《I Devour Mechas》


 Humble Beginnings

    This is where it all began.


    A junkyard.


    Oh no, this isn''t your clean, mechas-only junkyard that was the ''starting point'' of many mecha geniuses out there.


    I have seen and heard my share of rags-to-riches stories, and many of them claimed that they had started from ''junkyards'' and slowly grew to be where they were right now. From Zero to Hero, they declared. You can do it too, they said. As long as you work hard, everything is possible, they claimed.


    I call bullshit.


    Life doesn''t work like that.


    All those professed Zero-to-Hero geniuses are definitely middle to low income families who still have houses to live in and regular meals three times a day. The ''junkyard'' they claimed to have started from is definitely just a scrappy second-hand mecha shop down the street.


    I can bet everything I own on it.


    For one thing, they all look too clean to be junkyard scrappers like me. They speak too nicely, their hands are too smooth, and their eyes are shining too brightly, god damn it.


    Yes, they are all skilled beyond measure. Yes, they all took the world by storm. Yes, their stories inspired billions of young children to work hard.


    But they definitely didn''t start from a mecha junkyard.


    Because for another thing, it is impossible to get anything of value in a mecha junkyard. Period.


    All the things they throw into a mecha junkyard have passed through many nimble hands and sharp, discerning eyes from various organizations before finally reaching the junkyard. And everything that reaches the junkyard is well and truly that. Junk. Bits and pieces of mechas that have absolutely no commercial value left.


    Of course, one man¡¯s poison (or trash, in this matter) is another man¡¯s treasure. So to lowborns like us, a mecha junkyard is still a wonderful place where we can find bits and pieces of metal and wires which we could use to stay alive. Just that, mind you. Stay alive.


    Not to create a mecha out of spare parts that can take the world by storm.


    The idea of finding something incomparably precious in a junkyard that could somehow change a person¡¯s life is absolute nonsense. Truly.


    It¡¯s a myth, born of fantasy, spun into a delicious tale meant to do one thing. Entertain, and entertain only.


    Me? I come from a real junkyard. And it isn¡¯t even a mecha junkyard.


    It¡¯s just a regular junkyard.


    If junkyards could be graded, then a mecha junkyard would sit very comfortably at the top of the list. Then below that would be an airplane junkyard, an automobile junkyard, a ship junkyard, then right at the bottom would be the regular junkyard and the rubbish dump.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    The last two didn¡¯t really need to be separated, since both were absolutely similar in value. But at least the regular junkyard doesn¡¯t smell.


    And that, my friends, is where I come from, and where everything started for me.


    Because although I had just spent the past few minutes claiming that getting something even remotely useful from a junkyard is a myth meant to entertain bored young people with too much time on their hands, (it is very certainly that way for everyone else) it was not the case for me.


    I was scrounging for useful stuff in that regular junkyard one fine morning. (If you¡¯re wondering why I was in a regular junkyard instead of a mecha junkyard, it was a Monday. And I spend my Mondays in a regular junkyard just to switch things up a little.)


    I had a great start to the day, I actually found an entire length of wire deep within the junkyard. A full two hundred centimeters, still connected to a weird squarish wirehead.


    Feeling encouraged by such bountiful harvest, I began to attack the humongous pile of junk with great fervor. If an almost intact length of wire could be found there, what other treasures would that particular pile of junk yield?


    But as usual, I found nothing else of worth. Just piles and piles of scrap metal and broken pieces of¡­ junk. Just as I was about to leave that pile and move on to the next, I saw a dust-covered curved item hiding beneath some tattered cloth.


    In fact, I barely caught a glimpse of anything. Most of the item was under that piece of cloth, the only thing that caught my eye was that the item was most likely to be spherical, and it had a relatively smooth surface.


    Point to note for you aspiring junkyard scrappers out there, if it''s spherical and smooth, grab it. More often than not, it¡¯s worth something. Even if it is just a broken piece of what used to be a spherical item, you can at least use it to drink and eat.


    And grab it I did. To my great joy and surprise, it was an intact spherical item!


    A full and complete sphere the size of a human fist!


    My heart almost burst from happiness. Whatever it was, it was still intact, and it might just be repairable.


    I held the sphere with trembling hands and began to wipe it with the bottom of my¡­ well I would say T-shirt, but it wasn¡¯t much of a T-shirt anymore. Let¡¯s just say clothing. Yes, I began to wipe it with the bottom of my clothing. And piling joy upon joy, I immediately noticed a series of very familiar runes etched on the sphere. I gasped in shock. I actually recognized the object.


    It was a mecha core.


    Holy smokes. Talk about hitting the jackpot.


    Up till that point, I had never seen a mecha up close before, much less a mecha core. But I had devoured every little bit of information I could get my hands on about mechas, their pilots, their stories, everything. And I knew for certain that I had in my hands an intact mecha core.


    I remember feeling faint. I couldn¡¯t believe it. I collapsed on the ground, closed my eyes and counted to ten. I then did several difficult multiplications in my head. Finding that I could do them smoothly, I took a deep breath and prepared for the final test. I had to do it right.


    PIAK!!


    I gave myself a tight slap.


    OWWWW!!!


    I yelped in pain. IT HURT LIKE HELL! Damn it. But inside my heart I was trembling with joy.


    It was not a dream. I had a mecha core in my hand.


    I turned back to check on the spot where I found the mecha core. I wasn¡¯t expecting anything else, but hey it never hurt to be thorough and check.


    I cleared the space a little, and found that it was the rear end of an automobile. In the ancient days, they had this compartment at the rear of the automobile where they could put stuff in it.


    I lifted the tattered cloth up to check what else was in that compartment and got another big shock.


    It was a human skeleton.

 Mecha Core

    It was unquestionably a human skeleton.


    Time had left its corrosive mark on it and it was almost unrecognizable. But I could still see the skull, pieces of the spine and the pelvic bone.


    I grimaced slightly, and started to feel rather nauseous.


    I was no stranger to death. You couldn¡¯t grow up on the streets and not see death at some point. But I was totally unprepared to meet with the remains of a human being so up close and personal. You see, whatever could be said of me at that time, one thing was for sure.


    I was young. Very young.


    I don¡¯t know my age exactly, (I think almost everyone living on the streets are the same, who cares about birthdays?) but I was definitely no older than ten.


    By ten, you were either independent and streetsmart, or you¡¯re dead.


    I was the former. Very much so, if I may boast a little.


    Anyway, I digress.


    I fought down my nausea and bravely searched the trunk for other valuable stuff.


    Jackpot!


    A satchel!


    Could this day get any better? I remember thinking of that ecstatically. I grabbed it and quickly closed the hatch of the compartment once more. I put the mecha core in my pants where it would be safe, and hugged the satchel as I left the pile of junk to look for a safe place to check out my treasure.


    I peeked out of the pile of junk and checked the surroundings. I was scrounging very early in the morning when I knew that there would be very few people around. But I was a cautious boy. Because well, cautious boys stay alive, and careless boys die.


    Finding that the coast is clear, I ran down a path that was surrounded by piles and piles of junk that seemed to stretch out infinitely into the horizon. It was one of many paths that criss-crossed the junkyard. Some lead to deadends, some lead to exits and entrances, and some lead to the worst places in the junkyards - gang hideouts.


    I picked the one I knew that would lead me to an exit near my ¡®home¡¯ and ran as fast as I could. It would be really bad if a gang member caught me running with a treasure such as the satchel I was holding on to.


    After a heart-poundingly scary few minutes, I finally made it out of the junkyard interior. I slipped past the main (broken) gates of the junkyard and darted into a small pathway leading into a small forest just outside the junkyard.


    After a minute or two of scampering about, I reached the place I humbly call home. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    It was a double engined helicopter wreckage. It was a monster helicopter when it was operational, and it was a spacious home now that it was a wreckage.


    Pathetic as it may sound, living in such a large wreckage was actually a luxury among junkyard scrappers. I was extremely fortunate to have found this large helicopter wreckage. It had everything I needed, which was a roof, and the occasional electricity if I managed to scavenge or rob a power source.


    Yes, yes. I do rob other junkyard scrappers. I didn¡¯t have to, but I did. I am not a kind person. So there. If you don¡¯t like it, you can... go eat candy.


    I breathed a sigh of relief once I entered my home. I never had a visitor ever since I moved in two years ago, and I wasn¡¯t expecting to have one anytime soon.


    I quickly sat down on what used to be a cockpit and took a deep breath.


    Save the best for last, I told myself.


    I nodded sagely and forced myself to open the satchel first.


    The mecha core can wait. It won¡¯t go anywhere. I told myself.


    I snapped the latch on the satchel open and lifted its cover. My eyes grew wide in wonder as I beheld the treasures within.


    J.A.C.K.P.O.T.


    A handheld communicator of some sort greeted my eyes which were shining in excitement. I would definitely be able to get it up and running again. It just needed an electrical boost.


    Aside from the handheld communicator, there was also a half-rotted folder filled with rectangular pieces of parchments. The ink on the parchments have long faded away and they were worthless.


    And then there was the final item. A necklace with a metal plate. I gingerly took it out of the satchel and ran my fingers on the engraving.


    Dr. Andrew Kennedy


    Mecha Engineering


    Central Division


    The skeleton in the storage compartment of the automobile was a Mecha Engineer! He must have been murdered and his body dumped there before the automobile was disposed of.


    I placed the necklace back into the satchel, and hid the satchel in a secret compartment I found in the helicopter. After that, I took out the grand prize that I¡¯ve been waiting so eagerly to study.


    The mecha core.


    If I somehow manage to play this right, this would be the key to a qualitative change in my life. My ticket to a better future.


    I wiped the mecha core clean with a piece of cloth and studied it very carefully.


    It was blood red in colour, and semi translucent.


    I frowned deeply. I had never seen or heard of a mecha core that was blood red in colour.


    A mecha core is a practical application of a massive technological breakthrough in energy manipulation early in the 22nd century. Surprisingly it was a scientist from a third world country who made the breakthrough, discovering a compound element and a unique method which allows for a controlled nuclear fission triggered by electricity to happen.


    It was a massive turning point for humanity as energy became a non issue within one short decade. With unlimited energy at their disposal, the scientists and engineers of the world made breakthroughs in almost every field of study and application.


    However, it was the undisputed number one power of the world, The United States of All Americas (USAA) which weaponized the technology.


    They developed the technology further, finally culminating into palm sized energy capsules that produced enough energy to power massive robots that packed a ton of firepower.


    The second ranked power of the world, The European Empire, soon followed suit. Within a decade, the other powers of the world had developed their own oversized robots powered by similar applications of the technology.


    The age of mechas had begun.


    Almost every mecha core was electric blue. The rare and more powerful ones were white. The rarest of them all were golden.


    There was no such thing as a red mecha core.


    I gently caressed the mecha core with my fingers as I contemplated the issue. That it was a mecha core, was undeniable. The runes etched on it were definitely the ones in almost every single mecha core I had seen in the documentaries.


    However, it was also undeniable that red mecha cores were non-existent. How could they exist? Only three compound elements were found to be suitable to be used in mechas, and they were blue, white and golden in colour. Could this be a fourth element? But why was it in the junkyard in the body of a murdered scientist?


    Wait¡­ Could this be an experimental mecha core that failed?


    ¡°OUCH!¡± I yelled out in shock. A sharp pain coming from my fingers jolted me out of my reverie.


    I looked at my thumb in great surprise as it began to bleed profusely. I quickly sucked on it to stop the bleeding.


    But before I could do anything else, the mecha core in my hands cracked and exploded.


    I stared at it in horror as it transformed into a wave of red energy and pierced into my tummy. An overwhelming deluge of pain assailed my senses, and I passed out.

 Devour!

    I woke up with a sudden-ness that was astounding to say the least. There was no sense of lethargy, nor was there a need to re-orient myself. I became conscious and my brain whirred back to full speed as though it had never blacked out.


    I opened my eyes and noticed that the sky was already dark. But at that moment, I couldn¡¯t care less.


    I remembered the wave of red energy that pierced my tummy and instinctively braced for pain. But thankfully, and rather surprisingly, none came.


    Weird, but definitely good.


    After a second or two, I looked down and lifted my clothing up to check on my tummy. There was no trace of anything entering it.


    No wounds, no scars, no dried blood, nothing.


    I touched it gingerly, and upon feeling no pain once more, I got slightly bolder and pressed on it lightly.


    Nothing.


    I frowned slightly, and pressed down on my tummy with more strength.


    Still nothing. Everything felt normal.


    That¡¯s really good, but the weird part was starting to bug me.


    Was it a dream?


    My eyes swivelled to the secret compartment where I kept the satchel. I sprang up with great agility and quickly opened it up.


    There it was. The satchel was still there.


    I breathed a sigh of relief.


    That¡¯s really good. It was still weird, but at least the good parts were still there.


    It was not a dream.


    The red mecha core was real.


    And it was within my body.


    I was a ten year old junkyard scrapper. I¡¯ve had my share of wounds and bleeding. Some were trophies from accidents which made me stronger instead of killing me, and some were inflicted by other junkyard scrappers as we fought for¡­ well, scraps.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    And all my experiences by that point had taught me one thing. If you¡¯re not in pain, you¡¯re probably fine.


    So in proper junkyard scrapper fashion, even after confirming that I did indeed have a weird wave of red energy entering my body, I was still calm and collected.


    I sat down quietly, trying to sense the energy within my body.


    There it is! I thought in surprise. I didn¡¯t expect to detect it so quickly.


    It was still in my tummy area, where it had made its entrance earlier.


    I felt my adrenaline pumping really hard in response and to my continued surprise, the adrenalin began to mix with the red energy.


    My heart began to pound wildly in excitement as I felt the adrenaline-infused energy start to circulate around my body.


    One round.


    Two rounds.


    Three rounds.


    As it circulated around my body, the energy grew smaller and smaller until it became a quarter its original size. Thereafter, it stopped in my heart and disappeared.


    Weird, why-


    GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!


    Blinding pain suddenly engulfed my entire body. It was so painful that my nerves had no idea what sort of pain it was. Was it hot? Cold? I didn¡¯t know what sort of pain I was feeling, only that it was pure agony.


    I crumpled onto the floor and began to convulse uncontrollably.


    The pain continued unabated for many long minutes, but by then I had already lost control of my body.


    I could only lie down there on the cold metal floor of my home in an awkward position, enduring waves and waves of never ending pain.


    Finally, the pain stopped.


    Gah! I gasped in relief. The sudden disappearance of such incredible pain was like heaven to me.


    I straightened my body and stretched. Ahh, pure bliss!


    Bliss!


    I still remember to this day how wonderful it felt.


    Truly the greatest pleasure can only be enjoyed in light of the greatest pain.


    I am no philosopher, but I know that statement to be true.


    I had never experienced such pain again, and I am extremely thankful for it. But because of that, I also had never experienced such bliss again. And to an extent, I am kind of regretful. But not regretful enough to want to go through that hell once more, thank you very much.


    I took deep breaths and examined my body.


    My body was no longer as it was before.


    Before the blinding waves of pain, I had a scrawny ten year old body, a hundred and forty centimeters tall and weighing barely thirty kilograms.


    After the blinding waves of pain, I was still a ten year old, but my body had changed.


    I was definitely at least a hundred and sixty centimeters tall. And judging by the muscles on my arms that seemed to be chiseled out of marble, I was probably around sixty kilograms.


    You would think that I would be shocked to the core.


    I was shocked, yes, but only slightly. I was still basking in the relief and bliss of the absence of pain, and couldn¡¯t spare much shock to deal with the change in my body.


    Plus at that point, everything was already so weird that having my body suddenly grow a couple of years on me was not that big of an issue for me. Plus apparently, it was a great two years worth of growth.


    Good.


    I smiled dreamily as I put down my right arm after checking out the solidity of the muscles with  my left hand.


    I felt really FULL of power. My cells were brimming with energy, and I had half a thought to go hunting for a few gang members to rob once I was done with enjoying the blissful feeling which had yet to dissipate.


    I was stretching out my hands flat against the cool metallic floor of the helicopter wreckage when I felt a strange resonance.


    I could clearly visualize every single detail of the hospital wreckage, and I felt a deep sense of connection to it. A physical connection of somesort.


    But there was more, I could also feel a weird mental resonance coming from the control panel of the helicopter.


    I felt like I could reach out and just¡­ take them?


    How do I -


    CRACK!


    A deafening crack sounded, and to my utmost shock¡­ Yes I was truly shocked at that time, blissful feelings be damned.


    To my utmost shock, the helicopter wreckage which had protected me from the snow, rain, wind and sun for the past two years, suddenly just¡­ poofed? Burst into grey particles and surged into my body.


    A stream of white energy also entered my brain from the direction of the control panel.


    I was beyond shocked.

 First Mecha

    Bam. My butt hit the ground as the helicopter wreckage disappeared completely.


    The odds and ends which I had gathered throughout the two years were scattered everywhere around me.


    I stared absently at my surroundings, my eyes took in everything there was to note about the situation, but my brain wasn¡¯t having any of that.


    Queue up, it told the information that my eyes were transmitting to it sternly. I¡¯m currently overloaded. And so the information waited patiently somewhere in the holding area of my brain.


    Because, overloaded it truly was.


    A deluge of information had exploded within my brain, everything pertaining to the helicopter wreckage.


    Detailed blueprints on how to build and modify it, images of every single component and their names and their functions and how they relate to other components suddenly appeared in my mind.


    And not only that, the computer program that was controlling the entire helicopter was also there. In my brain.


    I suddenly knew every line of code needed to write the software to control The Chinook.


    Oh yes, I finally knew what model the helicopter was. It was called The Chinook. ZH-47J. A twenty fifth generation Chinook stationed in Japan. What a beauty it was.


    But the true beauty, I realized, was the computer program that ran it. It was called the Advanced Avionics Architecture System (AAAS). It was connected directly to the pilot¡¯s neural network, allowing him/her to fly the helicopter simply by thinking about it.


    It was very, very cool.


    It reminded me of my younger days when my dad was still around. He was the one who taught me how to read and write. He had instilled in me a great love for reading and learning, and up till the moment we were betrayed by his closest friend and he was killed right before my eyes, reading and learning was all I did.


    My dad was a military man, and all he had at home were military books. There were no fairy tales or feven adult fiction. Literally every single book was military in nature. Tactics, strategies, analysis of hardware and software, history, political science, technology etc.


    I didn¡¯t care. I devoured them all hungrily. And so although I was a junkyard scrapper, and a successful one at that, I wasn¡¯t totally without capital to succeed in life.


    I had in my mind a wealth of knowledge about the military. Knowledge which I had intended to fully utilize for one single glorious purpose.


    Revenge.


    Oh yes, now you know why I did what I did a few years back. But the details of that story will come later. All you need to know that my thirst for vengeance is sated¡­ for now. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Anyway, I knew everything about the helicopter. In mind-blowingly intimate detail. Heck, at that moment, I felt sure that I could make one if I just had access to the materials I needed.


    And thinking of that made me feel rather strange.


    I could make the Chinook if I had the materials. Definitely.


    But I felt like I could do¡­ more than that. I felt like I could make the Chinook. Period.


    I thought of the Chinook wreckage which disappeared into a haze of grey particles and entered my body. Could it be that I can¡­ make the Chinook? By force of will alone, perhaps?


    Because I was just thinking of ¡®taking¡¯ the helicopter wreckage when suddenly, I actually did take them.


    Make a Chinook. I commanded my body firmly while pointing at the ground in front of me.


    Nothing. Damn it, why? Make a Chinook! I commanded my body again.


    Still nothing. DAMN!


    Make a Chinook!


    Nothing.


    ¡°MAKE A CHINOOK! MAKE A MINI CHINOOK! MAKE ANYTHING WITH HELICOPTER BLADES DAMN IT!¡± I shouted angrily out loud, feeling slightly disappointed.


    At that, my body began to respond. Metal plates grew out of my flesh at frightening speed.


    Within seconds, I was fully encased with metal armor, from my head to my toe. And a four-bladed helicopter rotor grew out of my back.


    I took a sharp breath and my heart pounded wildly once more in shock.


    I did it. It actually worked.


    ¡°I MADE A MECHA OUT OF NOTHING!¡± I screamed in elation.


    Well, technically not nothing, but you get what I mean.


    I tried controlling the rotor. It responded exactly just how my arms would respond to my brain. I didn¡¯t even have to think much about it, I simply just did it.


    I adjusted the rotor so it was placed above me, supported by little pillars that were connected to my shoulder armor. I placed the tail rotor on my back like a shark¡¯s fin.


    Then gingerly, I started the rotors and voila, we have lift off.


    HOLY SMOKES! HOLY SMOKES!!


    What just happened?! I remember feeling ecstatic and surprised and confused and afraid and a bunch of other major human emotions all piled into one.


    Remember your first times?


    First time you tried the roller coaster, first time you went to school, first time you had chocolate, first time you skipped school, first time you kissed, first time you had¡­ well. All those first times, add them up together and multiply it by ten.


    You¡¯ll be somewhere within the vicinity of what I was feeling then.


    It was incredible.


    And you can imagine my frustration when that first time was cut extremely short.


    ¡°Ding! Life forms detected. Approaching at high speed.¡± A robotic voice sounded from the Over Head Display.


    Damn it, the gangs must have detected something.


    Retract! Come back! I cried.


    Immediately, my mecha armor disappeared.


    Bam! My feet hit the ground just as the first members of the gang burst through the trees with their handheld weapons levelled at me.


    Within a few seconds, twenty Red Dragon gang members surrounded me. A beautiful woman with red hair and dressed in striking red leather walked out of the group.


    Amelia Dragonos. Leader of the Red Dragon gang. My heart dropped to the pits.


    She was extremely notorious for being vicious. Precious few people could kill at the drop of a hat. Amelia could kill even before the hat was touched.


    ¡°Well, well. What do we have here?¡± She demurred at me coyly as she noticed my handsome features. She ignored me for a moment as she began to study the area. After a few short moments, she looked at me in confusion and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the helicopter wreckage? And where¡¯s Justin? Are you his¡­ elder brother? Father?¡±


    I stared dumbly at her for a moment. I could feel my world crumbling around me. So my home wasn¡¯t as hidden as I thought? People actually knew that I lived here?  AMELIA DRAGONOS knew I lived here??


    Apparently she noticed my shocked look and wasn¡¯t too happy about it because she immediately snapped at her underlings, ¡°Capture him and bring him back to base. Bag everything in the area and look for clues.¡±


    She glared at me as her men moved to secure my hands and feet with various gadgets. ¡°You better have a satisfactory answer for me regarding what just happened in this area. If not, your limbs will be amputated and you will live the rest of your life as my toy.¡±


    She turned around and stomped off.


    And that was it.


    My first meeting with Amelia.

 Ill start with you guys!

    I do not remember much about the trip back to the Red Dragon base. Apart from being beaten up early on, it took everything I had to stop myself from grinning widely like an idiot.


    I was cuffed, gagged, blindfolded and dumped unceremoniously into a vehicle of somesort. I could smell other people near me and the distinct acrid smell of the tobacco that I had smelled earlier on the gang members who had handled me so roughly.


    I sat up and bowed my head, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Apparently I failed miserably.


    ¡°Stinkin¡¯ b*****d.¡± Snarled a gang member as he landed a kick on my stomach.


    ¡°Ooof!¡± I grunted in shock. I did not see that coming.


    Literally.


    And figuratively.


    ¡°You ruined my day off! A*****e!¡± He landed another vicious kick on my body.


    ¡°Enough.¡± A soft voice commanded.


    The fact that I was left alone for the rest of the trip bore testimony to the clout that the owner of the voice wielded in this particular squad. I took a note of that voice and bookmarked it somewhere in my brain.


    Thereafter, I spent a relatively peaceful few minutes in the vehicle.


    Peaceful, and incredibly exciting.


    The resonance I felt with the helicopter wreckage was back, and it was back at full force. I could sense with extreme clarity the number of vehicles in the convoy as well as other sophisticated machines within them.


    Three Armored Transport Vehicles including the one I am in. And a high-grade transforming automobile that could turn into a mecha!


    I also knew for certain that if I but willed it, these four vehicles would immediately turn into particles and be absorbed completely by me. I could easily turn into the mecha and make good my escape.


    But I didn¡¯t, because well, I was a smart boy.


    Okay fine, a greedy boy.


    I knew there would be more machinery and mechas in the Red Dragon base, and I certainly was not going to miss the chance to enter the base and get close to all those delicious ¡®food¡¯.


    Sorry Amelia. If you¡¯re reading this, that was me. The first of many, if I might add.


    But I¡¯m not THAT sorry because you deserved it. You¡¯re not a very nice lady at your tender age of fifty now, and you certainly were not any better when you were thirty five. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Although, I have to add that out of the people I¡¯ve stolen multiple times from, you certainly were the most generous. And this first incident was a fine example of your generosity.


    It truly set the path for my rise to glory.


    I immediately knew the second we entered the Red Dragon base because I could feel a powerful surge of resonance that was unlike anything I¡¯ve felt before. It was so strong and it drew my interest and desire so much that it felt like hunger pangs.


    It was the presence of a powerful mecha somewhere beneath me. I shivered slightly as I ¡®beheld¡¯ it in my mind.


    At a hundred meters tall, it would dwarf everything in the vicinity if it ever left its storage area. But its size was not the reason for sparking the strong desire within me. The main reason was its mecha core.


    Oh yes, that mecha core.


    It was a beautiful white mecha core. So rare and so valuable. Amelia must have either robbed a Universe grade trader to get the money to buy one from the blackmarket, or robbed a dying white mecha pilot that crash landed nearby.


    The other alternative was to rob a military convoy, and as impressive as it was, the Red Dragon gang was merely that, a junkyard gang. There was no way it could go against a military convoy with a white mecha in it. It would be like an ant trying to rob a labrador.


    No bloody way.


    Under normal circumstances, it was almost impossible to see a white mecha on this side of the world.


    But there it was. And it was incredible.


    It¡¯s really difficult to explain just how incredible a white mecha is. I guess I have to start at the beginning.


    You see, after USAA weaponized the technology that revolutionized everything, the age of mechas dawned upon humanity. Human controlled mechas quickly dominated the battles that took place.


    Nothing could beat the firepower and flexibility that human beings could produce with coordinated attacks made by squads, platoons, companies or even battalions of mechas.


    It was the perfect weapons platform.


    Where previously, hundreds of men were needed to maintain and operate a weapons platform capable of levelling a small town such as a battlecruiser, now just a single pilot in a mecha could do it.


    A pair of mechas could lay waste to an entire tank company. If manned by capable pilots, flight capable ones could even go head to head with a squadron of the air force¡¯s best fighters.


    Imagine a thousand such mechas marching towards you. You may be surrounded by hundreds of thousands of other men with sophisticated technology such as tanks, artillery and even the airforce.


    Trust me, you¡¯d still be shaking in your boots.


    And because of that, within a century, the armies of the world were almost exclusively mecha.


    At first, the trend was to build human-sized mechas that packed a tremendous punch. They were extremely flexible and agile, and the militaries of the world loved them.


    However, these human-sized mechas were quickly overpowered by larger ones who were able to install stronger weapons systems and deliver more ¡®punch¡¯. Soon, the trend went back to creating large, oversized mechas to complement the shortcomings of the smaller mechas.


    These large oversized mechas were installed with ridiculous amounts of firepower. They became so powerful that they were classified as ¡®Nuclear Grade¡¯ and were subject to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT).


    Only the biggest powers could own them.


    And so, what began as a ballroom dance of mecha innovation devolved into a couple dance between the USAA and The European Empire.


    They banned the development, production and deployment of mechas above a certain grade which was determined by the core of the mecha.


    Only the two superpowers were allowed to develop, produce and deploy gold mechas.


    The rest of the world would only be allowed to build the blue mechas. For a select few allies of the two superpowers, they were allowed to build the higher-grade white mechas, and only in very limited amounts.


    These white mechas were a symbol of penultimate power.


    And not only were they powerful symbols, they also had something that made them extremely powerful and special, unique powers that were not found in the blue mechas.


    White mechas are able to trigger their cores and release a minor nuclear explosion, one that would be strong enough to obliterate everything in a square kilometer. Excluding themselves, of course. They were built to resist that minor explosion.


    Now you understand why I was so ecstatic in finding a white mecha in Amelia¡¯s base. Upon consuming it, I would gain the power equal to any nation in the world not called USAA and The European Empire.


    I studied the white mecha with my senses for a few seconds more and somehow I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to ¡®eat¡¯ it in one go. It was way too big and way too powerful.


    ¡°Interesting¡± I thought to myself.


    I still had no idea how my ¡®devouring¡¯ ability worked, and I was very eager to find out. But I guess that white mecha could wait.


    Because, to my great delight, I could sense a few blue mechas in the vicinity too.


    Ten, to be exact.


    I¡¯ll start with you guys! I thought happily to myself.

 Emperor Justin

    ¡°Get in there, freakin¡¯ lowlife.¡± The gang member with the acrid breath shoved me roughly. I stumbled in surprise at the sudden push forward, and fell really hard, flat on my face.


    Bam. ¡°EMPH!¡± Then...


    BANG!


    I could hear a metal door slam close nearby and the clicking of a lock being put in place.


    ¡°You can lay there and rot today. NO FOOD FOR ALL OF YOU! You can thank this blasted newcomer for ruining my day off!¡± Roared the gang member.


    A few seconds later, another BANG! Sounded, and I knew that he had left the building. Or room. But probably a building.


    I knew I was probably in some sort of a prison.


    The bad news was, I was still blindfolded, gagged and cuffed. Plus the room really stank big time.


    The good news was, I could sense that the blue mechas were within range. I could absorb them any old time I want.


    I grinned widely.


    Or tried to anyway. Those gang members really knew how to gag a man. They had the piece of cloth tied so tight around my mouth that I was sure that if I hadn¡¯t somehow absorbed the red mecha core and greatly enhanced my body, my mouth would have been torn.


    The other good news was I could sense that I could easily break through those cuffs around my hands. I knew with startling clarity that the metal cuffs were made of simple iron and the energy within me could somehow corrode and weaken it.


    Apparently I had developed some sort of affinity with metals.


    I might probably be the happiest prisoner the world had ever seen at that moment. It was an incredible feeling, knowing that you¡¯re about to rob the douchebags who had beaten you up and threatened you with painful bodily harm. And not just rob, but rob them totally blind. All I needed to do was to break out of the cuffs, wait until night time, and give the Red Dragon base a quick tour before running away.


    Heck, better yet, don¡¯t run away and simply obliterate the base.


    But I was hesitant.


    I didn¡¯t want to simply rip apart solid metal cuffs in front of many people. I had to find out if there was anybody nearby first.


    ¡°EMPH!!¡± I tried to shout.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°EMPHH!!!¡±


    ¡°EMPHHHH!!!!!!!¡±


    Other muffled sounds rang out from everywhere around me.


    Other prisoners?


    Very soon, after EMPH-ing for a few more times, the other prisoners went silent again. What was the point? Nobody knew what the other person was EMPH-ing about. It was a hopeless situation for them.


    I waited for a few minutes, making sure that there were no other sounds apart from the ones from the other prisoners near me.


    And then I took a deep breath and began to pull my hands apart. I could feel my hands grow slightly hot as I instinctively circulated and directed the unique energy I felt previously around my hands. Slowly, I could feel the energy affecting the metal cuffs around my hands.


    That¡¯s it! I exclaimed internally. Destroy the cuffs! Destroy the cuffs! I chanted internally in my mind. I didn¡¯t know exactly what I was doing, but my desire was clear, and the energy somehow responded to it.


    After almost a full minute of exertion, I could feel my hands finally draw further apart. And then...


    NGIIIIIKK! CRACK!


    The metal cuffs around my hands creaked mightily before giving way.


    My hands were free!


    I quickly ungagged myself, removed my blindfold and checked my surroundings.


    It was exactly what I had envisioned. I was in a cell with metal bars all around me. There were three more cells to my left and right, and four more opposite us, making it an 8-cell prison. With four to a cell, they could at most contain 32 people. And right now, every cell except mine, which was empathy except for me, was fully occupied.


    Not a big base at all, I realized. Maybe not even a base, by all external appearances. A hideout perhaps? But it definitely packed the power of a large base. With a white mecha, ten blue mechas and a transforming mecha, it could deal with all the armies any country could send their way.


    ¡°A secret base then. This Amelia Dragonos is a much more important person than I realized. She¡¯d probably throw a princess tantrum once I rob her of everything here¡± I mused.


    ¡°The Red Dragon gang is definitely just a front for another big organization. The questions to ask would be, which organization, and what are they doing here, in the junkyard of all places? Are they looking for something?¡± I thought to myself for a moment before my eyes finally widened in shock as everything clicked.


    ¡°Oh my god. They¡¯re looking for the red mecha core.¡± I realized as a cold, sinking feeling rushed through my body. ¡°That¡¯s why they sent such a high ranking person with a white mecha to the area. I need to make sure they don¡¯t discover the fact that the red mecha core has been absorbed by me. I need to rob them quickly and esca-¡±


    I stopped mid-thought as another realization hit me.


    ¡°They would probably know its function! And they would instantly know what was happening the second they see the deconstructed mecha particles rushing towards the prison area. That ¡®Justin¡¯s brother/father¡¯ had absorbed the red mecha core and triggered its use.¡±


    I closed my eyes and tried to calmly analyze the situation. My mind whirred at high speed as I thought through various ideas and strategies.


    After a few minutes, my breathing calmed down as an idea presented itself to me. ¡°Yes, this could work¡­¡± I murmured. ¡°Definitely. I¡¯ll do that, then.¡±


    I smiled and gave myself an imaginary pat on the back. ¡°Well done, Sir Justin. You¡¯ve just out-did yourself once more.¡± I laid down on my back and tried to make myself comfortable. I would move out as soon as it got dark.


    I spent a comfortable day just laying there, relaxing and thinking of what I could do next, and deciding what I really wanted out of life now that I had the key to success.


    A great warrior, maybe the greatest general the world had ever seen? That probably went without saying.


    A life of great comfort and luxury? Of course.


    A family? Definitely.


    A harem? Uhh¡­ I had heard the other older boys talk about girls sometimes at that point, and they had a lot of fun hooting and laughing about all the things they did with them. But to tell you the truth, I wasn¡¯t really interested... yet. I¡¯ll make that decision later, I decided. Topic shelved.


