Genius Mechanic

          9. Cooperation

On the other side of the forest, Ying Chenlin saw the Contaminated Zone rescue mecha rushing towards him from a distance. He controlled his psychic energy output and concealed himself among the trees.


Since personnel from the Contamination Control Bureau had arrived, they might conduct a cleanup operation in the Contaminated Zone.


Ying Chenlin didn't want to leave the Contaminated Zone just yet, so he had to avoid the patrolling mechas for the time being. He shut down the excess energy consumption of his mecha and carefully inspected the spoils from the recent battle.


The rat's carcass was still stored in the internal storage space of his mecha. The most valuable parts of a B-grade pollutant like the rat were its sharp teeth. Apart from that, there was the deep red crystal it carried.


"This looks like a high-level anomaly crystal, but I'm not sure what it does," Ying Chenlin couldn't help but speak, glancing at the mecha, Yuan, on his neck. However, the latter showed no response. "Will you find any use for this?"


The mecha key remained unresponsive.


Yuan was a solo mecha, and the core of its main weapon was an S-grade anomaly crystal. To create a suitable mecha for Ying Chenlin's current stage, he would need to inherit Yuan's intelligence and choose a weapon core slightly lower than the S-grade, one that also aligned with his combat style. Auxiliary-type anomaly crystals were of little use.


[Unable to detect the item, please try again.]


Ying Chenlin tried using the detection system on the crystal again, but it kept showing pollution detection results. An undetectable crystal could only mean it was an anomaly crystal with unique abilities. Such a crystal's grade clearly exceeded that of the B-grade rat. How could such an anomaly crystal appear in the Banute Contaminated Zone and be carried by the rat?


The red crystal emitted strange thunderous light, and its anomaly was unpredictable.


As he pondered this, he suddenly noticed the appearance of a hole in the location where he had been standing... The hole had been there from the outskirts, and the vines had been chasing the rat all the way to the outer area. Could it be that they were not chasing the mutant rat, but rather this anomaly crystal carried by the rat...?


Ying Chenlin suddenly thought of something and glanced towards the depths of the forest, where the vines had retreated just now.


He drove his mecha towards the deeper part of the forest, but he didn't notice the faint glow emanating from the deep red anomaly crystal near the rat's carcass.


At the same time, under his collar, the black and red mecha key briefly lit up.


-


Outside the Contaminated Zone, all sorts of information overwhelmed the Contamination Control Bureau.


The monitoring system displayed urgent reports of abnormal pollution levels, and personnel from the bureau were rushing around in a state of anxiety.


"The mechas at the outer periphery of the Contaminated Zone have been cleared out, and some have entered deeper areas. The rescue teams are also heading in to help."


The head of the Contamination Control Bureau focused on the monitors, his expression serious. "Make sure all mecha pilots are evacuated. This Variant is unusual, and the fluctuations in pollution levels are significant. We cannot afford any casualties."


The urgent reports on the detection system kept pouring in, adding to the pressure they felt. If there were problems in the Banute Contaminated Zone, it could affect the safety zone outside, and that would be a major issue.


"Has the location with the pollution value of 6000 been investigated?" The bureau head looked at a certain spot on the map, but the pollution value there had already returned to normal. "Has any contamination source been found?"


According to the Alliance's recorded report on pollutants, a contamination value above 3000 in the Contaminated Zone indicates the presence of A-level pollutants, while a contamination value of 6000 is associated with S-level pollutants.


Since the abnormality in the Banute Contaminated Zone began, they have only detected a contamination value of 6000 in three instances, one of which was the initial report and the other occurred not long ago.


One of the staff members said, "No, in that area, we only rescued a team of mecha pilots who claimed to have killed a B-level rat."


At that moment, another person rushed in from outside, saying, "Boss, teams from other star systems have also arrived. They received our message and want to apply to enter the Contaminated Zone."


The expression of the person in charge changed slightly. How many people were interested in the commotion at Banute? It seemed that news of a potential S-level contamination source had spread.


The lean man standing nearby stepped forward and addressed Director Liu, "Since you sought our help first, if there really is an S-level contamination source, the division of rewards should fall on us, right, Boss Shen?"


The man looked towards Shen Xingtang, who remained silent.


The appearance of an S-level contamination source meant that, regardless of the type of pollutants at the epicenter, anyone who received the message would want a piece of the action. After all, S-level anomalous crystals were treasures that couldn't be easily obtained.


As she pondered this, Shen Xingtang suddenly noticed a communication request popping up on her neural interface. "Excuse me for a moment," she said.


The lean man chuckled, "KID, you've fallen behind in recent years. Sending just two people for a mission like this."


The leader glanced deeply at Shen Xingtang when, suddenly, the room's detector displayed a high value of 6000.


Shen Xingtang's steps paused slightly as she turned around. By the time she looked back, the contamination value report had disappeared. It was only visible for 3 seconds, but the detection system had instantly locked onto the target.


This new location was not where the rescue team had found the rat earlier; it was deeper, closer to the Abyss Zone.


The lean man remarked, "Is this s-level pollutant on the move? Look at the direction..."


The leader replied seriously, "It's heading about 4 kilometers further in, toward the location of the Nine-Dragon Rattan."


The lean man's face lit up with surprise. If it continued in that direction, wouldn't it be entering their territory? After all, all their team members were currently dealing with the Nine-Dragon Rattan.


Shen Xingtang furrowed her brows slightly and pushed the door open, walking out.


---


In the depths of the Contaminated Zone in Banute, a swift-moving gray mecha chased after the Rattan, with the warning alarms constantly blaring in its field of view.


