Chapter 479: Crazy Training I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ye Chong watched emotionlessly as the mech closed in on him. He was ready to launch his attack once his opponent was within range. However, to his surprise, the mech spread its wings and swooped up, grazing past Ye Chong's head.
What was that about? Ye Chog looked at the rapidly climbing mech, unable to comprehend the pilot's intention. Muscle Man could only fight on the ground, and was useless in aerial battles. Still, Ye Chong prepared himself. Muscle Man's right leg pushed backwards, and the mech leapt forward and turned around, adjusting its position.
The anticipated aerial attack did not occur. The mech in the sky changed its course and flew towards the damaged D-6.
The mech was quick, and caught on to D-6 soon enough. Its two mechanical arms rested lightly on D-6, then its wings angled to make a U-turn in the air, and the two mechs ended up landing somewhere not far from Ye Chong.
"So it's going to rescue D-6," Ye Chong thought to himself. After ascertaining that the mech was not hostile, Ye Chong resumed a more neutral stance.
Now, he could finally examine the mech that appeared out of nowhere. It was in gold and light red, giving off a feeling of elegance and magnificence. The mech's body was slim and well balanced, with a strong sense of femininity. The wings on its back were composed of small and colorful feather pieces, like a pair of rainbow wings. The left arm had a diamond shaped shield, while a laser sword's hilt was secured to its right leg, near the knee.
It was rare to see protective fins on close range mechs. Usually, protective fins were used for to stabilize atmospheric flight, and long range mechs would definitely benefit from them. For close range mechs, however, large and vulnerable fins would become easy target. Besides, since close range mechs were built to be physically stronger, they were often much heavier than long range mechs. The mech in front of Ye Chong was clearly designed for long ranged combat.
This long range mech was actually used for close range combat. Ye Chong could already guess who it was - it must be one of the instructors from a nearby training ground. D-6 should be piloted by one of the instructor's students.
"I'm so sorry. My student lost control of his mech and interrupted your group, please accept my humblest apologies," a pleasant female voice said.
"Oh, it's alright," Ye Chong replied calmly. It was as he expected.
"I am Group 16's instructor, Shen Ruxue. I don't know your name yet. Perhaps you'll accept my invitation to dinner as re-compensation," from the mech's audio broadcast came a mellow female voice. All of Ye Chong's students who overheard her looked jealous of him. Shen Ruxue had gathered the most attention amongst all the instructors, since she was the only woman instructor, and a beautiful one at that. Many students were eager to join her group, but before they could, the 16 spots were snatched up very quickly.
Ye Chong looked at the time, and declined, "Sorry, I'm busy." In fact, he was getting rather impatient. His entire training schedule was jam packed, there was no time to spare. Now, this instructor from Group 16 was saying all these useless words. To him, it was just a waste of time.
"A pretty lady!" A joyful voice appeared in Ye Chong's mind. Ye Chong sighed inside. As expected, she had gotten Shang's attention! He knew that Shang was far more interested in beautiful women than he was, and could be very stubborn about them. More importantly, Shang's blabbering never failed to tire his listeners, and even Ye Chong could not take him on.
"Wah, Ye, it's a real pretty lady. Heavens, finally, something interesting in this dark existence of ours! Yes, her measurements, body shape, weight, it's all in my archive now. Ye, she's asking you out for dinner, what an opportunity, go for it! Why not?" Shang was practically shouting in excitement.
Ye Chong kept his mouth shut and ignored Shang.
Shen Ruxue did not expect that Ye Chong would reject her. She was slightly taken aback, but quickly replied with some anger in her tone, "I see, you don't think I'm worthy. Then consider my invitation a shameless attempt. Goodbye!" With that, she lifted that damaged D-6 and took off, flying towards a neighbouring training ground.
"Sigh, Ye, don't be so rigid! Wow, look at these numbers, it's wonderful, her measurements are almost perfect, she's definitely first class!" Ye Chong could imagine Shang shaking his huge mechanical head, blinking his blue bionic eyes erratically as he muttered indulgently.
A thin smile appeared on Ye Chong's lips, but he ignored the mech still, and focused on his new students.
"Everyone, get familiar with your mechs. You must at least pass Level 3 of the directional change arena."
Ye Chong's cold voice echoed across the training ground. All his students gathered themselves and quickly moved their D-6's towards the directional change arena, forgetting whatever nonsense ideas they were having.
