that the weapon projectiles met league requirements. The only energy report indicated the high-energy response generated when the mountain was destroyed just now.
Ying Chenlin still stood there, his gaze fixed on the virtual screen, next to which was a data board.
To cause such extensive damage, it should have been the result of Hu Luobu's tracking shot hitting the mountains on both sides of the canyon multiple times. That's why when Lu Xi's projectile was fired, it had such a massive destructive effect.
However, this level of destruction... the data seemed unusual.
Ying Chenlin paused for a moment, thinking carefully. As a precaution, he decided to check the environmental data. While quickly scanning through the data, he noticed a brief abnormal report flashing on the detection console. He abruptly stopped his reading and scrolled back to the original position.
Ying Chenlin's gaze paused when he saw a red abnormality among a series of green-standard data:
— [Warning! System detects special magnetic field fluctuations!]
This data had only existed for 0.5 seconds, hidden within the massive data generated by the recent explosion.
Without hesitation, he immediately pulled up the details of this energy report, noticing the familiar yet peculiar data report.
Ying Chenlin's hand paused, and he looked back at the virtual simulation scene. His broad view allowed him to see the undulating mountainous terrain in the distance.
After assessing the situation, he returned his gaze to the data list, staring intently at that string of data.
How could this be... This was the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, not the FS Contaminated Zone.
While everyone was fervently discussing KID's weapons, Shen Xingtang's eyes suddenly stopped. "What's going on?" Jiang Simiao noticed Shen Xingtang's unusual expression and followed her gaze to the empty preparation area, where Ying Chenlin was absent.
Shen Xingtang furrowed her brow. She had just seen Ying Chenlin leave the testing platform.
He had left in a hurry, as if something urgent had occurred.
Inside the arena, Ji Qingfeng retrieved his Binding Scythe with a lingering sense of unease. "My goodness, is this weapon really this powerful?"
If he hadn't thrown the scythe so quickly, he and Hu Luobu would have been crushed beneath the falling rocks.
"Nobody's been eliminated yet, but it might take a while for them to get out," Lu Xi remarked as she glanced at her new weapon. The new weapon had only been tested in a virtual environment until now; this was her first time bringing it into a league match.
Because its regular functionality was similar to the Water Cannon but with higher energy consumption and lower accuracy, she hadn't used the new weapon in non-essential situations.
You Su had observed all the scenes of the mountain collapse among them. He couldn't efficiently predict them all, but predicting the movements of an artillery mech wasn't a problem for him. Initially, it was just a suggestion he had made, and he had been prepared for it not to work out. However, the coordination between Ji Qingfeng and Lu Xi had exceeded his expectations.
Especially Lu Xi, with more instances of cooperation, he felt her observation skills were gradually improving.
Being used to solo play, encountering this kind of agile support, observation, and control mech that could act as bait...
And this specially manufactured weapon—
An Energy Cannon with Wind attribute enhancement. A-level Anomalous Crystals could achieve this level of effect, and the sensitivity and handling of the weapon were similar to his experience driving Theo's mech. Mech pilots placed the highest importance on the handling of their mechs; even the slightest abnormal feeling could result in vastly different operational outcomes.
You Su suddenly felt that team battles might not be so boring. He was about to leave when he happened to catch a report on the operation system.
Ji Qingfeng, "There's no point wasting time here; let's go help Yao Bao and the others."
Lu Xi was about to follow when she suddenly noticed something and stopped in her tracks. "Wait a moment."
She immediately reported, "You Ge, something seems off about this mountain. I think I saw something strange flash beneath it just now."
Ji Qingfeng noticed that the pointer gauge on the virtual dashboard in his mecha was showing erratic needle movements. "...The magnetic field seems to be acting up a bit strangely. Weird, there wasn't this issue earlier."
You Su stopped abruptly, suddenly noticing something and immediately said, "Get out of that area right now!"
On the outskirts of the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon's Contaminated Zone, several staff members were standing along the road that connected to the repair area. When they saw Ying Chenlin hurrying by, they cast puzzled glances in his direction.
Ying Chenlin hastily stopped in his tracks and asked, "Where's your supervisor?"
"The supervisor is in the control center," one of the staff members said, then hesitated. "Wait! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter the control center."
Before he could stop him, Ying Chenlin had already disappeared down the corridor.
"What's going on!?"
"Hurry, stop that person! The match is still ongoing!"
Ying Chenlin didn't have time to explain much. Once he determined the supervisor's location, he quickly headed towards the control center. The data available at the detection console was limited, and only the control center in the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon would have more detailed test results.
