Chapter 75: Chapter 75 Seizing RX-16 (Part 2)
Editor: Noodletown Translations
Two soldiers wearing combat helmets had just turned around, and Mu Fan could even see the tails of their uniforms disappearing from view. With Black’s powerful shielding, Mu Fan hadn’t triggered any alarms.
“The corridor within 300 meters has nonelectronic trigger traps, activated physically and passively, so you need to follow my commands to move forward. Look at the tiles on the ground, start from the right 2, take 15 steps, then sidestep left, continue forward 3 steps, sidestep left twice…” Black issued orders directly through the earpiece. Mu Fan walked carefully on the cold floor with bare feet.
“Double the speed, faster! 14 seconds!” Black urged. At this pace, Mu Fan was too vulnerable. If seen by those two soldiers, he might not make it out alive.
A narrow escape.
The Dark Breath flowed through him, Mu Fan’s spiritual power was highly concentrated, entirely focused on the grid below him. A figure kept advancing through the corridor along a strange path.
“2 seconds! Good, you’ve gained yourself 2 extra seconds. Now turn left.” The two soldiers on the right had just reached halfway, and Mu Fan successfully earned himself extra time.
“Maintain the previous speed, run 200 meters, then there’s a corner on your left hand, enter, room 106, push the door open!” The winding passage extended into the mountainside, but so far, there were no other people. Mu Fan’s figure didn’t exist on the surveillance instruments and thermal imaging sensors.
Following Black’s instructions, Mu Fan quickly reached room 106, a silver metal door with an air grate and laser-engraved numbers.
No time for more thoughts, Mu Fan pushed the door open. Four empty beds were inside, with messy blankets and a few clothes scattered around.
“Grab the clothes on your right and put them on!” A camera above pointed directly at Mu Fan’s position.
Mu Fan sniffed and detected a scent of machine oil. Following the smell, he saw a deep blue work uniform lying on the bed. Use this for disguise?
“This room is the dormitory for mechanics in the Federation, not a soldiers’ dormitory. The workers have already started the inspections, get changed quickly. This is your only way to blend in now. Remember to wear the hat, then follow my commands.” Black explained everything to Mu Fan in a sequence.
Mu Fan looked at the large work uniform, slipped it on, and carefully covered the cuffs and pant legs of the linen clothes. He then found a pair of steel-toed work shoes under the bed. Luckily, he had taken off his shoes earlier, Mu Fan felt relieved.
So, he stepped out a minute later, under the guise of a blue uniform reeking of machine oil, embodying the perfect image of a mechanical repairman.
“Now proceed calmly, the workers have advanced 50%, move faster this time, don’t run, pass checkpoints directly,” Black instructed Mu Fan on the next steps.
Mu Fan nodded, deactivating the Dark Breath, and his demeanor reverted back to that of the slums, perfectly fitting the current guise.
According to Black’s instructions, he needed to pass three checkpoints, then descend 76 meters via the floating stairs to truly enter the Mecha Storage.
With his work cap pulled low, after walking less than 100 meters and turning through several corridors, Mu Fan finally saw armed soldiers guarding a security door.
“Palm print identification!” a stern voice commanded.
Mu Fan obediently placed his hand on the scanner, “Identification passed.” Thus, he swaggered through the first checkpoint, while two soldiers remained dutifully on guard.
He used the same method to pass the second checkpoint but encountered a small problem at the third checkpoint by the floating stairs.
On the platform of Floating Stairs No. 9, “Didn’t it just go down? Why are you alone?” The soldier’s epaulets looked different, and Mu Fan didn’t recognize he was a sergeant, bowing his head to speak.
As expected, Black didn’t let him down, synchronizing the response, “Mecha calibration has exceeded 50%, and I’m responsible for the final adjustments.” Within the Light Computer system, Black had silently added Mu Fan’s authority as an advanced mechanical repairman—Fan Mu.
With a nod, the soldier checked the palm print identification result, finding no issues, clearly showing advanced mechanical repairman—Fan Mu, and feeling somewhat confused why he didn’t remember this person before, allowed Mu Fan entry into the floating stairs while continuing his vigilant guard.
