Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ares Empire, Tian Shu Star.

With a hiss, the door of the holographic simulation chamber slid open, and a tall, blond young man scrambled out, stumbling towards the bedroom door.

His window framed a view of numerous floating islands of various sizes, adorned with majestic buildings. At the highest point was a rugged cliff with a transparent waterfall cascading down, surrounded by lush, dense trees.

The blond young man was indifferent to the dreamlike scenery; to be precise, he was almost tired of it. He pushed open the bedroom door without pausing and strode down the corridor.

A lion, dozing outside the door, suddenly opened its eyes. Its fur shimmered with a golden glow. With a gentle shake of its ears, it stretched out and plopped down beside the young man's feet, whimpering affectionately.

"Good boy, move aside, I have urgent business with the old man. I'll play with you when I return."

The lion, as if understanding, stood up, shook its thick mane, circled the young man twice, and gradually dissipated into golden light specks beside him.

The young man took a deep breath and pushed open one heavy, carved wooden door after another along the corridor, bursting into the study and exclaiming, "Father—I saw His Majesty in the City of No Boundaries!"

Both men sitting face-to-face in the study turned to look at him. Only then did the young man realize his father had a guest. The lavishly dressed guest was seated in the place of honor, while his father, dignified and respectful, sat to the side, glaring at him with a furrowed brow so deep it could trap a fly.

The young man's gaze sharpened on the figure seated in the principal seat—

He was an extremely handsome youth, whose beauty was almost aggressively striking. With silver hair and blue eyes, his age was difficult to discern. Half his body was shrouded in shadows, as if everything around him remained silent without his permission, only the golden sash and the Passiflora Star Medal on his chest reflecting a dazzling light.

He raised his eyebrows slightly, showing a hint of impatience as he moved his fingertips, snapping the blond young man out of his reverie.

The young man's tongue tied again: "Your Majesty..."

He wished he could slap himself.

What's going on? If His Majesty is here, then who did he just see in the City of No Boundaries? A ghost?!

After successfully registering at the Mech Pilots Alliance Conference, Bai Sha received a personal electronic information card. Loading the card into her holographic brain added a Mech Pilots Alliance Conference emblem to it.

Bai Sha clicked on the gear emblem wrapped in gold and red flames, revealing a list of members of the Mech Pilots Alliance Conference, each with a level ranging from level 1 to level 6, the lowest being “New Member” and the highest “Legendary Master.”

"Different levels of members can collect different points each month," the bespectacled brown-haired youth explained enthusiastically. "Points can be earned through answering questions, accepting commissions, participating in mech design competitions, and more. Once you accumulate enough points, you can exchange them for mech materials or even inheritance blueprints from master level mech pilots in the points mall."

Bai Sha opened the points mall and browsed casually, noting the diverse range of materials from C grade to the highest S grade, although the points required for S grade materials were astonishingly high. She even spotted a piece of “Ghost Insect Bone” in the S grade materials list.

"The materials in the points mall are updated periodically, so if you see something you want, you should act fast—sometimes, if you're short on points, you can borrow from others to make up the difference," the brown-haired youth leaned in and said with a hint of sentimentality. "Take this Ghost Insect Bone, for example. Ghost Insects are extremely rare, and this bone is a new addition to the mall from last month. It's said to have come from a remote star field and made its way into the hands of the Mech Pilots Alliance Conference, making it very precious."

Bai Sha: "..."

Bai Sha felt that seeing the words “Ghost Insect” again would make her heart ache to the point of breathlessness.

Zhou Xiang, standing beside her, considerately closed the points mall.

"This is our Alliance Conference's communication section," the brown-haired youth pointed to another emblem in the shape of auspicious clouds on the interface. Bai Sha opened it as instructed and listened as he continued, "In the communication section, you can freely post and discuss issues. Posts prefixed with gold coins are bounties for answers. The number of gold coins represents the number of points. Answer the question, and if the poster is satisfied, the corresponding points will be transferred directly to your account. Of course, targeted invitations for bounties are also supported. When you post, you can specify who you want to answer your question."

As if to demonstrate, the brown-haired youth quickly opened his holographic brain and sent a targeted invitation to Bai Sha in the communication section.

[Alliance member 'Van Eld' has sent a targeted bounty question to 'Earning Money Isn't Easy'.]