    Helping the world become a better place? Noble and worthy of pursuit. That as well. Definitely.


    How do I do that? A general would have the power to make the world a better place, but he wouldn¡¯t have the freedom to do so.


    I have the power to do whatever I want. Now, I need to fight for the freedom to use that power however and whenever I want. And for that, I needed to be¡­


    My lips curled into a wide smile.


    Yes, it was at that very moment when I decided that I wanted to be¡­


    An Emperor.


    The path before me was set.


    Emperor Justin. Yes, that had a very nice ring to it.


    In fact, it still does, even now.

 Delicious Blue Mecha

    When darkness finally fell upon the land, it came very suddenly. One minute it was late afternoon, and then with startling alacrity, it grew darker and darker and then before I knew it, it was dark.


    I opened my eyes and smiled. It¡¯s time to put the first phase of my plan into action - Prison break.


    With a thought, metal particles surfaced from my skin and quickly formed metal armor over my clothes.


    With a whoosh, I was in a mecha bodysuit.


    With that bodysuit, destroying locks and chains became as easy as slicing loaves of bread with a sharp knife.


    I quickly went around the prison cells and freed the prisoners. There were all enemies of the Red Dragon gang who still had value. As such, most were civilians, traders, landowners and the sort, those with a lot of assets and money.


    And so, being mere civilians and coupled with the extreme state of weakness they were in, they were sufficiently cowed by my ferocious looking mecha and obeyed my instructions very quietly.


    ¡°I am organizing a prison break. If you go out now, you¡¯ll probably get caught again, or worse, you might die. But if you don¡¯t do that, you¡¯ll definitely die here in captivity. The Red Dragon gang does not have a habit of releasing prisoners. Plus, you don¡¯t have a choice anyway. You have one minute to get out of here before I start shooting. Go.¡± I rasped in a robotic voice and pointed my machine gun at them.


    I wasn¡¯t proud of my actions that night. Out of 28 prisoners, 20 died. 7 were captured once more and after the whole thing was over, were probably tortured to their deaths. The last one¡­ was Emma.


    After 27 of them scampered away, I turned to the final person who still sat there, unmoving and staring at me quietly.


    It was a little girl, maybe seven, eight years old. She was small for her age, and ridiculously thin. She was obviously malnourished. Even so, she had an extremely obstinate look about her, a determination and strength of will that shone through her physical weakness.


    I sighed, there was no way I could force her to go out. I wouldn¡¯t, and I probably couldn¡¯t anyway. I had to save her and bring her with me.


    ¡°Let me stay with you.¡± She said softly, her eyes showed stubbornness, but at the same time, they were also full of fear. Fear that I would force her out, and worse, fear that I would shoot her right there and then.


    When I nodded lightly in agreement, relief flooded her eyes and her stiff shoulders sagged a little bit as all the tension left her.


    That relief quickly turned to surprise as my mecha bodysuit suddenly shimmered and a large backpack appeared behind me. A hatch opened and revealed a small place where she could sit. I even made a seat belt for her.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Justin, you sure are a thoughtful person.¡± I thought wryly.


    ¡°Get in, I¡¯ll bring you with me.¡± I said as I lowered my body so she could access the backpack.


    Emma clambered in and quickly fastened her seatbelt. That backpack was actually just an extension of my back armor, so there was nothing separating it and my body.


    ¡°Th-thank you.¡± Emma said from behind me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet. We still have to get out of this base alive.¡± I said cynically.


    Prapapapapat!


    Gunfire erupted from somewhere in the base. Screams and shouts of surprise could be heard. ¡°It¡¯s beginning.¡± I said softly.


    I closed my eyes and reached out to the blue mechas with my senses. I had to do it fast.


    I released the red energy within me and it shot out towards the blue mechas in a straight line, passing by layers of brick, mud, steel and concrete in the process.


    Absorb! I commanded once I had a firm grip on a blue mecha.


    Poof! The mecha turned into grey and white particles and began to make its way back to me. Amid the darkness and chaos that was reigning outside, nobody noticed the grey and white stream rushing towards the prison.


    Whoosh!


    An amazingly pleasant feeling filled my body and mind as the stream of metal particles and information hit me. I could feel my body responding by growing slightly as it gorged on high quality metal and a wonderfully delicious blue mecha core.


    I closed my eyes and my eyelids began to flutter rapidly as huge amounts of information filled my mind.


    I¡¯m a firm believer of God, and the experience of absorbing the blue mecha¡¯s software solidified that belief. Who else but God could create such a wonderful thing as the brain?


    The blue mecha was close to the pinnacle of human technology, and the software that powered it was humongous and complicated as hell. Millions of man hours were used to design and program the software to be what it was then. And that humongous set of information only took my brain a short five minutes to store and process.


    To me it was proof that God exists. The brain was God¡¯s product, and it had no problems digesting the best and most complicated software that man could ever dream of building. None at all.


    It was like an ocean absorbing a swimming pool. Every drop of information simply entered my brain and nestled somewhere, ready to be utilized at will.


    I opened my eyes after five minutes. By then, the prison break was in full swing. There were a few fighters in the group, and by the sounds that I could hear, those fighters had somehow managed to get a few guns for themselves. Intense gunfire could be heard.


    Time to execute Phase 2 of my plan.


    I turned around and stealthily created a hole in the rear of the prison where I knew there were no machines of any sort in that direction.


    I left the prison quietly and quickly distanced myself from it. Once I was far enough, I took a deep breath and began to unleash the blue mecha.


    Ah yes, I remember that first time. It was a wonderful feeling.


    My excitement was palpable and so was my nervousness. Although everything happened extremely quickly, two seconds at most, I could still remember the feeling as though it just happened this morning.


    I could clearly feel the potential of a powerful form that I could unleash at will. I could practically see it. All its tiny components, its energy pathways and weapons it had at its disposal. Everything was in my mind, and I felt their potential infinitely clearly within my body.


    And when I willed that blue mecha to take form around me, my body simply reacted. Just like breathing out, the blue mecha materialized around me as the helicopter armor dematerialized.


    The blue mecha was humanoid in shape and a full twenty meters tall. There was more than enough space in the cockpit for both me and Emma, so I placed her in a seat next to me while I pilot the mecha in the chest area.


    Phase two - Absorb a blue mecha, was complete.


    Time to start Phase three.


    Wiiiiiiii.


    I raised my hand cannon at the largest and fanciest building in that base, a three story building with all sorts of communication towers on the top.


    HUM! BOOM!


    A ray of blue energy shot out from my hand cannon and hit the building, creating a massive hole in the middle.

 Emma

    ¡°DIE RED DRAGON DOGS!!¡± I roared out with glee. My blue mecha amplified my sound hundreds of times over, causing it to resound gloriously throughout the entire Red Dragon base.


    WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOO!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOO!!!


    The sirens began to blare and the chaos immediately intensified as every single Red Dragon gang member mobilized and tried to get to their stations with great urgency.


    I fired a few rockets into the base to increase the chaos.


    BOOM!! BOOM!!


    The thing about emergencies is that they completely reveal the competence and the cohesion of a group. And judging by the absolute absence of out-of-control pandemonium in the Red Dragon base at that moment even with my rocket barrage and a collapsed main building, my speculations were confirmed. That the Red Dragon gang was no street gang which struck gold and somehow managed to grow big.


    It was definitely part of a much larger, far better trained group of people.


    Yes, the base was in a mess, with almost every single person running around and shouting into their communication devices. But there was great order in the chaos. There was not a single person running around aimlessly, not a single cry of fear, nor for as far as I can see, a single misstep in what looked like a standard emergency response to a sudden attack.


    Within moments, the first fighting elements of the Red Dragon gang had separated themselves from the crowd and tried to surround me.


    ¡°Three blue mechas and a dozen other smaller vehicles. One mecha with the vehicles up front approaching quickly, and the other two mechas trying to flank me. Very impressive.¡±I quickly found out their strength and locations through the resonance that I felt with their machines.


    My eyes narrowed in concentration and my heart began to pound. The key moment had arrived.


    I released my red energy and had them shoot out towards the blue mechas and the vehicles. Within a quick second, I had all of them firmly in my mind. With a single thought, I disabled a key component in the mechas in front of me and to my right.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    The sounds of two heavy objects impacting the ground came almost simultaneously.


    I aimed my grenade launcher in the area in front of me and fired three smoke grenades. And then I promptly turned around and began to dash madly for the forest just beyond the base. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Behind me, I could sense the final blue mecha immediately dashing after me in pursuit. The vehicles from the main group began to accelerate as well, but they were destined to fail. Track or no track, no vehicle can keep up with the speed of a blue mecha.


    CRASH! CRASH! I smashed into the tree line and plowed onwards. I had not gone for more than a few seconds before loud crashes sounded behind me, indicating that the other blue mecha had joined me in the forest.


    I grinned. My plan was going rather smoothly.


    With my absolute control over my mecha, I was sure that no other mecha of the same grade can ever beat me in a one on one fight. And I was itching to put that confidence to the test. But my rationality fought down that itch savagely.


    It wasn¡¯t time to engage in fun comparisons. That could happen later. The most important thing at that moment was to make sure that the Red Dragon gang did not suspect me of having the red mecha core.


    I spun and fired a few quick shots at the blue mecha with my energy weapon.


    PEW! PEW! BOOM!


    Two misses and a hit!


    However, the blue mecha pilot was pretty lucky.


    He had raised his shield up as he crashed into the forest to protect himself, and had maintained that position since. My shot was actually blocked by his shield!


    Damn the mecha pilot really had dog shit luck! But no matter, I didn¡¯t want to destroy him there. I needed to be further away from the Red Dragon base.


    I spun around once more and began to go deeper into the forest.


    The blue mecha kept himself hot on my heels and occasionally fired a shot or two at me.


    However, unbeknownst to him, he had fallen completely into my trap. I actually had him dancing on the palm of my hand.


    First, I had disabled his communication and tracking device, so he was actually fully cut off from the rest of the gang.


    Second, I had weakened his power routes, so every single weapon and movement module in his mecha was underpowered.


    It was pitiful, really. Amelia Dragonos was probably from one of the richest families in the world, but she certainly had the worst mecha pilots. I had weakened his mecha from the very beginning, and he didn¡¯t even notice.


    A few moments later, the blue mecha pilot that was chasing after me began to slow down as he finally noticed that there was something seriously wrong with his mecha. I slowed down as well, and maintained the distance between us at a comfortable fifteen meters apart.


    ¡°Base, Base! This is Falcon 2. This is Falcon 2. Do you copy? Hello? Base! This is Falcon 2 requesting backup at my location!¡± I could hear his panicked voice trying to talk to base.


    Too late brother! I grinned happily. I had just decided that we were far enough from the main base, and that it would be a great time to absorb this second mecha.


    I spun once more, drew my mecha sword and charged at the blue mecha.


    ¡°BASE! BASE! I AM ENGAGING THE ENEMY! REQUESTING BACK UP IMMEDIATELY!¡± I could hear him scream into his comms even as he prepared his shield to block my attack.


    Tsk tsk. People should really understand this. The best defence is offence. The only correct response in dealing with an attack from someone with similar strength as you is to counter attack, and counter attack with far more ferocity and savagery as the attacker. Going on defence is definitely the wrong move.


    BAM! My sword hit his shield with startling power, much more power than a normal blue mecha could possess.


    Of course.


    I had the blue mecha core AND a red mecha core in me.


    His mecha fell down unceremoniously onto his knees, unable to withstand the pressure I was exerting.


    BAM! BAM!


    I struck the mecha again and again, and after less than a minute, the mecha was completely destroyed. I quickly absorbed the mecha core and turned around to run deeper into the forest. However, at that moment, a soft voice rang out from behind me.


    ¡°You should kill the pilot.¡± Emma said.

 Pandemonium

    I was stunned. More than stunned actually. I was actually horrified and felt rather sorry for her.


    A cute little girl advising me to kill a fully grown adult in a completely helpless and unthreatening position?


    Damn, what sort of life had this little girl lived for her to be so heartless and decisive at such a tender age?


    ¡°He knows about your fighting abilities. Or the lack of it. Soon, he would know the general direction of your escape. Kill him to shut him up.¡± Emma said softly.


    Damn it. She was right.


    I hesitated for a moment before making the decision to do as she advised. I pointed my weapon at the pilot who was partially visible after I had smashed open his chest armor to reveal the cockpit. I gritted my teeth and fired three quick shots.


    BAM! BAM! BAM!


    Hello adulthood.


    I was a junkyard scrapper, and at the age of 10, I already had a string of crimes under my belt. Assault, robbery, and well¡­ murder. That mecha pilot was not the first person I had killed. But he was definitely the most helpless.


    I hated killing him. It made me feel¡­ evil. But I hated leaving loose ends that could potentially lead to my demise even more. So I did it.


    Damn you Emma. You made me lose the final bit of innocence I had. Poor me. If you¡¯re reading this Emma¡­ Damn you.


    And also please forgive me for... that other incident. I truly didn¡¯t mean to do what I did. Come back to me, please. You know where to find me.


    Anyway, after I killed the pilot, I turned around and sprinted deeper into the forest. Phase three - Destroy a pursuing blue mecha and let the remains be found, was complete.


    This was to keep Amelia from thinking about the possibility that I had somehow escaped using the power of the red mecha core, while at the same time, allowing me to get some loot.


    I had taken away the blue mecha core, but that was understandable. The winners of mecha battles almost always looted the losers if possible.


    Mecha cores are extremely valuable and are worth more than half of the entire mecha itself. Only a fool would leave a mecha core unlooted. A fool, or a very rich person. A stupid rich person, at that, because well, what¡¯s the harm of getting a valuable blue mecha core even if you¡¯re filthy, stinking rich?This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    After getting away from the immediate vicinity of the battle, I immediately started Phase Four - Create pandemonium!


    I veered and began to run parallel to a large river that was flowing downstream towards Lake Andrews twenty miles down away.


    Lake Andrews was the Sub-Headquarters of the National Armed Forces. Making it look as though I was escaping full speed towards it would only serve to complicate the situation for Amelia.


    Although she was more than powerful enough to take on the entire base with her white mecha, doing that would only serve to derail her primary mission objective, which was to find the red mecha core.


    There was no way that the country would allow a foreign white mecha to operate within its boundaries. They would definitely begin operations to surround and limit the movements of the white mecha and the Red Dragon gang, as well as create a ruckus in the international community which would definitely see the involvement of the USAA and The European Empire.


    It would be a complete gobblesmack for Amelia and her primary mission.


    No, she would not do anything to the Sub-Headqarters. In fact, she would be worrying that somehow her secret mission was leaked, and she would try to stay as far away from the National Armed Forces as possible.


    That would be the best way forward for Amelia.


    But not for me.


    For me to be able to get my hands on the white mecha, I would need to do more than just complicate things for Amelia. I needed to hand her a wonderful disaster that would force her to bring out the white mecha into the open and let the whole world know that she has one in that little Red Dragon base of hers.


    And then when I finally steal it, she would have a thousand organisations to suspect. Plus, the other organizations and countries would not believe that a white mecha core would simply disappear into thin air anyway, and she would be hounded mercilessly to publicly bring the white mecha, which she didn¡¯t have anymore, out of the country.


    I grinned when I thought of my excellent plan. Amelia would be pissed big time. That¡¯s what you get for threatening me.


    After running at full speed towards Lake Andrews for around five minutes, I finally exited the forest and reached the perimeter of the National Armed Forces Lake Andrews Sub-Headquarters.


    There was a mile of empty land between me and their base. A killing field.


    ¡°Unidentifiied mecha. Halt your advance immediately, or we will open fire! I repeat, halt your advance immediately, or we will open fire!¡± A loud voice blared out of the large outdoor megaspeaker.


    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t shoot! I am Falcon Two from the Red Dragon gang. I¡¯m just here to say hello¡­ and to deliver a message.¡±


    There was silence for a moment before a stern voice rang out of their megaspeakers.


    ¡°What message do you have for us that couldn¡¯t be sent by the usual line of communication?¡±


    ¡°Oh the message I have is rather unique. Here, let me deliver it now.¡±


    I fired my energy weapon which I had charged for five full minutes as I was running towards the base.


    ¡°GET OUT OF THIS AREA! RED DRAGON GANG IS NOW OFFICIALLY OCCUPYING LAKE ANDREWS!¡± I hollered as I released several rockets into the base before turning around and running away.


    PEW!!!! BOOM!!


    An electric blue ray of energy shot towards the base, smashed into their front gate and kept going until it hit a solid looking building and created a massive dent on it.


    Pratatatatatatatat!!


    BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!!


    The anti-rocket machine gun immediately destroyed my rockets, creating wonderfully scary blasts which was what I was aiming for.


    ¡°OPEN FIRE!!¡± The stern sounding voice roared.


    PEW! PEW! PEW!! PRATATATATATATAATATATATATAT!! BOOM!! BOOM!!


    Energy weapons of their own, heavy machine gun fire and old fashioned cannons began to rain down on me.


    But they were a hair too late. I had exploded and ran away with all my strength after I had released my rockets, and the one second head start which I got was enough.


    I crashed back into the tree line and disappeared from their sight.

 Is it love?

    I smashed through the trees and made a beeline towards the Red Dragon base. After a few minutes of running, I finally found what I was looking for. A clearing!


    I immediately launched my helicopter blades and took to the skies. I kept low, just slightly above the tree line and flew off to the south, away from both the military and the Red Dragon gang.


    It was a master stroke from me.


    The military would later follow my trail and find it suddenly cut off with no viable explanation on how it happened.


    They would get very alarmed. Not only did the Red Dragon gang provoke them, it appeared that they have some sort of a secret too. They would raise the priority of obliterating this Red Dragon base to the highest. A confrontation was no longer avoidable.


    Phase Four - Create Pandemonium. Complete.


    It¡¯s time for Phase Five - Absorb the White Mecha.


    And for that, I needed the confrontation to happen first. I needed to find a place where I could observe the battle, and somehow still be far enough from being detected by the two belligerents of the mini-war that was about to begin.


    Very soon, I saw the edge of the forest. I found a small clearing nearby where I could land and quickly landed.


    Whoosh!


    The mecha suit disappeared into my body. I turned around and looked at Emma, who had a calm and rather cold look on her face.


    ¡°Hey.¡± I said.


    Emma stared at me for a moment before replying with a ¡°Hey.¡± of her own.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Emma Whitefrost.¡± She replied.


    I blinked a few times. Trying to remember where exactly I¡¯ve heard of the family name Whitefrost before.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Daughter of a rich businessman?¡± I ventured a guess.


    Emma shook her head.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Famous politician?¡±


    She shook her head once more.


    ¡°Famous general?¡± I asked, randomly throwing out important roles in the government. Of course, I was well and truly surprised when she finally nodded her head.


    ¡°General Whitefrost?¡± I frowned.


    ¡°GENERAL WHITEFROST!!¡± I shouted as I finally remembered why that name sounded so familiar.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Emma replied. ¡°Ex-General Whitefrost of The Chinese Federation. Not daughter, though. Grand daughter¡±


    I stared at her in absolute surprise. No wonder she asked me to kill that pilot. General Whitefrost was a ferocious soldier. He rose from the lowest rank of a mere private to become the most feared general of The Chinese Federation.


    During the Third World War near the end of the 22nd century, he led the Chinese Army to victory from one insane battle to the next, going against all odds and defeating every army sent his way until he was finally captured by the combined might of nations that would eventually be USAA and The European Empire.


    And even then, his capture was merely due to the fact that he had run out of ammunition. Fifty thousand men against almost a million men. And he only lost because he ran out of bullets.


    His capture was the only reason why The Chinese Federation was not a superpower at that point in time. The Chinese Federation had so much riding on him that after he was captured, it only took the other countries five weeks to end the war.


    If you¡¯re not a student of history, it is kind of difficult to explain the notoriety of General Whitefrost. You might think he was merely another captured great general of an enemy country. Yes, he was all that.


    But he was more than that.


    His tactics and strategies were incredibly beautiful. So beautiful and ground breaking that they caused the rewriting of countless military textbooks. His applications of the ancient 36 Strategems of Sun Tzhi were absolute works of art and deserved to be included into the modern rendition of that famed military book as glowing examples of how creativity and ancient strategy could lead to incredible results.


    And not only was he a great strategist, he was also a famed Mecha Pilot as well. His White Mecha held the record at that time of one thousand seven hundred fifty three kills. Of course, I broke that record rather easily early on in my career. But during the time of the Third World War, one thousand seven hundred fifty three mechas was a LARGE number. He was impressive. Very, very impressive.


    He was THE general of that generation.


    I had delved so deep into my new life as a junkyard scrapper that the memories of my life before my father died seemed so very far away. It was actually quite incredible that I forgot who General Whitefrost was, considering that he was my idol. Maybe it was a defensive mechanism that my mind took instinctively to protect me from the pain of remembering too much.


    I read countless books about General Whitefrost in my father¡¯s library a long time ago. He was my one and only idol. The person I wanted to be when I grew up. Before my father was murdered before my eyes, of course, and that dream disappeared like the morning mist before the afternoon sun.


    And before me was the granddaughter of that man.


    What could I do? I gulped and gave her a weak smile.


    ¡°How¡­ How¡¯s your grandfather?¡± I asked carefully.


    ¡°Looking for me, I presume. Worried sick. Killing people left and right.¡± Emma shrugged, talking about her grandpa killing people as though he was merely out going shopping.


    ¡°Oh.¡± I said stupidly. And gulped once more.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Emma asked as she pointed at my chest curiously.


    I glanced down and saw that my chest was glowing red.


    ¡°Oh this. This is some sort of a mecha core, it allows me to absorb machines and then use them at will as mecha suits. Just like I did just now.¡± I explained.


    Emma nodded in understanding, her eyes open wide in wonder.


    I smiled at her look of awe and felt really happy at myself.


    ¡°Look. I can do this.¡± I summoned a mecha armor over my arms and gave them little helicopter blades. I switched them on and directed them at Emma which blew at her powerfully.


    Emma squealed with laughter. ¡°You can turn them into portable fans. That¡¯s really useful! Especially during summer.¡±


    I stared at her, mesmerized.


    I still remember that moment as though it was only yesterday.


    It was the first time I saw her laugh, and by God she was beautiful. When she smiled, it truly felt like time the whole world stopped and stared at her for a while.


    Although I was only around ten at that time and she, eight, I knew I was in love.

 Strawberry Cake

    I smiled at her and retracted everything back into my body.


    ¡°Do you want to go home?¡± I asked her. As much as I like her and want her to be with me, she was, afterall, a little girl. She must miss her mommy and daddy very much, especially after her traumatic experience as a prisoner.


    She remained quiet as her face turned serious. She looked away for a moment and stared at the many, many trees that surrounded us. She looked up at the little patch of sky that was visible through the foliage. Somewhere in the distance, loud booms could be heard as mechas mobilized. And then she gave a deep sigh.


    ¡°Of course she wants to go home, you dumbass!¡± I cursed at myself for asking such an obvious and stupid question.


    ¡°Of course you want to go home, what am I saying.¡± I quickly said. ¡°Well, I-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go home.¡± Emma interrupted me. ¡°Well, at least not yet.¡±


    ¡°Err¡­ Are you sure?¡± I asked her in slight confusion. ¡°Don¡¯t you miss your parents and err¡­ your grandpa?¡±


    At that, her eyes teared up slightly and her lips quivered.


    However, she was Emma. And she was already really strong and really stubborn even at the tender age of eight. She bit down on her lower lip decisively and the stubborn look which I would later often see appeared on her face.


    ¡°No, I do not want to go home yet.¡± She said firmly.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to get very dangerous very soon you know. I¡¯m planning a heist of the most epic proportions.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Emma said nonchalantly. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I don¡¯t want to go home just yet. I want to see how this story progresses, and how this¡­ heist of yours will end up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid?¡± I pressed on.


    She sighed. ¡°Quit treating me like a little kid. I¡¯m already eight! If YOU¡¯RE not afraid, why should I be?¡±


    I chuckled lightly. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I can absorb and release mecha suits.¡±


    ¡°So? Whatever you absorb and release, wouldn¡¯t I be in them as well, right next to you?¡± She asked me in annoyance. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± I said ruefully. Secretly though, I was rather happy. I¡¯ve never really had buddies to do the things I did together. Although she was still really young, having Emma with me was really good for me. Plus, I¡¯m the fool who had fallen in love with her.


    So yes, I was happy she decided to stay with me for the meantime.


    ¡°Alright. I guess you can stay.¡± I pretended to agree with her grudgingly.


    ¡°Okay.¡± She said with a small smile on her face. ¡°What do we do next?¡±


    ¡°Well, I want to wait until the military attacks the Red Dragon base, and then if it gets hot and fiery immediately and Amelia produces her White Mecha, I will steal the White Mecha after the battle. If they¡¯re engaging in dialogue and all that diplomatic nonsense, then I guess I have no choice but to pretend to be Falcon Two again and attack the military to trigger the fight.¡± I explained my plan to Emma in detail.


    Emma nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a really good plan. And really well thought out¡±


    ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said happily as I sat down on a rock. Emma came over and sat down on the rock next to me as well. ¡°I spent quite some time coming up with it and I think it will work pretty well.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably going to work. What you have is a game-changer.¡± Emma said while pointing at my glowing chest. ¡°It¡¯s a secret weapon that they have no idea exists. That in itself is a powerful element of surprise. Add the fact that it is a really powerful weapon.. If used correctly, you can definitely achieve great things.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this really changes everything for me¡­¡± I said with a smile. I took a deep breath and felt the power of the red energy. It was there within me, ready to respond to my will - be it to summon mecha suits or absorb more mechas.


    I clenched my fist. Emperor Justin.


    Soon. Soon.


    ¡°There is one very important thing you need to consider though.¡± Emma said seriously and interrupted me from my thoughts.


    ¡°Oh?¡± I raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°A comment from the granddaughter of General Whitefrost! This is going to be epic.¡± I smiled and rubbed my hands together half sarcastically, half in genuine anticipation.


    She either failed to detect my sarcasm, or she completely ignored it (knowing her, it was most probably the latter), but she immediately launched into her comments.


    ¡°What you¡¯re doing is a combination of three of Sun Tzhi¡¯s strategems. Sloughing off the cicada¡¯s golden shell, attacking with a borrowed knife and disturbing the water to catch a fish. And by merit of using three strategems, you¡¯ve also used a fourth - chaining different strategems to achieve success. It is very impressive for you to be able to do that.¡± Emma began.


    I smiled widely and a warm feeling began to feel good about myself. A mistake. I would grow to learn to be suspicious of Emma¡¯s praises soon, but that was definitely the first time I tasted Emma¡¯s sharp tongue. And her deep, deep insatiable hunger for glory.


    ¡°However, you¡¯re thinking too small. It¡¯s like you¡¯re looking at this magnificent cake, full of delicious cream, frosting and filled with many, many kinds of fruits within. On top of the cake is the biggest, juiciest strawberry you¡¯ve ever seen. What you¡¯re doing is aiming to steal the strawberry on top of the cake and leave the whole cake behind. This is the weakness of little, unambitious men. You don¡¯t dare to dream big, think big and thus, will never achieve great things.¡± Emma said.


    ¡°Huh?¡± My mind blanked a little at her vicious put down. My heart, which was beginning to soar earlier, plummeted and crashed into the deep blue sea of misery. However, indignance soon reared its head in my heart.


    ¡°Explain yourself.¡± I demanded.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. You have before you two entire bases. The Red Dragon base and the Lake Andrews base. You¡¯re already executing three complex strategems. Why stop there and settle for just one White Mecha? Just by executing several more strategems, you can get the whole cake - both bases with all their firepower and manpower.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I was stunned. This crazy little minx was actually thinking of taking over TWO bases?


    ¡°At least hear me out before you chicken out.¡± Emma said dryly.


    ¡°Hey! Who¡¯s chickening out? If you can think of a good plan to get it done, I¡¯m ALL for it!¡± I said hotly, feeling a great need to defend my masculinity.


    ¡°Okay, this is my plan¡­¡± Emma leaned forward conspiratorially.

 Overlords

    ¡°That¡¯s the most ridiculous plan I¡¯ve ever heard!¡± I shouted.


    Emma¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly in anger.


    Gone was her fear of me, and at that moment, only getting this muddleheaded dumbass who somehow lucked out and got himself a powerful experimental mecha core to acknowledge her ideas mattered.


    ¡°It¡¯s NOT ridiculous. It will work.¡± Emma said stubbornly with a high tone herself. She folded her hands in front of her and glared at me. ¡°You¡¯re afraid.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m definitely not afraid. Oh wait, YES. I am afraid. VERY afraid of getting killed by your ridiculous plan!¡± I shouted at her.


    Why did I keep shouting? Because in spite of all my bluster, I was actually quite excited.


    And of course, Emma being Emma, she immediately realized that point as well. So she did the very thing that would work in that moment.


    She kept quiet and allowed my own excitement to boil over and make my decision for me.


    And she stared at me with her beautiful round eyes, because well, she has got really beautiful eyes and a little encouragement from that aspect couldn¡¯t hurt.


    She couldn¡¯t have known at that moment that her pair of perfectly formed, beautiful eyes full of intelligence, confidence and determination had short circuited my brain.


    I blinked a few times as I stared back at her, trying to jump start my brain once more. It was a difficult struggle, but I finally managed to drag my good for nothing pair of eyes away from her. I looked up into the sky and sighed.


    Damn her. Why did she have to look so perfect? And damn you, stupid heart of mine. Why are you pounding so hard?


    ¡°Well?¡± Emma demanded.


    ¡°Uhhh¡­Let me think some more. Shhh.¡± I shushed her without looking at her. With my condition at that moment, if I made decisions while looking at her, my damn tongue would probably bypass my brain and say yes to all of her suggestions.


    ¡°Let me see. The first step of her crazy plan is stealing a military mecha during the first engagement.That¡¯s easy enough.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°The next step would be to use that military mecha and the Red Dragon blue mecha I took earlier to set up a ¡®parley¡¯ after stealing the white mecha and capturing both leaders there - ¡°Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief. That¡¯s completely crazy.¡± I thought to myself.  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Which ten year old in their right minds would actually consider capturing not one, but TWO adult commanders with hundreds under their command? It¡¯s impossible!¡±


    ¡­


    The image of Emma¡¯s face with her beautiful eyes appeared in my mind. I sighed. I was only ten, but damn it, love is real for ten year olds as it is real for twenty year olds. Love is blind, right? It didn¡¯t care about how old you are, and it sure didn¡¯t care about how old I was.


    Love is love.


    Plus I had a feeling that it could work, somehow.


    And so I revisited the idea again in much greater detail.


    ¡°Is it really impossible? It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to get them both to come to the parley. Amelia would be frantic to find out who took her white mecha, and the military would be frantic to know more about who Amelia is and where the white mecha came from. So, with a little bit of acting, I probably can get them to come...¡± I mused.


    ¡°Capture them¡­ Well, I should have a white mecha by then, so it should be easy to capture them.¡±


    ¡°Next, force the enemy leaders to draw out the soldiers from both bases one base at a time - ¡°Lure the tiger off its mountain base. Capture them and force them to surrender. This is¡­ nuts.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Hey, luring the tiger off its mountain base and capturing them AND forcing them to surrender is nuts!¡± I shouted loudly to Emma. ¡°How the heck am I supposed to get one thousand fully armed soldiers to just lay down their weapons and listen to everything I say? They would probably end up running away and alerting every single base from here to the north pole that a rogue white mecha had appeared.¡±


    I turned to look at her.


    ¡°It¡¯s not nuts.¡± She quickly replied.


    ¡°How do you plan to control hundreds, if not thousands of fully grown men and women then?¡± I demanded.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be in a WHITE mecha, don¡¯t forget that. What¡¯s the point of having a white mecha if you don¡¯t use it?¡± She said rather crossly.


    ¡°I am going to use it.¡± I retorted back. ¡°I am so going to use the heck out of it!¡±


    ¡°Yeah? To do what? Run away to some corner and rule over a bunch of street rats?¡± She said viciously.


    ¡°Do you even understand the full power of a white mecha? It¡¯s not just about its destructive power. It¡¯s about what it represents! It represents the power of either USAA or The European Empire! Once you¡¯re in a white mecha, NOBODY would probably dare to open fire at you. If they did, their own commanders would probably beat you to kicking the living daylights out of them! And they won¡¯t ¡°run away and tell everybody from here to the North Pole that a rogue white mecha had appeared.¡± They would probably think that you¡¯re sent by some super power! And THAT¡¯S exactly how you¡¯ll control the two bases! Wu Zhong Sheng You - Creating something out of nothing!¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± I grumbled in a small voice. I did know that. Really. I just didn¡¯t think of putting it into practice so quickly. Heck, I hadn¡¯t even gotten my hands on the white mecha! Who on earth would even make an entire plan complete with anticipating how the enemy would think based on something that you haven¡¯t even got your hands on?


    But of course, Emma did. She¡¯s an extremely rare genius. You know that.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem?¡± She demanded again.


    ¡°Well, even if I manage to get them all to listen to me, what do I do with them? Plus, I don¡¯t NEED two bases!¡± I shot back at her.


    I expected her to give me another scathing reply, but unexpectedly, she didn¡¯t.


    Instead, she smiled widely and said, ¡°That¡¯s exactly the root of YOUR problem, isn¡¯t it? You might know what you want to achieve in life, but you don¡¯t really know HOW to achieve it. But lucky for you, I know.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked very doubtfully.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She lifted her little hand and beckoned me over.


    I obliged her. I really wanted to know what she had to say.


    She leaned forward and whispered in my ear. ¡°If you do as I say, I will guide you to be the overlord of this country within three months.¡±


    At that moment, I didn¡¯t know whether I wanted to laugh or be impressed.


    But as you know. We did become overlords of the country, and then some more.


    Much, much more.

 Maniac

    Booooom! Booooom!! Boooooooooom!!


    I could hear continuous explosions reverberating from the distance.


    The military had begun their attack.


    I glanced at Emma once more, and received a reassuring nod from her. I sighed.


    The operation had skyrocketed in scope, and I wasn¡¯t too comfortable with it. It had expanded from merely stealing a white mecha and making good my escape to gaining full control of two bases by sheer manipulation.