When he saw the abnormality in the magnetic field, he immediately thought of a Black Hole. As a super S-class pollutant, Black Holes were inherently uncertain. They could affect the surrounding magnetic fields, making them undetectable by the Alliance's detection systems, and silently traverse various Contaminated Zones. The abnormal magnetic field they created could form connections to strange dimensions, and many pollutants would crawl through the pathways it opened.
The FS Contaminated Zone incident had caught everyone off guard, as multiple pollution source reports had emerged within FS, the magnetic fields were disrupted, and several mech pilots went missing during operations.
Thinking of this, Ying Chenlin quickened his pace.
This was the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon Contaminated Zone, not a zone with pollution levels exceeding 6000.
He hoped that everything was just a result of his misjudgment.
Inside the control center, the supervisor stood in front of the control console, frowning. "Two more mutated Blood-Devouring Crows?"
"Yes... and it's strange. This mutated Blood-Devouring Crow is exactly the same as the one before, just suddenly appearing." The staff member was busy checking the data. The original Blood-Devouring Crow had suddenly appeared, and they had initially thought it was a mutation from within the Qiu Jin Canyon. But now, another one had appeared. How could multiple mutated Blood-Devouring Crows appear in such a short time? This didn't fit the evolutionary pattern of pollutants.
Pollutants evolved when there were many pollutants in a Contaminated Zone, and almost every minute had pollutants in an evolutionary stage. The detection system would capture special energy fluctuations, and the higher the level of evolution, the more obvious the special fluctuations.
They had gone back to check the fluctuations in the evolution types within the Contaminated Zone before and after the appearance of the Blood-Devouring Crow swarm, but there were no signs of the Blood-Devouring Crow that KID had killed evolving.
Now, during the match, there was a possibility of data capture omission by the system, but this was already the third mutated Blood-Devouring Crow. It was impossible for the system to have no record of all three.
The supervisor sensed the seriousness of the problem. "Immediately package all the data and send it to the Pollution Zone Bureau for data analysis—"
At this moment, a voice came from outside the door.
"Wait, you can't go in."
"I have urgent matters to report. There's an anomaly in the Contaminated Zone."
The door to the control center was opened, and a young man in maintenance attire stood at the entrance. A staff member at the side said, "Director, this person has been insisting on entering, claiming to have urgent matters to report."
Ying Chenlin's gaze fell on the virtual screen inside the control center, where the Blood-Devouring Crow reports were displayed. His pupils contracted. "Three Blood-Devouring Crows?"
The supervisor had a good impression of Ying Chenlin, as he had recently been a great help to them. "Young Mr. Ying, is there something you need? Special anomaly reports can be submitted through the backend. We have staff to handle—"
"You can't identify the Blood-Devouring Crows. There's a flaw in the detection system, and it's affected by high-frequency magnetic interference."
Ying Chenlin quickly said, "Check the abnormal magnetic field reports from the backend system of the preparation area just now."
The supervisor was shocked. "What!?"
The staff member immediately pulled up all the information and quickly found it. "Here—"
He stared at the red abnormal data that had intermittently appeared in the backend system. "During the match between KID and YDS just now, there was an abnormal environmental disturbance detected during the explosion... But what's going on!? The data for this area was normal before, and the mech pilots were operating normally."
"The explosion may have affected the local environment. Something might be near that mountain." The supervisor muttered, "Immediately pull up all reports from the vicinity and investigate them one by one!"
The staff member was about to continue retrieving data when reports of magnetic field abnormalities quickly flooded in like mushrooms after rain. "Large-scale magnetic field anomalies detected in Area A-14! Abnormal surfaces have appeared, and they're expanding. Coordinates are locked, and the closest mechs to the magnetic field anomaly point are four mechs from KID and YDS!"
The supervisor exclaimed, "Activate the emergency readiness system and strengthen all smart base stations."
Since the incident in the Tianyu Star Contaminated Zone, adjustments had been made to the defense systems in Contaminated Zones. To prevent communication loss from happening again, all base stations had been enhanced to boost signals.
However, after they activated the signal enhancement, alarm bells rang continuously inside the control center.
"This is bad!"
"We've captured high-level pollutants through the mechas' competition-time systems!"
The supervisor exclaimed, "What!?"
"It's an S-class pollutant!" The staff member stared at the data, his face growing paler. "Director, not just one S-class report!"
Ying Chenlin's expression froze.
In the Qiu Jin pollution zone, in Area A-14, the entire mountain that had been blasted suddenly started humming and vibrating.
The ground shook and the rocks flew outward. Ji Qingfeng, who was in mid-air, stopped and looked down abruptly. "What's going on!?"
Lu Xi, watching in astonishment, said, "Something doesn't seem right."
"What the hell is happening!?" Ji Qingfeng didn't waste a second. He turned and rushed directly towards the collapsing mountain.
Lu Xi shouted, "Da Feng!"
