Section 139: Free Azure Sparrow

"Hmph, you refuse to see the coffin until you're hit with the reality of death! You may be from the elite group, but unfortunately..." the pilot of the Chen-class mecha said with a sinister tone. Before he had even finished speaking—at a moment when others might have expected him to continue—he suddenly launched his attack!

"You..." The young girl was clearly too green and inexperienced; she was immediately pushed onto the defensive.

Ye Chong, observing from the sidelines, carefully scrutinized the battle. He had clashed with Zongsuo mechas before, but those had been group engagements. He had never seen a Chen-class mecha in a solo fight.

The dirty trick used by the Chen-class pilot earned him a high mark from Ye Chong. Using words to distract an enemy before launching a sneak attack was something worth learning. However, Ye Chong knew himself well; given his own personality, it would be quite difficult for him to pull off such chatter. By comparison, he seemed better suited to staying silent and launching a stealthy, quiet ambush from the shadows.

The two sides traded blows with incredible speed. Due to the cramped terrain, the abundance of obstacles, and the close proximity, they both opted for close-quarters combat. This piqued Ye Chong's interest—close combat was his specialty.

Because the previous battle had been so sudden, Ye Chong had not had the time to carefully observe any mechas other than that purple one.

The three-legged design of the Chen-class mecha was highly unorthodox, yet it provided superior balance on land. Its cyan armor looked unremarkable. Above the three legs sat an ellipsoidal cockpit, which was connected to a strange, flat, red disc by three flexible metal hoses. The surface of this disc was covered in numerous white light spots of varying sizes that flickered and drifted across its surface.

Had Ye Chong stayed in the Orbital Ring longer, he would have known that the prototype for the Chen-class mecha was a unique local creature known as the "three-legged soft snail."

Ye Chong immediately recognized the girl's green mecha as a bird-mimic design; the entire unit looked like a petite, delicate green bird. It was much smaller than its opponent’s, and it was hard to see anything special about it. However, Ye Chong was not foolish enough to judge a mecha’s quality by its appearance. Furthermore, having already experienced the power of the Chen-class mecha and gathered information from the pilot’s own words, he was quite wary of this young girl.

The close-combat style of the Chen-class mecha was extremely eerie!

With a soft "snap," two of the three metal hoses connected to the red disc detached. As soon as they pulled free, two beams of red light shot out from the base, rapidly extending along the length of the hoses.

In the blink of an eye, the two hoses transformed into flaming electromagnetic whips, occasionally emitting faint crackling sounds and flashes of blinding arcs. At the tip of each hose sat a conical laser emitter.

Ye Chong couldn't help but admire the ingenuity of the design. The hoses were clearly made of a special material that could be both soft and hard, and when combined with the conical laser emitters at the tips, they possessed significant piercing power. Moreover, the hoses were incredibly flexible, allowing for angles of attack far more unpredictable than standard melee weapons. They were nearly impossible to guard against. Yet, Ye Chong immediately spotted the flaw in the flaming electromagnetic whips: they were ill-suited for delivering fatal damage to an opponent!

As for the third hose connected to the disc, it was also covered in electromagnetic flames, while the disc itself acted as an omnidirectional shield.

Truly ingenious, though Ye Chong still realized that close combat was not the strong suit of a Zongsuo mecha; it served only as a supplementary tactic. This was evident from its configuration—it lacked heavy-duty, high-damage melee weapons. This prevented it from gaining a decisive advantage in close quarters, let alone comparing it to the Black Horn, which excelled in melee combat.

The Chen-class mecha took the initiative, and the speed it displayed caught Ye Chong’s eye.

Although the mechas of the Black Horn, the Pilot Association, and the Zongsuo each had their own distinct characteristics, they shared one surprisingly consistent trait: exceptional speed. This proved that speed was the fundamental basis of mecha combat.

The automated analysis system of the Guardian began to rapidly process the two mechas, with massive amounts of data jumping across the screen like a waterfall. Ye Chong, however, was in no mood to pay attention to that; his focus was entirely on the battle between the two units.

The Chen-class mecha performed exactly as Ye Chong had anticipated. The two electromagnetic whips moved like venomous snakes, displaying eerie, flexible, and unbelievable variations in movement. The disc shield also danced nimbly around the mecha.

