Chapter 472: Making an Exception
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
To the audience, Ye Chong's loss was inevitable. However, Ye Chong himself did not think so. In fact, he believed that victory was close at hand. Even if his opponent tried Fissure Strangle on him again, he would be able to block without his shield. Perhaps it was due to the fighting moves, he no longer felt too tired anymore. Of course, he still stuck to being passive, waiting for his opponent's next move.
Tong took a look at the arena, surprised. "So you really do have a few capable subordinates here. This guy can use Fissure Strangle, must be a capable man. Hmm, that candidate is also doing very well, blocking that Fissure Strangle attack. You should make an exception and hire him. If the fight goes on, he could get hurt."
"Alright." Brahm nodded. He activated his comms and quietly spoke orders. Right now, his mind was mostly occupied with the shocking news that his friend brought to him, and his attention on Number 231 was temporarily redirected.
If Tong knew that Ye Chong was actually using a mech that he had only began to use just hours ago, he would have taken back his words. Brahm was a non-combatant, and did not realize the difference it would make. However, since Tong said the candidate was acceptable, he must be worth recruiting.
Suddenly, Tong's comms device rang. He looked surprised, and said, "Something's come up, I'll be leaving." He began to move in haste.
Brahm looked at Tong's retreating silhouette for a moment before yelling, "Tong, stay safe!"
Brahm, who was practically running towards the exit, waved his hand in acknowledgement without looking back.
As Ye Chong stood prepared for the next attack, he received a notice that he was recruited, and that came as a bit of a surprise. Of course, his examiner was equally surprised. He did not understand why Number 231 was hired. To him, Number 231 was not up to standard at all. More infuriating was the fact that Number 231 had made him look so humiliating! He was already planning to trash Number 231 on the arena, but now it was all over. He was dissatisfied with how it turned out!
However, he was also powerless against it. He knew that Brahm was still the person who had the power to make the final decision.
The decision left all the other candidates in an uproar.
How could blocking a Fissure Strangle attack once qualify a person to be accepted? That was too bizarre! The candidates outside the arena discussed the outcome with dissatisfaction. In fact, most of the people believed that the only reason Number 231 managed to block the examiner's Fissure Strangle attack was due to luck. Can luck be the reason someone was hired? No one could understand the final decision of the hiring board.
White stared at the arena in disbelief, then shouted angrily, "F*cking cheat? He's hired? How can someone like that be hired? Are they crazy? Xi Qing, if someone like that is hired, no one will want to train under him. Has the hiring board turned scatterbrained?"
Xi Wing looked to the arena and muttered, "It's hard to say, White!"
White turned over and looked at Qi Xing like the man was an alien. "Xi Qing, since when are you brain damaged as well?"
However, most of the candidates were more well behaved than the youngsters who were from the stage above. They were mostly older, and cared more about themselves. It did not matter if another extra person was hired. Their salary would not be reduced just because they have an idiot as a coworker.
A few of the candidates who had passed the test eyed the dumb looking mech, musing to themselves.
Ye Chong exited the arena gracefully, ignoring all the stares he was receiving.
The examiner could not stand seeing his opponent being so at ease and slammed angrily on his controls.
Beep beep beep! An alarm sounded. The examiner panicked. Did he just break his controls console? He quickly ran a self assessment, but could see nothing wrong. The frantic alarm made him nervous. Soon, his forehead was covered in sweat.
Hidden below the left side of the chest of his mech was a deep impression, an injury that was hard to notice. From the fresh wound, it was easy to discern that it was due to a strong impact. The position coincided with an important photon circuit node. The armor was bent inwards and blocked the photon circuits, which caused the alarm to sound.
That damage was caused by the elbow edge of Ye Chong's mech. The mech's elbow had a protrusion that was designed to be concealed when the arm hung down naturally. Only when the mech bent its arm would the weapon reveal itself menacingly. The elbow protrusion was made of very strong alloy, and while it was not exactly sharp, its power was amplified by the strength of the mech's arms.