    I am a very ambitious person. Yes, of course you know all about it. But for all my ambition and aggressive pursuit of said ambition, I was only ten at that moment, and had only spent a very short day with my red mecha core. Wild ambition which would take me to heights I had never imagined before was merely a seedling in my heart.


    I was not ready.


    Not ready to take big bites out of established gangs with secret back ups and the country¡¯s military. Not ready to plant myself squarely in the crosshairs of every armed organization within a hundred kilometers of my position with nothing but a lie and a white mecha. Well, the white mecha made it much more bearable, but still, you get my point.


    All I wanted at that moment was to hide in some obscure corner, take a deep breath, and hatch dark plans to slowly grow my power. Slowly but safely, thank you very much.


    However Emma, this may sound like a cliche, but by God, she was born ready. Eight years old, and a mere few hours of exposure to my red mecha, and already the crazy plan to take over the country had taken form in her mind.


    Or maybe, just maybe, the plan was already there in the first place, planted by her incredibly out of this world genius but also out of this world crazy grandfather. Who on earth teaches kids the 36 strategems of Sun Tzu to the point where they could easily put them into practice at 8 years old??


    And of course if the plan was already there in the first place, then I must be her final piece of puzzle. Or a wild card. Or a catalyst of some sort which hastens the execution of the grandfather-granddaughter crazy grand plan.


    Or maybe, she was just an incredible genius who saw a golden opportunity before her and grabbed it with both hands.


    As you can see, I have absolutely no idea where the plan came from. Yes, even now. I never did get to ask her about it. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Because, as you know also, that crazy plan backfired on us.


    Exploded.


    Boom.


    And from the ashes of that first plan, Emma brought forth another plan which culminated in what you people call ¡°The Lake Andrews Fiasco.¡±


    The first and most important ability that a general can have is the ability to remain cool under fire. The second most important ability is the ability to give clear and timely instructions, especially when bombs are exploding all around you and everybody is panicking.


    In the heat of battle, especially if things are going south and all of your battle plans are shredded into little atomic pieces by your wily and despicable enemies, even the most stalwart veteran will panic.


    And in that moment, a general¡¯s ability to give clear and definite commands is much more important than whether the command is good or not. As long as your troops can feel that you are calm and in control, they will quickly clear their heads and respond to your commands.


    Maybe not respond. A better word might be cling. They will cling to your commands like a drowning sailor clinging to a lifeline. And your commands will probably very much be a real lifeline for them.


    And not fifteen minutes later, I was very clear that Emma was born to be a general.


    I was dashing through the trees in a modified blue mecha, trying to get as close to the battle as possible. I needed to know whether or not the white mecha was deployed.


    However, curse my rotten luck, I stumbled into three Red Dragon mechas sneaking about. They were probably trying to flank the military and launch a surprise attack.


    A fool¡¯s errand, if you ask me. Although blue mechas were equipped with anti-detection technology, they would never be able to take a military force by surprise. They would have blanketed the area with countless spy drones and would have detected them the moment they entered the drone¡¯s range.


    Still, their foolish errand unexpectedly bore fruit and sent a dagger straight to the heart of Emma¡¯s original plan.


    The three mechas immediately opened fire at me.


    PEW! PEW! PEW! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    ¡°GAHH!!¡± I shouted in surprise. I threw myself to the ground and rolled away, dodging the high energy beam attack by the blue mechas.


    I was about to turn and run away when Emma¡¯s voice rang out coolly from behind me.


    ¡°Cut left and focus fire on the left mecha. Do it now.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know why at that time, but I instantly did as she instructed. I dashed madly to the left and fired three homing missiles at the left most mecha. I also fired off a few low energy beams at it for good measure. At the same time, I released a little bit of my red energy, trying desperately to weaken the other two mechas without overdoing it.


    It would be fatal if they reported anything back to base.


    Plus, I thought I could do with real life mecha combat practice. I needed it pretty badly.


    PEW! PEW! PEW! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The leftmost mecha raised its shield and took my missiles and energy beams head on.


    The other two mechas continued to press their attack on me.


    PEW! PEW! PEW!! BOOM!!!


    One energy beam hit me on my side.


    ¡°OOF!¡± I was thrown to the ground. But before they could press in for the kill, I rolled away once more.


    ¡°Go into close combat with the left mecha!¡± Emma shouted from behind me.


    I gritted my teeth and leapt at the left mecha!


    Crash!! I crashed into it.


    Immediately, the other two mechas stop firing at me.


    It worked!


    I laughed maniacally and began to rain down punches on the downed mecha. Of course I did not forget to absorb many crucial components while I was at it. The blue mecha core, communication chips, everything.


    After two quick punches, that mecha was basically a mere shell.

 First Law of Battle

    "Excellent!" I said to myself in satisfaction as I felt the red energy and the stream of delicious blue mecha ''nutrients'' fill me up. I could feel the power coiling within me, ready to be released at will.


    With most of the three blue mechas absorbed, I distinctly understood how I could combine them to create an ''enhanced'' blue mecha.


    Which I did immediately, of course.


    WHOOSH!


    I quickly strengthened my arms and legs, causing them to be much harder than before. Additionally, I fully realized that the three blue mecha cores I had absorbed also allowed me to burst out with much, much more power.


    Not that I needed it. My red energy effectively puts to sleep any mecha opponent I face. Permanently.


    But it''s good to know that I am growing stronger.


    At that moment, with one mecha down, I finally had time to think.


    "I should have just absorbed the mechas straight away! Why bother fighting them?" I said as I gave myself an imaginary face palm.


    "No, it''s alright. You need the combat practice." Emma said non-chalantly from my side. "Just make sure you disable their comms first."


    I narrowed my eyes into slits and scowled at Emma lightly. That little minx. She could have reminded me to simply absorb the mechas. But she wanted me to fight to improve my mecha skills!


    I sighed. She was right, though. I needed more practice.


    "Close combat it is!" I thought to myself, very much encouraged by my first success.


    Seeing their comrade disabled so quickly and becoming completely unresponsive, the other two mechas became slightly wary of me. They split up and began to flank me.


    "Feint left and attack the right one." Emma''s voice rang out from behind me.


    "No need." I replied as I charged with surprising power and speed towards the left mecha while activating my red energy to weaken the right mecha''s right foot. That should slow him down enough to allow me to quickly disable the left mecha.


    BAM! I crashed into the left mecha and we both fell to the ground. Instantly, my red energy worked its magic and absorbed yet another blue mecha''s core and critical components.


    "AHH!!!" The mecha pilot screamed out in fear as he frantically tried to move his unresponsive mecha.


    Pointless struggling.


    I turned around and parried the third mecha''s downward slash with my bare hands. He probably chose not to use his energy weapon in fear that he would accidentally hit his buddy. So, to his great misfortune, he chose to engage me in close combat.


    BAM!!


    Gotcha. I grinned.


    WHOOSH!


    The third and final blue mecha crumpled on the ground as essential components left him.


    "You shouldn''t have used your red mecha power. How do you expect to improve your skills if you keep using that? Anyway, you need to completely absorb these mechas and get rid of the pilots'' bodies." Emma reminded me.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "I know, I know." I grumbled. "Stop nagging at me."


    WHOOSH!! The mechas burst into streams of ''nutrients'' and quickly made their way into my body.


    BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! I quickly fired at the pilots and pulverized them before they could cry out and beg me to spare their lives. Although I am getting slightly used to killing people now, I still very much preferred to do the killing quickly and cleanly.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The sounds of battle in the distance continued to intensify. Apparently the White Mecha had yet to show itself.


    "We can still carry out my plan." Emma began. However, she was quickly cut short when three military mechas burst through from behind us.


    "There they are!" I could hear the lead mecha shout into his comms. My senses had advanced once more, and my hearing became extremely sharp.


    "Where are the other three? I thought you said there were four mechas sneaking around here!" Another shouted.


    "FOCUS! Take down the mecha first before asking so many questions!" A loud roar of anger could be heard from the lead mecha.


    Excellent! More practice! Well, not so much practice. By that point, I had grown so strong that three common mechas posed absolutely no threat to me whatsoever. I could simply stand still and let them do their worst in attacking me, and I would still be fine. Afterall, I had the power of FIVE mechas in me.


    But still, practice was practice, and I obligingly entered combat with them, dodging their attacks and dishing out my own.


    DODGE!


    BAM!


    I punched out at the lead mecha. One down.


    BAM! A powerful energy beam scratched my back.


    BAM! I turned around and fired my own energy beam, striking it down.


    BAM!!!


    I lifted my arm and parried the final mecha''s attack.


    BAMM!!


    And kicked it into pieces.


    Battle over.


    "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT MECHA!?" The lead mecha roared angrily.


    "By the way. You forgot to disable their communication system. Military mechas have body cameras as standard issue. They know that there is a vastly more powerful blue mecha in this area now." Emma said quietly as she dropped the bombshell at me.


    "WHAT!" I shouted in surprise. I turned and looked at the lead mecha and scanned it.


    Damn it! She''s right, there''s a camera and it''s pointing straight at me!


    "They would send reinforcements to this area very soon. We need to clear the area fast!" Emma urged.


    WHOOSH!!! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!!


    I quickly disabled their communication system, absorbed the three mechas and put to rest the three mecha pilots. After that, I bailed out of the area and dashed towards the Red Dragon base.


    "Where are you going?" Emma asked.


    "Change of plans. I am going to lead the military reinforcements towards the Red Dragon base to force out the White Mecha. And then I will absorb it right there and then!"


    "You aren''t going to absorb it on the sly and then pretend to be a white mecha from The European Empire? I thought that''s our plan!" Emma asked me in surprise.


    "Let me teach you the first law of battle which my father taught me." I grinned at her while I continued my mad dash towards the Red Dragon base.


    "What? Know yourself and your enemy?" Emma snapped irritably at me.


    "Nope. The first law of battle is: Everything gets f-ed up as soon as the enemy arrives. THAT''S why he''s called the enemy." I pronounced smugly.


    "So?" Emma asked, still very irritated.


    "So, my dear girl, if you want to succeed in real life, you need to get out of your bubble and realize that plans are castles in the clouds. You need to react and respond quickly based on what''s happening in real life. And right now, the military has one more reason to press the attack. Me. I need to lead them to the Red Dragon base." I explained in a condescending voice.


    "That''s no reason to absorb the white mecha right there and then and not on the sly as we planned." Emma pointed out.


    "Of course it is. The military would probably direct a very strong attack our way. AND the Red Dragon base knows that we''re not part of them. And being a very visible threat, they would probably focus fire on me too. I would have TWO groups of people trying to kill me with all their strengths! I need that white mecha to survive." I explained.


    At that, Emma stayed silent for a while. And then she spoke the words that would change our destinies forever.


    "If that''s the case, then let''s not bother with manpower. Just absorb everything in the Red Dragon base and kill everyone there. Go back to the military base and do the same. At the very least, you will get the fighting power of TWO bases as well as the White Mecha." Emma said.


    My heart skipped a beat at her words.


    "Is she really just eight years old?!" I exclaimed silently in my heart.

 Power Up!

    ¡°Trust me in this.¡± Emma said very simply, her gentle demeanor and cute girly voice at that moment contrasting very starkly with the very thing she asked me to trust her with.


    The complete murder of every single person in two large bases.


    ¡°Uhh. That¡¯s a little bit too much, don¡¯t you think?¡± I said while frowning slightly. ¡°Those people have families too! They are sons, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters, mothers¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah? So what? I am a daughter too. And a granddaughter. They had no problems kidnapping me, torturing me and making plans to kill me.¡± Emma said coldly. ¡°They deserve to die. Killing them is the same as doing the world a favor.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Well. That may be true for the Red Dragon gang, but the military¡­¡± I began to reply.


    ¡°Are just as bad. Do you think they have no idea that the Red Dragon gang had prisoners? And that those prisoners are innocent civillians? And that they are getting tortured?¡± Emma snapped. ¡°Do you know how many times I have comforted myself by saying that the military will definitely come and¡­ and¡­¡± Her voice cracked slightly at the end before she stopped speaking.


    ¡°Even so. Killing all of them is too much. Let¡¯s not go down to their level.¡± I said quietly as I sped through the forest towards the Red Dragon base. I tried to be as quiet as I could to avoid alerting the enemy.


    There was an awkward silence for a while before I finally said with a smile. ¡°But I WILL definitely clean house on everything that I can absorb from both bases. I am not sure that I can though, definitely not in one go. We might have to stick around for a few days while I ¡®digest¡¯ everything.¡±


    Emma stayed silent for a few more moments.


    ¡°Yes. You need to take everything from them. If not their lives, then everything else they own.¡± She said softly.


    I was chilled to the bone. It was the first time I glimpsed her deep, and dark side, one that was so full of anger and hatred.


    I was tempted to ask her right there and then why she was so angry and so full of hatred, but I held myself back.


    ¡°She probably felt that way because of the kidnapping and living under the cloud of death for so long.¡± I told myself. ¡°Stop asking stupid questions!¡±


    ¡°How long were you imprisoned there?¡± I asked instead.


    Emma remained silent for a few long moments. However, she eventually answered me.


    ¡°Two hundred and seventy four days.¡± She finally said. ¡°You rescued me on the two hundred seventy-fifth day.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I nodded. I was about to say something when she unexpectedly continued to speak.


    ¡°I spent those days in three prisons from three different organisations. I suffered through seven invasive ¡®medical check ups¡¯. Two operations. And countless ¡®interrogation¡¯ sessions. By pure amateurs.¡±


    There it was. The source of her anger and hatred. It wasn¡¯t mere imprisonment. It was torture! AND possibly rape and organ stealing.


    My blood began to boil at that moment.


    ¡°Look.¡± She pulled up her shirt a little and showed me two scars on her thin body. Overly thin body. She was so thin that I was sure she was malnourished.


    A bloody haze began to cloud my vision as anger coursed through my veins like molten fire.


    All the goodness within me and willingness to take the ¡®higher road¡¯ towards Red Dragon evaporated when I saw the two badly stitched up scars that were still extremely red. True, they might not be the ones who operated on Emma, there were two other organizations who were guilty.


    But it didn¡¯t matter to me.


    I was a boy in love who just discovered that the girl I loved had just suffered through unimaginable pain and suffering in the hands of an organization that I had more than enough power to destroy.


    ¡°I will kill every single one of them.¡± I whispered. ¡°Those animals!¡±


    I clenched my jaw tightly and released more of my power. At that moment, I fully intended to kill every single person in the Red Dragon base. Every single person.


    Immediately, the power of eight blue mechas manifested all around me.


    The density of my armor increased drastically and within my chest, I could feel a startling change happening with the mecha cores.


    Spurred on by my anger, the little red mecha core pulsated powerfully in my heart and began to activate.


    It filled my whole body with red energy which surged alongside the power of the blue mecha cores. The eight blue mecha core particles, which were merely circulating around my body previously and powering my mecha suit, began to be absorbed by the red mecha core.


    ¡°GAH!¡± A sharp pain shot through my heart and my whole body!


    I stumbled and fell down hard as I lost control of my mecha suit.


    ¡°Ahh!¡± Emma screamed in surprise. Thankfully, she had seat belts on so she escaped that incident totally unharmed.


    ¡°GAAAHHH!!¡± I shouted in agony. My whole body felt like it was burning up in flames!


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? Are you alright?¡± I could hear slight panic and concern in her voice. And because of that, somehow I felt slightly better even though the pain slowly intensified.


    I quickly turned my attention inwards as all the muscles in my body clenched up in a reflexive attempt to suppress the pain. Slowly, through the pain, I could sense the energy of the eight blue mecha cores disintegrating and the red mecha core growing dramatically in strength and power.


    I could feel that my capacity to absorb was growing larger and larger! Additionally, my senses grew more acute and they spread out over a much larger area. I could feel my resonance with all sorts of mechas and machines all around me increasing sharply.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I cried out internally with great excitement. ¡°If this is the power that I get, then by all means, bring on the pain!¡±


    The red energy was also a much purer source of energy, with each energy unit able to generate much more power in the mecha. With the enhancement, I would grow much more powerful.


    And I would be able to take revenge for Emma much more completely.


    ¡°None of the Red Dragon gang would be left alive!¡± My rage fueled my strength and allowed me to go through that round of enhancement with relative ease.


    After a few long minutes, the pain subsided.


    I gasped with great relief and took deep breaths.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Emma asked me, her round eyes opened wide.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I replied breathlessly. ¡°That was the red mecha core absorbing the power of the blue mecha cores I absorbed earlier.¡± I explained.


    ¡°So you¡¯re much stronger now?¡± She asked.


    I nodded.


    ¡°How much stronger?¡± She asked curiously.


    ¡°Much stronger.¡± I replied excitedly.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a real answer.¡± Emma said irritably.


    I chuckled at her amiably.


    Whoosh! A powerful burst of energy erupted from within my body.

 White Mecha

    The blue armor on me shimmered lightly and was replaced by a set of sleek black armor with beautiful red trim. The upgraded red mecha core allowed me to simply replace my current suit with whatever I wanted without having to retract the old one first.


    Convenient.


    Plus, my new mecha suit definitely looked much better in appearance. I am sure you are familiar with that suit¡¯s design. I used it for quite some time and accomplished many things with it. Of course, from your point of view, they wouldn¡¯t be ¡®accomplishments¡¯. They were probably ¡®disasters¡¯ or ¡®fiascos¡¯. If I remember correctly, you even called it the Mecha Cataclysm.


    The Jimbaran Fire. The Highland Defense. The Pacemaker Loophole.


    All of them featured The Mecha Emperor with that design.


    That moment could technically be the birth of The Mecha Emperor since the title was acquired using that particular mecha design. Although the mecha components and strengths vary as I continued to increase in power relentlessly, I kept that design for a pretty long time.


    But of course, at that moment, appearance was the last thing on my mind.


    A deeply powerful sensation suffused throughout my body as I familiarized myself with my new mecha suit.


    I clenched my fist and gave a quick one-two punch.


    WHOOSH! WHOOSH!! BOOM!!


    I moved so fast that a mini sonic boom appeared!!


    ¡°Amazing!¡± I exclaimed.


    I quickly created energy pathways down my arm and onto my hands, creating a hand cannon that could fire off powerful energy beams like a famous cartoon character I used to know. Metal man or something.


    However, instead of using my hands and feet as thrusters, I decided that I would rather have a backpack module that allowed me to fly. It allows me to maintain flight stability while I do all kinds of things with my limbs.


    ¡°Making your hands and feet thrusters is a pretty bad idea.¡± I thought to myself as the flying module came to be behind me. ¡°I wonder how he even got things done while flying.¡±


    I powered up my hand cannons.


    HUM!!


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re not thinking of firing that, are you?¡± Emma asked in surprise.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Uhh, I am thinking of test firing it. Why?¡± I asked in slight irritation.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t. Why announce your presence with a pointless test firing of a hand cannon? We need to keep ourselves hidden while we study the situation later. The best strategy would be to attack the faction that is winning the battle so that the situation continues to be chaotic. We need to -¡±


    PEW!!!


    A fearsome energy beam erupted from my right hand and obliterated all the trees and plants in front of me. The beam continued to rip through everything as it shot ahead with devastating power.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Emma gritted her teeth angrily. ¡°You¡¯re such a little boy!¡±


    I smirked lightly. ¡°Take that, you control freak!¡± I thought. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with test firing my new weapon? I need to know exactly how powerful it is so that I can be more effective in battle.¡± I said with a smile.


    ¡°You-¡± Emma began. But before she could say much of anything...


    BOOMM!!!


    A massive explosion resounded in the distance ahead of us.


    ¡°Uh oh.¡± I thought to myself.


    ¡°The energy beam must have hit something that could explode.¡± I said to Emma sheepishly.


    But it was not the end. Before Emma could respond¡­


    BOOOM!!!!!


    BOOM!!!!!


    Two more explosions could be heard resounding in quick succession.


    ¡°Make that three things?¡± I gave Emma a foolish grin.


    Emma merely sighed.


    ¡°Alright alright. No more fooling around. I¡¯ll be serious from now on.¡± I said seriously and straightened up.


    ¡°Too late.¡± Emma said quietly. ¡°I think you¡¯ve attracted a lot of unwanted attention.¡±


    As usual, she was right.


    Amelia Dragonos may be many things, but coward was definitely not one of them. Her response to my ¡®attack¡¯ was swift and absolutely brutal. Of course ¡®swift and brutal¡¯ was in the context of a person without a red mecha core that could devour anything and everything mechanical like me.


    In my case, her ¡®swift and brutal¡¯ response became ¡®swift and generous¡¯ instead.


    My ¡®attack¡¯ apparently had destroyed a blue mecha and two large tanks. She had immediately identified me as the biggest threat, and very possibly the military¡¯s trump card. And so, she deployed her trump card as well.


    The Whtite Mecha.


    BAMMM!!!


    A massive and powerful energy beam burst out of the trees ahead and smashed into me, taking me by complete surprise.


    I flew backwards with great force and smashed into several large trees before finally stopping.


    If not for my enhanced mecha armor, Emma and I would have died right there and then. But thankfully, I had the new and enhanced mecha suit on me, and it resisted the exploratory attack by the white mecha very well.


    Apart from being shocked to the bone by the sudden attack and slightly bruised from the impact, Emma and I were totally fine.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± I cursed loudly. ¡°Emma, are you alright?¡± I asked her anxiously.


    ¡°I-I am fine. I think.¡± Emma said shakily. She was so shocked that she didn¡¯t even have time to cry out.


    I quickly got up and dashed ahead furiously while firing several of my own energy beams ahead, in the direction from whence the massive energy beam from the white mecha came from.


    Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew!


    Four red streaks of energy burst forth from my hands and sped towards the white mecha which had finally shown itself.


    ¡°Take that!¡± I shouted while running as fast as I could.


    Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.


    My footsteps pounded the ground rhythmically and rapidly. I needed to close the distance between the white mecha and me so that I could quickly absorb it.


    Screw strategies. Screw stealth. Screw tactics. I am going to absorb that white mecha and wreak complete havoc! I am going to go crazy!!


    Ahead of me, the white mecha was slowly rising up to its full height at a full hundred meters tall.


    It towered over everything.


    Blue mechas, watch towers, buildings, everything seemed tiny before it.


    ¡°Oh my God.¡± Emma exclaimed in shock. ¡°That is a white mecha??¡±


    The four energy beams which I had fired off angrily earlier smashed onto the white mecha like four tiny red ants attacking a little kid.


    However, it struck the white mecha with surprising power.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!

 Battling the White Mecha

    A common, and sometimes fatal misconception about white mechas is that because they are so supremely massive, they had to be slow as well. Much like how elephants are huge and slow creatures, lumbering everywhere in a stately fashion, arriving fashionably late to every elephant appointment in the elephant world.


    The white mecha was not only fast in the sense that it had an insanely high top speed, it was also insanely explosive. It¡¯s acceleration from zero to a hundred kilometers per hour was below half a second.


    Half a bloody second!


    Many first time opponents of the white mecha, if they had not studied it beforehand or had never really believed the rumours of how powerful and deceptively quick the white mecha was, would usually be left confused or stunned by the white mecha¡¯s disappearing act.


    One moment it was there, and the next moment it was gone. They would stare at the spot where the white mecha was in disbelief. And then they would be drawn by the sonic boom, and their heads would slowly swivel and THEN they would believe.


    Fervently so, with a religious fervor that rivals the most devout follower of God.


    Finally.


    Most would die in the act of conversion, however, for the white mecha was an unforgiving instructor. Deadly quick to find fault, deadly quick to reprove, and altogether merciless in its correction.


    In the same way, if it wasn¡¯t for my powerful red mecha core, my name would have been an inglorious addition to the list of zealots who died mid-conversion by a white mecha¡¯s heavy hand.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!


    The four energy beams which I had fired off earlier struck the white mecha with surprising power.


    It was probable that the white mecha swayed backwards a few inches. Probable.


    But in any case, the surprising power my four red energy beams exhibited was a moot point. The white mecha was so superlatively powerful that it took the much stronger than expected blow in stride as if it was another insignificant blue mecha¡¯s attack.


    BOOM! It disappeared from my sight like magic and before I could even frown in confusion, my enhanced senses began screaming out DANGER!


    I instantly released all the red mecha energy that was lurking within me and burst forward with all my strength.


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    BOOM!!!


    A massive crater appeared in the spot where I was mere milliseconds ago.


    ¡°DAMN IT!¡± I shouted half in panic, half in frustration, half in shock and half in anger. That¡¯s two, I know, but my emotions were truly overflowing at that moment.


    I was elated at the fact that I had become vastly stronger than before after undergoing that hellish, excruciating pain, and was anticipating reaping the benefits of such an agonizing experience. Surely after going through all that, dealing with the white mecha would be a piece of cake, right?


    Wrong!


    And the fact that I was wrong, and that it would not be as easy as I thought it would be, caused me to feel frustrated. Disappointed too.


    Plus I wasn¡¯t expecting the white mecha to be THAT fast, and for its attack to hit me THAT suddenly.


    And of course add to the emotional soup a few large portions of panic due to the fact that if I take one wrong step, I could very well die in that place, and voila. You have my emotional state at that moment.


    Half panic, half frustration, half shock and half anger.


    And right there, ladies and gentlemen, is the key to all of my success.


    The red mecha core¡¯s main trigger is my emotion.


    Back in the helicopter wreckage, the excitement that I felt at sensing that the mecha core was within me triggered the painful experience that led it to fuse with my body.


    A few minutes prior, my overwhelming anger at the Red Dragon gang caused the red energy to absorb the blue mecha cores and evolve once more.


    And then of course, you have that emotional soup that I was in at that moment.


    The red energy within me was stimulated very powerfully and I could sense it go into overdrive within me. An impossibly powerful surge of energy filled my body.


    ¡°GAAAHHHHHH!!!!!¡± I let out a powerful animalistic roar to vent a little bit of the power that was filling me to the very brim.


    WIIIIIIII!!!!!!


    All of a sudden, every single thing seemed to slow down in my perspective, and at the same time, everything came into startling focus and clarity.


    My vision sharpened and my hearing became extremely acute. I turned my head around to look for the white mecha, and I quickly found it.


    Among everything else in the area, only it was moving at normal speed.


    And at normal speed, the white mecha was just another big, fat, juice slab of meat for me.


    I remember that vicious exchange with the white mecha vividly.


    I was still out of range for absorption, and I knew that I needed to close the distance. But for some reason, the white mecha refused to let me close.


    I remember dashing forward toward the white mecha with my newfound strength.


    BOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!


    My feet stomped down upon the ground so powerfully and so rapidly that it sounded like one prolonged BOOM instead of multiple BOOMS.


    But the white mecha moved backwards with equal speed and maintained the distance between us, firing its massive arsenal of weapons at me all the way. Energy beams, missiles, machine gun fire, and all sorts of projectiles blanketed the area between the white mecha and me.


    PEW!! PEWWW!! PEWWWW!! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    I dodged, and ducked, and weaved through the firestorm released by the white mecha with amazing agility. Sharp energy beams that had the power to pierce through blue mechas like hot iron through butter missed me by the smallest of margins. And even so, somehow I knew the margins were enough.


    My senses were well and truly in overdrive. To me, the barrage was nothing.


    But for the rest of the fighters in that battlefield, it was a fearsome, fearsome scene.


    Every single soldier caught in our crossfire probably disintegrated on the spot. The rest quickly scampered away and maintained their distance from the white mecha and the strange red-black mecha which was strangely pursuing the white mecha instead of the other way around.


    In a way, I understood why Amelia Dragonos chose to maintain her distance between us that day. It was the only thing she could do.


    Amelia Dragonos was a pretty good mecha pilot. She is awesome now, but back then, she was only pretty good. And she probably did not have much experience piloting a white mecha.

 CRASH!

    Piloting a massive mecha is not an easy task.


    For you people who are merely watching the battles, you have no idea just how difficult it is to pilot a huge mecha such as the white mecha. The biggest challenge for the white mecha pilot is to apply the right amount of force to achieve the right amount of mecha movement to achieve the right amount of results.


    Just imagine a little toddler suddenly becoming a two hundred kilogram heavyweight boxing champion, and then asking him to beat up a small but vicious dog. It would be incredibly difficult. The baby would not be able to wield the boxer¡¯s strength, agility and instincts efficiently, and would end up squandering much of his advantages against the dog. In fact, the giant toddler might end up losing entirely.


    In the same way, Amelia had to adjust the way she looked at the world around her to take on the perspective and relativity of a hundred meter tall giant with the power to go from zero to a hundred kilometers per hour in HALF a second.


    Moving it around slowly is easy. Using it as an overpowered weapon to bully little blue mechas is easy.


    But piloting it with efficiency to achieve specific battlefield objectives? Not so easy.


    And that was probably exactly why Amelia Dragonos did not want to get into a melee battle with a strange mecha which somehow resisted its initial attack like it was nothing. Plus the fact that I was a much smaller mecha probably added much to her reluctance to fight with me head on. It would be like a clumsy, lumbering bear going against a mongoose armed with a lightsaber!


    Superlatively powerful or not, underestimating an unknown enemy in a mecha you¡¯re not familiar with is the fastest way to die. Young pilots should learn from Amelia Dragonos on this point.


    Secondly, and more pragmatically as to why she was maintaining her distance, Amelia was probably afraid of the repair bill. That¡¯s right.The repair bill.


    A white mecha is a strategic weapon for most countries lucky enough to be gifted one from a superpower. And being a gift, the country obviously had no way to fix it should it get damaged. Any repairs had to be done by the superpower, and the superpowers, being superpowers, had no qualms charging absurdly high prices for their services.


    In Amelia¡¯s eyes, even the tiniest scratch on the white mecha¡¯s coat of external paint would be like a stab into her heart. And wallet.


    Anyway, whatever her reasons were, it resulted in the strange situation which we were in. A white mecha attempting with everything it had, to maintain a respectable distance between itself and a much smaller mecha.


    In a regular fight against a strangely powerful smaller mecha, it would be the most logical choice, and one that would probably allow her to gain a cheap victory.


    But I was not a regular strange-but-powerful smaller mecha.


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    I didn¡¯t even need to get to melee range, I only needed to get her within range of my red energy.


    I adjusted my hand cannons firing mode to ¡®rapid-fire¡¯ and released two volleys on her left flank.


    PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!!!


    PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!!!


    My hand cannons may be on rapid-fire mode, but because I had grown much stronger somehow, each of the blasts of red energy streaking towards the white mecha was markedly much stronger than the ones before.


    I imagine at that moment, her danger sensors must be blaring loudly within her cockpit.


    The white mecha dodged slightly to the right. Even though her armor had proven to be rather resilient against my red beams of energy, Amelia Dragonos exercised an abundance of caution in the face of a strange mecha that had obviously and very abnormally powered up mid-battle and worked really hard to dodge my attacks.


    PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!!!


    PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!!!


    I kept on pressuring her left flank, forcing her to keep dodging to her right.


    I knew that there was a steep ravine somewhere within this forest, and I was trying to ¡®herd¡¯ the white mecha in that ravine¡¯s direction.


    ¡°She definitely just got her hands on the white mecha.¡± I commented to Emma. ¡°Look at how clumsy she is! AND just how unwilling she is to even get hit by a harmless energy beam like mine!¡±


    ¡°Be very careful. She may have very legitimate reasons to keep her distance. But she is, afterall, a highly trained soldier, and the mecha she is on is still, afterall, a white mecha. We should be suspicious as to why she is so unwilling to engage us. She might be leading us into a trap.¡± Emma cautioned.


    ¡°Yes, yes. I¡¯ll be careful.¡± I said as I carelessly powered on forward, all the while firing my hand cannons liberally in the general direction of the white mecha¡¯s left flank.


    PEW! PEW! PEW!


    The white mecha returned fire as well, but it felt rather half-hearted on her part, considering that her shots missed me completely, some even missing me by such a wide margin that I wondered if she even aimed her energy weapon in my direction.


    ¡°The white mecha must be giving her much more trouble than I had estimated.¡± I commented. ¡°She seems to be losing control!¡±


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Emma shouted.


    BOOM!!!!


    I plowed into a shrewdly placed bomb, half hidden behind a large tree. Amelia Dragonos must have hastily slapped it on the tree as she ¡®retreated¡¯. However, Emma¡¯s warning had come on time and I managed to lift my arms and conjure up a powerful shield to resist the explosion.


    I stumbled clumsily to my right as I reeled from the blast. However, I did not slow down much.


    ¡°Sneaky little b***h!¡± I cursed as I released several more volleys of my own.


    PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!!!


    PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!!!


    I smirked lightly when I saw her slowly and inadvertently position herself before a steep ravine. The white mecha had no problems traversing the steep ravine, of course, but it would slow her down.


    I was sure Amelia Dragonos knew exactly what I was trying to do and knew that she would have no problems keeping me beyond melee range even as she leapt across the ravine. That was the only reason why she would let me ¡®herd¡¯ her towards the ravine. That, and the fact that she probably thought I was making a fatal mistake.


    As a white mecha, leaping over a ravine the size of the one before her would be a piece of cake. She could simply power up her boosters and cross the ravine in one giant leap. But as a much smaller blue mecha? It would take me much longer. Much, much longer.


    That ¡®mistake¡¯ of mine would give her plenty of time to aim and fire at me using her powerful long distance weapons.


    ¡°Gotcha!¡± I whispered as I saw the white mecha pause to stabilize itself and ignite her rear boosters in preparation for a powerful jump.


    BOOMM!! My own powerful booster rockets ignited first and propelled me rapidly towards the white mecha, the distance between us disappearing by a significant amount even in just the first second.


    BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!! The white mecha¡¯s much larger boosters erupted with much greater force and power. However, before the physics could kick in and lift the white mecha up and across the ravine¡­.


    PUTT!! PUTPUTPUT!!!!! Jsssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.


    The white mecha¡¯s boosters sputtered and died.


    I had gotten within range.


    As soon as I did, I shut down her white mecha core.


    CRASH!!!


    The white mecha lost its balance and fell head first into the steep ravine!

 Absorbing the White Mecha Core

    WHOOSH!


    I wasted no time exerting all of my energy in an attempt to dissolve the white mecha core and pull its energy particles towards me. However, I had not expected the white mecha core to be so, very, very dense.


    I had absorbed eight blue cores by that point, and I had no problems at all dissolving and sucking in all those delicious blue core particles. Dissolving those blue mecha cores was like crushing a chicken egg. Just a surge of energy and CRACK! It¡¯s crushed.


