Chapter 223: Kings of Close and Long Range Combat I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ye Chong was returning to his ship. Shang’s three shots were clean and fruitful, leaving him no chance to do anything at all. Just then, Ye Chong heard Shang through the comms channel, "Ye, they just sent a distress signal over, what do you think?" Shang sounded eager, obviously still excited from his shots earlier.
Ye Chong replied flatly, "Leave them, we have things to do."
"Awh …" Shang groaned like a child denied of his favourite toy. "Ah!" Shang suddenly gasped.
"What? Shang." Ye Chong was surprised.
Shang spoke quickly, "Ye, look at this."
Through Puppet’s photon processor, Ye Chong saw a holographic image of one of the starships side, and through the windows, he could see the horrified expressions of the people inside. Ye Chong suddenly widened his eyes!
He stared for a full three seconds. Even though the image only caught the side profile of that person, Ye Chong was sure he recognized him.
It was Grandpa Qian! Leaning against the window was the face of an old man, one that Ye Chong was very familiar with. Ye Chong had spent a long time with Grandpa Qian, and was certain that he did not see it wrong.
Ye Chong quickly recovered himself and asked hurriedly, "Shang, which starship is this?" Without further hesitation, he maneuvered his mech and Puppet turned back towards the battlefield, flying towards the chaos. No matter what, since Grandpa Qian was here, he would not just watch from the side. His time on Blue Ocean with Grandpa Qian was the happiest he had ever since Ye Chong left the trash planet. Besides, Grandpa Qian had loved him. Ye Chong could not just stand by and watch Grandpa Qian die in the battlefield.
As Puppet accelerated to its maximum speed, Ye Chong could only regret not using Han Jia in the first place. Puppet glided through the darkness of empty space like a king.
Another thin but straight blue beam shot past Ye Chong from behind, flashing into oblivion. Ye Chong caught where the beam was aiming for. Beyond him was a starship with a few mechs surrounding its hatch, and the blue beam had hit one of the pirate’s mechs nearest to the hatch. If he looked closely, the mech’s smooth pilot cabin was now punctured with a hole that could fit a finger. The mech immediately lost control.
Ye Chong understood that Shang was showing him the way. He adjusted his course and headed towards the starship.
Just then, a few more of the blue beams shot past him, barely touching Puppet. The rest of the mechs lost control just as suddenly. Ye Chong realized that Shang had killed the pilots in those mechs. He had no time to dwell further on the fact that the beams from Recursive could be so powerful. He could only wish that Puppet could move faster.
More blue beams came - the pirate mechs surrounding the starship had all become Shang’s targets. The mechs were hit at almost the same location and lost control in a similar way, though none of them exploded. To prevent explosions, Shang had chosen to shoot at the pirate mech’s pilot cabin. In truth, the finger-thick blue beam was too small compared to a ten-meter tall mech, much less to outer space. Many of the mech pilots fighting against the pirates realized in surprise that their enemies had suddenly lost control for no apparent reason.
Nonetheless, the pirate leader was watching the mysterious sniper mech pilot, and by now, he was frozen in shock! Heavens, why did such a terrifying sniper appear out of nowhere? Will the f*cker kill them all?
Ye Chong approached the starship without incident, since all the enemies nearby were destroyed by Shang. He was worried about Grandpa Qian, and headed straight towards the hatch. Even in this situation, Ye Chong kept his cool.
Puppet’s small and lithe figure now came into play. The mech entered the starship as silent and deft as a cat. Ye Chong silently flew and came to a junction in the corridors. He now realized what was happening. At the end of the corridor was a mech desperately defending its position. The mech was a classic battle mech, but truly deplorable in terms of the pilot’s skills. Given the circumstances, however, the desperation forced him to fight like never before, and the space pirate mechs around him could only huddle around in the corridor, unable to fire their laser guns for fear of exploding the starship, killing everyone in it, including themselves.
The narrow corridor could only fit one mech, and so the three pirate mechs found themselves trapped, unable to move forwards or backwards. Only the first mech could fight directly with the combat mech. All three mechs had their backs facing Ye Chong. They must have never imagined that their comrades outside would all be finished off.