In the distance, Ke Lin, who was engaged in combat, also noticed the anomaly, and the battle with KID came to a halt.
Outside the pollution zone, the live broadcast room also noticed this scene.
"What's going on? KID is going back to rescue someone!"
"They're not fighting anymore. Something seems to have happened."
"Can you hear me, Hu Luobu?!" Ji Qingfeng used a short blade to remove several rocks and shouted loudly through a loudspeaker. "Answer me if you can hear!"
Below, Hu Luobu's voice, accompanied by crackling electrical noise, came through, but he sounded energetic. "F*ck, you *son you buried me and now you ridicule me? Just you wait; I'll come out and beat you up."
*xiaozi - probably the opposite of laozi
"Ridicule, what a *fart. Send me your location," Ji Qingfeng said urgently, continuing to remove more rocks. "Something's not right about this place—"
*nonsense
Before he could finish speaking, the mech systems of several people displayed abnormal pollutant reports.
[Warning! Abnormal pollution level detected in your area!]
[Detecting fluctuations in pollution level data—4500, 4705... 5158... 5514...]
[Warning! Detection of pollution readings exceeding 6000!]
Hu Luobu, "What the hell!"
Didn't the pollution level in the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon reach a maximum of 5000? How did it suddenly jump to over 6000!
At this moment, Lu Xi, who was rushing from behind, suddenly noticed something. She raised her head and saw a monstrous bird-like pollutant hovering high above the collapsed mountain. The creature was crouched down, its skin uneven and displaying an eerie green-brown color. It had elongated limbs, and its rough back had two large protrusions.
The next moment, the pollutant seemed to notice her, and it split open its fanged maw. The strange skin on its back ruptured, forming a pair of segmented green-brown wings.
The pollutant's wings flapped, kicking up countless stones and debris as it charged toward Lu Xi at an incredibly fast speed.
No! It was too fast! There was no time!
Lu Xi's pupils constricted. When the creature's claws were about to touch her, a sniper shot came swiftly!
A sniper shot struck the creature, and Lu Xi seized the opportunity to quickly retreat, putting some distance between them.
"Fall back!" came the stern voice of You Su. After firing one shot, he quickly followed it up with another.
The creature seemed to notice the new target, its green-yellow eyes locking onto the approaching artillery mech. It emitted a deafening roar. As You Su used the sniper cannon to increase the distance between them, he connected to the external communication channel. "I'm drawing it away. You guys figure out how to rescue them."
Ji Qingfeng pushed aside a pile of rocks and said with full force, "No, did you send the location correctly?"
"Yes," Hu Luobu, buried amidst the rocks, replied urgently. "Who told you to bomb so heavily? Can you dig faster?"
Ji Qingfeng, using all his strength, replied, "...My wife's *bao bei is about to be rolled away!"
*treasured object.
Lu Xi was also helping, "Should we fire another shot?"
Hu Luobu replied, "I don't think that's a good idea."
YDS and other mecha pilots, including KID, rushed to the scene. When Colin saw the blasted mountain, his usually composed face showed a hint of unease. He looked at the departing artillery mech and immediately said to the others, "You guys assist in the rescue; I'll go help Trace."
Meanwhile, the organizing committee from the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon pollution zone issued an emergency alert.
The sudden situation caught everyone's attention, including the mecha pilots still inside the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, as well as the spectators outside. The broadcast room was in chaos, and the leaders on the chairman's platform quickly headed to the monitoring center. Mecha pilots from various bases stood up.
Inside the venue, the staff were informing each other, and more and more people were running around. Jiang Simiao stood up, but Shen Xingtang had already rushed to the preparation area ahead of him.
"What the hell is going on!?"
"What's that creature? It's terrifying!"
"It's too fast!"
Things happened so suddenly. Just a moment ago, everyone was focused on the intense match, and the next moment, the entire situation in the arena had completely changed.
In the Gale Base, Zhao Lejie said in amazement, "This situation doesn't look good, right? The pollutant we saw just now, it's not an ordinary A-class mutant. Its speed is too fast."
In the broadcast room, the commentator received an urgent official notification and quickly said, "We have an emergency announcement. An abnormal magnetic field has been detected inside the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, causing a riot among a large number of pollutants due to magnetic field anomalies. S-class pollutant reports have been detected—"
At this point, he paused for a second and then said with difficulty, "Three S-class pollutant sources have been detected. All on-site spectators at the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon venue are requested to evacuate in an orderly manner under the guidance of defense robots. The Alliance has prepared rescue ships. Please leave the Qiu Jin area immediately!"
The venue started to buzz with activity, and all spectators began to evacuate in an orderly fashion.
"Three of them!? Don't S-class pollutants cost a fortune?"
