Chapter Fifty-Eight: A Sudden Upheaval in the City

Ye Chong finally managed to summon Mu out from subspace. Though Grandpa Qian’s house was by no means small, Mu’s massive form still left the place packed tight. Ye Chong had no choice but to ask Mu to fold up his mechanical legs and half-recline on the ground in a most unseemly posture. Naturally, this did not go without Mu’s customary complaints.

Grandpa Qian looked at the battered and incomplete Mu and could not help but sigh. The armor Yezi piloted had ended up in such a state—it was truly pitiable.

Without a neural helmet, Ye Chong had no choice but to use Mu. He climbed into Mu’s cockpit, donned the combat helmet, and entered the virtual net.

The virtual net was much the same as before. Without hesitation, Ye Chong navigated adeptly to Aurora, where the old grandpas, who hadn’t seen Ye Chong in ages, still remembered him fondly. Many had worried about his well-being. Ye Chong’s arrival delighted them, and after a round of warm greetings, a bashful smile once again appeared on Ye Chong’s lips.

Bidding farewell to the old grandpas, Ye Chong moved on to the Pilot’s Consciousness Training Base. As usual, Mu was nowhere to be seen.

The training base was as lively as ever. The combat zone buzzed with excitement, and watching the action made Ye Chong, who hadn’t piloted a mech in a while, itch with anticipation. He was just about to try his hand when Mu suddenly popped up from who knows where, announcing, “Yezi, I’ve just finished processing your identity card file! Go pick it up now—it’s really not safe without it!”

“Identity card? It’s done?” Ye Chong asked. He couldn’t help but recall Baili Nan’s vivid expression when he learned at Raynor that Ye Chong didn’t have an identity card. Ye Chong wondered how that guy was doing now.

Ye Chong wandered alone down the street. Overhead, aircraft and mechs roared past, weaving through the floating anti-gravity residences suspended mid-air. Some mechs even showed off their flying skills with daring maneuvers, flaunting their prowess.

The powerful urge to pilot a mech, freshly stirred by his experience in the virtual net, surged within Ye Chong. Unable to resist, he summoned the F-58 and eagerly climbed into the cockpit.

The F-58 soared into the sky. Ye Chong, exhilarated, performed a few aerial stunts, sometimes skimming so close to the anti-gravity residences’ windows that he left the occupants in a cold sweat.

Mu, of course, couldn’t pass up the chance to mock him: “Oh Yezi, it seems your skills have declined. Tsk tsk, that last barrel roll was hardly smooth. And your acceleration error reached 5.78%—that’s just abysmal!”

A blue humanoid mech thundered past Ye Chong, making a taunting gesture as it went.

Mu fanned the flames from the sidelines: “Tsk tsk, Yezi, look how far you’ve fallen. Even small fry like that dare challenge you. Please, don’t ever tell anyone I designed your training regimen—I’d die of embarrassment!”

Ye Chong snorted coldly and suddenly accelerated, tightly pursuing the blue mech ahead.

The blue mech was clearly modified for speed—four extendable horizontal wings greatly enhanced its stability within the atmosphere. Compared to the broad, expansive wings, the mech’s armored body looked slender and frail, with six smaller auxiliary wings at the rear. In flight, it resembled a bird with outspread wings, its petite frame completely shrouded by the vast wingspan.

There was no doubt this mech was built for speed; every design choice served that singular purpose, granting it unmatched velocity.

Yet, in Ye Chong’s eyes, the design was a glaring failure. Despite its natural speed advantage, everything else was a mess. The body was so thin he doubted it offered any protection at all, and those oversized wings were simply unnecessary. In space, this design would be useless, and even in the atmosphere, two wings half the current size could achieve about eighty percent of the present performance while making it harder for enemies to land a hit.

Most critically, the obsession with speed left the mech severely limited in payload—there wasn’t even a weapon system. In Ye Chong’s view, a weaponless mech was good for nothing but running away. Of course, Mu was the sole exception.

Though Ye Chong was puzzled by such extreme modifications, the blue mech’s formidable speed was undeniable.

The F-58 was a space-type mech and lacked any wings, making atmospheric flight less than ideal. Fortunately, it was equipped with a highly advanced engine, and Ye Chong’s exceptional obstacle navigation skills allowed the F-58 to keep close behind the blue mech.

