Chapter 275: Chapter 51 Earth Beetle
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(Second update delivered! At least three updates today—whether I’ll do more depends on your enthusiasm!)
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Mu Fan watched as two mechas whizzed by his side.
They were roughly four meters tall, each mecha stepping on an oversized metal skateboard, with engines on their backs constantly spewing flames as they performed balancing maneuvers.
As one passed by the taxi Mu Fan was sitting in, a white mecha with ring-shaped colorful markings on its back even turned to wave at the driver.
“These damned mech skaters!”
The driver honked twice and muttered a complaint as he watched the mechas grow smaller in the distance before finally remembering the question Mu Fan had just asked him.
“There is no mecha control for Warrior class and below on Blue Capital Star, but every mecha that appears in the urban area must be registered, and they can’t be equipped with lethal weapons.”
Mu Fan nodded in understanding, realizing that mechas couldn’t be seen on Loga Star, and on Purple Jade Star, the mecha control was unexpectedly strict, so he rarely saw them in reality.
Yet, he hadn’t expected to see two so easily here.
“By the way, Uncle, what’s a ‘mech skater’?”
“These young people have nothing better to do. I don’t know who came up with this race. You can’t use your feet to run or engines to fly—you have to rely on the engines’ horizontal thrust and your own stability to race on skateboards. It’s become popular recently on Blue Capital Star. Sigh, to be honest, I’d like to play too, but I can’t afford it. Even the cheapest E-class mecha in the traveler series is over 500,000. F-class mechas are affordable, but they are only good for moving heavy objects in the mines.”
So expensive…
Mu Fan now felt that the little money he had was a drop in the bucket… He probably couldn’t even afford an engine.
I’m so poor!
Make a mecha of my own?
Thinking about Black’s words now, how unreliable!
But Lord Black didn’t know what Mu Fan was thinking, and even if he did, he would probably cast a vote of approval.
Right now, Black couldn’t even comprehend what kind of junk could be made from such crude materials.
Seeing how seriously the old thing took it, Black had to foster Mu Fan’s mechanical knowledge.
This was practically a death sentence for Lord Black!
“This sounds really interesting,” Mu Fan thought and found it amusing, wondering what it would feel like to pilot a Shura Mecha on a skateboard.
“Yup, I quite agree with that statement. Here in Zhongjing City, there’s a mecha community exchange with all sorts of competitions, and the rewards are pretty high. If you’re really good, you can win a few times and earn back the cost of a mecha.”
In the middle of the conversation, another two mechas flew by at low altitude.
“Who’s organizing this?” Mu Fan clarified his phrasing this time.
“Ha-ha, it’s not any organization. Just look at the lily emblem on the back, and you’ll know it’s the star product of the Deep Blue Mecha Company—the Cold Jade Series, adventure-level civilian mecha. Plus, with pre-installed weapon ports, they can become lethal weapons any time. The cheapest model starts at ten million!”
The driver rattled on, the variety within Zhongjing City seemingly at his fingertips, “So the pilots of these two mechas must be children of Zhongjing City’s wealthy. It’s purely a show-off for them.”
Ten million…
The more Mu Fan heard, the more despondent he got, increasingly feeling the despair of life.
He used to have a Shura Mecha himself, but it was one he couldn’t expose to the light of day, let alone now when it was completely out of sight.
Ever since the Shura had entered the Realm-Breaking Gate and vanished, he had tried to send out his Mind to that metal plate, but it was just a cold, unresponsive piece of metal.
Having piloted, heard about, and seen mechas, Mu Fan sitting in the car suddenly felt a strong urge for a mecha himself.
Not as a means of transportation.
But only when a mecha was by his side did Mu Fan feel that his world was truly fulfilled.
If Fatty and White Hair saw this, they would definitely give him a good lecture.
A world with women is truly full!
Even though Fatty and White Hair were leagues apart…
“We’re here! The entrance of D21 Street, it’s too crowded inside, can’t drive in.”
As Mu Fan pondered, the middle-aged driver stopped the car steadily by the curb and turned to say.
“Oh.”
Mu Fan quickly paid the fare with his card, got out of the car, and stood at the entrance of D21 Street.