"Our Dawn team submits a maximum of 50 S-class reports in a year. How is it possible for three of them to appear here all at once?"
"And something's not right. The Qiu Jin pollution zone is only a Level 3 pollution zone. S-class pollutants shouldn't be present here."
"No, we must suspend the advancement match. The current situation doesn't allow for further competition." The director of the Qiu Jin Management Bureau arrived at the monitoring center. "Notify all maintenance personnel to prepare for an emergency, and mobilize a rescue team to enter the pollution zone. Call up the mecha pilots for rescue."
Others questioned, "But, Director, most of the people in the venue are mecha pilots participating in the competition. Many of their mechs are damaged, and only a few mecha pilots can participate in the work."
"There's another urgent matter. The mecha pilots in the competition area have insufficient energy reserves and need immediate energy supply."
The most challenging part was that it was currently the league season, and the powerful mecha teams were all in preparations. It was impossible for them to participate in missions. As for other teams that could join the mission, most of their mechs were in maintenance, making it difficult to mobilize mecha pilots for combat.
The director didn't hesitate, "Immediately send a request to the Alliance for conscription. We need assistance from solo mecha pilots."
The Qiu Jin Grand Canyon announced an emergency suspension of the match, and all mecha bases were called for a meeting. Shen Xingtang passed through the bustling staff and entered the maintenance area, but he didn't see Ying Chenlin.
Several staff members approached Shen Xingtang. "Boss Shen, why are you here? We've been looking for you for a while. We have already notified of a meeting, and we're just waiting for you."
Shen Xingtang frowned slightly but gave up on finding Ying Chenlin. "How is the Alliance handling this situation?"
"An emergency conscription has been issued. Since there are few mecha pilots available for immediate deployment on the team's side, the director has requested assistance from single-unit mecha pilots."
Shen Xingtang noticed that some non-competitor mecha pilots were heading inside. "Is that the rescue team?"
"It's the mecha pilots urgently conscripted from inside the venue." The staff member explained, "An ad hoc rescue team has been organized, and they are currently in the teleportation area."
In the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon teleportation area, a mecha pilot team was getting ready to depart.
The staff member was doing the final registration. A young man stood in front of him. Since the man was still wearing a maintenance suit and had a cap on, his face was not visible. "Hello, this place is very dangerous. Mechanics should go to the nearby preparation area."
Ying Chenlin was in a hurry. He retrieved his advanced mecha pilot certificate from his neural brain, saying, "I'm a mecha pilot and can participate in emergency missions."
The staff member paused, used a recorder to scan his certificate number, and handed him an operation card. "Mr. Mecha Pilot, G-4471 teleportation area is available for you to initiate the teleportation process."
TN:
Ying Chenlin to the rescue!
End of Arc! Next we move on to: Qiu Jin Grand Canyon(Black Hole). You can see the different arcs on the Novel page. If there are more mistakes than usual, it’s because I was in a rush to get done with this arc before I leave for the work thing. Just leave comments or report on discord if there are any mistakes and I’ll fix them when I come back. Also, please don’t subscribe to Patreon! I have no chapters to give you. If I decide to do advance Patreon chapters, I will inform you first. But honestly I don’t think that will ever happen. At least not in the foreseeable future. I’m already struggling enough just to keep up with these updates. I don’t have the time or energy for that.
See you in a month~
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65. Magnetic Field
All eyes were focused on the mountain that had been flattened. The once battlefield now appeared completely different, with YDS's control and artillery mechs nowhere to be seen, leaving the entire space eerily deserted.
"They've been buried!?"
"No elimination notifications... but with the mountain destroyed like that, they're probably buried underneath."
In the ongoing league, no one had seen such a hardcore battle scene.
The mountain had collapsed, burying two mechs.
Being trapped under falling rocks, it would take some time for the two YDS mechs to emerge.
"What exactly is this... Let's slow down and replay the scene." The commentator, shocked at first, quickly regained their composure and immediately replayed the astonishing scene. Upon close examination, just as two sniper shots collided, KID's control mech, Lucy, fired a projectile at a critical moment, one that had never been seen before. The projectile generated a strange vortex upon impact.
In the Gale Base, Qi Sicheng reevaluated, "No, it seems like it's not an attack weapon."
A mech pilot next to him stood up and pointed at the vortex. "Captain Qi, why do I feel like it's using the energy released when the sniper shots collide?"
Zhao Lejie wondered, "Enhancement weapon?"
Outside the arena, Shen Xingtang attentively observed the situation inside, understanding it perfectly.
Naturally, it wasn't an attack weapon; it was a control-enhancing weapon created using S-class Centennial Orchid. The reason it had such a powerful effect was that Lu Xi's fired projectile had harnessed the energy generated by the explosions of the two artillery mechs.
