Chapter 12: The New Mecha

“Damn it! Someone just used old Feng’s junk mech to beat an A-class mech!!!”

A man ran through the hall, shouting loudly.

This was the area where the black market management was located.

His shout immediately drew everyone’s attention, heads popping out of their rooms.

“What? A junk mech beat an A-class mech?”

“Is it the one made by old Feng?”

“No way, someone actually used it?”

“Wait, old Feng’s mech is really that powerful?”

“Wasn’t his mech barely even D-class? They only gave it a D rating for appearances.”

“Never thought old Feng, despite being a bit crazy, actually made something impressive.”

“Yeah, I thought he only made junk. Last time, I politely suggested the mayor kick him out, but he refused.”

“Damn, I thought the mayor kept him out of respect for the elderly, but turns out there’s more to it.”

“If it was really useful, why didn’t we know?”

“Exactly, during tests, those mechs were garbage! They couldn’t even defeat the lowest-level D-class!”

…

The shouting man suddenly pushed open old Feng’s exclusive workshop door, startling Feng, who was still tinkering with an assembly machine.

Just as Feng was about to lose his temper, the man shouted, “Old Feng! Someone just used your mech to beat an A-class mech!!!”

Old Feng’s eyes widened in shock, frozen on the spot, and the wrench in his hand slipped to the ground.

Seeing no response after a long moment, the man waved his hand in front of Feng’s face, puzzled.

Suddenly, old Feng burst into wild laughter, jumping up and down with madness written all over his face.

“Hahaha! I told you! My mech is the best!!!”

He grabbed the man’s hand fiercely, demanding, “Who was it? Who used my mech to win?!”

Though the man knew Feng was always a bit unhinged, he was still startled.

He stammered, “It was—it was that someone.”

“Which someone?”

“Just that someone.”

“Who?”

“That someone.”

“Who exactly!”

“Oh, just that someone!”

Old Feng angrily shook the man’s hand off. “Fine, if you won’t say, then take me there! I want to meet that someone!”

Unable to clarify further, the man led Feng towards the arena.

Before leaving, Feng grabbed the mech from the workbench.

…

Elsewhere, after winning the match, Lian Fei returned to Lilith’s private room.

Lilith looked at Lian Fei, unable to hide her smile.

“You’re really impressive,” Lilith said with a grin.

Lian Fei acknowledged and sank back onto the sofa.

Lilith asked again, “How do you feel?”

Lian Fei scratched her cheek. “It was okay, just that it drained the mech a lot.”

It wasn’t very difficult to fight, just that her mech was inferior.

Fortunately, she could somewhat compensate with her own abilities.

If only she had a better mech.

But thinking about that match, Lian Fei felt her win was purely due to facing a weak opponent.

She was lucky to have encountered a rookie in her first fight.

Next time, she might not be so fortunate.

If a stronger opponent came, there was no way she could win with that mech.

Lian Fei exhaled deeply.

No more fights; she’d tasted victory and would stop here.

Besides, she now understood that with a powerful enough mech, she could bridge the gap between herself and the interstellar elites.

Ding dong—

Lian Fei’s neural interface notified her of a message.

She opened it to find a bank transfer alert.

Staring at the eight-figure deposit, with Lilith as the sender, she looked at Lilith in confusion.

Lilith smiled. “Thank you for letting me make a big profit.”

She opened the betting page.

Under Lian Fei’s avatar, only Lilith had placed a bet.

500,000 credits, multiplied by unprecedentedly high odds, yielded an astronomical sum.

Even after transferring eight figures to Lian Fei, Lilith still had plenty left.

Lian Fei’s eyes widened.

There’s such a move?

“Next time, you help me place bets,” Lian Fei sent Lilith a five-figure transfer.

Lilith looked at the amount, smiling wryly and helplessly.

Ring—

Lilith’s tablet by her side rang.

She pressed the accept button, and a waiter’s voice came through.

“Hello, Miss ‘That Someone.’ Our administrator invites you to the VIP room for a meeting. Do you have time now?”

Lian Fei looked up and exchanged a glance with Lilith.

After Lilith nodded, Lian Fei replied, “I’ll be there.”

“Alright, I’ll have my colleague escort you.”

No sooner had they finished speaking than there was a knock at the door.

“Hello, I’m here to escort Miss ‘That Someone’ to the VIP room.”

“Can you come with me?” Lian Fei asked Lilith.

Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Of course, we’re friends.”

So Lilith and Lian Fei followed the staff to the VIP room.