Puppet still moved silently. Even in the narrow corridor, Puppet still moved easily.
Ye Chong felt as calm as an iron lizard hunting its prey.
In a single step, Puppet closed in on the last mech closest to him. The mech seemed to feel something and made to turn to inspect, but Puppet moved!
Puppet’s left hand clasped tightly on the mech’s neck as the parrying spear sprang out from the right arm like a poisonous serpent, snaking itself into the mech. Ye Chong also chose to attack the pilot’s cabin. With black gold mixed into its material, the spear performed excellently, puncturing right through the mech. Ye Chong could even hear the sound of bone breaking as the spear went through, and the horrifying shriek from the pitiful mech pilot.
At the same time, Puppet kicked the mech’s knees hard with its right leg, and the other mech gave. Puppet’s left hand pushed at the same time, and the mech bent down further.
The attack had shocked the other two mechs in front. The one confronting the battle mech panicked, while the defending battle mech was greatly encouraged by this unexpected backup.
The second mech turned around to stop the ambusher.
Ye Chong did not give the mech a chance. The battleground was advantageous for Ye Chong’s battle mech. Puppet’s left hand pushed downwards and pressed forward with its legs, pulling out the parrying spear in the same move as it jumped across the mech it had dealt with. Now, Ye Chong was twenty meters away from the second mech.
Puppet’s agile response made the second mech even more alarmed.
Before Puppet landed from his jump to clear the first mech, it kicked against the walls of the corridor and directed itself straight towards the second mech like a cannonball.
Puppet came fiercely fast. The narrow corridor and its fast approach was daunting. As Puppet flew past the second mech, its right hand aimed the parrying spear straight at the enemy’s throat and drew blood. However, the attack left Puppet flying off course. Just when it was about to hit the corridor’s wall, Puppet braced itself with another kick against the wall, and did not look back at the helpless second mech.
The first mech Ye Chong attacked was now only crashing to the ground with a crackle.
The throat was a mech’s most vulnerable part, where its photon circuits were all centered about. Once the throat was damaged, the mech was also useless.
The last remaining mech found itself surrounded back and front, and was terrified. Ye Chong acted without mercy, burying the parrying spear deep into the mech’s body. However, Ye Chong still attacked carefully, avoiding an explosion.
Puppet’s entire attack was executed smoothly, and its swift footwork made its movements unpredictable. Besides, it was able to use some strange moves, even in the narrow corridor. These unusual moves could only be done by a very competent mech pilot.
The battle mech before Ye Chong may not exactly be a battle expert, but Ye Chong saw that he could avoid attacks quite deftly, which was why the mech survived the pirate mechs for so long, stalling them here.
Swish! The alloy door behind the battle mech opened, and the battle mech signalled for Ye Chong to enter. That was his intention anyway, and so Ye Chong entered together with the other mech. Once inside, the alloy door sealed shut. The airlock was then pressurized, and the room was quickly filled with air. As the air pressure stabilized, another alloy door opened up, where a large group of people rushed out and surrounded the battle mech, cheering with joy.
Ye Chong quickly found Grandpa Qian amidst the crowd. He looked just as before, only wearier and older. The two people beside him, however, surprised Ye Chong. Supporting Grandpa Qian was Rui Su, while the person on the other side of Grandpa Qian was Rui Bing in her white training garb, looking steadfast. Beside Rui Bing was a beautiful middle aged woman, who looked a lot like Rui Bing and Rui Su. Ye Chong guessed that she must be their mother.
As for why they were with Grandpa Qian, that was his main question.
The pilot cabin of the battle mech opened and out came a young man, to which everyone cheered even louder. It was this young man’s incredible feat that kept them safe until backup arrived, or they would all had been captured by the space pirates.
The young man was none other than Wei Yuan, whom Ye Chong was acquainted with. Wei Yuan was excited from his success, and ran to Rui Bing as he yelled, "Sister Bing, Sister Bing, I did it, hah!" Rui Bing’s icy face thawed slightly with joy.