The S-class Centennial Orchid's ability, "Quicksand," was too limited in ordinary scenarios; it required a sandy environment to unleash its maximum potential, forming a sandstorm-like effect.
Quicksand could only be turned into a regular control weapon, similar to slowing down projectiles, which seemed too simple and didn't fully utilize the special properties of S-class anomalous crystals.
So, when designing this weapon, they spent more time focusing on how to maximize the use of "Quicksand" to harness external environmental conditions to increase its power.
Finally, the weapon designer had noticed another unique aspect of "Quicksand," which was the small sand tornadoes that Centennial Orchid had once used to defend against attacks. These were essentially reversed variations of Quicksand, relying on the sandy environment of the Tianyu Star and strong wind currents to create such a powerful attack effect. This raised a new possibility—could Quicksand increase its power not by using a sandy environment but by utilizing external conditions?
Ying Chenlin had employed various methods, ultimately using the vortex-concentrating energy of Quicksand to create this control-enhancing weapon, the "Energy Enhancement Cannon."
The projectiles fired by the Energy Enhancement Cannon had no significant offensive effect, and its control effects in non-sand environments were average. However, its most important function was to use the surrounding environment to its advantage. For example, when the Enhancement Cannon hit a sniper shot, it could use the energy released by the sniper shot as an external condition to enhance its control effect.
Inside the preparation area, other mechanics looked toward KID's inspection platform.
There were no reports of abnormalities regarding other weapons; they confirmed that the weapon projectiles met league requirements. The only energy report indicated the high-energy response generated when the mountain was destroyed just now.
Ying Chenlin still stood there, his gaze fixed on the virtual screen, next to which was a data board.
To cause such extensive damage, it should have been the result of Hu Luobu's tracking shot hitting the mountains on both sides of the canyon multiple times. That's why when Lu Xi's projectile was fired, it had such a massive destructive effect.
However, this level of destruction... the data seemed unusual.
Ying Chenlin paused for a moment, thinking carefully. As a precaution, he decided to check the environmental data. While quickly scanning through the data, he noticed a brief abnormal report flashing on the detection console. He abruptly stopped his reading and scrolled back to the original position.
Ying Chenlin's gaze paused when he saw a red abnormality among a series of green-standard data:
— [Warning! System detects special magnetic field fluctuations!]
This data had only existed for 0.5 seconds, hidden within the massive data generated by the recent explosion.
Without hesitation, he immediately pulled up the details of this energy report, noticing the familiar yet peculiar data report.
Ying Chenlin's hand paused, and he looked back at the virtual simulation scene. His broad view allowed him to see the undulating mountainous terrain in the distance.
After assessing the situation, he returned his gaze to the data list, staring intently at that string of data.
How could this be... This was the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, not the FS Contaminated Zone.
While everyone was fervently discussing KID's weapons, Shen Xingtang's eyes suddenly stopped. "What's going on?" Jiang Simiao noticed Shen Xingtang's unusual expression and followed her gaze to the empty preparation area, where Ying Chenlin was absent.
Shen Xingtang furrowed her brow. She had just seen Ying Chenlin leave the testing platform.
He had left in a hurry, as if something urgent had occurred.
Inside the arena, Ji Qingfeng retrieved his Binding Scythe with a lingering sense of unease. "My goodness, is this weapon really this powerful?"
If he hadn't thrown the scythe so quickly, he and Hu Luobu would have been crushed beneath the falling rocks.
"Nobody's been eliminated yet, but it might take a while for them to get out," Lu Xi remarked as she glanced at her new weapon. The new weapon had only been tested in a virtual environment until now; this was her first time bringing it into a league match.
Because its regular functionality was similar to the Water Cannon but with higher energy consumption and lower accuracy, she hadn't used the new weapon in non-essential situations.
You Su had observed all the scenes of the mountain collapse among them. He couldn't efficiently predict them all, but predicting the movements of an artillery mech wasn't a problem for him. Initially, it was just a suggestion he had made, and he had been prepared for it not to work out. However, the coordination between Ji Qingfeng and Lu Xi had exceeded his expectations.
Especially Lu Xi, with more instances of cooperation, he felt her observation skills were gradually improving.
Being used to solo play, encountering this kind of agile support, observation, and control mech that could act as bait...
And this specially manufactured weapon—
An Energy Cannon with Wind attribute enhancement. A-level Anomalous Crystals could achieve this level of effect, and the sensitivity and handling of the weapon were similar to his experience driving Theo's mech. Mech pilots placed the highest importance on the handling of their mechs; even the slightest abnormal feeling could result in vastly different operational outcomes.
You Su suddenly felt that team battles might not be so boring. He was about to leave when he happened to catch a report on the operation system.
Ji Qingfeng, "There's no point wasting time here; let's go help Yao Bao and the others."
