Chapter 210: Puppet
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
An odd twist! Dodged the beams, the clown mech easily span out of the way.
Eerie it was, as the 5 men rubbed their eyes in skepticism. How could that be possible?
How in the world did the mech curve away from the beams? They were all firing at once, trapping the clown in the area. It was not even the case of aiming once at a time. The clown mech should have failed to make an escape, yet the clown just twisted out of the area - a stark truth scorching their eyes, shattering their sense of reality.
This is against the law!
Tai Zuo was in dismay. He thought he had great eyes to help him comprehend the situation but his eyes merely captured the deceitful moment when the clown mech made a misleading gesture before the twist, it happened so fast he could not see clearly. He just understood the fact that the clown mech turned out to be a success, and such level of skill was giving the teacher of pilots cold sweat.
And the next movement of the clown mech was spine-freezing!
The clown mech used to ridicule them because of its amusing finish. Then this twist happened, the 5 men no longer felt amused. The clown mech made the second twist. A shake and the 5 men rotated along, repositioning themselves to keep the clown mech surrounded.
A rapid spin from the clown mech, as it effortlessly escaped from their grip. Leaped the clown mech, it pounced upon one mech at the edge. "Holy!" Tai Zuo’s stare intensified. That twisted turn was superb! A standard Thomas’ Spin, just as illustrated in my textbook! Be it the moves, the timing, the pilot had performed it perfectly!
Tai Zuo was not even confident enough to claim that he was able to do the same.
The movement went so habitually in his eyes, yet the perfection was the horror in the eyes of the 5 men.
Unpredictable, petrifying, the movement tinted the atmosphere with terror, as the clown mech glided like a phantom. The colorful clown mech looked like vengeful spirit by then, grooving its strange anatomy in their circle.
The Puppet traveled fast like a fired arrow towards the mech. Ye Chong knew the importance of motion to a mech, so even if the Puppet was a random toy he made, he provided it with the best engine.
It was boring. Ye Chong’s face was straight. Battles like this no longer piqued his excitement. These were utter noobs compared to the Black Coves and the Sanctuary, even though he retained his caution, since it was not his habit to be reckless even if the foes were clearly inferior to his strength. Unlike the battle with the Black Coves, he was cautious but he was not disturbed.
The dodging style he adopted was a combination of Non-orderly Wavy Leap and Condensed Multiple Turnings. The Puppet might not be as frail as it appeared, still Ye Chong did not want to be shot as those mechs were fearsomely ranged attacking models.
The 5 pirates had their faces drained as they attempted to lock on the target. They realized they never managed to place their crosshairs right. The clown mech was behaving too confusingly. They fired a few times and they missed. It was depressing. No way, my aiming should not be this bad, what happened to me today? What is this bad luck haunting me? How could I not even land a single shot?
Tai Zuo was more alarmed than the pirates. He was the professor for pilot studies, no one understood better the proficiency within that set of movements the clown mech performed, other than himself.
Terrible! This is too terrifying! Even he was terrified by the clown mech. He finally came to the understanding of the reason that from an entire gigantic Zika craft, only one mech was sent.
The answer is obvious. One mech was more than enough.
Well, the professor would never have imagined that there only Ye Chong himself on the Coxcomb, that was why only one mech was sent.
It was not the end of the show yet.
Ye Chong remained as calm as ever, despite getting closer to his foe.
Right before contact, Ye Chong’s hands moved fast and bright. He did not feel anything particular with his speed since it had been quite sometime since he broke the cap of his hand movement speed.
The spears within the arms of the Puppet sprang into action upon contact. Sparked, the spears smooched the the machinery. A slide to the side, the clown mech swung like a breeze away from the mech.
Like who exactly is this person? Tai Zuo was dumbfounded and forgot the fact that he was also involved in the battlefield. The pirates were also shocked. The ever-moving flock of mechs eventually paused awkwardly.