[Bounty amount: 100 points.]

A hundred points seemed enough to buy a B-grade metal material in the mall.

Bai Sha was a bit surprised, "Did you accidentally add an extra zero?"

"Absolutely not," the brown-haired youth shook his head. "I’ve been working at the registration desk for a year, and you are the first mech pilot to give a perfect answer. The extra area you circled, I also had some vague ideas for improvement but lacked a clear direction. The idea you shared is definitely worth these hundred points."

Although he said this, Bai Sha could tell the design blueprint was quite old, and with the rapid development of mech technology, her suggestions were not very practical, at best providing some experiential inspiration in design thinking. A hundred points were a good profit for her.

To provide an answer worthy of these hundred points, Bai Sha and the youth discussed for half an hour.

Zhou Xiang didn't quite understand what they were talking about. The brown-haired youth tried to ask for his opinion at one point, but upon learning that he wasn’t a mech pilot, he ignored Zhou Xiang for the rest of the discussion.

When the discussion finally ended, the youth still seemed eager to continue. He adjusted his glasses and humbly sent Bai Sha a friend request.

"Just call me Van Eld," the brown-haired youth nodded. "How should I address you? Um... 'Master Money-Earner' or 'Master Easy'?"

"…Whichever you prefer," Bai Sha replied. "I’m not usually free to come here, so let's just keep in touch online."

"Okay," Van Eld replied with a perfectly timed smile. "I wish you find like-minded friends in the Mech Pilots Alliance Conference."

After completing the registration, Bai Sha and Zhou Xiang visited the conference’s Mech Exhibition Hall, showcasing various classic masterpieces in mech history—all in holographic projection form. Bai Sha recognized a few mechs now housed in military departments or major military academies. Most of the other works, being the legacies of master mech pilots, were privately owned by their descendants, scattered to unknown locations. Contemporary mech pilots couldn’t even touch these works, let alone study their structures, and had to be content with old video materials.

"I hope my works will also be displayed here one day," Bai Sha said, mesmerized by the formidable mechs. "I won't let them gather dust for future generations."

"You can do it," Zhou Xiang affirmed. "At such a young age, you already have the skills of an intermediate level mech pilot. Your future achievements will surely be significant."

To apply for a mech pilot license, one must be of age—a problem both Zhou Ying and Bai Sha had grappled with. Zhou Ying used to complain about the Federal Mech Pilots Association's archaic ways, judging a pilot's ability solely by age and experience. Knowing that the City of No Boundaries' Mech Pilots Alliance Conference required a license for membership, Zhou Ying, in a fit of pique, had stopped visiting the City altogether.

Zhou Xiang kept thinking about Zhou Ying today.

That proud Zhou Ying.

Lost in the mech projections, Bai Sha was thoroughly enjoying herself when she turned to see Zhou Xiang daydreaming. Concerned, she asked, "Are you alright? Are you tired? I'm sorry, I got too excited today and kept you up."

It was clear Zhou Xiang wasn't a first-timer in the City of No Boundaries. If not for Bai Sha's eagerness to visit, they could have come at any time without staying up all night wandering around the City.

"Let's log off for now," Bai Sha suggested. "I'm about to crash too. Let's go back and catch up on sleep. We can come back another day."

Zhou Xiang nodded agreeably, his eyebrows slightly lowered.

They said their goodbyes and logged off together.

Once out of the City of No Boundaries, Bai Sha turned off her holographic brain, removed all the external sensory devices, and lay back in bed, noticing the faint dawn light in the sky. Though not very tired, she forced herself to sleep.

In her dream, she revisited her old job and the design blueprint she had completed before her journey. Then came a series of bizarre visions: practicing combat with Jing Yi and Ya Ning, then returning to Han Bo Star to fight the insect race. Finally, her consciousness merged with the silent starry sea she had glimpsed from the starship, twinkling along with the infinite cosmos—

"Tweet, tweet, tweet-tweet-tweet!"

Bai Sha abruptly opened her eyes.

Only upon waking did she feel the exhaustion from staying up late. Checking her wrist-mounted holographic brain, it was only nine o'clock. She had gone to sleep at four in the morning.

Indeed, staying up late is never a good idea at any age. She had stayed up so late that she started hallucinating, hearing a cacophony of bird chirps in her ears.

