Chapter 465: Disguise - Not as Easy as it Seems
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ye Chong looked up at the city, and felt a sense of familiarity. This was practically a modernized version of a city from the Five Galaxies. Buildings soared into the skies. Mechs of all kinds tore through the air above. It was the exact opposite of the He Yue Galaxy. As he walked into the city, the feeling grew stronger. There were holographic ad projections everywhere. Countless mechs flew between the metallic buildings. Even the pedestrians on the streets walked with hurried steps. It was very much a city in the Five Galaxies.
"This is Gray Valley?" Shang sounded unbelieving.
Ye Chong shrugged. "I think it's weird too."
Ye Chong was wearing a combat uniform, and did not stand out in the crowd. Along the way to the city, he and Shang had discussed about psychology. Of course, it was only to be expected that Ye Chong failed marvelously to understand it. Suddenly, Ye Chong realized that he was infinitely pathetic when it came to this area of expertise. Right now, he was competent in combat, mech piloting, alchemy and even mech maintenance. However, when it came to psychology and sociology, he could only draw a blank.
Shang had explained with long paragraphs of theories about how important psychology was in combat. Of course, Ye Chong was convinced by him. Convincing Ye Chong can be a simple but challenging task. As long as your arguments were convincing, Ye Chong would agree with them. However, if the arguments were hollow, he would not accept them no matter who they came from.
Ye Chong was not walking on the streets like an inconspicuous commoner, and no one looked twice at him. The holographic screen at the exposed public square was showing the news. Aside from the constant mentions of the war in the news, there were almost no signs of the war here in the city.
"Ye, this looks like a good place," Shang proclaimed excitedly.
Ye Chong looked around his surroundings and said, "The situation's not clear yet, we need to do more research."
Ye Chong walked the streets casually, seemingly without purpose, but he was in fact memorizing all the streets.
However, they quickly faced an urgent problem - they had no money! Earning money had always been one of the more difficult problems for Ye Chong, and also one of his weaknesses. Fortunately, he had Shang with him now, and there should be nothing to worry about. Back in the Five Galaxies, Mu could provide an almost endless supply of currency, which Ye Chong remembered clearly. Shang must be able to do something similar!
"Well, if I can hack into the virtual world, money will not be a problem," Shang said, but his next words dashed any hope Ye Chong had of this option, "However, Ye, regretfully we do not have that ability as of yet. I tried to hack into their virtual word just now, but failed."
"Failed? Why?" Ye Chong was surprised. Shang's calculation skills were slightly inferior to Mu's, but he was still very good at it. In the past, Shang had always did it with ease. Why would he fail this time?
Shang sounded surprised as well when he replied, "The virtual world here is a bit weird. Their calculations are completely different from what we know, and that means I have nowhere to work with. What a strange place. Oh, forgot to mention one thing. When I entered the virtual world just now, I've triggered their alarm. We need to leave here ASAP."
Ye Chong wanted to roll his eyes. This b*stard … He was about to pick up his pace and leave the place when Shang's d*mned voice came again, "Ye, don't do anything unnatural. You should walk at a natural pace, wear a normal expression, and walk away from here casually. That way, you won't attract suspicion. Do you want everyone who see you to suspect that you're a bad guy?"
Ye Chong forced down whatever explosive motion he was about to do with his legs. Despite his masterful control of muscular power, the effort still left him a little uneven.
He stepped out with his right leg and resumed his normal walking pace. His expression did not change, not because he was a master of disguise, but because his face was naturally inexpressive.
"The more natural you behave, the easier people are going to ignore you. You may exist here and now, but you are effectively in a blind spot," Shang philosophized.
Just then, a group of men in yellow uniform walked in their direction.
"So strange, there really was an alarm just now. Isn't it from here? I don't see anyone suspicious," one of them said.
One of his companions shrugged and said, "I don't see anyone suspicious too. Maybe he left already."
"So soon? Impossible," one of them said, unconvinced. "When the alarm rang, we were just around the corner, and didn't see anyone suspicious. I say, the alarm is probably from a technical error."
"Right, right, I think so to, it's happened before …"
The group of men walked past Ye Chong just like that. One of them took a glance at Ye Chong, and his eyes did not linger.