    Pulling the blue core particles was effortless too. Sure, I could feel the weight of the particles, but it was well within my power and ability to draw them quickly across the distance and absorb it into my body. It was like dragging an empty wheelbarrow on a smooth road. Easy.


    However in comparison, the white mecha core was like a tough, giant ostrich egg covered with a thick layer of squishy goo which resisted my best efforts to crush it!


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Emma shouted from beside me. ¡°Start absorbing the white mecha!¡±


    I gritted my teeth and tuned her out. It was definitely not the right time to get into a shouting match with her.


    I took a deep breath and sent more energy to surround the white mecha core. And then with everything that I had, I forced the red energy to crush the white mecha core!


    NGGGGGGHHHH!!!


    Nothing happened!


    ¡°Damn it!¡± I shouted in exasperation.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Emma asked.


    ¡°The white mecha core is too tough for me to crush! I can¡¯t dissolve it!¡± I cried out.


    ¡°Crush? If brute force doesn¡¯t work, then try to slice it into pieces instead! Or drill a hole into it?¡± Emma suggested.


    ¡°My God, Emma you¡¯re a genius!¡± My eyes almost popped out as I mentally face palmed myself for not thinking of such a simple idea. I quickly adjusted my red energy into a sharp, spinning drill and sent it smashing into the white mecha core.


    After a second, it began to pierce through the gooey exterior and into the white mecha core!


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    ¡°YES! IT¡¯S WORKING!¡± I cried out excitedly.


    ¡°Get closer!¡± Emma urged me. ¡°Get the absorption done as quickly as you can before the others come!¡±


    ¡°On my way!¡± I quickly made my way to the white mecha.


    ¡°GAHH! WHY WOULDN¡¯T IT POWER UP! STUPID MECHA!!!¡± BAM! BAM! BAM!


    I could hear Amelia Dragonos cursing the white mecha and venting her frustrations by punching and kicking her cockpit.


    ¡°Hehehe. Don¡¯t worry, Amelia, very soon, you won¡¯t have to put up with your ¡®stupid¡¯ white mecha anymore.¡± I sniggered as I placed my hand on the white mecha¡¯s giant foot.


    Once I placed my hand on the foot though, I realized one thing. Physical touch causes the resonance I have with the white mecha to shoot through the roof!


    All of a sudden, I felt like I had much more leverage against the white mecha.


    Previously, my resonance with the white mecha core was rather tenuous, as though I was connecting with it via several proxies. It felt like I was watching it through a camera screen which was pointed towards another camera screen which was pointed towards yet another camera screen which was pointing at the white mecha.


    But with physical touch, it felt like I was watching the white mecha with my own eyes. The resonance I felt with it was very real, and very strong. And with the increased resonance, the red energy seemed to strengthen drastically in power.


    And not only that, the gooey layer around the white mecha disappeared as well!


    CRACK!!


    The red energy drill immediately pierced through the white mecha core and caused it to split in half! And to make things even better, the physical contact also allowed me to inject far more red energy than before.


    I quickly surrounded the white mecha core with my red energy once more. If I could crush it into particles, I would be able to absorb it much faster. At that moment, speed was the key.


    ¡°LET¡¯S GO!¡± I shouted and contracted the red energy around the white mecha core with all my strength!


    CRRRRRRACK!! POOF!


    Success!!


    The white mecha burst into a cloud of white particles. I immediately tried to pull it towards me.


    NGHH! It was really heavy.


    But thankfully, I had physical contact with the white mecha, so I was able to pull the white mecha particles slowly towards me.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Come on!¡± I gritted my teeth and sent in the rest of my red energy to hasten the process of absorbing the white mecha core.


    When the white mecha core finally entered my body, I gasped.


    For the first time, I tasted power.


    POWER!!


    REAL POWER!!


    I arched my head backwards and breathed in sharply.


    Let me just say this, because well, I am the only one qualified to say it.


    I am the number one human being in the world.


    And that moment was the moment I ascended into that position.


    Without mechas or external technology, just with physical bodies, I was the strongest human being in the world.


    Oh yes.


    Stronger than even those biological frankensteins the Russians made. What was their boast again? The physical strength of a thousand men? The acceleration and top speed of a race car?


    Pfffft.


    Ants.


    I had within me EIGHT blue mecha cores, one WHITE mecha core and an experimental RED mecha core. I had enough energy within me to power an entire city for YEARS.


    I could probably smash a hundred of those frankensteins with one hit.


    But that was not all.


    You see, the red mecha core had spent all the energy it had absorbed from the blue mecha core to strengthen and enhance my body, but it had largely left my brain untouched. At first I thought that it was just how it works. It strengthens my body, and allows me to generate mecha suits at will.


    But it turned out that I was wrong.


    The red mecha energy could enhance my brain too.


    With the overflowing energy that it got from absorbing the white mecha core, it finally had enough to start its work on my brain.

 Brain Enhancement

    As usual, the red energy had no issues doing its ¡®dirty¡¯ work as and when it pleased. I can be on the verge of releasing the biggest dump of my life, or in the midst of the most dangerous battle I have ever encountered, it wouldn¡¯t care. It wouldn¡¯t even deign to tell me anything. It would just simply work its magic on me whenever and however its requirements were met.


    Who cares what the host felt, right? Even though the host is your god damned ticket to living well you stupid, brainless spherical thing.


    Ah. I really have a love-hate relationship with this mecha core. Mostly love, of course. It is the only reason why I am here right now, telling this story to you instead of watching some other lucky person do it. But the hate I also have for its insanely irritatingly annoyingly uncontrollable timing for advancement is¡­ Well and truly as deep as the oceans. It always, I say again, ALWAYS advanced my strength at the most inopportune times.


    The example I mentioned about it doing its dirty work on me when I was on the verge of releasing the biggest dump of my life? Not a joke.


    Yes, you laugh. I know it is funny.


    But when you¡¯re the one looking forward to finally taking a dump after WEEKS of not being able to, and then it pulls that kind of crap on you, you would destroy the entire toilet in a fit of anger like I did.


    Yes, that was why I partially destroyed that villa.


    Anyway, I digress once more.


    As you can already guess, what followed next was a horrifying, horrifying few minutes of pure, blinding pain. I actually was rather surprised after the few minutes ended that my head was still intact. I had thought that if my head hadn¡¯t burst open completely, I would at least suffer several large cracks on my skull, considering the inhumane level of pain I had to endure.


    Compared to the pain I felt in my head, the pain in my body were leagues below. In fact, even at the risk of sounding like a masochist, I would probably consider them mild.


    ¡°Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake upp!!!¡± Emma screamed as she nudged me as hard as she could from the side. As if I wasn¡¯t already suffering from enough pain. *rolls eyes*


    But I understood her panic. I had suddenly screamed and then remained absolutely silent and motionless for a few minutes. Any reasonable person would have feared that I had died. Emma probably did too.


    Plus, we were in the middle of a battle. True, nobody in their right minds would voluntarily join in a white mecha battle without another white mecha of their own. But we had remained silent for a few long minutes by that time, and the foolhardy and curious members of both factions were definitely already either on the move to investigate the situation, or were sorely tempted to do so.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Either way, there would be people coming to join us really soon if I didn¡¯t make a fearsome move or gesture of some sort.


    And boy did I make a fearsome move or gesture of some sort after that.


    ¡°Gahhh!!¡± I opened my eyes and released all the excess energy that I had within my body in the form of a combined sonic/energy explosion.


    BOOM!!


    A ripple of pure energy erupted from my body and cascaded outwards all around in a powerful shockwave.


    Whole trees were flattened outwards and rocks crumbled beneath the pressure of the shockwave that I emitted.


    With my enhanced mind and body, I was able to increase the speed at which I absorbed the white mecha core, and so I did.


    ¡°AHHH!!!¡± I could hear Amelia Dragonos screaming in pure frustration and anger. At that point, the white mecha was totally power-less. Not even its auxiliary power remained. I had made sure I took care of that as well.


    Amelia Dragonos was totally stuck.


    I grinned widely and glanced at Emma.


    She had remained strangely silent after her outburst.


    ¡°Hey, you alright there?¡± I asked.


    She just sat there, gazing at me with her pretty eyes and remained silent.


    I sighed and decided to ignore her and focus on my task. She¡¯ll talk when she¡¯s ready. If not, then I was okay with silence too.


    I gazed at the white mecha core that was reforming slowly within my body, and sensed that I had barely absorbed one percent of its power. It was incredible.


    Just one percent, and it was already enough to trigger another upgrade to my body, and specifically, my brain?


    I could instinctively sense that I had grown much more intelligent. It was like looking at the world, seeing the exact same things, but realizing their significance and relations to countless other things instantly.


    Let me give you an example of how my brain changed after that little painful episode.


    See this pen? What is the first thing on your mind when you see this pen? The very first thing, mind you. Don¡¯t overthink it.


    It¡¯s black, right? Or maybe, it¡¯s rather fancy for a pen. Or even, hey I have one exactly like it at home!


    That would be what normal people with normal intelligence would think.


    It was different for me, all those years ago.


    If I looked at this pen then, instantly, I would think the following things. Black gel pen. The gel probably made up of Copper Pthalocyanine and Iron Oxides suspended on water and Xanthan Gum. Plastic case, twenty centimeters, three centimeters longer than the average pen. Approximate price, one Euro. Approximate age based on wear and tear, eight months. Good for another two months based on your current usage rate.


    And all that occurred within the first second.


    (Author¡¯s Note: Had to google all that information for quite a few minutes lol. Damn if only I had such intelligence.)


    I had no idea where I read or maybe glimpsed the information on gels, but it is there in my head.


    And the enhanced intelligence I had simply allowed me to access all those hidden and inactive parts of my brain¡¯s memory bank.


    In addition to vastly enhanced processing speed, of course.


    All in all, I became a much smarter person. And of course, that instantly led me to a series of very crucial questions.


    If the red mecha core was this powerful, why didn¡¯t Dr. Andrew Kennedy, the engineer who died with the red mecha core in his satchel, use it himself and destroy his enemies? Who killed him? And most importantly, were there any side effects?

 Resonance Enhancement

    Along with a vastly enhanced intelligence, my resonance with machines had also shot through the roof.


    Before the latest upgrade, I could extend my resonance to approximately a hundred meters around me, and the feedback I received from my resonance was rather murky.


    I could still make out the different machines; cars, trucks, helicopters and the sort, but it was not without difficulty. Sensing these machines around me was like looking into the distance through a layer of fog.


    Making out which ones were mechas was much easier due to their mecha cores. In my resonance sensing, the blue mecha cores were shining like giant lighthouses in the deep darkness of night. Fog or no fog, the brightness of the lighthouse could not be denied.


    But after the upgrade, it was like the fog had lifted. I knew exactly what every single machine was doing within a radius of five hundred meters around me.


    It was almost as strong as the resonance I felt when I had physical contact with the machines. It wasn''t quite as strong, but it was close.


    I could feel my heart start to beat faster.


    In one of my father''s military books, there was a comment made by a renowned general. He said, "This is the first thing you have to do to your enemies in every battle - blind the bastards."


    Which basically meant take out their scouts, their sentries and grab the flow of information into their camp by the neck and start squeezing.


    Even without my ability to break down machines and devour them, my resonance would prove to be extremely useful. I would never be one of those bastards who got blinded.


    As I continue to grow and the range of my resonance expands, I would eventually get to the point where I would always know how many and what sort of machines were arrayed against me.


    And considering that most potent strike forces capable of threatening me would need to involve at least some sort of machine, I would be almost immune to ambush.


    And that was merely my resonance.


    It wasn''t even the real power of my red mecha core!


    At that moment, I was exceedingly excited.


    I knew that once I lose the need to keep my powers a secret, I can enter ANY battlefield, I would be absolutely unstoppable. With that kind of range for my red energy, I would be impervious to close range and medium range mechas!


    Every machine entering the range of my red energy could be obliterated as and when I liked!Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It was an incredible thought.


    Throw me into any setting, and I would dominate.


    Urban, jungle, desert, snow, underwater, anything.


    I was a walking machine detector, obliterator and devourer.


    Just imagine this- Oh wait, you don''t need to imagine.


    The Defense of Belgorod.


    That was me at my very best urban mode. Untouchable, and absolutely dominating.


    Well for half of the battle, at least.


    Emma, that little minx. She truly makes for a terrifying, terrifying enemy. If not for her devious sneak attack on my position, I would have managed to hold that town for sure.


    She was the reason why I said I was "almost" immune to ambush, because well, she did ambush me and forced me out of the city.


    Still, what was the final tally? Three hundred medium mechas, two hundred light mechas and fifty heavy mechas? All of that absorbed without breaking a sweat, and within the first five minutes of battle.


    I might have lost the city, but I definitely won the battle for resources.


    By that point in my life, I was already so strong that you could throw the entire mechanized armed forces of the European Empire at me, and I would still be able to hold that city.


    Of course, this was assuming that there were no other experimental cores out there.


    Anyway, at that time, I was thinking that if they could build one, they could build two, right? And judging by the circumstances in which I found my red mecha core, a lot of time had passed since its creation. Many other experimental cores could be made in that time.


    And if there were many other experimental cores, then that simply meant that there would be many others capable of shutting me down.


    I needed to maintain my cover. I could not afford dealing with a bunch of elite investigators from the various superpowers sniffing at my trail. I had bigger things to do than to worry about finally being discovered each and every day!


    Of course we know now that the "devour" of the red mecha core is one of a kind. But I didn''t know that then. So I "kept my head down", just in case.


    At a ''glance'', I immediately knew that the remaining four Red Dragon blue mechas were idling in the middle of the Red Dragon Base. They had suffered light to medium damage from their earlier skirmish, but were still very much operational. There were also sixty three Red Dragon exo-suits active, and of those, fifty two were already critically low in power.


    True to their high level of training, emergency repairs were already beginning on the four blue mechas. I could sense various strange and unique machines latching and working on the blue mechas, repairing the mechas on the fly to a much higher degree than I thought possible. Deep within my subconscious, I made a note to make sure I absorb those machines later.


    However, I knew those emergency repairs were merely temporary stopgaps for the more obvious damages at best, and without fully diagnosing and repairing the blue mechas in a proper facility, they would not be returning to full power anytime soon.


    In short, the Red Dragons were in full defensive mode. I didn''t have to worry about them swarming over to my position any time soon.


    Their only hope was for their glorious leader to win her own battle, return to them triumphantly, and send these military dogs running with their tails between their legs.


    And in their desperation, and because all their hopes lied with the white mecha, they were the first to send out scouts to find out what was happening.


    On the other side of the battlefield, I could sense that the military was still very much close to their full strength.


    They still had ten blue mechas, and a literal horde of exo-suits, at least a thousand of them.

 Mecha Virus

    Apparently my little stunt had thoroughly pissed them off and they had mobilized a huge portion of their troops to crush the Red Dragon base.


    They were probably expecting to steamroll over the outrageously arrogant gangsters, and as such, they were caught totally off guard when the white mecha appeared.


    With the appearance of the white mecha and the fearsome firefight that occurred not long after, the military strike force had pulled back to a respectable distance and had adopted a wait-and-see attitude even as an entire firestorm of a discussion was raging in the upper echelons of the government.


    Oh I can already imagine those old fogeys arguing.


    An unauthorized and unidentified white mecha has appeared within our borders! We need to mobilize our armed forces and drive it out!


    You fool! It is a WHITE MECHA! A superpower must be behind it! We must not act rashly! Even a single scratch on it would be extremely expensive to repair!


    You blithering penny pincher! Our national sovereignty and dignity is at stake, and you¡¯re still thinking of repair costs? I say we destroy it! Send a powerful message that we¡¯re not some pushover nation that they could come in and out as they please!


    NINCOMPOOP! Do you want to start a war?! Who¡¯s going to pay for the war? You? And HOW do you propose we destroy it? Using your imaginary white mecha?


    We have more than a thousand blue mechas ready to mobilize! I refuse to believe that we can¡¯t destroy one white mecha using a thousand of our blue mechas!


    ¡­ Who the **** voted you into office? You dumb ****!


    YOU¡¯RE THE DUMB ****! YOUR MOM IS A DUMB ****!


    *&^*^&%&^%*&^*&^*&^&*%


    *&^*^*%&$&^%R&*^(*&)*)(&*


    So on and so forth.


    Oh nono, it¡¯s definitely true. In fact, I might have been a tad too mild in my use of language. In the following years, I¡¯ve eavesdropped on their ¡®discussion¡¯ sessions many times and I¡¯ve always come out enlightened in the creative application of curse words.


    Are you kidding me? Our nation is a tiny nation. Of course our government is being eavesdropped. If not by the top ten powers, then at least by the two superpowers. Mine was definitely not the only ear listening in.


    Anyway, back to my story.


    The military sent out multiple flying drones to keep tabs on the situation. They could not afford to lose sight of the white mecha at that point.


    And that in short, was the situation I was facing at that moment.


    I had an entire white mecha to absorb. And I needed to do it without a bunch of curious dudes checking me out from the rear.


    I could not break them down and absorb them, because that would reveal my power. I could not even break them down, as that would create a very compelling mystery to solve, and which might just lead them on to me. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    I know I absorbed ten blue mechas already. But that was in the heat of battle, and the two factions would probably be too busy pointing fingers at each other to investigate properly.


    But if scouts and drones were to magically disappear in a period where both factions were in an unofficial and temporary ceasefire, then the questions would be raised.


    If they didn¡¯t do it, then who did?


    It must be that strange mecha and his faction! How did they do it? Investigate!


    And that was the worst thing that could happen to me. No can do.


    Sabotage it is then. With sabotage, the suspicion would be directed inwards. Who had access to the units in question? There must be a spy somewhere! Investigate!


    With a thought, tiny slivers of red energy shot out from my body. A few entered the drones and took out a minor steering component. With my enhanced resonance, even picking out a small part at such a distance was not a problem.


    Immediately, drones began to fly in circles, totally unable to proceed to their destination.


    The rest of the tiny slivers of red energy shot into the exo-suits of the scouts. Suddenly, the scouts stopped dead in their tracks. They had lost all power to their legs.


    Mission accomplished.


    With the enemy temporarily blinded, I immediately got to work.


    I tightened my grip on the white mecha and sent my red energy around the core components of the white mecha.


    CRACK!! POOF!!


    Core components broken down.


    GULP! GULP! GULP!


    Core components absorbed.


    I grinned. That was delicious! I could feel my body¡¯s potential shoot up once more. At the same time, I suddenly realized that I could manifest a far more powerful mecha than before. Far, far stronger in armor, in firepower and in mobility.


    Awesome!


    I went on to break the rest of the white mecha down section by section.


    CRACK!! POOF!!


    First, the head. Then, the arms, and feet. I purposely left the cockpit for last because I wanted to capture Amelia Dragonos instead of killing her. I needed more information about the organization behind her, just in case that despite my best efforts, they were already somehow on to me.


    Afterall, being forewarned is forearmed.


    After going through so many enhancements, my body had a much greater capacity, and I was able to effortlessly absorb the white mecha.


    Physically, I had no problems. No sir. My body was groaning with pleasure. I could not wait to unleash the full power of a white mecha condensed in a small and compact mecha frame!


    The problem came when I absorbed the white mecha¡¯s software.


    The sheer amount of information that flooded my brain made it excruciatingly painful for me, yet at the same time, my brain could not help but admire its wonderful beauty.


    The white mecha software was an incredibly wonderful piece of work. It was totally a masterpiece of epic proportions, and I couldn¡¯t help but gasp at the beauty of it all.


    But my brain, as enhanced as it was, was not ready to deal with such humongous and intricate information.


    Previously, absorbing the blue mecha¡¯s software hardly caused a blip in my normal sized brain. All the information simply nestled down somewhere in my brain, and stood at the ready to be utilized at will.


    However, the white mecha software was nothing like it.


    The science and technology that went into perfecting a software that could flawlessly control and exert all the power that a hundred-meter robot could bring to bear was millions of times more complicated than that which went into a standard ten-meter tall blue mecha¡¯s.


    I grimaced and gritted my teeth for a full minute as I forcibly disengaged my active brain from delving into all the information that was filling my brain to the brim. Instead, I focused on assimilating the white mecha and immediately enhancing the mecha I was in.


    Interestingly, I was able to vastly reduce the pain I was experiencing in my brain when I did that.


    ¡°What do you plan to do with Amelia?¡± Emma asked as she stared at the white mecha¡¯s cockpit with an intense hatred that was absolutely chilling to see.


    I sighed deeply. That was definitely way too much hatred for a little girl to be dealing with. Waves of sympathy sprouted from within my heart.


    She must have gone through absolute hell for such hatred to form.


    ¡°I plan to capture and interrogate her for information.¡± I said evenly.


    ¡°Good.¡± Emma nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I will help you do that when the time comes.¡±


    I shook my head with a sigh and did not reply her.


    It was a dilemma for my ten year old self. I knew that torturing Amelia in revenge would not make the painful memories go away. It would only expose her to the pain of being lowered to the level of her torturers.


    But to deny her revenge when it was right in front of her would probably cause her to hate me. I didn¡¯t want that.


    ¡°Nevermind. That is a dilemma that future Justin can deal with. Present Justin had other things to do.¡± I thought.


    I reached down with my right hand, grabbed the cockpit and replaced it with a metal cage, revealing Amelia Dragonos in all her evil glory.


    Why did I do that? I don¡¯t really know. I could have just picked up the cockpit as it was and ran. But I didn¡¯t.


    I chose to replace it with a cage. And thus allowed her to have direct access to me and unleash her final trump card on me, one that would drastically disrupt all the plans I had made for my future.


    She released the Mecha Virus on me.

 So... Youre the one

    With the entire world basing almost all of their military might on mechas, it should not come as a surprise that some crazy genius scientist out there would create some sort of ultimate virus that could shut down a mecha completely.


    Such a virus would be worth TRILLIONS of dollars. If it was sold successfully, of course. I could not even begin to imagine the horrors the seller would have to go through.


    In this evil world, without enough power, owning a priceless treasure is a crime punishable by death.


    If it was developed by a world power and utilized correctly, a superpower could easily wipe out the other superpower and gain full overlord status of the entire world. In fact, a second tier power could probably do that as well, albeit with far greater difficulty.


    It was a game-changing virus, and much was at stake.


    With such a powerful motivator, and with humanity¡¯s ingenuity, it was only a matter of time until the mecha virus or its equivalent was created.


    And apparently, the time was at hand.


    I became the first victim of the first working prototype of the mecha virus.


    As viruses go, it was extra malicious and extra concupiscent.


    Sorry? Oh. Horny. Concupiscent means horny.


    As soon as that green, acid-like substance hit my mecha hands, it just melted and disappeared, like water poured on parched land.


    ¡°Take that you bastard!¡± Amelia Dragonos snarled viciously. ¡°I know you¡¯ve got your hands on devour! Now go to sleep¡­ and let me cut you up like a pig like you did to my mecha!¡±


    A deep sense of foreboding crashed into my entire being as all of my attention fell upon the spot where the substance hit my hand. I immediately directed my red energy towards it to stop whatever that managed to enter my hand from spreading deeper into my body.


    But I was too late. That damned horny mecha virus replicated itself so fast that by the time my red energy reached my right arm, it was already a powerful force that smashed the red energy apart.


    I ¡®stared¡¯ in horror as the green virus host coursed up my arms.


    What I did next probably saved my life. And it should serve as a powerful reminder to all my enemies. I would do all it takes to survive, and I would have no qualms whatsoever, in doing it immediately.


    Including cutting off my own arm.


    SLASH!


    A sharp layer of metal sliced through my right arm at my shoulder and stopped the green virus from entering my main body. My right arm, along with Amelia Dragonos still stuck in her cage, fell down to the ground.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Next to me, Emma screamed out in shock.


    However, I paid them no attention. I was slightly too late. A tiny portion of the virus had managed to enter my body!


    It quickly exploded in size and a tiny bit became a small blob in an instant.


    But thankfully, my red energy was at the ready and in full force.


    I gritted my teeth, fought down the near-blinding waves of pain and sent every single bit of my red energy to swarm the growing green blob of viruses.


    An intense battle immediately erupted. The green mecha virus was somehow able to destroy my red energy very easily. But it was a suicidal sort of attack. For every bit of red energy it destroyed, it too lost a little bit of itself.


    And because only a tiny bit managed to enter my body, I was able to send my red energy in a suicidal attack against it at a rate that outpaced its growth.


    For a few crucial seconds, my life teetered on the balance. The red energy level within my body plummeted with heart wrenching speed.


    I could sense both my red energy and the green blob dwindling down rapidly.


    Which one would prevail?


    If the green energy prevailed, I was as good as dead.


    It is extremely difficult to express the mix of emotions I was feeling at that moment. On one hand, I was dealing with the pain of losing my right arm. And I was also extremely horrified at the potency of the virus.


    A little part of me was also downright pissed at Amelia Dragonos, but it was relegated to the back of my mind at that moment.


    Mostly though, I was in dismay. ¡°Is this it?¡± I remember thinking as my heart plunged into near despair. ¡°I knew it was too good to be true. But... I DON¡¯T WANT IT TO END! I WON¡¯T LET IT END THIS WAY! FIGHT ON!¡±


    I squeezed out every little bit of red energy from all of the muscles in my body and sent them to die along with the tiny blob of green virus which was about to destroy the final tiny bit of red energy in my body.


    Thankfully, it proved to be sufficient.


    With nary a flourish, the final bit of red energy managed to wipe out that green virus completely.


    The battle within my body for my life and my future was over.


    I had won.


    But at a horrendous, horrendous cost. I lost my right arm.


    And all of the red energy within me was gone.


    Flooded with deep relief after a life-or-death battle, and also because of the incredible blood loss, I blacked out.


    I barely remembered what happened in the next few hours.


    Emma wouldn¡¯t tell me anything about those few hours when I asked her, and I only had snippets of what happened in my memory.


    Most of what I know, I read from the news.


    ¡°The Lake Andrews Fiasco¡± they call it.


    It is such an inaccurate name.


    It¡¯s real name should be ¡°Emma¡¯s Revenge¡± or better yet, ¡°Emma¡¯s First Time Piloting A Mecha¡±.


    No?


    I remember hearing a lot of her voice.


    Panicked at first. But then it became strangely soothing and very persuasive.


    I remember doing a little bit of this and that in response to her soothing voice as I went in and out of consciousness.


    ¡°... ¡­ Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Controls, Justin. Let me help you. Do you want me to help you? Yes? Then please listen to me. I need control over your mecha¡­¡±


    ¡°Joysticks. Can you make joysticks? You can? Excellent! You¡¯re so great, Justin. You¡¯re a really strong person. There you go¡­¡±


    BANG!


    ¡°Take that you¡­¡±


    ¡­ ¡­


    BOOM!


    ¡°DAMN IT! Just die already!¡±


    ¡­ ...


    ¡°Justin. Hey, they are catching up. Can you make¡­¡±


    ¡°Justin? Fly Justin fly! Look, there¡¯s a bird. Do you want to join it up in the sky?¡±


    ¡°Justin! Give me control over your flight system! JUSTIN! Ah, well done! Good job¡­ You can go back to sleep¡­¡±


    ¡°Justin. Justin. Hey. Retract your armor. Keep it all inside you. Can you do that? Retract your armor. Retract, yes that¡¯s it. Here, this too. It¡¯s your right arm¡­¡±


    And then there was a different voice.


    ¡°We need her blood now if we want to save his life. Only Emma¡­¡±


    When I finally woke up after what seemed like a long time, I found myself in a beautiful room styled in Ancient Chinese decoration.


    ¡°So. You¡¯re the young man who saved my granddaughter.¡± An aged voice rang out powerfully from somewhere beside me.

 YES SIR!

    The thing about first impressions is that in most cases, it is more powerful than fact. For a time.


    You can tell me many things about a person, but if what you¡¯re telling me is contrary to my first impression of that person, you would have to spend a long time trying to convince me.


    I might eventually be convinced if you are persistent enough and present enough evidence-supported facts to me. But it won¡¯t be easy. You would have an obstacle to overcome, and that obstacle is the powerful first impression of the person I had in my mind.


    The point is, first impressions are extremely powerful.


    The human mind ¡®thin-slices¡¯ and passes judgement over a person within the first few seconds, based on anything and everything it could sense.


    It can be how a person looks, smells, sounds, feels, or in cases involving extreme situations, how a person tastes.


    No, I won¡¯t elaborate how a person can make a first impression through taste. You figure it out on your own.


    Anyway, a person would take input from all five senses and instantaneously compare it against his own pre-set associations about those inputs.


    For example, if I love the smell of roses and it somehow reminded me of how an authoritative figure in my life used to smell, and then I meet a girl who smelled like roses, she would have garnered a huge amount of points in the first impression that she made on me. Plus, subconsciously, I would be more susceptible to her attempts to establish authority over me.


    However, if I hate the smell of roses, then she would lose points instead of gaining points.


    My first impression of Emma¡¯s grandfather, Defence Minister of the Chinese Federation, was incredibly powerful.


    I regained consciousness and full access to my mental faculties almost at the same time. As before, there was absolutely no lethargy nor a haze of sleepiness in my mind. One moment I was out, and the next moment I was fully aware.


    I opened my eyes and beheld a tastefully designed room in ancient Chinese decoration. My first breath upon waking up filled my nose and lungs with mildly sweet incense which was really... nice. The gentle sound of trickling water filled my ears.


    A wave of weakness washed over my body at that moment, telling me that something was definitely wrong with me. But before I could think of much, an aged but powerful voice rang out from somewhere on my right.


    ¡°So. You¡¯re the young man who saved my granddaughter.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I whipped my head around in surprise and saw a tall and powerfully built old man in full military uniform, complete with his military cap and a huge bunch of colourful medals on his right chest.


    His face was extremely wrinkled, and a pure white moustache and beard filled almost the entirety of his lower face. Light pockmarks also covered a portion of his cheeks. Everything about his face screamed ¡°I am old! I am tired! And damn it I am too wrinkly by half!¡±


    Everything, except his eyes.


    His gaze was still steady and keen. I could totally sense the razor sharp intellect and cold-bloodedness that lurked behind his eyes.


    He may have said that I was the young man that saved his granddaughter, but by God, the aura he was giving out was like someone who was about to execute a hated enemy.


    All that, and the fact that my dad was a military man and raised me up to respect and revere the military, caused me to have an incredibly powerful first impression of Emma¡¯s grandfather.


    That damned old man was totally just putting on a show! He was definitely trying to form an unforgettable first impression. He was, afterall, the one who taught me all about it.


    He was actually nothing like that to his family. He was very gentle and kind to his kin, uproariously funny at times and rarely was he stern, especially to his grandkids. And being someone who just saved his beloved granddaughter whom he had spent almost the entirety of the previous year desperately searching for, I was definitely family.


    But I didn¡¯t know that. All I knew was that a powerful old military man who literally slaughtered thousands of his enemies, and who was my childhood idol, was standing before me with a cold look on his very aged face and a cold, bloodthirsty aura rolling off his body in billows that was almost tangible.


    What could I do? I replied in the only way I knew how, ingrained into the very fibre of my being by my own military family.


    ¡°YES SIR!¡± I shouted.


    That damned old man nodded very seriously in approval of my response. His cold and bloodthirsty aura receded very significantly.


    He picked up an electronic tab by my bedside and glanced at it.


    I could swear right now that he was totally just pretending to read it. Knowing him, he had probably memorized everything on that tab by heart within the first few seconds of reading it a few hours prior.


    ¡°Hmmm. How are you feeling, Justin?¡± He asked as he sat down on a chair that was perfectly placed by my bedside to have a conversation with me.


    ¡°I feel fine, sir!¡± I replied instantly. At that moment, I glanced down at my right arm and sighed. It was gone. Still, I was alive, and that was the most important thing.


    He nodded once more and placed the electronic tab on my bedside table.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. You had lost a lot of blood by the time we found you, and you were very close to death. I am glad that we were able to save you. It would be poor justice if we failed to save the person who saved my precious Emma.¡± He said seriously.


    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± I replied once more.


    ¡°Tell me about yourself, Justin.¡± He said as he settled down on his chair. It was a cushioned chair but with hard leather which was perfect for old and tired backs.


    ¡°I... ¡° Where do I even start? I wondered.


    ¡°I am a junkyard scrapper.¡± I decided to start with the present. ¡°I¡¯ve been a junkyard scrapper for a few years now, ever since¡­ My father was killed.¡±


    He nodded at me encouragingly upon hearing that. His cold and bloodthirsty aura had disappeared completely by that time, and was somehow replaced by a gentle and grandfatherly aura which soothed me to no end.


    That old man was a really nice person. Well, at least he was to me. To his enemies? Not so much.


    ¡°I never knew my mother, and my father was an orphan, so I had no family.¡± I continued. ¡°The person who killed my father, he dumped me at the junkyard, probably thinking that I would die. But I didn¡¯t. I lived on until now.¡±


    ¡°I am assuming that your father was a military man?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yes. My father was a Major in the Armed Forces of Han.¡±


    The old man raised his eyebrows slightly at that. Han was a small country in the West of the Chinese Federation which had broken away after the end of the third world war. The Chinese Federation had its eyes on Han for many years now, and still considered it part of their country.


    ¡°Interesting. Tell me, Justin. How did a ¡®junkyard scrapper¡¯ like you who was once the son of a Major of the¡­ extremely tiny and incompetent Han Military, manage to have a Resonance Purity Level of ninety two percent? And most importantly, how did you manage to save my granddaughter?¡±

 Extortion

    I remained silent as I grappled with the question. Should I tell him everything? Or not? Partially maybe?


    ¡°I would appreciate the truth.¡± He added simply.


    ¡°Emma¡­ She¡­ didn¡¯t tell you?¡± I asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Emma was surprisingly tight-lipped about the entire incident. She refused to speak a single word about it. The only thing she cared about ever since she returned was for us to do our best to save your life. In fact¡­¡± The old man hesitated slightly for a moment, before continuing.


    ¡°In fact, by a strange stroke of fate, you have a very unique blood type that my doctors had never seen before. To ensure that no complications arise after, we had to take large amounts of blood from Emma and transfuse it into you.¡± He grimaced slightly at that. ¡°If I had my way, I would risk the complications instead of taking blood from her. But Emma, she insisted that we take as much as we needed to save your life, refusing to talk and eat until we did so.¡±


    I was touched.