Bai Sha even wondered if the condition she had as a child, fainting from exhaustion, was resurfacing.

Teacher Liao asked, "Didn't go to class today?"

Bai Sha replied while brushing her teeth, "Mhm, made up an excuse to take a leave."

Teacher Liao said, "Come to the repair shop when you're free, there's a big job waiting."

Bai Sha grabbed a towel to dry off and decisively headed out to the repair shop.

Over the years, the mention of making money always spurred her into action.

Upon arriving at Old Liao's repair shop, Bai Sha found two other people there.

"Here you are? Let me introduce you, this is my apprentice, Bai Sha," Old Liao pushed Bai Sha towards them. "Bai Sha, this is Freeman, a G2-level fighter from the underground boxing ring, and his companion, Alan Mogg—"

Bai Sha looked up and recognized two familiar figures.

She knew Freeman, a rising star in the underground boxing scene. The last time she visited a branch venue, his ads and fight information were plastered everywhere. Freeman, a heavyweight fighter, was straightforward and thunderous in the ring, known for his fiery style.

As for Alan Mogg in the suit, Bai Sha had seen him once before, the actuary who persuaded Jing Yi to stay longer at the G4 venue.

"Good morning, gentlemen."

Bai Sha decided to pretend it was their first meeting, greeting them with a calm demeanor. Alan's poor acting skills were apparent, his smile collapsing the moment he saw Bai Sha.

"Hello," Freeman's voice was gruff and deep, but he was easy to talk to, greeting her with a hearty laugh. "I’ve heard Old Liao's prized apprentice is a young lady, but I didn't expect her to be this young!"

Freeman's large hand patted Bai Sha's shoulder, and noticing her unwavering stance, realized she was also a trained fighter. His smile grew even broader.

"Age is just a detail. She’s been taking jobs here for quite some time, you might have heard about her reputation," Old Liao settled into a folding chair, frowning at Alan Mogg. "But Mr. Alan, have you met my apprentice before?"

All eyes turned to Alan's face.

Allen's cheeks paled slightly, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he struggled to speak. However, Baisha took the lead: "We met once in an underground boxing ring, a brief encounter."

"Yes," Allen replied with a somewhat stiff smile, "a brief encounter."

"You know each other? That makes things easier," Freeman said straightforwardly. "Then, I’ll leave the supervision of the equipment customization to you, Morgan. I’ll consider your request to join my team."

Allen agreed, though his expression remained somewhat unnatural.

"You haven't said what you want to customize," Baisha opened her cyber-brain to draft a contract – it was her habit to sign contracts for any custom orders from her. "Let's start with your requirements."

"Here’s the thing: the trend for equipment enhancement in underground boxing rings is becoming more apparent. The exoskeleton suit I customized half a year ago is almost outdated," Freeman came prepared, sending Baisha a table with his body data and the desired enhancements for the equipment. "I’ve heard that the mechanical equipment customized at Old Liao’s is exceptionally sturdy, and that’s what I need. This is about my life and livelihood."

"There are specific modification regulations for mechanical equipment in the underground boxing rings. Send me those as well. I don’t want to accidentally use some new metal or welding technique and get you disqualified," Baisha suggested, stroking her chin.

Freeman: "Hold on, sending it now."

"Alright," Baisha pondered for a moment, then asked, "Besides achieving the enhancement goals, do you have any other specific requirements? Like the design or style of the equipment."

Freeman: "Design and style? The flashier, the better. Ideally, when I fight, there should be sparks and lightning for the maximum visual impact. Honestly, in our line of work, insiders appreciate the skill, but outsiders look for excitement. I want to win not just the fight, but win with style and flair."

"Then I have another alternative proposal for you," Baisha looked up, her blue eyes deep like the ocean under a clear sky, calm yet with hidden depths. "Forget the exoskeleton. How about full-body mechanical armor? Interested?"

Freeman, taken aback, asked: "Mechanical armor? Won’t it affect mobility?"

"No, it's my unique design, one of a kind," Baisha projected a design blueprint into mid-air. "I drew this after watching a match at the boxing ring. It’s a lightweight alloy mechanical armor, powered by electromagnetic mechanics at the joints, making movement even more effortless. Most importantly, it’s fully detachable. While durable, parts can be modified as needed. Plus, I can add special effects – absolutely safe, but flashy enough to make a statement."