"Ye, what do you think about that Shen Ruxue's capabilities?" Shang knew exactly how to gain Ye Chong's attention.
As expected, Ye Chong began to rewind his memory to what happened earlier. He thought about it for a moment and replied confidently, "She's good. But I don't know what else her mech was capable of." Ye Chong may not have fought against her before, but he could still tell that Shen Ruxue was a top notch mech pilot.
"I see, such a competent pilot. Ye, you have to watch out," Shang switched the topic so quickly that Ye Chong though it odd.
"Why?"
"She's strong, much stronger than her initial performance suggests. Besides, I suspect that she's trying to get closer to you," Shang analyzed calmly, unlike his usual exaggerative self.
"Trying to get closer to me?" Ye Chong was shocked.
"Yes. I noticed something before the accident occured. Hehe, that pretty girl was having a practice battle with that D-6. That D-6 lost its balance because of a direct attack from her. They were about 571 meters from the perimeter fence when it happened. With her skills, she was definitely capable of stopping the D-6 before it crashed into the fence. However, she let the D-6 went down anyway. This means that she's planning something." Shang sounded so cold and calculative now that Ye Chong thought he sounded like Mu.
"Why would she do that?" Ye Chong stroked his chin, deep in thought.
However, Shang replied irresponsibly, "How would I know?" Then, he suggested slyly, "Sigh, Ye, talk to her when you have the chance, what's the harm in that, hehe …"
Ye Chong was completely unmoved by Shang's suggestion, and returned to his job.
Ever since the wall fencing was damaged, no one came to repair it. Students from both groups kept quiet about the incident as well, and did not report it to admin. Of course, Ye Chong thought it was a bother to do such a thing, while his students hoped against hope for the wall to be torn down, so that both groups could train together! Strangely, no one from the other group reported the damaged fence to the staff as well.
Hence, the two groups began to interact more frequently. Mechs would occasionally be seen flying through the hole in the wall to meet their friends on the other side. Ye Chong did not bring up the issue. If his students followed his training schedule, he saw no reason to interfere with their personal time.
That was what Ye Chong believed in. He would practice with Muscle Man every day, and would often be the last one to leave the training ground. The students grew respectful of their reserved instructor. The man might not be particularly strong, but his determination alone was a rare quality. Of course, Ye Chong did not know that he had inspired his students. Ye Chong grew more and more familiar with Muscle Man, to the point where he knew that he would be able to win against the instructor in the sword-shield mech!
The students imagined that their instructor was like a monster machine that never tired. His training routine was always so dry, and his moves were too simple and straightforward. However, the instructor repeated his training every day for tens of thousands of times.
They did not know how strong their instructor was in combat, since they had never had combat training so far. Their instructor had only asked them to repeat the most simple exercises.
However, even these simple exercises nearly drove them crazy!
At first, they were asked to crash their D-6s right into some targets, and repeat the crashing until all their targets were destroyed.
This simple training became a torture to every student. They had to watch their target grow larger and larger in their eyes before crashing right into it. The fear involved was enough to make one hesitate. At first, many students would close their eyes at the last moment before they crash. Moreover, these high speed crashes were still dizzying despite the protection offered by the mech hydraulic suspension systems. Often the students would throw up violently right after they exit their mechs. However, their instructor was not known for mercy.
Done throwing up? Get back to crashing!
Even Xi Qing vomited all over himself, his face pale from the ordeal. This crashing training went on for three days, and the students crashed into their targets for many, many times. The fear that initially haunted them soon turned into numbness.
This crazy training shocked the students who came over the fence from Shen Ruxue's group. It was quite some time before any of Group 16's students dropped by for a visit.
After the first step in their training, they were asked to fly their D-6s at high speed towards a target, make a turn when reaching 3 meters away from the target, then slash out with a sword and hit said target. What Ye Chong asked for was simple - sufficiently high speed and accuracy in hitting the target. Sufficiently high speed referred to the maximum speed of the D-6. Accuracy in hitting the target meant hitting no further than 10 centimeters off center.
The training was so difficult that the students could only gape in disbelief. Most of them cursed their insane instructor quietly. Who in the galaxy would fight against an enemy at their maximum speed? After all, the faster a mech was moving, the harder it was to pilot it. 10 centimeters? Were their enemies going to be flies?
However, upon seeing their instructor's apathetic expression, the students braced themselves for this impossible training.