The neat and wide road, the sci-fi and modern digital screens of all kinds, and the vintage fluorescent graffiti on the walls.
This is a gathering place for the pioneers of technology and thought.
Looking at the densely packed, flowing crowd in front of him, Mu Fan felt a bit bewildered.
How many people were there?
And over there in the distance, were those small mechas actually walking step by step?
The flashy paintwork effectively masked the coldness of the mechas with vibrant colors.
The unmanned drones floating in the sky projected a light screen that displayed “Federation and Hinchlo Mecha Exhibition” directly above everyone’s heads.
I know this, but how do I get in? Now, at a glance, it’s all people!
“Hey, let’s go. Was coming back to school early the right choice or what? Hinchlo’s high-end mechas are on display this time, too. I heard there are even limited edition, ungraded new mechas.”
“Ungraded!? Could they be Warrior class!?”
“Possibly… Let’s hurry and take a look; I can’t wait any longer.”
“I’m going to buy a deluxe mecha model! The latest model!”
“You can probably only afford a C-class.”
Two teenagers laughed and chatted as they walked swiftly past.
“Hmph, poor people.”
Another arrogant young man, obviously looking far wealthier than the two students, passed by.
“Excuse me, could you tell me where the entrance to the exhibition is?” Mu Fan called out to the young man, as the previous two had walked too fast and had already squeezed into the crowd.
The young man turned around with annoyance; he wanted to see who was so thoughtless as to pat him on the shoulder.
However, upon seeing Mu Fan’s shiny black eyes… and going further down, the luxurious clothes, the young man exclaimed in surprise.
This person must be wealthy!
This outfit is definitely worth no less than five hundred thousand Star Coins.
On the left wrist from which he had just withdrawn his hand from his shoulder, there was a delicate watch. Although it was just a fleeting glance, the young man had already determined it was definitely a limited edition timepiece.
This person was of the same status; he should be treated differently.
Thus, the young man’s demeanor softened, and he pointed to somewhere ahead.
“Do you see that holographic image in the sky? That small mecha image with all sorts of colors? If you make your way to that spot, you’ll be able to see the entrance.”
Following the young man’s direction, Mu Fan finally spotted the entrance. Thanking him, he made his way through the crowd.
Using his inhuman strength, Mu Fan carved out a straight path towards the nearest holographic projection.
“Wow, that works too.”
The young man who had been stunned watched as the previously poised and gentle Mu Fan transformed into a forceful foreman and bulldozed his way through the crowd.
Straightening his collar, and taking advantage of the crowd not yet closing in again, he quickly and elegantly followed suit.
Finally reaching the red, small mecha image, Mu Fan could see the half underground entrance, now completely filled with people.
After reluctantly forking over a hundred Star Coins, Mu Fan once again used his supernatural strength to push his way through the entrance.
His vision darkened then brightened again, and a massive exhibition hall, no smaller than a base’s training ground, appeared before his eyes.
The endless array of colorful booths and variously shaped mechas almost instantly dazzled Mu Fan’s eyes.
As for the enchanting, beautiful mecha girls in front of each booth, Mu Fan chose to selectively ignore them.
“So many mechas! So beautiful!”
“Country bumpkin.”
Seven or eight meters away from Mu Fan, standing in front of a fiery red Fire Soul Worm mecha, two oddly dressed people, one tall and one short, heard him and turned their heads with disdainful retorts.
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PS: Thank you to the book friend “Ran Family Dam” for rewarding 2000 + 500 + 100 coins! (Congratulations to the new Hall Master!)
Thank you to the book friend “Loved You Afterwards” for rewarding 500 coins!
Thank you to the book friends “Waiting for Apricots to Fall,” “Human-Shaped Monster,” “Bloodbath Gate,” “Mutual Greetings,” “Zhe C??,” “Cloud Break,” “Wind Solidifies Night,” “Poetic Paintings, Ren Xiaowei,” “Tea Training the Heart,” “Moon Radiance and Wind Elegance,” “Mocking Fall,” “Autumn Brightness, Bai Hua” for rewarding 100 coins!
Thank you to the book friend “Pingping (1)” for rewarding 20 coins!