Freeman's eyes widened as he leaned in, murmuring in awe, "Wow, this thing looks somewhat like a humanoid mech, doesn’t it?"

Baisha: "……"

"Ahem." Baisha coughed awkwardly. "If you don’t like it, we can revert to the conservative option."

"Forget conservative!" Freeman exclaimed, stars in his eyes. "I love this cool, bold style! Name your price, I’ll take it! How about 300,000 star credits?!"

Old Liao, sitting nearby, raised his eyebrows. He knew Freeman well; 300,000 star credits was about half of Freeman’s entire fortune.

Bai Sha slowly revealed a warm, spring-like smile, took Freeman's hand with one of her own, and said warmly, "Deal."

Teacher Liao / Alan: "..."

Fifteen minutes later, an excited Freeman and a complex-faced Alan left the repair shop together.

Old Liao asked Bai Sha with some puzzlement, "What's the deal with that Alan? Why did he look like he'd seen a ghost when he saw you?"

"That Alan is an actuary. He wanted to conspire with Jing Yi to fix a match, but she refused him," Bai Sha said, still smiling at the 150,000 down payment in her account. "I think he wants to tag along with Freeman, probably afraid I'll spill his dark past and hinder his chances of climbing the social ladder."

"That's Freeman for you, bold but not meticulous enough," Old Liao shook his head and sighed.

"Is he your friend? You should have told me earlier; I could have given him a discount," Bai Sha said with a smile. "But now that the contract is signed, I can only do my best on the armor."

At that moment, the sound of rolling wheels came from their feet. A small green robot with a tray brought them two cups of honey water, emitting a high-pitched mechanical voice: "Drink—water."

"Thank you, Gua Gua," Bai Sha happily took the honey water, feeling even sweeter than the drink.

Old Liao also took a sip, his mechanical eye device silently rotating twice before he let out a long sigh, "Still too green, I guess."

Bai Sha: "?"

Old Liao elaborated slowly, "Have you ever thought about selling the design of this armor to the underground boxing ring, or even applying for a patent? Let those mechanics pay you a licensing fee."

Bai Sha: "..." Right.

She could have been earning money effortlessly.

The deal she just made, though worth 300,000, had high costs too, leaving her with not much in the way of profit.

Once a star fighter like Freeman started using the new equipment, other mechanics would surely dissect and imitate her design day and night.

But with the contract already signed with Freeman, it not only bound him but her as well. In essence, it was a custom product; once done, she couldn't resell an identical design in the short term. When imitators would be everywhere, Freeman wouldn't have the right to collect "design reference fees" on her behalf—

What a loss!

Bai Sha suddenly felt utterly disheartened.

Baisha realized she should have kept the core data to herself, a basic rule for designers like her. But having been a basic mechanic for so long and not dealing with major transactions, she inadvertently gave away the entire design.

"Never mind, it's okay," she said, looking down and reassuring herself with hypnotic calm, "I only spent two hours on that design. It’s not a loss. Not a loss."

Old Liao: "……"

"Not a loss, my foot! You just lost big time! Teacher, why didn’t you stop me! Ahhh!" Baisha lamented.

Old Liao chuckled coldly: "I told you, Freeman is a friend of mine."

Baisha: "But I'm your student! Aren’t you concerned at all about your student being so poor?"

The two quarreled intensely, while a small robot at their feet sensed something amiss. It quietly moved to the corner with its tray, puzzled by the dramatic emotional swings of the humans. Its lights flickered, tilting its head with a confused sigh:

"Quack?"

……

Two years later.

Baisha sat in the cockpit of the mech, her hands swiftly maneuvering across the holographic screens.

A vast desert under a solitary moon. She steered the silver mech, surfing swiftly over the soft dunes, her metal arrows aimed at two giant red-eyed wolves. Whoosh, whoosh, the twin arrows flew, striking their hearts with pinpoint accuracy.

Two giant wolves whimpered and then tumbled down into the depths of the sand dunes.

Piloting her mech, Baisha turned into the wind. The sandstorm that had risen out of nowhere obscured her vision. She pulled out a metal arrow and shot it without hesitation towards a spot behind the sand wall. The moment the arrow pierced the wall, the surrounding air seemed to freeze momentarily, and the flying sand particles suddenly fell straight down as if weightless, revealing a centipede-like giant insect, three times the height of a person, with a circle of white fangs in its mouth, screaming madly at Baisha—

Baisha slightly sidestepped, dodging the giant insect's mentally charged sonic attack.