But that was all—it could only keep up; overtaking was another matter entirely.

And Mu continued his biting commentary: “Oh dear, Yezi, you could have shaved another 0.035 seconds off that turn… Yezi… my goodness, have you forgotten everything you learned at the training base? You’re 4.5% below the standard I set for you…”

The two mechs now raced through the city center, where anti-gravity residences were denser and air traffic heavier. The blue mech showed no intention of taking to open skies, instead weaving nimbly among the buildings.

The two mechs, one in close pursuit of the other, streaked through the city center at breakneck speeds, heedless of everything around them.

Instantly, the city center was thrown into chaos. Pedestrians stared in shock at the reckless duel above and hurried to get out of the way. The already congested traffic descended into utter bedlam.

Ye Chong didn’t give it a thought—affecting traffic? What a joke! With such vast skies, why shouldn’t he fly wherever he pleased? In fact, the very idea of traffic probably never even crossed his mind.

Ye Chong’s eyes were locked on the blue mech ahead, excitement surging through him. It had been so long since he’d felt this exhilarated! His whole body burned with adrenaline as he devoted himself entirely to piloting. His movements, initially somewhat sluggish, grew fluid and seamless. At full speed, Ye Chong’s evasion skills were nothing short of astonishing. He darted through the urban forest like a swordfish weaving joyfully among coral reefs.

The distance between Ye Chong and his opponent began to shrink.

The other pilot, feeling the pressure, started to slip—just slightly, a detail imperceptible to most, but Ye Chong caught it instantly and used the opportunity to close the gap further. After this brief mistake, the blue mech’s pilot quickly regained composure, giving Ye Chong little room to capitalize. Purely in terms of speed, the F-58 was no match for the rival. That Ye Chong had managed to keep up was entirely thanks to his exceptional obstacle navigation.

Watching Ye Chong so absorbed, Mu yawned and muttered, “What’s the point? There’s no real skill in this.”

Ye Chong suddenly noticed several mechs trailing behind. With no time for a closer look, he said, “Mu, check out those mechs behind us!”

Mu had noticed them too. Several were police mechs in black, white, and blue, but one white mech was keeping pace with the F-58.

Mu scrutinized it. “Those seem to be from the police department. Not sure about that white one, though… Hey, its performance isn’t inferior to your F-58!” Suddenly Mu cried, “Yezi, watch out for that white mech behind you—it’s fully armed!”

Ye Chong considered this; he’d had enough fun, and the armed white mech made him wary.

In a sudden maneuver, he veered into another street, catching everyone off guard. The blue mech, startled by Ye Chong’s abrupt exit, nearly crashed into a building and, in its panic, scraped its weak armor against the metallic glass façade, its vulnerability exposed. It wobbled, only to be immediately surrounded by a swarm of police mechs.

The white mech hesitated for a split second, then immediately gave chase after Ye Chong.

Ye Chong’s heart skipped a beat—this one was clearly after him.

Mu spoke up, “Yezi, looks like this guy’s here just for you! Careful, its weapon systems are coming online.” This time, Mu’s tone was utterly serious.

While flying at high speed, Ye Chong glanced at the white mech on his holographic display. Sure enough, its concealed weapon bay was open—undeniable hostility.

Ye Chong made a sharp turn into a side street at full throttle. The white mech, caught unprepared, was left further behind, but like a relentless hunter, it quickly adjusted and continued the pursuit.

Ye Chong’s sudden dash into the side street threw the mechs and flyers above into chaos, as they scrambled to avoid a collision. The resulting confusion blocked the white mech, forcing it to watch helplessly as Ye Chong darted out of sight.

Finally rid of the white mech, Ye Chong let out a sigh of relief, slowing down to a leisurely cruise above the street.

After that long burst of high-speed flight, his energy reserves were severely depleted, and he had no choice but to reduce speed.

Suddenly, Mu’s voice sounded, “Yezi, look up at the sky!”

Ye Chong shifted the holographic display skyward. High above, the white mech looked down coldly at him in his relaxed flight. The muzzle of a laser sniper rifle was aimed mercilessly in his direction.