Lu Xi was about to follow when she suddenly noticed something and stopped in her tracks. "Wait a moment."
She immediately reported, "You Ge, something seems off about this mountain. I think I saw something strange flash beneath it just now."
Ji Qingfeng noticed that the pointer gauge on the virtual dashboard in his mecha was showing erratic needle movements. "...The magnetic field seems to be acting up a bit strangely. Weird, there wasn't this issue earlier."
You Su stopped abruptly, suddenly noticing something and immediately said, "Get out of that area right now!"
On the outskirts of the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon's Contaminated Zone, several staff members were standing along the road that connected to the repair area. When they saw Ying Chenlin hurrying by, they cast puzzled glances in his direction.
Ying Chenlin hastily stopped in his tracks and asked, "Where's your supervisor?"
"The supervisor is in the control center," one of the staff members said, then hesitated. "Wait! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter the control center."
Before he could stop him, Ying Chenlin had already disappeared down the corridor.
"What's going on!?"
"Hurry, stop that person! The match is still ongoing!"
Ying Chenlin didn't have time to explain much. Once he determined the supervisor's location, he quickly headed towards the control center. The data available at the detection console was limited, and only the control center in the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon would have more detailed test results.
When he saw the abnormality in the magnetic field, he immediately thought of a Black Hole. As a super S-class pollutant, Black Holes were inherently uncertain. They could affect the surrounding magnetic fields, making them undetectable by the Alliance's detection systems, and silently traverse various Contaminated Zones. The abnormal magnetic field they created could form connections to strange dimensions, and many pollutants would crawl through the pathways it opened.
The FS Contaminated Zone incident had caught everyone off guard, as multiple pollution source reports had emerged within FS, the magnetic fields were disrupted, and several mech pilots went missing during operations.
Thinking of this, Ying Chenlin quickened his pace.
This was the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon Contaminated Zone, not a zone with pollution levels exceeding 6000.
He hoped that everything was just a result of his misjudgment.
Inside the control center, the supervisor stood in front of the control console, frowning. "Two more mutated Blood-Devouring Crows?"
"Yes... and it's strange. This mutated Blood-Devouring Crow is exactly the same as the one before, just suddenly appearing." The staff member was busy checking the data. The original Blood-Devouring Crow had suddenly appeared, and they had initially thought it was a mutation from within the Qiu Jin Canyon. But now, another one had appeared. How could multiple mutated Blood-Devouring Crows appear in such a short time? This didn't fit the evolutionary pattern of pollutants.
Pollutants evolved when there were many pollutants in a Contaminated Zone, and almost every minute had pollutants in an evolutionary stage. The detection system would capture special energy fluctuations, and the higher the level of evolution, the more obvious the special fluctuations.
They had gone back to check the fluctuations in the evolution types within the Contaminated Zone before and after the appearance of the Blood-Devouring Crow swarm, but there were no signs of the Blood-Devouring Crow that KID had killed evolving.
Now, during the match, there was a possibility of data capture omission by the system, but this was already the third mutated Blood-Devouring Crow. It was impossible for the system to have no record of all three.
The supervisor sensed the seriousness of the problem. "Immediately package all the data and send it to the Pollution Zone Bureau for data analysis—"
At this moment, a voice came from outside the door.
"Wait, you can't go in."
"I have urgent matters to report. There's an anomaly in the Contaminated Zone."
The door to the control center was opened, and a young man in maintenance attire stood at the entrance. A staff member at the side said, "Director, this person has been insisting on entering, claiming to have urgent matters to report."
Ying Chenlin's gaze fell on the virtual screen inside the control center, where the Blood-Devouring Crow reports were displayed. His pupils contracted. "Three Blood-Devouring Crows?"
The supervisor had a good impression of Ying Chenlin, as he had recently been a great help to them. "Young Mr. Ying, is there something you need? Special anomaly reports can be submitted through the backend. We have staff to handle—"
"You can't identify the Blood-Devouring Crows. There's a flaw in the detection system, and it's affected by high-frequency magnetic interference."
Ying Chenlin quickly said, "Check the abnormal magnetic field reports from the backend system of the preparation area just now."
The supervisor was shocked. "What!?"
The staff member immediately pulled up all the information and quickly found it. "Here—"
He stared at the red abnormal data that had intermittently appeared in the backend system. "During the match between KID and YDS just now, there was an abnormal environmental disturbance detected during the explosion... But what's going on!? The data for this area was normal before, and the mech pilots were operating normally."
"The explosion may have affected the local environment. Something might be near that mountain." The supervisor muttered, "Immediately pull up all reports from the vicinity and investigate them one by one!"