Drawing her long sword, she flipped to the side, maneuvering behind the giant insect, driving the sword through its body into its spine.

The giant insect struggled, writhing. Baisha slowly pushed the sword deeper into its spinal cord, silently counting in her head.

One, two, three…

The giant insect twisted its upper body, its black limbs converging on Baisha, attempting to trap her.

She calmly drew her gun with the other hand, shooting down the flailing limbs one by one, with unerring accuracy.

"Eight, nine, ten..."

After ten seconds, a thick white fluid mixed with dark green blood gushed from the wound inflicted by the long sword, flowing wantonly over the giant insect's black scales.

With a long howl, the giant insect finally collapsed heavily to the ground, lifeless.

Baisha landed, pulled out her sword, and flicked the blood off the blade.

A settlement panel then appeared in front of her.

"Time taken for this challenge: one minute and twelve seconds."

"Mech damage rate: 1%."

[Real-time attack values of the weapon...]

Baisha reviewed the data line by line, saved the archive, and then pressed the exit button.

The desert, moonlight, corpses, and even the mech itself, all the scenery gradually faded, ultimately returning to a pure white space.

This was already countless times that Baisha had entered the chip's simulated mech piloting program.

In fact, this chip was quite intelligent: each assessment featured different terrains, climates and weather conditions, and even various monsters for attacks, with no fixed pattern in the number, location, and timing of the monsters' appearances. This ensured the maximum variability in combat. However, with just these few types of monsters and their fixed attack patterns, it was easy to grow tired of killing them.

This led Baisha to start using a variety of weapons, attacking different parts of these monsters and finding creative ways to kill them, sometimes even timing the difference in killing them using different methods.

If Baisha's guess was correct, the monsters in this chip actually existed in reality. Although they might not be encountered on the battlefield, it was definitely beneficial to accumulate experience in advance.

Baisha exited the virtual space, removed her light-sensitive glasses, and said to Jingyi sitting beside her, "This time it took me one minute and twelve seconds."

"Not bad, a new record," Jingyi, who was busy solving problems, nodded and said, "I'll take my turn next."

Two years had passed, and Jingyi and Yaning had also repeated the chip's courses countless times. But they were about to face the unified selection exam for the military academy, which included not only practical military operations but also other subjects like Federal History, Military Theory, Mechanical Basics, and Combat Safety, accounting for thirty percent of the total score. To get into the Central Military Academy, one needed to score at least eighty-five percent. Thus, they could only frantically solve problems to ensure a secure pass.

These subjects were Baisha's forte, best left unmentioned. Jingyi's performance was also quite stable, the only problem being Yaning, who always made inexplicable mistakes in Mechanical Basics. According to him, it might be due to his innate incompatibility with machinery, which led to errors in mechanical drawing questions that seemed like free points to Baisha.

"I think I need to start with learning how to draw lines," Yaning said, biting his pen, "Take a look at this diagram."

Baisha leaned over, silent for two seconds: "You've connected the wires wrong."

Yaning: "I knew it—"

"Stop making a fuss," Jingyi said, putting on the external sensory device, "I'm going to start breaking records now."

"Why do you all get to use the light-brain while I'm stuck drawing all the time?" Yaning protested, "I haven't touched the light-brain for three days." "You'll get to use it when you can draw the lines correctly," Baisha said earnestly, patting his shoulder.

Actually, Yaning did have his own light-brain, but it was almost as basic as Baisha's first one and lacked advanced features.

"Beep beep."

Suddenly, Yaning's light-brain flashed with streaming lights. He gathered his slightly long red hair to the back of his head, tying it into a messy bun, and, pen in mouth, bent down to open the holographic screen of the light-brain, which was flickering with new messages: it was their class group buzzing.

"Damn—"

Yaning exclaimed softly, nearly jumping up.

"What happened?"

Baisha and Jingyi, startled by him, both put down what they were doing and leaned in to see.

"People from Roden Star have arrived!" Yaning said excitedly, unable to hide his thrill, "It’s the ‘Preparatory Class Enhancement Program’ launched by the 13th Military District. People from Roden Star are bringing us mechs!"

"...A real mech!"