    Truly, I was. At that point, Emma was extremely malnourished. She was beyond thin. She was literally a walking bag of bones. She could have easily left me to the care of her family doctors the moment we got saved and went on to have her own treatment, yet she hovered around me long enough to find out that her blood was needed, and then she insisted on having her blood taken.


    ¡°But what¡¯s done is done.¡± He sighed. ¡°Your life is saved and Emma is recovering well. I am grateful for everything that has happened in the past twenty four hours. Still, there are many questions that need to be answered, and many lives to be held accountable for everything that my Emma had to go through.¡±


    His gaze hardened considerably and his fearsome bloodthirsty aura returned in full blast.


    ¡°And I intend to do a full accounting.¡± He said softly.


    I did not mistake his soft voice for aged fatigue. No, that was not the voice of an elderly grandfather.


    It was the proclamation of a maddened killer, a promise to fully unleash bloody massacres on his enemies and their families.


    I knew at that moment that the next few days would be a bloody one.


    Creak!Stolen novel; please report.


    The door to my room opened and Emma came in. There were a few people behind her who stood respectfully outside the room, probably her personal servants, but I ignored them all. I only had eyes for Emma.


    ¡°Grandfather, what are you doing here? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be busy at work?¡± Emma asked with a slight tone of annoyance in her voice.


    She was dressed casually in a cute pink dress and her hair was neatly tied up into a bun. Although she was still extremely thin, I could sense a vitality in her that I did not notice before. She was certainly recovering well. Extremely well, in fact.


    To my surprise, the cold and bloodthirsty aura that the damned old man was radiating just seconds ago disappeared into thin air.


    And to add to my surprise, instead of reprimanding Emma for speaking so rudely to him as my father would have done if a little girl dared to speak with such a tone to him, the damned old man actually laughed sheepishly!


    What was going on!?


    ¡°Ah hahaha! Emma! My dearest. Come here, sit on grandfather¡¯s lap.¡±


    Emma blushed lightly when she heard him say that and coolly ignored him. Instead, she dragged another chair and sat down on it daintily. Still, the fact that she placed her chair right next to his told me that she was really close to her grandfather.


    That damned old man ruffled Emma¡¯s head happily and literally oozed out adoration from his every pore.


    What happened to the real grandfather? This must be a doppleganger! I cried out internally.


    ¡°So?¡± Emma demanded. ¡°Why are you here instead of at work looking for¡­ you know.¡±


    ¡°Ah hahaha. I was just here to talk to our hero!¡± That damned old man beamed at me as I stared at his jovial and happy expression in shock. ¡°And to express my gratitude to him, of course! He has rendered great merits to our family! Great merits indeed! He deserves to be rewarded!¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Emma¡¯s voice turned gentle and she smiled sweetly at her grandfather. ¡°What sort of rewards are we talking about?¡±


    ¡°Well. Ehm. Of course I would be generous to the savior of my precious Emma! Let¡¯s see. Fifty thousand-¡±


    Emma frowned deeply.


    ¡°Ah, I mean Five hundre-¡±


    Emma blinked, but her frown was still there.¡±


    ¡°Ah, five mil-¡±


    Emma sighed impatiently and blinked again slowly.


    ¡°FIFTY MILLION!¡± The damned old man shouted. Little droplets of sweat started to form on his wrinkly forehead.


    Emma nodded lightly in approval.


    ¡°Fifty million dollars for the savior of my dearest granddaughter.¡± He repeated while wiping his forehead with a dark green military handkerchief. He was getting bullied and he knew it.


    I fidgeted uncomfortably. Those two were talking about me as if I wasn¡¯t there! I mean, I was glad that the topic was about rewarding me and all, but damn it. They didn¡¯t even look at me as they haggled about the price!


    ¡°That¡¯s a good first reward, grandfather.¡± Emma smiled sweetly as she reached out and took the green handkerchief from him and dabbed at his sweaty forehead.


    ¡°But we¡¯re not a low class merchant family who only knows how to reward our benefactors using money, right?¡± She asked innocently.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± The old man shouted grandly, diving straight into the trap as though it was the world¡¯s sweetest honey..


    The maddened killer had totally transformed into a bully magnet in front of his granddaughter.


    ¡°We¡¯re a powerful military family, the pillar of the Chinese Federation and the example for all the other families to follow!¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Emma asked as she continued to dab at the sweat that continued to appear unabated on his forehead and his head. ¡°After all, how you reward my savior will speak volumes about how much you love me. What would people say if you only give a pittance to my savior?¡±


    ¡°Ehm.¡± The old man gulped.


    This granddaughter of his had always been a vicious ¡®extorter¡¯. She was absolutely merciless when ¡®extorting¡¯ money from her beyond-loaded grandfather!

 How could you...

    ¡°You¡¯re the princess of our Whitefrost Clan! And as such I will prepare three rewards for the savior of my precious granddaughter.¡± The old man declared solemnly.


    ¡°Three is a good number.¡± Emma nodded in approval.


    ¡°For the second reward, I will give him our family treasure, the Gene Optimizing Pill!¡±


    Bang!


    My room door slammed open and a group of people stomped in arrogantly.


    ¡°Father!¡± A beautiful but cold-looking middle-aged woman in an exquisite red dress spoke loudly.


    ¡°Father.¡± A handsome middle-aged man that looked a little bit like the damned old man spoke up as well.


    ¡°Grandfather!¡± A group of six kids ranging from around ten to sixteen greeted the damned old man.


    ¡°Kids, grand children.¡± He nodded with a gentle smile.


    It was very interesting to note that his voice and his smile carried none of the warmth that he showed to Emma. In fact, if one were to pay close attention, there was even a hint of coldness to his voice.


    But of course, they were oblivious to it all.


    They were not there to spend time with him or enjoy his company for the day.


    They were there to make sure that the little fox Emma did not swindle her grandfather of the family treasures that they had their eyes on.


    ¡°That¡¯s excellent, grandfather! The Gene Optimizing Pill would be an excellent second reward for Justin!¡± Emma said sweetly, completely ignoring the group of people who just came in.


    ¡°Father! What do you mean you¡¯re giving him our family¡¯s Gene Optimizing Pill! We only have three left! And you have six grandchildren!¡± The beautiful middle aged woman shouted loudly.


    ¡°Seven. I have seven grandchildren.¡± The old man said evenly. His eyes which were filled with warmth and joy previously even as he was being mercilessly extorted by Emma, grew cold.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Ah yes, I meant seven.¡± The middle aged lady corrected herself without any remorse whatsoever. ¡°Which makes it even worse! How can you give away our family treasure to a complete stranger? That Gene Optimizing Pill would strengthen our children and increase their chances of becoming a Resonance Master!¡±


    I perked my ears up at her words. ¡°Resonance Master? What is that?¡± I thought to myself. ¡°It must be linked to the Resonance Purity Level which that damned old man mentioned earlier.¡±


    Her aunt was obviously biased against Emma. And knowing Emma, she probably would not take it lying down. However, the expected scene of a full blown family conflict between Emma and her aunt did not happen then. At least not yet.


    ¡°It is bad enough that you gave Emma our only Gene Cleansing Pill all those years before. But now you want to give a Gene Optimizing Pill to an outsider? Simply on the account that he saved EMMA?¡±


    ¡°She is your niece, Isabella. She carries the blood of the Whitefrost Clan. Anyone who saves a member of our Whitefrost Clan deserves to be rewarded.¡± The old man replied patiently.


    However, I could see that he didn¡¯t like the direction in which the conversation seemed to be going, and his eyes grew slightly clouded with worry.


    ¡°She. Is. Not. My. Niece!¡± Isabella spat out each word hatefully. ¡°And she is NOT part of the Whitefrost Clan!¡±


    At that point, the old man simply decided that he didn¡¯t want to discuss things there and he stood up.


    He levelled his gaze at the middle aged woman and said one word.


    Just one word, and softly at that.


    But he said it with a tiredness and a tinge of impatience which somehow caused the middle aged man to blanch.


    ¡°Enough.¡±


    Something really bad must have happened in the past when the old man displayed such a side of him. Something that made the middle aged man feel deep fear and trepidation even till that day.


    However, Isabella either didn¡¯t get the memo or she was too caught up in her own emotions to notice the change in the old man because she ploughed on with her tirade.


    ¡°MY niece died a long time ago. SHE is just a -¡±


    SLAP!


    The middle aged man stepped up to Isabella and gave her a mercilessly heavy handed slap that sent her staggering.


    ¡°MOTHER!¡± Three girls screamed out in shock!


    ¡°Father!¡± The two boys and the youngest girl also gasped out in surprise!


    The other two boys and the little girl were simply in total disbelief.


    They probably had never seen their father hit a woman before, much less a family member.


    Jason was the second son of the Whitefrost Clan, and he was extremely well brought up. He was not only talented in diplomacy, but also utterly deadly in a mecha. He had piloted his mecha into fame when he almost single handedly crushed the base of a rebel uprising which his patrol group had accidentally stumbled upon.


    He had quickly risen through the military ranks and he was the second youngest general in the history of the Chinese Federation. Second to only his elder brother, Emma¡¯s father.


    Despite his extreme prowess in the battle field, Jason was always the perfect picture of a refined gentleman who exemplified strength through diplomacy. He preferred resolving conflict through diplomacy and was a firm believer of the saying ¡®The pen is mightier than the sword.¡± He rarely went out of character, not even during the greatest of emergencies.


    For him to slap Isabella that day, he must have a deep rooted fear of that damned old man when he was in that state. I wonder what happened. I never did find out to this day. But I do have my suspicions though.


    That old man was, in many ways, a monster. Jason must have caught a glimpse of it somehow.


    ¡°Our apologies, Father. Isabella is not feeling well. She must have allowed her illness to misguide her tongue. She only has the very best of intentions for our clan.¡± Jason said in a soothing and conciliatory voice. He was obviously putting all of his diplomatic skills into practice at that moment.


    ¡°Brother! How could you do this to me!¡± Isabella stared at her brother in horror. Her left hand was cradling her left cheek, where a small trickle of blood had appeared near her luscious lips at the location of Jason¡¯s forceful slap.

 Lightning Storm

    ¡°We will take our leave now. Father, have a good day.¡± Jason announced and literally dragged Isabella away.


    ¡°NO! I WON¡¯T GO! I STILL HAVE THINGS TO SAY! EMMA YOU LITTLE B*TCH! YOU MUST HAVE BRAINWASHED YOUR GRANDFATHER! THE WAY YOUR SL*T OF A MOTHER BRAINWASHED YOUR FATHER!¡± Isabella screamed as she struggled against Jason¡¯s tight grip.


    ¡°Shut up Isabella!¡± Jason hissed and tried to drag her away faster. But Isabella was not so easily defeated. She was, afterall, a daughter of a military family.


    She twisted and turned expertly, causing Jason no small amount of trouble. Jason had to step in and utilize both hands to counter her expert moves.


    A full blown fight was about to erupt! And, very strangely, internally within the faction that was obviously biased against Emma!


    ¡°Stop.¡± The old man said quietly. ¡°Let her express herself.¡±


    Jason opened his mouth to say something, but was immediately silenced by a look from the old man. He sighed in resignation and relaxed his grip on Isabella.


    Isabella flung Jason¡¯s hands away angrily and marched back into the room, her towering rage displayed prominently on her bruised but still coldly beautiful face.


    ¡°FATHER! That little b*tch Emma is not to be trusted!¡± Isabella spat venomously.


    Her anger at being slapped had obviously loosened her self-control over her tongue.


    ¡°She must have planned this little ¡®kidnapping¡¯ as an evil scheme to weasel you out of our family treasure! Otherwise, how could she have escaped from her kidnappers with just the help of a little runt like him?!¡± Isabella pointed her slender fingers at me.


    ¡°It must be a staged kidnapping! I am sure of it. How dare she covet the Gene Optimizing Pill even after receiving the benefits of a Gene Cleansing Pill! What a greedy little b*tch!¡± Isabella cursed at Emma hatefully. ¡°Father, you cannot give the Gene Optimizing Pill to her! It is like throwing pearls at swine!¡±


    ¡°Really. Then who do you think I should give the Gene Optimizing Pill to?¡± The old man said with a cold gleam of anger in his eyes.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Isabella seemed rather surprised at the question, but she recovered remarkably quickly. ¡°Why, of course to your grandchildren! Catherine and Elizabeth here have excellent scores in their Resonance Purity Levels!


    Catherine scored a seventy two and Elizabeth scored an unbelievable seventy eight! They are both Elites! The Gene Optimizing Pill would improve their Resonance Purity Levels by a huge margin and they might even breakthrough in score to ninety, into the Gifted level!¡±


    The two oldest girls who looked a lot like Isabella immediately nodded their heads enthusiastically. They must be Catherine and Elizabeth.


    A pretty girl of around fourteen who looked a lot like Jason glanced at the final girl, who was merely around my age.


    She met her cousin¡¯s glance and merely shrugged as she maintained an expressionless face. There was not a whit of emotion on her face, even though she had just been excluded from her mom¡¯s ¡®potential recipient¡¯ list of the Gene Optimizing Pill. Her self control was not bad for a ten year old girl. Not bad at all.


    ¡°The other one you can give to Jeremy. He is an Elite too!¡± Isabella continued. She flashed a look to Jason which said ¡°Look! I¡¯m still looking after your interest even after you slapped me!¡±


    Jason merely sighed and looked away. He knew that she had crossed the line. She shouldn¡¯t have talked about the death of her ¡®niece¡¯. That was the old man¡¯s bottom line and everybody knew it.


    Although he had come to try and prevent the Gene Optimizing Pill from falling into an outsider¡¯s hands as well, he had no intention of crossing his father.


    ¡°She should have known better than that! How could she expect the old man to give her the Gene Optimizing Pill if she went beyond his bottomline like that? What a dumbo.¡± His facial expression seemed to say.


    I have to say, I agree with him. Isabella truly was a dumbo. However, Jason probably did not know that his sister was more than just a dumbo. He had no idea just how far into the darkness his sister had fallen to. Not yet.


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Emma staged the kidnapping, starved herself to the brink of death, got a butcher to operate on her and took out her own kidney, and then came back after a year with her ¡®savior¡¯ so that she could make me give him a Gene Optimizing Pill which would be passed on to her?¡± The old man gave a cold smile as a deeply ferocious aura seeped out from him.


    At that time, even Isabella, for all her thick headedness, could sense that something was horribly wrong. But she had gone too far to turn back. She could only go all in.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Isabella cried out passionately. ¡°Don¡¯t you see? All of that self-suffering was to make the kidnapping more realistic! What is a kidney and a portion of a liver compared to a Gene Optimizing Pill? It was part of her plan! She¡¯s a devious snake, just like her mother!¡±


    At that, a thunderous silence filled the air.


    ¡°I see. I finally see¡­¡± The old man said heavily after a while. ¡°I did not believe¡­ No, I had refused to believe it until now¡­¡±


    He glanced at Jason whose face showed a growing sense of horror and disbelief. The old man sighed. He knew that as a high ranking military officer, there was no way that Jason missed it.


    ¡°You have to believe it, Father! I know it is difficult to come to terms with it, but the light of truth can never be hidden, even by the darkest of night!¡± Isabella¡¯s tone turned soft and as she gently helped her aged but still powerful father to sit back down.


    ¡°Thank goodness we discovered her schemes before it was too late!¡± Isabella gave Emma a vicious and triumphant look.


    Emma simply blinked back at her with a highly amused expression. She must have caught the slip as well.


    ¡°Men.¡± The old man called out with a heavy but determined voice. He pushed Isabella away and closed his eyes, as if steeling his heart for a big decision.


    Isabella frowned slightly. A growing sense of unease blossomed in her heart, but she could not for the world figure out why.


    Immediately, three burly men in military uniforms entered the room and saluted the old man smartly.


    ¡°Execute Operation Lightning Storm.¡±

 Grandfather

    ¡°Yes, Minister.¡± One of the men saluted and quickly left to relay the old man¡¯s orders. The other two remained in the room upon receiving a signal from the old man. They took up positions behind him.


    The old man turned to Emma. He opened his mouth to say something, but Emma shook her head. ¡°Later.¡±


    The old man nodded and gave her a weak smile.


    He then turned to me. ¡°Justin. I apologize in advance for what you¡¯re about to see. But, as Isabella had so aptly said, the light of truth can never be hidden, even by the darkest of night.¡±


    I merely nodded in confusion.


    I had caught onto the slip, of course. The old man made no mention of Emma¡¯s liver being harvested. But Isabella had mentioned it. How did she know if she was not involved? That slip, in addition to all the evidence that his men had collected in secret, was finally enough to confirm that it was her own aunt, Isabella, who had plotted to kidnap Emma!


    But I had no idea what the old man was planning to do.


    The fact that the entire room had begun to vibrate lightly added to the mystery of it all.


    The old man turned to the two adults and six kids who were still standing up. ¡°Sit down, all of you. And face that screen. Consider what you will see next as a life lesson on the consequences of treason.¡±


    He pointed at the wall opposite me and immediately, a large screen appeared. It was divided into two, showing two very different things.


    The first one was a live video which showed a massive courtyard with a thousand heavy mechas slowly lifting off from the perspective of their commander who was watching them from the rear.


    ¡°That must be Operation Lightning Storm.¡± I thought to myself as I studied the mechas with interest. They looked really impressive.


    Huge and angular, bristling with the largest lances I had ever seen, they looked like a thousand avatars of death and destruction. Their blood red coat of paint decorated very lightly with golden yellow trim only added to the ferociousness they exhibited.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    The entire gigantic courtyard looked like a red sea of monsters.


    Part of the mystery was solved then. The vibrations in the room were caused by the thousand mechas lifting off. The second part of the mystery was, where were they going?


    What they were about to do was no mystery, of course. Nobody would send a thousand heavy mechas to the grocery store to buy carrots for the family rabbit. No, blood was about to be spilt, and the only question was, whose blood?


    The second one part of the screen merely showed the blueprint of a building with several hundred bright red dots, and one bright red star.


    ¡°Grandfather? Aren¡¯t those your personal guards? Where are they being deployed to?¡± Emma asked in confusion.


    She did a quick count and then asked suspiciously.¡±Are you sending ALL of them? That¡¯s one thousand heavy mechas! And is that Uncle Jared¡¯s ¡®Blue Murder¡¯? If he isn¡¯t the one leading your personal guard, then it must be Uncle Ajax! What¡¯s happening? Why is even Uncle Ajax and his white mecha being deployed?!¡±


    ¡°What do you think, girl?¡± Jason laughed harshly. He glanced at Isabella, whose face was still full of confusion.


    ¡°What? Oh no, grandfather, you can¡¯t!¡± Emma whispered. ¡°They¡¯re too strong¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn how strong they are.¡± The old man said softly. But the power, the fury and the bone-chilling bloodlust that was contained within was truly unmistakable. ¡°I am not a defence minister right now and those aren¡¯t the army.


    I am a GRANDFATHER, Emma. YOUR grandfather. And those soldiers... They are a grandfather¡¯s wrath.¡±


    He turned his head to look at Emma. His eyes were gentle, but at the same time, simmered with a deep-seated fury which he was barely able to control.


    ¡°If some imbecile thinks that he could kidnap and torture my GRANDDAUGHTER - without consequences - then he is the world¡¯s biggest fool. A fool who is about to burn to his death.¡± He said harshly.


    Realization finally dawned on Isabella.


    I could see the moment her confusion turned to shock, then disbelief, then finally panic.


    It was a very interesting and satisfying experience, and I enjoyed it very, very much. I had only met this woman for a few minutes, and already, I hated her with an intensity that was startling, even to myself.


    ¡°FATHER! YOU CAN¡¯T DO THAT!¡± Isabella screamed hysterically as she leapt up and grabbed the old man by the arm. ¡°WILLIAM IS THE HIGH AMBASSADOR OF THE EUROPEAN EMPIRE! ATTACKING THE EUROPEAN EMPIRE¡¯S EMBASSY IS LIKE DECLARING WAR ON THEM!¡±


    ¡°Sit down, Isabella.¡± The old man said in an icy voice as he turned his head to look at the screen once more.. He did not bother to look at her. ¡°The only reason you¡¯re not there with them is because you¡¯re my daughter. Do not put that relationship into jeopardy by defending your fool of a husband.¡±


    That was it. The mystery was finally solved.


    Apparently Isabella was married to the High Ambassador of the European Empire to the Chinese Federation. No wonder the old man was struggling slightly as he made this decision! It was truly a monster of a decision, one that would reverberate through the eons to come.


    A suffocating silence permeated the room, broken only by Isabella¡¯s heavy and panicked breathing, as we all stared at the thousand mechas flying off.


    The thundering vibration in the room slowly eased and then stopped completely as the mechas finally flew away.


    ¡°Father, please! I beg you, don¡¯t do this! Think of the consequences!¡± Isabella pleaded. ¡°The entire nation would be plunged into war! Millions will die! Do you want to sentence those millions of soldiers to death because of one girl?¡±


    The old man stared ahead at the screen like a statue. Of course he knew his decision carried a very high risk of war.

 No Turning Back

    But war was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. It didn¡¯t matter to him if war broke out sooner.


    In fact, he was probably looking forward to it breaking out sooner, because then, he would still be able to lead the Chinese Federation Army into battle, as compared to the war breaking out later after he had died.


    He completely ignored Isabella¡¯s desperate pleas.


    The old man was the type of guy whose mind was impossible to change after he had made a decision, especially important ones. He would stick to his decision through thick and thin, down to his last breath and his last drop of blood.


    In many ways, Emma was very much like him, especially in this specific trait. This extremely inflexible, stubborn, mind-blowingly irritating and incredibly annoying persistence to see things through to the end!


    This pigheadedness of hers is the only reason why we¡¯re not together right now! Emma you little minx! I know you¡¯re reading this. Stop this madness, you¡¯re trading your future for your past! LOOSEN UP A LITTLE BIT FOR GOD¡¯S SAKE! Enough is enough!


    I¡¯ve said it before and I¡¯ll say it again. You know where to find me. Come back!


    Anyway, I digress.


    Both the Whitefrost residence and the European Empire Embassy were located in prime locations in Shanghai, the Capital City of the Chinese Federation, and as such, the distance between them was not too far away.


    By air, it would only take a few minutes at most. The Embassy building was already showing up on the screen.


    ¡°Father! I admit my mistake! I should not have schemed to kidnap Emma! We were only after the Gene Optimizing Pill! I thought that with Emma out of the way, there would be a higher chance that the pill would be given to us. IT WAS ME! It was at fault, not William¡¯s! I was the one who forced him to use his connections to kidnap Emma! Please! Father! Please do not do this! Let William go, please¡­! Your grandchildren¡­ They cannot do without their father! Please! Father PLEASE!¡± Isabella sobbed.


    Only silence replied her.


    Her two daughters fidgeted uncomfortably and were frowning deeply. I could sense that they were in distress. But strangely, they were also extremely tensed up, like springs coiled down tightly and ready to explode into action any moment.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Very strange. I decided to keep an eye on them, just in case.


    The third daughter, on the other hand, was strangely calm. She had a frown on her face too, but there was also disappointment and dismay. I glanced at Emma and noticed her studying Isabella¡¯s three daughters like I did.


    I had already formed my own conclusions by that point, and what happened in the next few minutes, though tragic, was not shocking to me in the slightest.


    On screen, the thousand heavy mechas circled the Embassy and got into position.


    ¡°Ready!¡± Ajax barked, his voice coming out crystal clear from the speakers. As one, the thousand heavy mechas trained their heavy lances which doubled as laser cannons downwards towards the huge European Embassy.


    The European Embassy was built like a medieval European Castle. It looked extremely imposing. The fact that it was ten times bigger and taller than conventional castles simply made it even more imposing.


    It had a keep in its interior, towers, battlements, gates and even a huge moat around it. All of it was up-sized to allow mechas to man the battlements and towers.


    It was a monster of a building, and the fact that they were able to build it in prime real estate in the middle of the city simply bore testament to the European Empire¡¯s might and influence, even in the heart of the Chinese Federation.


    The thousand mechas looked like little ants holding little toothpicks aiming at a small up-turned table.


    A trio of European white mechas rose into the sky to meet them. The screen showed the veritable sea of heavy mechas parting to let Ajax move forward to ¡®communicate¡¯ with them.


    ¡°Emma! Emma, please ask your grandfather to show mercy! Please! I apologize! I am sorry! Please, Emma!¡± Isabella turned to Emma and begged her.


    Emma merely looked at her and said nothing.


    Knowing her, she was probably enjoying the interplay of fear and panic and despair on Isabella¡¯s face.


    ¡°I am General Charles Leon, Commander of the European Empire¡¯s Mecha Regiment in the Chinese Federation. This is European Empire Airspace! Stand down at once! Or we will treat this as a declaration of war!¡± General Charles Leon¡¯s voice could be heard from the screen¡¯s speakers.


    His arrogance was so thick that I felt like I could almost touch it.


    His assurance of the European Empire¡¯s might and invincibility was so complete and unshakable that he did not even consider the possibility of the situation devolving even further.


    And because of that, he did not mobilize his mechas even though he had five full battalions of them. Instead, he opted to deal with the situation with only three white mechas.


    He probably thought that three white mechas were enough to deal with the ¡®Chinese Plebeians¡¯ who only had a single white mecha in their entire rabble army. It was a pretty good looking army, to be sure. But they were only blue mechas afterall.


    He and the rest of his countrymen in the Embassy would pay for his arrogance with their lives.


    Slash!


    Ajax moved so fast that the screen barely captured his movement. I could only catch a brief glimpse of a red streak slicing the humongous white mecha diagonally up from its lower right waist to its neck.


    BOOM!


    ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!¡± Isabella wailed. Next to her, her three daughters began to cry as well.


    The die was cast. There was no turning back.


    The first European white mecha, piloted by General Charles Leon, younger brother of the European High Ambassador William Leon, also known as the 19th Prince of the European Empire, exploded into pieces.


    And then all hell broke loose.

 HOLD THE LINE D*MN IT!

    The thing about heavy mechas is that they are extremely heavy.


    Most of their weight comes from the multi-layered armor which covers their entire frame. These incredibly tough armor allows the heavy mecha to take a TON of beating before they have to retreat. And this is especially true if their enemies are non-heavy mechas.


    In most cases, long before the heavy mecha had to beat a retreat, their non-heavy mecha enemies would either run out of ammunition first, or die a miserable death in the hands of the heavy mecha¡¯s own deadly weapons.


    Unless of course, the heavy mechas were ridiculously outnumbered.


    Then in that case, in addition to anticipating his victory, the enemy commander would do well to also prepare his heart to pay for a similarly ridiculous butcher¡¯s bill. It might just save him from suffering a heart attack when the smoke of the battle field finally clears and the battle (read: massacre) report reaches his hands.


    A total victory by non-heavy mecha legions over a legion of heavy mechas would be a pyrrhic victory in the truest sense of the word.


    Heavy mechas are the mainstays of all the armies of the world, and they are so because they truly deserved to be.


    Not all of the heavy mecha¡¯s weight comes from their armor though.


    A significant portion of the weight also comes from the heavy melee weapons that these mechas would typically wield. These weapons range from massive halberds to heaven-defyingly heavy war hammers which, when used skillfully, make the heavy mechas an absolute terror at melee range.


    Finally, the last bit of their weight comes from their twin shoulder-mounted long-range laser cannons which could deal certain death to their non-heavy mecha enemies from a respectable distance.


    The Chinese heavy mechas, or at least the ones that the old man fielded as his own personal guards, were typical heavy lancers with minor modifications. In true believer of ¡®the best defense is a good offense¡¯ fashion, the old man had reduced the armor covering the rear of his mechas, and opted instead to strengthen the frontal armor.


    These modified lancers would be nigh impenetrable in frontal defence, and absolutely unstoppable in their offensive charges.


    Additionally, the old man¡¯s heavy lancers were not only absolute monsters in battle, they were also a sight to behold.


    Their mecha armor was designed in such a way so as to resemble ancient Chinese armor, and all of the old man¡¯s heavy lancers looked like legendary Chinese heroes of old.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Black demon-mask visages complemented their red-yellow armor spectacularly, giving all who saw the scene a deeply chilling sensation. It was as though the army of hell had been deployed and was about to reap the lives of the devil king''s designated enemies.


    A short moment after Ajax made his move, the thousand heavy lancers fired their mid range heavy cannons as well as their shoulder-mounted laser cannons at the remaining two white mechas.


    PEW! PEW! PEW!


    A barrage of powerful laser beams riddled the huge white mechas with holes.


    Surprise attacked by five hundred heavy laser cannons and a thousand shoulder-mounted laser cannons each, the two white mechas never stood a chance.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    They exploded a mere second after their glorious General Charles did.


    They were faithful retainers when they were alive, and they displayed their faithfulness even in death by following him quickly into the underworld so that he would not be lonely.


    Not that they were given any choice in the matter, though.


    With the three white mechas out of the way, the remaining five mecha battalions were as good as dead. They were, afterall, tragically unmobilized.


    Of course, there were some stellar minds among the European pilots who had thought that the Chinese were totally out of character that day, and had stood at the ready by their mechas.


    ¡®Just in case.¡¯


    Unfortunately, these smarter-than-General-Charles-Leon members of the European Embassy were too few in number and far too hopelessly low in authority to make much of a difference.


    They had merely added a hundred and fifty mechas to the hundred and twenty mechas who were already in active duty patrolling the Embassy grounds.


    In total, the European Embassy had two hundred and seventy mechas as their combat-ready force when all hell finally broke loose.


    They never stood a chance.


    ¡°Destroy them.¡± Ajax¡¯s cool voice sounded. ¡°No prisoners. No mercy.¡±


    The thousand Chinese mechas immediately let out a roar filled with battle fury and charged at the European mechas in a mighty air.


    PEW! PEW! PEW!


    The Chinese mechas unleashed a volley of heavy laser cannon fire at the European mechas even as they ate up the distance between them at a frightening pace.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Many of the Europeans managed to raise their shields to block the laser cannon volley, but not all managed to do that. Those that didn¡¯t simply ate the laser cannon attack and exploded into pieces.


    ¡°Steady pace!¡± Ajax barked at his men. ¡°Stay together!¡±


    A few overeager mechas who were already pulling ahead slowed down slightly to stay with their comrades. Some, though, ignored Ajax completely.


    ¡°Hold the line! HOLD THE LINE D*** IT!¡± Ajax roared angrily.


    One particular Chinese mecha was so excited that he shot into the European line much faster than the rest of his comrades.


    With his heavy lance braced solidly against its body in an underarm grip, he charged at the lead European mecha at full speed.


    The lead European mecha who was carrying a huge tower shield, skillfully adjusted his shield at the last second and deflected the lance charge instead of meeting it head on.


    SCREEEEEEEEE!!


    Taken by surprise, the Chinese mecha could not adjust his lance in time and merely scraped the European Mecha¡¯s shield instead of smashing into it and blowing the European mecha away. Instead, it was him who blew right by the European Mecha and exposed his lightly-armored back.


    ¡°Bloody idiot.¡± Ajax muttered. ¡°I told him many times not to break formation. Old man, I¡¯m not taking responsibility if he gets himself killed today. His skull is as thick and as empty as yours when you were his age. Maybe even thicker. Not emptier though. Can¡¯t get emptier than empty. Bloody freaking idiot.¡±


    Despite the gravity of the situation, I swear I could see a gleam of mirth flash briefly in the old man¡¯s eyes.

 Blithering Old Nincom

    In an one-on-one engagement, this move of his would have given the European a massive opportunity to deal horrendous damage to the out-of-position heavy mecha. A simple thrust of his sword to any of the exposed weak points of the could very possibly end the heavy mecha¡¯s involvement in the battle, if not the pilot¡¯s life.


    But unfortunately for him, it was not a one-on-one engagement.


    CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!


    Three other Chinese mechas smashed into him and ripped him to pieces.


    The scene repeated itself all over the battlefield.


    Outnumbered four to one, and against heavy lancers, the European line held out very impressively for a few minutes.


    The soldiers stationed in the European Embassy in Shanghai counted many veterans among their number. They had long learnt through endless study and experience that the Chinese Heavy Lancers cannot be faced head on. Like the first European Swordsman, some among them were able to take advantage of their greater skill to deflect the initial lance charge and find the occasional rare opening for the well-thrust blade.


    But not many managed to do so, and those that did, found that it was the only thing they managed to do before they were completely gang banged by their victim¡¯s comrades.


    Much greater numbers, and powerful lances coupled with near-impenetrable armor rendered the Europeans¡¯ greater skill moot.


    Within a single minute of intense fighting, the initial line of European Mechas were nothing but a memory.


    However, whatever could be said about the Europeans, cowardice was definitely not one of them. They were ferocious fighters who had, as a collective continent, once almost ruled the world in its entirety.


    Even after the initial line of defenders collapsed, more mechas continued to pour out of the keep and the barracks as pilots scrambled to power up their mechas and took off to meet their enemies in battle as soon as they could.


    Caught completely out of position and out numbered during the brief moment of their appearance, the European Mechas were fallen upon by the Chinese Mechas and died almost as soon as they appeared.


    In that way, due to a single man¡¯s arrogance in not mobilizing the five battalions when he had the chance to do so, three thousand European Mechas - three full battalions, died tragically, one little group at a time, without inflicting a single casualty on their attackers.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The only thing they managed to do was to buy time for the remaining two thousand mechas to be mobilized and make their last stand in the keep.


    Still, their own final stand against the old man¡¯s mechas, though incredibly short, were absolutely glorious and spoke volumes about their courage, skill and sheer ferocity in battle.


    After the final European Mecha had collapsed beyond the keep¡¯s walls, there was a brief moment of ceasefire as both factions prepared for the final battle.


    ¡°10-Wedge Formation!¡± Ajax barked.


    The old man¡¯s mechas formed up into 10 100-mecha wedge formations arrayed all around the keep.


    With their heavy laser cannons pointing at the keep and thrusters at the ready, it would only take a single word for the keep to fall.


    At that moment, the Chinese government finally got online with the old man.


    Ring!


    My heightened sense of hearing heard a soft ring from somewhere behind the old man¡¯s ear. It was his communication device.


    Whoever called must be of extremely high rank, considering that he or she had a direct line to the Defence Minister.