The floating stairs this time were noticeably less luxurious than those in the Martial Arts Hall, but despite their simplicity, the solid workmanship of thick metal was palpable.
Stepping out of the floating stairs, Mu Fan immediately saw the towering colossal Mecha Storage, where one after another blue, white, and red mecha stood silently. Cold firearms reflected the abundant light, and in blue overalls, mechanics rode mechanized vehicles continuously creating sparks on the outer shell, encircled by a distant large group of soldiers.
This was the real steel giant beast! Instantly, Mu Fan’s breath caught at the sight of that red lozenge-shaped Heavy Shield. The mecha in real life was far more striking than the ones seen in the PO Battle Net. You could clearly see the battle scars on a wide silver-white metallic Heavy Sword. The realistic metallic luster, paired with the huge, heavy mecha body, was stifling, with a group of maintenance workers performing pre-battle checks on the leg armors, clearly visible in the occasional flash of arc light revealing shiny vent holes around the two energy furnace nozzles at the back.
The weapons at the back differed slightly from what he had seen in the PO Battle Net, more complex, and bearing the insignia of the Federation army on the closest machine seen here, distinctly different from the ones inside.
The nearest mecha was equipped with a black Rapid Fire Gun slung on the back, a bit further away a six-barrel Gatling gun, and the farthest one bore no weapons at all.
“Speed up the preparations, why hasn’t the RX-16 over there equipped its weapons yet, where is everyone, faster!” a reprimand suddenly boomed through a loudspeaker, and Mu Fan noticed an officer in a lieutenant’s uniform shouting in the central area.
The officer saw Mu Fan as well, glaring angrily, “What are you doing there, dazing around, hurry over here! Yes, you, stop looking.”
When others looked around, confirming it was directed at him, Mu Fan realized he was indeed being addressed.
“Here’s your chance, and you don’t need to wait for Lord Black’s arrangements, hurry over!” Black urged urgently in the earpiece.
Thus, with a welding gun shoved into his hand by who knows whom, Mu Fan made his way to beneath the third RX-16 mecha, looking up at the steel giant beast.
“Combatant enter the cockpit and prepare! 60 seconds to deployment! Over there, hurry! You have thirty seconds!” The officer continued yelling in Mu Fan’s direction, while another crew used mechanical arms to slowly hoist a three-meter infantry close combat mecha weapon.
Watching a soldier enter a mecha and close the hatch, Mu Fan whispered, “What should I do?”
“First, use the work ladder to approach the cockpit door. In ten seconds, I’ll cut the power for 2 seconds to simulate a circuit fault; you have to enter within those 2 seconds, and the rest is up to you.”
Mu Fan nodded, but just after four or five seconds, a “boom” echoed. The mountain was under attack, debris already cascading from above, and the work platform workers erupted into chaotic noise.
“Perfect opportunity!” Black suddenly interjected, and Mu Fan saw the giant Mecha Storage’s lights flicker and then go out, leaving the crowd in a state of turmoil.
Black had acted ahead of schedule, only 2 seconds available!
At that moment, Mu Fan’s eyes flashed with determination, entering Blood-colored Vision! He pulled open the cockpit door Black had stealthily unlocked and slipped inside.
Bang! With a swift chop to the neck, the young soldier who hadn’t even turned his head was knocked unconscious. Under Black’s guidance, Mu Fan carefully placed him into the side escape pod. After closing the pod door, Mu Fan sat back, pressing his hands on the control panel, achieving control of the cockpit!
The lights came on again, and the crowd noise dwindled, replaced by an angry roar over the lieutenant’s intercom. Thus, the loudspeaker blared orders, “Can’t wait any longer, all units deploy! Close combat, artillery, aerial mecha sequence launch!”
Amid the hurried orders, no one noticed farthest RX-16 had quietly changed ownership!
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PS: Thanks to reader “DGcyc” for the reward of 100 coins! Thanks to reader “Light Snow Approaching” for the reward of 20 coins!