Rui Su continued from the side, "Little Yuan, you don’t know how sorry you looked like just now, tsk tsk, jumping up and down like that, it’s horrendous." Wei Yuan’s expression soured as he said, "Sister Su, don’t mock me like that." His face made everyone laugh out loud. Grandpa Qian laughed heartily, and even Rui Bing gave a little smile.
Ye Chong felt at a loss. Why were they all people he knew?
Rui Bing looked towards the clown-like mech. Its performance was seen by everyone here through the holographic camera in the corridor. Out of all of them, perhaps only Wei Yuan and herself realize the power of this clown mech’s three attacks.
Rui Bing was certain that the clown mech’s pilot must be an expert in combat, and excellent in mech piloting. This advanced level of piloting was nothing like what Wei Yuan boasted himself to have.
Ye Chong watched Grandpa Qian laughing, and was reminded of his earlier days with Grandpa Qian. He felt a little dazed.
"Hey, Master, why don’t you come out?" Wei Yuan cupped his hands like an amplifier and shouted. Wei Yuan was absolutely impressed with this master. The pilot must be an expert in mech combat. Wei Yuan believed that, in terms of close range combat, there were probably not many who could defeat this person outside of his idol and Sister Bing’s future husband, YC. In his mind, Ye Chong was already destined to marry Sister Bing.
Everyone looked expectantly at the pilot cabin of the clown mech, hoping to see the hero that had saved them all.
Wei Yuan’s voice broke Ye Chong reverie. He looked downwards at Grandpa Qian and Rui Bing, and for some reason decided then not to go out.
"Shang, think you can find out why this fleet is here?" Ye Chong communicated to Shang.
"On it!" Shang began working as he replied.
Fid could only stare in stupefaction at the massive starship, and the half-concealed mech from its one opened hatch. He was feeling a little out of depth, and was shocked beyond words. In fact, it was not just him - everyone in the starship’s bridge was gaping widely, staring blankly at the holographic screen with the semi-concealed mech.
Was this even humanly possible?
That was the million zuan question in everyone’s hearts.
Right from the beginning, the impossibly powerful sniper mech pilot had never stopped. He shot like a tireless machine. The fatal blue beams were not entirely noticeable, but everyone on the bridge had already decided that those were beams of death. Every beam signaled the loss of a life, and every mech was destroyed in the exact same manner - exploding into a ball of flames.
This accuracy did not seem to decrease. From the beginning, the mech pilot had never missed a shot.
A clear electronic beep startled them all out of their trance. Fid’s second rushed to the command console and issues some controls. Suddenly, he gasped, "Squad Captain, look at this, they’re asking where we’re heading, and the nature of this starship fleet."
Fid gestured with a wave and said, "Tell them! Our only hope is their assistance!" Fid could only bet everything on this starship.
"Ye, they’re a fleet heading towards Csebesini Galaxy, the fleet is mostly made up of civilians," Shang quickly relayed the information to Ye Chong.
"Csebesini Galaxy …" Ye Chong finally understood that they were escaping from the war. The only thing he could not understand now was how Grandpa Qian would be with Rui Bing and company.
The Rui family had only begun connecting with Grandpa Qian not long after Ye Chong left Blue Ocean. Rui Bing was always trying to find out where Ye Chong went, and Rui Su was also regretful of what she had done, as she tried her best to help her sister. Ye Chong had stayed with Grandpa Qian when was with Blue Ocean Academy, and most everyone knew that he was very close with Grandpa Qian.
Perhaps it was a matter of loving anything to do with Ye Chong, or perhaps it was for some other reason, but Rui Bing began to visit Grandpa Qian frequently. Grandpa Qian also grew fond of the young lady with a cold exterior but a warm heart. Rui Bing would sometimes help Grandpa Qian to make noodles, while asking him about matters related to Ye Chong. Of course Grandpa Qian understood her feelings, and would answer all her questions happily. Rui Su would sometimes go with her sister, and her smart way around things was something Grandpa Qian especially appreciated. Rui Su, on the other hand, came to act like an obedient daughter whenever she was with Grandpa Qian, something Rui Bing could not understand. As time passed, the two girls grew closer with Grandpa Qian.