The staff member was about to continue retrieving data when reports of magnetic field abnormalities quickly flooded in like mushrooms after rain. "Large-scale magnetic field anomalies detected in Area A-14! Abnormal surfaces have appeared, and they're expanding. Coordinates are locked, and the closest mechs to the magnetic field anomaly point are four mechs from KID and YDS!"
The supervisor exclaimed, "Activate the emergency readiness system and strengthen all smart base stations."
Since the incident in the Tianyu Star Contaminated Zone, adjustments had been made to the defense systems in Contaminated Zones. To prevent communication loss from happening again, all base stations had been enhanced to boost signals.
However, after they activated the signal enhancement, alarm bells rang continuously inside the control center.
"This is bad!"
"We've captured high-level pollutants through the mechas' competition-time systems!"
The supervisor exclaimed, "What!?"
"It's an S-class pollutant!" The staff member stared at the data, his face growing paler. "Director, not just one S-class report!"
Ying Chenlin's expression froze.
In the Qiu Jin pollution zone, in Area A-14, the entire mountain that had been blasted suddenly started humming and vibrating.
The ground shook and the rocks flew outward. Ji Qingfeng, who was in mid-air, stopped and looked down abruptly. "What's going on!?"
Lu Xi, watching in astonishment, said, "Something doesn't seem right."
"What the hell is happening!?" Ji Qingfeng didn't waste a second. He turned and rushed directly towards the collapsing mountain.
Lu Xi shouted, "Da Feng!"
In the distance, Ke Lin, who was engaged in combat, also noticed the anomaly, and the battle with KID came to a halt.
Outside the pollution zone, the live broadcast room also noticed this scene.
"What's going on? KID is going back to rescue someone!"
"They're not fighting anymore. Something seems to have happened."
"Can you hear me, Hu Luobu?!" Ji Qingfeng used a short blade to remove several rocks and shouted loudly through a loudspeaker. "Answer me if you can hear!"
Below, Hu Luobu's voice, accompanied by crackling electrical noise, came through, but he sounded energetic. "F*ck, you *son you buried me and now you ridicule me? Just you wait; I'll come out and beat you up."
*xiaozi - probably the opposite of laozi
"Ridicule, what a *fart. Send me your location," Ji Qingfeng said urgently, continuing to remove more rocks. "Something's not right about this place—"
*nonsense
Before he could finish speaking, the mech systems of several people displayed abnormal pollutant reports.
[Warning! Abnormal pollution level detected in your area!]
[Detecting fluctuations in pollution level data—4500, 4705... 5158... 5514...]
[Warning! Detection of pollution readings exceeding 6000!]
Hu Luobu, "What the hell!"
Didn't the pollution level in the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon reach a maximum of 5000? How did it suddenly jump to over 6000!
At this moment, Lu Xi, who was rushing from behind, suddenly noticed something. She raised her head and saw a monstrous bird-like pollutant hovering high above the collapsed mountain. The creature was crouched down, its skin uneven and displaying an eerie green-brown color. It had elongated limbs, and its rough back had two large protrusions.
The next moment, the pollutant seemed to notice her, and it split open its fanged maw. The strange skin on its back ruptured, forming a pair of segmented green-brown wings.
The pollutant's wings flapped, kicking up countless stones and debris as it charged toward Lu Xi at an incredibly fast speed.
No! It was too fast! There was no time!
Lu Xi's pupils constricted. When the creature's claws were about to touch her, a sniper shot came swiftly!
A sniper shot struck the creature, and Lu Xi seized the opportunity to quickly retreat, putting some distance between them.
"Fall back!" came the stern voice of You Su. After firing one shot, he quickly followed it up with another.
The creature seemed to notice the new target, its green-yellow eyes locking onto the approaching artillery mech. It emitted a deafening roar. As You Su used the sniper cannon to increase the distance between them, he connected to the external communication channel. "I'm drawing it away. You guys figure out how to rescue them."
Ji Qingfeng pushed aside a pile of rocks and said with full force, "No, did you send the location correctly?"
"Yes," Hu Luobu, buried amidst the rocks, replied urgently. "Who told you to bomb so heavily? Can you dig faster?"
Ji Qingfeng, using all his strength, replied, "...My wife's *bao bei is about to be rolled away!"
*treasured object.
Lu Xi was also helping, "Should we fire another shot?"
Hu Luobu replied, "I don't think that's a good idea."
YDS and other mecha pilots, including KID, rushed to the scene. When Colin saw the blasted mountain, his usually composed face showed a hint of unease. He looked at the departing artillery mech and immediately said to the others, "You guys assist in the rescue; I'll go help Trace."
Meanwhile, the organizing committee from the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon pollution zone issued an emergency alert.