    ¡°RUSSEL WHITEFROST!¡± An enraged female voice exploded from the old man¡¯s earpiece. ¡°WHAT THE F*** ARE YOU DOING?!¡±


    ¡°Secretary Jessica Wang. How are you today?¡± The old man greeted his caller mildly and politely.


    ¡°I¡¯M KNEE DEEP IN S**T OF YOUR MAKING, THAT¡¯S HOW I AM TODAY YOU BLITHERING OLD NINCOM! THE EUROPEAN EMPIRE¡¯S G** D*** FREAKING EMPEROR IS CURRENTLY SPEAKING TO THE PRESIDENT! THE VICE PRESIDENT IS FREAKING OUT! THE MEDIA IS REPORTING THE START OF FREAKING WORLD WAR FOUR! I NEED ANSWERS G** D*** IT!¡±


    ¡°The Europeans were behind Emma¡¯s kidnapping. The secret is probably out.¡± The old man replied tersely.


    There was a stunned silence for a few moments before the woman¡¯s voice sounded again. It was, however, strangely calm. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    The old man merely chuckled. He was extremely amused by the Secretary¡¯s question.


    ¡°I need to hear it.¡± The woman said.


    ¡°I have a confession from Isabella.¡± The old man said coolly. ¡°Plus you already have all the evidence I¡¯ve compiled.¡±


    The woman sighed deeply and went silent for a few moments to digest the enormity of what she had heard. ¡°Make sure you wipe them out completely. I¡¯ll talk to you again later. We have an Emperor to yell at. AND GIVE US A FREAKING HEADS UP FIRST NEXT TIME A*****E!!¡±


    Click.


    ¡°A secret within Emma?¡± My mind, with all its enhanced processing power, began to whirr at full speed.


    There were four major clues which I had bookmarked earlier.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Emma was hyper intelligent.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">She had ingested a ¡°Gene Cleansing Pill¡±.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">She had an extremely powerful vitality.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Isabella didn¡¯t consider her as her niece, claiming that her ¡®niece¡¯ is dead.</li>


    </ol>


    All of that pointed to one possibility. Enhanced cloning. But enhanced cloning is hardly a secret exclusive to the Chinese Federation. And if the Europeans truly wanted the best of enhanced cloning, they should probably kidnap a Russian princess or something, considering that the Russians were probably miles away from the rest of the world in that field.


    ¡°No. There must be a deeper secret.¡± I finally concluded.


    I glanced at Emma and accidentally caught her looking at me. She blushed slightly and quickly turned to look at the screen.


    On screen, Ajax was waiting for the old man¡¯s final command. Once they charged into the keep and killed the European Empire¡¯s High Ambassador, World War 4 would probably erupt. Ajax, even though he was a battle hardened warrior with thousands of kills under his belt, still felt the weight of the action which he was about to do very keenly.


    The old man understood his hesitation and pulled the trigger for him.


    ¡°Go.¡± The old man said heavily. ¡°Bring me William Leon¡¯s head.¡±

 Tragedy

    ¡°Fire.¡± Ajax commanded.


    As one, a thousand heavy laser cannons flared and released thick, fist-sized laser beams which punched through the keep walls like a hot knife punching through butter.


    BOOM! BOOM!


    Several explosions sounded from within the keep as some of the laser beams found unwilling victims.


    ¡°Connect.¡± Ajax barked out another word.


    The laser beams immediately moved and sought to connect the hole they just made with others made by their comrades. Huge gashes immediately appeared on the keep walls as the thousand laser beams moved chaotically and connected with each other.


    BOOM! BOOM BOOM!


    More explosions sounded as the laser beam¡¯s erratic movement took many of the gathered defenders by surprise.


    Ajax was definitely an experienced besieger. He knew how to squeeze maximum effect out of the tools and weapons he had on hand. Even though he could have easily ordered a full charge immediately which would have worked just fine, he opted to soften the enemy with a laser barrage first.


    Such an act served two purposes.


    One was to weaken the keep walls¡¯ integrity which would allow the heavy mechas much greater ease when they physically charged at the walls to bring them all down later on.


    The second was to create chaos within the keep, which would break the defensive formations of the defending mechas and lower fighting power which would make it easier for the heavy mechas to clean house.


    Not that they needed the additional edge.


    They were a thousand heavy mechas going up against two thousand medium mechas. Unless all the Chinese Mecha Pilots suddenly died and the heavy mechas became sitting ducks, victory was practically assured.


    Still, Ajax wanted a perfect mission completion without any casualties. He would take any advantage he could get his hands on.


    After an entire minute of carving the massive keep walls, the heavy cannons finally ran out of juice.


    The fact that the keep was still standing even with the numerous gashes running through its walls bore testament to how well the keep was built. But it was all for naught. The best built keeps had no hope to keep out a thousand heavy lancers on the charge.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    And charge they did.


    ¡°Go.¡± Ajax¡¯s voice sounded out heavily one final time.


    VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!


    A thousand thrusters erupted with extreme power and propelled the insanely heavy mechas to maximum speed within a few seconds.


    CRASHHH!!!! CRASSSHHH!!!! CRAAAASHHHHHHHH!!!


    The keep walls collapsed like a house of cards under the ferocious charge of a thousand heavy mechas.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Intense sounds of battle erupted from the keep and reverberated all throughout the area as almost two thousand medium mechas fought for their lives. The cornered rat is the most dangerous rat in the world, and the remaining European Mechas truly made that quote come to life that day. However, they fought not like rats that day, but like lions.


    Even though they were ridiculously overpowered, they fought with everything they had and managed to forestall the inevitable for many more long minutes, much longer than Ajax had anticipated, judging by the constant stream of curses that only grew filthier and filthier as the seconds ticked by..


    Ajax had remained in the air, content to let his men gain some experience fighting a life and death battle. If he had planned to participate in the battle, then there wasn¡¯t even a need to bring the thousand heavy mechas in the first place.


    From his vantage point, he could only see the peripheries of the fighting. But judging by how quickly the red dots were flickering out on the second screen, the battle was going pretty well for the Chinese.


    Within minutes, the intense sounds of fighting slowly transitioned into wails and death cries.


    A scream. Cut short.


    Then another.


    And another.


    And another.


    And another.


    The battle was over.


    The massacre, on the other hand, had merely begun.


    The old man was a vicious and fearsome man who loved his family, especially his youngest granddaughter, with a ferocity that would put the fiercest tiger to shame.


    His eyes gleamed with cold fury as he watched his men butcher all of the European Embassy workers.


    In his eyes, every single member of the Embassy was guilty by association. There were no innocents, only criminals whom he had sentenced to death the moment he found out that William Leon was the one who organized the kidnapping of his beloved granddaughter.


    The room was utterly silent as each member watched the red dots in the second screen disappearing one by one until only the star and several red dots around him remained.


    And soon, even they flickered and disappeared.


    ¡°You made me do this, Father.¡± Isabella whispered with tears running down her face as she realized that her husband was no more.


    Her intense grief had probably driven her to madness.


    For an old man, his instincts, reflexes and speed were definitely top notch. He had immediately understood what was about to happen and had burst into action even before Isabella finished speaking.


    But it was still too late.


    ¡°Gaghhhh..¡± Jason gurgled as blood seeped out of his mouth.


    BAM!


    The old man¡¯s palm smashed onto Isabella¡¯s arm and broke it instantly, causing her to let go of the dagger that was stabbed into Jason¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Ahh!!¡± Isabella cried out in pain.


    A mere second later, one of the two guards that was standing at the ready behind the old man reached Jason and injected a bluish liquid into his body.


    The other one had gone for Isabella and quickly dragged her away from the scene. He immediately gagged her and cuffed both her hands and feet.


    ¡°FATHER!¡± Jeremy shouted in horror.


    ¡°NO!¡± Next to him, Julie, his younger sister, also cried out in shock.


    James, Jason¡¯s youngest son, merely sat there with his mouth open.


    ¡°Jason!¡± The old man caught his son¡¯s limp body and cradled him.


    Jason¡¯s face was frozen in shock and blood continued to flow out in copious amounts from his mouth.


    ¡°The Cryostasis Fluid has been successfully administered, Sir! I have also requested for a Grade One emergency medical support.¡± The bodyguard reported. ¡°They should be here within one minute.¡±


    However at that moment, before anybody could react, Catherine and Elizabeth burst into action as well!

 Monsters

    Catherine lunged towards Emma while Elizabeth sent a vicious strike at Jeremy¡¯s neck who was sitting right next to her.


    Still in shock over his father¡¯s sudden predicament, Jeremy was caught totally off guard and Elizabeth¡¯s strike immediately broke his neck.


    Julie, Jeremy¡¯s sister, cried out in anger and immediately retaliated with a vicious palm strike of her own. Her powerful palm strike hit Elizabeth¡¯s chest and sent her flying with blood spurting out of her mouth.


    ¡°Garo!!¡± The old man yelled at his bodyguard while pointing at Jeremy.


    ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    Once more, the old man¡¯s loyal bodyguard sprung into action and immediately performed emergency first aid for a broken neck on Jeremy.


    Come to think of it, Garo, that bodyguard, truly rendered a lot of merits that day. I hope he survived the Whitefrost Catastrophe. I would love to meet up with him and convey my gratitude before I leave.


    Anyway, breaking someone¡¯s neck will not instantaneously kill them unless the broken neck also severs the brain stem. Most people merely lose access to oxygen and in that case, intense medical intervention during the golden ¡®hour¡¯ might be able to save them.


    Thankfully for Jeremy, Elizabeth was merely a vicious but inexperienced 13 year old. Her strike to Jeremy¡¯s neck failed to instantly kill him. And because of that, his life was saved.


    On the other side of the room, Catherine was experiencing far less success compared to her younger sister, Elizabeth.


    Far, far less.


    Upon seeing Catherine lunge at Emma, I had reflexively flung my blanket at her with all of my strength to break her advance. Even though I was feeling weak, my weakness was only relative to my peak strength. Compared to a normal human being, I was still extremely powerful and because of that, to the fifteen year old Catherine, the blanket I flung at her felt more like a collision with a hard object instead of with a soft blanket.


    It probably felt like somewhere between a slap and a slam. A slamp.


    SLAMP!


    Catherine slamped into the blanket and fell heavily backwards onto the floor. Immediately, I leapt off my bed and sat on her. I pressed my left hand on her neck and began to squeeze lightly. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Her wild, frantic eyes met my cold gaze and instantly cooled down. There was no mistaking my killing intent at that moment, and she knew that if she created even the slightest bit of trouble, I would have no qualms snapping her neck right there and then.


    There was no question at all as to whether I was capable of doing it. She could feel the power oozing out of my left hand upon her neck just fine.


    ¡°Jeremy!¡± Emma ignored the incapacitated Catherine and dashed towards her elder cousin whose face was already turning slightly blue. She grabbed his hand lightly and watched with bated breath as Garo skillfully worked to save his life.


    Thankfully, Garo was extremely proficient in emergency first aid and within seconds, he had successfully performed cricothyrotomy on Jeremy. He had used his laser cutter at low power to open up a small hole in Jeremy¡¯s neck below the fracture to establish an airway for him to breathe.


    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine.¡± Garo told Emma in a reassuring voice. ¡°We have the best medical team in the country right here in Whitefrost Estate.¡±


    Emma could only nod weakly. There was nothing she could do apart from trusting his words.


    At that moment, the room door burst open and the emergency medical personnel immediately swarmed in.


    A tall bespectacled woman took a quick glance at the situation and immediately assigned her medics to Jason, Jeremy and Elizabeth.


    They quickly and professionally performed scans on all three of them to determine the proper way of transporting them before carefully taking them away.


    ¡°Your orders, sir?¡± The woman asked the old man politely.


    ¡°Make sure they survive.¡± The old man replied.


    ¡°Yes sir!¡± She saluted and left the room with the rest of her retinue.


    And just like that, the near-fatal emergency ended anticlimactically.


    It was definitely a far more exciting ending to the little family drama than I would have liked.


    After they left, the atmosphere in the room grew extremely heavy.


    ¡°Secure Catherine and Isabella. Make sure they remain alive to await my questioning. Bring James and Julie to their mother.¡± The old man instructed his bodyguards.


    They immediately saluted and proceeded to do his bidding.


    ¡°Margaret¡­¡± The old man began.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know anything, Grandfather.¡± Margaret replied calmly and looked straight into her grandfather¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I know.¡± The old man said with a sad smile. ¡°If you¡¯re part of the conspiracy, Jeremy would have been dead at the very least. Don¡¯t worry, I just want you to come with me and help me figure out how all this happened.¡±


    Margaret nodded, her eyes flashing slightly in surprise. She was probably surprised that her grandfather knew exactly how strong she was at that moment.


    Margaret, as you know, was only eleven years old then. But even at that age, she was already a monster.


    The Whitefrost Clan truly had excellent genes. They produced so many stellar geniuses, especially during our generation.


    ¡°Emma, I also need to talk to you about¡­¡± The old man faltered as he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say the words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry grandpa. I am what I am. I am fine. We¡¯ll have this conversation after you figure out everything you need to figure out.¡± She smiled sweetly at the old man.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. That¡¯s good.¡± Relief flooded the old man¡¯s face.


    ¡°But there is one very important thing that we must do today.¡± Emma said seriously.


    ¡°Of course. What is it, my dear?¡± The old man asked as his countenance grew serious. "I will make sure we do it today."


    ¡°The third reward. You haven¡¯t told us what his third reward is.¡± Emma said while pointing at me.


    The old man blinked a few times before finally bursting out in laughter.


    ¡°To think that the ¡°very important¡± thing that Emma meant, even after the insanity of what just happened, was her savior¡¯s third reward! What a¡­ cute little girl! I need to make sure he gets the best third reward ever!¡± Those exact words must be what the old man was thinking at that moment.


    Because his third reward for me¡­ truly blew my mind away.

 250 Billion Dollars

    ¡°That is truly¡­ important.¡± The old man said with a wide smile after he finished his hearty laugh.


    ¡°Yes it is.¡± Emma said seriously. ¡°Much more than you think.¡±


    ¡°Ehm.¡± The old man coughed lightly and straightened his back to regain his composure and aura. ¡°Very well. In that case, I shall give you¡­¡±


    He looked me in the eye and produced a simple but large golden coin.


    ¡°This.¡±


    I looked at the golden coin curiously. It only had an ornately designed letter ¡°W¡± on it and nothing else.


    ¡°Take it!¡± Emma hissed at me. ¡°Quick! Before he changes his mind!¡±


    I frowned lightly and hesitated. A family token? ¡°Would that bind me to the Whitefrost Clan and force me to become part of them?¡± I wondered to myself as I looked at the old man suspiciously.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Whitefrost Family Token.¡± The old man said with a laugh. He purposely withheld any explanation about it and merely waited for me to take it.


    That damned old man was probably enjoying the fact that I was being so suspicious over such a ridiculously precious item.


    ¡°A GOLD, Whitefrost Family Token.¡± He added, while keeping his hand outstretched towards me patiently.


    What was I supposed to do? I had no idea what the Family Token meant. I hesitated and simply studied the token and the old man¡¯s smiling face.


    ¡°What does it do?¡± I finally asked.


    ¡°Many things. All of them good.¡± The old man replied vaguely.


    I nodded lightly and came closer to my decision. I was about to reach out and take hold of it when Emma took the decision totally out of my hands. Well, ¡°into¡± my hands would be a more accurate description.


    She grabbed the token and placed it on my left hand forcefully!


    ¡°There! It¡¯s yours now. Bind it with a drop of blood!¡± Emma glared at me, as if berating me for my lack of decisiveness. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Yes, it would be good to bind it as soon as possible. Many people, including even Whitefrost Clan members, would not hesitate to rob or even kill you for an unbound Gold Whitefrost Token.¡± The old man agreed. ¡°Emma, why don¡¯t you give Justin a brief introduction on the Whitefrost Clan and the Whitefrost Gold Token. I have many things to discuss with Margaret.¡±


    ¡°Leave it to me, grandfather. Sister Margaret, I believe you.¡± Emma gave Margaret a smile.


    Margaret smiled back at Emma appreciatively.


    After that, the old man and Margaret quickly left the room, leaving me alone with Emma.


    ¡°Well? Go on and bind it!¡± Emma said.


    I looked at the Whitefrost Gold Token in my hand, my ONLY hand and wondered how the heck I was supposed to get a drop of blood out of my body.


    ¡°How?¡± I glared at her while waving the Whitefrost Gold Token in front of her.


    ¡°Oh. Right. Sorry about that.¡± Emma said sheepishly. ¡°Let me help you.¡±


    Emma went to a shelf nearby and took out a sewing kit. She then took a needle and tried to pierce my index finger with it.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your skin? Why is it so hard to pierce?¡± Emma grumbled as she deftly spun the needle like a drill.


    ¡°Must be all the mechas I absorbed.¡± I shrugged.


    Finally, she managed to pierce through the skin and drew a few drops of blood which she quickly dripped on the token.


    The token glowed brightly for a second before returning to its normal state.


    ¡°Whoa. That¡¯s pretty cool.¡± I remarked.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing compared to its function and the privileges it gives you. This Gold Whitefrost Token represents grandfather¡¯s person. You will be able to access almost everything that requires his authorization. Mechas, resources, you name it. Of course there is a limit, but it is as good as the sky for us.¡±


    ¡°Wow. So¡­ I¡¯m rich?¡± I looked at the coin and marvelled how my fortunes had shifted so very, very suddenly.


    From the very bottom of the food chain to¡­ I don¡¯t know. Controlling a chunk of the Whitefrost Clan¡¯s wealth probably placed me very securely within the top 1% of the country¡¯s wealthiest individual list.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look very thrilled.¡± Emma remarked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably be more excited once I know what I want to buy with the money. At this point, I don¡¯t even know what is available and what I want.¡± I replied with a rueful smile.


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ll make sure I bring you to our treasury and a shopping district soon. Actually, although I am really grateful to you for saving my life, I was quite surprised grandfather actually gave that token to you.


    There are only five of those in the family, and the other four went to incredibly talented family members who contributed A LOT to the clan. So much so that their contributions far surpasses the money and the treasures they can withdraw from the family treasury.¡± Emma said. ¡°That¡¯s why they can get the token.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I said. Somehow the token started to feel heavier in my hands.


    ¡°Anyway, apart from granting you a lot, A LOT of money, the Gold Whitefrost Token also serves another extremely important function.¡± Emma said.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°It doubles as your participation token in the tri-annual Mecha Tournament.¡± Emma said with her eyes ablaze.¡±


    ¡°Mecha Tournament? What¡¯s that? Sounds like a fun event.¡± I asked.


    ¡°It is MUCH more than fun! It is a HIGHLY prestigious tournament, its rewards are EXTREMELY generous and it is extremely difficult to join.¡± Emma said seriously. ¡°The Whitefrost Clan was only allocated five participants. For grandfather to give you the token simply means that he has great confidence in your skills as a mecha pilot.¡±


    I nodded in understanding. ¡°He probably made the decision when he saw my Resonance Purity Level, whatever that is.¡± I thought to myself.


    ¡°Tell me more about the tournament and its rewards.¡± I said.


    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. The Mecha Tournament is a month-long free-for-all battle involving 100,000 mechas in a ruined megacity. If you win, you will get a mecha worth two hundred fifty billion dollars.¡± Emma said casually.


    ¡°WHAT?! TWO HUNDRED FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS?¡± I exclaimed incredulously. ¡°And¡­ 100,000 mechas!?¡±

 Modular Mecha

    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Emma replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°Tha-that¡¯s insane! What kind of mecha is worth two hundred fifty billion dollars?¡± I sputtered.


    ¡°The kind that is twelve mecha grades combined into one.¡± Emma laughed lightly at my shocked expression.


    ¡°What? How are there TWELVE grades? Light, Medium, Heavy and Ultra-heavy. That¡¯s four!¡±


    ¡°Times three. A set of four each for the sea, land and the sky.¡±


    ¡°How? How can a mecha be all of those things at once?¡± I asked in amazement.


    ¡°It¡¯s the latest high tech modular mecha.¡± Emma explained. ¡°The mainframe is fixed while everything else can be detached. So you can pick and choose which type of armor, weapons, engine, flight systems, and even the number of limbs.¡±


    ¡°Holy smokes. That¡¯s¡­ One impressive mecha. Really extravagant for a prize.¡± I breathed heavily in awe.


    ¡°Yep. Imagine what YOU could do if you are able to devour them all.¡± Emma gave me a conspiratorial smile.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± I nodded. I could already feel my adrenaline rushing out once more. If I could get hold of that mecha, it would open up the world for me.


    Nothing would be out of my reach!


    And then I remembered that I had lost all my red energy.


    ¡°Damn.¡± I sighed deeply. ¡°It¡¯s too difficult.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? The tournament is perfect for you! You can absorb so many mechas there! You just have to be careful not to absorb too many mechas so that you don¡¯t attract any attention.¡± Emma said.


    ¡°I lost my power to devour and manifest mechas.¡± I told her sadly.


    ¡°What? You lost your power to devour and manifest mechas?!¡± Emma asked in surprise. ¡°What happened?!¡±


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    ¡°Amelia Dragonos happened. That sneaky b*tch threw some sort of anti-mecha poison at me! I had to cut off my right arm to prevent the virus from invading my body, and then I had to use all the red energy within my body to resist the tiny bit that managed to sneak in!¡± I cursed Amelia vehemently. ¡°Without that red energy, I can¡¯t devour mechas at all, and I can¡¯t release the ones I¡¯ve already devoured.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said its too difficult for me. If I had access to my red energy, I would definitely have a fighting chance to get first place. But without it¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s give it a few days and see what happens. Maybe the energy might come back on its own.¡± Emma suggested.


    ¡°Yeah. I guess that¡¯s the only thing I can do right now¡­¡± I replied rather morosely.


    ¡°Cheer up. If there is one thing I learnt from my time in captivity, it is that bad things happen to everybody. The difference between a survivor and a non survivor is simply our response. That, and a bit of luck, I suppose. You¡¯ve been lucky so far, maybe you¡¯ll get lucky again. You can¡¯t control luck, but you can control your response. So¡­¡±


    I glanced at Emma in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ really really wise. You sound like an eighty year old grandma.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Emma replied half sincerely and half sarcastically at my half compliment and half insult.


    ¡°Welcome.¡± I grinned at her. My mood had lifted quite significantly after listening to her words.


    ¡°She is right. I need to respond well to this crisis! Instead of moping around, I will work hard to find a solution!¡± I decided.


    ¡°Anyway, with or without your power, I think you should join the tournament!¡± Emma said.


    ¡°It¡¯s too difficult. 100,000 mechas?¡± I sighed. ¡°Which smartass came up with such a massively stupid tournament anyway?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s easy, they wouldn¡¯t give such epic rewards. Plus, the tournament itself is a really great chance to train and temper ourselves.¡± Emma said and ignored my question.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. Still¡­ The scale is incredible. A 100,000-mecha free-for-all in an entire ruined megacity¡­ Amazing.¡± I shook my head in wonder.


    ¡°You have exactly seven months to prepare for the tournament. And with the way you fought against the Red Dragon gang members, I reckon you¡¯d need every single second of those seven months. You need to brush up your skills if you want to make sure that you make it out alive. The risk of death for the tournament had been assessed as ¡°moderate¡± by the government.


    ¡°Although killing is not allowed, there were always ¡°accidents¡± in every tournament. I heard that the total number of deaths had surpassed fifty thousand in the last thirty two tournaments.¡± Emma continued.


    ¡°Ugh. I think I need some air.¡± I said.


    100,000 mechas. Ruined megacity. Two hundred fifty billion dollars. Modular mecha. Moderate risk of death.


    All of those things were too much to digest in one go.


    Emma nodded in understanding and led me out of my room.


    ¡°Take some time to digest all this information first. If you don¡¯t want to join, we can always give the opportunity to another Whitefrost Clan member. Just so you know, the right to enter the tournament is selling for billions of dollars in auctions outside.¡± Emma said.


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go get some air. I¡¯ll give you a tour of the Whitefrost Estate while we¡¯re at it.¡±


    ¡°Sound¡¯s good!¡± I said.


    We left my room and entered a wide and tastefully decorated corridor.


    On my left I could see a series of doors spaced around ten meters apart and a massive double door leading out to what seemed like a beautiful garden at the end.


    ¡°You¡¯re staying in the VIP Guest Room of the West Wing of the main building.¡± Emma began. ¡°The West Wing has only 1 floor and apart from your room, there are six other guest rooms in the West Wing. Come this way.¡±


    Emma led me to the right and we entered a massive, hyper-luxurious living room with high ceilings. It was at least a few hundred square meters large. Beautiful sofas, lounges, bars, bookshelves, carpeted playing areas as well as a massive TV were beautifully and ergonomically arranged within it.


    At that moment, only two people were in it, and they were in deep conversation about something and did not notice us.

 Road to Recovery

    ¡°This is the main living room. Feel free to hang out here and relax. There are snacks, food, drinks, and books for you to read. There will probably be a few Whitefrost Clan members here at all hours of the day and night. They will all be core members, so they might be a little haughty. Don¡¯t mind them too much.¡± Emma said while pointing at the various things she mentioned.


    ¡°How many people live in the main building?¡± I asked curiously.


    ¡°Only grandfather¡¯s direct descendants live in this building. So that¡¯s¡­ Fourteen of us. However, the ground floor¡¯s facilities and amenities are open to all members of the Core Whitefrost Clan.


    In all¡­ Around a hundred and fifty people have access to this room.¡±


    ¡°Whoa. That¡¯s a lot of people!¡± I remarked.


    ¡°They are all descendants of grandfather¡¯s four siblings.¡± Emma explained.


    ¡°My granduncles and aunts all have their own buildings located around the main building. But because the main family holds most of the power in all of Whitefrost held operations, many Whitefrost Clan members often come to the main building for one reason or another.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I nodded.


    ¡°Apart from the main living room, there are five other smaller living rooms, three dining rooms, ten study rooms, ten meeting rooms, ten entertainment rooms and a massive auditorium in this Central Living Area.


    The East Wing is reserved for the main family¡¯s bedrooms.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a very big building.¡± I said, feeling extremely impressed.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing compared to the real main building though.¡± Emma chuckled.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the main building?¡±


    ¡°It is the main building¡­ aboveground. The real main building is actually the basement, which is approximately¡­ I don''t know. Thirty times bigger than the entire above ground main building?¡± Emma said. ¡°We call it the ¡°Training Room.¡±


    ¡°Training Room? Why do you need such a big training room? What do you do there?¡± I asked in amazement.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Mecha Battles of course.¡± Emma replied in an as-a-matter-of-fact voice.


    My heart which was absolutely still in the face of the Whitefrost Clan¡¯s hyper luxurious main building began to pound mightily.


    Mecha Battles!


    I have always loved mechas, and after the red mecha core became a part of me, I have considered myself a full participant in the world of mechas and its future emperor.


    My eyes shone brightly in excitement and a surge of adrenalin shot through my entire body.


    BA-DUMP!


    ¡°AGH!¡± I screamed softly and clutched my chest as a powerful wave of pain originating from my heart washed over my whole body.


    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s going on?¡± Emma grabbed my shoulder in alarm.


    However, the pain receded as quickly as it had come.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± I gasped. My heart was still thumping really fast in response to the sudden pain.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Emma asked me doubtfully. ¡°Maybe you should go back to your room and rest.¡±


    ¡°No, I am fine now.¡± I straightened my back, took a deep breath and released it slowly as my mind raced to analyse what just happened.


    ¡°My excitement probably managed to trigger the red mecha core within me.¡± I thought excitedly.


    ¡°Then that means that although the red energy within me is completely depleted, the red mecha core is still active and well within me! I have a chance to recover the red energy! Right now, the best way for me to recover would be to allow myself to experience a myriad of emotions to trigger the red mecha core.¡± I quickly concluded.


    And coincidentally, we¡¯re going to a mecha training room. It¡¯s the perfect exercise to get my heart pumping and adrenaline rushing through my veins.


    I clenched my fist in excitement and a powerful sense of inevitability settled within my heart.


    Sense of inevitability over what, you ask?


    Over the fulfilment of all my wildest dreams, of course.


    Over the fact that I will definitely become the Mecha Emperor of the world.


    With my Red Mecha Core and its devour ability, what could stop me?


    Emma could, of course. But at that time, she was still very much on my side.


    And we were both so young.


    ¡°Do you want to take a look at the Training Room? Will you be able to take the excitement? Do you need a wheelchair? A lollipop to take the edge off, perhaps?¡± Emma asked sarcastically.


    ¡°Of course I can go to the training room!¡± I declared and totally ignored her other questions. I was feeling extremely magnanimous and nothing she said could dampen my spirits.


    A profound sense of gloom had sprouted deep within my heart when I realized that my red energy had totally dried up. Although I had suppressed that feeling heavily, I never realized just how profound it was until it was lifted from my heart.


    ¡°I could recover my power to devour mechas! I could! YES!! YESSS!!!¡± My heart was literally bursting at the seams.


    Emma blinked once at my high spirits and gave me a small smile.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± she said and led me to a lift at the corner of the living room.


    ¡°Hey Emma.¡± A female voice rang out from behind us.


    Emma and I turned around and found that the two Whitefrost Clan members who were in deep discussion in the living room were standing behind us.


    A cold look appeared on Emma¡¯s face as she ignored the girl who greeted her. She was a beautiful teenage girl who looked a little bit like the old man. Just a little bit.


    Unfriendlies. I decided after picking up on Emma¡¯s attitude.


    ¡°Hey. What are you doing with a one-armed villager, Emma? Have you resorted to hanging out with scum like him because you were too lonely? Poor little unwanted Emma, playing with lowborns because nobody wants to play with her. Boo hoo hoo.¡± The tall boy next to her sniggered. His handsome face was twisted in an evil expression that made me feel like giving him a huge punch.


    ¡°Very ugly expression, but nothing a few jabs to the face and a sharp left hook couldn¡¯t fix.¡± I thought.

 Fixing an Ugly Face

    ¡°Really, Emma. You¡¯re such a useless girl. Why the old man keeps you around him is a complete mystery to us all. He must be becoming senile in his old age.¡± The beautiful girl shook her head in mock sadness.


    ¡°He is such a sucker for your fake ass smiles and all your pathetic sucking up. You¡¯re such a bitch, you know that Emma? You should have just died in the kidnapping. Why do you even bother surviving and coming back?¡±


    My heart bristled at her words. What vicious words from such a beautiful girl!


    At the same time, I also realized why Emma¡¯s words are so sharp sometimes. She must have suffered a lot under the verbal torture of her cousins and a little bit of that viciousness had somehow made its way into her own words.


    ¡°She¡¯s just like a cockroach that wouldn¡¯t die. The day she came to this world must be the worst day in the history of our clan. Why God? Why curse our clan with an existence such as this wretched girl?¡± The handsome boy said woefully.


    My hand twitched slightly as I held back my urge to punch his face.


    ¡°Self-control. Self-control.¡± I told myself. ¡°You¡¯re a guest afterall. You can¡¯t go around punching that old man¡¯s descendents.¡±


    ¡°Hey Jen, hey Joseph! Guess what grandfather gave him?¡± Emma said in a bright and excited voice. ¡°A gold token! Can you believe it? The final gold token that everybody was hoping to get actually went to him! Grandpa is so generous! We¡¯re just about to go down to the training room to bind it!¡±


    My jaw dropped.


    ¡°Emma that little firecracker! Just as I was feeling rather sympathetic for her...


    She¡¯s trying to throw me into a fight with those two teenagers!¡± I thought incredulously to myself.


    ¡°Justin, show them your gold token!¡± Emma said excitedly and winked at me. Although her friendliness was utterly fake, I sensed that her excitement was real.


    I shook my head helplessly and sighed. She probably wanted to borrow my tougher-than-steel body to teach her cousins a lesson.


    ¡°Fine. I will do it for you this once.¡± I thought to myself as I produced the gold token and put on a fake excited smile as well.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Hey big bro and big sis! Look! Grandpa gave me this Whitefrost Gold Token! Isn¡¯t it beautiful? He said that it is extremely valuable! I wonder how much I could get if I try and sell this in an auction?¡± I said brightly as I waved the token in front of their faces.


    The two of them immediately stared at the gold token on my hand with hungry expressions. Their nostrils flared lightly and I could hear their hearts begin to beat faster.


    ¡°Heh heh heh heh. Joseph. What do you think?¡± Jennifer asked slightly breathlessly. Her pupils were already dilating in excitement and I could sense her muscles tensing and coiling. She was preparing for action.


    I was no fighter, but my years as a junkyard scrapper taught me how to read people. I knew at that moment that an attack was imminent.


    ¡°I think it''s finders keepers.¡± Joseph¡¯s eyes glinted with greed. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone would mind if we ¡®found¡¯ it on the floor after having a quick spar with our guest.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. My thoughts exactly!¡± Jennifer smirked.


    Emma chuckled with satisfaction. Both her prey had fallen for the trap hook, line and sinker. She daintily took a step back to stay clear of the action that was definitely going down very soon.


    Jennifer and Joseph glanced at each other and nodded slightly before exploding into action together.


    Jennifer sent a powerful right hook towards me while Joseph bent low and executed a low reverse roundhouse kick.


    ¡°Hey big bro! Big sis! What are you doing!¡± I wailed like a chicken being feathered alive as I deftly avoided their attacks. ¡°Why are you attacking me? What did I do? Did I make you angry by waving the gold token too close to your faces?¡±


    Whoosh! Jennifer¡¯s straight right missed my face by the barest of margins!


    Whoosh! I spun lightly and avoided Joseph¡¯s powerful axe kick!


    ¡°This villager is pretty good at dodging.¡± Jennifer sneered as she unleashed a series of high speed jabs at my face.


    I quickly ducked to avoid them.


    ¡°Big sis! Why? Why are you attacking me? Are you sad that you didn¡¯t get a Gold Whitefrost Token?¡± I wailed innocently.


    WHAM!!


    I parried Joseph¡¯s savage flying back kick with my left arm.


    ¡°Big bro! You too? Are you really and totally broken hearted that you didn¡¯t get a Gold Whitefrost Token as well? Are you sad? Are you really, really sad? Do you want a lollipop to take the edge off?¡± I shouted and offered him a lollipop generously.


    Emma snickered loudly when she heard me use the exact same words she used on me earlier.


    BLOCK!


    I lifted my right leg to block Jennifer¡¯s ferocious kick!