The current migration to Csebesini was not something Grandpa Qian wanted. To him, he was an old man, and would not mind dying at his home. Travelling at his age to such a faraway place, where the road was rumored to be quite dangerous, and was too much of a hassle. In the end, however, he gave in to the insistence of Rui Bing and her mother, together with Rui Su and Wei Yuan.
Ye Chong knew nothing of this, and did not intend to pry. To him, it was fine as long as Grandpa Qian was happy.
Ye Chong could not help but took a glance at the woman in white training garb too, her intimidating charisma standing out amidst the crowd.
"Ah! Isn’t that our Bing Bing? Heavens! Ye, it’s the season of peach blossoms for you [1]! To meet our beloved Bing Bing here … What? Peach blossom? You don’t know what’s peach blossom? That’s probably because you’re not reading that chip Lunatic Guan gave you right, isn’t there an illustration for plants or something in there …" Shang observed as he shot effortlessly on.
"Master, come out! Everyone’s waiting for you!" Wei Yuan was still shouting from below. Everyone was curious - why was the hero still not coming out?
Just when everyone was confused, the clown mech pointed outside. The crowd realized then that the battle outside was not yet finished while they were celebrating inside. The euphoria from surviving vanished in an instant. If they lost the battle outside, their fates would remain unchanged.
Wei Yuan no longer smiled, but looked focused. He quickly went to his mech. In fact, Ye Chong believed that Wei Yuan’s help would not tip the balance of the battle. If the young man died, however, Grandpa Qian and the lady in white training garb would probably grieve.
With that thought in mind, Ye Chong rummaged in his bag and produced a dimension keystone. He opened the pilot cabin slightly and threw it towards Wei Yuan.
Rui Bing was watching him closely, and was therefore quick to move a good three meters across to Wei Yuan, catching the keystone with only two fingers. It was a ring-shaped dimension keystone. Wei Yuan recovered himself and took the dimension keystone from Rui Bing as he shouted happily towards the clown mech, "Master, is this for me?"
The clown mech nodded and turned to leave.
"Shang, we might have to fight." Ye Chong said plainly. Puppet was still not out of the starship yet.
"Hahaha, Ye, I knew it, hehe, must be because you saw our beloved Bing Bing’er. Tsk tsk, heroes never could stand against beautiful women, even a wild animal like you, Ye could not avoid this fate …" Shang blabbered on.
Ye Chong could only cringe inside. He could remain calm in battle, but never could stand against Shang’s words.
When Ye Chong flew out of the starship, he immediately saw the word "Coxcomb" that plastered on the front of his starship. Ye Chong nearly lost control of Puppet. Shang had actually took the starship to him.
Both the pirate leader and Squad Captain Fid were confounded by the name of the ship. How could such a massive starship be named so crudely as Coxcomb? Everyone was feeling a little sorry for the Zika class starship.
Shang had, until then, destroyed dozens of mechs. Since the blue beam from Recursion was very tiny and almost unnoticeable in space, it went mostly undetected, and many space pirates found their comrades suddenly exploding into flames.
The empty space of darkness was lit up like a dazzling banquet.
Squad Captain Fid’s side could finally breathe under the enemy’s pressure. The surviving mech pilots were enough to at least evenly match the space pirates.
The pirate leader, on the other hand, was furious. Victory was almost certain for him, until this horrendously capable sniper mech pilot came into the scene. He knew that if he did not do anything, the situation would turn against him soon. The sniper mech pilot was good, never resting between shots, as if he did not need time to aim. In the short time span since the beginning, he had lost dozens of mechs on his side. If things continued like this, he would never be able to recover.
"Blade, take Black team with you and finish off that b*stard," the pirate leader could no longer do nothing about it.
Translator's Thoughts
mole mole
[1] Peach blossom is closely associated with love in Chinese culture.