Chapter 138: The Jungle

Room 2, Row 3, fifth from the left—this is it!

Is this a plant scanner? It is small, a cube measuring five or six centimeters on each side, divided into two layers. The upper layer is made of pale yellow, flaky crystals arranged in a grid. The lower layer is a matte, blue-black metal base with a fine texture. Two straps woven from composite materials are attached to both ends, equipped with self-adjusting buckles.

Ye Chong took it down and fastened it to his wrist. With a soft click, the self-adjusting buckle locked into place. It was a perfect fit, feeling completely natural.

The moment it was fastened, a humming sound arose as various rays of light drifted upward from the pale yellow crystals, gradually converging into a clear holographic image.

The plant scanner came with a very comprehensive operation manual. Just as Master Guan had said, it was extremely simple to use. One only needed to input the data of the plant to be searched into the chip, and it would automatically scan for that specific plant within a ten-kilometer radius, marking it on the holographic display. It was evident that intelligence had long since permeated all fields.

The chip provided by Master Guan opened Ye Chong’s eyes to a vast variety of plants. On the trash planet, plant life was incredibly scarce. Most of the bottom-tier mutant creatures there fed on various types of organic waste and possessed extreme survival instincts. The plants that did exist were mostly those capable of surviving in harsh environments; they were typically dull in color and ugly in form. Ye Chong had never seen such colorful and diverse flora!

To survive on the trash planet, the first thing one must learn is to respect life. Every creature that manages to survive there is incredibly tenacious. Having witnessed countless instances of life and death, Ye Chong understood the value of life all the more. Respect, but viewed as an equal—that was Ye Chong’s perspective on life.

To Ye Chong, these plants were nothing short of masterpieces of nature.

Ye Chong did not rush to complete the task Master Guan had assigned; instead, he carefully browsed through the descriptions of the plants. Ye Chong possessed great patience and drive when it came to learning. In his view, this was all a part of building his strength. And strength often determined one's survival—it was the most reliable guarantee of his existence.

However, Ye Chong soon emerged from his initial curiosity. It had to be said that memorizing this stuff was truly exhausting. In the past, Ye Chong had always thought his memory was quite good, but today, he felt his head beginning to ache before he had even memorized much.

It seemed this kind of work was more suited for Mu.

Yet, Ye Chong understood clearly that there was a world of difference between Mu remembering something and him remembering it himself. The strength one possesses personally is the only thing truly reliable.

Beside the holographic images of these plants were detailed descriptions, even including their specific applications. However, this was all still too difficult for Ye Chong at the moment; just the basic information on these plants was enough to give him a headache for a while. His only hope now was that Master Guan’s assessment would come a little later.

Ye Chong walked on foot through the forest.

Why hadn't he thought to get a mech from the old man? If he had, he would at least have had a means of transportation. Thinking of the many mechs he had, yet none that could be used—either they were severely damaged or too eye-catching, exposing him the moment he brought them out—Ye Chong sighed inwardly. He had no choice but to buckle down and stride forward. Fortunately, for Ye Chong, this level of physical exertion was a piece of cake.

Walking through the jungle, breathing the fresh air, it was quiet and leisurely. Ye Chong soon grew to like this feeling. However, the plant scanner on his wrist quickly pulled him out of this state, its clear alert sound ringing sharply through the silent woods. Once he came to his senses, Ye Chong couldn't help but smile wryly. His life was always filled with danger and combat; this kind of tranquility did not belong to him.

Regaining his focus, Ye Chong turned his attention to the plant scanner on his wrist and was stunned to see countless red dots on it.

Mu reminded Ye Chong, "Ye, you should try searching for a single plant type. You have set too many search parameters."

The plant scanner’s functionality was indeed powerful. Under Mu’s correct guidance, Ye Chong’s work efficiency increased significantly.

"Hmm, this is clover... and this one? Uh, symbiotic vine... no... it should be leaf-twining vine..."

As Ye Chong collected plants according to the scanner’s instructions, he verified the meager knowledge he had just struggled to memorize.

Soon, Ye Chong discovered a new problem. He had come empty-handed, without any containers to store the plants he collected, which left him feeling quite frustrated. He realized these plants were too fragile; the ones he grasped in his hand were accidentally crushed by him, forcing him to go out and search for them all over again.

Just as Ye Chong was feeling annoyed, he heard the faint sound of metal clashing in the distance.

Ye Chong’s eyes narrowed as he listened intently. He was very confident in his hearing.

Unfortunately, Mu did not give Ye Chong a chance to show off, his voice remaining as calm and detached as ever: "There are two mechs fighting in the direction of the coordinates. One is the Dawn-class mech we encountered in the ruins; the other is unknown."

"The Guild?" Ye Chong, who originally had no intention of joining the fray, paused and tilted his head in thought. Regarding the Guild, a hostile relationship had already been established; if he could gather more intelligence, it would be advantageous for future conflicts.

As if understanding what Ye Chong was thinking, Mu offered his suggestion: "Ye, if you wish to join the excitement, piloting the Guardian is the best choice. The Guardian’s anti-detection capabilities have an over 85 percent success rate against this model of Guild mech. The current terrain is also better suited to the Guardian’s combat characteristics."

