Chapter 200: As You Are Human
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Two mechs stood against each other.
Wei Yuan’s eyes shone like a pair of diamonds. The person who saved his life before could probably be YC but as said, it was merely a slight probability. Well, as long as he was indeed YC, Wei Yuan was confident enough to identify the typical YC style in the movements.
So he was really an expert in mechs… Rui Bing was mesmerized as she watched the man climbed into the Han Jia's cabin. Rui Su, her sister once told her that Ye Chong was a professional in mech modification. She was not convinced by that overstatement since Ye Chong could not possibly be wielding an iron fist and an iron wrench at the same time.
Perhaps… mech could be fun… Rui Bing wondered.
The practitioners had their eyes wide open, "This is the real deal guys, not those flashy, overdone mech dancing with kicks you would see on Virtual World." This colosseum was intended for mech combat training. One could say there was never any other better place for mech combats to take place.
The staring contest lasted for 5 seconds and Ye Chong launched an attack, with an aim of annihilating the foe and leaving this place as soon as possible. Lan Yixing, the master of September Dojo had died and probably in the following months, even years people would have their attention on the dojo itself. Ye Chong did not desire being under the spotlight. It was no longer the place he could stay. Hence, his next move would be finding a new spot to hide while waiting for Wang Weixing to return.
First things first, to finish this mech in front of him.
Ye Chong used Double Curved Steps! Two converging curves of different sizes formed a peculiar track! Ye Chong had became unpredictable.
Wei Yuan screamed as he recognized that strange step from the mech. He tried mimicking the movements before and exercise of that steps had just determined the fact that this man, slightly older than Wei Yuan, was YC himself. He pulled his eyes open, dreadfully fearing that he would miss out any epic part of the show.
Such a ghostly step was absolutely foreign to Zheng Zhongxing, that he was forced to readjust his direction from time to time while maintaining a tiny distance away, backing off slowly with the arms at the chest - the standard posture for combats.
More like the standard posture for combats to death, Ye Chong commented. Combats are naturally different between mechs and between men. One does not simply incorporated tricks from one to another. Unlike Zheng Zhongxing who committed such mistake, Ye Chong’s techniques were all from practices, sharpened by his battle experience, which he believed to be slightly inferior to the aces at Black Coves, well he could still be considered as a master in combats in this field.
Han Jia confronted the foe, as it inched forward. Ye Chong got to eliminate the issue as soon as possible. He did not have the leisure to "compete" with Zheng Zhongxing to find out who the master truly was between them. Time was money. Plus that set of steps he performed was enough to disrupt the balance of the foe, though only for a second, which was negligible to normal expert yet sufficiently fatal to the expert of experts like Ye Chong.
Whenever a balance is disrupted, it always takes time to recover. And in that brief time frame, in the eyes of the experts, it would be the golden opportunity.
Ye Chong charged towards the foe right when the balance was lost. A distance of 300 meters was a joke to mechs, especially exceptionally mobile models like Han Jia with superior engines. And that was not in Zheng Zhongxing’s script apparently.
Zheng Zhongxing responded hectically towards Ye Chong’s odd piloting and Han Jia’s capabilities, as he finally came to understand that, he encountered the real deal this time.
30 meters away, now! A Thomas’s Spin from Ye Chong, as he span like a whirlwind all the way to Zheng Zhongxing’s side.
The foe was in absolute confusion. Such speed, in such short frame of time, while being so careful, I still could not react in time. That had to be at least Mach 8. He could not name anyone who could perform a Thomas’s Spin while doing a Double Step in split seconds. That was inhuman! Zheng Zhongxing could feel his chest freezing. He did not recognize the sophisticated Double Curved Step, he thought it was a mere Double Step.
Ye Chong’s calmness during battle always gave him a feeling of being dipped in the water of thoughts, chilly, glassy, no ripple, no fear.
His cold eyes reflected the panicked foe, he placed his hands over the control panel then a stack of afterimages covered the interface. Without hesitation, he inputted a set of command in the first second. Execution! Han Jia lowered its feet, dented to the ground and flung itself towards Zheng Zhongxing at a frightening speed, above the ground by 10 centimeters or less.
Zheng Zhongxing reacted like a scalded cat as his eyes, cloaked with disbelief when he saw that mech coming like a bullet. The sudden direction change this close was something he could do nothing on. And only Wei Yuan could identity that fearsomeness of the move among the crowd, "Wicked cool," he praised.
The silhouette of Han Jia enlarged drastically in his eyes. Ye Chong could also see the name branded on the main body of his foe. The balance had been utterly disrupted.
Han Jia was at extremespeed in a split of a second and one could only see Han Jia raising its body, crushing the waist of Zheng Zhongxing’s mech with its flying knee.
Thump! A roaring blow. Zheng Zhongxing was sent flying like a whammed dummy at the gymnasium, all the way out with its left waist dented completely in a spreading spiral caused by Ye Chong’s vicious blow.
What an unfair battle, where both parties were at the different tangents. Ye Chong remained calm and cautious, no careless mistake from him.