When blocking the Fissure Strangle attack, Ye Chong had sneaked in a hit on his opponent. Ye Chong had never seen the examiner's mech before, but he could still guess at its internal structure, and had chosen to hit that exact spot.
Since the photon circuits were damaged, it would be immediately noticeable after the attack. Only after some time would his opponent's mech began to show difficulty in movement, and maybe even become impossible to operate. That would be his chance to strike back!
However, Ye Chong found himself accepted by the hiring board before his nifty trick had borne fruit.
The candidates who were still waiting for their turn in the arena looked at the examiner's mech curiously, for it had not moved since the battle was declared over, and the examiner had not asked for the next candidate to step inside.
The examiner was now sweating profusely. He was now frustrated at himself for not keeping calm earlier! Now that he had damaged his own mech, the upcoming tests will have to be carried out by his colleague. On the other hand, he was devastated that his beloved mech was not responding to his commands anymore.
He did not relate this damage with Number 231 at all.
The truth was, the attack was over too quickly, and Ye Chong had attacked discreetly, such that no one, including the examiner, noticed anything amiss.
It was when the mech was moved to the maintenance workshop that the damage was discovered. However, the examiner still did not think that it was caused by that infuriating Number 231.
It was the last day of the tests, and there were only about seven or eight candidates after Ye Chong. Soon, the tests were completed. There were 25 who passed the tests, and Ye Chong was ranked the last.
Ye Chong did not mind the ranking. When he received part of his upfront salary, he finally heaved a sigh in relief. Of course, there were other benefits. The affluent Research Consortium had offered generous remunerations to attract more capable people from the public. Aside from the huge upfront payment, there were other benefits, such as receiving their very own advanced level mechs. These mechs were not available in the market, and produced by the Consortium itself. Most candidates were enticed by the advanced mechs.
Of course, all candidates would have to successfully complete their training before receiving these benefits.
Ye Chong's mech, the so-called failed experiment, was not sought by other people, so he became its owner in the end.
The Research Consortium provided luxurious accommodation for all of them. Everyone had their own rooms, which were spacious and full of amenities, and designed to look high tech. The building also had its own mech training ground and gymnasium.
After Shang verified that the room clear of surveillance, Ye Chong felt relieved.
"Shang, are you still unable to hack into the virtual world?" Ye Chong laid on the bed and asked out loud. He was beyond exhausted at this point. Everything that happened today had drained him mentally in unprecedented proportions, and he was now dead tired.
Shang replied helplessly, "I'm not done with decoding their calculations yet, so for the moment, I can't get in." Without access to the virtual world, Shang could not do anything, and the mech was very, very annoyed about it.
"I see," Ye Chong replied almost in reflex. He felt sleep overcome him, and he was soon gone to the world.
When Ye Chong woke up, it was in the dead of night. After resting, much of his physical and mental stamina had recovered. He greeted Shang and ordered a meal. Then, Ye Chong activated the photon processor in his room and put on his hyperlink helmet.
Shang may not be able to enter the virtual world, but he could.
Ye Chong wondered about in the virtual world. It was already very late into the night, but there were still many people in the virtual world. The virtual world here was unlike the virtual world in the Five Galaxies, but Ye Chong was in no mood to explore. He focused on finding the information he needed.
Once he arrived at an info center, he would be able to make inquiries. Most of it would be publicly available, but since it was free of charge, it was only to be expected.
Ye Chong needed a microphoton repair device to mend the small cracks that were spread across Han Jia's armor.
Staying in this unfamiliar territory without Han Jia, would leave him in a vulnerable position.
After about half an hour, Ye Chong found what he was looking for.
The microphoton repair device was a high precision device. Only larger research institutions or universities would have them, like the Research Consortium and the infamous Hepburn-Ladee University. On Henna, only the mech laboratory in Centuria University had them.
"Centuria University," Ye Chong muttered to himself. He quickly looked up its location. As the largest education institution on Planet Henna, Centuria University was easy to find. He could even look up the general layout of the university.