"Hmm, that’s a good idea," Ye Chong agreed.

Ye Chong was becoming increasingly accustomed to the Guardian’s unique black-and-white vision, and the analytical data that constantly refreshed like a waterfall always helped him quickly enter a very calm state. The simple black-and-white boundaries before him, the world composed of lines and dots, and the dynamic data—all of this deeply fascinated Ye Chong. Having gradually adapted, Ye Chong began to like the Guardian more and more.

Micro-mechs had a unique advantage in the jungle. Because of their smaller size, they could navigate more easily than the typical ten-meter-tall mechs.

The only design flaw Ye Chong felt Gu Shaoze had made was the color of the Guardian. While the shiny gold looked great, it was truly too conspicuous. This was quite annoying for Ye Chong, who preferred ambushes and sneak attacks. Ye Chong had tried spraying some blue-gray paint or similar coatings on the exterior of the Guardian, but to his surprise, the Guardian’s metallic material was very strange. The paint would not adhere to it at all; some would gather into streams like water and run off, and even the ones that worked slightly better could be wiped away with the slightest touch.

Mu was very interested in the Guardian’s metallic composition but was hampered by the lack of professional equipment to analyze it. Therefore, the composition of the metal that made up the Guardian remained a mystery.

Piloting the Guardian—or more accurately, wearing the Guardian—Ye Chong moved like an agile beast, leaping forward through the dense jungle at high speed.

In the jungle, the accuracy and scanning range of mech scanning systems were greatly reduced. Except for super-mechs like Mu Shang, very few mechs could perform precise scanning and positioning in an environment like this. When he was at the consciousness training base, Ye Chong had loved fighting others in the jungle while piloting the Blackbird, because it allowed him to narrow the gap between the mechs to some extent.

The dense pine needles of the jungle provided Ye Chong with the best cover, and the Guardian’s superb anti-detection capabilities allowed him to approach to within thirty meters of the two mechs without alerting them.

When he first summoned the Guardian, the mech’s unique automatic analysis function made Ye Chong feel dizzy. His entire field of vision was filled with countless grid patterns, and the data was refreshing at a frantic speed. Ye Chong then realized that the terrain was too complex, placing too heavy a load on the Guardian. Just as Ye Chong was at a loss, he was surprised to find that the image on his display began to simplify. Some lines gradually faded, the image became clearer, and the data refresh rate slowed down.

This sudden change took Ye Chong by surprise, but he immediately realized that now was not the time to ponder it. He secretly mused that it seemed he had yet to fully explore all of the Guardian’s functions. He steadied his mind and carefully observed the image in front of him.

"Hmm, that mech really is from the Guild." Ye Chong recognized at a glance that the model of one of the mechs was exactly the same as the one he had destroyed with the Guardian last time. The other mech was petite, with a green main body and a very fresh style. Ye Chong suspected this was a female-model mech.

A large area had been cleared around the two mechs; there were freshly broken tree stumps everywhere, and the mud on the ground had been churned up, indicating that both sides had definitely clashed here. The green mech already had multiple signs of damage, while the Guild’s Dawn-class mech was as good as new—the disparity between the two was clear at a glance.

The two sides were in a standoff.

The Dawn-class mech suddenly spoke: "Little girl, you’d better honestly come back to the Guild with me; you can’t escape. The Guild has already issued the order; you must be brought back! As long as you are still in the orbital ring, you can't run anywhere!"

"Hmph, want to catch me? It won’t be that easy! I tell you, I’d rather die than go back to that hellhole!" The female voice, still carrying a hint of childishness, allowed Ye Chong to clearly perceive her indignation, stubbornness, and despair.

"Want to die? As long as you aren’t dead on the spot, the Guild can naturally save you. It’s not that easy to die!" The pilot of the Dawn-class mech spoke with a coldness devoid of any human touch.

"Heh, I know I’m no match for you, but my life is in my own hands. The worst that happens is I die! Anyway, staying in that hellhole is worse than death!" The female pilot of the green mech’s words were filled with determination.

"Don't be too impulsive! The higher-ups have said that as long as you are willing to go back, everything in the past will be forgotten!" The Dawn-class pilot softened his tone, evidently harboring his own concerns; if he pushed the other party too far, given her headstrong personality, he feared he wouldn't be able to complete the mission. "And you know, you can't possibly escape the Guild’s pursuit. Come back with me, I guarantee you’ll be fine!" His voice was as gentle as a kind elder.

Unfortunately, the girl was not fooled at all, retorting mockingly, "Hmph, such big words. Guarantee I’ll be fine? Hmph, you’re nothing but a little errand boy; what can you guarantee?"

The biting words caused the Dawn-class pilot to fly into a rage: "You stubborn little girl, watch how I deal with you today! Even if you commit suicide, heh heh, I won't let you have it easy. At worst, I’ll just accept the penalty!"

The chilling tone immediately caused the atmosphere between the two mechs to turn tense.