Upon entering, Lian Fei was grabbed by both hands by a middle-aged man with a wild afro and ragged clothes.

“You’re the one who used the YX4332 to beat the A-class mech, right?!”

Startled, Lian Fei shuddered from the stranger’s close contact.

She quickly pulled her hands back, awkwardly saying, “YX4332?”

“That’s the mech the black market gives to first-time arena challengers,” said a man in a casual suit sitting on the sofa.

The suited man walked over helplessly, pulling the middle-aged man—old Feng—onto the sofa.

“Feng, you scared her,” the suited man said.

Old Feng ignored him completely, his face wild with madness. Had he not been restrained, he would have lunged at Lian Fei again.

“I told you! I told you! My mech is the strongest!” Feng laughed heartily. “They don’t understand! They’re all fools! My mech can rival a 3S-class mech!”

The suited man glanced at Lian Fei and Lilith with resignation.

“Sorry, Feng is a bit unbalanced.”

Lian Fei forced a smile and took out her already battered mech pendant. “But it’s broken.”

Feng abruptly shook off the hand holding his shoulder and dashed to Lian Fei.

He picked up the pendant, examined it from all angles, then casually tossed it aside and shoved a pendant he had grabbed before leaving into Lian Fei’s hand.

“This! Use this! It’s the tenth generation of the YX4332! An upgraded version of the upgrade! Durable! High performance! Better attuned to the pilot than the first generation!”

“The original YX4332 was just my experiment, only 10% pilot compatibility. The tenth generation has 80% compatibility!”

“What I mean is, the tenth gen is stronger than the first, can better bring out your true strength!”

Lian Fei held the pendant, scrutinizing it.

On the surface, it looked no different from the first one.

Feng pulled Lian Fei down to sit on the sofa, launching into a tirade about the mech’s capabilities.

“Listen, they don’t understand! They’re all fools! You’ve used it, so you know! My mech is designed to be unclassifiable!”

“My mech’s grade depends on the pilot!”

“They don’t get it! They’re fools! They tested my mech on some rookie… haha, the mech’s strength is linked to the pilot!”

“D-class? No! If your spirit power is 3S-class, then so is the mech!”

Feng’s words were jumbled, his eyes shining as he grabbed the pendant, explaining its merits.

Lian Fei wasn’t put off. She listened carefully, occasionally asking questions.

Lilith sat diagonally opposite the suited man, arms crossed, frowning in evident disdain for Feng.

“Pardon the spectacle. Feng’s like this—a mech fanatic,” the suited man said, handing Lilith a glass of lemon water.

Lilith declined with a polite smile.

“They say the black market hides dragons and tigers; now that I see it, it’s true.”

The suited man smiled faintly. “Feng has always dreamed of making an unclassifiable mech—one whose grade depends on the pilot’s spirit power.”

Lilith raised an eyebrow.

Currently, mech grades are based on materials and performance.

A mech is like armor; if it doesn’t match the pilot’s spirit level, many problems arise.

If the mech’s grade is lower than the pilot’s spirit, it becomes a constraint.

Though the pilot can push the mech’s performance to the limit, they cannot fully unleash their own power.

If the mech’s grade is higher than the pilot’s, operating it consumes more spirit power, quickly exhausting the pilot.

Yet many still chase high-grade mechs, even if their spirit power doesn’t match.

There are plenty of spirit power supplements on the market to quickly replenish lost energy.

So they can recklessly choose high-grade mechs.

They just need to have supplements ready.

“If he succeeds, it will be a huge revolution,” Lilith said.

The suited man smiled but said nothing.

After Feng rambled on, he downed his glass of water.

“Now, now you try it!”

He put down the cup, grabbed a tablet nearby, and before Lian Fei could react, pressed her finger to the screen.

His fingers flew over the device; Lian Fei saw her personal page, then the challenge application screen.

Before she could react, Feng confirmed the challenge.

“No! You?” Lian Fei stared in shock at the confirmation screen.

“Don’t worry! My mech is powerful!” Feng patted his chest confidently.

Lian Fei: …

Well, at least he gifted her a mech.

She suppressed her anger. “If this happens again, I’m going to hit you.”

She took the tablet and looked up her opponent.

When she saw the opponent’s nickname, she was stunned for a long moment.

Wait, K?

Is that K?

The K from DOL?

No way.

Must be a coincidence.

But looking at the masked face, for some reason, Lian Fei had a faint feeling that this K was indeed that K.