Shang's theory was effective! If it was his earlier self, he would have ran away right then, attracted attention, and disaster would surely have followed.
Shang seemed to know what Ye Chong was thinking, and said, pleased, "Hehe, Ye, told you so. Nothing in this world is more effective and mystifying as psychology."
Ye Chong did not care for Shang's claim, but he was beginning to be convinced of the importance of psychology.
"Ye, your disguise just now has plenty of room for improvement. Your walking posture, for example. You should step more firmly on the heel than on the toes. And your pulse, breathing frequency, etc etc. If they had a professional spy with them just now, you would have been spotted. A successful disguise involves many aspects, and at its core is psychology." Shang had a particular enjoyment in stepping on Ye Chong's self esteem.
"Alright," Ye Chong replied and began to make adjustments. Soon, he had resumed his natural walking manner.
"Hehe, good, good. Ye, you learn fast. However, when anyone looks at you now, they'll be able to tell that you're someone who's capable in combat."
Ye Chong tilted his head and asked, "Why?"
"Your pace and breathing are very precise. You should know that the average person's pace and breathing fluctuate in some broad range. The truth is, Ye, you are born with traits ideal for disguise. Your body is not particularly muscular, which gives an impression of vulnerability. Your hands show no signs of training, and while they are not as smooth compared to the beautiful ladies, they're still on the fairer side. After all, these are the hardest parts to fake."
Shang was now plenty excited, to discover this interesting puzzle. What joy! Once, Mu had given Ye Chong all kinds of training routines, and he could only watch from the side while Ye went through all of them with rigid commitment. Now he knew how wonderful it felt like! He almost suspected that Mu was secretly enjoying it as well, to come up with so many training routines.
Hmm, perhaps he should start preparing richer content and organized training for Ye Chong. The thought of the wide variety of training routines that Mu introduced to Ye Chong inspired Shang to prepare an even larger scaled training schedule.
Hence, Ye Chong's suffering began.
Stance, breaching, pace, gaze, and even the muscles underneath his clothing - Ye Chong had never experienced a training routine harder than this. Repeating the same combat move for a hundred times was easy for Ye Chong, but how could he maintain a lax gaze for 10 minutes? Ye Chong felt like a tiny drum was constantly playing in his heart. Even five seconds was too long endure, much less 10 minutes.
Five seconds of distraction was enough for him to die half a dozen times! The thought spontaneously came to him every time.
On the contrary, the harder routines that came late were easier for Ye Chong. This include making his eyes look uninterested, but still keeping a high vigilance of his surroundings.
Ye Chong felt like slamming his head against the wall. He had never imagined that it would be so difficult to disguise as someone ordinary. He had very quick reactions, and this sensitivity was his largest obstacle when in disguise. For example, whenever he heard light footsteps behind him, he would automatically prepare himself physically to engage. This combat instinct was already deeply entrenched in him that it was almost second nature.
After a long struggle, his stamina was depleted more than he expected. More importantly, he was mentally exhausted. This training was unlike anything he had done before.
As he walked on the streets, Ye Chong practiced different training routines. In Shang's words, these exercises did not involve any huge movements, and can be done even while walking. The advantages of disguising as an ordinary person were so obvious that it needed neither Shang's explaining nor Ye Chong's figuring out. Hence, Ye Chong practiced disguising as hard as he could. He had a virtue, which was to give his all in learning something once he decided that it would be useful to him.
So far, however, he realized that he did not have much talent in this field.
Ye Chong abruptly stopped in his tracks and looked up at the huge holographic screen in the public square.
"Urgent hire for close range mech combat instructors - Research Consortium." It was a large block of sentence, with no dazzling light and sound effects. Underneath it in smaller size was an address. The ad stayed on the screen for a whole five minutes.
"Hmm, looks like a good way to earn some money," Shang spoke up in Ye Chong's mind.
"I agree," Ye Chong nodded and said. They had no money at all, and the problem was a significant one. He could only rely on his own since Shang could not enter the virtual world. Ye Chong had actually planned to find a mech maintenance shop and assembly shop to earn some cash.
However, this job as a close range mech combat instructor might be worth a shot.