The green mecha was clearly familiar with the Chen-class's fighting style, maintaining a degree of composure amidst the storm of attacks. Even so, she couldn't dodge everything; the mecha had already taken several lashes, leaving behind charred marks. Fortunately, while the whips looked terrifying, their actual power was limited, and they hadn't caused any substantial damage to her unit.

The young girl’s melee weapon was also quite ordinary—a combat spike, a weapon Ye Chong had used himself.

"Oh!" Ye Chong let out a soft exclamation. Something was strange! He stared fixedly at the green mecha. Sure enough! The girl appeared to be losing, struggling to hold on, but to Ye Chong’s discerning eyes, it was clear she was actually in no real danger. In fact, her few counterattacks were incredibly sharp, forcing her opponent into a flurry of panic every time.

What truly surprised Ye Chong was not this, but the fact that he saw the shadow of someone else in this girl—the purple-clad girl from the forest who had nearly cost him his life that day!

During combat, the two would often display a sense of precognition. Having suffered greatly at the hands of the purple-clad girl, Ye Chong had a deep memory of that sensation. The girl in the green mecha gave him the exact same feeling; it was as if she could anticipate the opponent’s reactions in moments of crisis, dodging narrowly every time. However, this girl did not feel nearly as formidable as the purple-clad one.

If the purple-clad girl was a mature bird, then the girl in the green mecha was merely a fledgling.

Ye Chong could almost be certain that this fighting style was a unique technique within the Zongsuo, one that could be mastered through study. From their brief exchanges, he gathered that there were quite a few people like them.

The thought of dozens—no, even just a few—mechas piloted by individuals who had mastered this technique, combined with their mutual coordination, was terrifying! Cold sweat broke out on Ye Chong’s back. In a one-on-one fight, he wasn't sure he could win, let alone two-on-one or more.

Ye Chong’s mind raced. The pilots who mastered this technique were likely the true core force of the Zongsuo! The girl before him was probably no match for him; if he could learn something about the Zongsuo’s inner workings from her, it would be of immense help in navigating the complex situation within the Orbital Ring. Furthermore, he would likely encounter such pilots again, and if he could gain information in advance, it might just save his life when that time came.

By comparison, the value of that three-legged mecha was far less.

A rare opportunity indeed!

In an instant, Ye Chong weighed the pros and cons and made his decision.

On the 3D wireframe of the three-legged mecha, four bright white lines and three light points appeared. Having become very familiar with the Guardian, Ye Chong understood these to be the optimal attack points identified by its analysis.

Like a leopard that had been stalking its prey for a long time, Ye Chong struck!

The girl inside the green mecha was struggling. She knew that if things continued this way, she would be the first to collapse. But holding on until now was already the extent of her limits! Her head throbbed from the overuse of her abilities. The teachings of her former instructor echoed in her mind; she had been warned more than once that overusing her powers was extremely dangerous.

But what other choice did she have?

She was not resigned! She was not willing to accept defeat like this! She had gone to great lengths to escape from that hellish place. Even though she had been fleeing for days, she still couldn't stop herself from falling in love with this vibrant world outside—unlike the base, where it was endless, day-after-day training, learning, and more training. If she were forced to return to that dull, monotonous life, she would rather die.

Since she could remember, she had lived in the base, a place forever lit by artificial lights. Everyone treated everything around them with cold indifference.

Three years ago, she had secretly begun planning her escape. She soon discovered that the knowledge she had acquired could be put to use. Because of this, she studied everything her instructors taught with even greater effort, allowing her to stand out among her peers and gain the attention and favor of her teachers.

Half a month ago, she finally found an opportunity and successfully escaped!

As she had anticipated, the Zongsuo’s response was incredibly swift, but she hadn't expected them to send an entire squad to hunt her down. They certainly thought highly of her, a thought that always made her smile bitterly. This deviation from her plan didn't cause her to panic; she calmly considered every possible path to survival.

She exhausted every method and spent every waking moment thinking. Through her efforts, the enemies pursuing her had been whittled down one by one. Now, only one remained!

But the current situation was the one she had feared most. She knew perfectly well that in a direct confrontation, she would definitely be the one to lose! It wasn't that her skill was inferior—though she hadn't completed all the training modules, as the most outstanding trainee of the elite group, she possessed strength beyond the average Zongsuo pilot. It was simply that her mecha was far too inferior to the Chen-class. The "Green Sparrow" was merely a training mecha used to practice her abilities; it could not compare to the Zongsuo’s standard combat mecha, the Chen-class.

Was she going to die here today? A wave of despair washed over her heart!