The sudden situation caught everyone's attention, including the mecha pilots still inside the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, as well as the spectators outside. The broadcast room was in chaos, and the leaders on the chairman's platform quickly headed to the monitoring center. Mecha pilots from various bases stood up.
Inside the venue, the staff were informing each other, and more and more people were running around. Jiang Simiao stood up, but Shen Xingtang had already rushed to the preparation area ahead of him.
"What the hell is going on!?"
"What's that creature? It's terrifying!"
"It's too fast!"
Things happened so suddenly. Just a moment ago, everyone was focused on the intense match, and the next moment, the entire situation in the arena had completely changed.
In the Gale Base, Zhao Lejie said in amazement, "This situation doesn't look good, right? The pollutant we saw just now, it's not an ordinary A-class mutant. Its speed is too fast."
In the broadcast room, the commentator received an urgent official notification and quickly said, "We have an emergency announcement. An abnormal magnetic field has been detected inside the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon, causing a riot among a large number of pollutants due to magnetic field anomalies. S-class pollutant reports have been detected—"
At this point, he paused for a second and then said with difficulty, "Three S-class pollutant sources have been detected. All on-site spectators at the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon venue are requested to evacuate in an orderly manner under the guidance of defense robots. The Alliance has prepared rescue ships. Please leave the Qiu Jin area immediately!"
The venue started to buzz with activity, and all spectators began to evacuate in an orderly fashion.
"Three of them!? Don't S-class pollutants cost a fortune?"
"Our Dawn team submits a maximum of 50 S-class reports in a year. How is it possible for three of them to appear here all at once?"
"And something's not right. The Qiu Jin pollution zone is only a Level 3 pollution zone. S-class pollutants shouldn't be present here."
"No, we must suspend the advancement match. The current situation doesn't allow for further competition." The director of the Qiu Jin Management Bureau arrived at the monitoring center. "Notify all maintenance personnel to prepare for an emergency, and mobilize a rescue team to enter the pollution zone. Call up the mecha pilots for rescue."
Others questioned, "But, Director, most of the people in the venue are mecha pilots participating in the competition. Many of their mechs are damaged, and only a few mecha pilots can participate in the work."
"There's another urgent matter. The mecha pilots in the competition area have insufficient energy reserves and need immediate energy supply."
The most challenging part was that it was currently the league season, and the powerful mecha teams were all in preparations. It was impossible for them to participate in missions. As for other teams that could join the mission, most of their mechs were in maintenance, making it difficult to mobilize mecha pilots for combat.
The director didn't hesitate, "Immediately send a request to the Alliance for conscription. We need assistance from solo mecha pilots."
The Qiu Jin Grand Canyon announced an emergency suspension of the match, and all mecha bases were called for a meeting. Shen Xingtang passed through the bustling staff and entered the maintenance area, but he didn't see Ying Chenlin.
Several staff members approached Shen Xingtang. "Boss Shen, why are you here? We've been looking for you for a while. We have already notified of a meeting, and we're just waiting for you."
Shen Xingtang frowned slightly but gave up on finding Ying Chenlin. "How is the Alliance handling this situation?"
"An emergency conscription has been issued. Since there are few mecha pilots available for immediate deployment on the team's side, the director has requested assistance from single-unit mecha pilots."
Shen Xingtang noticed that some non-competitor mecha pilots were heading inside. "Is that the rescue team?"
"It's the mecha pilots urgently conscripted from inside the venue." The staff member explained, "An ad hoc rescue team has been organized, and they are currently in the teleportation area."
In the Qiu Jin Grand Canyon teleportation area, a mecha pilot team was getting ready to depart.
The staff member was doing the final registration. A young man stood in front of him. Since the man was still wearing a maintenance suit and had a cap on, his face was not visible. "Hello, this place is very dangerous. Mechanics should go to the nearby preparation area."
Ying Chenlin was in a hurry. He retrieved his advanced mecha pilot certificate from his neural brain, saying, "I'm a mecha pilot and can participate in emergency missions."
The staff member paused, used a recorder to scan his certificate number, and handed him an operation card. "Mr. Mecha Pilot, G-4471 teleportation area is available for you to initiate the teleportation process."
TN:
Ying Chenlin to the rescue!
End of Arc! Next we move on to: Qiu Jin Grand Canyon(Black Hole). You can see the different arcs on the Novel page. If there are more mistakes than usual, it’s because I was in a rush to get done with this arc before I leave for the work thing. Just leave comments or report on discord if there are any mistakes and I’ll fix them when I come back. Also, please don’t subscribe to Patreon! I have no chapters to give you. If I decide to do advance Patreon chapters, I will inform you first. But honestly I don’t think that will ever happen. At least not in the foreseeable future. I’m already struggling enough just to keep up with these updates. I don’t have the time or energy for that.
See you in a month~
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