Inside the cockpit, the man's expression was cold, and his forehead was slightly disheveled. Two shared sensory nerves were entwined around his slender fingers.


The contamination value inside the mech continued to rise, emitting a red light. The man's calm eyes showed no ripples, as if he didn't care at all.


The quiet cockpit had no unnecessary noise until a female voice sounded.


Only then did he regain some response. "What's the matter?"


The contamination value had already soared to 4000. You Su turned off the noisy alarm system and stopped the mech's thrusters just before catching up with the tendrils. His peripheral vision glanced at the brand-new radar view, which was filled with numerous red marks indicating pollution sources, as well as the coordinates of other mechs.


In the crackling communication, Shen Xingtang's voice came intermittently.


Shen Xingtang: "Why did you lose contact just now?"


You Su found a high spot to wait, overlooking the situation below. "Encountered some issues on the way. What's the situation with the pollution source?"


In the depths of the Banute Contaminated Zone, the origin of the advanced mutant pollutant, Nine Dragons Rattan.


Suspended in the air were almost all mechs of the same color, surrounding the Nine Dragons Rattan. Including others, there were no fewer than fifteen mechs present.


"Ji Qingfeng provided some intel. Preliminarily, they determined that the Nine Dragons Rattan has a mutation level higher than A-grade, very likely an A+ close to S-grade Nine Dragons Rattan. The Energy Crystal is definitely here." Shen Xingtang continued, "Did you come here for nothing?"


"I indeed didn't come here for nothing," You Su pondered for a moment, "but there seem to be too many people joining the fun."


Shen Xingtang asked, "Can't handle it?"


"I didn’t come in my mecha," You Su said simply.


Shen Xingtang: "......?"


"Then what mecha are you piloting?"


"I rented one at the entrance of the contaminated zone. The owner rented his A-grade mecha to me," You Su replied. As he spoke, the mecha necklace around his neck shook discontentedly, trying hard to come out from under his collar.


You Su pushed the mecha key back into his collar and added, "His mecha was actually broken, so I didn't want to use it."


"That's troublesome. Here, we have Lin Yao and Ji Qingfeng, and they are also not using their own mechas," Shen Xingtang said with a headache. "Not long ago, the monitoring station detected two locations with contamination values of 6000. This time, the pollutant should be what you are looking for. Given the current situation, if it's difficult to handle, don't force it..."


You Su suddenly interrupted, "Which locations?"


Shen Xingtang sent him the coordinates. "One is outside the Abyss Zone, and the other is 4 kilometers away from the Nine Dragons Rattan."


You Su looked at the two coordinates. He had checked the first one before, but only found a pile of rats when he arrived. As for the second one... it was in the same direction as the path he took to come here. "When was the data generated?"


"Fifteen minutes ago," Shen Xingtang replied.


Fifteen minutes ago... then he might have passed by this thing.


You Su observed the situation below. Before coming, he received a message from Shen Xingtang, informing him that contamination values of 6000 had been detected in the Banute Contaminated Zone.


3000 was a report of A-grade pollutant, and 6000 was a report of S-grade pollutant. However, from the current situation, this Nine Dragons Rattan was at best a 4300-level creature. Did it really emit the 6000 contamination value report back then?


While listening to Shen Xingtang's voice and observing the surroundings, You Su was about to establish a communication channel with the others from KID when he suddenly noticed a faint signal of a mecha about 1 kilometer behind him.


The radar map inside the mecha captured mecha information based on the mechas' emitted mental power. The signal was very weak, indicating that the opponent either had weak mental power or was a skilled mecha pilot specialized in stealth.


You Su remembered this signal type; it was very similar to the signal emitted by the melee mecha he encountered not long ago.


He recalled the mecha's code was something like JD1456...?


"You just said you lack people?"


You Su replied simply, "Then let's find another one."


Shen Xingtang asked, "Are you giving me a transforming mecha?"


---


Ying Chenlin was unaware of the situation outside. His most direct source of information was the real-time contamination value provided by the mecha system. From the start of the escape from the rat horde at the outskirts of the Contaminated Zone to the sudden attack from the mutated Rattan, as well as the encounter with the other mecha pilots on the way...


All of these information points indicated that there must be an unusually powerful pollutant source deep within the Banute Contaminated Zone.


High-level mutated pollutant sources undoubtedly carried rare and valuable energy crystals that were highly sought after by mecha pilots. For him, who urgently needed various materials, this was undoubtedly good news.


There were obvious signs of soil disturbance on the path where the mutated Rattan fled. It didn't take Ying Chenlin long to find the right direction. However, when he was about to approach the center of the contamination peak, he noticed four or five mechas appearing in the sky not far away.


Same-colored mechas...?


Ying Chenlin furrowed his brow. Was the Banute Contaminated Zone requesting assistance from the mecha teams in the Alliance?


The situation on the battlefield was chaotic. Eleven yellow-colored mechas almost surrounded the central cluster of pollutants, and the remaining few mechas that tried to enter the inner circle were driven out indiscriminately. Two of the mechas, with red stripes on their bodies, were particularly eye-catching.


Ying Chenlin recognized that color scheme from the recent encounter in KID's repair shop. The Contaminated Zone often invited nearby mecha teams to assist in clearing pollutants, and KID from Sirius was likely to participate... Apart from that, using twelve mechas to dominate the field was probably the other top 16 teams nearby, DE.


But he was a bit puzzled. Why was there a red-colored mecha among those twelve mechas in the encirclement?


Just then, a reminder popped up in front of him:


[Mecha KF2456G requests communication with you]


[[Additional information] KF2456G: Hello, are you interested in cooperation?]