Ye Chong disregarded the awkwardness and moved on. Once you are in the battlefield, you are supposed to stay 100% focus, no matter how weak the foes might have appeared. That was the rule to his fight.
Boom! An explosion occurred, as the mech which came in contact became a fireball. The glaring light illuminated the space, highlighting the horrified expression of the men.
One more twist, the clown danced with its spears. The petite clown mech had taken the role of an assassin in darkness, where the patches of the greens reflected his amusement.
There was no plot twist to save those 4 mechs, as even the ability of running away had turned into a unreachable luxury. Tai Zuo saw 2 mechs, trying to run away, being skewed by the clown’s spears. The spears oozed out of the murdered machineries. There was no glow on the cruel spears, even though they were made out of black gold alloys, the same one used for electromagnetic tubes production. Ye Chong was not happy with the eye-catching glow, so he exfoliated the surface.
No flashy move, only the most painful, brutal ones from the clown mech. The kind that would murder men in one blow, cutting away all the unnecessary struggles.
Cold sweat dripped off his face, as Tai Zuo heard the wavering whispers from Han Ben, "Zuo… this guy, he’s spooky…" Even an iron man like Han Ben was frightened like a scalded cat.
It was a relief however, since the person had proven his or her expertise in handling this alone. Tai Zuo and his team could have their life guaranteed. Although he had not the slightest idea of the identity of the man leading this capable pilot on his throne at the Captain’s room, at least it was better than getting engulfed by the pirates. He would rather end up with a potential savior than a pack of wild wolves.
The clown mech was quick as he finished off the remaining members in a matter of seconds. It went so smoothly and naturally that it almost felt like the pilot’s routine. The pirates were utterly terrified by the clown mech’s brutality. Their faces were screaming before they exploded and ended up as the one being dismantled instead.
The parrying spears waving in the hands were as if invisible, like the scythe of the deadly reaper. Tai Zuo found the spears unusual however, as the mechs were immediately dismembered upon contact, despite their sturdy appearance. Why?
Basically it was the result of Ye Chong’s in-depth understanding of anatomy of mechs combining with his accurate cleaving.
The clown mechs who had finished the remaining mechs, without hesitation, jumped at the deadlocked group. The turn still went like a twist, with indecipherable orbit. The clown mech behaved like a killing machine, frightening everyone in sight.
The 10 mechs ran away like animals on a forest fire however. A plot twist to Ye Chong it was. It was as if, they were being chased a demon clawing from hell.
The scene, where the clown stared coldly at the running pirates, felt like a disdainful look upon the insect on the ground in Tai Zuo’s eyes.
The pirates dismissed themselves after seeing their partners being ruthlessly murdered by a clean killer. The clown mech stared on and did not intend to chase them after. Well Tai Zuo was not the kind of demanding person who would request the clown mech to hunt them down.
Very quickly after the clown mech approached the team and it came so naturally that it lifted its arm, signifying a welcoming attitude to board on the ship. They accepted the offer with pleasure of course, not like they had other choice. And that was when everyone stumbled upon the number of staff in the Zika graded ship the moment they got out of the cabins - there was one, and only one, being the owner of the corvette. His actual appearance was seen when he hopped out of the deadly clown, it was one man who expressed cold unfeelingness.
And who that man exactly was? For he owned a humongous spaceship all himself. No folk could have done that. Tai Zuo’s ponder was swirling in his head.