    ¡°Big sis! I have a lollipop for you too! Don¡¯t be jealous!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Jennifer screamed.


    ¡°Big bro! Big sis! Don¡¯t be so sad! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get another chance to get a gold token! Work hard for it! Persevere! Don¡¯t give up! Maybe in forty to fifty years, you¡¯ll get a gold token for yourselves!¡± I encouraged them loudly.


    ¡°KYAAA! This low life is pissing me off!¡± Jennifer screamed and unleashed a powerful roundhouse kick at me!


    I threw myself forwards and downwards to avoid her kick.


    And smashed straight into Joseph¡¯s uppercut.


    BAM!!! CRACK!


    ¡°UWAAAAAAAAAA!!!!¡± A shrill and girly scream sounded from Joseph as the bones in his hand cracked upon impact with my face.


    ¡°Uh oh. I think the game is up.¡± I sighed and glanced at Emma who had a wide and satisfied smile on her face. She looked really pretty smiling that way.


    ¡°Joseph!!¡± Jennifer cried out as she rushed to his side.


    I raised my eyebrow slightly at Emma as though asking her, ¡°Happy?¡±


    Emma gave me two thumbs up and jerked her head towards the two. ¡°Your job isn¡¯t finished yet.¡± She seemed to say.

 Training "ROOM"

    I nodded slightly at her and turned to the two teenagers once more.


    ¡°Mwa ha ha ha! How does that feel?¡± I laughed sinisterly and taunted Joseph whose left hand was clutching his right wrist. His right hand was a mangled mess after smashing into my rock-hard face with full force.


    He was kneeling on the ground and whimpering lightly like a little beat up puppy. Tears streamed down his face freely as his face contorted in great pain.


    Jennifer stared at Joseph¡¯s hand incredulously. ¡°Ho-how¡­ What¡­¡± She sputtered.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying my best to protect you from myself by dodging and ducking, but you¡­ You insisted on smashing up your hand¡­ Don¡¯t blame me. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself for being so weak! BA HA HA HA HA! WEAKLING!¡± I laughed hysterically in front of his face before turning around to face Jennifer.


    ¡°YOU! Ugly little b*tch! You¡¯re lucky my reflexes were so good! If not, you¡¯d definitely have your hands or your feet broken as well! You¡¯re such a weak ass sorry excuse for a Whitefrost clan member. No wonder you don¡¯t qualify for a gold token! I¡¯d rather give the gold token to the family dog than to give it to you! OH WAIT! You¡¯re a B*TCH so you¡¯re a family dog as well! WOOHOO! Congrats! You qualify¡­ wait for it in your next life! HA HA HA!¡± I totally destroyed her with my evil words.


    Her mouth merely twitched as she held back her retorts. Fear was written all over her face at that moment. She had literally kicked at a metal plate, and at that moment, if the metal plate decided that it wanted to fall on her and injure her in someway, she would have no escape.


    ¡°Grr!¡± I growled and pretended to attack her.


    ¡°KYAAA!¡± She screamed in fear and gripped Joseph¡¯s broken hand by accident!


    ¡°ARGHHHH!!!¡± Joseph shouted in agony!


    ¡°HA HA HA HA!¡± Emma burst out laughing.


    ¡°Emma, I¡¯m done here. Let¡¯s go!¡± I announced. There was no point wasting more time with them. They were minor characters afterall.


    ¡°Hee hee hee. Okay Justin! Let¡¯s go!¡± Emma giggled cutely and led me into the lift. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    And off we went.


    ¡°How do you like my performance? Pretty good eh?¡± I asked Emma smugly.


    ¡°It was very, very good.¡± Emma nodded approvingly. ¡°So good that I will recommend my school principal to sign you up for drama class at all costs!¡±


    ¡°What? What school principal are you talking about?¡± I asked with a growing sense of doom building up in my heart. Are these Whitefrost lunatics sending me to school??


    ¡°Oh, we really do need to start talking about the Gold Whitefrost Family token and all of its uses. You¡¯ll be going to school starting next month.¡± Emma informed me casually.


    My jaw dropped.


    ¡°SCHOOL?!¡± I shouted in horror. ¡°I DON¡¯T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!¡±


    ¡°Of course you have to go to school. You totally suck at everything!¡± Emma rolled her eyes at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to school. I¡¯m perfectly fine the way I am right now thanks. In fact, with the fifty million dollars your grandpa gave me, I am set for life! I don¡¯t need to go to school at all. Who needs to learn how to write essays and stuff like that anyway?¡± I said firmly.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to a regular school, silly. You¡¯re going to a mecha pilot school. You¡¯ll be learning all sorts of useful things! Basic combat, teamwork, tactics and strategies for sea, land and sky-based operations, ALL sorts of things!¡± Emma said.


    ¡°Nope.¡± I shook my head resolutely. ¡°I don¡¯t need to learn any of that.¡±


    Actually I knew I needed to learn all that. One day, maybe. But not right then.


    ¡°I just got fifty million dollars and a game-changing mecha core! Let me enjoy my life for a bit, at least! I don¡¯t want to be stuck in school!¡± I remember thinking.


    ¡°You know how bad you are in close combat. Apart from having an unusually thick skin, what other advantages can you boast of when you fight with someone at your level?¡± Emma said scathingly. ¡°Plus if you don¡¯t learn all that, how on earth do you expect to achieve your dreams? What was that again? Mecha Emperor? Or was it Mecha-Pilot-Who-Can¡¯t-Even-Fight?¡±


    I was about to retort back when suddenly the lift stopped.


    Ding! The lift door opened and a maaaaaaaaaaassive underground dome appeared before me, instantly overwhelming me with a huge sense of smallness.


    All thoughts and worries of school immediately left my mind as I stared dumbstruck at the massive space before me. Exciting sounds of mecha battles hit my ears like music.


    It was a glorious place.


    Imagine the biggest stadium you¡¯ve ever seen. How many could it fit? A hundred thousand people? How tall are the walls? Fifty meters?


    Now take that stadium, multiply it by sixteen in size and by four in height, and place it underground. You¡¯ll see what I was seeing.


    It was I N C R E D I B L E ! ! !


    ¡°It¡¯s massive.¡± I said softly in awe as we stepped out of the lift and into the ¡°Training Room¡±.


    ¡°It¡¯s a small sized mecha training facility.¡± Emma said in an amused voice. ¡°But I do understand your awe. Although this is only a small sized mecha training facility, it IS the biggest one indoors. Most mecha training facilities are outdoors.¡±


    I nodded numbly.


    In this mecha dominated era, everything is up-sized. As a pitiful junkyard scrapper, I was totally cut off from the rest of the world, and had absolutely no idea how things are outside of the junkyards that I frequented.


    Whether or not the ¡°Training Room¡± was big or small compared to other training facilities, I had no idea. All I knew was that the ¡°Training Room¡± was singularly the most epic and wondrous place I have ever seen in my entire life!


    The lift opened up to a large balcony that was actually made fully out of glass. Stepping out of the lift was like stepping into the main training ground itself. The only thing was that the balcony was around a hundred meters above the ground!

 50 vs 50

    ¡°This is amazing!¡± I exclaimed as I walked towards the far end of the balcony. ¡°It feels like I am walking on air!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re actually doing very well for a first timer.¡± Emma chuckled. ¡°Most people become dizzy when they step out of that lift.¡±


    I turned around and scowled at Emma lightly.


    ¡°I bet you were hoping to see me get dizzy and maybe even collapse!¡± I said to her accusingly.


    Emma merely giggled cutely.


    At times like this, she was acting exactly like a mischievous eight year old. And there was no way I could get mad at her when she was like that.


    I merely rolled my eyes at her and turned back to marvel at the huge ¡°Training Room¡±.


    The glass wall was overlooking the main training ground. It was like the VIP section of a soccer stadium, only that the ¡°soccer field¡± was approximately two kilometers by two kilometers, and the VIP section was around a hundred meters above the ground.


    How exactly a wall of glass intended to protect the room from laser guns and other projectiles baffled me completely at that time.


    But because of the glass wall, I could see that a group of approximately fifty mechas were standing at the ready on each of the training ground¡¯s far left and right side.


    A massive fifty versus fifty mecha battle was about to begin!


    I could feel my heart pounding once more.


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s register for a mecha battle and have a little bit of fun. I only have clearance to pilot the practice mechas. But I¡¯m sure we can still enjoy ourselves!¡± Emma grinned evilly at me.


    ¡°Uhh.. Sure.¡± I nodded. I was totally torn between wanting to watch the epic fifty versus fifty mecha battle and experiencing a mecha fight that was not using my own mecha suit for the very first time.


    Emma noticed my torn expression and seemed to understand my thoughts perfectly.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Or¡­ We can register for the practice battle, then watch the main mecha battle first before we go on to our own practice?¡± Emma suggested.


    ¡°That is PERFECT!¡± I cried out. ¡°Let¡¯s do that!¡±


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go.¡± Emma led me out of the balcony and into a massive and beautifully decorated lobby.


    There was a huge waiting area on the left side of the lobby with lots of sofas which had their own viewing screens attached. The right side was fully dedicated to registration where there were around fifty to sixty youths queueing up in three neat lines in front of four counters. The fourth counter was manned, but there was no one queueing there.


    Emma walked directly to that fourth counter.


    The entire room fell quiet for a short moment and I could feel everybody¡¯s attention suddenly fall upon the both of us. However, they quickly resumed whatever they were doing upon discovering that it was only Emma and a one-armed dude.


    In fact, I could even hear a few derisive comments with my enhanced sense of hearing.


    ¡°It¡¯s just Emma. I heard she came back from her ¡°kidnapping¡± with a lowborn lover in tow.¡±


    ¡°What? She¡¯s only eight! How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Anything is possible with her! Afterall, she¡¯s a¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh. We¡¯re not allowed to mention it.¡±


    ¡°Fine. Anyway, she¡¯s such a leech. I heard the main family spends millions each month just to¡­¡±


    ¡°SHHHH! Do you want to die?¡±


    Emma marched past her gossiping relatives coldly and ignored them all. I glared at the gossip mongers and had half a mind to teach the little s*cker who was gossiping and slandering her a lesson. But my attention was quickly drawn to a new problem.


    ¡°I want to reserve two practice mechas for me and my friend.¡± Emma told the receptionist.


    ¡°I am sorry, but practice mechas are only for ten year olds and above. You¡¯re still too young to pilot mechas.¡± The receptionist shook her head and rejected Emma¡¯s request with a half-concealed smirk.


    ¡°I was given an exception by the Patriarch himself.¡± Emma replied in an annoyed tone. ¡°Hurry up and process my request!¡±


    ¡°I am sorry. Rules are rules. Come back in a few years, little girl. Now bring your villager friend and go away before I tell your parents!¡± The receptionist said rudely.


    ¡°Why is Emma so unpopular in the Whitefrost clan?¡± I wondered to myself. ¡°Even a lowly receptionist dares to show her bad attitude!¡±


    Emma stared at the receptionist with a strange look on her face. ¡°You must be new here.¡±


    ¡°So what if I am?¡± The pretty but apparently extremely naive receptionist scoffed.


    ¡°You¡¯ve allowed your opinion of me to be influenced by mere rumours, and you¡¯re trying to be an obstacle to me because you don¡¯t like what you hear about me.¡± Emma stated.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± The receptionist looked away and ignored Emma.


    ¡°Judging me unfairly based on mere rumours is bad enough, but you¡¯re also stupid enough to actually act out on me.¡± Emma shook her head in wonder. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one chance to apologize to me and process my request.¡±


    ¡°Little bloodsucker.¡± The receptionist sneered at Emma instead.


    Emma sighed and turned around.


    She looked at me and asked, ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why would people throw away their future just to be mean to me? I don¡¯t really suffer much from their words and actions, but they lose any chance of succeeding in the Whitefrost Clan. It¡¯s such a bad tradeoff for them. Am I missing an angle here somewhere?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they think they can get away with it?¡± I suggested, feeling rather surprised by Emma¡¯s sudden questions.


    ¡°They NEVER get away with it.¡± Emma said firmly as she stretched out her hand at me. ¡°I¡¯ve always made sure of that. And now, I have another even better method to do that.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do now?¡± I asked her as I looked at her hand dumbly. I was feeling rather let down at the thought of not being able to pilot a mecha and totally confused as to why she was stretching her hand out at me.

 Grade Handicap

    ¡°We are going to get that irritating kid fired and get ourselves practice mechas to play with. Give me your gold token.¡± Emma said.


    I narrowed my eyes and glanced at the fifty to sixty people in the room warily. ¡°Are you nuts? I can¡¯t fight with fifty people at once!¡± I hissed.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be fighting anyone. Fighting is strictly prohibited here, so it¡¯s completely safe. Give your token to me, quick!¡± Emma said impatiently.


    ¡°Oh, in that case, okay then!¡± I fished out the token from my left pocket and gave it to her.


    Emma took it, turned around and slammed the token on the receptionist¡¯s table.


    ¡°I want to talk to the office manager. Now.¡± She glared at the receptionist fiercely.


    The receptionist looked at the gold token and frowned. ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°That is a Gold Whitefrost Family Token. It represents the Patriarch¡¯s will and person. I am Harold, the Office Manager on Duty. How may I be of service, Lady Emma?¡± A tall and handsome middle aged man walked out of the door behind the receptionist and gave Emma a deep bow.


    Apparently his attention had been drawn by the less-than-polite words of the receptionist and had already approached us, just in time to see the gold token being slammed on the table.


    ¡°Mr Harold. Thank you for coming out to see me. I want two practice mechas for me and my friend here.¡± Emma said as passed the gold token back to me.


    ¡°Of course.¡± He snapped his fingers and summoned an aide. ¡°My aide will lead you to your practice mechas. Is there anything else I can help you with?¡±


    ¡°Much appreciated.¡± Emma smiled at him. ¡°I also want this stupid receptionist here fired and banished from all Whitefrost owned operations effective today.¡±


    ¡°What? Wa-wait¡­¡± The receptionist blanched and sputtered.


    ¡°As you wish. I apologize for any discomfort that she may have caused you.¡± Harold said courteously.


    ¡°That will be all.¡±


    ¡°Have a good practice match then, Lady Emma.¡± Harold bowed respectfully once more.


    ¡°WAIT!¡± The receptionist shrieked. But a couple of guards immediately grabbed hold of her and knocked her out. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    And with that, she was gone.


    Have I mentioned that you shouldn¡¯t piss Emma off at all costs?


    ¡°Come! Let us have a match!¡± Emma gave me a triumphant grin.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I pumped my fist once in excitement. I knew I totally looked like a country bumpkin then, being so excited over a mere practice match, but I didn¡¯t care. I was about to pilot a real mecha!


    ¡°Let¡¯s watch the mecha battle first though!¡± I reminded Emma.


    ¡°Right. Bring us to the VIP viewing gallery.¡± Emma told the aide.


    ¡°As you wish, Lady Emma.¡± The aide replied respectfully.


    Within a few minutes, we entered a small but luxurious room which, like the balcony, was made completely out of glass and jutted out of the side of the ¡°Training Room¡± walls.


    Such a design gave us a full and perfect view of the main training grounds.


    Five hyper luxurious sofas were placed in the middle of that room, and each sofa had several screens that could have their sizes and positions adjusted at will.


    ¡°Neat!¡± I exclaimed and immediately hopped into one of them. I tinkered on the screens for a few seconds and realized that they could give me all sorts of viewing options!


    From point-of-view perspectives of any of the mechas involved to various bird¡¯s eye views from the many cameras positioned all around the training ground!


    It was perfect.


    Sitting on one of those sofas and getting ready to watch an epic mecha battle felt heavenly.


    I felt complete bliss.


    Just right when I thought life couldn¡¯t get any better, the Aide handed me a menu.


    ¡°Heaven! I am definitely in heaven right now!¡± I thought to myself.


    PIAK! I slapped myself really hard, much to Emma and the Aide¡¯s EXTREME shock!


    ¡°OW!! Okay. It¡¯s not a dream.¡± I muttered in satisfaction.


    My smile widened to its maximum stretch as I placed an order for steak, fries, and lots of interesting looking drinks.


    ¡°What are you ordering?¡± I turned to look at Emma, who had a rare, soft and gentle look on her face.


    ¡°I uh¡­ I¡¯ll have what he¡¯s having.¡± Emma told the Aide quickly.


    He bowed and left the room.


    Ding! A massive hologram of a countdown appeared in the middle of the training ground.


    5 Minutes 00 Seconds.


    4 Minutes 59 Seconds.


    Five minutes to go!


    ¡°Let me explain to you how mecha battles work.¡± Emma offered.


    ¡°Sure!¡± I agreed enthusiastically.


    ¡°There are three main types of mecha battles. Team battles, like the one we¡¯re about to watch, Battle Royales, where you fight to be the last mecha standing, and handicap battles, where a stronger team purposely start with less mechas.¡± Emma began.


    ¡°Battles involving up to twenty mechas are called small battles. Medium battles involve up to one hundred mechas, large battles involve up to a thousand mechas. Any battle involving over a thousand mechas are called Grand Melees.¡±


    My eyes shone brightly at her words. She had only begun and already, I was extremely intrigued!


    Somehow, watching training battles felt much more exciting compared to watching the old man¡¯s personal guard attacking the European Embassy.


    That fight was just stressful for me to watch.


    I guess the prospect of me being able to participate in the training battles myself made it much more relevant and thus exciting for me.


    I was already imagining myself standing victorious among an entire field of broken and defeated mechas!


    ¡°So we¡¯re about to watch a medium team battle.¡± I noted.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Emma nodded. ¡°What¡¯s interesting about this match is that this is a variant of the handicap battle I mentioned earlier. Usually, handicaps involve the stronger team fielding a smaller number of mechas.


    In this case however, the blue team, which is composed of higher ranked mecha pilots, is fielding the same number of mechas as the red team, but are handicapped by their mecha grade. They are only fielding light and medium mechas, while the red team can field heavy mechas.


    As you can probably guess, grade handicaps are extremely difficult to overcome, much more than number handicaps.¡±

 Mecha Element

    ¡°I see.¡± I nodded in admiration. ¡°This is excellent training for the stronger mecha pilots! I admire their dedication to improvement.¡±


    ¡°Dedication to improvement? HA! More like they are unwilling to drop in ranking!¡± Emma snorted.


    ¡°Ranking? What ranking?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well¡­ Let me start from the beginning. The Whitefrost Clan is a powerful Clan in the Chinese Federation. We are one of the few powers that are allowed to field our own armies. We¡¯re a level two Clan, which means we can field up to two thousand mechas. Grandfather had opted to divide the two thousand mechas into two units.


    His personal guard corps, called the Red Dragon Battalion, is made up of a thousand heavy lancers. You saw them in action earlier today.¡± Emma pointed out.


    ¡°Yes. They are really impressive!¡± I remarked.


    ¡°They better be. They are extremely expensive to maintain.¡± Emma grumbled.


    ¡°Penny pincher.¡± I teased her.


    She ignored me, of course.


    ¡°The other battalion is called the Monkey King Battalion, and is a mixed battalion with all sorts of mechas. This battalion is extremely versatile and can do all sorts of missions. It complements the Red Dragon Battalion perfectly.


    The Red Dragon Battalion is basically just a thousand heavy lancers dedicated to death and destruction. No finesse, no subtleties, just BOOM! Just the way my grandfather likes it.¡± Emma laughed lightly.


    ¡°Just the way most boys like it.¡± I corrected her. ¡°I love it too!¡±


    Emma rolled her eyes lightly at me.


    ¡°Anyway, each year we have pilots retiring or dying or for some reason or another, are unable to continue in their capacity as soldiers of the Whitefrost Battalions. So we will pick their replacements from a pool of reservists. At any time, there would be at least one thousand reservists who are battle ready, and another thousand reservists in training. These numbers fluctuate, and I was told that the numbers would even double or triple during wars.


    The thousand reservists in training are grouped into fifty and are ranked each week based on the number of points they acquired during the week. The top ranked group would receive the most amount of resources for the next week, and the top ranked group upon graduation would receive a fully customized mecha for each member of the group.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°That sounds really generous.¡± I commented.


    ¡°¡®Generous'' is too mild a word to describe what we¡¯re doing!¡± Emma snapped in slight annoyance. Apparently she didn¡¯t really agree with the amount of money being spent for custom mechas.


    ¡°A single standard ¡°off-the-rack¡± mecha costs anywhere between a hundred million to ten billion dollars, depending on the grade and design. A fully customized mecha usually costs a full fifty percent more expensive than the standard version! If all fifty of them choose the highest quality heavy mecha to customize, that¡¯s seven hundred fifty billion dollars!¡± Emma grumbled.


    I merely blinked. At that point, the number ten billion dollars already meant nothing to me due to a complete lack of reference. Heck, I didn¡¯t even know what a million dollars was good for, much less seven hundred fifty billion dollars.


    But I did realize one thing. The Whitefrost Clan was extremely, extremely rich.


    ¡°The only reason why I didn¡¯t raise this issue and complain to the old man is because at least our reservists consistently rank first place in most categories of the National Mecha Games. If they performed any worse, I would definitely make sure their budget for customizing is cut.¡± Emma went on, oblivious that she had completely lost me in her financial elaboration.


    ¡°Anyway, back to the mecha battle. The blue team is the current second ranked team this week and the third ranked overall. If they manage to win this battle, they would rise to the top ranked this week and second overall. If they lose, they will drop to third rank this week and fifth overall. Much is at stake for the blue team this time.¡± Emma explained.


    ¡°I see. Medium mechas going up against heavy mechas. This feels like the European Embassy battle all over again.¡± I rubbed my hands in glee.


    ¡°Oh no, if my estimations are correct, this would be NOTHING like the European Embassy battle.¡± Emma disagreed. ¡°For starters, it is not medium mechas against heavy mechas. It is LIGHT mechas against heavy mechas!¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I shouted. ¡°Is the blue team crazy?!¡±


    ¡°They definitely are not.¡± Emma smiled at me. ¡°The blue team is called the Black Salamander Company and they are all Elites.¡±


    I gave her a blank look. ¡°Elites?¡±


    ¡°I really have to explain every little thing to you, haven¡¯t I?¡± Emma sighed.


    ¡°Yes please.¡± I tried to blink my eyes cutely at her.


    Only for her to stare at me as though I was crazy.


    ¡°Alright let me explain everything.¡± Emma took a deep breath and began.


    ¡°Mechas are powered by Mecha Cores, right?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Mecha Cores are basically controlled nuclear fission. The control over such a powerful process is actually granted to us by a unique compound element which humanity called the Mecha Element.¡±


    ¡°Creative.¡± I commented.


    ¡°Very. Anyway, that was discovered and implemented the Mecha Element into Mecha Cores sometime in the early 22nd century.


    Sometime in the late 22nd century, humanity discovered that a rapidly growing number of people had started to develop a unique ability - resonance with metals.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I shouted in surprise. ¡°Resonance with metals?!¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Emma replied in surprise as well. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ Nothing. Nevermind. Please continue.¡± I quickly said.


    Emma pursed her lips slightly in annoyance and suspicion. But she continued her lecture.


    ¡°These people who gained resonance are all mecha pilots or people who spent a huge amount of their time daily dealing with mechas.


    When scientists finally did their research, they discovered that the cause of the resonance in all those people is the existence of the Mecha Element within their bodies!


    We don¡¯t know for sure how it happens, but when human beings are exposed to the Mecha Element for a long enough period of time, their bodies will start producing it.¡±

 Wanna bet?

    "This Mecha Element exists in different amounts and in different purity levels in all those people.


    After several long years of experiments and quantifying the different effects of the Mecha Element within them, the scientists finally came up with a comprehensive measure and explanation of the phenomena.


    What is resonance?


    Resonance grants pilots the ability to extend their senses into metals as well as increase their ability to exert control over said metals."


    My jaw dropped at that point.


    That was exactly what I had! Resonance!


    "Damn it." I thought. "So I am not that special after all!"


    "How is resonance measured?" Emma continued.


    "Resonance is affected by two main factors. The purity of the Mecha Element within you, and its amount.


    The purity of the Mecha Element is fixed upon birth and is measured by the Resonance Purity Level. The higher the purity level, the higher the sensitivity and control limit that you can achieve with metals.


    For example, if you have an RPL of seventy, then theoretically, the highest level of sensitivity and control you can achieve with a mecha is seventy percent. You basically can receive 70% tactile feedback from the mecha''s exterior as well as exert 70% granular control over the mecha. Do you understand the significance of tactile feedback and granular control over a mecha?" Emma asked me.


    "Yes. Tactile feedback simply allows the pilot to respond faster and better. For example when you''re parrying a sword strike. Having tactile feedback would tell you how much power your enemy is using and whether or not you have enough reserve to push back and overpower him. Without tactile feedback, all you know is that you''ve successfully parried, and you will not know just how much power behind the enemy''s strike that you''ve actually parried."


    Emma nodded in approval.


    "Granular control is basically fine motoric control. You will be able to make even the smallest movements with your mecha. The best example would be in close combat. If you''re able to make small movements, you would be able to maximise efficiency in dodging and most importantly, aim for much smaller openings in the enemy''s defense."Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "Excellent." Emma replied. "That''s Resonance Purity Level for you. The higher, the better.


    The second factor that determines Resonance is the Resonance Volume. It refers to the amount of Mecha Element you have in your body.


    The more Mecha Element you have in your body, the more you will be able to reach your theoretical maximum set by your RPL.


    The Resonance Volume is quantified into numbers which refer to the physical range that a 100% RPL pilot can exert resonance over.


    For example, if the 100% Resonance Purity Level (RPL) pilot has a Resonance Volume (RV) of 10 meters, then he would have a range of 10 meters in which he could exert his Resonance over.


    However, if it was a 90% RPL pilot with an RV of 10 meters, then he would have a range of (90% of 10 meters) which is 9 meters.


    An average blue mecha is around 10 meters. And the average pilot has an RPL of 40. That means for the average pilot to be able to exert his full 40% resonance over the average mecha, he would need an RV of¡­"


    "10 meters is 40% So 100% is 25 meters!" I replied easily.


    "Yes. For a 40% RPL pilot, he has to train his RV to 25 to merely be able to exert a 40% Resonance over his mecha.


    Contrast that to the extremely rare 80% RPL pilot. He merely needs to train his RV to 12.5 meters to exert a whooping 80% resonance over his mecha!


    That is why RPL is so important. However, a high RPL needs to be matched with sufficient RV for the pilot to achieve his full potential.


    Resonance Volume will grow over time. The more you are exposed to the Mecha Element, the more your RV will grow. So even geniuses will need to train hard to grow their RVs!"


    "I understand." With my enhanced brain, understanding it was simplicity itself.


    "The old man told me that I had an RPL of NINETY TWO! That must be the effect of the red mecha core. And Emma said that an 80% RPL pilot is "extremely rare"! Awesome! I am still very special after all." I grinned happily to myself.


    "The Black Salamander Company members are all elites. This means that they all have RPLs of between 70 - 79. They are going up against the Giant Pegasi Company, which is a lower grade company with an average RPL of 50. Even with heavy mechas, they would find it difficult to win against the Black Salamanders."


    "Really?" I replied doubtfully. "I understand that tactile feedback and granular control are extremely important. But it does not change the fact that their armor and firepower are much, much lower! I do not believe that resonance can make that much of a difference!"


    "Resonance alone won''t guarantee victory. But if two teams with similar skills battle against each other, the team with the higher average resonance will usually win." Emma said.


    "Even when their mecha grades are so different?" I frowned lightly. "I don''t think so."


    "Wanna bet?" Emma smirked at me.


    "Hmmmm. Let me think." I switched on my screen and opened the team members'' details to get more information.


    "Huh?" I noticed something interesting in the Giant Pegasi Company''s information page. "Interesting! Alright Emma. Let''s bet!"


    "Awesome! Let''s bet one hundred- no wait. ONE THOUSAND academy credits then!" Emma smiled sinisterly and looked at me as though I was a delicious crispy piece of fried chicken.


    "What''s that? I don''t have academy credits!" I protested.


    "Don''t worry. You''ll get academy credits later when you go to school. So? Do you dare to bet or not? If you''re so confident, you shouldn''t worry about what you''re betting. Unless of course you''re all bluster and no act." Emma taunted me.


    "Fine! 1000 academy credits it is!" I shouted.


    "I''m not going to school, so there''s no harm betting 1000 credits." I smirked inwardly.


    MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!! :)


    Author''s Note


    Hi guys! Thank you for reading and supporting I Devour Mechas! As an author, your continued support and enjoyment in reading IDM means the world to me.


    PS. I just created a discord channel. Come join and be the pioneer group :)


    https://discord.gg/vsT7mRcp

 Battle!

    We shook hands on it and turned to look at the training ground as we waited eagerly for the battle to begin. It was already a very exciting battle to begin with. The bet had just made it twice as exciting.


    I could feel my adrenalin pumping!


    BA DUMP! BA DUMP!


    The familiar pain surged in my chest.


    Okay, make that THREE times as exciting! My red mecha core was reacting to my excitement!


    YES!!


    Very soon, the countdown for the final few seconds began.


    5!


    4!


    3!


    2!


    BATTLE!


    As soon as the countdown reached zero, the ground began to rumble slightly and many openings began to appear all over the main training area.


    Half ruined buildings of every kind began to appear and rise up from those openings.


    RUMBLE! RUMBLE!


    Within a few seconds, the flat and open training ground transformed into a half-destroyed city.


    "Wow." I breathed. "This is excellent! It''s exactly like an urban scene!"


    "Hmm. Each battleground will be randomly selected by the system. But urban battlegrounds appear more often than all the other types combined. The Whitefrost Clan is probably preparing for a major offensive involving city battles." Emma''s eyes shone brightly in excitement as well.


    On the far right, I could see the Giant Pegasi Company''s heavy mechas forming up into six groups of seven. They were spreading out in a single line until they were approximately two hundred fifty meters away from each other.


    The heavy mechas piloted by the Giant Pegasi Company were breathtakingly awesome.


    I had always been fascinated by mecha design and how creative people can get in making mechas look absolutely gorgeous in many different ways. And those heavy mechas were prime examples of that creativity.


    I could see that the theme the designer used was "Unstoppable Force". It was a similar design to the heavy mechas of the Red Dragon Battalion used by the old man''s personal guards in the sense that they were angular and heavily armored. They probably shared the same base frame.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    But where the old man''s heavy mechas gave out a professional and deeply murderous feeling, the Giant Pegasi Company''s heavy mechas had a more flamboyant air about them. For one thing, their mechas were black in colour with a generous splash of red and golden trim. And for another, they were absolutely bedecked with personal touches such as skull symbols, words and even props such as feathers and flags.


    Apparently they didn''t give a whit about stealth. Not that they needed to, though.


    After getting into groups, the six groups began to advance slowly on the ground. The remaining eight mechas split into two groups of four and trailed after the six groups.


    I nodded in approval at their formation.


    Their six groups were able to occupy almost the entire breadth of the training ground, ensuring that the enemy would not be able to flank them and attack them from the rear.


    Having seven in a group also provided each group with enough firepower to resist an engagement with the light mechas for a few minutes, long enough for the other groups to converge on their location and crush the enemy with their superior firepower.


    The two four-man groups trailing behind them would also serve as a powerful emergency back up in case any individual group met with all of the enemy mechas at once.


    The only thing I lamented was that they did not have any light mechas to serve as scouts. In every battle, having ''eyes'' on the enemy is extremely important. Still, they should have no problems wiping out the Black Salamanders.


    I turned my head to my left and studied the formation of the Black Salamanders. With all fifty mechas being light mechas, they had no shortages of scouts. And as such, they had equipped ten of their mechas with flight systems and had already taken to the skies to scout out the enemy position and formations.


    The rest were standing still in ten groups of four mechas.


    "The Giant Pegasi are already doomed." Emma remarked from my side. "They don''t have any scouts. They wouldn''t even know what hit them when the Black Salamanders finally make their move."


    "I don''t really know what light mechas are capable of in comparison to heavy mechas. But I have confidence in the Giant Pegasi''s leader." I replied to her confidently. "Plus, the Giant Pegasi are mobilizing exactly the way I predicted they would."


    "Really? Why is that so?" Emma asked me curiously.


    "Deng Da Jun. Twenty-year old male. RPL 65%. Joined the Whitefrost Clan five years ago. Prior occupation: Junkyard Scrapper. Orphaned since birth." I showed her his profile. "He was a junkyard scrapper!"


    "So?" Emma asked again in confusion.


    "Emma, I am a junkyard scrapper, and I''ve only been a junkyard scrapper for a few years. I may not be anything much, but I definitely am one thing. A survivor. That''s what I do. I survive.


    This Deng Da Jun, however, was a junkyard scrapper from birth all the way till he was fifteen years old. That tells me one thing. He''s either an incredible survivalist, or a gang member. And there is no way in hell the Whitefrost Clan would recruit a gang member."


    "So? He may be a good survivor in a junkyard, but that doesn''t mean anything in a mecha battle." Emma refuted me stubbornly.


    "If he is a new recruit, yes, his ability to survive would not mean anything. But he has been training in here for five years now. He would have definitely integrated his survivor instincts into his fighting techniques and as a leader, into his deployment tactics." I explained. "Plus, the fact that he is a company leader with his less than stellar background tells me that he is probably brilliant!"


    "I don''t see much of this "survivor instinct" in his deployment tactics." Emma scoffed lightly. "It''s just a textbook heavy mecha deployment tactic, and it is even one without the scouts."


    "It would be extremely textbook if everything is merely what it seemed." I grinned widely at her. "Oh I''ve lost count how many times I''ve tried so hard to make everything look like what they merely seemed, only to hide a deadly trap within. Look at his mecha and the modifications he had made."


    I pointed out the interesting thing which had caught my attention earlier.


    "He had removed most of his heavy armor and¡­ replaced them with a flight system?!" Emma gasped in disbelief. "And an additional high powered heavy rifle?!"


    "Yes. And look at where he has positioned himself." I said gleefully.


    Emma swivelled her head around to her screen and quickly brought out Da Jun''s position. "He''s trailing behind the main line in the group of four. In fact¡­ he''s even beginning to slow down and separate himself from the rest of his team!"


    "Yes! I knew it the moment I saw his background and his mecha modifications. He is a heavy assassin!" I proclaimed triumphantly.