Han Jia was set into motion once again, its engines were fully activated, as it rushed towards the jammed machine before it even hit the ground, with the cold dark dagger in the hand. One final blow.
Hua Tiankai’s face looked bleached afar. Although he had no idea how the gears and nuts moved together in a machine, at he least knew the basics of combats - obviously his apprentice, Zheng Zhongxing had been the sandbag since the beginning. From the aspect of martial artists, the boy seized every opportunity before it even appeared in his eyes, unlike Zhongxing who was slapped in the face repetitively. Hua Tiankai’s face was crazing the moment he witnessed his apprentice being smashed to the air.
Most of the practitioners did not understand mechs, but they did understand combats and they could tell that in less than a minute, the winning guy would be dealing the last blow.
Ye Chong sprung and was giving a final slash, "Ye," Shang’s voice intruded, "Black Covers. In 3 mechs, coming here."
He flinched and held his steps, he shot a glance at the tumbling mech. A few taps on the interface, Han Jia’s engines maximized! In the speed of light, Ye Chong blasted off Tianhua dojo. The whole movement was ghostly in the naked eyes.
The audience was confused of the premature ending, the sudden exit of the winning man, likewise to Wei Yuan. Rui Bing on the other hand, sighed in relief. Yes she hated the apprentice but Zheng Zhongxing was still Uncle Hua’s eldest apprentice, she seriously hoped that there would not be an awkward conflict between both her uncle and Ye Chong.
And that was when she came to the realization that… Ye Chong finally made a return and she did not manage to have a word with him, not even one…
Wait! She remembered the relationship between Ye Chong and Lan Yixing, she grabbed Wei Yuan, "Yuan, where’s dojo? The one Lan Yixing ran!"
"Lan Yixing? Uhhhh… September Dojo…? If I remembered correctly… Oh wait, I think I remember where it is." Wei Yuan was the local and he knew his home at the back of his hands. Intelligently, he read Sister Bing’s plan from her line, well Sister Bing is Sister Bing, smart.
This had just proven another face - Sister Bing did have something with that YC guy. Don’t tell me! Were they a couple? Mhm… right, that made a lot sense. Only the strong ones like Sister Bing could be suited to a godly man like YC. Feeling proud, Wei Yuan’s confidence over his untainted eyes grew.
Rui Bing lifted Wei Yuan, without any more words, they zoomed towards the entrance of Tianhua dojo. Tournament? I’m the panel judge? I don’t care! I just want to see Ye Chong again! Nothing else was her concern any longer.
Her agitation seared her with blazing passion.
Wei Yuan was lifted like a sack of potato in her hand. As expected from Sister Bing, very strong! Wei Yuan was wowed while being carried to the destination, seeing the scenery melting away like a zoetrope. He got dizzy and he thought he would only see such visual effect when he piloted a mech and there was Sister Bing, recreating the effect without any tool. Godly…
I wondered what would happen if Sister Bing had a race with YC? The crazy thoughts went in his mind.
"Direction?" Rui Bing gave him a pinch and Wei Yuan woke up from his daydreaming, "Uhhhhh…" he rubbed his neck and muttered, "Pain… Sister Bing, be gentle. Ouch." A glare from the unsettled feline, "Oh! Oh! I remember now! Left! To the left!"
A rough sweep from Rui Bing through the street on her left.
Sigh… I miss the chair of my mech… Exclaimed Wei Yuan after getting RB-sickness for being lifted so long.
…
3 black mechs flew over the sky above Tianhua dojo, in gorgeous curve they headed to the northwest.
Ye Chong was relieved as that direction had indicated the fact that he was not the target this time, the mechs were just passersby.
"Sighhh… Ye. You made it, and you did not even talk to our Bing Bing. Tsk, tsk tsk…" Shang openly expressed his dissatisfaction, "You did not see how our Bing Bing reacted upon seeing you. That was… Holy Matrimony… Do you know how angel looks when her heart skipped a beat for a man on the ground? Sigh, never mind, it would be a bit challenging for you to figure such philosophical inquiry I forgot…"
Ye Chong was silent, seemed to be in deep thinking.
"Sigh, Ye, our Bing Bing…"
"Shang!" Interrupted Ye Chong, "Tell me, why can I not be absolutely calm like Mu? Like for today, I could have left without doing anything but somehow… I just did it."
"Ye… I never knew…" Shang was rolling his mechanical eyes, "I never expect you to be this dumb, because you are human, duh?"
"Because I’m a human?"
"Yeah, how could human like you be all calm and logical 24/7? Ye, please do not be like Mu that boring, monotonous, monochrome Mu. Not everything could be put into a formula, not everything could be reasoned with logic and not everything was done merely because there was a need to do so." The words came like a long-winded lecture from a nagging old lady… or maybe an old man, the meaning was quite deep…
"Oh I see," Ye Chong became his usual self.
…
One could hear the sparks in Shang’s head.
"Ye, there, the drawer."
Ye Chong pulled the drawer open and found the red chip sitting there quietly, demanding to be taken. He sighed and gently picked up the microchip and put it into his bag…