"Follow me," the man spoke coldly as he began walking, without even taking a look at them. Well, as he had said, the team only could follow the lead hurriedly. Tai Zuo, being acutely observant, immediately noticed the fact that the man was indeed different from folks. His steps were of the same exact width, as if he had measured the distance he should walk. The top body was firm, there was no swing of his shoulders. Tai Zuo had a friend who also happened to be a practitioner, and surprisingly his friend walked the way this man lifted his steps. Don’t tell me… he is also a practitioner…
"Oh my! Are you seeing what I’m seeing?!" As they passed one room, Phal shrieked upon discerning something really familiar to his eyes in the room, "Magnetron separator! See that?!" Phal looked exhilarated, as if he had landed on treasure island. He stormed into the room and hugged on that strange machine Tai Zuo had never seen before. A gentle touch on the surface, a tap on the handle, like a child of exploding curiosity, Phal was stuck. "Oh Phal…" Tai Zuo was having a headache. There’s always time and place for this but not now! We are at somebody else’s place! If the owner of the place doesn’t like us, we are going to be skewed! Thought Tai Zuo. But well, Phal was the kind of researcher who behaved on pure innocence and curiosity, he only lacked the exposure to mannerism of the society. He glanced at Ye Chong, who seemed to be not reacting to his mate’s misbehavior. What a relief… he thought.
Tai Zuo was not very much into the natural science but given that he had been spending at the academy for long enough, he could tell the room being a research laboratory. In addition, from that shocking reaction of Phal, this should be a very advanced laboratory. Phal the old guy was not that pleasing to the eyes but his standard was recognized by the institute, for he was the authority in the field of metallurgy and mineralogy.
And the mystery of this owner grew in the mind of Tai Zuo. The fact that the man owned a giant spaceship showed that he should be from a rather strong family background, with feasible wealth. The truth that he won in a 1 on 5 fight against the pirates demonstrated his excellence in piloting. He swore that he would never find an expert like the man even from his own institute, the Mid-Alliance University, the known "cradle" for most pilots. And then there was the point that the person seemed to be a practitioner… "Well, maybe…" That was a wild guess from him. Moreover, he should be well-established in metallurgy and mineralogy. The lab gave him away. Lastly… he was calm throughout the event, even when Phal was acting like a fool in his lab filled with expensive devices. That just depicted his good-natured personality. He could control his temper like the back of his hands… Everything was terrifying for his age.
Provided that these characteristic were seen on an elderly, Tai Zuo would respond with respect. But no, it was on a young man, at most at his twenties. Now that is incomprehensible, he thought. Is there really, really… a genius this fearsome?
Ye Chong was not angered particularly. The elderly who ran into his lab abruptly could look a little shabby on his appearance but he seemed to be the same passionate kind towards his own research. If that was the case, Ye Chong would not dislike such person. Instead, he would portray admiration. He reminded him of the days he spent at Aurora, with the elderlies behaving the way this old man was in his lab.
Ye Chong held his steps and waited for Phal patiently.
Phal seemed to have lost himself over the marvelous technologies sitting in the lab, as he span and danced around the separator.
Tai Zuo signaled Han Ben and Han Ben got it right away. He went to Phal. "Excuse me!" Boomed Han Ben, alerted Phal.
Everyone was watching Phal, whose face reddened out of embarrassment. He then waddled back to his mates. Ye Chong started walking again after seeing the old man joined back to his teammates. They walked on. And Phal… constantly turning back to take one last glance at that separator, as if parting with his beloved.
Meng Fei’er, the second teammate of Tai Zuo, staggered when she passed the alchemy lab. The same emotional reaction as Phal, she was stupefied, excited but she was more well-behaved than Phal, even though she almost drooled on the sight. That thermostatic plasma room, that self-controlled cultivation machine, there was also a duo enzymic mixer?! She wondered if she was visiting the central alchemy research institute by mistake. Seriously, other than the institute, she could not imagine any other place having these precious.
She controlled her behavior. She held her excitement, although that flinch she made had already gotten Tai Zuo’s attention. Tai Zuo slowed his steps and joined Meng Fei’er at the end of the walking team. Her sight rose over Ye Chong at the front, her head lowered, whispered, "He could be a chemist." Tai Zuo was the leader of the entire team. He was very experienced so everyone would give their feedback directly with dignity.
Tai Zuo’s heart skipped a beat. A skinny young man owning all these while holding possibly a long list of profession on his resume… the mystery deepened, where the darkness looked back into Tai Zuo’s eyes.