    "Uhh. Okay. That might throw a small wrench into the Black Salamander''s plans. But I doubt it would be enough to cause them to lose." Emma said. But doubt was already surfacing in her eyes.


    MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!


    Author''s Note


    Hi guys! Thank you for reading and supporting I Devour Mechas! As an author, your continued support and enjoyment in reading IDM means the world to me.


    Also, I am trying very best to push my novel up the ranking system in webnovel. Please do consider voting for IDM with your powerstones daily! If you have friends who like to read webnovel, please also consider recommending IDM to them. :)


    As a reward and in anticipation of all your support, I will start releasing IDM chapters daily instead of once every two days. If IDM can hit top 25, I will release 2 chapters daily. I know its a long shot, but I believe together, we can do it! Let''s goo!!!


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    https://discord.gg/vsT7mRcp

 18 of 18

    ¡°Look! He has made his way up the tallest building! And his men are setting up formation in a wide semi-circle around his position.! Perfect!¡±  I cried out. ¡°They¡¯ll just stand their ground and let the Black Salamanders come to them while Da Jun snipes the living daylights out of them!¡±


    ¡°Stop looking at the Giant Pegasi and look at the Black Salamanders. You won¡¯t like what you see.¡± Emma chuckled lightly.


    I turned around to study the Black Salamanders. Their scouts have returned and they were¡­


    ¡°What on earth are they doing?¡± I asked incredulously.


    ¡°Weapon combination.¡± Emma replied smugly. ¡°It is a Whitefrost Clan special development. ¡°We are able to combine weapons to increase their grade. As you can see, all the mechas in the Black Salamander company had sacrificed their armor modules to open up more weight allocation for their rifles. As such, they are all carrying their original light rifles as well as an additional medium rifle!¡±


    ¡°WHAT! I didn¡¯t know that¡¯s possible! You¡­ You cheated!¡± I accused Emma.


    ¡°Haha! Of course I didn¡¯t cheat. YOU didn¡¯t do enough due diligence before placing your bet! You only have yourself to blame if you lose!¡± Emma cackled evilly with glee.


    ¡°Grrrr. Cheater.¡± I grumbled. But despite my misgivings about not knowing that the light mechas were able to combine their weapons, my eyes were shining.


    ¡°This is incredible! We¡¯re going to have a mecha shootout!¡± I thought eagerly to myself.


    The Black Salamander light mechas quickly set up their weapon combinations.


    ¡°Two light rifles can combine to become a medium rifle, two medium rifles can combine to become a heavy rifle, and two heavy rifles can combine to become an ultra heavy rifle.¡± Emma explained generously.


    I have noticed this about Emma. Although she is generally impatient and short tempered, she is surprisingly patient when teaching. I have benefited from that patience of hers while she was teaching many times.


    ¡°Combined weapons provide an unparalleled flexibility for lower grade mechas to fight above their classes. However, they are not without weaknesses. A combined weapon is much less durable compared to a normal weapon of that grade. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The logic behind it is actually very simple. A high grade weapon deals with a much higher amount of firepower and energy. As such, detachable parts from a lower grade weapon are unable to last very long.


    This is especially true for light rifles combined to become an ultra heavy rifle. In the best case scenario, such a rifle could only fire six times before breaking down completely. In most cases, being able to fire four times would already be a cause of celebration.¡±


    ¡°Are they making ultra heavy rifles?¡± I frowned deeply. If all the light mechas sacrificed their medium and light rifles, they could end up with eighteen ultra heavy rifles, one heavy rifle and one medium rifle. Although the remaining thirty would be unarmed, the eighteen ultra heavy rifles would be enough to destroy the entire Giant Pegasi company.


    The Black Salamander Company was truly an impressive company.


    ¡°It appears so. An ultra heavy rifle will have no problems piercing the armor of the heavy mechas!¡± Emma said with barely suppressed excitement. Whether she was excited about the upcoming battle or the one thousand credits that she thought she was about to win, I had no idea.


    ¡°They have absolutely no armor though. Even simple machine gun fire can totally wreck them.¡± I pointed out.


    ¡°They had no chance to survive the heavy mechas¡¯ heavy rifle fire in the first place. Might as well go all out on offence.¡± Emma shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a shrewd strategy. I like it.¡±


    ¡°They only have twenty armed mechas against Da Jun¡¯s fifty! That¡¯s insane! Plus they have very little margin for errors. If we go by your estimation of four shots per ultra heavy rifle, they only have 72 shots before their rifles break down.¡± I noted. ¡°They have less than one and a half shots per enemy mecha!¡±


    ¡°No problems.¡± Emma grinned at me. She was probably already thinking what she could do with my thousand academy credits.


    The Black Salamander light mechas quickly finished their work and true enough, twenty mechas wielding large ultra heavy rifles, a medium rifle and a heavy rifle appeared. Twenty of the remaining thirty partnered themselves with a rifle-bearing mecha each and they began to disperse. The remaining ten took to the skies once more to maintain a supply of up to date information regarding the enemy¡¯s positions and movements.


    Half of the ten who took to the skies began to pepper the northern Giant Pegasi groups with their light grenades. Although they did next to no damage to the heavy mechas, they made a huge ruckus and drew the attention of the heavy mechas north.


    PEW! PEW! PEW!


    The heavy mechas opened fire at the light mechas.


    However, the Black Salamander pilots showcased their impressive skills and completely dodged the sporadic heavy rifle fire by the seven mechas in the northern group.


    ¡°That¡¯s some impressive flying by the Black Salamanders.¡± I commented to Emma.


    ¡°Indeed. The Black Salamanders are really famous for their ace pilots.¡± Emma said. ¡°But today, the stars of the show aren¡¯t the fliers. Look! The twenty light mechas wielding the ultra heavy rifles are almost in position!¡±


    She was right.


    The group of forty light mechas had managed to stealthily position themselves in several half-destroyed high rise towers in the south-eastern area of the training ground - placing the heavy mecha groups well within range of their ultra heavy rifles, but placing themselves just slightly beyond the range of the heavy mechas¡¯ heavy rifles.


    It was the perfect sweet spot, the result of excellent scouting work.


    After a few seconds of coordinating their targets, the Black Salamanders opened fire.


    BO-BO-BO-BOOOOOMMM!!!


    Several loud shots rang out almost simultaneously.


    SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!!!


    Red paint exploded on eighteen unlucky mechas of the southern groups and instantly, their heavy mechas powered down.


    ¡°EXCELLENT SHOTS!¡± Emma whooped for joy. ¡°Eighteen for eighteen!!¡±

 MWA HA HA

    However, a mere second or two later...


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Three shots rang out. Deng Da Jun had opened fire with his own ultra heavy rifle!


    SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!


    Three light mechas wielding ultra heavy rifles powered down. In fact, the shots were so accurate that the paint projectiles had hit the ultra heavy rifles first before smashing into the light mechas.


    Their mecha partners were unable to pick up the three ultra heavy rifles.


    Fifteen ultra heavy rifles were left, and only sixty shots remained.


    On the other side, thirty two heavy mechas remained.


    Although the Black Salamanders seemed to be leading at that moment, they had lost the element of surprise, and their positions were revealed.


    ¡°He he he.¡± Emma was definitely feeling pleased with how the battle was progressing thus far.


    However, I wasn¡¯t worried at all.


    In my opinion, the Giant Pegasi, though vastly outnumbered, still had an advantage overall.


    Like white mechas, the heavy mechas are deceptively quick. They may be big and heavy, but they are also usually equipped with equally heavy thrusters which allow them to accelerate almost as quickly as light mechas.


    In fact, they are even capable of sharp changes in direction thanks to their massive side-thruster rockets. However, those rockets are single-use and thus the heavy mechas are limited in how many times they can change directions abruptly at full speed.


    In short skirmishes, heavy mechas are unbeatable powerhouses.


    Still, the Black Salamanders certainly put that statement through a round of hellish testing.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Deng Da Jun¡¯s deadly onslaught continued unabated.


    SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!


    Three more light mechas powered down! Thankfully for the Black Salamanders, all three were the rifle-less light mechas who had immediately interposed their bodies between Deng Da Jun and their designated partners. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    With their deadly mission accomplished and their positions revealed, the light mechas instantly retreated. Their light weight made them extremely agile and quick on their feet, and within seconds, they were out of their half-ruined buildings and dashing away at full speed.


    However, the heavy mechas knew that if they allowed the light mechas to disengage successfully and disappear from their sights once more, their next sneak attack might well prove to be a game-ending one.


    VROOO!! VROO!!


    The heavy mechas instantly powered their thrusters to full power and all thirty-one remaining heavy mechas aside from Deng Da Jun shot out towards the light mechas!


    They bore down on the Black Salamanders with a fury that would make a watching mad bull nod in deep approval.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The Giant Pegasi heavy mechas fired everything they had as they chased after the retreating Black Salamanders.


    SPLAT! SPLAT!


    A few unlucky Black Salamanders were taken down that way.


    However, the Black Salamanders¡¯ superior Resonance Purity Levels began to shine through at that moment as their much higher level of mecha control allowed most of them to dance around the Giant Pegasi¡¯s linear attacks and avoid getting hit.


    In every battle, there would be a make-or-break moment. A white hot stage where everything could be decided in an instant, where the first mistake could snowball into a crushing defeat in a matter of minutes.


    That moment had arrived for the Black Salamanders and the Giant Pegasi.


    It was the perfect time to unleash their trump cards if they had one!


    Morale was high in both companies as they worked feverishly to capitalize on their strengths and cover their weaknesses.


    The Black Salamanders used their higher agility to avoid getting hit while the Giant Pegasi tried to vary their attacks as much as possible so as to be less predictable.


    To both their company¡¯s credit, neither the Giant Pegasi nor the Black Salamanders were dashing around aimlessly.


    The Giant Pegasi were dashing forward in waves to prevent the Black Salamanders from flanking them and attacking them from the rear.


    The Black Salamanders had also split into three groups, forcing the Black Pegasi to split as well or face withering pincer attacks from the other Black Salamander groups.


    It was at that moment that the Black Salamanders decided to reveal their trump card.


    VROOO!!!


    All of the remaining light mechas powered up their hidden flight modules and took to the skies!


    ¡°Oh my god.¡± I muttered. ¡°That¡¯s disgusting. As if they need more agility and mobility!¡±


    ¡°Hee hee.¡± Emma merely giggled.


    Once they were airborne, the already extremely agile Black Salamanders became even more agile.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    They wasted no time at all and immediately opened fire on the heavy mechas.


    SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT


    Several more heavy mechas were instantly taken out.


    However, heavy mechas weren¡¯t sitting ducks. They immediately focus fired on a cluster of light mechas and successfully shot them down.


    Still, the heavy mechas were having difficulty tracking down the rifle-bearing mechas due to their high speed maneuvers and the occasional rifle-pass to a different pilot to mix things up a little.


    And to make things worse, the Black Salamanders chose to unleash their final trump card at that moment. All of the rifle-less light mechas drew out their short swords and plunged towards the heavy mechas in a wave of suicidal attacks.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    While the heavy mechas tried to shoot down the suicidal light mechas, the other rifle-bearing light mechas took the opportunity to shoot at the distracted heavy mechas.


    SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!


    The Black Salamanders truly showed the spectators why they were the overall third ranked company that day. Their aims were perfect. One shot, one kill.


    At the end of the day, a mecha is only as powerful as its pilot, and an army is only as strong as its commander.


    The Black Salamanders had far better pilots and an extremely shrewd commander.


    Thirty one heavy mechas went up against seventeen rifle-bearing light mechas and twenty seven rifle-less light mechas during that second engagement.


    The heavy mechas lost.


    Six rifle-bearing light mechas still stood when the dust of that second engagement finally settled.


    ¡°Mwa ha ha ha!¡± Emma laughed evilly.


    ¡°Mwa ha ha ha!¡± I laughed evilly as well.

 Practice

    ¡°What are you laughing about?¡± Emma frowned in irritation. ¡°The Giant Pegasi has only one mecha left while the Black Salamanders still have six! Six better pilots against a single weak pilot in a heavy mecha. Deng Da Jun has no chance at all!¡± Emma proclaimed confidently.


    ¡°Yeah? You¡¯re very confident aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Very. Da Jun has no chance at all.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we raise the stakes then? If you dare.¡± I taunted her provocatively.


    ¡°Sure! If you¡¯re so willing to give me all your future academy credits, I am happy to receive them all.¡± Emma smirked at me. ¡°Just don¡¯t go crying to grandpa when you finally realize your mistake!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s raise the stakes to five thousand academy credits then!¡±


    ¡°Five thousand?? HA HA! YOU ARE ON!¡± Emma cackled happily.


    ¡°Oh I love betting with ignorant fools like yo-¡±


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    ¡°Oh look, it¡¯s three vs one now. HA HA!¡± I cackled happily.


    The three remaining light mechas immediately dispersed in three different directions and opened fire at Deng Da Jun¡¯s heavy mecha which had finally revealed itself.


    Sometime during or after the engagement, the three light mechas had somehow gotten their hands on additional heavy rifles, thus allowing them to fire at Da Jun freely without having to worry about their rifle melting down.


    Deng Da Jun had also separated his ultra-heavy rifle into two heavy rifles and he fired both rifles at an unlucky light mecha.


    ¡°Hey, one of Da Jun¡¯s heavy rifles seems to have a much better rate of fire compared to his other heavy rifle.¡± I commented.


    ¡°Yes, Da Jun had invested a huge amount of his resources into his heavy rifle, increasing its power, durability and rate of fire.¡± Emma replied.


    ¡°I see. So each pilot owns their own mecha weapons?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not really. As I mentioned before, each week, pilots will receive various resources based on their performances. They are allowed to invest their resources into anything they want. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    If they choose to take the path of an elite sniper, for example, they can buy a long range sniper rifle and they can tweak its range, power, durability, rate of fire, as well as its scope. You can even tweak how the trigger mechanism feels when you pull it.


    If they are particularly successful, they can even save up to buy a mecha and customize that mecha too!¡± Emma explained. ¡°Of course they would have to sign a life contract with the Clan if they buy a mecha from us. But most already intend to stay with us permanently anyway, so that¡¯s usually not an issue.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an excellent system.¡± I nodded in approval. ¡°Makes the soldiers dedicated to the Clan. Are there any customized mechas in this particular battle?¡±


    ¡°Of course! The Black Salamanders are a rich bunch, especially their top players. In fact, all three remaining light mechas are actually customized mechas!¡±


    ¡°Really? I can¡¯t tell at all!¡± I said in amazement.


    ¡°The mark of an excellent customization is that it doesn¡¯t look different at all compared to the original. The only thing different should be its performance. Here, take a look at the profiles of the remaining light mechas. He he he.¡± Emma snickered lightly as she sent some info to my screen.


    ¡°... ¡­ These light mechas are practically medium mechas! 50% enhanced armor, 40% enhanced speed, 80% enhanced melee damage¡­ What a bunch of cheaters!¡± I looked away from my screen in disgust.


    ¡°HA HA HA HA! Now you know why I am so confi-¡±


    BOOM!


    SPLAT!


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s 2 vs 1 now!¡± I said, feeling very pleased by Deng Da Jun¡¯s performance.


    He had finally activated his flight system and had taken the mecha he was firing at by complete surprise when he suddenly launched into the sky at high speed. Da Jun had splashed him with a devastating glob of paint that served to indicate a fatal melee attack.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. The Black Salamander¡¯s Leader and Co-Leader are the two remaining fighters. They would have no prob-¡±


    BOOM!


    SPLAT!


    Deng Da Jun took the second light mecha by complete surprise as well when he accelerated at a speed far beyond their expectations. Another devastating glob of paint hit the second mecha and it too powered down.


    ¡°Their LEADER, Lin Jian, is one of the top ranked pilots. He will have no prob-¡±


    BOOM!


    SPLAT!


    Silence.


    And then...


    ¡°HA HA HA HA! What a crazy bastard! He actually flung the light mecha at, what¡¯s his name again? Lin Jian! Forcing him to dodge into the path of his heavy rifle fire! What an excellent tactic!


    AND THE GIANT PEGASI WINS!!! FIVE THOUSAND ACADEMY CREDITS! HERE I COMEEE!! YEAAHHHH!!!!¡± I shouted and whooped and screamed for joy.


    I had never won anything before in my entire life, and even though I had no idea what five thousand academy credits was good for, it still felt extremely good. Especially when I saw Emma¡¯s extremely sour and sulky face!


    HAHA! I bet you¡¯re still sour about that loss Emma!


    Five minutes later, we were out of the VIP room and were walking rapidly towards the practice area.


    I furrowed my brows and frowned deeply.


    After a moment, I sighed deeply.


    ¡°I give up.¡± I told the still-pouting Emma as I handed her back her mobile communicator which contained her school handbook. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what to spend my five thousand academy credits on! I guess I¡¯ll know what I want when I get to school! HA HA!¡±


    If looks could deal damage, I would have totally died then.


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Emma snapped at me irritably as we entered a large room. ¡°Get in and choose a mecha!¡±


    It was a pretty simple room.


    Approximately fifty meters by fifty meters, there were four mechas to choose from, each located in a corner of the room, each with a different colour theme. It was probably one of their smaller practice rooms that catered to one versus one or two versus two practice matches.


    Emma quickly marched to the nearest mecha which was red in colour and climbed in.

 Humility

    I glanced at the mechas and discovered that my resonance could sense them very clearly. It was like I had another organ for sensing and I was really aware of them.


    ¡°This should be an interesting practice match.¡± I thought to myself.


    ¡°Just pick one and get in. They are all the same type. There are no grade differences in practice mechas.¡± Emma¡¯s voice sounded loudly through the mecha¡¯s voice amplifier.


    I climbed into the nearest mecha and powered it up. It was black and looked extremely cool. ¡°Perfect first mecha for the future Emperor.¡± I thought.


    The mecha immediately connected to my brainwaves and all at once, I felt like I could control the mecha with my thoughts.


    ¡°Ahh it feels good to be able to move both arms again!¡± I said aloud as I waved my arms around happily.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you five minutes to familiarize yourself with the mecha.¡± Emma said from her side of the room.


    I quickly jumped around, lunged left and right and swung my practice metal quarterstaff this way and that way.


    I must have shown much more dexterity and fluidity in my movements than I thought, because at the next moment, Emma asked me suspiciously.


    ¡°Hey! What¡¯s your RPL?¡±


    ¡°Hehehe. Let me show you instead of telling you.¡± I grinned widely and beckoned her over.


    ¡°Hmph! Don¡¯t get too cocky. Your RPL may be high, but without skills, you¡¯d still be my punching bag. Here I come!¡± Emma shouted.


    Emma boomed her way towards me while holding her long quarterstaff in an underarm grip braced under her armpit like a lance.


    I scoffed lightly. Such a grip would give her huge striking power, but very little in terms of flexibility and reduced her range drastically.


    In one versus one, an inch longer is an inch stronger.


    Not willing to lose out on momentum, I began to dash towards her as well. But my long quarterstaff was held horizontally out to my right in preparation for a wide slash.


    I figured that a slash would be more effective than a lance charge. Once you miss a lance charge, you miss totally. But a wide slash would give me a larger area of attack which would make it more difficult to dodge. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    I was so wrong.


    Once we neared each other¡¯s striking distance, I began to swing my quarterstaff towards her and prepared to dodge her piercing attack.


    However, Emma suddenly accelerated and closed the distance between us in an instant!


    She wasn¡¯t running at top speed before!


    In addition, she also changed her grip and stabbed her quarterstaff sharply towards my head!


    ¡°What a sneaky little girl!¡± I cried out bitterly in my heart as I jerked my head violently to the right to dodge her attack.


    I wasn¡¯t fast enough.


    BAM!


    Her quarterstaff struck the side of my head and flung it backwards savagely as I failed to dodge her attack.


    BAM!


    My own slash smashed into her half a second later. But it was very much weakened by her attack which broke my momentum.


    Emma had no problems parrying my wild slash with her armored arm.


    BAM! BAM! BAM!


    Emma unleashed a flurry of attacks to take advantage of the fact that I was slightly disoriented by her successful attack to my head.


    I tried my best to block her attacks, but her quarterstaff stabs were extremely devious and managed to avoid my attempts to block them.


    Two seconds later¡­


    ¡°DING! Round over. Black Mecha had received fatal damage. Red Mecha Victory.¡± A disembodied voice announced.


    ¡°DAMN IT!!¡± I shouted in exasperation. ¡°AGAIN!¡±


    Emma gleefully obliged as we returned to our sides of the room.


    ¡°Ready!¡± I shouted and dashed towards Emma without waiting for her reply.


    ¡°I will win this time. I am ready for her tricks!¡± I declared to myself.


    But I was not. She was totally right. My heightened senses and control were of no benefit to me in light of vastly greater skill!


    I approached her with a double grip on my quarterstaff like an ancient samurai warrior.


    ¡°HA!¡± I shouted as I leapt up right before we entered each other¡¯s maximum range.


    BAM!!


    My head smashed into something incredibly solid and was flung backwards violently once more as Emma threw her quarterstaff like a javelin.


    ¡°AH!!¡± I screamed and fell down heavily.


    BAM!


    BAM! BAM! BAM!


    ¡°DING! Round over. Black Mecha had received fatal damage. Red Mecha Victory.¡± A disembodied voice announced.


    ¡°AGAIN!¡±


    ¡°DING! Round over. Black Mecha had received fatal damage. Red Mecha Victory.¡± A disembodied voice announced.


    ¡°ARGH! AGAIN!¡±


    ¡°DING! Round over. Black Mecha had received fatal damage. Red Mecha Victory.¡± A disembodied voice announced.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe I will lose to you five rounds in a row. AGAIN!¡±


    ¡°DING! Round over. Black Mecha had received fatal damage. Red Mecha Victory.¡± A disembodied voice announced.


    By the end of the fifth round, Emma was exhausted. She had just recovered from a serious bout of malnutrition and she was unable to fight for extended periods of time.


    And so even though I desperately wanted to challenge her for more battles, I kept my mouth shut for her sake.


    Of course, she had no idea that I was thinking for her and assumed that I had given up. And she made sure to ¡°stomp¡± on me heavily while I was down as a form of revenge after losing 5000 academy credits to me.


    ¡°HA! Why aren¡¯t you challenging me to ano-ther fight?¡± Emma panted. ¡°Are you - too scared? Scaredy cat! Chicken! Pok pok pok!! Kukuruyuuuu!! Pok pok pok!!!¡±


    Even though she was so tired, she still gave all she had to insult me! She must be extremely bitter about her 5000 academy credit loss!


    HAHA!


    ¡°Sigh. See, Justin. It is - never good to be so cocky. Humility - is a virtue. You have to be more like - me! Being humble is not simply the words - you say or the actions you do. It is the state of - your heart!¡± Emma panted and lectured me rather proudly herself.

 Elites

    ¡°Remember! Pride comes before a fall! And look how far you have fallen! HA HA HA!¡± Emma laughed happily at me.


    I opened the cockpit¡¯s hatch and jumped out easily. I was still full of energy, and I could probably go for another few hundred rounds before I tired.


    But Emma needed to rest.


    ¡°Fine. You win! The score is five - zero. We¡¯ll continue next time!¡± I said, feeling rather magnanimous for ignoring all her barbs and still acting with her best interest at heart.


    People might call me names for being too nice to Emma. But I don¡¯t really care. I¡¯ll treat Emma exactly how I want to treat her. The rest of the world can go¡­ What was it again? Eat candy, yes. The rest of the world can go eat candy.


    Emma opened her cockpit hatch as well. Her beautiful but obviously extremely tired face was beaming happily.


    ¡°Good practice though! Don¡¯t worry, if you work hard, you¡¯ll definitely improve.¡± Emma continued her lecture as she slowly exited the mecha.


    ¡°Right.¡± I offered her my hand and helped her out of her mecha.


    ¡°What do you want to do now?¡± Emma asked me.


    ¡°Well, I know quite a bit about the Whitefrost clan now. Why don¡¯t we go to the living room and you can tell me more about the Mecha Tournament as we rest for a while?¡± I suggested.


    ¡°Excellent idea! Let¡¯s do that!¡± Emma agreed.


    Emma is such a competitive girl. Winning that practice session really put her into an agreeable mood!


    The rest of the day passed by lazily as we hung out in the main living room. For the first time in my life, I had a totally relaxing afternoon.


    Emma and I really clicked that day and we talked about many things. Although she had a very sharp tongue and enjoyed cutting me up into a thousand pieces verbally, I knew that she was actually a kind girl. Kind of a softie with a really spiky exterior.


    I enjoyed her company immensely. And I knew she truly enjoyed mine as well.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    All too soon, it was dinner time.


    Whitefrost family members can skip having lunch together, but unless an emergency was underway, dinner was non negotiable.


    Everyone must be present.


    And so, I soon found myself seated on a huge chair around a massive round table that could seat twenty. All sorts of delicious food was on the table, and I remember my mouth watering like crazy almost as soon as I sat down.


    I remember the scene on the table very clearly like it was nly yesterday. Fried Chicken. Roast Chicken. Beef Ribs. Stuffed Duck. Three Layered Pork. Steamed Fish. More Steamed Fish. Three huge plates of vegetables I don¡¯t recognize. A giant plate of noodles. A giant plate of fried rice. Small cups of tea all around.


    My goodness. The entire table looked like a huge gathering of joy and happiness. I couldn¡¯t wait to make friends with all the food!


    However, our friendship was not destined to start immediately. The old man still had things to say.


    ¡°Justin. I should have asked you this earlier, but with all that had happened, it completely slipped my mind.¡± The old man began.


    Only the old man, Emma, Margaret (Isabella¡¯s youngest daughter), Julie (Jason¡¯s daughter), James (Jason¡¯s youngest son) and I were present.


    Jason¡¯s wife, Lydia, was by his side and taking care of him and their son Jeremy, while Emma¡¯s father and mother were mysteriously absent.


    ¡°Would you like to join the Whitefrost family?¡± The old man asked.


    The mood during dinner was subdued after the day¡¯s near tragedy, and his question brought some much needed excitement to the dinner table.


    ¡°Join our family? As what?¡± Julie was the first to speak.


    ¡°Are we adopting him?¡± James asked rather excitedly.


    ¡°No, we''re not adopting him.¡± The old man replied to James with a laugh.


    ¡°I¡¯m inviting you to join us as a Black Dragon candidate.¡± The old man told me before glancing at Julie.


    ¡°WHAT? HIM?¡± Julie shouted. ¡°Why?¡±


    The old man held his gaze at Julie for a moment.


    ¡°Sorry grandpa.¡± Julie apologized hastily. ¡°I was just surprised, that¡¯s all. The Black Dragons are¡­ Well. I don¡¯t know what you see in him. First the Gene Optimizing Pill, now this¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand your confusion. All will be made clear in due time. Right now, you have to trust grandpa, can you do that?¡± The old man spoke to Julie gently but firmly.


    Julie sighed and nodded. ¡°Yes grandpa. That I can do.¡±


    The old man turned to look at me once more. I quickly tore my gaze from the heavenly looking roast chicken to meet his gaze.


    ¡°Let me explain my offer. The Whitefrost Clan has two main mecha battalions. The Red Dragon Battalion and The Monkey King Battalion. That¡¯s what the whole country knows. But we have another secret army. One that is much more powerful than both battalions combined. We call it the Black Dragon Army.¡± The old man said.


    I nodded in approval. Of the beef stew.


    I could smell the beef stew clearly. My goodness, it was the best smelling stew I had ever smelled.


    ¡°The Black Dragons are a group of elite Mecha Pilots whom our family had secretly trained up over the years.¡± The old man continued, fully assuming that my nod of approval was over his words. He was totally oblivious that my heart and my mind, heck my entire SOUL was totally and fully mesmerized by the food on the table.


    ¡°They are spread out all over the world, and all of them are stellar Mecha Pilots in positions of influence and power in major organizations.


    Black Dragons enjoy the highest respect, the most lavish treatment and the highest degree of freedom in the Clan. You are basically free to do anything you want to do. There are only two requirements. One is that you do not betray the Whitefrost Clan. And two, that you will act and give your all in defense of the clan in our hour of need.¡±

 Beef Stew

    Deep in my heart, I was actually extremely impressed. What an awesome system! The Whitefrost Clan truly had extremely deep roots. In fact, what they hid underneath might well be much bigger and stronger than what was visible.


    But all I could think of at that moment was¡­ What an awesome looking stuffed duck! The cook must be really talented! In fact, what they hid within the duck might well be much more delicious than what was visible.


    I swallowed my saliva and forced my brain to focus on the old man¡¯s words.


    ¡°There are no negatives to being a Black Dragon of our Whitefrost family unless you consider being secretly affiliated with us a negative.¡± The old man said. ¡°So, what do you think? Good?¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± I shouted immediately. ¡°Very very good! Excellent in fact.¡±


    Before today, only God and I knew that I was actually referring to the Three Layered Pork when I shouted out those words.


    ¡°Very good! I admire your decisiveness and enthusiasm. So from today onwards, you¡¯re one of us. Welcome to the Whitefrost family!¡± The old man smiled at me warmly and raised his teacup.


    ¡°YESS!¡± I thought. ¡°The meal is finally about to start!¡±


    I quickly raised my teacup as well and smiled widely in anticipation.


    ¡°It¡¯s so close. Be patient stomach. Be patient tongue! Just a few more seconds, once this toast is over¡­ What are we toasting to again?¡± My brain asked. But before it could search itself for answers¡­


    ¡°DRY THE CUP!¡± The old man shouted as gulped his tea down.


    ¡°DRY THE CUP!¡± I immediately shouted after him, eager to move things along.


    GULP!


    I drained my own teacup like a man. A very, very hungry man.


    ¡°Well done. Now, on to the feast! Dig in!¡± The old man beamed at everyone present.


    ¡°HERE WE GO!!!!!¡± I shouted excitedly in my heart.


    Om nom nom nom.


    For the next few minutes, I was in heaven.


    My brain decreed that it was entering closed-door cultivation with his new friends and refused to entertain anything apart from my sense of taste. Well, except for sight as well, but that was auxiliary. I only needed them to pile more food onto my plate and make sure my chopsticks laden with food entered the right hole. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    All the sound of the world suddenly receded into the background and everyone else sitting around the table seemed to disappear.


    The only things that exist are my chopsticks, all my friends on the table and my mouth.


    ¡­ ¡­ ¡­


    ¡°Ahhhh.¡± I let out a deep breath filled with incredible satisfaction. I was finally done making friends.


    ¡°Chicken, Beef, Pork, Duck and Fish! Although our friendship was short, I will never forget you!¡± I vowed as I rubbed my belly fondly.


    Blink.


    My brain exited its closed-door cultivation and beamed at the world in happiness.


    My hearing and sight returned.


    ¡°Huh? Why are you all staring at me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hahahaha! He¡¯s a growing boy! Eating a lot is good! Good! Very good!¡± The old man laughed awkwardly. ¡°The rest of you, if you¡¯re still hungry, go tell the servants to make supper for you later! Hahaha! Ok I have to go for a meeting. You kids enjoy yourself!¡±


    With that, the old man stood up and quickly left the room.


    Emma, who was seated next to me, leaned to her side slightly to peek at my tummy.


    ¡°How big is it?¡± James asked Emma curiously.


    ¡°It''s not even bulging.¡± Emma replied with a slight frown.


    ¡°Impossible. He must be sucking in his stomach.¡± Julie said firmly.


    ¡°Justin, can you stand up for a moment?¡± Emma asked me.


    ¡°Uhhh. Sure.¡± I stood up and stretched my body slightly. ¡°Uwahh.¡±


    * B U R P P! !  *


    ¡°That was a really good meal. Do you guys eat like that everyday?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really flat.¡± Julie mumbled in disbelief. ¡°Where did all the food go?¡±


    The rest ignored my question as well and merely stared at me as though I was a freak.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I looked at Emma questioningly. ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡±


    Emma pointed to the table with its empty plates. And then she pointed at my beyond messy plate. And then she pointed at all the other places with barely any food stains.


    ¡°You ate almost all of the food on the table.¡± She said.


    ¡°What? Impossible! I don¡¯t remember doing such a thing!¡± I replied defensively.


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± James burst into laughter. He found it ridiculous that I could deny something that everybody had just seen with their own eyes.


    ¡°Well maybe I might have eaten a little more than I usually do¡­¡± I conceded as I stared at the mess that surrounded my plate.


    ¡°A little bit more? More like ALL! I barely had a bite!¡± James said indignantly.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡± I asked him with a frown.


    ¡°I was¡­ too busy looking at you gobble up everything.¡± He said sheepishly with a laugh.


    ¡°Me too.¡± Julie laughed along with James.


    Margaret remained silent, but there was a trace of a smile on her face.


    ¡°Heheheheh¡­ Sorry guys. I didn¡¯t even realize I was cleaning up the whole table! I totally lost myself in the awesomeness of the meal. I never, NEVER had such an epic meal before in my entire life! Ha ha ha!¡± I scratched my head and laughed loudly.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s okay. I think I¡¯ll just have dessert. I¡¯m not that hungry today anyway.¡± Julie said. ¡°What about you guys?¡±


    James, Margaret and Emma quickly nodded in agreement. Not wanting to be left out, I nodded enthusiastically too. ¡°Dessert sounds good!¡± I agreed. ¡°I need something sweet to wash down all the -¡±


    ¡°Not you!¡± James cried out. ¡°You¡¯ve had enough to eat already. Leave some for us!¡±


    ¡°I need dessert! I am a growing boy, grandpa said so himself!¡± I argued.


    ¡°No you don¡¯t! You just ate everything on the table!¡±


    ¡°Did not!¡±


    ¡°Did so!¡±


    ¡°Liar!¡±


    ¡°... YOU¡¯RE THE LIAR!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Julie burst out laughing at the absurdity of what was happening. Two boys arguing about who gets dessert in the beyond affluent Whitefrost Clan. The rest stared at James and me incredulously before joining Julie in laughing at us.


    We had a great time that evening, just talking and getting to know each other. James, Julie, Emma, Margaret and I.


    We laughed together for quite some time and the pain from the day¡¯s events slowly receded.


    It was the first of many, many meals we would share together.


    The first of countless laughter we¡¯d share.


    It was the beginning of the group the world would eventually call ¡°Shadows of the Blood Moon¡±.


    Oh yes. That¡¯s us.