Chapter 42: Ace Mecha Pilot?
"Everyone, stay calm and don't panic."
"Listen up, everyone."
"Please be patient. We've already dismantled half of the anti-radiation bomb, and we have five minutes left."
"Genetically enhanced individuals are also prohibited from flying. Those who fly will be considered members of the Red Earl's extremist organization." A loud voice echoed through the dome.
Yang Bo hid in the corner, thinking carefully. Today was really unexpected. He had just come to collect his wages.
And then he killed a few people? Or maybe a dozen? There would definitely be reports about it later.
An hour later, Yang Bo, wearing his own clothes, was waiting outside the Dome Entertainment City for inspection.
As soon as safety was mentioned, a crowd rushed out. Yang Bo retrieved his clothes and watch, then slipped out amid the chaos.
"Boss." Suddenly, Yang Bo spotted Liu Zijie, who was talking to a police officer. They seemed familiar with each other, so Yang Bo immediately called out.
"Yang Bo, are you okay?" Liu Zijie, with his thick skin, approached Yang Bo as soon as he saw him and asked.
"Boss, it's all your fault today. If you hadn't called me to settle my wages, I almost died here," Yang Bo complained.
Liu Zhijie whispered, "The Dome Entertainment City will compensate everyone for mental distress, and the company will also compensate you. I'll secure a promotion opportunity for you."
Yang Bo muttered to himself, "Could it be that the fat guy's company suffered heavy losses this time? Are they making me do the dirty work? Think again. I'll just be the lowest-level janitor. Going any higher might involve doing something unconscionable."
"Boss, this job is too dangerous," Yang Bo refused, sounding a bit afraid.
"Take a few days off with paid leave. This was a genuine accident. Those scoundrels at Red Earl." Liu Zijie gritted his teeth.
Yang Bo was a resident, so he underwent facial recognition, wristband scanning, and a manual search. Residents couldn't tolerate machine security checks, as they were said to emit radiation that could harm their health. After that, Yang Bo was allowed to proceed.
"How about I buy you a drink?" Liu Zhijie asked after watching Yang Bo finish the inspection and exit.
"Alright." Yang Bo had originally planned to return and investigate the criminals' hideout in his community, but upon reflection, he realized that many criminals were apprehended because they returned to the scene of the crime to assess the situation.
They arrived at a distant leisure tea house. Before sitting down, Yang Bo heard a live interview on the virtual TV inside the tea house.
"Yes, the one who operated the Blade Mecha this time was a senior manager from our Dimension Company. This senior manager not only knows the weaknesses of various mechas but is also a mecha engineer. As for the specific rank, that is company confidential information." A middle-aged man with a large belly, a high-ranking official from Dimension Modification Company, was speaking directly to the camera.
Yang Bo was speechless. How dare they come out so quickly to claim credit?
What Yang Bo didn't know was that Dimension Company was acting on government orders this time. The person controlling the Blade Mecha absolutely couldn't be affiliated with the Red Earl, as that would leave the government in complete darkness with no room for maneuver.
Moreover, the government also wanted to find this person. After all, an unknown individual who could deploy a mecha at any time posed a significant security risk. And if the mecha operator was a top-tier mecha pilot, would the elite and powerful still feel safe?
Dimension Company was forced to take the blame, though they were reluctant to do so, as this meant antagonizing the Red Count, an extremist organization. However, they had no choice.
First, Dimension Company's mecha had been involved in the deaths of so many people, which was a liability.
Second, Dimension Company doesn't want to go bankrupt. If they reveal that the Blade Mecha was stolen, the company will go bankrupt.
Dimension Company's executives had to choose between bankruptcy and opposing the Red Count. Everyone knew which option to choose, otherwise the government might suspect that Dimension Company was colluding with the Red Count's people.
Liu Zhijie whispered, "Don't believe any of this; it's all nonsense."
"Ah."
"All of this is nonsense. Those politicians and celebrities are just spouting nonsense," Liu Zhijie continued.
Liu Zhijie took a sip of tea before saying, "The spatial button of the Blade Mecha was stolen yesterday, which is why the Dimension Company exhibition hall was closed. I only found out about it just now."
"And a company like Dimension Company can afford to hire an ace mecha pilot? Do you really think ace mecha pilots are as common as weeds on the street?" Liu Zhijie put down his teacup and continued.
Yang Bo was surprised: "The mecha pilot is an ace mecha pilot?"
Yang Bo was truly surprised. He was an ace mecha pilot? How come he didn't know?
"There are many levels within mecha pilots. Take today's pilot, for example. He piloted a third-generation mecha, the lowest tier, and achieved a 0:13 battle record. Although there are many factors involved, the battle record cannot be changed. The recognition of a mecha pilot is based solely on the battle record, without considering any other factors."
"Because there's no fairness on the battlefield; it's all about the record. Plus, this mecha pilot knows the weaknesses of other mechas. The stock prices of these two companies are definitely going to plummet." Liu Zijie said with a tone of admiration.
Yang Bo pondered for a moment and quickly understood. In the exhibition hall, he used sound waves to control the mecha. When the mecha was not powered on, it relied on its own materials to prevent others from detecting it.
The exhibition hall had an interference shielding system, so other methods couldn't detect it, but his sound waves were an exception...
"Additionally, this mecha engineer executed his tactics flawlessly from the start, first eliminating the enemy commander. Within such an extreme organization, command authority cannot be transferred to others like in a military unit if the commander is incapacitated. The reason the subsequent mechas failed to form a coordinated attack was because they couldn't coordinate with their peers due to the lack of unified command."
"Of course, the Red Earl's mecha pilots also made a fatal mistake: they didn't bring close combat weapons. Their target was unprotected humans, but if the commander had equipped two mechas with close combat weapons, things wouldn't have turned out so badly."
"However, losing two mechs might have exposed a flaw in the plan." Liu Zhijie looked out the window at the flickering lights—those were ground-based fighter jets.
Yang Bo understood Liu Zhijie's meaning: the attackers had limited manpower and mechs, so to maximize the number of hostages, they had to equip all their mechs with high-frequency laser cannons and the like.
Yang Bo now reflected that his control of the mecha didn't feel like controlling a mecha at all; it felt like controlling his own body.
"Could it be related to the spatial button? Didn't the Dimension Company say that the spatial button and the mecha's energy metal use the same frequency?" Yang Bo picked up his teacup, sipping tea while pondering the matter. Today had been full of unexpected events.
At that moment, the virtual TV screen displayed a scene that left everyone speechless.
After Yang Bo had gone down to the stage basement, a figure descended from the dome, surrounded by a crescent-shaped red blade. It wasn't large, only about ten centimeters long, but that ten-centimeter-long red blade pierced through the cockpits of three mechs in an instant. Those three mechs were holding a large group of hostages.
"Split the Sky." Yang Bo stared in shock at the flash of light. If he had been a moment later, the outcome...
"The equipment of the Planet Guardians. This isn't something ordinary people can afford, and without the military government's special communication satellite, forget about it." Liu Zhiye replied calmly.
(End of this chapter)